Thursday, December 6 2018

08:30 Lois and I get up and take a shower. After breakfast, I drive Lois over to the M & S chain's large furniture outlet, located in Kingsditch retail park a little outside the town centre. On the way we pick up Rose, one of Lois' former colleagues when she worked at the Anglican Church's local nursing home, Capel Court. Rose and Lois have agreed to meet up with Sheila, another former colleague, in the M & S furniture outlet’s café to talk about the old days.

M & S chain's local furniture outlet

Lois has back problems at the moment - so she has asked me to drive her over there. I drop her and Rose off the front of the furniture outlet and drive home. Lois will call me later in the morning when she and Rose are ready to be picked up.

10:15 I have a little bit of alone time, but unfortunately these are the days of the mile-long to-do-lists - damn!

My intention is to read a few pages of "Brus", a poem written in approx. 1375 by the poet John Barbour in Scots English, all about the famous Scottish hero, "Robert the Bruce", ie King Robert I of Scotland, and about the role he played in the Scottish war of independence. Lynda's U3A Middle English group is holding its regular monthly meeting on Friday, and the “Brus” poem is the group's current project.

However, I decide first to check out the Royal Mail website and make a mental note of the last dates for sending Christmas cards abroad. I get a bit of a shock - I have to admit.

Tomorrow, ie December 7, is the last date for Christmas cards to Eastern Europe. It apparently takes a Christmas card longer to reach Eastern Europe, than to reach Australia, Japan or the United States.

What madness !!! Those eastern European postmen need to up their game, no doubt about that !!! Or maybe the problem is somewhere along the route? I'm not entirely sure about that - the jury is still out on that one.

Royal Mail’s Christmas Information: it takes longer to send

a Christmas card to Eastern Europe than to send one

to Australia or Japan – good grief, what madness !!!!

I decide to sit down at the dining table and work through or my "foreign" Christmas cards (to the US, Australia, Japan, Hungary, and France) and drop them all in the Royal Mail mailbox on my way to M & S when I pick up Lois and Rose, after their chit-chat  meeting and shopping trip are over.

Unfortunately, the morning disappears quickly – I spend the time printing out Christmas newsletters, writing the cards, weighing them, and putting stamps and airmail stickers etc on the envelopes – my god! What madness !!!!!

13:00 Lois calls me. She wants me to pick her and Rose up in front of the M & S chain's Food Hall supermarket, located right next to the chain's furniture outlet. I drive over, pick up the two "girls" and drop Rose off in front of her house on Linden Avenue, not very far from my late mother's former house.

Lois and I get home and have lunch. Lois talks a little about how the morning went. The 3 "girls" enjoyed themselves a lot talking about the old days. Unfortunately, Rose is now much feebler than in the past, so Lois had to take her arm, for example when they went round the supermarket after the chit-chat was over. This meant that Lois had difficulty buying food for herself, although she managed to grab a box of Scottish shortbread, which looks really delicious, I must say.

the box of Scottish shortbread, which Lois bought

this morning in M ​​& S Food Hall

14:30 I go to bed, much later than usual, and take a short afternoon nap. I get up at 3.30pm and Lois and I relax with a cup of tea and a piece of bread with homemade apricot jam - yum yum!

Finally, I get the chance to read lines 157-352 of "Brus", the poem that was written in approx. 1375 by poet John Barbour in Scottish English, all about the famous Scottish hero, "Robert the Bruce", ie King Robert I of Scotland, and the role he played in the Scottish war of independence.

These lines turn out to be quite touching - they contain Barbour's 'hymn to freedom', and also the most famous quotation to come out of the poem, i.e. "Freedom is a noble thing".

It is very impressive, I think, to see a moving "anthem to freedom", originating from such an early date.

And it's quite modern, for example, to read that Edward I., the English king, "stuffed Scotland with Englishmen, and made them sheriffs and bailiffs" – my god, what madness!

