Tuesday, August 7, 2018

08:00 Lois and I get up and after breakfast I get going on the first of my two daily watering sessions in the vegetable garden. The weather girl has said that today is the last day of the heat wave, and I want to water the vegetables before it gets too hot.

09:30 We talk a little on whatsapp with Sarah, our younger daughter, who lives in Perth, Australia, with Francis, her husband, and their 5-year-old twins, Lily and Jessie. Over the last few months the twins have been having regular sessions with a speech and language therapist. The therapist has said that Jessie no longer needs the sessions, but Lily has to carry on for a while: it is possible that she has a minor hearing problem, as a result of her tonsils, which are significantly bigger than the average 5- year old's, it seems.

10:00 Lois sits down in front of the computer and continues her genealogical research online. She is currently looking into Charles Brogden's life with the help of the county's local newspapers, which have now been posted online. Charles is Lois' great-uncle on her maternal grandmother's side. He joined the British Army during the First World War, but he was very sensible and somehow managed to get transferred to the army's administrative corps, although, unfortunately, he died in England a few years after he was recruited - he contracted bronchitis and died in the city of Bath's military hospital at the age of just 40. Poor Charles !!!!

Charles would undoubtedly have seen a recruitment poster 

that looked like this one, which dates from 1915. 

The pay was then 6 shillings a day.

Charles's death was announced in a local newspaper in February 1917. By chance, the death of Lois's great-grandmother on her paternal grandmother's side, Elizabeth Cox, at the age of 80, was announced on the same page of the newspaper - good grief, what a crazy world we live in !!!!

Flashback to February 1917: some of the death notices in a local newspaper that

happen to include two people from Lois's family tree.

Also on the same page we see another member of the army's administrative corps by the name of Durham, who unfortunately died in France of measles and pneumonia. Desperate times.

11:00 In the meantime I get going with reading more pages from my Danish crime novel, "The Further You Fall", which I have been sent by saxo.com in the form of an e-book. Currently, I am considering the book as a potential candidate for our U3A Danish group's next project.

"The Further You Fall", a Danish crime novel, that could possibly become

our U3A Danish group's next project

The story begins one evening with an unknown "murderer" who has been planning, in a very careful and almost zen-buddhist way, to commit his murder in exactly 2 hours' time. He has squeezed himself into a small cleaning cabinet in the kitchen of a large office building. He is waiting for all the staff, except for his victim (probably), to have gone home, so he can come out of the closet (ha ha) and kill his victim, Lilliana, with his little garrotte - my god, creepy! The strange thing about the story is that the killer seems to be feeling sorry in advance for his victim, a cleaner, whom all the other employees routinely bully / humiliate / cheat.

Over the course of the day, I reach page 11. The murderer has now sprung out of the closet and committed the crime (page 7). He then puts the murder weapon in a plastic bag and runs out of the building. He takes his blood-stained protective layer of clothing and stuffs it all into the bag, with the intention of burning it all. He then jumps up on his bike and cycles back towards the town. Yikes - creepy !!!! But a good start to the story, I think.

The author then switches to a description of the small provincial town, Christianssund (I suppose it's fictional but I am not quite sure), the port city where the murder takes place, and she introduces us to the novel's hero, Dan Sommerdahl, and his wife, Marianne, a doctor. I have read that Dan goes on to be the hero of a long string of crime novels by Anna Grue. Dan is a copywriter in a local advertising agency, and apparently better than the local police at solving crimes.

It's early days yet, but I hope Dan and Marianne have a quiet marriage and a quiet and / or bland or non-existent sex life, so that our Danish group will not have to read about their gymnastics between the sheets etc, which can be a bit embarrassing during our group meetings. I am crossing my fingers. Poor Dan and Marianne ha ha !!!

13:00 We have lunch. It still feels very warm. We step into the living room where it is cooler and open the door to the backyard. We eat on trays on the couch there, instead of on the dining table in the dining room, where it is unfortunately much warmer and there is a lot of traffic noise. Afterwards I go to bed and take a giant nap. I get up at 4 pm, and after a cup of tea on the couch, I jump up on my exercise bike and cycle my usual 6 miles.

