A wee stroll along the wall was what we did today and at the start it looked a little daunting but after a few hours of walking mostly uphill we finally reached the top.

On the second day in Shanghai we decided to go to the Sculpture Park and we were not disappointed.

   

 

There’s an army of mainly old folk that wander this city and I know it’s the same all over China, collecting rubbish that can be recycled. I watch so many people throwing rubbish away and they don’t care where they drop it but these folk if they find it will collect it.

In the complex where I live I often see,at night, a woman in her 40’s with a child go through the bins and search for plastic or cardboard. But she has competition because sometimes there is an older woman but I don’t have any pictures because I don’t feel comfortable taking their picture.

What amazes me more of course is the way that they bundle all of this stuff and transport it to wherever they take it in the city, it’s great and so I have given you a few examples of the bin men and women in Suzhou………

 

When I first came to China many months ago I thought to myself that this would be the safest place to live at this time after Trump got into the White House, but how quickly things can change. The crazy Korean in the north has been atagonising the west for a long time and shouting at its mortal enemy America, but this week things have progressed to the very brink.

Kim is the spoiled brat child in the room that no one likes but they tolerate. every so often the brat will push one of the other guys in the room or name call or just generally be a dick. The brat could be taken out in a heart beat as his bark is worse than his bite but the trouble is that many people would suffer as a result of the actions taken by the rest of the folk in the room. Many of Kim’s people would die for no reason other than that of a fucking lunatic getting a bit too lippy. What’s more, his people have no idea what the world is like because they live within this virtual reality created by the Kim family. They are told that they are the most powerful country on earth and that their technology is second to none, where as all of us really know that this is shit.

So when the gutless bully in the corner decides to overstep the mark, how do we deal with this. We can’t be too pussy with the response, but at the same time we have to go in and literally King hit the wee prick and take him out and him alone. Thee are so many innocent victims in all of this.

The Japanese must be shittin” themselves along with the South Koreans.  The Chinese are also very unhappy and those closer to the action are very worried. Since Friday of last week there has been a lot of activity from the Chinese Air force around Suzhou. They have been flying in formation and flying low. It’s good for many of the plane spotters that you don’t get in China.

My sister and brother in law come for a holiday next week and we will be doing a little sightseeing around the east coast of China and I will be really pissed if this wee arse starts any more nonsense and upsets oor travel plans. I mean what a selfish wee prick he is. It’s the usual wee man syndrome and to top it off he’s just a wee fat bastard, I wonder if he can find his dick or maybe he has a special dick attendant that helps him in that department.

The DPRK fluffer.

So much sorrow and so much pain,

Everyone seems to suffer and very few gain,

War is big business these days,

An opportunity for a quick thinker,

For someone to make a quick buck,

Someone with some spare Kalashnikov’s to squander,

To let some child loose to wander,

To sell to the highest bidder,

Because loyalty is meaningless, the dollar is your friend.

Happiness is a cigar called Hamlet

 

 

We fight for land, we fight for food,

We also fight for religion which of course is no good,

They all believe their god is the greatest,

When will they discover it really hates us?

Is this a sport for it?

Where does it sit?

Why does it watch?

Why does it ignore its believers?

Why won’t it face its detractors?

I think there are too many factors.

We have leaders and sheep; it’s the way of life,

But Happiness is a cigar called Hamlet.

 

 

They say ignorance is bliss,

 Let’s try it someday,

To live in an another reality,

To live like an American let’s say,

To see the world through Star Spangled Glasses,

Distorted and skewed.

Where hatred is real and stupidity rife,

No wonder they have a Trump president with a Glamorous wife.

Did you ever watch Marty McFly in Back to the Future?

Biff was in power and this is America’s Future.

Happiness is a cigar called Hamlet.

 

 

So what is happiness for you and for me?

I like to listen to music; I like to be free,

To wander through this life as I choose,

To escape the rat race to find a new muse,

To be out my depth maybe up to my waist,

To think quick on my feet with much too much haste,

To be challenged every day and learn something new,

To have a good single malt or a glass of Shiraz

And of course some dark chocolate to add some pizzazz.

But happiness is a cigar called Hamlet.

 

 

So what about you?

How do you stay away from the colour blue?

Please share and tell us, I’m keen to know.

I might need your advice someday and your shoulder to lean on,

I’m just lucky just now that I have Karma in the bank,

I’m positive and gaining interest.

But life is full of ups and downs and old foes,

And it can be easy to let those woes,

Eat you and feed the fire of depression but don’t let it win,

Talk if need be, go for a walk have a cup of tea,

But always remember,

Happiness is a cigar called Hamlet.

 

 

SO who is Hamlet? I guess you want to know,

Well he made cigars many many years ago,

And he always told me that if you were sad or blue,

That you sought him out and he could cure you,

By making you smell funny but relaxed and new,

To be cool,suave and be debonair even if you lost all your hair.

