Wednesday 30 May 2018

08:00 Lois and I get up and take a shower. Even though it is raining today and the temperature at night is not that high yet, we take the plunge and replace our winter duvet with the summer one.

10:00 I get started with leafing through the first half of "Line", the Danish crime novella which is our U3A Danish group's next project. The group is to hold its next meeting here tomorrow at 2:30pm. I'm sure the group's members (except Jeanette, our Danish member) will be very rusty tomorrow because we have not had a real meeting since late February, because of Lois' and my 2 month stay in Australia with Sarah, our youngest daughter, and her family.

Lois and I have recently discussed whether it would be better (and faster) if we just limited ourselves to learning Danish sign language.

I recalled a report in Onion News a few years ago, where a team of American researchers announced that they had successfully taught American sign language to a 43-year-old gorilla-suit-wearing male. The news was hailed at the time as a major breakthrough by the scientific community.

The researchers (who worked at the Oregon National Primate Research Center) told reporters that Brian, a western Kansas-born male in a gorilla costume living in their facility, had already learned 250 words in sign language, including all 26 letters in the alphabet, basic greetings and even more short, simple sentences.

"It has been an extensive process, but it is remarkable to see that Brian is beginning to express his thoughts and feelings to us in sign language," lead researcher Rebecca Hayes. She told reporters that after only nine months of instruction, the fully adult gorilla-suited male was already able to put his thoughts together in almost complete sentences. "He's not only able to tell us when he's hungry or thirsty, but he can now use signs to show feelings of happiness, anger and even love."

Interesting article! But I also recalled that the experiment ended badly when members of the Oregon National Primate Research Center, just two days after Hayes and her team talked with journalists, issued a solemn statement saying they were forced to euthanize Brian after the gorilla-costumed man suddenly felt threatened in his environment and violently attacked a researcher leaving him in critical condition.

Good grief, what madness! It may be that our U3A group members will have to limit ourselves to the written and oral forms of the Danish language - that's something I have no doubts about !

13:00 We have lunch and afterwards I go to bed and take a huge afternoon nap. In the meantime, Lois does the dusting in the living room where our Danish group will gather tomorrow afternoon.

15:30 I get up and Lois and I relax on the couch with a cup of tea and a piece of carrot cake.

17:00 I jump up my exercise bike and cycle 6 miles.

17:30 I take a little look online and I see that Ed, our son-in-law in Copenhagen, has posted an interesting news item on Facebook. He is flying to England this weekend to play golf with his brothers and father, and to clear up in the family's old house in Haslemere.

It is now absolutely certain that Ed, together with our eldest daughter Alison, and their 3 children, will move back to England at the end of June. Ed's attempt to find another job on the continent has failed for the moment. He has to clear up their English house and make more space in the attic: they have to transport a lot of items and furniture back from their house in Copenhagen. Poor Ed !!!!

18:00 Lois has back problems again today, so it's my responsibility to make dinner: my signature dish - fish fingers, boiled potatoes and baked beans - yum yum!

20:00 We spend the rest of the evening watching television. An interesting documentary is on, all about crash diets. The host of the program is the charming Javid Abdelmoneim (crazy name, crazy guy).

Another example of where the medical profession is beginning to backtrack. For years they have been saying that crash diets were a bunch of crap because you quickly put on weight again after the diet was over. But now they are beginning to change their minds. So can we rely on anything they say? What madness !!!!

21:00 We continue to watch a bit of television. Another interesting documentary is on (1st part of 3) all about Pompeii. The program's hosts are the charming Bettany Hughes, Raksha Dave and John Sergeant.

An interesting, moving film - the programme-makers were allowed to have some plaster casts "admitted" to the hospital so they could undergo a CT scan. Some previous theories are disproved. For example, a person who was thought to be a tall African adult (thick lips !!!), a probable gladiator, turned out to be a 15-year-old boy, with no sign that he was not Italian ha ha ha!

Another one believed to be male because of the suggestion of a seemingly small lump in the crotch proves to be a woman ha ha ha! What a crazy world we live in !!!!

