Reflections on China: the prologue

Evening folks,
We've just arrived back after a jolly cinema/Nando's combo. Tonight's film was the new X Men flick and very good it was too. I really like this franchise - intelligent movies with lovely cinematography and really engaging characters. This evening's offering was a great addition to the series. And the delicious Hugh Jackman made a wee cameo appearance. I'd definitely recommend it.

We haven't got our holiday photos online yet as Nikon, in their wisdom, do not include a USB cable with their new cameras. D is waiting for one to arrive from Amazon so for the moment you'll have to make do with a couple of snaps from the iphone. When the photos are up (and I have had some time to think about it all) I'll post some real reflections on our Chinese adventure.

Here's one for all you plane enthusiasts. We flew on the Airbus A380, the biggest plane in the skies. Here it is at Beijing Airport with its little brother from British Airways next to it:

Wandering around Tiananmen Square at night was an incredible experience. Everyone was super friendly and even late at night we felt totally safe and well looked after.

We really loved the English translations of signs. They were always polite and read a little like an essay by an undergraduate who is trying too hard. Here is D standing next to one of our favourites:

And finally for the time being, here is a wee film. D's favourite thing about plane travel is being able to watch back-to-back movies. On the way home they were showing The Edge with Sir Anthony Hopkins (one for all you Kermode fans there). He was slightly surprised by this as, and I quote, "I'm sure that film has a plane crash in it". Everyone knows it is poor etiquette to show an air disaster film while zooming through the air at a gizzilion miles an hour at 30,000 feet. But, in a moment of true comic genius, D managed to capture what the good people of Lufthansa decided to do with the dreaded crash scene.

Anyways, that's your lot for tonight. I'll probably post a more comprehensive response to China at the weekend. Between now and then it is Book, some faffy admin jobs and some serious flat tidying.

Enjoy the week folks.
CSW