17:00 Lois og jeg er begge to meget trætte igen i aften. Det er helt klart
hvorfor i Lois’s tilfælde: hun tilbragte formiddagen på at hjælpe med at
bemande sin kirkes pop-up shop og snakker med
”kunderne” og med Angie, sin ”arbejdskollega”, der selv er lidt af en
sludrechatol, viser det sig.
I mit tilfælde er det lidt sværere at gennemskue. Jeg kørte Lois i morges
kl 9 over til byen Tewkesbury, så hun kunne arbejde i shoppen. Jeg havde ikke
nogen eftermidddagslur, hvilket jeg savnede. Jeg tilbragte eftermiddagen på
biblioteket, hvor Scillas U3A oldnorske gruppe holdt sit jævnlige møde, der
varer 2 timer: det er en lille smule for længe efter min mening (en time og en halv ville være helt fint)
- det er svært at koncentrere sig så
længe om 1000-år gamle islandske sagaer og digte, især midt i et populært og
overfyldt bibliotek. Og til sidst kl
16:15 da jeg kom hjem lavede jeg lidt havearbejde: jeg bemærkede, at forhaven var blevet til
lidt af en jungle.
Jeg synes, at den vigtigste grund til at jeg føler mig så træt i aften, er,
at jeg engang imellem bliver indhentet af mine forholdsvis korte natter og mine
tidlige morgener. De fleste dage er jeg helt okay, og jeg nyder mine eftermiddagslure:
jeg giver mig fuldstændigt hen til freden og roen under dynen. Men nogle tider
lader det til, at manglen på søvn kommer til at blive helt overvældende.
Stakkels mig !!!!!!
19:00 Vi spiser aftensmad lidt senere, end normalt. Bagefter taler vi lidt
på Skype med Alison, vores datter i København.
Alison,
vores datter i Danmark, på altanen af
sin
families hus i Gentofte, en lille forstad til København
En interessant samtale. Ed, Alisons mand, fik at vide tidligere på året, at
hans firma skulle afskedige ham ved slutningen af året, så han begyndte at søge
et nyt job. Han talte med andre firmaer i andre udenlandske lande, herunder
Hong Kong, Holland, USA. Alison og Ed fløj sågar til Hong Kong og tilbragte en
lang weekend derover, hvor de fik deres udgifter betalt af det pågældende
firma. Du godeste, sikke et vanvid!
Problemet var, at Eds nuværende firma tøvede at give ham hans 6-måneders
varsel, så Ed ikke kunne fortælle sine potentielle nye arbejdsgivere præcis
hvornår han kunne starte hos dem. Nu lader det til, at hans nuværende firma vil
have ham til at blive ved med at arbejde for dem indtil tidligst juni. Firmaet,
der har sit hovedkontor i England, har besluttet at sælge sine datterselskaber
i Skandinavien, men processen har vist sig at være mere kompiceret, end
forventet, og de har brug for Eds juridiske viden og færdigheder lidt længere –
du godeste, sikke et vanvid (igen) !!!
Ali og Ed har 3 børn, Josie (snart 11), Rosalind (9) og Isaac (7), der går
i en af de to internationale skoler i København (Rygaards). De to yngre børn er
helt okay, men Josie har problemer for tiden med skolen og har haft svært ved
at danne langvarige venskaber. Ali og Ed overvejer at sende hende til den anden
internationale skole i byen (CIS) i stedet for. De synes, at CIS er mere
proaktiv, når det kommer til at sikre, at børnene har et godt socialt liv i
deres klasse. Heldigvis har de en filipinsk au-pair, der hver dag kunne tage
Josie med til CIS, mens Ali tager de andre med til Rygaards. Kompliceret!!!!
Nyheden om Eds job er meget vigtig for Lois og mig – på et tidspunkt så det
ud til, at familien skulle flytte til Hong Kong. Vores anden datter, Sarah, bor
i Australien, og vi planlagte at besøge begge vores 2 døtre næste forår,
rejsende først til Hong Kong, og derefter flyvende videre til Perth,
Australien. Nu er det ”tilbage til tegnebrættet” med det hele, og Sarah er især
utålmodig efter, at vi besøge hende inden alt for længe – du godeste,
beslutninger, beslutninger!!!!
21:00 Vi smækker benene op foran fjernsynet og ser lidt fjernsyn. Vi er for
trætte til at klare alvorlige dokumentarfilm, så derfor ser vi et program, der
handler om to kvindelige komikere, ”Mel og Sue” (Mel Giedroyc og Sue Perkins).
