So yesterday a colleague and I were debating my devious plan to actually leave work on time for the first time since I've been here. We discussed how I should be quiet as a mouse and sneak out like an unseen Ninja….to which we realised, this is me we're talking about so there is a far higher likelihood that whilst 'sneaking' I would trip over the carpet and bring down a filing cabinet…I'm pleased to report my sneaking was successful, I left on time and was i...

So it seems the people in the office are fairly sporty. They play badminton, amongst other sports, once a week and the Westerners get an invite. Now, we all know that if Phil excels at a sport, he will be the master of all and you won't hear the end of it. If however, it turns out said sport is not his forte, a bit of sulking ensues. Which way was it going to go?? The Chinese are pretty good at badminton and ruddy hell isn't it 'alf quick! I fear for mys...

D-Day. Or C-Day as it should be known. D-Day is actually tomorrow. Anyway, today's the day we fly to Beijing. It's been a manic few days leading up to this what with all the packing and sorting stuff out at the flat, but we've finally got there. Jeez, we've got a lot of luggage. 2 massive 23kg bags plus our 2 travel packs which weigh about 17kg each, each of us has a small rucksack to take as carry on, loaded with books, chargers etc which weigh another few ...