19:00 Efter aftensmad sætter Lois sig foran computeren og går i gang med at
opdatere sit skema, der viser, hvilken
af sin kirkes medlemmer har indvilliget i at dække hvilke tidsrum på kirkens
pop-up shop midt i byen Tewkesbury. Det hele er allerede blevet til en helt
gigantisk opgave – lidt af et mareridt efter min mening, men kirkens ledelse
skulle være meget glad for, at Lois har aftalt at påtage sig den: hun er så
effektiv og samvittighedsfuld. Du godeste!!!!
det er lidt skuffende, at ingen af kirkens medlemmer hidtil har vist sig villig
til
at arbejde i pop-up shoppen på fredag eller (især) lørdag formiddag – uha!
Jeg spekulerer på, om nogle af kirkemedlemmer ser deres medlemskab lidt som
en social klub – hvor de kan omgås deres venner og slægtninge, og derfor er de
ikke ret interesseret i at sprede ordet. Men det er jeg ikke helt sikker på.
Det giver imidlertid mere arbejde til Lois, fordi hun hele tiden skal publicere
de tomme halvdage og tigge om hjælp. Stakkels Lois!
19:30 Mens Lois opdaterer sine filer, sætter jeg til rette i sofaen og ser
lidt fjernsyn. De viser et gamle afsnit af Top of the Pops fra marts 1984.
Det er lidt af en overraskelse at se Special AKAs ”Befri Nelson Mandela”
sang, som jeg ikke har hørt før. Lois og jeg boede dengang i USA, og denne sang
nåede ikke det amerikanske marked af en eller anden grund, og Lois og jeg så
den ikke på den amerikanske MTV-kanal.
Special AKAs ”Befri Nelson Mandela!”, en gemytlig sang!
Og de farvede piger synger..” (copyright Lou Reed)
“Befri
Nelson Mandela!”
Mandela blev endelig befriet 6 år senere, i 1990. Jeg vidste altid, at
apartheidsystemet selv var voldeligt og uforsvarligt, men jeg må indrømme, at
jeg dengang ikke var ret sympatisk over for Mandela, som jeg så på som en
voldsom terrorist, der havde forsøgt at dræbe folk. Senere, efter han blev
præsident, blev jeg helt klar over, at han var blevet til en sand statsmand. Selv
en stor mand som mig kan nogle gang være forkert, overraskende som det kan
virke.
Tilbageblik
til marts 1984 i Maryland USA: vores døtre, Alison (8) og Sarah (6 år),
sammen
med Lois (til venstre) og Kathy, min søster, der dengang arbejdede
på
den britiske ambassade.
20:00 Lois er færdig med sine pop-up shop opgaver, så vi sætter os sammen
foran computeren og sender et svar til Sarahs mail. Sarah, vores yngre datter,
flyttede i december 2015 til Australien, sammen med Francis, sin mand, og deres
(dengang) 2,5-årige tvillinger, Lily og Jessica.
Sarah sendte os en mail tidligere på ugen – hun vil have os til at
tilbringe et helt år i Australien, og måske bosætte os der permanent, hvis vi
beslutter, at vi godt kan lide livet derovre.
Vi beslutter at sende hende et midlertidigt svar. Vi siger, at Lois for
tiden er meget travlt optaget af sine administrative opgaver i forhold til sin
kirkes pop-up shop, og også selv arbejder på shoppen nogle gange om ugen. Men
vi takker Sarah for, at have spurgt ind til spørgsmålet om lokal
ejendomsmæglere, visumreglerne osv, og vi lover, vi vil tænke på hendes forslag
i løbet af de næste få måneder. Vi håber
på, vi ikke kommer til at såre hendes følelser – du godeste, vi savner hende så
meget, men vi er ikke helt sikre på, at vi gerne vil flytte til Australien – du
godeste, livet er nogle gange svært, ingen tvivl om det!!!!
21:00 Vi sætter os til rette sammen i sofaen. Desværre er der ikke noget ret interessant i
fjernsyn, så vi ser et program, jeg optog tidligere på ugen, ”Hotel Inspector”.
Programmets vært er den charmerende Alex Polizzi.
Som sædvanligt med disse slags reality-programmerne om hotelbranchen, er
Lois’s og min første prioritet, at finde frem til, om de to mænd, Chris og
Jonathan, der har købt dette hotel, er et bøssepar, eller bare to venner, der
har besluttet at åbne en forretning sammen. Vi er blevet så overfladiske –
ingen tvivl om det!!!! Vi formoder fra Alex’s kommentarer, at de to mænd
faktisk danner bøssepar med hinanden, men det er vi ikke helt sikre på –
pokkers!
Det er altid interessant, at se hvor ynkelige så mange hotelejere er, og
dette par var det værste eksempel, vi nogensinde har set. Chris, der spiller
rollen af hotel-manager, har ikke den fjerneste idé om, hvordan man skal
uddanne eller styre hotellets personale.
