Søndag den 1. januar 2017 kl 16:30 til mandag den 2. januar 2017 kl 16:29

17:00 Lois og jeg sidder i stuen og venter på at Lois’s niece Sharon og hendes familie (Michael, Sharons partner, og deres to unge børn Lily Rose (9 år) og ”Lille” Lois(7 år)) ankommer. De har tilbragt dagen på den lokale væddeløbsbanen.

17:30 Vores gæster ankommer og vi spiser aftensmad. Vi udveksler julegaver og snakker med dem om dagens væddeløbsfestival. Sharon tog dette charmerende billede af sine to døtre tidligere på dagen.

Lois’s 2 grandniecer, Lily Rose og ”Lille” Lois tidligere på dagen

på den lokale væddeløbsbane.

Lois og jeg har god kemi med Sharon og Michael, og det er meget sjovt at snakke med dem om dette og hint. Vi er glade for, at de to unge børn er meget afslappede og venlige over for os, selvom vi kun sjældent ser dem. Lille Lois er et meget livligt barn og hygger sig meget med at jagte Minx, Alisons kat, rundt i huset, opsamle hende og vugge hende i armene. Stakkels Minx!!! 

Alison er vores ældste datter, og Minx er Alisons kat, som hun efterlod hos os, da hendes familie for 4 år siden flyttede til Danmark. Minx holder desværre ikke meget af små børn. Siden vores anden datter, Sarah, for 1 år siden flyttede til Australien sammen med sine (nu) 3-årige tvillingerne, har Minx endelig fundet fred og ro i selskab med en stille og rolig ældre ægtepar (os!!!). Så er det lidt af en chok for Minx pludselig at skulle løbe væk fra små børn igen. Stakkels Minx (igen) !!!!!

Sharon, Michael, Lily Rose (til venstre) og Lille Lois (til højre)

slapper af i sofaen efter aftensmaden.

Lille Lois hygger sig med at jagte Minx, Alisons kat,

rundt i huset, under borde og stole, bag sofaer osv.

Du godeste – stakkels Minx!!!!

20:00 Vores gæster skal til af sted. Lois og jeg bruger resten af aftenen på at se lidt fjernsyn. Tidligere på aftenen åbnede vi en flaske mousserende vin til Sharon og Michael, men de drak desværre kun 2 meget lille glas. Lois og jeg sætter os til rette i sofaen og hjælper hinanden med at tømme flasken, mig for det meste, fordi Lois bliver altid lidt småfuld efter kun et par slurke - du godeste! Det ligner os ikke – ingen tvivl om det!!!!

De viser en interessant dokumentarfilm, der handler om gamle komiske sketcher, som Peter Cook og Dudley Moore skrev og optrådte i. I mange af deres sketcher spillede duoen to dumme venner fra Dagenham i øst-London, ”Pete and Dud”, der altid gik med gamle regnfrakker og gamle sixpencer (dvs  kasketter med flad, blød puld og kort skygge).

BBC-kanalen udsendte mange afsnit af duoens serie ”Not Only But Also” i 1960’erne og 1970’erne, men de fleste bånd blev desværre slettet – det er svært at tro, men optagelsesbånd var dengang meget dyre, og kanalen var nødt til at genbruge dem i en uendelighed.  

Channel Four-kanalen har nået at finde eksemplarer af nogle af de manglende optagelsesbånd, og vi ser dem i aften i dette program. Det er meget sjovt at se dem, men Lois og jeg føler os lidt skuffet over, at programmets forskere kun har fundet meget korte uddrag af duoens sketcher, og resten af programmet er fyldt ud med reaktioner fra nuværende komikere.

Mange af de manglende uddrag blev faktisk fundet i Australien, hvor duoen var vildt populær. Vi ser i aften en meget morsom sketch, hvor ”Pete and Dud” er i færd med at surfe på en australsk strand, iført de obligatoriske regnfrakker og sixpencer, som de går med i Dagenham. Selvfølgelig falder de over efter et par sekunder, og bagefter sætter sig på sandet og drikker en kop te fra en typisk gammeldags engelsk termokande.

De to venner fra Dagenham afprøver hvordan det egentlig føles

 at surfe og solbade på en australsk strand.

