08:30 Lois and I take a shower and after breakfast we
wait for Sarah, our daughter in Perth, Australia, to call us on whatsapp as she
usually does at 10am. But today she does not call - later she sends me a text
message: the family was on an outing, and her smartphones' batteries had to be
recharged, it seems.
10:45 We have to go out. Lois wants to take part in her
sect’s two services taking place today in the town of Tewkesbury's library in
the middle of the town. She currently has back problems, so she has asked me to
drive her over there. We make a slight detour through the centre of Cheltenham
because she has promised Jamin, a young church member, that we will pick him up
on the way.
11:15 I drop Lois and Jamin off in front of the library
and drive home. I have a little alone time and get going with taking the
Christmas cards down off the walls. Afterwards, I drag the Christmas tree and
Christmas tree decorations up the ladder to the attic.
Another Christmas is over - I'm 72 years old and I can't
help but meditate on how many Christmases I have left to go - yikes, scary !!!!
But at least the end of Christmas is not as terrible as it was
when I was working. I remember the bloody awful feeling I had at work after
Christmas. I actually did enjoy my work for the most part, but January was not
my best month, I have to admit. Easter seemed such a long way away.
January can be a depressing month, no doubt about that.
Sacha, a friend of Sharon, Lois' niece in Oxford, has posted an amusing powerpoint-style
slide that illustrates this feeling.
I used powerpoint software a lot for preparing presentations when I was working, and
I realise that many people don’t like the program. I recall that in my
workplace there was a lot of talk about “death by powerpoint” or “death by
bullet point”.
But bullet points can sometimes allow people to express
themselves in a beautiful, poetic and touching manner, as Sacha, Sharon's
friend, has demonstrated in her determination not to participate in the
so-called "dry January", where people stop drinking alcohol for the
whole of the month:
Sacha’s 5 “bullet points” - she makes a powerful case, no doubt about that!
13:00 I have lunch and listen a little to radio, an
interesting program all about the clandestine ways women were recruited to work
in Britain's intelligence services over the past 70 years or so.
Interestingly, during the Second World War and the decade
thereafter, women were always recruited informally after someone who already
worked in the intelligence services recommended them, on the grounds they appeared
to be suited to that kind of work. They chose to recruit mostly upper middle-class
women, perhaps daughters of fathers who were either civil servants or in the
armed forces, because they believed implicitly that such women would be
loyal and trustworthy, guaranteed.
My god, what madness !!! And a bit naive. It was only after 3 British agents
from the upper middle class (Burgess, Maclean and Philby) were revealed as
Russian spies in the 1950's, that recruitment methods had to be
modernised and a proper security vetting processes initiated.
One woman talked about her experiences in SOE during
World War II and her initial interview for
the job. SOE was an organisation that sent women to the continent to take part
in clandestine operations against the Germans. The woman was asked at her
interview if she liked doing crossword puzzles: when she answered yes, SOE
decided to hire her in the organisation's code and cipher department.
She worked at SOE's headquarters in Baker Street, London,
where all employees were in uniform at the time. Her boss asked her and the
other women to always get off the bus at bus stops either before or after Baker
Street, and never the bus stop at Baker Street itself, as a security precaution.
But one day she and others were getting off the bus when
the conductor shouted, "Any more spies?". And the women realised that
the whole set-up might not have been as secret as they had hoped. Good gracious,
what a crazy world we live in !!!!!
64 Baker Street, London, the headquarters of
SOE's Code
and Cipher Department during World War II
SOE's telegraphists at work
2011: 64 Baker Street in happier times
13:30 I go to bed and take a short afternoon nap.
14:30 I get up and drive over to Tewkesbury. I pick up
Lois and Jamin at the town library and we drive back to Cheltenham. We drop
Jamin off in front of his apartment and come home. We relax with a cup of tea
and a biscuit on the sofa.
18:30 We have dinner and afterwards I take a little look
online. Steve, my American brother-in-law has sent me an interesting email
about England's Doomsday Book (source: arstechnika.com).