18:00 We have dinner. We water our own flower beds and vegetable garden before the meal, and our neighbors' ones afterwards at about half past seven. We are very lightly-clad, as usual. I have only a t-shirt and shorts on, but for the first time, once we have started watering the neighbors' vegetable garden, I start to feel a bit cold and I have to pop home and dig out my Australian hoodie. My god, could it be that the heat wave is coming to an end?

19:45 I take a little look at my smartphone. My cousin John who lives in the town of Witney has sent me an email. His sister Susan, who lives in Colorado, USA, plans to visit England for 10 days in October, and they are inviting Lois and me to have lunch with him, plus Chris, John's wife, and Susan. One of Susan's aims is to come for her mother's 90th birthday. Her mother, my aunt Bobby, lives in a nursing home in Witney.

Flashback to September 2016: One of Susan's previous visits to England.

(left to right) Susan, John, Chris, and Lois

in front of John and Chris' house in the town of Witney

20:00 We spend the rest of the evening watching television. The 2nd part of a new documentary series is on, all about the Vikings.

A few years ago a mass grave was discovered on the south coast of England, between the towns of Weymouth and Dorchester, when a new road was being built between the two towns. The grave was found where the new road crossed the Ridgeway, a hundreds of miles-long primitive prehistoric trackway, which researchers believe was England's oldest road. The mass grave contained the bones of about 50 men.

The mass grave was found in the county of Dorset, where a newly built road

crosses one of England's prehistoric trackways, the Ridgeway.

At the outset archaeologists believed that the mass grave must also have been prehistoric because of its location, but later the grave was dated to the so-called Viking age. The victims had all been naked and all had been beheaded, so there were no remains of clothes or grave-goods. The examination of the teeth and bones revealed that all the victims came from Scandinavia and had not been living in England.

The theory is that a group of 50 Vikings landed in the area but were caught by the local Anglo-Saxon population and a ritual execution took place high on the hills next to the prehistoric Ridgeway.

An interesting progam, but nevertheless a classic example of an hour-long program with approx. 15 minutes of information, padded out with countless reconstruction scenes, where modern actors take the roles of a bunch of fearsome naked vikings in the act of being beheaded.

one of the program's annoyingly frequent reconstruction scenes: a group

Anglo-Saxon soldiers lead a bunch of naked vikings up the hill,

where a ritual execution is to take place.

However, we learn a couple of interesting pieces of information. We did not realise that teeth and various bones give different clues about the individual's life story: it is well known that the teeth reveal where the person was born and spent his childhood. But we did not know that certain bones reveal where the person spent most of his years, and other bones reveal where he spent his last years. Fascinating.

22:00 We go to bed. For the first time in a few months, we do not have to open windows wide, which is a bit of a relief, to put it mildly. Unfortunately, Lois has a bit of an upset stomach again.

ZZZZZZZZZZ !!!

Danish translation

08:00 Lois og jeg står op og efter morgenmad går jeg i gang med at gøre den første af mine to daglige vandninger i grøntsagshaven. Vejrpigen har sagt, at i dag bliver hedebølgens sidste dag, og jeg vil vande grøntsagerne før det bliver for varmt.

09:30 Vi taler lidt på whatsapp med Sarah, vores yngste datter, der bor i Perth, Australien, sammen med Francis, sin mand, og deres 5-årive tvillinger, Lily og Jessie.  Tvillingerne har gennem de sidste få måneder haft regelmæssige sessioner med en tale- og sprogterapeut. Terapeuten har sagt, at Jessie ikke længer har brug for sessionerne, men Lily er nødt til at fortsætte et stykke tid: det kan være at hun har en lille høringsproblem, som resultat af sine mandlerne, der er betydeligt større, end den gennemsnitlige 5-åriges, lader det til.

