Wednesday, September 12 2018

08:30 Lois and I get up and after breakfast we head over to Leckhampton with 3 bags of children's books. We swing by the local Red Cross charity shop and donate the books to the staff in the store.

We were motivated to donate the books so that we could remove one of the 3 bookshelves in our daughter Sarah's old room. Lois' cousin from Melbourne, Sylvia, and Rod, Sylvia's new partner, will be coming next week for a week's visit here, and Lois and I have been clearing up Sarah's old room so Sylvia and Rod can use Sarah's old double bed.

It would be very nice to be able to take one of the 3 bookshelves out of the room - we do not want Sylvia and Rod to get the impression that they are sleeping in a mini library, the ultimate nightmare, and not very romantic, to put it mildly!

10:00 We walk along to the local CookShop store to buy 12 servings of ready meals, which we can use during Sylvia and Rod's visit, so as to make 3 of the expected 8 evening meals they will eat with us. If you spend the whole day out of the house on some excursion and are a bit tired, it's much nicer to be able to put a couple of ready meals in the microwave than to spend hours on complicated food preparation - that's for sure.

10:30 We swing by the CookShop café, and have a cup of tea and a pastry.

We swing by the CookShop café

to have a cup of tea and a pastry

While we sit and eat, Sarah, our daughter in Perth, Australia, unexpectedly calls us on whatsapp, and we talk to her and her 5-year-old twins for 20 minutes.

Lois sent the family 3 packages of children's clothing 2 weeks ago and the packages have just arrived there. Sarah wants to show us Lily and Jessie opening the packages and trying on some of the little dress, tops, etc.

Lily and Jessie are good examples of what used to be called "typical little girls" in the days before political correctness - they are already very into clothes, fashionable dresses, etc. - my god! I do not know what feminists would say about it - yikes!

This is the first time we have received a whatsapp call outside of our house, but we find that the internet connection there is excellent, I have to say. I feel a little embarrassed talking to Sarah and her twins publicly in a cafe, and I apologize to the other customers of the café, but they all tell me that it's no problem.

Lois and I squeeze together and snuggle up like a couple of horny teenagers on the café's tiny chairs, so Sarah and the twins can see both of our faces on the tiny screen. Good grief, what madness !!!

It still seems a little strange to sit in a cafe in Cheltenham and talk to our daughter and grandchildren on the other side of the world, also to see them on my smartphone's tiny screen - despite everything I'm just an old crow and I find modern technology a little hard to take in every now and then!

I remember the first time we got an audio call when we were in our car in the 1990s - it was Simon, Sarah's first husband, who wanted to talk to her from Alaska - yikes! So weird.

Sarah chats to us a little this morning about the family's plans to buy 5 acres of land, high up in the hills above Perth, and get a local construction company to build them a house up there. She and Francis are currently negotiating a loan and finding a construction company.

the landscape in the area where Sarah and Francis want to have a new house built.

12:00 We get back home and have lunch. Afterwards, Lois calls Alison, our daughter in Haslemere, Surrey. Unfortunately she is out of the house - she is on a walk with Sika, the family's Danish dog. Ali and Ed and their 3 children recently moved back to England after nearly 6 years of residence in Copenhagen.

Ed answers the phone, but he cannot speak for long. He is expecting a call from a potential employer for a job interview over the phone. He was made redundant from his job in Copenhagen at the end of March, and he has not yet got a new job.

Lois and I are very curious to know where Ed's next job will be - will the family move back to Denmark, for example? Or elsewhere abroad? Or will they stay in England? The family's 3 children started in their new English schools last week, so it could be quite stressful for them maybe to have to change schools yet again - that's for sure.

13:30 I go to bed and take a gigantic afternoon nap. I get up at 4pm and we relax with a cup of tea and a piece of bread with homemade plum jam - yum yum!

We chat a little about our Australian visitors, Sylvia and Rod, and their imminent visit here. We do not have the slightest idea of what they are interested in when it comes to excursions etc, so I take a little glance at Facebook. It looks as if they have been visiting some mines from the Bronze Age on the North Wales coast today - they are on their way from Sylvia's Aunt June's house in Redditch to her uncle Paul's house in Pwllheli.

I’m guessing they are staying at some B&B in the area of Llandudno and the Great Orme peninsula. Sylvia has posted some photos on Facebook – so the couple appear to be interested in historical sights, which is useful information for Lois and me - we have already prepared a list of possible options for the week they will be staying with us.

Sylvia and Rod's visit today to mines from the Bronze Age

on the north Wales coast

Lois and I carry on talking on the couch. She tells me a little about her current bedtime book, "A Polite and Commercial People: England 1727-1783". My god, not the ideal bedtime book in my opinion, but I'm going to let that one slide!

