Onsdag den 14. juni 2017 indtil torsdag den 15. juni 2017 kl 16:29

17:00 Jeg hopper op på min kondicykel og tilbagelægger endnu 6 miles (10km). Jeg har for vane at høre ældre og ældre popsange på YouTube, hver gang jeg cykler. For en stund blev jeg strandet i 1954, og jeg kunne ikke undslippe ind i 1953, men i dag endelig lykkes det mig at skifte år – hurra!

Det er interessant at se, hvor mange sange havde en italiensk eller latinamerikansk smag. Jeg vidste ikke at Elvis Presleys version af ”Crying in the Chapel” ikke var den oprindelige. Og det er også interessant at se at Stan Freburgs komiske version af Dragnet-signaturmelodien var mere populær, end Ray Anthonys oprindelige.

Stan Frebergs komiske optagelse blev kun populær i England i 1955, efter den nye tv-kanal ITV startede og besluttede at sende denne amerikanske krimiserie.  Da Lois og jeg sidste år besøgte Australien, blev vi klar over, hvor meget Stan Frebergs humor underholdt og prægede børnene af vores generation den engelsktalende verden over – Lois’s fætter i Adelaide, Stephen, og Diane, Stephens kone, kunne huske mange af Stans sange og snakke om dem med os, hvilket var meget morsomt.

Diane kan bedst lige Stans ”censurerede” version af Paul Robesons ”Ol’ Man River”.

Lykkelige dage!!!

Tilbageblik til august 1953: mig (på 7 år),

Steve min lillebror (14 mdr) og Kathy min lillesøster (5) i en lokal fotografs

studie i Bradford, Yorkshire. Min far besluttede ikke at købe

fotoerne, men beholdte denne gratis prøve – helt typisk af ham !!!!

18:00 Lois og jeg spiser aftensmad og bagefter skal Lois ud. Hun ønsker at deltage i sin kirkes månedlige forretningsmøde, der finder sted i aften i byen Tewkesbury. Mari-Ann kører forbi og henter hende. Aftenens møde er vigtig, fordi kirken har besluttet at åbne en ”butik” i byen, kun om lørdagen, og de har brug for medlemmer, der kan indvillige at bemande den. Butikken vil publicere kirkens tro og aktivititer i byen.

Lois er ikke tilladt at køre bil for tiden på grund af grå stær, så er det generelt op til mig at køre hende, hvis hun vil gå i kirke om søndagen eller deltage i seminarer osv i hverdagen. Nogle gange kører jeg hende over til Mari-Ann og Alfs hus, og de kører hende resten af vejen. Heldigvis er hun forsigtig om ikke at bebyrde mig for meget. Jeg er helt sikker på, at hun kun vil indvillige at hjælpe med at bemande den nye butik, hvis Mari-Ann kan køre hende derover.

Tidligere på dagen læste jeg en interessant artikel på nettet, der prøvede at forklare den overraskende støtte, Trump får fra evangeliske grupper og kirker i USA, på trods af hans mangel på indlysende religiøse følelser eller moralske adfærd. Da Trump først kom til magt, fornemmede jeg en vis begejstring blandt Lois’s kirkes medlemmer – de kunne godt lide Trumps venskab over for Israel, og de betrægtede hans sejr i valget, som et tegn på, at vi lever i ”de sidste dage”. Men jeg er nu helt sikker på, at de siden da er blevet desilllusionerede - du godeste!!!

Før i tiden troede kirkens medlemmer, at Storbritannien ville spille en afgørende rolle i de sidste dage, ved at støtte Israel i det store slag ved Armageddon, mod Rusland. Det har taget lang tid, men jeg fornemmer, at kirken nu endelig har videregivet dette ansvar til USA, som Storbritanniens spirituelle efterkommere. Jeg håber, de er glad for, at modtage denne ære!!!!

