Wednesday, October 31, 2018

08:00 I take a little look online. The BBC news website has a story that being overweight or underweight can reduce your lifespan by 4 years - yikes! 

The article comes with a handy BMI calculator. I enter my height (5 feet 10 or 1.8m), my weight (10 stone 10 or 150 pounds or 68kg) and my waist size (34 inches or 86cm), and I notice that I'm right in the middle of the "healthy" range, which is nice. But Lois says the BMI index is old-fashioned and she warns me not to become too complacent - damn!

11:00 Lois and I drive over to the Gallagher shopping mall. Lois needs a really warm winter coat: it has already been colder than usual since the beginning of the month. We swing by Outfit, the huge clothing store, which houses a number of concession lines from different clothing chains. She chooses a dark-pink winter coat with fur-lined hood from Dorothy Perkins.

Outfit, the big clothing store with lines from different concessions.

Lois chooses a dark-pink winter coat (right, on the hanger) 

from the Dorothy Perkins concession.

13:00 We come back. Lunch and afterwards a gigantic afternoon nap. 

Despite what Lois said earlier in the day, I feel a bit encouraged by my BMI index: I may not be on the point of death after all - I hop up on my exercise bike again. I cycle 6 miles while I shave for 10 minutes or so with my electric shaver and then for the next 10 minutes while watching old popvideos from the 1980s on my bright blue dvd player for children.

16:00 I listen a bit to the radio, an interesting program all about the differences between the legal system in the US and in the UK.

Sometimes I suspect that people in Britain understand the American system better than they do the British one, because of all the US legal TV dramas we've seen over the years.

American lawyers have certain freedoms that the British ones do not have - they have a greater choice when it comes to work clothes and they can move freely around the courtroom to address the judge, the jury, a witness or the defendant, and all in all they are allowed to give a much more dramatic presentation of their case.

All that makes the trial much more interesting and informative from the jury's point of view. In Britain, lawyers must more or less stay seated in their seats and wear dark, muted and discreet clothes, in some cases an old-fashioned black gown and white wig: good grief - what madness! But in American courtrooms there is also some risk that lawyers, in particular female lawyers, will be judged for example on their attire or the tone of their voices more than in Britain.

A female lawyer tells how her male opponent turned to the judge at the beginning of a trial and asked him to make her promise not to cry during the trial, even though she had never cried even one single time throughout her career. The purpose of her male opponent's tactics was apparently to plant a thought in the judge's (and jury's) minds that she was going to be using emotional arguments rather than basing her approach on the facts of the case, and also to put pressure on her. Good grief, what madness !!!!

But in my opinion, the more relaxed mood in American courtroom is a plus, and more likely to result in the jury giving a true and just verdict. I recall that the atmosphere in Australian courtrooms is also more informal than in Britain. Australian judges are dressed in gowns, similar to the attire of American judges, and they do not wear wigs.

A totally fascinating program - and I'm looking forward to seeing the other 3 episodes in the series over the next 4 weeks.

18:00 We have dinner and afterwards we go out. Lois wants to attend her sect's monthly business meeting, taking place tonight in Tewkesbury library. But she has recently lost a little self-confidence when it comes to driving in the dark, so she asks me to drive her to Mari-Ann and Alf's house - they will drive her over to Tewkesbury.

19:30 I get home and relax with a cup of coffee. I have a little alone time and switch on the television. The Film4 channel's Halloween horror movie is on, Nina Forever, which has 4 stars (the channel's highest rating).

Rob and Holly, who both work on the night shift at the local supermarket, become lovers after Holly takes the initiative. But unfortunately every time the couple have sex, they discover to their surprise that the ghost of Nina, Rob's ex-girlfriend appears in the bed - she was killed a few months previously in some traffic accident.

What's more, Nina still feels pretty solid and is also dripping with blood for some reason, so the bed linen gets into a terrible state with all the fluids - and Nina seems to have much more than the normal 8 pints (4.5 liters), no doubt about that!

Plus, she refuses to make up a threesome with the couple - she says her erogenous zones are shot to pieces, which is not surprising, I have to say.

I also notice that Nina never pops up until the couple have been going at it for at least 5 minutes, so I shout to Rob and Holly to be satisfied with just a "quickie" but they ignore me - damn!

What madness!

After an hour or so, it does not seem that the couple is any closer to finding a solution to the problem so I switch channels.

No kids have called at the door and it's 9 pm, so I snatch 2-3 mini-chocolate bars from the bowl next to the front door, which is a bit naughty of me, but so what? It is Halloween ha ha.

21:00 The latest episode of Grand Designs is on. 

"Grand Designs" is the program that I most of all love to hate because I hate these huge ugly modern houses with their huge living rooms, huge white interior walls and uncomfortable sofas, massive heavy dining tables, exposed pipework, massively high ceilings, etc., and I am tempted to hate also the couples who are so keen on getting these kinds of houses built.

The houses look like more industrial complexes, a power plant, or a company headquarters, than homes in my opinion.

