Alison, vores datter i København, ankom i
søndags (den 2. juli) midt på dagen, sammen med sin familie: Ed, sin mand, og
deres børn, Josie (10), Rosalind (9), og Isaac (6 år), også Sika, familiens
hund (spaniel). Lois og jeg var meget glade for, at tilbringe 6 dage med dem.
De skulle desværre
i eftermiddags (den 8. juli), midt på dagen, til af sted. De kørte sydpå for at
besøge deres gamle venner, familien Andersen, der bor i grevskabet Hampshire,
ca 2-2,5 timers kørsel væk.
Lois og jeg sagde
farvel til dem kl 13, og gik straks i seng i 3 timer – vi var udmattede.
Det var helt
fantastisk at kunne tilbringe så meget tid med dem. Lois’s og mit normalt
rolige liv blev fuldstændigt væltet. Vores hus blev uigenkendeligt: vores spisestue/kontor blev til Sikas lille indendørs
”hundehus”, og spisebordet blev udelukkende brugt til tegning, farvelægning osv
– det blev dækket med materialer til kunstværk. Det var heldigt, at vejret var
godt, og vi kunne spise på terrassen.
Dagligstuen blev
til børnenes tv-værelse og ipad-værelse. Børnene stod op kl 06:30 og de gik i
seng kl 21, og derefter var voksene for trætte til at gøre andet, end at snakke
lidt og også selv gå tidligt i seng – du godeste!
Entréen var propfyldt
med kufferter, poser, legetøj, sko, sportsko, frakker osv.
Jeg er helt sikker
på, at det gjorde Lois og mig godt ikke at kunne bruge computere eller se fjernsyn for en gangs
skyld, men vi blev meget trætte efter 6 dage. Lois måtte lave mad til 6 eller
7, og børnene var, ligesom alle børn, lidt kræsne over for grøntsager, kød osv,
så hun ofte måtte tilbyde et valg. Det var mit ansvar at vaske op og tørre af –
vi har ikke nogen opvaskemaskine. Selv de enkleste retter betød, at der var en
masse opvask senere – du godeste!
Vi så desværre ikke
ret meget af Ed, vores svigersøn. Hans job er i København, men hans selskabs
hovedkontor har til huse i England, og han var ikke officielt på orlov. I
mandags arbejdede han herfra, men i tirsdags skulle han til af sted i et par
dage: Leamington, Sverige, London. Han kom tilbage torsdag aften (kl 22), og i
fredags arbejdede han i sit selskabs hovedkontor i grevskabet Berkshire. Han
arbejdede herfra hele fredag aften (via telefon og email) til kl 2 – sikke et
vanvid!!!!
Hans nuværende job ophører
ved slutningen af året, og han søger et andet. Hans problem er, at der er få
muligheder på hans nuværende niveau. Et job i Hong Kong er på toppen af hans
liste over optioner, men der er også muligheder i Holland, Italien og USA. som han
har udtrykt interesse for. Absolut intet i Storbritannien, lader det til –
pokkers!!!!
Det er også et
meget vigtigt spørsgmål for Lois og mig, fordi det påvirker, hvor ofte vi kan
se familien. Vores anden datter, Sarah, hendes mand og deres børn, bor i
Australien, og vi føler os ofte lidt ensomme, ingen tvivl om det!!!!
Mandag
formiddag i én af bymidtens skobutikker. Alison (til højre)
ville købe nye sko
til børnene, fordi danske priser er tre gange dyrere,
end de engelske –
sikke et vanvid!!!
Heldigvis var
butikken ikke ret travlt. Engelske børns skoleferie er ikke begyndt endnu.
Ed kunne arbejde herfra i dag (via telefon eller email),
så derfor kunne hele
Alisons familie spise frokost med os på vores terrasse – hurra!
børnene
har tendens til at bide neglene, så Alison
gjorde dem til at male
dem med neglelak. Lois kopierede dem
-
hun er altid slave af mode ha ha ha.
Mandag aften spiste vi på Toby Carvery-restauranten
I
tirsdags besøgte vi ”Cattle Country” eventyrpark, der ligger midtvejs
mellem Cheltenham
og Bristol.
I
onsdags besøgte vi Pittville-parken,
kun 5 minutters
kørsel væk
I
torsdags besøgte vi Oxford, og huset i Cutteslowe-parken,
hvor Lois voksede
op.
tilbageblik
til den unge Lois (på ca 12 år?)
i husets forhave
I lørdags talte vi på Skype med vores anden
datter, Sarah, og
hendes familie i Perth, Australien
Sarahs
4-årige tvillinger viser os
deres ballet-certifikater.
familien
pakker deres kufferter, lægger dem i bilen
og siger farvel til os –
hulk, hulk!!!!
Lois og jeg følte os lidt triste igen da vi sagde farvel til dem, og det tidligere Skype-opkald,
hvor vores datter fra Danmark snakkede med vores datter i Australien,
symboliserede og understregede fragmenteringen af vores lille familie. Vi og
vores to døtre er kun 4 blandt verdenst befolkning af 7 milliarder, men de bor
begge to hundredvis/tusendvis af miles væk fra os – du godeste, sikke en skør
verden vi lever i !
