Monday, March 11 2019

09:30 Lois and I continue to work on our latest mini-downsize project, with the aim of getting rid of the unwanted belongings that our younger daughter Sarah left with us when she moved to Australia in December 2015 with Francis and their little twin daughters.

We take a big bag stuffed with baby bedding (and the like) around to next door - Bob, our neighbour is a widower, but he has a massive family, including literally hundreds (and here I am exaggerating a bit) of grandchildren and great-grandchildren – and there is always some heavily-pregnant member of his family ready to pop, to put it mildly.

Afterwards, we drive over to Bishops Cleeve and pop into the Longfield's charity shop to donate a big bag stuffed full of children's books, and an unwanted ornate  toiletry box that Sarah left with us for some reason. After that, we swing by the local post office to send a couple of parcels of new children's clothes to Sarah.

Longfields Charity Shop, where we donate a large bag stuffed with

children's books and an unwanted toiletry box

While rooting around in Sarah's old room over the past few days, I came across her photo albums, including a lot of photos she took when she was "on safari" in Africa at the age of 18 - actually 2 safaris, with  the second one immediately following on the first: from Dar es Salaam to Harare (6 weeks), and immediately afterwards, Harare to Windhoek and back (another 6 weeks).

Ndutu Lake, Ngorongoro, Tanzania

Sarah (right) in her now famous so-called "Timotei shampoo ad"

(in either Tanzania or Malawi – the photo albums are not specific, darn it !)

Malawi (?) - Sarah standing at the back, in the jeep

Victoria Falls

I admire our daughter Sarah so much for having embarked on this great adventure in company with around 20 strangers, considering that she was such a shy and timid girl as a teenager - she inherited this trait from both her father and mother , the poor thing!

I recall that when Lois and I took her to the airport (Gatwick), she was nervous as hell and she couldn't bring herself  to eat anything when we popped into one of the airport's little restaurants.

It was fortunate that at the airport lounge we accidentally bumped into another girl of the same age who had booked a seat on the same two safaris, and the two girls could talk a little and get to know each other before the flight. Most of the other people in the group were young couples, so it was lucky that Sarah could team up with another singleton and together become the group's two "babies".

Sarah 2nd from right

Go, Sarah! You go, girl !

Sarah today - a busy working mum with 2 five-year-olds

12:00 Lois and I have lunch and afterwards I go to bed and take a gigantic afternoon nap. In the meantime, Lois goes for a short walk around the neighbourhood.

15:00 I get up and jump up on my exercise bike. I ride 6 miles.

Lois comes back and we relax with a cup of tea on the couch. We have begun to hear the private helicopters flying over the house on their way to the nearby racetrack. The festival starts tomorrow and ends on Friday. After today, the whole area will go into lock down mode, with horrific traffic jams and pedestrians thronging the streets: horse racing fanatics in their distinctive attire: the men in their long dark coats and broad-brimmed hats, carrying a tabloid newspaper, and the women, looking expensive and high maintenance - help!

Our favourite time of day is the afternoons between 2 and 4 pm or so, when the races are in progress and the neighbourhood suddenly becomes quiet and deserted, and the sense of lockdown disappears for a short time.

18:00 We have dinner and spend the rest of the evening watching some television. Monday night is the TV quiz night at our house. "Only Connect" and "University Challenge are on.

Lois and I are always happy about the questions that we can answer, but with which all the fresh young brains have problems with, because we believe it proves that we are not yet suffering from dementia.

However, we have the feeling that we are not performing as well as we did two years ago, although not necessarily because of increasing dementia, we believe.

We have an excuse: we suspect that the program's quizzes now contain more questions about today's popular culture - which is quite reasonable given that the quiz's participants themselves are mostly people in their 20’s, 30’s and 40’s too: some are even teenagerss – my god, what madness !!!!

Of course, Lois and I know almost nothing about today's popular culture, and we do not recognize any of today's so-called "celebrities", that’s  for sure.

