Tuesday, October 30, 2018

10:00 Lois and I drive into the village and pop into the local post office. We send off 3 snapfish calendars made up of 2018 family pictures: one big one to our daughter Sarah in Perth, Australia, and two smaller calendars, one for Lois' cousin Stephen in Adelaide and the other for her cousin Sylvia in Melbourne.

We continue on to the local Sainsbury's supermarket to buy a few things, including two bags of mini-chocolate bars in case children call at the door tomorrow evening (Halloween), although it has actually been many years since the last time that happened. We live on the main road, and most children prefer to visit nearby houses in their own residential neighbourhoods, which is fortunate.

A typical bag of fun size mini-chocolate bars, of the kind

we give children on Halloween: we are so warmhearted ha ha!

12:00 We leave the supermarket and continue on to my ex-work colleague Stephen's house. Stephen and Anne-Marie have invited us for lunch.

We talk a little about Halloween and Halloween days at the office in the old days when we worked together in the USA in the 1980s, and some of the cool Halloween costumes we remember from those years.

The tradition continues on even nowadays, no doubt about that. I tell him about a recent news item I read about on Onion News, the influential American news source.

According to the news source, there was praise for an "extremely realistic" Halloween costume when staff at a local software company Sterling Data Analytics confirmed on Halloween 5 years ago that boss Donald Barlow had come to the office dressed like a guy who fires Sean.

"Wow, he plays the role to perfection," said marketing officer Susan Dominguez to journalists, adding that Barlow's depiction of a strict, stern middle manager, who, because of Sean's latest performance problems, has to let Sean go, was "absolutely perfect."

"He has a business suit on and this serious expression on the face like a man who has to explain to Sean that his position has been terminated, effective immediately and that he has to clear his desk and hand in his employee i.d. card. Very authentic And it looks like he has just called Sean into his office. God, a real virtuoso bravura performance! "

As  the news source (Onion News) was about to go to press, Sterling employees also said they were impressed by Sean's decision to dress like a weeping man who had just lost his livelihood.

Stephen and I discuss the story and we agree that a degree of imaginative approach  in the workplace tends in general to be good for morale, rather than the opposite: we think there should be more fun, not less fun in work situations, and that productivity can probably only rise as the result, we think.

13:00 Anne-Marie calls us to the dinner table and we talk a little about our grandchildren, etc. Stephen and Anne-Marie are two of our oldest friends. Early in the 1980s, Stephen and I worked for an American government agency, although in theory we were employed by the local British Embassy. At that time Stephen was single, and it was then that he met Anne-Marie, who had a full-time job at the embassy, at some diplomatic dinner function or other.

They got married in Washington, and I recall that I took part in Stephen's bachelor party in nightclubs and restaurants near Baltimore harbour, which included a plate or three of mussels at Bertha's Muscles restaurant. Happy days!

15:00 After the meal, we settle down in the living room and they show us photos from their recent visits to South Africa and Malawi.

Their daughter Catherine is currently working in Blantyre, which is Malawi's former capital from its British colonial past. She is a researcher in the field of animal diseases and veterinary medicine, and is investigating the presence of e-coli and salmonella in pigs and other livestock in the country. Yikes - what a way to make a living!

Lois and I are very interested in hearing about some of the problems Catherine has to cope with and we suddenly realise that, although we have travelled extensively abroad, we have never visited a country that can be classified as "third world".

Lois and I look around in Stephen and Anne-Marie's new kitchen, with its modern appliances, and especially the oven that is located half way up a tall cabinet. It is becoming increasingly difficult for Lois and me to bend down to use our own traditional oven. The advantages of an oven at a greater height are, among other things, that it provides a much better working position, especially for us old crows. We decide we will try to convert our kitchen to the new style within the next 12 months.

18:00 We have a light dinner and spend the rest of the evening watching television. The first episode of the new season of First Date is on.

This show is Lois' and my favorite dating show, where participants go on a date and have a meal at a specially set up restaurant, with a potential partner that the TV channel has chosen for them.

The program thus to some extent has a serious purpose, ie to find serious possible compatible partners for the participants. It's a lot better than the version that takes place in a hotel in Italy where participants spend the days sitting around the hotel's swimming pool dressed in next to nothing and then go to bed with their dates as soon as the evening is over.

