Onsdag den 29. november 2017

09:00 Lois og jeg står op, lidt senere, end normalt. Jeg mindes at jeg i dag skal koncentrere mig om at læse et middengelsk digt, der blev skrevet for 600 år siden, ”Sir Gawain og den grønne ridder”. Lyndas U3A ”Making of English” gruppe har dens næste møde på fredag, og dette digt er gruppens nuværende projekt.

Desværre kan jeg ikke komme uden om, at ridderens hud er knaldgrøn. Stakkels ridder!!!! Ridderens kone, Lady Bertilak, har normalt-farvet hud, men digteren siger ikke, om hun er glad for, at have en mand med grøn hud, eller ej. Har det skabt lidt afstand i deres forhold? Måske kan hun ikke svinge sig op til at have sex med ham, og derfor er hun så ivrig til at forføre Sir Gawain, da han tilbringer nogle nætter i den grønne ridderens slot. Men det er jeg ikke helt sikker på – juryen er stadig ude om det!!!

Lord Bertilak (aka den grønne ridder)

i sengen med Lady B.

Lady Bertilak kryber 3 nætter i træk ind i

Sir Gawains soveværelse, mens han er på besøg i parrets slot –

Hun vækker ham ved at kilde ham under hagen.

Du godeste, sikke en redelighed!!!

10:00 Jeg tager min middel-engelsk antologi frem, men jeg har svært ved at koncentrere mig.

I dag ville have været min lillesøster Kathys 70. fødselsdag, hvis hun stadig levede. Hun afgik ved døden uforventet for snart 5 år siden, i februar 2013. Hun efterlod Steve, sin mand, Gill, sin lillesøster og mig, der alle i dag savner hende meget på forskellige måder. Hun var født, da jeg var kun 20 mdr gammel, og jeg husker slet ikke tiden før hun kom til verden. Som barn var hun simpelthen altid der.

ét af et sæt billeder, min mor fik taget af en professionel

fotograf, i andledning af mine 2. fødselsdag:

mig, min mor (26) og Kathy (4 mdr)

Kathy og mig: ”vores første skænderi” (sandsynligvis ikke det første,

og helt sikkert ikke den sidste ha ha ha)

1949walk: Min mor tager os en tur over klinterner og markene omkring

kostskolen ude på landet nær havnebyen Dover, hvor min far arbejdede,

og hvor der var udsigt over den engelske kanal over til den franske kyst.

vores første kys????

Lykkelige dage!!!!

12:30 Vi spiser frokost og bagefter går jeg i seng for at tage mig en gigantisk eftermiddagslur. Jeg står op kl 16, og læser endnu flere vers af ”Sir Gawain og den grønne Ridder”.

Jeg kan ikke modstå fristelsen til at slå de interessante ord op i mine referenceværker. Der er mange sjove ord, der i de seneste 600 år desværre er forsvandt fra vores sprog, for eksempel, ”swang”, der henviser til underlivet: vikingerne brugte et beslægtet ord, ”svangi”, der også henviste til underlivet, men desværre kan jeg ikke finde ordet i det moderne danske sprog – pokkers! Er det for sent at starte en kampagne for at genoplive ordet? Sandsynligvis, ja – pokkers!  

18:00 Vi spiser aftensmad og ser lidt fjernsyn. De viser en interessant dokumentarfilm ”Digging for Britain” (2. del af 4), en serie, der giver en oversigt af hvad landets arkæologer har afdækket i 2017. Dette afsnit handler om udgravninger i det østlige England. Programmets vært er den charmerende Alice Roberts.

Arkæologer har i de sidste få måneder fundt spor af en pludselig teknologisk fremskridt i en 400.000 år gammel stenalderlandsby nær Barnham i Øst-Anglia. De har fundet både meget primitive flintesten-redskaber, der blev brugt for at nedskære dyr, men også i samme området meget mere avancerede stenredskaber, for eksempel håndøkser, og beviser for bruget af ild i landsbyen.

Man ved, at der dengang var to art mennesker i Europa: heidelberg-mænd, og også neandertaler. De spekulerer om, at de primitive stenredskaber var skabt af en homo heidelbergensis befolkning og de mere avancerede redskaber var skabt af indvandrende neandertaler, der også vidste hvordan man kan bruge ild til forskellige formål.

