Mandag den 23. oktober 2017

04:00 Jeg står tidligt op og kigger lidt på nettet. Kl 8 hopper jeg tilbage op i sengen til Lois og vi

drikker vores morgenté.Vi beslutter at udskyde vores brusebad til senere på dagen. Lois vil gerne prøve at få en nødaftale hos den lokale frisør, og jeg skal udarbejde en ungarske ordforrådtest, jeg vil have min ven, ”Magyar” Mike til at tage, når vi mødes kl 10 for at studere ungarsk sammen.

09:00 Travlt travlt travlt!  Vi kommer i tøjet og spiser morgenmad. Lois ringer til frisøren men desværre finder hun ud af, at James ikke arbejder om mandagen. I mellemtiden sætter jeg mig foran computeren og udarbejder Mikes ungarske ordforrådtest. Vi beslutter at tage vores brusebad i eftermiddagen i stedet for, før eller efter en eftermiddagslur.

10:00 Min ven, ”Magyar” Mike kommer og vi studerer ungarsk i en time. Vi prøver at koncentrere os, men vi må stoppe for en stund, kun for at beundre den galliske geni af vores frankocentriske lærebog og dens bizarre eksempelsætninger, såsom:

Det er svært at koncentrere os i dag, fordi vores tanker er domineret af problemet af Mikes nabo, Peter.

Peter er forsvundet uden spor, efter at have efterladt hos Mike nøglerne til sit hus i Nailsworth. Mike har ikke set ham i snart 6 måneder.

Sidste uge fandt jeg Peter i LinkedIn, der synes at være et slags netværk for professionelle mennesker. Han kategoriserer sig som konsulent i områder af landbrug og miljø i forbindelse med international udvikling, med en bachelorgrad fra Imperial College, London. Så han er ikke nogen spritter ha ha ha.

Jeg bestilte en måneds gratis prøveabonnement til LinkedIn og sendte Peter en besked, men jeg havde ikke ret meget håb om, at han ville svare, fordi Mike allerede havde Peters emailadresse, og aldrig havde fået noget svar.

11:00 Mike skal af sted, og Lois og jeg slapper af med en kop kaffe.

Lois er også blevet interesseret i problemet, og vi gør lidt mere forskning på nettet. Lois kigger lidt på nogle af hendes familietræ-websteder, mens jeg finder Peter på Facebook. Desværre synes Peter ikke at være en aktiv Facebookmedlem. Han har ikke nogle venner på Facebook længere, men i 2011, en veninde, Margaret, kontaktede ham for at sige, at hun i årevis ikke havde hørt fra ham: hun spurgte, om han stadig boede i grevskabet Gloucestershire, eller om han allerede var flyttet til byen Bath. Desværre svarer Peter ikke – pokkers! Men jeg ved nu, hans fødselsdag er den 17 februar ha ha ha!

Jeg finder ud fra Peters Facebookside, at en mand, der hedder David, nominerede Peter i 2012 som medlem af et socialt miljøforkamperwebsted, der er aktiv i Bath-området. Der ser ud til,at David er medlem af miljøorganisation Greenpeace, men der ender min forskning.

Er det muligt at Peter sidder og rådner i noget glemt fængsel i den tredje verden for at have deltaget i nogen Greenpeace kampagne – du godeste, sikke en skør verden vi lever i !!!!

12:00 Vi spiser frokost og bagefter går jeg i seng for at tage mig en gigantisk eftermiddagslur, mens Lois går i gang med at stryge denne uges vasketøj.

15:00 Vi går i bad og bagefter slapper vi af med en kop te i sofaen.

16:00 Jeg læser de næste 15 vers af Havamal, et oldnorsk digt, der blev skrevet af Odin, den berømte nordiske gud, fordi Scillas U3A oldnorsk gruppe holder dens næste møde på onsdag.

