Sunday 24 June 2018

08:00 Lois and I go in the shower and get up.

09:45 After breakfast, we talk on whatsapp with Sarah, our daughter in Perth, Australia, and her (soon to be) 5-year-old twins, Lily and Jessie, who demonstrate to us many of their toys, and children's books, bless them!

we talk to our daughter Sarah in Perth, Australia, 

and with her little twin daughters Lily and Jessie

There is a lot of good news. Francis, Sarah's husband, resigned from his part-time job as a new home salesman the other day because the company's arrangements virtually prevented him from earning any big commissions - my god, what madness !!!! But fortunately, he has received an order for a new project associated with his old UK-based online business, from one of his longest-standing customers over here in the UK.

And Lily and Jessie seem to have 2 guaranteed places next February in one of the two Mullaloo primary schools, the one Sarah has as her favorite, which is a bit of a relief. The twins turn 5 next month.

10:45 We say goodbye to Sarah and the twins. Lois has to go out. She is going to be a stand-in teacher at her sect's Sunday School, and after a shared lunch in the meeting-house, she will attend the sect's regular Sunday service this afternoon.

I now have 5 hours of alone-time, something which has become a bit of a rarity recently.

I get started reading the next 3 pages of "Journey into a dark heart", the first novel in a collection of Danish short stories "Stories of the night" by the famous Danish author Peter Høeg, which I want our U3A Danish group members to read as the group's next project.

Peter Høeg's "Stories in the Night",

our U3A Danish group's next project

I want the members to begin on Høeg's book straight after we finish our current project, "Line", a Danish crime novella about a suspicious suicide that took place just outside the famous abandoned church in Skagen on Jutland's northern coast.

I read and translate into English the 3 pages and make a vocabulary list for each page to save members having to look the hard words up in a dictionary. I'm such a sweet man!

12:30 I have lunch and afterwards I decide to postpone my usual afternoon nap to complete a few tasks on my to-do list, and also do a little weeding in the backyard. I begin to cut down the suckers that sprout directly from around one of our plum trees. I cannot pull them up so I just have to cut them down as much as possible - they are real bastards, there's no doubt about that !!!!

14:00 I go to bed and take a giant postponed afternoon nap. I get up at 3.30 pm and take a little look online. I see that Alison, our daughter in Copenhagen, has put a charming picture up on "Insta": it shows her daughter, Rosalind, who has her 10th birthday on Tuesday.

Ed, Alison's husband, will be in England on Rosalind's birthday in preparation for the family's return to England after almost 6 years. He and Alison decided to allow Rosalind to open some of her birthday presents yesterday, including this Lego kit that became very entertaining for the whole family - there is not much to occupy them at the moment: the house is almost completely empty because most of their furniture and belongings are in a massive double moving-truck, which is already on its way from Copenhagen to England. Poor them !!!!!

Rosalind with one of her birthday gifts, which she has been able to

have a sneak preview of: a lego toy. She has her birthday on Tuesday.

Ed is flying to England today to attend and supervise the arrival of the family's furniture, etc. at their old house in Haslemere, England. A dramatic step in the family's life-story, which he later celebrates in an excited and moving post on Facebook.

Ed's touching post on Facebook this afternoon

16:00 Lois comes home from her sect's meeting-house and we relax with a cup of tea on the couch.

18:00 We have dinner and afterwards we talk on Skype with Alison in Copenhagen. She confirms that Ed, her husband, is sleeping in the family's old house in Haslemere, England, tonight, so he can monitor the arrival of the massive double moving-truck and delivery of family's furniture tomorrow.

our whatsapp call with Alison, our daughter in Denmark

Later in the week he will drive the family's new English car to Denmark. They will then all travel, including 2 adults, 3 children, 2 cats and 1 dog, by the overnight ferry to England, arriving at their old house on Saturday (30th). My god, the end of an era after almost 6 years, no doubt about that.

We tell Alison that we would like to spend a couple of days in the Haslemere area in 2 weeks' time, just to welcome them and spend some time with them, but we will stay in a nearby hotel because we are fully aware that a lot of confusion is going to be reigning in the house itself - we know that for sure! Alison is very happy with that.

