Parties, rugby, end of term and fond farewells

William and Oliver's birthday falls two weeks after the end of term here, therefore we decided to have their party on the Sunday before term finished.  It was a good date to pick as the Jarmans were still here to help!  Ages ago they decided on a dinosaur theme which was handy as I got mum to bring lots of the accessories out.  As it drew nearer Oliver decided he wanted a dinosaur excavation cake and William a t-Rex!  

Sam and I planned lots of dinosaur games: dancing dinos, pin the skull on the dinosaur skeleton, sleeping dinosaurs etc.  We knew all the children would be fairly high with it being the end of term and lots of the summer born children having parties so we started with decorating dinosaurs.  You could have heard a pin drop...until they finished!  

                                         

The party went well and the boys enjoyed themselves.

The Lions Tour of Australia began on the 1 June with a warm up game in Hong Kong.  And a warm up it was with some players losing up to 4 kg due to the heat!  Since then we have found ourselves round at our local twice a week watching the games.  It has been lovely seeing the boys begin to get in to it (thank god!).  

The end of term at school was as hectic as usual but has been tinged with sadness this year.  It is a fact of expat life that there comes a time when you bid good friends farewell.  Unfortunately this year we seem to be saying goodbye to far too many.  In May Mark, Noor, Tess, Lotte amd Dirk headed back to Holland.  Then chose to say goodbye by holding a Dutch disco where lots of wine was consumed and there was even some partner swapping!! Not a lot was remembered the next day!  

The  De Borde Family are moving to Germany.  William and Oliver were in Ellie's class last year and quickly became firm friends.  Ellie and William have also been together this year and along with Jamie and Oliver they all get on so well. Rather than one farewell do they embarked upon a series with different people.  We went for food and cocktails at Flair (Shanghai's sky high bar) with them and also to a last minute pool party organised by Ellie!

Out of the blue the Hughes Family are returning to the UK.  Lisa and I have known each other for just over two years but it is one of those friendships where it feels like a lifetime.  We met on a chat forum before she even got here, set up Sam and Darren on a blind date and they all came for lunch on their first day in Shanghai where we all got on brilliantly.  We have all enjoyed watching our four boys have fun and grow together over the last 2 years, have spent many hours at parks, bars and restaurants together and Dragonfly!  

Oliver's teacher, Mrs  McCallum headed back to Scotland this year.  She has been a wonderful teacher to Oliver and a good friend to me as I have got to know her through my supply teaching as well as a parent.  Oliver is unconcerned about her going as he has arranged to go and see her in Scotland!

This has been the hardest year for goodbyes and yet it also means we now have lots of friends in many countries.  We are already planning trips to Scotland, Holland, Germany and the ever exotic Manchester!

Alongside all the going out for rugby and goodbyes there has been a few events at school.  The boys had a great craft morning followed by a year group picnic in 35 degrees!! The school also held its annual speech day where the children get certificates for various endeavours.  Being in the senior part of Ducks meant that the parents were marginally better behaved this year but call me old fashioned I still can't equate a speech day with whooping, whistling and calling out as your child receives their certificate!  However, all that aside, it was wonderful to see Oliver and William go up on stage and receive their certificates from the college Headmaster.

     

     

     

Oliver and William were certainly ready for their holiday and we had some lovely weather the first couple of days which we made the most of.  

Bright city lights!

The Jarman's return from Guilin was slightly delayed. Due to a storm over Shanghai the plane could not land and was diverted to Nanjing! Poor Anna and Ant had to remain inside the plane for five hours while decisions were made about whether to fly back to Shanghai or not. Whilst they were on the plane I was in contact with them and after hearing that relations between crew and passengers were heating up I decided to call the British Consulate for advice! Unfortunately they were shut so I was diverted to the Foreign Office in London who placed a call to Anna to check they were ok! They finally made it back to Shanghai on an overnight train.

We always knew that Anna and Ant, whilst enjoying the sightseeing, would particularly enjoy the nightlife. All of us enjoyed a few cocktails on the Bund, followed by a meal at Lost Heaven and a nightcap in the Long Bar. 

Not much sightseeing occurred the next day, they just about managed to drag themselves to the fakes market!

Following another couple of days away in Hangzhou, we managed another night on the town. 

                               

 

We had a traditional Shanghainese takeaway on the last night, unfortunately we couldn't take the Jarmans to the airport as we had an event at school. They walked to school with us on their last morning and I said goodbye in the corridor as I was teaching.  I'm not sure whether saying goodbye and then walking across an airport crying or going in to a class of four years olds crying is worse!  Luckily it won't be long before we see them in the summer.  