Efter Alex, programmets vært, skælder Chris ud et par gange, lægger han en
passende indsats på at forbedre sin ledelse, men Lois og jeg er helt sikre på,
at han vil gå tilbage til sine gamle vaner, så snart Alex træder ud af døren.
Vores råd til Chris: ”GIV OP, Chris” – du er i det forkerte job!!!”. Men
vores råd ville ikke have givet seerne et time-langt program.
Med andre ord, ”Hotel Inspector” -
en time af vores liv, som vi aldrig vil have igen ha ha ha!!!
22:00 Vi går i seng – zzzzzz!!!!
04:30 Jeg står tidligt op og laver én af mine rutinemæssige danske
ordforrådtest.
08:15 Jeg hopper tilbage op i sengen til Lois og vi drikker vores morgenté.
Vi går i bad og bagefter spiser vi morgenmad.
10:00 Jeg går op på loftet og jeg finder endnu 100 børnebøger. Jeg
beslutter at bære dem ned, så vi kan se på dem og forhåbentlig tage nogle af
dem med til i Røde Kors’ lokale genbrugsbutik.
I går fandt jeg allerede ca 100 børnebøger – sikke et mareridt!!! Det er
sandelig skræmmende syn at se loftet, der er propfyldt af ting, som vi for det
meste ikke længere har brug for.
Mens jeg er oppe i loftet, Sarah, vores datter i Australien ringer til mig.
Hun vil tale med os på Skype. Jeg dropper min idé om, at bærer endnu flere bøger
ned, og jeg kommer tilbage ned i spisestuen og fortæller Lois.
Vi taler lidt med Sarah og hendes tvillinger, Lily og Jessica, der har
deres 4. fødseldag på onsdag (den 25. juli). Opkaldet er meget sjovt som altid,
selvom der er den sædvanlige kaotiske
stemning – pigerne har hundredvis af ting – legetøj, tegninger,
balletklasse certifikater osv – at vise Lois og mig. Du godeste! Der er ingen
mulighed for at tale mere alvorligt med Sarah – måske en god ting lige nu!
Vi taler lidt på Skype med Sarah, vores datter i Australien, og hendes
små
tvillinger, Lily og Jessica
12:00 Vi spiser frokost og bagefter skal vi ud. Lois har indvilliget i at
hjælpe med at bemande sin kirkes pop-up shop i eftermiddag i byen Tewkesbury.
Jeg kører hende over til byen og sætter hende af lige rundt om hjørnet fra
shoppen. Jeg kører hjem og går i seng for at tage mig en kort eftermiddagslur –
zzzzzz!!!!
14:30 Jeg står op og ser det 2. afsnit af den danske krimi-serie, ”Dicte”s
2. sæson. Serien handler om en aarhusianske kriminelreporter, der hedder Dicte
Svendsen, og hendes ven i det lokale politi, John Wagner.
Et andet spændende afsnit, men også lidt overraskende, i sær, når det
kommer til den upassende opførslen af den lokale kriminalafdeling og dens
detektiver – du godeste!
Wagner, en af seriens to hovedfigurer, skjuler en afrikanske
prostitueret og ulovlig indvandrer i sin
lejlighed. Hvorfor ville han tage sådan en risiko??? Med hver dag, der går,
bliver Wagnere venligere og venligere med kvinden. I dette afsnit svømmer de
sammen i deres undertøj – sikke et vanvid!!!!
Og Wagners lesbiske assistent, den pragtfulde politibetjent Bendtsen, har
startet en affære med Wagners chef, den dejlige (lykkeligt gifte?)
politidirektør, Louise. I dag tager de
til af sted i et par dage. Louise skal deltage i en Interpol konference i
Paris, og Bendtsen beslutter at dele seng med hende i et hotel derovre under
konferencen. Det er heldigt, at Wagner ikke mistænker noget – det er jeg helt
sikker på!!!
Politidirektøren Louise (til venstre) og politibetjenten Bendtsen
Du godeste, politiet i Aarhus nyder at leve farligt – ingen tvivl om det.
Det grænser til vanvid.
Dictes forældre er Jehovahs vidner og de fik deres kirke for mange år siden
til at bortvise Dicte fra kirkens fællesskab, da hun som teenager, havde en
ulovlig baby. Men det viser sig, at Dictes far er blevet desillusioneret med
kirken, men samtidig er han bange for at gøre oprør mod sin kone og kirkens
ledelse. I dette afsnit prøver han at kommunikere med Dicte uden sin kones
viden – men desværre dør han, før han kan taler med hende – det er uheldigt!
Stakkels mand!!!! Det viser sig, at Dictes far skrev hende også et brev, men
Dictes mor har konfiskeret det – du godeste, mere og mere mysteriøst!!!!
