Friday, August 31 2018

08:00 Lois and I get up and after breakfast we head over to the local Sainsbury's supermarket to do the shopping. We come back home and relax with a cup of coffee on the couch.

11:00 Lois gets going with baking a lot of cakes and other desserts and she spends most of the day in the kitchen. The purpose is partly to contribute to tomorrow's get-together, which her sect plans to hold at Andy and Angie's in Eckington. But there will also be a few cakes and desserts left over, which we can have at home - yum yum!

I had planned to cut back even more hedges in the back yard today, but I decide it would be silly in view of the aches in my shoulders and collar bone area that resulted from yesterday's work - damn!

13:00 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.

18:00 We have dinner and afterwards Alison, our elder daughter, calls us. Alison's family moved back to their old house in Haslemere two months ago after nearly 6 years of residence in Copenhagen. Ed, Alison's husband, was made redundant by his old company 5 months ago, and is still looking for a new job.

Ed and Ali's 3 children, Josie (about to turn 12), Rosalind (10) and Isaac (8 years) are preparing to start in their new English schools next week - so it's an exciting but also a rather nervous time for all of them. Isaac will unfortunately start school with his right arm in a splint, which is not ideal, to say the least. He broke his arm at the elbow during a short vacation in Copenhagen last week while playing on a friend's trampoline, and had to undergo minor surgery at the local hospital over there. He will now not be able to write or do sports etc for a few weeks - poor Isaac !!!!

Ed has been in Copenhagen for a few days busy "networking" but flies back home tonight. Later, I see a (ironic) cry for help that he posted on Facebook - his flight was delayed, it seems. Poor Ed !!!!!

Alison says tonight on the phone that Ed is flying back to Copenhagen again for several days next week, again to network over there. She does not give any details about all this networking - but Lois and I later speculate whether Ed is hoping he can get a new job over there. 

It would be very disruptive for the 3 children who have finally accepted that they will have to start in their new English schools next week. But another move to Copenhagen would be less disruptive than if Ed got a job elsewhere than in either Copenhagen or London, no doubt about that. And the children could quite easily resume their schooling in their old school over there - one of Copenhagen's international schools.

Fascinating! Lois and I are very curious to know what will happen next, I must say.

19:30 We spend the rest of the evening watching television, but unfortunately the TV again starts to give problems now and then. I think we will sooner or later be forced to buy a new one - damn!

We see another recording of a concert from the summer's BBC Proms series, featuring Bernstein's 2nd Symphony and Shostakovich's 5th Symphony. The concert took place on Monday.

According to the Radio Times magazine, the evening was a politically-charged occasion featuring compositions with an uneasy mood, and Lois and I can sense this one way or another, which is a refreshing change. Usually such so-called "moods" go right over our heads.

It's nice to see the late Dermot Morgan, "Father Ted" from the sitcom of the same name, coming back from the dead especially to play the piano in Bernstein's 2nd symphony. And at the end of the symphony, Dermot delights Monday night's audience in the Royal Albert Hall with a typically lighter encore: "Chopsticks", the old party favorite.

Dermot sits at the grand piano center stage to play Bernstein's masterpiece, but during the performance there's an embarrassing moment when Lois and I suddenly realize that a rival pianist is playing on an old, battered upright piano at the back of the stage area. Some union dispute here maybe - but that's something Lois and I are not entirely sure about. Perhaps Dermot's piano has been silenced, and we can only hear the rival pianist, but again we are not completely sure about that - the jury is still out on that one.

Dermot "Father Ted" Morgan comes back from the dead specially

to play the piano at the evening's concert.

He lacks experience without doubt, but fortunately a "coach" is sitting

next to him, giving him tips and turning the page for him.

Dermot sits and plays piano centre stage, but Lois and I spot

a rival pianist (Equity member?) high up on the left hand side

Conductor Marin Alsop at times shows her frustration at the situation

Then we hear Shostakovich's 5th symphony. Of course Mozart, Beethoven and Brahms are heaps better than him, but at least he tries to think up some melodies and then develop them, even if they aren't always very good ones. Today's composers can't even do that - good grief!

21:30 We continue to watch a bit of television. An old episode of Top of the Pops from April 1986. 

When Lois and I first saw this episode, I had just turned 40, which must have been very traumatic to me, that's for sure.

A very poor episode, and Lois and I can remember few of the songs we hear tonight.

Top of the Pops from April 1986, not the best episode

Lois and I have ever seen - we're certain about that!

22:00 We go to bed. Tomorrow afternoon I have to attend the get-together that Lois' sect has arranged. It will be an embarrassing afternoon from my point of view - and the prospect is starting to cast a shadow over me - I'll have to join in 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! Small talk is really not my strong point - so yes, really really scary.

Zzzzzzzzz !!!!!!

Danish translation

08:00 Lois og jeg står op og efter morgenmad kører vi over til det lokale Sainsburys supermarked for at købe ind. Vi kommer hjem igen og slapper af med en kop kaffe i sofaen.

11:00 Lois går i gang med at bage en masse kager og andre desserter og hun tilbringer det meste af dagen i køkkenet. Formålet er delvis at bidrage med retter til morgendagens sammenkomst, som hendes sekt planlægger at holde hos Andy og Angie i Eckington. Men der vil også være et par stykker kager og desserter tilbage, som vi kan spise herhjemme – yum yum!

Jeg havde planlagt at klippe endnu flere hække i baghaven i dag, men jeg beslutter, det ville være fjollet i betragtning af smertene i skuldrene og kraveben område, der resulterede fra gårsdagens arbejde – pokkers!

