Wednesday, August 22 2018

08:00 Lois and I get up and after breakfast we head over to the local Sainsbury's supermarket to buy some summer clothes for our 5 year old twin grandchildren, Lily and Jessie, in Perth, Australia. Summer clothes are on offer at the moment in English stores, so it makes sense to buy them here to save our daughter Sarah money in Perth.

Unfortunately, Lois is a little disappointed with the children's clothing she sees, and in particular there is a shortage of clothes in the twins' sizes. So then we head over to TOFS in Bishops Cleeve, where we find a better selection, thank god.

The twins are relatively tall for their age, like Francis, their father, so we are in fact looking for deals in summer clothes for 6 year olds.

11:30 We get into the car to drive home, when my smartphone ringtone sounds. But we can only hear mysterious muffled sounds from the other end of the line. It turns out that one of the twins, Jessie, has called me by mistake. She was writing me one of her long texts, stuffed with emojis - of course she cannot send words. She must have accidentally pressed the icon to start an audio call to me. We can then hear Jessie's voice - she is telling Sarah that she has heard Poppa's voice from the other end of the line.

Fortunately, the call is made on whatsapp, so it's all free thank god. We take the opportunity to talk a little with Sarah and the twins. Sarah ends the audio call and starts a new video call instead, so the twins can show us the outfits they put on this afternoon for a special costume party held at their kindergarten. How cute they are.

It may be that I'm wrong, but I suspect that for the first time I hear a bit of an Australian accent in Jessie's voice, but I'm not entirely sure about that. The family moved to Perth nearly 3 years ago.

Flashback to last Sunday: Jessie (left) and Lily. The family have

just stopped the car to pick oranges near Chittering, Western Australia

A whole morning has gone, very enjoyable, but a lot of household tasks have again been left undone. The above gives a good idea of how it feels to be finally grandparents as we begin to approach the end of our days - yikes! Such is life - minutes, hours, days disappear and cannot be recalled. And we achieve very little in comparison to the time we spend - scary !!!!

12:30 Lunch and afterwards my usual gigantic afternoon nap.

15:00 I get up. Lois is busy inviting guests to her sect's next "do", a get-together and barbecue at Andy's, the local church's secretary and chief preacher.

Andy and Angie, 3 years ago, at the local Sudeley Castle: what

a charming couple! And they are already grandparents into the bargain ...

... even though the photographer, their friend Philip, later claimed that he

had to do a lot of photoshopping after the camera shoot,

which was amusing

This upcoming event (ie the get-together) starts to cast a shadow over me - I have to take part in it because Lois needs my support. The church has given her the responsibility of inviting guests, welcoming them etc, and the whole get-together will be quite long - 4 hours plus - yikes!

And for my part I have to support Lois - it will be strenuous for her. I will also have to talk to the many other guests. Small talk is not my strong point, no doubt about that - yikes, scary!

There was a similar gathering at a hotel in Tewkesbury 2 months ago. The church has again decided to invite a lot of people who have had contact with the sect in the past but for some reason have not joined the sect. A mixed bag of relatives, partners, friends, former Sunday school students or seminar-attendees, etc. But it is only a 'social event', the organizers say. None the less I will be very happy when it's over, so I can declare my brain ready for use again ha ha.

18:00 We have dinner and afterwards Lois has to go out. She wants to attend her sect's monthly business meeting, which is taking place tonight in the Tewkesbury county library. She drives over to Mari-Ann and Alf's house, and they will drive her over to Tewkesbury.

I have a little alone time and spend the evening watching television. When Lois is out of the house, I use the opportunity to watch a few TV shows she does not like, which makes sense - I'm not just a pretty face ha ha.

I like this series because I like to hear the Danish language being spoken. But I completely agree with Lois that the plot is totally unbelievable and quite insane. Basically there is just too much going on all the time with all the main characters in the series.

The two main characters, Dicte, the Aarhus crime reporter, and Nina, her friend in the local police, both go to bed with their respective bosses in this episode: Dicte willingly, and Nina to avoid being fired by her boss for her alcoholism.

Nina, the detective, seduces her boss, Torsten, the local chief detective, 

in the police station's underground parking lot where she knows 

there are security cameras - smart idea, Nina!