Klimaet dengng var meget anderledes, end i dag: meget varmere, med dyr såsom elefanter, løver osv der holdt til i området – arkæologerne har fundet en del af en elefants stødtand i landsbyen.

For ca 400.000 år siden var der en stor skovrydning-event over hele Europa, muligvis som resultatet af én eller anden naturlig katastrofe, såsom en vulkanudbrud (plus atomvinter) eller et stort meteornedslag. Det er muligt, at skovrydningen førte til stort anlagt befolkningsbevægelser. Måske sporene af neandertaler i Barnham-område udgører de første beviser for en ny indvandrende neandertalisk befolkning i England – der eksisterede dengang en bred landbro mellem England og kontinentet.

Du godeste, sikke en skør verden vi lever i !!!! Det er interessant, at ordet ”neandertaler” mere nyligere er blevet brugt for at beskrive meget dumme mennesker – jeg foreslår til Lois, at det ville være bedre at bruge ordet for at beskrive ikoniske figurer i hightech industrier, som for eksempel den 46-årig Elon Musk, administrerende direktør og produktarkitekt i Tesla Motors, men det er Lois ikke helt sikker på. Juryen er stadig ude om det, skal vi sige.

22:00 Vi går i seng – zzzzzzzz!!!!!!!

English translation

09:00 Lois and I get up a little later than usual. 

I recall that today I have to concentrate on reading a medieval poem written 600 years ago, "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight." Lynda's U3A "Making of English" group has its next meeting on Friday, and this poem is the group's current project.

Unfortunately, I cannot get past the fact that the knight's skin is bright green. Poor knight !!!!

The knight's wife, Lady Bertilak, has normal-colored skin, but the poet does not say if she is happy to have a husband with green skin, or not. Has it created something of a distance in their relationship? Perhaps she cannot bring herself to have sex with him, and that's why she is so eager to seduce Sir Gawain while he is spending a few nights in the green knight's castle. But I'm not entirely sure - the jury is still out on that one !!!

Lord Bertilak (aka the green knight)

in bed with Lady B.

Lady Bertilak creeps into Sir Gawain's bedroom 3 nights in a row 

while he is on a visit to the couple's castle -

she wakes him up by tickling him under the chin.

Good gracious, such goings-on !!!

10:00 I take out my middle English anthology, but I find it hard to concentrate.

Today would have been my little sister Kathy's 70th birthday if she were still alive. She died unexpectedly nearly 5 years ago, in February 2013. She left behind Steve, her husband, Gill, her little sister, and me, who today all miss her greatly in various ways. She was born when I was only 20 months old and I do not remember the time before she came into the world. When we were children, she was just always there.

one of a set of pictures my mom had taken by a professional

photographer, on the occasion of my 2nd birthday:

me, my mother (26) and Kathy (4 months)

Kathy and me: "Our first quarrel" (probably not the first

actually, and certainly not the last ha ha ha)

1949walk: My mother takes us for a walk over the cliffs and fields

surrounding the boarding school out in the countryside near Dover - 

the school where my father worked, and where there was a view of 

the English Channel over towards the French coast.

our first kiss ????

Happy days !!!!

12:30 We have lunch and afterwards I go to bed and take a huge afternoon nap. I get up at 4pm, and read more verses of "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight".

I cannot resist the temptation to look up the poem's interesting words in my reference works. There are many fun words that have disappeared from our language over the past 600 years, for example, "swang", referring to the abdomen: the Vikings used a related word, "svangi", which also refers to the abdomen but unfortunately I cannot find the word in the modern Danish language - damn it! Is it too late to start a campaign to revive the word? Probably, yes - damn it!

18:00 We have dinner and watch television. An interesting documentary is on, "Digging for Britain" (2nd part of 4), a series that gives an overview of what the country's archaeologists have uncovered in 2017. This episode is about excavations in eastern England. The host of the program is the charming Alice Roberts.

In the last few months archaeologists have found traces of sudden technological advances in a 400,000-year-old stone age village near Barnham in East Anglia. They have found both very primitive flint tools that were used to butcher animals, but also in the same area much more advanced stone tools, such as hand-axes, and evidence of the use of fire in the village.