It also seems that these English sheriffs etc., according to Barbour, had the right to have sex with the Scotsmen’s wives and daughters at the drop of a hat. I suppose today's "me-too" movement had not yet really taken off at that time. Good grief, what a crazy world we live in !!!!

18:30 Both Lois and I are very tired and that’s why we decide to have one of the ready meals we bought in CookShop the other day:  macaroni cheese with ham and cauliflower - yum yum! And only 306 calories !!!

20:00 We spend the rest of the evening listening to the radio, an interesting program about Gertrude Stein (1874-1946), the famous American art collector, and author / poet who flirted with stream of consciousness as a literary technique. The host of the program is the charming Matthew Paris.

Each week, a celebrity nominates somebody, whom he/she considers to be a great person, and the person's biographer also comments and adds further information. Tonight, we hear the feminist author and journalist Erin Pizzey telling us why she admires Stein so much.

The author Sir Harold Acton said about Stein in 1979 that she dressed like a Mexican Indian or Mexican goddess - a "solid woman", although there was nothing feminine about her except her emotional warmth and "her big boobs ". But she "looked like a big sack" – my god, what madness!

Gertrude’s lesbian life partner was Alice B Toklas. Erin Pizzey first became interested in Gertrude in the 1960s when she bought Alice B Toklas's famous cookbook, which contained various recipes. for example, "Hash Brownies" and "Alcoholic Chicken", and when she read one of Gertrude's poems:

"I caught sight of a splendid Mrs,

She had handcuffs and kisses.

She had eyes and yellow shoes,

She had everything to choose, and she chose me.

In passing through France she wore a Chinese hat and so did I.

I was looking at the sun, she read a map and so did I.

In loving the blue sea, she had a pain. And so did I.

In loving me she of necessity thought first. And so did I.

How prettily we swim. Not in water. Not on land. But in love.

How often do we need trees and hills. Not often.

And how often do we need mountains. Not very often. "

Gertrude’s relationship with Alice was like a conventional and very successful marriage. They met in 1907 in Paris and lived together for the next 40 years or so. They did everything together - travelling, holding dinner parties etc, and they shared all their projects in common.

Gertrude was the genius (or at least she recognised genius in others - writers and painters like Picasso and Hemingway before they were famous) and Alice supported her and organised everything in the background, like the conventional "good wife". Gertrude was totally dependent on Alice as a result.

Gertrude (right) with Alice

Gertrude flirted with “stream of consciousness” as a literary technique, as can be seen from the following poem:

Habit as happening and having to have it happen as

as happening, and my wife has a cow as now my wife having a cow

as now my wife having a cow

as now my wife having a cow

as now and having a cow

and having a cow now

Beautiful music, says Erin, especially the last line – my god! But Diane Souhami, Stein’s and Toklas's biographer commented to Erin and Matthew, the program's charming host, that critics believed that Gertrude's cows represented female orgasms, and that the poem is actually a love letter from Gertrude to Alice, celebrating their sex life.

My god, what a crazy world we live in !!!! [That’s enough craziness – Ed]

22:00 We go to bed - zzzzzzzzz !!!!

Danish translation

08:30 Lois og jeg står op og tager et brusebad. Efter morgenmad kører jeg Lois over til M&S-kædens store møbelhus, der ligger i Kingsditch-detailpark lidt udenfor bymidten. På vej henter vi Rose, en af Lois’ tidlligere arbejdskollega, da hun arbejdede i den anglikanske kirkes lokale plejehjem, Capel Court. Rose og Lois har aftalt at møde Sheila, en anden tidliger arbejdskollega i M&S-møbelhusets café for at snakke om de gamle dage.

M&S-kædens lokale møbelhus

Lois har rygproblemer for tiden – derfor har hun bedt mig om at køre hende derover. Jeg sætter hende og Rose af foran møbelhuset og kører hjem. Lois vil ringe til mig senere på formiddagen, når hun og Rose er klar til at blive hentet.

