Danskcolin: Torsdag den 26. januar 2017 kl 16:30 til fredag den 27. januar 2017 kl 16:29

18:00 Lois og jeg er meget trætte i aften, som altid efter én af vores ”danske” dage, hvor vi om formiddagen forbereder huset på at være mødested til vores U3A danske gruppens regelmæssige møde, og om eftermiddagen leder mødet. Vi føles som om vi er godt op i årene – ingen tvivl om det!

Vi spiser aftensmad – en færdigret, fordi vi er udmattede, og derefter bruger vi aftenen på at lytte til radio og se lidt fjernsyn.

Vi hører et morsomt radioprogram (første del af 4), der handler om en engelsk komiker, Danny, der gifter sig med en dejlig svensk kvinde, Linda, og flytter til det nordlige Sverige. Parret har købt et hus ude på landet, helt tæt på Lindas skræmmende forældre, hendes negative far, Sten, og hendes liderlige mor, Gunilla.

Danny, en engelsk komiker, gifter sig med Linda, en dejlig svensker,

og parret flytter til det nordlige Sverige. De slår sig ned tæt på Lindas

skræmmende forældre, Sten og Gunilla.

Det er interessant for Lois og mig at høre om den svenske jul, og sammenligne den med den danske version (også den engelske og australske). Vores ældste datter, Alison, bor i København sammen med sin familie. Det ser ud til, at svenskerne, ligesom danskerne, har for vane at vælge deres egne juletræ og fælder det selv. Vores datter Sarah og hendes mand, Francis, der bor i Perth i Australien, fældede deres egne juletræ i december. Måske har australierne lånt denne vane af Skandinavien – det er jeg ikke helt sikker på.

Sarah, vores datter, og Francis, hendes mand,

fældede deres egne juletræ i Perth i Australien,

ved hjælp af deres 3-årige tvillinger, Lily og Jessica.

Den australske jul er en akkurat kopi af den engelske,

bortset fra vejret og påklædningen ha ha ha

Selvfølgelig er den meste indlysende forskel, at svenskerne, ligesom alle andre folk på kontinentet, fejre jul den 24. december (juleaftenen), i stedet for den 25. Hvorfor sker det, at Storbritannien altid er en undtagelse til regelen, når man kigger på Europas vaner og praksisser? Selvom jeg tror, at vi under vores 500-års besættelse af Irland, nåede vi at overtale dem til at fejre den 25., også muligvis Malta, to katolske lande. Hvem siger, at kolonialismen er en helt dårlig ting ha ha ha.

Det er interessant, at svenskerne har for vane at se en række Donald Duck-film den 24. december, og ikke ”Dronningens tale” eller ”It’s A Wonderful Life”. Vi bemærkede i Danmark, at Donald Duck er en vigtig figure i kulturen, også et stort symbol på juletiden. Derfor har mange danske tegnere sammenlignet Donald Trump med Donald Duck, hvilket ikke virker helt fair, må jeg tilføre!

Sissela Benn, den svenske skuespillerinde, der spiller Dannys kone, Linda, spillede også ”kærlighedsinteresse” i den svenske version af ”The Office”. Jeg kan ikke forestille mig en svenske version af Ricky Gervais’s oprindelige sitcom, fordi Ed, vores svigersøn i København, har fortalt os, at den danske kontorkultur og arbejdsmoral er helt anderledes, end den angelsaksiske.

Sissela Benn i den svenske version af "The Office"

Det er underligt, at Ove Sundberg, der spiller den svenske version af David Brent, smiler hele tiden, hvilket virker rav ruskende galt, og overhovedet ikke ligner Ricky Gervais eller Steve Carell. Mysteriøst.

Ove Sundberg, den svenske David Brent,

smiler hele tiden, hvilket virker ravruskende galt

22:00 Vi går i seng. Jeg læser 8 sider af min sengetidbog, ”Indsamlede digte af John Betjeman”, en julegave fra Lois, før jeg glider over i søvnen – zzzzzzz!!!!

04:30 Jeg står tidligt op og laver én af mine rutinemæssige danske ordforrådtest.

07:30 Jeg laver to kopper te og tager dem med op i soveværelset. Jeg hopper op i sengen

til Lois og vi drikker teen. Vi står op og spiser morgenmad.

09:30 Vi skal ud. Vi går over vejen til busstoppestedet og tager bussen ind i byen. Vi smutter ind i banken for at hæve £100 i femmere. Lois har for vane at give nogle femmere i sin kirkes klingpung om søndagen ved den regelmæssige indsamlingstid.

Bagefter går vi ind i Waterstone’s boghandel og køber 3 Peppa Pig-bøger til vores børnebørn i Australien, Sarahs 3-årige tvillingdøtre, Lily og Jessica. De er vild med Peppa Pig for tiden – hvor er de dog søde!

Til sidst smutter vi ind i Huffkins, en lille café, der ligger ved siden af boghandleren, for at drikke en kop te og spise et stykke kage – nam nam!