Afsnittet er propfyldt af ludere eller eks-ludere, som altid. Politimanden Wagners
afrikanske veninde er eks-luder. Dictes svigersøn, en berømt fodboldspiller,
blev i dette afsnit opdaget af journalister i seng med en luder.
Afsnittets kriminelle sag handler om en 12-årig pige, der forsvinder efter
at have tilbragt en aften i et lokale diskotek. Og det viser sig, at pigen har
en mor, der er luder. Du godeste, sikke en skør verden vi lever i !!!!
Sidste uges afsnit var propfyldt af kinky sex, og Lois besluttede, hun
ville holde op med at se resten af serien. Hun er ude af huset i eftermiddag,
så det giver mig chancen for at se afsnittet, uden at genere hende med det.
Medlemmerne af vores U3A danske gruppe vil helt sikkert ønsker at tale om dette
afsnit på vores næste møde om 3 ugers tid, og jeg kan ikke svigte dem!
Selvfølgelig er jeg og de andre gruppemedlemmer kun interesserede i at forbedre
vores dansk – vi ser ikke serien på
grund af det frække indhold - unødvendigt at sige!!!
16:15 Jeg kører over til Tewkesbury for at hente Lois efter hendes
eftermiddag i kirkens pop-up butik.
English translation
19:00 After dinner, Lois sits down in front of the computer and gets
going with updating her schedule, showing which of her church's members have
agreed to cover which time-slots at the church's pop-up shop in the middle of
Tewkesbury. The whole thing has already turned into a mammoth task - a bit of a
nightmare in my opinion, but the church's leadership should be very pleased
that Lois has agreed to take it on: she is so efficient and conscientious. My
goodness!!!!
It's a little disappointing that none
of the church members
so far have turned out to be willing to work
in the pop-up shop
on Friday or (especially) Saturday morning -
oh dear!
I wonder if some of the church
members see their membership a bit like a social club - where they can interact
with their friends and relatives, and so they are not particularly interested
in spreading the word. But I'm not entirely sure. However, it makes more work
for Lois because she is constantly publicising the empty half-days and pleading
for help. Poor Lois!
19:30 While Lois updates her
files, I settle down on the couch and watch a bit of television. An old edition
of Top of the Pops from March 1984 is on.
It's a bit of a surprise to see
Special AKA's "Free Nelson Mandela" song, which I have not heard
before. Lois and I were living in the US at that time, and this song did not
reach the US market for some reason, and Lois and I did not see it on the
American MTV channel.
Special AKA's "Free Nelson
Mandela!", a jolly song!
"And the coloured girls go
.." (copyright Lou Reed)
"....Free Nelson Mandela!"
Mandela was finally freed 6 years
later, in 1990. I always knew that the apartheid system itself was violent and
indefensible, but I must admit that at that time I was not that sympathetic to
Mandela, whom I looked on as a violent terrorist who had tried to kill people.
Later, after he got to be president, I became aware that he had become a true
statesman. Even a great man like me can sometimes be wrong, surprising as it
may seem.
Flashback to March 1984 in
Maryland USA: Our daughters, Alison (8)
and Sarah (6 years), along with Lois (left)
and Kathy, my sister,
who at that time worked at the British
Embassy.
20:00 Lois has finished her
pop-up shop tasks so we sit together in front of the computer and send a reply
to Sarah's email. Sarah, our younger daughter, moved to Australia in December
2015, together with Francis, her husband, and their (then) two and a
half-year-old twins, Lily and Jessica.
Sarah sent us an email earlier
this week - she wants us to spend an entire year in Australia, and maybe settle
there permanently if we decide that we like the life over there.
We decide to send her a holding
reply. We say that Lois is currently very taken up with her administrative
tasks to do with her church's pop-up shop, and is also working at the shop herself a few
times a week. But we thank Sarah for having looked into the question of local
real estate agents, visa regulations, etc., and we promise we will think about her
proposals over the next few months. We hope we will not hurt her feelings - my
god, we miss her so much, but we are not sure that we would want to move to
Australia - good grief, life is sometimes hard, no doubt about that!!!!
21:00 We settle down together on
the sofa. Unfortunately, there is nothing very interesting on television, so we
watch a programme I recorded earlier this week, "Hotel Inspector". The
host of the programme is the charming Alex Polizzi.
As usual with these kinds of
reality programmes about the hotel industry, Lois's and my first priority is to
find out if the two men, Chris and Jonathan, who bought this hotel are a gay
couple or just two friends who have decided to open a business together. We
have become so shallow - no doubt about it !!!! We assume from Alex's comments
that the two men actually are a gay couple, but we are not entirely sure -
damn!
