Sunday, August 5, 2018

08:30 Lois and I get up and go in the shower. The weather girl has said it's going to be very hot again today and Lois has decided not to drive over to Tewkesbury to attend in person her sect's two worship services: last Sunday it was terribly hot in the library's meeting room where the services take place. She is going to stay home and listen to the service online instead.

10:00 We try to call on whatsapp to Sarah, our younger daughter who lives in Perth, Australia, but there is no answer so I leave a text message. I suspect that her smartphone is not turned on for some reason. Sarah is a little forgetful, except when she is at work and doing her professional tasks. And Francis, her husband, is very impulsive and makes sudden decisions at the drop of a hat about taking off on family outings.

It's a bit of a shame because Sunday is mine and Lois' day to have contact with our 2 daughters. Alison, our elder daughter, and her family, are currently occupied with a weekend get-together in a holiday home in the county of Northamptonshire, where they are meeting up with other families that they got to know in Copenhagen. Alison's family moved back to England a month ago after nearly 6 years of residence in Denmark.

Later in the day, Alison posts on "Insta" this charming picture, showing her own family with three others.

Alison has posted on "Insta" this charming picture

showing the weekend's get-together involving her own family, and also three other families

that they got to know during their nearly 6 years of residence in Copenhagen.

My little sister Gill, along with two of her 3 daughters, is this weekend attending the folk music festival that takes place every August in a park near the family home in Cherry Hinton, Cambridge. Later in the day she puts these charming pictures up on "Insta".

Cambridge Folk Festival: from left to right,

Lucy and Zoe, 2 of my nieces, and Gill, my little sister.

11:00 All our close relatives are doing something fun this weekend, except for us, but Lois and I are very happy to stay home and relax. The back of our house faces the back yard, and the neighbors do not overlook us. We can open the back windows and back doors wide open, and we can go around very lightly-clad, without exactly being pornographic ha ha.

We settle down on the couch. The birds are twittering in the backyard, but we know that the baby birds have now grown up for the most part, so sooner or later I can start on my next gardening project - cutting back our huge hedges. But we decide that it will be best to wait for Friday and next weekend when it will be much cooler.

I turn on my laptop and start reading the first pages of the Danish crime novel, "The Further You Fall" which I have ordered online as a possible candidate for our U3A Danish group's next project.

"The Further You Fall", a candidate for our U3A Danish group's next project

Opening sentences are always very important in novels. One imagines the potential customer who is browsing several books in a bookstore store. He looks at the picture on the cover, reads the publisher's blurb on the back, and perhaps the first paragraph in the book.

The novel begins as follows: "In a few hours I'm going to be a murderer. The thought should scare me out of my wits, but if I'm to be honest, I'm more concerned now that my right leg has gone to sleep." It's evening and the killer is hiding in the cleaners' cabinet waiting for the other staff to leave the building - he plans to commit a murder tonight and his victim's name is Lilliana: we do not know the other details at the moment. Good start to the story, however, I think.

At this point, the narrator is the actual killer, apparently, but I do not currently have the slightest idea whether he is going to tell the whole story from start to finish.

12:30 We have lunch and afterwards I go to bed and take a huge afternoon nap. Meanwhile, Lois sits down in front of the computer and participates online in her sect's worship service. She has to hand a small plate with a slice of bread and a small sherry glass filled with red wine, for sort-of taking part in the communion. Sometimes from upstairs I can hear her singing along with the hymns. It's all very charming, I think.

15:00 I get up and we relax with a cup of tea on the couch. Afterwards I hop up on my exercise bike and cycle my usual 6 miles.

Meanwhile, Lois continues to work on her genealogical research: she is currently looking at the county newspapers dating from the 19th century, looking for references to her ancestors who were on both sides of the Victorian era fight for law and order: her maternal grandmother's ancestors were minor criminals, and her paternal grandmother's ancestors included the town of Banbury's first police officer. My god, what a crazy world we live in !!!

But by the middle of the 20th century, the two warring groups of ancestors - the criminals and the police - finally achieved a kind of reconciliation in the DNA that produced Lois, a mostly law-abiding woman, with a bit of a wild streak - yikes! I'm starting to wonder, exactly who is this woman I've married and have had 2 daughters with? Yikes (again) !!!!

18:00 We have dinner and spend the rest of the evening watching television. A concert in this summer's BBC Proms series is on, live from Albert Hall in London. The host of the program is the charming Hannah Kendall.

The program is dominated by two masterpieces from Beethoven and Brahms, so you have to feel sorry for the young composer Tansy Davies, whose new work, inspired by the 9/11 terrorist attacks, opens the concert.

I make no secret of the fact that I do not like modern composers' works. It's always hard to tell if the orchestra is still tuning up their instruments, or if the piece has started, something that speaks volumes in my opinion.

