08:00 Lois and I take a shower. It's a little annoying,
to put it mildly, when Bob, our neighbour, calls at the door while we're in the
shower cubicle, but maybe these things are sent to try us, as my mother used to
say – but that's something the jury’s still out on.
And there is always a risk that the door will slam shut
while we are out there talking to him.
Such accidents however can provide an opportunity to get to know one’s
neighbours better. I recently read in the local press that David Ronzo, a local man,
made a bunch of neighbours break down in tears with a moving speech in
similar circumstances (source: Onion News).
Journalists reported that Ronzo came to warm so much to his
passionate speech that he even bravely rejected a windbreaker that his neighbours
offered him.
"Please take a long look and explore the many defects
associated with the physical body," he said, "and please reflect
briefly on how quickly our trivial concerns can be brushed aside by decay and
change," Ronzo said. as he slowly twirled his pale form in front of the
crowd. "Entropy and chaos actually threaten us all the time, every second
of every day.
"Keep in mind that one moment you may be on your way
to a good hot shower, and the next the door can slam behind you when you
thought you heard the dog trying to get in." But do not take these simple
facts as a curse; see them as an opportunity to affirm why it is so important
to live, and to live lustily, with fire and passion in your hearts! So, please,
go home, hold your loved ones tight and take careful stock of the things that
are really important to you. "
Touching words that have never really left me completely,
I have to admit, although Bob tells me that many locals now tend to avoid Ronzo in
the local pubs, perhaps afraid that he could start on another embarrassing speech,
but that’s something I'm not completely sure about - the jury is still out on
that one.
09:00 After breakfast I start to leaf through the first
approx. 500 lines of "Ayenbyte of Inwyt", a book written in the late
13th century by Dan Michael of Northgate, Canterbury in Middle English’s
Kentish dialect. Lynda's U3A Middle English group is to hold its regular
monthly meeting this afternoon in the town’s Everyman theatre, and this book is
the group's next project.
11:30 Lois and I
go for a short walk around the local football field. It’s cold and there are
not many people around except for 2
young boys kicking a football around, and a couple or two of tennis players,
playing doubles on the local tennis court. We come home and relax with a cup of
coffee on the sofa.
Lois's moment of joy during our short walk around
the local football field
12:00 We have lunch and afterwards I go to bed and take a
short afternoon nap. I get up and take the bus into town to take part in Lynda’s
U3A Middle English group, which is holding its regular monthly meeting at 2:30
pm in the Everyman Theatre. In the meantime, Lois goes around the corner to the
local library to help library staff lead the regular "Baby Bounce &
Rhyme" session for young children and their mothers (and grandparents).
14:30 Lynda's group meeting starts in the bar of the theatre.
There are 7 of us today: Lynda, Margaret, Joy, Joe, Cynthia, Anthony and me:
Barbara sends her apologies - she had a
wisdom tooth pulled out this morning, the poor thing.
We start to leaf through Dan Michael's medieval text, which
warns his readers about the 7 deadly sins, but his words fail to impress us - I
suppose we are all living quite sinful lives these days, and there is a lot of laughter around the table as
usual. I shudder to think what the other customers in the bar think of us, I have
to say.
Lynda notes that Dan Michael, the author of the book, uses
the word "bougre" (i.e. Bulgarian or inhabitant of Bulgaria) as a
synonym for a heretic or apostate.
This word in its modern form ("bugger") took on
the meaning of "sodomite" only
later, from the 1550s, Lynda says, as a result of bigoted ideas about the sex
life of Eastern Orthodox Christians or at least of those belonging to the sect of them that were flourishing
in Bulgaria in the 11th century.
It is a sign of how frightened the Catholic Church were of
various Christian sects (especially in France) that differed from the
"official" church line, that the Pope and Church leadership felt the
need to launch such an aggressive campaign against these "heretics", accusing them of unorthodox sexual acts, such
as sodomy, etc.
What a crazy world we live in !!!!
As far as I know, no member of Lynda's group goes in for
sodomy either professionally or as a hobby - at least there is no one present
at this afternoon's meeting that is prepared to confess to it, but it is frighteningly easy
for innocent people to get involved in that kind of way of life without realising,
as a recent headline shows (source: Onion News again).
A scary warning for all of us. And what madness !!!
16:00 Lynda's group meeting ends and I take the bus home.
18:00 Lois and I have dinner and spend the rest of the
evening watching a bit of television. The final of a special Christmas version
of the TV quiz University Challenge is on. The quiz master is Jeremy Paxman.