The Jarmans arrive!

The Jarmans arrived safely in Shanghai and were thrown straight in to the hangover recovery program of Costa, egg fried rice and a massage. They did so well we even dragged them to the pub to watch the rugby. I knew that the jet lag had gone when Ant announced (after several beers) that he had a second wind and Anna decided to tuck in to the Amaretto!

The next morning they were served a true Shanghai breakfast- jidan bing.  It is basically a very thin pancake filled with egg, chili, coriander, fried dough and other unidentifyable but delicious things!

They were only in Shanghai for a couple of days before heading down to Guilin but we still managed to eat dumplings twice, order Ant six shirts and Anna a couple of dresses at the fabric market and stroll along the river!  

                                     

Of course Anna and I also manged to fit in a pedicure at Dragonfly, another Shanghai must!

Strolling around Shanghai

Following our trip to Hangzhou, I took mum on a tour of the usual sites in Shanghai. Recently I purchased a book of Shanghai walks and we went on a couple. The first we did was through the Former French Concession. The book took us down some wonderfully preserved lanes and highlighted architectural features we would never have noticed.

It was wonderful to find buildings such as these former stables of the mounted French police, especially in a city where everything is being knocked down and rebuilt at a frantic rate.

We saw interesting shops and stalls, including a street side tailor.

The second walk took us down the Bund and in and out of many of the buildings to look at their amazing insides. We stopped for a coffee in Victor's at the Peace Hotel. the most expensive coffee on the Bund the book told us and at £7 a cup it was!

We also spent time at Yu Yuan looking around the garden and exploring some of the lanes around the bazaar.

William and Oliver took her up the Oriental Pearl TV tower to stand on the glass floor and for duck and pancakes at a local restaurant.

The weather was glorious and one evening we met Sam in Century Park and had a walk followed by a picnic.

Naturally, cocktails and meals were had by the river, even a picnic during which we got roped off and involved in a film!

It was sad saying good bye to mum but we gave her a good send off by taking her on the Maglev to the airport. The train reached its top speed of 431km per hour in her honour!

Five go adventuring in Hangzhou

The last time I went to the small city (pop 6 million) of Hangzhou I came away with the impression that it was just another Chinese city. Since then Sam took his mother there on a day trip and they came away raving about it. Therefore we decided to give it another go with my mother in tow.

Now veterans of the high speed railway we boarded our train in Shanghai and within an hour we had travelled 200 miles and arrived in Hangzhou. We got a taxi to our hotel, checked in and checked out the facilities and then headed away from the city to the other side of the lake.

It was beautiful and wonderfully leafy and green as we pulled up outside our restaurant on the water.

The food was fantastic and after lunch we walked through the tea plantations to the tea museum.

We bumped in to another set of twins also wearing red and green!

It was lovely watching the tea being picked and enjoying some beautiful scenery.

After looking around the museum we decided to head up the hill towards the famous Longjin (Dragon's Well) village and see the well. The walk was quite long and very hairy as we kept having to dive in to bushes to avoid buses and cars. Eventually we saw a sign tucked away behind a bush pointing to the well. We enjoyed stirring the water and seeing the local wildlife nearby!

As it was getting late we decided to jump of a bus to get us back near the lake much to the delight of the other passengers. We managed a conversation in broken Chinese and had lots of photos and video footage taken of us!

The bus came to stop in the car park of a stadium and we all had to get off. We then went in search of a taxi conscious that happy hour in the executive lounge was about to begin! Taxis' in Hangzhou are plentiful but notoriously hard to get. As several passed us with their green light on we waved to them but they refused to stop! Eventually one pulled over but drove off after we said where we were going. It wasn't just because we were foreigners as the locals were being refused too. I kept noticing small delivery type trucks with green lights in so Sam flagged one down. It was an illegal taxi and he shook his head when we said where we wanted to go. I then offered him £10 and he opened the door! Suddenly we knew how to get a taxi in Hangzhou! We made it back to happy hour with plenty of time to spare.

The following day we went out on the lake and then had a lazy afternoon by the hotel swimming pool. On the Sunday our train wasn't until the afternoon so we went to Longgin Temple and walked up the mountain looking at the Buddhas carved in to the stone. We made it back to our hotel after bribing another taxi driver and got the train back to Shanghai.