Both Lois and I feel completely washed
up today - it has been a hell of a week: too many urgent and annoying
appointments and tasks, with only Lois's birthday on Wednesday as an island of
calm in a sea of chaos, to put it mildly.
09:00 We drive to the local
Sainsbury's supermarket to do the food shopping, come home and relax with a cup
of coffee on the sofa.
Afterwards I start reading
approx. 250 lines of the prologue to Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales"
(1392). Lynda's U3A "Making of English" group is holding its regular
monthly meeting this afternoon at 2:30 pm in the bar of the town’s Everyman Theatre,
and Chaucer's prologue is the group's current project.
I practice reading out the text with
an authentic Middle English accent so that the group's other members do not
laugh at me. They can be very hurtful at times and I am so sensitive -
but that's just the cross I have
to bear ha ha.
But I recall the example of our daughters' old English teacher, Mr.
Honey, who hit the headlines recently, when new regulations unfortunately
prevented him from speaking Middle English while teaching his much-feared
"Chaucer curriculum" (source, my go-to local news site, Onion News).
Students at the local high-school told the town’s journalists how happy they
were that a standardised curriculum had now been introduced, which would mean
that they could in the future be spared opportunities for role-playing exercises or
for specially invited guest speakers: and other "surprises" that
their eccentric English teacher might have planned for them.
"I'm just relieved that Mr. [Aaron] Honey just has
to prepare us for the test and hasn’t got time to do anything like recite an original poem out loud
and afterwards call on us to express ourselves through poetry too," said
16-year-old Peter Macpherson, adding that
if it were not for nationally laid-down performance standards, his teacher
would probably feel free to engage in all kinds of creative activities, such as
arranging a class trip to a colonial farmhouse during the class’s study of the
Scarlet Letter, or come into class
dressed as Mark Twain.
"Thank goodness we all have to take just one single,
nationwide exam at the end of the year, so there is no way he will be wasting
class time with inspirational speeches encouraging us to excel as unique
individuals."
The students confirmed that they were happy to memorise
as many facts as were needed, rather than have to listen to Mr Honing speaking
in Middle English for their entire Chaucer unit.
How sensible! And something to remember when we hear
people criticise today's youth, no doubt about that!
The kids are all right!
12:00 Lois and I have lunch and afterwards I go to bed and
take a short afternoon nap. I get up at 1:30 pm and take the bus into town.
Meanwhile, Lois goes around the corner to the local library to help library
staff lead and manage the weekly Baby Bounce & Rhyme session for very young
children and their mothers (and grandparents).
14:00 I get off the bus at the stop in front of M&S
and walk around the corner to the theatre. I have a cup of coffee in the
theatre café with Margaret, a member of Lynda's group, who has also arrived
early. Lynda and the other group members arrive at 2:30 pm and we go up the
stairs to the bar where we normally hold our meeting.
An interesting and fun meeting, with a lot of interesting
words to discuss, which is what we like.
And we admire Chaucer's amusing descriptions of his companions
- the pilgrims travelling with him on their way to Canterbury, especially the not particularly religious churchmen.
e.g. the well-dressed, fashionable monk, with his stable
of fine horses, whose passion was hunting and whose favourite dish was roast
swan - he did not like wasting his life on reading books or doing work, Chaucer says.
Chaucer's monk
…or the friar, known for his conversational skills, who exploited
his authority to hear confessions, and give absolution, in order to go to bed
with as many of the town’s women as possible. If you had something to confess
and you wanted to get the church’s absolution, he was the nicest man to do it
with, said local women.
Chaucer's friar
My goodness, what a crazy world they lived in !!!!
16:00 The meeting ends and I take the bus home again.
Lois and I relax on the sofa with a cup of tea the rest of her birthday cake. Afterwards
we water the seedlings in our greenhouse and seedlings in our neighbours’
greenhouse - there are another 4 days left before they come back from their 3
week vacation in Canada: which will mean one less task for us, and that will be
nice: good grief!