It is known that at that time there were two species of humans in Europe: homo heidelbergensis, and also neanderthals. There is speculation that the primitive rock tools at Barnham were created by a homo heidelbergensis population and that the more advanced tools were created by immigrant neanderthals who also knew how to use fire for various purposes.

The climate was very different from today: much warmer, with animals such as elephants, lions, etc., hanging out in the area - the archaeologists have found a part of an elephant's tusk in the village.

About 400,000 years ago, there was a major deforestation event all over Europe, possibly as the result of some natural disaster, such as a volcanic eruption (followed by an atomic winter) or a major meteor strike. It is possible that the deforestation led to large population movements. Perhaps the traces of neanderthals in the Barnham area constitute the first evidence of a new immigrant neanderthal population in England - at that time there was a wide land-bridge in existence between England and the continent.

My god, what a crazy world we live in !!!! It is interesting that the word "neanderthals" has more recently been used to describe very stupid people - I suggest to Lois that it would be better to use the word to describe iconic characters in high tech industries, such as the 46-year-old Elon Musk, managing director and product architect at Tesla Motors, but Lois is not entirely sure. The jury is still out on that one, let's say.

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

Tirsdag den 28. november 2017

08:30 Lois og jeg går i bad og står op.

10:00 Min ven, ”Magyar” Mike, ankommer og vi lærer ungarsk i en time. Vi tager vores lærebog frem, Assimils ”Ungarsk uden besvær”, læser den 21. lektion og beslutter at skifte lærebog næste uge og gå tilbage til det grundlæggende materiale. Mikes sproglige færdigheder er begrænsede. Han kan klare sig godt, når vi er i gang med at mestre de mere basale grammatik og  ordforråd, men han har altid svært ved at takle de mere avancerede lektioner. Heldigvis har vi begge ca. 10 forskellige ungarske lærebøger og det er forholdsvis nemt at skifte fra den ene til den anden.

”Magyar” Mike (til venstre), sammen med ”Magyar” Mary, sin kone (til højre)

og Stephen, deres barnebarn, på en bakke med udsigt over byen Prag.

Mike har boet hele sit liv i en lille landsby ude på landet, bortset fra hans 2-års tjeneste i det kongelige luftvåbnet i 1950’erne som værnepligtig. Han taler med en stærk lokal accent. I dag har han medbragt en lille anekdote, som han deklamerede med den lokale dialekt, hvilket er meget morsomt. Sprog og dialekter er så fascinerende, ikke?

Mikes anekdote, som han declamerer med en stærk lokal dialekt:

det hele får ungarsk til at virker som en barneleg, ingen tvivl om det ha ha ha!

12:30 Frokost og bagefter eftermiddagslur. Jeg står op kl 15 og går i gang med at læse et uddrag fra et middelengelsk digt, ”Sir Gawain og den grønne ridder”, fordi Lyndas U3A ”Making of English” gruppe har dens månedlige møde på fredag i byens bibliotek, og dette digt er gruppens nuværende projekt.

Jeg prøver at forstå digtets almindelige plot. Handlingen spiller sig ud på nytårsdag i Camelot, Medlemmerne af kong Arthurs hof er i gang med at udveksle julegaver og venter på, at julefrokosten starter, når kongen beder en eller anden hofmand først om at fortælle selskabet et eller andet spændende eventyr. Men for øvrigt, hvorfor er de en uge sent på den med julelorten? Jeg synes, man skal får os til at vide ha ha ha!

Men denne hyggelige scene bliver afbrudt, da en gigantisk figur, helt grøn i udseende og ridende på en grøn hest, løber uventet i kort galop ind i hallen. Han har ingen rustning på, men bærer en økse i den ene hånd og en hollygren i den anden.

Han nægter at bekæmpe nogen der med den begrundelse, at de alle er alt for svage til at takle ham. Han insisterer på, at han er kommet til et venligt "julespil": han beder en eller anden hofmand om at slå ham en gang med hans økse, forudsat at den grønne ridder senere kan give  slaget tilbage i et år og en dag. Han lover, at hans fantastiske økse vil tilhøre den der takler ham.

Den grønne ridder med sin dejlige økse: men hvorfor er du så grøn, sir ridder?

For mit vedkommende er det lidt af et mysterium, hvorfor den arrogant ridder er helt grøn i udseende, og rider på en grøn hest osv. Er dette virkelig nødvendigt for plottet?

