Sunday, 19 March 2017

Lørdag den 18. marts 2017 kl 16:30 søndag den 19. marts 2017 kl 16:29

18:00 Lois og jeg spiser aftensmad og bagefter skal hun arbejde lidt i spisestuen – hun er kasserer til sin kirkes bibelseminarprojekt, og hun skal aflægge beretning og fremlægge regnskabet til godkendelse (eller noget lignende!) på i morgens udvalgsmøde – du godeste, stakkels Lois!!!!!

Hun bruger ingen lommeregner – hun gør det hele, som de gjorde det i middelalderen, men uden hjælp af en abacus – du godeste! Men hun får balance i regnskabet, hvilket er det vigtigste – hurra!!!!



Lois beregner balancen uden hjælp af lommeregner, ligesom de gjorde det
i middelalderen. Sarah, vores yngste datter, der for 16 mdr siden flyttede til Australien
er revisor, og efterlod en masse blanke regnskabsark hos os – det var heldigt!

Vi bruger resten af aftenen på at se lidt fjernsyn. De viser en bevægende dokumentarfilm, der handler om livet af Vera Lynn, den berømte sangerinde, der på mandag har 100-års fødselsdag.


Både Lois og jeg har tårer i øjnene, mens vi ser på dette program, hvilket er lidt tåbeligt, fordi vi begge to ikke var i live under den 2. verdenskrig. Men i 1950’erne, da vi var børn / unge teenagere, var krigen stadig en meget frisk minde for vores forældres generation.

Selv i 1965, da jeg rejste til kontinentet (Holland) for første gang, faldt en midaldrende kvinde i snak med mig, og takkede mig og de engelsktalende lande for at ”redde mit land” – du godeste! Og da Lois og jeg de seneste 4 år var i København, så vi byens berømte lille Churchill Park, og jeg læste i en dansk artikel, at Churchill stadig var en rollemodel for nutidens danske politikere – du godeste (igen), det er lidt af en overraskelse!

Vera havde en sød, klar, følelsesmæssig stemme, der efter min mening var unik – jeg kan ikke finde på noget lignende i en anden sanger. Hendes sange var alle positive, men hun sang med en slags hulken i stemmen og folk kan ikke undgå at blive bevæget, synes jeg.

I programmet er det rart at se interviews med nogle af Veras kendte fans, for eksempel Paul Macartney (på 74 år), og Tim Rice, den berømte sangskriver (på 72 år), der selvom lidt ældre end os, ved krigens slutning kun var kun små buksetrolde – du godeste!

Paul McCartney

Det er også rørende at se et interview med Barry Humphries, den populære 83-årige australske komiker, der som lille dreng i Melbourne under krigen elskede Veras sange, selvom han ikke havde den fjerneste anelse om, hvad de hvide klipper ved Dover var, eller hvad blåfugle var – sikke et vanvid!  



Vera fortsatte med at være populær i 1950’erne og videre. I den første nogensinde britiske hitliste, der blev udgivet i 1952, havde hun 3 sange i de top 10.


22:00 Vi går i seng – zzzzzzz!!!!!

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


07:30 Jeg trisser 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 står op. Vi spiser morgenmad.

09:00 Vi taler lidt på Skype med vores yngste datter, Sarah, der for 16 mdr siden flyttede til Perth i Australien, sammen med Francis, sin mand, og deres (dengang) 2,5-årige tvillinger, Lily og Jessica. Det er meget sjovt at snakke med hende om deres liv i Australien og kigger på tvillingerne, der var i gang med at male ”kunstværker” i baggården.

det er meget sjovt at snakke med Sarah
og kigge på tvillingerne, der er i gang 
med at male ”kunstværker” i baggården

10:00 Jeg går i gang med at rydde op rundt i huset og støvsuge overalt, fordi Lois har inviteret Mari-Ann og Alf (muligvis også Maggie) til at spise aftensmad hos os.

12:00 Vi spiser frokost og bagefter skal Lois af sted. Hun ønsker at deltage i en gudstjeneste, der finder sted i eftermiddag i Tewkesbury. Hun kører med sin veninde, Maggie.

13:00 Jeg går i seng for at tage mig en kort eftermiddagslur.

14:15 Jeg står op og hopper op på min kondicykel. Jeg cykler kun 6 miles og jeg går glip af min rutinemæssige milde vægtløftning, på grund af mangel af tid. Mens jeg cykler, ser jeg på 1974 årets Billboard Hot 100 Singler på YouTube.


Lørdags år var 1975. Nu er jeg nået til 1974 i min nedtælling og nu er jeg i frit fald ned denne lange kaninhul tilbage til mine rødder. Mens jeg hører sangene, prøver jeg at mindes 1974 årets rolle i min og Lois's livshistorie. Jeg opdager, at vi af én eller anden grund har næsten ingen fotos af 1974.

Lois og jeg havde været i to år gift. Jeg kan huske, at vi blev tvunget til at flytte til et andet hus, fordi vores tidligere husets ejer ønskede at sælge det. Vi flyttede ind til et charmerende historisk 300-årigt rækkehus på Dybegade. Huset var propfyldt af gamle antik møbler, herunder en pragtfuld messingseng, som vi elskede.


Lois i 1974 – hvor ung så hun dog ud!

Jeg kigger lidt på internettet, og tjekker ud de seneste “hitlister” af Storbritanniens  stejleste boliggader.  Jeg ser, at byen Shaftesburys Goldbakke i denne uge er faldet til nummer 5 i listen. Sikke et vanvid!


