17:00 Vi
lytter lidt til radio, en interessant program, ”The Last Word”. Vi ønsker at finde ud af, om nogen i de
seneste 1-2 uger døde eller ej.
Det viser sig at kun 5 personer døde – hurra, så ingen grund til panik! Jeg
har bemærket, at der i de fleste uger kun er ca. 5 dødsfald. Programmets vært
er som regel Matthew Bannister, men i dag på én eller anden grund hører vi en
anderledes stemme – den charmerende Kate Silverton. Måske er Matthew nu godt
træt med at tale hver uge om de afdøde, og han er fiset af sted for at ”få et
liv” – det er ikke klart.
hvor bliver Matthew Bannister af?
Måske
er han fiset af sted for at ”få et liv”, stakkels Matthew!!!!
Vi hører, at Martin Aitchison, den kendte tegner, for nylig døde – du
godeste, sikke et chok, han var kun 97 år gammel! Han var berømt for at tegne
illustrationerne til de klassiske ”Ladybird” børnebøger, der forklarede svære
videnskabelige emner i simple ord og billeder. Han tegnede også
illustrationerne til populære tegneserietidsskrifter for eksempel ”Girl” og
”Eagle”, som min afdøde søster Kathy og jeg hver uge læste begærligt i
1950’erne.
En af Martins klassiske illustrationer til ”Eagle”
I den 2. verdenskrig samarbejde Martin med den berømte opfinder, Barnes
Wallis, mens de to mænd arbejdede på hoppende bombe-projektet. Martin tegnede
illustrationerne til bomben, som de to mænd ønskede at vise til RAF-eksperterne.
En dag ved en fejltagelse efterlod Martin desværre sine tophemmelige
illustrationer på sit skrivebord, da han smuttede ud for at snuppe frokost, og
en ”tea-lady” fik øje på dem – du godeste! Det var heldigt, at hun ikke var en
tysk spion – det har jeg ikke nogen tvivl om !!!
Jeg husker de dage, da jeg også hver dag arbejdede på fortrolige projekter,
og den største fare var de vinduespudere, der engang imellem smuttede ind i
vores kontor. Vi fik altid 10 minutters advarsel, og vi måtte hurtigt gemme
alle vores tophemmelige papirer i skabene og lukke skabenes døre til og lave en
kop te – du godeste, panik panik panik!!!
18:00 Vi spiser aftensmad og derefter bruger aftenen på at se lidt
fjernsyn. De viser et gamle afsnit af ”Top of the Pops”, som BBC-kanalen først
udsendte i september 1982.
Musikken var noget skrammel – ingen tvivl om det! Jeg er glad for, at Lois
og jeg i september 1982 lige var flyttet til USA og vi skulle ikke høre denne
dumme skid!!! Vi flyttede til USA i august, og i september startede vores
ældste datter, Alison (7 år), at gå i skole derhenne – lykkelige dage!!!
Vores yngste datter Sarah (5 år) var allerede i flere måneder gået i skole
i England, men hun var på en eller anden grund for ung til at gå i skole i USA
– stakkels Sarah! Men Lois sikrede, at hun kunne deltage i interessante
aktiviter i det lokale nabolag, så hun ikke ville gå glip at intellektuel
stimulation - stakkels Sarah (igen) – jeg spøger kun!!!!
20:00 Vi fortsætter med at se lidt fjernsyn. De viser et gamle afsnit af
”The Good Old Days”, et tv-program, der prøvede at genskabe stemningen af det
gamle vaudeville-teater. Programmet blev først udsendt i januar 1977. Lois og
jeg havde dengang kun én datter, Alison (17 mdr), og Lois var 4 mdr gravid med
Sarah, vores yngste datter. Du godeste,
lykkelige dage (igen) !!!
For vores vedkommende, er højdepunktet (som altid) de komiske geriatriske danser-duo,
Elsa og Waldo. Det er en skam, at man nu til dags sjældent ser komiske geriatriske
danser-duoer mere – hvorfor ikke?
Duoens geriatriske dansestil er utrolig morsom – ingen tvivl om det, og
showets publikum elsker dem, er jeg helt sikker på. Og de underlig euforiske
udtryk i deres ansigter er fantastiske. Waldo, der var 5 år ældre, end sin
søster, opfandt åbenbart de berømte
moonwalk-dansetrin mange år, før stilen blev populær i 1980’erne med Michael
Jackson og andre – du godeste, der er intet nyt under solen, ingen tvivl om
det!!!!!
Duoens geriatriske dansestil og ansigtudtryk
er utrolig morsomme, er jeg helt
sikker på!
Waldo opfandt de berømte moonwalk-dansetrin
mange
år før stilen blev populær i 1980’erne
showets publikum elsker Elsa og Waldo – ingen tvivl om det!
Jeg kigger lidt på nettet, og jeg læser, at Elsa (Lanchester) havde et
interessant liv. Hun var født i 1902: hendes forældre var socialister,
ateister, vegetarer og også ugifte – du godeste, sikke en redelighed!!!
