The British public spend millions of pounds each year holidaying in the South of France, Majorca, Crete, Italy and the other popular European destinations. Yet on their doorstep are rugged mountains, sandy beaches and imposing castles which attract hundreds of thousands of foreigners travelling in the opposite direction. Even with the recession in full swing… Read More »
After a 12 hour flight Shanghai to Paris and a 4 hour wait at CDG airport I was relieved to be on the plane and ready for the 45 minute hop across the channel to Blighty. All belted in, we sat back and waited to taxi. We waited and we waited a bit longer and… Read More »
I didn’t notice it at first, I have taken the friendly litter-picker/cleaner for granted. He walks around the estate dragging his green wheelbarrow behind him picking up litter and ensuring we live in a pleasant environment. The paths are clean, the bins empty and the communal spaces always sparkle with well polished floors. And the… Read More »
When I was asked to manage Henry’s Home restaurant to make it “The best steak house in Nanjing” I thought this would be great opportunity to use my years of catering and restaurant managing experience (which amount to none) to make a real difference. A chat with the owner confirmed I would have carte blanche… Read More »
When the supermarkets in the West offer all fruits all year round the thrill of seeing the new seasonal produce is lost. There’s something exciting about seeing the first watermelons of the year, the first strawberries, the first pineapples, the first mangoes sold off the backs of lorries and pavements throughout the city. Farmers drive… Read More »
Since the excitement of the arrival of the new subway line 2, I have been trying out a few new routes to and from the office. My old No. 27 bus route all the way to and from the centre is getting a bit boring and so yesterday I thought I’d try the No. 17… Read More »
In China it is not unusual to see people wandering the streets, going shopping and down at the subway in their pyjamas. I ventured out with my camera recently and quite quickly found several people wandering around in their pyjamas. I began to wonder why and asked around to see if anyone had any ideas.… Read More »
As a result of an organisational disaster in Shanghai on Saturday I had a lot of hours to kill. I went over to People’s Square where I was pleased to find an interesting event being held in the park. It was similar to the dating event in Nanjing that I stumbled upon several weeks ago… Read More »
Having missed a 2pm meeting at the British Council on Saturday I lost 3,700rmb (£370) and so consequently was not really in a party mood. However the food and drink was courtesy of the British Government and everyone at the party on the patio of the Garden Pub in Shanghai was a native English speaker… Read More »
At the Imperial Palace of the Ming Dynasty on Yudao Jie people gather daily and pay 1 kwai (10p) to dance with each other. I had always wanted to go into the “dance arena” but had always been a bit nervous and knew that it would register very high on the “stare-ometer” but today I… Read More »