Friday, January 18 2019

11:00 It is bitterly cold today, but Lois and I go for a short walk around the local football field, and afterwards I jump up on my exercise bike and ride 9 miles. Our goal is to increase our weekly total of healthy exercise closer to the NHS recommended 150 minutes. Afterwards I do a little light weight training - we have heard that this is especially important in old age - after you have turned 50, you tend to lose 1% of your strength each year - yikes, scary !!!!

Official recommendations (US in this case)

but identical to the NHS ones, thank goodness

12:30 We have lunch and afterwards I go to bed and take a gigantic afternoon nap.

14:00 Lois goes around the corner to the local library to help library staff manage the weekly Baby Bounce & Rhyme session for young children and their mothers. She says that last time she got the impression that some of the babies and the little children were a little worried about her appearance - she was wearing her tinted glasses, which sometimes look like sunglasses in bright light. So today she has decided to wear her normal glasses with the clear lenses.

The mothers usually sit in a circle each with a baby on their laps, and Lois usually takes a Cabbage Patch doll with her so she looks like one of the mothers. We have a bunch of Cabbage Patch dolls up in our daughter Alison's old room.

We bought most of these dolls in the US in 1985, just before we moved back to England after a 3-year stay over there. And the dolls are still useful today - all of our 5 grandchildren have played with them, and now Lois can take them to Baby Bounce sessions, which is nice.

flashback to August 1985 - our 3 year adventure in the US is over.

Lois in our QE2 cabin, where we lived out of our suitcases, surrounded by

our two daughters' Cabbage Patch dolls

We arrive in Southampton but have to wait in the lounge

for the signal to disembark: Alison (10) with one of her dolls

Back in our house in  England again - our other daughter Sarah (8)

in her room with her collection of American Cabbage Patch dolls

Happy days !!!!!!

15:00 I get up and listen to radio, an interesting program about freedom of information in the UK. The host of the program is the charming Phil Tinline.

Until recently, there was no UK law covering freedom of information - no surprise there! The topic was covered by an act of Parliament (Official Secrets Act) originally adopted in 1900, basically leaving the responsibility to officials and politicians to check public statistics, and to take appropriate steps if there was any cause for concern. What madness!

The public had no right to be informed, the authorities believed back then, and the public did not need to be either - and one could supposedly rely on the politicians and officials of the time to do the right thing. The civil service at that time involved far fewer officials than today, and they had all gone to the "proper schools", like the leading politicians. So that was all okay, wasn't it? NO!

In the 1980's, the civil servant Clive Ponting was accused of revealing secret information about the circumstances under which the British navy sank the Argentine ship Belgrano during the Falklands War - but the jury accepted Ponting's claim that his actions were in the public interest and they acquitted him despite the the judge's advice that they should convict him.

Clive Ponting's book on the Belgrano affair

In the 1990's, Britain's lack of a freedom of information law was beginning to look embarrassing. The other EU countries and all our former colonies had this kind of legislation, and the European Court had started pushing the government to come into line with human rights conventions.

The necessary laws were reluctantly adopted in 2000 under Tony Blair's government, but the government and its departments continued to obstruct journalists whenever they thought they could get away with it.

In this afternoon's programme, Phil interviews the Anglo-American journalist, Heather Rose Brooke (she has dual citizenship). These Anglo-American journalists are very helpful with Phil's investigations because he can thus compare processes in the two countries. Heather had investigated local politicians' expense claims in Washington State in the 1990's, where she had found it relatively easy to get the information she needed to check the validity of the politicians' expenses claims.

Anglo-American journalist Heather Rose Brooke

However she found it much more difficult when it came to checking British politicians' expenses claims, to put it mildly. The government repeatedly blocked her requests for information and it was only after many years of legal pressure and an appeal to the High Court that she finally forced the government to supply the information she requested. And the results of her campaign led to a major scandal - including resignations and even imprisonments.

What's wrong with us in Britain? We get these wonderful rights after massive struggles but allow the authorities to undermine them bit by bit. What madness !!!!

16:00 Lois comes back from the library and we relax with a cup of tea and a biscuit on the couch. I take a little look online and I get a bit of a pleasant surprise when I see today's local news, I have to say.  

