For 24 hours last Wednesday's storm prevailed. All night long the rain hammered down and the gigantic game of bowls thundered and crashed overhead, the sky lit and rent by lightening. Wild trains hurtled past on the track beside the school, as though pursued by demons and sleep proved difficult. The gradually flagging force of the storm was revived at dawn. Rain water streamed and cascaded, turning all flat surfaces into lakes and rivers, lashed by the wind and a...

Well, the teaching is coming to an end. I leave in just over a weeks' time! I'll be very sorry to say goodbye to the students. They alone have made the stay in Yongfu, with the mattressless bed,the monochromatic, monastic austerity of Yongfu Experimental Middle School, the bugs and the beasties, tolerable! In the meantime, however, there is the small matter of individually testing approx. 230 students in the next week. I've been told to spend no more than 3 minut...

I'm tired of reading, so thought I'd share some thoughts and observations of China... It's jungle weather here at the moment, hot, steamy and wet but, luckily, I've just discovered that I have an air-conditioner in my room! And it works!! Whatever next...? A hitherto unnoticed sprung mattress...? Well, here's hoping...! The Chinese rarely sit down. They squat on their haunches or perch on ridiculously tiny, low, milkmaid type stools. Their ability t...

I have a sad confession to make. After all this time I have only just realised that comments are posted at the end of the blogs. I don't normally go over the blogs once I've done them but the other night I did and found the most encouraging comments from Christine, Kay, Judy, Nick, Steve, Debbie and Vivienne. Thank you so much. It is really good to hear from you and sorry that it took so long for the penny to drop!! Last Wednesday, at the 11.9th hour, as usual, ...

Well, I haven't, so far, been putting my 3 (almost 4) day weekends to particularly good use due to the fact that I've been afflicted with a bit of sciatica (cause - hard beds, I'll say no more!). So, last weekend I went to see a Chinese doctor (as recommended by readers of the Lonely Planet),and was given the most murdurous massage - the worst pain since childbirth (and as we all know, that is the most extreme ever!!). Anyway it has done some good and I've be...