What a privilege it is to be British. Mrs Queen and her government looking after me at every step. The very kind Guangzhou Consulate, who are responsible for looking after laowai in this neck of the woods, have sent me a lovely email. I registered my presence here with them years ago and they occasionally […]
Liuzhou’s local authorities have announced that next month, April will be “Patriotic Hygiene Month”. Nice to know that they are patriotic and attend to hygiene at least one month out of twelve. In fact, what it means is that all public institutions, schools and colleges, factories etc will be required to do a bit of […]
I couldn't have made this up if I tried. It has been announced that Liuzhou is to hold China's first international clown festival in May. According to the official press release, ”The audience will not only be able to watch the performance of the artists, but also enjoy themselves by acting as clowns during the […]
The local authorities have kindly pasted a notice to the wall of my apartment building. This reminds me to follow the one child policy (something I had let slip my mind). It also exhorts me not to be slow in reporting breaches of the policy committed by neighbours. Indeed they even offer a reward of […]
Some time back, in one of the more obscure corners of the internet, I came across this. As you can see it is an old map of Liuzhou. How old? I don't know. I have a vague memory that the page I found it on described it as Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D), but that seems unlikely. Unfortunately, I am unable to find the page again. Whatever it is, it […]
It is my sad duty to inform you of the passing away of one of my nearest and dearest companions of the last five or so years. Last night, I was putting together my modest repast, a seafood melange stir fried with seasonal veg, when I noticed what seemed to be a pinprick of fire […]