Og er hans grønne påklædning tilrådelig, i betragtning at han lidt af et eller andet hudproblem? Rød påklædning ville have gjort en bedre kontrast, synes jeg. Min afdøde far var rødhåret, og kunne godt lide at have noget grønt på.

Jeg troede før, at ”den grønne ridder” må have været til økologiske emner, og måske plejede at spise sundt osv. Han plejede at ride på en hest, så hans CO2 aftryk ville have været ganske lavt – ingen tvivl om det. Men jeg troede forkert – han er mere end glad for at spise kong Arthurs kødretter, hvoraf nogle ikke var lokalt fremskaffede.

Ved første øjekast er uddraget lidt kedeligt efter min mening, med en lang beskrivelse af ridderen, hans hest, hans påklædning: lidt kedeligt, fordi når det kommer til stykket, er alt grønt, grønt og grønt igen, hvilket er lidt monotont (og monokromt). Selve hans hår er grønt, hvilket er lidt skuffende – digteren gik glip af sin chance for at beskrive det som rødt for eksempel. Men det springer jeg over – du godeste, sikke et vanvid!!!! 

Jeg bemærker bare, at den grønne ridders moderne pendant, Green Lantern, begrænser sig til grøn påklædning – hans hud er helt normal, hvilket er lidt betryggende, det må jeg indrømme.

Ridderens forslagtede ”julespil”, der involverer at lege med økser, synes af være lidt farligt efter min mening, men vi må ikke glemme, at handlingen udspillede sig i de dage, før ”sundhed og sikkerhed” blev til verdens nye religion, så det springer jeg også over ha ha ha.

17:30 Vi spiser aftensmad, lidt tidligere, end normalt, og bagefter skal vi ud. Lois ønsker at deltage i et bibelseminar, der finder sted i aften i byen Brockworths bibliotek. Selvom Lois nu har haft sin øjenopertaion for grå stær, og hun er tilladt at køre bil, er hun stadig lidt nervøs for at gøre det i mørket. Jeg kører hende over til Mari-Anns hus i Hatherley – Mari-Ann vil køre hende over til Brockworth.

19:00 Jeg kører hjem igen. Jeg har lidt alenetid og bruger aftenen på at se lidt fjernsyn. De viser den 4. (og sidste) afsnit af en speciel serie af ”Grand Designs”, der fokuserer på RIBAs (Royal Institute of British Architects) konkurrence for at finde ”årets hus”. Programmets vært er den charmerende Kevin McCloud.

I aften ser vi endnu 4 huse i konkurrencen – der har været ca. 20 huse der deltog, og ved slutningen af aftenens afsnit ser vi dommerne vælge det vindende hus ud af en kortliste af 7.

Det første hus vi ser i aften er et af de grimmeste, jeg nogensinde har se i disse serier. Det afkrydser alle mine personlige grimhed-checkboxe:

1.      Grimt hus, der ødelægger et smukt, charmerende villakvarter.

2.      Massivt hus, med høje lofter og en massiv, ekkoende stue.

3.      Masser af spildt plads.

4.      Ukomfortable sofaer, alt for dybe og alt for lave.

5.      Ser ud som et museum, en kunstgalleri eller et mellemstort selskabs hovedkontor, snarere end et hjem.

Modbydeligt – ingen tvivl om det!!!

det charmerende traditionelle hus, som ejerne rev ned

for at få bygget noget helt modbydeligt – uha, sikke en katastrof!

det massive nye hus, der ødelægger et charmerende villakvarter

en massiv, ekkoende stue med modbydelige sofaer –

du godeste, sikke et vanvid!!!

Ved slutningen af programmet ser vi hvilket hus har vandt konkurrencen. Dommerne har faktisk valgt det grimmeste af alle deltagerne. Men ingen overraskelse der – det springer jeg over ha ha ha!

RIBA's "årets hus", faktisk det grimmeste hus i hele konkurrencen,

men ingen overraskelse der!  Sikke et vanvid !!!!!!

22:00 Lois kommer hjem. Jeg går i seng, men Lois trænger til at geare lidt ned efter aftenens stimulerende bibelseminar, så bliver hun  oppe. Hun vækker mig ikke, da hun hopper op i sengen til mig kl 23. Zzzzzzzzzzzz!!!!!!

