Sunday 24^th January, 2021 1810

Still haven't made it to BHG!

The only person to blame is lazybones here. That and having developed square eyes – I start watching catch-up TV and I am lost. It could be something to do with the fact the internet lately slows right down just after midday so I don't shower before then and when I do, it's getting too late to bother as there will be too many people shopping anyway.

Tomorrow I really must go. No wine left and the same stuff in the local minimart is twice the price. Plus I can rope Jody in and between us we can get the shopping and three loads of plonk. If I play my cards right and go twice a week I could stockpile enough to ensure I can cover the one bottle deficit each week until the summer holidays. Holidays. Hmmmm. I wonder if it will be safe to travel domestically again by then or whether they will implore me to remain locked in this, quite frankly, dismal city.

Brenda came on Friday, which was in fact THE day I had decided I would in fact get to BHG. She phoned me in the morning and asked me to take my fire extinguishers to the gate to be checked and recharged. I politely said no and she was taken aback. Why not? Because I don't have any.

But you must have at least one?? Nope. I did have four but four years ago you asked me to take them to the security guys at the gate and eventually they would bring then back recharged, I did and they never came back. Why didn't you say something? I'm used to Chinese safety standards now – we never had them in Chizhou either.

But then she said that as she was checking the other foreign apartments (Annie's and Nordine's) she would be in the area and would call in within the hour to take a look at my phone and the green code problem. She was not to be dissuaded without creating suspicion so Jody had to scarper pronto. I am convinced Brenda suspects I am keeping a woman here – she has seen the neatly-folded bedding on the sofa and keeps taking a look in my bedroom, not sure if she has clocked the second toothbrush and feminine hygiene products in the bathroom yet but if she does I shall have to say I am a part-time drag artist!

Anyway, she spent ninety minutes getting frustrated with the health code thing. It does indeed say it's only for Chinese ID and eventually she found out where to register me with my passport but that is supposed to take twelve hours before anything happens and so my code there was black. She showed me what to do yesterday to check and I said quite honestly that I would never remember it. I didn't. She did however sort out a one-touch button that does the job so I am quite happy with that. I don't need the journey tracker she found that said where I had been this past year, if I am ever to check into an hotel or travel again all I want is the green dooberry. So by the time she left even had I showered it was too late to contemplate shopping.

Last night Jody discovered the joy of proper chips as opposed to “French fries”. So tonight we had fish fingers and I made chips for her second time. I sent her out to get me a bottle of wine because I was too frightened.

From noon it had been snowing. In fact by then it had turned into what I believe is the heaviest snowfall I have ever seen in this city. Nothing much, maybe three inches but what frightened me was falling over should I venture out. Three inches on a grassy field is fine but on a concrete road that's going to hurt and worse, I would be like a turtle flipped on its back. Even she nearly went base over apex apparently.

So the hope is it thaws by lunchtime tomorrow.