Tirsdag den 2. januar 2018

10:00 Jeg går i gang med at læse de første 4 vers af  et middlengelsk digt ”Perle”, der blev skrevet sidst i det 14. århundrede – Lyndas U3A ”Making of English” gruppe holde sit månedlige møde den 5. januar, og ”Perle” er gruppens nuværende projekt.

Googles kurve viser klart og tydeligt at

interesse i digtet peakede ca. 1400,

men fortsætter i dag på lavt niveau

Forfatteren har mistet sin ”perle” – en kvinde. Er det en eks-kæreste eller måske sin kone? Det er ikke helt klart. Jeg har på fornemmelse, at ”perlen” kan henvise til hvad eller hvem som helst vi har mistet, som er meget værdifuldt for os.

I de første 4 vers udtrykker forfatteren sin rædsel om, at hans smukke ”perle” med sin pragtfulde hudfarve, strålende øjne og sexede former, nu er begravet under jorden i haven, han spadserer i, omgivet af noget væmmelig, beskidt, mudret jord. Han trøster sig selve imidlertid ved at forstille sig, at det er ved hjælp af hans dejlige perle, der ligger under overfladen, at havens blomster og frugter gror så skønt og rigeligt.

"Pearl" : digtets forfatteren ligger og drømmer i den pæne have,

hvor hans ”perle” er blevet begravet: han trøster sig selv ved at mindes,

hendes lig har gødnet havens blomster og frugter osv – stakkels forfatter!!!!

For Lois og mig lyder dette synspunkt ægte. Vi begravede faktisk katten, vores to døtre voksede op sammen med, ved navn ”Gloria”, midt i græsplænen bag vores nuværende hus for ca. 25 år siden. Og det var bestemt sandt, at græsset groede grønnere der, hvor vi begravede Gloria, i mange år derefter.

For 2 år siden fandt jeg en dejlig rød men døde ræv liggende stille og roligt i vores grøntsagshave. Jeg ringede til kommunen, men de sagde, det var mit ansvar at gøre noget med liget, fordi det lå på privat land. Så derfor besluttede jeg at begrave den under et af vores 2 æbletræer, og det er sandt, at vi har haft en masse æbler på træet siden da.

Jeg føler at jeg nu er erfaren graver, hvilket ser godt ud på min cv. Jeg læste for nylig på nettet, at de fleste dødsfald resulterer fra den gennemsnitlige persons ulyst til at ænse et dårligt omen, der manifesterer sig foran dem: ofte er det officielle råd nemlig at begrave noget eller nogen – problemet er, at de fleste mennesker ikke er erfarne i at begrave.

En nylig undersøgelse  bekræftede den også, at selv efter at have vidnet en umiskendeligt og skæbnesvangert omen, såsom en ugle, der dukkede op i dagslyset, tager kun 10% af befolkningen selv de mest rutinemæssige skridt for at dæmpe de uheldige kræfter, der omgiver dem, ved at brænde en dåse af salvie og sødt græs midt i et rum, hvor de plejer at spise og drikke.

"Hvis vi har lært noget som helst fra vores analyse af global mortalitetsstatistik, er det tilfældet, at så snart en runken gammel heks besøger din dør i nattens mulm og mørke, skal du straks dræbe og begrave en fugl og derefter fremsige en salme over en pokal fyldt med polerede småsten, "sagde Sundhedskommissionens direktør Francis Collins, til journalister. Han tilføjede, at især de yngre mænd ikke bør tage deres sikkerhed for givet, hvis heksen pludselig forsvinder ind i nattens tåge. "Om morgenen skal du gå tilbage og drysse ulmende aske på fuglens gravsted, så stamp tre gange med bare fødder for at overvinde ild med kød."

Folk nutildags tøver med at sige det, men efter min mening er problemet, at mange unge mennesker i dag mangler færdighederne og motivationen, der er nødvendige for at agere beslutsomt i kølvandet på et uheldigt omen. Først og fremmest er det vores uddannelsessytem, der er i skyld.

Nogle af de mest uheldige syn, som

man altid må tage alvorligt for at undgå død i det daglige

"Alle ser det lejlighedsvise omen, men den måde, du reagerer på, vil gøre hele forskellen," tilføjede Collins. "Du kan leve et langt og sundt liv i nærværelse af disse fænomæner, hvis du bare tager de nødvendige skridt og besværge navnene på de fire retninger hver dag."