10:00 Lois sætter sig foran computeren og fortsætter med sin genealogiske forskning på nettet. Hun er for tiden i gang med at dykke ned i Charles Brogdens liv ved hjælp af grevskabets lokale aviser, der nu er blevet lagt op på nettet. Charles er en Lois’ grandonkel på sin mormors side. Han trådte ind i den britiske hær i løbet af den 1. verdenskrig, men han var meget fornuftig, og på en eller anden måde nåede han at blive overført til hærens administrative korps, selvom han desværre alligevel døde i England et par år efter han blev rekrutteret – han pådrog sig bronchitis og døde i byen Baths militær hospital på kun 40 år. Stakkels Charles!!!!

Charles ville uden tvivl have set en rekrutteringsplakat, der lignede den her,

der daterer fra 1915. Lønnen var dengang 6 skillinger om dagen.

Charles’ død blev offentliggjort i en lokal avis i februar 1917. Tilfældigvis blev døden af Lois’ oldemoder på sin farmors side, Elizabeth Cox, på 80 år, offentliggjort på samme side af avisen – du godeste, sikke en skør verden vi lever i !!!!

Tilbageblik til februar 1917: nogle af dødsmeddelelserne i en lokal avis, der

tilfældigvis inkluderer to af Lois’ forfædre.

Også på samme side ser vi et medlem af hærens administrative korps, ved navnet Durham, der desværre døde i Frankrig af mæslinger og lungebetændelse. Desperate tider.

11:00 I mellemtiden går jeg i gang med at læse flere sider af min danske krimiroman, ”Dybt at falde” (”The Further You Fall”), som jeg har modtaget fra saxo.com i form af en e-bog. For tiden betragter jeg bogen som en mulig kandidat til vores U3A danske gruppes næste projekt.

”Dybt at Fælde”, en dansk krimiroman, der muligvis kunne være

vores U3A danske gruppes næste projekt

Historien begynder en aften med en ukendt ”morder”, der har planlagt på en meget omhyggelig og næsten zenbuddhistisk måde, at begå sit mord om 2 timers tid. Han har klemt sig ind i et lille rengøringsskab i køkkenet af en stor kontorbygning. Han venter på, at alle de ansatte, bortset fra sit offer (formentlig), er gået hjem, så han kan springer ud af skabet (ha ha) og dræbe sit offer, der hedder Lilliana, med sin lille garrotte – øv, uhyggeligt! Det mærkelige ved historien er, at morderen virker at have ondt i forvejen for sit offer, en rengøringsassistent, som alle de andre ansatte mobber / ydmyger / snyder.

I løbet af dagen når jeg til side 11. Morderen har nu springet ud af skabet og begået forbrydelsen (side 7). Han propper sit våben ned i en plastpose og løber ud af bygningen. Han tager sin blodplettede beskyttende lag tøj og propper den ned i posen, med den hensigt af at brænde det hele. Han hopper op på sin cykel og cykler ind mod byen. Yikes – uhyggeligt!!!! Men en god start på historien, synes jeg.

Forfatteren skifter så til en beskrivelse af den lille provinsby, Christianssund (jeg formoder, at der er fiktiv, men det er jeg ikke helt sikker på), den havneby, hvor mordet finder sted, og præsenterer romanens helt for os, Dan Sommerdahl, og hendes kone, Marianne, en læge. Jeg har læst, at Dan er helt i en ganske lang serie af krimiromaner af Anna Grue. Dan er tekstforfatter i et lokalt reklamebureau, og tilsyneladende er dygtigere, end det lokale politi, til at løse forbrydelser.

Det er tidlige dage endnu, men jeg håber på, at Dan og Marianne har et roligt ægteskab og et roligt og/eller fesent eller ikke-eksisterende sexliv, så vores danske gruppe vil ikke måtte læse om deres lagengymnastik osv, hvilket kan være lidt pinligt under vores gruppemøder. Jeg krydser fingre for os. Stakkels Dan og Marianne ha ha!!!