The Doomsday Book was the Normans' tool for assessing tax
collection potential in England, a country they conquered in 1066. Lois and I were taught
in school that the book was put together by William the Conqueror's officials
between December 1085 and August 1086. We have always been a little surprised
to put it mildly. that William’s officials were so much more efficient in
collecting all these little bits of information so quickly (within 8 months),
than today's officials would have been, let's say.
Now, historians are beginning to think that it actually took
much longer than 8 months to collect all the information from each town and
village in the country, and that it was actually assembled in various phases.
And it seems that officials prioritised the three counties Norfolk, Suffolk and
Essex - because these North Sea counties, with their predominantly Scandinavian populations and proximity to the
sea, were the most critically exposed to a possible Danish invasion.
Our village, Prestbury, is listed in the Doomsday Book,
where the name takes the form "Presteberie" (meaning priest's “burg”,
that is, a fortified place belonging to priests). The village actually belonged
to the bishop of Hereford. At that time there were 18 inhabitants: 5
smallholders, a priest , a so-called "riding man", and 11 slaves. Good
grief, what a crazy village !!!
The village of Prestbury in the Doomsday Book.
In those days you had to
to cross out mistakes with a pen: there was sadly
no "delete button" you could press.
It has always bothered me slightly that one of the 18 inhabitants
was described as a "riding man". Exactly what obligations and duties was
he responsible for, I have often wondered. Maybe he just rode about on his horse all day, going wherever he
wanted - it sounds like a nice job, as long as some employer was
happy to pay him to do it. Much better than being one of the village's 11 slaves at
least.
Later in the evening I do some research on my smartphone and
I find out that all the "riding men" in the Doomsday Book actually
lived in the 5 counties next to the Welsh border, and their duties were to be
an "escort" (hired to go on dates?), or a messenger. I think if I was born in the 11th century,
"riding man" would have been my first choice job. I bet most days
there was not that much to do - my kind of job !!!!
a typical medieval "riding man",
with time on his hands
19:00 We watch a bit of television. A fantasy film is on,
"Snow White and the Huntsman". The movie is Lois's choice - these
kind of movies are not really my bag, but it allows me to sit and nap a little
in my favourite armchair, and take a little look at my smartphone from time to time, which is
nice.
I am not really interested in the plot - I try to follow
it, but I think I lack motivation for some reason. But it is nice to see the beautiful Frensham
Pond and the surrounding forest, where much of the film was shot - Lois and
I know the area very well and we once actually stayed in a hotel next to the pond:
the area is only 8 miles from our daughter Alison's house in Haslemere.
Actress Kristen Stewart and others on
Frensham Pond,
located just 8 miles from our daughter
Alison's house in Haslemere
Flashback to May 2014: Frensham in happier times -
we stay at "pondside" at the local hotel.
One of the famous old "shire horses" can be seen across the road
Flashback to May 2014: Lois at Frensham Pond
22:00 Lois wakes me up with a shout and we go to bed - zzzzzzzzzzzz !!!!!
Danish
translation
08:30 Lois og
jeg tager et brusebad og efter morgenmad venter vi på, at Sarah, vores datter i
Perth, Australien, ringer til os på whatsapp, som hun plejer at gøre ved
10-tiden. Men i dag hun ringer ikke – senere sender hun mig en sms: familien
var på udflugt, og hendes smartphones batterier var nødt til at blive
genopladet, lader det til.
10:45 Vi skal
af sted. Lois vil gerne deltage i sin sekts 2 gudstjenester, der finder sted i
dag i byen Tewkesburys bibliotek midt i byen. Hun har rygproblemer for tiden,
så derfor har hun bedt mig om, at køre hende derover. Vi kører en omvej gennem
midten af Cheltenham, fordi hun har lovet Jamin, en ung kirkemedlem, at vi skal
hente ham på vej.
11:15 Jeg
sætter Lois og Jamin af foran biblioteket og kører hjem. Jeg har lidt alenetid
og går i gang med at tage julekortene ned af væggene. Bagefter slæber jeg
juletræet og juletrædekorationer op ad stigen til loftet.
