Published by Swiss James on 13 Nov 2009 at 11:23 am
And on that bombshell
I’m leaving Shanghai, and leaving China.
Me and Emma are going to live in Manchester, we leave on December 7th*.
It’s been a great three years, and just feels like the right time to leave for me.
*So that means you’ve got 3 more Shoe Tuesdays
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Blimey James. You’re leaving in 3 weeks and THIS is how I find out? I thought we were closer than that!
Dry your eyes WoAi, this is how my Mum is finding out too!
Who knows, you may find some amusing shoes in Manchester, too.
What is the world coming to? I log in for my usual Friday banter and I am hit with this bombshell.
Don’t you understand that we need more time, you can’t just spring things on us – are you sure this is not some bad Friday the 13th joke? I knew it was going to be a bad day, but please…
I am only partially relieved by the fact that your Mum and WoAi were also in the dark.
I Spy Manchester? It will never be the same, flat caps and whippets, talking about ‘tin-ternet’ and eating meat & potato pie and chips with curry sauce is alright for some, but what will we do without Shoe Tuesday?
Is it going to be Whippet Wednesday, Manic Manchester Monday, Flat Cap Friday – NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!
Oh hell, I am going back to bed already – maybe this was just a nightmare.
i read your blog and now then and i must say, it’s more entertaining than woai’s though his blog has it’s moments. anyway, all the best in manc land, the place with the best kebabs!
as a suggestion, maybe you can do a scally / townie / chav day? am curious as to how they have evolved since i left uk few years ago.
Bloomin’ heck. Thank you for a most entertaining eye on the oddities, delights, quirks, and guide to snacks in Shanghai.
Not to mention the shoes, so I won’t.
Has it been three years? Thanks for keeping up your wonderfully weird blog – can’t wait to see what you make of that foreign country, Manchester. I wonder what kind of things they’ve got lurking in corner stores….
One competitor less, miiiiiiiiiiiao
Shopgirl – James is not a competitor. Your blog is in a totally different class to his one.
Wouldn’t you want to have a UK spin off of the Shoe Tuesday?
So what will Ispymanchester be? Daily shots of the pub?
You’ll miss the place i can guarantee you. I recently returned from China to the UK and miss it like crazy but you know deep down when it’s the right time to leave. Anyway just wanted to say that I’ve enjoyed your blog over the years (am a frequent reader but never really contribute to the comments) and good luck back in blighty.
What….
I like the Top Gear reference though :D
WHAT???? All this time you’ve been living in Shanghai and you never told me???
Woai told me what happened, I’m shocked, why couldn’t they have just let you off with a warning for the first offense???? Deportation seems WAY over the top…
Miss Jane, I’m thinking of starting a shoe tuesday spin-off for all you with nothing to do on Tuesdays any more, it’s going to be called “Poo Tuesday”, sign up while you still can!
Pearl Harbour, famous date. Just don’t start a war before you get in the plane, please.
So you had Lost Seouls then ISpyShanghai, what will the next name be? Manchuriesta United?
Your blog posts will be sadly missed. Will you do shoe-Tuesday from Manchester?!
If I’d known I’d get this many nice comments I’d have left 3 years ago.
Maybe I’ll write something else when I’m back in the UK- my new job involves a fair bit of travel anyway so there’s bound to be stuff to see other than the many, many, many whippets that roam the streets of Manchester.
DavidA- you bring up LostSeouls- if you check that site you’ll see that when it was over, it was over.
I’m not going to string out ISpyShanghai either- once I get on the plane, the shoes are over folks and it’s on to the next chapter.
James – they are just too shy to say something nice in public(admit it people!) they are wishing you luck at heart! :D
I think the lesson here folks is don’t take us for granted because nothing lasts forever (except maybe herpes).
Good luck James. I’ve enjoyed your posts while you’ve been here. I hope you start ISpyMachester.
I’m leaving this country too in December, near the end.
Good luck with the move back!
@WoAi – true, though I think Swiss might live a few years longer now after he leaves the air of Shanghai behind.
