Danskcolin: Wednesday 23 May 2018

10:00 Lois and I go out into the backyard. Lois does some weeding in the flower beds. I get going with a little light weeding around the greengage tree. Unfortunately, a lot of weeds and especially nettles have been happily flourishing round the tree while we were spending two months in Australia. I wear rubber gloves but I'm none the less stung in my finger - damn it! I smear it with witchhazel, but with limited effect - damn (again) !!!!

12:30 Lunch and afterwards a giant afternoon nap. We get up at 3pm and drive over to Bishops Cleeve to send a package to the son of Lois's great-great-nephew in Oxford. Yes, Lois is what's called a "great great aunt" in English - good grief, we're both getting well on in years, no doubt about that!

16:00 We come home and relax with a cup of tea on the terrace. Earlier in the day we sent a bouquet of interflora flowers to Gill, my younger sister in Cambridge, who has not been very well recently. She sends us a picture of the bouquet via whatsapp.

The bouquet we sent Gill, my younger sister in Cambridge

18:30 We have dinner: kedgeree (haddock with rice and eggs) and home grown rhubarb for dessert - yum yum!

20:00 Lois sits in front of our laptop to listen to her church's Bible class on the internet, but there is some problem, and the church's broadcast system only works for 30 minutes and then cuts out for some reason.

While Lois has a frustrating hour in front of the computer in the dining room, I watch some television in the living room, an interesting documentary about the Neanderthals. The host of the program is the charming Ella Al-Shamahi (crazy name, crazy gal! ).

I like prehistory because it poses a massive challenge - the challenge of trying to uncover the truth about life on earth thousands of years ago from virtually no evidence or from evidence that is a bit ambiguous, to put it mildly!

But sometimes it is also nice to find evidence that for once is not ambiguous, such as carbon 14 dating, radiometric dating, and most of all, when it comes to human history, our wonderful DNA.

It is indeed an extraordinary fact that people today who live in sub-Saharan Africa, and who only have African ancestors, have no neanderthal DNA in their bodies, while everyone else in the world has it (to the tune of 2-3%). This simple fact tells us so much about human history.

I am personally very pleased that our African ancestors had sex with the Neanderthals when they arrived in the Middle East and in Europe and met these Neandertals because, according to this documentary, my small proportion of neanderthal DNA makes me more resistant to flu, colds and other diseases you meet in a cold climate - good grief, thanks for doing it guys!

21:00 Lois comes back in the living room and we snuggle up on the couch. We watch a bit of television, an interesting documentary (1st part of 3) all about American art. The host of the program is the charming Waldemar Januszczak (crazy name, crazy guy!).

Lois and I are not very fond of Jackson Pollock, but we like the earlier landscapes from the wild west.

Most of all, I like Waldemar's style, which is nothing like the style of most documentary film hosts. He speaks very directly and never tries to wrap up uncomfortable facts with reassuring words. He doesn't talk to anyone except to the camera. And he waddles through the program, a bit like a duck. Hail to thee, fattened duck - you kept us out of war! (copyright Allan Sherman).

Waldermar Januszczak - we like his style!

The bar where Jackson Pollock once worked washing dishes

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

Danish translation

10:00 Lois og jeg går ud I baghaven. Lois luger i blomsterbedene. Jeg går i gang med at luge lidt omkring reineklaudetræet. Desværre groede en masse ukrudt og især brændenægler meget godt deromkring, mens vi i to måneder var i Australien. Jeg bærer gummihandsker men jeg bliver ikke desto mindre brændt i fingeren – pokkers! Jeg smører den med troldnød, med med begrænset effekt – pokkers (igen)!!!!

12:30 Frokost og bagefter en gigantisk eftermiddagslur. Vi står op kl 15 og kører over til Bishops Cleeve for at afsende en pakke til sønnen af Lois’s grandneveu i Oxford. Ja, Lois hedder ”great great aunt” på engelsk – du godeste, vi er nu begge to gode oppe i årene, ingen tvivl om det!

16:00 Vi kommer hjem og slapper af med en kop te på terrassen. Tidligere på dagen sendte vi en buket Interflora blomster til Gill, min lillesøster i Cambridge, der på det seneste ikke har haft det ret godt. Hun sender os et billede af buketten via whatsapp.

buketten vi sendte Gill, min lillesøster i Cambridge

18:30 Vi spiser aftensmad: kedgeree (kuller med ris og æg) og hjemmedyrket rabarber til dessert – yum yum!

20:00 Lois sætter sig foran vores bærebare computer for at høre sin kirkes bibelklasse på internettet, men der er et eller andet problem, og kirkens udsendelsessystem virker kun i 30 minutter og så går i sort af en eller anden grund.

Mens Lois får en frustrerende time foran computeren i spisestuen, ser jeg lidt fjernsyn i dagligstuen, en interessant dokumentarfilm, der handler om neandertalerne. Programmets vært er den charmerende Ella Al-Shamahi (skørt navn, skør kvinde!).

Jeg kan godt lide forhistorie fordi den udgører en massiv udfordring – udfordring af at prøve at afdække sandheden om livet på jorden for tusindvis af år siden fra næsten ingen bevisser eller fra bevisser, der er lidt tvetydige, for at sige mildt!

Men nogle gange er det også rart at finde bevisser, der for engangs skyld ikke er tvetydige, som for eksempel kulstof 14-datering, radiometrisk datering, og mest af alt, når det kommer til menneskelige forhistorie, vores vidunderlige DNA.

Det er sikke en ekstraordinær kendsgerning, at mennesker i dag der bor i Afrika syd for Sahara, og som kun har afrikanske forfædre, ikke har nogen neanderthal-DNA i deres kroppe, mensalle andre i verden har det (på 2-3%). Dette enkle faktum fortæller os så meget om menneskelig forhistorie.

Jeg er personligt meget glad for, at vores afrikanske forfædre havde sex med neandertalerne, da de ankom til Mellemosten og Europa og mødte disse neandertaler, fordi, ifølge dette dokumentarfilm, min lille andel af neandertal-DNA gører mig mere resistent overfor influenza, forkølelser og andre sygdomme, man møder i et koldt klima – du godeste, tak folkens, fordi I gjorde det!

21:00 Lois kommer tilbage i stuen og vi putter os ind til hinanden i sofaen. Vi ser lidt fjernsyn, en interessant dokumentarfilm (1. del af 3), der handler om amerikansk kunst. Programmets vært er den charmerende Waldemar Januszczak (skørt navn, skør fyr!).

Lois og jeg holder ikke ret meget af Jackson Pollock, men vi kan godt lide de tidligere landskabersbilleder fra det vilde vest.

Mest af alt kan jeg godt lide Waldemars stil, der ikke ligner stilen af de fleste dokumentarfilm værter. Han taler meget direkte og prøver aldrig at svøbe ubekveme kendsgerninger med beroligende ord. Han taler aldrig med nogen, bortset fra kameraerne. Og han vrikker lidt gennem programmet, lidt som en and. Hyl dig, opfedede and – du holdt os ude af krig! (copyright Allan Sherman).