Turned out Nice again ....

So Nice was a good place to be for Christmas again. The weather was OK (it rained on 23rd, but was mostly dry and sometimes sunny afterwards). Our hotel was almost totally encased in scaffolding - they've finished the tram and are cleaning up the frontages of older properties that are near to it. It'll be OK in the new year, I expect.

We spent Christmas morning travelling the length of the new tramway - fascinating! It's particularly good to see the town (almost) free of roadworks and quite changed by the process.

The pictures are of the Bay des Anges on Christmas Eve
(afternoon and evening).

As ever, the food was pretty good and we ate particularly well at Le Tire Bouchon (translates as The Corkscrew) where the food was pretty special.

All in all, Nice was a lot quieter this year, maybe because of the unsettled weather?

Happy Winterval

So we're off to Nice in the morning. This is actually a picture from last year, the weather forecast isn't great for this year, but there's a chance for some sunshine on Christmas day.

We've got reservations at a couple of nice restaurants - we had one for the Chantecler (supposed to be the best restaurant in Nice, certainly the most expensive) but they've decided not to open.

I hope everyone has the Christmas they want -- personally, I'd like the new year to be peaceful.

A Frosty Start To The Day

The picture doesn't do it justice, but the garden looks fantastic today. There was a frost last night (my not very accurate max/min) thermometer says that it went to -3. Whatever, it's nice enough to give that wonderful 'icing sugar' effect to grass and foliage.

So, I'm starting another day at home, quite glad that I don't have to scrape the ice off the car...

Back in the kitchen...

So, the oven's fixed and my kitchen is back in production. It was (as I'd thought) just the element for the main oven that had failed. Anyway, I was glad we'd got breakdown insurance as these things aren't that cheap, considering that they're really just a coil of wire that gets hot!

A good day writing (about writing) for the book and then dinner at a local Bangladeshi Restaurant the Sundarbon in Selly Oak. If anything, the food's better than ever and the service is fun!

Murphy's First Law

Sometimes quoted as If it can go wrong, it will, but, more properly as the perversity of the universe tends towards a maximum.

We had invited a Professor from Nankai University to dinner last night: he's great company and had been to the folk club and entertained us in Tianjin. So, we were cooking when - suddenly - all the power went off. I reset the circuit breaker and everything was fine, except the oven, which is deceased!

Nevertheless, we still produced some decent food. Now we just need to get the oven fixed!

Working at Home II

This is one of the nicer things about working from home - my view of the garden from my study.

Even though Autumn is well and truly here (and it feels as though winter isn't far away) the garden still looks pretty good.

So, while I'm working away writing (today about writing skills for research) all I have to do is turn my head for a bit of relaxation.

Oh well - back to work!

It feels like Autumn

It's finally started to get a bit colder. The leaves are beautiful - wonderful golds, browns and ambers. Bonfire night is past, so maybe there'll be fewer explosions tonight?

The weather today is beautiful. An almost cloudless blue sky and even though the temperature's only about 10C, it feels much warmer. There's a strong breeze though - enough to make it difficult to cycle. The forecast is for stronger winds tomorrow.

Of course, now that it's really Autumn, Winter is just around the corner ...

Working at Home

Now that I've returned from far-flung places, I've started my study leave in earnest and I'm making some great progress on the book.

This picture shows my study at home (it is probably the tidiest it has EVER been!) where I work -- with the added pleasure of being able to turn my head and look into the garden.

DMZ

Last Sunday I was taken to the De-Militarized Zone by a friend who has good connections, it seems. I was treated as though I was a senior military officer and we got to see parts of the complex that are not usually open to casual visitors.



Then we had lunch at a (very) traditional Korean restaurant (this means sitting on the floor at a very low table trying not to drop too much food on your trousers!). The food was mostly fermented (So Kim-chee, beancurd, and many other little adventures).

This is the area at the back of the restaurant where the food is stored and matured!

Tuesday - Incheon

So, here I am at Incheon Airport (voted best airport in Asia, apparently) -- but using a keyboard with many strange symbols. Internet access here is really cheap!