English translation

08:30 Lois and I go in the shower and get up.

10:00 My friend, "Magyar" Mike, arrives and we study Hungarian for an hour. We take out our textbook, Assimil's "Hungarian With Ease", read the 21st lesson and then decide to change textbooks next week and go back to the basics. Mike's language skills are limited. He can do okay when we are trying to master the more basic grammar and vocabulary, but he always finds it difficult to cope with the more advanced lessons. Fortunately, we both have about 10 different Hungarian textbooks and it is relatively easy to switch from one to another.

"Magyar" Mike (left) with his wife "Magyar Mary" and

their grandson Stephen, on a hill overlooking Prague

Mike has lived all his life in a small village in the countryside, except for his 2-year service in the Royal Air Force in the 1950s as a conscript. He speaks with a strong local accent. Today he brought in a little anecdote, which he declaimed in the local dialect, which is very funny. Languages and dialects are so fascinating, aren’t they.

Mike's anecdote, which he declaims in a strong local dialect:

The whole thing makes Hungarian seem like child's play, no doubt about that ha ha ha!

12:30 Lunch and afterwards an afternoon nap. I get up at 3 pm and get started with reading an excerpt from a Middle English poem, "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight," because Lynda's U3A "Making of English" group is holding its monthly meeting on Friday in the town's library, and this poem is the group's current project.

I try to understand the general plot of the poem. The action takes place on New Year's Day in Camelot, The members of King Arthur's court are exchanging Christmas presents and waiting for the Christmas party to start when the king asks some courtiers if they can first tell him an exciting story or two. (And incidentally why are they a week late with all the Christmas stuff? I think we should be told!!!!)

But this cosy scene is interrupted when a giant figure, completely green in appearance and riding on a green horse, canters unexpectedly into the hall. He has no armor on, but carries an axe in one hand and a holly branch in the other.

He refuses to fight anyone there on the grounds that they are all too weak to take him on. He insists he has come to have a friendly "Christmas game": he asks someone to strike him once only with his axe, provided that the green knight can come back and return the blow in a year and a day’s time. He promises that his amazing axe will then belong to the man who tackles him.

The green knight with his lovely axe.

But why are you so green, sir knight?

For me it's all a bit of a mystery, why the arrogant knight is completely green in appearance and rides a green horse, etc. Is this really necessary for the story?

And is his green attire advisable considering that he is suffering from some skin problem? Red clothing would have made a better contrast, I think. My late father was redheaded and always liked to have something green on.

I thought previously that the "green knight" must have been into ecological topics, and maybe made it a habit to eat healthy food, etc. It's true that he did normally ride a horse so his carbon footprint would have been quite low - no doubt about that. But anyway I thought wrong - the knight does not really care about environmental issues, and he is more than happy to eat King Arthur's meat dishes, some of which are not locally sourced.

At first glance, the extract is a bit boring in my opinion, with a long description of the knight, his horse, his attire: a bit boring because when you get down to it everything is just green green and green again, which is a bit monotonous (and monochrome). Even his hair is green, which is a little disappointing - the poet missed his chance to make it red for example. But I'm going to let that one slide - my god, what madness !!!!

I merely comment that the green knight's modern counterpart, Green Lantern, limits himself to green attire - his skin is quite normal, which is a little reassuring, I have to admit.

The knight's proposed "Christmas game" that involves playing with axes seems to be a little dangerous in my opinion, but we must not forget that the poem's story was set in the days before "health and safety" became the world's new religion, so I'm going to let that one slide too ha ha ha.

17:30 We have dinner a little earlier than usual and afterwards we go out. Lois wants to attend a Bible seminar taking place this evening in Brockworth library. Although Lois has now had her eye surgery for cataracts and she is allowed to drive a car, she is still a little nervous about doing it in the dark. I drive her over to Mari-Anne's house in Hatherley - and Mari-Ann will drive her over to Brockworth.

19:00 I drive home again. I have a little alone time and spend the evening watching television. They show the 4th (and last) episode of a special series of "Grand Designs" focusing on RIBA's (Royal Institute of British Architects) competition to find "the house of the year". The host of the program is the charming Kevin McCloud.