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

Danish translation

08:00 Lois og jeg står op og tager et brusebad. Selvom det regner igen i dag og temperaturen om natten ikke er ret høj endnu, vover vi springet og udskifter vores vinterdyne med sommerdynen.

10:00 Jeg går i gang med at blade igennem den første halvdel af ”Line”, den danske kriminovelle, der er vores U3A danske gruppes næste projekt. Gruppen holder sit næste møde hos os i morgen kl 14:30. Jeg er helt sikker på, at gruppens medlemmer (bortset fra Jeanette, vores danske medlem) vil være meget rustne i morgen, fordi vi ikke har haft et rigtigt møde siden slutningen af februar, på grund af Lois’ og min 2 måneders ophold i Australien hos Sarah, vores yngste datter, og hendes familie.

Lois og jeg har for nylig diskuteret, om det ville være bedre (og hurtigere) hvis vi bare begrænsede os til at lære danske tegnsprog.

Jeg mindes en rapport i Onion News for nogle år siden, hvor et hold af amerikanske forskere meddelte, at de med succes havde lært amerikansk tegnsprog til en 43-årig gorillakostume bærende mand. Nyheden blev hyldet på det tidspunkt som et stort gennembrud af det videnskabelige samfund.

Forskerne (der arbejdede i Oregon National Primate Research Center) fortalte journalister, at Brian, en vestlig Kansas-født mand i en gorillakostume, der boede i deres anlæg, allerede havde lært 250 ord på tegnsprog, herunder alle 26 bogstaver i alfabetet, grundlæggende hilsner og endda flere korte, enkle sætninger.

"Det har været en omfattende proces, men det er bemærkelsesværdigt at se, at Brian begynder at udtrykke sine tanker og følelser til os på tegnsprog", sagde leadforsker Rebecca Hayes og fortalte journalister, at efter kun ni måneders instruktion var den store voksne gorilla-kostumeret mand var allerede i stand til at sætte sine tanker sammen i næsten fuldstændige sætninger. "Han har ikke kun mulighed for at fortælle os, når han er sulten eller tørstig, men han kan nu bruge tegn til at vise følelser af lykke, vrede og endog kærlighed."

Interessant artikel! Men jeg mindes også, at eksperimentet endte galt, da medlemmer af Oregon National Primate Research Center, bare to dage efter at Hayes og hendes hold talte med journalister, udstedte en højtidelig erklæring, der sagde, at de blev tvunget til at euthanere Brian, efter at den gorilla-kostumeret mand pludselig følte sig truet i sit miljø og voldsomt angreb en forsker, og forlod ham i kritisk stand.

Du godeste, sikke et vanvid! Det kan være at vores U3A gruppemedlemmer må hellere begrænse os til det danske sprogs skriftlige og mundlige former, det har jeg ikke nogen tvivl om det!

13:00 Vi spiser frokost og bagefter går jeg i seng og tager en gigantisk eftermiddagslur. Lois går i mellemtiden i gang med at støve af i stuen, hvor vores danske gruppe skal samles i morgen eftermiddag.

15:30 Jeg står op og Lois og jeg slapper af i sofaen med en kop te og et stykke gulerødskage.

17:00 Jeg hopper op på min kondicykel og cykler 6 miles.

17:30 Jeg kigger lidt på nettet, og jeg ser at Ed, vores svigersøn i København har lagt en interessant nyhed op på Facebook. Han flyver til England i weekenden for at spille golf med sine brødre og far, og at rydde lidt op i familiens gamle hus i Haslemere.

Det er nu helt sikkert at Ed, sammen med vores ældste datter Alison, og deres 3 børn, flytter tilbage til England ved slutningen af juni. Eds forsøg på at finde et andet job på kontinentet har for tiden mislykket. Han skal rydde lidt op i deres engelske hus og gøre mere plads i loftet: de skal få transporteret en masse ting og møbler tilbage fra deres hus i København. Stakkels Ed!!!!

18:00 Lois har rygproblemer igen i dag, så det er mit ansvar at lave aftensmaden: min signaturret – fiskepinder, kogte kartofler og baked beans – yum yum!

