Thursday, August 30 2018

08:00 Lois and I get up and go in the shower. I have breakfast, but Lois cannot - she has an appointment with our clinic's nurse at 9:30am  to take a blood test - part of her doctor's annual review of her medicine - daily statins for high cholesterol levels.

10:00 Lois comes back from the clinic and we relax with a cup of coffee on the couch. Afterwards we go out into the garden - Lois does a little weeding in the front yard, and I get going with cutting back some of our huge hedges in the backyard. I have postponed this task so that our many garden birds can raise their young in peace and quiet: I hope they are grateful for it, but I have not heard anything from them as yet - we'll have to see.

I start by cutting back the hedge near the house on the side we share with our neighbour, Bob. After an hour and a half I'm satisfied with my efforts, but unfortunately I have a pain in my shoulder for the rest of the day - damn! The problem is that I have to lift my arms up so high - it's not practical to use step-ladders because of the soft ground in front of the hedge - damn (again)!

My shoulders are one (two?) of my many weaknesses, no doubt about that. But I'm not alone in this one. I recall that last year I read an interesting news item (source: Onion News), all about poor Simon Bauera, Trump's caddy at Mar-a-Lago, who hit the headlines after an injury to one of his shoulders.

After struggling to haul more than 30 pounds of highly-classified documents over18 holes, Mar-a-Lago caddie Simon Bauers injured his shoulder. He had reportedly had to lug a complete set of President Donald Trump's national security briefings around the resort's entire golf course.

"I felt a sudden pain of pain while I reached the 12th hole with all President Trump's intelligence briefings slung over my right shoulder," said Bauers, adding that he was forced to lift the big unwieldy mixed bag of CIA and FBI briefings with his left arm for the rest of the day.

"Hopefully, it's not serious, but by the end of the day, I could hardly pick up a few folders of intelligence about North Korea's ballistic missile capabilities, let alone all the ISIS dossiers. Maybe I'll see a doctor tomorrow if the pain does not go away."

Bauer went on to say that at least he was pleased that Trump's set of briefings had become far lighter since intelligence officials decided to withhold sensitive information from the President to avoid White House leaks.

I sympathize with Bauers - people think shoulder injuries are not as important as, for example, back problems. We who have weak shoulders are a minority, no doubt about that, and as a minority there is a tendency to ignore us or laugh at us. But our time will come - mark my words!

12:30 Lunch and afterwards I go to bed and take a huge afternoon nap. I get up at 3.30pm and we relax with a cup of tea on the couch.

18:30 We have dinner. We are waiting for a call from Alison, our elder daughter, who moved back to the family home in Haslemere a few weeks ago after almost 6 years of residence in Denmark. We have to wait for Alison to initiate the calls because she is always so busy looking after her 3 children, cooking, getting the children to bed, etc.

But unfortunately for the second night in a row, we do not hear anything - we really must give her a call tomorrow.

19:30 We spend the rest of the evening watching television. An old episode of Top of the Pops is on, from March 20, 1986.

When Lois and I saw this episode for the first time in March 1986, I was just in my last week ever as an idiot in his 30's. Lois was also 39.

Flashback to 1986: Lois

Me along with Alison, our oldest daughter (1986)

It must have been then or thereabouts that we bought our first VCR after moving back to England in 1985 after 3 years of residence in the US, because the first ever VHS recording we have in our collection is Samantha Fox singing "Touch Me" which, according to this episode, had just broken into the top 40. Good grief - how stupid we were then!

20:00 We continue to watch television, an interesting documentary about the 16th century and the two half-sisters and Tudor queens, Mary and Elizabeth.

Henry VIII was the father of both women, but Mary's mother was the Spanish Catholic, Catharine of Aragon, and Elizabeth's mother was Anne Boleyn, a Protestant and Henry VIII's second wife, after he kick-started the Reformation in England.

Mary, who became queen in 1547 after the death of Henry's Protestant son Edward, took the country briefly back into Europe's Catholic camp.