I need a strong gin and tonic. I go to the drinks cabinet,
but I suddenly realise that there are only two servings of gin and one serving of
tonic left - damn! But such is life – oh dear.
18:00 We have dinner and spend the rest of the evening
watching a bit of television. We are both exhausted, no doubt about that.
An interesting documentary is on, all about the scandal
caused by one of the country's first modern sex manuals and contraceptive guides,
originally American (author: Charles Knowlton), which had the mysterious and unsexy
title "The Fruits of Philosophy", and which was published in Britain
by Annie Besant and Charles Bradlaugh in 1877.
The host of the programme is the
charming Dr. Fern Riddell.
There was a massive market for popular books in the
second half of the 19th century, with increased schooling and increased
illiteracy. Scientists know from marriage records that in 1750, 50% of couples
were illiterate (they "signed" their names just with an
"X"), but in 1875, illiteracy was almost eliminated, and both the
couple and the witnesses were usually all able to sign their names properly.
"The Fruits of Philosophy" was relatively
explicit, considering the period in which it was published.
Besant and Bradlaugh's sex manual seemed
quite explicit
in the context of society in the 1870's, to put
it mildly
But there were dangers in publishing books on sex by this
time because of Parliament's laws on obscene publications, passed in 1857. So
it was not a big surprise when Annie Besant and Charles Bradlaugh were finally
prosecuted in 1877, two years after the book's release.
The prosecutor said during the trial that "no decently
educated husband would allow his wife to read such a book". Lois comments
that this reaction reminds her of what the prosecutor said in the Lady
Chatterley's Lover trial (1960) when he asked the jury whether Lawrence's novel
was "a book you would want your wife or servants to read". Good grief
- how little progress over 80 years !!!
In 1877, the Fruits of Philosophy trial caused a
sensation, and the books started flying off the shelves: in one bookstore in
the middle of London, 500 copies were sold in just 30 minutes. That's what I call a best-seller.
The court case hit the headlines in both national and
local newspapers all over the country, and even in specialist monthly
magazines such as "Shipping and Mercantile Gazette" - my god, what madness
!!!!
The book cost 6 pence, so more or less anyone who had a
job could afford to buy it.
Dr Fern Riddell, the documentary’s charming host,
also shows us a catalogue of condoms that was published in the 1880’s: Fern
says condoms were relatively cheap too, but Lois is not so sure - the cheapest
cost 2-3 shillings a dozen, and the finest American ones cost 6 shillings a
dozen (6 pence each), which Lois suspects might have been a bit expensive for
the average couple: so that's something the jury is still out on in our house.
At the end of the trial, Besant and Bradlaugh were
sentenced to 6 months in prison, so we can say that the book was a little ahead
of its time, although in fact the couple subsequently won an appeal against the
verdict.
Fern reminds us, however, that the concept of contraception was
still a bit shocking even in the first half of the 20th century - the Anglican
Church first approved contraception within marriage only in the 1930’s, and the
British health system only took responsibility for contraception in the 1970’s.
My goodness, what a crazy world we live in.
22:00 We go to bed – zzzzzzzz!!!!!!
Danish translation: fredag, den 7. juni 2019
Både Lois og jeg føler os helt slået ud i dag – det har været en
helvedes uge: alt for mange presserende og irriterende aftaler og opgaver, med
kun Lois’ fødselsdag i ønsdags som en ø af ro i et hav af kaos, for at sige
mildt.
09:00 Vi kører over til det lokale Sainsburys supermarked for at gå
madindkøb, kommer hjem og slapper af med en kop kaffe i sofaen.
Bagefter går jeg i gang med at læse ca. 250 linjer af af prologen til Chaucers ”Canterbury-Fortælllingerne”
(1392). Lyndas U3A ”Making of English” gruppe holder sit regelmæssige månedlige
møde i eftermiddag kl 14:30 på baren af byens Everyman-teater, og Chaucers
prolog er gruppens nuværende projekt.
Jeg øver mig i
at udtale teksten med en autentisk middelengelsk accent, så gruppens andre
medlemmer ikke griner af mig. De kan være meget skadelige fra tid til anden, og
jeg er så følsøm –
det er det
kors, jeg bærer – yikes!
