China.........

Mao is dead, a longish time ago, the XXX,000,000,000 Chinese have put his little red book into the family heirlooms. Tourists now wander around the forbidden city, spending their Euros and Dollars, looking at past glories.


But.....Welcome to the real world!
18 million immigrant (from poorer regions of China) workers are queuing up to join a queue to get onto a train, which isn't there, to go off and pass their Chinese New Year with family they haven't seen, in some cases, for years!
Great, but due to catastrophic weather, the worst for 50 years, nothing is working!
Mao was alive 50 years ago, the weather wasn't always kind when he was alive, but the people didn't start revolting, as now!
How come? Well, this is the welcome to the real world, more money in the pocket, and it must be spent. In China, you can't spend it on your kids, you're only allowed ONE per couple, you can't spend it on travelling, because it isn't there! You can't even spend it on food and drink, because the weather stops supplies getting through to the massive Western supermarkets like Carrefour, Tesco, Walmart, all installed very quickly some time ago.
What would Mao have done?
Well........ that's what millions of Chinese are asking themselves right now, and are digging out his little red book, once again!
In Europe we know that natural catastrophies (like fallen leaves on the train line) can grind ANY system to a halt, but let's just say that this is China's first real occasion to have experience of all this.
So.........Welcome to the real world, get your bicycles out again, the little red book into your back pocket, get back to work so that we, in the West, can get our "made in Hong Kong" quality articles without problems!
Whilst you're reflecting about the mysterious Western Ways, you at least may be able to do as we in Europe have been doing for years - Chinese take away, from the local "English" fish and Chip shop!
4 x Number 23, with a dose of Number 11, and just a touch of Number 3. To drink? Just give me two glasses of number 29 and 2 glasses of Number 30!
Can I pay in Yen? No - why not? Ah- you would prefer Pounds Sterling, or at the outer limit Euros! OK.................
Welcome to the real world!