Danskcolin: Wednesday, August 8, 2018

08:30 Lois and I get up and go in the shower. We have a late breakfast and I grab an early lunch. At 11:45 I drive over to our local dental clinic where I have an appointment at 12:15 with Daria, our new Romanian dentist.

12:05 I arrive at the clinic 10 minutes early, but Daria's assistant invites me to come in immediately, which is a refreshing change - the previous patient has been delayed, it seems.

Daria gets going with preparing the tooth, but she admits she is not sure if the filling will be able to stay in place or not. There is so little of the tooth left - yikes! I give her the go-ahead to pull it out.

The last time I had a tooth pulled out was in September 2014, so almost 4 years ago. Both times were the result of eating unstoned cherries. Damn, just my luck !!!

It's fortunate that I have already eaten lunch no doubt about that. I can only eat soft, cold food for a few hours. I feel a little jaded - I haven't got any pain, but according to Darias instructions I have to take painkillers for 24 hours. It seems that it helps prevent swelling in the mouth.

14:00 I sit in front of my laptop. I cannot go to bed for my usual afternoon nap - I'm afraid the mouth could start to bleed again. I feel a bit out of sorts - according to Darias instructions, I mustn't exert myself too much for the rest of the day.

I work on devising a Danish vocabulary test that I want our U3A Danish group's members to take tomorrow afternoon when the group's next meeting of the group takes place here.

The correct answers spell out the sentence, "A smile opens doors", which seems to be an old Danish proverb. But Jeanette, the only genuine Danish member of the group, always says she has never heard of any of the proverbs I use, which is a bit strange.

By the way, the correct answers to our Danish group's latest vocabulary test are top secret until Thursday at 3 pm, needless to say ha ha ha !!!

18:00 We have dinner. Lois has made me a portion of mashed potatoes mixed with cheese and I also let it cool down before I eat it. I'm so hungry, it feels like the best meal of my whole life - yum yum! I drink only water with the meal, not my usual glass of Bath Ales beer: alcohol is forbidden for 24 hours.

20:00 We spend the rest of the evening watching television. An interesting tv reality show is on (1st part of 4) all about a group of older celebrities who want to experience India as a possible place to spend their old age in.

I do not usually watch TV reality shows or celebrity TV shows, or celebrity reality tv shows, but this kind of series is different from the normal ones - the celebrities are all elderly like me and I know who they are. Younger celebrities have no impact on me - for the most part, I do not know them from Adam. And it is interesting to see how much these elderly celebrities have changed since their heyday, but it is not always clear whether they have had cosmetic surgery or not.

Actress Susan George in Straw Dogs (1971) at 21 years of age

Susan George in this program, at 68

It is apparent from the outset that Selina Scott, the former television host, is a bit of a loner, like me, but more so - she lives alone. It will be interesting to find out how she gets on, both among the group (who are all staying in the same mansion), but also how she gets on in India generally.

I find it a little surprising how many people you see day and night walking or riding up and down India's streets. I get the impression that Indians are never at home, except when they are eating or sleeping.

What madness! I suspect that TV shows over there must be really rubbish, but that's something I'm not entirely sure about. We'll see during this series, or at least I hope so.

I get the impression that Indians are never at home,

except when they are eating or sleeping. What madness!

I suspect that TV shows over there must be really rubbish!

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

Danish translation

08:30 Lois og jeg står op og går i bad. Vi spiser en sent morgenmad, og jeg snupper en tidlig frokost, før jeg skal ud. Jeg kører kl 11:45 over til vores lokale tandlægeklinik, hvor jeg kl 12:15 har en aftale hos Daria, vores nye rumænske tandlæge.

12:05 Jeg ankommer til klinikken 10 minutter for tidligt, men Darias assistent indbyder mig til at komme straks ind, hvilket er en forfriskende forandring – den forrige patient er blevet forsinket, lader det til.

