Lørdag 06/08/2016 kl 1630 til søndag 07/08/2016 kl 1629

18:00 Vi spiser aftensmad og derefter bruger aftenen på at se lidt fjernsyn: flere episoder af Big Bang Theory (den ottende serie).

21:00 Vi fortsætter med at se lidt fjernsyn. De viser en interessant dokumentarfilm, der handler om den berømte hollandske maler, Vincent Van Gogh, og den underlige historie om Vincents øre, som han angiveligt skar af i Arles, en lille by i det sydlige Frankrig, efter en skænderi med sin kollega, Paul Gaugin. Efter han havde skåret sin øre af, gik han angiveligt et smut i det lokale bordel og gave øret til en pige, ved navnet ”Rachel”, der arbejdede i bordellet.  

Mange detaljer af historien er uklare, og eksperterne har ikke været enige om dem. Nu for første gang har en amatør engelske forsker, Bernadette Murphy, opdaget mange overraskende detaljer om denne historie, der hidtil ikke var kendt. For eksempel hun har fundet i USA en notat, skrevet af Vincents læge, der beskriver de nøjagtige detaljer af såret: Vincent skar faktisk de meste del af øret af, bortset fra øreflippen.  

Bernadette Murphy, en amatør engelsk forsker

Bernadette har også fundet ud af identitet af ”Rachel”, og talt med Rachels efterkommere, der stadig bor i området. Det er klar, at Rachel ikke var prostitueret: hun arbejdede i bordellet som rengøringsassistent, og Vincent havde måske først mødt hende i Paris og kendte hende meget godt. Vincent og Rachel havde begge to boet i et par år samtidigt i Paris.

Van Gogh-museet i Amsterdam er meget begejstret over Bernadettes forskning og planlægger en ny udstilling med lægens notat som det centrale element.

Husk, at det var en amatør forsker, Philippa Langley, der opdagede, hvor Kong Richard III blev begravet. Det 21. århundrede er guldalderen af amatøre forskere – det ved jeg med sikkerhed!

Philippa Langley, den amatøre forsker, med sin helt, Kong Richard III

22:00 Vi går i seng – zzzzz!!!

06:00 Jeg står tidligt op og laver én af mine rutinemæssige danske ordforrådtester.

08:00 Jeg skynder mig ind i køkkenet og laver to kopper te. Jeg bringer teen op på vores soveværelse, men jeg opdager, at Lois desværre har en dårlig mave. Hun vil ikke i kirke i dag.

09:00 Jeg går ud i baghaven og luger lidt omkring ét af vores 2 æbletræer.

10:00 Lois står op og vi snakker lidt med Sarah, vores yngre datter, der bor i Perth, Australien. Jeg troede, at hun og Francis, hendes mand, fik nøglerne til familiens nye hus i fredags, men Sarah siger, at det er næste fredag, at dette sker. Francis overvejer at leje en lille flyttevogn og en assistent, for at hjælpe ham med at transportere familiens møbler og ejendele.

Sarah har for en kort periode mindre travlt på sin arbejde, fordi den australske financielle år er sluttet. Hun kan for tiden arbejde standard timer (dvs 7,5 timer om dagen). Hun arbejder som revisor for den australske datterselskab af Burger King, der i Australien hedder Hungry Jack’s.

Sarah foran sin arbejdsplads i Perth, Australien - maj 2016

12:30 Lois har det lidt bedre. Vi spiser frokost og derefter går jeg i seng og tager mig en lang lur – zzzzz !!!!

14:00 Jeg står op og vi slapper af på terrassen med en kop te, og brød med hjemmelavet marmelade – nam-nam!

15:00 Jeg kigger lidt på internettet. Jeg ser, at mange mennesker i dag i Danmark rejser tilbage fra ferie. Vores tre børnebørn i København, Josie (9 – hun fylder 10 år i september), Rosalind(8) og Isaac (6) skal tilbage i skolen i morgen (mandag). Jeg kan forestille mig, at der må være en masse aktivitet i dag i deres hus – det er jeg ikke i tvivl om!

