'They eat donkeys don't they?'

So.....forgive me if I am repeating things that you already know but.....Will's brother Danny got married last year to Xiaoling in Guangzhou in China.After waiting longer than I did for her visa to come through Xiaoling and her daughter Lesley finally arrived here in Australia at the beginning of December last year.Last weekend we celebrated Will's sister Wendi's birthday and the Chinese New Year at Danny and Xiaoling's house where they made a lovely Chinese meal for us all.Xiaoling cannot drive but has begun to learn, Lesley has started high school and with Danny working 6 days a week she felt a bit trapped in the house, though she has been getting out a bit on her bike.At the meal we said that the next time we went out we would go and pick her up and take her with us.....which is what we did today.Will drove over to Springfield while Dulcie and I waited home for Blue Care to come for the shower. He and Xiaoling arrived back just as Debra was leaving.We were going to take Xiaoling to Sunnybank......as it is predominantly Chinese.....but she had already been there so we all went to Southbank instead.We had fish and chips for lunch.....it wasn't ideal as the cafe we used to go to, which  served lovely flathead strips, has since closed...but the kiosk we got lunch from today was not too bad.

Xiaoling thought her fish was tasty and much better than the fish she had had on a meal out with Danny at a Chinese restaurant."Why are there no bones in it?" She asked. "In China we cook the whole fish, it is better that way.""We don't like bones," I said and Will explained how it was filleted."Do you steam the fish or fry it?" Will asked."We steam it," said Xiaoling. "Do you eat donkey?" She asked." No, " I said. "There was a big hoo-ha recently in the UK when it was discovered that some meat products had horse meat in them.""You don't eat horses?""They are seen more as pets" said Will.I pigeon wandered past."Do you eat grilled pigeon?" Asked Xiaoling."Er....no," I said but I tried to get the pigeon to come closer."Come here," I said, beckoning to it.It wouldn't come.....it was a smart pigeon."When we were in Hong Kong Will ate chicken feet," I said."Yes, we like chicken feet," said Xiaoling."But they are all bones," I said."We're going to get some chickens," said Will."I like black chickens," said Xiaoling. She didn't mean the colour of their feathers more their meat."Yes," said Will, " I want to get some of those." They are called Silkies. "We'll grow some chicks for the pot.""Oh, I don't know if after feeding them for a long time I could eat them," I said. "You don't mind killing chickens though do you?" I said to Dulcie. She and Will's Dad used to own  chicken abattoir in Gympie."Yes," she said, "when we first got there we used a block to chop their heads off but we bought a machine that you stuck their heads in.""In the Chicken World you are a Serial Killer, aren't you?" I said. She hardly smiled.....more a smirk.....like a real Serial Killer."I used to wake up at 3 in the morning," said Will "and I would hear the plucking machine going.""In China, we like ducks," said Xiaoling. "Do you know how they get their feathers off?"We didn't........She told us. Apparently they roll them in tar and then peel it off and it pulls the feathers out."You can smell it when you got to the market," She said."And what do they do with the feathery tar?" I asked......Xiaoling didn't know.I sensed an environmental disaster if it was just thrown away."People in China want to come to Australia so they can eat Kangaroo," she said.'Yikes', I thought, 'let's hope they don't get a taste for human flesh or we're all buggered.'

Dulcie, Will, ('Elaine') and I

We walked along Southbank and back to the car. We called in at Chemist Warehouse where Xiaoling bought a bag full of Krill Oil tablets to send back to her family in China.Back home Will helped her fill in an online form to register with the Queensland College of Teachers. In China she used to teach English but here she is perfect for teaching Chinese. She can speak Cantonese and Mandarin.We found out about buses that she can catch from their house that will get her to Garden City, Sunnybank and our house."Can I buy you guys dinner?" She asked, meaning as a 'Thank you.'"No," said Will, "there is no need. We will come to yours again sometime and we will have another lovely meal.""Yes," I said, "You can cook us donkey."It was a lovely day.....they are always better when you help someone.