Daria går i gang med at forberede tanden, hun skal sætte en fyldning i, men hun indrømmer, at hun ikke er helt sikker på, om fyldningen kan holde sig på plads, eller ej. Der er så lidt af tanden, der resterer – yikes! Jeg giver hende lov til at trække den ud.

Den seneste gang, jeg fik en tand trukket ud var i september 2014, så derfor for snart 4 år siden. Begge gange var resultaten af at spise uudstenende kirsebær. Pokkers, bare mit held !!!

Det er heldigt, at jeg allerede har spist frokost, uden tvivl om det. Jeg må spise kun blød, kaldt mad i nogle timer. Jeg føler mig lidt udkørt – jeg har ikke ondt i tanden, men ifølge Darias anvisninger må jeg tage smertestillende midler i 24 timer. Det hjælper tilsyneladende med at forhindre hævelse i munden.

14:00 Jeg sætter mig foran min bærebare. Jeg kan ikke gå i seng til min sædvanlige eftermiddagslur – jeg er bange for at munden begynder at bløde igen. Jeg føler mig lidt udkørt – ifølge Darias anvisninger må jeg ikke anstrænge mig for meget i resten af dagen.

Jeg går i gang med at udarbejde en danske ordforrådtest, som jeg vil have vores U3A danske gruppes medlemmer til at tage i morgen eftermiddag, når gruppens næste møde finder sted hos os.

De rigtige svar staver sætningen, ”Et smil åbner døre”, hvilket synes at være et gammelt dansk ordsprog. Men Jeanette, gruppens eneste ægte danske medlem, siger altid, hun aldrig har hørt om ordsprogene jeg bruger, hvilket er lidt underligt.

I øvrigt er de rigtige svar på vores danske gruppes nye ordforrådtest tophemmelige indtil torsdag kl 15, unødvendigt at sige ha ha ha!!!

18:00 Vi spiser aftensmad. Lois har lavet mig en portion kartoffelmos blandet med ost, og jeg lader den køle af, før jeg spiser den. Jeg er så sulten, det føles som den bedste måltid i hele mit liv – yum yum! Jeg drikker kun vand til maden, ikke mit sædvanlige glas Bath Ales øl: alkohol er forbudt i 24 timer.

20:00 Vi bruger resten af aftenen på at se lidt fjernsyn. De viser en interessant tv-reality show (1. del af 4), der handler om en gruppe ældre celebriteter, der har lyst til at opleve India som et muligt sted at tilbringe deres alderdom i.

Jeg har ikke for vane at se tv-reality shows eller celebritet tv-shows, eller celebritet-reality-tv shows, men denne slags serie er anderledes, end den normale – berømthederne er alle ældre, som mig, og jeg ved, hvem de er. Yngre beromtheder gør ingen indvirkning på mig – jeg har for det meste ikke den fjerneste anelse om, hvem de er. Og det er interessant at se, hvor meget disse ældre berømtheder har ændret sig siden deres storhedstid, og det er ikke altid helt klart, om de har haft kosmetisk operationer, eller ej.

Skuespillerinden Susan George i Straw Dogs (1971) på 21 år

Susan George i dette program, på 68 år

Det bliver åbenbart fra starten, at Selina Scott, den tidligere tv-vært, er lidt af en enspænder, ligesom mig, og mere til – hun bor helt alene. Det vil være interessant at finde ud af, hvordan hun gør sig, både blandt gruppen, der alle bor i samme paladset, også hvordan hun gør sig i Indien. Jeg finder det lidt overraskende, hvor mange mennesker man ser nat og dag i Indiens gader. Jeg får det indtryk af, at de aldrig er hjemme, bortset fra de spiser eller sover.

Sikke et vanvid!!!! Jeg mistænker, at tv-programmer derovre må være nederen, men det er jeg ikke helt sikker på. Vi får se i løbet af denne serie, eller det håber jeg i hvert fald!!