After much anticipation, the job we came here to do in the World Champion-ships in Chengdu, China is almost completed.

I cruised through the semi-final qualification thanks to a strong fence and some solid shooting — meaning I could save some energy in the run and swim. One day off later we were back at the venue – a multi-million pound complex built specifically for pentathlon – for the final.

The day was full of the ups and downs so often associated to this sport but I put in a sound performance to claim eighth place and help secure a silver medal for the GB team. As a climax to a middling season it was a more than pleasing result. Only the relay event to go and then it is out of this grey city and on to the bright lights and vast malls of Singapore.

It is coming up to two weeks out here in China. I'm definitely craving some Western style food, any style green countryside and a bit of fresh air. It has been rather hot. Not the sunny kind you might associate with a holiday, but a rather humid claustrophobic type, where the visibility is similar to that of a good Dartmoor fog. I think the amount of people, noise, traffic and buildings adds to this feeling of claustro phobia. But maybe the underlying cause is the lack of contact with the outside world.

I am not a social networking addict but I do like to stay in contact with my friends, keep people updated with my sporting activities and find out what I might be missing back home. To add to this feeling of confinement are the frequent stares – not hostile but in sheer amazement — at seeing a non-Chinese face. I feel like a clumping white giant in some very foreign land.