So I just thought I would slip in this in before I miss my self imposed ‘at least one post a month’ rule. So hows life in Shanghai? It’s very good thanks for asking. I had one further weekend alone (I had to work the Saturday natch) before flying back to the mother land and collecting my wife to bring home. Again. I left early Saturday morning from Pudong’s very nice but dull airport (think HK airport without any shops) and flew to into Hong Kong for the transfer. I flew Cathay which was great as they have very good in flight entertainment which I managed to glimpse between bouts of Days of Ruin. I watched the first ever episode of The Good Life which was quite interesting as it was basically setting the whole premise of the series up – man (Richard Briers) rejects his current life as he cannot take it seriously and his wife (Felicity Kendal aka Rear Of The Year 1981) joins the revolution in middle England against the wishes of the neighbours. All very jolly but the basic premise I could empathise with. Instead of wearing a woolly jumper and growing carrots I just moved out of the country and threw myself into an alien environment – perhaps one of the most different environments you could wish to live in if you are a Westerner. Another thing that struck me was how much things had changed in the UK in the forty or so years since the program was first aired. All very innocent and somehow less dangerous and cynical than now. People were not consumed with, er, consumption or celebrity culture and bitterness and things seemed to have more substance. We landed at midnight and I slept as the driver took me back to the house.
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