Danskcolin: Tuesday 9 January 2018

11:00 Gill, our friend, arrives to tune our piano. She comes 30 minutes late, but we expect that when Gillian comes. She always comes late, although, like today, we are her first job of the day - oh dear! Some people always show up late, others always show up early - it's a question of temperament, I think. While Gillian is here, we hear a little about her life, which is as chaotic as ever!

I start to get mad every time I think of our piano. It's my favorite instrument, but about 18 months ago we replaced our old piano with a smaller one, unfortunately not so comfortable to sit at. We thought the new piano would be easier to move, but it's actually not the slightest bit easier than the old one, and the height of the keyboard is too low for me, even though it's okay for Lois. The result is that I rarely play now. We need to rethink the question and do some research - would it be possible to raise the height of the instrument (replacement legs or castors for example)?

Lois believes that Le Corbuisier, the famous spherical architect, would have had some interesting ideas. He was allegedly the inspiration behind the decision of the designers of the local Fox Plaza shopping center to raise the height of the local Funkoland store by building it on stilts - a controversial choice (report on February 28, 2001, source Onion News).

The shopping center's leading designer, Curtis Winter, told reporters, "I could see FuncoLand making a stronger impression from afar and evoking a modernized classicism if it were raised up on stilts." Winter had previously hit the headlines by designing a Quicklean laundromat that echoed the modernist patterns of I.M.Pei.

"Funcoland on stilts" (Curtis Winter, 2001)

A spherical I M Pei proudly points out his first "
Laundromat" (Winter-Pei, 2001: Paris, France)

Lois and I decide to send photos of our piano to both Le Corbuisier and Winter and also I M Pei. Then all we have to do is to sit back and wait for their reactions.

In fact, we have never used the local Quicklean laundromat. We are not sure if you can really get washing cleaned quickly there or not. A few years ago, a friend of Viv Stanshall, lead-singer of the Bonzo Dog Doodah Band, stepped into a dry-cleaners in Willesden Green, London, to get a shirt cleaned “express”, and the sales clerk told him that the shirt would be ready in 3 weeks. The man protested that the dry-cleaner's was called the "59 Minute Clean", but the sales clerk explained that that was "just the name of the store". Lois and I have been nervous about stores with that kind of name ever since.

12:30 Finally Gillian is finished and she leaves. Lois and I have lunch and afterwards Lois has to go out. She has to drive Rose, our friend, to the hospital - Rose is having another eye operation today because of cataracts. While Lois is out of the house, I go to bed and have a gigantic afternoon nap.

15:00 I get up and look a little online. Steve, my American brother in law, has sent me an email detailing Trump's vocabulary level, in comparison with the last 15 presidents. Trump is the worst - no surprise there. But the others are miles ahead of him, no doubt about that. His vocabulary level corresponds to that of a 4th grader - my god, what madness !!!!

Trump's vocabulary level in comparison to the last 15

Presidents - the others are miles above him, no doubt about that !!!

Our daughter Alison's vocabulary level was similar in the spring of 1985 when she was only 9 years old - I remember that for certain. We were living in the US at that time.

Flashback to spring 1985. Our daughter Alison (child No. 2 from left in back row)

at that time had a vocabulary level corresponding to Trump's today.

My god - what a crazy world we live in !!!!

I also see David Pakman's show on YouTube. He shows us a document published by the Canadian police, which gives Canadian policemen advice on how to determine whether a suspect, a witness, etc. has low literacy skills. They provide the following criteria.

(1) In an interview, the person has trouble telling a clear story: and maybe cannot describe the events in the correct order

(2) He seems to talk in circles - this thought pattern is a frequent phenomenon in people with low reading skills.

(3) He has relatively rigid body language, does not nod or shake his head.

(4) When someone hands him something to read, he makes excuses, for example, "I don't have my glasses with me", and so forth.

My god, what a crazy world we live in !!!!!

We Brits cannot be complacent when we look at Trump. Our equivalent to the US Trump fiasco is the Brexit fiasco (just my opinion, not everyone agrees). Trump can be replaced (sooner or later), but Brexit is irrevocable – oh dear! On the other hand, Trump can do much much much much more damage - yikes !!!!

15:30 Lois swings by the neighbors (Bill and Mary) to have a little chat with Mary. Mary suffers from mild dementia, and it's hard work talking to her, but Lois is so warm-hearted. If only I was more like her!