And it's much much better than the show's "celebrity version", where we see B-list and reality-show celebrities taking part just to get more publicity and stay in the public eye.

We both develop a bit of a mega-crush on Abbi, with her fun dialogue, and we think Lee is a bit of an idiot not to grab her on the spot.

Lee - What was your previous job?

Abbi - Prison Manager.

Lee - What did you have to do?

Abbi - Manage prisons.

Abbi - You know, some people put on a bit of fancy bacon on it, and... is it lardons?

Lee - Lardons?

Abbi - Have you got a lardon?

Lee - "Semi"

Lee - Have you been on dates?

Abbi - Have I been on dates?

Lee - Yes, have you ever met a man before?

Abbi - Yes. Glad we got that sorted (!)

Abbi - Right, that's right. 

Lee - Spread it about. 

Abbi - Spread it. Such a gentleman!

See this is why I haven't dated because people don't spread my guacamole.

Lee - I would love to spread your guacamole.

And it's very nice, later on the program, to see a young (gay) man who is Maggie Thatcher's biggest fan.

Cameron - I always think to myself, "WWMTD" 

(What would Maggie Thatcher do?)

21:00 We continue to watch TV, the second hour of an interesting 3 hour long "slow tv" program all about the Australian railroad from Adelaide to Darwin.

During this second hour, it is very nice to see for the first time some passengers in the dining car, including some couples, eating breakfast. It reminds us of our own experiences on night trains, especially when we travelled from Cologne to Vienna - it is very calming to lie in bed and to be cradled to sleep by the train's rocking movements - happy times !!!

It's nice to see passengers having breakfast in the train's dining car

We see the train reaching Alice Springs and then we switch off the television and go to bed.

The train reaches Alice Springs and the famous Bradshaw Drive,

Approximately halfway between Adelaide and Darwin.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzz !!!!

Danish translation

10:00 Lois og jeg kører ind i landsbyen for at smutte ind i det lokale postkontor. Vi afsender 3 snapfish kalendere, bestående af 2018 familiebilleder : en stor til vores datter Sarah i Perth, Australien, og to mindre kalendere, den ene til Lois’ fætter Stephen i Adelaide og den anden til hendes kusine Sylvia i Melbourne.

Vi kører videre til det lokale Sainsburys-supermarked for at købe et par ting, herunder to poser mini- chokoladebarer for det tilfælde af, at børn ringer på døren i morgen aften (halloween), selvom der faktisk er gået mange år siden det sidst skete. Vi bor på hovedvejen, og de fleste børne foretrækker at besøge nærliggende huse i deres egne villakvarterer, hvilket er heldigt.

en typisk pose mini-chokoladebarer, af den slags

vi giver børn på halloween: vi er så varmhjertede ha ha!

12:00 Vi forlader supermarkedet og kører videre til min eks-arbejdskollega Stephens hus. Stephen og Anne-Marie har inviteret os til frokost.

Vi snakker lidt om halloween, og halloween dage på kontoret, da vi arbejdede sammen i USA først i 1980’erne, og nogle af de sejte halloweenkostumer vi mindes om fra de der år.

Traditionen fortsætter endda nu til dags, ingen tvivl om det. Jeg fortæller ham om en nylig nyhed jeg læste om i Onion News, den indflydelsesrige amerikanske nyhedskilde.

Ifølge nyhedskilden var der ros for en "ekstremt realistiske" Halloween kostume, da medarbejdere hos det lokale softwarefirma Sterling Data Analytics, bekræftede på halloween for 5 år siden, at chefen Donald Barlow var kommet ind på kontoret klædt som en fyr, der fyrer Sean.

"Wow, han spiller rollen til perfektion", sagde marketingmedarbejder Susan Dominguez til journalister og tilføjede, at Barlows skildring af en streng, barsk middle manager, som på grund af Seans seneste præstationsproblemer er nødt til at fritstille ham, var "helt perfekt."