Men jeg mindes
om forbilledet af vores døtres gamle engelsklærer, Mr. Honing, der ramte
overskrifterne for nylig, da nye reglamenter desværre forhindrede ham i at tale
middelengelsk, mens han overviste sin meget frygtede ”Chaucer-læseplan” (kilde,
mit go-to lokale nyhedswebsted, Onion
News).
Studenter på den lokale
højskole fortalte byens journalister, hvor glade de var for, at en
standardiseret læseplan var blevet indført, hvilket ville betyde, at de
fremover kunne undvige muligheder for rollespiløvelser eller for specielt
inviterede gæsttalere: og for andre ”overraskelser”, som deres ekcentriske
engelsklærer kunne have planlagt for dem.
"Jeg er bare lettet over, at Mr. [Aaron] Honing bare er nødt til at
forberede os på testen og ikke kan gøre noget som at recitere et originalt digt
højt og bagefter opfordre os til at udtrykke os selv gennem poesi også",
sagde den 16-årige Peter Macpherson og tilføjede, at hvis det ikke var
nationalt etablerede præstationsnormer, ville hans lærer sandsynligvis føle sig
fri til at engagere sig i alle former for kreative aktiviteter, såsom at
arrangere en klassetur til et kolonialt stuehus under deres læsning af The
Scarlet Letter eller komme ind i klasse klædt som Mark Twain.
"Gudskelov, vi skal alle tager en enkelt, landdækkende eksamen i
slutningen af året, så der er ingen måde, han vil spilde klassetiden med
inspirerende taler, der opfordrer os til at udmærke os som unikke
individer."
Eleverne
bekræftede at de var glade for at lære udenad på remse så mange fakta som
nødvendigt snarere end at lytte til hr. Honing tale i middelengelsk for hele
deres Chaucer-læseplan.
Hvor
fornuftigt! Og noget man kan mindes om, når vi hører mennesker kritisere
nutidens ungdom, ingen tvivl om det! The kids are all right!
12:00 Vi spiser frokost og bagefter går jeg i seng for at tage en
gigantisk eftermiddagslur. Jeg står op kl 13:30 og tager bussen ind i byen. I
mellemtiden går Lois rundt om hjørnet til det lokale bibliotek for at hjælpe
bibliotekets personale med at styre og lede den ugentlige Baby Bounce &
Rhyme-session for meget unge børn og deres mødre (og bedsteforældre).
14:00 Jeg står af bussen ved busstoppestedet foran M&S-stormagasinet
og går rundt om hjørnet til teatret. Jeg drikker en kop kaffe i teatrets café
med Margaret, et medlem af Lyndas gruppe. Lynda og de andre gruppemedlemmer
ankommer kl 14:30 og vi går op ad trappen på baren, hvor vi har for vane at
mødes.
Et interessant og morsomt møde, med en masse interessante ord at
diskutere, hvilket er det, vi godt kan lide.
Og vi beundrer Chaucers morsomme beskrivelser af sine kammerater – de
pilgrimme, der rejser sammen med ham på vej til Canterbury, altså de ikke
særlig religiøse kirkemænd.
Den velklædte, moderigtige munk, med sin stald af fine heste, hvis
lidenskab var at jæge, og hvis yndlingsret var stegt svane – han kunne ikke
lide at spilde sit liv på at læse bøger eller arbejde.
Chaucers
munk
Eller frateren, kendt for sine samtalefærdigheder, der udnyttede sine beføjelser
til at høre tilståelser, og give absolution, for at gå i seng med så mange af
byens kvinder som muligt.
Chaucers
frater
Du godeste, sikke en skør verden de levede i !!!!
16:00 Mødet slutter, og jeg tager bussen hjem igen. Lois og jeg slapper
af med resten af hendes fødselsdagkage, og bagefter vander vi frøplanterne i
vores drivhus og frøplanterne i vores naboers drivhus – der er endnu 4 dage,
før de kommer tilbage fra deres 3 uges ferie i Canada: hvilket betyder en
mindre opgave for os, hvilket vil være rart: du godeste!