The article reminds me that Lois and I were driving in the town 9 days ago and I forgot that the town centre and surrounding area (the so-called Boots Corner) are now limited to buses and taxis, and I accidentally found myself on the prohibited roads. My thoughts were elsewhere - I was totally absorbed by talking to Lois so I lost concentration and unwittingly drove into the prohibited area.

From the start I was quite sure that the council would have installed cameras that can read car number plates. And I expected this mistake to mean a massive fine, but I wasn’t sure. An expensive morning, though, I didn’t doubt.

The road sign that I failed to notice

which would probably mean a massive fine, I had assumed

But now finally some good news. The council’s camera stopped working soon after the beginning of the year, according to today's article - hooray!

Gloucestershire County Council has admitted that the camera system set up last year to catch motorists driving illegally through Cheltenham's Boots Corner is not currently functioning. In fact, the municipality has admitted that the machine, which is high up on a pole in Clarence Street just a few yards from the Boots Corner pedestrian crossing, has not been working properly since earlier this month.

It seems that the council does not know whether someone has tampered with the system, which is now pointing downwards instead of at the oncoming traffic, or whether the camera has just slipped down from its intended position.

The council’s car number plate camera,

which is currently not working, it seems.

But the authorities intend to solve the problem as soon as possible. A spokeswoman said: "We are aware that the camera is no longer working and it will be fixed quickly. We would like to remind drivers that general traffic is prohibited from driving in this area and ask that they comply with the signs and road signs and respect the law. "

A piece of luck for me, no doubt about that! And the article also makes it clear that what I thought would be a "massive fine" would actually have been only £30 (if paid within 30 days, but £60 thereafter). So not as massive as I expected.

My goodness, what a crazy world we live in !!!!!

18:00 We have dinner and spend the rest of the evening watching some TV, and afterwards listening to radio, an interesting program in the series "Soul music", which is about songs that have influenced or touched people's lives in one or the other. Tonight we hear about the famous song "Smile".

A touching programme. Charlie Chaplin composed the melody and used it at the end of his movie "Modern Times" (1936). Chaplin in his tramp-persona, plays a factory worker – he  and his girlfriend Ellen, who is on the run from the police, set off into the distance at dawn at the end of the film: Ellen is in despair and wants to give up, but Chaplin encourages her and assures her that things will turn out for the best in the end. And then we hear Chaplin's beautiful melody, as the movie comes to an end.

There were no plans to write a lyric for the song until 1954. Chaplin had at that time been exiled from the United States because of his political views, so he moved to Europe and Britain.

We hear from Christopher Turner-Phillips, grandson of Englishman Jimmy Turner-Phillips, who in 1954 helped write the lyrics to the tune. Jimmy had come to know Chaplin before Chaplin became famous. The two men had been working on a number of projects over the years, and they finally decided that a lyric should be written, although for many years they failed to find anything appropriate.

At last in 1954, Jimmy was taking his son Robin to Devon in South West England to start in a private boarding school down there. He introduced him to the school's headmaster, and told the boy, "If you feel lonely, don't worry, just smile." And this experience inspired Jimmy to write the lyric we have today, together with his co-writer Geoffrey Parsons.

Jimmy was then working in the London music industry and invited Chaplin to come to London so he could show him his new lyric. He prepared for Chaplin's visit by getting in two bottles of champagne and a large bottle of whiskey (sounds like he was confident about his lyrics), and inviting a pianist and a singer from the local theatre to join the company in Jimmy's office - and the tune and song was heard by Chaplin for the first time.

During this evening's radio programme, we hear anecdotes from people all over the world who were touched by the lyrics of the song, especially in the wake of personal tragedies, such as the loss of a family member, or the like. And both Lois and I recall being touched by the words in our youth - we are both in the Nat King Cole generation, but for the first time tonight we hear that Michael Jackson also recorded a version in the 1980's.

Lois says that the image of a sun that suddenly shines through the clouds is a powerful one for all those suffering from the kind of "normal" depression that affects everyone from time to time. She remembers that Maria in the Sound of Music (Julie Andrews) advises a teenage girl with a broken heart to "cry a little and then wait for the sun to come out:  it always does”.

Lois is so warm-hearted - if only I could be more like her!

22:00 We listen to Tim Vine’s Chat Show and his famous verbal humour - for example, "I've got a chicken-proof lawn - it's impeccable" and the like – my god, what a crazy guy !!!!

