Onsdag den 15. februar 2017 kl 16:30 til torsdag den 16. februar 2017 kl 16:29

17:00 Lois og jeg kryber ud af sengen efter vores ekstralange eftermiddagslur og slapper af med en kop te i sofaen.

18:30 Vi spiser aftensmad og bruger resten af aftenen på at se lidt fjernsyn. De viser den femte del af en dokumentarfilmserie, ”A New Life in Oz”, der handler om engelske familier, der har besluttet at starte et nyt liv i Australien. Lois og jeg interesserer os meget for at se denne serie, fordi vores yngste datter, Sarah, for 14 måneder siden flyttede til byen Perth, sammen med Francis, sin mand, og deres (dengang) 2-årige tvillinger, Lily og Jessica.

Dette femte afsnit handler om en eks-soldat, Michael, hans kone, Ilka, og deres unge datter. Familien har besluttet at flytte til Perth, hvor Michael gerne vil starte sit eget motionscenter.

Vi nyder programmet, fordi vi kan relatere til mange aspekter af udvandring-processen, som de fleste sådanne programmer ignorerer. Programmet fokuserer for eksempel på sorgen og tristheden af Michaels ældre far, der er enke eller fraskilt, som familien efterlader i England, da de flyver til Australien.

Programmet fokuserer også på sorgen af Michaels meget tætte bedste ven, Dean – de to mænds forhold var indlysende en yderst stærk bromance – du godeste! Michael prøver at overtale Dean til at flytte til Australien også, men Dean vil ikke efterlade sine andre venner – uha! Stakkels Michael!!!!

Michael er en geordie (fra Newcastle-distriktet) og han har en dejlig tysk kone, Ilka, som han først mødte for 13 år siden, da han var udstationeret i Tyskland. Jeg interesserer mig meget for britiske lokale accenter, og jeg bliver fascineret af Ilkas stemme – man ville være sikker på, at hun også er født i Newcastle-distriktet, der er ikke noget spor af tysk accent tilbage.  Jeg kan kun antage, at hun kendte ikke noget engelsk, før hun mødte Michael, så hun tror, at det utypiske, egendommelige og idiosynkratiske geordie-sprog er den ægte artikel – du godeste!

Lois og jeg har været lidt skuffet over denne serie. Vi håbede, vi ville se flere billeder af byen Perth, men i aften for eksempel ser vi kun lejligehedsvis udsigter fra luften, visende byen og havnen osv. Det er også lidt skuffende, at serien har sat fokus på mænd, der ikke har professionelle jobs i England, så deres oplevelse er lidt anderledes, end vores datter Sarahs.

20:00 Vi fortsætter med at se lidt fjernsyn. De viser en anden interessant dokumentarfilm (sidste del af 3, 6. serie), “Stol på mig, jeg er læge”. Programmets vært er den charmerende tv-læge, Michael Mosley, sammen med nogle af hans tv-lægevenner.

En interessant serie, der giver det nuværende officielle råd, når det kommer til forskellige aspekter af sundhed. Men stilen er ikke så god, fordi filmsekvenserne og diskussionen ofte springer konstant fra det ene aspekt til et andet (og tilbage igen) – uha! Programmagernes forsæt er tilsyneladende at holde seerne i suspense og forhindre dem i at skifte kanal, men resultatet er lidt forvirrende.

Serien bruger også en masse irriterende upbeat baggrundmusik – sikke et vanvid!!!

Mange af programmets anbefalinger gælder ikke for gamle vrag som os, men vi får uden tvivl flere nyttige oplysninger, som altid.

Vi hører ofte at Omega 3 er vigtigt for vores sundhed især hjertet, og vi bliver anbefalet at spise fed fisk to gange om ugen, eller tage fiskeoliekapsler. Men hvilket er det bedste – fisk eller kapsler?

TV-lægerne foretager et eksperiment, der involverer 3 grupper mennesker. Den første gruppe spiser fed fisk to gange om ugen, den anden gruppe tager fiskeoliekapsler, og den tredje gruppe er eksperiments placebo-gruppe. 

Resultater fra fed fisk og kapsler viser sig faktisk at være næsten det samme, men programmets værter råder til, at vi kun køber kapsler fremstillet af akkrediterede selskaber. Både metoder førte hurtigt til meget forbedrede niveauer af omega-3 i ”patienternes” kroppe.

Vi hører ofte også, at for meget fedt kan være dårligt ikke bare for vores vægt men også for hjertet.  Men for nylig er der også været en opdagelse, at for meget fedt er dårligt for kroppens behandling af kulhydrater, især i tilfælde af mænd, ifølge forskere fra Liverpool John Moores universitet. 

