Friday, August 24 2018

09:30 Lois and I get up late and after breakfast I go out into the backyard and mow our remaining 4 lawns. Unfortunately, the work knocks me completely out and for the rest of the day I feel a little limp, a bit like a dishcloth - good grief, I'm getting old.

Meanwhile, Lois gets going in the kitchen with making 7 pounds of plum chutney out of some of our home-grown plums.

Later in the day - Lois with her 7 pounds of homemade plum chutney

12:00 I come back into the house and relax with a glass of beer. I am tired, but I feel very happy to have now mown all of our 6 lawns - the weather girl has said that there will be thunderstorms here later in the day.

My feelings of satisfaction remind me of an incident that took place eight years ago when Terry Oberlin, a Jacksonville man, hit the headlines by getting his life together for just 36 minutes (source, Onion News).

 

According to reports from his family, during this period Oberlin's bills got paid for the month, the living room was vacuumed, the plates were all washed and put away, and the father of two sat in his favorite chair in the living room with nothing in his life that was out of place.

"It was nice to get some domestic tasks out of the way," Oberlin later told reporters from the world's press, and he acknowledged that for more than half an hour he did not experience any regret, despair or frustration of any kind. "Felt really good," he laughed.

The crucial worry-free period apparently began at 7:50pm when Oberlin took the waste to the roadside and then returned to the house, where his back, which had been bothering him all day, came finally back into alignment with a snap. When he came back into the kitchen, he immediately saw a monthly magazine that was sitting on the table where it did not belong, and he immediately just threw it in the trash.

At that exact time, sources said that Oberlin achieved a state of total order in his life.

Witnesses reported that Oberlin, who, for once, had no e-mails to respond to - spent a full minute immersing himself in his relaxed state, staring quietly at nothing in particular and then browsing in a relaxed manner through the evening newspaper.

"He really seemed to be taking it easy," said his wife, Kay Oberlin, and she noticed the pronounced lack of a deep furrow in her husband's brow. "He just stuck his feet up on the ottoman."

She added that on Sunday, Oberlin seemed to be very pleased to have found time to change the oil in the car and cut the lawn and that on Monday night he seemed relieved to hear the news that the wine stains on his "good" white shirt had finally disappeared in the latest machine wash.

Oberlin used the rest of his temporary peace of mind to see the first 26 minutes of House MD. 

The Monday's event marked the first time the 37-year-old had had his life in order for more than six years.

I sympathize with Oberlin - these moments are very rare and you have to cherish them, no doubt about that! This morning, I make a point of imitating many of Oberlin's activities - after all, he has become a bit of an hero from my point of view. But I avoid looking at House MD's opening sequences - instead I see the first 3 minutes of Marlon Brandos "On the Waterfront" .

Marlon Brando's iconic "On the Waterfront"

13:00 We have lunch and afterwards I go to bed and take a huge afternoon nap. I get up at 4pm and we relax with a cup of tea on the couch.

17:00 Lois is exhausted after spending several hours making chutney and we go to bed to rest a little. We then decide to drive into the village and buy a big pizza, but a thunderstorm suddenly starts so I hurry into the kitchen and make my signature dish: fish fingers, boiled potatoes and peas - yum yum! For dessert, we eat another of Lois' homemade fruit crumble desserts - yum yum (again).

19:30 We spend the rest of the evening watching television. A BBC Proms concert is on, featuring Hungarian music. The program's presenter is the charming schoolboy, Lloyd Coleman.

A beautiful concert, with virtuoso performances on Hungarian cimbalon and 2 gypsy violins, and an exciting climax where the Hungarian orchestra members suddenly decide to sing along with the music, which does not happen specially often, no doubt about that - a refreshing change and maybe a part of a new trend?

The Hungarian Orchestra members suddenly decide they want to

to sing along with the music, which makes a refreshing change!

British actor Brian Wilde is playing the violin on the left.

And it's very nice to see Brian Wilde (1927-2008) who played prison officer Barraclough in the 90's prison sitcom "Porridge", coming back from the dead especially to take part in tonight's concert as first violinist. Way to go, Brian!