It's interesting to speculate about what would have been England's fate if Mary had been able to have children with her husband, Philip II of Spain. We might have become a Catholic country for centuries - who knows. Mary's children, if she had managed to get any would effectively have eliminated the protestant Elizabeth from the order of succession.

Mary suffered from bad health throughout her life, but thought she had become pregnant in 1557. However it turned out that it was only a so-called phantom pregnancy and she died in 1558 - the phantom pregnancy could have been ovarian cancer, historians nowadays think.

During her pregnancy Mary decreed that her husband Philip II would be England's regent in the event that she died. Philip II was at the time also king of Spain, which was then the world's only superpower.

Yikes, scary! But Mary's death saved England from the legendary long arm of the pope, thank God.

20:45 I take a little look at my smartphone. I have access to a whatsapp chat room for members of Lois's sect, which sometimes gives me interesting insights. A church member has posted an impressive list of the Hebrew prophet Elijah's achievements up on the chatroom.

The Prophet Elijah's achievements

It reminds me a bit of my days before I retired, when we all had to draw up a list of our achievements every year in preparation for the annual review interview with our managers.

I'm not sure if the Hebrew prophets got annual reviews with Jehovah, but I have no doubt that Elijah would not have had any trouble finding achievements that he could include on his list.

When I used to go out to work, and my annual interview was imminent, my mind always went blank about what I had achieved during the year. But I kept a pad and a pen on the nightstand when I went to bed: I used to think of "achievements" when I would wake up periodically and I would write them down on the pad. The following day at work, I used to write my report for the upcoming interview and exaggerate my achievements a little to make them seem more important than they actually were - happy days !!!

But I'm absolutely sure that I never had a year as remarkable as some of Elijah's years with their dazzling results - I have no doubts on that score! True greatness was something that eluded me, which was a bit of a shame for me.

21:00 We see 2 old episodes of the Big Bang Theory, from the latest (11th) season.

Lois and I want to be up to date with the status of the main characters before the sitcom's new season starts in the fall. We missed some episodes in the 11th season due to our absence in Australia during March / April.

Tonight E4 are airing again the 11th and 12th episodes in the season. The 11th episode we managed to see in Australia, but not the 12th. We were staying at our younger daughter Sarah's house in Perth, and it was hard to concentrate on television shows because Sarah's 5 year old twins liked to sit on our laps in the evenings and chat to us. Happy days!

22:00 We go to bed. I still feel pain in my shoulder because of this morning's gardening. Damn - just my luck!

I hope that the problem is just the result of using muscles I have not used for a long time. It is a little scary that we sometimes hear about acquaintances in our age group suffering from the so-called "frozen shoulder", which can last for many months.

But I have in any case a tendency to tense my shoulders, I do not have the faintest idea why - because of nerves probably.

Zzzzzzz !!!

Danish translation

08:00 Lois og jeg står op og går i bad. Jeg spiser morgenmad, men Lois må ikke – hun har aftale hos vores lægekliniks sygeplejerske kl 9:30 for at tage et blodprøve – en del af lægernes årlige gennemgang af hendes medicin – daglige statiner mod høj kolesteroltal.

10:00 Lois kommer tilbage fra kliniken og vi slapper af med en kop kaffe i sofaen. Bagefter går vi ud ind i haven – Lois luger lidt i forhaven, og jeg går i gang med at klippe tilbage nogle af vores enorme hække i baghaven. Jeg har udskudt denne opgave, så vores mange havefugle kan opdrage sine unger i fred og ro: jeg håber på, de er taknemmelige for det, men jeg har ikke hørt noget fra dem endnu – vi får se.

Jeg starter med at klippe tilbage hækken nær huset på siden, der er fælles med vores nabo, Bob. Efter en time og en halv er jeg tilfredsstillet med mine indsatser, men desværre har jeg ondt i skulderen resten af dagen – pokkers! Problemet er, at jeg er nødt til at løfte mine arme så højt op – det er ikke praktisk at bruge trinstiger på grund af den bløde jord foran hækken – pokkers (igen)!

