I have a new student for the Christmas holidays. She is 12 and studying in Bournemouth. The message I got was that she needed help with her English. This is boring but easy, so I said Yes and charged a lot. When she turned up I realised she was at Millfield School with me last… Read More »
I went back to the hutongs today to deliver the photos I had printed for the family. They treated me like a returning hero and insisted on feeding me what I am sure was offal. I tried (but very hard) to eat it and then said I was full. They said I couldn’t possibly be… Read More »
It’s very unusual for us Nanjing examiners to be invited to examine in any other city but Mark and I got the call from Shanghai – would we be prepared to go to Qingdao to do 30 candidates there? Why not, it’s not often we get to fly to another city and stay in a… Read More »
I have noticed that young Chinese couples cannot leave each other alone. Wherever they are clinging on to each other for dear life, as if they are going to have their loved one snatched away at any time. Even going up escalators, they continue with their full body-embrace making it difficult for anyone to get… Read More »
Shanghai’s lanes are wonderful and I love wandering around them. Last time I went for an evening stroll I took my camera but not my tripod. This time I didn’t make that mistake. It’s cumbersome but it makes it worthwhile when you get some good shots. I went to XinTianTi metro stop on line 10… Read More »
I decided to have an afternoon off and go with my camera somewhere busy. I had always fancied going to the long distance bus station where there is usually a lot of people milling around. However, when I got there the place was like a grave. So I decided to walk around the lanes in… Read More »