18:00 We have dinner and watch television. "Call the Midwife" is on, a sentimental drama series that is set in the early 1960s in London, and, frankly, it is not really my cup of tea, but Lois finds it heartwarming.

This episode is set in the winter of 1962-1963, when much more snow fell in England than usual and the snow lay on the ground for weeks: Lois and I remember it well - we were both 16 years old. In tonight's episode we see a young woman (also 16) give birth to a baby in a small freezing cold trailer, but the child appears to be dead.

The midwife takes the baby away in her bag with a hot water bottle, but the case seems hopeless. And then shortly afterwards the baby begins to cry in the bag - it has come to life. Very sentimental, but it's hard not to let the tears fill your eyes, no doubt about it. But then Lois and I are such softies ha ha ha!

The "stillborn" baby begins to cry in the midwife's bag - good grief!

Lois and I both like the series's authentic early 1960s hairstyles - the midwife is a good example. Happy times !!!!

21:00 We continue to watch television. "Top of the Pops: 1985's Big Hits" is on.

1985 was a big year for Lois and me because we moved back to England in August after 3 years in the United States. So we find tonight that we do not recognize most of the songs in this show.

one of the few songs we recognise in this show -
but Lois has a good heart, no doubt about that!

Goodbye New York! - Lois with our two

Americanized daughters - Alison (10) and Sarah (8).

We leave New York in a thunderstorm

Lois in our QE2 cabin, along with

hundreds of Cabbage Patch dolls

Alison on the QE2 - we sail past the iconic Needles

arriving in Southampton, England, now a foreign country

for our two young daughters

22:00 We go to bed - zzzzzzzz !!!!

Danish translation

11:00 Gill, vores veninde, ankommer for at tune vores klaver. Hun kommer 30 minutter sent, men det forventer vi, når Gillian kommer. Hun kommer altid sent, selvom, som i dag, vi er hendes dagens første job – uha! Nogle mennesker dukker altid sent op, andre dukker altid tidligt op – det drejer sig om temperament, synes jeg. Mens Gillian er her, hører vi lidt om hendes liv, som er så kaotisk som nogensinde!

Jeg begynder at blive sur, hver gang jeg tænke på vores klaver. Det er min yndlingsinstrument, men for ca. 1,5 år siden udskiftede vi vores gamle klaver med et mindre, der desværre ikke er så komfortabel at sidde på. Vi troede, at den nye klaver ville være nemmere at rykke, men faktisk er det overhovedet ikke lettere, end det gamle, og højden af klaviaturen er for lav for mig, selvom den er ok for Lois. Resultatet er, at jeg nu sjældent spiller. Vi må genoverveje spørgsmålet, og gøre lidt forskning – ville det være muligt at hæve højden af instrumentet (udskifning ben eller møbelruller for eksempel) ?

Lois synes, at Le Corbuisier, den berømte sfæriske arkitekt, ville have haft nogle interessante idéer. Han var angiveligt inspirationen bag beslutningen af designerne af det lokale Fox Plaza-indkøbscenter at hæve højden af det lokale Funkoland-butik ved at bygge den på stylter – et kontroversielt valg (rapport den 28. februar 2001, kilde Onion News).

Indkøbscentrets førende designer, Curtis Winter, fortalte journalister,"Jeg kan forestille mig FunkoLand gørende et stærkere indtryk langtfra og fremkalde en moderniseret classicisme, hvis den blev rejst op på stilter." Vinter havde tidligere ramt overskrifterne ved at designe et Quicklean-vaskeri, der ekkoede de moderniste mønstre af I.M.Pei.

”FunkoLand på stilter” (Curtis Winter, 2001)

En sfærisk I M Pei påpeger stolt sit første ”Vaskeri” (Winter-Pei, 2001: Paris, Frankrig)

Lois og jeg beslutter at sende fotos af vores klaver til både Le Corbuisier, Winter og Pei. Så skal vi bare sidde tilbage og vente på deres reaktioner.

Vi har faktisk aldrig handlet hos det lokale Quicklean-renseri. Vi er ikke helt sikkert på, om man faktisk kan få vasketøj renset hurtigt derinde, eller ej. For nogle år siden, en ven af Viv Stanshall, forsanger af Bonzo Dog Doodah Band, trådte ind i et renseri i Willesden Green, for at få renset en skjorte ”ekspres”, og ekspeditricen fortalte ham, at skjorten skulle være færdig om 3 uger. Manden protesterede, at renseri hed ”59 Minute Clean”, men ekspeditricen forklarede, at dette "bare var forretningens navn". Lois og jeg har været nervøs for butikker med den slags navn lige siden.

