Danskcolin: Saturday 10 February 2018

04:00 I get up early and look online. I notice that our printer-scanner has problems: it's broken in fact - damn it! Lois and I were boasting just the other day about how reliable our printer had been - it shows beyond doubt that it's not a good idea to brag about such things. Damn (again)!

I send an email to Mark, our local IT expert, and he answers later in the day that he can swing by on Thursday. But I suspect it might be better to buy a new printer and ask him to install it on our behalf. They are not that expensive nowadays.

09:00 We head over to Bishops Cleeve to go shopping at the local Tesco supermarket. Then I pop into the local hardware dealer because Sarah, our daughter in Perth, has asked us to bring 5-6 adapters with us when we come, the kind used to plug in British appliances in Australia. Unfortunately, the store only has 1 in stock, so I order more from Amazon as soon as I get home. Australian plugs and sockets are the same as the American ones.

I buy a bottle of wine in the supermarket for the first time in several weeks. The great Michael Mosley, BBC channel's television doctor has for a few months been recommending television viewers to avoid drinking alcohol, but in this week's Radio Times magazine he has changed his mind (again!). This week it's okay and healthy to drink a glass of wine for dinner, I read. Only a week before it was still a big no-no - good grief, what madness !!!!

Flashback to my blog dated February 6th:

A glass of wine for dinner - is it healthy or unhealthy?

What madness !!!!!

In addition, I have received an interesting email from Steve, my brother in law. He says a new study by the University of Rochester (UR) has found that consuming alcohol in moderate doses may be good for cleaning up your brain. The study, published in nature.com's "Scientific Reports", noted for the first time ever that consuming low doses of alcohol could benefit the brain's health.

Lois and I plan to drop our short-term attempt to be abstainers on Friday. We are celebrating our 48th Valentine's Day two days late this year, due to other engagements. My god, what a crazy world we live in !!!!!

10:30 We talk a little on Skype with Sarah, our daughter in Perth, with Francis, Sarah's husband, and with their 4 and a half-year-old twins, Lily and Jessie. The family moved into a new house 3 days ago, and they are all a little tired - the twins are a bit sleepy. They have all been a little coldy too. Sound quality is not that good, but it's a lot of fun to see them again and to confirm that they've survived the move.

We talk a little on Skype with Sarah, our daughter in Perth, and with her family

Their living room looks massive, with few items of furniture: giant sofas and lots of wasted space - the modern fashion. My goodness, Lois and I are living in the past, no doubt about it.

Should Lois and I rent a car when we visit them? The jury is still out on that one, but I suspect it might be the best idea. Sarah is out of the house at work during the week, although she hopes she will get permission to take a week's leave, if possible. The twins go to kindergarten on Mondays, Wednesdays and every other Friday. Francis has his on-line work, so Lois and I will be left to our own devices at times.

11:30 We take a shower and have lunch. Afterwards we go to bed and take a huge afternoon nap. I get up at 3 o'clock and jump on my exercise bike. I cycle my usual 6 miles (10km).

15:30 I take a little looking online. I get a bit of a shock, I have to admit. The New York Times's Andy Borowitz reports that Kim Jong Un has been taunting Donald Trump with a photograph of his hair, resisting gale force winds.

The photo showed a broadly smiling Kim, with his hair seemingly undisturbed by what the state Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) claimed was a wind blowing at up to 60 miles per hour. According to KCNA's press release, "The Great Leader's mighty wind-resistant raven mane easily overmatches the American dotard's sparse bleached strands."

I talk a little with Lois about the story. We are reminded of Steven Toast, the famous actor who took James Mason as his model. Toast was famous for being Britain's greatest high winds actor. And he used to advise younger actors that "if the wind machine blows a little too much when you are playing a scene, be careful to turn approx. 45 degrees away from the direction of the machine, so the hair is not ruffled". Good advice!

Toast, in the center of the set, has no problem surpassing his rival, Ray Purchase,

during a wind machine audition test and easily wins the role as an

English ship's captain in one of our many wars against the French

18:00 We have dinner and we spend the evening watching television and listening to the radio. We go to bed at 10 o'clock.

Danish translation

04:00 Jeg står tidligt op og kigger lidt på nettet. Jeg opdager, at vores printer-scanner har problemer: den er faktisk gået i stykker – pokkers! Lois og jeg var for et par dage siden i fuld gang med at prale af, hvor pålidelig vores printer havde været – det viser hævet over enhver tvivl, at det ikke er en god idé at prale af sådanne ting. Pokkers (igen)!

Jeg sender en email til Mark, vores lokale IT-ekspert, og han svarer senere på dagen, at han kan smutte ind på torsdag. Men jeg mistænker, at det kan være bedre at købe en ny printer, og bede ham om at installere den på vores vegne. De er ikke ret dyre nu til dags.