Tonight we see another 4 houses in the competition - there have been approx. 20 houses taking part and at the end of tonight's episode we watch the judges choosing the winning house out of a short list of 7.

The first house we see tonight is one of the ugliest I have ever seen in these series. It checks all my personal 'ugliness checkboxes' :

1. Ugly house that ruins a beautiful, charming residential neighborhood.

2. Massive house, with high ceilings and a massive, echo-y living room.

3. Lots of wasted space.

4. Uncomfortable sofas, too deep and too low.

5. Looks like a museum, an art gallery or a medium-sized company headquarters rather than a home.

Thoroughly nasty - no doubt about it !!!

The charming traditional house that the owners tore down

to build something completely disgusting in its place  - ugh, what a disaster!

the massive new house that destroys a charming residential neighborhood

a massive, echo-y living room with nasty couches -

good grief, what madness !!!

At the end of the program we will see which house has won the competition. The judges have actually chosen the ugliest of all the competitors. But no surprise there - I'm going to let that one slide ha ha ha!

RIBA's "House of the Year" - the ugliest house in the whole competition.

But no surprise there - what madness !!!!!

22:00 Lois comes home. I go to bed, but Lois needs to wind down a bit after the evening's stimulating Bible seminar, so she stays up. She does not wake me when she hops up into bed with me at 11pm. Zzzzzzzzzzzz !!!!!!

Mandag den 27. november 2017

10:00 Juleforberedelser fortsætter. Jeg logger ind på Snapfish-webstedet og går i gang med at designe  2 fotobøger, som en billedgennemgang af 2017. Vi vil sende dem til vores 2 døtre, Alison i København og Sarah i Perth, Australien, i et forsøg på, at holde vores lille familie sammen – hulk, hulk!!!

Snapfish-webstedet modificerer konstant sit fotobog software, og det føles som om, det er meget anderledes, end sidste gang, jeg brugte det. Men så snart jeg er ”i zonen”, tør jeg ikke tage en pause, så da Lois beder mig om, at gå med hende ind i landsbyen, må jeg sige nej tak. Jeg er færdig kl 13, lidt svimmel i hovedet – pokkers!

de to fotobøger, jeg har i morges designet og bestillet på nettet,

i et forsøg på at holde vores diaspora-ramt familie sammen – hulk, hulk!!!!

I morgen må jeg gå i gang med at afsende julekort, nogle også med julebrev vedlagt, til nogle af navnene på min personlig liste, startende med kontakter i udlandet. Jeg må beslutter, hvilke af mine kontakter ikke har brug for julebrevet på grund af, at de ved allerede, hvad vi i år (ikke) har gjort; også hvilke af mine kontakter skider et stykke om, hvad vi i år (ikke) har gjort. Uha – beslutninger beslutninger ha ha ha!

Mit julebrev, plus 2 af de sædvanlige elendige kalendere,

vi hvert år sender til Lois’ slægtninger i Australien.

De må er kommet til at hade disse kalendere ha ha ha!

Når jeg hvert år fortsætter med at udprinte mit julebrevet, må jeg ikke glemme, at mine aktioner har en indvirkning, om én minimal, på vores lands (og dermed verdens) økonomi. Ifølge den såkaldte sommerfugl-effekt kan et insekt der basker med vingerne et tilfældigt sted i verden starte det, der senere, langt derfra, bliver til en orkan... 

Jeg mindes om, hvad der skete, da den amerikanske familie Dunbar for mange mange år siden besluttede at ophøre med at udgive en printet version af familiens nyhedsbrev, og flyttede til en udelukkende webdistributionsmodel.

Den amerikanske familie Dunbar, der for mange år siden, besluttede at

ophøre deres julebrevs printet version.

Nyhedsbrevets redaktørchef, Phillis Dunbar udsendte en erklæring på det tidspunkt via email, hvis jeg husker godt. "I et hurtigt skiftende julebrevlandskab er det trykte ord blevet en mindre effektiv måde at holde dig orienteret om Dunbar-familiens nyheder på," sagde hun. Men hun forsikrede imidlertid en læserkreds af flere end 60 venner og familiemedlemmer, at December-bulletinen ville forblive den mest pålidelige kilde til opdateringer om Nathans fremskridt i skolen, køb af kæledyr og dødsfald af kæledyr og familiens rejseplaner osv. (rapport Onion News den 3. december 1999).

