Wednesday, August 29 2018

10:00 Lois and I get up late - we tend to just lie there and chat in bed for too long, while drinking our morning tea. That's where the problem lies. We have breakfast late too.

It rained again in the night, and the hedges and bushes in the back yard are still dripping wet so I cannot cut them again today - damn it! We only have 11 days left before Lois' cousin from Melbourne, Sylvia, and Rod, her new partner, come to stay with us for a week .

The garden looks like a real jungle - but it's always useful to have some deadline and we always work best when we see the deadline moving closer. For some reason we do not want Sylvia and Rod to think our backyard is a bit of a disaster - call it foolish pride if you like.

12:00 I go out into the backyard and pick the apples from one of our two apple trees: the eaters. The cooking apples on our other tree are not ready yet. Today I pick a lot of eaters, many of them quite big, even huge in some cases, but unfortunately few of them are in perfect condition, which is a bit of a shame - damn!

One of the many benefits of growing one's own apples is that there is less confusion when Lois and I do the food shopping at the local Sainsburys supermarket. There are so many varieties of apples for sale, and I can never remember which are the juiciest.

I recall that the film star Will Ferrell hit the headlines a few years ago when staff in the produce section at Will's Local Trader Joe burst out laughing after the actor shot out one of his typically witty remarks (Source, Onion News). "I haven't had a good apple in a while," he commented, making a bunch of bystanders giggle and nod appreciatively. "Are Paula Reds any good? I wonder if they're sour like a Granny Smith", he continued.

Ferrell told reporters later that although he was very appreciative of his fans' support, he really needed a straight answer about the apples.

Will Ferrell with journalists: in search of a straight answer on apples.

13:00 Lunch and afterwards I go to bed and take a huge afternoon nap. I get up at 3:30 pm and after a cup of tea I go out into the backyard again. The sun has been shining every now and then, and the hedges and shrubs have dried out a bit, so I start cutting back the most prickly bushes, on the principle that it is best to do the most difficult tasks first and also to use our (temporarily empty) brown garden waste bin  to put the cut branches in. It is always very difficult to put prickly branches in big plastic bags because they quickly puncture the plastic (and my hands).

18:00 We have dinner and afterwards Lois has to go out. She wants to attend her sect's Bible Class taking place tonight in the meeting room at Tewkesbury's public library. Gillian picks her up at 7:45pm.

Our daughter, Alison, who lives in Haslemere, promised to call us tonight between 6:30 and 7:30pm. We wait for the call, but we do not hear anything - later I get a text from her: something or other unpredictable was happening with the 3 children, but she will call us tomorrow instead.

Nic, Alison's best friend in her teenage years and after, when she was younger and still living with us, has told Ali that her mother, Sandra, died a couple of days ago (another victim of breast cancer - yikes, a bunch of acquaintances in our age group have recently been hit by breast cancer).

The funeral is scheduled for next Thursday in Cheltenham. We suspect Ali will not be able to attend the service, but we are not sure yet - next Thursday is also the first day of the local schools' autumn term, so it may prove too difficult for her. Lois is considering attending on Alison's behalf, although she will have to miss out on our next U3A Danish group's next meeting, which is the same afternoon.

20:00 I have a little alone time, but I don't want to even look at my long, long to-do list. There are two TV shows I would like to see, but they are both programs that Lois will also want to see, so for now I can only record them - we can see them together in the next few days.

I decide to take a look at "Sgt Bilko", a movie starring Steve Martin, which we recorded a few months ago. I turn the movie off after approx. 45 minutes: it's not as funny as I expected, which is a bit of a shame. I do some research online and I see that the movie was something of a failure at the box office too.

Once upon a time I was one of Steve Martins biggest fans and I also have many happy memories from the Bilko TV sitcom that aired in the 1950s. The sitcom was broadcast on Sunday nights and as children we were allowed to stay up a little later than usual so we could see it: I still have bitter-sweet memories of hearing the military march, the programme's theme tune, at the end of the program, because that music only meant one thing - bedtime and school the following day - damn it!

