Søndag den 10. september 2017

10:00 Vi taler lidt på whatsapp med Sarah, vores yngste datter, der bor i Perth, Australien, sammen med Francis, sin mand, og deres 4-årige tvillinger, Lily og Jessica.

Lois og jeg savner Lily og Jessica meget, fordi vi i en kort periode spillede en stor rolle i deres opdragelse, før familien for 21 mdr siden flyttede til Australien.  Børnene tilbragte 2 dage om ugen hos os og vi elsker dem så meget.

Jessie (til venstre) og Lily, vores børnebørn i Australien

Det ville også have været så interessant at observere dem nærmere som de voksede op – de er tvillinger, selvom ikke enæggede, og deres opdragelse er næsten identisk, men forskellerne, hvad angår personlighed, viste sig meget tidligt. Fordi jeg elsker ord og sprog, har det interesseret mig meget, at Lily begyndte at udtrykke sig tydeligt meget tidligere, end Jessie, og igen i dag hører vi Lily danne nogle meget komplekse sætninger. Tværtimod er Jessie mere begavet kunstnerisk, og er meget mere egensindig. Hvor fascinerende, det hele!

Lois og jeg er meget trætte i dag efter vores lange rejse hjem i går. Vi føler vores alder. Lois har ikke lyst til at gå i kirke i dag, men hun lytter til eftermiddagens gudstjeneste på kirkens Tewkesbury Lightstand-websted, mens jeg tager min eftermiddagslur i vores yngste datter Sarahs gamle dobbeltseng - zzzzzz!!!!!

Der er ikke nogen trafiklarm i Sarahs gamle værelse - det har udsigt over baghaven. Det er næsten så godt som at bo på Exmoor, hvor vi sidste uge sov omgivet af træer, bakker, skove, marker, køer, heste og får – en paradis. Lois og jeg har i et par måneder haft for vane at tilbringe de fleste nætter i denne seng, der er 6 inches smallere (4 fods 6), end vores normale seng, på grund af stilheden – man kan høre en nål falde til jorden.

17:00 Jeg hopper op på min kondicykel og tilbagelægger endnu 6 miles (10km). Jeg tænder for min smartphone og hører 1941s 30 bedste sange på YouTube, mens jeg cykler. Jeg har for vane at vælge et år, ved at stille året 1-2 år tilbage, hver gang jeg hopper op.

1941hitliste

Jeg bemærker, at der er 3 sange, der henviser til krigen, to sange af britiske sangere (George Formby og Vera Lynn), men også Andrews Sisters med ”Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy”, selvom USA ikke endnu var i krigen. De fleste af sangene i denne hitliste er for længst glemt, selvfølgelig.

Europa i 1941 – skræmmende!!!!

Jeg graver mine forældres fotobog frem og kigger på 1941s fotos. Min mor arbejdede alene dengang på et apotek i Kennington, en lille forstad til Oxford.

tilbageblik til april 1941: min mor, stadig ugift på 21 år,

foran det lille apotek i Kennington, hvor hun arbejdede alene

Jeg kan ikke finde et billede af min far, der arbejdede som skolelærer – jeg har desværre få billeder af ham. Jeg har kun et par breve, som han brugte, når han ansøgte om nye stillinger, for eksempel

et brev min far brugte, når han ansøgte

om nye stillinger som skolelærer

20:00 Lois og jeg bruger aftenen på at lytte lidt til radio, et interessant drama, der handler om Mandy Rice-Davies, en professionel model, der på 16-19 år blev involveret i en berømt britisk sex-skandale først i 1960’erne, den såkaldte ”Profumo affære”. Skandalen ramte meget hårdt den daværende konservative regering, hvor John Profumo var krigsminister.

 Mandy Rice-Davies (til venstre) sammen med Christine Keeler

Et interessant drama, der mindede Lois og mig om Profumo-affære – vi var begge 17 år gamle i 1963, da skandalen ramte overskrifterne.

