Tuesday, January 8 2019

10:00 My friend, "Magyar" Mike calls at the door and we study Hungarian for an hour.

Both Lois and I have been very struck by how much Mike has aged over the past 12 months. He moves about much more slowly, his voice is weaker, and he has lost much of his previous enthusiasm, we think. Yikes! How much time have Lois and I got left before we collapse and break down physically (and mentally), like Mike - yikes (again), scary !!!!!

"Magyar" Mike in happier times, in 2017 in Prague, before his recent decline,

together with Stephen (his grandson) and "Magyar" Mary, his wife

And Mike is getting more and more nervous, it appears. And he has a new source of anxiety at the moment - his latest car. He was forced to change car in December, when his previous car became completely unreliable. When he rang at our door at 10 am just now, he was panicking because he said his car’s oil warning light had come on. He has brought the car's handbook into the house and he is now asking me to help him find out what the problem is.

I'm the kind of guy who doesn't have the faintest idea what kind of problems cars can be hit by, but even I know that the oil warning light lights up for a moment on the dashboard when you turn the ignition on or off. Good grief, Mike, keep  calm !!!! What madness !!!!

11:00 Mike has to leave. Lois and I walk into the village and pop into the local post office to send a package off to Lily and Jessie, our 5-year-old twin grandchildren in Perth, Australia - a couple of children's books. Afterwards, we swing by the local convenience store (Bakery Stores) to buy a few things. We come home and relax with a cup of coffee on the sofa.

Lois and I are feeling a little worried about the local shops in the village. Thirty years ago, when we first moved into the village, there were about 10 stores, including two banks, whereas now there are only about 5, and all, or almost all, of them are under threat of closure. People say the village is dying.

Our local doctor’s surgery is about to disappear - the doctors have decided to move into a new modern medical centre, which they have recently had built on the other side of the village of Bishops Cleeve, 5 miles away. And the disappearance of the doctor's surgery could lead to the closure of the local pharmacy.

And people say that the local newsagent’s elderly owner wants to sell up - and it is not really clear whether she will be able to find a buyer. If the newsagent’s closes, the future of the business's post office franchise will be in doubt. There are rumours that the local convenience store, the former Bakery Stores, could take it over. But that’s something we are not completely sure about - the jury is still out on that one.

The worst thing is that the Kings Arms Pub is for sale, and no one knows if it will be demolished so that houses or apartment buildings can be built on the land - yikes!

It could happen that the village's main street is going to turn into a bit of a ghost town over the next 2-3 years - yikes (again!).

12:00 We have lunch and afterwards I go to bed and take a gigantic afternoon nap. I wake up and listen a little to the radio, an interesting programme all about the habeas corpus process in English-speaking countries, whereby a detained person can have the legality of a detention order reviewed by a court. The programme's host is the charming Phil Tinline, and his two expert witnesses are the historian Dr Rachel Hammersley and the Anglo-American lawyer, Clive Stafford-Smith.

Hammersley tells us the history of habeas corpus in England. In 1628 and again in 1640, Parliament succeeded in getting King Charles I to agree that he would no longer use any arbitrary powers, especially that of arbitrary imprisonment.

However, problems continued to hit detainees because the authorities often took a long time to bring a prisoner before a court. Also many prosecutors, especially the notorious Edward Hyde, Earl of Clarendon and King Charles II's special adviser (who had himself in his youth played a part in securing the adoption of the original habeas corpus legislation), decided to move his prisoners to off-shore islands or to military bases off the coast to avoid the habeas corpus process.

Edward Hyde, Earl of Clarendon (1609-1674)

The result was that Parliament was forced to adopt a new law in 1679 to prevent prosecutors from using these sneaky strategies.

Stafford-Smith, an Anglo-American lawyer who has worked in both countries, explained that the right to habeas corpus had already been incorporated into the US legal system before the country became independent in the late 18th century. And he said that when he defended a British man who had been imprisoned in Guantanamo in the early 2000s, he actually quoted the story of the Earl of Clarendon in court, when arguing for the man's release from detention in Guantanamo.

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

The programme’s host, Phil Tinline, asks Stafford-Smith how the habeas corpus procedure works in the US in comparison to the UK. He replies that it is much more effective in the United States. In Britain, the prisoner is handicapped by a number of limitations - unlike US detainees, the UK prisoner has no right to see the trial transcripts or police files on the case, for example, which seems bizarre to put it mildly. Isn't the trial transcript a public document? Where are we living - North Korea?