Vi føler os meget trætte. Vi ser første halvdel af programmet, som jeg
optog i søndags, men vi er lidt halvhjertede over det. Vi kan godt lide Mel og
Sue, men programmet består for det meste af irriterende korte, 10-sekund lange
soundbytes fra hundredvis af andre kendisser, og nogle videoklip fra Mel og
Sues shows. Pokkers!
Mel
og Sue “danser og synger” lidt amatøragtigt
med
den berømte australske superstjerne, Kylie Minogue
...men
desværre består aftens program for det meste
af
irriterende 10-sekund lange soundbytes fra hundredvis
af andre kendisser – pokkers!!!!
22:00 Vi går i seng – zzzzzz!!!!!
05:00 Jeg står tidligt op og laver en af mine rutinemæssige danske
ordforrådtest.
07:00 Jeg hopper op i sengen til Lois og vi drikker vores morgenté. Vi går
i bad og står op. Vi spiser morgenmad.
09:00 Jeg kører Lois over til byen Tewkesbury og sætter hende af bag sin
kirkes pop-up shop, som hun har indvilliget i, at hjælpe med at bemande i
formiddag. Jeg kører hjem.
10:00 Jeg tjekker op på bilen og på trykket i bilens dæk osv, fordi vi om
et par dage tager på ferie.
En af fordelene til, at vi tager på ferie og til Lois’s efterfølgende
øjenoperation, er, at Lois må holde op med at bemande sin kirkes pop-up shop og
også holde op med at være ansvarlig for shoppens administrative side – nogen
anden vil skulle gøre det nu i stedet for hende. Andy, der er den mest aktive
og entusiastiske medlem af kirkens lederskab vil sikkert påtage sig dette
ansvar – jeg håber, han nu vil se, at kirkemedlemmerne er begyndt at miste
entusiasme for at holde shoppen åbent, og forhåbentlig vil han beslutte at
lukke den og afslutte projektet i overskuelig fremtid. Nok er nok – det er,
hvad jeg siger ha ha ha!
10:45 Jeg skynder mig ind i køkkenet og laver to portioner frokost til
senere. Bagefter går jeg ud i baghaven for at slå de 4 græsplæner, der ligger
bag huset. Jeg når at slå halvdelen af den største græsplæne, der ligger lige
udenfor husets bagdør, da det pludselig begynder at regne kraftigt – pokkers!
Jeg putter græsslåmaskinen væk i skuret og kommer ind igen.
11:30 Jeg begynder at blade igennem Sir Orfeo igen, et middlengelsk digt,
fordi Lyndas U3A ”Making of English” gruppe holder dens månedlige møde på
fredag. ”Sir Orfeo” er gruppens seneste projekt.
Sir Orfeo var en engelsk konge, hvis kone, Heurodis, bliver bortført af
kongen af feerne, hvilket dengang altid var lidt af en risiko, især hvis din
kone var smuk. Kongen af feerne kunne vælge og vrage, og han havde tendens til
at springe over de grimme – du godeste, sikke en skør verden vi lever i !!!!
Men det ser ud til, at historien har en lykkelig slutning – det lykkes Sir Orfeo at finde vej til
fekongens slot og charmerer ham ved at spille sin yre på en især attraktiv
måde. Fekongen giver Sir Orfeo hans kone tilbage, men han er lidt modvillig og uentusiastisk
over det, fordi, som han påpeger, Heurodis er så smuk, mens Sir Orfeo er så
grim: rigtig rigtig grim, mener jeg – det kan jeg ikke understrege for meget!
Selve hans egen mor fandt ham grim. Du godeste – sikke et vanvid!!!!
Sir Orfeo, en rigtig grim mand desværre - uha!
12:45 Jeg kører over til Tewkesbury og henter Lois efter sin formiddag i
hendes kirkes pop-up shop. Det er lidt kedeligt at skulle køre bil dertil og
tilbage så ofte, men jeg håber, at dette vil være den sidste gang, hvad angår
Lois’s deltagelse i kirkens pop-up shop projekt. Det lader til, at lokalets
ejer nu har fundet en permanent lejer, der gerne vil overtage butikken så snart
som muligt – hurra!
13:45 Vi kommer hjem og spiser frokosten, jeg for et par timer tidligere
lavede til os. Bagefter går jeg i seng for at tage en kort eftermiddagslur,
lidt senere, end normalt.