Lois og jeg besøgte bakken i marts 2009, sammen med vores datter, Alison, og hendes familie, også med min søster Kathy og hendes mand, Steve.


Vi besøger byen Shaftesburys berømte stejle gade,
Goldbakke, i marts 2009. (fra venstre til højre) Alison,
Ed (hendes mand) og deres 2-årige datter, Josie

Den foregående dag fejrede vi min 63. fødselsdag på Cheltenhams
”Storyteller restaurant” sammen med (fra venstre til højre)
Kathy (min søster), Steve (Kathys mand),Steve (min bror), og Lois

15:30 Lois kommer tilbage igen og vi begynder at forberede maden.

16:00 Alf og Mari-Ann ankommer og vi snakker  lidt med dem i stuen. Planen er at spise kl 17.


English translation

18:00 Lois and I eat dinner, and afterwards she does a little work in the dining room - she is the treasurer of her church's Bible seminar project, and she has to make a report and submit financial statements for approval (or something similar) at tomorrow's committee meeting - my goodness, poor Lois !!!!!

She doesn't use a calculator - she does it all, the way they did in the Middle Ages, but without the help of an abacus - my goodness! But she gets a balance in the accounts, which is the main thing - hurrah !!!!


Lois calculates the balance sheet without using the calculator,
just like they did it in the Middle Ages. Sarah, our youngest daughter,
who 16 months ago moved to Australia is an accountant,
and she left a lot of blank balance sheet forms with us - that was lucky!

We spend the rest of the evening watching TV. A moving documentary is airing, and it's all about the life of Vera Lynn, the famous singer who has her 100th birthday on Monday.


Both Lois and I have tears in their eyes while we look at this program, which is slightly ridiculous because neither of us was alive during the 2nd World War. But back in the 1950s, when we were children / young teenagers, the war was still a very fresh memory for our parents' generation.

Even in 1965, when I traveled to the continent (Holland) for the first time, a middle-aged woman fell into conversation with me and thanked me and the English-speaking countries for "saving my country" - my goodness! And when Lois and I were in Copenhagen during the last 4 years, we saw the famous little Churchill Park, and I read in a Danish article that Churchill was still the role model for today's Danish politicians - my goodness (again), that’s a bit of a surprise!

Vera had a sweet, clear, emotional voice, which I believe was unique - I cannot think of anything similar in another singer. Her songs were all positive, but she sang with a kind of a sob in her voice and people cannot help but be moved, I think.

In the program it's nice to see interviews with some of Vera's famous fans, for example, Paul Macartney (74) and Tim Rice, the famous songwriter (72), who although a bit older than us, were still only little toddlers at the end of the war - my goodness!

Paul McCartney

It is also touching to see an interview with Barry Humphries, the popular 83-year-old Australian comedian, who as a little boy in Melbourne during the war loved Vera's songs, even though he hadn't the faintest idea what the white cliffs of Dover were or what bluebirds were – what madness!



Vera continued to be popular in the 1950's and beyond. In the first ever UK charts, which were released in 1952, she had three songs in the top ten.


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

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


07:30 I toddle 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 get up. We eat breakfast.

9:00 We speak a little on Skype with our youngest daughter, Sarah, who 16 months ago moved to Perth Australia, along with Francis, her husband and their (then) 2 and a half-year-old twins, Lily and Jessica. It is a lot of fun to talk to her about their lives in Australia and watch the twins, who are painting "works of art" in the backyard.

it's a lot of fun to talk to Sarah and watch the twins,
who are busy painting "works of art" in the backyard

10:00 I begin to clean up around the house and vacuum everywhere because Lois has invited Mari-Ann and Alf (possibly also Maggie) to have dinner with us.

12:00 We eat lunch and afterwards Lois has to go off. She wants to attend a church service taking place this afternoon in Tewkesbury. She is riding with her friend, Maggie.

13:00 I go to bed to take a short afternoon nap.

14:15 I get up and jump up on my exercise bike. I ride only 6 miles and I miss my routine mild weightlifting, due to lack of time. While I cycle, I look at 1974 year's Billboard Hot 100 Singles on YouTube.


Saturday's year was 1975. Today I have reached 1974 in my countdown and now I'm in free fall down this long rabbit hole back to my roots. While I hear the songs, I try to remember 1974 in my life with Lois. I find that for some reason we have almost no photos of 1974. 

Lois and I had been married two years. I remember that we were forced to move to another house, because the owner of our previous house wanted to sell up. We moved into a historic 300-year-old townhouse in Deep Street. The house was chock-full of old antique furniture, including a gorgeous brass bed, which we loved.

Lois in 1974 - how young she looked!

I take a little look at the Internet and check out the latest "charts" of Britain's steepest residential streets. I see that the town of Shaftesbury's "Gold Hill" has this week dropped to number 5 in the list. What madness!


Lois and I visited the hill in March 2009, along with our daughter, Alison, and her family, also with my sister Kathy and her husband, Steve.

We visit the town of Shaftesbury's famous steep street, Gold Hill, in March 2009.
(From left to right) Alison, Ed (her husband) and their 2-year-old daughter, Josie

The previous day we celebrated my 63rd birthday at Cheltenham's
"Storyteller restaurant" together with (from left to right) Kathy (my sister),
Steve (Kathy's husband), Steve (my brother) and Lois

15:30 Lois comes back again and we begin to prepare the food.

16:00 Alf and Mari-Ann arrive and we talk a little with them in the living room. The plan is to eat at 5pm.


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