10:15 Jeg har lidt alenetid, men disse er desværre dagene af de mile-lange gøremålslister.

Jeg har til hensigt at læse nogle sider af ”Brus”, et digt, som blev skrevet i ca. 1375 af digteren John Barbour på skotsk-engelsk, og handler om den kendte skotske held, ”Robert the Bruce”, dvs Robert 1. af Skotland, og om rollen han spillede i den skotske uafhængighedskrig. Lyndas U3A middelengelske gruppe holder sit regelmæssige månedlige møde på fredag, og Brus-digtet er gruppens nuværende projekt.

Jeg beslutter imidlertid at tjekke op på Royal Mails  hjemmeside og skrive mig bag øret om de sidste datoer til at sende julekort til udlandet. Jeg får lidt af en chok – det må jeg indrømme.

I morgen, dvs den 7. december, er sidste dato, hvad angår julekort til Øst-Europa. Det tager et julekort tilsyneladende længere tid til at nå til Øst-Europa, end at nå til Australien, Japan eller USA.

Sikke et vanvid!!! De de øst-europæsiske postbude er nødt til at kvikke sig op, ingen tvivl om det!!! Eller måske er problemet et eller andet sted på ruten? Det er jeg ikke helt sikker på – juryen er stadig ude om det.

Royal Mails julinformation: det tager længere tid til at sende et julekort til Øst-Europa

end at sende et til Australien eller Japan – du godeste, sikke et vanvid!!!!

Jeg beslutter at sætte mig ved spisebordet og arbejde igennem eller mine ”udlandske” julekort (til USA, Australien, Japan, Ungarn,og Frankrig),  og lægge dem alle i postkassen på vej til M&S, når jeg henter Lois og Rose efter deres snik-snakmøde og indkøbstur er slut.

Desværre forsvinder formiddagen hurtigt – jeg bruger hele tiden på at udprinte julenyhedsbreve, skrive julekort, veje dem, og putte frimærker og luftpostetiketter osv på kuverterne – du godeste! Sikke et vanvid!!!!!

13:00 Lois ringer til mig. Hun vil have mig til at hente hende og Rose foran M&S-kædens Food Hall-supermarked, der ligger lige ved siden af kædens møbelhus. Jeg kører derover, hente de to ”piger” og sætte Rose af foran sit hus, der ligger på Linden Avenue, ikke ret langt fra min afdøde mors tidligere hus.

Lois og jeg kommer hjem og spiser frokost. Lois taler lidt om, hvordan formiddagen gik. De 3 ”piger” hyggede sig meget med at snakke om de gamle dage. Desværre er Rose meget svagere, end før, så Lois var nødt til at tage hende i armen, for eksempel, da de efter sniksnakmødet gik rundt omkring i supermarkedet. Dette betød, at Lois havde svært ved at købe fødevarer for sig selv, selvom det lykkedes hende at snuppe en kasse med skotsk shortbread, som ser meget lækker ud.

kassen med skotsk shortbread, som Lois i morges købte i M&S Food Hall

14:30 Jeg går i seng, meget senere, end normalt, og tager en kort eftermiddagslur. Jeg står op kl 15:30 og Lois og jeg slapper af med en kop te og et stykke brød med hjemmelavet abrikosmarmelade – yum yum!

Omsider får jeg chancen til at læse linjer 157-352 af ”Brus”, det digt, som blev skrevet i ca. 1375 af digteren John Barbour på skotsk-engelsk, og handler om den kendte skotske held, ”Robert the Bruce”, dvs Robert 1. af Skotland, og om rollen han spillede i den skotske uafhængighedskrig.  

Disse linjer viser sig at være ganske rørende – de indeholder Barbours ”hymne til frihed”, og den mest berømte citation, der stammer fra digtet: ”Freedom is a noble thing”.

Det er meget imponerende, synes jeg, at se sikke en rørende ”hymne til frihed”, der stammer fra sikke en tidlig dato.

