Sunday, 2 June 2019

Saturday 1 June 2019


11:00 We talk a little on whatsapp with Sarah, our daughter in Perth, Australia, and with Francis, and their five and three quarter-year-old twin daughters, Lily and Jessie.

 Jessie

 Lily

We talk a little on whatsapp with Lily and Jessie,
our beautiful twin grandchildren in Perth, Australia


On Wednesday, the twins and their classmates are going to see "the real Gruffalo" in a show at one of Perth's theatres, something they are really looking forward to experiencing, to put it mildly.


It's the first day of a long weekend right now in Western Australia - Monday (June 3) is Western Australia Day. There is a "Disney on Ice" show taking place this weekend, but Sarah thinks the twins are a bit too young, but next year is a possibility, she says. She suggests that Lois and I time our next visit so all 6 of us can go see it next year.

Nice idea, but I know Lois’s tummy turns over, whenever she thinks of getting on that plane again – poor Lois! But she is longing to see the twins again in the flesh. And she also wants to see her elderly cousin Stephen in Adelaide again, possibly for the last time.

Lois reminds Sarah that we took her and her big sister Alison to many ice shows when we were living in the US in 1982-85, especially "Ice-capades" and the Disney show in Baltimore and Washington DC, which Sarah still remembers very well - it was "magical", she says.

It's so nice to think that Lois and I gave our two daughters some experiences they still remember with affection and nostalgia, I have to say.

I just hope the ticket prices for the Perth ice-show will not rise too much over the coming year. I recently read an unsettling article on our go-to news site, Onion News, which revealed that the prices of Disney attractions in Florida had risen five-fold over the past 10 years.


BAY LAKE, FL - A report published Thursday by Consumer Research McGann & Associates cited a 75 percent increase in prices over the last decade to explain why the rising cost of access to Walt Disney World is causing more and more parents to leave their children at home when visiting the popular resort.

According to the survey, the price of a one-day theme park ticket has risen five-fold, while many real salaries in the US have been stagnant over the last 30 years. A development that is forcing many mothers and fathers to park their children with relatives or family friends before they even travel to visit the magic kingdom, Epcot or any of Disney's other attractions.

Good grief - what madness! But it's the kids I feel sorry for, I have to say. Photos that I took of our two young daughters, Alison (9) and Sarah (7) in 1984 could become a thing of the past, which would be a bit of a shame, to put it mildly.

Flashback to 1984: Alison (9) and Sarah (7) standing on the left

Alison (9) at the Magic Kingdom (1984)

Sarah (7) with Lois in Disney World

12:00 Lois and I go out into the backyard to do some gardening. There are two unauthorised "wild trees", or "suckers" that have sprung up next to our 2 largest rainwater butts, from the roots of a long dead almond tree - Lois has asked me to cut both trees down as much as I can. I do the first one.

 I cut down the first "wild almond tree" as far as I can

We take a break and drink a cup of coffee on the terrace to recharge our batteries, and afterwards I start to tackle the second wild almond tree.

I start cutting down the second wild almond tree as much as I can

Job done: "simples" !!!!

13:00 We have lunch and afterwards we go to bed for 2-3 hours. We read about 20 pages of our respective bedtime books. We get up at 4:30 pm and relax with a cup of tea and a biscuit on the sofa.

18:00 We have dinner. We know that there must be great excitement right now in our daughter Alison's household, as well as in Sharon's household - Sharon is Lois' niece. Tonight, their favourite football team Tottenham Hotspurs are meeting their big rivals, Liverpool, in the European Champions League final in Madrid. Both families are enthusiastic Spurs fans, to put it mildly.


Flashback to Christmas: Alison’s 8-year-old son Isaac 
in his shiny new Spurs Harry Kane tee-shirt

And Sharon, Lois' niece, posted a typically optimistic post on Facebook this morning.


Flashback to this morning: Sharon's typically optimistic post on Facebook

20:15 Alison texts me, to say that the mood in her house is currently very stressed - Liverpool scored within the first 2 minutes of the game, apparently from a penalty - yikes!

