Søndag den 1. oktober 2017

04:00 Jeg står tidligt op som sædvanligt, men efter et par timer hopper jeg tilbage op i sengen til Lois og vi bliver liggende inde i sengen. Lige efter kl 9 hører vi de første deltagere i byens halv-maraton løbe forbi huset.

Vi bliver liggende ind i sengen og venter. I dag er det byens halv-maraton,

der starter kl 9 ved ingangen til væddeløbsbanen

de første deltagere i byens halv-maraton

begynder at løbe forbi huset.

Når man er i 70’erne er det nogle gange lidt forbløffende at se på nært hold hvor meget unge mennesker fx i 20’erne kan udrette. Vi bliver  liggende i sengen, men vi råber opmuntring nu og da, selvom vi er ikke helt sikre på, at de kan høre vores desperate råb – uha!

10:00 Vi står op og snakker lidt med Sarah, vores datter i Australien, og lidt også med sin 4-årige tvillinger, Lily og Jessie (Jessica). Francis, Sarahs mand, har taget Buddy, familiens hund, at svømme: Buddy er blevet ganske svag for nylig  og svømning stærker hans muskulaturen. Han lider af gigt også.

Francis er også selv gået i lægen, og har fået at vide, at han har knuder i skjoldbruskkirtel og må få en biopsi, der faktisk foregik i onsdags. De fleste af sådanne knuder er godartede, men selvfølgelig føler han sig meget stresset for tiden. Han vil sandsynligvis får biopsiens resultater om et par dage.

Vi taler lidt med tvillingerne. Vi fortæller dem, at vi denne uge har afsendt dem en pakke, der indeholder en bunke sommertøj og de to spritnye bløde kaninformede sutteklude, vi forleden købte i Jojo Maman Bébé-butikken. Tvillingerne har for vane at sutte disse ”kaniner”, når de er trætte og søvnige. Deres gamle ”kaniner” er nu lidt slidte, siger Sarah.

Desværre kommer de straks til den konklusion, at deres mor allerede har disse kaniner, og de beder hende om at tage dem frem. De forstår ikke begreb om, at det tager flere uger for en pakke afsendt i Storbritannien at ankommer til Australien. Lois og jeg har også ærligt talt lidt svært ved at forestå det også ha ha ha. Betjeningen er elendigt!!! Lois og jeg mener, problemet ligger på den australske ende af en eller anden grund.

Tilbageblik til maj 2016: Lily sutter sin ”kanin” – disse slags ”kaniner”

fås desværre ikke i Australien, så vi sender dem fra England.

(billede taget under vores besøg til familien – man kan se Lois i baggrunden,

også Buddy, familens hund, der nu desværre er blevet så syg)

11:00 Jeg hopper op på min kondicykel og cykler 9 miles (15km). Jeg tænder for min smartphone og søger en mindst 30-minutter video jeg kan se på, mens jeg cykler. Jeg finder en biografi af Konge Offa, der regerede i den angelsaskiske rige Mercia i det 8.  århundrede.

Jeg vælger Offa i dag, fordi  jeg i går så en interessant dokumentarfilm om hans liv i fjernsyn, og jeg har spørgsmål, jeg vil få besvaret om denne mand – det ved jeg med sikkerhed!!!!

Offa etablerede den engelske penny, som vi stadig bruger i dag, og jeg er lidt nysgerrig over, hvorfor han valgte pennyen.

Desværre ved slutningen af videoen er jeg stadig ikke helt sikker på, hvorfor han elskede pennyen så meget. Jeg formoder, at han mente, at en skilling var for flere penge til at betale sine tjenestefolk med – jeg går ud fra, at de var lidt dovne måske. På mange af sine pennyer fik han indskrevet et slags kryds, der gjorde det simpelt at skære pennyen i 4 stykker – 4 kvarter, så hvis tjenestefolk var særligt dovne, kunne han betale dem kun en kvart.

en penny med et kryds på – dette gjorde det nemmere at

afskære et kvart, hvis du ikke ønskede at betale dit tjenestefolk for meget  

Men faktisk var der allerede pennyer i økonomien før Offas regeringtid. Det synes, at Offas største fornyelse var at indskrive sit eget navn på pennyen. Jeg spekulerer om, at mange borgere måske tidligere plejede at påstå ved skatteopkrævningen, at de ikke var helt sikre på, hvem de skulle betale deres skatter til.

Nu var det problem løst – ingen tvivl om det!!!!

13:30 Vi spiser frokost, lidt senere, end normalt: stegte kylling og stegte kartofler, med hjemmedyrkede zucchinier/courgetter og hjemmedyrkede gulerødder – nam nam !!!!