Huffkins-caféen, hvor vi drikker en kop te og spiser

et stykke kage

11:30 Vi tager bussen hjem igen og slapper af i spisestuen.

Vi slapper af. På bordet ser man Minx, Alisons kat,

og de 3 Peppa Pig-bøger, vi i morges købte til vores børnebørn i Australien

Sådan er vores liv, der nu for det meste kredser om vores 2 døtre og deres familier. Da vi var yngre, troede vi aldrig alvorligt, at alderdom før eller senere ville ramme os. Nu er det endelig ankommet – ingen tvivl om det, og vi kan ikke gøre for det – det ved jeg med sikkerhed!!!!

12:00 Sarah sender mig en sms. Hun har gode nyheder. Ejerne af familiens hus i Yanchep har desværrebedt dem om at forlade huset med 30 dages varsel, men Sarah siger, at hun og Francis har fundet et hus i Leaderville, en pænt forstad til Perth, som de gerne ville flytte ind i, og deres ansøgning er blevet accepteret – hurra!

Leaderville ligger ikke ret langt fra Osbourne Park, hvor Sarah tager på arbejde, og området er mere traditionelt, end Yanchep, med flere nærbutikker, lokale barer osv, ligesom en typisk engelsk forstad. Leaderville har nogle gode skoler, som tvillingerne kan gå i om et par år.

Sarah sender mig også nogle tegninger, at Lily og Jessica har lavet, tegninger af Lois og mig. De vokser op hurtigt og vi savner dem så meget.

Bedstemor ifølge Jessica

Bedstemor ifølge Lily

Bedstefar ifølge Jessica

Bedstefar ifølge Lily

13:00 Vi spiser frokost og derefter går jeg i seng for at tage mig en gigantisk eftermiddagslur – zzzzz!!!!

13:45 Lois skal til det lokale bibliotek for at hjælpe bibliotekets personale med at organisere og lede den ugentlige ”Baby Bounce and Rhyme” session for unge mødre og deres små børn. Aktiviterne består af barnesange for babys og forældre (og bedsteforældre). Da vores anden datter, Sarah, stadigvæk boede og arbejdede i England (indtil december 2015), plejede Lois og jeg at tage Sarahs tvillinger med til sessioner – lykkelige dage!

14:30 Jeg står op og kigger lidt på internettet. Jeg læser, at danske forskere, ifølge den danske nyhedswebsted TV2, har fundet ud af, at mad, der bliver spildt på grund af manglen på emballage, er dårligere for miljøet, end selve emballagen. Du godeste!

Det er ironisk, at denne nyhed skulle komme ud, lige nu, hvor optimismen af verdens kakelakker om planetens fremtid og især deres arts fremtid, er på en ”all time high” (86% af kakelakkerne, der blev udspurgt) , ifølge den indflydselserige amerikanske nyhedswebsted, The Onion.

Nogle helt typiske kakelakker har sagt, at artens fremtid er nu sikker, på grund af manglen på fremskridt for nylig, når det kommer til miljøproblemer.

Jeg har personligt en svaghed for disse modige små dyr, og jeg håber, at de ikke bliver deprimeret som følge af mindre madspild, hvis de danske forskeres resultater bliver bedre kendte. Du godeste! Stakkels kakelakker!!!!

The Onions betryggende overskrift

Det kan være, at verdens kakelakker, der nu føler sig så optimistiske,

snart bliver deprimeret af de seneste nyheder fra Danmark – uha!

16:00 Lois kommer hjem igen og vi slapper af med en kop te i sofaen.

English translation

18:00 Lois and I are very tired tonight, as always after one of our “Danish” days when we get the house ready in the morning to be the venue for our U3A Danish group’s regular meeting, and in the afternoon lead the meeting. We feel as though we are getting well on in years – no doubt about it!

We eat dinner – a ready meal, because we are exhausted, and then we spend the evening listening to the radio and watching TV.

We hear an amusing radio program (first part of 4) about an English comedian, Danny, who marries a beautiful Swedish woman, Linda, and moves to northern Sweden. The couple bought a house in the countryside, close to Linda’s frightening parents, her negative father Sten, and her horny mother, Gunilla.

Danny, an English comedian, marries Linda, a lovely Swede,

and the couple move to northern Sweden.

They settle down close to Linda’s frightening parents, Sten and Gunilla

It is interesting for Lois and me to hear about the Swedish Christmas and compare it to the Danish version (also the English and Australian). Our oldest daughter, Alison, lives in Copenhagen with her family. It seems that Swedes, like the Danes, have the habit of choosing their own Christmas tree and felling it themselves. Our daughter Sarah and her husband, Francis, who live in Perth Australia felled their own Christmas tree in December. Perhaps Australians borrowed this custom from Scandinavia – I’m not quite sure.

