Tuesday, 8 November 2016

Mandag den 7. november kl 1630 til tirsdag den 8. november 2016 kl 1629

17:00 Jeg hopper op på min kondicykel og jeg cykler 7, 5 miles (12,5km). Hurra – nu er jeg helt sikker på, at jeg kan blive rask igen!

18:00 Vi spiser aftensmad og bruger resten af aftenen på at se lidt fjernsyn. De viser University Challenge og Only Connect, to af de få tv-programmer, der ikke er egnede til meget dumme mennesker hehe.



21:00 Vi fortsætter med at se lidt fjernsyn. De viser en interessant dokumentarfilm, ”Presidential Grudge Match”, der handler om amerikanske præsidentvalg gennem århundreder.



Hall siger, at den nuværende valg ikke er den bitrest eller mest beskidt, når man for eksempel kigger på LBJ/Goldwater (1964), Bush/Dukakis (1988) og andre kampagner, startende med Jefferson/Adams i 1796.

Halls varemærke er, at han aldrig smiler. Han er en amerikansk stand-up komiker, der tilbringer halvdelen af året i USA, og halvdelen i Storbritannien. Vi ved, hvis side han er på i 2016: han siger, at hvis Trump vinder, så vil han flytte permanent til London, hvor han ejer en lejlighed. Du godeste, han må være desperat, ingen tvivl om det !!!

Rich Halls varemærke er, at han aldrig smiler – uha!

Et meget interessant program. Jeg har for vane at insistere med djævlens vold og magt på at gå i seng kl 22, men i aften jeg bliver oppe endnu 30 minutter, så jeg kan se programmets slutning – du godeste, og Lois får noget af et chok– det har jeg ikke nogen tvivl om !!!

22:30 Vi går i seng. Jeg læser 4 sider af min godnatbog, ” 1812: Napoleon’s Fatal March on Moscow”, af Adam Zamoyski, inden jeg glider over i søvnen – zzzzz!!!!!

Bogen er ikke ret godt som sengetidbog, er jeg sikker på! Det er rørende men meget smertefuldt, at læse om de utrolige lidelser, som alle, der blev involveret, måtte tåle under ”den store mands” tilbagetog fra Rusland.

Men denne bog har allerede skiftet lidt min mening om Napoleon. I engelske skoler lærer vi som børn, at han var en absolut diktator, der gjorde de fleste europæiske lande til franske lydlande og stjal andre landes mest værdifulde kunstskatte og tog dem tilbage til Frankrig, hvilket selvfølgelig er sandt. På vores etnocentriske måde, har vi tendens til at se på ham, som en tidlig prototype på Hitler og Stalin.

Men når jeg læser denne bog, kan jeg også se tydeligt, at han var en sand militært geni, der var elsket af sine soldater, ikke bare franskmænd, men også tyskere, italiener, hollænderne, polakker osv, på trods af disse utrolige lidelser. Du godeste!

05:00 Jeg står tidligt op og laver én af mine rutinemæssige danske ordforradtester. 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.

10:00 Min ven, ”Magyar” Mike, har for vane at besøge mig hver tirsdag kl 10, så vi kan lære ungarsk sammen, men i dag kan han desværre ikke komme, fordi han leder en guidet gåtur nogle steder over Cotswolds, en række bølgende bakker, i nærheden af sit huset i Nailsworth. Han arbejder frivilligt som en park ranger. Han leder guidede gåture, involverende grupper på ca 20 personer, hvor han stopper engang imellem for at udpege interessante seværdigheder og videregiver oplysninger om dem (historiske, kulturelle osv). Han bruge ofte flere timer i det lokale bibliotek, for at gøre lidt forskning, før han leder én af disse gåture.

Jeg har lidt fritid på grund af Mikes fravær. Lois og jeg går en kort tur i nabolaget (1 mile). Vores rute: Dybegade, Højgade, kirkegården, Møllegade, og hjem igen via Burgergade. På vej smutter vi ind i Waghornes, den lokale slagter, for at købe kød og brød.

