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 !!!!!!