Hannah at 19 months

It's been wonderful to spend so much time with Hannah over the last month (though I did miss her for the week I was in Edinburgh). There have been some great moments with her:

Hannah and animals: She adored Cocoa (my mum's tiny dog) and spent half her time chasing her to try and cuddle her. The photos of them cuddling are superb. She loved Alex (Andrea's parents' sheepdog) and spend a lot of time giving him orders. Unfortunately Alex responds well to his name, but not so well to cries of "aiyeah" or "aleah" which was as good as Hannah could master. Still they spent ages playing together outside, on the farm, and in the tractor. And Hannah adores watching sheep, horses, cows and other animals whether it's from a train, bike, car, buggy, or even when she walks.

Hannah and other kids: She's beginning, slowly, to interact more with other children. There's certainly a selfish-streak (which all kids seem to have at this age) where Hannah doesn't want to share things, but she's all into copying other kids whether it's how they play with the sand, how they walk in the street, what toys they play with, or what they do in the playground (the latter normally ending up in arguments as Hannah tries to take toys or space on the playground). The fastest way to get Hannah home is for her to decide to copy/race an older kid! The pictures of her with some other kids are wonderful, particularly when they are together pulling Hannah's little wagon (or when one is pulling the wagon with Hannah sitting in it) – though I am sure things will change more over the next couple of years.

Hannah and playgrounds: I don't recall to much about every enjoying playgrounds much in my youth, but I don't remember very far back! Hannah is clearly addicted to the things. We're fortunate to have a playground outside our front door in Beijing, and similarly outside my mum's and dad's. Andrea's dad put up a swing in his garden and built a sandpit in an old tyre whilst their local playground is just a few minutes cycle away. Wherever we went Hannah found a playground and began climbing something or sitting on a swing (which she can stay in, literally, for hours, it seems). It's the easiest way to look after a child.

Hannah and food: In the last month, Hannah's become so confident at using a regular cup and forks and spoons, we just give her normal cutlery at meal time. But as all parents will know, kids don't always want to eat when you want them to, or what you want them to. Hannah is no different, but it does add a little something to mealtimes: some fun and some frustration. Often there is some laughter and tantrums thrown in as well.

Hannah and words: Slow progress here. The listening is going well but the spoken needs work, or at least a few more months. I'm realizing how incredibly effective one can be at communicating by pointing. Maybe her strong ability in non-verbal communication is holding her back from needing to speak? Anyway, she manages to get what she wants using the words she has, few of which are actually correct words, but some are on the right track, e.g. "doodoo" for dog or "buh" for bus. She is also good at using onomatopoeia such as "vroom" for other vehicles.

We love our incredible little girl: she's easy and adaptable, sleeps well, plays well, and is adorable all the time. She makes vacations more fun and life more interesting.

Two weeks in Germany

After Edinburgh it was time to spend two weeks in Germany, and it was also time for what had been rather mediocre weather in England (not awful, but generally not great) to be replaced by exceptional weather in Germany. For most of the two weeks it was over 23 degrees and almost half the time it was blue skies and even hit 30 degrees. This enabled several BBQs, a 3-day cycling and beach trip, a few days walking around Berlin, and relaxation at Andrea's house.

My mum and eldest sister came to Berlin with me on a Saturday, and were treated to a bike ride around town and a trip to one of the many lakes in East Germany that are flooded mines and perfect for swimming in and relaxing next to. The next day we took a train and cycled around 45km along one of Germany's tremendous cycle paths (where Britain has excellent footpaths, Germany really has excellent cycle paths throughout the countryside and cities) to a city beside a larger former-coal-mine-turned-lake called Senftenberg. We spent a couple of nights in a small bungalow that we rented with a pool, cycling around the lake, visiting the pretty town center of Senftenberg, and enjoying the beach and playgrounds beside the lake. It was a wonderful low-key, relaxing, experience.

In Berlin, for those interested in an intense two-day itinerary, we were packing things in: the very good Jewish museum in the morning, the excellent Stasi museum after lunch, and a walk from Postdamer Platz up past Brandenburg Gate and the Bundestag to the main train station (where my sister left to go back to the UK). My mum visited the Holocaust memorial (Andrea and I having been before and preferring to play with Hannah in the Tiergarten), then we did checked out the tendy/shopping areas of Hackischer markt, and Gendarmanmarkt where we ate at a nice Italian place. It was a packed day and it's interesting to see the similarities between Berlin and London, with parks, palaces, gates, parliaments and shopping streets all being close together.

