Monday October 15 2018

09:00 It's raining hard again. Lois and I get up and after breakfast we get going with cleaning up our cat Minx's "little house" which doubles as our utility room and laundry room. The room also contains our washing machine and freezer, a spare kitchen sink, and more closets.

But more and more, the room is getting dominated by all the things Minx needs now that she is 18 years old, a really old lady: her 6 cat bowls, the roughly 100 cans of cat food (all different species of pâté because she can no longer chew or bite her food), her cat bed, her litter tray etc.

A typical example of the tins of cat food we now have to buy for Minx

This morning we get started with giving the whole room its periodic thorough cleaning and disinfecting.

I also change the litter in Minx's tray. Mostly she is meticulous about using the tray, but if she gets nervous, for example, when Lois and I go on vacation, she becomes a little forgetful and tends to look on other spots around the house as acceptable toilets - yikes, yucky, especially from the point of view of our neighbours, Stephen and Francis, who look after the house and feed Minx while we are away from home.

11:30 Lois and I take a short break and relax with a cup of coffee. We discuss Minx's physical and mental problems.

From a British point of view, it is sometimes a little embarrassing to have to discuss a pet's toilet habits with one's neighbours. The Danes are, however, much more down to earth than us, and they find the whole subject all very amusing, there's no doubt about that.

Today's Danish comic strip from my favourite cartoonist, Morten Ingemann, features a middle aged couple sitting and talking on a couch while their brand new robot vacuum cleaner scurries itself around the living room.

a typical Danish robot vacuum cleaner: round with flat top

The couple are however, becoming by the minute more and more mystified by the disgusting odour coming from the robot vacuum cleaner. Later they discover the source of the smell - their dog has deposited a large turd on the machine's flat top, and the vacuum cleaner is diligently spreading the smell around the entire house.

Very funny, but I would not expect to see such a comic strip in a British newspaper. What's wrong with us? Those Danes will be happy to say goodbye to us when Brexit finally takes place, that's for sure!

13:00 Lois and I have lunch and afterwards I go to bed and take a huge afternoon nap. I get up at 3pm and drive into the village. I swing by the local post office and send a package to my little sister Gill in Cambridge - the package contains a memory stick of photos from her childhood in Bristol .

16:00 I come home and surf a little online, and find an interesting news story from the United States, which at least has the virtue of offering us a little distraction from the tedium of the current Brexit negotiations.

A woman from the Philadelphia has just hit the headlines after allegedly coming out with various remarks and comments, during the recent showing of a movie by a local TV channel last Friday (source: Onion News).

It seems that the woman, mother of three Barbara Rosenstock, 62, took several opportunities on Friday to declare her hatred for the movie's bad guy. "Oh, he's just being so mean to his girlfriend! It's terrible. It's just so awful how he treats her!" said Rosenstock, gasping and shaking her head as the antagonist struck another character with a closed fist. "You don't hit! Why would he do that? It is so unnecessary. He's just being a jerk. You would never act like that, right? I hate people who behave that way. So mean!"

A little later, at the news source's press time, the mother was announcing, "Oh, I like her!" when she saw the movie's female lead standing up to the bad guy.

17:00 I discuss Barbara's reactions with Lois, taking a sip of my glass of "Wicked Wolf Exmoor Gin" - unfortunately my last glass until further notice. The bottle is now sadly empty - damn it!

Lois and I are in agreement that we find Barbara's critique of the film very insightful and we look forward to seeing the movie itself when it comes to England at some point in the future. It is sometimes very good to be warned in advance about the behaviour of some of the less trustworthy characters in these kinds of movies - that's for sure!

18:30 We have dinner and spend the rest of the evening watching television. An interesting documentary is on, all about the 50-year-old Booker Prize, awarded annually for the "best novel" written by a citizen in the Commonwealth or Ireland. Competition organisers have also recently invited American writers to take part.

An interesting program, though I have never read any books written by most of the prize winners: I have read several books by Kingsley Amis and Iris Murdoch, I must admit - but by no one else featured, as far as I can remember. No surprise there - Booker novels are famous for the fact that nobody much reads them.