Tim Vine's Chatshow

Tim is my favourite stand-up comedian, no doubt about that. He often wins the award for the year's funniest joke at that major cultural festival in Scotland, the 'Edinburgh Festival Fringe'. For example, "I decided to sell my vacuum cleaner - well, it was only gathering dust" - that was one of Tim's jokes. Also ”In my last relationship I hated being treated like a piece of meat. My girlfriend was vegan and refused to touch me ”- on reflection, that one was someone else's joke. Damn! I am getting old, no doubt about that!

22:30 We go to bed - I read about 10 pages of my bedtime book before I drift off to sleep - zzzzzzzzz !!!!!

Danish translation

11:00 Det er hundekoldt i dag, men Lois og jeg går imidlertid en kort tur rundt omkring på den lokale fodboldbane, og bagefter hopper jeg op på min kondicykel og cykler 9 miles. Vores mål er at øge vores ugentlige total af rask motion nærmere til sundhedssystemets anbefalede 150 minutter. Bagefter laver jeg lidt let vægttræning – vi har hørt at dette i særdeleshed er vigtig i alderdom – efter man er fyldt 50 år, har man tendens til at tabe 1% af sin styrke hvert år – yikes, skræmmende !!!!

De officielle anbefalinger (amerikanske i dette tilfælde)

men identiske med vores eget sundhedssystem, gudskelove

12:30 Vi spiser frokost og bagefter går jeg i seng for at tage en gigantisk eftermiddagslur.

14:00 Lois går hen rundt om hjørnet  til det lokale bibliotek for at hjælpe bibliotekets personale med at styre den ugentlige Baby Bounce & Rhyme session for unge børn og deres mødre. Hun siger, at sidste gang fik hun det indtryk af,  at nogle af babyerne og de små børn var lidt bekymret over hendes udseende – hun gik med sine tonede briller, der nogle gange ligner solbriller i skarpt lys. Så i dag har hun besluttet at gå med sine normale briller, der har klare linser.

Mødrene plejer at sidde i en cirkel med hver en baby på skødet, og Lois plejer at tage en Cabbage Patch-dukke med, for selv at se ud som en mor. Vi  har en flok Cabbage Patch-dukker oppe i vores datter Alisons gamle værelse.

Vi købte de fleste af disse dukker i 1985 i USA, lige før vi flyttede tilbage til England efter 3 års ophold derovre. Og dukkerne er stadig nyttige i dag – alle vores 5 børnebørn har leget lege med dem, og nu kan Lois tage dem med til Baby Bounce-sessioner, hvilket er rart.

tilbageblik til august 1985 – vores 3 års eventyr i USA er slut.

Lois i vores QE2-kabine, hvor vi levede ud af vores kufferter, omgivet af

vores to døtres Cabbage Patch-dukker

Vi ankommer til Southampton men må vente i loungen

på at få lov til at udskibe: Alison (10) med en af sine dukker

Tilbage i England igen – vores anden datter Sarah (8)

i sit værelse med sin samling af amerikanske Cabbage Patch-dukker

Lykkelige dage!!!!!!

15:00 Jeg står op og lytter lidt til radio, et interessant program, der handler om informationsfrihed i Storbritannien. Programmets vært er den charmerende Phil Tinline.

Der var indtil for nylig ikke nogen lovgivning i Storbritannien, der dækkede informationsfrihed – ingen overraskelse der!  Emnet blev dækket af en lov (Official Secrets Act) oprindeligt vedtaget i 1900, der grundlæggende forlod ansvaret til embedsmænd og førende politiker for at tjekke offentlige statistikker, og  at tage hensigtsmæssige skridt, hvis der var grund til bekymring. Sikke et vanvid!

Offentligheden havde ingen ret til at blive informeret, troede myndighederne dengang, og offentligheden havde heller ingen brug for det – og man kunne stole på de daværende politiker og embedsmænd at gøre det rigtige. Statsadministrationen involverede dengang meget færre embedsmænd, end i dag, og de alle var gået i de ”rigtige skoler”, ligesom de førende politiker. Så var alt det der ok, ikke?  NEJ!

I 1980’erne blev embedsmanden Clive Ponting anklaget for at afsløre hemmelige oplysninger om de omgivelser, hvorunder den britiske marine sænkede det argentinske skib Belgrano under Falklandskrigen – men juryen accepterede Pontings påstand, at hans handlinger var i det offentlige interesse, og de frifandt ham imod dommerens råd til at dømme ham.