20:00 Vi bruger resten af aftenen på at se lidt fjernsyn. De viser en interessant dokumentarfilm, der handler om crashslankekure. Programmets vært er den charmerende Javid Abdelmoneim (skørt navn, skør fyr).

  

Endnu et eksempel, hvor den medicinske profession begynder at trække i land. I årevis havde de sagt, at crashslankekure var noget skrammel, fordi man hurtigt tog på i vægt igen efter slankekur var slut. Men nu begynder de at skifte mening. Kan vi så stole på noget som helst af det, de siger? Sikke et vanvid!!!!

21:00 Vi fortsætter med at se lidt fjernsyn. De viser en anden interessant dokumentarfilm (1. del af 3), der handler om Pompeii. Programmets værter er de charmerende Bettany Hughes, Raksha Dave og John Sergeant.

En interessant, rørende film – programmagerne fik lov til at få nogle af gipsafstøbninger ”indlagt” på hospitalet, så de kunne gennemgå en CT-scanning. Nogle tidligere teorier bliver modbevist. For eksempel, en person, som man troede var en høj afrikanske voksen (tykke læber!!!), en sandsynlig gladiator, viste sig at være en dreng på 15 år, med ingen tegn på, at han ikke var italiensk ha ha ha!

En anden, der man troede var mandlig på grund af antydningen af et tilsyneladende lille klump i skridtet viser sig at være kvinde ha ha ha! Sikke en skør verden vi lever i !!!!

22:00 Vi går i seng – zzzzzz!!!!

Tuesday 29 May 2018

09:30 Lois and I drive over to the local Fresh Foods mini-supermarket to buy fruit and vegetables. Then we drive into the village and swing by Waghornes, the local butcher's shop, to buy meat, bread and cheese. We come home and relax with a cup of coffee on the couch.

11:00 We go out into the backyard and plant our little runner beans next to the poles.

It's a bit cloudy today and I'm not sure whether it's going to rain at some point. I feel a possible raindrop and consider saying something about it to Lois, but just in time I remember the sad case of Philip McKenna (report, Onion News) whose reputation was completely destroyed by such a remark.

Philip McKenna (left) giving his dire warning

Phillip McKenna, described as a wise local oracle, predicted the arrival of bad weather the other day at a neighbourhood barbecue get-together. He read the signs written in the world around him, and gave a sharp warning to the assembled guests, eyewitnesses said.

"Uh oh. I just felt a raindrop, guys," said the respected local prophet to all the assembled guests, as he held his damp wrist high up in the air as a testimony to his omen, staring up at the sky, and interpreting its unspoken teachings.

"It looks pretty grey. Maybe we should get the food into the house?" Finally, the discovery of drops of condensation that had fallen from an air conditioner unmasked McKenna as a false prophet.

I feel a bit sorry for Philip because his later, more detailed warnings, based on the seven trumpets in John's Revelation, have mostly been ignored as the result of his famous barbecue fiasco. Poor Philip !!!!

Philip's later, more detailed warning, based on

the Seven Trumpets in John's Revelation

13:00 We have lunch and afterwards I go to bed and take a huge afternoon nap.

15:30 I get up and jump on my exercise bike. I cycle 6 miles.

16:00 I take a little look online. I see that the Government Record Office (GRO) has sent us my grandmother Kathleen's death certificate explaining the reasons for her sudden death, at aged 52, in January 1939. We asked for this certificate after my younger sister Gill was recently taken to the emergency room and the doctors asked about her parents' and grandparents' health history.

My grandmother actually died for 3 reasons, according to the certificate: (1) shock (2) cerebral embolism, and (3) chronic valvular heart disease - yikes! It's a bit scary to think of what one might have inherited from one's ancestors (and passed on to one's children), no doubt about that !!!!

The circumstances of my grandmother's death were unusual and I'm not quite sure if my father felt partly responsible for his mother's death.

My father was then an enthusiastic and well-respected lay preacher in his sect, and his sermons were known for being very inspiring.

It's hard to believe, but unfortunately his rhetorical skills led to this great tragedy in his family. In January 1939 he gave a very inspiring sermon in the seaside resort of Bournemouth. His mother, who was only 52, was in the congregation and was so excited about his inspiring words and the enthusiastic reaction of the congregation, that she died the same night.

