I did get a reply to my last post where I mentioned "certificate of no impediment" by some gentleman whose name I cannot recall. He suggested scornfully that you'd need to be a solicitor to understand this word. Well, I make no bones in suggesting that not understanding this word indicates that you must be as thick as a Toc-H lamp since it is a common English word; although, I had joked about FT's finding the need to reach for a dictionary when presented with such a word. If you don't know the word "impediment" you are still ideal for teaching oral English in China, so worry not.

Back to the subject of Marriage. Once you are married and decide to take "Little Lotus Blossom" home with you, be advised to not tell any porky pies, the officials who will decide on a visa for your wife are expert lie detectors. Do not let your wife present fake Chinese educational qualifications-when my wife went for her British interview two other Chinese hopefuls were refused and had their iffy degrees confiscated.

The most important thing not to do in my opinion is to enlist a Chinese agent to deal with the visa application. They do not understand Western people at all and are likely to mess up your application. Anyway, you still end up doing most of the vast amount of paperwork yourself, that's collating it all-they just add a little Chinese touch to proceeding, guaranteed to upset things and charging you a bomb.