Danskcolin: Tuesday October 16 2018

09:00 After breakfast, Lois and I get going with preparing one of our so-called guest rooms for the visit of our daughter Alison and her family next week. We make up the double bed with new linens and clear up a little in the room - Alison and Ed are going to sleep here.

11:00 I sit down in front of my laptop and take a little look at the Danish media, ie extrabladet.dk, my favourite news site, where I can forget about today's domestic tasks and travel back 1000 years.

An extremely rare long-ship from the Viking Age has been found by archaeologists in Halden, in southeastern Norway, close to the border with Sweden.

Archaeologists have found a long-ship from the Viking Age

in southeastern Norway close to the border with Sweden

The ship has been found close to Scandinavia's second largest burial mound, Jellhaugen, and experts are calling it a world sensation. "We have only three well-preserved Viking ships found here in Norway, so this is fantastic," say Norwegian researchers. And it's a team of archaeologists from NIKF who have made the find. With the help of a special radar technology, they have scanned the soil layers finding traces of the ship in the upper layers. The ship has a length of 65 feet.

In addition to the long-ship, long houses and burials have also been found:

there is a special scanning technique that has been used to create

pictures of the long-ship - the same scanning technique has been used at Stonehenge

In addition to the long-ship, archaeologists have found a number of burial mounds and five long houses. The Vikings lived in the long houses, which also served as shelters for their cattle.

However, it is the finding of the long-ship that is the most remarkable. It is believed that it was positioned on the site as part of a burial complex and that the location of the long-ship represented a sign of great wealth and strength. It has been more than 100 years since the last Viking ship of this size has been found in Norway.

How interesting! For some reason, the Vikings continue to fascinate us. A couple of years ago I saw the following story in Onion News, where it was reported that a heroic goldfish had been honored with a Viking-style flushing - proof, if proof were needed, of our continued fascination for all uaspects of the Viking culture.

But back to reality - we have work to do and our daughter's family arrives in 8 days' time - yikes!

12:00 Every time we clear up in our "guest rooms" (our two daughters' old rooms) we are reminded that we have far too many things we do not need. Each bed has a million unwanted things hiding underneath them, plus there is also the attic, which is also packed with several unwanted things, plus the garage as well.

Will all these unwanted things still be there in the house when Lois and I die, so that our poor daughters will have to cope with the problem? Or can Lois and I take control and get rid of all that stuff?

I propose a new strategy: to take different categories one by one. For example, to find all the unwanted electrical appliances (a) in guest rooms (b) in the attic and (c) in the garage, collect all of them and take them to the recycling center at Stoke Orchard, then choose another category, for example unwanted clothes etc etc.

We must be decisve and take control, I say. But I suspect Lois does not feel the same urgency as I do. But I'm not entirely sure about that - the jury is still out on that one.

13:00 We have lunch and afterwards I go to bed and take a gigantic afternoon nap. I get up at 4pm and we relax with a cup of tea and have a little listen to the radio, an interesting program all about language and dementia.

The program includes a lot of good advice on how to deal with dementia sufferers: it is fundamentally important not to confront them with their misunderstandings and forgetfulness, for example. It is useful advice especially for Lois who occasionally swings by our neighbors to talk to Mary, who suffers from dementia.

Scientists believe that cultivating various mental activities (foreign language studies, crosswords, etc., which both Lois and I do) can help delay (for about 5 years) the start of dementia but cannot prevent it - yikes! But 5 years are 5 years and those 5 sane years are worth having, I'm sure of that.

If it's your destiny to get dementia, you cannot escape it, it seems. But is it genetic or not? The program does not answer this question, which occurs to me while I listen. My father and my mother had many shortcomings, but dementia was not one of them - and they lived until they were 86 and 91 years respectively.

But yikes !!!!!! Can Lois and I both escape it? It seems unlikely - yikes (again) !!!!!

Frightening !!!!

17:30 We have dinner a little earlier than usual. Afterwards, Lois has to go out - she wants to attend her sect's regular weekly bible seminar that takes place this evening in Brockworth library.

20:00 I have a little alone time and spend the evening watching television. An interesting documentary is on, all about the mythical king, Arthur and his times, considered in the light of recent archaeological discoveries. The host of the program is the charming Alice Roberts.