Kulhydratrige fødevarer som brød, pasta osv forårsager vores blodsukker at stige – denne blodsukker bliver normalt brugt som energi, eller lagret som fedt i kroppen. Men forskerne tror, at en høj fedt kost betyder, at blodsukkeret forbliver længere i kroppen, hvilket er farligt – det kunne føre til type-2 diabetes.

En kvindelig tv-læge og en mandlig forsker foretager et høj fedt kost eksperiment i en uge. Det viser sig, at en uges høj fedt kost gør næsten ingen forskel på den totale mængde af kropsfedt enten i manden eller i kvinden.

Men når det kommer til kroppens evne til at kontrollere blodsukker, kvindens situation var stadig det samme, men mandens evne faktisk var reduceret med 50%– du godeste, sikke et vanvid!!!

22:00 Vi går i seng – zzzzzz!!!!

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

Jeg kigger lidt på nettet og jeg ser, at vores ældste datter, Alison, og Ed, hendes mand, har lagt endnu flere fotos op på Facebook, som de tog under deres igangværende skiferie i Halfjall i Norge.

Ali og hendes børn, sammen med deres venner,

Suzanne og Barnaby, og deres børn

Ed på toppen af verden

08:00 Jeg skynder mig ind i køkkenet og laver to kopper te. Jeg tager dem med op i soveværelset og hopper op i sengen til Lois. Vi drikker teen og går i bad. Vi står op og spiser morgenmad.

10:45 Vi går en tur i nabolaget (2 miles, 200 kalorier). Vores rute: Dybegade, Højgade, Noverton Lane og tilbage igen via Møllegade, Borgergade og Royal Oak-værtshuset.

Vi går en tur i nabolaget (2 miles)

Foråret er på vej, og vi ser mange forårsblomster ved siden af vejen.

Vi kommer hjem og slapper af med en kop kaffe i sofaen.

12:30 Vi spiser frokost og bagefter går jeg i seng for at tage mig en gigantisk eftermiddagslur.

14:30 Jeg står op og kigger lidt på nettet. Steve, min amerikanske svoger, har sendt mig en interessant email, der blandt andet handler om en ny bog, ”På den fjerne siden af de nordlige lande: vikingerejser og oldnordiske sagaer” af den engelske historiker, Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough.

I et interview taler forfatteren lidt om trolde, alfer og dværge. Hun siger, at disse væsner ikke altid er overnaturlige. Midt i en ”normal”, rutinemæssig saga, da helten er i seng og drømmer om noget, eller måske vandrer rundt over et bjerg, kan en trold dukker op uforventet.

Disse små væsner har tendens til at bo altid lidt nord for de områder, hvor man plejer at holde til i eller hænge ud i. For eksempel, hvis man boede i Cheltenham, kunne man være vagt klar over, at der var trolde i Bishops Cleeve og omegn, eller alfer i Broadway måske. Altid lidt nord for stedet, man bor i. Trolde, alfer og dværge har tendens til at ses på eller nær grænsen for ens perifere syn. Det kan jeg relatere til, fordi jeg en gang troede jeg så en trolde i mit vinge-spejl, da jeg drejede til venstre (vestpå) lige før jeg ankom til Bishops Cleeve.

Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough af Durham universitet,

der har en isbjørn lidt over grænsen for sit perifere syn.

Pas på bag dig, Eleanor!!!!

16:00 Lois og jeg slapper af med en kop te i sofaen.

English translation

17:00 Lois and I crawl out of bed after our extra long nap, and we relax with a cup of tea on the sofa.

18:30 We have dinner and spend the rest of the evening watching TV. They show the fifth part of a documentary series, "A New Life in Oz," which is about British families who have decided to start a new life in Australia. Lois and I are very interested to see this series because our youngest daughter, Sarah, moved to the city of Perth 14 months ago, along with Francis, her husband and their (then) 2-year-old twins, Lily and Jessica.

This fifth episode is about an ex-soldier, Michael, his wife, Ilka, and their young daughter. The family has decided to move to Perth, where Michael would like to start his own gym.

We enjoy the program, because we can relate to many aspects of the immigration process which most such programs ignore. The program focuses for example on the grief and sadness of Michael's elderly father, who is a widow or divorced, and whom the family leave behind in England when they fly to Australia.

The program also focuses on the grief of Michael's very close best friend - the two men's relationship was obviously an extremely strong bromance - my god! Michael tries to convince Dean to move to Australia too, but Dean does not want to leave his other friends - oh dear! Poor Michael !!!!  