Alison texts me, painting a picture of a very stressful atmosphere in the house

... and Sharon puts one of her typical responses up on Facebook

21:00 Alison puts a touching picture up on Instagram - her 10-year-old daughter, Rosalind, is finding it too stressful to watch the game with the rest of the family. She has withdrawn into a far corner of the living room and is watching the game on her Mac - yikes!

Lois and I are very happy that we're not interested in football at all, to put it mildly! My father was the Nottingham Forest's biggest fan, but he could never bear to watch their games in case they didn't win – my god, what madness !!!!

Rosalind finds it too stressful to watch the match with the rest of the family,
so she withdraws into a far corner of the living room to see it on her Mac - yikes!

22:00 The game ends and Liverpool have won 2-0. Sharon puts one of her typical posts on Facebook.

Sharon's disappointed post on Facebok at the end of the match

I have noticed that the Danish media have taken a keen interest in this game, partly because one of Spurs’ best players, Eriksen, is a Dane, and they speculate whether Eriksen will now try to get a transfer to another club, after the disappointment of the final.

Eriksen and Harry Kane attempting to convince the referee,
that it WASN’T a penalty

The Danish media say also that the game was "boring" and that it was a lightly-clad female streaker who stole the show, according to the Danish press (ekstrabladet.com). The young woman was quickly caught and escorted off the field, it appears.




an unknown lightly-clad blonde streaker appears,
and steals the show, according to the Danish media

Lois and I did not know that apparently all such streakers are routinely not-filmed by the TV cameras – in an effort to discourage such antics, we imagine, which seems a bit of a shame.

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

22:15 We go to bed - zzzzzzzzzz !!!!!

Danish translation

11:00 Vi taler lidt på whatsapp med Sarah, vores datter i Perth, Australien, og med Francis, og deres 5,5-årige tvillingedøtre, Lily og Jessie.



Vi snakker lidt på whatsapp med Lily og Jessie,
vores smukke tvillinge-børnebørn i Perth, Australien

Det er en lang weekend i Western Australia – mandag (den 3. juni) er Western Australia dag. Der er et ”Disney on Ice”-show, der finder sted denne weekend, men Sarah synes, tvillingerne er lidt for unge, men næste år er en mulighed, siger hun. Hun foreslår, at Lois og jeg timer vores næste besøg så vi alle 6 kan se det.

På onsdag vil tvillingerne og deres klassekammerater se ”den ægte Gruffalo” i et show på ét af byen Perths teatre, hvilket de glæder sig meget til at opleve, for at sige mildt!

Lois minder Sarah om, at vi tog hende og hendes storsøster Alison til mange is-shows, da vi 1982-85 opholdt os i USA, i sær ”Icecapades” og Disney-showet  i Baltimore og Washington DC, som Sarah stadig husker meget godt – det var ”magisk”, siger hun. Det er rart at tænke, at Lois og jeg gav dem nogle oplevelser, de stadig huske med hengivenhed og nostalgi – det må jeg nok sige.

Jeg håber bare på, at billetpriserne ikke stiger for meget i løbet af det kommende år. Jeg læste forleden en uberoligende artikel på vores go-to nyhedswebsted, Onion News, der afslørede, at priserne på Disney-attraktioner i Florida var steget fem gange over de seneste 10 år.


BAY LAKE, FL- en rapport offentliggjort torsdag af forbrugerforskningsfirma McGann & Associates anførte en 75 procent stigning i billetpriserne i løbet af det seneste årti, for at forklare, hvorfor de stigende omkostninger ved adgang til Walt Disney World får flere forældre til at forlade deres børn derhjemme når de besøger det populære feriested.

Ifølge undersøgelsen er prisen på et en-dags temaparkskort vokset fem gange, mens mange reelle lønninger i USA har været stillestående i løbet af de sidste 30 år. En udvikling, der tvinger mange mødre og fædre til at aflevere deres børn med deres slægtninge eller familievenner, før de selv rejser for at besøge det magiske kongerige, Epcot eller nogen af Disney Worlds andre egenskaber.

Du godeste – sikke et vanvid! Det er børnene, jeg har ondt af – det må jeg nok sige. Fotoer, som jeg tog af vores 2 unge døtre, Alison () og Sarah () i 198. kunne blive en ting af fortiden, hvilket ville være lidt af en skam, for at sige mildt.