The Arthur myth is about a mighty British king who supposedly waged war on the invading Anglo-Saxon armies, but researchers nowadays think that Arthur was just a mythical figure, whom later writers, for example Geoffrey of Monmouth, basically invented for their own purposes, based on half-remembered myths and legends.

the Anglo-Saxons came flooding across the North Sea,

says Geoffrey of Monmouth

Archaeological results, however, suggest that in the 5th and 6th centuries after the Romans left the country, indicate that Western England and Eastern England were two distinct worlds.

In the west, the old Roman world (but without the Romans) continued, where the languages were still Latin and Celtic, or a mixture of the two. In this evening's programme we see the recent archaeological excavations in Tintagel, Cornwall, the venue for a prestigious collection of buildings, possibly a royal castle, where expensive porcelain and other exquisite objects from countries around the Mediterranean have been found: probably exchanged in in trading for tin from the local mines.

Archaeological excavations in Tintagel, Cornwall

In eastern England we see a completely different world. British and Anglo-Saxon farmers and their families lived in close proximity, but with no evidence that there was a violent invasion. Scientists believe that the immigrant Anglo-Saxon moved into the country over a period of hundreds of years: there was no shortage of space and there were always more farmers needed to cultivate the land. And the British and the immigrants, although they initially lived in separate villages, soon began to marry and go to bed with each other.

Researchers have analysed skeletons that were found in Oakington in ancient graves dating from the 5th and 6th centuries. The funds show how much the two populations had blended in with each other.

A woman had been buried with an Anglo-Saxon style brooch, but the brooch's production method was typically local and British, and different than Anglo-Saxon brooches found in Scandinavia.

DNA residues from 3 skeletons are also interesting. The first is typically Germanic, the other is typically British, and the 3rd shows a mixture of Germanic and British ancestors.

How fascinating.

21:15 I carry on watching television. Another interesting documentary is on, all about a Norwegian woman who bought an island in northern Norway in order to live her life while deliberately avoiding the aid of many aspects of modern technology, etc. The host of the program is the charming Ben Fogle.

Randi, the 58-year-old Norwegian adventurer, is an unusual woman, that's for sure: a very active and outspoken blonde who looks much younger than her 58 years

In the middle of the program, Lois comes back from her Bible seminar. She comments that she sometimes wonders if Ben Fogle's wife occasionally worries about her husband spending so much time alone with beautiful women in close proximity, isolated away in distant places: in forests, deserts, mountains, etc. However, I point out that there must be a non-speaking camera man there too, who is constantly filming the couple's cosy existence together, and all their interactions!

Randi says she is happy with her life as a single woman. She says men are no longer interested in her. I wonder if they might also perhaps be a little scared of her - she is very loud and forceful, no doubt about that. And she likes to scream and shout. She would be a bit of a nightmare to be in bed with, I suspect.

She worked for 20 years in the IT world, but found that the work hurt her back so she dropped it all and began living her life almost exclusively outdoors.

22:00 I go to bed, but Lois needs to relax and wind down a little bit after the evening's stimulating Bible seminar. She stays up and watches a bit of television: the latest episode of Gogglebox.

Gogglebox - typical opening scenes from tonight's show

23:00 She jumps up into bed with me. Zzzzzzzzzzz !!!!!

Danish translation

09:00 Efter morgenmad går Lois og jeg i gang med at forberede et af vores såkaldte gæsteværelser på besøget af vores datter Alison og hendes familie næste uge. Vi reder dobbeltsengen op med nyt sengetøj og rydder op lidt i værelset – Alison og Ed skal sove her.

11:00 Jeg sætter mig foran min bærebare og kigger lidt på de danske medier, dvs ekstrabladet.dk, mit yndlingsnyhedswebsted, hvor jeg i et par minutter kan glemme dagens huslige opgaver og rejse tilbage 1000 år.

Et ekstremt sjældent langskib fra vikingetiden er blevet fundet af arkæologer i Halden i det sydøstlige Norge tæt på grænsen til Sverige.

arkæologer har fundet et langskib fra vikingetiden

i det sydøstlige Norge tæt på grænsen til Sverige

Skibet er blevet fundet tæt på Nordens næststørste gravhøj, Jellhaugen, og eksperter betragter fundet som en verdenssensation. ”Vi har alene tre velbevarede vikingeskib-fund her til lands, så dette er stort, siger norske forskere. Det er netop et hold arkæologer fra NIKF, som har gjort fundet. Med hjælp fra en special radarteknologi har de skannet jordlagene og har altså fundet spor efter skibet i de øverste jordlag. Skibet har en længde på 65 fods.