I decide to see an old episode of the Bilko sitcom on YouTube to see exactly where the movie went wrong, but it's hard to put your finger on it. The film's plot and script were disappointing, no doubt about that.

In Steve Martin's version of Bilko's unit there are too many soldiers and the mood is much more chaotic and slapstick than in the original television program, and less intimate. Incidentally we also see in his unit many women, also black men and women, which is a bit of a refreshing change from the original TV show, no doubt about that ha ha. We see couples sleeping in each other's arms after one of the unit's frequent parties, fully dressed, admittedly - but another thing we would not have seen in the original ha ha.

Sgt Bilko's unit, the morning after the party

But most of all, I just think Bilko will always be Phil Silvers from my point of view. And I miss Bilko's boss, Col. Hall's quiet, unspoken anger and despair (the role played by Paul Ford).

I read the other day that most episodes in the tv series were filmed so that they simulated a live performance. The actors learned their lines by heart and played the scenes in order in front of a studio audience. As a result, there were occasional flubs and awkward pauses. 

Paul Ford, who played Bilko's superior officer, was notorious for forgetting his lines: when he got a blank look on his face, Silvers and the rest of the cast would improvise something to save the scene, such as: "Oh, remember, Colonel, the top brass are visiting us today ..." Ford would then resume the script from the point where he got stuck.

Sgt Bilko (Phil Silvers, left) with Col. Hall (Paul Ford)

Larry David, who created "Curb Your Enthusiasm" as well as (along with Jerry Seinfeld) "Seinfeld" used to say that the Phil Silvers' Show was always his favorite sitcom, which is good enough for me, I have to say.

22:00 Lois comes back from the Bible Class. I go to bed, but Lois needs to relax and wind down a little after this evening's stimulating class. She decides to watch a bit of television, the American version of the television reality show, "Married At First Sight", originally a Danish tv franchise, which is a bit of a surprise to put it mildly.

23:00 Lois hops into bed with me and we chat a little about the program. She says the American version is a bit different from the British one. This evening's program ended with a bit of a cliffhanger - would the bride go through with the wedding, or not (she is having second thoughts). 

In the UK version, the wedding always takes place in the first episode, and after that the shennanigans start. In the US the shenannigans start before the ceremony, which sounds interesting.

Lois says she has not heard of any couple in the British version who have not split up after the compulsory 8 (?) weeks. The bottom line is that the program idea is trying to recreate, in a modern individualistic society, the ways of those traditional communities (India for example) where marriages are decided by the two families, and the couple's feelings do not count. That's why it's always a bit of a fiasco, she thinks.

Zzzzzzzzzzz !!!!!!!!

Danish translation

10:00 Lois og jeg står sent op – vi ligger og snakker i sengen for længe, mens vi drikker vores morgenté. Der har vi problemet. Vi spiser morgenmad.

Det regnede igen om natten, og hækkene og buskene i baghaven er stadig drivende våde, så jeg ikke kan klippe dem igen i dag – pokkers! Vi har kun 11 dage tilbage, før Lois’ kusine i Melbourne, Sylvia, sammen med Rod, sin nye partner, kommer for at bo en uge hos os. Haven ser ud som en sand jungle – men det er altid nyttigt at have en eller anden frist, og vi arbejder altid bedst, når fristen rykker nærmere. Af en eller anden grund vil vi ikke have at Sylvia og Rod synes, vores baghave er lidt af en katastrofe – kald det stolthed, hvis du har lyst til det.

12:00 Jeg går ud inde i baghaven og plukker æblerne fra en af vores to æbletræer: spiseæblerne. Vores madæblerne på det andet træ er ikke færdige endnu. I dag plukker jeg en masse spiseæbler, mange af dem ganske store, endda enorme i nogle tilfælde, men desværre er få af dem i perfekt tilstand, hvilket er lidt af en skam – pokkers!

