Early Mornings and the BIG Show.

November 8^th Good morning world, it’s a brand new day! My brain is not so soggy today, my body feels like I have been overdoing the physical exercise side of things, but generally I feel a lot better than I did yesterday. Huan woke me up to tell me that we had received another message last night telling us that everyone had to be tested today. That meant I had no option, I had to drag myself out of bed anyway. It was worth it though, someone remembered me from three, four or more years ago, someone who we used to talk to everyday until he moved house. His name is汪汪, Wāng wang, which it seems is the onomatopoeia for the sound of a barking dog. Don’t ask me, I certainly don’t bark like that!

Because I was feeling under the weather yesterday our weekly shop had to be done today. Added to the list for me were some plain crisps, always the first thing I want to eat after not being well. Huan is busy on Friday, Saturday and Sunday so our basket was emptier than usual. However, when I saw this can of luncheon meat (I can’t call it spam although it would make for a better story) how could I not buy it. Less than £1.50 and just look at the name!

Meanwhile at Huan’s rehearsal tonight she was playing the peasant woman with the heavy baskets. If you looked at the photo on a phone you could be deceived into thinking those baskets were full of rice. Enlarge them and you see they actually have lids. Still, the audience will be far enough away not to notice and the look is certainly realistic from a distance.

November 9^th Another rest day was had by all, purposeful in the morning and caused by the weather in the afternoon. It made quite a pleasant change. Huan relaxed in the living room with the TV and her phone, I binge watched Graham Norton on Facebook Watch. If I lived in the UK I would probably tune in every week.

November 10^th To fit in with Huan’s activities we were out for test #46 this morning. My phone refused to play again but luckily the testing personnel accepted Huan’s. Not being idle today we set off to the countryside after the test, almost the same route that I took last week, and through the same village, Zabao cun. On the way we took this cement bas relief photo, I wonder how long it will stay like this.

A little further on towards Zaobao cun we noticed that we were being followed and videoed by someone from up north. They were from Daqing and they had seen my video extolling the improvements that had taken place in Wuzhishan. They wanted to meet me and to thank me! Perhaps the Chinese version is better than the English one.

Walking through the fields we spotted small egg plants and confirmed to ourselves that the one I had touched last week was definitely not one of them. Here’s a baby one with, as chance would have it, a small insect on the next leaf, I enlarged that part for you. When you see just how much of the plant has been eaten it’s a wonder that anything manages to grow at all!

Coming back into Zaobao cun Huan was surprised that someone knew me. She should know me and dogs by now, shouldn’t she?

A few metres further on it happened again. These are two new little friends who haven’t learnt yet that they should be wary of humans. I’ve met them before, last week, but Huan hasn’t. In fact last week they tried to follow me home, much to the amusement of a little old grandma.

Huan was convinced that there were turkeys in this village; I was convinced she was wrong. She wasn’t of course, I was. She was trying to take photos through the fence which doesn’t always work well; I tried two with my phone.

You can get the phone lens to focus between the gaps, it is much more difficult with a larger lens on a bigger camera, at least in automatic it is.

Our next little creature appeared to have something wrong with its face. Unfortunately Huan’s phone hasn’t picked out enough detail to help. Maybe sometimes she should touch and I should take the photos with the camera.

I showed Huan the fruit from last week, and what was also on the tree? An enormous jackfruit. I have no idea how I didn’t see that last week. I also showed her where I had taken two of her quiz photos from before heading home. Almost immediately we spotted very low flying kites. It looks like someone had the brilliant idea of using ‘birds’ as scarecrows, and it seemed to work.

We took a walk back over the island to check what the new construction was. It’s all about different nationalities, or different ethnicities living in harmony in this beautiful city of ours. I can’t argue with the sentiment and it certainly seems to be the case here.

Guess who else was on the island?

I didn’t want to get too close because goats, unlike cows, will definitely run away, and they were enjoying their siesta time. I did take a few more photos though.

And that was my day over and done with. Huan had an extra rehearsal tonight, they have to go and learn a song before tomorrow!

November 11^th Lazy boy Bob was in evidence this morning although he did set the alarm for Huan who had to be out early again. Sheer laziness meant that I stayed in all morning and didn’t go out until after lunch. My first photo was this, a sign commemorating 100 years of the CCP, which I’m not sure we have seen before.

Further on and on my way down to the riverside, a lady coming the other way stopped me and told me that Huan had arrived back in Wuzhishan. Phoning Huan confirmed it and I had a plan to take her photo as she crossed the bridge towards me. My plan failed, she was on the other side of the road and we passed each other unawares! When we did meet up we walked home via an empty street-food and market area.

On the way home we also stopped off at the town square to have another test. It seems there had been another message, I didn’t get it though. That’s #47 for us; will we reach 100 before the end of the year? What do you think?

Once home, we were in the house for just long enough to have a cup of coffee when chauffeur Bob had to take over and drive Huan back to the rehearsal hall to collect free dinners. They had finished early today but the organisers had already bought and paid for their evening meals. We had to be there at five, here’s an atrocious selfie of us waiting in the car.

I think someone had forgotten to inform anyone to come and distribute the meals; it was probably around quarter to six when they started. Here are some of the ladies on their way out, Huan and company were lost inside somewhere.

