17:00 Vince,
en lokal havemand, har besøgt os tidligere på dagen for at rive græsset over,
fjerne mosset, sætter frø i de bare pletter osv. Han har bedt os om, at vande
de bare pletter, delvis for at forhindre fugle i at æde græsfrøene.
Vi går ud i forhaven og baghaven at vande vores 5 græsplæner. Det er ikke
ret varmt for tiden, og vi håber, at nabolagets fugle allerede er begyndt at
slå sig ned i sine reder for aftenen. Måske har de allerede fået nok mad og de
glæder sig til en rolig aften i reden med deres mager, kvidrende om dagens
vigtigste begivenheder og nyheder osv. Lad os håbe på det!
18:00 Vi spiser aftensmad. Vi får et telefonopkald fra Brian, Lois’s fætter,
der bor i Bournemouth. Brian og Ruth, hans kone, ville gerne bo hos os to
nætter fra torsdag til lørdag. Ruths bror, John, døde desværre for nylig og
hans begravelse er bestemt til torsdag i Thornbury, en lille by, der ligger
lidt uden for Bristol.
Ruth og Brian ønsker ikke at tage lige efter begravelsen hjem til
Bournemouth – de siger, de hellere vil tilbringe ”to rolige dage hos os”. Du
godeste! Hvad de kalder ”to rolige dage” vil ikke være rolige dage for Lois’s
og mit vedkommende. Jeg kan ikke undgå at bemærke, at Ruth og Brian altid har
for vane at komme enten uventet eller med næsten uden varsel – du godeste! Og
hver gang går Lois og jeg i panik. I morgen skal vi rydde op i Sarahs gamle
værelse, der er blevet til mit personlige mini-motionscenter (kondicykel,
vægter osv – du godeste!). Pokkers!
Ruth og Brian er begge to natteravne, mens Lois og jeg er morgenmennesker.
Og Ruth kan ikke holde op med at snakke. Vi har ondt af Brian, staklen!!!
21:00 Vi ser lidt fjernsyn, en interessant dokumentarfilm, der handler om
den surrealistiske bevægelse, der startede i 1920’erne i Paris. Programmets
vært er den charmerende psykoterapeut, Philippa Perry.
For mit vedkommende er det mest interessante aspekt af den surrealistiske
bevægelse de tidlige surrealisters utrolige selskabelighed. De kunne godt lide
at gå alle sammen her og der, og når de bliver fotograferet, sidder eller stå
de altid i en stor gruppe af andre surrealister. Det minder mig om fotoer af mange
fodboldhold, for eksempel.
Surrealister - meget selskabelige dag ind dag ud!!!
Når det kommer til selskabelighed, tænker jeg altid på den store gruppe bryllupsgæster
i Emile Zolas roman, ”L’Assommoir”, der kommer ind i Paris efter brylluppet, for
at kigge på byens seværdigheder.
en stor gruppe bryllupsgæster kommer ind i Paris
for
at kigge på byens seværdigheder – uha!
De beslutter endelig at besøge Louvre-museet, men de farer vildt og vandrer
i flere timer fra sal til sal (og tilbage igen), mens de prøver at finde
udgangen. Og de skal konstant tage blikket fra alle de frække billeder og
statuer – du godeste, hvor pinligt!!!!
Gruppen
farer vildt i museet, og vandrer i flere timer fra sal til sal.
De
skal konstant tage blikket fra alle de frække billeder
– du godeste, hvor pinligt!!!
Jeg er lidt overrasket at høre, at disse tidlige surrealister var så
selskabelige. De tilbragte tilsyneladende størstedelen af hverdagen i selskab
med hinanden, diskuterende deres seneste ideer. Hvornår fandt de tid til at
male og skrive?
Det er faktisk ikke godt for produktiviten og kreativiteten at være altid i
selskab med andre – ifølge en ny undersøgelse, som den indflydelsesrige
amerikanske nyhedswebsted, The Onion, rapporterer, er det bedre at købe et
isoleret, stråtaget sommerhus på den skotske eller irske kyst, og bo der alene,
uden andet møbel, end et skævt gammelt skrivebord, og en gammel hestehårmadras
på gulvet.
En
typisk ensomt sommerhus på den skotske eller irske
kyst
– en produktiv option, de fleste surrealister desværre gik glip af!!!
Med nogle ekstra faktorer, for eksempel lyden af bølgerne, der bryder mod
klipperne, den salte duft af hav i næseborene, lidt natarbejde med lyset fra en
enkelt lanterne, kan det hele øge produktiviteten med 40% - du godeste!