My father must have been shattered - he was very close to his mother. But he never talked about it.

"beclouding" - an excerpt from the sect's journal for January 1939

I imagine this tragedy damaged his faith. He must have wondered why God allowed his inspiring words to apparently cause his mother's death. He continued to give sermons, but less often, I think. He came out of the sect in 1944 when he entered the British Army - the sect takes a uncompromising pacifist stance.

17:00 I get a text from Alison, our daughter in Copenhagen. She says that Ed's potential new job in Frankfurt has not come to anything because Ed and the company cannot agree on his salary and perks. So, the family is certainly now moving back to England at the end of June.

18:00 We have dinner and spend the rest of the evening watching television. The latest episode is showing in an interesting Anglo-American documentary series, all about abandoned derelict installations and facilities - former research facilities, military installations, etc., which have never been demolished, and are still there just sitting in the countryside, on mountains, in deserts, in the sea etc.

Each hourly episode covers 4 former installations. It sounds a bit boring, but Lois and I actually find it really fascinating.

This evening's episode covers:

(1) a wind tunnel in Farnborough, England, where British researchers tested modifications to bombers and combat aircraft during WWII. It seems that the Anglo-American strategy of modifying already proven aircraft was more successful than the German strategy of trying to constantly launch completely new models.

(2) A Russian Air Force Base, built in the 1960s on the Mongolian / Chinese border, far out in the Gobi desert, during a 20-year period of severe tension between the two major communist powers.

(3) a massive ironworks just outside Pittsburgh, associated with a local steelworks, which during the Second World War, produced more iron and steel than all the Axis powers combined.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

(4) An obsolete artillery piece, a massive cannon, which the Italian army managed with a lot of hassle to haul to the top of a high mountain in the Alps. The cannon was already 30 years old, but it helped the Italians to drive back a threatened Austrian invasion during the First World War. The cannon is still just sitting there on the mountain - good grief, what a crazy world we live in !!!!

The Italian Alps

The example that most strikes us is the Russian Air Force base, hundreds of miles from the nearest town. The base was operational for almost 20 years until Gorbachev closed it. Imagine if you will, that you had to work here and at the end of working day go home to one of the base's soulless apartment complexes - good grief, what madness !!!!

the abandoned Russian Air Force base on the Russian-Chinese border

the base's soulless apartment complexes

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

Danish translation

09:30 Lois og jeg kører over til det lokale Fresh Foods mini-supermarked for at købe frugt og grøntsager. Så kører vi ind i landsbyen og smutter ind i Waghornes, den lokale slagterforretning, for at købe kød, brød og ost. Vi kommer hjem og slapper af med en kop kaffe i sofaen.

11:00 Vi går ud i baghaven og planter vores små pralbønner ud ved siden af stængerne.

Det er lidt overskyet i dag, og jeg er ikke helt sikker på, om det kommer til at regne på et eller andet tidspunkt. Jeg føler en mulig regndråbe og overvejer at sige noget derom til Lois, men lige til tiden mindes jeg den triste sag af Philip McKenna (rapport, Onion News), hvis ry blev helt ødelagt af sådan en bemærkning.

Phillip McKenna, beskrevet som en kloge lokale orakel, forudså forleden ankomsten af dårligt vejr i løbet af en barbecuesammenkomst i nabolaget. Han læste de tegn, der var skrevet i verden omkring ham, og afgav en skarp advarsel til de indsamlede gæster, sagde øjenvidnere.

” Åh åh. Jeg har lige følt en regndråbe, fyre", sagde den respekterede lokale profet til alle, mens han holdt sit fugtede håndled højt oppe i luften, som vidnesbyrd om hans omen og stirrede i himlen og fortolkede dens uudtalte undervisninger.

”Det ser temmilig gråt ud. Måske burde vi tage maden med ind i huset?” Endelig havde opdagelsen af kondensation, der var faldet fra en klimaanlæg, afsløret McKenna som en falsk profet.

Jeg har lidt ondt af Philip, fordi hans senere, mere detaljerede  advarsel, baseret på de 7 trumpetter i Johannes’ Åbenbaring er for det meste blevet ignoreret på grund af den berømte barbecue-fiasko. Stakkels Philip!!!!