14:30 Vi går i seng i et par timer. Jeg står op, så Lois kan sove lidt mere – hun er meget meget forkølet, staklen.

16:30 Jeg kigger lidt på nettet, og læse en hjertevarmende nyhed, da jeg blader igennem dagens top-historier på theonion.com, den indflydelsesrige amerikanske nyhedskilde.  Den lokale popgruppen Sunshine Moon  var i går aftes i fuld gang med at optræde på et lokalt koncertsted og efter 20 minutter efterhånden nærmede sig til deres sidste nummer: pludselig  mindedes gruppens basguitarist, Mark Handley, at han tidligere har indstuderet et super godt riff, han kunne spille, hvis gruppens leder/forsanger besluttede at præsentere gruppens medlemmer individuelt for publikummet, måske umiddelbart før gruppens sidste nummer.

Mark Handley, Sunshine Moons basguitarist

Desværre besluttede  gruppens leder ikke at præsentere gruppens medlemmer i denne anledning, og sættet sluttede uden noget specielt samspil mellem lederen, gruppemedlemmer og publikummet, men det kan være, at Mark vil få endnu en lejlighed,  inden alt for længe, for at fremvise sin riff. Det lad os håbe på.

Det kan nogle tide være lidt farligt at præsentere hele gruppens medlemmer for publikummet, især hvis gruppen er ganske stor. Hvem kan glemme Bonzo Dog gruppens notoriske ”Intro Outro”- skæring, hvor de indledende præsentationer (og tilsvarende riffs også!!!) blev  så langdrukne, at der ikke var tid tilbage til selve sangen.

[....men desværre slutter skæringen her pludselig, for vi allerede er nået

til hullet i midten af pladen ha ha ha!]

Det kan vær lidt farligt at gøre orkestrets

præsentationer (og de tilsvarende riffs også!!!!) så langtrukne,

at der ikke er tid tilbage til selve sangen -

du godeste, sikke et vanvid!!!!!

17:00 Lois står op og vi slapper af med en kop te i sofaen. Hun er stadig meget forkølet og giver sig til at se en romcom i kanalen Channel five + 1, ”Serendippity” [stave?].

Jeg skynder mig ind i køkkenet og laver lidt snacks: pocheret æg (fra Bobs høns – Bob er vores nabo på den vestlige side) og haslet på toast – nam nam!!!

21:00 Vi tænder for fjernsynet og se den 6. afsnit af den 2. sæson af ”Victoria”, der handler om Victorias liv som ung dronning (spillet af den pragtfulde Jenna Coleman), og om hendes ægteskab med Albert, den tyske prins.

Afsnittet fokuserer på den store irske kartoffel hungersnød i 1840’erne, og Victorias stærke ønske om at sende bistand.

Disse slags kongelige kostumedramaer sætter altid fokus på monarken, og vi ser forskellige politikere (i dette tilfælde først Melbourne, da Whig-partiet er med magten, og senere Peel, da Tory-partiet er med magtne) smutter ind hos det kongelige slot for at besøge monarken, bukke og bøje hovedet, og  tale respektfuldt.

På grund af denne fokus på dronningen har man tendens til at glemme, at Victoria faktisk var magdesløs: det var ikke Victoria, der havde den virkelige magt – det var kun stemmer i parlamentet, der kunne sende eller ikke sende bistand. Det var kun stemmer i parlamentet, der kunne ændre eller ikke ændre katolikers rettigheder til at eje jord osv. Sikke en tragedie.

22:00 Vi går i seng – adskilte værelser igen, på grund af Lois’s forkølelse.

English translation

04:00 I get up early as usual, but after a couple of hours I hop back into bed with Lois and we stay in bed. Just after 9 o'clock we hear the first participants in the town's half marathon running past the house.

We stay in bed and wait. Today it’s the town's half marathon,

It starts at 9 am at the entrance to the racecourse

the first participants in the town's half marathon

begin to run past the house.

When you're in your 70's, it's sometimes a little amazing to see at close hand how much young people can accomplish in their 20's. We stay in bed, but we shout encouragement every now and then, although we are not quite sure that they can hear our desperate cries - oh dear!

10:00 We get up and talk a little on whatsapp with Sarah, our daughter in Australia, and also a little bit with her 4 year old twins, Lily and Jessie (Jessica). Francis, Sarah's husband, has taken Buddy, the family's dog, swimming: Buddy has become quite weak recently and swimming strengthens his muscles. He also suffers from arthritis.

Francis has also gone to the doctor himself and has been told that he has nodules on his thyroid gland and must have a biopsy, which actually took place on Wednesday. Most of such nodules are benign, but of course, he is feeling a lot of stress for the time being. He will probably get the results of the biopsy in a few days' time.