Intet under, at disse surrealister over en hel karriere skabte næsten intet
andet, end noget skrammel!!!!
22:00 Vi går i seng. Jeg læser 11 sider af min sengetidbog, ”Indsamlede
digte af John Betjeman”, en julegave fra Lois, før jeg glider over i søvnen –
zzzzzzz!!!!
02:00 Radioen i køkkenet tænder af sig selv, og vækker Lois og mig.
Pokkers! Jeg går ned ad trappen og slukker den. Det samme skete for nogle måneder
siden, og jeg opdagede, at der var ikke ingen poltergeist - enten Lois eller jeg må have tændt for alarmen
ved en fejl. Du godeste, det tager mig 30-60 minutter at falde tilbage i søvn –
pokkers!
05:30 Jeg står tidligt op og laver én af mine rutinemæssige danske
ordforrådtester.
08:00 Jeg dasker ind i køkkenet og laver to kopper te. Jeg tager dem med op
i soveværelse og kryber tilbage under dynen til Lois. Vi drikker teen og står
op. Vi spiser morgenmad.
09:30 Jeg rydder op og støvsuger hele huset. Vores U3A danske gruppes næste
møde finder sted i eftermiddag hos os, og i morgen kommer Lois’s fætter, Brian,
og Brians kone, Ruth, for at bo nogle dage hos os.
10:30 Jeg går i gang med at læse de først 100 linjer af ”Ancrene Wisse”, en
bog skrevet på middelengelsk først i 13. århundrede af en kanon i kirken: bogen
indeholdt anvisninger og oplysninger til 3 kvinder, der gerne ville blive til
eremitter. Bogen lyder ikke ret spændende, men vi får se!
Disse første 100 linjer kredser for det meste om, at det er vigtigt ikke at
være doven. Bogens forfatter fortæller kvinderne (de kommende eremiter), at hvis
man er doven og ikke beskæftiger sig med gode gerninger, finder djævlen en
masse slemme ting man kan gøre i stedet, hvilket lyder meget sjovere, synes
jeg!
13:00 Vi spiser frokost og bagefter går jeg i seng for at tage mig en kort
eftermiddagslur.
14:00 Jeg står op og forbereder mig på vores danske gruppes møde.
14:30 Gruppens medlemmer dukker op og vi lærer dansk i 90 minutter. Vi læser
de næste 10 sider af vores danske novelle, ”Forbandet”, af Gittemie Eriksen.
Jeanette, vores danske veninde, kan desværre ikke komme i dag – hun har en tid
hos tandlægen, så derfor bliver vores dårlige udtale ikke rettet og vi kan ikke
stille hende spørgsmål om dansk bureaukrati – bogens helt, landbetjent Janson,
kan slå ofrenes og potentielle ofrenes navne, adresser, telefonnumre,
”cpr-numre” op i en mystisk ”register”. Vi spekulerer på, hvad denne register
består af.
dansk
bureaukrati: hvad for fanden er en cpr-nummer?
(Kom
tilbage, Jeanette, alt er tilgivet!!!!)
16:00 Mødet er slut, og gruppens medlemmer skal af sted. Lois og jeg
slapper af med en kop te i sofaen.
English translation
17:00 Vince, a local gardener,
has visited us earlier in the day to rake over the grass, remove the moss, put
seeds on the bare patches and so on. He has asked us to water the bare patches,
partly to prevent birds eating the grass seeds.We go out into the front yard
and backyard, watering our 5 lawns. It is not that warm at the moment and we
are hoping that the neighborhood birds have already begun to settle in their
nests for the evening. Maybe they have already had enough food and are looking
forward to a quiet evening in the nest with their mate, chirping about today's
most important events and news and so on. Let us hope so!
18:00 We eat dinner. We get a
phone call from Brian, Lois's cousin who lives in Bournemouth. Brian and Ruth,
his wife, would like to stay with us for two nights from Thursday to Saturday.
Ruth's brother, John, unfortunately died recently and his funeral is fixed for
Thursday in Thornbury, a small town situated just outside of Bristol.
Ruth and Brian do not want to
go straight home to Bournemouth after the funeral - they say they would rather
spend "two quiet days with us." My Goodness! What they call "two
quiet days" will not be quiet days for Lois and me. I cannot help but
notice that Ruth and Brian always have a habit of coming to us either
unexpectedly or almost without notice - my goodness! And every time Lois and I
go into panic mode. Tomorrow we will have to clean up Sarah's old room, which
has become my personal mini-gym (exercise bike, weights, etc. - my goodness!).