Vpic2: Udover langskibet er der blevet fundet langhuse og gravminder: der er

en speciel skannings-teknik, som er blevet anvendt for at skabe

billeder af langskibet. Samme skanningsteknik er blevet brugt ved Stonehenge

Ud over langskibet har arkæologerne fundet en række gravhøje og fem langhuse. Vikingerne boede i langhusene, ligesom de også fungerede som shelters for deres kreaturer.

Det er imidlertid fundet af langskibet, der er det mest bemærkelsesværdige. Det menes, at det er blevet placeret på stedet som en del af en gravplads, og at placeringen af langskibet har signaleret rigdom og styrke. Det er mere end 100 år siden, at der sidst er fundet et vikingeskib af den størrelse i Norge.

Hvor interessant! Af en eller anden grund fortsætter vikingerne at fascinere os. For et par år siden sår jeg denne nyhed i Onion News, hvor det var rapporteret, at en heroisk goldfisk var blevet hædret med en viking-stil nedskylning – bevis, hvis bevis var nødvendigt, på vores fortsatte fascination for alle aspekter af vikingernes kultur.

Men tilbage til virkeligheden – vi har arbejde for og vores datters familie ankommer om 8 dage – yikes!

12:00 Hver gang vi skal rydde op i ”gæsteværelser” (vores 2 døtres gamle værelser), bliver vi mindet om, at vi har alt for mange ting, vi ikke har brug for. Hver seng har en million uønskede ting, der gemmer sig derunder, udover loftet, der er propfyldt af flere uønskede ting, plus garagen også.

Vil alle disse uønskede ting stadig være der i huset, når Lois og jeg dør, så vores døtre vil blive nødt til at takle problemet? Eller kan Lois og jeg tage kontrollen og blive fri for alt det der ting?

Jeg foreslår en ny strategi: at tage kategorier en ad gangen. For eksempel, at finde alle de uønskede elektriske apparater (a) i gæsteværelser (b) oppe i loftet, og (c) i garagen, samle dem alle op og tage dem hen til genbrugscentret i Stoke Orchard, så derefter tage en anden kategori, for eksempel uønsket tøj osv osv.

Vi skal være beslutsomme og tager kontrollen, sager jeg. Men jeg mistænker, at Lois ikke føler samme følelse af haster, som jeg. Men det er jeg ikke helt sikker på – juryen er stadig ude om det.

13:00 Vi spiser frokost og bagefter går jeg i seng for at tage en gigantisk eftermidddagslur. Jeg står op kl 16 og vi slapper af med en kop te og lytte lidt til radio, en interessant program, der handler om sprog og demens.

Programmet inkluderer en masse godt råd om at hvordan man handler demenssyge: det er grundlæggende vigtigt ikke at konfrontere dem med deres misforståelser og glemsomhed, for eksempel. Det er nyttigt råd især for Lois, der indimellem smutter ind hos vores naboer for at snakke med Mary, der lider af demens.

Forskere tror, at det, at dyrke forskellige mentale aktiviter (fremmedsprogstudier, krydsogtværser osv, som både Lois og jeg gør) kan hjælpe med at udskyde (med ca 5 år) starten af demens, men ikke kan forhindre den – yikes! Men 5 år er 5 år, og de der 5 år er værd at have, ingen tvivl om det!

Hvis det er ens skæbne at få demens, kan man ikke undgå det, lader det til. Men er det genetisk eller ej? Programmet besvarer ikke dette spørgsmål, som slår mig, mens jeg lytter til det. Min far og min mor havde mange mangler, men demens var ikke en af dem – og de levede indtil henholdsvis 86 og 91 år.

Men yikes!!!!!! Kan Lois og mig begge to slippe for den? Det synes usandsynligt – yikes (igen) !!!!!

Skrækkende !!!!

17:30 Vi spiser aftensmad lidt tidligere, end normalt. Bagefter skal Lois ud – hun ønsker at deltage i sin sekts regelmæssige ugentlige bibelseminar, der finder sted i aften i byen Brockworths bibliotek.