Jeg blev fortalt i søndagsskole, at de ti tæer på den store statue i Nebukadnesars drøm repræsenterede den  (dengang) ti medlemmer af den EU, så kirken forudsagde, at Storbritannien aldrig ville slutte sig til unionen, hvilket nu er helt i fortiden selvfølgelig. Men der er stadig nogle resterende følelser, at Brexit er endnu et tegn på, at vi lever i de sidste dage. Lois’s kusine i Melbourne, Sylvia, referede til denne teori, da vi sidste år besøgte hende. Folk i Australien og New Zealand er stadig efter 200 år utroligt anglocentriske, men måske er det ikke overraskende - deres eneste naboer er indonesierne.

21:00 Jeg har lidt alenetid, og lytter til radio, en interessant program, der handler om Biskop Robert Grosseteste, der var biskop af Lincoln i det 12. århundrede.

Grosseteste troede selvfølgelig, at Gud skabte universet, men han var ikke på den grund bange for, at gøre forskning om de sandsynlige metoder, Gud brugte for at skabe det. Han troede, at lyset var den vigtigste del af processen – Gud skabte først lyset.

Grosseteste var meget dygtig til at observere, og han fandt frem til, hvordan lyset virker. Han endte med at fremstille en ”Big Bang” teori, hvor lyset eksploderede fra et central punkt og udspredte stoffer over hele universet. Han talte også om sine teorier om mulige multiple universer.

Helt fascinerende, og det minder os om, at senere forskere som eksempelvis Isaac Newton ikke kom ud af ingen steder. Selve Newton sagde i 1676, ”Hvis jeg har set længere, den er ved at stå på skuldrene af giganter”.

21:30 Ved slutningen af programmet slukker jeg ikke med det samme for radioen og jeg ender med at høre tilfældigvis endu et interessant program, der handler om den tragiske Sandy Dennys 1967 sang ”Hvem ved, hvor tiden går”.

En meget sød sang, som jeg aldrig før har hørt. Jeg konkluderer fra teksten, at hun siger, man ikke skal bekymre sig over, hvor hurtigt tiden går – man skal altid leve i nutiden, hvilket synes helt fornuftigt!

Mens man ældes, har tiden tendens til at gå hurtigere og hurtigere, og derfor er det vigtigt for ældre mennesker at nyde så mange nye oplevelser som muligt og tilbageerobre barndommens nysgerrihed, for at forlænge hver dag, mener jeg. Rutine gør dage kortere og hurtigere – lad os kæmpe mod rutine!

Uh-oh, klokken er 22 – det må være tid at gå i seng ha ha ha!

22:00 Lois har ikke dukket op endnu, og jeg går i seng til sædvanlig tid – zzzzz!!!! Jeg vågner ikke, da hun senere kryber under dynen til mig.

04:45 Jeg står tidligt op. Jeg vejer mig i badeværelset – hurra! (En lille smule) under 10 sten for første gang i mange år: 9 st 13,5 pund (139,5 pund eller 63,3 kg). Finally!!!!! Min højde er 5 fods 10 eller 1,8m, så min legemsmasseindex er 19,4 – hurra! Min taljestørrelse er 33 inches (84cm), så jeg må være stadig i live – alle ved, at døden udvider taljen, fordi motion bliver et problem. Jeg vil tjekke op på mig selv senere i dagens nekrologer.

Jeg sætter mig foran computeren og  laver én af mine rutinemæssige danske ordforrådtest.

08:15 Jeg deler den gode nyhed om min vægt med Lois, da jeg hopper tilbage op i sengen til hende. Vi går i bad og står op. Vi spiser morgenmad.

09:45 Mere god nyhed da jeg taler med min læge, Sarah. Jeg smutter ind i den lokale lægeklinik. Jeg har en aftale for at diskutere min blodtrykmedicin med Sarah – min årlige gennemgang. Hun måler mit blodtryk og opdager, at det er lidt for lavt (106 over noget) – du godeste! Hun foreslår, at jeg tager en pause fra min daglige 2,5mg Ramipril blodtrykpille.