Min skuldrene er en (to?) af mine svagheder, ingen tvivl om det. Men jeg er ikke alene i denne.  Jeg mindes om jeg sidste år læste en interessant nyhed (kilde: Onion News), der handlede om stakkels Simon Bauers, Trumps caddie på Mar-a-Lago, der ramte overskrifterne efter en skade til en af hans skuldre.

Efter at have kæmpet for at hale mere end 30 pund højt klassificerede dokumenter gennem 18 huller, Mar-a-Lago caddien Simon Bauers skadede skulderen mens han slæbte  rundt på et sæt af præsident Donald Trumps nationale sikkerhedsbriefinger omkring feriestedets golfbane .

"Jeg følte mig en pludselig plage af smerte, mens jeg gik mod det 12. hul med alle præsident Trumps efterretningsbriefinger slunget over min højre skulder", sagde Bauers og tilføjede, at han blev tvunget til at løfte det store, uhåndterlige blandet landhandel af CIA og FBI briefinger med den venstre arm for resten af ​​dagen.

"Forhåbentlig er det ikke noget seriøst, men i slutningen af ​​dagen kunne jeg næsten ikke hente nogle få chartekker af efterretninger om Nordkoreas ballistiske missil kapaciteter, endsige alle dossiererne om ISIS. Jeg må måske se en læge i morgen, hvis smerten ikke går væk. "

Bauers fortsatte med at sige, at han i hvert fald var glad for, at Trumps sæt af briefinger var blevet langt lettere siden efterretningsembedsmændene besluttede at tilbageholde følsomme oplysninger fra præsidenten for at undgå hvide hus lækager.

Jeg sympatiserer med Bauers – folk synes, at skulderskader er ikke så vigtige som, for eksempel, rygproblemer. Vi, der har svage skuldre er et mindretal, ingen tvivl om det, og som mindretal er der tendens til at ignorere os eller grine på os. Men vores tid vil komme – mærk mine ord!

12:30 Frokost og bagefter går jeg i seng og tager en gigantisk eftermiddagslur. Jeg står op kl 15:30 og vi slapper af med en kop te i sofaen.

18:30 Vi spiser aftensmad. Vi venter på et opkald fra Alison, vores ældste datter, der for nogle uger siden flyttede tilbage til familiens hus i Haslemere efter næsten 6 års ophold i Danmark. Vi har det med at vente på, at Alison indleder opkaldene på grund af, at hun altid er så travlt med at passe på sine 3 børn, lave mad, få børnene i seng osv.

Men desværre for 2. aften i træk hører vi ikke noget – vi må ringe til hende i morgen.

19:30 Vi bruger resten af aftenen på at se lidt fjernsyn. De viser et gamle afsnit af Top of the Pops fra den 20. marts 1986.

Da Lois og jeg så dette afsnit for første gang i marts 1986, var jeg lige i min sidste uge nogensinde som en idiot i 30’erne. Lois var også 39. 

Tilbageblik til 1986: Lois

Mig sammen med Alison, vores ældste datter (1986)

Det må have været dengang eller deromkring, vi købte vores første VCR efter at have flyttet tilbage til England i 1985 efter 3 års ophold i USA, fordi den første VHS-optagelse nogensinde vi har i vores samling er Samantha Fox syngende ”Touch Me”, der ifølge dette afsnit lige var dukket op i top 40. Du godeste – hvor var vi dog  dumme dengang ha ha.

20:00 Vi fortsætter med at se fjernsyn, en interessant dokumentarfilm, der handler om den 16. århundrede og de to halvsøstre og Tudor dronninger, Mary og Elizabeth.

Henrik 8. var far til begge kvinder, men Marys mor var spanske Catherine, katolik, og Elizabeths mor var Anne Boleyn, protestant og Henrik 8.s anden kone, efter han indledte reformationen i England.

Mary, der blev dronning i 1547 efter døden af Henriks protestante søn Edvard,  tog landet i en kort periode tilbage i Europas katolske lejr.

