I was surprised this week to find a display of musical instruments on the metro system at Shaanxi Nan Lu metro station. It was in the new part of the station where line 10 and 12 meet. And what a nice change from the advertising posters which normally line the walls, screaming out at us… Read More »
There was a shop at the corner of Fuxing Lu and ShaanXi Nan Lu called LEACLUB which I watched going through what looked like an expensive shop-fit last year. It seemed to take forever and when it was completed I went in for a look and was very impressed with the range of expensive leather… Read More »
It’s easy to forget as you look at the gleaming buildings in Pudong and the grandeur of The Bund that the Huangpu river is more than just a thick line of grey sludge separating glass and steel from marble and stone. I love to watch the merchant ships make their laborious way back and for,… Read More »
It is common to be sitting on the metro and see a couple of young men almost running down the carriage throwing leaflets onto the laps of the passengers who are busily staring at their mobile phones. Often in the morning, when I get on the metro there are discarded leaflets on the seats and… Read More »
They’re burning papers outside my front door again. I think the people next door to me must be very spiritual or at least very superstitious as they’re constantly making little fires and standing around in quiet contemplation looking at the smoke as it rises. Apparently they are paying their respect to dead ancestor but if… Read More »
Wink has finally arrived all the way from America to Shanghai. I bought it on Kickstarter many months ago and have been eagerly awaiting its arrived ever since. Today I have spent the best part of 4 hours setting it up. It took me a very long time a forum post and a twitter message… Read More »
Now our VPNs are all broken (thanks to the People’s National Congress being held in Beijing), I can’t watch any TV programmes, I can’t get Netflix or Youtube – life is very hard. So I have fallen back on the DVD shops to provide my light entertainment. Big Movie is probably the most comprehensive and… Read More »
Food safety is something that raises its ugly head in my life about once a year when I get food poisoning. Mostly it’s over and done with in about 5 hours but last time I couldn’t walk for a whole day. Therefore it’s always nice to see the food safety signs from Shanghai Food and… Read More »
There’s a man who lives on Anfu Lu, by The Center. When I walk past and it’s warm, he’s outside, sitting on the wall eating. When it’s colder, or late at night, he gets back into his tent/cave and you can hear him listening to music. He seems to be collecting lots more stuff –… Read More »
Bio shots – you know the ones I mean? You have to give a talk and they want a short bio and a photo for the brochure. What do you do? Do you reach for your mobile phone and selfie stick, do you rush down to the local passport photo booth, ask your mate to… Read More »