Friday 19^th February 2021 1920

In two hours or so Jody will be back.

Her parents didn't want her to leave (and between the lines they have come to terms with the fact she will leave for South America in due course and her spirit will not be harnessed -sensible people at last) but she was told by the school all teachers had to be back in the city by tomorrow, 18 days before term starts. I am guessing that's an incubation period but along with being the poorest province in China, Gansu is certainly one of the safest when it comes to COVID.

Hell, when I look back a year everyone shit themselves and the west looked on. Now here it is just precautions and the west never behaved so they paid a huge price – lives, jobs, the economy et al when a quick effective whack was what was needed. Instead the response was dilatory and now if I want to go home it means 10 days in a Holiday Inn at £175 a night. I love Holiday Inns in China, they are on a par with Hilton, Sheraton etc but in the UK? Travelodge is better!

Anyway Jody is bringing back a chicken from her uncle's farm which her mother prepared. Sadly it will still have legs, feet, neck and head attached. But she wants it stuffed. Ain't had a chicken big enough to stuff yet so we will see. She does love her roast spuds though. And I do still have a packet of Paxo from Shanghai so no need to make my own this time. What I would give for one more time in the days I had an appetite to go to the pub or club on a Sunday lunchtime, have a skinful and come home to a mountain of chicken roast, mash and veg, complain it was too much, finish it anyway and then fall asleep watchingTV.

2000

Someone thought 1900 was 9PM so arrived earlier than I was expecting. Sans chicken because it was too heavy.

Pissed off? Work it out. Now I have to try and find a big one, no mean feat here and they can cost up to £10, peanuts in the UK but a good day's expenses for me. Finding one is the hard part.

Such is life