Chinese New Year is still with us.

Sometimes you can't get in the lift at work because it's full of lion dancers. Quill had a lovely quartet playing Chinese instruments at lunchtime the other day. Our local temple pops off firecrackers at strange but possibly auspicious hours.



And there's still the odd movie about. Like The Great Wall, which is really a much more enjoyable offering than the critics would have you believe.

Takeaways:

-- We must visit the Wall...

-- "Learning from other cultures is beneficial and even temporary immigration leads to innovation."

On which note, there's a great exhibition on at the Ilham Gallery at the moment. Entitled Afterwork, it explores the often poignant stories of migrant workers.

In the words of one title: "I have to feed myself, my family, and my country."

As always, I'm fascinated by the new views that artists give us. If only I could capture their creativity in my work.



One slide-show of family photos illustrated how the domestic worker was never fully there. Always just the arms, or the feet, or half a person in the background.

Another loop of video showed the stock answers that applicants for domestic positions are required to give in their "auditions" for employers. "What will you do if you miss your children?" "I will work hard to make the time go quicker. I will call them at the weekend. I will sing nursery rhymes to my employer's children..."

The nursery rhymes ring hollowly in my head even now.