On the second day we walked through the old part of East Berlin where Humboldt university and the Museums island is, checked out the Berlin Cathedral, and then went to the DDR museum. Another fantastic museum, it excellently reconstructs life in East Germany when it was the DDR, focusing on aspects of living, music, sport, the economy and all sorts. There was even a section on nudist beaches, and of course a Trabi car. In the afternoon we went to the Berlin wall and then the fantastic exhibit into Terror alongside a part of the Berlin wall (near the Stasi museum). We decided against the Checkpoint Charlie museum (though we saw Checkpoint Charlie itself) and instead went to the Berlin city museum. This was a massive museum, covering a lot of detail about the history of Berlin, and included a tour of a nuclear bunker which was built in the underground car park. Another great visit, though the museum was rather too long. We ended the day walking along the Berlin equivalent of Oxford Street (Kurfurstenstrasse) in the evening.

On day three, having done most of sights in Berlin, not fancying too much walking, whilst also wanting to enjoy the nice weather and not be inside more museums, we ended up going to the Gardens of the World, out in the suburbs (the other option was going to Potsdam, but we didn't think we would have enough time as my mum had an afternoon flight). A wonderful little place, perfect for Hannah with a playground, water, stones and other things to keep her busy. Some of the 8 or so gardens were excellent, particularly the renaissance garden, the Chinese garden and the oriental garden. An English garden is under construction, so we'll have to go back another time and see what it is like! A quick visit to C&A for some more shopping, before my mum headed back to England we managed some more precious hours in Primark (the only one in Germany, and just as packed as the one in Watford), before we also grabbed the train back to Andrea's house.

Over the next few days I went running the nice German countryside, Hannah played with her grandparents and some of her German friends, we went swimming a few more times (both in the lakes and leisure centres which have slides and warmer water for Hannah), ate ice creams, went to playgrounds, saw other friends, and generally relaxed.

On one day we did a trip to Dresden, where I had never been before. Although famously destroyed during the war, a large part of the old town has been restored and looks wonderful. There are many more restored buildings than I expected, with several churches, palaces, an opera house, art academies and all sorts looking beautiful. We also explored the new town on the north side of the river, which reminds me a bit of Camden with some funky shops and some interesting architecture. There was also an excellent playground – really, cities should invest in these things, they make cities so much more livable for families and are a beehive of activity. Where Berlin has the Hackischer markt, a complex of pretty courtyards and interesting shops, Dresden has the Kunsthofpassage, similar but more authentic and with nicer architecture.

We wrapped up our day in Dresden with a tour of the Volkswagen factory there. It's made entirely of glass (the floors are wooden though) and makes the expensive Phaeton. It's a beautifully designed building, a very interesting tour, and a great idea: VW not only make 11,000 cars there a year, they create a halo around the brand showcasing the craftsmanship (cars are mostly assembled by hand) in the "transparent" building, and have made an excellent customer experience out of it all. Highly recommended as was the whole day in Dresden.

The four weeks have gone by quickly, a series of different mini-holidays, a mixture of busy times and relaxing times, time with the family, time with friends, time seeing things, and time having fun (the four adult water slides at the Badliebenwerda leisure center are really good; the Alan Partridge film I saw in the cinema was non-stop laughter, and of course much of the Edinburgh comedy was funny too).

Edinburgh Fringe Festival

So what happened in Edinburgh? A lot. For readers this might be dull. For me, it's just a record of what we saw and what we thought. For those seeking to understand the Fringe Festival it might be vaguely useful to skim…

Debarking from our early morning flight we jumped on a short (and cheap, by London standards) airport bus to the city, downloading the Fringe App on the free wi-fi on the bus, and working out what tickets we had bought already and when we were still free. Mum had booked some things in advance based on some extensive research, but a lot was still open. After checking into the hotel, we hit the half-price hut to purchase some tickets to fill in some gaps.

First we tried out a free show in the basement of a cafe: one where you just donate something at the end. It was actually two 15-minute short plays, A Cut in the Rates and Grey Matter. Decent enough and watchable. We then popped down the road for Afternoon Delight, where around 7 different comedians gave us teasers of what they were like. A few were very good: Lee Camp, Mixed Doubles, St Andrew's Revue and a Japanese Samurai sketch artist. We also liked the Compere and ended up buying a ticket for her show (Abigoliah Schamaun: Subtle) late that evening, though that is certainly not a show for under-18s. There was some shocking content and language, as well as some strange acts (eating a light bulb, for example) but it was funny.

