Chinese New Year's Eve 2021 2000

The gout had been banished by bedtime on Monday. I didn't want to be seen to be incapacitated when getting The Visit on Tuesday.

And get The Visit I did indeed. Except it wasn't Brenda and the leader. They came mob-handed, five of them. Brenda, the leader, Jody's boss, Dean Liu (who is really behaving herself lately) and some other guy I didn't know. And they came bearing gifts.

Shedloads of stuff! Two enormous packs of frozen dumplings (which meant I had to clear out and rearrange the freezer), a whole Peking duck, family packs of tissues and toilet rolls, big bottle of laundry detergent, box of yoghurt, two of milk, four pairs of cotton socks and a set of long johns. Oh and a pack of burger cheese squares. While they were here they even assembled my replacement hat stand, which lazy-arse here hadn't even taken out of the box. In my defence I once assembled a B&Q bookcase and had so many bits left over at the end that I was frightened to tackle it. Anyway it is now up and currently in use and only one small washer was left over. Note the masks and social distancing in the photo!

Jody was going home that day for ten days. Late that evening she returned here, much to my surprise. She had changed her train to yesterday. She confided in me that she really didn't want to go and so I told her if she wanted to stay here I would be happy. No, I have to go, maybe I will stay a week. Initially it had been ten days.

Today she went to campus to visit the Uzbekistani students who are stranded (much as I am), lonely (which I am not) and skint (also which I am not). Apparently scholarships weren't approved but today, just in time, shopping cards worth 1,000¥ each were handed out to them so they could go and buy food in BHG and cook in their accommodation. They don't drink as they are Muslims – just as well.

Anyway, suffice to say that we just feasted on chicken and chips for her new year's eve banquet (strawberries being prepared as I type for dessert) and she will go home tomorrow. The ten days became seven days and is now down to maybe two or three! Quite why she wants to subject herself to an annual grilling as to why she isn't married yet is beyond me.

Fireworks (which are banned in Lanzhou) have been going off all afternoon close by and no doubt there will be a flurry at midnight. Thankfully it won't last until breakfast time tomorrow such as it does elsewhere. Maybe that's another bonus in living surrounded by predominantly pensioners and geriatrics!

I was annoyed earlier to find the stalls around the corner had all closed. Jody had opined that would be the case but I scoffed and assured her they would be open. Longer-term readers will remember my new year habit of going to that vegetable stall which also had live birds they would kill and cook on the spot? Also that at this time of year I paid 100¥ a bird so I could free them to fly again (not the chickens obviously but the pigeons and doves)? Ok, that stall disappeared thankfully when the area was developed and modern lockups were constructed for the stallholders. But I know damned well they were open then and I always bade them seasons greetings on my way past to liberate the fowl. Maybe they are earning more now.