09:00 I drive over to
Gloucester's authorised Honda dealer (Blade Honda) to get new brake pads
installed. On the way, I stop by the local petrol station to fill up.
I feel exhausted and a little nervous, and I’m shaking like a leaf for some reason (mentally, not physically)
- I think I worked a little too hard yesterday on my ongoing downsizing
mini-project, stuffing our daughter Sarah's old school and university notes into
another 7 plastic sacks (we now have a total of 14 bags in all) - yikes, what
madness !!!!.
It also feels a little strange to
be alone in the car for once. I have got into the habit of having Lois next to
me in the front passenger seat. Even when we swing the car into a petrol
station, we divide up the “work” - I fill up the tank while she goes into the shop to pay. Which is good, because it means I don't have to talk to anyone ha ha ha!
Yikes, I have to try to become
more independent, that’s for sure. But the truth is today, I think, that I am mainly just feeling very very tired.
Lois cannot come with me this
morning because we’re expecting the delivery of our shiny new printer, also my Fathers
Day gift from her, a bottle of "Wicked Wolf" gin, my favourite gin.
Sometimes the delivery man asks for a signature and it is a little annoying, to
put it mildly, if there is no one at home and the man refuses to just leave the
package in our porch, so he just takes it away again.
09:45 I arrive at Blade Honda, exchange
a few words with the receptionist at the
counter, give him the car key and sit down in the dealership's customer area
and have a cup of coffee. It’s only one month, or so, since my last visit,
along with Lois, when they installed a modified airbag-inflater as part of a
huge project involving a lot of Honda models (2011-2015), including my little
Honda Jazz.
Flashback to May: part of Blade-Honda's
customer area:
in the background we see the receptionist at the counter
talking
to a young customer
Lois and I sit and drink a cup of
coffee
while our shiny new airbag-inflater is being installed
11:30 I come home and Lois and I
relax with a cup of coffee on the couch. She tells me that no delivery man has
come by in my absence - damn!
12:30 We have lunch and
afterwards I go to bed and take a gigantic afternoon nap. I get up at 3 pm and
Lois tells me that, unfortunately, there is still no sign of our shiny new
printer, but at least a delivery man has brought my Fathers Day gift, thank
goodness, a bottle of "Wicked Wolf" gin (as it happens, he did just leave the
package in our porch, without asking for a signature - what a crazy world we live in !!!!).
We relax with a cup of tea and a
biscuit in the living room, and I open my much-needed Fathers Day gift.
Me and my much-needed Fathers Day gift - a bottle of "Wicked Wolf"
gin
(made in North Devon) - my favourite
gin
18:30 We have dinner and spend the rest of the evening
watching a bit of television. The first of four "heats" is on, in the
BBC's "Cardiff Singer of the World 2019" competition. In each heat, 5
classical singers compete, it appears. The winner of each heat sings in the
final, so there are 4 finalists, plus a fifth, who is a kind of wild card,
chosen by the panel of judges.
"Simples"!
The competition is taking place in the city of Cardiff's St David's
Hall, where our elder daughter Alison appeared on stage (for a few minutes) in
1998 when she was awarded her bachelor's degree (in history and Italian); also
me when I was awarded my Open University bachelor's degree (in mathematics) -
god knows when that was! Help, my mind’s gone blank!
But happy times !!!!
We actually see only the first 4
of the 5 participants in this 1st heat – we’ll leave the 5th till tomorrow.
We
try to guess which of tonight's competitors is the most likely to win the heat, by listening carefully to comments
made by the programme's hosts, and by their guest commentator, singer Katarina
Karnéus, who won the competition in 1995.
Most of the comments are wildly
positive and enthusiastic, and one has to read between the lines to see the
occasional negative remark that could indicate that the participant concerned doesn’t
have a snowball’s chance in hell ha ha ha!
My favourite is the tall
Australian singer in the red dress with the red earrings, whose name I have forgotten.
But I find mostly that I am
fascinated by the conductor, a woman, something which is very unusual. She is
quite short, but she moves about a lot, much more than a male conductor
would, I think. She almost dances.
I notice that she has high heels on, despite
having to stand in front of the orchestra for at least an hour and a half -
Lois thinks her feet are going to be killing her by the end of the evening. My
god, what madness!!!!
my favourite competitor tonight
(left) whose name I’ve forgotten.
I find I am fascinated by the female
conductor (right) - she almost dances
through the performances, and she has
high heels on, which look good, I have to say.
But Lois and I bet her
feet will be killing her when she goes to bed tonight
- good grief, what madness !!!!
22:00 We go to bed - zzzzzzzzz
!!!!
Danish translation
09:00 Jeg kører over til byen Gloucesters autoriserede Honda-forhandler (Blade Honda), så de kan
installere nye bremseklodser. På vej kører jeg forbi det lokale benzinstation
for at fylde tanken.
Jeg føler mig lidt udmattet
og nervøs, og jeg ryster som et espeløv af en eller anden grund (mentalt, ikke
fysisk) – jeg synes, jeg arbejdede lidt for hårdt i går på min igangværende
downsize-miniprojekt, hvor jeg proppede vores datter Sarahs gamle skole- og
universitetsnotater i endnu 7 plastiksække (det hele bliver nu til sammenlagt 14
sække – yikes, sikke et vanvid!!!!).