Tilbageblik til 1984: Alison (9) og Sarah (7) til venstre

Alison og The Magic Kingdom

Sarah med Lois

12:00 Lois og jeg går ud i baghaven for at lave lidt havearbejde. Der er to uautoriserede ”vilde træer”, eller ”rodskud”, der har sprunget op ved siden af vores 2 største regnvandsbeholdere,  fra rødderne af et langt dødt mandeltræ – Lois har bedt mig om, at skære begge træ ned sa vidt jeg kan. Jeg takler det første.

Jeg skærer det første ”vilde mandeltræ” ned, så vidt jeg kan

Vi tager en pause og drikker en kop kaffe på terrassen for at genoplade vores batterier, og bagefter går jeg i gang med at takle det 2. vilde mandeltræ.

Jeg går i gang med at skære det 2. vilde mandeltræ ned, så vidt som muligt

Jobbet klart: ”simples” !!!!

13:00 Vi spiser frokost og bagefter går vi i seng i 2-3 timer. Vi læser ca 20 sider af vores henholdsvisse sengetidbøger. Vi står op kl 16:30 og slapper af med en kop te og en kiks i sofaen.

18:00 Vi spiser aftensmad. Vi ved, at der må være stor begejstring i vores datter Alisons husstand, såvel som i Sharons husstand – Sharon er Lois’ niece. I aften møder deres yndlingsfodboldhold Tottenham Hotspurs deres store rivaler, Liverpool i den europæiske Champions-League finale. Begge familier er entusiastiske Spurs-fans, for at sige mildt.


Tilbageblik til jul: Isaac i sin spritnye Spurs Harry Kane t-shirt

Og Sharon, Lois’ niece, lagde en optimistisk post op på Facebook i morges.


Tilbageblik til i morges: Sharons optimistiske post på Facebook

20:15 Alison sms’er mig, for at sige, at stemningen i huset for tiden er meget stresset – Liverpool scorede indenfor kampens første 2 minutter, fra et straffe – yikes!

Alison sms’er mig og skildrer en meget stressende stemningen i huset

...og Sharon reagere på typiske måde

21:00 Alison lægger et rørende billede op på Facebook – hendes 10-årige datter, Rosalind, finder det for stressende at kigge på kampen sammen med resten af familien. Hun har trakket sig ind i et hjørne af stuen og kigger på kampen på sin Mac – yikes! Lois og jeg er meget glade for, at vi slet ikke  interesserer os for fodbold, for at sige mildt!  Min far var holdet Nottingham Forests største fan, men han kun aldrig tåle at se deres kampe for det tilfælde, de ikke vandt – du godeste, sikke et vanvid!!!!

Rosalind finder det for stressende at se kampen med resten af familien,
så trækker hun sig ind i et fjernt hjørne af stuen for at se det på sin Mac – yikes!

22:00 Kampen slutter, og Liverpool har vundet 2-0. Sharon lægger en typisk post op på Facebook.

Sharons skuffede post på Facebok ved slutningen af kampen

Jeg har bemærket, at de danske medier har interesseret sig meget for denne kampe, fordi én af Spurs bedste spillere, Eriksen, er en dansker, og de spekulerer på, om Eriksen nu vil prøve at få en transfer til en anden klub, efter skuffelsen af finalen.

Eriksen og Harry Kane forsøger at overbevise dommeren,
at der IKKE var straffe

De danske medier siger også, at kampen var ”kedelig” og at det var en letklædt kvindelig baneløber, der stjal billedet, ifølge den danske presse (ekstrabladet.com). Den unge kvinde blev i øvrigt prompte indfanget og behørigt eskorteret uden for banen, lader det til.




en ukendt letklædt blonde løbebaner dukker op,
og stjæler billedet, ifølge de danske medier

Lois og jeg ikke vidste, at alle sådanne baneløbere rutinemæssigt ikke bliver filmet af tv-kameraerne – for ikke at opmuntre disse slags afbrud, formoder vi, hvilket virker lidt af en skam.

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

22:15 Vi går i seng – zzzzzzzzzz!!!!!


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