Torsdag den 30. marts 2017 kl 16:30 fredag den 31. marts 2017 kl 16:29

16:45 Jeg ringer til Green Star, vores nye energiselskab, der i dag overtager som vores energileverandør, og jeg fortæller dem vores seneste måleraflæsninger. For 4 uger siden tjekkede jeg op på vores gas- og elregninger. Jeg besluttede at skifte selskaber (for ca 20. gang), fra Scottish Power til Green Star Energy.  Ifølge uswitch, det prissammenligningwebsted, kommer jeg til at spare £222 om året – hurra! Et glas champagne til maden i aften!

17:15 Jeg hopper op på min kondicykel og tilbagelægger endnu 6 miles (10km) og jeg underholder mig selv ved at se på 1970 årets Billboard Hot 100 Singler på YouTube. Bagefter dyrker jeg lidt mild vægtløftning, som sædvanligt.

Jeg ser på 1970s bedste sange på YouTube, mens jeg cykler

Jeg prøver at huske året 1970s rolle i mit liv og Lois’s liv, i et forsøg på, at udskyde demens ha ha ha. Det ville være svært at glemme 1970, fordi det var året, vi fandt sammen. Lois og hendes forældre havde planlagt at holde en uges ferie i sommeren 1970 i grevskabet Shropshire og hun inviterede mig at komme med som sin ”kærlighedsinteresse” ha ha ha.

Tilbageblik til sommeren 1970 - Lois og hendes forældre

havde planlagt at holde en uges ferie i grevskabet Shropshire,

og hun inviterede mig til at komme med som sin ”kærlighedsinteresse”

En måned senere (september), holdt Lois og jeg vores første ferie alene sammen i Norge. Det var meget spændende – nattog og sovekabine til Newcastle, og vores første flyvetur nogensinde fra Newcastle til Bergen over Nordsøen, og rejse med bus til Norheimsund, en lille by, der ligger ved siden af Hardangerfjord, hvor vi boede i et lille gæstehus.

 tilbageblik til september 1970. Jeg står

foran det lille gæstehus i Norheimsund ved siden af fjorden,

hvor Lois og jeg boede – Iversen Pension, der desværre

ikke længere eksisterer som gæstehus

Lois læner sig op ad norske vejskilte

og viser sin frække side frem – du godeste!

I Oktober1970 fløj jeg til Japan over Nordpolen via Anchorage for at læse i ét år på Hitotsubashi universitet i Tokyo.

Anchorage: Oktober: jeg flyver til Japan for at læse i ét år på

en japansk universitet. Jeg tog dette foto fra

et vindue i Anchorage lufthavn-terminalbygningen.

I det fjerne ser vi Alaskas bjerge

Oktober 1970: det første foto af mig

i Japan, foran Shakujikioen-banegården

18:00 Men farvel søde drømme – tilbage til virkeligheden. Minx, Alisons kat har det meget bedre i aften. Det synes at være, at dyrelægen rigtigt diagnosticerede Minx’s problem som blærebetændelse – hurra! Så forhåbentlig vil Minx ikke tisse i mørke hjørner mere, hvilket vil være en bonus.

18:30 Vi spiser aftensmad og bruger aftenen på at se lidt fjernsyn. De viser det seneste (17.) afsnit af Big Bang Theorys nye (10.) sæson.

Endnu et morsomt afsnit, selvom ”drengenes” beslutning (bortset fra Sheldon) ikke at deltage i årets ComicCon ligner et symbol for seriens kommende ende. Hvis ”drengene” må ”vokse op”, og blive mere engagerede i deres ægteskabelige forhold osv, er meget af seriens point blevet væk, synes vi. Selvom afsnittet ender med en morsom scene, hvor Sheldon prøver at lokke Amy til at komme med i  ComicCon, ved at drille hende med ”jeg har noget i lommen til dig” (som viser sig til Amys skuffelse, at være en liste over ComicCons paneldeltagere – uha!).

BBSheldon2: Sheldon ”har noget i lommen” til Amy ha ha ha 

22:00 Vi går i seng – zzzzzz!!!!!!

