Dinner Party

Sat night saw us having a dinner party at Duncan's. Really great atmosphere and it is clear he is loved by his extended family.

His niece Nancy turned up first, followed by Shirley, her husband King, her parents, her other friend Nancy and a workmate Eric. In addition to Duncan, I, Yiuyeng had her work cut out cooking for 10 people!

All good fun. Wes, you would've loved Shirley's old man - kept sneaking out for a crafty fag every 20 minutes, hair all over the place like a mad woman's, and he'd just get up and leave the table every now and again to catch some of the badminton in the middle of the meal. Didn't give a monkeys. Spoke the most english he'd ever spoken that night.

I was making them laugh with the '3 second rule' about dropping a piece of food on the table and it being ok, if you pick it up quickly (ie within 3 seconds). This turned hysterical when I told them about the 10 second rule ('see 3 second rule'), which applies if you're not quick enough for the 3 second rule.

I think they thought it was very strange! They also thought it weird that we just chucked away chicken and gooses feet (instead of eating them) and didn't spit out our waste food. I guess being able to chop off the fat, bones and gristle with a knife and fork before eating isn't an option with chopsticks.

All in all, it was a lovely evening. I belive the family unit here in China is stronger than it is in the UK, and it was nice to be welcomed into a Chinaman's home and be integrated with his family. They were genuinely nice people and made me feel welcome. Above all, I feel priviledged and honoured to be welcomed into Duncan's home, to have him as my kind, patient and generous host (not to mention room-mate!)for nearly a week and for him to involve me in his every-day life too.

The food was great (subtle flavours) and a real mixture of stuff (including Coca Cola chicken wings!). We also ordered a spicy chicken platter from the place we went to for breakfast and left overs are for lunch today (Sunday) when Duncan wakes up from his nap in his massage chair and Yieyung from her siesta! It's very hot and muggy today, so not much doing.