Fredag den 16. september kl 1630 til lørdag den 17. september 2016 kl 1629

Den 16. september.... Jeg kommer til at tænke på, at det nøjagtigt var denne dag i 2002, da jeg begyndte på min sidste stilling på min tidligere arbejsplads – hurra! Jeg havde dette job i 3,5 år, indtil jeg blev pensionist. Der havde lige været en kæmpe-omstrukturering i vores afdeling, og jeg var glad for, at jeg fik en stilling, der stadig var udfordrende, og hvor jeg kunne fortsætte med at lære nye ting ”for evig”.

”Disco, ergo sum” (jeg lærer, altså er jeg), som René Descartes kunne have sagt – hurra! Eller måske ”Disco, ergo sum” (jeg går på diskoteket, altså er jeg) – hvilket i mit tilfælde ikke er sandt, fordi jeg nu til dags sjældent går på diskoteket. Uha – jeg er godt oppe i årene, er jeg sikker på!

16:45 Jeg hopper op på min kondicykel og jeg cykler 6 miles. Nu er jeg helt sikker på, at jeg kan overleve endnu et par år – hurra!

18:00 Vi spiser aftensmad og derefter bruger vi aftenen på at se lidt fjernsyn og lytte til radio.

Vi tænder for radioen for at høre ”Last Word”, som  jeg for 2 timer siden optagede på vhs – hurra! Vi vil gerne få at vide, om nogen i de seneste to uger er død, så vi kan slette deres navne fra vores adressbog ha ha ha, ligesom Graham Greene, den berømte forfatter, plejede at gøre. Det viser sig at kun 5 personer er død – hurra, så ingen grund til panik! De 5 personer er: Barry Myers, Eileen Younghusband, Robin Spark, Keith McDougall og Prince Buster.

Eileen Younghusband er død (på 95 år)arbejdede i en hemmelig regeringsafdeling under den anden verdenskrig. Hendes ansvar var at spotte og anmelde tyske bombefly og senere V2 raketer, så snart som de bleve sendt op. Arbejdet var især vigtigt i tilfælde af mobile V2 udskydningsapparater, fordi det kongelige luftvåben havde kun omkring 30 minutter til at ødelægge udskydningsapparaterne, inden de forsvandt tilbage i skovene – du godeste!

Hendes arbejde var hemmeligt, men efter 30 år var hun tilladt at tale om det. Men efter 1975 var det meget svært at forhindre hende i at tale om det! Men hendes forsæt var at rose sine arbejdskollegaer som ”ubesungede helte”. Jeg er helt sikker på, at når min tur kommer (2036), vil ingen interesserer sig for hvad jeg kan røbe – uha!

Barry Myers er også død (på 79 år). Han instruerede nogle af mine yndlings-tv-reklamer fra 1970’erne og 1980’erne, herunder en underholdende reklame (”Kærlighedsscene”) for Radio Rentals, den første firma jeg arbejdede for, i 1965, som feriejob.

”Kærlighedsscene”: Barry Myers underholdende tv-reklame for Radio Rentals (1984)

Southey House på Vingade i Bristol, hvor jeg arbejdede i 1965 for Radio Rentals

Radio Rentals eksisterer ikke længere i Storbritannien, men jeg opdagede, da jeg mellem april og juni var i Australien, at det stadigvæk er en blomstrende forretning i Australien. Der ser ud til, at Australien danner et tilflugtsted for forretninger, der er gået i konkurs andetsteds i verden, som for eksempel Woolworths. Sikke en skør verden vi lever i!!!

 19:30 Vi slukker for radioen og tænder for fjernsynet. De viser Top of the Pops fra April 1982.

Det er uheldigt, men jeg må sige, at dette er det værste afsnit af Top of the Pops, som jeg nogensinde har set. Musikken var noget skrammel – ingen tvivl om det! Det er ikke overraskende, at Lois og jeg slet ikke så dette show i 1982, da vi var ved at forberede os til at flytte til USA i tre år. Efter vi ankom til USA, kunne vi se og høre meget bedre musik. MTV-kanalen var lige begyndt at vise musikvideoer dag og nat, og vi benyttede denne lejlighed så meget som muligt.