Michael is a Geordie (ie from the Newcastle area) and he has a lovely German wife, Ilka, whom he first met 13 years ago when he was stationed in Germany. I'm very interested in British local accents, and I become fascinated by Ilka's voice - one would be convinced that she was born in the Newcastle area too, there is no trace of German accent left. I can only assume that she knew no English before she met Michael, so she thinks that the untypical, peculiar and idiosyncratic geordie language is the genuine article - my god!

Lois and I have been a little disappointed with this series. We hoped we would see more pictures of the city of Perth, but tonight, for example, we see only occasional aerial views showing the city and the harbor and so on. It is also a bit disappointing that the series has focused on men who do not have professional jobs in England, so their experience is a little different than our daughter Sarah's.

20:00 We continue to watch TV. They show another interesting documentary (last part of 3, 6th series), "Trust me, I'm a doctor." The program's host is the charming TV doctor, Michael Mosley, along with some of his TV doctor friends.

An interesting series that provides the current official advice when it comes to different aspects of health. But the style is not so good because the film sequences and the discussion often jump constantly from one aspect to another (and back again) - oh dear! The program makers' intention is apparently to keep viewers in suspense and stop them changing channel, but the result is a little confusing.

The series also uses a lot of annoying upbeat background music - what madness !!!

Many of the program's recommendations do not apply to an old wrecks like Lois and me, but we undoubtedly get several useful pieces of information, as always.

We often hear that Omega 3 is important for our health especially the heart and we are recommended to eat oily fish twice a week or take fish oil capsules. But which is the best - fish or capsules?

The TV doctors carry out an experiment involving three groups of people. The first group eats oily fish twice a week, the second group takes fish oil capsules, and the third group is the experiment's placebo group.Results from oily fish and capsules turns out actually to be almost the same, but the program's hosts advise that we only buy capsules made by accredited companies. Both methods quickly led to much improved levels of omega-3 in the "patients" bodies.

We often hear also that too much fat can be bad not only for our weight but also for the heart. But recently there has also been a discovery that too much fat is bad for the body's processing of carbohydrates, especially in the case of men, according to researchers at Liverpool John Moores University.

Carbohydrate-rich foods like bread, pasta, etc. cause our blood sugar level to rise - this blood sugar is normally used as energy or stored as fat in the body. But scientists believe that a high fat diet means that blood sugar stays longer in the body, which is dangerous - it could lead to type-2 diabetes.

A female television doctor and a male researcher carry out a high-fat diet experiment for a week. It turns out that a one-week high fat diet makes little difference to the total amount of body fat in either the man or the woman.

But when it comes to the body's ability to control blood sugar, the woman's situation was still the same, but the man's ability was actually reduced by 50% - my god, what madness !!!

22:00 We go to bed - zzzzzz !!!!

05:00 I get up early and do one of my routine Danish vocabulary tests.

I take a little look at the web and I see that our oldest daughter, Alison, and Ed, her husband, have put even more photos up on Facebook taken during their ongoing skiing holiday in Halfjall Norway.

Ali and her children, along with their friends,

Suzanne and Barnaby, and their children

Ed on top of the world

08:00 I hurry into the kitchen and make two cups of tea. I take them up to the bedroom and jump into bed with Lois. We drink the tea and go in the shower. We get up and eat breakfast.

10:45 We take a walk in the neighborhood (2 miles, 200 calories). Our itinerary: Dybegade, Højgade, Noverton Lane and back again via Møllegade, Borgergade and the Royal Oak pub.

We take a walk in the neighborhood (2 miles)

Spring is coming, and we see many spring flowers beside the road.

We get home and relax with a cup of coffee on the sofa.

12:30 We eat lunch and afterwards I go to bed and take a gigantic afternoon nap.

14:30 I get up and take a little look at the web. Steve, my American brother-in-law, has sent me an interesting email which, among other things, talks about a new book, "Beyond the Northlands: Viking voyages and the Old Norse Sagas" by the English historian, Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough.

In an interview the author talks a little about trolls, elves and dwarves. She says that these creatures are not always supernatural. In the midst of a "normal" routine saga, when the hero is in bed and dreaming about something, or maybe wandering around over a mountain, a troll can pop up unexpectedly.

These small creatures tend to always stay a little north of the areas where we usually live or hang out in. For example, if you lived in Cheltenham, you might be vaguely aware that there were trolls in Bishops Cleeve and district, or perhaps elves in Broadway. Always a bit north of the place you live in. 

Trolls, elves and dwarves tend to be seen at or near the limit of one's peripheral vision. That is something I can relate to, because I once thought I saw a troll in my wing mirror when I turned left (west) just before I arrived at Bishops Cleeve.

Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough of Durham University,

with a polar bear just beyond the edge of her peripheral vision.

Watch out behind you, Eleanor !!!!

16:00 Lois and I relax with a cup of tea on the sofa.