Philips senere, mere detaljerede advarsel, baseret på

de 7 trumpetter i Johannes’ Åbenbaring

13:00 Vi spiser frokost og bagefter går jeg i seng og tager en gigantisk eftermiddagslur.

15:30 Jeg står op og hopper op på min kondicykel. Jeg cykler 6 miles.

16:00 Jeg kigger lidt på nettet. Jeg ser, at GRO (Government Record Office) har sendt os min farmor Kathleens dødscertifikat, der forklarer årsagerne til hendes pludselig død på 52 år i januar 1939. Vi bad om dette certifikat efter min lillesøster Gill for nylig blev taget til skadestuen, og lægerne spurgte om hendes forældre og bedsteforældres sundhedshistorie.

Min farmor døde faktisk af 3 årsager, ifølge certifikatet: (1) chok (2) cerebral emboli, og (3) kronisk valvulær hjertesygdom – yikes! Det er lidt skræmmende at tænke på, hvad man måske kan have arvet fra sine forfædre (og videregivet til sine børn), ingen tvivl om det!!!!

Omstændighederne af min farmors død var usædvanlige, og jeg er ikke helt sikker på, om min far følte sig delsvis ansvarlig for sin mors død.

Min far var dengang en entusiastisk og velanset lægprædikant i sin sekt, og hans prædikener var kendt for at være meget inspirerende.

Det er svært at tro, men desværre førte hans retoriske færdigheder  til denne stor tragedie i sin familie. I januar 1939 holdt han en meget inspirende prædiken i badebyen Bournemouth. Hans mor, der kun var 52 år,  var i menigheden og blev så begejstret over hans inspirerende ord og menighedens entusiastiske reaktion, at hun samme nat døde.

Min far må have været sønderknust – han var meget tæt på sin mor. Men han talte aldrig om det.

uddrag fra sektens tidskrift (januar 1939)

Jeg formoder, at denne tragedie beskadigede hans tro. Han må have undret sig, hvorfor Gud tillod hans inspirerende ord tilsyneladende at forårsage sin mors død. Han fortsatte med at holde prædikener, men mindre hyppigt, tror jeg. Han kom ud af sekten i 1944, da han trådte ind i den britiske hær – sekten har en kompromisløst pacifistisk holdning.

17:00 Jeg får en sms fra Alison, vores datter i København. Hun siger, at Eds potentielle nye job i Frankfurt ikke er blevet til noget, fordi Ed og selskabet kan ikke blive enige om hans løn og frynsegoder. Så derfor et det helt sikkert, at familien ved slutningen af juni flytter tilbage til England.

18:00 Vi spiser aftensmad og bruger resten af aftenen på at se lidt fjernsyn. De viser det seneste afsnit i en interessant anglo-amerikansk dokumentarserie, der handler om opgivede, forladte anlæg og faciliteter – tidligere forskningsfaciliteter, militær faciliteter osv, der aldrig er blevet revet ned, som bare sidder ude på landet, på bjerge, i ørkner, i havet osv.

Hvert timelangt afsnit dækker 4 tidligere anlæg. Det lyder lidt kedeligt, men Lois og jeg finder det faktisk helt fascinerende.

Aftenens afsnit dækker:

(1)    en vindtunnel i Farnborough, England, hvor britiske forskere testede modifikationer til bombefly og kampfly under den 2. verdenskrig. Det lader til at den anglo-amerikanske strategi af at modificere allerede vellykkede fly var mere succesfuld, end den tyske strategi af at prøve konstant at lancere helt nye modeller.

(2)    en russisk luftvåbenbase, bygget i 1960’erne på den mongolisk/kinesisk grænse, langt ude i Gobi-ørkenen, under en 20-års periode af alvorlig spænding mellem de to store kommunistiske magter.