Hun begyndte på 11 år at lære at danse i Isadora Duncans danseskole i
Paris. Hun blev danselærer i London og senere skuespillerinde. Hun gik i seng
med den berømte stjerne Charles Laughton, og blev desværre gravid men fik så abort
– du godeste! Parret giftede sig til sidst. De flyttede til Hollywood i
1930’erne, og Elsa spillede Frankensteins brud i den berømte film.
I sin alderdom boede hun i byen Malvern, der ligger ikke ret langt fra
Cheltenham. Hun døde desværre i 1986 af bronkial lungebetændelse. Men kort sagt
et utrolig liv, hun levede !!!
22:00 Vi går i seng – zzzzz!!!!!
04:30 Jeg står tidligt op og laver én af mine rutinemæssige danske
ordforrådtester. Bagefter laver jeg to kopper te og bringer dem op på vores
soveværelse. Jeg kryber tilbage i vores seng og vi drikker teen. Vi går i bad
og står op. Vi spiser morgenmad.
10:00 Vi går hen ind i landsbyen og smutter ind i det lokale posthus. Vi ønsker
at afsende en pakke til Rosalind, én af vores 3 børnebørn i København. Pakken
indeholder en tegneserietidsskrift for børn. Rosalind går højt op i rumrejse og
udforskning, også i kunsthåndværk. Tidligere på året forærede vi hende en
symaskine som fødseldagsgave.
Vi kommer hjem og slapper af med en kop kaffe på sofaen.
12:30 Vi spiser frokost og bagefter går jeg i seng og tager mig en
gigantisk eftermiddagslur – zzzzz!!!!
15:30 Jeg står op og kigger lidt på nettet. Jeg læser endnu en stribe af
min yndlingstegner, danskeren Morten Ingemann. Mortens tegnestriber fokuserer på grimme, overvægtige, midaldrende
mennesker, de slags mennesker som mange tegnere har tendens til at ignorere.
Hvor forfriskende!
I denne stribe ser vi en midaldrende kvinde, der ledsager sin teenagedatter
hjem efter skole. Datteren slæber en stor madkasse med hjem. Pigens mor ser
meget betænksom ud – det er klart, at hun efter dybe refleksion har besluttet,
at den skæbnesvrangre dag endelig er ankommet, og hun må stålsætte sig at tale
med sin datter om sex og kønssygdomme, en dag hun i lang tid har frygtet.
Jeg synes, at det er en meget almindeligt problem for mange midaldrende
forældre, især hvis de har døtre. Desværre er de normalt moren, der skal takle
dette problem uden hjælp fra faderen.
Med tungt hjerte bringer hun dette besvælige emne på bane på vej hjem og
siger med en anspændt stemme, ”Når vi kommer hjem, så vil jeg gerne tale med
dig om sex og kønssygdomme.” Heldigvis bliver spændingen pludselig opløst, da pigen svarer, ”Okay, hvad vil du
vide?”.
Moderens lettelse er næsten håndgribelig – og i øvrigt har moren chancer nu
for at lære noget nyt måske, når mor og datter senere på dagen få tungen på
gled om dette besværlige emne – det ved jeg med sikkerhed!!!
En rørende scene, der handler om et meget besværlige emne, styret af Morten
med hans sædvanlige følsomhed – kom så, Morten!!!
16:00 Lois og jeg slapper af med en kop te i sofaen.
English translation
17:00 We listen a little to the
radio, an interesting program, "The Last Word". We want to find out
if anyone in the last 1-2 weeks has died or not.
It turns out that only 5 people
died - hurrah, so no need to panic! I have noticed that most weeks there are only
about 5 deaths. The program's host is usually Matthew Bannister, but today for
one reason or another, we hear a different voice - the charming Kate Silverton.
Perhaps Matthew is now fed up with talking each week about the deceased, and he
has buggered off to "get a life" - it is unclear.
Where has Matthew Bannister got to?
Maybe he has buggered off to "get a
life", poor Matthew !!!!
We hear that Martin Aitchison,
the well-known illustrator, recently died - my goodness, what a shock, he was only
97 years old! He was famous for drawing illustrations for the classic
"Ladybird" children's books, explaining difficult scientific topics
in simple words and pictures. He also drew the illustrations for popular
comic magazines such as "Girl" and "Eagle", which my late
sister Kathy and I read avidly every week in the 1950s.
One of Martin's classic illustrations for
"Eagle"
In the 2nd World War Martin
worked with the famous inventor Barnes Wallis, while the two men worked on the
bouncing bomb project. Martin drew the illustrations for the bomb, which the
two men wanted to show to the RAF experts. One day by accident Martin
unfortunately left his top secret artwork on his desk when he popped out to
grab lunch and a "tea lady" saw them - my goodness! It was fortunate
that she was not a German spy - I have no doubts about that !!!
