Mandag den 13. november 2017

09:30 Endnu et telefonopkald til vores bank, stadig som en konsekvens af den nylige hændling, hvor nogen prøvede at bruge Lois’ betalingskortnummer 5 gange svigagtigt (ca 1200£ i alt) – vi fortæller dem, de har taget fejl i vores seneste kontoudtog, og har klassificeret et af vores ægte køb som svigagtigt. Hvor meget tid vi spilder, lige på grund af en eller anden sjuft har prøvet at stjæle vores penge – vi er kun et par pensionister, din sjuft! Hav ondt af os, vi bønfalder dig!!!

10:30 Lois går en kort tur rundt omkring på den lokale fodboldbane, og jeg går i gang med at læse endnu 5 sider af min danske roman, ”Klinkevals” af Jane Aamund. Romanens handling udspiller sig først i 1900-tallet. Plottet begynder at peppe op, ingen tvivl om det! Den pragtfulde Juliane, nu pludselig en nogle-og-30-årig enke og enlig mor til to teenagere, har mødt en charmerende yngre sorthåret mand af ungarsk oprindelse, den 21-årige Otto.

Den pragtfulde Mette Lisby, der spiller Juliane i filmen fra 1999.

Jeg læste i går om første gang, Juliane går i seng med Otto i hans lille lejlighed. Hun chokerer ham lidt ved at vise sig at være så egensindig og seksuelt selvhævende i dynerne. Men de ender begge ud med at føle sig meget forelskede i hinanden og jublende glade for, at de har fundet hinanden. De glæder sig til at have et langt og tilfredsstillende forhold sammen.

Pelle Koppel som Otto, med Mette Lisby som Juliane, i den nylige film

Efter endt samleje i Ottos seng, falder parret i søvn. Juliane har helt glemt om, at hun har 2 teenagebørn derhjemme – hun vågner pludselig op kl 1, mindes om hendes børn, op og skrider hjem.

Resten af natten, tilbage i sin egen seng, sover hun ikke ret godt, for hun er så jublende glad. Hun tænker atter og atter på Otto og mindes deres elskov, og begynder at planlægge deres fremtid sammen. Hun beslutter imidlertid at hendes forhold til den yngre Otto må forblive en hemmelighed. Hun vil ikke have, at hendes søstre laver sjov med hende på grund af alderforskellen.

J Vincent Edwards'  ”The Light is Dark Enough” (eller omvendt)

Men desværre er det ofte tilfældet, at tragedie rammer netop dengang vi er ved at fejre vores største triumfer. Og det er det, der sker i denne roman også, for den følgende dag opdager Juliane, at hendes søsters børn er blevet diagnosticeret med difteri, og den lille dreng er så alvorligt syg, at hans tilfælde allerede er håbløst.

Moralen er, at det er netop da, når dit livs problemer endelig virker at være løst, og vejen frem for første gang virker klar, at tragedier rammer, når man venter dem mindst. Så pas på, hvis alt synes at være for godt til at være sandt – fordi noget modbydeligt venter lige rundt om hjørnet, det har jeg ikke nogen tvivl om !!!!

Det er aldrig en god idé at være overmodig. Husk General Custers ord i starten af slaget ved Little Bighorn (1876): ”Hvor kom alle de forbandede indianer fra?”

General Custer - overconfident?

12:30 Vi spiser frokost og bagefter går jeg i seng for at tage mig en gigantisk eftermiddagslur – zzzzzz!!!! I mellemtiden smutter Lois ind hos naboerne (Bill og Mary) for at snakke lidt med Mary, der lider af mild demens. Lois er så varmhjertet. Hvis bare jeg lignede hende mere.

15:00 Jeg står op og hopper på min kondicykel. Jeg cykler 7,5 miles (12,5 km). Jeg tænder på min smartphone og ser på en video på YouTube, mens jeg cykler: en australsk version af ”Are You Being Served?”, en britisk sitcom fra 1970’erne. Skuespillerne er alle australiere, bortset fra John Inman, der spiller sin traditionelle rolle som hr. Humphries.

Meget underholdende, selvom jeg genkender plottet og scriptet fra den oprindelige britiske version. Sitcommen i sin oprindelige form udspillede sig i tøjafdelingen af et fiktivt stormagasin i London, der hed ”Grace Brothers”, men desværre var ”Grace Brothers” navnet af en virkelige liv stormagasin i Australien, så programmagerne måtte skifte navnet i den australske version: de kaldte det ”Bone Brothers”. Derfor hedder stormagasinets 90-årige ejer ”Unge hr Bone”, i stedet for ”Unge hr Grace”, men ligesom i den oprindelige version har ”unge hr Bone” sine 2 attraktive assistenter, sekretæren og sygeplejersken. Du godeste, sikke en skør verden vi lever i  !!!!!

"Unge hr Bone"

Unge hr Bones sekretær og sygeplejerske – sikke et vanvid!

I modsætning til Unge hr Bone, synes britiske Unge hr Grace (Harold Bennett)

at være meget mere affærdig – men det springer jeg over ha ha ha!

Jeg mistænker at Unge hr Graces assistenter skulle have været henholdsvis sikre for ”vandrende hænder” og alt det der, men Unge hr Bone ser lidt farligere ud i mine øjne. Han er australier, så kan det være, at han spillede en masse sport, da han var ung, og han har holdt sig i form. Men det er jeg ikke helt sikker på.

17:00 Jeg tjekker op på mit blodtryk for 9, gang i 10 dage. Det synes at være ok, gudskelov.

