Saturday 9^th May, 2020 2200

Ok, so it seems my thoughts on the traffic light phone thing weren't made clear enough in all quarters. It is completely pointless. Fine, it allows people to travel without let or hindrance but it is nonetheless utterly pointless. It works, I am told. So I assume does the microwave which has been sitting in a cupboard ever since I arrived in Lanzhou. That too is pointless because I have never tried to use it.

I am in a low risk (no such thing as a no risk) area and tomorrow I could go to the hospital, have bloods and whatnot taken and be pronounced as clean as a disinfected scalpel - at the point the samples were taken. One second after they took the sample I could have been infected, yet walk out proudly clutching a clean bill of health.

So I still fail to understand the value of the traffic light phone thing. Going to somewhere not “green”? Turn off the phone and don't use it, they can't track that. Just because something works for people doesn't make it right, it just makes their lives easier. The international criminal who buys a fake passport that “works” for travel? The banned driver who buys a forged licence that is good for a traffic stop? Just because people are happy with it and it “works” is not the same as being sensible and effective. Or am I wrong?

I had birthday salutations this morning from my longest-standing friend, still sailing as a Chief Engineer at I think 67 years of age. For all those whingeing about three weeks of lockdown, he has just spent 12 weeks locked down aboard, been repatriated to Kiwi and is now in a further 2 weeks isolation in an hotel room in Auckland. I can only hope room service is good and the booze keeps coming.

And the best laid plans of mice and me? How many times have we been here? Ok, now the UK is introducing 2 weeks quarantine and I can't see that changing by August any more than the door not being slammed shut on me the moment I leave here.

But tonight was rather subdued. Just me and Jody. I was looking forward to an all you can eat and drink Holiday Inn buffet but it's closed due to the virus. I should have thought of that. Instead we went to a restaurant nearby where two years ago I swear I saw a picture of sweet and sour pork and have meant to return ever since. No picture any more. So fine, we had deep fried tiger prawns and rice with some vegetables and then an enormous two pound fish that from the photo should have been in sweet sauce but for me was not nice. On balance a Whopper would have done me nicely tonight but never mind.

However, it would be remiss of me not to mention that as soon as we sat down at a table Jody was approached by a rather agitated waitress and a conversation ensued. Once over, I asked what was said. Jody can be quite waspish (and I've been on the receiving end a couple of times) and she was in full stinging mode. They asked her if I had just returned from abroad because the other customers might have wanted me thrown out! Apparently they did just that a few days ago, not that there are many of us left here.

Now that really pisses me off and if I could speak Chinese I would have exploded and loftily informed the waitress and the restaurant at large that I have been in the city since last summer and never buggered off when the brown stuff hit the cooling thing.

I can understand now - that's twice I've had that – how the Chinese abroad felt when they got that crap in the west. It's not right no matter where it happens. Not so bad for me but young Chinese abroad, that's a different matter. Anyway, as it happens, if they had booted me out at least I would have had a chilli melt at Burger King!

Ok, new date for my students coming back to class is end of May. Great. I might get one week of lessons with some, two with others and then exam time. Hardly seems worth it. Bit like the traffic light system.