Tirsdag den 24. oktober 2017

09:30 Vi kører over til Kennington, en lille forstad til Oxford, fordi vores venner Jen og Bill har inviteret os til frokost. Vi ankommer kl 10:45.

Lois og Jen er meget meget gamle venner, så selvfølgelig kommer de meget meget godt ud af det med hinanden. De kan godt lide at snakke om de gamle dage, også Lois hjælper altid Jen i køkkenet med at lave frokost. Dette er lidt af en dårlig nyhed for mig, fordi det betyder, at jeg skal sidde i stuen og tale med Bill. Jeg finder Bill ganske lidt af en udfordring at snakke med – han ejer ikke en humoristisk sans og efter min mening har han en temmelig kedelig personlighed, i modsætning til Jen, der er så livlig – pokkers! Også er Jen lidt bange for, at Bill begynder at vise tegn på mild demens, og det er jeg enig  med hende i – uha!

Der er en dejlig skov bag deres hus, Bagleyskov, og vi går alle fire en tur i skoven lige før  frokost. 

Bagleyskov, der er ejet af Oxford Universitys St Johns College

Desværre skynder Lois og Jen sig meget meget fremad, mens jeg må gå langsomt og snakke med Bill. Endnu en ulempe med at snakke med Bill – jeg mistænker hele tiden at han ønsker at konvertere mig til sin kirkes tro. Heldigvis tager han en masse tid til at gå i gang med at starte konverteringsprocessen – jeg kan se det hele en kilometer væk, når han finder på en lejlighed til at indlede lidt af en prædiken – du godeste!

Heldigvis nu, hvor han har mild demens, er det meget nemmere, end før, at skifte emne, uden at han er klar over, hvad jeg gør.

I dag, da vi alle 4 er i gang med at gå en tur i skoven, spørger han mig pludselig, hvornår jeg tror Jesu genkomst vil opstå. Jeg svarer simpelthen, at det ved jeg ikke, og jeg spørger ham hvad hans mening er. Han svarer, at Jesu  genkomst kan opstå på ethvert tidspunkt, så vi alle må være klar. Så skifter jeg emnet med succes - hurra! Mine 21-års skolegang og uddanelse har endelig betalt sig ha ha ha!

Det viser sig, at Bill er begyndt at samle træ sammen. Han tror, at når den næste krig starter, vil vi miste alle el- og gasforsyninger. Han tror også, at Nord-Korea vil spilde ind, når krigen starter. Nord-Korea er lidt af et problem for fundamentalistikse kristne. I årevis har forudsigelser om Harmagedon fokuseret på Rusland, de arabiske lande, og de vestlige kræfter. Det vil være brug for mere forskning, at opdage skjulte referencer til Nord-Korea i biblen – det ved jeg med sikkerhed!!!

Vi spiser frokost og snakker lidt.

15:00 Lois og jeg skal til af sted. Vi ankommer hjem kl 16:15. Jeg fejrer, at jeg ”overlevede” dagen, ved at drikke en traditionel øl, en Jennings Cumberland – tak, det trængte jeg til!!!

Jeg fejrer, at jeg overlevede dagen

ved at drikke en Jennings Cumberland traditionel øl.

Tak, det trængte jeg til !!!!!

17:00 Min ven ”Magyar” Mike ringer til mig, med den seneste udvikling i den mærkelige historie om sin nabo, Peter.

Peter er for nylig 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.

I går fandt jeg Peter på Facebook. Desværre syntes 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 svarede Peter ikke – pokkers!

Jeg fandt ud af 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 miljøorganisationen Greenpeace, men der ender min forskning.

I dag fortæller Mike mig, at Peter i dag tilsyneladende uforventet dukkede op og smuttede ind i sit hus for at hente en stor pose indeholdende 6 måneders breve, der fandtes i sin forveranda. Men Peter prøvede ikke at kontakte Mike eller ringe hans dørklokken, hvilket lyder meget meget egoistisk og uhøfligt. Mike fandt kun senere ud af, at Peter havde været der, da Mike så at posen var forsvundet.

Mysteriet fortsætter!!!!

Hvorfor har en uddannet mand som Peter besluttet sig for at gå fuldstændigt eller delvist "off grid" ???? Kan det være, at han er en miljøforkamper-terrorist???? Det er juryen stadig ude om - ikke bogstaveligt talt (endnu ha ha ha) !!!!

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

18:00 Vi spiser aftensmad. Vi er udmattede og smækker benene op foran fjernsynet. I aften vil vi gerne se på noget, der ikke er for seriøst. De viser en interessant reality-dokumentarfilm, der handler om 8 overvægtige briter, der holder en uges ferie i Bahamas, for at konfrontere deres vægtproblemer sammen.

  

Lois og jeg har ofte spekuleret om, hvorfor folk bliver overvægtige, men programmet tilbyder ikke rigtigt svar på dette spørgsmål. Da gruppen ankommer på øen, mangler de naturligvis selvtillid på grund af deres vægt. Men efter et par dage i hinandens selskab, begynder de snart at gå rundt på stranden i næsten ingenting – men hvad så? De danner en lidt intimiderende gruppe, når de alle er på stranden sammen, og det ville være en dristig forbipasserende, der ville grine af dem.

Denne mand vægter 37 sten (518 pund eller 235 kg)

Det rigtige spørgsmål er, hvad de vil gøre, når de kommer tilbage til England, parrenes veje skal skilles og de bliver involveret igen i de gamle problemer, de konstant står over for.