Mandy voksede op i Solihull nær Birmingham, men hun var faktisk født i den lille by Mere i grevskabet Wiltshire. Det er lidt underligt, at Lois og jeg i går faktisk kørte gennem byen Mere på vej hjem fra vores ferie i Devon. Vi havde aldrig hørt før om Mere: et eksempel på den velkendte regel, hvor, hvis man for første gang hører om et sted eller en person, hører man bestemt om stedet/personen igen kørt efter. Du godeste, sikke en skør verden vi lever i !!!

vores rute i går fra Devon til Cheltenham

indholdt en afgørende retningsforandring i den lille by Mere,

hvor Mandy Rice Davies var født – sikke et underligt sammenfælde!!!

Mandys første langvarige elsker var Peter Rachman, den notoriske slumudlejer. Det er interessant, at dramaet viser et mere sympatisk syn på Rachman, en intellektuel polsk jøde, der mistede størstedelen af sin familie i tyske koncentrationslejre. Mandy var sønderknust da han i 1962 døde af et hjerteanfald, selvom det lader til, at deres yndlingsstilling var den såkaldte ”omvendt cowgirl”, der undgår øjenkontakt. Du godeste, sikke en skør verden vi lever i !!!!

Mandy er kilden til en af mine to yndlingscitater. Vi har på hylden en massiv bog af berømte citationer, men jeg ville med godt humør smide alle disse citationer væk, så længe jeg kunne opbevare disse to.

Hun havde en affære med Lord Astor, men da Stephen Wards forsvarsadvokat i 1963 mindede hende i retten om, at Astor havde sagt, han ikke engang har mødt hende  og nægtet det hele, svarede hun at, ” Ja, det skulle han vel, skulle han ikke? ”.

Hvis man ønsker at gentage denne citation under nogle passende omstændigheder, kan man tilsyneladende simpelthen siger ”MRDA” (= Mandy Rice Davies Applies). Du godeste, sikke et vanvid !!!!

Min anden yndlingscitation er ”Glemte hvad gjorde” – verdens bedste dagbognotat nogensinde, som Katy i Susan Coolidge’s ”Hvad Katy Gjorde” skrev i sin dagbog. Også den berømte engelske digter, Philip Larkins yndlingscitation.

Katy og verdens bedste dagbognotat nogensinde

En anden kandidat for yndlingscitation er en joke, som Steve, min svigerbror fortalte mig om, hvor en gruppe sørøvere er i fuld gang med at diskutere, hvordan de bedst kan dræbe tid. Den ene foreslår, at de spiller ”Jane Russell blackjack”. Hans kammerat spørger, er det det samme som almindelig blackjack? Den første svarer, ”Ja, det er det, men du har brug for 38 for at gå  ’buste’ ”.

Jane Russell – derfor må vi være taknemmelige

for hendes 38 inch bustestørrelse ha ha ha

Jeg er ikke helt sikker på, at joken virker 100% på engelsk, endnu mindre på dansk, men joken var starten af en lang tradition af britisk komedie, herunder Tony Hancock, Steptoe & Son, Dad’s Army, Basil Fawlty, Alan Partridge op til David Brent, så derfor må vi være taknemmelige for Jane Russells 38 inch bustestørrelse – du godeste, sikke et vanvid (igen) !!!!!

22:00 Vi går i seng – zzzzzzz!!!!!

English translation

10:00 We talk a little on whatsapp with Sarah, our youngest daughter, who lives in Perth, Australia, together with Francis, her husband, and their 4-year-old twins, Lily and Jessica.

Lois and I miss Lily and Jessica a lot because we played a big part in their upbringing for a short period of time before the family moved to Australia 21 months ago. The children used to spend 2 days a week with us and we love them so much.

Jessie (left) and Lily, our granddaughters in Australia

It would also have been so interesting to observe them as they were growing up - they are twins, although not identical, and their upbringing is almost the same, but the differences in personality showed themselves very early on. Because I love words and languages, I've been very interested in the fact that Lily began to express herself much earlier than Jessie, and again today we hear Lily form some very complex sentences. On the contrary, Jessie is more gifted artistically and is much more single-minded. How fascinating, the whole thing!

Lois and I are very tired today after our long journey home yesterday. We are feeling our age. Lois does not want to go to church today, but she listens to this afternoon's service on the church's Tewkesbury Lightstand website while I take my afternoon nap in our younger daughter Sarah's old double bed - zzzzzz !!!!!