20:00 Jeg har lidt alenetid og bruger aftenen på at se lidt fjernsyn. De viser en interessant dokumentarfilm, der handler om den mytiske kong, Arthur og hans tider i lyset af nylige arkæologiske opdagelser. Programmets vært er den charmerende Alice Roberts.

Arthur-myten handler om en mægtig britisk kong, der førte krig mod de invaderende angelsaksiske hære, men forskere nu til dags tror, at Arthur bare var en mytiske figure, som senere forfattere, eksempelvis Geoffrey af Monmouth grundlæggende opfandt for sine egne formål, baseret på halvt-huskede myter og legender.

De angelsaksiske hære kom strømmende ind til England over Nord-Søen,

ifølge Geoffrey af Monmouth

Arkæologiske resultater foreslår, at i de 5. og 6. århundreder, efter romerne forlod landet, tyder på, at det vestlige England og det østlige England var to adskilte verdner.

I vest fortsatte den gamle romerske verden (men uden romerne), hvor sprogene stadig var latinsk og keltisk, eller en blanding af de to. I aftenens program ser vi de nylige arkæologiske udgravninger i Tintagel, Cornwall, lokalet til et prestigiøst samling af bygninger, muligvis et kongeligt slot, hvor dyre porcelæn og andre udsøgte genstande fra lande omkring Middelhavet, er blevet fundet: sandsynligvis udvekslede i bytte for tin fra de lokale miner.

arkæologiske udgravninger i Tintagel, Cornwall

I det østlige England ser vi en helt anderledes verden. Briter og angelsaksiske bondemænd og deres familier boende i tæt nærhed, men med ingen bevis på, at der var en voldsom invasion. Forskere tror, at de invandrende angelsaksiske flyttede ind i landet over en periode af hundredvis af år: der var ingen mangel på plads og der var altid brug for flere bondemænd til at dyrke jorden. Og briterne og de invandrende, selvom de i begyndelse boede i adskilte landsbyer, gik snart i gang med at gifte sig og gå i seng med hinanden.

Forskere har analyseret skeletter, som blev fundet i Oakington i gamle grave, der daterer fra de 5. og 6. århundreder. Fundene viser, hvor meget de to befolkninger havde blandet sig med hinanden.

En kvinde var blevet begravet med en broche i angelsaksisk stil, men brochens produktionsmetode var typisk lokal og anderledes, end angelsaksiske brocher, der er blevet fundet i Skandinavien.

DNA-rester fra 3 skeletter er også interessante. Den første er typisk germanisk, den anden er typisk britisk, og den 3. viser en blanding af germaniske og britiske forfædre.

Hvor fascinerende.

21:15 Jeg fortsætter med at se lidt fjernsyn. De viser en interessant dokumentarfilm, der handler om en norsk kvinde, der købte en ø i det nordlige Norge for at leve sit liv bevidst uden hjælp af mange aspekter af moderne teknologi osv. Programmets vært er den charmerende Ben Fogle.

Randi, den 58-årige norske eventyrer, er en usædvanlig kvinde, ingen tvivl om det: en meget aktiv og åbenhjertig blondine, der ser ud som om, hun er meget yngre end sine 58 år.

Midt i programmet kommer Lois tilbage fra sit bibelseminar. Hun kommenterer, at hun nogle gange undrer sig, om Ben Fogles kone nu og da bekymrer sig over, at hendes mand tilbringer så meget tid alene med smukke kvinder i tæt nærhed og i fjerne steder: i skove, i ørkener, på bjerge osv. Jeg påpeger imidlertid, at der må være en tavs kameramand der også, der konstant filmer deres hyggelige eksistens sammen og alle deres interaktioner!

Randi siger, hun er tilfreds med sit liv som single kvinde. Hun siger, at mænd ikke længere er interesseret i hende. Jeg undrer mig, om de måske er lidt bange for hende – hun er meget højlydt og kraftfuld, ingen tvivl om det. Hun kan godt lide at råbe og skrige. Hun ville være lidt af et mareridt at være i sengen med, mistænker jeg.

Hun arbejdede i 20 plus år i IT-verden, men fandt, at arbejdet gav hende ondt i ryggen, så hun droppede det hele og begyndte at leve sit liv næsten eksklusivt udendørs.

22:00 Jeg går i seng, men Lois trænger til at slappe af og geare lidt ned efter aftenens stimulerende bibelseminar. Hun bliver oppe og ser lidt fjernsyn: det seneste afsnit af Gogglebox.