But the program is interesting because it shows how fragile the egos of well-known authors are, among other things. Anthony Burgess called the prize a "parochial" award after he found out he had not won it. Kingsley Amis, who for many years had consistently criticised the award, finally admitted that he had always had aspirations to win it, but that was something he said only after winning the award in 1986, for his "Old Devils" .

Sensitive egos - the author Anthony Burgess, commenting here

after he found out he had not won the prize.

There are two types of authors, I think. The first group has all the writers who are obsessed by celebrity and become grumpy and angry when they do not win.

The 2nd type are not interested in celebrity. What they like is to be able to write in peace and quiet. This group becomes a little annoyed about being constantly distracted by all the television interviews, and being in the spotlight for the next year or two after the award is announced. All they really want to do is to be able to hide themselves away and start writing their next novel.

It's nice to see my former classmate, Jeremy Treglown, whom I once shared a 2-person desk with at high school, being interviewed by the BBC's Melvyn Bragg in the 1980s. Jeremy was then the editor of the Times Literary Supplement, a prestigious magazine in the world of literary novels. As far as I know, he is the only one of my former classmates to achieve any degree of nationwide celebrity - he was also in some ways the naughtiest boy in the class and famous for bunking off during lessons every now and then. Good grief, what a crazy world we live in !!!!

Jeremy Treglown, my former classmate

and the former editor of the Times Literary Supplement

He had a good sense of humor and I remembered we shared many jokes about ridiculous dialogues in ancient Greek plays. He was always more interested in books in English than books in Latin and Greek if I remember rightly.

22:00 I go to bed, but Lois stays up - she wants to see a documentary about extreme weather and other natural disasters.

Members of Lois' sect are always interested in extreme weather and natural disasters, including earthquakes, etc. They are a sign that we are living in the last days, they say. They have become convinced that there are more such disasters nowadays than there were before, although sometimes I suspect that this phenomenon is the result of an improved news coverage, etc., which is much more effective than it was, for example, in medieval times, but that’s something I’m not entirely certain about.

But global warming may be an additional factor, I have to admit. So the jury is still out on all that.

One of the worst catastrophes that can happen to you is to fall into a black hole (or equally, to be pushed in).

Stephen Hawking's final dissertation on the subject was released the other day, according to Onion News, the influential American news source. But the prospect of being able to read Stephen's last thoughts on the subject has apparently led to disagreement among critics.

One of the most experienced of the news source's critics, Anton Philip, a respected innovator in the pioneering chapstick world, has commented that he hopes the dissertation left clues behind about the identity of Stephen's murderer. But we'll have to see - I have not had the chance yet to read the dissertation myself.

23:00 Zzzzzzzz.

I do not wake up when Lois hops into bed with me - my "zzzzzzzzz" sounds continue !!!!

Danish translation

09:00 Det regner kraftigt igen. Lois og jeg står op og eftermorgenmad går vi i gang med at rydde  op i vores kat Minx’ ”lille hus”, der fordobles som vores bryggers og vaskerum. Rummet indeholder vores vaskemaskine og fryser, en ekstra køkkenvask, og flere skabe.

Men mere og mere bliver rummet domineret af alt det, som Minx har brug af, nu hvor hun er 18 år gammel, en rigtig gammel dame: hendes  6 katteskåle, de ca 100 dåser kattemad (alle forskellige arter postej fordi hun ikke længere kan tygge eller bide sin mad), hendes katteseng, hendes kattebakke fyldt med kattegrus osv.

et typisk eksempel på de dåser kattemad, vi nu til dags er nødt til at købe til Minx

I formiddag  giver vi os til at give hele rummet dens regelmæssige grundige rengøring og desinfecering.

Jeg skifter også kattegruset i Minx’ kattebakke. For det meste er hun omhyggelig med at bruge bakken, men hvis hun bliver nervøs, for eksempel når Lois og jeg tager på ferie, bliver hun lidt glemsom og har tendens til at betragte andre steder rundt omkring i huset som acceptable toiletter – yikes, uhyggeligt, i sær fra synspunktet af vores naboer, Stephen og Francis, der passer på huset og fodrer Minx, mens vi er væk hjemmefra.

