Hot weather, cool G&T, and tea

It was a fractured sleep; I woke up at 4.45am and saw that it was 0-0 at half time in the Holland - Costa Rica match. I very probably could have gone out and found a bbq place showing the game but I didn't think Tan would appreciate that, plus I was still tired. By the start of the second half I dozed off and woke again at about 6.30 when I found the match had gone to penalties. That was a bit exciting, especially as the Dutch coach had made a fascinating substitution in the last minute of extra time and swapped the goalkeepers. It seemed to have paid off as Krul saved two penalties and Holland went to the semi final. Now I'm worried about this master tactician, Louis Van Gaal, being Man Utd's manager next season.

There was no way of getting back to sleep after that so I had a cereal cake and a cup of coffee and donned my white socks and other sports gear and at 7.30 headed out to the old people's leisure centre. But rather than go straight there I went for a gander in the guang chang and enjoyed the delights of the early morning by watching people dancing, doing some sort of tai chi with swords and other things you wouldn't see in the UK.

Walking in the guang chang in black and white so I can imagine what it looked like before colour photographs

I'd actually really like to join in in this

By 8 I was playing table tennis and didn't stop till well gone 10, when I got home, showered and got some breakfast for the kids and noodles for mama. The kids then went out with Chuan Chuan and Tan went to A Xia's shop, and I took advantage of my time alone in the house to sort out my study properly and do some clothes washing and drying. It felt so good to have a nice clean office with mostly my stuff, and I'm so glad we installed air conditioning a couple of years ago.

Geeky heaven (although generally there will be only the one on the right)

I noticed we needed water. This is normally something that happens around once a week, but doing so much table tennis means I take a litre with me each morning so it goes down a bit quicker. I called the number I still had in my phone and ordered not just a replacement but also a spare one. The bloke put the phone down straight away and I had a doubt that he hadn't understood and maybe thought I was a prank caller because I didn't know the word for "large bottle", which apparently was "dong". So I called him back and he politely confirmed that all was well and the water was on its way. Maybe my Mandarin is ok then.

As I knew I'd be grabbing a siesta again I took advantage of the 70s style soda maker I bought last year. I'd already filled it with water and kept it in the fridge as cold water gets more fizzy. I put a tad of the sodastream concentrate in the glass, a bit of duty free gin, then squeezed the trigger and lovely fizzy water filled the glass and I had a lovely refreshing G&T while I skimmed the news on the laptop. I finally felt I was really on holiday and properly relaxed, and felt my eyes drooping a little.

But suddenly my phone rang and it was the water bloke asking which floor we were on. I couldn't be bother to say the 15th because 14 is unlucky and just buzzed him in and told him to come to the 14th floor, house A1. True to their word, he brought two bottles, one of which he exchanged and the other I hid behind the side of the sofa. Although it is a good idea to have two bottles, I wasn't sure Tan would agree. He didn't have change for my 100 kuai note so I asked him where the office was and said I'd pick it up later. But he just told me not to worry and to pay it next time we ordered water. I had to admit it was easier that way and after a little British protestation said goodbye. I hope either he or I remembers that.

As I was awake again I made another G&T and went to bed and fell flat asleep from 3-5pm at which time I got a call from Waipo to come to eat. Then somehow I drifted off again and then Tan called me to say she was going to Waipo's to eat too so at least I wouldn't be late.

Gosh, after a couple of days of mostly rain, it was proper scorchio outside but it was a nice hit of sunlight to kickstart my vitamin D production. When I went home the kids wanted to stay with Chuan Chuan, so I didn't argue. Then Li Kun rang to say he was back from Nanning and invited me to drink tea with him in a bit. So I did, in his new house. And it really was drinking tea, except for the last half an hour when we had a couple of beers. He asked me for advice in buying antique China porcelain from the UK, and seemed to think I could just bring it through customs. Although not sure why it would be cheaper in the UK, I had to explain that if I was found with 10,000 pounds' worth of Chinese vases I'd have to pay shedloads of tax. I think he got the message.

Li Kun had given me a lift on his electric bike (dian dong che) and we'd also started talking about that. Apparently you can get them still for 2000 kuai. Mmm I'm so tempted if that genuinely is the case (and I have my doubts). I'm half thinking that we could possibly get one and let Chuan Chuan use it when we're not here as she will spend a lot of time with the kids (of her own volition of course - but it really helps us). Speaking of Chuan Chuan, I found the kids were happy to sleep with her tonight, so I got a lift back from Li Kun's place around 10pm and had a relatively guilt-free evening and relatively early night. The only problem was I'd completely forgotten to go to the bank to retrieve my card. Oh well, maybe they don't open on a Sunday....