Brian Wilde in the prison sitcom "Porridge"

Brian (left) interrupts the soloist's performance with one of his own compositions 

to the obvious annoyance of the whole orchestra,

but so what - it's a bit of a special occasion, no doubt about that!

This unknown violinist wins the award for the evening’s

best Hungarian moustache

21:30 We continue to watch a bit of television. An old episode of Top of the Pops is on, from March 1986 when I was enjoying my last 2 weeks as an idiot in my 30's.

It is very nostalgic to see the wonderful late Jim Diamond singing his iconic song, "Hi Ho Silver", again, the theme song for mine and Lois's favorite drama series from the 1980s, "Boon".

Jim Diamond sings his iconic "Hi Ho Silver"

Jim was close friends with Dermot Morgan, who played Father Ted in the famous sitcom. And Jim was present at the small dinner party in 1998, when Dermot, a former school teacher, sadly died, the day after the recording of Father Ted's last episode ever.

During the recording, Dermot unfortunately had to dance to the theme of the movie "Shaft" several times because his colleague Tommy Tiernan repeatedly screwed up his lines. Tommy believes that this experience could have played a role in Dermot's death the following day, but that's something nobody is entirely sure about. The jury is still out on that one.

Flashback to 1998: "Father Ted" (right) dancing to the theme from "Shaft"

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

09:30 Lois og jeg står sent op og efter morgenmad går jeg ud ind i baghaven og klipper vores resterende 4 græsplæner. Desværre slår arbejdet mig helt ud og resten af dagen føler jeg mig lidt slap, lidt som en karklud – du godeste, jeg bliver gammel.

I mellemtiden går Lois i gang i køkkenet med at lave 7 pund blomme chutney ud af nogle af vores hjemmedyrkede blommer.

Pic: Senere på dagen – Lois med sine 7 pund  hjemmelavede blommechutney

12:00 Jeg kommer tilbage ind i huset og slapper af med et glas øl. Jeg er træt, men jeg føler mig meget tilfreds at have slået alle vores 6 græsplæner – vejrpigen har sagt, det senere på dagen bliver tordenvejr.

Mine følelser af tilfredsstillelse minder mig om en hændelse, der fandt sted for 8 år siden, da Terry Oberlin, en mand fra Jacksonville, ramte overskrifterne ved at få sit liv i orden i nøjagtig 36 minutter (kilde, Onion News).

Ifølge rapporter fra mandens familie blev Oberlins regninger for måneden betalt, stuen blev støvsuget, tallerknerne blev alle vasket op og lagt væk, og faderen til to sad i sin yndlingsstol i stuen uden en ting i hans liv ud af sted.

"Det var dejligt at få nogle huslige opgaver ud af vejen," sagde Oberlin senere til journalister fra verdens presse, og han erkendte, at han i mere end en halv time ikke oplevede nogen beklagelse, fortvivlelse eller frustration af nogen art. "Føltes rigtig godt." 

Den afgørende bekymringsfri periode begyndte angiveligt kl. 19:50, da Oberlin tog affaldet ud til vejkanten og derefter vendte sig tilbage til huset, hvor hans ryg, som havde generet ham hele dagen, kom med et smæld endelig tilbage på linje. Da han kom tilbage ind i køkkenet, så han umiddelbart et månedligt magasin, der sad på bordpladen, hvor det ikke tilhørte, og smed det i skraldet.

På det præcise tidspunkt sagde kilder, at Oberlin opnåede en tilstand af total orden i sit liv.

Vidner rapporterede, at Oberlin, der for en gangs skyld ikke havde nogen e-mails til at reagere på - brugte en fuld minut på at fordybe sig i sin afslappede tilstand og stirrede stille og roligt på intet i særdeleshed og derefter bladede afslappet igennem aftenens avis.

"Han syntes virkelig at holde fri," sagde hans kone Kay Oberlin og hun bemærkte den udtalte mangel på en dyb fur i hendes mands pande. "Han smækkede benene op på den ottomanen."

Hun tilføjede at i søndags syntes Oberlin at være meget glad for at have fundet tid til at skifte olien i bilen og klippe græsplænen, og at han i mandags aften syntes at være lettet over at høre de nyheder, at vinpletterne på hans ”gode” hvide skjorte endelig havde forsvundt i den seneste maskinvask .