Endnu en jul
er slut – jeg er 72 år gammel og jeg kan ikke undgå at meditere over, hvor
mange juler jeg har tilbage – yikes, skræmmende!!!!
Men slutningen
af juletiden er ikke så frygteligt, som det var dengang jeg arbejdede. Jeg
mindes om den satans følelse, jeg havde på arbejde efter juletiden. Faktisk nød
jeg mit arbejde for det meste, men januar var ikke min bedste måned, det må jeg
indrømme. Påske virkede at være så langt væk i fremtiden.
Januar kan
være en deprimerende måned, ingen tvivl om det. Sacha, en veninde af Sharon,
Lois’ niece i Oxford har lagt et morsomt powerpoint-dias, der illustrerer denne
følelse. Jeg brugte powerpoint-software meget, dengang jeg arbejdede, og jeg er
klar over, at mange ikke kan lide programmet.
Jeg mindes om,
at der var i min arbejdsplads en masse tale om død ved powerpoint eller død ved
bulletpunkter. Men bulletpunkter kan tillade folk nogle gange til at udtrykke
sig på en smuk, poetisk og rørende måde, som Sacha, Sharons veninde har
demonstreret i hendes determination ikke at deltage i den såkaldte ”tørre
januar”, hvor folk holde op med at drikke alkohol i hele måneden:
Sachas
5 bulletpunkter
13:00 Jeg
spiser frokost og lytter lidt til radio, et interessant program, der handler om
de klandestine måder, kvinder over de seneste 70 år eller deromkring blev
rekrutteret til at arbejde i Storbritanniens efterretninsgtjenester på.
Det er
interessant at under den 2. verdenskrig og et årtiet derefter blev kvinder
rekrutteret uformelt, efter at en eller anden, der arbejdede allerede i
efterretningstjenesterne, anbefalede dem på grund af, at de virkede at være
egnet til det slags arbejde. De valgte at rekruttere for det meste kvinder fra
den højere middelklasse, måske døtre af mænd der enten var embedsmænd eller i
de våbnede styrker, fordi de troede ubetinget, at sådanne kvinder ville være
loyale og påliderlige.
Du godeste,
sikke et vanvid!!! Det var bare, efter 3 agenter fra den højere middelklasse (Burgess,
Maclean og Philby) blev afsløret som russiske spioner i 1950’erne, at
rekrutteringsmetoder blev tvunget til at blive moderniseret, og en rigtige
sikkerhedsvurderingsproces blev indledt.
En kvinde
talte om sine oplevelser i SOE under den 2. verdenskrig, da hun blev
interviewet til et job – SOE var en organisation der sendte kvinder til
kontinentet for at arbejde på klandestine operationer mod tyskerne. Hun blev spurgt om, om hun kunne lide at løse
krydsogtværser: da hun svarede ja, besluttede SOE at ansætte hende i
organisationens kodeafdeling.
Hun arbejdede
i SOEs hovedkontor på Baker Street, London, hvor alle de ansatte kvinder
dengang var i uniform. Hendes chef bad hende og de andre kvinder om altid at
stå af bussen ved busstoppesteder enten før eller efter Baker Street, og aldrig
busstoppestedet ved selve Baker Street,
og variere deres vaner for sikkerheds skyld.
Men en dag var
hun i gang med at stå af bussen, da konduktøren råbte, ”Er der flere spioner?”.
Og kvinderne indså, at det hele måske var ikke så hemmeligt, som de håbede på.
Du godeste, sikke en skør verden vi lever i !!!!!
64
Baker Street, London, hovedkontoret af SOEs kodeafdeling
under
den 2. verdenskrig
SOEs
telegrafister på arbejde
2011:
64 Baker Street i lykkeligere tider
13:30 Jeg går
i seng og tager en kort eftermiddagslur.
14:30 Jeg står
op og kører over til Tewkesbury. Jeg henter Lois og Jamin ved byens bibliotek
og vi kører tilbage til Cheltenham.Vi sætter Jamin af foran hans lejlighed og
kommer hjem. Vi slapper af med en kop te og en kiks i sofaen.