She is currently reading about the right to bear arms, that for many years has been a major issue in the United States. In the 18th century Parliament adopted 3 laws restricting Englishmen's right to bear arms: the Black Act (1723), and the Smuggling Act (1736) and the Smuggling Act (1745).

The laws were very unpopular, because at that time the right to bear arms was held to be a completely natural principle, and there was great opposition to the laws among ordinary people, but also in the House of Lords, which is a little surprising to say the least. The laws did not apply to the American colonies, all of which had their own parliaments, as far as I know.

Lois' latest bedtime book - yikes, scary !!!

16:30 I go out into the backyard and do a little weeding in the vegetable garden, which has become a bit of a jungle, I have to admit. We now have 4-5 days left before Sylvia and Rod arrive, and we are very keen to get the house, flower beds and vegetable garden in order before they arrive.

Consequently I have decided on a strict priority list for the vegetable garden. All of our vegetable beds have become pure jungle, but I intend to start with the patches which are most visible when you are looking at them from the garden path.

18:00 We have dinner and afterwards Lois goes out. She wants to attend her sect's weekly Bible Class taking place tonight in the Tewkesbury county library. Gill will drive her over there.

I have a little alone time and spend the rest of the evening watching television. An interesting documentary is on, "Trust Me, I'm a Doctor". The host of the program is the charming television doctor, Michael Mosley, along with some of his television doctor friends.

An interesting program dealing with a variety of topics in the health world.

It turns out that instead of practicing aerobic exercise (or, for example, taking a brisk walk) for 30 minutes a day, it's just as healthy to do it for just 5 minutes 6 times a day, which is a much more attractive option from my point of view, I have to say. This kind of exercise is very effective when it comes to reducing blood sugar and blood fat, etc.

It also turns out that our muscles get significantly weaker between the ages of 65 to 80. And when it comes to the need to strengthen the muscles as we age, there are a variety of simple exercises that you can practice at home for short periods (eg 5 minutes) several times a day without having to go to the gym: for example sitting on a chair and then rising and sitting down again repeatedly; standing on your toes and then going back down on to flat feet repeatedly; marching on the spot; also various knee exercises.

It also turns out that in recent years many people have not been getting enough iron from their diet, which can lead to fatigue, increased risk of infection, and sometimes heart palpitations. You can get iron from red meat, vegetables (cabbage, spinach, broccoli), but also from foods that have been specially reinforced with iron, such as white bread and certain breakfast products (certain cereals, etc.). The problem is that this iron often comes in forms that our bodies have difficulty absorbing.

In the case of red meat it is easy to absorb the iron. But with other sources of iron there is more of a problem. Cereals should always be accompanied by some source of vitamin C - such as a glass of orange juice (but never drink coffee with it - it reduces the absorbed iron by 65%: what madness !!!

When it comes to bread, sourdough bread is much the best. Cabbage or broccoli should be steamed, rather than boiled. Spinach should be lightly boiled. Good grief, how complicated!

22:00 Lois comes home again - Gill drops her off in front of the house. I go to bed, but Lois needs to relax and wind down after this evening's stimulating Bible Class, so she watches a little television. An American tv reality show is on, "Married At First Sight" (USA).

23:00 Lois hops into bed with me and we discuss the program. It appears that the two white couples are now having frequent sex, but the black couple are still waiting. At the end of the program, Lois saw a clip from next week's episode and the black woman was bursting into tears - oh dear, that doesn't sound very good !!!! 

Zzzzzzzzzzzz !!!!!

Danish translation

08:30 Lois og jeg står op og efter morgenmad kører vi over til Leckhampton med 3 poser børnebøger. Vi smutter ind i den lokale Røde Kors genbrugsbutik og donerer bøgerne til personalet i butikken. 

Vi blev motiveret til at donere bøgerne, så vi kunne fjerne en af de 3 bogskabe, der står i vores datter Sarahs gamle værelse. Lois’ kusine, Sylvia, og Rod, Sylvias nye partner, kommer næste mandag på en uges besøg hos os, og Lois og jeg har været i gang med at rydde op i Sarahs gamle værelse, så Sylvia og Rod kan bruge Sarahs gamle dobbeltseng.

Det vil være meget rart at kunne tage 1 af de 3 bogskabe ud af værelset – vi vil ikke have at Sylvia og Rod får det indtryk af, at de sover i et mini-bibliotek, det ultimative mareridt, og ikke særlig romantisk, for at sige mildt!

10:00 Vi går hen til det lokale CookShop-butik for at købe 12 portioner færdigretter, som vi kan bruge under Sylvia og Rods besøg til at lave 3 af de forventede 8 aftensmader, de vil spise hos os. Hvis man tilbringer hele dagen ude af huset på et eller andet udflugt og er blevet lidt træt, så er det meget rarere at kunne lægge et par færdigretter i mikrovnen end at bruge et par timer på kompliceret madlavning – ingen tvivl om det.

