Xixi starts guitar

Up at 10ish to the sounds of literally bumping and grinding. Oh no was the A/C broken again? After a few minutes I realised this was not air-con gone wrong but the unmistakeable sounds of next doors doing up their house, and in this case it sounded like next doors were upstairs, not something we’d consider next doors in the UK. Well I suppose there is nothing I could do about it...possibly people had already moved in below us when we started doing the same thing 10 years ago. But it could go on all summer...lordy.

So earlier than expected, and before Tan got the chance to order crappy DFC, I took the kids to eat yumi tang and egg-fried rice. To my shame we’ve ordered the same meal here for two years solid, but at least they mostly finish it and it’s sort of healthy. And it’s always the same 30 kuai so we know it’s basically 3.50 for eating out decently at the cost of a dian dong che ride in the searing sun that we’ll actually miss in one month.

But on the way back it was the hottest it’s been for a good while...there were few people on the streets in vehicles without shade or A/C, and when we stopped at red lights to turn left and found out it would be 80 seconds till we could I was a bit naughty and turned a sharper left to mount the pavement and get home that way just to avoid the sun. The kids appreciated it although I told them there had to be a good reason to break rules.

But there was to be no siesta; the kids were too awake and Xixi had showed interest in the guitar, and given we now had two, I said we should go and find new strings to replace the old ones that must be around three years old now and sound horrid. It was more a journey to be with the kids; I knew we’d find somewhere eventually, and after some stopping in shade we found a music shop on the corner of a road not too far from home, but they wanted 35 kuai for a set. Of course I wasn’t going to argue but had I known I could have bought a better set from home over: note - next year bring guitar strings over.

While we were out we also got a replacement phone cover for Xixi’s phone for 15 kuai, and got a quote for a replacement battery for 80 kuai, which in retrospect we should have gone for as the current one is bulging...having said that the last non-official one we got in London bulged so much as to deform her last phone….

Uncle Yellow texted me in the evening to see if I was free. I then found out it was him yesterday texting me, not Li Kun - I felt like a right tit when I realised I’d sent him a photo of my new guitar yesterday attestifying my love for it, thinking I was writing to Li Kun. Anyway I was free and needed to be there at 6.30. Xixi was out with Tan so I took Leilei and met up with Boss Zhou and then various other people turned up during the course of the meal. I took Leilei back after 8 as he was rather bored then somehow came back and continued eating and drinking till gone 1am. Two of the women there, it turned out, were after foreign husbands, around 50 years old! So exact...I told them I’d look out for them and they genuinely seemed appreciative! Jeepers I hope they don’t hold me to it.

Uncle Yellow and Boss Zhou - really good mates

The cat that was a kitten last year has really become quite sassy

Got back at nearly 3am after a very enjoyable night meeting new people and after having made sure the kids were asleep. Hope to get a lie-in tomorrow.