Jeg begynder at bekymre mig. Drømmer jeg? Eller er jeg måske bestemt til at dø senere på dagen? Det lader til, at der er mange muligheder for, at livet nu vil tage hævn på mig. Yikes! Hjælp !!!!!!

10:30 Jeg går ud i baghaven og begynder på ”projekt hækkeklipning”. Vores mange hække blev til en sand jungle, mens Lois og jeg var i Danmark. Jeg starter med hækken vi deler med Bob, vores nabo – for at være præcis den del af hækken, der er nærmest til vores to huse. Bob er meget tolerant, men jeg vil ikke skubbe ham over kanten – yikes (igen)!!!!

13:00 Efter frokost går jeg i seng for at tage mig en gigantisk eftermiddagslur.

15:00 Jeg står op. Lois smutter ind hos naboerne (Bill og Mary) for at drikke en kop te og snakke lidt med Mary om deres liv i Hong Kong. Vi har stadig ikke hørt nogen nyhed om Ed, vores svigersøn i Danmark, der håber at få et nyt job i den tidligere koloni. Lois og jeg er ved at dø af nysgerrighed, men vi tøver med at spørge, for det tilfælde, at det hele er gået galt, og muligheden ikke er blevet til noget – du godeste!!!!

Hong Kong i lykkeligere tider

English translation

17:00 I hop up on my exercise bike and notch up another 6 miles (10km). I have a habit of listening to older and older pop songs on YouTube every time I cycle. For a while, I was stranded in 1954, and I could not escape into 1953, but today I finally succeed in changing the year - hurrah!

It is interesting to see how many songs had an Italian or Latin-American flavour. I did not know that Elvis Presley's version of "Crying in the Chapel" was not the original one. And it is also interesting to see that Stan Freburg's comic version of the Dragnet theme tune was more popular than Ray Anthony's original.

Stan Freberg's comic recording became popular in England only in 1955, after the new TV channel ITV started and decided to air this US crime series. When Lois and I visited Australia last year, we realised how much Stan Freberg's humor entertained and moulded the children of our generation the whole English-speaking world over - Lois's cousin Stephen and Diane, Stephen's wife, could remember many of Stans's songs and talk about them with us, which was very amusing.

Diane likes best Stan's "censured" version of Paul Robeson's "Ol' Man River".

Happy days !!!

Flashback to August 1953: me (at age 7),

Steve my little brother (14 months) and Kathy my little sister (5)

in a local photographer's studio in Bradford, Yorkshire.

My father decided not to buy the photos,

but kept this free sample pic - very typical of him !!!!

18:00 Lois and I have dinner and afterwards Lois has to go out. She wants to attend her church's monthly business meeting taking place tonight in Tewkesbury. Mari-Ann drops by and picks her up. This evening's meeting is important because the church has decided to open a "store" in the town, only on Saturdays and they need members who can volunteer to staff it. The store will publicise the church's beliefs and activities in the town.

Lois is not allowed to drive a car at the moment due to cataracts, so it is generally up to me to drive her if she wants to go to church on Sundays or attend seminars etc in the week. Sometimes I drive her over to Mari-Ann and Alf's house, and they drive her the rest of the way. Fortunately, she is careful not to burden me too much. I'm absolutely sure she will only agree to help staff the new store if Mari-Ann can drive her over there.

Earlier today, I read an interesting article online trying to explain the surprising support Trump receives from evangelical groups and churches in the United States, despite his lack of obvious religious feelings or moral behaviour. When Trump first came to power, I felt some enthusiasm among the members of Lois's Church - they liked Trump's friendship with Israel, and they considered his victory in the election as a sign that we are living in "the last days." But I am now quite sure that they have since become disillusioned - good grief !!!

In the past, the members of the Church believed that Britain would play a crucial role in the last days, supporting Israel in the great battle of Armageddon, against Russia. It has taken a long time, but I feel that the church has finally passed on this responsibility to the United States, as Britain's spiritual descendants. I hope they are pleased about receiving this honour !!!