En af de mange fordele til, at man gror sine egne æbler, at der er mindre forvirring, når Lois og jeg gør madindkøb i det lokale Sainsburys-supermarked. Der er så mange varietater af æbler til salg, og jeg kan aldrig huske, hvilke er de saftigste. 

Jeg mindes, at filmstjernen Will Ferrell for nogle år siden ramter overskrifterne, da latteren begyndte at runge blandt personalet på Wills lokale Trader Joes frugtafdeling, efter han indskød en af sine typiske morsomme bemærkninger (kilde, Onion News). ”Jeg har ikke spist en god æble i et stykke tid, ” kommenterede han, hvilket fik en flok tilstedeværende til at fnise og nikke påskønnende. ”Er Paula Reds et godt valg? Jeg undrer mig, om de er lidt sure, ligesom Granny Smiths”.

Ferrell fortalte senere journalister, at han var meget glad for hans fans’ støtte, trængte han i virkeligheden til at få et lige svar om æblerne.

Will Ferrell sammen med journalister: på jagt efter et lige svar om æbler

13:00 Frokost og bagefter går jeg i seng og tager en gigantisk eftermiddagslur. Jeg står op kl 15:30 og efter en kop te går jeg ud ind i baghaven. Solen har skinnet af og til hele dagen, og hækkene og buskene har tørret lidt ud, så jeg går i gang med at klippe de mest stikkende buske, på princippet, at det er bedste at gøre de mest besværlige opgaver først og bruger vores brune haveaffaldsspand for at putte de klippede grene ind. Det er altid meget besværligt at putte dem i store sække, fordi de hurtigt punktere plastikken (og mine hænder).

18:00 Vi spiser aftensmad og bagefter skal Lois ud. Hun ønsker at deltage i sin sekts bibelklassse, der finder sted i aften i mødelokalet i byen Tewkesburys offentlige bibliotek. Gillian henter hende kl 19:45.

Vores datter, Alison, der bor i Haslemere, lovede at ringe til os mellem kl 18 og 19:30. Vi venter på opkaldet, men vi hører ikke noget – senere får jeg en sms fra hende: der skete noget uforudsigeligt med de 3 børn, men hun vil ringe til os i morgen.

Nic, Alisons bedste perleven i teenagealderen og efter, da hun var yngre og boende hos os, har fortalte hende, at hendes mor, Sandra, døde for et par dage siden (endnu et offer for brystkræft – yikes, en flok af vores bekendte, i vores aldergruppe, har for nylig pådraget sig brystkræft). Begravelsen er bestemt til næste torsdag i Cheltenham. Vi mistænker, at Ali ikke vil kunne deltage i tjenesten, men det er vi ikke helt sikre på endnu – næste torsdag er også den første dag i de lokale skolers efterårssemester. Lois overvejer at deltage på Alisons vegne, selvom hun bliver nødt til at gå glip af vores U3A danske gruppes næste møde, der sker samme eftermiddag.

20:00 Jeg har lidt alenetid, men jeg har ikke lyst til ligefrem at kigge på min lange, lange gøremålsliste. Der er to tv-programmer jeg gerne vil se, men de er begge programmer, som Lois også vil se, så jeg kun kan optage dem – vi kan se dem sammen indenfor de næste få dage.

Jeg beslutter at kigge lidt på ”Sgt Bilko”, en film stjernespækket Steve Martin, som vi optog for et par måneder siden. Jeg slukker for filmen efter ca. 45 minutter: den er ikke så morsom, som jeg forventede, hvilket er lidt af en skam. Jeg gør lidt forskning på nettet, og jeg ser, at filmen var lidt af en fiasko ved billetkontoret.