"Han har en forretningsjakkesæt på og dette seriøse udtryk i ansigtet ligesom en mand, der er ved at forklare til Sean, at hans position er blevet opsagt, effektiv med det samme, og at han skal tømme sit skrivebord og indgive sit medarbejderkort. Meget autentisk. Og det ser ud som om, at han lige har kaldt Sean ind på sit kontor. Gud, et virtuost bravurnummer, for at sige mildt! "

Da nyhedskilden (Onion News) var ved at gå i trykket blev Sterling-ansatte også imponeret af Seans beslutning om at klæde sig ud som en grædende mand, der lige havde mistet sit levebrød.

Stephen og jeg diskuterer historien, og vi er enige om, at lidt rollespil og fysisk humor i arbejdspladsen i generelt har tendens til at være god for moral, snarere end det modsatte: vi mener, at der skulle være mere sjov, ikke mindre sjov i arbejdssituationer, og det kan være, at produktiviteten bare kan stiger som resultatet, synes vi.

13:00 Anne-Marie kalder os til middag, og vi snakker lidt om vores børnebørn osv. Stephen og Anne-Marie er to af vores ældste venner. Først i 1980’erne arbejdede Stephen og jeg i et amerikansk regeringsorgan, mens vi i teorien var ansatte af den lokale britiske ambassade. Stephen var dengang single, og han mødte Anne-Marie, der havde et fuldtidsjob på ambassaden, til et eller andet diplomatisk middagsselskab.  

De giftede sig i Washington, og jeg mindes om, jeg deltog i Stephens polterabend, der fandt sted i natklubber og restauranter i nærheden af byen Baltimores havnområde, herunder en tallerken eller tre af muslinger på Bertha’s Muscles-restauranten. Lykkelige dage!

15:00 Efter maden sætter vi os til rette i stuen, og de viser os fotos fra deres nylige besøg til Syd-Afrika og Malawi.

Deres datter Catherine arbejder for tiden i Blantyre, Malawis tidligere hovedstad fra dets britiske koloniale fortid. Hun er forsker i feltet af dyresygdomme og vetinærmedicin, og er i gang med en undersøgelse af nærværelsen af e coli og salmonella i svin og andre hysdyre i landet. Yikes – sikke en måde at tjene sit brød på!

Lois og jeg interesserer os meget for at høre om nogle af problemerne, Catherine skal takle, og vi bliver pludselig klar over, at selvom vi har rejst meget i udlandet, har vi aldrig besøgt et land, der kan klassificeres som ”tredje verden”.

Lois og jeg kigger rundt omkring i Stephen og Anne-Maries nye køkken, med dets moderne hvidevarer, og i sær ovnen, der er placeret i et højskab. Det bliver hele tiden sværere for Lois og mig at bøje os ned for at bruge vores egen traditionelle ovn. Fordelene ved en ovn i højden er blandt andet, at det giver en god arbejdsstilling, i sær for os gamle krager. Vi beslutter, vi vil prøve at konvertere vores køkken til den nye stil indenfor de næste 12 måneder.

18:00 Vi spiser en let aftensmad og bruger resten af aftenen på at se lidt fjernsyn. De viser det første afsnit af First Dates nye sæson.

Dette show er Lois’ og min yndlings-datingshow, hvor deltagere går ud på en date og spiser på en special restaurant med en potentiel partner, som tv-kanalen har valgt til dem.

Programmet har i en vis grad et seriøst formål, dvs at finde mulige kompatible livspartnere til deltagerne. Det er meget bedre, end versionen, der spiller sig ud i et hotel i Italien, hvor deltagere bruger dagene på at sidde omkring hotellets swimmingpool i næsten ingenting, og går i seng med deres potentielle partnere, så snart aftenen er forbi.

Og det er meget meget bedre, end showets ”kendis-version”, hvor vi ser B-liste og reality show-kendisser deltager med det formål at få publicitet og at forblive i det offentlige øje.

Vi udvikler begge to lidt af et megacrush på Abbi, med hendes morsomme dialog, og vi synes, Lee er lidt af en idiot ikke at score hende på stedet. / være helt væk i hende.

Lee - Hvad var dit forrige job?

Abbi – Fængselsadministrator.

Lee – Hvad skulle du?

Abbi -  jeg skullle administerer fængsler.

Abbi – Du ved, nogle lægger et par stykke fin bacon på det. Hedder de ”lardon”?

Har du en lardon?