Vi går en kort tur i nabolaget (1 mile)

12:00 Vi spiser frokost og derefter går jeg i seng og tager mig en gigantisk eftermiddagslur – zzzzz!!!

13:30 Lois skal af sted. Han skal køre over til en klinik i Bishops Cleeve, en lille landsby, der ligger ca 3 miles væk fra Cheltenham. Hun har bestilt en tid hos klinikkens fysioterapeut, Sally.

Sally, klinikkens charmerende fysioterapeut.

15:00 Jeg står op. Lois kommer tilbage og vi slapper af med en kop te på sofaen.

English translation

17:00 I jump up on my exercise bike and I ride 7, 5 miles (12,5km). Hoorah - now I am quite sure that I can get well again!

18:00 We have dinner and spend the rest of the evening watching TV. They show University Challenge and Only Connect, two of the few television programs that are not suitable for very stupid people tee hee!


21:00 We continue to watch TV. They show an interesting documentary, "Presidential Grudge Match", which is about US presidential elections through the centuries.


Hall says that the current election is not the most bitter and dirty, for example, when looking at LBJ / Goldwater (1964), Bush / Dukakis (1988) and other campaigns, starting with Jefferson / Adams in 1796.

Hall's trademark is that he never smiles. He is an American stand-up comedian who spends half the year in the United States and half in the UK. We know whose side he is on in 2016: he says that if Trump wins, then he will move permanently to London, where he owns an apartment. My God, he must be desperate, no doubt about it !!!

Rich Hall's trademark is that he never smiles - oh dear!

A very interesting program. I have the habit of insisting come hell or high water on going to bed at 10pm, but tonight I stay up another 30 minutes so I can see the end of the program - my god, Lois gets something of a shock - I have no doubt about THAT !!!

22:30 We go to bed. I read four pages of my goodnight-book, "1812: Napoleon's Fatal March on Moscow" by Adam Zamoyski, before I drift into sleep - zzzzz !!!!!

The book is not very good as a bedtime book, I'm sure of that! It is touching but very painful to read about the incredible sufferings that all those involved had to put up with under "the great man's" retreat from Russia.

But this book has already changed my mind a bit about Napoleon. In English schools we learn as children, that he was an absolute dictator who made most European countries into French dependencies, and stole other countries' most valuable art treasures and took them back to France, which of course is true. In our ethnocentric way, we tend to look at him as an early prototype of Hitler and Stalin.

But when I read this book, I can also see clearly that he was a true military genius who was loved by his soldiers, not only Frenchmen but also Germans, Italians, Dutchmen, Poles, etc., in spite of these incredible sufferings. My God!

05:00 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.

10:00 My friend, "Magyar" Mike, has the habit of visiting me every Tuesday at 10am, so we can learn Hungarian together, but today he cannot come because he is leading a guided walk somewhere over the Cotswolds, a range of rolling hills near his house in Nailsworth. He works as a volunteer park ranger. He leads guided walks, involving groups of about 20 people, where he stops occasionally to identify interesting sights and pass on information about them (historical, cultural, etc.). He often spend several hours at the local library doing a little research, before he leads one of these walks.

I have a little free time because of Mike's absence. Lois and I go for a short walk in the neighborhood (1 mile). Our itinerary: Dybegade, Højgade, churchyard, Møllegade, and back home via Borgergade. On the way we pop into Waghornes, the local butcher, to buy meat and bread.

We go for a short walk in the neighborhood (1 mile)

12:00 We eat lunch and then I go to bed and take a gigantic afternoon nap - zzzzz !!!

13:30 Lois has to go off. She has to drive over to a clinic in Bishops Cleeve, a small village located about 3 miles away from Cheltenham. She has booked an appointment with the clinic's physiotherapist, Sally.

Sally, the clinic's charming physiotherapist.

15:00 I get up. Lois comes back and we relax with a cup of tea on the sofa.


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