Onsdag den 18. oktober 2017

04:00 Jeg står tidligt op og kigger lidt på nettet. Jeg er interesseret i at opspore min ven ”Magyar” Mikes nabo, Peter, der er forsvundet uden spor, efter at have efterladt hos Mike nøglerne til sit hus i Nailsworth. Jeg finder 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 bestiller en måneds prøveabonnement til LinkedIn og sender Peter en besked, men jeg har ikke ret meget håb om, at han vil svare, fordi Mike allerede har Peters emailadresse, og aldrig har fået noget svar. Sådan et mærkeligt problem – du godeste! Men jeg må ikke glemme at aflyse min abonnement før månedens ende – det er meget dyrt, ca 50£ per måned. Du godeste, sikke et vanvid!!!!

08:30 Jeg hopper tilbage op i sengen til Lois og vi drikker vores morgenté. Vi står op og går i bad. Vi kommer i tøjet og spiser morgenmad.

10:00 Lois og jeg diskuterer den lidt grafiske sex-scene på 106-109 (Kindle version) i den danske kriminovelle, ”Forbandet” af Gittemie Eriksen, som er vores U3A danske gruppes nuværende projekt. Under vores gruppemøder skifter medlemmerne at oplæse ca. 1 side og oversætte den til engelsk. Vi kommer til den konklusion, at det ville være for pinligt at klare disse 4 sider på denne måde.

Hvis vi var en standard boggruppe, ville det være helt anderledes, fordi vi kunne kun diskutere scenen med hinanden i almindeligheder. Men med vores regelmæssige tilgang til vores bøger, ville det være meget pinligt at oplæse beskrivelsen af samlejet mellem landbetjenten Per Janson, novellens helt, og Vivi, hans kone. Forfatteren bruger ikke nogle ”sjofle” ord, men læserne bliver ikke i noget tvivl om præcis hvordan Vivi tager initiativet og styrer akten. Du godeste, sikke en skør verden vi lever i !!!!

Vi beslutter at fortæller gruppens medlemmer, at vi under gruppemødet ikke vil oplæse og oversætte disse sider, men vi kan diskutere grammatikproblemer på siderne, hvis medlemmer har sådanne. Lad os håbe på, at vi kan klare grammatikken uden at blive involveret i detaljerne af lagengymnastikken ha ha ha!

11:00 Desværre læser lidt videre og jeg finder noget lignende på side 111 (Kindle version), men det udgøre mere et sex-tableau end en sex-scene. Det ser ud som om, to af de eks-klassekammerater, Freja og Frederik, en kusine og en fætter, der dannede par, endede med at dolke hinanden ihjel, da de var i færd med at have sex. Du godeste, rent vanvid!!! Måske havde de begge problemer med hinandens teknik, men det er jeg ikke helt sikker på. 

Heldigvis er dette tableau ikke så pinligt, fordi der sker intet, dybest set. Showet er slut, folkens – gudskelov!!!!! Lois og jeg synes, at vi kan slippe af sted med at oplæse denne scene, når gruppen samles på fredag, uden at støde nogen.

13:00 Vi spiser frokost og bagefter går jeg i seng for at tage mig en eftermiddagslur – zzzzzzz!!!!! Jeg står op kl 14 og forbereder mig på at køre i byen. Vi ha begge to aftaler kl 15 hos Specsavers-optikerforretningen i bymidten.

Efter sin nylige øjeoperation for grå stær har Lois en ny recept på briller, som hun i mandags fik hos øjeklinikken på det lokale hospitalet, så hun ikke har brug for at få en synstest, kun at vælge brillestel. Men jeg skal for første gang i 3 år få en synstest. Jeg er blevet klar over, at  testene kan afsløre sygedomme - og jeg har forsømmet dette aspekt.  Det er kun fornuftigt i min alder at have regelmæssige test. Jeg er lidt bange for, jeg allerede lider af en eller anden sygdom, som jeg ikke har den fjerneste anelse om – yikes!!!

Men heldigvis har min syn ikke ændret sig og, selvom jeg har grå stær i begge øjne, er de stadig meget meget små, ligesom de var for 5 år siden. Optikeren siger, tal om en operation er mange år væk, gudskelov.

Lois vælger sine nye briller og brillestel. De skal hentes på onsdag næste uge. Det er på tide at vende næsen til parkeringspladsen, men på vej smutter vi ind i Patisserie Valerie-caféen, drikker en kop te og spiser et stykke kage.

18:00 Vi spiser aftensmad og smækker benene op foran fjernsynet. De viser det seneste afsnit af ”Grand Designs”. Programmets vært er den charmerende Kevin McCloud.

”Grand Designs” er programmet jeg først og fremmest elsker at hade fordi jeg hader disse enorme grimme moderne huse med deres enorme ekkoende stuer, enorme hvide vægge og ukomfortable sofaer, og jeg er fristet til at hade også de par, der er så friske på at få disse slags huse bygget. Du godeste! Jeg er sikke et pivehoved – ingen tvivl om det!!!!