Digtet starter med et meget godt råd – når du træder ind i en stue, vær lidt forsigtig, fordi du ved ikke, hvilke stole dine fjender sidder på. Det må jeg prøve at huske. Minx, katten, som vores datter Alison efterlod hos os, da hendes familie for 5 år siden flyttede til København, overholder altid denne regel – når hun træder ind i stuen, smutter hun først bag sofaen, så hun kan bruge et stykke tid på at afveje, præcis hvor de bedste skød er, så hun kan hoppe op med tillid.

Senere læser jeg lidt om Odin, de mest fremtrædende gud i den traditionelle nordiske religion. Han bliver ofte sammenlignet med Jupiter eller Zeus i den klassiske græske-romerske religion, men jeg har på fornemmelse, at Odin havde mere svært ved at forføre kvinder, end både Jupiter og Zeus.

I ”Hávamál”, læser jeg eksempelvis om Odins forsøg på at forføre Billingrs datter – han ser et glimt af hende først, da hun ligger inde i sengen, og han bliver tiltrækket i sær af hendes hvide hudfarve – han beslutter at komme tilbage lidt senere og have sex med hende, men desværre finder Odin en masse dumme krigere i huset, viftende deres brændende fakler på kryds og tværs.

Odin kommer tilbage mod morgen, da krigerne sover, men finder at Billingrs datter har lænket en ubehagelig, aggressiv hund til sengen. Hunden gører højt, da Odin smutter ind i værelset, og kvinden trækker forhænget søvnligt til side, for at se, hvad der sker, men jeg formoder, at hun ikke har lyst til at tage sit såkaldte ”forhold” med Odin til det næste niveau. Stakkels Odin!!!!

Odin træder ind mod morgen i værelset, hvor Billingrs datter sover,

men desværre har hun lænket sin ubehagelige hund til sengen.

Stakkels Odin!!!!

Odin fik flere dårlige nyheder tidligere på året - han ramte overskrifterne igen, da det blev rapporteret af theonion.com, den indflydelsesrige amerikanske nyhedskilde, at den engang populære nordiske gud nu kun havde 4 tilbedere tilbage.

Odin sagde, at hans kults tilbagegang startede i 1654, da tapper død gled ud af mode. Han håbede imidlertid, at en kommende Playboy særnummer fokuserende på Valhallas piger, ville øge medlemskabet og holde liv i kulten.

Jeg har ikke selv set særnummeret endnu – jeg har bestilt det naturligvis, men jeg mistænker, at det for det meste vil sætte fokus på Valhallas massive befolkning af valkyrier og deres tjenestepiger. Det er valkyriernes normale praksis at gå topløse eller nøgne rundt i Valhalla, så jeg er helt sikker på, at Playboys fotograf ikke vil blive tvunget til at løbe spidsrod mellem ubehagelige hunde, når han går i gang med at tage sine ”kunstneriske” billeder, eller det håber jeg på i hvert fald.

 tre typiske valkyrier: Hild, Thrud og Hløkk – det var valkyriernes

normale praksis at gå topløse eller nøgne rundt i Valhalla,

så jeg ikke forudser nogle problemer for Playboys fotograf.

17:15 Jeg hopper op på min kondicykel og cykler 9 miles (15km). Mens jeg cykler, jeg ser på en interessant video på YouTube, der handler om spørgsmålet ”Hvad blev det af Eddie Cochran?”

Det er utroligt nostalgisk for mig at se denne korte video, der handler om den unge amerikanske popsanger, der i april 1960 døde i en trafikulykke i nærheden af byen Chippenham. Han var på turné i Storbritannien, da han døde.

I april 1960 flyttede mine forældre fra grevskabet Cheshire sydpå til byen Bristol, og min søster Kathy og jeg havde set Cochran synge for et par dage tidligere på det populære tv-show ”Boy Meets Girl”. Han sang faktisk også lidt senere i et live show i Bristols ”Hippodrome”-teater, og døde i en taxa på vej fra Bristol til London på vej hjem til USA.

 tilbageblik til 1960:  mig (på 14 år) og min lillesøster Gill (2)

på stranden i badebyen Weston-super-mare

min lillebror Steve (8) på stranden

KathyJill: min søster Kathy (12) med Gill

i baghaven af vores hus i Bristol

18:00 Vi spiser aftensmad og ser lidt fjernsyn. De viser en interessant dokumentarfilm, der handler om dronning Elizabeth I's spionnetværk.