We talk a little with the twins. We tell them that this week we have sent them a parcel containing a pile of summer clothes and the two brand new soft toy "bunnies" that we bought in the Jojo Maman Bébé store the other day. The twins have a habit of sucking these "bunnies" when they are tired and sleepy. Their old "bunnies" are now a bit worn, says Sarah.

Unfortunately, the twins immediately jump to the conclusion that their mother already has these bunnies, and they ask her to get them out for them. They do not understand that it takes several weeks for a parcel shipped in Great Britain to arrive in Australia. To be honest, Lois and I also have a little trouble understanding it too ha ha ha. The service is wretched !!! Lois and I think the problem is at the Australian end for some reason.

Flashback to May 2016: Lily sucks her "bunny" - these kinds of "bunnies"

are unfortunately not available in Australia, so we send them from England.

(picture taken during our visit to the family - you can see Lois in the background,

also Buddy, the family dog, that has now sadly got so sick)

11:00 I jump up on my exercise bike and cycle 9 miles (15km). I turn on my smartphone and look for a minimum 30 minute video I can watch while cycling. I find a biography of King Offa, ruler of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia in the 8th century.

I choose Offa today because yesterday I saw an interesting documentary about his life on television, and I have questions I want answers for about this man - I know that for sure !!!!

Offa established the English penny, which we still use today, and I'm a little curious about why he chose the penny.

Unfortunately by the end of the video I'm still not sure why he loved the penny so much. I suppose he thought that a shilling was too much money to pay his servants - I imagine they were a bit lazy maybe. On many of his pennies he inscribed a kind of cross that made it easy to cut the penny into 4 pieces - 4 quarters, so if the servants were particularly lazy, he could just pay them a quarter.

a penny with a cross on - this made it easier

cut off a quarter if you did not want to pay your servants too much

But in fact, apparently, there were already pennies in the economy before Offa's reign. It seems that Offa's biggest innovation was to inscribe his own name on the penny. I speculate that perhaps many citizens used to claim at tax collection time that they were not quite sure who to pay their taxes to. Now, that particular problem would have been fixed - no doubt about that !!!!

16:30 I take a little look online and read a heartwarming piece of news as I browse through today's top stories on theonion.com, the influential American news source. The local pop group Sunshine Moon last night was going full swing at a local concert venue and after 20 minutes were approaching their closing numbers: suddenly, the group's bass guitarist Mark Handley began recalling that he had previously rehearsed a super good riff he could play if the group's frontman decided to introduce the group members individually to the audience, like maybe immediately before the group's final song.

Mark Handley, Sunshine Moon's bass guitarist

Sadly, the group's frontman decided not to introduce the members of the group on this occasion and the set ended without any special interaction between the frontman, band members and the audience, but Mark may get another opportunity before too long to showcase his riff . Let's shoot for that anyway.

It may be a little dangerous to introduce the entire band's members to the audience, especially if the band is quite large. Who can forget the Bonzo Dog group's notorious "Intro Outro" track, where the initial introductions (plus corresponding riffs) were so long drawn out that there was no time left for the song itself.

[but sadly the track ends here suddenly, because we have already

reached the hole in the middle of the record ha ha ha!]

It may be a little dangerous to make the band's introductions

(and their corresponding riffs too !!!!) so long drawn out

that there is no time left for the song itself -

good grief, what madness !!!!!

17:00 Lois gets up and we relax with a cup of tea on the couch. She is still very coldy and begins watching a romcom on the Channel 5 + 1 channel, “Serendippity” [spelling?].

I hurry into the kitchen and make some snacks: poached egg (from Bob's hens - Bob is our neighbour on the western side) and haslet on toast - yum yum !!!

21:00 We turn on the TV and watch the 6th episode of the 2nd season of "Victoria", all about Victoria's life as a young queen (played by the gorgeous Jenna Coleman) and about her marriage to Albert, the German prince .

The episode focuses on the great Irish potato famine of the 1840s, and Victoria's strong desire to send aid.

These kinds of royal costume dramas always focus on the monarch and we see various politicians (in this case, first Melbourne when the Whig party is in power, and later Peel, when the Tory party is in power) popping into the royal palace to visit the monarch, bow the head and speak respectfully.

Because of this focus on the queen, one tends to forget that Victoria was actually powerless: it was not Victoria who had the real power - only votes in Parliament could send or not send aid. It was only votes in parliament that could change or not change the rights of Catholics to own land etc. What a tragedy.

22:00 We go to bed - separate rooms again, because of Lois's cold.