13:00 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.

18:00 Vi spiser aftensmad og bagefter Alison, vores ældste datter, ringer til os. Alisons familie flyttede for to måneder siden tilbage ind i deres gamle hus i Haslemere efter næsten 6 års ophold i København. Ed, Alisons mand, blev afskediget af sit gamle firma for 5 måneder siden, og er stadig på udkig efter et nyt job.

Ed og Alis 3 børn, Josie (snart 12), Rosalind (10) og Isaac (8 år) forbereder sig på at starte i deres nye engelske skoler næste uge – en spændende men også en lidt nervøs periode for dem alle. Isaac vil desværre starte i skole med sin højre arm i en skinner, hvilket er ikke idealt, for at sige mildt. Han brækkede armen ved albuen under en kort ferie i København sidste uge, mens han legede på en vens trampolin, og måtte undergå en lille operation på det lokale hospital derovre. Han vil nu ikke kunne skrive eller dyrke sports osv i nogle uger – stakkels Isaac!!!!

Ed har været i København i nogle dage i gang med at ”netværke”, men flyver tilbage i aften. Senere ser jeg et (ironisk) råb om hjælp, som han postede på Facebook – hans fly blev forsinket, ser det ud til. Stakkels Ed !!!!!

Alison siger i aften i telefonen, at Ed flyver næste uge igen tilbage til København i flere dage, igen for at netværke derovre. Hun giver ikke nogle detaljer om al denne netværkning – men Lois og jeg spekulerer senere på, om Ed håber på, han kan få et nyt job derovre. Det ville være meget foruroligende for de 3 børn, der nu endelig har accepteret, at de næste uge skal starte i deres nye engelske skole. Men endnu en flytning til København ville være mindre foruroligende, end hvis Ed fik et job andetsteds end i enten København eller London, ingen tvivl om det. Børnene kunne helt sagtens genoptage deres skolegang i deres gamle skole derovre – en af Københavns internationale skoler.

Fascinerende! Lois og jeg er meget nysgerrige efter, at vide hvad der sker næst, det må jeg nok sige.

19:30 Vi bruger resten af aftenen på at se lidt fjernsyn, men desværre begynder fjernsynet at give problemer igen af og til. Jeg synes, vi før eller senere vil være tvunget til at købe et nyt – pokkers!

Vi ser endnu en optagelse af en koncert fra sommerens BBC Proms serie, der fremviser Bernsteins 2. simfoni og Sjostakovitj’ 5. simfoni. Concerten fandt sted i mandags.

Ifølge Radio Times-tidsskriftet var aftenen en politisk-præget anledning, bestående af kompositioner med en urolig stemning, og det kan Lois og jeg fornemme på en eller anden måde, hvilket er en forfriskende forandring. For det meste flyver sådanne ”stemninger” hen over hovedet på os.

Det er rart at se den afdøde Dermot Morgan, ”Father Ted” i sitkommen ved samme navn, kommer tilbage fra døden specielt for at spille klaver i Bernsteins 2. symfoni. Og ved slutningen af symfonien  henrykker Dermot mandags publikum i Royal Albert Hall med en typisk lettere ekstranummer: ”Chopsticks”, den gamle festfavorit.

Dermot sidder på salens storre flygel midt på scenen for at spille Bernsteins mesterværk, men under forestillingen er der et pinligt øjeblik, da Lois og jeg pludselig indser, at en rival-pianist samtidigt spiller klaver på et gammelt, ramponeret opretstående klaver i bunden af scene-området. En eller anden fagforeningsopgør her måske – men det er Lois og jeg ikke helt sikre på. Måske har Dermots klaver blevet støjdæmpet, og vi kan kun høre rival-pianisten, men igen er vi ikke helt sikre på det – juryen er stadig ude om det.

Dermot ”Father Ted” Morgan kommer tilbage fra døden specielt

for at spille klaver til aftenens koncert.

Han mangler erfaring, ingen tvivl om det, men heldigvis sidder en ”træner”

ved siden af ham, giver ham tips og vender siden for ham.

Dermot sidder og spiller klaver midt på scenen, men Lois og jeg spotter

en rival pianist (EQUITY-medlem?) højt oppe på venstre sider

Nu og da udviser dirigenten Marin Alsop sin frustration over situationen

Så hører vi Sjostakovitj' 5. symfoni. Selvfølgelig er Mozart, Beethoven og Brahms med bunkevis bedre, end ham, men han i det mindste forsøger at finde på melodier og så udvikle dem, selvom selve melodier ikke altid er gode. Endda det er for svært for nutidens komponister - du godeste!

21:30 Vi fortsætter med at se lidt fjernsyn. De viser et gamle afsnit af Top of the Pops fra april 1986. Da Lois og jeg først så dette afsnit, var jeg lige fyldt 40, hvilket må have været meget traumatisk for mig, det har jeg ikke nogen tvivl om.

Et elendigt afsnit, og Lois og jeg kan huske få af sangene vi hører i aften.

Top of the Pops fra april 1986, ikke det bedste afsnit

Lois og jeg har set – ingen tvivl om det!

22:00 Vi går i seng. I morgen eftermiddag må jeg deltage i den sammenkomst, Lois’ sekt har arrangeret. Det vil være en pinlig eftermiddag set ud fra mit synspunkt – og den er begyndt 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! Småsnak er ikke min force, ingen tvivl om det – så ja, virkelig skræmmende.

Zzzzzzzzz!!!!!!