Kiss me






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Last night’s dinner was a big one, for some. Those who chose the way of sin spent the day repenting, whereas the virtuous were serene in their smugness. What happens on tour stays on tour. 


Your correspondent feels that, without mentioning names, the following story might serve as a general warning. One of our number took to Google Translate to ask for another bottle of wine, dictating into his phone. Without looking at the screen he presented the result to the waitress, who jumped back in shock and half shrieked/half giggled. The dictation had inexplicably resulted in an English text of ’Kiss me’. Apologies and profuse embarrassment was offered to all concerned. Some time later the same waitress returned with the bill and using her own Google Translate dictated something into her phone and showed it to our unsuspecting married member of the party (although that narrows it down not a lot). He was astonished to read ‘My mouth is sore!’  Surely the Chinese hackers are having a laugh at our expense. 


Other stories. Yesterday as we arrived in town and we were stopped by a Lollipop Lady. This one was a piece of work. He asked for the usual (enhanced version: which includes a licence for sitting behind the wheel) but decided he was not satisfied, so he informed us we needed seat belts. The explanation that the car was built before seat belts had been invented and actually fitting them would be unsafe seemed to quench his lust for embuggerance, a little. He then produced the corker. You need helmets or you cannot move from here. Laugh? We nearly cried. He let us go eventually. I wrote in an earlier post , in another country, that the officials leave an indelible mark on tourists. This is even true of Lollipop Ladies. 


Today, after watching the highlights of the Rugby (congratulations) we visited a fabulous gorge and witnessed China on the move, industrially. We have never seen so many high voltage cables, nor so many chimneys. 


We needed a new phone charger and the simple answer was to ask Eric where to get one. No problem he replied. Within 30 minutes a new cable was delivered to our bedroom door by a robot!

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