(3)    et massivt jernværk lige uden for Pittsburgh, forbundet med et lokalt stålværk, der under den 2. verdenskrig, fremstillede mere jern og stål, end alle de kombinerede aksemagterne.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

(4)    En forældet artilleripjese, en massiv kanon, som de italienske hær med meget besvær nåede at hale op til toppen af et højt bjerge i Alperne. Kanonen var allerede 30 år gammel, men den hjalp italienerne at drive en truet østrig invasion tilbage under den 1. verdenskrig. Kanonen sidder stadigvæk der på bjerget – du godeste, sikke et skør verden vi lever i !!!!

de italienske Alper

Det, der mest slår os er den russiske luftvåbenbase, hundredvis af miles fra den nærmenste by. Basen var operationel i næsten 20 år, indtil Gorbachev lukkede den. Forstil dig, hvis du vil, at du skal arbejde her og ved slutningen af arbejdsdag gå hjem til en af basens sjælløse lejlighedskomplekser – du godeste, sikke et vanvid!!!!

den forladte russiske luftvåbenbase

på den russiske-kinesiske grænse

basens sjælløse lejlighedskomplekser

22:00 Vi går i seng – zzzzzzzzz!!!!

Monday 28 May 2018

10:00 Lois has recently been busy planting seedlings in small pots. Today we go out into the backyard and put the beanpoles up for this year's runner beans .

11:00 I watch another 15 minutes of the latest episode of the "Bridge", the Danish-Swedish crime series that revolves around crime in Copenhagen and Malmö in Sweden, two cities connected by the famous bridge. The series star is the gorgeous Swedish actress, Sofia Helin.

Saga, the gorgeous Swedish detective has an interesting personality: aspergers / autistic, or something similar. She works mostly in police hq in Malmo, Sweden, but at the moment she has to work on a case with Henrik (Thure Lindhardt), her Danish colleague and sex partner, in Copenhagen's main police station.

I watch Saga now suddenly revealing casually to Henrik that she is pregnant and that she has already started to plan an abortion. Apparently the couple use a copper coil for contraception - and Saga says that's "only" 99% safe. Yikes!

Poor Henrik is taken aback to put it mildly. Unfortunately, he would rather she had the baby - he lost his own two daughters when they disappeared without trace a few years ago. But because of her psychological problems - aspergers, autism or whatever - Saga is reluctant to discuss the question. Poor Henrik !!! But I see nothing but big problems ahead for their relationship, no doubt about that !!!!

Saga casually reveals to Henrik that she is pregnant: what madness !!!

12:30 We have lunch and afterwards I go to bed and take a huge afternoon nap. I get up at 3pm and jump on my exercise bike. I cycle 6 miles.

18:00 We have dinner and listen to a bit of radio, an interesting analysis of French women's reaction to the recent #metoo movement.

There has been talk in the press that France was somehow different from the US and Northern European countries, because both men and women in France thoroughly enjoyed the game of seduction between the sexes and rejected the demands and concerns of the metoo movement. Hundreds of prominent French women, including actress Catherine Deneuve, wrote a long letter to the French newspapers to express their rejection of foreign women's attitudes.

However, according to this evening's radio program, the views of Catherine Deneuve and her buddies are not typical and French women are not that happy about being constantly exposed to sexual harassment, in the streets, on the subway, at work, etc.

A young Frenchwoman who was a student in London for many years tells us on the program that when she returned to Paris, she put away all the short skirts she used to wear without problems in London - it was not worth it in France because of the constant unwanted approaches and obscene comments.

It seems that not much has changed in 50 years. Lois recalls her visit to Paris in the 1960s with a group of other students, mostly female, as part of her librarian course. The young women were constantly being propositioned on the streets, unless one of the male students was accompanying them.

Flashback to the mid-1960s: Lois (bottom right) with some of the

other students on her librarian course, on the ferry to France

What a crazy world we live in !!!! But it seems that French women themselves are beginning to say they have had enough. The DSK affair was perhaps a bit of a milestone.

21:00 I take a little look at my smartphone, and I read a touching poem that Alison, our daughter in Copenhagen, has posted on Facebook. It seems that the family time in Denmark might indeed be coming to an end:

Alison's "poem"

Flashback to 2012, and the "cargo bike" - 

when Alison and family had just arrived in Copenhagen

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

Danish translation

10:00 Lois har for nylig beskædiget sig med at plante sætteplanter i små potter. I dag går vi ud ind i baghaven og sætter et højt stativ op til årets bønner at klatre op af.

