Chinese – 2020 – A Year of Perfect Vision

Routine

Here I am, back on the downward slope, after recovering from the carrot incident. (I forgot to mention that the guilty root vegetable paid the ultimate price, deep in that evening’s lamb stew. The peppers and baby sweetcorn seemed a little miffed, since they’d done nothing to cause harm, but I remain confident that theyContinue reading “Routine”

Wang – King

Yes, the less peurile version of me would have gone for doing that title the other way round, but it may attract a bit more attention, so live with it. I’ve mentioned my struggles with learning Chinese, and this ‘ere instalment comes from a genuine series of events which prompted me to take this particularContinue reading “Wang – King”

Maudlin

Morose, too. Possibly. The past few days have been difficult. To be fair, most days have a certain degree of difficulty, but of late I have been contemplating the journey that will not be happening next month, and this is keeping me at a decidely low level of down. It’s strange, and perhaps a littleContinue reading “Maudlin”

An Anagram

The other day, the Internet, or perhaps more precisely the Internet-based thingummy known as Twitter, went a bit mad. Mad in a nice way. There are some quick-witted people out there. Within minutes of this gem being posted… … some wag had come back with the near-perfect riposte. Namely, that PETA is an anagram ofContinue reading “An Anagram”

Speaking of school days…

I quite enjoy mixing this up, so that like Mr Gump’s box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get (next). [Actually, that was a daft simile wasn’t it? All boxes of chocolates I’ve ever seen come with a sheet to tell you what each one is… but let’s let that one slide,Continue reading “Speaking of school days…”

為什麼？

Why? In either English or Chinese, this question is often on my lips, irrespective of the subject matter. Time to show this again. Here we go then. A quick one for students of the Chinese language in particular, and everyone else in general. My problem is with Pinyin. For those unfamiliar with this term, itContinue reading “為什麼？”

From Epiphany to Conception

I just decided that this sounds a bit like a Tom Hanks vehicle, in which he plays an itinerant musician, crossing New England, beginning and ending in the titular towns, in search of the man who saved him from certain death at the hands of the Viet Cong. Crikey! Where did that come from? HollywoodContinue reading “From Epiphany to Conception”

Twainty20

“It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.” Mark Twain Something I heard the other day made me stop and think. Something about how, with all this communication technology at our fingertips, everyone now has a voice. I generallyContinue reading “Twainty20”