What's wrong with us in the UK? We win these wonderful rights after centuries of struggle but then allow the authorities to undermine them bit by bit. What madness !!!!

Stafford-Smith has both British and American citizenship. During most of his career, he specialised in representing American prisoners on death row and trying to get them released. His hero is Robin Hood, who had a similar job in Nottingham in the late 12th century, but Robin got the prisoners released by strategic use of his bow and arrow. My goodness - what a crazy world we live in !!!! [Don’t say that again. Three strikes and you’re out. This is your final warning – Ed]

15:30 I get up. Lois swings by the neighbours (Bill and Mary) to talk a little with Mary who suffers from dementia, and thereby to give Bill some relief from always having to humour her. Lois is so warm-hearted - if only I could be more like her, I have to say.

15:45 Our other neighbour, Bob, calls at the door with a dead pheasant in his hand. Bob likes to hunt and he gives us on average 2-3 pheasants a year, which Lois is not very happy about - I know that for sure. Preparing pheasants for the oven is a lot of work.

I store the pheasant in a bag in the pantry. Lois has got into the habit of using just the breast to save work. We do not want the pheasant to have "died in vain" ha ha. We would rather not have Bob give us pheasants, but in the past we have always thanked him for them and said how delicious they are, so as not to hurt his feelings. The problem is that then he just gives us more of them - yikes!

17:00 Lois comes home from next door. She has been chatting a little with Bill and Mary about our local doctor’s surgery. Bill is disgusted with the doctors - they plan to stop appointments in their local clinic this week and open up their new clinic on Monday, 5 miles away. But they still haven't even written to the clinic's patients yet – all they’ve done is to get a booklet printed, which they've put on display in the entrance to the old surgery - what madness!

We can only hope that the new clinic is a failure and the doctors all go bankrupt - they are such bastards, those doctors!! Lois and I have already registered with another surgery in the middle of town, thank goodness.

18:00 We have dinner and spend the rest of the evening listening to the radio and watching some television. A pilot sitcom is on, "Semi-Detached", starring Lee Mack, the famous English stand-up comedian, playing the role of Stuart, a middle-aged guy with a much younger girlfriend, April, who is very very pregnant.

I find it interesting that even though Lois and I first hooked up over 48 years ago, I can't always predict which sitcoms she is going to like and which she will hate. I assumed she would hate this sitcom because of the frequent swear words and the frequent references to sex and drug-abuse.

But in fact, Lois loves this pilot episode, which is all about Stuart's problems getting his very pregnant girlfriend to the hospital, and Lois is soon doubled up with laughter.

In contrast, the sitcom leaves me cold: for me, it is just a series of bizarre characters and bizarre incidents, following each other at a breakneck pace, one after the other, but I’m going to let that one slide.

However one of my regular household tasks is to ensure that our patio furniture is well protected with tarpaulins and / or other types of coverings in the winter, or when the weather-girl has said it’s going to rain. So my favourite moment in this evening's sitcom comes when Stuart's ex-wife's partner Ted is lying naked (why naked?) on the lawn with an injured thumb, and Stuart (Lee Mack) decides to cover up the naked Ted by borrowing a plastic cover he finds on Ted’s barbecue equipment. That is exactly what I would have done in similar circumstances - I have no doubts about that. Kudos, Stuart!

Stuart (Lee Mack) decides to cover the naked Ted (Patrick Baladi), who has hurt

his thumb, with a plastic cover that until now has been draped over Ted's barbecue.

Kudos, Stuart!

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

Danish translation

10:00 Min ven, ”Magyar” Mike ringer på døren, og vi studerer ungarsk i en time. Både Lois og jeg er blevet meget slået af, hvor meget Mike er ældedes i de seneste 12 måneder. Han bevæger sig meget langsommere, hans stemme er svagere, og han har mistet meget af sin tidligere entusiasme, synes vi. Yikes! Hvor meget tid har Lois og jeg tilbage, før vi kollapser og bryder sammen fysisk (og psykisk), ligesom Mike – yikes (igen), skræmmende !!!!!

”Magyar” Mike i lykkeligere tider, i 2017 i Praga, inden sin nylige tilbagegang,

sammen med Stephen (sit barnebarn) og ”Magyar” Mary, sin kone

Mike bliver mere og mere nervøs, lader det til. Og han har en ny kilde på ængst for tiden – sin seneste bil. Han blev tvunget til at skifte bil i december, da hans forrige bil blev fuldstændigt upålidelig. Da han kl 10 ringer på vores dør er han gået i panik over, at bilen lyste med olie advarsel. Han medbringer bilens håndbog ind i huset og spørger mig om at hjælpe ham med at finde ud af, hvad problemet er.