  

Et fascinerende program for mig, fordi jeg altid har været interesseret i dekryptering, og det var en matematiker fra Cambridge University, der blev ansat af dronning Elizabeth I.s regering for at dekryptere breve mellem katolske ”terrorister” og Elizabeths katolske kusine, Marie Stuart. De dekrypterede breve gjorde det muligt at overtale en jury til at dømme Marie Stuart for forræderi.

Programmet indeholder også måske verdens første eksempel på en presselækage. Elizabeth havde ikke lyst til at få sin kusine Marie halshugget, men William Cecil, Elizabeths rådgiver, var overbevist om, at Marie udgjorde en alvorligt trussel mod Elizabeth og den protestante religion i England. Så derfor lækkede han oplysninger om Marie bevidst til pressen i London, og dronningen blev tvunget til at agere mod sin kusine. Hvor fascinerende!!!

21:00  Lois går tidligt i seng, fordi hun har lidt af en dårlig mave, men hun læser stadig sin sengetidbog, da jeg hopper op kl 22 i sengen til hende.

English translation

04:00 I get up early and look online. At 8 o'clock I jump back into bed with Lois and we drink our morning tea.We decide to postpone our shower until later in the day. Lois would like to try to get an appointment with the local hairdresser and I have to prepare a Hungarian vocabulary test that I want my friend, "Magyar" Mike, to take when we meet at 10am to study Hungarian together.

09:00 Busy busy busy! We get dressed and have breakfast. Lois calls the hairdresser but unfortunately she finds out that James doesn't work on Mondays. Meanwhile, I sit in front of the computer and prepare Mike's Hungarian vocabulary test. We decide to take our shower in the afternoon instead, before or after an afternoon nap.

10:00 My friend, "Magyar" Mike comes and we study Hungarian for an hour. We try to concentrate, but we have to stop for a while just to admire the sheer Gallic genius of our Francocentric textbook and its bizarre examples, such as:

It's hard to concentrate today because our thoughts are dominated by the problem of Mike's neighbor, Peter.

Peter has disappeared without trace after leaving Mike with the keys to his house in Nailsworth. Mike has not seen him for almost 6 months.

Last week I found Peter in LinkedIn, which seems to be a kind of network for professional people. He categorizes himself as a consultant in areas of agriculture and environment in connection with international development, with a bachelor degree from Imperial College, London. So he is not some down-and-out ha ha ha.

I ordered a month's free trial subscription to LinkedIn and sent Peter a message, but I did not have much hope that he would answer because Mike already had Peter's email address and had never received any response.

11:00 Mike has to leave, and Lois and I relax with a cup of coffee.

Lois has also got interested in the problem and we do a little more research online. Lois looks at some of her family tree websites, while I find Peter on Facebook. Unfortunately, Peter does not seem to be an active Facebook member. He does not have any friends on Facebook any more, but in 2011, a friend, Margaret, contacted him to say that she had not heard from him for years : she asked if he was still living in Gloucestershire or if he had already moved to the city of Bath. Unfortunately, Peter does not answer her - damn! But I know now that his birthday is on February 17 ha ha ha!

I find out from Peter's Facebook page that a man named David nominated Peter in 2012 for membership of a environmentalist social site active in the Bath area. It appears that David is a member of Greenpeace environmental organization, but there my research ends.

Is it possible that Peter is sitting and rotting in some forgotten jail in the third world for participating in some Greenpeace campaign - good grief, what a crazy world we live in !!!!

12:00 We have lunch and afterwards I go to bed and take a gigantic afternoon nap while Lois starts ironing this week's laundry.

15:00 We go in the shower and afterwards we relax with a cup of tea on the sofa.

16:00 I read the next 15 verses of Havamal, an Old Norse poem written by Odin, the famous Norse god, because Scilla's U3A Old Norse group is holding its next meeting on Wednesday.

The poem starts with a very good piece of advice - when you enter a living room, be careful because you do not know what chairs your enemies are sitting on. I must try to remember that. 

