17:00 Vi opdager, at vores gamle vhs videobåndmaskine er gået i stykker.
Pokkers! Det er sandt, at den var meget gammel, men den var så nyttig, i sær
når vi ville se et program på de kommercielle kanaler, fordi vi kunne optager
det og spole hurtigt frem forbi reklamerne – hurra!
18:00 Vi spiser aftensmad og derefter bruger resten af aftenen på at se
lidt fjernsyn. Vi hindrer Minx, Alisons kat igen i, at gå ud i baghaven, på
grund af det fyrværkeri, der i aften finder sted for at fejre Guy Fawkes Aften.
De viser en interessant dokumentarfilm, der handler om en forhistorisk sti
eller gangvej, North Downs Way, der findes i grevskabet Kent. Gangvejen er
mange miles lang og fører fra Folkestone til Canterbury til det område, hvor
Charles Darwin, den kendte naturforsker, havde et stort hus. Programmets vært
er den tidligere komisk skuespiller, Tony Robinson.
Det er meget interessant for eksempel at se Darwins studerekammer, og badeværelse
osv – du godeste, selve vaskekummen den store mand brugte! Ja, han havde rene
vaner, og ville have været en god rumbo – ingen tvivl om det!!!
Darwins store
hus ligger i nærheden af denne forhistoriske gangvej
Det er
interessant at se Darwins studerekammer og skrivebord osv – du godeste!
Han holdt især meget af snor, og der blev fandt
mange snor-dispensere
på sit skrivebord efter han døde – uha!
Også ser vi de stier og haveganger, hvor han havde for vane at gå en lang
tur, fordi han troede, at dette aktivitet hjælper én med at tænke. Ifølge
Robinson er ordet for ”at rejse” i mange fremmedsprog det samme som ordet for
”at tænke”. Jeg ved ikke, hvilke sprog
han henviser til – jeg har aldrig hørt om sådan en
underligtfænomen!
21:00 Vi fortsætter med at se lidt fjernsyn. De viser en anden interessant
dokumentarfilm, der handler om ruten, som forhistoriske (men anatomisk set, ”moderne”)
mennesker tog for at nå Australien. Programmets vært er den charmerende Alice
Roberts.
Det er en skam, at dette slags program altid er dels videnskabelig
dokumentarfilm, og dels rejsebeskrivelse, hvilket er lidt ærgerligt for os, der
interesserer sig bare for antropologi, men det springer jeg over!
Alice prøver at spore ruten og finde ud af, hvor denne lange rejse fandt
sted, men beviserne er sparsomme – uha!
Australske aboriginere stammer, som os, fra den oprindelige lille gruppe
moderne mennesker, der forlod Afrika for ca. 70.000 år siden. Moderne mennesker
ankom i Europa for ca. 40.000 år siden, så det ville give mening, hvis vores
slægtninge ankom meget senere til Australien, på grund af den langere afstand.
Men der er nogle bevisner, at denne lange rejse faktisk endte for ca. 60.000 år
siden.
Der er eksempelvis bevisner, at aboriginere for ca. 60.000 år siden havde
for vane at bruge naturlig okker for at udvinde pigment, som de kunne bruger
for at tegne på klipper osv – du godeste! Og der var en kort periode for ca.
65.000 år siden, da afstanden mellem Timor øen og Australien kun var 90 miles lang,
hvilket ville have gjort det meget nemmere at krydse det dybe hav, der skiller
Australien fra Indonesien.
Alice sporer den lange rute fra Afrika til Australien
Hvis det hele er sandt, ser det ud til, at moderne mennesker nåede til
Australien 20.000 år, før de begyndte at bo i Europa. Du godeste! Måske var de
ikke ret meget tiltrukket af Europas velkendte dårlige vejr – uha!
22:00 Vi går i seng – zzzzz!!!!!
04:15 Jeg står tidligt op og laver én af mine rutinemæssige danske
ordforrådtester. Bagefter skynder jeg mig ind i køkkenet og laver to kopper te.
Jeg bringer dem op på vores soveværelse og kryber tilbage i vores seng. Vi
drikker teen og står op. Vi spiser morgenmad.
09:00 Vi taler lidt på telefon med vores yngste datter, Sarah, og hendes
3-årige tvillinger, Lily og Jessica. Familien flyttede til Australien for 11
måneder siden. De er blevet inviteret til en fest i dag hos en australske
familie, de kender. Tvillingerne har meget hygget sig med at fx gå i vandet
(der er en svømmepøl i haven – du godeste!). Nu hvor det er foråret derovre, er
det mere spændende, synes jeg.
Sarah var i fredags udmattede efter sin første uge på det nye arbejde. Det
var heldig, at hendes forgænger kunne smutte ind et par dage og vise hende
forskellige ting om arbejdet. Han kommer også i morgen i en halv dag. Sarah
siger, at firmaet (TDL) har en meget avanceret og moderne computersystem, som
hun i nogle uger kommer til at have svært med at forstå – uha!
Rejsen til og fra arbejdet tager 1 time 15 minutter. Hun kører i bil til
Butler banegård, og derefter skal hun tage en tog (til Stirling banegård) og en
bus for at nå til firmaets hovedkontor – du godeste! Vi ved, at når vi går i seng hver aften (kl 22), er hun allerede på
vej på arbejde (kl 6). Stakkels Sarah!!!!!
Heldigvis kan hun
vældig godt lide hendes 2 assistenter og hun siger, alle i kontoret er meget
venlige.
10:30 Jeg går i
gang med at stryge mine tøj: 4 undertrøjer, 3 par underbukser, 3 skjorter og 3
t-shirts. Du godeste! En stor bunke tøj – pokkers!
