Thursday 14 June 2018

11:00 Lois and I drive over to Gloucester. I have an appointment at the local hospital's oral and maxillofacial department, where doctors specialize in surgery in and around the entire face, mouth and jaws - yikes!

Warning; this hospital is massive  !!!!

Fortunately, the appointment is a bit of a formality. The specialist wants to confirm that my tongue ulcer has disappeared and that I therefore have not got a cancer, thank goodness.

My problem started when we were in Australia. An ulcer developed on my tongue, and after a month it had not been healed by itself, as most sores in the mouth do. After returning to England, my doctor referred me to the specialist at Gloucester Royal Hospital, in case there was something cancerous going on.

The specialist told me that the ulcer was slowly healing, but she thought the process had been delayed because the side of the tongue was coming into constant contact with a sharp tooth: I had lost a piece of one of my lower teeth on the right hand side. She asked me to get an appointment with my dentist so that the sharp tooth could be filed down or some other treatment could take place - whatever the dentist thought was appropriate.

Josh, my dentist, filed down this tooth 6 weeks ago, and my ulcer finally healed by itself.

12:00 We sit down in the waiting room. I overhear two old men talking opposite me about their chemotherapy treatment, which is a little scary.

12:30 My appointment with the specialist takes place, delayed by 30 minutes, and lasts only 3 minutes. She confirms that the tongue ulcer has disappeared, thank God.

So far I have been very lucky and have not had very much to do with hospitals. It's a little scary today to be inside a hospital and to see all the other sick people, many of them old (like me!) And to think about my future and the rest of my life as I get older and older - yikes!

Once again, however, I feel my legendary good luck has not let me down. I have never been on the receiving end of a really serious diagnosis, except for my arthritis (9 years ago, in 2009), and I can live with my arthritis, even though it is a little annoying, I have to admit.

But one day “it” is going to happen: cancer maybe, or something similar, and I do not know how I'll react to hearing the bad news - yikes (again) !!!!! Scary !!!!!!!!

13:00 On our way home, we pop into the local Beafeater restaurant, in Longford, a small suburb of Gloucester. We have decided to celebrate Father's Day 3 days earlier than the day itself because on Sunday the pubs and restaurants will be packed with other guests. I choose the restaurant's sausage and mash option for retirees and drink a strong gin and tonic (Gordon's) with the food.

The local Beafeater restaurant in Longford.

The restaurant's interior: our table is marked with an orange "X" ha ha

So I’m also celebrating the world's international gin day, but 5 days later than the day itself. Steve, my brother-in-law, gave me notice a week ago that this important day in the calendar was on the way, but unfortunately I did not get the chance to celebrate it last Saturday because of other commitments, which was a bit of a shame.

But now, problem solved: I am now up to date with regard to my current special days - hurrah!

14:30 We drive back to Cheltenham. On our way home, we pop into the Hobbycraft department store to buy arts and crafts materials (mostly sticky paper pieces in different colors), which we can send to Lily and Jessie, our twin grandchildren in Perth, Australia, who turn 5 next month.

Cheltenham's Hobbycraft department store

16:00 We come home. What a day! I go to bed to take a slightly delayed afternoon nap.

18:00 We are not that hungry after our "Fathers Day" lunch in Gloucester, and we make do with 2 pieces of toast. We spend the rest of the evening watching television and listening to the radio: in particular, a classic Matt Berry interview from the 1970s.

Luckily, Berry had the chance to interview Uri Geller just when the famous conjuror was becoming world famous for his ability to bend forks, spoons and keys, etc.

Berry, even in those days, was displaying his wonderful voice, that always reminds me of the voice of the famous British actor James Mason, although I can't exactly put my finger on why.

Unfortunately, though, Berry was at that time just developing his skills as an interviewer, and his lack of experience shows through from time to time during the interview.

For example, during the interview Geller reveals for the first time that, as a young man, he "had been a spy and had been tortured for several weeks", a sensational disclosure, but Berry completely ignores this - simply letting Geller's sensational confession go to waste, and changing to a new subject. My god, how crazy.

It's interesting to hear a little about Geller's family. Berry asks him what happened to his two brothers, Joker and Peter. Geller simply replies that they became dogs. Another sensational revelation, but unfortunately Geller cannot explain the incident, which is a little disappointing.  He simply says that this question has bothered him for years. Lois and I think it is just not good enough to leave this topic up in the air in this way. Annoying, to put it mildly.

As a young man, Geller began a career as a male model, and he had to go around with makeup on, which was a bit embarrassing to him in the kibbutz where he lived at that time, and where makeup for men was a bit of a taboo. Good grief, what a crazy world we live in.

Geller's first "residence" was a balcony covered by a plastic sheet to protect him from the rain. In his autobiography, Geller writes that the balcony was haunted by a ghost that was a mix of Guy Fawkes and Ronald Macdonald. During this evening's interview, Geller goes on to describe a somewhat embarrassing incident where the ghost abused him sexually. Luckily, Berry had a serious coughing fit during Geller's account, so we miss out on the details - thank goodness for that.