Before that though we had a couple of other shows to pack in: Seven Ages was with Kevin Tomlinson which was mostly improvisation comedy based on the seven ages of life quoting song lyrics and was very well done (Kate even ended up on stage for a few minutes fittingly directing Kevin and someone else around). Next Door was with two Scandinavians which was physical theatre/comedy about getting to know people and very enjoyable (the two actors really worked hard and did a fantastic job with a clever format). Late that night we squeezed in one last show, Abominations, which was a bit slapstick and (I thought, though my family had a higher opinion) more suitable for daytime kids TV, with a fairly absurd plot and low-brow comedy. That day we'd also managed a quick walk down the Royal Mile to check-out the atmosphere, and an hour-long tour of the caves underneath South Bridge which was fairly interesting. At least the Aussie tour guide did her best to make it interesting.

On the second day, we managed to arrive at 11am for our first show, only to be told we should have arrived at 10.50am and that the room was full (our tickets were unreserved). Frustrated we were given tickets for the following day instead, grabbed a coffee and walked into a free comedy (The Bravery Test) next door in the social club of Edinburgh Football Club. The comedian spent 50 minutes or so talking about his life which was fairly poignant and some points funny. We appreciated it, at least. Whilst grabbing a Tesco sandwich we headed off to see The Babysitter, a truly fantastic play over at the University's Pleasance Courtyard. It was wonderfully written and very well acted. We were squeezed into a temporary hut and intimately enjoyed the story about parents who would not trust their older daughter to look after their younger daughter, leading the older daughter to hit on the babysitter and try to get him fired. It was the equal of anything I've seen in London. Following an enjoyable tea with my mum's cousin who lives in Edinburgh, owns a theatre there, and gave us the scoop on how everything works, we hit up the comedy revue act, Mixed Doubles, having been impressed by their preview the previous day.

We then had to dash off to the next one that started ten minutes later, an "interactive comedy show" called Sex Guru run by a Austrian guy which was an entertaining hour exploring differences between men and women, and the importance of communication in one's relationship. Lastly, for that day, we went to the BBC tent to see the Edinburgh heats of the National New Comedy Award. I was pleasantly surprised to realize the compere was Susan Calman, who I'd heard many a time on the News Quiz, a wonderful BBC radio show/podcast on Fridays. It was funny to then put a face to the voice. The 10 stand-up comedians who had 5 minutes each did their best, and there were certainly some good jokes in there. Afterwards we had our first sit-down meal of the trip, an excellent Persian restaurant.

On Day three, following breakfast at a wonderful café next door, we arrived early for the show that we'd not arrived early enough for the previous day, Arcadia, an excellent play set partly in an early 19^th century stately home that was sort of a murder mystery. With another Tesco sandwich in hand we then took a bus to see Bianco, a circus spectacular which really came into its own in the second half with more color and creativity. They changed the "set" every 10 minutes which meant moving all kinds of equipment around so the audience was standing up the whole time and moving around to allow the equipment to be put in place. It was a bit of a pain to begin with but did allow us to be close to the action. Throughout the two hours, an excellent band played the soundtrack which brought the acrobatics to life.

On the way back into the town center, we spent some time at the West End Arts and Craft Fair, which was full of local artisans selling their hand-made clothes, jewellery and the like. We then went to see Jerry and Tom, a fairly decent comedy about two hitmen, one new to the job and another showing him the ropes. The third actor spent most of his time dying over and over again! Up next was another free show, the A-Z of Backpacking, a one-man story of how to go backpacking. It had its moments, but we felt he could have found more comic material. To end the day we had our other sit-down meal of the trip at an excellent Nepalese restaurant.

The last day begun as the previous one did – at the café, followed by a fantastic play, this one called Halcyon Days, with a case of just two, but a fantastic script and incredible acting. It was another one that could grace the West End. We then dashed off to the next show, The Theory of Justice: a Musical, which I was so impressed with I bought the DVD of afterwards. It was a wonderful 90 minutes exploring different philosophical theories with some good songs, and some really fantastic humor. This was an original script (as was the Babysitter, though others such as Halcyon Days and Arcadia were not). Ask me for the DVD! To finish off our four days we had time to see two last comedies: the Maydays improv group which focused on confessions and were alright (but only alright) and one last free comedy act. This last one was unfortunately maybe the worst of the lot, but at least it was not trying to be something it was not: The Sidcup Family Portrait was really a slapstick show with three friends playing around a vague script.

