Thursday 3^rd September, 2020 – Merchant Navy Day 1730

The glasses actually arrived yesterday, somewhat surprising because being stuck in the middle of deserts it usually takes three days. Quite why is beyond me, there are trains and planes from Shanghai every day, I don't think they use the Silk Road camels any more!

I am quite pleased with them overall although I think I should have insisted on varifocals as they are not perfect for watching films on the laptop. Also my left eye distance is not entirely fixed (again) but that may be either because I never checked properly when I went out into the Mall wearing those huge goggles (I was more interested in the result of both eyes used together) or because I had taken the test straight after taking the other pair off.

No matter. I just went to do a local shop an hour ago (didn't dare wear them outside yesterday in case I fell over) and they were fine. There was still some weak sunlight so I also got to see if they start to turn black, which they did.

Yesterday evening when Jody came back from a school meeting and preparing papers for returning students, she asked me if I had collected the specs. I informed her I was wearing them. She inspected them and then asked where the sunglasses were. They are the sunglasses, I said. Having lived with me all this year it is only natural for her to have picked up some of my below-decks language and her response was “**** Off!!!” She now understands what I meant when I said I had bought Reactolites. I think she is ever so slightly jealous.

It would appear that all the Chinese teachers have been able to look up their forthcoming timetable for a couple of weeks now but not me. Apparently I might be sent mine on Sunday morning. The school restarts on Monday so my information had better be correct – that all my classes are freshmen and doing their military training because I am not having a mad scramble at the last minute.

One major difference (or two, depending on how you look at it) betwixt me and them is that I do not eat the cold slop served up on campus – offer me a UK school dinner and I would rip your hand off – nor am I capable of walking huge distances to go and find an outside restaurant, especially since they demolished the street outside. Ergo, I have to plan my packed lunches.

They are simple affairs, I often bake a batch of sausage rolls and freeze them (must do that soon in readiness) or I get some bread from the bakery outside BHG for sandwiches, the one that sells bread that only tastes a little bit like cake. I have a supply of spreads and pates that I bought in Shanghai for that very purpose and of course now we have a Metro I have access to unlimited amounts of cheese.

Talking of Metro, we went there on Tuesday on an emergency mission which also included Burger King. While I was away Jody had eaten all the peas and neglected to tell me, I only found out when I was cooking dinner one night. Whilst in there we came across two foreigners who it turned out Jody knew. One of them, a blonde from I think Belarus, will be one of my translation majors. Looks as though the international side is again open for business.