10:45 Lois skal af sted. Hun vil gerne deltage i to gudstjenester, der
finder sted i dag i Tewkesbury.
12:00 Jeg spiser frokost og bagefter går jeg i seng og tager mig en
gigantisk eftermiddagslur – zzzzzz!!!!
15:00 Jeg står op. Jeg får en sms fra Alison, vores ældre datter, der bor i
København sammen med Ed, sin mand, og deres 3 børn. Hun foreslår, at vi tale
med hende i aften kl 16.30 (dansk tid) på Skype.
15:30 Lois kommer hjem igen og vi slapper af med en kop te på sofaen. Vi
glæder os til at tale kl 17:30 (dansk tid) med Alison og hendes 3 børn i
København, og spørge dem om hvordan de fejrede Halloween i et fremmed land – du
godeste! Med andre ord, hvordan skal vi nu synge Herrens sang i et fremmed land
(copyright Israels børn!!!!!) ???
English translation
17:00 We discover that our old VHS
video tape machine is broken. Damn! It is true that it was very old, but it was
so useful, especially when we wanted to watch a program on the commercial
channels because we could record it and fast forward past the commercials -
hurrah!
18:00 We have dinner and then
spend the rest of the evening watching TV. We prevent Minx, Alison's cat, going out in the backyard again, because of the fireworks taking place this evening to celebrate Guy Fawkes Night.
They show an interesting
documentary that is about a prehistoric path or walkway, North Downs Way, that
can be found in the county of Kent. The walkway is many miles long and leads
from Folkestone to Canterbury to the area where Charles Darwin, the famous
naturalist, had a big house. The program's host is the former comic actor Tony
Robinson.
It is very interesting, for
example, to see Darwin's study and bathroom, etc. - my goodness, the wash-basin
the big man used! Yes, he had clean habits, and would have been a good
"rumbo" (roomie) - no doubt about it !!!
Darwin's big house is located near the
prehistoric pathway
It is interesting to see Darwin's study
and desks, etc. - my goodness!
He especially enjoyed string, and many string
dispensers
were found on his desk after he died.
Also we see the trails and garden
paths, where he had the habit of going for a long walk, because he thought that
this activity helps one to think. According to Robinson, the word for "to
travel" in many languages is the same as the word for "to think". I
do not know what language he refers to - I've never heard of such a strange
phenomenon!
21:00 We continue to watch TV.
They show another interesting documentary about the route that prehistoric (but
anatomically "modern") people took to reach Australia. The program's
host is the charming Alice Roberts.
It is a pity that this kind of
program is always partly scientific documentary and part travelogue, which is a
shame for us who are only interested in the anthropology, but I will let that
one slide.
Alice tries to trace the route
and find out where this long journey took place, but the evidence is sparse -
oh dear!
Australian Aboriginal tribes,
like us, stem from the original small group of modern humans who left Africa
about 70,000 years ago. Modern humans arrived in Europe about 40,000 years ago,
so it would make sense if our relatives arrived much later in Australia,
because of the longer distance. But there is some evidence that this long
journey actually ended successfully in Australia about 60,000 years ago.
For example there is evidence
that 60,000 years ago some of Aborigines had the habit of using natural ocher
to extract pigment, which they could use to draw on rocks, etc. - my god! And
there was a brief period about 65,000 years ago when the distance between the island
of Timor and Australia was only 90 miles long, which would have made it much
easier to cross the deep sea that separates Australia from Indonesia.
Alice traces the long route from Africa to Australia
If all that is true, it seems
that modern humans reached Australia 20,000 years before they began to live in
Europe. My God! Maybe they were not very much attracted to Europe's well-known
bad weather - oh dear!
22:00 We go to bed – zzzzzz!!!!
04:15 I get up early and do one
of my routine Danish vocabulary tests. Afterwards I hurry into the kitchen and
make two cups of tea. I bring them up to our bedroom and crawl back into our
bed. We drink the tea and get up. We eat breakfast.
09:00 We speak a little on the
phone with our youngest daughter, Sarah, and her 3-year-old twins, Lily and
Jessica. The family moved to Australia 11 months ago. They have been invited to
a party today at the house of an Australian family they know. The twins have
had a lot of fun eg going into the water (there is a pool in the garden - my
god!). Now that it's spring over there, it's more exciting, I think.
Sarah was exhausted last Friday
after her first week on the new job. It was lucky that her predecessor could
pop in on a few days and show her different things about the work. He is also
coming in tomorrow for half a day. Sarah says that the company (TDL) has a very
advanced and modern computer system, which she is going to have
a lot of trouble understanding for the next few weeks - oh dear!
Travel to and from work takes 1
hour 15 minutes. She drives to Butler Station, and after that she has to take a
train (to Stirling station) and then a bus to get to the company’s head office.
Fortunately, she really likes her
two assistants and she says everyone in the office is very friendly.
10:30 I begin to iron my clothes:
4 vests, 3 pairs of underpants, three shirts and three t-shirts. My God! A large
pile of clothes - damn!
10:45 Lois must go off. She would
like to attend two church services taking place today in Tewkesbury.
12:00 I eat lunch and then I go
to bed and take a giant nap - zzzzzz !!!!
15:00 I get up. I get a text message
from Alison, our older daughter who lives in Copenhagen along with Ed, her
husband and their 3 children. She suggests that we talk to her tonight at 5.30pm (Danish time) on Skype.
15:30 Lois comes home again and
we relax with a cup of tea on the sofa.
We look forward to speaking with Alison
and her 3 children in Copenhagen, and asking them how they celebrated Halloween in
a foreign country - my god! In other words, how shall we sing the Lord's song
in a strange land (copyright children of Israel!) ???
No comments:
Post a Comment