The phone does not stop, and the door is forever being banged on.  I am now officially hooked up to Skype so we have been talking to each other room to room via that method - just showing off really, but it has been fun.

We have finally organised our flights home - Wed evening on Qantas, and the conference organisers are paying.  They have been absolutely marvellous. Francis called - a contact through Rotary.  He flew into Shanghai last evening from Singapore, and was promptly thrown into Quarantine - not here though.  We had a laugh about that.  He just called to say that he got lucky because the person on his flight who had the high temperature does not have SF, so he is free to go from his facility.    There are 40-odd Qantas people elsewhere in this place who I believe have to stay 7 days.  I know how they will be feeling.  I spent much of the morning today making a couple of "messages" for Rotary President's night tomorrow night.  I tore each of the letters from the paper from the flowers and from Ritz Carlton letterhead which they kindly sent with tape.  It was laborious to say the least!!  Thank goodness Visnja arrived to help. Have had some calls from the media who are now all over the situation.

It's now 2pm Friday and I'll sign off - not expecting anything exciting to happen for the remainder of the day. 

I still haven't read my China Daily from last night!, and I have a stack of work to do.  I am never going to get an opportunity like this again, so must stay on top of it.

By the way, I did manage to get some rubber gloves and sponges, but no cleaning fluid, and definitely no toilet brush.  Amazing what you can do with a toothbrush and there are some spare ones of those here in the room!

Visnja and I (after three viewing sessions) finally finished watching Vicky Cristina Barcelona

More from Friday 19^th

Showering with dishes

Trust Trevor to come up with the best idea yet - taking ones dishes into the shower for washing rather than attempting same in the sink (which is dirtier than the dishes!).  Mind you my shower is a trickle - like a garden hose with a kink in it, so washing myself and the dishes might be too much to ask.

Continuing from yesterday.  long dreary day - some fresh air would be welcome, as would some exercise.    Eyes are sore and square.........

The Qantas folk got lucky and were released during the afternoon - their "people of interest" on the flight did not have SF.

Got a phone call from Sonia McCarthy, Michael Nolan, Judy Gillard and Felicity Moss - fellow agents from Melbourne who were also here for the conference, and who went home (as we should have done!) last night.  They also had a harrowing tale to tell in that a young man from Sydney (Nick who represents Ritz Carlton in Sydney) arrived on a flight on Monday night, stayed at the hotel, got up and did the conference all day Tuesday, then Tuesday night, Judy Gillard, who was in a room opposite heard a commotion and went out and there were a bunch of white suited ones taking him away!!!  It turns out someone on his flight had somehow tested positive for SF after arrival in Shanghai so they were tracking down everyone on the plane who were seated in the vicinity (as part of the immigration process you have to complete a health declaration which has your seat number on it), and of course you have to say where you are staying, so they found him.  Judy was very distressed (at that stage she had no idea what was actually happening).  She asked Nick to write down his mobile number etc so she could call him later, and when he went to hand her a business card, the captors" wouldn't let him.  So they were all traumatised about that and worried even more for us.

I decided to make a fruit salad during the afternoon.  I got hold of a rice bowl, and with the blunt dinner knife I have I hacked up some of the fruit the RC had sent and made a wonderful lunch.  Dinner was an outstanding pizza which the captors purchased for us.  Disturbing that it arrived in a large yellow medical waste bag though!!  But everything from outside does, I can only assume those are the only bags in the place.  I am afraid the dinner which was delivered was two pieces of fried chicken and three Pringles!!!, or the Chinese offering.    No way to either!!!

I so wish we didn't have to eat every morsel in the room, it makes such a mess.  You don't realise how much, until every crumb goes onto the floor and you have no way of getting rid of it.     I hate the rubbish which also mounts up - again because your whole life is in one room, and all the food scraps, paper, etc etc is in the one place.

Have now connected myself to Skype and talk to Trevor and Visnja regularly via that method.  Its fun!

We made it into the local paper - Shanghai Daily - a full page no less - try and look at it on the web.

Went to bed and awoke @ 1130pm my time (0130 Melbourne) to the sound of my phone going off - it was the alarm at the office.  So, I had to get Barry to wake up and get down there which he did to discover the alarm wasn't actually on.  A big mystery there.  I have checked my phone 1000 times and the call is definitely there.  Spooky!