10:30 Vi smutter ind i CookShop-butikkens café, drikker en kop te og spiser et wienerbrød.

 vi kigger ind i CookShop-butikkens café

for at drikke en kop te og spiser et wienerbrød

Mens vi sidder og spiser, ringer Sarah, vores datter i Perth, Australien, uforventet til os på whatsapp, og vi snakker med hende og hendes 5-årige tvillinger i 20 minutter.

Lois sendte familien 3 pakker børnetøj for 2 uger siden, og pakkerne er lige i dag ankommet. Sarah vil gerne vise os Lily og Jessie, i gang med at åbne pakkerne og prøve noget af de små kjole, tops osv.

Lily og Jessie er gode eksempler på, hvad man i dagerne før politisk korrekthed plejede at kalde ”typiske små piger” – de er allerede meget til tøj, moderagtige kjoler osv – du godeste! Jeg ved ikke, hvad feminister ville sige om det – yikes!

Det er første gang vi har modtaget et whatsapp-opkald væk hjemmefra, men vi finder, at internetforbindelsen er udmærket – det må jeg nok sige. Jeg føler mig lidt pinlig over at snakke med Sarah og hendes tvillinger offentligt i en café, og jeg beklager til caféens andre kunder, men de fortæller mig alle, at det ikke er noget problem.

Lois og jeg putter os ind til hinanden som liderlige teenagere på caféens småbitte stole, så Sarah og tvillingerne kan se begge vores ansigter på skærmen. Du godeste, sikke et vanvid!!!

Det virker imidlertid lidt underligt at sidde i en café i Cheltenham og snakke med vores datter og børnebørn i den anden side af verden, også at kunne se dem på min smartphones lille skærm – jeg er trods alt bare en gammel krage og jeg finder moderne teknologi lidt svært at tro på nu og da!

Jeg mindes om, den første gang vi fik en audio-opkald, da vi i 1990’erne sad i vores bil – det var Simon, Sarahs første mand, der ville tale med hende fra Alaska – yikes! Så underligt.

Sarah taler lidt i formiddag med os om familiens planer om at købe et stykke jord på 2 hektar, højt oppe i bakkerne udenfor Perth og få et lokal byggefirma til at bygge dem et hus deroppe. Hun og Francis er for tiden i forhandlinger om at få et lån og finde et byggefirma.

landskabet i området, hvor Sarah og Francis vil få bygget et nyt hus

12:00 Vi kommer hjem igen og spiser frokost. Bagefter ringer Lois til Alison, vores datter i Haslemere, Surrey. Desværre er hun ude af huset – hun går tur med Sika, familiens danske hund. Ali og Ed og deres 3 børn flyttede for nylig tilbage til England efter næsten 6 års ophold i København.

Ed besvarer telefonen, men han kan ikke tale lang tid. Han forventer et opkald fra en potentielle arbejdsgiver, der skal give ham en jobsamtale i telefonen. Han blev afskediget ved slutning af marts fra sit job i København, og han har ikke fået et nyt job endnu.

Lois og jeg er meget nysgerrige efter at vide, hvor Eds næste job vil være – vil familien flytte tilbage til Danmark, for eksempel? Eller andetsteds i udlandet? Eller vil de blive boende i England. Familiens 3 børn startede i deres nye engelske skoler sidste ug, og det ville være meget stressende for dem måske at skulle skifte skoler engang til – det har vi ikke nogen tvivl om!

13:30 Jeg går i seng og tager en gigantisk eftermiddagslur. Jeg står op kl 16 og vi slapper af med en kop te og et stykke brød med hjemmelavet blommemarmelade – yum yum!

Vi snakker lidt om vores australske besøgere, Sylvia og Rod, og deres overhængende ophold hos os.  Vi har ikke den fjerneste anelse om, hvad de interesserer sig for, når det kommer til udflugt osv, så derfor kigger jeg lidt på Facebook. Det ser ud som om de i dag besøgte nogle miner fra bronzalderen på kysten i Nord-Wales – de er på vej fra Sylvias tante Junes hus i Redditch til hendes onkel Pauls hus i Pwllheli.

Jeg gætter, at de overnattede i en eller anden pension i området af Llandudno og Great Orme-halvøen. Sylvia har lagt nogle billeder op på Facebook – det ser ud som om, de interesserer sig for historiske seværdigheder, hvilket er nyttig information for Lois og mig – vi har udarbejdet en liste over mulige optioner til ugen, de skal bo hos os.

Sylvia og Rods besøg i dag til miner fra bronzalderen

på kysten i Nord-Wales

Lois og jeg fortsætter med at snakke lidt i sofaen. Hun fortæller mig lidt om sin nuværende sengetidbog,  ”A Polite and Commercial People:  England 1727-1783”. Du godeste, ikke den ideelle sengetidbog efter min mening, men det springer jeg over!