And why can Berry not pronounce the word "Israel" without extending the 2nd syllable, so it sounds like "Israaaaaaaeeeeeeel"? His lack of experience shows through again here, we believe.

Berry asks Geller to empty his pants pockets, a trick he has specialized in, during his long career as an interviewer. As always, the results are very interesting and revealing, I have to admit.

We find out that there were some perfectly routine articles in Geller's pocket: lipstick, a gold chain, a little star of David, drugs, glass tubes, keys, etc. But the experiment also shows how rich Geller is, when we hear that he also happened to have a million dollars in his pocket. Good grief!

However, Geller also appears in the interview to be a little naive and gullible, we think. He believes in a lot of things including various dubious concepts, for example, he believes in reincarnation, heaven, hell, God, but also Santa Claus, which is a bit of a surprise, to put it mildly.

Finally, Berry asks the question everyone wants to hear the answer to: where does Geller get his special powers from? Geller explains it by stating his belief  that  there's a UFO somewhere "out there",  [i.e. some place or other in the universe - Ed] and that there's also maybe a kind of extraterrestrial child around, who perhaps may have run away from his parents and who is now playing tricks on him.

Altogether a very fascinating and revealing interview.

22:00 We go to bed. I read 12 pages of my bedside book, Fleming's "Goldfinger", with Bond, Goldfinger, Moneypenny, Galore and all the other usual suspects, before I drift off to sleep - zzzzzz !!!!

Danish translation

11:00 Lois og jeg kører over til Gloucester. Jeg har aftale hos det lokale hospitalets oral og maxillofacial  afdeling, hvor lægerne har specialiseret sig i kirurgi i og omkring hele ansigt, mund og kæbe – yikes!

Advarsel: dette hospital er massivt – skræmmende!!!!

Heldigvis er aftalen lidt af en formalitet. Specialisten vil gerne bekræfte, at min tungesår er forsvindet, og at jeg derfor ikke har kræft, gudskelov.

Mit problem startede, da vi var i Australien. Et sår udviklede sig på min tunge, og efter en måned havde det ikke læget af sig selv, so de fleste sår i munden gør. Efter vi kom tilbage til England, henviste min læge mig til specialisten på Gloucester Royal Hospital, for det tilælde, såret var kræftagtigt.

Specialisten fortalte mig, at såret var begyndt langsomt at læges, men hun mente, at processen var blevet forsinket, fordi siden af tungen kom i konstant kontakt med en skarp tand:  jeg havde mistet et stykke af en af mine nedre tænder på min munds højre side. Hun bad mig om, at få en aftale hos min tandlæge, så den skarpe tand kunne blive filet ned, eller nogen anden behandling kunne finde sted – hvad som helst var passende ifølge tandlægen.

Josh, min tandlæge, filede tanden ned for 6 uger siden, og mit sår lægede endelig af sig selv.

12:00 Vi sætter os ned i ventesalen. Jeg hører to gamle mænd overfor mig, der snakker om deres kimoterapi-behandling, hvilket er lidt skræmmende.

12:30 Min aftale hos specialisten finder sted, forsinket med 30 minutter, og varer kun 3 minutter. Hun bekræfter, at tungesåret er forsvindet, gudskelov.

Jeg har hidtil været meget heldig og har ikke ret ofte skullet på hospitalet. Det er lidt skræmmende at være inde i et sygehus og at se alle de andre syge mennesker, mange af dem gamle (som mig!), og at tænke på mine kommende år og resten af mit liv, mens jeg bliver mere og mere ældre – yikes!

Endnu engang føler jeg, at mit legendariske gode held ikke har svigtet mig. Jeg har aldrig fået en alvorlig diagnose, bortset fra min gigt (diagnosticeret for 9 år siden, i 2009), og min gigt kan jeg leve med, selvom den er lidt irriterende, det må jeg indrømme.

Men en dag kommer det til at ske: kræft måske, eller noget lignende, og jeg ved ikke, hvordan jeg vil reagere til at høre den dårlige nyhed –yikes (igen) !!!!! Skræææææmende !!!!!!!!

13:00 På vej hjem smutter vi ind i den lokale Beafeater restaurant, i Longford, en lille forstad til Gloucester. Vi har besluttet at fejre fars dag 3 dage tidligere, end selve dagen, når pubber og restauranter er proppet med andre gæster. Jeg vælger restaurantens pølser-og-kartoffelmos option for pensionister, og drikker en stærk gin-og-tonik (Gordon’s) til maden.

den lokale Beafeater-restaurant i Longford.

