School's Out ....

The plan for the day was to walk to a part on the wall where 3 provinces of China meet and then visit a school in the afternoon. It was cool but with beautiful blue skies. In all we were exceptionally lucky with the weather.. if only the sun had melted that bloody ice!!

I was so tired I even found the warm up difficult.. stand on one leg and rotate the other ankle.. not a fookin chance.. it had also resulted in temporary tourettes..

I wasnt the only one feeling that way and between us we managed to get ourselves all lively again. Personally I can suggest taking the following after breakfast; dextrose tables, some skittles, a berocca and some green tea tablets.By the time they all kicked in I was flying!!

Part of the challenge for the tour operator was to get us doing a dance routine so we all ended up doing the YMCA on the top part of the wall. It may not win awards but it was great fun to do ...

On the way back we noticed lots of little pits that were all empty...maybe it was like the movie Hostel and this is where they put stray tourists and poked them with sticks.. but no .. it was just for the corn. I think the heat of the bed had frazzled my mind...

We ate lunch back in the village under the glance of Chairman Mao and then started down the road to walk to a local school.

You often see funny pictures from China of people working with a complete disregard to safety and in cars that look like they have been strapped together with bits of stuff found in a tip. Well, I would like to say - its all true!!

Some of the newer houses that were being built were in a Western style.. and they were huge with gates and several bedrooms. I wonder how the villages will change in a few years especially as many try and become more Western in their tastes.. well...well, more Essex in one that I saw.

The school was an eye opener. They put on an exercise class for us outside led by a very strong female character whom everyone followed. Some of the group joined in and the funniest moment was when she bent to tie her shoelaces and everyone bent down and followed her movements..including us!!We all got shouted at.

The first thing I noted in the school was signs on swine flu and pictures showing do not cuddle your pigs... not something you get in London.

The children looked so much younger than their UK counterparts and the girls were more confident than the boys. Their English was fantastic and we spoke, sang and left pens etc for them. Those involved with the communist party wore small red scarfs, part of the flag, around their necks.

To know that some of these children walked to and from the village we had been in every day to get an education made me realise how much we take for granted. I don't know what would happen in the village if a local took sick as it was a fair distance away from major towns and I didnt see any doctors at all. I think a lot of the things we saw made us question a lot of things about ourselves and what we take as a given.. but hey, this is a blog so I won't mention that . If I do start to write a new blog called " The Good Life - Streatham Branch" you will be the first to know....

After the foray into the toilets that I have already mentioned we got on a bus and headed back to civilization....

After all it was Dr Doug's Birthday!