Huan came home with one lunch and three dinners so I didn’t have to do anything for myself, not even wash the dishes. Aren’t I the lucky one?

November 12^th Today followed a similar pattern to yesterday, I did a morning Onslow! I did move my weary bones after lunch though; I had to be back home before four. Within minutes I spotted one of our favourite little caterpillars. They look so beautiful and almost cuddly, but Huan assures me that my skin will react very badly if I do that.

I have some more of those signs for you today, remember the pomegranate?

Here is another new one, it seems that Xiǎo dǎo and all the surrounding riverbanks have now been given a new title, the ‘National Unity Park’.

We will try and get out this week sometime and make a video showing all the new signs, hopefully also explaining a little as we go.

My route took me along the other side of the river today; it appears we have lost some water.

Lo and behold, as my journey progressed, there was an overabundance of water at the other end of the river! As you can see, the footpaths are completely submerged.

On my way home I spotted what could be some good news, although I don’t know if I will be allowed to visit. This looks like a beer garden in the process of completion.

The call came at half past six; “please come and fetch us at half past seven” said the voice at the other end. Of course I dutifully obeyed. Huan only brought one dinner home today but since we still had some two left over from yesterday I ate one of them. She also brought nearly a hundred photos on her phone and then through the evening more appeared from her cast mates. Most were binned but here is the superstar herself. Check those baskets now!

November 13th Thankfully this was the last ‘wake up early’ morning and by golly, was it early. The alarm was set for half past four so that I could take the ladies at twenty past five to catch their bus at half past five. PS It was supposed to be six but they had a message changing it last night. At least they didn’t have to do like some ladies and be at the hall at three in the morning to have their make-up done. Having dropped them all off, they still didn’t leave before six!

As for me, well I had a ticket to the show, courtesy of SuMeiLi, so I had to be on my way early too. ‘Handbrake Off’ was at seven, I was to drive myself to Shuiman Xiang and a shuttle bus would take me to Mauna Cun. Arriving there I found that the scene had been set.

SuMeiLi showed us to our seats. Us? Yes, I had a guest with me.

And this was my view when the mist was turned off ready for the speeches to start. There was even more ‘stage’ to the left but I could not see that from where I sat.

If you check the lower right of the photo above you will see one of my only two complaints about the show. All those ladies are stood in the sun and had been standing there before I took my seat at around eight thirty. The last person to give a speech went on and on, and he didn’t finish until quarter to ten. To their credit the ladies did not wilt.

My guest showing the rain forest background, which is her natural habitat of course.

These ducks barely moved all through the show. When the dancers got too close in the later stages they moved down to the left and hung around there till the show was over.

This lady was the narrator within the show.

One of the singers and some of the dancers.

Some views off the ‘workers in the fields’. Huan was wielding her hoe somewhere on the left, we could not see her.

There were quite a few professional dancers and actors involved as well, they had come down from Guangdong. You can see a few in these photos; they are the ones not wearing ethnic Li or Miao clothing. If you look very carefully, you will also spot Huan carrying a basket. We only spotted her when we went through the photos at home.

In this photo you can see many more of the professionals.

Here they are again after the closing number.

That was also my second, much more minor niggle, I felt that the singer should have been dressed in a more ‘rainforest’ theme. As I say, a minor grumble and I have to say that he sung very well indeed. In fact the whole show was very impressive. Having watched very little of the rehearsals of the extras I was a little concerned, I needn’t have been. The chorography, the sound, the music, everything came together superbly. Everyone should be proud of themselves.

Someone came over to have a chat with me. Here is Sam, from the Wuzhishan Rainforest Hotel, and Tiffany Chan, a journalist from the newspaper China Daily.

Here’s Huan’s little team with their chorographers.

When the ladies arrived back in Wuzhishan they did their final trip to empty the bus and take the props back to the big hall.

I then had to wait a little longer while the ladies waited to be presented with a small gift each. Here are Huan and Yú, their last meeting for this particular show, with their little gifts. I believe that they are Hainan gibbons; they do come in two colours.

November 14^th Test 48 this morning but at least we were able to wake up normally. Within seconds I was in trouble with the old dear in front of us. She was getting quite uppity in asking me to keep my one metre distance. I did try and tell her that this was not my first time but she was having none of it. Huan thinks she was worried because I was a foreigner in the testing queue and she probably hasn’t seen that before.

The queue then did a little detour to keep out of the sun, I stayed straight ahead to soak up my vitamin D. Strangely enough, the baldy behind me followed me into the sun.

Thus endeth today’s lesson! Yep, we stayed in, no shopping planned or done. Checking the fridge yesterday I realised that we had enough vegetables left for me to cook some lovely noodle soup today. Along with a tin of fish that included (butter)beans we ate well. In fact I have given explicit orders that Huan will not cook at all this week. After the last few weeks she needs a well earned rest. Besides, it will mean we can go out for dinner on Friday!

You may be wondering why there is no video of Huan’s show. Anything I tried to create would have come a poor second to the one that will be produced for international consumption. If and when I manage to get a copy of that I will upload it on my YouTube.

Stay tuned, and next week we may well have something about the annual visa saga. TTFN