Torsdag den 5. oktober 2017

09:00 Vi vælter ud af sengen. Jeg går hen rundt om hjørnet til den lokale lægeklinik, for at deltage i min årlige sundhedsgennemgang hos Sarah, min læge, og at høre resultaterne af min årlige blodprøve. Blodprøvens statistik var tilfredstillende og min kolestoraltal var godt, gudskelov.

For 2-3 måneder siden holdt Sarah op med at ordinere mig blodtrykpillerne,  jeg i 7 år har taget, fordi hun sagde, at mit blodtryk var blevet for lavt. I dag måler hun mit blodtryk igen, og hun siger, at det nu er en lille smule på den høje side, men endnu ikke så højt, at jeg bør tage pillerne. Hun beder mig om at teste mig selv to gange om måneden – jeg fortæller, jeg har min egen maskine herhjemme. Det bliver sjovt!!! Jeg elsker at udfærdige diagrammer og graffer – det er, hvad jeg er født til at gøre!

10:15 Jeg kommer hjem og går i gang med at blade igennem de næste 10 sider af en danske kriminovelle, ”Forbandet” af Gitte Eriksen, fordi vores U3A danske gruppes næste møde finder sted hos os i eftermiddag kl 14:30. Lois har besluttet at pjække på grund af sin forkølelse. Hun vil gå i seng efter frokost og ikke deltage i mødet – hvis hun midt i mødet begynder at hoste, vil hun have svært med at stoppe, så vi er enige om, at det er den bedste idé.

Danmark ligner England, fordi der i begge lande er mange rolige landsbyer, hvor bunkevis af drab bliver begået, hvis man tror på, hvad der sker i kriminoveller. Per Janson, den stakkels lokale landbetjent i denne rolige danske landsby, skal undersøge en stribe af mord. Allerede ca. 12 er blevet begået, alle tidligere klassekammerater nu  i 30’erne, og også to af deres tidligere lærere.

I dag blader jeg igennem en morsom scene i novellen, hvor Per Janson, landbetjenten, og sin kone, Vivi, bliver inviteret til middag hos en glamorøs filmstjerne, Rie Raben, der bor i et storslået palads ikke ret langt fra landsbyen.

Rie opfører sig forførende overfor Per i løbet af aftenen, uden at hans kone, Vivi,  bemærker det. Hun rækker ham eksempelvis  sin velmanicurerede slanke hånd, så han kan kysse den og klemme den. Så passer hun på at fastholde Jansons klem, mens hun ser ham lige i øjnene.  Hun bukker sig ned over bordet foran ham, så han kan få frit udsyn til hendes kavalergang. Du godeste! Hun giver ham grønt lys til et eller andet, men præcis hvad? Og hvorfor???

Vores gruppes medlemmer er allerede kommet til den konklusion, at Rie Raben, den verdensberømte glamorøse filmsstjerne faktisk er gerningskvinden og derfor vil hun blive tættere på manden, der er ansvarlig for at undersøge hendes forbrydelser.

Vi mistænker, at hun som barn flyttede fra nabolaget, ændrede sit navn, blev en berømt filmstjerne, og nu er kommet tilbage til landsbyen for at dræbe alle dem af sine eks-kammerater, der for 30 år siden mobbede hende i klassen og de lærere også, der ikke greb ind. 

Men måske, er dette præcis, hvad forfatteren vil have os til at tro! Du godeste, sikke en skør verden vi lever i !!!! Nå, vi får se.

12:00 Lois og jeg spiser frokost og bagefter går vi i seng. Jeg står op kl 13:30 og forbereder mig på vores danske gruppes møde. Lois har besluttet at pjække fra mødet og blive liggende i sengen, så det vil være op til mig at servere té for dem osv, udover at lede mødet. Du godeste – travlt, travlt, travlt!!!  

14:30 Gruppens medlemmer ankommer og vi læser endnu flere sider af ”Forbandet”, oversætte dem til engelsk og kommenterer dem.

Vi har en interessant diskussion om Tic-Tac pastiller. I novellen tager Pers chef, Bruno, en TicTac-pastil op af lommen (uden at byde en til Per – stakkels Per!!!!). Jeg påpeger til gruppen, at TicTac-pastiller  er meget meget små, og hvis man opbevarer dem løst i lommen, bliver de hurtigt dækket med fnug, hvilket er en indsigtsfuld bemærkning efter min mening.