I ask Lois why modern composers do not seem to be able to compose good melodies. Her answer is that it is just not fashionable any more to write melodies. She is right about that, I think, but the problem is that a piece of music without melodies will only have a very short shelf life in my opinion. Nobody is going to remember tonight's "What Did We See" in 10 years' time, or even in 1 year's time, or even less maybe.

The young composer Tansy Davies (left) discusses with

presenter Hannah Kendall her new work inspired by the 9/11 terrorist attacks

Also, I wonder if modern composers may just not have the talent and application to create a piece that, even on a small-scale, is comparable to even the less great parts of a masterpiece such as Beethoven's 5th concert. But I'm going to let that one slide.

21:00 We continue to watch a bit of television. An interesting documentary is on (2nd part of 3), all about Trump's followers in the US's southern states. The host of the program is former Labour Party politician Ed Balls.

Balls proves to be a much better TV host than he was a politician. He is surprisingly sympathetic and friendly, and he asks Trump's followers hard questions but without alienating them, so that viewers are rewarded with open-hearted, revealing insights into the world view of the supporters.

"He does what he says." ...  "He does what he says." While the whole world criticizes Trump, his heartlands are cheering. When will his supporters realize that all that's mostly just words designed to impress them?

It's a little scary to see how fanatical and determined the country's gun lobby and its supporters are, and how few inhibitions they have in criticizing so violently the young victims whose school was hit by the recent school shootings. It's all very hard to understand if you live in Europe, no doubt about it - a completely different tradition that originates from the country's past, it seems.

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

Danish translation

08:30 Lois og jeg står op og går i bad. Vejrpigen har sagt, det komme til at være meget varmt igen i dag og Lois har besluttet ikke at køre over til Tewkesbury for at deltage personligt i sin sekts to gudstjenester: sidste søndag var det uhyggelig varmt i bibliotekets mødeslokale, hvor tjenesterne finder sted. Hun vil blive hjemme og lytte til tjenesten på nettet i stedet for.

10:00 Vi prøver at ringe på whatsapp til Sarah, vores yngste datter i Perth, Australien, men der er ikke noget svar, så jeg efterlader en sms. Jeg mistænker, at hendes smartphone af en eller anden grund ikke er tændt. Sarah er lidt glemsom, bortset fra, når hun er på arbejde og i gang med at klare sine professionelle opgaver. Og Francis, hendes mand, er meget impulsiv og tager pludselige beslutninger på en slip af en hat om, at tage af sted på familieudflugter.

Det er lidt af en skam, fordi søndag er min og Lois’ dag til at have kontakt med vores 2 døtre. Alison, vores ældre datter, og hendes familie er beskæftigede for tiden med en weekendsammenkomst i et feriehus i grevskabet Northamptonshire, hvor de mødes med andre familier, de lærte i København at kende. Alisons familie flyttede tilbage til England for en måned siden efter næsten 6 års ophold i Danmark.

Senere på dagen lagde Alison op på ”Insta” dette charmerende billede, der viser sin egen familie med tre andre.

Alison har lagt op på ”Insta” dette charmerende billede,

der viser weekendens sammenkomst mellem sin egen familie og tre andre familier,

 de lærte at kende under deres næsten 6-års ophold i København.

Min lillesøster Gill deltager, sammen med to af sine 3 døtre, i weekendens folkmusikfestival, der finder sted hver august i en park i nærheden af familiens hus i Cherry Hinton, Cambridge. Senere på dagen lægger hun disse charmerende billeder op på ”Insta”.

Cambridge-folkmusikfestivalen: fra venstre til højre,

Lucy og Zoe, mine niecer, og Gill, min lillesøster.

11:00 Alle vores tætte slægtninge gør noget sjovt i weekenden, bortset fra os, men Lois og jeg er meget glade for, at kunne blive herhjemme og slappe af. Bagsiden af huset vender ud mod baghaven, og naboerne har ikke nogen udsigt til os. Vi kan åbne bagvinduerne og bagdøre på vid gab, og vi kan være meget letpåklædte, uden af være pornografiske ha ha.

Vi sætter os til rette i sofaen. Fuglene kvidrer i baghaven, men vi ved godt, at de unge fugle nu for et meste er vokset op, så jeg før eller senere kan starte på mit næste havearbejdeprojekt – at klippe vores enorme hækker. Men vi beslutter, at det vil være bedst at vente på fredag og næste weekend, når det vil være meget køligere.

Jeg tænder for min bærebare, og går i gang med at læse de første sider af den danske krimiroman, ”Dybt at Falde” (”The Further You Fall”) som jeg har bestillet on line, som en mulig kandidat til vores U3A danske gruppes næste projekt.

”Dybt at Falde”, en kandidat til vores U3A danske gruppes næste projekt

Åbende sætninger er altid meget vigtige i romaner. Man forestiller sig den potentielle kunde, der blader igennem flere bøger i en boghandelsbutik. Han/hun kigger på billedet på omslaget, læser forlagets bagsidetekst, og måske bogens første afsnit.

