I was so excited when Andrew told me that his Chinese grandma had taught him to play mah jong when he was little.

Ah hah!

I immediately envisaged Grandma Kok teaching me as well. There would be intricate battles waged and fruitful sessions played, and long days and afternoons would slip away from us.

But Grandma had other ideas. She fixed me with a determined stare and announced: 'Mah jong is not good!' Heedless of my pleas, she continued: 'Mah jong takes up much, much time. Not very good! No good! Wasting time!'

Even her mah jong set had been given away, handed over to some other family altogether. Evidently, there were some people in this world whom Grandma would allow to procrastinate with games of ill-repute, but her grandson and his girlfriend were not among their number. Dammit!

And now I find myself in a position to change all that. Yes, China is overrun with purchaseable mah jong sets and qualified players, and I can tell you that it won't be long before all my other beloved time-wasting activities are joined by an ingrained mah jong addiction ... let the games begin!