Clive Pontings bog om Belgrano-sagen

I 1990’erne begyndte Storbritanniens mangel på en informationsfrihedslov at se lidt pinlig ud. De andre EU lande og alle vores tidligere kolonier havde denne slags lovgivning, og den europæiske domstol var begyndte at presse regeringen til at komme på linje med menneskerettighedskonventioner.

Den nødvendige lover blev modvilligt vedtaget i 2000 under Tony Blairs regering, men regeringen og ministerier fortsatte med at lægge hindringer i vejen af journalister, hvor de kunne slippe af sted med at gøre det.

I eftermiddagens program interviewer Phil den anglo-amerikanske journalist, Heather Rose Brooke (hun har dobbelt borgerskab). Disse anglo-amerikanske journalister er meget behjælpelige med Phils undersøgelser, fordi han dermed kan sammenligne processer i de to lande. Heather undersøgte lokale politikers udgiftskrav i delstaten Washington i 1990’erne, og hun fandt det forholdsvis nemt at få fat i de oplysninger hun havde brug for, for at tjekke gyldigheden af politikernes udgiftekrav.

den anglo-amerikanske journalist Heather Rose Brooke

Hun fandt det hele meget meget sværere i tilfældet af at tjekke britiske politikeres udgiftekrav, for at sige mildt. Regeringen blokkede gentagende gange hendes anmodninger om information, og det var kun efter mange års juridisk pres og en appel til High Court, at hun endelig tvang regeringen til at forsyne de oplysninger, hun bad om. Og resultaterne af hendes kampagne førte til en større skandale – herunder demissioner og endda fængslinger.

Hvad er der galt med os i Storbritannien? Vi vinder disse vidunderlige rettigheder efter massive kæmper men tillader myndighederne at undergrave dem lidt efter lidt. Sikke et vanvid!!!!

16:00 Lois kommer tilbage fra biblioteket og vi slapper af med en kop te og en kiks i sofaen. Jeg kigger lidt på nettet, og jeg får lidt af en behagelig overraskelse, da jeg ser i dags lokale nyheder – det må jeg nok sige.

Artiklen får mig i tanke om, at Lois og jeg for nøjagtig 7 dage siden, kørte i byen og jeg glemmede, at bymidten og område (det såkaldte Boots Corner) er nu begrænset til busser og taxaer, og jeg ved en fejltagelse befandt mig på de forbudte veje. Mine tanker var andetsteds – jeg var totalt absorberet med at snakke med Lois så jeg mistede koncentration og kørte ubevidst ind i det forbudte område.

Jeg var fra starten helt sikker på, at kommunen havde installeret kameraer, der kan læse bilnummerplader. Og jeg forventede at denne fejl ville betyde en massiv bøde, men jeg ved ikke for meget. En dyr formiddag, ingen tvivl om det.

Det vejskilt, som det mislykkedes mig at bemærke,

hvilket sandsynligvis ville betyde en massi bøde, mistænkte jeg

Men omsider nogle gode nyheder. Kommunens kamera stod af i starten af året, ifølge i dags artikel – hurra!

Gloucestershire County Council har indrømmet, at det kamerasystem, der blev sat op i sidste år for at fange chauffører, der kører ulovligt igennem Cheltenhams Boots Corner, fungerer ikke for øjeblikket. Faktisk har kommunen indrømmet, at maskinen, der ligger højt på en stolpe i Clarence Street kun få meter fra Boots Corner-fodgængerovergangen, ikke har fungeret korrekt siden tidligere i måneden.

Det ser ud til, at kommunalbestyrelsen ved ikke, hvorvidt nogen har manipuleret med systemet, hvoraf en del peger lige nedad snarere end mod den modstridende trafik, eller om den er gledet ned fra den påtænkte position.

kommunens bilnummerpladekamera,

der for tiden ikke virker, lader det til.

Men myndighederne har til hensigt at løse problemet, som registrerer køretøjernes nummerplader, så hurtigt som muligt. En talskvinde sagde: "Vi er opmærksomme på, at kameraet ikke længere virker, og det bliver rettet hurtigt. Vi vil gerne minde bilister om, at generel trafik er forbudt at køre i dette område og bede om, at de overholder skiltene og vejmærkerne og respekterer loven. "

Lidt held og lykke til mig, ingen tvivl om det! Og artiklen gør det klar også, at ”den massiv bøde” ville have været kun 30£ (hvis den bliver betalt indenfor 30 dage, men 60£ derefter). Så ikke så massiv som jeg forventede.