Damn!
Ruth and Brian are both night owls, while Lois and I are early risers. And
Ruth cannot stop talking. We feel sorry for Brian, poor thing !!!
21:00 We see little television,
an interesting documentary about the surrealist movement that started in the
1920s in Paris. The program's host is the charming psychotherapist Philippa
Perry.
For me, the most interesting
aspect of the surrealist movement is the early surrealists' incredible
sociability. They liked to go here and there all together, and when they are
photographed, they are always sitting or standing in a large group of other
surrealists. It reminds me of the photos of many football teams, for example.
The early surrealists - very gregarious day in day out !!!!
When it comes to socializing, I
always think of the large group of wedding guests in Emile Zolas novel
"L'Assommoir" who come into Paris after the wedding to look at the
city's sights.
wedding party: a large group of wedding
guests come into Paris
to look at the sights - oh dear!
They finally decide to visit the
Louvre Museum, but they get lost in the museum, wandering for hours from floor
to floor (and back again) as they try to find the exit. And they have
constantly to aver their gaze from all the naughty pictures and statues - my
God, how embarrassing !!!! The group gets lost in the museum, and walk for
hours from floor to floor.They have to constantly avert their gaze from all the
naughty pictures - my God, how embarrassing !!!
I'm a little surprised to hear
that these early surrealists were so gregarious. They seemingly spent the
majority of their everyday life in each other's company, discussing their
latest ideas. When did they find time to paint and write?
It's actually not good
for productivity and creativity to be always in the company of others -
according to a new study reported by the influential US news website The Onion,
it is better to buy an isolated thatched cottage on the Scottish or Irish
coast, and stay there alone, without any furniture other than a crooked old
desk, and an old horsehair mattress on the floor.
A typical lonely cottage on the Scottish or
Irish coast
- a productive option that most surrealists
sadly missed out on !!!
With certain additional factors,
for example the sound of waves crashing against the rocks, the salty scent of
the ocean in the nostrils, a little night work by the light of a single lantern,
the whole coastal experience can increase productivity by 40% - my goodness!
No wonder the Surrealists created
almost nothing over their entire careers, apart from a load of junk !!!!
22:00 We go to bed. I read 11
pages of my bedtime book, "Collected Poems of John Betjeman," a gift
from Lois, before I drift off to sleep - zzzzzzz !!!!
02:00 The radio in the kitchen
turns on by itself, and awakens Lois and me. Damn! I go down the stairs and
turn it off. The same thing happened a few months ago, and I discovered that it
was not a poltergeist - either Lois or I must have turned on the alarm by
mistake. My goodness, it takes me 30-60 minutes to go back to sleep - damn!
05:30 I get up early and do one
of my routine Danish vocabulary tests.
08:00 I shuffle into the kitchen
and make two cups of tea. I take them up to the bedroom and crawl back under
the covers with Lois. We drink the tea and get up. We eat breakfast.
9:30 I clean up and vacuum the
entire house. Our U3A Danish group's next meeting is taking place here this
afternoon, and tomorrow Lois's cousin, Brian, and Brian's wife, Ruth, are
coming to stay a few days with us.
10:30 I begin to read the first
100 lines of "Ancrene Wisse," a book written in Middle English in the
early 13th century by a canon of the church: the book contained instructions
and information to three women who wanted to become hermits. The book does not
sound very exciting, but we will see!
These first 100 lines revolve
mostly around the fact that it is important not to be lazy. The author tells
the women (the future hermits) that if they are lazy and not engaged in good
works, the devil finds a lot of bad things they can do instead, which sounds
much more fun, I think!
13:00 We have lunch and
afterwards I go to bed and take a short afternoon nap.
14:00 I get up and prepare for
our Danish group's meeting.
14:30 Group members show up and
we learn Danish for 90 minutes. We read the next 10 pages of our Danish short
story, "Cursed" by Gittemie Eriksen. Jeanette, our Danish friend
cannot come today - she has an appointment with the dentist, so therefore our
bad pronunciation is not corrected and we cannot ask her questions about Danish
bureaucracy - the book's hero, village constable Janson, can look victims' and
potential victims' names, addresses, phone numbers, "cpr numbers" up
in a mysterious "register". We wonder what this register consists of.
Danish bureaucracy: what the hell is a cpr
number?
(Come back, Jeanette, all is forgiven !!!!)
16:00 The meeting is over, and
the group's members have to go. Lois and I relax with a cup of tea on the sofa.
No comments:
Post a Comment