15:30 Jeg står op og fortsætter med at blade igennem ”Sir Orfeo”, det
middlengelske digt, som Lyndas U3A ”Making of English” gruppe har valgt som
gruppens seneste projekt.
Jeg finder nogle interessante ord, for eksempel, det moderne engelsk ord
”minstrel” (trubadur). Ordet startede i det latinske sprog, og betød
bogstavelig talt en minister eller embedsmand – nogen som helst, der arbejdede
for det romerske kejserlige husstand. Senere kom ordet til at betyde en hofnar,
der dengang var en form for embedsmand.
Jester:
hofnarre var oprindeligt embedsmænd, der havde
en
masse papirarbejde at klare, udover deres præstationer,
ligesom alle andre, der arbejdede for kongen
Den specifikke betydning ”musiker”
udviklede sig først i fransk, men på engelsk betød ordet indtil det 16.
århundrede nogen som helst, der underholdt andre, for eksempel sangere,
historiefortællere, jongløre osv. Startende fra 1840’erne blev ordet brugt for
at beskrive hvide amerikanske musikere/sangere, der klædte sig om som sorte
underholdere ved hjælp også af skopolitur. Sikke et vanvid!!!!
English translation
17:00 Lois and I are both very
tired again tonight. It is clear why in Lois's case: she spent the morning helping
to staff her church's pop-up shop and talking to the "customers" and also talking with Angie, her "work colleague", who is herself a bit of a
chatterbox, it turns out.
In my case it is a little harder
to figure out why I am so tired. I drove Lois at 9 o'clock this morning to the town of Tewkesbury
so she could work in the shop. I did not have an afternoon nap, which I missed not having.
I spent the afternoon at the library, where Scilla's U3A Old Norse group held
its regular meeting lasting 2 hours: it's a little bit too long in my opinion (one
and a half hours would be fine) - it's hard to concentrate for a long time on
1000-year-old Icelandic sagas and poems, especially in the middle of a popular
and crowded library. And finally at 4.15pm when I got home I did some
gardening: I noticed that the front garden had become a bit of a jungle.
But I think that the most important
reason why I feel so tired tonight is that my relatively short nights and my
early mornings catch up with me every now and then. Most days I'm okay, and I
enjoy my afternoon naps: I abandon myself fully to the peace and quiet under
the covers. But sometimes it seems that the lack of sleep gets to be
overwhelming. Poor me !!!!!!
19:00 We have dinner a little
later than usual. Afterwards, we talk a little on Skype with Alison, our
daughter in Copenhagen.
Alison, our daughter in Denmark, on the
balcony of
her family's house in Gentofte, a small
suburb of Copenhagen
An interesting conversation. Ed,
Alison's husband, was told earlier this year that his company would be letting
him go at the end of the year, so he started looking for a new job. He spoke
with other companies in other foreign countries, including Hong Kong, Holland,
USA. Alison and Ed even flew to Hong Kong and spent a long weekend over there,
where they got their expenses paid by the company. Good grief, what madness!
The problem was that Ed's current
company were hesitating about giving him his 6 months' notice, so as a result
Ed could not tell his potential new employers exactly when he could start with
them. Now it seems that his current company wants him to keep working for them
until June. The company, which has its head office in England, has decided to
sell its subsidiaries in Scandinavia, but the process has proved to be more
complex than expected and they need Ed's legal knowledge and skills a little
longer - good grief, what madness (again) !!!
Ali and Ed have 3 children, Josie
(soon to be 11), Rosalind (9) and Isaac (7), who go to one of the two
international schools in Copenhagen (Rygaards). The two younger children are
okay, but Josie has problems with the school at the moment and has had
difficulty in forming long-lasting friendships. Ali and Ed are considering
sending her to the other international school in town (CIS) instead of
Rygaards. They think the CIS is more proactive when it comes to ensuring that
the children have a good social life in their class. Fortunately, the family have a
Philipino au pair who could take Josie every day to CIS, while Ali takes the
others to Rygaards. Complicated !!!!
The news about Ed's job is very
important to Lois and me - at one point it seemed that the family would be
moving to Hong Kong. Our other daughter, Sarah, lives in Australia and we
planned to visit both of our 2 daughters next spring, travelling first to Hong
Kong, and then flying on to Perth, Australia. Now it's "back to the
drawing board" with the whole thing and Sarah is particularly impatient
for us to visit her before too long - good grief, decisions, decisions !!!!