11:30 Lois og jeg tager en kort pause og slapper af med en kop kaffe. Vi diskuterer Minx’ fysiske og psykiske problemer.

Fra os briters synspunkt er det nogle gange lidt pinligt at diskutere et kæledyrs toiletvaner med ens naboer. Danskerne er imidlertid meget mere jordnære, end os, og de finder det hele emne meget morsomt, ingen tvivl om det.

Dagens danske tegneseriestribe fra min yndlingstegner, Morten Ingemann, fremviser en midaldrende ægtepar, der sidder og snakker på en sofa, mens deres spritnye robotstøvsuger piler rundt omkring i stuen.

en typisk dansk robotstøvsuger: rund med flad top

Parret bliver imidlertid mere og mere mystificeret af robotstøvsugerens væmmelig lugt. Senere bliver de klar over kilden på lugten – deres hund har efterladt et stort lort på maskinens flade top, og støvsugeren er i gang med at sprede lugten rundt om hele huset.

Meget morsomt, men jeg ville ikke forvente at se sådan en tegnestribeserie i en britisk avis. Hvad er der galt med os? De vil være glade for at kunne sige os farvel, når Brexit endelig foregår, ingen tvivl om det!

13:00 Vi spiser frokost og bagefter går jeg i seng og tager en gigantisk eftermiddagslur. Jeg står op kl 15 og kører ind i landsbyen. Jeg smutter ind i det lokale postkontor og afsender en pakke til min lillesøster Gill i Cambridge – pakken indeholder en hukommelsestab med fotos fra hendes barndom i byen Bristol.

16:00 Jeg kommer hjem og surfer lidt på nettet. En interessant nyhedshistorie fra USA, der i det mindste kan distrahere os lidt fra kedsommeligheden af de nuværende brexit-forhandlinger.

En kvinde fra byen Philadelphia har for nylig ramt overskrifterne efter angiveligt at være kommet frem med forskellige bemærkninger og kommenterer under udsendelsen af en tv-film, som en lokal tv-kanal viste sidste fredag (kilde: Onion News).

Det lader til, at kvinden, mor til tre Barbara Rosenstock (62) benyttede flere lejligheder i fredags til at erklære sit had for filmens bad guy. "Åh, han opfører sig bare så ondskabsfuldt med sin kæreste! Det er forfærdeligt. Det er bare forfærdeligt, hvordan han behandler hende! ", sagde Rosenstock, gispende og rystende på hovedet, da antagonisten slog en anden figur med en lukket knytnæve. ”Det skal du ikke! Du skal absolut ikke slå nogen! Hvorfor ville han gøre en sådan ting? Det er så unødvendigt. Han er bare en tumpe. Man bør aldrig opføre sig sådan, vel? Jeg hader folk, der opfører sig på den der måde. Så ondskabsfuldt!

Lidt senere, da nyhedskilde var ved at gå i trykket, meddelte moren, ” Åh, hende kan jeg kan godt lide! ", da hun så filmens kvindelige hovedfigur gøre front mod den bad guy.

17:00 Jeg diskuterer Barbaras reaktion med Lois, idet jeg tager en sjat af mit glas ”Wicked Wolf Exmore Gin” – desværre mit sidste glas indtil videre. Flasken er nu desværre tom – pokkers!

Vi er enige om, at vi finder Barbaras kritik om filmen meget indsigtsfuld, og vi glæder os til at se filmen selv, når den kommer til England, på ét eller andet tidspunkt i fremtiden. Det er nogle gange meget godt at blive advaret i forvejen om opførsel af nogle af de mindre artige og ærlige figurer i disse slags film – ingen tvivl om det!

18:30 Vi spiser aftensmad og bruger resten af aftenen på at se lidt fjernsyn. De viser en interessant dokumentarfilm, der handler om den nu 50-årige Bookerpris, der uddeles hvert år for den ”bedste roman” skrevet af en borger i Commonwealth eller Irland.  Konkurrencens organisatorer har for nylig også inviteret amerikanske forfattere at deltage.