Det er interessant at spekulere om, hvad ville have været Englands skæbne, hvis Mary havde kunnet få børn med sin ægtemand, Filip 2. af Spanien. Vi ville måske være blevet en katolsk land i århundreder – hvem ved. Marys børn, hvis det havde lykkes hende at få dem, ville have elimineret den protestante Elizabeth fra rækken af succession.

Mary led af dårlig sundhed hele sit liv, men troede, hun er blevet gravid i 1557, men det viste sig, at den kun var en såkaldte fantomgraviditet,og hun døde i 1558 – det kunne være, at fantomgraviditeten kunne have været ovariekræft, tror historikere nu til dags.

Under sin graviditet forordnede Mary, at hendes mand Filip2. ville være regent i det tilfælde, at hun døde. Filip  2. var konge af Spanien, der dengang var verdens eneste supermagt.

Yikes, skræmmende! Men Marys død reddede landet fra pavens legendariske lang arm, gudskelov.

20:45 Jeg kigger lidt på min smartphone. Jeg har adgang til en whatsapp-chatrum, der består af medlemmer af Lois’s sekt, hvilket af og til giver mig interessante indsigter. Et kirkemedlem har lagt en imponerende liste over profeten Elias’ bedrifter op på  chatrummet.

Profeten Elias’ bedrifter

Det minder mig lidt om mine dage før jeg gik på pension, når vi hvert år skulle udfærdige en liste over vores bedrifter i forberedelse på det årlige gennemganginterview med vores chefer.

Jeg er ikke helt sikker på, om de hebraiske profeter fik årlige gennemganginterviewer med Jehova, men jeg har ikke nogen tvivl om, at Elias ikke ville have haft svært ved at finde op på bedrifter, han kunne inkludere i hans årlige bedriftsliste.

Da jeg var udarbejdende og mit årlige interview var overhængende, blev jeg altid blank om, hvad jeg i løbet af året havde opnået. Men jeg holdte en blok og kuglepen på natbordet, når jeg gik i seng: jeg plejede at finde på ”bedrifter”, da jeg af og til vågnede op og skrive dem på blokken. Den følgende dag på arbejdet plejede jeg at skrive min rapport til det kommende interview, og overdrev mine bedrifter lidt, for at gøre dem til at synes mere vigtige, end de i virkeligheden var – lykkelige dage!!!

Men jeg er helt sikker på, at jeg aldrig havde et år så udmærket som nogle af Elias’ år med deres blændende resultater – det har jeg ikke nogen tvivl om ! Sand størhed fandt jeg altid vanskellig at få fat på, hvilket var lidt synd for mig.

21:00 Vi ser 2 gamle afsnit af Big Bang Theory, fra den seneste (11.) sæson.

Lois og jeg vil være helt ajour med hovedfigurernes status, før sitcommens nye sæson starter i efteråret. Vi gik glip af nogle afsnit i den 11. sæson på grund af vores fravær i marts/april i Australien.

I aften viser de 11. og 12. afsnit fra sæsonen. Den 11. afsnit var det lykkes os at se i Australien, men ikke den 12. . Vi boede dengang hos vores yngste datter Sarah i byen Perth, og det var svært at koncentrere os under tv-programmer, fordi Sarahs 5-årige tvillinger godt kunne lide om aftenen at sætte sig på vores skød og snakke med os. Lykkelige dage!

22:00 Vi går i seng. Jeg har stadig ondt i skulderen som følge af formiddagens havearbejde – pokkers, bare mit held!

Jeg håber på, at problemet bare er resultaten af at bruge muskler jeg i lang tid ikke har brugt. Det er lidt skræmmende, at vi af og til hører om bekendte i vores aldergruppe, der lider af den såkaldte ”frosne skulder”, som kan vare i mange måneder. 

Men jeg har i hvert fald tendens til at spænde skuldrene,  jeg har ikke den fjerneste idé hvorfor – på grund af nerverne sandsynligvis.

Zzzzzzz!!!