Earlier this week Jiajia's Spousal Visa application was accepted. It took me months to compile all the necessary documents and though I was 90% sure it would be accepted, that 10% doubt would have been a huge problem for our plans had it been rejected. So there was a lot of relief when it came though. We'll be heading to the UK in June. The visa means Jiajia can live and work in the UK for 2½ years, at which point we need to extend her visa by a further 2½ years. After the full 5 years she should be eligible to reside permanently in the UK. Well, that's the plan. Little by little....
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It was JD's 11th birthday today. His preferred treat was to travel to a professional flight training school for a couple of hours on an A320 simulator [see below]. The trainer showed him he various instruments and displays for the first hour, but then wandered off for a cigarette, saying the JD was quite able to handle the aircraft by himself! A solo take-off and landing later, we had to agree. JD loved it!
Halfway up, it decided to rain - the first rain we've seen in Kunming for 2-3 months. We learned later it has been artificially seeded. Fortunately we had brought umbrellas. After a vegetarian lunch at MiaoGao Temple, at the top of the mountain, we headed back down and home via a welcome ice-cream!
![]() We continue to pack for our move to the UK, with fingers firmly crossed that Jiajia's visa comes through successfully soon. We are planning to send a dozen boxes 1-2 weeks before we leave, expecting them to arrive at our new address in Chippenham a month or two after we are settled there. It's just hard to know what to send and what to buy once we're there. The "Flying Tigers" were formally known as the "American Volunteer Group", who flew fighter and cargo planes in WWII in Myanmar and China to try and fend off Japanese advances. They are still remembered fondly for supplying food and supplies to war-torn Kunming and its Museum has a permanent exhibition in their memory.
Whenever there's an important Government get-together in Beijing, the "powers that be" flick a switch and suddenly VPNs no longer work. VPNs are the software products that (normally) spoof the internet into thinking you are in another country and thus get round the "Great Firewall of China" which blocks Chinese citizens from using "dangerous" apps like Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Google, Yahoo, BBC, etc. I rely on VPNs to keep in touch with the rest of the world and the Chinese Government appears to tolerate them most of the time. But it just goes to show that when they really want to cut China off from the outside world, they can! Another reason to return home...
The large building being constructed behind our neighbourhood is a little less noisy these days than in the first six months of it going up. JD and I often spot this worker who seems take VERY long lunchbreaks hiding in the shell of the half-finished section nearest our flat. She is often sleeping or looking at her phone - sometimes for hours at an end! Should we report her or celebrate her cheekiness?
JD's new Secondary School in Chippenham was finalised yesterday when we accepted an offer of a place at "Sheldon School" (our first choice). Another small step towards our relocation to the UK.
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AuthorPaul Hider started this blog to share his rather odd life living in China for over 20 years. Since returning to the UK in 2024, the blog now records his more "normal" lifestyle! Past blog entries
December 2024
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