Aftenens program indeholder også nogle audio-optagelser, hvor videoen mangler. Jeg er helt sikker på, at jeg også har nogle gamle audio-optagelser af serien ”Not Only But Also” på 7” (18cm) hjul til hjul bånd, som jeg har opbevaret i vores loft. Jeg bør foretage en metodisk efterforskning – ingen tvivl om det!!!!

Det er trist at indrømme, men min hjul-til-hjul båndoptager nu og da var min bedste ven, når som helst jeg oplevede lejlighedsvise ensomme perioder under mine teenage år – du godeste! Jeg havde også en lille rød notesbog, jeg skrev i, hvor jeg noterede detaljerne af alle mine optagelser (dato, tv-kanal osv). Du godeste! Hvor var jeg dog en ynkelig lille mand!!!!

22:00 Vi går i seng. Jeg læser 9 sider af min nye sengetidbog, ”de indsamlede digte af John Betjeman”, en julegave fra Lois, før jeg glider over i søvnen – zzzzzz!!!!

04:30 Jeg står tidligt op og laver én af mine rutinemæssige danske ordforrådtest. Bagefter laver jeg to kopper te og tager dem med op i soveværelset. Jeg kryber tilbage i sengen og vi drikker teen. Vi går i bad og bagefter spiser morgenmad.

10:00 Sarah, vores yngste datter, ringer til os fra Australien. Hun siger, at hendes 3-årige tvillinger, Lily og Jessica, gerne vil ønske os godt nytår. Familien har været på ferie siden tirsdag, og er rejst fra Perth til Esperance til Albany til Margaret River. De kommer om et par dage tilbage hjem til Perth.

Sarahs og Francis’s køretur i det sydvestlige Australien.

12:00 Solen skinner. Vi går en kort tur i nabolaget. Vores rute: Borgergade, Bowbridge Lane, Spring Lane og tilbage igen.

Vi går en kort tur i nabolaget

Min smartphone kaster en skygge over Lois’s hals – uha!

Vi trænger til at påbegynde et kursus i at tage selfies – ingen tvivl om det!!!!

På vej møder vi tilfældigt Dave R., enkemand til Lois’s afdøde eks-arbejdskollega, Shirley. Shirley døde desværre for nogle år siden af en lungekræft, der ved en fejltagelse blev diagnosticeret som en virus af den lokale lægeklinik – du godeste, stakkels Shirley.

Lois og jeg begræder ofte, at vores 2 døtre begge bor i udlandet. Daves situation er værre – han er enkemand, og hans 3 børn og hans 4 børnebørn alle bor i Canada. Stakkels Dave. Vi mistænker, at han nu har en kæreste, eller det håber vi. Men det er vi ikke helt sikre på. Lois så ham med en kvinde for nogle måneder siden.

13:00 Vi kommer hjem og spiser frokost. Bagefter går jeg i seng for at tage mig en gigantisk eftermiddagslur – zzzzzz!!!!

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

English translation

17:00 Lois and I are sitting in the living room, waiting for Lois's niece Sharon and her family (Michael, Sharon's partner and their two young children Lily Rose (9 years) and "Small" Lois (7 years)) to arrive. They have spent the day at the local racetrack.

17:30 Our guests arrive and we have dinner. We exchange Christmas gifts and talk with them about today's racing festival. Sharon took this charming picture of her two daughters earlier in the day.

Lois's 2 great-nieces, Lily Rose and "Little" Lois earlier in the day

at the local racecourse.

Lois and I have good chemistry with Sharon and Michael, and it's a lot of fun to talk to them about this and that. We are pleased that the two young children are very relaxed and friendly towards us, even though we rarely see them. Little Lois is a very lively child and enjoys herself a lot chasing Minx, Alison's cat, around the house, picking her up and cradling her in her arms. Poor Minx !!!

Alison is our oldest daughter and Minx is Alison's cat, which she left with us when her family moved to Denmark for 4 years ago. Minx is unfortunately not very fond of small children. Since our other daughter, Sarah, moved to Australia 1 year ago with her (now) 3-year-old twins, Minx has finally found peace and tranquillity in the company of a quiet elderly couple (us !!!). So it's a bit of a shock for Minx, suddenly having to run away from little children again. Poor Minx (again) !!!!!