Jeg tjekker op på mit blodtryk igen - det synes at være ok, gudskelov

18:00 Vi spiser aftensmad og bruger resten af aftenen på at se lidt fjernsyn. De viser den første del af en klassisk serie, ”Howards End”, baseret på EM Forsters berømte roman. Lois’s valg, men jeg gør mit bedste at følge med i plottet og figurerne.

Jeg har et problem med periodedramaerne i fjernsyn, fordi jeg har tendens til at blande forskellige figure sammen – de ligner hinanden så meget. Og der er utrolig mange figurer. Også, jeg har tendens til at blande alle navnene sammen, hvilket er lidt af en hindring.

Lois hjælper mig med at følge med i plottet – hun har læst romanen. Jeg vil prøve hårdere næste uge.

22:00 Vi går i seng – zzzzzzz!!!!!!

English translation

09:30 Yet another phone call to our bank, still following on from the recent incident when someone tried to use Lois's debit card number fraudulently 5 times (amounting to about £1200 in all) - we tell the bank they have made a mistake in our latest bank statement and have classified one of our genuine purchases as fraudulent. How much time we waste, just because some sicko has tried to steal our money - we are only a a couple of retirees, you sicko! Have pity on us, we beg of you !!!

10:30 Lois goes for a short walk around the local football field, and I get started with reading another 5 pages of my Danish novel, "Klinkevals" by Jane Aamund. The action of the novel is set in the early 1900s. The plot is starting to hot up, no doubt about that! The gorgeous Juliane, now suddenly a 30-something widow and single mother to two teenagers, has met a charming, younger, dark-haired man of Hungarian origin, the 21-year-old Otto.

The gorgeous Mette Lisby, who plays Juliane in the movie from 1999.

I read yesterday about the first time Juliane goes to bed with Otto in his little apartment. She shocks him a bit by proving to be so headstrong and sexually assertive under the covers. But they both end up feeling very much in love with each other and deliriously happy that they have found each other. They are looking forward to having a long and satisfying relationship together.

Pelle Koppel as Otto, with Mette Lisby as Juliane, in the recent movie

After intercourse in Otto's bed, the couple fall asleep. Juliane has completely forgotten that she has 2 teenage children at home - she suddenly wakes up at 1 a.m., remembers about her children, gets up and rushes home.

The rest of the night, back in her own bed, she cannot sleep, she is so deliriously happy. She thinks over again and again about Otto and recalls their love-making blow by blow, and starts to plan their future together. However, she decides that her relationship with the younger Otto must remain a secret. She does not want her sisters to make fun of her because of the age difference.

J Vincent Edwards'  "The Light is Dark Enough" (or vice versa)

But unfortunately, it is often the case that tragedy strikes just when we are celebrating our greatest triumphs. And that's what happens in this novel too, for the following day, Julian discovers that her sister's children have been diagnosed with diphtheria and the little boy is so seriously ill that his case is already hopeless.

The morale is that it's precisely when your life's problems finally seem to be resolved, and the way forward seems clear for the first time, that tragedies hit, when you expect them the least. So beware if everything seems to be too good to be true - because something horrible is waiting just around the corner, I've got no doubts on that score !!!!

It's never a good idea to be over-confident. Remember General Custer's words at the beginning of the Battle of Little Bighorn (1876): "Where did all those damned Indians come from?"

General Custer - overconfident?

12:30 We have lunch and afterwards I go to bed and take a gigantic afternoon nap - zzzzzz !!!! Meanwhile, Lois swings by the neighbors (Bill and Mary) to have a little chat with Mary who suffers from mild dementia. Lois is so warmhearted. If only I were more like her.

15:00 I get up and hop up on my exercise bike. I cycle 7.5 miles (12.5 km). I turn on my smartphone and watch a video on YouTube while I'm cycling: the Australian version of "Are You Being Served?", a British sitcom from the 1970s. The actors are all Australians, except for John Inman, who plays his traditional role as Mr. Humphries.

Very entertaining, even though I recognize the plot and the script from the original British version. The sitcom in its original form was set in the clothing department of a fictional department store in London called "Grace Brothers", but unfortunately, "Grace Brothers" was the name of a real life department store in Australia, so the programme-makers had to change the name in the Australian version: they called it "Bone Brothers".

That’s why the department store's 90-year-old owner is called "Young Mr. Bone", instead of "Young Mr. Grace", although as in the original version, "Young Mr. Bone" has 2 attractive assistants, the secretary and the nurse. My god, what a crazy world we live in !!!!!

"Young Mr. Bone"

Young Mr. Bone's secretary and nurse - what madness!

Unlike “Young Mr. Bone”, the British “Young Mr Grace” (Harold Bennett) seems

much more decrepit - but I'm going to let that one slide ha ha ha!

I suspect that Young Mr Grace's assistants should have been safe from "wandering hands" etc, but Australian “Young Mr. Bone” looks a bit more dangerous to my eyes. As he is Australian, it may be that he played a lot of sports when he was young and he has kept in shape. But that's something I'm not entirely sure about.

17:00 I check up on my blood-pressure for the 9th time in 10 days. It seems to be ok, thank goodness.

I check up on my blood-pressure again. It seems to be ok, thank goodness

18:00 We have dinner and spend the rest of the evening watching television. The first part of a classic series, "Howards End", is on, based on EM Forster's famous novel.

Lois's choice, but I do my best to follow along with the plot and the characters.

I have a problem with period dramas on television because I tend to get the characters mixed up - they all look so similar. And there are incredible large numbers of characters. Also, I tend to mix up their names, which is a bit of an obstacle.

Lois helps me follow along with the plot - she has read the novel. I will try harder next week.

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