In the normal version of this quiz, we see two teams that
each represent one or another university, with both teams consisting of current
students. But in this special Christmas version both teams are made up of
"famous" former graduates (alumni) of particular universities.
Tonight, 4 "famous" alumni of Peterhouse
College, Cambridge are competing against 4 "famous" alumni of Bristol University in the quiz final. The Peterhouse team includes the former
Conservative Party leader Michael Howard.
Interestingly, in 1997, quiz master Jeremy Paxman actually
interviewed Michael Howard, then Home Secretary, for the BBC Newsnight
discussion program, and repeatedly tried to get Howard to answer the question
of whether he had threatened to overrule Derek Lewis, head of the country's
prison service, without success. Lois and I remember the interview well - it
caused a bit of a sensation at the time, there is no doubt about that.
Flashback to 1997: "Paxo" (left) interviews Michael Howard,
then Home Secretary, on the BBC Newsnight TV
program
Paxo: ”Did you
threaten to overrule him?”
“I was not entitled to instruct Derek Lewis and I did not
instruct him.”
Paxo:”Did you
threaten to overrule him?”
“The truth of the matter is that Mr Marriot was not
suspended.”
Paxo:”Did you
threaten to overrule him?”
“I did not overrule Derek Lewis.”
Paxo:”Did you threaten
to overrule him?”
“I took advice on what I could and could not do.”
Paxo: ”Did you
threaten to overrule him, Mr Howard?”
“I did not overrule Derek Lewis.”
Paxo:”Did you threaten
to overrule him, Mr Howard?”
“Mr Marriot was not suspended”
Paxo:”Did you threaten
to overrule him?”
“I have accounted for my decision to suspend Derek
Lewis”.
Paxo:”Did you
threaten to overrule him?”
“I have accounted for my decision to suspend Derek Lewis
in great detail before the House of Commons”.
Paxo: “I notice you
are not answering the question of whether you threatened to overrule him”
“The important aspect of this, which it is very important
to bear in mind is this….”
Paxo: “I’m sorry
but I’m going to be frightfully rude, I’m sorry, but it’s a straight yes or no
question. Please give a straight yes or no answer – did you threaten to overrule
him?”
“I discussed this matter with Derek Lewis. I gave him the
benefit of my opinion in strong language, but I did not instruct him, because I
was not entitled to instruct him. I was entitled to express my opinion, and
that is what I did.”
Paxo: “With respect
that is not answering the question of whether you threatened to overrule him.”
“It’s dealing with the relevant point, which is what I
was entitled to do, and what I was not entitled to do, and I have dealt with
this in detail before the House of Commons and before the Select Committee. “
Paxo: “With respect
you haven’t answered the question of whether you threatened to overrule him.”
“Well, you see, the question is what was I entitled to do
and what was I not entitled to do. I
was not entitled to instruct him, and I did not do that.”
My god, what madness! Politicians eh !!!!!
The two teams in this evening's final, including Michael Howard (bottom, 2nd from right)
Paxo announces the result of the quiz at the end of the show
Lois and I are always very happy to hear questions that
we can answer, but with which all the contestants strike out on, because we believe it proves that we are not
yet suffering from dementia. On the whole, our performance is even better against
these "older" participants, than against the fresh young
"brains" in the quiz's normal version, I have to say.
And it was a bit of a surprise to Lois and me in
yesterday's semi-finals, that none of the contestants could remember the name
of the famous Czech leader from the time of the so-called " Prague Spring",
Alexander Dubcek.
But Lois points out that the "Prague Spring"
happened 50 years ago and now it’s ancient history, even though for Lois and me
it seems like "only yesterday". My god, we are getting old, no doubt
about that.
22:00 We go to bed - zzzzzzzzz !!!!
Danish
translation
08:00 Lois og
jeg tager et brusebad. Det er lidt irriterende, for at sige mildt, når Bob,
vores nabo, ringer på døren, mens vi er i brusekabinen, men måske er den sendt
for at prøve os – det er juryen stadig ude om. Og der er altid en risiko for,
at døren kommer til at smække i, mens vi taler med ham.
Sådan en
ulykke kan imidlertid give en mulighed for at lære vores naboer bedre at kende.
Jeg læste for nylig i den lokale presse, at Ronzo, en lokal mand, gjorde en flok naboer til at bryde sammen i
gråd med en rørende tale (kilde: Onion News).
Journalister
rappporterede, at Ronzo kom så
meget gled med sin passionerede tale, at
han endda modigt afviste en vindjakke, som hans naboer tilbød ham.