13:00 Vi spiser frokost. Det føles stadigvæk meget varmt. Vi træder ind i stuen, hvor det er køligere,  og åbner  døren til baghaven. Vi spiser på bakker på sofaen, i stedet for på spisebordet i spisestuen, hvor det er varmere og der er meget trafiklarm. Bagefter går jeg i seng og tager en gigantisk eftermiddagslur. Jeg står op kl 16, og efter en kop te i sofaen hopper jeg op på min kondicykel. Jeg cykler mine sædvanlige 6 miles.

18:00 Vi spiser aftensmad. Vi vander vores egne blomsterbede og grøntsagshave før måltidet og vores naboers efter, ved klokken halv otte. Vi er meget letpåklædte, som sædvanligt. Jeg har kun en t-shirt og shorts på, men for første gang, når vi er begyndt at vande naboernes grøntsagshave, begynder jeg at fryse lidt, og jeg er nødt til at smutte hjem og grave min australske hoodie frem. Du godeste, kan det være, at hedebølgen er ved at være slut?

19:45 Jeg kigger lidt på min smartphone. Min fætter John i byen Witney har sendt mig en email. Hans søster Susan, der bor i Colorado USA, planlægger at besøge England i 10 dage i oktober måned, og han inviterer Lois og mig til at spise frokost sammen med ham, Chris, Johns kone, og Susan. En af Susans formål er at fejre sin mors 90. fødselsdag. Hendes mor, min tante Bobby, bor i et plejehjem i Witney.

Tilbageblik til september 2016: et af Susans forrige besøg til England.

(fra venstre til højre) Susan, John, Chris, og Lois

foran John og Chris’ hus i byen Witney

20:00 Vi bruger resten af aftenen på at se lidt fjernsyn. De viser den 2. del af en ny dokumentarfilmserie, der handler om vikingerne.

For nogle år siden blev en massegrav opdaget på Englands sydlige kyst, mellem byerne Weymouth og Dorchester, da en ny vej var i gang med at blive bygget mellem de to byer. Graven blev fundet, hvor den nye vej krydsede Ridgeway, en hundredvis af miles lang forhistorisk primitive spor, som forskerne tror, var Englands ældste vej. Massegraven indeholdt knoglerne af ca. 50 mænd.

massegraven blev fundet i grevskabet Dorset, hvor en nybygget vej

krydser en af Englands netværk af forhistoriske spor, Ridgeway.

I begyndelsen troede arkæologer, at massegraven også må have været forhistorisk, på grund af dens beliggenhed, men senere blev graven dateret til den såkaldte vikingetid. Offrene havde været alle nøgne, og blev alle halshugget, så der var ingen rester af tøj eller gravgoder. Undersøgelsen af tænderne og knoglerne afslørede, at alle ofrene kom fra Skandinavien, og ikke have boet i England.

Teorien er, at en gruppe 50 vikinger landede i området, men blev fanget af de lokale angelsaksiske befolkning og en ritual henrettelse fandt sted, højt oppe på bakkerne, ved siden af Ridgeway-sporet.

Et interessant progam, men imidlertid er denne dokumentarfilm er et klassisk eksempel på en time lang program med ca. 15 minutters information, fyldt ud med talløse rekonstruktionscener, hvor moderne skuespillere indtager rollerne af en flok gruelige nøgne vikinger i gang med at blive halshugget.

en af programmets irriterende hyppige rekonstruktionscener: en gruppe

angelsaksiske soldater leder en flok nøgne vikinger op ad bakken,

hvor en ritual henrettelse skal finde sted.

Vi lærer imidlertid et par interessante oplysninger. Vi vidste ikke, at tænder og forskellige knogler giver forskellige spor om den individuelles livshistorie: det er velkendt, at tænderne afslører, hvor personen tilbragte sin barndom. Men vi vidste ikke, at visse knogler afslører hvor personen tilbragte de fleste af sine år, og andre knogler afslører, hvor han tilbragte sine sidste år. Fascinerende.

22:00 Vi går i seng. For første gang i et par måneder behøver vi ikke åbne vinduer på vid gab, hvilket er lidt af en lettelse, for at sige mildt.  Desværre har Lois lidt ondt i maven igen.

Zzzzzzzzzz!!!