Author Archives: The Pearl

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About The Pearl

I am a scribbler spending a year or two in Shanghai.

Looking for Christmas

Posted on December 23, 2015 by The Pearl

Naturally Christmas is not a big thing here in Shanghai, although the big hotels, the shopping malls and the western restaurants all put Christmas decorations up during the first couple of weeks of December.  But there is not the western … Continue reading →

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A Certain Mindset

Posted on December 23, 2015 by The Pearl

There are many reasons why this blog had more or less gone to sleep for a couple of months over the autumn.  First of all we had visitors from the UK and we had trips out of China, to Hong … Continue reading →

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Xiao Long Bao and Coconut Sago Sweet Soup

Posted on December 22, 2015 by The Pearl

Usually at this time of year during the week before Christmas I’m busy making sausage rolls.  Delia Smith’s ones.  The best ones there are.  A slab of flaky or puff pastry is rolled out into a rectangle about 12″ by … Continue reading →

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Mr & Mrs M Go to Mr and Mrs Bund

Posted on October 27, 2015 by The Pearl

In the middle of September it was our Wedding Anniversary.  It was 25 years ago that I got married, dressed in scarlet, at Great Malvern Register Office and the following day we had a Service of Blessing at Great Malvern … Continue reading →

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Chinglish

Posted on October 9, 2015 by The Pearl

We are very lucky.  In the run up to the Beijing Olympics the powers that be decided that China (at least in the big cities) should have signs not only in Chinese but also in English, or in the case … Continue reading →

Posted in General Shanghai | Tagged , | 1 Comment

The Chinese Way of Doing Things

Posted on October 7, 2015 by The Pearl

Not long after we arrived, I wrote a blog post entitled Some Surprising Things.  The time has now come to revisit this theme, although as you’ve probably seen over the past months this is an everyday experience for me and … Continue reading →

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The Game of The Sparrows

Posted on October 7, 2015 by The Pearl

One of the tasks I have set myself to do whilst I am in China is to learn how to play Mahjong.  My daughter plays, as did my mother and mother-in-law, but somehow I never learned.  It will be good … Continue reading →

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Learning About Shanghai

Posted on October 6, 2015 by The Pearl

It has been a very long time since I wrote anything on this blog for which I apologize.  September marks the arrival of the new school year and along with it a large influx of new Expat faces into this … Continue reading →

Posted in General Shanghai | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Fu 1039

Posted on August 31, 2015 by The Pearl

I visited a number of restaurants, both new and old to me, with Charlie and Ella.  A new one for me was Fu 1039 in an old 1913 three -storey villa in Lane 1039 off the YuYuan Road.  Without the … Continue reading →

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Shanghai Circus World

Posted on August 30, 2015 by The Pearl

With Charlie and Ella with us, we took the opportunity for another first – to go to the Shanghai Circus World.  The Circus is so popular with its nightly shows that it has its own Metro station named after it. … Continue reading →

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