Jeg var engang en af Steve Martins største fans og jeg har også mange lykkelige minder fra Bilko-tv-sitcommen, der blev sendt i 1950’erne. Sitkommen blev sendt om søndag aftener og som børn blev vi tilladt at blive oppe lidt senere, end normalt, så vi kunne se den: jeg har stadig bitre-søde minder om at høre marchkomponisten, der var programmets temamusik ved slutningen, fordi den der musik kun betød en ting – sengetid, og skole den følgende dag – pokkers!

Jeg beslutter at se et gamle afsnit af Bilko-sitcommen på YouTube, for at se, præcis hvor filmen gik galt, men det er hårdt at sætte fingeren på det. Skriptets plot og script var skuffende, ingen tvivl om det.

I Bilkos enhed er der alt for mange soldater og stemningen er meget mere kaotisk og slapstick-temaet, end i det oprindelige tv-program, og mindre intim. For øvrigt ser vi også i enheden mange kvinder, og sorte mænd og kvinder, hvilket er lidt af en forfriskende forandring fra det oprindelige tv-program, ingen tvivl om det ha ha. Vi ser kærestepar sovende i hinandens arme efter enhedens adskillige fester, selvom fuldt klædte – endnu en ting, vi ikke ville have set i det oprindelige ha ha.

Sgt Bilkos enhed, morgenen efter festen

Men mest af alt synes jeg, at Bilko vil for evigt være Phil Silvers set ud fra mit syndspunkt. Og jeg savner Bilkos chef, Col. Halls stille uudtalte vrede og fortvivelse (rollen spillet af Paul Ford).

Jeg læste forleden, at de fleste afsnit i serien blev filmet således, at de simulerede en live præstation. Skuespillerne lærte deres linjer udenad og spillede scenerne i rækkefølge foran et studiepublikum. Som resultat var der lejlighedsvise bommerter og akavede pauser. Paul Ford, der spillede Bilkos kommandant, var berygtet for at glemme sine linjer; når han fik et blankt udtryk på ansigtet, ville Silvers og resten af de medvirkende improvisere noget for at redde scenen, som for eksempel: "Åh, husk på, hr kolonel, de højtstående officerer besøger os i dag ..." På det tidspunkt ville Ford genoptage scriptet, hvor han gik i stå.

Sgt Bilko (Phil Silvers, til venstre) sammen med Col. Hall (Paul Ford)

Larry David, der skabte ”Curb Your Enthusiasm” også (sammen med Jerry Seinfeld) ”Seinfeld”, plejede at sige, at Phil Silvers’ Show altid var hans yndlingssitcom, hvilket er godt nok for mig, det må jeg nok sige.

22:00 Lois kommer tilbage fra bibelklassen. Jeg går i seng, men Lois trænger til at slappe af og geare lidt ned efter aftenens stimulerende klasse. Hun beslutter at se lidt fjernsyn, en amerikansk version of  tv-reality showet, ”Married At First Sight”, der oprindeligt var en dansk tv-franchise, hvilket er lidt af en overraskelse, for at sige mildt.

23:00 Lois hopper op i sengen til mig og vi snakker lidt om programmet. Hun siger, at den amerikanske version er lidt anderledes, end den britiske. Aftenens program endte med lidt af en cliffhanger – ville bruden gennemføre bryllupet, eller ej (hun ombestemmer sig lidt, lader det til). I den britiske version, finder bryllupet altid sted i det første afsnit, og derefter starter balladen. I USA starter balleden før ceremoniet, hvilket lyder interessant.

Lois siger, hun ikke har hørt om noget par i den britiske version, somme ikke er gået fra hinanden efter de obligatoriske 8 (?) uger. Bundlinjen er, at program-idéen forsøge at genskabe i et moderne individualistiske samfund vanerne af samfunder (Indien for eksempel) , hvor ægteskaber bliver besluttet af de to familier, og parrets følelser regner ikke. Derfor bliver det hele altid til lidt af en fiasko, tror hun.

Zzzzzzzzzzz!!!!!!!!