Monday in Seoul was pleasant as I managed to get some time for myself, so I wandered around the city centre (the subway system is really easy to use). In the evening, I was taken to dinner with some Government officials -- a very interesting experience and undoubtedly the reason why I slept through the alarm this a.m.!

I'm all checked-in, but they are muttering about "this flight is always late", so we'll see. At least I have a boarding card for the last leg of the journey from Paris CDG -> Birmingham.

It's quite foggy outside, but this doesn't seem to be worrying anyone at the moment....

UPDATE
The flight left 30 minutes late and arrived at CDG 20 minutes early -- it's still a long time though. Plane was only about 2/3 full, so more comfortable than sometimes. Just waiting for my flight to Birmingham -- the computer swears it's on time ...

Sunday Morning

Here are the pictures of the toilet controls I promised! Though the images on some of the buttons are quite explicit, I haven't had the nerve to try because other pictures are not! The fact that the seat is heated is interesting, resulting in mixed feelings -- it's that 'just used' notion that's a bit difficult to get used to.

It's a beautiful sunny morning here in Seoul, but everyone is dressed up for winter! (I say 'everyone' but at 09:00 on Sunday, there really isn't anyone about and almost no traffic).

I'm just waiting for one of my friends to arrive to take me to the DMZ so that I can have a look at North Korea (Or, I suppose, that they can have a look at me).

Ah, Hotels!

I'm not that pleased with my hotel today. The temperature's dropped outside, so they've turned the heating on and the airconditioning off --- fine in principle, but my room's at 28C and I can't get it any cooler!

I was hoping to include some pictures of my hotel toilet controls, but the internet isn't playing tonight, so maybe tomorrow?

The Conference

My presentation went quite well, I thought. At least it was to time and made people think (The drawback was that I was approached by several people afterwards who seemed to think I ought to be able to tell them the future of healthcare provision in Korea!).

Interesting food: a no-choice lunch which was lots of traditional Korean dishes. Dinner was a 'formal' welcome dinner, but the buffet was open to all conference delegates. So, while we were being welcomed, they ate all the food!

Weather was very wet this a.m., glad I took the umbrella - but the forecast for the rest of my stay is good.

Tomorrow I get to see an ex-PhD student for lunch and touring...

Brian Westcott RIP

My trip to Korea was uneventful, but long. Good to be met by friends at the airport.

However, the sad news is that Brian Westcott of the Somers Traditional Folk Club died yesterday - I'll miss him. We all will.

Last Day in England

Jane from Nankai arrived last night at Heathrow. Immigration took longer than it should (which says something about UK Immigration, I fear), but she's here in Birmingham now getting settled-in.

Tomorrow, I fly to Seoul for the Social Welfare Conference, but also a chance to do a bit of visiting with some of my Korean students. Longish flights, so I'll have time to work on the conference paper!

Only a week left ...

It's only a week until I leave for South Korea to be keynote speaker at the Korean Academy of Social Welfare 50th anniversary conference. It's a bit bizarre to be traveling to east Asia less than 2 weeks since I left China, but opportunities like this are few and far between.

Getting used to the currency should be a challenge too -- the current exchange rate is about 1864 Won = £1! I'm going to be a millionaire again!

The Wall, Beijing and Home

We're home now, a long flight and then some problems at Amsterdam when the last leg was overbooked! Got home about 22:30 on Friday.

We've been to the Great Wall now -- it really is impressive and to visit during the National Holiday was quite special. Badaling was amazingly crowded (above is Juyongguan, much quieter). Also visited the Ming Tombs:

This is the Emperor's throne in an underground tunnel complex, a little like the pyramids, I think. Again, this is a place of pilgrimage for the Chinese people and it was quite busy, even late in the day.

This was followed by an interesting (!) drive along Beijing's expressway system in the dark. Saw or heard 5 or 6 minor accidents in about an hour!

Our hotel in Beijing (The Beijing International) was a 5-star respite. Really comfortable and near the Forbidden City and Silk Street..

