Friday 26 January 2018

08:00 We go in the shower a little earlier than usual because Ian, our window cleaner, is arriving at 9 o'clock to clean our windows, and the bathroom's windows are only made of frosted glass and do not offer full privacy - yikes!

09:00 I take a little look online and I find Morten Ingemann's latest comic strip. My goodness! I get a bit of a shock.

Danish Ingemann is my favorite cartoonist - no doubt about that! He is especially interested in ugly, overweight, middle aged or older people, the kind of people rarely given attention by most cartoonists.

The Dane, Morten Ingemann, my favorite cartoonist

Today's heart-warming cartoon strip reminds us that when we die, we do not feel any pain or sadness. When we are dead, we no longer suffer and we do not mind the fact that the world carries on. Everything is once again like it was before our birth. It did not bother us, for example, when Henry VIII had another queen beheaded, or when plague ravaged Europe. And future disasters will not bother us.

Our own death does not affect us ourselves, but it can affect others, and that's why we hold funerals so people can mourn their loss with others who feel the same way.

Ingemann reminds us that funerals can also bring a different kind of comfort. In Ingemann's cartoon strip today, two middle-aged men are walking down the road from the church after the end of a funeral. The first man says, "It is strange when you think Buller was so terribly unpopular, that so many came to his funeral." His friend replies, "They wanted to be sure he was dead." Comfort definitely comes in many forms, as people often say.

10:30 We drive over to Up Hatherley, a small suburb of Cheltenham, because Faye, Lois' friend, a member of Lois' church, has invited us for coffee and cake at the new house she moved into a few months back.

Faye is on the surface very sweet, but she has a strong will: underneath, she is quite a tough character - no doubt about that.

In her old house, she was living with her middle-aged son who had a hard time getting a job or holding down a job because of mild psychological problems, lack of self-confidence, or the like - it is not wholly clear. But Faye wanted to move into a very small house and live on her own.

She persuaded her son against his will to sleep on the street one night, so his sister could report him to the council as being homeless. After that the council was obliged to find him a place to live. Tough love, but it worked.

Faye has told Lois about her divorce, many years ago, after her husband began ignoring her, keeping himself to his own room, and finally starting an affair with another woman. Lois says Faye was the innocent party, but of course Lois has only heard her friend's side of history. Who knows what the man had to put up with before he reacted in this way?

12:00 We get very hot in Faye's living room, and the conversation is mainly about cats, and I start to feel a little sleepy. We come back home and have lunch. Afterwards I go to bed and take a huge afternoon nap.

14:30 Lois sticks her head around the bedroom door. She says she is just going up to the village to swing by Waghorne’s, the local butcher's shop, to buy meat, bread and cheese.

15:00 I turn on my smartphone and take a little look at whatsapp. Sarah, our daughter in Perth, Australia, has sent us a charming picture of herself with her 4-year-old twins, on the occasion of Australia Day, celebrated on January 26 each year in memory of the day when the British ships first arrived at Sydney Cove in 1788.

Our daughter Sarah, with Jessie and Lily on Australia Day today

1788: the first British boats arrive in Australia

15:15 I hop up on my exercise bike and cycle 6 miles (10km). Lois comes back and we relax with a cup of tea and a piece of carrot cake.

16:00 We listen a little to the radio, an interesting program called "The Last Word". Lois and I have a habit of trying to hear this program every week because we want to find out if anyone in the last 1-2 weeks has died or not (I have noticed that most weeks exactly 5 deaths occur). The host of the program is the charming Matthew Bannister.

Mary Lee Berners-Lee (née Woods) has died unfortunately, at the age of 93. She was a mathematician and programmer working on the first Ferranti computer (the first commercially developed computer) in a team that developed programs in the computer science faculty at Manchester University - that was back in the days when you had to write programs in machine code, and she used a form of machine code that was partly developed by Alan Turing himself.

She met and married Conway Berners-Lee, another computer expert, while working at Ferranti. Sir Tim Berners-Lee is one of their 4 children: Tim is known for being the inventor of the World Wide Web.

Mary and Conway Berners-Lee in 1954

Mary and Conway taught young Tim math and computer science at the dining table. Poor Tim !!!!

Mary used a formula to work out when their children should go to bed: 'B' (bedtime) = 6 + y / 4, where 'y' = the child's age in years: for example, when Tim was 4, bed time was 7 o'clock the evening, and when he was 8, it was 8 o'clock, etc. Good grief, poor Tim (again) !!!! And what madness !!!!!

Mark E Smith has also sadly died, aged 61. He was an English songwriter and singer, frontman in the British post-punk group "The Fall". A sensitive child who was bullied in school, he decided that to survive, he had to become as aggressive and unpleasant as the boys who bullied him.

The Fall’s Mark E Smith

Smith tended to fall out with The Fall's other group members and then fire them. There were a total of 66 musicians who, at one time or another, played in his group.