11:00 Jeg ser endnu 15 minutter af det seneste afsnit af ”Broen”, den danske-svenske krimiserie,  der kredser om kriminalitet i København og Malmø i Sverige, to byer forbundet af den berømte bro. Seriens stjerne er den pragtfulde svenske skuespillerinde, Sofia Helin.

Saga, den pragtfulde svenske detektiv har en interessant personlighed: aspergers / autistisk, eller noget lignende. Hun arbejder for det meste i hovedpolitistationen i Malmø, Sverige, men for tiden er  hun nødt til at samarbejde med Henrik (Thure Lindhardt), sin danske kollega og sexpartner, i Københavns hovedpolitistation.

Jeg ser Saga nu pludselig afsløre til Henrik på en afslappet måde, at hun er gravid, og at hun allerede begynder at planlægge en abort. Tilsyneladene plejer parret at bruge en kobberspiral som præventionsmiddel – Saga siger, den ”kun” er 99% sikker. Yikes!

Stakkels Henrik er overrumplet for at sige mildt. Desværre vil han hellere have at hun føder barnet – han mistede sine egne to døtre, da de for nogle år siden forsvandt uden spor. Men på grund af sine psykiske problemer – aspergers, autisme eller whatever – er Saga modvillig til at diskutere spørgsmålet. Stakkels Henrik!!! Men jeg ser kun store problemer forude i deres parforhold, ingen tvivl om det!!!!

Saga afslører på en afslappet måde til Henrik, at hun er gravid: 

sikke et vanvid!!!

12:30 Vi spiser frokost og bagefter går jeg i seng og tager en gigantisk eftermiddagslur. Jeg står op kl 15 og hopper op på min kondicykel. Jeg cykler 6 miles.

18:00 Vi spiser aftensmad og lytter lidt til radio, en interessant analyse om franske kvinders reaktion til den nylige #metoo bevægelse.

Der har været tale i pressen om, at Frankrig på en eller anden måde var anderledes, end USA og nordlige europæiske lande, i, at både mænd og kvinder i Frankrig nød spillet af forførelse mellem kønnene, og afviste kravene og bekymringer af metoo-bevægelsen. Hundredvis af fremtrædende franske kvinder, herunder skuespillerinden Catherine Deneuve, skrev et langt brev til de franske aviser for at udtrykke deres afvisning af udenlandske kvinders holdninger.

Men ifølge aftenens radioprogram ser det ud til, at meningerne af Catherine Deneuve og hendes veninder ikke er typiske, og at franske kvinder ikke er glade for, at blive konstant udsat for at blive chikaneret seksuelt, i gaderne, på metroen, i arbejdspladser osv.

En ung franske kvinde, der i mange år var studerende i London, siger, at da hun kom tilbage til Paris, satte hun væk alle de korte nederdele, hun bar uden problemer i London - det var ikke det værdigt i Frankrig, på grund af de konstant  uønskede tilnærmelser og frække bemærkninger.

Det ser ud som om ikke meget har forandret i 50 år. Lois mindes om hendes besøg til Paris i 1960’erne sammen med en gruppe af andre studerende, for det meste kvindelige, som en del af deres bibliotekar-kursus. De unge kvinder var konstant udsatte  for at få uanstændige tilbud, med mindre en af de mandelige studerende ledsagte dem. 

Tilbageblik til midten af 1960'erne: Lois (foran, til højre) med nogle af

de andre studerende fra sit bibliotekarkursus,

på færgen på vej til Frankrig

Sikke en skør verden vi lever i !!!! Men det ser ud som om, franske kvinder selve begynder at sige, at de har fået nok. DSK-affæren var måske lidt af en milepæl.

21:00 Jeg kigger lidt på min smartphone, og jeg læser et rørende digt, at Alison, vores datter i København, har lagt op på Facebook. Det lader til, at familiens tid i Danmark måske er ved at komme til ende:

Alisons "digt"

Tilbageblik til sidst i 2012, da familien lige var flyttet til København

22:00 Vi går i seng – zzzzzzzzzzz!!!!!