Lee – ”Semi”

Lee - Har du været på dates?

Abbi – Har jeg været på dates?

Lee – Ja, har du nogensinde mødt en mand før?

Abbi – Ja. Jeg er glad for, vi  har dækket det der spørgsmål (!)

Abbi – Godt klaret, smør det hele ind i den. Du er sikke en gentleman!

Kan du se, det er derfor jeg ikke går på dates, fordi jeg aldrig har fundet

en, der smører det hele ind i min guacamole.

Lee – jeg ville elske at smøre det hele ind i din guacamole.

Og det er meget rart, senere på programmet, at se en ung (bøsse) mand, der er Maggie Thatchers største fan.

Cameron – jeg tænker altid, ”WWMTD” – 
What would Maggie Thatcher do?

21:00 Vi fortsætter at se lidt fjernsyn, den 2. time af en interessant 3 timers lange ”langsom tv” program, der handler om den australske jernbane fra Adelaide til Darwin.

I løbet af denne 2. time er det meget rart at se for første gang nogle passagere i spisevognen, inklusive nogle ægtepar eller kæreste par, i gang med at spise morgenmad. Det minder os om vores egne oplevelser med nattetog, i sær da vi rejste fra Køln til Wien – det er meget beroligende at ligge i sengen og at blive vugget i søvn af togets rokkende bevægelser – lykkelige tider!!!

Det er rart at se passagere spise morgenmad i togets spisevogn

Vi ser toget når til Alice Springs og så lukker vi for fjernsynet og går i seng.

Toget når til Alice Springs og den berømte vejen Bradshaw Drive,

omtrentligt halvvejs mellem Adelaide og Darwin.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!!

Monday, October 29, 2018

09:00 Lois and I get up and after breakfast, we get to work in the vegetable garden and put it to bed for the winter. We take apart our runner bean poles, store the poles away in the shed, and put the left-over plants in one or other of our 4 giant compost containers. I finish weeding in the area, which is satisfying, but unfortunately I have pain in my joints the rest of the day - damn!

Flashback to October 17: I starting to do a little weeding 

in the vegetable garden

Today, I finish weeding the area, but have painful joints 

for the rest of the day - damn!

11:00 We come back into the house - we are freezing! We relax with a cup of coffee on the couch.

I have pain in the joints and decide to spend the rest of the day organising my U3A language projects.

The Danish group I'm leading has begun a 2-3 month break, but some group members want in the meantime to start on our next project, the crime novel "The Further You Fall" by Anna Grue, so I send them the book's first chapter by email, along with the lists of vocabulary entries I have made. I'm so warm-hearted ha ha!

12:00 Lynda's U3A "Making of English" group will be getting together on Friday. The plan is to read the first approx. 200 lines of Barbour's poem "Brus", which was written about 1375 in Scots English. The poem is all about the well-known Scottish hero, "Robert the Bruce", ie Robert the 1st of Scotland, and about the role he played in the Scottish War of Independence.

The most famous quotation from "Brus":

an opinion it's difficult to contradict - that's something I have to admit!

Robert the Bruce is considered to be one of the iconic Scottish heroes, but it's interesting that coincidentally earlier today I saw a news item about him on the BBC website. A new book claims that Robert was actually born in the county of Essex, near London, although his followers later started a myth that he was born in northern Scotland. Good grief, what a crazy world we live in !!!!

I do not know yet if we are going to see examples of Robert's spoken language in Barbour's long poem. The Essex dialect, or the so-called "Estuary English" today is one of the most frowned-upon dialects of the modern English language. If Robert uses the estuary dialect, I would expect him to pronounce the obsolete  word "forsooth" (in truth) as "forsoof", which will be entertaining, no doubt, but it may be that it will damage our respect for the great man to some extent.

Peggy Lee's "Fever" translated into "Estuary-English"

The Peggy Lee song also tells us that "Captain Smith and Pocahontas had a very mad affair. When her daddy tried to kill him, she said, 'Daddy oh don't you dare'."

Although Pocahontas was born and raised in Virginia she spent many of her later years in Essex, England, and is buried at Gravesend. It's just possible that she may have dropped her distinctive Virginia "twang" and gone over to "Estuary" to fit in more with local residents, but the jury's still out on that one.

