Danskcolin: Mandag den 6. november 2017

10:30 Vi kører over til vores veninde, Roses hus, for at hente hende. Hun har en aftale ved det lokale hospitalets øjenafdeling – de vil gerne være helt sikre på, at hun har brug for sin 2. øjenoperation for grå stær. Du godeste! Selve Lois havde kun for et par uger siden sin første operation for grå stær. Det er en epidemi.

Jeg ved faktisk at alle i vores alder har grå stær, men det hele drejer om, hvor stor de grå stær er og hvor hurtigt de vokser. Jeg bestilte selv en aftale ved min optiker for et par uger siden, og hun bekræftede til mig, at jeg havde grå stær, som alle andre i min alder. Men heldigvis er mine grå stær stadig meget meget små, ligesom de var for 5 år siden. Optikeren sagde, at tal om en operation er mange år væk, gudskelov.

Min sidste operation fandt sted i ca. 1952, da jeg havde min mandler fjernet, hvilket dengang var en næsten rutinemæssig skridt for alle unge børn i England. Jeg blev bedøvet ved hjælp af chloroform.

Tilbageblik til 1953: (fra venstre til højre) mig (7 år), min lillebror Steve (1) og

min lillesøster Kathy (5) ved siden af drivehusene i Bradford Moor Park.

Bradford Moor-Parkens drivhuse før 1914.

De er nu alle blevet revet ned, desværre.

Efter min operation spillede jeg en stribe små roller i forskellige skoledramaer – i 1954 spillede jeg en 8-årig barn i skolens julespil: ikke en stor udfordring, men i det mindste havde jeg ikke nogen brug for en operation for at blive accepteret af julespillets instruktør. Jeg var selv dengang tilhænger af ”metodeskuespil” – jeg ”blev” til dette 8-årige barn, der ikke var så begiven akademisk, som mig.

Beyoncé, den verdensbekendte sangerinde, må desværre have adskillige operationer for at forberede sig på sin rolle i remaken af ”Løvernes konge” (rapport den 2. november www.onion.com) : rygsøjlen og bækkenbenene skal genoprettes så hun kan gå komfortabelt på alle fire. Musklerne skal slettes og fastgøres langs den modificerede skelet, så falankserne kan omstruktureres – de må kunne fungere som poter. Løvepels skal transplanteres over hele hendes kød, og efter alle hævelserne er blevet væk, skal piskerne og halen transplanteret som det sidste skridt.

Beyoncé, den verdensbekendte sangerinde, må desværre have adskillige operationer

for at forberede sig på sin rolle i remaken af ”Løvernes konge”.

Jeg beundrer Beyoncé – hun mangler ikke mod, det ved jeg med sikkerhed. Sin kollega, John Oliver, der skal spille fuglen Zazu har lidt af alvorlige infektioner, efter hans krop afviste sin nye næb.

11:00 Mens Rose er i øjenafdelingen, Lois og jeg kører hjem og venter på, at Rose ringer til os og fortæller os, hun er færdig og klar til at hentes. Jeg går i gang med at klippe græsplænen foran huset, men græsset er meget vådt – vi havde frostvejr i nat. Jeg beslutter at vente til i morgen med at klippe de græsplæner, der ligger bag huset.

12:00 Vi henter Rose foran hospitalet og kører hende hjem. Vi sætter hende af foran hendes hus. Vi kommer hjem og spiser frokost. Bagefter går jeg i seng for at tage mig en gigantisk eftermiddagslur. Jeg står op kl 15 og Lois og jeg slapper af med en kop te i sofaen.

18:00 Vi spiser aftensmad og ser lidt fjernsyn. De viser en interessant dokumentarfilm, der handler om Mary Heath, der i 1928 fløj solo fra Capetown til England, den første til at gøre det. Programmet kredser om Tracey Curtis-Taylors genskabelse af Marys oprindelige bedrift i 2013.

Ikke det slags program Lois og jeg plejer at se, men meget interessant på mange niveauer. Der er de fantastiske syn af Afrika i fugleperspektiv, der får os til at tænke på vores kære datter Sarah, der som teenager sidst i 1990’erne brugte 12 uger på at rejse med lastbil fra Dar-es-Salaam til Windhoek til Harare med ca. 12 andre unge eventyrere. Hun var en genert, introverte ung kvinde, og hun havde lyst til at vinde lidt mere selvtillid, før hun startede på universitet.

I 2013 gentog Tracey Curtis-Taylor Mary Heaths oprindelige

bedrift, og vi ser Afrika i fugleperspektiv

Det er også interessant at høre lidt om Mary Heaths farvelige liv (1896-1939). Hun var en olympiske atlet udover at være verdens første store kvindelige flyver, men hun er i stort set blev glemt til fordel for Amelia Earhart og Amy Johnson.

Mary giftede sig med den 75-årige Sir James Heath i 1927, men besluttede at prøve at flyve solo fra Capetown til London, i stedet for at tage på bryllupsrejse med sin ældre mand.

Det kunne have været, at hun troede, hun ville få mere ”aktion” i Afrika – hun havde planer om at mødes med sin tætte ven (elsker?) Emil, der deltog i det tilsvarende Capetown-Cairo bil-rally, men Emil blev desværre forsinket og parret mødtes aldrig igen. Både Mary og Emil var spærret i frosne ægteskaber og havde lyst til lidt mere begejstring i deres liv, lader det til.