Igen ser vi et ægtepar, der begår seriens mest klassiske fejl: de bor allerede i et hyggeligt, traditionelt hus i en charmerende landsby, men beslutter at få bygget et enorme moderne hus, der ligner et mellemstort selskabs hovedkontor, og ødelægge samtidigt landsbyens skønhed med noget grimt og modbydeligt.

en skøn landsby og familiens gamle

traditionelt hus: charmerende og hyggeligt

det grimme og modbydelige moderne hus,

som familien får bygget – sikke et vanvid!!!!

Men har familien kun besluttet at få dette hus bygget, for at overtale farmoren til at flytte ind i et plejehjem ha ha ha? Dette er en mulighed, vi ikke 100%  kan udelukke – det har vi ikke nogen tvivl om !!!!

ar familien kun fået bygget dette modbydelige hus,

for at overtale farmoren til at flytte ind i et plejehjem?

Du godeste, sikke en skør verden vi lever i !!!!

22:00 Vi går i seng – zzzzzz!!!!

English translation

04:00 I get up early and look online. I'm interested in tracking down my friend "Magyar" Mike's neighbor, Peter, who has disappeared without trace after leaving Mike with the keys to his house in Nailsworth. I find 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 no down-and-out ha ha ha.

I order a month's trial subscription to LinkedIn and send Peter a message, but I do not have much hope that he will answer because Mike already has Peter's email address and has never received any response. Such a strange problem - my goodness! But I must not forget to cancel my subscription before the end of the month - it's very expensive, about £ 50 per month. Good grief, what madness !!!!

08:30 I hop back into bed with Lois and we drink our morning tea. We get up and go in the shower. We get dressed and have breakfast.

10:00 Lois and I discuss the somewhat graphic sex-scene on pages106-109 (Kindle version) of the Danish crime novella, "Accursed" by Gittemie Eriksen, which is our U3A Danish group's current project. During our group meetings, members take turns to read aloud about a page and translate it into English. We come to the conclusion that it would be too embarrassing to do these 4 pages in this way.

If we were a standard book group, it would be completely different because we could discuss the scene with each other only in generalities. However, with our normal approach to our books, it would be very embarrassing to read the description of the intercourse between Per Janson, the novel's hero, and Vivi, his wife. The author does not use any "dirty" words, but the readers are not left in any doubts about exactly how Vivi takes the initiative and controls the action. My god, what a crazy world we live in !!!!

We decide to tell the group members that in the group meeting we will not read out and translate these pages, but we can discuss grammar issues on the pages if members have any. Let's hope that we can handle the grammar without getting involved in the details of the gymnastics ha ha ha!

11:00 Unfortunately, I read a bit further and I find something similar on page 111 (Kindle version), but it's more of a sex tableau than a sex scene. It appears that two of the ex-classmates, Freja and Frederik, two cousins who were also an item, ended up stabbing each other to death while they were having sex. My god, pure madness !!! Perhaps they were both having issues with each other's technique, but that's something I'm not completely sure about.

Fortunately, this tableau is not so embarrassing because basically nothing is happening. Show's over, folks - thank god !!!!! Lois and I think we can get away with reading this scene out, when the group gets together on Friday, without offending anyone.

13:00 We have lunch and afterwards I go to bed and take an afternoon nap - zzzzzzz !!!!! I get up and get ready to drive into town. We both have appointments at 3pm at Specsavers Opticians in the town center.

After her recent eye-operation for cataracts, Lois has a new prescription for glasses, which she got at the eye clinic in the local hospital on Monday, so she does not need to have an eye test, just to choose frames. But for the first time in 3 years I am going to have an eye test. I have realised that the tests can reveal illnesses - and I have neglected this aspect. It is only sensible at my age to have regular tests. I'm a little afraid that I'm already suffering from some disease, without having the slightest idea about it - yikes !!!

But fortunately, my vision has not changed and, even though I have cataracts in both eyes, they are still very very small, just like they were 5 years ago. The optician says any talk about an operation is many years away, thank goodness.

Lois chooses her new glasses and frames. They will be ready to collect on Wednesday next week. It's time to head for the parking lot, but on the way we pop in the Patisserie Valerie cafe, an have a cup of tea and a piece of cake.

18:00 We have dinner and stick our feet up in front of the television. The latest episode of "Grand Designs" is on. The host of the program is the charming Kevin McCloud.

"Grand Designs" is the program that I most of all love to hate because I detest these huge ugly modern houses with their huge living rooms, huge white walls and uncomfortable sofas, and I'm tempted to hate the couples who are so keen to get these kinds of houses built. My Goodness! I'm such a whinger - no doubt about that!!!!

Again, we see a couple who commit the series' most classic mistake : they already live in a cozy traditional house in a charming village, but decide to have a huge modern house built that resembles a medium-sized company's head office, while destroying the beauty of the village with something ugly and disgusting.

A beautiful village and the family's old

traditional house: charming and cozy

The ugly and disgusting modern house,

which the family gets built - what madness !!!!

But has the family only decided to have this house built, to persuade the old granny to move into a care-home perhaps ha ha ha? This is an option we cannot completely rule out - we are not in any doubt about that !!!!

Has the family only built this disgusting house,

to persuade the old granny to move into a care-home?

Good grief, what a crazy world we live in !!!!

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