oxygen

Only 1 day left to enjoy clean air, clean rain and 'freshness'. I've got a lot of oxygen on this trip, hopefully enough to last until my next trip back here (or out of China -though to be fair, there are places in China with some oxygen)... although Xi'an is 25 degrees, which is nice.

A lot of my outdoor activity has involved exercising. Well, I say exercising; mostly it has been pleasurable cycling or walking. Some of it has been more challenging (5 mile cross-country, 6 mile road races and a triathlon) though some has been quite relaxing (outdoor hot tub!). There is a reason for so much exercise, other than just a dash for air (which is not that bad, I am totally over-exaggerating a lot of the time; please feel free to still visit!). 1 is that my Dad does this kind of stuff all the time, so I might as well join him. Though he beat me on the 5 mile-er by 4 minutes and the 6 mile-er by 2 minutes, I beat him on the Triathlon by 2 minutes, cause his swimming is useless! The 2nd reason is that my family does have a bit of a liking to chocolate and deserts in general. My mum is a great cook and even when I'm out, I can't not buy desert.

Why? Because China does not have deserts. It is not just that everything comes at once in cheap restaurants (there is a bit more order in posh places), but just that there is no concept really of cakes or similar sweet things (not helped by the lack of ovens). Such a shame. The ice cream is not bad in China (though avoid the weird flavours, e.g. green pea, sweetcorn etc), but the chocolate is awful and the birthday cakes are very very similar to the cream pies that you shove in someone's face for a joke. Despite the exercise, I have most definitely regained my sweet tooth and put on weight. My suitcase has also gained weight: you have no idea how much chocolate is inside it (but no Apple Crumble, sorry Fumi!).

It is a bid sad (and pretty poor writing for me to even try this ending for this post) but you could almost say deserts and chocolate are as important as oxygen for my Mum and sisters especially. That is the real reason they could never come to China for too long!

p.s. For the BLCU/Wudaokou gang, i do have to make a special 'shout' out to the 'Fish Man' by BLCU west gate selling fish shaped waffles filled with chocolate sauce. 1 RMB... buying just 2 is never enough!

Memories

A long time ago I came to realise, or rather accept, that people come and go. There comes a point where there is little point setting wrong expectations that friendships can be maintained when (normally due to changing circumstances) people end up moving in different circles. Then if a friend does end up in contact again for various reasons, intentionally or otherwise, no-one need feel embarrassed. Each accepts people come and go; and 'catching-up' is still a good thing to do as a one-off.

Though, it does seem due to social networking sites like Facebook, My Space, Linked In etc that everyone any of us have ever come across in our entire lifetime could get back in touch with us. What are we supposed to do with thousands of friends, most of whom were barely friends of friends and whom we cannot remember?

Since the family house is going to be sold soon; I've been packing up my few possessions (there have been many a tidy-up before to reduce what i own to just 1 satchel or 2 apart from clothes) and finding fantastic things: pen pal's letters (i can barely remember what a letter is now!), swimming certificates, pens bought on school trips, photos from primary school, school projects, contact details of people on group trips I took and so on. Weird to think how much has been achieved so far in just 25 years, how many people have come and gone. Nice to keep some memories, though I am not entirely sure.

A lot more still to come, presumably, though the memories of the future might be some what greater since there are so many more emails/photos/videos/documents and other tangible evidence of relationships nowadays. The good news is most of this stuff is virtual -can be taken anywhere easily and cannot be lost thanks to google/yahoo's fantastic online servers :-)

My room is currently a mess; only a few more nights in a bed I've slept in for 22 years pretty much. All that is left is to ask: Does anyone want to volunteer to scan in hundreds of photos going back 25 years, name them and tag them?

Wonders...

(a few of my favourite things not to be found in China)
Supermarkets with great food, easy to find, from all over the World, in all kinds of weird combinations
Food with little marks all over them telling you how much fat, calories, sugar etc in them
Intercity motorways with cars on them
Weddings in Churches
Clear blue skies; birds singing; freshly cut grass; the smell of flowers
Ale, Ale, Ale, wonderful Ale: beer without bubbles but with plenty of taste
Fields full of nothingness; just grass and sometimes some sheep/cows
Country houses made of sturdy, attractive brick, with flower gardens
Pubs with huge portions, lots of sauce, footy on tele and wireless internet
Train stations with electronic ticket machines and online booking facilities
Seat-belts in buses, taxis and cars
Car Parks
Deserts/Puddings, Chocolate, Ice Cream and all 3 mixed together
Footpaths, signposts, maps, stiles, kissing gates and the like
Real, wood fires
Couples in love and friends with new surnames
Discussions about religion
Discussions about politicis
Music: new, old and very old
TV with funny ads, funny shows and funny presenters
Interesting, stimulating newspapers full of debate, analysis, criticisms, humiliations, revelations, endless regurgitations, enticing advertisements......

Old friends together and it is like nothing has changed

home

Sitting outside in the sun eating a pub lunch with fat chips
Sitting inside a pub watching the football, pint in hand
Commuting to London on the tube, paying ridiculous amounts for peak-time tickets
Walking in the woods, with the dog
Eating home-cooked deserts
Cooking a BBQ
Sleeping in a comfortable bed
Lying outside in a garden, in the sun, breathing in fresh air, with birds all around

... a typical trip home

Topped off with a visit to Jongleurs for some live comedy (sorry, but the Chinese are not known for their sense of humour!), a walk around Hampstead (one of the poshest areas in London with expensive houses, trendy cafes etc), a trip to some 'fringe' theatre (intimate theatre with only 80 seats, that is not in the West End) and catching up with friends/family.

London is, and always will be, such a special place full of wonderful drinking establishments, eateries and people from all over the World... I am still recovering from seeing so many non-Asians! It has been a perfect week of walking around, seeing the history, culture and chic-ness of london. Plus meeting all the Plan UK people has been a real pleasure; partly as most of them are all young ladies!

If only London was not so damn expensive...
p.s. i had forgotten what it is like to drive... on the left... in a little car in areas full of posh cars... and had to park between 2 Porsches on a hill. Good job I remembered.