Vi spekulerer om, om danske TicTac-pastiller skal pakkes ud eller skal tages ud af en folie.  Det ville være et vanvid – de er alt for små. Lad os være fornuftige!!!

Jeg mindes, at min far havde for vane at opbevare Polo-pastiller løst i lommerne. Det plejede min mor at beklage sig konstant over.

Jeanette, vores danske veninder, siger at den danske Tiger-kæde har åbnet en butik i midten af Cheltenham. Tiger-butikkerne sælger et stort udvalg af forskellige små varer, herunder slik. Jeg indvilliger i at smutte ind i butikken og snuppe nogle æsker danske Tic-Tacs, så vi endelig kan forstå, hvorfor  politimanden i novellen ikke kviede ved at spise en Tic Tac-pastil, som han tog uindpakket  op af sin beskidte fnuggede lomme.  Du godeste, sikke en skør verden vi lever i !!!!!

Jeanette, vores danske veninde, der hjælper os

med at rette vores udtale og grammatik

16:15 Gruppens medlemmer skal af sted, så slutter mødet. Vores næste møde er bestemt til onsdag den 18. oktober. Lois vælter ud af sengen igen og vi slapper af med en kop te i sofaen.

18:00 Vi spiser aftensmad og bagefter taler vi lidt på Skype med Alison, vores datter i København. Hendes familie er ved at gå igennem en mindre krise for tiden. Ed, Alisons mand, bliver afskediget af sit selskab, og jobbet vil ophøre sandsynligvis ved slutningen af året, men han har ikke modtaget skriftligt varsel endnu, hvilket gør det meget meget svært at planlægge, eller at ansøge om jobs i andre firmaer. Han håber på, at han modtager skriftligt varsel i de næste 2-3 uger.

Alison, vores datter i København, sammen med Ed,

hendes mand, og deres 3 børn.

Det kan være, at familien bliver nødt til at flytte tilbage til England efter hans job i København ophører, så han kan ansøge om nye jobs for alvor – disse jobs kan være hvor som helst i verden. Yikes!

Ali og Ed ejer et hus i byen Haslemere i grevskabet Surrey, men en anden familie lejer huset for tiden, mens de venter på, at deres nye hus er færdig: de får en gamle lade omdannet til en bolig. Deres byggere har sagt, de skal være færdige med projektet sidst ved slutningen af året, men det kan være, at der vil være flere forsinkelser, som der er før i tiden sket.

Et andet problem er børnenes skolegang. De har 3 børn, Josie (11), Rosalind (9) og Isaac (7). De tror, de har råd til at sende Josie på privatskole, men de andre 2 bliver nødt til at gå på offentlig skole, og grevskabet har en lidt urimelig deadline  (den 31. oktober) for at registrere børn (citerende en adres i grevskabet) for at blive accepteret af en eller anden af de lokale offentlige skoler.

Du godeste, problemer, problemer! Jeg misunder dem ikke – det bliver en underlig jul. Og huset, de lejer i København, er selvfølgelig propfyldt med møbler, som de skal enten flytte til England eller sælge eller smide væk).

22:00 Vi går i seng – zzzzzzz!!!!!!

English translation

9:00 We roll out of bed. I walk around the corner to the local clinic for my annual health review with Sarah, my doctor, and to hear the results of my annual blood test. The blood test statistics were satisfactory and my cholesterol level was good, thank goodness.

About 2-3 months ago Sarah stopped prescribing the blood pressure pills I had been taking for 7 years because she said my blood pressure had become too low. Today she measures my blood pressure again, and she says it's a little bit on the high side, but not so high that I have to take the pills. She asks me to test myself twice a month - I tell her I have my own machine at home. It will be fun!!! I love to draw charts and graphs - that's what I was born to do!

10:15 I come home and start browsing the next 10 pages of a Danish crime novella, "Accursed" by Gitte Eriksen, because our U3A Danish group's next meeting is taking place here this afternoon at 2:30pm. Lois has decided to bunk off from the meeting because of her cold. She will go to bed after lunch and not take part in the meeting - if she were to start coughing in the middle of the meeting, she would have trouble stopping so we agree that this is the best idea.