Jeg er den slags fyr, der ikke har den fjerneste anelse om, hvad slags problemer kan ramme en bil, men selv jeg ved godt, at olie advarsel lyser på instrumentpanelen, når man tænder eller slukker for tændingen. Du godeste, Mike, rolig!!!! Sikke et vanvid!!!!

11:00 Mike skal af sted. Lois og jeg går hen ind i landsbyen og smutter ind i det lokale posthus for at afsende en pakke til Lily og Jessie, vores 5-årige tvillingebørnebørn i Perth, Australien – et par børnebøger. Bagefter kigger vi ind i den lokale nærbutik (Bakery Stores) for at købe et par ting. Vi kommer hjem og slapper af med en kop kaffe i sofaen.

Lois og jeg føler os lidt bekymret over de lokale butikker i landsbyen. For 30 år siden, da vi først flyttede ind i landsbyen var der ca 10 butikker, inklusive to banker, mens nu er der kun ca 5 og de alle eller næsten alle er under trussel om lukning. Folk siger, at landsbyen er hendøende.

Vores lokale lægehus er ved at forsvinde – lægerne har besluttet at flytte ind i et nyt moderne lægehus, som de for nylig har fået bygget på den anden side af landsbyen Bishops Cleeve, 5 miles væk herfra. Forsvindelsen af læge huset kunne føre til lukningen af det lokale apotek.

Folk siger, at bladhandlerforretningens ældre ejer har lyst til at sælge – og det er ikke helt klart om hun vil kunne finde en køber. Hvis bladhandlerforretningen lukker ned, vil fremtiden af forretningens postkontor-franchise være i tvivl. Der er rygter om, at den lokale  nærbutik, den tidligere Bakery Stores, kunne overtage den. Men det er vi ikke helt sikre på – juryen er stadig ude om det.

Det alleværste er, at pubben Kings Arms er til salg, og ingen ved, om den vil blive revet ned, så huse eller etageejendomme kan bygges på jorden – yikes!

Det kan være, at landsbyens hovedgade bliver til lidt af en spøgelsesby om de næste 2-3 år – yikes (igen!).

12:00 Vi spiser frokost og bagefter går jeg i seng for at tage en gigantisk eftermiddagslur. Jeg vågner op og lytter lidt til radio, et interessant program, der handler om habeas corpus en procedure i engelsktalende lande, hvorved en frihedsberøvet person kan få efterprøvet en frihedsberøvelses lovlighed ved en domstol. Programmets vært er den charmerende Phil Tinline, og hans to ekspert-vidner er historikeren Dr Rachel Hammersley og den anglo-amerikanske advokat, Clive Staffor-Smith.

Hammersley fortæler historien af habeas corpus-proceduren i England. I 1628 og igen i 1640 lykkedes det parlamentet at få konge Karl 1. af England til at aftale, at han ikke ville bruge vilkårlige magter, især vilkårlige fængsling.

Problemer fortsatte imidlertid at ramme tilbageholdte, fordi myndighederne ofte tog lang tid til at stille fangeren for en domstol. Også mange anklagere, især den notoriske Edward Hyde, Earl af Clarendon og konge Karl 2.s rådgiver  (der selv havde deltaget i at vedtage de oprindelige love i sin ungdom), besluttede at flytte deres fanger til øer eller til militære baser ud for kysten for at undgå habeas corpus-procedurer.

Edward Hyde, Earl af Clarendon

Parlamentet blev tvunget til at vedtage en ny lov i 1679 for at forhindre anklagere i at bruge disse slags snigende strategier.

Stafford-Smith, en anglo-amerikansk advokat, der har arbejdet i begge lande, forklarede, at habeas corpus proceduren allerede blev indføjet i det amerikanske juridiske system før landet blev uafhængigt sidst i det 18. århundrede. Og han sagde, at da han forsvarede en britisk mand, der var blevet fængslet i Guantanamo-basen først i 2000-tallene, citerede han faktisk sagen om Earl af Clarendon i domstolen, for at argumentere for mandens løsladelse fra Guantanamo.

