I know it appears off topic but Tony has released quite a few tweets this evening. I'll post them on the 'Construction Monthly' thread.
Re points raised above by Jimbo and Brian respectively:1. Can do attitude. Chinese social media has been awash this week with the story (and mainly the photos where he looks like he is wearing a white punk wig) of a primary school boy ("Ice Boy") who walked 3 miles to school on Monday in snow and -9c temperatures in rural Yunnan province. The trek takes 1 hour each way but he was determined not to miss exams. The school has no heating, though they do provide breakfast and lunch. He didn't seem dressed for the weather. His mom and dad work in a city to earn money so he lives with his sister. He scored 99/100 and the story has gone nationwide re raising money for poor kids. That kid will go far.2. political aspirations: I never once had a discussion with a Chinese person who was bothered about the political system. All they wanted was good education, a career and the chance to earn enough money to get a house, car and some of the consumer goods we have taken for granted for a while. While tens of millions of people are being taken out of poverty and quality of life continues to improve the colossal majority do not give a hoot about the single party system. There was a lot of small scale civil unrest in China when I lived there, unreported in the west, usually relating to peasants losing land or factory closures and job losses. These invariably followed a cycle of short term violence, negotiation and then compensation (new land / houses / jobs / money). This unrest was always focused on the immediate basics of housing and livelihood, not on the system itself.My Chinese friends who have been here reckon that people under 30 in the UK seem to be less wealthy than their parents. In China the reverse is true.
Brits can be as tough as anybody when they have to be. In 1947 three of us walked from Tyseley and Greet the three miles or more to and from Camp Hill school where there was no heating. All three of us got university degrees. A school head teacher, a commissioned soldier and me a faux Derek Trotter.But that is not the point I wanted to make about the absorption of material progress into civilized society. It is microscopic sample but I believe it is illuminating.Cambridge has a very large and very dynamic Chinese population. We have three Chinese families living and working immediately beside where my daughter lives and I work. The adults work exceptionally hard at their restaurants. The Chinese wife of one restaurateur is a consultant specialist at Addenbrookes hospital. They have four children all born in Britain ranging from 5 to 12. They all call me Uncle Brian. The way those kids talk, play and behave is absolutely identical to the way English kids do. They come into our place to shoot the breeze and scrounge fruit after school. What do they talk about? Football. Television. Holidays. Going into the entertainment industry. Not a hint of material striving or ever putting themselves under the cosh to get the trappings of wealth. Their parents have already done all that. In one generation western European culture is established in them.
Anyone know (as I’m not on Twitter) where I can see a summary of Tony’s Tweets? I’m sure there used to be a thread on here..
Wow! Did you also crack the Da Vinca code?
♌️ = Leo = Leonardo Ulloa⛎ = 13th Zodiac = 13 letters in Leonardo Ulloa♍️ = 150 degrees to 180 degrees on the zodiac circle = Half way there☯️ = Everything consists of two forces = Need Leicester not to sell Slimani etc...🏧➖Ⓜ️= AT = Alex Tuanzebe = Soon