December 29th - And What A Very Merry Christmas It Was

How typically Christmas. All the heavily advertised run up to it and 24 hours later it's all over. Nothing new there then.

But there is something new just around the corner - a whole New Year!

The family and myself are all headed off to a hotel resort for the next 4 nights for fully catered and taken care of pampering on the south coast here. Might be a little chilly, what with all this talk of the start of the 'Big Freeze', but it will be relaxing.

So what's in live for the new year for me I wonder? Still got no idea what I'm going to do about getting any sort of income. It looks like my brother and I might dabble in a little bit of business of one sort or another, but it's all proving a it tricky as I still can't really plan on where I'm going to be within 2 months.

Ah well - guess we'll just have to wait and see. Now is not the time to worry about it I guess. Just get on and enjoy the 5 days away.

And just before I do that there's just enough time to wish you all a happy and prosperous New Year.

See you on the other side!!!!

P.s. I've just found out that my good friend Jennifer has gotten engaged to her long suffereing boyfriend Jeremy. So congratulations to Jennifer and Jeremy and best of luck to you both!!!

December 22nd - Another 5 Minutes Of My Time

We all respond to and are influenced by the environment we are in. Everything we have seen and experienced up to this point in time has influenced and helped to create the person we are. It goes without saying then that my time spent in China has changed my view on life quite a lot.

I guess I have always been quite independent - at least according to my mum, who will talk your ear off telling you storied about how, as a wee nipper, I showed a desire to do things my way. As I grew up, I always wanted to get my own space. Leaving home as early as was financially possible was a must.

When the time came for me to return to England, as a 28 year old, with my girlfriend in tow, I must say that I was quite apprehensive about doing it as the only option I had was to really come back home and live with my parents. 28 year old plus girlfriend oving in wiht parents equals a lot of questionning myself about just what I was doing with my life.

I spoke to Jewel about this and, despite what my natural 'English' instincts were telling me, my Chinese influenced concience persuaded me that it really is not that big a deal. Married kids living at home with their parents is not entirely unusual in China. Jewls brother and sister-in-law do it. In rural China sons usually do that, woth daughters usually going to live with their husband's parents.

I am still OK with it, but I must be honest and say that the longer I stay here the more my original opinion plays on my mind. I think it probably has as much to do with my worries of other peoples perceptions of me and what I'm doing, as much as it is an independence issue.

Whatever it is, I am treating this as an extended stay at home as part of Christmas 2005 and will try to do something about it in the New Year.

And with that in mind, here is the 'James Hampton Christmas Card for 2005'. After all, Christmas is all about a special baby...

(and yes, that is me!)

December 20th - Absconding Blogger Disappears

7 days after my previous triumphant return I've finally forced myself to take a few minutes this evening to log-on and update. Although I feel like I've done nothing of late (and I guess with life in general)I really haven't had more than about 5 minutes to myself anytime in the last 3 weeks. Not a bad thing, I might add - just a thing.

And despite feeling like I've been back forever, it has only been 3 weeks. Add 5 more days on to that and it will be Christmas!

Anyway, just to give you some idea of how my surrounds have changed from this time last month, I've got a few snaps of the area around the new house. It's been great to be able to take the time to get lost in the countryside, but at the same time it still feels a bit surreal whe I walk round a corner and don't see 3 24 hour convenince stores in front of me. The old reverse culture shock in action.

The first is of the lake close to the new house, about a 5 minute walk through the woods from the new house:

The second is a ahot of the sun through the trees on the walk to the lake:

And finally, a shot of the sun setting behind the river which runs behind the old house.

Shanghai it aint!

December 13th - The Absconding Blogger Returns

I've been busying myself with Christmas shopping and other fun things, so updating my Blog has taken a bit of a back seat for a while. My prolific phase of daily entries seems a long time ago.

The new bedroom in the new house is still in a state if chaos and as that was the only place that I could get on the computer, it kind of put me off turning on and tuning in. And I say 'was' because after a day surrounded by the delights of 'flat-pack' and it's instructions, the computer and it's new corner unit are now up and running in the 3rd bedroom/office here.

So that was today.

Tomorrow, however, gets really exciting. Home still has no washing machine - although it has been promised daily - so I am going to be spendong the majority of the daylight hours doing 3 weeks - yes 3 weeks - worth of laudndry. Now tell me that ain't fun.

New photos from the 'jungle' (as Jewel calls it) that surrounds the new home soon, I hope, as I managed to get out with the camera for the first time since my return. Fun to get out snapping again - hope I get more time to do it soon.

And I promise to be in touch with everyone very soon - things here just not quite got to that settle dpoint yet. But I can sure feel then getting closer...

December 9th - Through The Revolving Doors

Got a call from a friend of mine the other day - one of the crowd from England who I met in China the first time I was there. Turns out that one of the other guys who was there with us, and who has already married his Chinese girlfriend, is heading back to Shanghai. He was the same guy who came back to the UK when I went out to China the last time.