And That’s Shanghai continue their 8 month run of losing (and sometimes dropping) all their writers who have a voice of their own.
Manchester though? It was grim enough up north when I had, oh, my entire upbringing there, and now it’s the land of tanked economy and CCTV cams.
For the record, I get this a lot of cause of my non accent, I was born in Canterbury and moved up to Merseyside at age 5 (after doing 80% of my formative speech years). Although my parents were mackems, so go figure.
Good luck etc
December the 7th? just in time to miss my birthday then. i suppose this was how you planned it. mate.
James what have you done! You can’t leave! Who’s gonna tell me what’s happening in Shanghai if not you? I’m truly sad to hear this horrible news but hopefully you keep on writing your brilliant comments from Manchester.
:(
phantom reader, but i’ll miss your posts!
i – There are other Shanghai blogs you know!
gee whiz! i’m speechless :(
maybe u should have a blog off/farewell bash planned.
WoAi – I’m aware of that WoAi but we all have our favorites:) Plus you have to give the man some credit for making such a tough decision (wrong one I might add!)
Maybe Emma is preggers! Call The Sun! Get the chopper out and hound them!
best of luck to you james!
i – I’m not sure it was his decision actually!
The real scandal was covered up of course, but the fact is that employing those pandas on the building site finally caught up with Swiss.
Good luck! Looking forward to ISpyManchester!
Well I wish you all the best mate. Im hoping you will still write back home as otherwise I’ll have nowt to read with a brew in the morning. But if you don’t, then thanks for all the laughs and there have been many. Both blogs have kept a smile on my face especially my Jeju days where there wasn’t a Brit to be found and nobody understood tea or marmite let alone cheese.
At least we can take in the Blackpool v Doncaster game together mate!
Make the most of your last three weeks in China – I’m missing it terribly.
Safe journey home.
Oh! I can hardly breath. Ispyshanghai will be missed.
I hope you’ll let all of us know the address of a new blog.
All the best.
Ah, although this sucks for the Shanghai blog community, I think we are okay with it. We’re moving back to the states at the end of the year and know that we will miss all that China has. Knowing that we won’t be missing Ispy updates makes it easier, we were afraid that reading about China once gone would only make us miss it more…
You’ve been a great read for our time here, and you definitely gave us a few laughs. It’ll be interesting to listen to the podcasts when you are calling in from England and sober – Call Woai collect for those…
Mark – James calls me collect even when he’s in Shanghai!
doesnt that leave an opening in the gang of 3 ?!!!
I vote shopgirl to be ispy’s replacement.
woai, dingle and shopgirl in the next gang of 3 podcast !!!
Mike, we’re thinking of holding auditions (on podcast of course), we calibrated Woai’s casting couch today, shopgirl is welcome to apply!
James, I log in everyday day to see what is interesting and happening in the city I live in. Definitely going to miss your humor and posts. Forget that IT thing – your future is in writing, or comedy, or writing comedy…. My wife’s from Chester, so maybe we can hook up over there… Cheers.
Alan
good idea dingle ! … auditions are now open send in voice samples everyone !! :)
this is like when a band member leaves ..
Nooooooo, what a pity (for us readers!). Yet I am sure you will find something exciting to spy about in Manchester, my cultural anthropologist James Swiss.
:S I was hopping to meet you in Shanghai! I´m going to live there next year, and your blog has been helping me to dream every day about china! it is a source of inspiration!
good luck on your next adventure!
No I think we’ll do auditions on the podcasts as we do need to see how well the applicants interact with us. I mean sexually of course.
My recommendation for the final podcast is to get a group of Shanghai’s top prostitutes in for a nice chat about life and stuff. It could be called The Gang Bang Of 33 or something like that.
By the way, I think shopgirl is too much of an intellectual to consider stooping to the level of the Gang of 3!
Yes, sorry for misleading you Mike, we don’t mean audio auditions, just the casting couch!
DavidA – Thanks for the suggestion but I don’t see why we need to save that for the last podcast!