12:30 Til sidst er Gillian færdig med arbejdet, og hun skal af sted. Lois og jeg spiser frokost, og bagefter skal Lois ud. Hun skal køre Rose, vores veninde, til hospitalet – hun gennemgår en anden øjenoperation i dag på grund af grå stær. Mens Lois er ude af huset, går jeg i seng for at tage en gigantisk eftermiddagslur.

15:00 Jeg står op og kigger lidt på nettet. Steve, min amerikanske svigerbror, har sendt mig en email, der giver detaljer om Trumps ordforrådniveau, i sammenligning med de seneste 15 præsidenter. Trump er den værste – ingen overraskelse der. Men de andre er milevidt fra ham, ingen tvivl om det. Hans ordforrådniveau svarer til 4. klasse – du godeste, sikke et vanvid!!!!

Trumps ordforrådniveau i sammenligning til de seneste 15

præsidenter – de andre er milevidt fra ham, ingen tvivl om det!!!

Vores datter Alisons ordforrådniveau var lignende i foråret 1985, da hun kun var 9 år gammel – det husker jeg med sikkerhed. Vi boede dengang i USA.

Tilbageblik til foråret 1985. Vores datter Alison (barn nr.2 fra venstre i bageste række)

havde dengang en ordforrådniveau, der svarede til Trumps i dag.

Du godeste – sikke en skør verden vi lever i !!!!

Jeg ser også David Pakmans show på YouTube. Han viser os et dokument publiseret af det kanadiske politi, der giver politimænd råd til, hvordan de kan afgøre, om en mistænkt, vidner osv har lave læsefærdigheder. De giver de følgende kriterier.

(1) i et interview har personen svært ved at fortælle en klar historie: det kan være, at han/hun ikke kan beskrive begivenhederne i den rigtige rækkefølge

(2) han virker at tale i cirkler – dette tankemønster er et hyppigt fænomen hos personer med lave læsefærdigheder.

(3) han har forholdsvis stivt kropssprog – nikker ikke, ryster ikke hovedet.

(4) når man rækker personen noget at læse, gør han undskyldninger, for eksempel ”jeg har ikke mine briller med” osv.

Du godeste, sikke en skør verden vi lever i !!!!!

Vi briter kan ikke blive selvtilfredse, når vi kigger på Trump. Vores ekvivalent til USAs Trump-fiasko er brexit-fiaskoen (kun efter min mening). Trump kan udskiftes (før eller senere), men brexit er uigenkaldelig – uha! På den anden side kan Trump gøre meget meget meget meget mere skade – yikes!!!!

15:30 Lois smutter ind hos naboerne (Bill og Mary) for at snakke lidt med Mary. Mary lider af mild demens, og det er hårdt arbejde at snakke med hende, men Lois er så varmhjertet. Hvis bare jeg lignede hende mere!

18:00 Vi spiser aftensmad og ser lidt fjernsyn. De viser”Ring til jordemoder”, en sentimental dramaserie, der udspiller sig først i 1960’erne i London, og som ærligt talt ikke er mit nummer, men Lois finder den hjertevarmende.

Dette afsnit udspiller sig i vinteren 1962-1963, da meget mere sne faldt i England, end sædvanligt, og sneen lå på jorden i uger: Lois og jeg husker den godt – vi var begge 16 år gamle. I aftenens afsnit ser vi en ung kvinde (også 16 år gammel) føde en baby i en lille hundekold kampingvogn, men barnet synes at være død. Jordemoren tager babyen væk i sin taske med en varmedunk, men sagen virker håbløs. Og så kort efter begynder babyen at græde i tasken – den er kom til livet. Meget sentimentalt, men det er svært ikke at lade tårerne fylde øjenene, ingen tvivl om det. Men Lois og jeg er så blødsødne ha ha ha!

den "dødfødte" baby begynder

at græde i jordmoderens taske – du godeste!

Lois og jeg kan begge godt lide seriens autentiske 1960-stil frisurer – jordemoderens er et godt eksempel. Lykkelige tider!!!!

21:00 Vi fortsætter med at se lidt fjernsyn. De viser ”Top of the Pops: 1985s Big Hits”.

1985 var et stort år for Lois og mig, fordi vi i august flyttede tilbage til England efter 3 år i USA. Så derfor finder vi i aften, at vi ikke genkender de fleste sange i dette show.