Denmark is similar to England because in both countries there are many quiet villages where bunches of killings go on, if you believe in what happens in crime fiction. Per Janson, the poor local police constable in this quiet Danish village, has to investigate a series of murders. Already about 12 people have been murdered, all former classmates now in their 30s, and also two of their former teachers.

Today, I go through a fun scene in the story where Per Janson, the police constable, and his wife, Vivi, are invited to dinner by a glamorous movie star, Rie Raben, who lives in a magnificent mansion, not far from the village.

Rie behaves seductively towards Per during the evening, without his wife, Vivi, noticing it. For example, she extends her well-manicured slim hand to him to kiss and squeeze. Then she makes sure to hold on to Janson's squeeze while she looks him straight in the eye. She bends down over the table in front of him, so that he can have a free look down her cleavage. My Goodness! She is giving him the green light for something. But what exactly? And why???

Our group's members have already come to the conclusion that Rie Raben, the world-renowned glamorous movie star is actually the murderer and therefore she wants to get closer to the man who is responsible for investigating her crimes.

We suspect that, as a child, she moved from the neighborhood, changed her name, became a famous movie star and has now returned to the village to kill all of her ex-classmates who 30 years ago bullied her in class and also murder the teachers who did not interfere in the bullying.

But maybe this is exactly what the writer wants us to believe! My god, what a crazy world we live in !!!! Well, we'll see.

12:00 Lois and I have lunch and afterwards we go to bed. I get up at 1:30pm and get ready for our Danish group meeting. Lois has decided to bunk off from the meeting and stay in bed, so it will be up to me to serve them tea as well as leading the meeting. My god - busy, busy, busy !!!

14:30 The members of the group arrive and we read yet more pages of "Accursed", translate them into English and comment on them.

We have an interesting discussion about Tic-Tacs. In the short story, Per's boss, Bruno, takes a TicTac out of his pocket (without offering one to Per - poor Per !!!!). I point out to the group that TicTacs are very very small and if you keep them loose in your pocket, they quickly get covered with fluff, which is an insightful comment in my opinion.

We wonder if Danish TicTacs need to be unwrapped or taken out of a foil. It would be a madness - they are way too small. Let's be sensible !!!

I remembered that my father had the habit of keeping Polo mints loose in his pockets. It was something my mother used to complain about constantly.

Jeanette, our Danish friend, says that the Danish Tiger chain has opened a shop in the centre of Cheltenham. The Tiger stores sell a large selection of small household and other items, including confectionery. I agree to pop into the store and grab some boxes of Danish Tic-Tacs so that we can perhaps finally understand why the policeman in the novel did not mind eating a Tic Tac he took loose and unpacked from his dirty fluff-encrusted pocket. Good grief, what a crazy world we live in !!!!!

Jeanette, our Danish friend who helps us,

by correcting our pronunciation and grammar

16:15 The members of the group have to leave, so the meeting ends. Our next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, October 18th. Lois rolls out of bed again and we relax with a cup of tea on the couch.

18:00 We have dinner and afterwards we talk on Skype with Alison, our daughter in Copenhagen. Her family is going through a minor crisis at the moment. Ed, Alison's husband, is being let go by his company, and the job will probably finish at the end of the year, but he has not received written notice yet, which makes it very difficult to plan or to apply for jobs in other companies. He hopes that he will receive written notice in the next 2-3 weeks.

Alison, our daughter in Copenhagen, with Ed,

her husband, and their 3 children

It may be that the family will have to move back to England after his job in Copenhagen ends so that he can apply for new jobs for serious - these jobs could be anywhere in the world. Yikes!

Ali and Ed own a house in the city of Haslemere in the county of Surrey, but another family is renting that house at the moment while waiting for their new house to be ready: they are getting an old barn converted into a home. Their builders have said they will finish the project by the end of the year, but there could be further delays as this has happened before.

Another problem is the schooling of Alison and Ed's children. They have 3 children, Josie (11), Rosalind (9) and Isaac (7). They think they can afford to send Josie to private school, but the other 2 will have to go to state school and the county (Surrey) has a somewhat unreasonable deadline (31st October) for registering children (citing an address in the county) for being accepted by one or other of the local state schools next year.

Good grief, problems, problems! I do not envy them - it will be a weird Christmas. And the house they are renting in Copenhagen is of course jam-packed with furniture, which they will either have to move to England or sell or throw away.

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