Leaves China when I arrives and leave England when I return...hmmmm...sounds like an unlikely coincidence. Should I take that personally? Just kidding. Anyway, the point was that as soon as I heard that he was off to my old haunt I suddenly had a shot of jealousy hit me and my mind got to wandering off thiking about travelling again. Or at least being somewhere else.

Nothing like coming home to make you want to go away again.

So while my feet are at home, my mind is back in Shanghai right now. So here are a couple of shots (unfortunately not taken by me - no idea who did either) to help me remember.

The first is of a 'Uygur' serving up 'shish-kebab' (as they say). Uygurs form part of the Muslim contingent in China.

And with all that talk of bird flu, here's more food for thought. A sight not at all uncommon in Shanghai. Live chickens on the way to market.

Ahhh, Shanghai.....

December 7th - Last Few Days Of Nothing Much

I've began to notice/understand a few changes in myself since I've been back.

First off, I can clearly understand why I just cannot stand being in the company of 'know-it-alls'. An overbearing and over-worrying one brought me into the world and having been brought up by her I think I can safely say that all of my tolerance and love for know-it-alls is saved for my dear mother. She's a wonderful, wonderful mother and I am a terrible, terrible son for saying that, but that's how it is (and she really is a wonderful, wonderful mum!).

And secondly, the older I get, the more I understand and agree that ignorance is bliss.

It's something I touched on before, but not having been able to understand anything people around me were saying for the previous 2 years was, I feel now, a true blessing. Having to overhear the moans, groans and mind numbing tedium of the conversations of the people on the bus has had me reaching for the MP3 player already. Still, that might say more about the people on my bus and my patience levels these days, than anything else.

I'm must say though that I'm starting to settle into and enjoy life back in the UK more each day. I'm getting back into it much more and getting a more balanced view of it all. Still got no idea what I'm actually going to do with myself - i.e. where to get my money - but I can worry about that later.

I did remember one of the things I wanted to Blog about from the rushed departure from Shanghai. I guess it lands in the cultural difference category, but you can decide on that.

When my parents used to visit my old house, they would be welcomed in, sat down and offered tea/coffee or whatever and generally treated like guests (or maybe customers?!) in a hotel. That pretty much went for any visitor to the place - they were the guests, so they would be taken care of.

When we were about to leave Shanghai Jewel's parents came to visit to say goodbye to us/her and also, very kindly, to take a few boxes of 'things' home.

First thing they did when they were welcomed into the house? Mother went into the living room and started rummaging through the boxes of things we had packed to be taken back and began re-packing and sorting them. Father went into the kitchen, looked through the cuboards and pulled out a few packets of biscuits and promptly tucked in.

As they both did that I stood there a bit bewildered at first, but then remebered who they were and where I was and it all felt good. I know it would never have happened with my parents - their idea of politeness or etiquette as guests in another person's home would have stopped them - and I got to thinking if it was better that the guests/family visitors should be so reserved when they visit or feel so comfortable that 'your's is mine/mine is your's'.

Thinking about it now, I've got to say that the idea of the closeness and the feeling of comfort from Jewel's family is something that was really quite amazing to me. Why should they feel like visitors/guests in the home and have to walk on tip-toes around us? They are part of our family and more welcome than anyone in our home. And, afterall, they had just spent 10 hours on the train and taken time out of their normal schedules to come and see us off and save all the things we would have had to throw away. We ain't rich and will undoubtedly want/need them in the future.

Their help, kindness and thought was really greatly appreciated and quite touching.

Anyway, just something I noticed.

Going to try to get away for the weekend, but with Christams coming up (2 more full weekends to go!!!) and a house still to tidy up, time might be an issue.

December 5th - Back To Normal?

The old house has officially been sold, the money is now safely in my parents bank accounts and 31 years of accumulated odds and ends (my parents are hardcore hoarders) is now piled in every conceiveable room in the new house. It's going to be at least 2 weeks before any sense of normallity reaches this place, but at leats we won't be running between house like headless chickens any more.

It's all been interesting though. I met yp with my brother for the first time since I've been back on Friday night. He dstayed and helped with the final weekend of moving. It's actually a little frightening to see how much we are both becoming more like my father.

Poor Jewel has been stuck in the middle fo this semi-organised chaos for her first full week in England. She's been doing well though, getting her hands dirty and joining in with the hard work.

Her parents moved in about April of this year and she said whe found ot very interesting to notice the difference between hers and my parents move. When my parents left, the neighbours didn't want to intrude on all he frantic work going on and just popped round quickly to give their best wishes. Very quietly and unintrusively, perhaps typically English.

When Jewels parenst left, the whole street let off fire crackers at midnight to wish them on their way and then they set off fire crackers outside their new house at about 1.30am as part of a traditional arrival in a new home. Jewel found it very strange that, after 20 - 30 years of living next doo rto them, the neigbours wouldn't be a bit more involved or emotional about my parents leaving.

Anyway, as the week goes on I hope to get the chance to post a bit more regularly as I finally get a ridiculously small amount of free time in the day now.

P.S. For anyone in the UK, my new mobile number here is: 07896190011