05:30 Jeg står tidligt op og kigger lidt på nettet. Jeg ser, at Danmarks statsminister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, er i Washington for at holde diskussioner med Donald Trump, og jeg ser et billede, hvor Løkke giver Trump hånden. Det minder mig om, at Lois, Alison og jeg i juni 2015 sat og spiste frokost i det fri midt i København, og Løkke sammen med sin entourage, tv-kameramænd, demonstranter osv,  kom forbi os og gav os hånden. Han var dengang ikke statsminister endnu, og valgkampagnen var i fuld gang. Vi syntes, han var lidt skuffet, da han blev klar over, at vi ikke var vælgere – stakkels Løkke!!!!!

tilbageblik til juni 2015 – vi sidder og spiser frokost midt I København,

sammen med vores ældste datter, Alison

Lois hører en uro, der kommer fra hjørnet af torvet.

 

fokus af alles opmærksomhed var en mand

i blå jakke og mørkerøde bukser – vi vidste ikke dengang, hvem han var.

Du godeste!

Løkke kommer forbi og giver os hånden. Vi fortæller ham,

vi kun er turister, og han siger bare ”Velkommen til Danmark!!!”

08:00 Jeg dasker 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.

09:15 Vi kører over til det lokale Sainsburys-supermarked for at købe ind. På vej smutter vi ind hos Waghornes, den lokale slagterforretning, for at købe brød, kød og ost. Vi kører hjem og slapper af med en kop kaffe i sofaen.

13:00 Vi spiser frokost og bagefter skal Lois 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 går ud i baghaven og luger lidt mellem frugtbuskene.

15:30 Lois kommer tilbage igen fra biblioteket. Vi slapper af med en kop te og et stykke kage i sofaen – nam nam!

16:00 Jeg kigger lidt på nettet, en betryggende artikel på den indflydelserige amerikanske nyhedswebsted, The Onion, som jeg må være gået glip af. Det viser sig, at dronning Elizabeth, i et forsøg på at udskyde den overhængende krig mellem Storbritannien og Europa efter Brexit, er gået i gang på en lidt desperat måde med at arrangere ægteskaber mellem sine oldebørn og medlemmer af kontinentets kongelige familier.

Queen Elizabeth

Der er historiske fortilfælde, der giver os grund til optimisme – Wilhelm 2. af Tyskland, dronning Viktorias barnebarn, ventede indtil han fyldte 55 år, før hans tålmodighed blev belønnet og han fik lov til at starte den 1. verdenskrig.

Dronningen har selv aftalt at gifte sig med den 14-årige danske prins, Felix – sit andet nuværende ægteskab, men Prins Philip har altid sagt godt for åbne ægteskaber, så jeg formoder, han for fredens skyld ikke vil indvende. Prins Felix er nummer 8 i arvefølgen til den danske trone, men også nr.327 i arvefølgen til den britiske trone. Dronningen har forslået et nyt points-system, hvorunder Felix kan kombinere sine danske points med sine britiske points på en ny europadækkende rangsliste, og arve en trone meget hurtigere, så snart, én bliver til rådighed.

den danske Prins Felix

Aldrig igen vil Europa blive hærget af krig – fred i vores tid! Og takket være Brexit – hurra!

English translation

16:45 I call Green Star, our new energy company, taking over as our energy supplier today, and I tell them our latest meter readings. Four weeks ago I checked up on our gas and electricity bills. I decided to switch companies (for about the 20th time), from Scottish Power to Green Star Energy. According to uSwitch, the price comparison site, I will save £ 222 a year - hurrah! A glass of champagne with our meal tonight!

17:15 I jump up on my exercise bike and cycle 6 miles (10km), entertaining myself by looking at 1970's Billboard Hot 100 Singles on YouTube. Afterwards, I do a bit of mild weight lifting, as usual.

I look at 1970's best songs on YouTube while I cycle

I try to remember the part played by 1970 in my life and Lois's life, in an effort to postpone dementia ha ha ha. It would be hard to forget 1970, because that was the year we got together. Lois and her parents had planned to have a week's holiday in the summer of 1970 in the county of Shropshire and she invited me to join them as her "love interest" ha ha ha.

Flashback to the summer of 1970 - Lois and her parents

had planned to have a week's holiday in the county of Shropshire,

and she invited me to come with her as her "love interest"

A month later (in September), Lois and I had our first holiday alone together in Norway. It was very exciting - night train and sleeper compartment to Newcastle, and our first ever plane flight from Newcastle to Bergen across the North Sea, then travel by bus to Norheimsund, a small town on the Hardanger Fjord, where we stayed in a small guesthouse.

flashback to September 1970. I am standing in front of

the small guesthouse in Norheimsund beside the fjord,

where Lois and I stayed - Iversen Pension, which unfortunately

no longer exists as a guesthouse

Lois, saucy side up, leaning against Norwegian road signs –

good grief!