Hun læser for tiden om at retten til at bære våben, der i mange år er været et stort spørgsmål i USA. Parlamentet vedtog 3 love, der begrænsede englænderes ret til at bære våben:  Black Act (1723), og Smuggling Act (1736) og Smuggling Act (1745). Lovene var meget upopulære, fordi man dengang mente, at retten til at bære våben var et helt naturligt princip, og der var stor modstand mod lovene, blandt almindelige folk men også i House of Lords, hvilket er lidt overraskende for at sige mildt. Lovene gjaldt ikke for de amerikanske kolonier, der alle havde deres egne parlamenter, så vidt jeg ved.

Lois’ seneste sengetidbog – yikes, skræmmende!!!

16:30 Jeg går ud ind i baghaven og luger lidt i grøntsagshave, der er blevet til lidt af en jungle, det må jeg indrømme. Vi har nu efter i dag 4-5 dage tilbage, før Sylvia og Rod ankommer, og vi er meget ivrige efter at få huset, blomsterbedene og grøntsagshaven i orden før de ankommer.

Dermed har jeg besluttet på en streng prioriteringsliste til grøntsagshaven. Alle de grøntsagshavens jordstykke er blevet til jungler, men jeg har til hensyn at starte med jordstykket, der er det mest synligt, hvis man kigger på det fra havegangen.  

18:00 Vi spiser aftensmad og bagefter skal Lois ud. Hun ønsker at deltage i sin sekts bibelklasse, der finder sted i aften på byen Tewkesburys bibliotek. Gill skal køre hende derover.

Jeg har lidt alenetid og bruger resten af aftenen på at se lidt fjernsyn. De viser en interessant dokumentarfilm “Stol på mig, jeg er læge”. Programmets vært er den charmerende tv-læge, Michael Mosley, sammen med nogle af hans tv-lægevenner.

Et interessant program, der handler om en vifte emner i sundhedsverden.

Det viser sig, at i stedet for at dyrke ærobisk motion (eller fx tage en rask gåtur)  i 30 minutter om dagen, er det lige så sundt at dyrke den i 5 minutter 6 gange om dagen, hvilket er meget mere attraktiv set ud fra mit synspunkt, det må jeg nok sige. Denne slags motion er meget effektiv, når det kommer til at reducere blodsukker og blodfedt osv.

Det viser sig også, at vores muskler bliver betydeligt svagere i alderen  65 til 80 år. Og når det kommer til trangen til at styrke musklerne, mens vi ældes,  er der en vifte simple øvelser, man kan dyrke hjemme i korte perioder (fx 5 minutter) flere gange om dagen, uden at måtte tage i motionscentrer:  for eksempel at sætte sig på en stol og rejse sig gentagende gange; at rejse sig, skiftevis stå på deres tæer og komme ned på flad fod; og at marchere på stedet; også forskellige knæøvelser.

Det viser sig også, at folk i nylige år, ikke har fået nok jern fra deres kost, hvilket kan lede til træthed, forøget risiko for infektion, og nogle gange hjertebanken. Man kan få jern fra rødt kød, grøntsager (kål, spinat, broccoli), men også fra fodevarer, der er blevet specielt forstærket med jern, som hvidt brød og visse morgenmadsprodukter (visse cerealier osv). Problemet er, at dette jern ofte kommer i former, som vores kroppe har svært ved at absorbere.

I tilfældet af rødt kød er det nemt at absorbere jernet. Men med andre jernkilder er der mere af et problem. Cerealier skulle altid blive ledsaget af en eller anden kilde til vitamin C – eksempelvis et glas appelsinsaft (men drik aldrig kaffe til maden – det reducerer det absorberede jern med 65%: sikke et vanvid!!!

Når det kommer til brød, er surdejbrødt det bedste. Kål eller broccoli skulle blive dampet, snarere end kogt. Spinat skulle være let kogt. Du godeste, hvor kompliceret!

22:00 Lois kommer hjem igen – Gill sætter hende af foran huset. Jeg går i seng men Lois trænger til at slappe af og geare lidt ned efter aftenens stimulerende bibelklasse, så hun ser lidt fjernsyn. De viser en amerikansk tv-reality-show, ”Married At First Sight” (USA).

23:00 Lois hopper op i sengen til mig og vi diskuterer programmet. Det ser ud til, at de to hvide par nu har hyppigt sex, men det sorte par venter endnu. Ved slutningen af programmet så Lois et klip fra næste uges afsnit og den sorte kvinde brød sammen i gråd – du godeste, det lyder ikke ret godt!!!!

Zzzzzzzzzzzz!!!!!