There is no traffic noise in Sarah's old room - it overlooks the back garden. It's almost as good as staying at Exmoor, where we were sleeping last week surrounded by trees, hills, woods, fields, cows, horses and sheep - a paradise. Lois and I for a couple of months now have got used to spending most nights in this bed, which is 6 inches narrower (4 foot 6) than our normal bed, nice just because of the silence - you can hear a pin drop.

17:00 I hop up on my exercise bike and clock up another 6 miles (10km). I turn on my smartphone and listen to 1941's 30 best songs on YouTube while I'm cycling. I have the habit of choosing a particular year by setting the year back 1-2 years, each time I hop up.

the 1941 chart

I note that there are 3 songs referring to the war, two songs by British singers (George Formby and Vera Lynn), but also Andrews Sisters with "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy", even though the United States was not yet in the war. Most of the songs in this chart are long forgotten, of course.

Europe in 1941 – scary!!!!

I dig out my parents' photo album and look at 1941's photos. At that time my mother was working alone at a pharmacy in Kennington, a small suburb of Oxford.

Flashback to April 1941: My mother, still unmarried at 21 years old,

in front of the little pharmacy in Kennington where she worked alone

I cannot find a picture of my father who was working as a school teacher - unfortunately, I have few pictures of him. I have only a few letters that he used when applying for new posts, for example

A letter my father used when he applied

for new positions as a school teacher

20:00 Lois and I spend the evening listening to a little radio, an interesting drama about Mandy Rice-Davies, a professional model who at the age of 16-19 years old became involved in a famous British sex scandal in the 1960s, the so-called "Profumo affair". The scandal hit very hard the then Conservative government, in which John Profumo was the Minister of War.

Mandy Rice-Davies (left) with Christine Keeler

An interesting drama which reminads Lois and me of the Profumo affair - we were both 17 years old in 1963 when the scandal hit the headlines.

Mandy grew up in Solihull near Birmingham, but she was actually born in the small town of Mere in the county of Wiltshire. It's a little odd that Lois and I actually drove through the town of Mere yesterday on our way home from our vacation in Devon. We had never heard about Mere before : an example of the familiar rule, where, if you hear about a place or person for the first time, you are sure to hear about it again shortly afterwards. My god, what a crazy world we live in !!!

Our route yesterday from Devon to Cheltenham

containing a crucial change of direction in the small town of Mere,

where Mandy Rice Davies was born - what a strange coincidence !!!

Mandy's first long-term lover was Peter Rachman, the notorious slum landlord. It is interesting that the drama shows a more sympathetic angle on Rachman, an intellectual Polish Jew who lost most of his family in German concentration camps. Mandy was heart-broken when he died of a heart attack in 1962, although it seems that their favourite position was the so-called "reverse cowgirl", that avoids eye contact. Good grief, what a crazy world we live in !!!!

Mandy is the source of one of my two favourite quotes. We have a massive book of famous quotations on the shelf, but I would cheerfully throw all these quotations away, as long as I could keep these two.

Mandy had an affair with Lord Astor, but when Stephen Ward's defence attorney in 1963 reminded her in court that Astor had said he had not even met her and that he denied it all, she replied, "Well, he would, wouldn't he! ".

If you want to repeat this quotation under some appropriate circumstances, you may apparently simply say "MRDA" (= Mandy Rice Davies Applies). Good grief, what madness !!!!

My other favorite quote is "Forgot What Did" - the world's best diary entry ever, which Katy in Susan Coolidge's "What Katy Did" wrote in her diary. This is also the famous English poet Philip Larkin's favorite quote.

Katy and the world's best diary entry ever

Another candidate for favourite quotation is a joke which Steve, my brother in law, told me about, where a group of pirates are discussing how best they can kill a bit of time. One suggests that they play "Jane Russell blackjack". His shipmate asks, is that the same as ordinary blackjack? The first one answers, "Yes it is, except you need 38 to go 'bust' ".

Jane Russell – this is why we must be grateful

for her 38 bust size ha ha ha

I'm not quite sure that the joke works 100% in English, let alone in Danish, but the joke was apparently the start of a long tradition of British comedy, taking in Tony Hancock, Steptoe & Son, Dad's Army, Basil Fawlty, Alan Partridge, up to David Brent, so this is why we must be grateful for Jane Russell's 38 inch bust size - good grief, what madness (again) !!!!!

22:00 We go to bed - zzzzzzz !!!!!