Sarah, our daughter, and Francis, her husband, felled their own

Christmas tree in Perth Australia, with the help of their 3-year-old twins, Lily and Jessica.

The Australian Christmas is an accurate copy of the English one,

apart from the weather and the dress code ha ha ha

Of course, the most obvious difference is that the Swedes, like all other peoples on the continent, celebrate Christmas on December 24^th (Christmas Eve), instead of the 25^th. Why is it that the UK is always an exception to the rule, when you look at Europe’s customs and practices? Although I think that during our 500-year occupation of Ireland, we managed to persuade them to celebrate on the 25^th, also possibly Malta, two Catholic countries. Who says that colonialism is a completely bad thing ha ha ha.

It is interesting that the Swedes have a custom of watching a bunch of Donald Duck movies on December 24^th, and not “the Queen’s speech” or “It’s A Wonderful Life”. We noticed in Denmark that Donald Duck is an important figure in the culture, also a major symbol of the Christmas season. Consequently, many Danish cartoonists have been comparing Donald Trump with Donald Duck, which does not seem quite fair, may I add!

Sissela Benn, the Swedish actress who plays Danny’s wife, Linda, also played the “love interest” in the Swedish version of “The Office”. I cannot imagine a Swedish version of Ricky Gervais’s original sitcom because Ed, our son-in Copenhagen, has told us that the Danish office culture and work ethic is completely different from the Anglo-Saxon one.

Sissela Benn in the Swedish version of “The Office”

It is strange that Ove Sundberg, who plays the Swedish version of David Brent, smiles all the time, which seems absurdly wrong and nothing like Ricky Gervais and Steve Carell. Mysterious.

Ove Sundberg, the Swedish David Brent,

smiles all the time, which seems absurdly wrong

22:00 We go to bed. I read 8 pages of my bedtime book, "Collected Poems of John Betjeman", a Christmas gift from Lois, before I drift off to sleep - zzzzzzz !!!!

04:30 I get up early and do one of my routine Danish vocabulary tests.

07:30 I make two cups of tea and take them up to the bedroom. I jump into bed with Lois and we drink the tea. We get up and eat breakfast.

09:30 We have to go out. We go over the road to the bus stop and take the bus into town. We pop into the bank to withdraw £100 in five-spots. Lois has a habit of putting some five-spots in her church's collection bags on Sundays at the regular collection time.

Afterwards we go into Waterstone's bookstore and buy 3 Peppa Pig-books for our grandchildren in Australia, Sarah's 3-year-old twin daughters, Lily and Jessica. They are crazy about Peppa Pig at the moment - how sweet they are!

Finally we pop into Huffkins, a small cafe next to the bookstore to drink a cup of tea and eat a piece of cake - yum yum!

The Huffkins café where we drink a cup of tea

and eat a piece of cake

11:30 We take the bus back home and relax in the dining room.

We relax. On the table you see Minx, Alison's cat,

and 3 Peppa Pig-books that we bought this morning

for our grandchildren in Australia

Such is our life, which now mostly revolves around our two daughters and their families. When we were younger, we never thought seriously that sooner or later old age would hit us. Now it's finally arrived - no doubt about it, and we cannot do anything about it - I know that for sure !!!!

12:00 Sarah sends me a text message. She has good news. The owners of the family house in Yanchep have unfortunately asked them to leave the house with 30 days notice, but Sarah says she and Francis have found a house in Leaderville, a nice suburb of Perth, that they would like to move into, and their application has been accepted - hurrah!

Leaderville is located not far from Osbourne Park, where Sarah goes to work, and the area is more traditional than Yanchep, with several convenience stores, local bars etc. just like a typical English suburb. Leaderville has some good schools that the twins can go to in a few years' time.

Sarah sends me some drawings that Lily and Jessica have done, drawings of Lois and me. They are growing up fast and we miss them so much.

Granny according to Jessica

Granny according to Lily

Poppa according to Jessica

Poppa according to Lily

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

13:45 Lois has to go to the local library to help library staff organize and lead the weekly "Baby Bounce and Rhyme" session for young mothers and their young children. The activities consist of children's songs for babies and parents (and grandparents). When our second daughter, Sarah, still lived and worked in England (until December 2015), Lois and I used to take Sarah's twins along to the sessions - happy days!

14:30 I get up and take a look on the internet. I read that according to the Danish news website TV2, Danish researchers have found out that food being wasted due to the lack of packaging is worse for the environment than the packaging itself. My God!

It is ironic that this news should come out right now, when the optimism of the world's cockroaches about future of the planet and especially about their species' future is at an "all time high" (86% of the cockroaches who were questioned), according to the influential US news website The Onion.

Some quite typical cockroaches have said that the species' future is now secure, due to the lack of progress recently when it comes to environmental issues.

I personally have a weakness for these brave little creatures, and I hope that they do not become depressed as a result of less food waste if the Danish researchers' results become better known. My God! Poor cockroaches !!!!