Sharon, Michael, Lily Rose (left) and Little Lois (right)

relaxing on the couch after dinner.

Little Lois enjoying herself chasing Minx, Alison's cat

around the house, under tables and chairs, behind sofas etc.

My god - poor Minx !!!!

20:00 Our guests have to leave. Lois and I spend the rest of the evening watching TV. Earlier in the evening, we opened a bottle of sparkling wine for Sharon and Michael, but unfortunately they only drank 2 very small glasses. Lois and I settle down on the sofa and help each other to empty the bottle, me mostly because Lois always gets a little tipsy after only a few sips - my god! It is not like us - no doubt about it !!!!

They show an interesting documentary about old comedy sketches which Peter Cook and Dudley Moore wrote and appeared in. In many of their sketches the duo played two stupid friends from Dagenham in east London, "Pete and Dud", who always wore old raincoats and old cloth caps (ie caps with flat, soft crowns and short peaks).

The BBC channel broadcast many episodes of the duo's series "Not Only But Also" in the 1960s and 1970s, but most of the tapes were unfortunately deleted - it's hard to believe, but recording tapes were very expensive then, and the channel had to reuse them endlessly.

Channel Four has managed to find copies of some of the missing recording tapes, and we see them tonight in this program. It is a lot of fun to watch them, but Lois and I feel a bit disappointed that the program's researchers have only found very short extracts of the duo's sketches, and the rest of the program is filled up with reactions from current comedians.

Many of the missing excerpts were actually found in Australia, where the duo was wildly popular. We see a very funny sketch tonight where "Pete and Dud" are busy surfing at an Australian beach, still dressed in the mandatory raincoats and cloth caps that they wear in Dagenham. Of course, they fall over after a few seconds, and then sit down on the sand and drink a cup of tea from a typical old-fashioned English thermos.

The two friends from Dagenham try out how it actually feels 

to surf and sunbathe at an Australian beach.

Tonight's program also includes some audio recordings where the video is missing. I am quite sure that I also have some old audio recordings of the series "Not Only But Also" on 7-inch (18cm) reel to reel tapes that I have stored in our loft. I should conduct a methodical investigation - no doubt about it !!!!

It's sad to admit, but my reel-to-reel tape recorder was my best friend now and then whenever I experienced intermittent lonely periods during my teenage years - my god! I also had a little red notebook I wrote in, where I noted down the details of all my recordings (date, TV channel, etc.). My God! What a sad little man I was !!!!

22:00 We go to bed. I read nine pages of my new bedtime-book, "the collected poems of John Betjeman", a Christmas gift from Lois, before I drift off to sleep - zzzzzz !!!!

04:30 I get up early and do one of my routine Danish vocabulary tests. Afterwards, I make two cups of tea and take them up to the bedroom. I crawl back in bed and we drink the tea. We take a shower and then eat breakfast.

10:00 Sarah, our youngest daughter, calls us from Australia. She says that her 3-year-old twins, Lily and Jessica, would like to wish us a happy New Year. The family has been on vacation since Tuesday, and have traveled from Perth to Esperance to Albany to Margaret River. They'll be getting back home to Perth in a few days.

Sarah's and Francis's road trip in southwestern Australia.

12:00 The sun is shining. We go for a short walk in the neighborhood. Our route: Borgergade, Bowbridge Lane, Spring Lane and back again.

We go for a short walk in the neighborhood

My smartphone casts a shadow over Lois's neck - oh dear!

We need to get going on a course about taking selfies - no doubt about it !!!!

On the way, we happen to meet Dave R., widower of Lois's deceased ex-work colleague, Shirley. Shirley unfortunately died some years ago from a lung cancer that was incorrectly diagnosed as a virus by the local medical clinic - my god, poor Shirley.

Lois and I often lament the fact that our 2 daughters both live abroad. Dave's situation is worse - he is a widower, and his three children and his four grandchildren all live in Canada. Poor Dave. We suspect that he now has a girlfriend, or so we hope. But we are not quite sure. Lois saw him with a woman a few months ago.

13:00 We get home and eat lunch. Afterwards I go to bed and take a gigantic afternoon nap - zzzzzz !!!!

15:30 I get up and we relax with a cup of tea on the sofa.