21:00 Vi fortsætter med at se lidt fjernsyn. De viser en interessant dokumentarfilm, der handler om Japan. Programmets vært er Joanna Lumley, der spillede ”Patsy” i Absolutely Fabulous.

IMGa/IMGd

Jeg må indrømme, at jeg sjældent ser på denne slags dokumentarfilm, som jeg kalder ”celebrity travelogue”, dvs en rejsefilm af nogen berømthed, der er berømt for andre ting. Men jeg beslutter at se dette afsnit, fordi jeg tilbragte et år i Tokyo, da jeg var studerende og det er meget nostalgisk at se landet igen, især de japanske restauranter, der ikke har menuer – man er nødt til at kigge på de plastiske udgaver af restaurantens retter, som man ser i restaurantens vinduer – du godeste, sikke en skør verden vi lever i !!!!

Da jeg først ankom i Japan i september 1970, var jeg meget uerfaren, da det kom til udenlandsk kost – jeg kendte kun på kartofler, kød og grøntsager. Den første aften jeg gik på en restaurant, valgte jeg en ret på lykke og fromme. Retten var svinekød-koteletter (med ris). Jeg kunne ikke lide det, men jeg tænkte, jeg kan lige så godt få det overstået, så spiste jeg det. I de næste to uger, var jeg bange for bestille noget anderledes. Du godeste, sikke en slapsvans!

den 7. marts 1971: jeg besøger NHK tv-studier i Tokyo sammen med Susy (til venstre) 

og nogle andre venner

Det er interessant, at Joanna Lumley, programmets vært, bruger den samme stemme, hun bruger i Absolutely Fabulous, og det er meget svært ikke at tro, at det er ”Patsy”, der taler med os, så er det svært at tage hende alvorligt  – uha, sikke en skam!

22:00 Vi går i seng – zzzzz!!!!!

05:30 Jeg står tidligt op og laver én af mine rutinemæssige danske ordforrådtester. Jeg laver to kopper te og bringer dem op på vores soveværelse. Vi ligger inde i sengen og drikker teen. Vi står op og spiser morgenmad.

09:00 Vi kører over til den lokale Sainsburys-supermarked for at købe ind. På vej smutter vi ind hos Waghornes, den lokale slagter, for at købe brød og kød.

10:00 Vi kommer hjem igen og slapper af med en kop kaffe på sofaen.

10:30 Vi går ud i baghaven. Vi klipper en masse grene af buskene – vores have blev en sand jungle, mens vi var i Australien i tre måneder – ingen tvivl om det! Bagefter går jeg i gang med at klippe græsplænerne i forhaven og lige bagved huset. Jeg overlader de andre græsplæner til i morgen. Du godeste! Sikke en stor have! Er der ikke nogen, der kan hjælpe os????!!!!

13:00 Vi spiser frokost, og derefter går jeg i seng og tager mig en gigantisk eftermiddagslur – zzzzz!!!!!

15:30 Jeg står op og vi slapper af med en kop te på sofaen.

English translation

 The 16th September .... it occurs to me that it was exactly that day in 2002 when I started my last post at my previous workplace - hurrah! I had this job for 3.5 years until I became a pensioner. There had just been a huge restructuring in our department, and I was glad that I got a position that was still challenging, and where I could continue to learn new things "forever".

"Disco, ergo sum" (I learn, therefore I am), as René Descartes might have said. Or maybe "Disco, ergo sum" (I go to the disco, therefore I am) - which in my case is not true, because I nowadays rarely go to the disco. Oh - I'm well on in years, I'm sure!

16:45 I jump up on my exercise bike and I ride 6 miles. Now I am completely confident that I can survive another few years - hurrah!

18:00 We have dinner and then we use the evening to watch TV and listen to radio.

