Fisherman’s friends
(Fishermen at the canal on our road: Suzhou China)
Every day, seemingly without fail, there is a small cluster of men assembled on the riverside at the corner of our apartment block. Rain or shine, there is at least one man present, even if he is carefully nestled under an umbrella or tarpaulin. Apparently, there are fish to be caught in the canal – Ying and I can only conclude that this must be true since this spot attracts so many fishing enthusiasts. It is quite probable that they are fishing for dinner, as well as pleasure, though I’d be hesitant eating any animal swept out of these greasy waters. About five hundred metres behind me taking this shot is a building site for a new kindergarten, dripping all manner of debris into the canal.
You can see the remnants of other building jobs with the blue pipe in the foreground – you might also notice the group’s proximity to the road and to apartment blocks in the background. This is no peaceful countryside retreat, this an urban waterway carrying boats, some rubbish and some slightly unpleasant aromas in the heat of summer. I find it amazing that people come here to relax, even with the constant raspy breathing of the traffic behind them, passing pedestrians blethering on their phones, the honking of the e-bikes and the announcements of every stop from the buses. If the wind is blowing towards us, we can hear these lengthy recitals in the kitchen, even with the window closed.
Ying left this morning for a sixteen-day trip to Europe for meetings and training. This is the first time I have ever been left ‘alone’ in China – the last time he left for the UK, his mother was here and she and I spent several days in each other’s company. This time, however, the flat is empty except for my work, a new Nintendo Wii and a washing machine so now I have no excuse not to be productive (at least to an extent). I hope to do a lot of drawing, to catch up with friends, both local and foreign and to take a day trip to Shanghai to break up the next fortnight without the diversion of Ying and his antics.
By the way – if you know why the trees have white trunks up to four feet, do let me know. All over China, they look the same and I’ve never encountered it before – it’s as if they are being treated for some ailment, except every single tree is daubed with it.
I do believe the white at the bottom of trees acts as some kind of a pesticide.
And I am looking forward to seeing you on Friday, should be a great day out, best not rain!! So loads of sun dances need to be performed till then