In our lives BC (Before China) our main holiday was 2 weeks (and sometimes if lucky) 3 weeks Eurocamping in France, and in 2013 France and Switzerland. We went to France a couple of times in between and once before Eleanor we went to Sweden and South Africa. We even managed skiing with friends in Austria, but Europe was really as far as we ever got. But now that we are in China there are endless possibilities. Australia in the summer was somewhere we had thought we would never be able to visit, certainly not altogether because of a)the cost and … Continue reading Creating Memories

In June 2015 I read Bill Bryson’s “One Summer, 1927” it focused on an American summer and whilst it was very focused on baseball and Babe Ruth, another thread was the beginning of the American Aviation Industry and in particular the first transatlantic flight. Bryson commented that the Europeans were well ahead of the game in aircraft engineering and based on recent experience I would say that that is probably still the case.  Today we take flying for granted and up until yesterday I had taken for granted a standard of planes for great distances. We had flown QATAR on … Continue reading Frequent Flyer

Christmas arrived in mid November when Eleanor performed with the DUCKS Piccolo Choir at the switching on of the Christmas Tree Lights at the Crowne Plaza, Suzhou.  The hotel likes to boast it is the first hotel to switch the lights on. Is it too early? We pondered this last year and again this year but I don’t think it is. (Probably if in the UK definitely but as an expat I think it can be early!)   The theme is Harry Potter and the castle is made out of Gingerbread!    She and her friend Sophie duetted the naming of the … Continue reading Festive Fun

E-bike batteries are heavy and usually there are about 4-5 of the things in an ebike. One night someone struck lucky and raided the basement of our apartment block and got 5 ebikes worth of batteries.  Next morning Martin found his ebike devoid of batteries and whilst he had texted me I hadn’t picked up his text.  Eleanor and I made our way down to the basement, helmets on and then Martin appeared. We thought mine hadn’t been touched. The saddle was in place but when I went to turn the key I too was a victim.  What fascinated me … Continue reading Theft

So, if someone says to you “fancy a weekend away without kids and husband in a mountainous area with some walking” what do you say? I originally said no, as a good friend was coming out to China for work and I was going to meet her on the Saturday. I was then asked again by a colleague on the Thursday before the trip on the Friday to go as she was unable to go and didn’t want to leave Angela  to go on her own. Again I said I couldn’t because of Lucy coming. At that stage I was … Continue reading Mysterious Mountain Malarky

Martin and I have certainly been working hard. The UCAS applications are nearly completed, and Martin was teaching practically a double timetable due to sickness within his department. Thailand, was therefore a well deserved break.  But we decided that every month we would try to visit somewhere different close to Suzhou.  Hangzhou has been on our list since Martin came here in long before we knew we would be coming to live in China. Hangzhou is home to West Lake, and thankfully we visited here before Thailand and the Moon Festival during Golden week at the end of September/beginning of October. West … Continue reading Work Hard: Play Hard

Believe it or not, I started this blog a long time ago, but the internet was so being slow that it took me three hours to get onto the home page last week.  Then I started typing and it appears I didn’t save it. Darn it. So the last blog, two months ago, saw me without an e-bike.  Eleanor and I took the metro to the end of the line, raced off it and up the escalator to bag the only taxi waiting by the exit for three times that week. By the end of the week, I had asked … Continue reading E-bike is fixed and Sun, Sea and Sand

Impressive? Dulwich International High School, Suzhou.  It is one of 7 Dulwich schools across Asia and it is where Martin and I now work.  The building is new and now houses over 400 students.  We also have a boarding facility, capacity for up to a 1000 students and most importantly we are now just across the road from Eleanor’s school, DUCKS.  The clock tower in the distance is reminiscent of Dulwich College London, and is part of the International School, Dulwich College. So how I am getting on? I am really enjoying it, but I am shattered.   Since starting … Continue reading A working woman once more

On the 3rd August 2014 we made the leap of faith and took the plunge and made our way to Suzhou for our new adventure.  On the 3rd August 2015 I was sitting in a classroom type environment introducing myself to my new colleagues at Dulwich International High School, Suzhou. What a difference a year makes. Last year we arrived with 4 full to the brim suitcases from the UK into Pudong airport filled with trepidation after an 11 ish hour flight.  It was a grey day, (like most days here), hot, there was a long queue for immigration and then a … Continue reading Happy 1 Year Chinaversary