Today, we see a crazy man, Kevin, who has had ambitions to build the world's largest "cob" house (made of soil and straw). The house is now finally finished after 7 years, but his marriage broke down during the building process and he lives there now with his new "squeeze" and all her children.

It is nothing but pure swank in my opinion to build a house that is miles bigger than you could ever need, with lots of wasted space and massive, echoing living rooms and bedrooms, etc.

What a crazy world we live in !!!!

Kevin's massive house, made of soil and straw.

If it were not for the grass on the roof, the house would be visible from space.

Good grief- what madness !!!

Kevin's horrible staircase

one of Kevin's horrible uncosy living rooms

some of Kevin's horrible, uncosy bedrooms - yuck!

22:00 Lois returns from her business meeting and we see the beginning of Celebs Go Dating, a television reality show where D list celebrities, mostly TV reality show participants, are matched with regular young people, to see if they could form a steady couple or not. Neither Lois nor I have the faintest idea who these so-called "celebrities" are - yikes, now we really are nothing but 2 old crows, that's for sure!

Typical opening scenes from this evening's "Celebs Go Dating"

After 10 minutes I go to bed, but Lois needs to relax and wind down after tonight's stimulating business meeting and she decides to stay up and see the rest of the program.

23:00 She does not wake me when she jumps up into bed with me - zzzzzzzz !!!!!

Danish translation

08:00 Jeg kigger lidt på nettet. BBC-nyhedswebsted har en historie om, at det, at være overvægtig eller undervægtig kan reducere din levetid med 4 år – yikes! Artiklen kommer med en praktisk BMI-regner. Jeg indtaster min højde (5 fods 10 eller 1,8m), min vægt (10 sten 10 eller 150 pund eller 68kg) og min taljestørrelse (34 inches eller 86cm), og jeg opdager at jeg ligger lige i midten af den ”sunde” vifte, hvilket er rart. Men Lois siger, at BMI-indekset er gammeldags, og hun advarer mig om ikke at blive for selvtilfreds – pokkers!

11:00 Lois og jeg kører over til Gallagher-indkøbscentret. Lois trænger til en rigtig varm vinterfrakke: det har allerede været koldere, end normalt siden begyndelsen af måneden. Vi smutter ind i Outfit, den kæmpe tøjbutik, der rummer en række koncessionslinjer fra forskellige tøjkæder. Hun vælger en mørkepink vinterfrakke med pelskantet hætte fra Dorothy Perkins.

Outfit, den store tøjbutik med forskellige koncessionslinjer.

Lois vælger en mørkepink vinterfrakke (til højre, på bøjlen) fra Dorothy Perkins-koncessionen.

13:00 Vi kommer tilbage. Frokost og bagefter en gigantisk eftermiddagslur. På trods af det, Lois sagde tidligere på dagen, føler jeg mig lidt opmuntret af mit BMI-indeks: det kan være, at jeg er trods alt ikke er ved at dø - jeg hopper op på min kondicykel igen. Jeg cykler 6 miles, samtidig med, at jeg i 10 minutter eller deromkring barberer mig ved hjælp af min elektrisk barbermaskine og i de næste 10 minutter ser på gamle popvideor fra 1980’erne på min knaldblå dvd-afspiller til børn.

16:00 Jeg lytter lidt til radio, et interessant program, der blandt andet handler om forskeller mellem det juridiske system i US og Storbritannien.

Nogle gange mistænker jeg, at folk i Storbritannien forstår det amerikanske system bedre end det britiske på grund af alle de juridiske tv-dramaer, vi har set over årene.

Amerikanske advokater har visse friheder, som de britiske ikke har – de har et større valg når det  kommer til arbejdstøj, og de kan bevæge sig frit rundt omkring i retssalen, for at henvende sig til dommeren, til juryen, til en vidne eller til den anklaget, og alt i alt er de tilladt at give en meget mere dramatisk fremlæggelse.

Alt det der gør rettsagen meget mere interessant og informativ set ud fra juryens synspunkt. I Storbritannien må advokater bliver siddende i deres pladser og bære mørke dæmpede og diskrete tøj, i visse tilfælde en gammeldags sort kappe og hvid paryk: du godeste – sikke et vanvid! Men i amerikanske retssale er også en risiko for, at advokater, i sær kvindelige advokater, for eksempel bliver bedømt om deres påklædning eller klangfarven af deres stemmer, mere end i Storbritannien.

En kvindelig advokat fortæller, hvordan hendes mandlige modstanderen i begyndelsen af en retssag hendvendte sig til dommeren og bad ham om at få hende til at love ikke at græde under rettsagen, selvom hun faktisk i hele hendes karriere ikke en enkel gang havde grædt. Formålet med hendes mandlige modstanders taktik var tilsyneladende at plante en tanke i dommerens (og juryens) hoved, at hun var forventet at bruge følelsesladede argumenter snarere end, at basere sin tilgang på sagens kendsgerninger, også at lægge pres på hende. Du godeste, sikke et vanvid!!!!