"Vær
venlig at tage et langt kig og udforske de mange fejl, der er forbundet med den
fysiske krop,” sagde han, ”og reflektere et øjeblik på, hvor hurtigt vores
trivielle bekymringer kan børstes til side ved henfald og forandring, "
sagde Ronzo, da han langsomt hvirvlede sin blege form foran mængden. "Entropi
og kaos truer os faktisk hele tiden, hvert sekund af hver dag.
”Tænk på, at
et øjeblik kan du være på vej til at tage et godt varmt brusebad, og det næste
kan din hoveddør smække i bag dig, når du troede du hørte hunden forsøge at
komme ind. Men tag ikke disse simple fakta som en forbandelse; se dem som en mulighed som en bekræftelse på
hvorfor det er så vigtigt at leve og at leve et passioneret liv, med ild og
lidenskab i dine hjerter! Så vær venlig, gå hjem, kram dine kære stramt og gør omhyggelig
status over de ting, der virkelig er vigtige for dig."
Rørende ord,
der egentlig aldrig har forladt mig fulstændigt, det må jeg indrømme. Selvom
Bob fortæller mig, at mange lokale indbyggere har tendens til at undgå Ronzo i
de lokale pubber, måske bange for, at han kunne starte endnu en tale, men det
er jeg ikke helt sikker på – juryen er stadig ude om det.
09:00 Efter
morgenmad går jeg i gang med at blade igennem de første ca. 500 linjer af
”Ayenbyte of Inwyt”, som blev skrevet sidst i 13. århundrede af Dan Michael af Northgate, Canterbury på den kentiske
dialekt af middelengelsk. Lyndas U3A middengelsk gruppe skal holde sit
regelmæssige månedlige møde i eftermiddag i byens Everyman-teater, og denne bog
er gruppens næste projekt.
11:30 Lois og
jeg går en kort tur rundt omkring på den lokale fodboldbane. Der er ikke mange
mennesker i området bortset fra 2 unge drenge i færd med at sparke en fodbold
om, og 2 par tennisspillere, i gang med at spille doubles på den lokale
tennisbane. Vi kommer hjem og slapper af med en kop kaffe i sofaen.
Lois
og jeg går en kort tur rundt omkring
på
den lokale fodboldbane
12:00 Vi
spiser frokost og bagefter går jeg i seng for at tage en kort eftermiddagslur.
Jeg står op og tager bussen ind i byen for at deltage i Lyndas U3A middelengelske
gruppe skal holde sit regelmæssige månedlige møde kl 14:30 i byens
Everyman-teater. I mellemgang går Lois rundt om hjørnet til det lokale
bibliotek for a hjælpe bibliotekets personale med at styre den regelæssige
”Baby Bounce & Rhyme”-session for små børn og deres mødre (og
bedsteforældre).
14:30 Lyndas
gruppemøde starter på baren af byens Everman-teater. Vi bliver 7 i dag: Lynda,
Margaret, Joy, Joe, Cynthia, Anthony og mig: Barbara sender sine undskyldninger
– hun fik en visdomstand trukket ud i morges, staklen.
Vi går i gang med at blade igennem Dan
Michaels middelengelske tekst, der advarer sine læsere om de 7 dødelige synder,
men hans ord mislykkes – jeg formoder, at vi alle 7 lever ganske syngide liv,
og der er en masse latter som normalt. Jeg gyser at tænke, hvad barens andre
kunder tænker om os, det må jeg nok sige.
Lynd bemærker,
at Dan Michael, bogens forfatter, bruger ordet ”bougre” (bulgarer eller
indbygger af Bulgarien) som et synonym for hæretiker eller apostat.
Dette ord i
dets moderne form (”bugger”) påtog betydningen af en "sodomit" kun
senere, fra 1550'erne, siger Lynda, som resultat af bigote idéer om sex-livet af østlige ortodokse
kristne eller af sekten af kristne der fremherskede i Bulgarien i det 11.
århundrede.
Det er et tegn
på, hvor skræmmet den katolske kirke var for forskellige kristne sekter (især i
Frankrig), der adskillede sig fra den ”officielle” kirke, at paven og kirkens
lederskab følte det nødvendigt at lancere sådan en aggressiv kampagne mod disse
”hæretikere”, hvor de anklagede dem for uortodokse seksuelle handlinger, såsom sodomi
osv.
Sikke en skør
verden vi lever i !!!!
Så vidt jeg
ved, dyrker ingen medlem af Lyndas gruppe sodomi enten professionelt eller som
hobby – i det mindste er der ingen til stede til eftermiddagens møde, der
tilstod det, men det er skræmmende nemt for uskyldsrene mennesker at blive
involveret i den slags levemåde uden at blive klar over det, som en nylig
overskrift viser (kilde: Onion News igen).