Dicte's daughter Rose gives birth to a baby, but it is initially not clear who the father is. She has gone to bed with many of her classmates. Her boyfriend Mikkel appears with a bouquet of flowers at the hospital, but he is told that a DNA test has just confirmed that his father is Rose's Icelandic friend, Baldur.

Dicte's daughter, Rose, gives birth to a baby, and discovers at the last minute

that her Icelandic friend Baldur is the father, and not her boyfriend, Mikkel,

which is lucky - she doesn't much like Mikkel ! Poor Mikkel !!!!!

Dicte's newly discovered stepsister, Maj, has a violent stalker - her baby's father, a construction worker. The police cannot arrest him due to lack of evidence, so Dicte visits him late in the evening, where he is still working, alone, at a massive construction site, to warn him not to touch Maj again. Who would take such a risk, I wonder.

When the stalker (surprise surprise) then proceeds to attack Dicte herself in the deserted building, she decides to take the law into her own hands, and pushes the stalker off the top of the tall building he is working on. Fortunately, the local police take the view that it was just an unfortunate accident.

Dicte takes the law into his own hands and pushes her daughter's stalker

off the top of the tall building he is working on

Good grief, what madness !!!!

22:00 Lois returns from her business meeting. I go to bed, but Lois needs to relax and wind down after another stimulating evening. I do not wake up when she jumps into bed with me about 11pm - zzzzzzzz !!!

Danish translation

08:00 Lois og jeg står op og efter morgenmad kører vi over til det lokale Sainsburys-supermarked for at købe noget sommertøj til vores 5-årige tvillingebørnebørn, Lily og Jessie, i Perth, Australien. Sommertøj er på tilbud for tiden i engelske butikker, så det giver mening at købe dem her for at spare vores datter Sarah penge i Perth.

Desværre bliver Lois lidt skuffet over børnetøjet, hun ser, og i særdeleshed er der en mangel på tøj i tvillingernes størrelse. Så derfor kører vi over til TOFS i Bishops Cleeve, hvor vi finder et bedre udvalg, gudskelov.

Tvillingerne er forholdsvis høje for deres alder, ligesom Francis, deres far, så vi er på udkig efter gode tilbud i sommertøj til børn på 6 år.

11:30 Vi  sætter os ind i bilen for at køre hjem, da min smartphones ringetone lyder. Men vi kan bare høre mystiske dæmpede lyder fra den ande ende af linjen. Det viser sig, at en af tvillingerne, Jessie, har ringet til mig ved en fejltagelse. Hun var i gang med at skrive mig en af sine lange smser, propfyldt af emojis – selvfølgeligt kan hun ikke sende ord. Hun må have trykket ved en fejltagelse på ikonen for at starte et audio-opkald til mig. Vi hører Jessies stemme – hun fortæller Sarah, at hun har hørt Poppas stemme fra den anden ende af linjen.

Heldigvis er opkaldet foretaget på whatsapp, så det hele er gratis gudskelov. Vi benytter lejligheden til at snakke lidt med Sarah og med tvillingerne. Sarah ender audioopkaldet og starter et nyt videoopkaldet i stedet for, så tvillingerne kan vise os de antræk de har taget på i eftermiddags for en speciel kostumefest, der blev holdt på tvillingernes børnehave. Hvor er de dog søde!

Det kan være, at jeg tager fejl, men jeg mistænker, at jeg for første gang hører lidt af en australsk accent i Jessies stemme, men det er jeg ikke helt sikker på.

Tilbageblik til sidste søndag: Jessie (til venstre) og Lily. Familien har

standset bilen for at plukke appelsiner i nærheden af Chittering, Western Australia

En hel formiddag er gået, meget nydelig, men en massse huslige opgaver er igen blevet ladt ugjorte. Det overstående give en god idé om, hvordan det føles at blive endelig bedsteforældre, idet vi begynder at nærme os enden af vores dage – yikes! Sådan er livet – minutter, timer, dage forsvinder og kan ikke erindres. Og vi opnår meget lille i sammenligning til tiden vi bruger – skræmmende !!!!

12:30 Frokost og bagefter min sædvanlige gigantiske eftermiddagslur.

15:00 Jeg står op. Lois er i gang med at invitere gæster til sin sekts næste gilde, en sammenkomst og barbecue hos Andy, den lokale kirkes sekretær og hovedsagelige prædiker.