Minx, the cat that our daughter Alison left behind when her family moved to Copenhagen 5 years ago, always adheres to this rule - when she walks into the living room, she first slips behind the couch so that she can spend some time weighing up exactly where the best lap is, so she can jump up with confidence.

Later, I read a bit about Odin, the most prominent god in the traditional Nordic religion. He is often compared to Jupiter or Zeus in classical Greek-Roman religion, but I feel that Odin had a lot more trouble seducing women than either Jupiter or Zeus.

For example, in "Hávamál", I read about Odin's attempt to seduce Billingr's daughter - he got a glimpse of her first when she was lying in bed and he is attracted to her very white skin color - he decides to come back a little later and have sex with her, but unfortunately Odin finds a lot of stupid warriors in the house, waving their burning torches all over the place.

Odin returns in the early morning when the warriors are asleep, but finds that Billingr's daughter has chained an unpleasant, aggressive dog to her bed. The dog barks when Odin pops into the room, and the woman pulls the curtain aside to see what is going on, but I imagine from her body language that she has no desire to take her so-called "relationship" with Odin to the next level . Poor Odin !!!!

 in the early morning Odin steps into the room

where Billingr's daughter is sleeping, but unfortunately

she has chained her unpleasant dog to the bed. Poor Odin !!!!

Odin got more bad news earlier this year - he hit the headlines again when it was reported by theonion.com, the influential American news source, that the once-popular Norse god now only had 4 worshippers left.

Odin told Onion journalists that the decline of his cult began in 1654 when valiant death fell out of fashion. However, he hoped that an upcoming Playboy special issue focusing on Valhalla's girls would increase membership and keep the cult alive.

I have not myself seen the special issue yet - I have ordered it of course, but I suspect that it will mostly focus on Valhalla's massive population of valkyries and their maidservants. It's in any case the normal practice for the valkyries to go topless or nude round Valhalla, so I'm sure that Playboy's photographer will not be forced to run the gauntlet of unpleasant dogs when he starts taking his "artistic" pictures or that's what I hope, at least.

 three typical valkyries: Hild, Thrud and Hløkk - it was the normal practice

for the Valkyries to go around topless or nude in Valhalla,

so I do not foresee any problems for Playboy's photographer.

17:15 I jump up on my exercise bike and cycle 9 miles (15km). While I'm cycling, I watch an interesting video on YouTube all about "What happened to Eddie Cochran?"

It's incredibly nostalgic for me to see this short video about the young American pop singer who died in April 1960 in a traffic accident near the town of Chippenham. He was on tour in Britain when he died.

In April 1960, my parents moved south from the county of Cheshire to Bristol, and my sister Kathy and I had seen Cochran sing a few days earlier on the popular TV show "Boy Meets Girl". In fact, he also sang a little later in a live show at Bristol's "Hippodrome" theater, and died in a taxi on his way from Bristol to London on his way home to the US.

flashback to 1960: me (14) and my little sister Gill (2)

on the beach at the seaside resort of Weston-super-mare

My little brother Steve (8) on the beach

My sister Kathy (12) with Gill,

in the back garden of our house in Bristol

18:00 We have dinner and watch a bit of television. An interesting documentary is on, all about Queen Elizabeth I's spy network.

A fascinating program for me, because I've always been interested in code-breaking, and it was a mathematician from Cambridge University who was employed by Queen Elizabeth I.'s government to decipher letters between Catholic "terrorists" and Elizabeth's Catholic cousin, Mary Queen of Scots. The decrypted letters made it possible to persuade a jury to convict Mary for treason.

The program may also contain the world's first example of a press leak. Elizabeth had no desire to have her cousin Mary executed but William Cecil, Elizabeth's counsellor, was convinced that Mary was a serious threat to Elizabeth and the Protestant religion in England. So therefore, he deliberately leaked information about Marie to the press in London, and the queen was forced to act against her cousin. How fascinating !!!

21:00 Lois goes to bed early because she has an upset stomach, but she is still reading her bedtime book when I hop up into bed with her at 10pm.