Tuesday 3 July 2018

08:00 Lois and I go in the shower and get up. After breakfast, Lois goes for a short walk on the local football field while I get ready for my friend "Magyar" Mike's weekly visit.

10:00 Mike rings at the door and we study Hungarian for an hour. But first of all we chat about our families as we usually do. Mike is the kind of person who does not hesitate to brag about his children or grandchildren's achievements - something Lois and I have always tried to avoid doing, to our great credit ha ha! Mike tells me that Stephen, Mike's grandson, has been awarded a bachelor's degree in law (1st class) at Lancaster University, and Mike cannot stop talking about it - poor Mike !!!!!

our current textbook

Finally we stop chatting and start looking at our current textbook, "Teach Yourself Hungarian". But I am starting to suspect that Mike has begun to lose it with the language. Up til now our studies have helped to keep alive the linguistic area of his brain. But he now only has the weakest grasp of the grammar and word-endings etc - well, we'll see what happens.

12:00 Lois and I eat lunch and afterwards I go to bed and take a huge afternoon nap.

15:00 I get up and print out the first 14 pages of a Danish crime novelle, "Let Down" by Gittemie Eriksen, which is to be our U3A Danish group's next project. I draw up vocabulary lists at the bottom of each page to save the members from having to look the hard words up in a dictionary - I'm so nice ha ha ha!

There are no sex scenes in the first 14 pages, thank god, but I know there is a graphical description that will come later: my plan is to skip over it in the group situation. Of course, there is no problem about reading sex scenes quietly in private, but to put it mildly, the whole thing becomes a bit embarrassing among a group of retirees, others just like me and Lois, reading the scenes out loud and (what's worse ha ha) translating them into English - good grief, what a nightmare !!!

Olaf is the novella's elderly farmer who discovers the dead body in an old freezer in a tumble-down outhouse, somewhere on his land. Spooky !!!

Pia, the novella's heroine, is a forensics officer working with the police, and Lars is Pia's boyfriend: Lars is also working for the police, but it is not clear yet exactly what he does. Pia says that sex with Lars is "okay", but she finds their 2-month-old relationship a bit stifling - she would rather be out playing the field. My god, what madness !!!!

There is a scene where Lars and Pia are driving to a christening when Lars gets a call asking them both to turn up at the crime-scene: ie, the farm where the body was discovered.

Lars is behind the wheel, and Pia is sitting in the passenger seat. Suddenly Pia realizes that she is not appropriately dressed to take part in the police investigation. Lars drives on, but Pia unclicks her seatbelt, squeezes between the seats and changes her clothes on the backseat - throwing her dress off and getting more casual clothes out of her bag, much to the amusement of passing motorists - but she just gives them all the finger! What a woman !!!! And what madness !!!!

Pia Holm, the criminovella's heroine - what a woman !!!!

17:30 We have dinner a bit earlier than usual, and afterwards Lois has to go out. She wants to attend her church's weekly Bible seminar taking place tonight in Brockworth library.

I have a little alone time and I go out into the backyard. I water the flower beds and vegetable garden using the long garden hose from the tap under the kitchen window.

20:00 I listen a little to the radio, an interesting program all about Prof. Edwin Dawes, a biochemist, who was Philip Larkin's personal magician. I have been looking forward to hearing this program because Larkin was my favorite poet.

A children's book, The Quaker Oats Book of Conjuring (1935), was Dawes' original inspiration to become a magician: at that time he was only 10 years old. The book was sent out free of charge in exchange for some coupons cut from a packet of Quaker Oats. And since then he has never looked back.

It's true that there was a period at high school when chemistry became his obsession and the magic was put on the back burner, but this phase did not last very long, thank goodness.

However, Dawes' secondary interest in chemistry later came to good use when he became a student of biochemistry at the University of Leeds after World War II. As a student in the city of Leeds in 1946, Dawes met his future wife, Amy, who was then a student in home economics at the nearby Yorkshire School of Housecraft.

Dawes and his classmates called this institute the "pudding school". And Dawes initially began to seek out Amy's company simply because he was always hungry, he says. After they got married, Amy banned him from reading biochemistry books in bed, so he read books about magic instead. Good grief, what a crazy world we live in !!!!

Amy started reading the books over his shoulder, and eventually she became her husband's assistant on stage, so I suppose she must have been rather glamorous, even though I do not have pictures of her. Needless to say, glamorous assistants obviously come in handy because they tend to distract the audience's attention.

a typical magician and glamorous assistant

Dawes met Larkin for the first time in 1963, which was the poet Larkin's "annus mirabilis" when sex was invented (see the poem below). Dawes was appointed as the University of Hull's new biochemistry professor, and got to know Larkin soon afterwards - Larkin was the university's chief librarian. Dawes also became the science faculty's representative on Larkin's so-called "library committee".