A journalist who worked at GQ magazine interviewed Smith and noted down all the things Smith mentioned during the interview that he hated: London, Jane Austen, Beaujolais, psychologists, chemists, Manchester United (football team), the Guardian newspaper, David Bowie, nouvelle cuisine, Princess Diana, Alan Hanson and Alan Shearer (football commentators: "They look like retired policemen: I bet they go shopping together"), Tolkien, David Cameron, and the town of Stockport ("where people sit around and drink port all day and spout gibberish").

My god, the boys who bullied him at school have a lot to answer for, no doubt about that!

18:00 We have dinner and watch television. An old episode of "The Good Old Days" is on, a program that tried to recreate the mood of the old vaudeville theater. The episode was first aired on July 2, 1981, when Lois and I were 35 years old.

A very warm and funny show, including one of our favorite songs, "Jolly Little Polly on the Gee-Gee-Gee", the ring-master's song.

The much-loved ringmaster's song, from "Der Rosenkavalier"

Also, "Show me the way to go home".

"Show me the way to go home" (from "die Meistersinger von Nürnberg")

It's a hard life being a retiree when your body is starting to fall apart. Thank god it's Friday. And Steve, my American brother in law has sent me a picture that gives us hope for tomorrow:

sign seen in front of a gas station in Seattle

22:00 We go to bed. I read 11 pages of my bedtime book, "The Quantum Astrologers Handbook", before I drift off to sleep - zzzzzzzz !!!!!

Danish translation

08:00 Vi går i bad, lidt tidligere, end normalt, fordi Ian, voresvinduespudser kommer kl 9 for at rense vores vinduer, og badeværelsets vinduer kun er af matteret glas og tilbyde ikke fuld fortrolighed.

09:00 Jeg kigger lidt på nettet og jeg finder Morten Ingemanns seneste tegneseriestribe. Du godeste! Jeg får lidt af et chok.

Danske Ingemann er min yndlingstegner  – ingen tvivl om det! Han interesserer sig især for grimme, overvægtige, midaldrende eller ældre folk, de slags mennesker, som de fleste tegnere sjældent giver opmærksomhed til.

Danske Morten Ingemann, min yndlingstegner

Dagens hjertevarmende tegnestribe minder os om, at når vi dør, føler vi ikke nogen smerte eller tristhed. Når vi er døde, lider vi ikke længere, og vi savner ikke, at verden lever videre. Alting er endnu en gang ligesom, det var før vores fødsel. Det generede os ikke, da for eksempel Henrik 8. fik halshugget endnu en dronning, eller da pesten hærgede Europa. Og fremtidens katastrofer vil genere os ikke.

Vores egen død generer os ikke, men det kan genere andre, og derfor holder man begravelser, så folk kan begræde deres tab med andre, der føler det samme.

Ingemann minder os om, at begravelser kan også tilføre en anden slags trøst. I Ingemanns tegnestribe ser gi i dag to midaldrende mænd, der går ned ad vejen fra kirken efter endt begravelse. Den ene mand siger, ”Det er mærkeligt, at selvom Buller var så frygtelig upopulær, så kom der utrolig mange til begravelsen.” Hans ven svarer, ”De vil nok være sikre på, at han var død.” Trøst kommer helt bestemt i mange former, som folk plejer at sige.

10:30 Vi kører over til Up Hatherley, en lille forstad til Cheltenham, fordi Faye, Lois’ veninde, et medlem af Lois’ kirke, har inviteret os til kaffe og kage hos sin nye hus, hvor hun flyttede i for et par måneder siden.

Faye er overfladisk meget sød, men hun har en stærk vilje: inderst inde er hun en meget skrap type – ingen tvivl om det.

I sit gamle hus boede hun sammen med sin midaldrende søn, der hele livet havde haft svært med at få et job, eller blive i et job på grund af milde psykiske problemer, mangel på selvtillid, eller lignende – det er ikke helt klart. Men Faye havde lyst til at flytte ind i et meget lille hus og bo der alene.

Hun overtalte sønnen mod hans vilje til at sove på gaden en aften, så hans søster kunne melde ham til kommunen for at være hjemløs. Så var kommunen forpligtet til at finde ham et sted at bo. Hård kærlighed, men det virkede.

Faye har fortalt Lois om sin skilsmisse, for mange år siden, efter hendes mand begyndte at ignorere hende, holdende sig til sit eget værelset, og til sidst startende en affære med en anden kvinde. Lois siger, at Faye var den uskyldige part, men selvfølgelig har Lois kun hørt sin venindes side af historien. Hvem ved, hvad manden skulle udholde, før han reagerede på denne måde?

12:00 Vi har det meget varmt i Fayes stue, og samtalen har kredset hovedsageligt om katte, og jeg begynder at føle mig lidt søvnig. Vi kommer hjem igen og spiser frokost. Bagefter går jeg i seng for at tage en gigantisk eftermiddagslur.