I remember the days when I also
worked every day on confidential projects, and the greatest danger was the
window cleaners who sometimes popped into our office. We always got a 10-minute
warning, and we had to quickly hide all our top secret papers in cabinets and
pull the cabinet doors to and make a cup of tea - my god, panic panic panic !!!
18:00 Dinner and then Lois and I spend
the evening watching TV. They show an old episode of 'Top of the Pops ",
which the BBC channel first broadcast in September 1982.
The music was a load of junk - no
doubt about it! I am glad that in September 1982 Lois and I had just moved to
the United States and we did not have to hear this stupid shit !!! We moved to
the US in August and in September our elder daughter, Alison (7 years), started
to go to school over there - happy days !!!
Our younger daughter Sarah (5
years) had already attended school in England for several months, but she was
for some reason too young to go to school in the United States - poor Sarah!
But Lois ensured that she could participate in interesting activities in the
local neighborhood, so she would not miss out on intellectual stimulation -
poor Sarah (again) (only joking!!!!).
20:00 We continue to watch TV.
They show an old episode of "The Good Old Days", a television program
that tried to recreate the atmosphere of the old vaudeville theater. The
program was first broadcast in January 1977. Lois and I had only one daughter
at that time, Alison (17 months), and Lois was 4 months pregnant with Sarah,
our youngest daughter. My god, happy days (again) !!!
For our part, the highlight (as
always) is the comical geriatric dance duo Elsa and Waldo. It's a shame that
nowadays we rarely see comic geriatric dance-duos any more - why not?
The duo's geriatric dance style
is hilarious - no doubt about it, and the show's audience love them, I'm sure
about that. And the curious euphoric expression on their faces is amazing.
Waldo, who was 5 years older than his sister, seemingly invented the famous
moonwalk-dance many years before the style became popular in the 1980s with
Michael Jackson and others - my god, there is nothing new under the sun, no
doubt about THAT !!!!!
The duo's geriatric dance style and
facial expressions
are hilarious, I'm quite sure of that!
Waldo invented the famous moon
walk-dance steps
many years before the style became popular
in the 1980s
The show's audience love them
- no doubt about it!
I look a little on the net and I
read that Elsa had an interesting life. She was born in 1902, her
parents were socialists, atheists, vegetarians and also unmarried - my
goodness, what a mess !!!
At the age of 11 she started to
learn to dance in Isadora Duncan's dance school in Paris. She became a dance
teacher in London and later an actress. She went to bed with the famous star
Charles Laughton, and sadly got pregnant but then got an abortion - my god! The
couple married finally. They moved to Hollywood in the 1930s, and Elsa played
Frankenstein's bride in the famous film.
In her old age she lived in the
town of Malvern, located not far from Cheltenham. She unfortunately died in
1986 of bronchial pneumonia. But what an incredible life she had !!!
22:00 We go to bed - zzzzz !!!!!
04:30 I get up early and do one
of my routine Danish vocabulary tests. Afterwards, I make two cups of tea and
bring them up to our bedroom. I creep back in our bed and we drink the tea. We
take a shower and get up. We eat breakfast.
10:00 We go into the village and
pop into the local post office. We want to send a package to Rosalind, one of
our three grandchildren in Copenhagen. The package contains a comic magazine
for children. Rosalind is very into space travel and exploration, also crafts.
Earlier this year, we gave her a sewing machine as a birthday gift.
We get home and relax with a cup
of coffee on the couch.
12:30 We eat lunch and afterwards
I go to bed and take a gigantic afternoon nap - zzzzz !!!!
15:30 I get up and take a look on
the web. I read another strip by my favorite cartoonist, the Dane Morten
Ingemann. Morten's strips focus on ugly, overweight, middle-aged people, the
kind of people that many artists tend to ignore. How refreshing!
In this strip we see a middle-aged
woman who is accompanying her teenage daughter home after school. The daughter is
dragging a large lunch box home with her. The girl's mother looks rather
thoughtful - it's clear that after deep reflection she has decided that the
fateful day has finally arrived, and she must steel herself to talk with her
daughter about sex and STDs, the day she has long feared .
I think it is a very common
problem for many middle-aged parents, especially if they have daughters.
Unfortunately, it is usually the mother who has to tackle this problem without
help from the father.
With a heavy heart she broaches
this troublesome subject on the way home and says with a strained voice,
"When we get home, I want to talk to you about sex and STDs."
Fortunately the tension is suddenly dissolved when the girl responds, "
Okay, what do you want to know? ".
The mother's relief is almost
palpable - and indeed the mother now has a few chances to learn something new maybe
when mother and daughter later in the day get to really let their tongues loose
around this difficult subject - I know that for sure !!!
A touching scene about a very
awkward subject, guided by Morten with his customary sensitivity. Go Morten!!!!
16:00 Lois and I relax with a cup
of tea on the sofa.
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