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

Programmets vært, Phil Tinline, spørger Stafford-Smith om hvordan habeas corpus-proceduren fungerer i USA i sammenligning til Storbritannien. Han svarer, at den er meget mere effektiv i USA. I Storbritannien er fangeren handicappet af en række begrænsninger – ulig amerikanske fangere har den  britiske fanger ingen ret til at se retssagsafskriftet eller politiets filer om sagen, for eksempel.

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

Stafford-Smith har begge britisk og amerikansk borgerskab. Under hovedparten af sin karriere, specialiserede han sig i at repræsentere amerikanske fangere i dødscellerne, og prøve at få dem løsladt. Hans helt er Robin Hood, der havde et lignende job i Nottingham sidst i det 12. århundrede, men han fik sine fangere løsladt ved hjælp af sin bue og pil. Du godeste – sikke en skør verden vi lever i !!!!

15:30 Jeg  står op. Lois smutter ind hos naboerne, (Bill og Mary) for at snakke lidt med Mary, der lider af demens, og give Bill lidt lettelse fra at føje hende. Lois er så varmhjertet – hvis bare jeg kunne ligne hende mere, det må jeg nok sige.

15:45 Vores nabo, Bob, ringer på døren med en død fasan i hånden. Bob kan godt lide at jæge, og han giver os i gennemsnit 2-3 fasaner om året, hvilket Lois ikke er glad for - det ved jeg med sikkerhed. Det er en masse arbejde at forberede fasaner på at blive kogt.

Jeg lagrer fasanen i en pose i spisekammeret. Lois er kommet i vane bare med at bruge brystet, for at spare arbejdet.  Vi vil ikke have, at fasanen ”døde forgæves” ha ha. Vi ville hellere ikke have Bob til at give os fasaner, men i fortiden har vi altid takket ham for dem, og sagt hvor lækre de er, for ikke at såre hans følelser. Problemet er, at han bare giver os flere af den – yikes!

17:00 Lois kommer hjem fra nabohuset. Hun har snakket lidt med Bill og Mary om vores lokale lægehus. Bill væmmes over lægerne – de planlægger at stoppe aftaler i deres lokale klinik, og åbne deres nye klinik på mandag 5 miles væk herfra. Men de har stadig ikke engang skrevet til klinikkens patienter endnu – de har bare fået en pjece printet, som de har stillet til skue i den gamle kliniks entré – sikke et vanvid! 

Vi kan bare håbe, at den nye klinik er en fiasko og lægernes går i konkurs – de er sådan nogle sjufter, de der læger! Lois og jeg har allerede registreret os hos et andet lægehus midt i byen, gudskelov.

18:00 Vi spiser aftensmad og bruger resten af aftenen på at lytte til radio og se lidt fjernsyn. De viser en pilotsitcom, ”Semi-Detached”, stjernespækket Lee Mack, den berømte engelske stand-up komiker, som Stuart, en midaldrende fyr med en langt yngre kæreste, April, der er meget meget gravid.

Jeg finder det interessant, at selvom Lois og jeg først kom sammen for 48 år siden kan jeg ikke altid forudse, hvilke sitcoms hun kommer til at kunne lide, og hvilke hun kommer til at hade. Jeg formodede, at hun ville hade denne sitcom på grund af de hyppige bandeord, og de hyppige henvisninger til sex og misbrug.

Faktisk elsker Lois dette pilotepisode, der handler om Stuarts problemer med at få sin kæreste til hospitalet, og Lois er snart krumbøjet af grin.

Sitcommen rører mig imidlertid ikke: for mit vedkommende er den bare en række af bizarre karakterer og bizarre handlinger på stribe, men det springer jeg over.

Men en af mine regelmæssige huslige opgaver er at sikre at vores terrassemøbler er godt beskyttet med presenninger og/eller anden slags overdækning om vinteren, eller når vejrpigen har sagt, det kommer til at regne. Mit yndlingsøjeblik i aftenens sitcom kommer, når Stuarts eks-kones partner Ted ligger nøgen (hvorfor?) på græsplanen med en såret tommelfinger, og Stuart (Lee Mack) beslutter at dække den nøgne Ted ved at låne en plastik overdækning, han finder på et sæt barbecue-udstyr. Det der er netop hvad jeg ville have gjort i lignende omstændigher - det har jeg ikke nogen tvivl om !

Stuart (Lee Mack) beslutter at dække den nøgne Ted (Patrick Baladi), der har såret

tommelfingeren, med en plastikoverdækning, som hidtil har dækket Teds barbecue

22:00 Vi går i seng – zzzzzzzzz!!!!!