14:30 Lois stikker hovedet rundt om soveværelsedøren. Hun siger, hun lige går hen i landsbyen for at smutte ind i Waghornes, den lokale slagter, for at købe kød, brød og ost.

15:00 Jeg tænder på min smartphone og kigger lidt på whatsapp. Sarah, vores datter i Perth, Australien, har sendt os et charmerende billede af sig selv med hendes 4-årige tvillinger, i andledning af Australien Dag, fejres den 26. januar hvert år til minde af dagen, hvor britiske både først ankom til Sydney Cove i 1788.

Sarah, vores datter i Australien, med  Jessie og Lily (4) 

i anledning af Australien Dag

Tilbageblik til 1788: de første britiske både ankommer til Australien

15:15 Jeg hopper op på min kondicykel og cykler 6 miles (10km). Lois kommer tilbage og vi slapper af med en kop te og et stykke gulerodskage.

16:00 Vi lytter lidt til radio, et interessant program kaldet ”Det Sidste Ord”.  Lois og jeg har for vane at høre dette program hver uge, fordi vi ønsker at finde ud af, om nogen i de seneste 1-2 uger døde eller ej (jeg har bemærket, at der i de fleste uger sker nøjagtig 5 dødsfald). Programmets vært er den charmerende Matthew Bannister.

Mary Lee Berners-Lee (født Woods) døde desværre, på 93 år. Hun var en matematiker og programmør, der arbejdede på den første Ferranti-computer (den første kommercielt udviklede computer) og i et hold, der udviklede programmer i den computervidenskabelige fakultet på Manchester University i de dage, da man var nødt til at skrive programmer på maskinkode, og hun brugte en form af maskinkode, delvis udviklet af selve Alan Turing.

Hun mødte og giftede sig med Conway Berners-Lee, en anden computer ekspert, mens han arbejdede på Ferranti. Sir Tim Berners-Lee er en af deres 4 børn:  Tim er kendt for at være opfinderen af World Wide Web.

Mary og Conway Berners-Lee i 1954

Mary og Conway lærte unge Tim matematik og computervidenskab på spisebordet. Stakkels Tim !!!!

Og Mary brugte en formel for at finde frem til, hvornår deres børn skulle i seng: S (sengetid) = 6 + å/4, hvor å = barnets alder i år, for eksempel, da Tim var 4, sengetid var kl 7 om aftenen, da han var 8, sengetid var kl 8 om aftenen osv. Du godeste, stakkels Tim (igen) !!!! Sikke et vanvid !!!!!

Mark E Smith døde desværre også, på 61 år. Han var en engelsk sangskriver og sanger, frontfigur i den britiske postpunkgruppe ”The Fall”. En følsom barn, der blev mobbet i skole, besluttede han, at for at overleve, måtte han blive så aggressiv og ubehagelig som dem, der mobbede ham.

The Falls Mark E Smith

Smith havde tendens til at skændes med de andre gruppemedlemmer og fyre dem. Og der var en total af 66 musiker, der på et eller andet tidspunkt, spillede i hans gruppe.

En journalist, der arbejdede på GQ magasin, interviewede Smith og noterede ned alle tingene, Smith i løbet af interviewet sagde, han hadede: London, Jane Austen, beaujolais, psykologer, kemikere, Manchester United (fodboldholdet), Guardian-avisen, David Bowie, nouvelle cuisine, prinsesse Diana, Alan Hanson og Alan Shearer (fodboldkommentarore: ”de ser ud som pensionerede politimænd: jeg vil vædde på, at de går på indkøb sammen” ), Tolkien, David Cameron, og byen Stockport (”hvor folk sidder og drikker portvin hele dagen og fyrer sludder af”).

Du godeste, dem, der mobbede ham i skole, har en masse at stå til redskab for, ingen tvivl om det!!!

18:00 Vi spiser aftensmad og ser lidt fjernsyn. De viser et gamle afsnit af ”De gode gamle dage”, et program, der prøvede at genskabe stemningen af det gamle vaudeville-teater. Afsnittet blev først sendt den 2. juli 1981, da Lois og jeg var 35 år gamle.

Et meget hyggeligt show, herunder en af vores yndlingssange, “Jolly Little Polly on the Gee-gee-gee”, ringmasterens sang.

Den elskede "ringmasterens sang", fra 
"Der Rosenkavalier"

Også, ”Show me the way to go home”.

"Show me the way to go home" (fra "die Meistersinger von Nürnberg")

Det er et hårdt liv at være pensionister, når ens krop bryder sammen. Tak gud det er fredag. Og Steve, min amerikanske svigerbror har sendt mig et billede, der giver os håb om i morgen:

plakat set foran en tankstation i Seattle

22:00 Vi går i seng. Jeg læser11 sider af mine sengetidbog, ”The Quantum Astrologers Handbook”, før jeg glider over i søvnen – zzzzzzzz!!!!! – zzzzzzzzzz!!!!!