Jeg trænger for en stærk gin og tonic. Jeg går hen til drinkskabet , men
jeg bliver pludselig klar over, at der kun er to serveringer gin og en servering
tonic tilbage – pokkers! Sådan er livet!!!
18:00 Vi spiser aftensmad og bruger resten af aftenen på at se lidt
fjernsyn. Vi er udmattede, ingen tvivl om det.
De viser en interessant dokumentarfilm, der handler om skandalen
forårsaget af en af landets første moderne sexmanual og præventionsguide, oprindeligt
amerikansk (forfatteren: Charles Knowlton), der havde den mystiske og usexede titel
”The Fruits of Philosophy”, og som blev udgavet i Storbritannien af Annie
Besant og Charles Bradlaugh i 1877. Programmets vært er den charmerende dr.
Fern Riddell.
Der var et massivt marked for populære bøger i det 19. århundredes 2.
halvdel, med øget skolegang og øget analfabetisme. Forskere ved fra
ægteskabsregistre, at i 1750 var 50% af par analfabetiske (de ”underskrev”
deres navne bare med en ”X”), men i 1875 var analfabetisme næsten elimineret,
og både ægteparret og vidnerne normalt underskrev deres navne på det pågældende
dokument.
”The Fruits of Philosophy” var forholdsvis eksplicit, i betragtning af,
perioden, den blev udgavet.
Besant
og Bradlaughts sexmanual virkede ganske eksplicit
i konteksten
af samfundet i 1870’erne, for at sige mildt
Der var farer i at udgive bøger om sex på grund af parlamentets
lovgivning om obskønne publikationer, der blev vedtaget i 1857. Så derfor var
det ikke en stor overraskelse, da Annie Besant og Charles Bradlaugh endelig
blev retsforfølget i 1877, to år efter bogens udgivelse.
Anklageren sagde i løbet af retssagen, at ”ingen anstændigt uddannet
ægtemand ville tillade sin kone at læse sådan en bog”. Lois kommenterer, at
denne reaktion minder hende om dét, anklageren sagde i Lady Chatterleys
Lover-retssagen (1960), da han spurgte juryen, om Lawrences roman var ”en bog, du ville have din kone eller
dine tjenestefolk til at læse”. Du
godeste – hvor lille fremskridt i over 80 år !!!
I 1877, voldede Fruits of Philosophy-retssagen en sensation, og bøgerne
fløj af hylderne: i en boghandler i midten af London, blev 500 eksemplarer på
kun 30 minutter.
Retssagen ramte overskrifterne i landdækkende og lokale aviser landet
over, endda specialistiske månedsblade som ”Shipping and Mercantile Gazette” –
sikke et vanvid!!!!
Bogen kostede 6 pence, så i grove træk havde hvem som helst, der havde
et job, råd til at købe den. Dr Fern Riddell,
dette programs charmerende vært, viser os også en katalog over kondomer,
der blev udgivet i 1880’erne: Fern siger, kondomer var forholdsvis billige
også, men det er Lois ikke helt sikker på – de billigste kostede 2-3 skillinger
pr dusind, og de fineste amerikanske kostede 6 skillinger, hvilket Lois
mistænker kunne have været lidt dyre for det gennemsnitlige par: så det er juryen derfor stadig ude om.
Ved slutningen af retssagen blev Besant og Bradlaugh dømt på 6 måneders
fængsel, så kan vi sige, at bogen var lidt forud for sin tid, selvom parret efterfølgende
vandt en appel mod dommen.
Men Fern minder os om, at konceptet om prævention stadig var lidt
chokerende i 1800-tallet, og endda i
første halvdel af1900-tallet , og den anglikanske kirke først godkendte
prævention indenfor ægteskab kun i 1930’erne, og den britiske sundhedssystem
først påtog sig ansvar for prævention kun i 1970’erne.
Du godeste, sikke en skør verden vi lever i !!!!!
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