Men efter min mening er den mere afslappede stemning i amerikanske retssale en plus, og mere sandsynligt at resultere i, at juryen giver en rigtig og retfærdig dom. Jeg mindes om, at stemningen i australske retssale også mere afslappet, end i Storbritannien. Australske dommere er klædt i advokatkapper, der ligner påklædningen af amerikanske dommere, og de ikke tager parykker på.

Et helt fascinerende program– og jeg glæder mig meget til at se seriens andre 3 afsnit i løbet af de kommende 4 uger.

18:00 Vi spiser aftensmad og bagefter skal vi ud. Lois ønsker at deltage i sin sekts månedlige forretningsmøde, der finder sted i aften i byen Tewkesburys bibliotek. Men hun har for nylig mistet lidt selvtillid, når det kommer til at køre bil i mørke, så derfor beder hun mig om at køre hende til Mari-Ann og Alfs hus – de skal køre hende over til Tewkesbury.

19:30 Jeg kommer hjem og slapper af med en kop kaffe. Jeg har lidt alenetid og tænder for fjernsynet. De viser Film4-kanalens halloween-rædselsfilm, ”Nina Forever”, der har 4 stjerner (kanalens højeste bedømmelse).

Rob og Holly, der begge to arbejder på natskiftet i det lokale supermarked, bliver kærester efter Holly tager initiativet. Men desværre hver gang parret har sex, opdager de til deres overraskelse, at spøgelsen af Nina, Robs eks-kæreste dukker op i sengen – hun blev dræbt for nogle måneder siden i en eller anden trafikulykke.

Og Nina drypper stadig med blod af en eller anden grund, så sengelinnedet bliver til en stort rod, ingen tvivl om det – Nina synes at have meget mere, end de normale 8 pints (4,5 liter), ingen tvivl om det! Og hun afslår at danne en trekant med parret – hun siger, hendes erogene zoner er skudt i stykker, hvilket ikke er overraskende, det må jeg nok sige.

Jeg bemærker for øvrigt, at Nina aldrig dukker op indtil parret er gået til den i mindst 5 minutter, så jeg råber til Rob og Holly, at de skulle nøjes med en ”quickie”, men de ignorerer mig – pokkers!

Efter en time eller deromkring lader det ikke til, at parret er tæt på at finde en løsning til problemet, så jeg skifter kanaler.

Ingen børn har ringet på døren og klokken er 21, så jeg snupper 2-3 mini-chokoladebarer fra skålen ved siden af hoveddøren, hvilket er lidt uartigt, men hvad så? Det er Halloween ha ha.

21:00 De viser det seneste afsnit af Grand Designs. Programmets vært er den charmerende Kevin McCloud.

”Grand Designs” er programmet jeg først og fremmest elsker at hade fordi jeg hader disse enorme grimme moderne huse med deres enorme ekkoende stuer, enorme hvide indvendige vægge og ukomfortable sofaer, massive tunge spiseborde, udsatte rørledninger, massivt høje lofter osv, og jeg er fristet til at hade også de par, der er så friske på at få disse slags huse bygget.

Husene ligner mere industrielle komplekser, et kraftværk, eller et selskabs hovedkontor, end hjemmer efter min mening.

I dag ser vi en vanvittig mand, Kevin, der har haft ambitioner om at bygge verdens største hus lavet af jord og halm. Huset er til sidst færdigt efter 7 år, men hans ægteskab gik i stykke i løbet af bygningsprocessen og han bor der nu med sin nye ”squeeze” og hendes børn.

Det er intet andet end rent pral efter min mening, at bygge et hus, der er langt større, end man har brug for, med masser af spildt rum og massive ekkoende stuer og soveværelser osv.

Sikke en skør verden vi lever i !!!!

Kevins massive hus, lavet af jord og halm.

Bortset fra græsset på taget ville huset være synligt af rummet.

Du godeste – sikke et vanvid!!!

Kevins modbydelige trappe

den modbydelige, uhyggelige stue

nogle af Kevins modbydelige, uhyggelige soveværelser – yuck!

22:00 Lois kommer tilbage fra sin forretningsmøde og vi ser begyndelsen af ”Celebs Go Dating”, en tv-reality show, hvor D-liste kendisser, for det meste tv-reality-show deltagere, bliver matchet op med almindelige unge mennesker, for at se, om de kunne danne et fast par, eller ej. Hverken Lois eller jeg har den fjerneste idé om, hvem disse såkaldte ”kendisser” er – yikes, nu er vi bare  2 gamle krager, ingen tvivl om det!

Typiske åbnende scener fra aftenens ”Celebs Go Dating”

Efter 10 minutter går jeg i seng, men Lois trænger til at slappe af og geare ned efter aftenens stimulerende forretningsmøde og hun beslutter at blive oppe og se resten af programmet.

23:00 Hun vækker mig ikke , da hun hopper op i sengen til mig – zzzzzzzz!!!!!