We turn on the radio to hear the "Last Word", which I recorded 2 hours ago on vhs. We would like to know if anyone in the past two weeks has died, so we can delete their names from our address-book ha ha ha, like Graham Greene, the famous writer, used to do. It turns out that only 5 people died - hurrah, so do not panic! The 5 people are: Barry Miles, Eileen Younghusband, Robin Spark, Keith McDougall and Prince Buster.

Eileen Younghusband worked in a secret government department during World War II. Her responsibility was to spot and report the German bombers and later V2 rockets, as soon as they were launched. The work was especially important in the case of mobile V2 launchers because the Royal Air Force had only about 30 minutes to destroy the launchers before they disappeared back into the forests - my goodness!

Her work was secret, but after 30 years, she was allowed to talk about it. But after 1975 it was very difficult to stop her from talking about it! But her intent was to praise her work colleagues as "unsung heroes", not to boast of her own efforts. I am quite sure that when my turn comes (2036), no one will care about what I can divulge - oh dear!

Barry Myers is also dead (at age 79). He directed some of my favorite TV commercials from the 1970s and 1980s, including an entertaining commercial ("Love Scene") for Radio Rentals, the first company I worked for in 1965, as a holiday job.

"Love Scene": Barry Myers's entertaining TV commercial for Radio Rentals (1984)

Southey House on Wine Street in Bristol, where I worked in 1965 for Radio Rentals.

Radio Rentals no longer exists in the UK, but I discovered when I was in Australia between April and June, that it is still a thriving business over there. It seems that Australia provides a haven for businesses that have gone bankrupt elsewhere in the world, such as Woolworths. What a crazy world we live in !!!

19:30 We turn off the radio and turn on the television. They show Top of the Pops from April 1982.

It's unfortunate, but I must say that this is the worst episode of Top of the Pops that I have ever seen. The music was a load of junk - no doubt about it! It is not surprising that Lois and I did not see this show in 1982, when we were preparing to move to the United States for three years. After we arrived in the United States, we could see and hear much better music. The MTV channel had just started to show music videos day and night, and we used this opportunity as much as possible.

21:00 We continue to watch TV. They show an interesting documentary about Japan. The program's host is Joanna Lumley, who played "Patsy" in Absolutely Fabulous.

I must admit that I rarely see this kind of documentary, which I call "celebrity travelogue", ie, a travel film by some celebrity who is famous for other things. But I decide to see this episode, because I spent a year in Tokyo when I was a student and it's very nostalgic to see the country again, especially the Japanese restaurants that do not have menus - you have to look at the plastic versions of the restaurant's dishes, which you see in the restaurant's windows - my goodness, what a crazy world we live in !!!!

When I first arrived in Japan in September 1970, I was very inexperienced when it came to foreign cuisine - I only knew about potatoes, meat and vegetables. The first night I went to a restaurant, I chose a dish at random. The dish was pork cutlets (with rice). I did not like it, but I thought I might as well get it over with, so I ate it. In the next two weeks, I was afraid to order anything different. My goodness, what a wimp!

March 7, 1971: I visit NHK TV studios in Tokyo with Susy (left) and some other friends

It is interesting that Joanna Lumley, the program's host, uses the same voice that she uses in Absolutely Fabulous, and it is very hard not to believe that it is "Patsy" who is speaking to  us, and it's hard to take her seriously - oh dear, what a shame!

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

05:30 I get up early and do one of my routine Danish vocabulary tests. I make two cups of tea and bring them up to our bedroom. We lie in bed and drink the tea. We get up and eat breakfast.

09:00 We drive over to the local Sainsbury's supermarket to shop. On the way we pop into Waghornes, the local butcher, to buy bread and meat.

10:00 We come back home and relax with a cup of coffee on the couch.

10:30 We go out in the backyard. We cut a lot of branches off the bushes - our garden became a true jungle while we were in Australia for three months - no doubt about it! Afterwards, I start to mow the lawn in the front yard and just behind the house. I leave the other lawns for tomorrow. My Goodness! What a big garden! Is there nobody who can help us????!!!!!

13:00 We eat lunch, and then I go to bed and take a gigantic afternoon nap - zzzzz !!!!!

15:30 I get up and we chill out with a cup of tea on the couch.