Danskcolin: Torsdag den 2. november 2017

09:30 Vi går i gang med at rydde op og støvsuge i huset, fordi vores U3A danske gruppes næste møde er bestemt til i dag kl 14:30 hos os. Vi er næsten færdige med det hele, da vi finder ud af, via email og telephone, at et par medlemmer ikke kan komme, så vi beslutter os for at udskyde mødet til den næste gang, 2 uger fra i dag, den 16. november. Gruppen er for tiden i gang med at læse en spændende danske krimi-novelle, ”Forbandet” af Gittemie Eriksen, og det er vigtigt at ingen medlem går glip af de seneste udviklinger i plottet.

Jeg beregner nu, at vi når til ”den sex-scene” den 30. november – min tidligere prognose var den 16. november. Scenen skildrer novellens helt, landbetjent Per Jansson, der tilsyneladende prioriterer sex med sin kone over at undersøge et dobbeltmord – du godeste, sikke et vanvid!

Jeg håber på, at vores blandet køn gruppens medlemmer ikke vil blive pinlige, når vi skal læse scenen højt og oversætte den til engelsk. Yikes! Vi får se! Denne uvished bliver nu mere spændende, end selve plottet ha ha ha!

11:00 Jeg lytter til radio, et interessant program, der handler om den franske amatør-psykolog, Emile Coué, der fandt på den berømte motto: ”Every day in every way I’m getting better and better.” / ”hver dag bliver jeg på alle måder bedre og bedre”” / « Tous les jours, à tout point de vue, je vais de mieux en mieux ».

Jeg har altid haft en svaghed for selvhjælpbøger, og for idéer som for eksempel, selvstændig forbedring, kraften i positive tænkning osv, en svaghed, som jeg arvede fra min mor, synes jeg, og som jeg selv har videregav til Sarah, vores datter i Australien.

Selvom Emil Coué var franskmand, var hans indflydelse, hvad angår positiv tænkning, meget større i Storbritannien og USA, end i selve Frankrig. Jeg kan ikke undgå at spekulere om, om denne popularitet i den engelsktalende verden stammede fra, at hans berømte motto rimer delvis på engelsk ”every day, in every way”, hvilket desværre ikke sker på fransk.

I Frankrig var hans indflydelse set først og fremmest i området af at hjælpe med at overgå smerter, og jeg kan igen ikke undgå at spekulere om, om dette effekt stammer fra den franske motto ”ça passe, ça passe”, der falder lettere på tungen, og lyder blødere og blidere end den engelske/danske pendant (it’s going, it’s going / det går over, det går over).

Indflydelsen af Coués motto er udbredt i populær kultur i den engelsktalende verden, for eksempel det var devisen af Frank Spencer i den populære britiske sitcom, ”Some Mothers Do ’Ave ’Em”, og dukker op endda i teksten af John Lennons sang ”Beautiful Boy”.

Frank Spencer - ”Every day in every way I’m getting better

and better” var hans devise.

John Lennon refererede til Coués motto i sangen,

han komponerede om sin lille søn, Sean

Jeg har altid være optimist af natur, og jeg finder det forholdvis nemt at adoptere et positivt synspunkt, men man må altid huske, at hvis man adopterer et positivt synspunkt på trods af for mange negative omstændigheder, er det den der fucking virkelighed, der har det sidste ord – pokkers!!!

Det er interessant at professionelle psykologer i årevis plejede at nedsable Coués idéer, fordi de dengang i 1920’erne og 1930’erne arbejdede hårdt på at legitimere deres profession som en ægte videnskab, og de mente, at en amatør som Coué godt kunne true at sabotere deres indsatser. Men i dag kan Coués idéer ses som grundlaget for nutidens ”kognitiv terapi”.

12:30 Vi spiser frokost – Lois’s hjemmelavede borsjtj igen, nam nam! Bagefter går jeg i seng for at tage en gigantisk eftermiddagslur. Jeg står op kl 15 og vi kører ind til landsbyen. Vi smutter ind i det lokale postkontor for at afsende en pakke til Lois’s grandniece i Oxford, sin navnesøster, ”Lille” Lois, der i morgen fylder 8 år.

18:00 Vi spiser aftensmad og ser lidt fjernsyn. De viser det seneste (4.) afsnit af Big Bang Theorys nye serie.

Et morsomt afsnit, der delvist kredser om god kemi og en ny ”bonding” mellem Penny og Leonards mor Beverly (Pennys svigermor), den berømte psykolog. Beverly fortæller Penny, at hun i går aftes spiste kubansk mad hos en mand, som hun efter havde utilfredsstillende samleje med. Godt at vide, Beverly!

Lois og jeg synes begge to, at selve Leonard begynder at se decideret midaldrende ud, men det er juryen stadig ude om.

Leonard: begynder han at se decideret midaldrende ud?