"Selv når vi gør skridt til at udvide vores online tilstedeværelse, har vi ikke glemt vores grundlæggende principper for journalistisk integritet og feriejubilæum. Vi er meget stolte af vores digitale udgave, og vi tror også, at du kan lide det. "

Kilder bekræftede senere, at familien-Dunbar, som led i deres overgang til digitalalderen, fik elimineret ca. 37 job, og mindre, end 10 år senere startede en ny global økonomisk recession. Resten er historie.

13:00 Vi spiser frokost og bagefter går jeg i seng for at tage mig en gigantisk eftermiddagslur. Jeg står op kl 16.

18:00 Vi spiser aftensmad og bagefter skal Lois ud. Hun ønsker at deltage i det lokale historieselskabs månedlige møde, der finder sted i aften i den lokale Women’s Institute Hall. Vi har overvejet at melde os ind i selskabet, og hun har lyst til at afprøve et møde og rapportere tilbage. I mellemtiden går jeg i gang med at tage af bordet og vaske op.

20:30 Lois kommer tilbage fra det lokale historieselskabs møde, hvor en ung kvindelig australske taler, holdt foredrag om landsbyen Prestburys snart 200-år gamle tiendedelkort eller ejendomskort, der viser hvem ejede hvilket bolig først i det 19. århundrede.

Lois rapporterede, at publikummet til mødet var 90% mandlige, og en flok mænd puffede lidt til hende, som de samledes om det lille udstillingsbord for at få et glimt af en kopi af det oprindelige 1836 landkort. Men hun følte sig ikke truet, på grund af, at de alle var så ældgamle og heldigvis have meget svært ved at stå uden spadserestokke ha ha ha! Men så, det har vi ikke alle hulk hulk ha ha ha

Prestbury er en meget historisk landsby, og daterer fra engel-saksiske tider. Man omtalte den i Dommedagsbogen, som Vilhelm Erobreren fik kompileret i 1086.

uddrag fra Dommedagsbogen (1086)

Prestburys Højegade i det 19. århundrede.

Vi vil sandsynligvis melde os ind i selskabet i januar måned.

21:00 Vi ser lidt fjernsyn (Lois’ valg), en dokumentarfilm, der handler om ”robotbiler”. Programmets vært er det maniske benzinhoved Guy Martin.

Jeg må indrømme, at jeg er lidt overrasket over Lois’ interesse i robotter – hun er blevet meget til dem pludseligt. Vi så en uhyggelig film, ”Ex Machina” for et par aftener siden, og hun har glædet sig meget til at se resten af Channel 4s ”robotsæson” af dokumentarfilm: robotbiler i aften, og senere på ugen, lægerobotter og sexrobotter.

Ex Machina, den uhyggelige film,

vi så for et par dage siden

Lois siger, at det interesserer hende meget, at se hvor mange år, penge, indsatser det tager for selv at begynde at imitere hvad en menneskelig hjerne kan gøre uden besvær. Og jeg kan se hendes point.

Men ærligt talt er jeg personligt meget mere interesseret i det maniske benzinhoved Guy Martins underlige accent, som jeg endeligt identificerer med grevskabet Lincolnshire. Jeg gør lidt forskning på min smartphone, og jeg finder ud af, at han faktisk kommer fra byen Grimsby på Englands østkyste.

I løbet af programmet hører vi det engelske ord ”car” tusindvis af gange. Guy bruger en meget ekstrem ”åben” udtale af vokalen i ordet: det lyder ligesom udtaler, jeg har hørt i Australien, Danmark, også New England. Sprog er meget mere interessante, end biler, robotbiler eller ikke, synes jeg ha ha ha!

Jeg er så intellektuel ha ha ha!

22:00 Vi går i seng – zzzzzzzzz!!!!

English translation

10:00 Christmas preparations continue. I log in to the Snapfish website and start designing 2 photo books as pictorial review of 2017. We will send them to our 2 daughters, Alison in Copenhagen and Sarah in Perth, Australia, in an effort to keep our little family together - sob, sob !!!

The Snapfish site is constantly modifying its photo book software and it feels like it's very different from the last time I used it. But as soon as I'm "in the zone", I do not dare take a break, so when Lois asks me to go with her into the village, I have to say thanks but no thanks. I finish at 1pm, a little dizzy in the head - damn!