Og det er ganske moderne, for eksempel, at læse, at Edward I., den engelske konge, ”proppede Skotland med englændere, og gjorde dem til sheriffs og bailiffs” – du godeste, sikke et vanvid!

Også lader det til, at disse engelske sheriffs osv ifølge Barbour havde retten til at have sex med skotternes koner og døtre på en slip af en hat. Jeg formoder, nutidens ”me-too”-bevægelse dengang var ikke gået på vingerne. Du godeste, sikke en skør verden vi lever i !!!!

18:30 Både Lois og jeg er meget trætte, og derfor beslutter vi at spise en af de færdigretter, vi forleden købte i CookShop: makaroni-ost med skinke og blomkål – yum yum! Og kun 306 kalorier!!!

20:00 Vi bruger resten af aftenen på at lytte til radio, et interessant program, der handler om Gertrude Stein (1874-1946), den berømte amerikanske kunstsamler, og forfatterinde/ digter, der flirtede med bevidsthedstrøm som litterær teknik. Programmets vært er den charmerende Matthew Paris.

Hver uge nominerer en berømthed en anden berømthed, som han betragter som en stor person, og personens biograf kommenterer og tilfører yderliggere oplysninger. I aften hører vi den feministiske forfatterinde og journalist Erin Pizzey, der fortæller os hvorfor hun beundrer Stein så meget.

Forfatteren Sir Harold Acton sagde om Stein i 1979, at hun klædte sig på som en mexikansk indianer eller en mexikanske gudinde – en ”solid kvinde”, men der var ikke noget kvindeligt ved hende, bortset fra sine følelsesmæssige varme og ”sine store inviterende bryster”. Men hun ”så sig ud som en stor sæk” - du godeste, sikke et vanvid!

Steins lesbiske livspartner var Alice B Toklas. Erin Pizzey interessede sig først for Stein i 1960’erne, da hun købte Alice B Toklas’ berømte kogbog, der indeholdt forskellige opskrifter på. for eksempel, ”Hash Brownies” og ”alkoholiske kylling”, og læste et af Steins digte:

“I caught sight of a splendid Misses.

She had handerchiefs and kisses.

She had eyes and yellow shoes she had everything to choose and she chose me.

In passing through France she wore a Chinese hat and so did I.

In looking at the sun she read a map and so did I….

In loving the blue sea she had a pain. And so did I.

In loving me she of necessity thought first. And so did I.

How prettily we swim. Not in water. Not on land. But in love.

How often do we need trees and hills. Not often.

And how often do we need mountains. Not very often.”

Steins forhold til Toklas var ligesom en konventionelt og meget succesfuldt ægteskab. De mødte hinanden i 1907 i Paris og boede sammen i de næste 40 år, eller deromkring. De gjorde alting sammen  – det, at rejse, at holde middagsselskaber osv , og havde alle deres projekter fælles.

Gertrude var genien (eller den, der anerkendte genie i andre – forfattere og malere)  og Alice støttede hende og organiserede alt, som den konventionelle ”gode kone”. Gertrude var totalt afhængig af Alice som resultatet.

Gertrude (til højre) sammen med Alice

Gertrude flirtede med bevidsthedstrøm som litterær teknik, som kan ses i det følgende digt:

Habit as happening and having to have it happen as

as happening, and my wife has a cow as now my wife having a cow

as now my wife having a cow

as now my wife having a cow

as now and having a cow

and having a cow now

Smuk musik, siger Erin, specielt den sidste linje – du godeste! Men Diane Souhami, Stein og Toklas’ biograf kommenterer til Erin og til Matthew, programmets charmerende vært, at kritikker mener, at køer i Steins digte repræsenterer kvindelige orgasmer, og digtet faktisk  er et kærlighedsbrev fra Gertrude til Alice, der fejrer deres kærlighedsliv.

Du godeste, sikke en skør verden vi lever i !!!!