Både Lois og jeg blev tidligere på dagen lidt chokeret, da vi så et billede i næste ugens Radio Times-tidsskrift. Ved første øjekast troede vi at det var Penny fra Big Bang Theory, men det viste sig, at det var den 56-årige matematiker, Carol Vorderman, værten at tv-quizzen Countdown i 1980’erne.

Carol synes at være meget opsat på at forblive ung, have unge kærester og et pulserende sexliv, gå til rockkoncerter osv. Vi synes, hun tager overhånd lidt! Det er tid at begynde at ældre med ynde, ligesom os, Carol ha ha ha!

Matematikeren Carol Vorderman som tv-vært i 1980’erne

nutidens Carol – er det ikke tid at ældre med ynde,

Carol, ligesom Lois og mig? ha ha ha

Disse er de slags ting, Lois og jeg nu til dags tænder på at diskutere. Vi er blevet så overfladiske ha ha ha!

22:00 Vi går i seng – zzzzzz!!!!

English translation

09:30 We get started with clearing up and vacuuming in the house because our U3A Danish group's next meeting is scheduled for here today at 2:30pm. We are almost done with everything when we find out by email and telephone that a couple of members cannot come so we decide to postpone the meeting till the next time, 2 weeks from today, 16 November. The group is currently reading an exciting Danish crime novella, "Accursed" by Gittemie Eriksen, and it is important that no member misses the latest developments in the plot.

I now calculate that we will reach "that sex scene" on November 30th - my previous forecast was November 16th. The scene depicts the novella's hero, Constable Per Jansson, apparently prioritising sex with his wife over investigating a double murder - good grief, what madness!

I hope that the members of our mixed sex group will not be embarrassed when we have to read the scene aloud and translate it into English. Yikes! We'll see! This uncertainty is now becoming more exciting than the plot of the novella itself ha ha ha!

11:00 I listen to the radio, an interesting program about the French amateur psychologist Emile Coué, who thought of the famous motto: "Every day in every way I'm getting better and better." / "Tous les jours, à tout point de vue, je vais de mieux and mieux", in French.

I have always had a weakness for self-help books, and for ideas such as self-improvement, the power of positive thinking, etc., a weakness that I inherited from my mother, I think, and which I in turn have passed on to Sarah, our daughter in Australia.

Although Emil Coué was a Frenchman, his influence in terms of positive thinking was much greater in Britain and the United States than in France itself. I cannot help wondering if this popularity in the English-speaking world stemmed from the fact that his famous motto partly rhymes in English, "every day, in every way", which unfortunately does not happen in French.

In France, his influence was seen primarily in helping to overcome pain, and again I cannot help wondering if this effect comes from the French motto "ça passe, ça passe", which trips more easily off the tongue, and sounds softer and gentler, than the English equivalent (it's going, it's going).

The influence of Coué's motto is widespread in popular culture in the English-speaking world, for example, it was the watchword of Frank Spencer in the popular British sitcom, "Some Mothers Do 'Ave' Em", and even appears in the lyrics of John Lennon's song "Beautiful Boy ".

Frank Spencer - "Every day in every way I'm getting better

and better" was his watchword.

Beautiful Boy: John Lennon referred to Coué's motto in the song

he composed about his little son, Sean

I have always been optimistic by nature and I find it relatively easy to adopt a positive point of view, but one must always remember that if you adopt a positive point of view in the face of too many negative circumstances, it is that bastard reality that has the last word - damn !!!

It is interesting that professional psychologists for years used to rubbish Coues's ideas because in the 1920s and 1930s they were then working hard to legitimize their profession as a genuine science, and they thought that an amateur like Coué could well threaten to sabotage their efforts. But now Coué's ideas can be seen as the basis for today's "cognitive therapy".

12:30 We have lunch – Lois’s home-made borshch again, yum yum! Afterwards I go to bed and take a huge afternoon nap. I get up at 3pm and we drive into the village. We pop into the local post office to send a package to Lois's grandniece in Oxford, her namesake, "Little" Lois, who turns 8 years old tomorrow.

18:00 We have dinner and watch a bit of television. The latest (4th) episode of the Big Bang Theory's new series is on.

A fun episode, partly about good chemistry and a new bonding between Penny and Leonard's mother Beverly (Penny's mother-in-law), the famous psychologist.

Beverly tells Penny that last night she ate Cuban food at the house of a man whom she afterwards had unsatisfactory intercourse with. Good to know, Beverly!

Lois and I both think that the Leonard himself is beginning to look decidedly middle-aged, but the jury is still out on that one.

Leonard: is he beginning to look decidedly middle-aged?

Both Lois and I got a bit shocked earlier in the day when we saw a picture in next week's Radio Times magazine. At first glance, we thought it was Penny from the Big Bang Theory, but it turned out that it was the 56-year-old mathematician, Carol Vorderman, who hosted the TV Quiz Countdown in the 1980s.

Carol seems to be very keen on staying young, having young lovers and a vibrant sex life, going to rock concerts, etc. We think she is going a bit over the top. It's time to start growing old gracefully, like us, Carol ha ha ha!