21:00 We watch a little television. The first episode is showing from a highly anticipated (by me!) series in 4 parts all about Trump and the American press, especially the New York Times, which the president is not really good friends with, to put it mildly!

A fascinating first episode covering the first approx. 3 months (100 days) of Trump's "reign".

It's very nice (also heart-warming) to see and hear decent and intelligent people (the newspaper's reporters) telling the truth about Trump again and again: the fact that he is completely comfortable with telling lies, fabricating stories, making unfounded accusations, hurling abuse like a schoolboy against his opponents and the press etc. Of course we already know this well enough, but it is heart-warming and a big relief to hear it being confirmed by the newspaper's journalists, no doubts there.

Trump wants to run the country as he has always run his businesses - without opposition, and with the ability to fire people on the spot etc. It is fortunate that the constitution exists, no doubt about that. We'll see over the next few years how strong and Trump-proof George Washington and his mates made it!

In this evening's program it is also very interesting to see how a large newspaper works, especially during crises of some kind, and to see the sharp competition between the newspapers (especially the New York Times and Washington Post) and the struggle to be the first to break a new story. It must all be very exciting, especially now that the news is published 24 hours a day online. I am a little jealous of these journalists - and we sense a lot of adrenaline in the newspaper's offices, all quite tangible.

22:15 We go to bed - zzzzzzzz !!!!

Danish translation

08:00 Lois og jeg går i bad og står op.

09:45 Efter morgenmad taler vi lidt på whatsapp med Sarah, vores datter i Perth, Australien, og hendes (snart) 5-årige tvillinger, Lily og Jessie, der viser os mange af deres legetøj og barnebøger.

vores whatsapp-opkald med Sarah, vores datter i Australien

Der er en masse gode nyheder. Francis, Sarahs mand, opsagde forleden sit deltidsjob som sælger af nye hjem, fordi selskabets arrangementer forhindrede ham i at fortjene kommissioner – du godeste, sikke et vanvid!!!!  Men heldigvis har han modtaget et nyt projekt som en del af hans gamle britisk-baserede onlineforretning fra en af hendes mest langvarige kunder herovre.

Lily og Jessie virker at have 2 garanterede pladser næste februar i en af de to Mullaloo primære skoler, den, Sarah har som sin favorit, hvilket er lidt af en lettelse.  Tvillingerne fylder 5 år næste måned.

10:45 Vi siger farvel til Sarah og tvillingerne. Lois skal ud. Hun vil være vikarlærer i formiddag i sin sekts søndagsskole, og efter en fælles frokost i menighedshuset vil hun i eftermiddag deltage i sektets regelmæssige gudstjeneste.

Jeg har 5 timers alenetid, hvilket for nyhlig er blevet lidt af en sjældenhed.

Jeg går i gang med at læse de næste 3 sider af ”Rejse ind i et mørkt hjerte”, den første novelle i en samling af danske noveller ”Fortællinger om natten”  af den berømte danske forfatter, Peter Høeg, som jeg vil have vores U3A danske gruppes medlemmer til at læse som gruppens næste projekt.

Peter Høegs ”Fortællinger om natten”,

vores U3A danske gruppes næste projekt

Jeg vil have medlemmerne til at begynde på Høegs bog, lige efter at vi er færdig med vores nuværende projekt, ”Line”, en dansk kriminovelle, der handler om et mistænkeligt selvmord, der fandt sted lige udenfor den berømte tilsandede kirke i Skagen, på Jyllands nordlige kyst.

Jeg læser og oversætter til engelsk de 3 siderne og udfærdige en ordforrådliste til enhver side, for at spare dem for at slå de svære ord op i et ordbog. Jeg er en så sød mand!

12:30 Jeg spiser frokost og bagefter beslutter jeg at udskyde min sædvanlige eftermiddagslur for at klare et par opgaver på min gøremålsliste, også luge lidt i baghaven.  Jeg giver mig til at klippe ned  rodskudene, der spirer frem direkte fra en af vores blommetræers rødder. Jeg kan ikke rykke dem op, så jeg er nødt til at nøjes med at klippe dem ned så meget som muligt – de er sådanne nogle sjufter, ingen tvivl om det!!!!