At the beginning of "Only Connect", the two 3-person teams are, as always, warmly greeted by Victoria Coren-Mitchell, the programme's charming host: she begins by asking the "Time Ladies" team how the team dynamic is going.

Rebecca Shaw, the team captain, replies that the team members have told their friends and relatives that it's all about the fun of taking part, and that they don't really care what happens, although they would very much like to win.

Victoria approves of their attitude - she says that to enter 'Only Connect' just for “the fun of taking part" is a delusion, because "it isn’t fun at all".....which is where the delusion breaks down.

... but that none the less the BBC2 production staff are all very glad the ladies are here! 

So that's all right, then!

22:00 We go to bed. I tell Lois I will be quite happy not to have to leave the house over the next 4 days, because of the expected traffic jams, but unfortunately, Lois feels an obligation to support her sect’s  Bible seminar taking place tomorrow night in Brockworth library and she wants me to drive her over to Mari-Ann's house so Mari-Ann can drive her over to Brockworth. Damn!

I give in to her blandishments and agree to do what she wants. She says we can avoid the traffic jams by driving directly through the town centre, but I am not quite so sure about that, as she is. The jury is still out on this one - we'll have to see. Damn (again) !!!!

Zzzzzzzzzzzzz !!!!!!

Danish translation

09:30 Lois og jeg fortsætter med at arbejde på vores seneste mini-downsize-projekt, med det formål af, at blive fri for de uønskede ejendele, som vores yngste datter Sarah efterlod hos os, da hun i december 2015 flyttede til Australien sammen med Francis og deres små tvillingedøtre.

Vi tager en stor pose proppet med babysengetøj (og lignende) rundt om hjørnet til nabohuset – Bob, vores nabo er enke, men han har en massiv familie, inklusive bogstaveligt talt hundredvis (og her overdriver jeg lidt) af børnebørn og børnebørnsbørn – der er altid en eller anden højgravid slægtning, der er klar til at poppe, for at sige mildt!

Bagefter kører vi over til Bishops Cleeve og smutter ind i Longfields-velgørenhedsbutikken for at donere en stor pose proppet med børnebøger, og en uønsket toiletboks, som Sarah af en eller anden grund efterlod hos os. Så kigger vi ind i det lokale postkontor for at afsende et par pakker nye børnetøj til Sarah.

Longfields-velgørenhedsbutikken, hvor vi donerer en stor pose proppet med

børnebøger og en uønsket toiletboks

Mens jeg i de seneste nogle dage var i gang med at rode rundt i Sarahs gamle værelse, stødte jeg på hendes fotoalbummer, herunder en masse fotoer, hun tog, da hun på 18 år var ”på safari” i Afrika i 1995 – faktisk på 2 safarier, hvor den anden umiddelbart efterfulgte den første:  fra Dar-es-Salaam til Harare (6 uger), og umiddelbart efter, Harare til Windhoek og tilbage (endnu 6 uger).

Ndutusø, Ngorongoro, Tanzania

Sarah, til højre i sin nu berømte såkaldte ”Timotei shampoo-reklame”

(i enten Tanzania eller Malawi – fotoalbum er ikke specifikt - pokkers!)

Malawi (?) – Sarah stående bagved på jeepen

Victoria Falls

Jeg beundrer vores datter Sarah så meget for at have begivet sig i denne stor eventyr med 20 fremmede eller deromkring,  i betragtgning af, at hun var en så genert og forskræmt pige, som teenager – hun arvede denne egenskab fra begge sin far og sin mor, staklen!

Jeg mindes om, at da Lois og jeg tog hende til lufthavnen (Gatwick), var hun nervøs som helvede, og hun kunne ikke orke at spise, da vi smuttede ind i en af lufthavnens lille restauranter.

Det var heldigt, at vi i lufthavnsloungen tilfældigvis stødte på en anden pige i samme alder, der havde bestilt en plads på de to safarier, og de to piger kunne snakke lidt og lære hinanden at kende, før flyturen. De fleste af de andre mennesker i gruppen var unge ægtepar eller kærestepar, så det var heldigt, at Sarah kunne teame op med en anden single, og blive til gruppens to ”babyer”.