We left Edinburgh fulfilled: we'd seen a wide variety of performances: plays, various forms of comedy, a musical, a circus, and even physical theatre. We'd seem some really great stuff which was worthy of anywhere, particularly the Babysitter, Halcyon Days, Arcadia, the Theory of Justice, the Bianco Circus, and the Afternoon Delight mix of comedians; some excellent stuff such as Seven Ages, Mixed Doubles, and Next Door; some decent stuff such as Abigoliah Schamaun, Sex Guru, the Bravery Test, the BBC comedy awards, and so on. And then the rest may, over time, certainly become more forgettable! Though we are glad we went to some of the free shows, you generally get what you pay for. The gamble of course is knowing which shows to buy tickets for at full price, or try to get them at half-price.

I can't remember much from my previous experience at Edinburgh but I'll look forward to going again.

 

The Other Life

So, back to the "other life" – the family life. The regular trip back home which really is a different life. Spending time with family and different friends, eating different food, driving (occasionally) and spending leisure time visiting places that are a world apart from China. On this trip we spent a few days in the Peak District, one of the country's nicest national parks and complete with pretty villages, wonderful green rolling hills, excellent pubs and cafes, and superb walking.

We stayed in the uniquely British concept of a Bed & Breakfast, and this one was exceptional, run by an elderly couple with a few extra bedrooms in their farmhouse in the middle of nowhere with excellent breakfasts, wonderful views, and of-course, wi-fi. Dad, Andrea, Hannah and I had a wonderful time – Hannah probably enjoyed it the most, since she had the best views seated a meter up on my back, though she did do a bit of walking too. We did the usual trip up to Manchester to visit old friends, almost all of whom are now settled down with partners. The genius idea this time was to go to Tatton Park, a stately home outside Manchester with wonderful grounds for walking, an excellent playground for kids, nice cafes, and for those interested, beautiful gardens and house. Of course we also stopped off in Stourbridge on our trip up North, as we always do, to see Ian, Hannah and their lovely kids.

It being England and touching 25 degrees every now and again there was the requisite BBQ too: at my mum's for my sister's informal birthday dinner, and at my dad's for something similar with some of my old London friends. There was also a typical London Transport experience (maintenance requiring the use of the wonderful "bus replacement service") which meant we arrived late for a Play in London (the excellent Fences, with Lenny Henry), and a few trips to London to get some drinks with other friends.

Speaking of plays, one should mention Edinburgh, though a more detailed review of what happened will follow separately. We went to the Fringe Festival for four packed-out days, seeing some professional—and some not-so-professional—actors and comedians. It is quite something: 2,700 shows across 250 venues (some with over ten theatres inside) packed into a beautiful, fairly small, city, and with a wonderful atmosphere. Actors themselves ply the streets handing out flyers for their shows when they are not acting. There are donation-only shows (donate according to the quality), free street-shows, and a mix of professional shows. There is stand-up comedy, improve comedy, dance, physical theatre, musicals, spoken word, circus, and more. Really something to suit everyone, though it is hard to work out what is good or not, which I suppose is part of the fun.

I can't recommend the experience highly enough though it won't be cheap with flights from London likely to cost a hundred pounds return, a hotel something similar for a room per night, and then expect to spend between twenty to fourty pounds a day per person if you want to pack out your day with different shows. Somewhere in between you'll likely spend money on alcohol and maybe some food, if there is time.

It feels so different: being with different people in different places and almost at a different time: it's possible to find similarities between the US and China sometimes (such as the size and geographic diversity) but almost impossible to do so between the UK and China. The two countries are in such a different stage of development, it is surreal. The conversations are so different, it is ironic: the discussion about spending a small country's entire GDP on a new railway line will go on for years, the construction will take decades (in China, the railway would be built before the UK had even approved the project, and it would be a faster railway). The debates on being in or out of the European Union hilarious when every other country in the World, including China, are racing into new trade treaties of all sorts. The joy of reaching 0.6% economic growth when China is fretting at slipping below 7.5%.

I won't go on, but I will seek to conclude by emphasizing the huge value one gets from seeing things from different perspectives. It is truly difficult to step out of one's own shoes, try to remove biases and to try to see things differently. But it can be hugely rewarding. As I've said before, everything is relative: anything can be anything depending on what you compare it to. And when you can see things differently, you can value things differently, prioritize differently, and hopefully, overall, make better decisions. Gotta love that trip back home!