Tracey Curtis-Taylor, der genskabte Marys oprindelige bedrift, mødtes med Marius, Emils barnebarn, i Cairo, og de snakkede lidt om parrets planer om rendez-vous, der desværre blev ikke til noget.

Mary med sin nye mand, den 75-årige Sir James Heath - Mary foretrak

at flyve solo over Afrika i stedet for at tage på bryllupsrejse med James.

Stakkels James!!!!

Mary ankommer tilbage til Croydon Lufthavn, England

Mary havde planer om at mødes i Cairo med sin tætte ven Emil, der samtidig deltog

i det tilsvarende Capetown-Cairo bil-rally, men han blev desværre forsinket

og parret mødtes aldrig. Stakkels Emil !!!!! Og stakkels Mary !!!!

22:00 Vi går i seng – zzzzzzz!!!!!!

English translation

10:30 We drive over to our friend Rose's house, to pick her up. She has an appointment at the local hospital's eye department - they would like to be completely sure that she needs her 2nd eye operation for cataracts. My goodness! Lois herself had her first surgery for cataracts only a few weeks ago. It is an epidemic.

In fact I know that everyone our age has cataracts, but it all hinges on how big the cataracts are and how fast they are growing.

I myself booked an appointment with my optician a couple of weeks ago, and she confirmed to me that I had cataracts like everyone else my age. But fortunately, my cataracts are still very small, just like they were 5 years ago. The optician said that talk about an operation is many years away, thank goodness.

My last operation took place in approx. 1952, when I had my tonsils removed, which was then an almost routine step for all young children in England. I was anesthetized using chloroform.

Flashback to 1953: (left to right) me (7 years), my little brother Steve (1)

and my little sister Kathy (5) by the greenhouses in Bradford Moor Park.

Bradford Moor Park's greenhouses before 1914.

They have now all been demolished, unfortunately.

After my operation I played a bunch of small roles in various school plays - in 1954 I played an 8-year-old child in the school nativity play: not a big challenge, but at least I did not need an operation to be accepted by the play's director. At that time, I was an adherent of "method acting" - I "became" this 8-year-old child, who was not as academically gifted as me.

Beyoncé, the world-famous singer, must unfortunately have several operations to prepare herself for her role in the remake of the Lion King (report of November 2, www.onion.com): her spinal column and pelvic bones have to be readjusted so that she can walk comfortably on all fours. The muscles have to be severed and reattached along the modified skeleton so that the phalanges can be restructured - they must be able to act as paws. Lion fur has to be grafted over the whole of her flesh, and after all the swellings have gone away, the whiskers and tail have to be transplanted as the final step.

Beyoncé, the world-famous songstress, unfortunately has to have

several operations to prepare herself for her role in the remake

of the Lion King.

I admire Beyoncé - she does not lack courage, I know that for sure. Her colleague, John Oliver, who is to play the bird Zazu, has suffered from serious infections since his body rejected its new beak.

11:00 While Rose is in the eye department, Lois and I drive home and wait for Rose to call us and tell us she's done and is ready to be picked up. I get started with mowing the lawn in front of the house, but the grass is very wet - we had a frost last night. I decide to wait until tomorrow to mow the lawns behind the house.

12:00 We pick up Rose in front of the hospital and drive her home. We drop her off in front of her house. We come home and have lunch. Afterwards I go to bed and take a giant afternoon nap. I get up at 3pm, and Lois and I relax with a cup of tea on the couch.

18:00 We have dinner and watch a bit of television. An interesting documentary is on, all about Mary Heath, who in 1928 flew solo from Capetown to England, the first person to do it. The program revolves around Tracey Curtis-Taylor's re-creation of Mary's original achievement in 2013.

Not the kind of program Lois and I usually see, but very interesting on many levels. There are the amazing views of Africa from a bird's eye view that make us think of our dear daughter Sarah who, as a teenager in the late 1990s, spent 12 weeks traveling by truck from Dar es Salaam to Windhoek to Harare with approx.12 other young adventurers. She was a shy, introverted young woman, and she wanted to gain a bit more confidence before she started university.

In 2013, Tracey Curtis-Taylor repeated Mary Heath's original

achievement and we see Africa tonight from a bird's eye view

It is also interesting to hear a little about Mary Heath's colourful life (1896-1939). She was an Olympic athlete in addition to being the world's first great female flyer, but she has been largely forgotten in favor of Amelia Earhart and Amy Johnson.

Mary married the 75-year-old Sir James Heath in 1927, but decided to try to fly solo from Capetown to London instead of going on honeymoon with her elderly husband.

It might have been that she thought she would get more “action” in Africa - she had plans to meet up with her close friend (lover?) Emil, who was taking part in the corresponding Capetown-Cairo car rally, but Emil was unfortunately delayed and the couple never met again. Both Mary and Emil were trapped in fossilised marriages and wanted to have a bit more excitement in their lives, apparently.

Tracey Curtis-Taylor, who re-created Mary's original achievement, met up with Marius, Emil's grandson, in Cairo, and they talked together about the failed rendez-vous.