14:00 Jeg går i seng og tager en gigantisk udskudt eftermiddagslur.  Jeg står op kl 15:30, og kigger lidt på nettet. Jeg ser, at Alison, vores datter i København, har lagt et charmerende billede op på ”Insta”: det viser hendes datter, Rosalind, der har sin 10. fødselsdag på tirsdag.

Ed, Alisons mand, vil være i England på Rosalinds fødselsdag i forberedelse på familiens tilbagekomst til England efter næsten 6 år. Han og Alison besluttede derfor at tillade Rosalind at åbne nogle af sine fødselsdagsgaver i går, inklusive dette Lego-kit, der for hele familien blev meget underholdende – der er ikke ret meget at beskæftige dem for tiden: huset er næsten helt tomt, fordi hovedparten af deres møbler og ejendele sidder i en massiv dobbelt-flyttevogn, der allerede er på vej fra København til England. Stakkels dem !!!!!

Rosalind med en af sine fødselsdagsgaver, som hun i dag har kunnet

smugkigget : et lego-kit. Hun har sin fødselsdag på tirsdag.

Ed flyver til England i dag for at overvære og våge over ankomsten af familiens møbler osv til deres gamle hus i Haslemere, England. En dramatisk skridt i familiens liv, som han senere fejrer i en spændt og rørende annonce på Facebook.

Ed’s rørende annonce på Facebook i eftermiddag

16:00 Lois kommer hjem fra sin sekts menighedshus og vi slapper af med en kop te i sofaen.

18:00 Vi spiser aftensmad og bagefter taler vi lidt på Skype med Alison i København.  Hun bekræfter, at Ed, hendes mand, sover i nat i familiens gamle hus i Haslemere, England, så han kan overvåge på ankomsten af den massive dobbelt-flyttevogn og leverance af familiens møbler i morgen.

Senere på ugen vil han køre familiens nye engelske bil over til Danmark. De vil alle rejse, inklusive 2 voksne, 3 børn, 2 katte og 1 hund, med overnatningsfærgen til England, og ankommer til deres gamle hus på lørdag (den 30.). Du godeste, enden på en ære efter næsten 6 år, ingen tvivl om det.

Vi fortæller Alison, at vi gerne vil tilbringe et par dage i Haslemere-området om 2 ugers tid, bare for at velkomme dem og tilbringe lidt tid med dem, men vi vil bo i et nærliggende hotel, fordi vi er helt klar over, at en masse forvirring vil herske i selve huset – det ved vi med sikkerhed! Det er Alison meget glad for.

21:00 Vi ser lidt fjernsyn. De viser det første afsnit af en meget forventet (af mig!) serie i 4 dele, der handler om Trump og den amerikanske presse, især New York Times, som præsidenten er uvenner med, for at sige mildt!

Et fascinerende første afsnit, der dækker de første ca. 3 måneder (100 dage) af Trumps ”regeringstid”.

Det er meget rart at se og høre anstændige og intellligente mennesker (avisens journalister) fortælle sandheden om Trump: det, at han er helt komfortabel med at lyve, opdigte historier, gøre ubegrundede beskyldninger, slynge skældsord ligesom en skoledreng mod sine politiske modstandere og mod pressen osv. Selvfølgelig ved vi dette godt nok allerede, men det er rart at høre det blive bekræftet af avisens journalister, ingen tvivl om det.

Det er en forfriskende forandring at høre meninger af intelligente mennesker, i stedet for dem der idioter, der stemte på ham ha ha ha.

Trump har lyst til at drive landet som han altid har drevet sine forretninger – uden modstand, og med evnen til at fyre mennesker på stedet. Det er heldigt, at forfatningen eksisterer, ingen tvivl om det. Vi får se i løbet af de næste få år, hvor stærk og Trump-sikker George Washington og hans kammerater gjorde den!

I aftenens program er det også meget interessant at se, hvordan en stor avis fungerer, især i løbet af kriser af en eller anden karakter, og at se den skarpe konkurrence mellem aviserne (især New York Times og Washington Post) og kampen for at være den første til at bryde en ny historie.  Det må være meget begejstrende, især nu, hvor nyhederne bliver offentliggjort hele døgnet på nettet. Jeg er lidt jaloux på disse journalister – og vi mærker en masse adrenalin i avisens kontor, der er helt håndgribeligt.

22:15 Vi går i seng – zzzzzzzz!!!!