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

18:00 Vi spiser aftensmad og bruger resten af aftenen på at se lidt fjernsyn, og bagefter på at lytte til radio, et interessant program i serien  ”Soul music”, der handler om sange, der har påvirket eller rørt folks liv på en eller anden måde. I aften hører vi om den berømte sang ”Smile”.

Et rørende program. Charlie Chaplin komponerede melodien, og brugte den i slutningen af sin film “Modern Times” (1936). Chaplin i sin landstryger-persona, en fabriksarbejder, og hendes kæreste Ellen, der er på flugt fra politiet, begiver sig ved daggry i det fjerne: Ellen er fortvivlet og har lyst til at opgive, men Chaplin opmuntrer hende og forsikre hende, at tingene endelig vil vise sig til det bedste. Og vi hører Chaplins skønne melodi, som filmer kommer til ende.

Der var ingen planer at skrive en tekst til sangen indtil 1954. Chaplin var blevet forvist fra USA på grund af sine politiske optiker, så flyttede han til Europa og Storbritannien.

Vi hører fra Christopher Turner-Phillips, barnebarn af englænderen Jimmy Turner-Phillips, der i 1954 skrev teksten til melodien.  Jimmy lærte Chaplin at kende, inden han blev berømt. De to mænd havde arbejdet på en række projekter gennem årene, og de besluttede endelig, at en tekst skal skrives, selvom i mange år mislykkedes det dem at finde på noget passende.

Til sidst i 1954 tog Jimmy sin søn Robin med til Devon for at gå i en privat kostskole dernede. Han præsenterede ham for skolens instruktør, og sagde til drengen, ”Hvis du føler dig ensom, skal du ikke bekymre dig, smil bare.” Og denne oplevelse inspirerede Jimmy til at skrive den tekst, vi har i dag, sammen med sin medsangskriver Geoffrey Parsons.

Jimmy arbejdede dengang i musikbranchen i London og inviterede Chaplin at komme til London for at vise ham sin nye tekst. Han forberedte på Chaplins besøg ved at købe to flasker champagne og en stor flaske whisky, og invitere en pianist og en sanger fra det af de lokale teatrer til at slutte sig til selskabet i Jimmys kontor, og melodien og sangen blev hørt af Chaplin for første gang.

I løbet af aftenens radioprogram, hører vi anekdoter fra mennekser verden over, der blev rørt af sangens tekst, især efter personlige tragedier, såom tabet af et familiemedlem, eller lignende. Og både Lois og jeg mindes om, at være blevet rørt af ordene i vores ungdom – vi er begge i Nat King Cole-generationen, men vi hører for første gang i aften, at Michael Jackson også optog en version i 1980’erne.

Lois siger, at billedet af en sol, der pludseligt titter frem gennem skyerne er et kraftfuldt billede for alle dem, der lider af den slags ”normale” (ikke kroniske) depression, der rammer alle fra tid til anden. Hun mindes om, at Maria i Sound of Music (Julie Andrews) råder en teenagepige med et knust hjerte til at ”græd lidt, og så vent på, at solen kommer ud. Det gør den altid”.

Lois er så varmhjertet – hvis bare jeg kunn ligne hende mere!

22:00 Vi lytter lidt til Tim Vines Chatshow og hans berømte verbale humor – fx ”I’ve got a chicken-proof lawn – it’s impeccable!” og lignende – du godeste, hvor er han dog en skør fyr!!!!

Tim Vines Chatshow

Tim er min yndlings-standupkomiker, ingen tvivl om det. Han ofte vinder prisen for årets sjoveste joke ved den store kulturfestival i Skotland, 'Edinburgh Festival Fringe'. For eksempel, ”I’ve decided to sell my vacuum-cleaner – well, it was only gathering dust” – det var en af Tims jokes. Også ”In my last relationship I hated being treated like a piece of meat. My girlfriend was vegan and refused to touch me” – ved nærmere eftertanke var den der nogen andens vittighed.  Pokkers! Jeg bliver gammel, ingen tvivl om det!

22:30 Vi går i seng – jeg læser ca 10 sider af min sengetidbog, før jeg glider over i søvnen – zzzzzzzzz!!!!!