Saturday, February 16 2019

07:00 More swimming training at the local gym for our grandchildren, Josie (12) and Rosalind (10).

09:00 We have breakfast.

Muffins for breakfast: a Saturday morning tradition with Ali, our elder daughter,

with Ed and with their 3 children

10:00 We drive into the town in 2 cars and have a cup of coffee and a piece of cake at the Hemingways café.

Afterwards, we swing by the local Waitrose supermarket to buy a few things, including chocolate and candy for tonight's "The Voice UK" television talent show. Lois and I have offered to babysit the three children, so Ali and Ed can accept an invitation for dinner with the parents of one of Rosalind's new school friends.

The family moved back to England last year after nearly 6 years of residence in Denmark, so both the children and Ali and Ed themselves say they need to build up a new circle of friends, and this Saturday night invitation is a good opportunity to do so.

I am fortunate in that I have never felt the urge to build up a large circle of friends. I can settle for 2-3 friends / acquaintances, and that's more than enough in my opinion !!! But everyone to their own taste.

12:00 We drive home and have lunch. Ed tells us that his father's heart stopped after his recent operation. His initial problem was some kind of aneurysm and the operation seemed successful, but everything went wrong shortly afterwards. Fortunately, the hospital staff managed to revive him.

My goodness, life is dangerous for older people! Most of the older people Lois and I know have had serious problems recently, except for us. Yikes !!!

I am afraid that God is planning to hit us with something very mega-catastrophic sooner or later. Yikes !!! But exactly when will our luck run out - tomorrow maybe, or tonight ????

14:00  I go to bed and  take a short afternoon nap. The two beds in Isaac's room are quite narrow - only 2 feet 6 wide, but fortunately I don't have any trouble falling asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow, thank goodness.

15:00 I get up and we all 4 of us start playing a game: Ali, Lois, Rosalind and me. Josie and Isaac are not at home.

Josie has been invited to a birthday party at the local ice rink, and Isaac is occupied in his drama club’s rehearsals for their performance of the musical Bugsy Malone, which will take place next month in the Haslemere Hall Theatre. Isaac is playing a major role - the chief instructor at a military academy for gangsters. He also has to sing a few songs. And he is working on his New York accent - Ali is coaching him using the model of Joey from "Friends" (Matt LeBlanc). Good luck with that, guys!

Lois and I assume that Isaac has inherited his drama skills from Ed. Before the family moved to Denmark in 2012, Ed was the treasurer of the local Anglican church, and he made his financial presentations very entertaining every time he spoke during parish committee meetings, which was not easy. He got committee members to almost die laughing every time he presented the parish's financial half-year results, which was a bit of a challenge for him, to put it mildly.

Flashback to earlier in the day:

Ali helps Isaac learn his lines by heart

17:00 Now it is Isaac's turn to have swimming training at the local gym. My goodness, what madness !!! I am very happy that my own childhood was not ruined by frequent visits to sports centres, I have to say.

18:30 Lois and I have dinner with the 3 children. Ali and Ed do not have to eat now - they have been invited to dinner with the parents of one of Rosalind's new school friends.

19:45 Ali and Ed have to leave. They walk around the corner to their new friends' house while we stay and babysit Josie, Rosalind and Isaac.

20:00 We watch some television, the TV talent show, "The Voice UK" - Lois and I have not seen it before.

There are 4 judges: a young singer, Ollie Murs, an older singer, Tom Jones, and two American singers, Jennifer Hudson and Will.I.Am. For some reason, the judges like the participants we don't like and vice versa. My goodness, what a crazy world we live in !!!!

The later it gets, the more sleepy the children become, including  Sika, the family's Danish dog. I hold out, with the help of a giant Cadbury’s chocolate bar and a strong gin and tonic.

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

Danish translation

07:00 Mere svømmetræning hos det lokale motionscenter for vores børnebørn, Josie (12) og Rosalind (10).

09:00 Vi spiser morgenmad.

Muffins til morgenmad: en lørddag morgen tradition hos Ali, vores ældste datter

og Ed og ders 3 børn

10:00 Vi kører ind i byen med 2 biler og drikker en kop kaffe og spiser et stykke kage hos Hemingways-caféen.

Bagefter smutter vi ind i det lokale Waitrose-supermarked  for at købe nogle ting, inklusive choolade og slik til aftenens ”The Voice” tv-talentshow.   Lois og jeg har tilbudt at babysitte de tre børn, så Ali og Ed kan accceptere en invitation til middag  hos forældrendene af en af Rosalinds nye skolevenner.