It is always interesting to see
how pitiful so many hoteliers are and this couple was the worst example we have
ever seen. Chris, who takes the role of hotel manager, does not have the
faintest idea of how to train or manage hotel staff.
After Alex, the host of the
program, bawls Chris out a couple of times, he makes an appropriate effort to
improve his management, but Lois and I are quite sure he will go back to his
old habits as soon as Alex steps out of the door .
Our advice to Chris: "Quit
now, Chris" - you're in the wrong job !!! ". But our advice would not
have given viewers an hour-long program.
In other words, "Hotel
Inspector" - an hour of our lives, which we will never get back again ha
ha ha !!!
22:00 We go to bed - zzzzzz !!!!
04:30 I get up early and do one
of my routine Danish vocabulary tests.
08:15 I jump back into bed with
Lois and we drink our morning tea. We go in the shower and afterwards we have
breakfast.
10:00 I get up to the attic and I
find even more (about 100 extra) children's books. I decide to carry them down
so we can look at them and hopefully take some of them along to the Red Cross's
local recycling shop. Yesterday I had already found about 100 children's books up there - what a nightmare !!! It is a truly scary sight to see the attic, which is
packed with things that we mostly do not need any more.
While I'm in the attic, Sarah,
our daughter in Australia, calls me. She wants to talk to us on Skype. I drop
my idea of bringing even more books down and I come back into the dining room
and tell Lois.
We talk a little with Sarah and
her twins, Lily and Jessica, who have their 4th birthday on Wednesday (July
25th). The call is a lot of fun as always, although there is the usual chaotic
mood - the girls have hundreds of things - toys, drawings, ballet class
certificates, etc. - to show Lois and me. My goodness! There's no opportunity
to talk more seriously to Sarah - maybe that's a good thing right now!
We talk a little on Skype with Sarah, our
daughter in Australia, and her
little
twins, Lily and Jessica:
12:00 We have lunch and
afterwards we go out. Lois has agreed to help with manning her church's pop-up
shop this afternoon in the town of Tewkesbury. I drive her over to the town and
drop her off just around the corner from the shop. I drive home and go to bed
to take a short afternoon afternoon - zzzzzz !!!!
14:30 I get up and see the 2nd
episode of "Dicte" in the Danish crime series' 2nd season. The series
is about a crime reporter in Aarhus named Dicte Svendsen, and her friend in the
local police, John Wagner.
Another exciting episode, but
also a little surprising, especially when it comes to the inappropriate behaviour
of the local criminal investigation department and its detectives - my
goodness!
The policeman Wagner, one of the two main
characters in the series, is harbouring an African prostitute (an illegal
immigrant) in his apartment. Why would he take such a risk ??? With each passing
day, Wagner becomes friendlier and friendlier with the woman. In this episode
they swim together in their underwear - what madness !!!!
And Wagner's lesbian assistant,
the gorgeous Officer Bendtsen, has started an affair with Wagner's boss, the
lovely (happily married?) police commissioner, Louise. Today they go off for a
couple of days. Louise has to attend an Interpol conference in Paris, and
Bendtsen decides to share a bed with her in a hotel over there during the
conference. It's fortunate that Wagner does not suspect anything - I'm
absolutely sure of that !!!
Police Commissioner Louise
(left) and Officer Bendtsen
Good grief, Aarhus police enjoy
living dangerously - no doubt about it. This borders on madness!!!
Dicte's parents are Jehovah's
witnesses and many years ago they got their church to expel Dicte from the
church's fellowship when, as a teenager, she had an illegitimate baby. But it
appears that Dicte's father has become disillusioned with the church, but at
the same time he is afraid to rebel against his wife and the church's
leadership. In this episode, he tries to communicate with Dicte without his
wife's knowledge - but unfortunately he dies before he can talk to her - that's
bad luck! Poor man!!!! It appears that Dicte's father also wrote Dicte a
letter, but Dicte's mother has confiscated it - my goodness, more and more
mysterious !!!!
The episode is packed full of
hookers or ex-hookers, as always. The policeman Wagner's African friend is an
ex-hooker. Dicte's son-in-law, a famous football player, in this episode was
discovered by journalists in bed with a hooker.
The episode's criminal case is
about a 12-year-old girl who disappears after spending an evening at a local
disco. And it turns out that the girl has a mother who is a hooker. My
goodness, what a crazy world we live in !!!!
Last week's episode was packed
with kinky sex, and Lois decided she would stop watching the rest of the
series. She is out of the house this afternoon, so it gives me the chance to
see the section without bothering her with it. The members of our U3A Danish
group will definitely want to talk about this episode at our next meeting in 3
weeks' time, and I cannot let them down! Of course, I and the other group
members are only interested in improving our Danish - we do not watch the
series because of the saucy content - needless to say !!!
16:15 I drive over to Tewkesbury
to pick up Lois after her afternoon in the church's pop-up shop.
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