The Forbidden City itself is too big to grasp in one visit, but for me, Tiananmen Square was surprisingly moving. So many important events have taken place there. Full (and I mean FULL) of people, it's an amazing sight!

Tianjin City again

Spent most of today in Tianjin with our friend Shirly. Went to the Monastery of Deep Compassion (Buddhist) which is another great contrast -- a place of quiet contemplation in the heart of a bustling city.

Alison took the opportunity to do some shopping too!

We went to the theatre museum in the afternoon -- Shirly somehow managed to arrange a private performance for us! Wonderful.

Tomorrow is National Day -- a big public holiday that seems to last most of the week. There are flags everywhere!

Lonely Planet Guide?

We decided to walk from the University to 'Ancient Culture Street' -- the Lonerly Planet Guide said it was about 2 miles. It wasn't - it was 4. Add to this the inaccuracy of the map and I don't think we'll be buying one of their guides again.

We spent some time in the Tianhou Temple (Tianhou is Goddess of the sea) and threw coins at the drum for good luck.

Our 'hotel' has had no hot water for 2 days now, which is becoming a bit unfunny, but maybe it'll be sorted today?

The weather is still getting cooler and the forecast says rain for tomorrow....

Can't see my Blog again!

I can only see the blog site in Chinese again!

We went to the Shi family courtyard on Thursday, to the West of Tianjin. A fabulous series of linked courtyard dwellings dating from the late 19th Century. An interesting example of how wealthy Chinese families lived at that time.

Also met a charming 80-year-old man (on his bike, of course) who told me that I was far too young to be a University professor! All in all an interesting day, concluded with an invitation to dinner from Feibei (one of the Nankai group that visited Birmingham) at a very plush restaurant!

Sunday Morning

It's a bright, clear day here at Nankai, the sun is shining, the fountains are playing on the lake (while suitable music is played from the surrounding speakers). Students are walking around hand in hand. Overall, it's a pretty nice place to be today.

The picture is of the sundial outside the Administration building (probably the best located place on campus) -- of course, the markings are in Chinese, so reading it is a bit of a problem!

I think I'm going to spend most of the day writing and I've been invited out to dinner tonight by student/friends.

My chopsticks technique is still improving (plenty of room for that, of course), and I'm learning a bit more about 'proper conduct' when eating.

Up early (very) tomorrow morning to collect Ali from Beijing airport!

Mid Autumn Festival

The mid-autumn festival is coming. I think that this is also called the 'Moon Festival' -- China has such romantic traditions!

The weather here has been lovely today, bright sunshine and quite hot (though I did see someone wearing a winter coat)!

I've been here nearly 2 weeks now and the campus of Nankai University is starting to feel like home, I don't have to think about where I'm going any more.

Skype's been really useful while I've been here - and the video with Tula and Baz in New Zealand is better than from UK. It's really nice to be able to see who you're talking to.

Summing-up the Week

Just in case you think being in China is just a holiday, here's some evidence that I've worked hard this week. The English language ability of the students is amazing -- a little support is needed from the lecturer, but most of the time it's fine. Most of my lectures have started at 08:00 -- which would result in some pretty low attendances at Birmingham, I think!

Most of the social life is centred around food -- I was taken to something very like the Eden Project which turned out to be a restaurant for a banquet with other European lecturers. Fascinating!

Eating in a different alphabet

Spotted this lovely tree lurking on the campus next to the Philosophy building (I think).

It's cooler today and it was raining earlier. Another interesting meal last night -- a restaurant that we found by chance that was full of quite wealthy people and served some decent food. One of the dishes seemed to be stewed duck bones!

Students are very keen to work and I've had tutorials with a number of them. Continually impressed by their English skills.

It's not all fun ...

But there is some fun too - this picture shows me proving that I can't walk past a guitar (even in a street market) without at least trying to play it!

Shirly has borrowed a guitar from one of her friends and lent it to me, so now I can annoy my neighbours. Life's good!

I'm doing more teaching this week in China that I'd usually do in a fortnight at home - it's actually quite nice to have some fixed points in my life!