21:00 We stick our feet up in
front of the television. We are too tired to cope with serious documentaries,
so we see a program about two female comedians, "Mel and Sue" (Mel
Giedroyc and Sue Perkins).
We feel very tired. We see the
first half of the programme that I recorded on Sunday, but we're a bit
half-hearted about it. We like Mel and Sue, but the programme consists mostly
of annoyingly short, 10-second long soundbytes from hundreds of other
celebrities, and a few video clips from Mel and Sue's shows. Damn!
Mel and Sue "dance and sing" a
little amateurishly
with the famous Australian superstar, Kylie
Minogue...
...but unfortunately tonight's
programme consists mostly
of annoying 10-second long soundbytes from
hundreds
of other celebrities - darn !!!!
22:00 We go to bed - zzzzzz !!!!!
05:00 I get up early and do one
of my routine Danish vocabulary tests.
07:00 I hop into bed with Lois
and we drink our morning tea. We go in the shower and get up. We have
breakfast.
09:00 I drive Lois over to the
town of Tewkesbury and drop her off behind her church's pop-up shop, which she
has agreed to help with manning this morning. I drive home.
10:00 I check up on the car and
the pressure in the car's tyres etc, because in a few days time we will be
going on vacation.
One of the benefits of our
vacationing and of Lois’s subsequent eye operation, is that Lois has to stop manning her church's
pop-up shop and also stop being responsible for the administrative side of the
shop - someone else will have to do it now instead of her. Andy, the most
active and enthusiastic member of the Church's leadership, will probably take
on this responsibility - I am hoping he will now see that the church members
have begun to lose enthusiasm for keeping the shop open and hopefully he will
decide to close it and finish off the project for the foreseeable future.
Enough is enough, that’s what I say ha ha ha !!!!
10:45 I hurry into the kitchen
and make two servings of lunch for later. Afterwards I go into the back garden
to mow the 4 lawns behind the house. I mow half of the largest lawn, which
begins just outside the back door of the house, when it suddenly starts to rain
heavily - damn it! I put the lawnmower away in the shed and come in again.
11:30 I start to browse through
Sir Orfeo again, a Middle English poem, because Lynda's U3A "Making of
English" group is holding its monthly meeting on Friday. "Sir
Orfeo" is the group's latest project.
Sir Orfeo was an English king
whose wife, Heurodis, was abducted by the king of the fairies, which at that
time was always a bit of a risk, especially if your wife was beautiful. The
king of the fairies could pick and choose, and he tended to let the ugly ones
slide - good grief, what a crazy world we live in !!!!
But it seems that the story has a
happy ending - Sir Orfeo succeeds in finding a way to the Fairy King's castle
and charms him by playing his lyre in a particularly attractive way. The Fairy
King gives Sir Orfeo his wife back, but he is a little reluctant and
unenthusiastic about it because, as he points out, Heurodis is so beautiful
while Sir Orfeo is so ugly: really ugly, I mean - I cannot stress that too much
! Even his own mother thought he was ugly. Good grief - what madness !!!!
Sir Orfeo - a very ugly man unfortunately - oh dear!
12:45 I drive over to Tewkesbury
and pick Lois up after her morning in her church's pop-up shop. It's a bit
boring to drive a car there and back so often, but I am hoping this will be the
last time in terms of Lois's participation in the church's pop-up shop project.
It seems that the owner of the site has now found a permanent tenant who wants
to take over the store as soon as possible - hurrah!
13:45 We come home and have the
lunch I made a couple of hours earlier. Afterwards I go to bed and take a short
afternoon nap, a little later than usual.
15:30 I get up and continue to browse
through "Sir Orfeo", the medieval poem, which Lynda's U3A
"Making of English" group has chosen as the group's latest project.
I find some interesting words,
for example, the modern English word "minstrel" (troubadour). The
word started in the Latin language, meaning literally a minister or official -
anyone who worked for the Roman imperial household. Later, the word came to
mean a jester who was then a form of civil servant.
Jesters were originally civil
servants who had
a lot of paperwork to cope with, in addition
to their performances,
just like everyone else who worked for the
king
The specific meaning of
"musician" first developed in French, but in English until the 16th
century the word meant anyone who entertained others, such as singers,
storytellers, jugglers, etc. Starting from the 1840s the word was also used to
describe white American musicians / singers who dressed like black entertainers
with the help of boot polish. What madness!!!
