Friday 21^st May, 2021 2000

One of the things I do with my classes is demand that they give me a couple of stories at the start of each lesson. I don't ask for much, a simple tale of the hotpot they went for with their dorm-mates is sufficient. In return, I give them stories I glean from the news - because Chinese students know nothing of what's going on unless it is trending on Wechat.

So this week one of the stories I have told has been about “jijia”. A really odd item because jijia means chicken ribs. Now, Lanzhou is famous for beef noodles but it seems Shenyang is famous for chicken ribs. As bizarre as this may seem for being in the news, it had a # thingy on Wechat because Shenyang reported two new Covid cases and one was an elderly man who had apparently been to a jijia restaurant three times recently and then contracted Covid. So of course there was an element of the population who suspected jijia caused Covid.

I was more interested in the fact I have been to Shenyang and never knew chicken ribs were the speciality and also bemused by wondering who the hell eats chicken ribs???? Pork or beef ribs, great, plenty of meat. But chicken ribs??? Maybe Our Man In Kuala Lumpur can shed some light?

I was sitting through endless adverts on ITV lately on catch up. Is it just me or does everyone seem to be either going on a Tui holiday or pissing their panties? Whatever happened to proper adverts for snap, crackle and pop, Domestos and so on?

So I have just finished another awful week. I have had no change from Lynne re the 23^rd July finish despite my request for her to double check after a previous fiasco when I was told to finish and then halfway through exams told to have another two weeks. Sue from the English department hasn't even replied. I couldn't care less.

Except there is the passport and residence permit renewal conundrum. The former doesn't expire until next August but it means my residence permit cannot extend beyond that and this year it expires in early September.

Do I leave it until the end of July to apply for a new passport and hope that like Roland my new one comes back in two weeks? Or do I spend a bloody fortune and make a special trip next month? Don't get me wrong, I can afford it either way and still go on my roaming holiday. It is really nice to be in that position now because until two years ago I was having to borrow money – and for not extravagant holidays.

I honestly don't know what to do. Part of me says yes, go and have a weekend in Pudong and then start your summer holiday flying straight to Nanjing on the way to meet Joan after what, 4 years? And then on to Yunnan province to tour with Alice.

I need to decide. Brenda sent me a text yesterday saying that the director of the foreign affairs bureau will be back from holiday next week but if she does some extra work I can probably continue here. Seriously? I have no idea why she has to portray herself as a heroine every time. She is damned good at her job anyway and I have told her so. Lying about such things thinking it will cause me anxiety is not the way to go. I already knew the limit was 70 years of age. GAU told me that.

Anyway, over the past eleven years I have been delighted as a teacher to learn of many students going on to other, more prestigious universities, and obtaining Masters Degrees. Chuffed to bits.

But nary a PhD to be seen.

Until now.

Alice (Wuhu) who I will be travelling with this summer is going for it! I am absolutely delighted and she hopes to study for it on the island of Hainan (where Yangmei Lily was living last time she contacted me). I am as pleased as Punch because in a way it would say that yes, just maybe I am a teacher. Go Alice!

Hopefully she will have enough free time tom do Yunnan and once again come to Shanghai.