Et interessant program, selvom jeg aldrig har læst bøger skrevet af de fleste prisvindere:  jeg har læst flere bøger skrevet af Kingsley Amis og Iris Murdoch – det må jeg indrømme - men ingen anden, så vidt jeg kan huske. Ingen overraskelse der - Bookerprisromaner er berømte for, at de fleste mennesker ikke læser dem.

Men programmet er interessant på grund af, det viser hvor skrøbelige egoerne af kendte forfattere er, blandt andet. Anthony Burgess kaldte prisen en snæversynet og provinsiel pris, efter han fandt ud af, at han ikke havde vundet den. Kingsley Amis, der over mange år konsistent havde kritiseret prisen, ”indrømmede”, at han altid havde haft ambitioner om at vinde den, men det sagde han kun efter at han vandt prisen i 1986 for sin ”Gamle djævle” roman.

Skrøbelige egoer - forfatteren Anthony Burgess,

efter at han fandt ud af, at han ikke havde vundet prisen.

Der er to typer af forfattere, tror jeg. Den første gruppe består af forfattere, der er optaget af berømthed og bliver gnavne når de ikke vinder.

Den 2. type er ikke interesseret i berømtheden. Hvad de godt kan lide er at kunne skrive i fred og ro. Denne gruppe bliver lidt sure over, at blive konstant distraheret af alle de tv-interviewer, og at blive i rampelyset. Alt de ønsker, er at kunne begynde at skrive sine næste romaner.

Det er rart at se min tidligere klassekammerat, Jeremy Treglown, som jeg engang delte et 2-mænds skrivebord med, blive interviewet af BBCs Melvyn Bragg i 1980'erne. Jeremy var dengang redaktøren af ”Times Literary Supplement”, et prestigiøst tidsskrift i verden af litteræriske romaner. Så vidt jeg ved er han den eneste af mine tidligere klassekammerater til at opnå en grad af landsdækkende berømthed – han var også på nogle måder klassens mest uartige dreng, og kendt for at pjække i timerne indimellem. Du godeste, sikke en skør verden vi lever i  !!!!

Jeremy Treglown, min tidligere klassekammerat

og den tidligere redaktøren af ”Times Literary Supplement”

Han havde en god sans for humor, og jeg mindes, vi delte mange vittigheder om latterlige dialoger i antikke græske teaterstykker. Han var altid mere interesseret i bøge på engelsk, end bøger på latinsk og græsk, hvis jeg husker rigtigt.

22:00 Jeg går i seng, men Lois bliver oppe – hun ønsker at se en dokumentarfilm, der handler om ekstremt vejr og andre naturlige katastrofer.

Medlemmer af Lois’ sekt interesseret sig altid meget for ekstremt vejr og naturlige katastrofer, inklusive jordskælv osv. De er et tegn på, at vi lever i de sidste dage, siger de. De er blevet overbevist om, at der er flere sådanne katastrofer, end før, selvom jeg selv nogle gange mistænker, at dette fænomen er resultatet af forbedrede nyhedsdækning osv, som er meget mere effektive end den var, for eksempel, i middelalderlige tider, men det er jeg ikke helt sikker på.

Men global opvarmning er muligvis en ekstra faktor, det må jeg indrømme. Så derfor er juryen stadig ude om alt det der.

En af de værste katastrofer, man kan møde, er at falde ind i et sort hul. Stephen Hawkings sidste afhandling om emnet, blev udgivet forleden, ifølge Onion News, den indfylsesrige amerikanske nyhedskilde. Men udsigten af at kunne læse Stephens sidste tanker om emnet tilsyneladende har ført til uenige reaktioner blandt kritikerne.

En af nyhedskildens mest erfatne kritiker, Anton Philip, en respekteret innovator i den banebrydende chapstick-verden kommenterer, at han håber afhandlingen efterlader nogle spor om Stephens morder. Men vi får se – jeg har ikke haft chancen endnu til at læse afhandlingen selv. 

23:00 Zzzzzzzz. Og jeg vågner ikke, da Lois hopper op i sengen til mig – mine  zzzzzzzzz lyde fortsætter!!!!