Også føles det lidt mærkeligt
at være alene i bilen for en gangs skyld. Jeg er kommet i vane med at have Lois ved
siden af mig, på passagersædet foran. Endda, når vi svinger bilen ind forbi
tankstationer, deler vi arbejdet – jeg fylder tanken, mens hun går ind i
butikken for at betale.
Yikes, jeg må prøve at blive
mere uafhangig, det ved jeg med sikkerhed. Men det er sandt, at jeg først og
fremmest bare føler mig meget meget meget træt.
Lois kan ikke kommer med i
dag, fordi vi forventer afleveringen af vores ny printer, også min farsdagsgave
fra hende, en flaske ”Wicked Wolf” gin, min yndlings-gin. Nogle gange beder leveringsmanden
en signatur, og det er lidt irriterende, for at sige mildt, hvis der er ikke
nogen hjemme, og manden afviser at efterlade pakken i vores vindfang.
09:45 Jeg ankommer til Blade Honda, taler et par ord til receptionisten på skranken,
giver ham bilnøglen og sætter mig i forhandlerens kunde-område og drikker en kop kaffe. Der er
gået én måned, eller deromkring, siden mit seneste besøg, sammen med Lois, så de
kunne installere et modificeret airbag inflator (opblæsningsapparat), som en del
af et enormt projekt involverende en masse Honda-modeller (2011-2015),
inklusive min lille Honda Jazz.
Tilbageblik
til maj : en del af Blade-Hondas kunde-område: i baggrunden ser vi
receptionisten ved skranken
tale med en ung kunde
Lois
og jeg sidder og drikker en kop kaffe
mens vores spritnye airbag inflator
bliver installeret
11:30 Jeg kommer hjem og Lois og jeg slapper af med en kop kaffe i
sofaen. Ingen leveringsmand er kommet forbi – pokkers!
12:30 Vi spiser frokost og bagefter går jeg i seng for at tage en
gigantisk eftermiddagslur. Jeg står op kl 15 og Lois fortæller mig, der
desværre stadig ikke er noget tegn på, at vores spritnye printer dukker op, men
en leveringsmand har leveret min farsdagsgave, gudskelov, en flaske ”Wicked
Wolf” gin (han efterlod pakken i vores vindfang, uden at bede om en signatur).
Vi slapper af med en kop te og en kiks i stuen, og jeg åbner min tiltrængte
farsdagsgave.
Mig og min
tiltrængte farsdagsgave – en flaske ”Wicked Wolf” gin
(fremstillet
i det nordlige Devon) – min yndlings-gin
18:30 Vi spiser aftensmad og bruger resten af aftenen på at se lidt
fjernsyn. De viser det første af 4 ”heats” i BBCs ”Cardiff Singer og the World
2019” konkurrence. I hvert heat konkurrerer 5 klassiske sangere, lader det til.
Vinderen af hvert heat synger i finalen, så derfor er der 4 finalister, plus en
femte, som er et slags vildt kort, valgt af dommerpanelen. ”Simples” !
Konkurrencen finder sted i byen Cardiffs St Davids Hall, hvor vores
ældste datter Alison viste sig på scenen (i et par minutter) i 1998, da hun
blev tildelt sin bachelorgrad (i historie og italiensk); også mig, da jeg blev
tildelt min Open University bachelorgrad (i matematik) – gud ved hvornår, hjælp,
jeg er gået blank! Men lykkelige tider !!!!
Vi ser faktisk kun de første 4 ud af de 5 deltagere i dette 1. heat – vi
overlader den 5. til i morgen. Vi prøver at gætte, hvem er den sandsynligste at
vinde, ved at lytte forsigtigt til kommentarer lavet af programmets værter er deres gæstkommentator,
sangeren Katarina Karnéus, der vandt konkurrencen i 1995.
De fleste kommentarer er vildt positive og begejstrede, og man må læse
mellem linjerne at se den lejlighedsvise negative bemærkning, som kunne angive,
at den pågældende deltager
ikke har en snebolds chance i helvede ha ha ha!
Min favorit er den høje australske sanger, hvis navn jeg har glemt.
Jeg finder at jeg bliver fascineret af dirigenten, en kvinde, hvilket er
meget usædvanligt. Hun er forholdsvis lav, og bevæger sig meget, og meget mere,
end en mandlig dirigent ville, synes jeg. Hun danser næsten. Jeg bemærker, at
hun har høje hæle på, på trods af, at hun er nødt til at blive stående foran
orkestret i mindst én og en halv time – Lois synes, hendes fødder må komme til
at dræbe hende ved slutningen af aftenen. Du godeste, sikke et vanvid!!!!
q1: min
yndlings-deltager (til venstre), hvis navn jeg har glemt.
Jeg bliver
fascineret af den kvindelige dirigent (til højre) – hun danser
næsten gennem
præstationerne,og hun har høje hæle på, hvilket ser gode ud,
det må jeg
nok sige. Men Lois og jeg skal love for,
at hendes
fødder kommer til at dræbe hende, når hun i aften går i seng
– du
godeste, sikke et vanvid !!!!
22:00 Vi går i seng – zzzzzzzzz!!!!
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