Tuesday 24^th November, 2020 1930

So my three-day weekends seem to have developed into 72 hours of doing sod all. Funnily enough, this time I actually had some energy but lethargy prevailed. I will have to break the cycle soon though, not only will there need to be a teabag run soon (Jody uses far more than me) but in two weeks I will finally exhaust that stock of 4,000 cigars I had a long time ago. So far my China Tobacco contact has located 2,300 and I have asked her to get 6,000 – a year's supply. I very much doubt she will be able to but I can hope.

Mondays are becoming McDonald's days. Not because I particularly like them because I don't but along with Thursdays they seem to be days when taxis are scarce so if I have to walk all the way to get one I may as well pay 1¥ to take a bus to get a Big Mac and then get a cab from there home afterwards.

Last Monday I saw a heavy-set chap wearing a mask, same hair colour as mine, dragging what I can only describe as cabin baggage, come into McD when I was eating. The “western” radar was on full alert – heightened these days given the dearth of kindred spirits – but he disappeared from view completely (I was facing away from the counter but looking in the windows for reflections).

Last night he came in again while I was eating. Never acknowledged me, nothing. I thought “Oh here we go again, the usual, foreigners in Lanzhou ignore each other”. This time I clocked where he sat to eat and as I happened to be damned near finished, once I had and was about to leave, I went over to him and said hello.

There began what could be the start of a good friendship.

His name is Jason, 56 years old and originally from Guildford. Moved around a lot as a kid as his old man was in the RN, married to a Chinese woman and now with an 8 year old daughter. I know very little more but it was good to speak to another Englishman seeing as the only time these days I get the chance is summer in Shanghai. I reckon Mondays will be McDonald's every week because he is always there, his wife is out on Mondays. If Christmas dinner collapses with the girls, this may also rescue it. I am not particularly bothered, it's just another day and it's a long way to go when I will probably have a burger anyway but some company would be nice. It does get a tad lonely here being the only westerner.