»Sexual intercourse began /

in nineteen sixty three /

(which was rather late for me) /

between the end of the "Chatterley" ban /

and the Beatles' first LP. "

Apparently Larkin often used to beg Dawes to try and saw one professor or another in half, or to double the library budget by magic, but Dawes always refused. My god, what a crazy world we live in !!!!

Dawes and Larkin also became good friends with another academic-magician, the American, Dale Salwak, English professor at Citrus College in California. Dawes invited Salwak and Larkin for dinner, and afterwards Salwak performed his 10-minute professional stage act in front of Larkin, Dawes and Dawes's wife Amy.

Larkin later revealed that it was the best night of his life - my god, that's a bit of a surprise, no doubt about that!!!! The evening also put an end to a 3 year drought in Larkin's poetry-writing : his writer's block came to an abrupt end. I suppose we all need a little magic in our lives from time to time.

Larkin, shortly after the magic evening, wrote his uplifting "Aubade" and the charming "Long Lion Days".

But of course, these droughts coincided with him having 3 lovers at the same time: Betty, Maeve, and Monica - so maybe he just had less time than usual to spend on writing poetry for other reasons. But that's something the jury is still out on.

21:30 Lois comes back and we watch a bit of television, the latest episode of "Come Dine With Me", a cooking competition,  that was aired earlier in the evening.

22:00 I go to bed, but Lois needs to relax and wind down after the evening's stimulating Bible seminar, and she carries on watching television.

23:00 She hops up in bed with me and we drift off to sleep - zzzzzzz !!!

Danish translation

08:00 Lois og jeg står op og går I bad. Efter morgenmad, går Lois en kort tur på den lokale fodboldsbane, mens jeg forbereder mig på min ven ”Magyar” Mikes ugentlige besøg.

10:00 Mike ringer på døren, og vi studerer ungarsk sammen i en time. Men først snakker vi lidt om vores familier, som vi plejer. Mike er det slags menneske, der ikke tøver med at prale af sine børn eller børnebørns bedrifter – noget Lois og jeg altid har prøvet at undgå at gøre, hvilket gør os ære ha ha! Mike fortæller mig, at Stephen, Mikes barnebarn, har erhvervet en bachelorgrad i jura (1. klasse) på Lancaster-universitetet, og Mike kan ikke lade være med at tale om det – stakkels Mike !!!!!

vores nuværende lærebog

Til sidst holder vi op med at snakke og går i gang med at kigge på vores nuværende lærebog, ”Lær dig selv ungarsk”. Men jeg starter at mistænke, at Mike er begyndt at falde ud på den med sproget. Hidtil har vores studie hjulpet med at holde liv i den sproglige område i hans  hjerne. Han har nu kun det svageste omfattelse af grammatikken og ordendelser – vi får se, hvad det sker.

12:00 Vi spiser frokost og bagefter går jeg i seng og tager en gigantisk eftermiddagslur.

15:00 Jeg står op og jeg printer ud de første 14 sider af en dansk kriminovelle, ”Svigtet”, af Gittemie Eriksen, der skal være vores U3A danske gruppes næste projekt. Jeg udfærdiger ordforrådslister i bunden af hver side, for at spare medlemmerne for at skulle slå de svære ord op i et ordbog – jeg er så sød ha ha ha!

Der er ingen sexscener i de første 14 sider, gudskelov, men jeg ved godt, at der er en grafisk beskrivelse, der kommer senere: min plan for tiden er at springe over den i gruppesituationen. Der er selvfølgelig ikke noget problem med at læse sexscener stille og roligt i enrum, men for at sige mildt bliver det hele lidt pinligt blandt en gruppe af pensionister, ligesom mig og Lois, at læse scenerne højt og (hvad er værre) oversætte dem til engelsk - du godeste, sikke et mareridt!!!

Olaf er novellens gamle bondemand, der opdager liget i en gammel fryser i et faldefærdigt udhus, der ligger et eller andet sted på sin jord. Uhyggeligt!!!

Pia, novellens heltinde,  er retsmediciner, der arbejder sammen med politiet, og Lars er Pias kæreste: Lars også arbejder for politiet, men det er ikke klart endnu, præcis hvad han gør. Pia siger at sex med Lars er ”okay”, men hun finder deres forhold lidt snærende og vil hellere have flere jern i ilden. Du godeste, sikke et vanvid!!!!

Der er en scene, hvor Lars og Pia er i gang med at køre til en barnedåb, da Lars får et opkald, hvor de begge to bliver bedt om at dukke op på findestedet: dvs, den gård, hvor liget blev opdaget.

Lars er bag rettet, og Pia sidder ved siden af ham. Pludselig indser hun, at hun ikke er passende klædt til at deltage i undersøgelsen. Hun klikker selen af og klemmer sig mellem sæderne og skifter tøj på bagsædet – smidende sin kjole og finde mere afslappet tøj frem ud af sin taske, til nydelsen af forbipasserende bilister – hun giver dem alle fingeren! Sikke en kvinde!!!! Og sikke et vanvid!!!!