In October 1970 I flew to Japan over the North Pole via Anchorage to study at Hitotsubashi University Tokyo for a year.

October: I fly to Japan to study at a Japanese university for a year.

I took this photo from a window in the Anchorage airport terminal building.

In the distance we see Alaska's mountains

October 1970: the first photo of me in Japan, 

in front of Shakujikoen train station

18:00 But farewell sweet dreams - back to reality. 

Minx, Alison's cat is much better tonight. It seems to be that the vet correctly diagnosed Minx's problem as cystitis - hurrah! So hopefully Minx will not be peeing in dark corners any more, which will be a bonus.

18:30 We have dinner and spend the evening watching a little television. The latest (17th) episode of the Big Bang Theory's latest (10th) season is on.

Another amusing episode even though "the boys' " decision (except for Sheldon) not to participate in this year's ComicCon looks like a symbol for the series' approaching end. If "the boys" have to "grow up" and become more involved in their marital relationships, etc., much of the point of the series disappears, we think.

However the episode ends with an amusing scene where Sheldon tries to lure Amy to come with him to ComicCon by teasing her with "I have something in my pocket for you" (which to Amy's disappointment turns out to be a list of ComicCon panelists – oh dear!).

Sheldon "has something in his pocket" for Amy ha ha ha

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

  

05:30 I get up early and take a look at the web. I see that the Prime Minister of Denmark, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, is in Washington having discussions with Donald Trump, and I see a picture where Løkke is shaking hands with Trump.

It reminds me that in June 2015, Lois, Alison and I were sitting eating lunch in the open air in the middle of Copenhagen, and Løkke, together with his entourage, as well as TV camera men, demonstrators etc. came past us and he shook our hands. He was not then prime minister yet and the election campaign was in full swing. We thought he was a little disappointed when he realised that we were not voters - poor Løkke !!!!!

flashback to June 2015 - we are sitting eating lunch 

in the middle of Copenhagen, together with our eldest daughter, Alison

Lois hears a commotion coming from the corner of the square.

focus of everyone's attention was a man in blue jacket and dark red pants –

we did not know then who he was…my Goodness!

Løkke comes by and shakes our hands. We tell him,

we are only tourists, and he just says "Welcome to Denmark !!!"

08:00 I shuffle into the kitchen and make two cups of tea. I take them up to the bedroom and hop into bed with Lois. We drink the tea and get up. We eat breakfast.

09:15 We drive over to the local Sainsbury's supermarket to shop. On the way we pop into Waghornes, the local butcher's shop, to buy bread, meat and cheese. We drive home and relax with a cup of coffee on the sofa.

13:00 We have lunch and afterwards Lois has to go to the local library to help library staff organise and lead the weekly "Baby Bounce and Rhyme" session for young mothers and their young children. The activities consist of nursery rhymes 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 go out in the backyard and do a bit of weeding between the fruit bushes.

15:30 Lois comes back from the library. We relax with a cup of tea and a slice of cake on the sofa - yum yum!

16:00 I take a little look at the web, a reassuring article on the influential US news website The Onion, which I must have missed. It turns out that Queen Elizabeth, in an attempt to postpone the imminent war between Britain and Europe after Brexit, has embarked, in a slightly desperate way, on arranging marriages between her great-grandchildren and members of the continent's royal families.

 Queen Elizabeth

There are historical precedents that give us grounds for optimism - Wilhelm II of Germany, Queen Victoria's grandson, waited until he turned 55 years old, before his patience was rewarded and he was allowed to start the first world war.

The Queen has herself agreed to marry the 14-year-old Danish prince, Felix - her second current marriage, but Prince Philip has always approved of open marriages, so I suppose that for peace sake he is will not argue. Prince Felix is number eight in line to the Danish throne, but also 327 in line to the British throne. The queen has proposed a new points system under which Felix may combine his Danish points with his UK points on a new Europe-wide ranking list, and inherit a throne much more quickly, as soon as one becomes available.

Denmark’s Prince Felix

Never again will Europe be ravaged by war - peace in our time! And all thanks to Brexit - hurrah!