22nd April 2010 After breakfast and a bit of faffing about, we decided Shanghai was calling. Luckily, the Metro was just a short stroll away. Once we’d mastered the mysterious art of the ticket machine (which, it must be said, made more sense than the average British parking meter), we hopped aboard a packed but… Continue Reading
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21st April 2010 It was still raining in Pudong. The sort of persistent drizzle that doesn’t so much fall as hangs in the air and sulks. Other than a token mooch around, wrapped in rain gear (looking more like backpacking bin bags than tourists), we didn’t stray far from the Ibis. Later, while loitering in… Continue Reading
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19th April 2010 As we returned from the airport, we decided to hop on the afternoon shuttle bus to Tai Mai Market. This proved unexpectedly fortunate. As we sat on the bus, another British couple climbed aboard and struck up a conversation. They informed us, somewhat gleefully, that they’d rebooked their return flight for the… Continue Reading
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19th April 2010 Here’s a summary of our Asian adventure, so far… We began with a four-hour delay at Heathrow (thank you, Virgin), but once we were airborne, things ran smoothly. Our transfer from Shanghai airport to the Crowne Plaza in Pudong was efficient by taxi. Our hotel was technically near the airport, though it… Continue Reading
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30th March 2010 A couple of weeks ago, I headed up to Yorkshire to escort Nan to an eye appointment. All was well, no cataracts or surprises, and she came away with a prescription for a new pair of glasses. While the weather was dry, I made the most of it by digging over the… Continue Reading
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7th March 2010 I’ve had a birthday. Jamie brought a cake, and he and Sue serenaded me with a version of Happy Birthday that could charitably be described as brave. I don’t recall ever having a birthday cake as a child, though that might be selective memory or simple repression, but given my lifelong… Continue Reading
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21st February 2010 The original opening paragraph, a perfectly reasoned and articulate tirade on the nonsense of global warming, has, regrettably, been deleted. You see, the new me no longer whinges about tax hikes, council rates, carbon offsets, or anything else likely to raise the blood pressure. I absolutely will not mention the fact that… Continue Reading
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7th February 2010 Having just re-read my last blog entry, it seems I’ve officially joined the ranks of the Grumpy Old Men. This suspicion was confirmed earlier in the week while watching Grumpy Old Women on TV, a show I thoroughly enjoyed, not least because I found myself nodding furiously in agreement with most of… Continue Reading
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31st January 2010 Time, that slippery eel, has darted past us again. It’s been one of those months where we’ve all been whizzing around in separate orbits, occasionally crashing into each other around mealtimes or when someone needed a lift. Like ships in the night… if the ships had washing to do, jobs to attend,… Continue Reading
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17th January 2010 Surprisingly, it’s only been ten days since I last put finger to keyboard, yet it feels like mid-March already. The sun made a rare appearance today, so I took the opportunity to clear away the garden debris and chop a decent pile of logs in readiness for more cold weather (apparently on… Continue Reading
Palmer Family 