Lois og jeg er enige i, at Collins råd er utrolig fornuftigt, og forholdsvis nemt at følge, i sær for gamle krager som os med begrænset hukommelse, selvom vi nogle gange glemmer øst og vest. Vi boede i USA mellem 1982 og 1984, og vi bemærkede, at det ofte er nødvendigt at have et fast begreb om øst og vest for at vælge den rigtige retning på vejkryds osv – og dette har desværre altid været en af vores svagheder.

11:00 Lois tilbringer det meste af dagen på at arbejde på vores spritnye puslespil, to billeder, det ene under det andet, der fejrede Waterloo-banegårdens 100. jubilæum i 1948: det første skildre banegården i krigstid, det andet i fredstid. I dag koncentrerer hun sig om at lægge brikkerne, der skildrer de mange tusinde rejsende, som vandrer rundt i banegården. Ved mørkets frembrud er der ubesindig tale om ”begrænset fremskridt”.

vores spritnye puslespil: Ved mørkets frembrud er der

ubesindig tale om ”begrænset fremskridt”.

14:00 Efter frokost kører jeg over til det lokale Sainsburys-supermarked for at købe en massiv pose kattegrus – stor fejl: supermarkedet er omgivet af utrolige trafikpropper og trafikkaos på grund af vejarbejde og midlertidige trafiklys, selvom der er ingen vejmænd på arbejde i dag. Timingen er forkert på de midlertidige trafiklys, og biler kan ikke drejer ud af supermarkedets parkeringsplads. Det tager mig 40 minutter at køre hjem i stedet for de sædvanlige 5 minutter. Sikke et vanvid – totalt mareridt!!!!

20:00 Vi ser lidt fjernsyn, Louisa May Alcotts ”Little Women” (2. del af 3) (udgivet 1868).

Alcotts bøger har desværre altid været en stor kløft i mit viden omkring klassiske romaner. Da jeg var en ung dreng, havde disse bøger ligesom et massivt vejskilt på dem, hvor det stod, at ”Drenge, hold jer borte!” Lois kender bøgerne godt og elsker dem meget.

Vi begge finder denne tv-version meget underholdende, og vores yndlingspige er uden tvivl den uartige men pragtfuld Amy, spillet af Kathryn Newton. Radio Times-tidsskriftet kalder Amy ”a little madam”, hvilket var en af min afdøde mors yndlingsudtryk, da hun talte om piger, der ikke var passende ydmyg og lydig: Lois hadede, da hun brugte dette udtryk – du godeste!

”Little Women”: med uret fra venstre

Meg, Amy, Beth og Jo

Lois og jeg er ganske overfladiske på trods af vores kulturelle prætentioner. Vi nyder pigernes sneboldkampe, og vi bruger lang tid på at diskutere, hvem Dylan Baker, der spiller pigernes far,  minder os om. Vores bedste forslag hidtil er ”en hvid Billy Ocean”, men det er juryen stadig ude om.

Billy Ocean som hr. March

Dylan Baker, en berømt popsanger fra 1980’erne

22:00 Vi går i seng. Lois fanger mig på et svagt tidpunkt og tvinger mig til at love, jeg vil hjælpe hende med puslespillet i morgen. Min privat konklusion er, at hun nu er blevet desperat!!!! - zzzzzzzzz!!!!

English translation

10:00 I get going with reading the first 4 verses of a Middle English poem "Pearl" written in the late 14th century. Lynda's U3A 'Making of English' group is holding its monthly meeting on January 5th, and "Pearl" is the group's current project.

Google's graph clearly shows that interest in the poem (ie searches etc) 

peaked around the year 1400 but continues today at a low level

The author has lost his "pearl" - a woman. Is it an ex-girlfriend or maybe his wife? It is not clear. I have the feeling that the "pearl" can refer to any person or thing we have lost, which is very valuable to us.

In the first four verses, the author expresses his horror that his beautiful "pearl" with her gorgeous skin-tones and sparkling eyes is now buried underground in the garden he is strolling in, surrounded by some nasty, dirty, muddy soil. He comforts himself, however, by imagining that it is thanks to the help of his lovely pearl underneath the surface, that the flowers and fruits of the garden are growing so beautifully and abundantly.

"Pearl" : the poet's writer lies dreaming in the nice garden where his "pearl"

has been buried: he comforts himself by remembering that

her body has fertilized the garden's flowers and fruits etc - poor writer !!!!

