Postcard from Guangzhou

[SimplyRed MFC]

Greetings from sunny South China, or it was until it dropped from 23 degrees on Wednesday to 8 degrees today !

Well done lads, great result, roll on Accy

I can now celebrate Chinese New Year tonight even better !

[Keith]

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

(Gung Hay Fat Boy? )

Happy New Year to you and yours!

[Mark S]

Fancy you posting when you are abroad, just to let us know

Keith last week, you this week. Has parceldave checked in with us yet?

[SimplyRed MFC]

Cheers Keith, after last nights banquet I think you are right !

As usual it is like one gigantic eating exercise out here in China's 4th largest city (after Beijing, Shanghai & Hong Kong ), it is non stop Chinese hospitality versus permanent English good manners. They won't stop bringing out food and we're too polite too refuse anything.

Everything is well cooked, diverse & healthy. Breakfast is an hour or so, lunch 2 to 3 hours easy and dinner is at least 3 to 4 hours - thats 6 or 7 hours daily, unbelievable.

I rebelled the other day so we were driven for 2 hours out of this massive metropolis (over 12 million people ) to the countryside and Maofengshan Mountain where we had a lovely afternoon picking delicious wild strawberries collecting mountain spring water &choosing two ultimately doomed chickens from the farm. Even when we are not eating we are preparing !

Football-wise, watched a bit of Portsmouth/Spurs and even Kettering/Fulham on Chinese Sports TV while my brother-in-law watched his beloved Man U beat Spurs. His dream is to visit Old Trafford one day, although I'll probably take him to Christie instead !

Fireworks so loud throughout the city last night couldn't get to sleep for many hours - i've seen some good displays but this was like being under constant artillery attack.

Anyway got to go now. More later, just beat Accy tomorrow !

[shrimper]

His dream is to visit Old Trafford one day !

Tell him to save his money - they'll be bringing ManU to him soon!