Andy og Angie, for 3 år siden, på det lokale Sudeley-slot: hvor er de dog

et charmerende par! Og de er allerede bedsteforældre oven i købet...

.

..selvom fotografen, deres ven Philip, påstod senere, at han

var nødt til at foretage en masse photoshopning efter optagelsessession,

hvilket var morsomt

Denne kommende event (dvs sammenkomsten) begynder at kaste lidt af en skygge over mig – jeg bliver nødt til at deltage i den, fordi Lois har brug for min støtte. Kirken har givet hende ansvaret at invitere gæsterne, byder dem velkommen osv, og hele sammenkomsten vil være ganske lang– 4 timer plus – yikes!

Og for mit vedkommende bliver jeg nødt til at støtte Lois – det vil være anstrengende for hende.  Jeg bliver også nødt til at snakke med de mange andre gæster. Småsnak er ikke min force, ingen tvivl om det – yikes, skræmmende!

Der var en lignende sammenkomst på et hotel i Tewkesbury for 2 måneder siden. Kirken har igen besluttet at invitere en masse mennesker, der har haft kontakt med sekten i fortiden, men som af en eller anden grund ikke har tilsluttet sig sekten. En blandet landhandling af slægtninge, partnere, venner, tidligere søndagsskoleeleveer / seminardeltagere osv. Men det er imidlertid kun en social begivenhed, siger arrangørerne. Jeg vil imidlertid være meget glad, når det er forbi, så jeg kan erklære min hjerne klar til brug igen.

18:00 Vi spiser aftensmad og bagefter skal Lois ud. Hun ønsker at deltage i sektens månedlige forretningsmøde, der finder sted i aften i byen Tewkesburys bibliotek. Hun kører over til Mari-Anns og Alfs hus, og de vil køre hende over til Tewkesbury.

Jeg har lidt alenetid og bruger aftenen på at se lidt fjernsyn. Når Lois er ude af huset, benytter jeg lejligheden til at se et par tv-programmer, hun ikke kan lide, hvilket giver mening – jeg er ikke bare et kønt ansigt ha ha.

Jeg kan godt lide denne serie, fordi jeg kan godt lide at høre det danske sprog. Men jeg er helt enig med Lois i, at plottet er helt utroligt og vanvittigt. Det alt kommer til alt, er der alt for meget der sker med alle de hovedfigurerne i serien.

De to hovedsagelige figurer, Dicte, den aarhusianske kriminelreporter og  Nina, sin veninde i det lokale politi, går begge to i seng med deres chefer i dette afsnit: Dicte frivilligt, og Nina for at undgå at blive fyret af sin chef for alkoholisme.

Nina forfører sin chef, Torsten, i politistationens underjordiske

parkeringsplads, hvor hun ved, der er sikkerhedskameraer – god idé, Nina!

Dictes datter Rose føder en baby, men det er i begyndelsen ikke helt klart, hvem faren er. Hun er gået i seng med mange af hendes klassekammerater. Hendes kæreste Mikkel dukker op med en buket blomster på hospitalet, men han bliver fortalt, at en DNA-prøve lige har bekræftet, at faren er Roses islandske ven, Baldur.

Dictes datter, Rose, føder en baby, og opdager i det sidste øjeblik

at hendes islandske ven er faren, og ikke hendes kæreste, Mikkel, hvilket er heldigt

Dictes nyopdagte stedsøster, Maj, har en voldelig stalker – sin babys far, en byggearbejder. Politiet kan ikke anholder ham i mangel af beviser, så Dicte besøger ham sent på aftenen, hvor han stadig arbejder alene på et massivt byggeplads for at advare ham om ikke at røre Maj igen. Hvem ville tage sådan en risiko, undrer jeg mig.

Hun beslutter at tage love i sine egne hånder, og skubber ham af toppen af den høje bygning, han er i gang med at arbejde på. Heldigvis betragter det lokale politi, at der bare var et uheldigt ulykke.

Dicte tager loven i sine egne hånder og skubber sin datters stalker

af toppen af den høje bygning, han er i gang med at arbejde på

Du godeste sikke et vanvid!!!!

22:00  Lois kommer tilbage fra sin sekts forretningsmøde. Jeg går i seng, men Lois trænger til at slappe af og geare ned efter endnu en stimulerende aften. Jeg vågner ikke, da hun hopper op i sengen til mig ved 23-tiden – zzzzzzzz!!!