For Lois and me, this viewpoint rings true. We actually buried Gloria, the cat that our two daughters grew up with, in the middle of the lawn behind our current house about 25 years ago. And it was certainly true that the grass grew greener just at the spot where we buried Gloria for many years thereafter.

Two years ago I found a nice red but dead fox lying quietly in our vegetable garden. I called the council, but they said it was my responsibility to do something about the body because it was on private land. So I decided to bury it under one of our 2 apple trees, and it's true that we have had a lot of apples on the tree since then.

I feel that I am now an experienced buryer, which looks good on my resume. I recently read online that most deaths actually result from the average person's unwillingness to heed a bad omen that manifests itself in front of them: often the official advice is to bury something or someone - the problem is that most people are not experienced at burying.

A recent study also confirmed that even after witnessing an unmistakable doom-laden omen, such as an owl appearing in daylight, only 10% of the population take the most routine steps to subdue the unhallowed forces that surround them by burning a tin of sage and sweet grass in the middle of a room where they usually eat and drink (report 18 March 2015, source: Onion News).

"If we've learned anything from our analysis of global mortality statistics, it's that as soon as a wizened old hag visits your door in the dead of night, you must immediately kill and bury a bird and then recite a hymn over a goblet filled with polished pebbles", Health Commission Director Francis Collins told journalists. 

He added that especially younger men should not take their safety for granted if the hag suddenly disappears into the fogs of night. "In the morning, they should go back and sprinkle smouldering ashes on the bird's grave, and then stamp three times with bare feet to vanquish fire with flesh."

People today hesitate to say so, but in my opinion, the problem is that many young people today lack the skills and motivation needed to act decisively in the wake of an unlucky omen. First and foremost, it is our education system that is at fault.

Some of the most unhallowed sights one should always take

seriously to avoid death on a daily basis

"Everybody sees the occasional omen, but the way you react will make all the difference," added Collins. "You can live a long and healthy life in the presence of these phenomena if you just take the necessary steps and incant the names of the four directions every day."

Lois and I agree that Collins's advice is incredibly reasonable and relatively easy to follow, especially for two old crows like us with limited memory, although we sometimes forget East and West. We lived in the United States between 1982 and 1984, and we noticed that it is often necessary to have a solid concept of east and west in order to choose the right direction at intersections etc. - and this has sadly always been one of our weak points.

11:00 Lois spends most of the day working on our brand new jigsaw, two pictures, one under the other, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Waterloo railway station in 1948: the first depicting the railway station in wartime, the second in peace time. Today she concentrates on doing the pieces that depict the many thousand travelers who mill around at the railway station. By nightfall there is heady talk of "limited progress".

Our shiny new jigsaw puzzle: by nightfall

there is heady talk of "limited progress".

14:00 After lunch I drive over to the local Sainsburys supermarket to buy a massive bag of cat-litter - big mistake: the supermarket is surrounded by incredible traffic jams and there is total traffic chaos due to road works and temporary traffic lights, even though there are no road-builders at work today. The timing is incorrect on the temporary traffic lights, and cars cannot turn out of the supermarket's parking lot. It takes me 40 minutes to drive home instead of the usual 5 minutes. What madness - total nightmare !!!!

20:00 We watch TV, Louisa May Alcotts "Little Women" (2nd part of 3) (published 1868).

Unfortunately, Alcott's books have always been a big gap in my knowledge of classic novels. When I was a young boy, these books had like a massive sign on them saying "Boys, keep away!" Lois knows the books well and loves them a lot.

We both find this TV version very entertaining, and our favorite girl is undoubtedly the naughty but beautiful Amy, played by Kathryn Newton. The Radio Times magazine calls Amy "a little madam", which was one of my late mother's favorite expressions when she talked about girls who were not suitably submissive and obedient: Lois used to hate it when she used this expression – my goodness!

"Little Women": clockwise from the left

Meg, Amy, Beth and Jo

Lois and I are quite shallow in spite of our cultural pretentions. We enjoy the girls’ snowball fights, and we spend a long time discussing who Dylan Baker, who plays the girls' father, reminds us of. Our best suggestion so far is "a white Billy Ocean", but the jury is still out on that one.

Billy Ocean as Mr. March

Dylan Baker: a famous pop singer from the 1980s

22:00 We go to bed. Lois catches me at a weak moment and forces me to promise I will help her with the jigsaw puzzle tomorrow. My private conclusion is that she has now become desperate!!!  Zzzzzzzzzz !!!!