Der administreres
bedre, når det kommer til insektverden, hvor forestillingen om familier er
stærkere . Den indflydelsesrige amerikanske nyhedskilde, The Onion,
rapporterede for nylig om den årlige G20.000.000.000-møde, der fand sted i
Canada, og som tusindvis af insektverdens ledere deltog i. Mødet faldt sammen
men vores verdens G20-møde, men det gik mere fremad med en række spørgsmål,
herunder forsøg på at begrænse globalisk sværmen.
en
produktiv session på det årlige G20.000.000.000-møde,
der forleden fandt sted i nærheden af Ottawa
English translation
Alison, our daughter in Copenhagen,
arrived on Sunday (July 2nd) midday, together with her family: Ed, her husband,
and their children, Josie (10), Rosalind (9), and Isaac (6 years) , Also Sika,
the family's dog (a spaniel). Lois and I were very glad to spend 6 days with
them.
Unfortunately, they had to leave this
afternoon (July 8th). They were driving south to visit their old friends, the
family Andersen, who live in Hampshire, about two to two and a half hours drive away.
Lois and I said goodbye to them at 1pm,
and went straight to bed for 3 hours - we were exhausted.
It was great to spend so much time with
them. Lois's and my normally quiet life was completely overturned. Our house
became unrecognisable: our dining room / office became Sika's little indoor
"dog house" and the dining table was used exclusively for drawing,
colouring etc. - it was covered with materials for artwork. It was fortunate
that the weather was good and we were able to eat on the terrace.
The living room became the children's TV
room and ipad room. The children got up at 6:30am and they went to bed at 9pm,
and after that the adults were too tired to do anything but chat a little and
themselves go to bed early - good grief!
The entrance-hall was stuffed full of
suitcases, bags, toys, shoes, trainers, coats etc.
I'm quite sure that it did Lois and me
good not to be able to use computers or watch television for once, but we
became very tired after 6 days. Lois had to cook for 6 or 7, and the children,
like all children, were a little picky about vegetables, meat etc, so she often
had to offer a choice. It was my responsibility to wash and dry the dishes - we
do not have a dishwasher. Even the simplest dishes meant there was a lot of washing up
later - my god!
Unfortunately, we did not see much of
Ed, our son-in-law. His job is in Copenhagen, but his company's head office is
in England, and he was not officially on leave. On Monday he worked from here,
but on Tuesday he had to leave for a couple of days: Leamington, Sweden,
London. He came back Thursday evening (at 10pm), and on Friday he worked at his
company headquarters in Berkshire. He worked from here the whole of Friday
evening (by phone and email) until 2am - what madness !!!!
His current job finishes at the end of the
year, and he is looking for another. His problem is that there are few options
at his current level. A job in Hong Kong is at the top of his list of options,
but there are also opportunities in Holland, Italy and the United States which
he has expressed interest in. Absolutely nothing in Britain, it seems - damn
!!!!
It's also a very important question for
Lois and me because it affects how often we can see the family. Our second
daughter, Sarah, her husband and their children, live in Australia, and we
often feel a bit lonely, no doubt about that !!!!
Monday morning in one of the town
centre shoe shops. Alison (right)
wanted to buy new shoes for the children because
Danish prices are three times
more expensive than the English ones - what madness !!!
Fortunately, the shop was not that busy. The
English children's school holidays
have not begun yet.
Ed was able to work from here today (by phone
or email),
so therefore the whole of Alison's family could
have lunch with us on our terrace - hurrah!
The kids tend to bite their nails, so
Alison
makes them paint them with nail polish. Lois
copies them
- she's as always a slave to fashion ha ha ha.
On Monday evening we ate at the Toby Carvery restaurant
On Tuesday we visited the
"Cattle Country" adventure park, located midway
between Cheltenham and Bristol.
On Wednesday we visited Pittville
Park,
just 5 minutes drive away
On Thursday we visited Oxford, and
the house in Cutteslowe Park
where Lois grew up.
Flashback to the Young Lois (about 12
years old?)
in the front garden of the house
On Saturday we talked on Skype with
our other
daughter, Sarah, and her family in Perth,
Australia
Sarah's 4-year-old twins showed us
their ballet certificates.
The family packed their suitcases, put
them in the car
and said goodbye - sob, sob !!!
Lois and I felt a bit sad again
when we said goodbye to them, and the earlier Skype call, where our daughter
from Denmark talked to our daughter in Australia, symbolised and stressed the
fragmentation of our little family. We and our two daughters are only 4 among
the world's 7 billion population, but they both live hundreds / thousands of
miles away from us - good grief, what a crazy world we live in!
Things are managed better when it
comes to the insect world where the concept of families is stronger. The
influential US news source, The Onion, recently reported on the annual
G20,000,000,000 meeting that took place in Canada, and which thousands of insect-world
leaders attended. The meeting coincided with our world's G20 meeting, but more
progress was made on a number of issues, including attempts to limit global
swarming.
A productive session at the annual G20,000,000,000 meeting,
that took place the other day near Ottawa
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