But whether it’s a Hamlet a dog or a book,

Find your happiness wherever you look,

It might be under your nose just open your eyes,

And I’m sure one day you will get a very pleasant surprise,

Happiness is a Cigar called Hamlet.

 

A poem sent into the Bremer Forum for this weeks topic and I thought I would post it here also.

Freedom for All

Well it seems to be, but why is it so?

How can they do it? I just don’t know.

But if I did, wouldn’t it be magic,

It would be free to me, which is not so tragic.

But is it better when it’s free?

I think so, don’t you agree?

Your pocket will be happy and you will have a smile on your face,

But after awhile I would feel a disgrace,

The guilt would rise, which is no surprise.

But will I get over it? I’m sure I will,

I’m Scottish after all and Freeeeedom is our call.

 

But can everyone be free?

I don’t think it’s possible you see,

In fact there are more slaves today since the plantation days,

Since the fall of the Roman Empire in fact.

 

 

Our modern slaves are from all walks of life and sometimes even end up as a wife,

Transported with the promise of a better life than before,

But only to end up bruised and battered and lying on the floor,

Under the guise of a Student or Nanny or Friend,

They are transported from their home to this bitter end.

 

 

So Freedom for all is a dream I believe,

The reality is powerful and will not be conceived.

And all through history we have had orators a plenty,

But not one of the promises was filled, they were all empty.

SO Freedom for all will never be achieved.

This is the sad reality of such a dream, a nightmare in fact.

It will be assigned to the past, to gather dust in a corner.

 

Freedom for all is a powerful thing, but greed and cruelty still thrive,

So the nightmare is real and many still feel,

But we don’t see it, so it doesn’t exist.

But it’s under our noses and we have just missed.

 

From 7/11 to the farms in the country they work from dawn till dusk

But their efforts are only rewarded a little bit

And so they end up being treated like SHIT!

 

Freedom is a dream for many, but should be a right.

But how long will it take for them to see the light,

To feel the wind on their faces and the pleasures of life,

To wake up free of their chains and to live as they intended,

And to be free like you and me.

 

 

 

 

 

On the metro last night there was a wee security guard that got on at one of the busier stations and I had to laugh because his night stick was about half the size of him and the body language was no different to any other wee nyaff in any country.

This wee bespectacled chap stood facing the door , feet spread apart, thumbs tucked into his belt showing off his acne.  But he stood there with an air of authority because of his big stick and uniform but all of a sudden his expression changes as he reaches for his phone. The phone is quickly out and he looks at it as if it’s a very important message,  maybe his noodles have arrived I’m not sure, but again this is the body language of someone who is trying to look more important than that really are and after all who hasn’t. His expression changes to one of urgency and it looks like he has to get off the train now but he will have to wait at least another minute before we reach the next station, but can he keep this act going for that length of time? No he cracks under the pressure, but he touches his night stick for some security and that seems to calm him before he struts out the train, regaining his composure…………………….

A nyaff is a nyaff in any country…………

 

Nyaff is a word used mainly in the West of Scotland; especially around the Glasgow area that is used when referring to someone who is a bit weird or ‘off’ or just to refer to someone who you think is a bit of a dickhead.

After getting off the number 62 bus, just in case you are thinking of coming here yourself for a wee stroll, then from Suzhou it’s the number 62 bus that one needs. It will drop you in the heart of the town and of course you will run the gauntlet of desperate drivers looking for business and they only want 500 rmb, which is extortion by the way, to take you around. If I was you put on a good pair of shoes or jump on the local bus.

This is the sign telling us that we have 24 flights of steps ahead. They zig zag up the hill and just before you get to them you are walking through the many kumquat trees on your journey up the hill.

This is what pisses me off about China, most people drop their rubbish anywhere and every where and they have little respect about keeping the natural beauty just that. As I’ve said before they don’t hesitate when they drop their rubbish and this is the result, an unsightly mess in the middle of the wilderness. Two things I would love to see a change in here is this behaviour and the other is blasting car horns.If these two activities could be stopped then the country would be so much the better for it.

On Dongshan there is an old village which you can go into for a small fee but I don’t know how much it is because I sneaked in the back door. You can walk over the mountain and it’s about 6km or so and the path takes you up the 24 flights of steps to the main road which goes across the mountain. After walking along there for about a 1 km then you head off to the right and go up and over the rest of the hill and it will finally lead you through the tea plantations and into the rear of the village. When I arrived there was hardly any people about which is the way I like it.

After I arrived I had my lunch which I bought after getting off the bus. There is a supermarket and a small bakers where you can pick up supplies. I sat under a small pergoda and ate my Baozi and relaxed for about 40 mins and enjoyed the fresh air. My shirt is absolutely soaked through but today I brought a clean shirt with me to change into before I head home.

After lunch I left the village and walked a short distance along the road and along the side of the lake where I came across a fancy hotel on the left and then on the right near the lake there were many lotus flowers, which you will see all over the Suzhou region at this time of year.