The two photo books I have designed and ordered on the web this morning,

in an effort to keep our diaspora-hit family together - sob, sob!!!!

Tomorrow I have to start sending off Christmas cards, some with Christmas newsletter attached, to some of the names on my personal list, starting with contacts abroad. I have to decide which of my contacts do not need the Christmas newsletter because they already know what we have (not) done this year; also, which of my contacts don't give a damn about what we have (not) done this year. Oh dear - decisions decisions ha ha ha!

My Christmas newsletter, plus 2 of the usual awful calendars,

we send each year to Lois' relatives in Australia.

They must have come to hate these calendars ha ha ha!

As I continue to print my Christmas letter each year, I must not forget that my actions have an impact, if only minimal, on our country's (and thus the world's) economy. By the so-called butterfly effect, an insect flapping its wings in some random place in the world, can lead to something starting far away, that becomes a hurricane....

I remember what happened when the American family Dunbar decided many many years ago to stop publishing a printed version of the family newsletter and moved to an exclusively web distribution model.

The American family Dunbar, who many years ago, decided to

stop their print version of their Christmas newsletter.

The editor of the newsletter, Phillis Dunbar, sent out a statement at that time via email, if I remember. "Amid a rapidly-changing Christmas letter landscape, the printed word has become a less effective way to keep you informed about Dunbar family affairs," she said. However, she assured a readership of more than 60 friends and family members that the December bulletin would remain the most reliable source of updates about Nathan's progress in school, pet acquisitions and pet deaths, family travel plans, etc. (Report Onion News on 3 December).

"Even as we move to expand our online presence, we have not forgotten our core principles of journalistic integrity and holiday cheer. We are very proud of our digital edition and we think you will like it too."

Sources later confirmed that the Dunbar family, as part of their transition to the digital age, had eliminated 37 jobs, and less than 10 years later a new global economic recession began. The rest is history.

13:00 We eat lunch and afterwards I go to bed and take a gigantic afternoon nap. I get up at 4pm.

18:00 We have dinner and afterwards Lois goes out. She wants to attend the local history society's monthly meeting taking place this evening in the local Women's Institute Hall. We have thought about joining the society and she wants to try out a meeting and report back. Meanwhile, I get started clearing the table and washing up.

20:30 Lois comes back from the local history society meeting, where a young female Australian speaker, lectured on the town of Prestbury's 200-year-old tithe map or property map, showing who owned which property in first part of the 19th century.

Lois reported that the audience at the meeting was 90% male and a bunch of men jostled her a little while they gathered around the small exhibits table to get a glimpse of a copy of the original 1836 map. But she did not feel threatened, because they all were so ancient and fortunately had a hard time standing without walking sticks ha ha ha! But then don't we all ha ha ha sob sob !!!!

Prestbury is a very historic village, dating from Anglo-Saxon times. It was referred to in the Doomsday Book which William the Conqueror had compiled in 1086.

excerpt from the doomsday book (1086)

Prestbury's High Street in the 19th century.

We will probably join the society in January.

21:00 We watch a bit of television (Lois' choice), a documentary about "robot cars". The host of the program is the manic petrol-head Guy Martin.

I have to admit that I'm a little surprised by Lois' interest in robots - she has got really into them suddenly. We watched a creepy movie, "Ex Machina" a couple of evenings ago, and she has been very excited about seeing the rest of Channel 4's "robot season" of documentary films: robot cars tonight and later in the week, medical robots and sex robots.

Ex Machina, the creepy film

we saw a couple of days ago

Lois says that it is very interesting for her to see how many years, money and effort it takes even to start imitating what a human brain can do without a problem. And I can see her point.

But to be honest, I am personally much more interested in the manic petrol-head Guy Martin's strange accent, which I finally identify to the county of Lincolnshire. I do some research on my smartphone, and I find out that he actually comes from the town of Grimsby on England's east coast.

During the program, we hear the English word "car" thousands of times. Guy uses a very extreme "open" pronunciation of the vowel in the word: it sounds like pronounciations I have heard in Australia, Denmark, also New England. Languages are much more interesting than cars, robotic cars or not, I think ha ha ha!

I'm so intellectual ha ha ha!

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