12:30 Scilla's U3A Old Norse Group will resume meetings on November 7, but Scilla has given members precisely zilch information about where to meet and which chapter of Njál's saga we are going to start with. That is unfortunately quite typical of Scilla - she is lousy at the group's administrative side, as she would be the first to admit. I call her and find out that we are going to meet in the bar of the Everman theatre, and that we will be starting from the 19th chapter of the saga or thereabouts - good grief, she's so vague - what madness !!!!

But it will be very nice to resume the group's activities. Members say they miss the 2-weekly dose of sex and violence that our Old Norse studies provide us with.

I myself have become totally unclear about where the group has got to when it comes to Njal's saga. The group started the project in late January, but soon afterwards Lois and I travelled to Perth, Australia to visit our daughter Sarah and her little family.

I recall that the saga's story takes place in Rangárvellir in southern Iceland approx. year 950-1015, and the early chapters are about 2 brothers, Höskuldr and Hrut.

Hrut, a shy young man, has got tentatively engaged to Unnar, a nice Icelandic girl, and the wedding has been fixed for 2 weeks after midsummer. Then suddenly an unforeseen problem arises - Hrut's brother Eyvind dies unexpectedly in Norway, and Eyvind has willed all his earthly goods to Hrut. The problem is that Hrut's enemies in Norway are trying to steal the legacy.

Hrut, a shy young Icelander, chooses Unnar

from a bunch of Icelandic girls to be his future wife.

The result of this shennanigans (spelling?) is that Hrut must sail to Norway to claim his inheritance, leaving Unnar, his fiancee, in Iceland, and so their wedding has to be postponed for the moment.

It is interesting that Gunnhilda, the Norwegian Queen Mother, who was a well-known cougar, seems to be very keen to find out about Hrut's arrival in Norway - why? Does she know for sure that Hrut is good looking?

She insists anyway that Hrut spend the winter in her castle and she immediately sends one of her servants down to the harbour to invite him and his pal to come to the castle.

When Hrut arrives at Gunnhilda's castle, The Queen Mother gets a massive megacrush on him and carries him up to her bedroom and the rest is history. Yikes - poor Hrut !!!!

when Hrut arrives in Norway, he becomes

Queen Mother Gunnhilda's personal "winter-warmer" - poor Hrut !!!!

12:00 I chat a little to Lois about Gunnhilda's horny nature. We have never personally been invited to a bedroom in Norway, but we recalled that we saw some Viking age beds in Norwegian museums when we spent holidays there in 1970 and 1972. We were surprised at how short the beds were (only 4 foot long). The museum's guide, however, explained that the Vikings used to sleep half-sitting-up, in the event of an enemy bursting in. 

Perhaps that's why Gunnhilda locked the bedroom door from the inside for the two weeks Hrut spent with her, but that's something we're not completely sure about. Good grief, what a crazy world we live in !!!

Both Lois and I like the famous picture from the saga where Njal's son Skarp-Heidinn kills Thráinn on what looks like a very large skating rink. We have the feeling that such activities are prohibited, or at least frowned on, at today's ice skating rinks, such as Swindon's famous "Link" centre, but we are not entirely sure. More research is needed here.

Njal's son Sharp-Hein kills Thráinn on what looks like

a very large outdoor Icelandic ice rink: but would such activities be allowed

on today's skating rinks? We are not entirely sure.

18:00 We have dinner and spend the rest of the evening watching television. "Only Connect" and "University Challenge" are on, two of the few TV shows that are not suitable for very stupid people ha ha.

Lois and I are always happy about the questions we ourselves can answer, but which all the fresh young minds have problems with, because we think it proves we are not yet suffering from dementia. Sometimes we get help from the specialist knowledge we got from our daughter, Alison's 6 year residence in Copenhagen.

One question is, "Which 2-letter abbreviation connects (1) the National Broadcasting Corporation whose output includes" Borgen "and" The Killing ", (2) an English translation of the Bible by exiled Roman Catholic scholars, and (3) a title used by those in possession of a particular high degree? "

Lois and I know that it was DR (Danish Radio), that was responsible for "Borgen" and "The Killing", so we have no problems with this one, thank goodness. And Douay-Rheims was the English Catholic bible of 1582, produced by exiled scholars.