Romanen begynder som følger: ”Om et par timer er jeg morder. Tanken burde skræmme mig fra vid og sans, men hvis jeg skal være helt ærlig, så er jeg lige nu mere optaget med, at min højre ben sover”. Det er aften, og morderen står i et rensgøringsskab og venter på, at de andre ansatte har forladet bygningen – han planlægge at begå et mord i aften, og hans offer hedder Lilliana: resten af detaljerne ved vi ikke på dette tidspunkt. God start på historien imidlertid, synes jeg.

På dette tidspunkt er beretteren selve morderen, tilsyneladende, men jeg har lige nu ikke den fjerneste anelse om, han vil fortælle hele historien fra start til slut.

12:30 Vi spiser frokost og bagefter går jeg i seng og tager en gigantisk eftermiddagslur. I mellemtiden sætter Lois sig foran computeren og deltager online i sin sekts gudstjeneste. Hun har ved hånden en lille tallerken med en skive brød, og en lille sherryglas, fyldt med rødvin, for ligesom at deltage i nadveren. Nogle gange kan jeg høre hende synge sammen med salmerne. Det hele er meget charmerende, synes jeg.

15:00 Jeg står op og vi slapper af med en kop te i sofaen. Bagefter hopper jeg op på min kondicykel og cykler mine sædvanlige 6 miles.

I mellemtiden fortsætter Lois med at arbejde på sin genealogiske forskning: hun kigger for tiden på grevskabets lokale aviser daterende fra 1800-tallet, og hun leder efter referencer til sine forfædre, der var på begge sider af den daværende kamp for lov og orden: hendes mormors forfædre var mindre kriminelle, og hendes farmors forfædre var byen Banburys første politibetjent. Du godeste, sikke en skør verden vi lever i!!!

Men de to stridende gruppe – de kriminelle og betjenterne – opnåede endelig i midten af det 20. århundre  en slags forsoning i DNA’et der genererede Lois, der er en for det meste lovlydig kvinde med lidt af et anstrøg af vildskab – yikes! Jeg begynder at undre mig, præcis hvem er denne kvinde jeg har giftet mig med og fået 2 døtre med? Yikes (igen) !!!!

18:00 Vi spiser aftensmad og bruger resten af aftenen på at se lidt fjernsyn. De viser en koncert i sommerens BBC Proms-serie live direkte fra Albert Hall i London. Programmets vært er den charmerende Hannah Kendall.

Programmet bliver domineret at to mesterværker fra Beethoven og Brahms, så derfor har man ikke noget andet valg, end at have ondt for den unge komponist Tansy Davies, hvis nye værk, inspireret af 9/11 terrorangrebene, åbner koncerten.

Jeg lægger imidlertid ikke skjul på, at jeg ikke kan lide moderne komponisters værker. Det er alti lidt svært at skelne, om orkestret stadig tester deres instrumenter, eller om stykket er begyndt, hvilket efter min mening taler voluminer.

Jeg spørger Lois om, hvorfor moderne komponister ikke synes at kunne komponere gode melodier. Hun svarer, at det er ikke på mode at komponere melodier. Det har hun ret i, synes jeg, men problemet er, at musikstykker uden melodier kommer til at have kun et meget kort liv efter min mening. Ingen skal huske aftenens ”What Did We See” om 10 års tid, eller måske et års tid, eller mindre måske.

Den unge komponist Tansy Davies diskuterer med

værten Hannah Kendall sit nye værk, inspireret af 9/11-terrorangrebene

Også spekulerer jeg om, om moderne komponister måske ikke har talent og flid nok til at skabe et stykke, der selv i lillebid grad kan sammenlignes med selve de mindre store dele af et mesterværk som Beethovens 5. koncert. Men det springer jeg over.

21:00 Vi fortsætter med at se lidt fjernsyn. De viser en interessant dokumentarfilm (2. del af 3.), der handler om Trumps tilhængere i USAs sydstater. Programmets vært er den tidligere arbejdspartipolitiker Ed Balls.

Balls viser sig at være faktisk en meget bedre tv-vært, end han var politiker. Overraskende sympatisk og venlig, men han stiller Trumps tilhængere hårde spørgsmål, uden at fremmedgøre dem, så seerne bliver belønnet med åbenhjertige, afslørende indsigter i tilhængernes verdenssyn.

"Han gør, hvad han siger." ... "Han gør, hvad han siger." Mens hele verden kritiserer Trump, jubler hans bagland. Hvornår vil hans tilhængere indse, at alt det der for det meste bare er ord, designede til at imponere dem?

Det er lidt skræmmende at se hvor fanatiske og determinerede landets våbenlobby og dens tilhængere er, og hvor få hæmninger de har i at kritisere så voldsomt de unge ofre, hvis skole var ramt af de nylige skoleskydninger. Det hele er noget meget svært at forstå, hvis man bor i Europa, ingen tvivl om det – en helt anderledes tradition, der stammer fra landets fortid, lader det til.

22:00 Vi går i seng – zzzzzzz!!!!!