Pia Holm, kriminovellens heltinde – sikke en kvinde!!!!

17:30 Vi spiser aftensmad lidt tidligere, end normalt, og bagefter skal Lois ud. Hun ønsker at deltage i sin kirkes ugentlige bibelseminar, der finder sted i aften i byen Brockworths bibliotek.

Jeg har lidt alene tid og jeg går ud i baghaven. Jeg vander blomsterbedene og grøntsagshaven ved hjælp af den lange haveslange fra vandhanen under køkkenvinduet.

20:00 Jeg lytter lidt til radio, et interessant program, der handler om Prof. Edwin Dawes, en biokemiker, der var Philip Larkins personlige tryllekunstner. Jeg har glædet mig til at høre dette program, fordi Larkin var min yndlingsdigter.

En børnebog,  The Quaker Oats Book of Conjuring (1935), var Dawes oprindelige inspiration til at blive tryllekunstner: han var på det tidspunkt kun 10 år gammel. Bogen var sendt ud gratis i bytte for nogle kuponer, skåret fra en pakke Quaker Oats. Og siden da har han aldrig kigget tilbage.

Det er sandt, at der var en periode, da han gik i gymnasiet, hvor kemi blev til hans besættelse og tryllekunsterne blev sat i anden række, men denne fase varede ikke særlig længe, gudskelov.

Dawes’ sekondære interesse for kemi kom imidlertid senere til god nytte, da han efter den 2. verdenskrig blev studerende i biokemi på University of Leeds. Det var som studerende i byen Leeds, at Dawes i 1946 mødte sin kommende kone, Amy, der dengang var studerende i hjemkundskab på den nærliggende Yorkshire School of Housecraft.

Dawes og hans kammerater kaldte denne institut for ”buddingskolen”. Og Dawes  begyndte oprindeligt at søge Amys selskab, fordi han altid var sulten, siger han. Efter de giftede sig, forbudte Amy ham til at læse biokemibøger i sengen, så han læste bøger om magi i stedet for. Du godeste, sikke en skør verden vi lever i !!!! Amy begyndte at læse bøgerne over hans skulder, og til sidst blev hun sin mands assistent på scenen, så jeg formoder, hun må have været temmelig glamorøs, selvom jeg deværre ikke har billeder af hende. Det er unødvendigt at sige, men glamorøse assistenter selvfølgelig kommer til god nytte, fordi de distraherer publikummets opmærksomhed,

en typisk tryllekunstner og glamorøs assistent

Dawes mødte Larkin for første gang i 1963, der var digteren Larkins ”annus mirabilis”, da sex blev opfundet  (se digtet nedenunder). Dawes blev udpeget som University of Hulls nye biokemiprofessor, og han snart efter lærte digteren Larkin at kende – Larkin var universitetets chefbibliotekar. Dawes blev også videnskabsfagets repræsentant på Larkins såkaldte ”biblioteksudvalg”.

»Samlejet begyndte/

i nittenhundredeogtreogtres/

(som var noget for sent for mig) /

mellem enden på censuren af ”Lady Chatterley”/

og The Beatles' første lp.«”

Det lader til, at Larkin ofte bønfaldt Dawes om at save en eller anden professor i halve, eller fordoble bibliotekets budgettet, men Dawes afviste. Du godeste, sikke en skør verden vi lever i !!!!

Dawes og Larkin blev også gode venner med en anden (amerikansk) akademiker-tryllekunstner, Dale Salwak, engelskprofessor på Citrus College i Californien. Dawes inviterede Salwak og Larkin til middag, og efter maden opførte Salwak sin 10-minutters professionelle nummer foran Larkin, Dawes og Dawes’ kone.

Larkin afslørte senere, at det var hans livets bedste aften – du godeste, det er lidt af en overraskelse, ingen tvivl om det!!!! Aftenen satte også en stopper for en 3-års tørst i Larkins digteskrivning: hans skriveblokering kom pludselig til ende. Jeg formoder, at vi alle har brug for lidt magi i vores liv.

Larkin skrev snart efter sit opløftende ”Aubade” og det charmerende ”Long Lion Days”.

Men selvfølgelig var disse tørst samtidig med, at han havde 3 kærester, Betty, Maeve, og Monica  – så måske havde mindret fritid, end normalt, til at skrive digte. Men det er juryen stadig ude om.

21:30 Lois kommer tilbage og vi ser lidt fjernsyn, det seneste afsnit af ”Come Dine With Me”, en madlavingkonkurrence, der blev sendt tidligere på aftenen.

22:00 Jeg går i seng, men Lois trænger til at slappe af og geare ned efter aftenens stimulerende bibelseminar, og hun fortsætter med at se fjernsyn.

23:00 Hun hopper op i sengen til mig, og vi glider over i søvnen – zzzzzzz!!!