Day 3 in Chengdu and at last, for a short time, it rains and boy, does it rain. Up until now It’s been a very hot 40 degree but very humid. We arrived at Sims Cosy Guest house 3 days ago and spoke with him yesterday. He personally sends thanks to all of you who donated money when we sent it for the earthquake disaster fund, from Sheffield, way back in May. He tells me that the last NGO left yesterday and that the work is still carrying on in the disaster area. Temporary accommodation has been set up but that [View Full Entry]

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Yaroslavsky 08/08/08 After watching the Beijing opening ceremony on TV in the hostel, we gather our things for the walk to Yaroslavsky station (about 40 minutes away) including many kerbs and underground crossings of big roads with about 50 steps down and then up. Chris’s new super strength trolly is now carrying his ‘fun’ bag and the laptop bag - both of which are really, really heavy. Between us, we are carrying 7 bags consisting of 2 very big back packs, 2 very big trolly bags and 2 bags ontop of the trolly bags. Surprisingly, it is the train food bag [View Full Entry]

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09/08/08 7.30am. I wake to see endless rolling silver birch and fir forests again. Grey skies. The lovely sound of the train and the constant gentle rocking movement. I immediately think of the sad woman in Yaroslavsky station last night. Kirov - 12.17pm 957km from Moscow. (Kirov, renamed in 1934 in honour of Communist Leader assassinated earlier in the same year. Sergie Kirov was at one time so close to Stalin that most people assumed that he would succeed him as Party General Secretary. But he subsequently broke away and it is more than likely that Stalin had a hand in [View Full Entry]

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This is a short film made by Chris for his dad. [View Full Entry]

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Sheffield to Moscow Tracey’s bit 4 August - St. Pancras St. Pancras has a new European feel to it. The cakey shop has very exciting cakes with fruits and berries laden on top of the rich chocolate cakes. The station is like a cattle market though with everyone pushing and no one wants to help anyone. It seems strange to me. My lovely daughter slightly alone at the check in desk for the Eurostar. Words in texts flying through the air and last glances saying everything. My parting reminders to her - do this, do that, do the other… At Brus [View Full Entry]

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One week to go... I’m sitting here trying to find the words to write before we go to China but the sentences won’t really come - just thoughts and fleeting feelings related to the time leading up to this time. So, here are a few thoughts: Two years ago, Chris and I decided to go travelling extensively and we’ve developed our lives to be ready for this departure. I gave my kids two years notice, we started learning Mandarin, I sold everything worth selling including books that I thought I couldn’t live without, I took on two jobs and latterly, Chris [View Full Entry]

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Tesco Green Wheelie bag will travel. As it's only 14 days until we move out of our house and 48 days until we leave for China, our thoughts have turned to packing and re packing and re re packing. As Chris has been frantically digging, like a dog, in the large box upstairs on the landing, to try to gather all of his equipment together - it's been a dawning lesson to us both as to how we are not going to be able to carry everything that has been bought for our journey (and has yet to be bought). Chris [View Full Entry]

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