En skræmmende
advarsel for os alle. Sikke et vanvid!!!
16:00 Lyndas
gruppemøde slutter og jeg tager bussen hjem.
18:00 Lois og
jeg spiser aftensmad og bruger resten af aftenen på at se lidt fjernsyn. De
viser finalen af en speciel juleversion af tv-quizzen University Challenge. Quizmasteren
er Jeremy Paxman.
I den normale
version af denne quiz, ser vi to hold der begge repræsenterer ét eller andet
universitet, og begge hold består af nuværende studerende. I juleversionen
består begge hold af ”kendte” kandidater, der læste noget før i tiden på det
pågældende universitet.
I aften dyster
4 ”kendte” kandidater fra Peterhouse College, Cambridge mod 4 ”kendte”
kandidater fra Bristol University i quizzens finale. Peterhouse-holdet inkluderer
den tidligere leder af det konservative parti, Michael Howard.
Det er
interessant, at quizmasteren Jeremy Paxman i 1997 interviewede Michael Howard,
dengang indenrigsminister, på BBC-nyhedsdiskussionprogrammet NewsNight, og
gentagende gange prøvede at få Howard til at svare til spørgsmålet om, om han
havde truet at uderkende Derek Lewis, chef af landets fængselstjeneste, uden
succés. Lois og jeg husker interviewet godt – det voldede lidt af en sensation
dengang, det er der ikke nogen tvivl om.
Tilbageblik
til 1997: ”Paxo”, til venstre, interviewer Michael Howard,
dengang
indenrigsminister, på BBC-Newsnight tv-program
Paxo: ”Did you
threaten to overrule him?”
“I was not entitled to instruct Derek Lewis and I did not
instruct him.”
Paxo:”Did you
threaten to overrule him?”
“The truth of the matter is that Mr Marriot was not
suspended.”
Paxo:”Did you
threaten to overrule him?”
“I did not overrule Derek Lewis.”
Paxo:”Did you threaten
to overrule him?”
“I took advice on what I could and could not do.”
Paxo: ”Did you
threaten to overrule him, Mr Howard?”
“I did not overrule Derek Lewis.”
Paxo:”Did you threaten
to overrule him, Mr Howard?”
“Mr Marriot was not suspended”
Paxo:”Did you threaten
to overrule him?”
“I have accounted for my decision to suspend Derek
Lewis”.
Paxo:”Did you
threaten to overrule him?”
“I have accounted for my decision to suspend Derek Lewis
in great detail before the House of Commons”.
Paxo: “I notice you
are not answering the question of whether you threatened to overrul him”
“The important aspect of this, which it is very important
to bear in mind is this….”
Paxo: “I’m sorry
but I’m going to be frightfully rude, I’m sorry, but it’s a straight yes or no
question. Please give a straight yes or no answer – did you threaten to
overrule him?”
“I discussed this matter with Derek Lewis. I gave him the
benefit of my opinion in strong language, but I did not instruct him, because I
was not entitled to instruct him. I was entitled to express my opinion, and
that is what I did.”
Paxo: “With respect
that is not answering the question of whether you threatened to overrule him.”
“It’s dealing with the relevant point, which is what I
was entitled to do, and what I was not entitled to do, and I have dealt with
this in detail before the House of Commons and before the Select Committee. “
Paxo: “With respect
you haven’t answered the question of whether you threatened to overrule him.”
“Well, you see, the question is what was I entitled to do
and what was I not entitled to do. I
was not entitled to instruct him, and I did not do that.”
Du godeste,
sikke et vanvid!
De
to hold i aftenens finale
Paxo
annoncererer quizzens resultater i slutningen af showet
Lois og jeg er
altid glad for de spørgsmål, som vi kan besvare, men som alle de deltagere har problemer med, fordi vi tror det beviser,
at vi ikke endnu lider af demens. I det hele tager er vores præstationer endnu
bedre i sammenligning med disse ”ældre” deltagere, end med de friske unge
”hjerner” i quizzens normale version, det må jeg nok sige.
Og det var
lidt af en overraskelse for Lois og mig i gårsdagens semi-finale, da ingen af
deltagere kunne huske navnet af den berømte tjekkisk leder, ved tiden af det
såkaldte ”forår i Prag”, Alexander Dubcek.
Men Lois
påpeger, at ”foråret i Prag” skete for 50 år siden og det nu bare er oldtidshistorie,
selvom fo Lois og mig synes det at være ”bare i går”. Du godeste, vi bliver
gamle, ingen tvivl om det.
22:00 Vi går i
seng – zzzzzzzzz!!!!
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