18:30 Vi
spiser aftensmad og bagefter kigger jeg lidt på nettet. Steve, min amerikanske
svigerbror har sendt mig en interessant email, der handler om Englands
Dommedagsbog (kilde: arstechnika.com) .
Dommedagsbog
var normannernes redskab
til skatteopkrævning i England, et land de erobrede i 1066. Lois og jeg blev undervist i skole at den blev
indsamlet af Vilhelm Erobrerens embedsmænd mellem december 1085 og august 1086.
Vi har altid været lidt overrasket, for at sige mildt, at Vilhelms embedsmænd
var så meget mere effektive i at indsamle alle disse masser af oplysninger
indenfor 8 måneder, end nutidens embedsmænd ville have været – det må vi nok
sige
Nu begynder historiker at tro, at
værken faktisk tog meget længere at indsamle informationerne fra hver by og
hvert landsby i landet, og at det faktisk blev indsamlet i forskellige faser.
Og det lader til, at embedsmændene prioritiserede de tre grevskaber Norfolk,
Suffolk og Essex – på grund af, at disse Nordsø-grevskaber med deres
overvældende skandinavske befolkinger, var de mest kritisk udsat for en mulig
dansk invasion.
Vores landsby, Prestbury, er
listet i Dommedagsbog, hvor navnet tager formen ”Presteberie” (som betyder
præsters borg, dvs et befæstet sted, der tilhører præster. Landsbyen tilhørte
faktisk biskoppen af Hereford. Der var dengang 18 indbyggere: 5 husmænd, en
præst, en såkaldt ”ridende mand”, og 11 slaver. Du godeste, sikke et vanvid!!!
Landsbyen Prestbury
i Domedagsbogen. I de gamle dage var man nødt
til at strege
fejl med en pen: der var desværre ingen ”flet-knappen” man kunne trykke på.
Det har altid
bekymret mig lidt, at en af de 18 indbyggere blev beskrevet som en “ridende
mand”. Præcis hvilke forpligtelser og opgaver var han ansvarlig for, undrer jeg
mig. Måske red han bare til hest hvor som helst han havde lyst til – det lyder
som et pænt job, det må jeg nok sige, så længe en eller anden arbejdsgiver var
glad to betale ham. Meget bedre end at være en af landsbyens 11 slaver i hvert
fald.
Senere på
aftenen gør jeg lidt forskning på min smartphone, at jeg finder ud af, at alle
de ”ridende mænd” i Dommedagsbogen faktisk boede i de 5 grevskaber, der stødte
op til den walesiske grænse, og deres forpligtelser var at være en escorte,
eller sendebud. Jeg synes, hvis jeg var blevet født i det 11. århundrede, ville
”ridende mand” have været mit 1. valg som muligt job. Jeg vil vædde på, at de fleste dage var der
ikke ret meget at lave – mit slags job !!!!
en
typisk middelalderlig ”ridende mand”, med tid på hænderne
19:00 Vi ser
lidt fjernsyn. De viser en fantasifilm, ”Snow White and the Huntsman”. Filmen
er Lois’ valg – disse slags film er ikke egentlig min ting, men det tillader
mig at sidde og blunde lidt i min yndlingslænestol, og kigger lidt på min smartphone,
hvilket er rart.
Jeg er ikke
interesseret i plottet – jeg prøver at følge det, men jeg synes jeg mangler
motivation af en eller anden grund. Men det er rart at se søen Frensham Pond og
de omkringliggende skover, hvor hovedparten af filmen blev skudt – Lois og jeg
kender området meget godt, og vi faktisk boede engang på et hotel ved siden af
søen: området er kun 8 miles fra vores datter Alisons hus i Haslemere.
Skuespillerinden Kristen Stewart og andre på søen Frensham Pond,
der
ligger kun 8 miles fra vores datter Alisons hus i Haslemere
tilbageblik til maj 2014: Frenshamsø i lykkeligere tider
en shire hest kan ses på den anden side af vejen
Lois ved siden af Frenshamsø
22:00 Lois
vågner mig op med et råb og vi går i seng – zzzzzzzzzzzz!!!!!
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