Some more interesting food last night at a Korean(!) restaurant where huge bowls of glowing charcoal are placed on the table for you to cook your own food.

Tianjin

Spent most of Saturday in Tianjin City. A huge place by my standards with scary traffic. Saw the museum and many objects recovered from a Buddhist temple. The picture is of the museum building - a truly amazing structure.

Lunch was at the 1928 restaurant -- stepping back in time and being entertained by traditional singers. Much of the afternoon spent in street markets (where I'm sure I embarassed my friends by playing every guitar I could get near), a theatre museum and then found a 'street cafe' for a beer in the evening. All in all, a splendid day!

Change in the weather

It's rained a little today, but still hot. The smog's a bit lower than it was, but people are still fishing in the river that runs at the back of where I'm living. You should look on Google Earth to see it -- it's a bit like a moat around the University.

So my plans to explore a bit today have changed and I'm working on the book instead. It's nearly 11:30 now, so time to go to lunch (eating times are early here) and make people laugh with my chopstick skills again!

Skype works here so I can contact home fairly easily when the networks OK and one of my colleagues from Birmingham is arriving today (I think).

Tonight's the formal welcome dinner for me -- I'll let you know how I get on.

First Lecture

This morning I gave my first lecture to a group of undergraduates in the Sun Fan Building. It was a very well-equipped room and it was good to meet the Lecturer (Sarah) who was very helpful in translating some of the more obscure comments.
I think it went OK, but without the usual facial clues it can be difficult to be sure!

Much of the rest of the day is free, and I have dinner tonight with Jane and other colleagues.

From China

Well, I'm here safely and being well looked after by Jane (a PhD student here). I do my first lecture tomorrow. I have photos, but I'm working with the Chinese version of blogger, so it'll take a few days.

It's roubd about 30C here today and humid!

4 Days to Go!

Said 'Goodbye' to 'my' Chinese students last night. Went to Bank Restaurant in Brindley Place, Birmingham (good food, as ever -- byt VERY loud).

Lots of packing to do and still trying to finish writing my lectures.

I hope Shirly and Grace have a safe flight. I'm looking forward to seeing them on Monday!

1 Week Left

In 1 week's time I'll be on my way to China! An exciting and challenging prospect.

I'm still busy writing my lectures and trying to get up to date (an interesting thing about teaching in another continent is that you can never be quite sure what assumptions to make. The only solution to this [I think] is to make sure that enough context is included...)?

N.B. Chateau Pichon-Lalande (other side of the road to Pichon Longueville and just as good) was sold last week to Roederer a Champagne company!

COUNTDOWN

It's now only about 10 days until I leave for China. 1 of my Chinese colleagues has gone to London to meet with her research partner and the other professor leaves for London on Friday -- I won't see them now until I meet them at Nankai.
Prof Guan hosted a farewell meal at the Chung Ying restaurant in Birmingham (one of the oldest and, supposedly, best in the UK) which was very enjoyable -- particularly after we found that the school of Public Policy wasn't part of the event, just a coincidence!

I hope my colleagues have safe journeys home - I'm looking forward to seeing them again!

So, what happened to the weather?

Something strange has happened!
Traditionally, the August bank holiday weekend is grey and wet. So far it's been (almost) uninterrupted sunshine and decent temperatures! Still it's really nice to be able to sit in the garden!

Now I feel Guilty!

As soon as I said 'I Love Skype', most of the system crashed -- the logon software has a problem so most of the world can't use it! I know it's not my fault really, but you can't help but wonder...

I love SKYPE! --- I hate wireless networks!

I think Skype's wonderful! Today I've spoken to friends and colleagues on three continents and been able to see them too!

I've been a computerphile for a long time now, from the 'middle ages' of computers where you had to learn strange languages (CPM+ was ny favourite) to make it all happen. I thought I was pretty good at using modern PCs, but connecting a wireless ADSL router to my ISP has almost driven me insane -- it would really have helped if Tiscali had made it obvious where I could find the configuration info (to be fair, their tech support was pretty good). Anyway, it seems to be up and running and even my PDA can see it -- what fun!