Both teams strike out on this one. Go Team Lois and Colin !!!!!

21:30 We go to bed a little earlier than usual, so we can read about 10 pages of our respective bedtime books before we drift off to sleep - zzzzzzzz !!!!

Danish translation

09:00 Lois og jeg står op og efter morgenmad går i gang med at luge lidt i grøntsagshaven og putte den i seng til vinteren. Vi demonterer vores bønnestativer, lagre stængerne i skuret, og sætte de tiloversblevne planter i en eller anden af vores 4 kæmpe-kompostbeholdere. Jeg luger færdigt i området, hvilket er tilfredsstillende, men desværre har jeg ondt i ledene resten af dagen – pokkers!

Tilbageblik til october 17: jeg begynder at luge lidt i grøntsagshaven

I dag luger jeg området færdigt, men har ondt i ledene resten af dagen – pokkers!

11:00 Vi kommer tilbage ind i huset – vi fryser! Vi slapper af med en kop kaffe i sofaen.

Jeg har ondt i ledene, og beslutter at bruge resten af dagen på at organisere mine U3A sprogprojekter.

Den danske gruppe, som jeg leder, er begyndt en 2-3 måneders pause, men nogle gruppemedlemmer har lyst til at starte i mellemtiden på vores næste projekt, den krimiroman ”Dybt at Falde” af Anna Grue, så derfor afsender jeg dem bogens første kapitel via email, sammen med de lister over ordforrådposter, jeg har udfærdiget. Jeg er så generøs ha ha!

12:00 Lyndas U3A ”Making of English” gruppe skal samles på fredag. Planen er at læse de første ca 200 linjer af Barbours digt ”Brus”, der blev skrevet ca. 1375 på skotskengelsk. Digtet handler om den kendte skotske held, ”Robert the Bruce”, dvs Robert 1. af Skotland, og om rollen han spillede i den skotske uafhængighedskrig.

Den mest kendte citation fra ”Brus”:

en mening, det er svært at sige mod – det må jeg indrømme!

Robert er betragtet som en af de ikoniske skotske helde, men det er interessant at jeg tidligere på dagen tilfældigvis så en nyhed om ham på BBC-webstedet. En ny bog påstår, at Robert faktisk var født i grevskabet Essex, der ligger i nærheden af London, selvom hans tilhængere senere startede en myte, at han var født i det nordlige Skotland. Du godeste, sikke en skør verden vi lever i !!!!

Jeg ved ikke endnu, om vi kommer til at læse eksempler på Roberts talesprog i Barbours lange digt. Essex-dialekten, eller det såkaldte ”Estuary English” i dag er en af de mest foragtede dialekter af det moderne engelske sprog. Hvis Robert bruger dialekten, vil jeg forvente at han for eksempel udtaler ordet ”forsooth” som ”forsoof”, hvilket vil være underholdende, ingen tvivl om det, men det kan være, at det i en vis grad vil skadige lidt vores respekt for den store mand.

Peggy Lees “Fever” oversat til “Estuary-engelsk”

12:30 Scillas U3A oldnordiske gruppe skal genoptage møder den 7. november, men Scilla har givet medlemmer præcis ingen information om hvor vi skal mødes, og hvilken kapitel af Njáls saga, vi skal begynder med. Det der er desværre helt typisk af Scilla – hun er elendig til gruppens administrative side, hvilket hun ville være den første til at indrømme. Jeg ringer til hende og finder ud af, at vi skal mødes på baren af byens Everman-teater, og vi skal starte fra sagaens 19. kapitel eller deromkring – du godeste, hun er så upræcis – sikke et vanvid!!!!

Men det vil være meget rart at genoptage gruppens aktiviter. Medlemmer siger, de savner den 2-ugentlig dosis af sex og vold, som vores oldnordiske studier forsyner os med.

Jeg selv er blevet total uklar over, hvor gruppen er nået til, når det kommer til Njals saga. Gruppen startede projektet sidst i januar, men kort efter rejste Lois og jeg til Perth, Australien for at besøge vores datter Sarah og hendes lille familie.