Oberlin brugte resten af sin midlertidige fred i sindet på at se de første 26 minutter af House M.D. Mandagens hændelse markerede første gang den 37-årige har haft sit liv i orden i mere end seks år.

Jeg sympatiserer med Oberlin – disse øjeblik er meget sjældne, og man må værne om dem, ingen tvivl om det! I formiddagen lægger jeg vægt på at imitere nogle af Oberlins aktiviteter  - han er trods alt blevet lidt af en helt fra mit tidspunkt. Men jeg undgår at se på House MDs åbendne sekvenser -  jeg ser de første 3 minutter af Marlon Brandos ”I storbyens havn” i stedet for.

Marlon Brandos ikoniske ”I storbyens havn”

13:00 Vi spiser frokost og bagefter går jeg i seng og tager en gigantisk eftermiddagslur. Jeg står op kl 16 og vi slapper af med en kop te i sofaen.

17:00 Lois er udmattet efter at have brugt flere timer på at lave chutney og går i seng for at hvile sig lidt. Vi beslutter at køre ind i landsbyen og købe en stor pizza, men det bliver pludselig tordenvejr, så jeg skynder mig ind i køkkenet og laver min signaturret: fiskepinder, kogte kartofler og ærter – yum yum! Til dessert spiser vi endnu en af Lois’ hjemmelavede frugtcrumble desserter – yum yum  (igen).

19:30 Vi bruger resten af aftenen på at se lidt fjernsyn. De viser en BBC Proms-koncert, der fremviser ungarsk musik. Programmets vært en den charmerende skoledreng, Lloyd Coleman.

En nydelig koncert, med virtuosopræstationer på at ungarsk cembalo og 2 sigøjnervioliner, og en spændende klimax, hvor de ungarske orkestermedlemmer pludselig besluttede at singe sammen med musikken, hvilket ikke sker ret ofte, ingen tvivl om det – en forfriskende forandring, og måske en del af en ny trend?

de ungarske orkestermedlemmer beslutter pludseligt

at singes sammen med musikken, hvilket er en forfriskende forandring!

Den britiske skuespiller Brian Wilde spiller violinen til venstre.

Og det er meget rart at se Brian Wilde (1927-2008), der spillede fængselbetjenten Barraclough i 90’ernes fængsel-sitcom ”Porridge”, komme tilbage fra døden specielt for at deltage i koncerten som første violinist. Kom så, Brian !

den afdøde Brian Wilde i fængselsitcommen ”Porridge”

Brian afbryder soloistens præstation med en af sin egne kompositioner

til ærgelsen af hele orkestret,

men hvad så – det er lidt af en speciel anledning, ingen tvivl om det!

21:30 Vi fortsætter at se lidt fjernsyn. De viser et gamle afsnit af Top of the Pops fra marts 1986, da jeg var i gang med at nyde mine sidste uger som idiot i 30’erne.

Det er meget nostalgisk at se den vidunderlige afdøde Jim Diamond synge sin ikoniske sang, ”Hi Ho Silver”, igen, temasang til min og Lois’ yndlingsdramaserie fra 1980’erne, ”Boon”.

Jim Diamond synger sin ikoniske ”Hi Ho Silver”

Jim var tætte venner med Dermot Morgan, der spillede Father Ted i den berømte sitcom. Og Jim var til stede til middagselskaben i 1998, da Dermot, en tidligere skolelærer,  desværre døde, dagen efter optagelsen af Father Teds sidste afsnit nogensinde.

Under optagelsen blev Dermot desværre nødt til at danse til temaet fra filmen ”Shaft” flere gange, fordi hans kollega Tommy Tiernan gentagende gange fuckede op sine linjer. Tommy tror, at denne oplevelse kunne have spillet en rolle i Dermots død den følgende dag, men det er folk ikke helt sikre på. Juryen er stadig ude om det.

Tilbageblik til 1998: ”Father Ted” danser til temaet fra ”Shaft”

22:00 Vi går i seng – zzzzzz!!!!