A Dark Mood and a Black Mark.

Several candidates for blog posts offered themselves for selection today, but I turned them all down because of the weather. I tolerate cold, dry weather reasonably well, but the chilly, saturated stuff like we had today depresses me and makes me sneeze a lot.

I suppose it might be worth mentioning that I had emails from two different Chinese women in the space of twenty four hours. It’s the first time that’s ever happened, so it must be an Event of Note. Maybe I’ll duly note the calendar and institute an annual celebration in honour of the fact; I could do with a further excuse to ignore Christmas. Or maybe I’ll just put it down to experience.

And as a footnote to all the recent China stuff, by the way, I have to say that one thing has alarmed me. An immaculate sense of style is endemic in traditional Chinese culture - except when it comes to hats. I watched a 30 minute documentary on the founding of the Tang Dynasty, and the Empress was wearing something that resembled a cheap, dangly lamp shade from Woolworth’s. I admit that the Empress Whatever-her-name-was would probably never have heard of Woolworths, it being the early mediaeval period and everything, but it’s still a fly in the ointment.

 

A commendably more restrained version