Chinese Visitors to the Folk Club

Traditional English folk song clubs really have their roots in the folk revival of the 1960s and are a particularly idiosyncratic part of English life. They enjoyed a brief popularity and then returned to their obscurity.

I invited my Chinese collegues from Nankai University to come along to the folk club that I help to run, and I was delighted when they sang! The club members thought that they were fantastic! (So did I!)

Chateau Pichon-Longueville (again)

Last month I said that this was where I'd most like to be. We had dinner with a friend last Saturday. He produced a bottle of this Chateu's wine from 1980! Sadly, it was past its best, but still had colour and some fruit. How generous (and what a shame we didn't drink it 10 years ago!).

The picture is the public tasting room at the chateau.

I was just checking ...

I was looking for a piece of software to test my wireless mouse. I didn't find it, but I found this interesting way of testing your personal political called THE POLITICAL COMPASS. I found that it was (surprisingly?) accurate for my position. Why not try it and let me know what you found?

My hands are too big (or why I hate cars)!

One of the headlight bulbs on my car failed. It turns out that they're a bit unusual, so I had to mail order them (the Toyota garage was horrifically expensive) - when they finally arrived (ordered the wrong ones first) I just had to fit them. There was a LOT of swearing! I did (finally) get it done, but it would have been so much easier if I'd had little hands!

Back to work!

So, home from the south of France. Missed the bad weather and the terrorist attacks.

Back to University today (quite nice to have been missed) for lots of meetings, but especially pleased to be meeting with 'my' Chinese students. It's nice to find such enthusiasm.

BIG IT problems for most of the day -- it isn't very nice to find that your network access has been deleted while you were away, but all sorted now.


Marseille is a wonderful, vibrant city - rather like Birmingham, but by the sea. Learnt a lot about tourist retaurants as well (and how to avoid them).

FOOD!

I like good food! We have some academics from Tianjin in China working in the Institute at the moment. I took them to lunch at the staff restaurant yesterday for (possibly) one of the worst meals of my life. I guess they'll do the same for me when I visit them?

It irritates me that England has good ingredients and some decent chefs and STILL manages to serve food that is only borderline edible.

It's over!

The asparagus season, that is. I think that English asparagus is the best in the world (this isn't a nationalistic thing, it's empirical - I've tried it on 3 continents) and the patch in my garden has been really productive this year. But it started early, so it's finished early too (asparagus shouldn't be over-cropped, it needs time to recharge itself). So I'll be reduced to buying it in the supermarket for a while...

All those little things you never thought of

Even though it's actually 3 months until I go to China there's so many things to do and think about. I'm getting my immunisations up to date (even though I went to Siberia last year, I still need more injections). One of my bigger quandaries is that I don't know how I can do without a guitar for a month -- I realise an option is to buy one in China, but that may be problematic.

I did (eventually) buy an iPod - partly for the flight - and I need to get a new laptop because mine's the size of a small suitcase and weighs a ton and isn't exactly fast! I've been thinking about safe drinking water too.

So, at the moment there's a plastic crate on the floor of my study and I'm just putting things in as I think I might need them. However, with a baggage allowance of only 20 kg, it's all getting a bit academic anyway!

Where I'd rather be today ...

This is Chateau Pichon-Longueville. It's in Pauillac in the Medoc just north of Bordeaux. It's wine is a classified 2nd growth and is just amazing! We had lunch here last year (as well as a wine-tasting).

If I could choose where to be this afternoon, it'd be here.

STOP!

Someone sent this to me as a birthday card - if only I could make my students do it!

The Somers Traditional Folk Club

I've been helping to run this club for a few years now -- interesting really, because I don't have a great love for traditional folk song, I'm much more interested in it as social commentary and/or protest.
Anyway, a local newspaper did an article on us that you can see at: STFC

Why I'm doing this

I'm going to China later this year, so it seemed like a nice idea to have a place where friends and colleagues could read what was happening to me.
I guess there'll be other things too...