November 2012
1 post
Yangshuo
It’s a lovely Autumn day here in Wuhan. The weather has finally cooled, meaning you can actually walk from A to B without breaking a sweat however short the distance is. Now that the temperature is a much more acceptable 15-20 degrees, it’s even possible to wear a jacket – the only downside is that it’s coming ever closer to Winter, and that means sub-zero temperatures with only one...
October 2012
2 posts
5 tags
Goodbye, Grandma
A sad post today, I’m afraid.
As much as I love China, the only downside to this wonderful country is the sheer distance from England. If something happens in Blighty, it’s extremely difficult to return home. Unfortunately, such a situation happened with my Grandma, Freda Southall, who I was unable to be with when she passed away on September 21st, the day before her 77th birthday.
Her...
Long time, no speak
Okay, so as unlikely as it seems, this blog is still operational.
I realize that this might be hard to believe, as I haven’t updated here in the past three months, but don’t be too angry with me as I really have been so busy. I have so many posts to write about all sorts of events that have happened since June, but just to prove that I’m still alive, here’s a quick photo...
July 2012
2 posts
7 tags
My Chinese Wife
I wanted to write about my amazing Mama, who, just before we went on our trip to Yangshuo last month that I still haven’t sat down to write about, sent me a wonderful parcel from home full of British goodies.
Two packages, weighing a total 4kg and costing a whopping £70 to send, included some great British treats - a pack of Bounty chocolate bars, a bag of Eclairs and a bag of dolly...
4 tags
Goodbye, Gemar
Gosh, it’s really been a while since I’ve been here on Tumblr, as I didn’t post anything for three weeks. I have so many posts to upload, about holidays and parcels and all sorts of new discoveries in Wuhan. I did intend to do it earlier, however I found out some heartbreaking news last week that made updating the blog seem unimportant.
Since I started using the internet, I have...
June 2012
2 posts
8 tags
Antiques and Americans
The past week hasn’t been too exciting in terms of seeing more of Wuhan, but rather exciting due to a week of heavy partying – and subsequent days after spent in recovery mode.
Before I get started on that, I’ll tell you about a very cute little antique store I discovered not far from my school. Antique shops are really hard to find here in China, especially if you want things that don’t really...
8 tags
Shanghai... and fish.
I was going to start this post with another apology about not updating the blog for a week, but I think it’s better just to say that I’m probably only going to write here on a weekly basis, as when I sign in I always have so much to write! I’ve noticed a few people have started to follow me here on Tumblr now, so thanks for that - I hope you find my posts about living here in...
May 2012
5 posts
10 tags
It's been all go...
Another busy week here in Wuhan…
Last Sunday was Mother’s Day here in China. When I lived in England, I always thought that holidays like Mother’s Day were Hallmark holidays designed for people to line the pockets of card companies; however, working in China as a teacher, they are definitely a gift, as it means you can do class activities which don’t require any lesson...
8 tags
Seeing the sights...
Despite the risk of peaking too soon, and by that I mean taking in every single sight in Wuhan and having nothing else left to do on my days off, me and Steven have had another week wandering around the city finding interesting things to do, hence a very lazy week with regard to blogging.
On Tuesday, before class, we decided to visit Hubei Art Museum. The original plan was to look around this...
9 tags
The boogeyman is coming...
Last night was a quiet night in for me, Steven, and my best friend here in Wuhan, Philip. Whilst we’re on topic, and because he will undoubetdly crop up in future posts, I’ve known Philip since almost my arrival in Wuhan. I first met him through my school when he studied as a VIP student, which meant we had one-to-one classes twice a week. From this, we became very good friends, and...
7 tags
May the fourth be with you...
Just a very quick post today as it’s Friday night, and that means it’s the epic long day of classes from nine to nine. A class of four year olds first thing on a Saturday morning can be quite a handful sometimes, so me and Alex, my Chinese co-teacher, every so often make the lesson that little bit more entertaining by asking the three-year-old non-fluent children yes or no questions...
10 tags
Labour Day and onwards...
It’s been another busy week here in China, so I thought I’d update you with the latest goings-on over here in The Orient. On a side note, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of China being referred to as The Orient after the 1950s, but I just love the imagery that the word conjures up in a westerner’s mind.
Tuesday was Labor Day in China, and what better way to celebrate a...
April 2012
5 posts
6 tags
Busy Busy
Hello all. I haven’t posted here for quite a while, but that was because I a few days completely cut off from the outside world, as I didn’t realise that my yearly subscription to the internet was due to run out, and, unlike England, China isn’t one of those places that reminds you to do something via post.
That resulted in a couple of early nights, as there wasn’t much...
5 tags
Introducing Baby Dylan
Yesterday was a very special day at work as one of the old EF employees, Carol, visited the school with her newborn baby son, Dylan. That is, of course, using newborn in the loosest sense, as he is already five or six months old now.
Unfortunately, the batteries in my camera had died, which meant I only managed to click a snap of him on my phone. The school pretty much came to a standstill for...
6 tags
The night market
On Thursday night, we didn’t have anything to do, so we decided to head across the river, as everyone is Wuchang says,and spend the evening in Hankou before Steven had to go to work. The main thing to do in Hankou in the evening, aside from drinking the night away in the bars on Jianghan Riverside, is to visit Jianghan night market. The shopping here is so-so, as it’s generally the...
8 tags
You jump, I jump.
The other night, me and Steven decided to make the most of China’s equivalent to Orange Wednesdays and go and see Titanic 3D in rip-roaring, iceberg-crashing 3D, for 50RMB rather than the usual 100RMB. We were going to go last week, but that was the day before Steven’s birthday, so we spent most of the night tidying the house - the kind of tidying that involves shoving ugly things in...
8 tags
Introduction
How do you start the first post of a new blog? I guess with a hello and an introduction?
So, hello everyone. For those of you that don’t know me, my name is Antony, and I’m currently living in Wuhan, China, working as an English teacher for EF, which is so far working out quite nicely. I started working here in February 2011 and have just signed a new contract for another year at...