Familien flyttede tilbage til England sidste år efter næsten 6 års ophold i Danmark, så både børnene og selve Ali og Ed siger, de behøver at bygge en ny omgangskreds op, og denne invitation til lørdag aften er en god lejlighed til at gøre det.

Jeg er heldig i, at jeg aldrig har følt trangen til at bygge en stor omgangskreds op. Jeg kan nøjes med 2-3 venner / bedkendte, og det er mere, end nok efter min mening!!! Men alle har deres smag.

12:00 Vi kører hjem og spiser frokost. Ed fortæller os, at hans fars hjerte stoppede efter sin nylige operation. Problemet  var en eller anden slags aneurisme og operations virkede succesfuld, men alt gik galt kort efter. Heldigvis lykkedes det hospitalets personale at genoplive ham.

Du godeste, livet er farligt for ældre mennesker! De fleste ældre mennesker Lois og jeg kender har haft alvorlige problemer for nylig, bortset fra os. Yikes!!!

Jeg frygter, at Gud planlægger at ramme os med noget synderlig mega-katastrofalt før eller senere. Yikes!!! Men præcis hvornår vil vi løber tør for held – i morgen måske, eller i nat????

14:00 Jeg går i seng for at tage en kort eftermiddagslur. De to senge i Isaacs værelse er ganske smal – kun 2 fods 6 brede, men jeg har heldigvis ikke svært ved at falde i søvn, så snart mit hoved ramte puden, gudskelov.

15:00 Jeg står op og vi alle 4 går i gang med at spille et spil: Ali, Lois, Rosalind og mig. Josie og Isaac er ikke herhjemme.

Josie er blevet inviteret til en fødselsdagsfest på den lokale skøjtebane, og Isaac er beskæftiget med sin dramaklubs indstudering til deres forestilling af Bugsy Malone, der finder sted næste måned i Haslemere Hall-teatret. Isaac spiller en stor rolle – den hoveinstruktør på en skole for gangsters. Han skal også synge et par sange. Han arbejder på sin New York-accent. Ali underviser ham: hun bruger modellen af Joey fra "Friends"-sitcommen (Matt leBlanc). Tillykke med det, folkens!

Lois og jeg formoder, at Isaac har arvet sine dramafærdigheder fra Ed. Før familien flyttede til Danmark i 2012, var Ed kasserer for den lokale anglikanske kirke, og han nåede at gøre sine finansielle fremlæggelser meget underholdende, hver gang han holdt tale under sognens udvalgmøder, hvilket var ikke nemt. Udvalgmedlemmer plejede næsten at dø af grin hver gang han fremviste sognets finansielle halvårsresultater, hvilket var lidt af en udfordring, for at sige mildt.

Tilbageblik til tidligere på dagen:

Ali hjælper Isaac med at lære sin linjer udenad

17:00 Nu er det Isaacs tur til at have svømmetræning på det lokale motionscenter. Du godeste, sikke et vanvid!!!  Jeg er meget glad for, at min egen barndom ikke var ødelagt af hyppige besøg til motionscentrer, det må jeg nok sige.

18:30 Lois og jeg spiser aftensmad sammen med de 3 børn. Ali og Ed behøver ikke at spise nu – de er blevet inviteret til middag hos forældrene af en af Rosalinds nye skolevenner.

19:45 Ali og Ed skal af sted. De går rundt om hjørnet til deres nye venners hus, mens vi babysitter Josie, Rosalind og Isaac.

20:00  Vi ser lidt fjernsyn, den tv-talentshow, “The Voice UK” – Lois og jeg har ikke set det før.

Der er 4 dommere:  en ung sanger, Ollie Murs, en ældre sanger, Tom Jones, og to amerikanske sangere, Jennifer Hudson og Will.I.Am. Af en eller anden grund kan dommerne godt lide de deltagere, som vi ikke kan lide, og omvendt. Du godeste, sikke en skør verden vi lever i !!!!

Jo senere det bliver, jo søvnigere bliver børnene, også Sika, familiens danske hund. Jeg er udholdende, ved hjælp af en kæmpe Cadburys-chokoladebar og en stærk gin og tonic.

22:00 Vi går i seng – zzzzzzzzzzz!!!