Kom så, Sarah!

Sarah i dag - en travlt udarbejdende mor med 2 5-årige børn

12:00 Vi spiser frokost og bagefter går jeg i seng for at tage en gigantisk eftermiddagslur. Lois går i mellemtiden en kort tur rundt omkring i nabolaget. 

15:00 Jeg står op, og hopper op på min kondicykel. Jeg cykler 6 miles.

Lois kommer tilbage og vi slapper af med en kop te i sofaen. Vi er begyndt at høre de private helicoptere flyve over huset på vej til den nærliggende væddeløbsbane. Festivalen starter i morgen og slutter på fredag. Efter i dag, vil hele området gå i lockdown, med forfærdlige trafikpropper og fodgængere, der stimler stimler sammen i gaderne: hestevæddeløb-fanatiker i deres karakteristiske påklædning: mændene i deres lange mørke frakker og bredskyggede hatter, med en tabloidavis i hånden, og kvinderne, seende dyre og høj vedligeholdelse ud – hjælp!

Vores foretrukne tid på dagen er eftermiddagerne mellem kl 14 og 16 eller deromkring, når væddeløbene er i gang, og nabolaget bliver stille og øde, og sansen af lockdown forsvinder i en kort tid.

18:00 Vi spiser aftensmad og bruger resten af aftenen på at se lidt fjernsyn. Mandag aften er tv-quiz-aften hos os. De viser ”Only Connect” og ”University Challenge.

Lois og jeg er altid glad for de spørgsmål, som vi kan besvare, men som alle de friske unge hjerner har problemer med, fordi vi tror det beviser, at vi selv ikke endnu lider af demens.

Vi har imidlertid på fornemmelse, at vi ikke performer så godt som vi gjorde for 2 år siden, men ikke nødvendigvis på grund af stigende demens, tror vi.

Vi har en unskyldning: vi mistænker, at programmets spørgsmålstillere nu indeholder flere spørsgsmål om nutidens populære kultur – hvilket er helt rimeligt, i betragtning af, at quizzens selve deltagere for det meste også er mennesker i 20’erne, 30’erne og 40’erne:  nogle er endda teenagere – du godeste, sikke et vanvid!!!!

Selvfølgelig ved Lois og jeg næsten intet om nutidens populære kultur, og vi genkender ikke nogen af nutidens såkaldte ”kendisser”, ved vi med sikkerhed.

I begyndelsen af ”Only Connect”-quizzen, bliver de to 3-personer hold hilset hjerteligt af Victoria Coren-Mitchell, programmets charmerende vært, som altid:  hun begynder med at spørge ”Time Ladies”-holdet, hvordan holddynamikken går.

Rebecca Shaw, holdets kaptajn, svarer, at holdets medlemmer har fortalt deres venner og slægtninge, at det hele handler om sjovet med at deltage, og at de er ligeglade med hvad, der kommer til at ske, men de vil meget meget gerne vinde.

Victoria siger godt for deres attitude – hun siger, at det såkaldte ”sjov med at deltage” er en vildfarelse, og en illusion, fordi ”det slet ikke er sjovt at deltage”.

22:00 Vi går i seng. Jeg ville være glad for ikke at skulle ud af huset de næste 4 dage, på grund af de forventede trafikpropper, men desværre føler Lois en forpligtelse til at støtte sin sekts bibelseminar, der finder sted i morgen aften i byens Brockworths bibliotek, og hun vil have mig til at køre hende over til Mari-Anns hus, så Mari-Ann kan køre hende over til Brockworth. Pokkers!

Jeg giver efter for hendes lokketoner og aftaler at gøre, hvad hun ønsker. Hun siger, at vi kan undgå traffikpropperne ved at køre direkte igennem bymidten, men det er jeg ikke helt sikker på. Det er juryen stadig ude om – vi får se.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!!!!