Jeg ser også, at jeg har fået en email fra min veninde i Budapest, der hedder Tünde. Hun og vi er fælles om at alle vores børn og børnebørn bor i udlandet. Hans eneste søn, Gábor, er for nylig flyttet til Nürnberg i Tyskland, hvor han arbejder for et tyske bilfirma. Han bor der for tiden alene i en lille ét-værelses lejlighed, men han prøver at købe en større lejlighed, så hans kone og deres to børn også kan flytte til Nürnberg. Stakkels Tünde!

English translation

Saturday, 08.06.2016 at 1630 till Sunday, 08.07.2016 at 1629

18:00 We eat dinner and then spend the evening watching TV: several episodes of Big Bang Theory (the eighth series).

21:00 We continue to watch TV. They show an interesting documentary about the famous Dutch artist Vincent Van Gogh, and the strange story of Vincent's ear, which he allegedly cut off in Arles, a small town in southern France, after a quarrel with his colleague, Paul Gaugin. After he had cut his ear off, he allegedly headed for the local brothel and gave the ear to a girl by the name of "Rachel" who worked in the brothel.

Many details of the story are unclear, and experts have not been agreed on them. Now for the first time an amateur English researcher, Bernadette Murphy, has discovered many surprising details about this story, which were previously unknown. For example, she has found in America a note written by Vincent's doctor describing the exact details of the injury: Vincent cut off actually the greater part of the ear other than the earlobe.

Bernadette Murphy, an amateur English researcher

Bernadette has also found out the identity of "Rachel" and talked to Rachel's descendants who still live in the area. It is clear that Rachel was not a prostitute: she worked in the brothel as a cleaner, and Vincent had perhaps first met her in Paris and knew her very well. The two had both lived in Paris for a few years at the same time.

The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam is very excited about Bernadette's research and are planning a new exhibition with the doctor's note as the central element.

Remember, it was an amateur researcher, Philippa Langley, who discovered where King Richard III was buried. The 21st century is the golden age of amateur researchers - that I know for sure!

Philippa Langley, the amateur researcher, with her hero King Richard III

22:00 We go to bed - zzzzz !!!

06:00 I get up early and do one of my routine Danish vocabulary tests.

08:00 I hurry into the kitchen and make two cups of tea. I bring the tea up to our bedroom, but I find that Lois unfortunately has a bad stomach. She will not go to church today.

09:00 I go out in the backyard and weed a little around one of our two apple trees.

10:00 Lois gets up and we talk a bit on the phone with Sarah, our younger daughter, who lives in Perth, Australia. I thought she and Francis, her husband, got the keys to the family's new house on Friday, but Sarah says it is next Friday that this happens. Francis is thinking of renting a small removal- van and an assistant to help him carry the family's furniture and belongings.

Sarah is for a short period less busy in her work because the Australian financial year has finished. She can currently work standard hours (ie 7.5 hours per day). She works as an accountant for the Australian subsidiary of Burger King, which in Australia is called Hungry Jack's.

Sarah outside her workplace in Perth, Australia - May 2016

12:30 Lois is feeling a bit better. We eat lunch and then I go to bed and take a long nap - zzzzz !!!!

14:00 I get up and we relax on the terrace with a cup of tea and bread with homemade jam - yum-yum!

15:00 I look a bit at the Internet. I see that many people today in Denmark are traveling back from vacation. Our three grandchildren in Copenhagen, Josie (9 - she turns 10 in September), Rosalind (8) and Isaac (6) have to be back in school tomorrow (Monday). I can imagine that there must be a lot of activity today in their house - of that, I am in no doubt!

I also see that I have received an email from my friend in Budapest, called Tünde. She and we share the fact that all our children and grandchildren live abroad. Her only son, Gábor, has recently moved to Nuremberg in Germany, where he works for a German car company. He lives currently alone in a small one-bedroom apartment, but he is trying to buy a bigger apartment, so his wife and their two children also can move to Nuremberg. Poor Tünde!