Nogle af parrene har bare besluttet sig for at acceptere sig selv og acceptere deres vægtproblemer. Andre par har besluttet  sig for at prøve at tabe sig.

Lois og jeg er bange for, at parrene snart vil miste deres nybagte selvtillid og bare vil genoptage deres gamle levemåde, så snart tv-kameraerne er slukkede og pakkede ned.

Vi er så cyniske ha ha ha!

Dette hotels senge behøver at være utrolig stærke – det har vi ikke nogen tvivl om ! De 8 mennesker dannede for det meste par. Lois og jeg læste for nylig en artikel, der handler om hvor mange kalorier man forbrænder under sex. Der er flere faktorer der spiller ind, som for eksempel varighed, intensitet, aktive eller passive roller osv. En gennemsnitlig person, der skal smide rundt en overvægtig partner med, kan forbrænde en masse kalorier. Men hvis begge parter er overvægtige, må dette effekt være helt begrænset, synes vi. 

22:00 Vi går i seng – zzzzzzz!!!!

English translation

09:30 We head over to Kennington, a small suburb of Oxford, because our friends Jen and Bill have invited us to lunch. We arrive at 10:45 am.

Lois and Jen are very very old friends, so of course they get on very well with each other. They like to talk about the old days, and also Lois always helps Jen in the kitchen with cooking lunch. This is a bit of bad news for me because it means I'm going to have to sit in the living room and talk to Bill. I find Bill quite a challenge to talk to - he does not have much of a sense of humour and, in my opinion, he has a rather boring personality, unlike Jen, who is so lively - damn! Also, Jen is a little afraid that Bill is beginning to show signs of mild dementia, and I agree with her on that point - oh dear!

There is a lovely wood just behind their house, Bagley Wood, and all four of us go for a walk there  just before lunch. 

Bagley Wood, owned by St John's College, Oxford University

Unfortunately, Lois and Jen hurry on far ahead, while I have to walk slowly and talk to Bill. Another disadvantage of talking to Bill is that I always suspect he wants to convert me to his church’s beliefs. Fortunately, he takes a lot of time to start the conversion process - I can see it all coming a mile off when he thinks of an opportunity to start on a bit of preaching - good grief!

Fortunately, now that he has mild dementia, it's much easier than before to change the subject without him knowing what I'm doing.

Today, when all 4 of us are on our walk in the woods, he suddenly asks me when I think Jesus' return will happen. I simply answer that I do not know and I ask him what his opinion is. He answers that Jesus' return may happen at any time, so we all must be ready. At this point I change the subject successfully - hurrah! My 21 years of schooling and higher education have finally paid off ha ha ha!

It turns out Bill has begun to stockpile wood. He believes that when the next war starts, we will lose all electricity and gas supplies. He also believes that North Korea will play a role when the war starts. North Korea is a bit of a problem for fundamentalist Christians. For years, the predictions of Armageddon have focused on Russia, the Arab countries, and the Western powers. There will be a need for more research to discover hidden references to North Korea in the Bible - that's something I know for sure !!!

We eat lunch and talk a little.

15:00 Lois and I have to leave. We arrive home at 4:15pm. I celebrate the fact that I "survived" the day by drinking a traditional beer, a Jennings Cumberland - thanks, I needed that !!!

I celebrate the fact that I survived the day

by drinking a Jennings Cumberland traditional ale.

Thanks, I needed that !!!!!

17:00 My friend "Magyar" Mike calls me, with the latest developments in the strange story of his neighbor, Peter.

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

Last week I found Peter on 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 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.

Yesterday I found Peter on Facebook. Unfortunately, Peter did 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 did not answer - damn!

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

Today, Mike tells me that Peter apparently turned up unexpectedly today and popped into his house to retrieve a large bag containing 6 months of letters that was there in his front porch. But Peter did not try to contact Mike or ring his doorbell, which sounds very selfish and rude. Mike only discovered later, that Peter had been there, when Mike discovered that the bag of letters had disappeared.

The mystery continues !!!!

Why has an educated man like Peter decided to go fully or partially "off grid" ????

Could it be that he's an environmentalist-terrorist??? The jury is still out on that one (not literally - yet ha ha ha) !!!!!

My god, what a crazy world we live in !!!!!

18:00 We have dinner. We are exhausted and stick our feet up in front of the television. Tonight, we want to look at something that's not too serious. An interesting reality documentary is on, all about 8 overweight Brits taking a week's vacation in the Bahamas to confront their weight problems together.

Lois and I have often wondered why people become overweight, but the program does not really answer this question. When the group arrives on the island, they obviously lack self-confidence because of their weight. But after a couple of days in each other's company, they soon start walking around the beach in next to nothing - but so what? They make up a rather intimidating group when they are all on the beach together and it would be a bold passer-by who would laugh at them.

This man is 37 stone (i.e. 518 lbs or 235 kg)

The real question is what they will do when they return to England, go their separate ways and become involved again in the everyday problems they constantly face.

Some of the couples have decided just to accept themselves and accept their weight problems. Other couples have decided to try to lose weight.

Lois and I are afraid the couples will soon lose their new self-confidence and just resume their old way of life as soon as the television cameras are turned off and packed away.

We are so cynical ha ha ha!

This hotel's beds need to be incredibly strong - we have no doubts on that score! The 8 people mostly made up couples. Lois and I recently read an article about how many calories you burn during sex. There are several factors that play a part, such as duration, intensity, active or passive roles, etc. An average person who has to throw around an overweight partner can burn quite a lot of calories. But if both parties are overweight, this effect must be quite limited, we think.

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