Restaurantens indre: vores bord er markeret med et ”X” ha ha

Jeg fejrer derfor også samtidig verdens internationale gin dag, 5 dage senere, end selve dag. Steve, min svigerbror, advarede mig for en uge siden, at denne vigtige dag i kalenderen var i opsejling, men jeg fik desværre ikke chancen for at fejre den i lørdags på grund af andre forpligtelser, hvilket var lidt af en skam.

Men problemet løst:  jeg er nu  opdateret med hensyn til mine specielle dage – hurra!

14:30 Vi kører tilbage til Cheltenham. På vej hjem smutter vi ind i Hobbycraft-stormagasinet for at købe kunstmateriale (for det meste klæbende papirstykker i forskellige farver), som vi kan sende til Lily og Jessie, vores tvillingebørnebørn i Perth, Australien, der næste måned fylder 5 år.

Cheltenhams Hobbycraft-stormagasin

16:00 Vi kommer hjem. Sikke en dag! Jeg går i seng for at tage en lidt forsinket eftermiddagslur.

18:00 Vi er ikke ret sultne efter vores “farsdagsfrokost” i Gloucester, og vi nøjes med 2 stykker toast. Vi bruger resten af aftenen på at se lidt fjernsyn og lytte til radio, et klassisk Matt Berry-interview fra 1970’erne.

Det var heldigt, at Berry fik chancen for at interviewe Uri Geller, netop dengang den berømte tryllekunster var lige til at blive verdensberømt for sin evne til at bøje gafler, nøgler osv.

Desværre var selve Berry desværre lige i gang med at udvikle sine færdigheder som interviewer, og sin mangel af erfaring viser sig fra tid til anden under interviewet. For eksempel, under interviewet afslører Geller for første gang, at han som unge mand ”havde været spion, og blev tortureret i flere uger”, en sensationel afsløring, men Berry udelader fuldstændigt at følge dette emne op – han ignorerer simpelthen Gellers sensationelle tilståelse, og skifter emnet. Du godeste, sikke et vanvid!

Det er interessant at høre lidt om Gellers familie. Berry spørger ham, hvad der blev af Gellers to brødre, Joker og Peter. Geller svarer simpelthen, at de blev til hunde. Endnu en sensationel afsløring, men desværre kan Geller ikke forklare hændelsen, hvilket er lidt skuffende. Han siger simpelthen, at spørgsmålet har generet ham i årevis. Lois og jeg synes, dette ikke er godt nok at forlade dette emne oppe i luften på denne måde! Irriterende, for at sige mildt!

Som ung mand, påbegyndte Geller på en karriere som mandlig model, og han skulle gå med makeup, hvilket var lidt pinligt for ham i den kibbutz, hvor han dengang boede, og hvor make-up var lidt af et tabu. Du godeste, sikke en skør verden vi lever i !!!

Gellers første ”bolig” var en altan, dækket af et plastik-lægen for at beskytte ham mod regnen. I Gellers selvbiografi, skriver han, at altanen blev hjemsøgt af et spøgelse, der var en blanding af Guy Fawkes og Ronald Macdonald.Under aftenens interview går Geller hen at beskrive en lidt pinlig hændelse, hvor spøgelsen krænkede ham seksuelt. Heldigvis har Berry haft en pludseligt hosteanfald under Gellers beretning, så vi går glip af detaljerne, gudskelov!

Og hvorfor kan Berry ikke udtale ordet ”Israel” uden at forlænge den 2. stavelse, så det lyder som ”Israaaaaaaeeeeeeel” ? Hans mangel på erfaring viser sig igen her, tror vi!

Berry beder Geller om at tømme sine bukserlommer, en trick han har specialiseret sig om i sin lange karriere som interviewe. Som altid er resultaterne meget interessant og afslørende, det må jeg indrømme!

Vi finder ud af, at nogle rutinemæssige artikler var i Gellers lomme: læbestift, en guldkæde, en lille davidsstjerne, stoffer, glasrør, nøgler osv. Men det viser også hvor rig Geller er, når vi hører, at han dengang også kom til at have 1 million dollars i lommen. Du godeste, sikke et vanvid!

Men Geller viser sig også i interviewet at være lidt naiv og godtroende, synes vi. Han tror på en masse ting og koncepter, for eksempel han tror på reinkarnation, paradis, helvede, Gud, men også julemanden, hvilket er lidt af en overraskelse, for at sige mildt!

Til sidst stiller Berry det spørgsmål, alle gerne vil hører svaret til: hvor får Geller sine specielle kræfter fra. Geller tror, at der en en ufo ”derude” – et eller andet sted i universet, og at der også er en måske et eller andet udenjordisk barn, som måske har løbet væk fra sine forældre, og som nu er igang med at spille tricks på ham.

I det hele taget, en meget fascinerende og afslørende interview!

22:00 Vi går i seng. Jeg læser 12 sider af min sengetidbog, Flemings ”Goldfinger”, med Bond, Goldfinger, Galore og alle de andre sædvanlige mistænkte, før jeg glider over i søvnen – zzzzzz!!!!