I was told in Sunday School that the ten toes on the great statue in Nebuchadnezzar's dream represented the then ten members of the EU so the church predicted that Britain would never join the Union, which is now all in the past of course. But there are still some residual feelings that Brexit is another sign that we are living in the last days. Lois's cousin in Melbourne, Sylvia, referred to this theory when we visited her last year. People in Australia and New Zealand are still after 200 years incredibly anglocentric, but maybe this isn't surprising. Their only neighbours are the Indonesians.

21:00 I have a little alone time and listen to the radio, an interesting program about Bishop Robert Grosseteste, who was the bishop of Lincoln in the 12th century.

Grosseteste, of course, believed that God created the universe, but he was not afraid to do research about the likely methods God used to create it. He believed that light was the most important part of the process - God first created light.

Grosseteste was very good at observing and he found out how light works. He ended up producing a "Big Bang" theory, where light exploded from a central point and spread matter outwards throughout the whole universe. He also spoke of his theories about possible multiple universes.

Quite fascinating, and it reminds us that later scientists such as Isaac Newton did not come out of nowhere. Newton himself said in 1676, "If I have seen further, it's by standing on the shoulders of giants".

21:30 At the end of the program I do not immediately switch off the radio and I end up accidentally hearing another interesting program about tragic Sandy Denny's 1967 song "Who knows where the time goes."

A very sweet song, which I have never heard before. I conclude from the lyrics that she is saying you do not have to worry about how fast time goes by - you must always live in the present, which seems wholly reasonable!

As we age, time has a tendency to go faster and faster, so it's important for older people to enjoy as many new experiences as possible and regain childhood curiosity, in order to lengthen every day, that's my opinion. Routine makes days shorter and faster - let's fight against routine!

Uh-oh, the time is 10 o'clock - it must be time to go to bed ha ha ha!

22:00 Lois has not yet turned up and I go to bed - zzzzz !!!! I do not wake up when later she creeps under the covers with me.

04:45 I get up early. I weigh myself in the bathroom - hurrah! (A little bit) under 10 stone for the first time in many years: 9 stone 13.5 pounds (139.5 pounds or 63.3 kg). Finally !!!!! My height is 5 foot 10 or 1.8m, so my body mass index is 19.4 - hurrah! My waist size is 33 inches (84cm), so I have to be still alive – everyone knows that death broadens the waistline, because exercise becomes problematic.  I will check up on myself later in today's obituaries.

I sit down in front of the computer and do one of my routine Danish vocabulary tests.

08:15 I share the good news about my weight with Lois when I hop back into bed with her. We go in the shower and then get dressed. We eat breakfast.

09:45 More good news when I talk to my doctor, Sarah. I pop into local doctor's clinic. I have an appointment to discuss my blood pressure medication with Sarah - my annual review. She measures my blood pressure and finds that it's a bit too low (106 over something) - my god! She suggests that I take a break from my daily 2.5mg Ramipril blood pressure pill.

I'm starting to worry. Am I dreaming? Or am I perhaps destined to die later in the day? It seems that there are many possibilities for life to now take revenge on me. Yikes! Help !!!!!!

10:30 I go out into the back garden and start on "project hedge-cutting". Our many hedges became a true jungle, while Lois and I were in Denmark. I start with the hedge we share with Bob, our neighbour - to be precise the part of the hedge that is closest to our two houses. Bob is very tolerant, but I do not want to push him over the edge - yikes (again) !!!!

13:00 After lunch I go to bed and take a gigantic afternoon nap.

15:00 I get up. Lois pops in at the neighbours' (Bill and Mary) to have a cup of tea and talk to Mary about their lives in Hong Kong. We have still not heard any news about Ed, our son-in-law in Denmark, who is hoping to get a new job in the former colony. Lois and I are dying of curiosity, but we hesitate to ask, in case the whole thing has gone wrong and the opportunity has not come to anything - good grief !!!!

Hong Kong in happier times....