09:00 Vi kører over til Bishops Cleeve for at gå madindkøb i det lokale Tesco-supermarked. Jeg smutter så ind i den lokale isenkræmmer, fordi Sarah, vores datter i Perth, har bedt os om at tage 5-6 adaptere, den slags, man bruger for at sætte britiske indretninger til i Australien. Desværre har butikken kun 1 på lager, så derfor bestiller jeg flere fra amazon, så snart jeg kommer hjem. Australske stikker og stikdåser er de samme som de amerikanske.

Jeg køber en flaske vin i supermarkedet, for første gang i flere uger. Den store Michael Mosley, BBC-kanalens tv-læge har i et par måneder anbefalet tv-seerne at undgå at drikke alkohol, men i denne uges Radio Times-tidsskrift, har han skiftet mening (igen!). Denne uge er det helt okay og sundt at drikke et glas vin til aftensmad, læser jeg. Kun en uge tidligere var det stadig en stor no-no – du godeste, sikke et vanvid!!!!

Tilbageblik til min blog dateret den 6. februar:

Et glas vin til aftensmad – er det sundt eller usundt?

Sikke et vanvid!!!!!

Derudover har jeg modtaget en interessant email fra Steve, min svigerbror. Han siger, en ny undersøgelse fra University of Rochester (UR) har fundet ud af at det at forbruge alkohol i moderate doser kan være godt til at rydde op i din hjerne. Undersøgelsen, der forleden blev offentliggjort på nature.coms ”Scientific Reports”, bemærkede for første gang nogensinde, at det at forbruge lave doser alkohol kan gavne hjernens sundhed.

Lois og jeg planlægger at droppe på fredag vores kortvarige forsøg på at være afholdsmennesker. Vi skal fejre vores 48. valentinsdag to dage sent i år, på grund af andre aftaler. Du godeste, sikke en skør verden vi lever i !!!!!

10:30 Vi taler lidt på Skype med Sarah, vores datter i Perth, med Francis, Sarahs mand, og med deres 4,5-årige tvillinger, Lily og Jessie. Familien flyttede ind i et nyt hus for 3 dage tidligere, og de er alle lidt trætte – tvillingerne er lidt søvnige. De har alle været lidt forkølede også. Lydkvalitet er ikke ret god, men det er meget sjovt at se dem igen og at kunne bekræfte, at de har ”overlevet” flyttelsen.

Vi taler lidt på Skype med Sarah, vores datter i Perth, og med hendes familie

Deres stue ser massiv ud, med få møbler: gigantiske sofaer og masser af spildt plads – den moderne mode. Du godeste, Lois og jeg lever i fortiden, ingen tvivl om det.

Skal Lois og jeg leje en bil, når vi besøger dem? Det er juryen stadig ude om, men jeg mistænker, det kunne være den bedste idé. Sarah er ude af huset på arbejde i hverdagen, selvom hun håber på, hun får lov til at tage en uges orlov, hvis muligt. Tvillingerne skal i børnehaven om mandagen, onsdagen og hver anden fredag. Francis har sit on-line arbejde, så Lois og jeg vil måtte til tider sejle vores egne sø.

11:30 Vi tager et brusebad og spiser så frokost. Bagefter går vi i seng for at tage en gigantisk eftermiddagslur. Jeg står op kl 15 og hopper op på min kondicykel. Jeg cykler mine sædvanlige 6 miles (10km).

15:30 Jeg kigger lidt på nettet. Jeg får lidt af et chok, må jeg indrømme. New York Times’ Andy Borowitz rappporterer, at Kim Jong Un har hånet Donald Trump med et foto af sit hår, der modstod en vind af stormstyrke.

Fotoet viste et bredt smilende Kim, med hans hår tilsyneladende uforstyrret af, hvad det statslige koreanske centralnyhedsagentur (KCNA) hævdede, at vinden blæste op til 60 miles i timen. Ifølge KCNAs pressemeddelelse, "Kære Lederens mægtige vindbestandige ravne manke overgår let den amerikanske mimrende oldings sparsomme blegede lokker."

Jeg snakker lidt med Lois om historien. Vi mindes om Steven Toast, den berømte skuespiller, der tog James Mason til forbillede. Toast var berømt for at være Storbritanniens største stormvindskuespiller. Og han plejede at råde yngre skuespillere, at ”hvis vindmaskinen blæser meget når du spiller en scene, vær forsigtig med at vende dig ca. 45 grader væk fra vindmaskinenes retning, så hår ikke bliver pjusket”. Godt råd!