Jeg mindes om, at sagaens historie foregår i Rangárvellir på det sydlige Island ca. år 950-1015, og de tidlige kapitler handler om 2 brødre, Höskuldr og Hrut.

Hrut, en genert ung mand, er med besvær blevet forlovet med Unnar, en pæn islandsk pige, og bryllupet er blevet bestemt til 2 uger efter midsommer. Så pludselig opstår et uforudset problem – Hruts bror, Eyvind, dør uforventet i Norge, og Eyvind har testamenteret al sit jordiske gods til Hrut. Problemet er, at Hruts fjender i Norge prøver at nappe arven.

Hrut, en genert ung islænding, vælger Unnar

fra en flok af islandske piger som sin kommende kone.

Resultatet er, at Hrut må sejle til Norge for at fordre sin arv, efterlade Unnar, sin forlovede, i Island, og udskyde brylluppet.

Det er interessant, at Gunnhilda, den norske kongemor, der er en velbekendt cougar, virker at være meget ivrig efter at få nys om Hruts ankomst til Norge – hvorfor? Ved hun med sikkerhed, at Hrut er smuk?

Hun insisterer i hvert fald på, at Hrut tilbringer vinteren i hendes slot, og hun sender straks en af sine tjenestefolk ned ad havnen for at invitere ham og hans kammerat til at komme til slottet.

Da Hrut ankommer til Gunnhildas slot, får kongemore en massiv megacrush på ham, og tager ham op på  sit soveværelse, og resten er historie. Yikes – stakkels Hrut!!!!

da Hrut ankommer til Norge, bliver han

kongemor Gunnhildas personlige ”vintervarmer”– stakkels Hrut!!!!

12:00 Jeg snakker lidt med Lois om Gunnhildas liderlighed. Vi har personligt aldrig blevet inviteret på en norske kongemors soveværelset, men vi mindes, at vi så nogle senge fra vikingetiden i norske museer, da vi holdt ferie derover i 1970 og 1972. Vi var dengang overrasket over, hvor korte sengene var (kun 4 fods lange). Museets omviser forklarede imidlertid, at vikingerne plejede at sove halv-siddende, for det tilfælde en fjende braser ind. Måske derfor låste Gunnhilda soveværelsesdøren indefra i de to uger, Hrut tilbragte hos hende, men det er vi ikke helt sikre på. Du godeste, sikke en skør verden vi lever i !!!

Både Lois og jeg kan godt lide det kendte billede fra sagaen, hvor Njals søn Skarp- Heðinn dræber Þráinn på hvad ser ud som en meget stor skøjtebane. Vi tror, at nogle aktiviteter er forbudt på nutidens skøjtebaner, som for eksempel på byen Swindons ”Link”-center, men det er vi ikke helt sikre på. Mere forskning er nødvendig her.

Njals søn Skarp- Heðinn dræber Þráinn på hvad ser ud som

en meget stor islandske skøjtebane: men ville sådanne aktivitere være tilladte

på nutidens skøjtebaner – det er vi ikke helt sikre på.

18:00 Vi spiser aftensmad og bruger resten af aftenen på at se lidt fjernsyn. De viser ”Only Connect” og ”University Challenge”, to af de få tv-programmer, der ikke er egnede til meget dumme mennesker ha ha.

Lois og jeg er altid glad for de spørgsmål, som vi kan besvare, men som alle de friske unge hjerne har problemer med, fordi vi tror det beviser, at vi ikke endnu lider af demens. Nogle gange hjælper vores specialistiske viden, der stammer fra vores datter Alisons 6-års ophold i København.

Et spørgsmål er, ”Hvilken 2-bogstavsforkortelse forbinder National Broadcasting Corporation, hvis produktion omfatter "Borgen" og "The Killing", en engelsk oversættelse af Bibelen af forviste romersk-katolske lærde og en titel, der anvendes af dem, der besidder en særlig høj bachelorgrad?”

Lois og jeg ved godt, at det var DR (Danske Radio), der var ansvarlig for ”Borgen” og ”The Killing”, så derfor har vi ikke noget problem, gudskelov.

21:30 Vi går i seng lidt tidligere end normalt, så vi kan læse ca 10 sider af vores henholdsvisse sengetidbøger  før vi glider over i søvnen – zzzzzzzz!!!!