Father's Day today, but Lois's
gift to me, a bottle of Wicked Wolf gin, will not be delivered until tomorrow,
so we decide to postpone it all until then (including my father's day card),
which makes sense, we think.
flashback to September 2018:
I buy a bottle of Wicked Wolf gin
in the harbour town of Lynton in North
Devon
09:30 Lois and I speak a little
on whatsapp with Sarah, our younger daughter in Perth, Australia, and with her
soon-to-be 6-year-old twins, Lily and
Jessie.
We talk a little on whatsapp
with Sarah, our younger daughter,
who lives in Perth, Australia
The twins’ reading and writing
skills are making great progress - no doubt about that. Jessie shows us a
picture she drew for her mother, with a message.
Jessie shows us a picture she
drew for her mother,
with the message she wrote. How cute!!!
Both twins have grown up a lot
since Lois and I last saw them just over a year ago - their schooling, which
started 4 months ago, has really stimulated their minds. Lois and I felt they weren’t
getting enough stimulation at home before February.
Their mother has always been the one
going out to work, while Francis, their father, looked after them in the house.
And Francis' priority was always to make them as low-maintenance as possible,
we suspected, so he could do his own thing. Many men find it difficult to be
responsible for childcare, we think.
We ask Sarah what she wants for a
birthday present - she turns 42 on Saturday. You know you are becoming an old crow when your children begin to
approach middle age, we know that for sure. She replies that she wants the same
thing as last year: a spa treatment voucher at Vanilla Face & Body Spa, in
the harbour town of Scarborough - she says last year's experience was a
highlight of her life – my goodness! But it's nice to know that we chose wisely
last year, no doubt about that. Sarah doesn't get a lot of luxury generally -
most of the family’s money is spent on other things at the moment, especially on
the twins.
Vanilla Face & Body Spa
flashback to March 2018: me and Sarah
at Scarborough, Western Australia
Sarah and Francis are still
considering buying a piece of land in the Chittering area and getting a house
built over there: Francis has been working on designing it, which he has a
great talent for. And he has already had a conversation with the local Catholic
school headmaster. Francis was originally raised as a Catholic, and in
Australia schools associated with churches are considered the best, it seems.
10:00 Lois goes out. She wants to
attend her sect's two worship services, taking
place today in Tewkesbury library.
I now have several hours of alone
time, and I decide to resume my work on our ongoing downsizing mini-project:
the current phase revolves around Sarah's old school and university notes,
folders and binders. I separate the paper documents from the rest and put them
in 7 large black plastic sacks, which I store in the garage. Sarah has given me permission to discard them all, and I want to get the job done before she changes her mind ha ha!
the 7 large plastic sacks, stuffed full with
Sarah's old school and university notes
Finally, I put all the unwanted
old folders and binders into 4 other big black plastic bags. Good grief, what madness
!!!!
But while I work, I can't help
but feel impressed by Sarah's plethora of neat, detailed notes that she wrote
over almost 12 years of schooling and college, all neatly tagged and
categorised, almost to the point of an obsession - yikes!
13:00 My goodness, I now feel
totally washed up - yikes (again).
I have lunch and go to bed to take
a gigantic afternoon nap.
14:30 Lois comes back from
Tewkesbury and I get up at 3:30 pm. We relax with a cup of tea on the couch.
17:00 I hop up on my exercise
bike and cycle 6 miles.
18:30 We have our so-called "Father's Day Dinner”: the marmite-flavoured sausages we bought the other day at
Waghorne's, the local butcher’s shop - yum yum!
19:00 We pop in at Bill’s, our
neighbour, to say goodbye to him - he moves into a palliative nursing home
tomorrow. He has decided that he wants to have care and / or surveillance
around the clock throughout his final months.
His religion is a comfort to him,
we think. His new Catholic priest has told him he has nothing to worry about
when he dies. He believes this 100% apparently, and he tells us that he is
going to heaven, where he will have nothing else to do wait for his wife Mary,
who herself moved into a nursing home the other day.
It must be nice to have this kind
of comfort as one approaches one’s death. But who will comfort me when it
becomes my turn - yikes !!!! That’s something the jury is still out on ha ha ha !!!!
20:45 I call Alison, our elder daughter, who lives in Haslemere, Surrey, along with Ed and their 3 children: Josie (12), Rosalind (10) and Isaac (8).
I thank her for her Fathers Day gift to me - an Amazon gift card.
The family moved back to England
last year after nearly 6 years of living in Copenhagen, but unfortunately, Ed
has not found a permanent job yet. His temporary job with an Indian oil company
has just ended and his next step is not entirely certain.
Several months ago, he applied
for a dream job in Canterbury, and hiring processes now tend to be very
prolonged - all candidates except Ed and one other person were slowly eliminated
over the passing months, but Ed recently heard that his rival had just become
chosen for the job, which is a big shame - poor Ed.
21:00 We spend the rest of the evening
watching a bit of television. The latest episode of "Gentleman Jack" is
on - the series revolves around a real life Victorian lesbian, Anne Lister (played by
Suranne Jones).
The real life Anne wrote copious diary notes,
including about her sex life (she used a simple substitution code to hide the
most sensitive details), which allowed the series author to create an authentic
depiction of Anne's dramatic lifestyle in the 1830's just outside the town of
Halifax in the County of Yorkshire.
It's nice to see Anne really
enjoying herself in bed with her "squeeze", Miss Walker. And the
nervous Miss Walker has really started to relax and have a bit of fun.
Lois and I also think that Miss
Walker looks much more attractive, with her hair down, and all the pins taken
out.
Miss Walker looks much more
attractive with her hair down, we think
But it's a bit of a shame when
Miss Walker receives a letter from the local minister, Rev. Ainsworth, who a
couple of years ago raped her - he has just become a widower and now he wants to marry
her - damn !!! And according to the spirit of the times, she feels that, as
"damaged goods" she has to say yes.
Yes, unfortunately Miss Walker continues
to feel under massive pressure to marry Rev. Ainsworth - all her friends and
relatives are constantly urging her to say yes.
And all these friends and
relatives seem to be suspicious of Miss Walker's relationship with Anne Lister,
which they consider "unnatural".
Lois and I are a little puzzled
by the reaction of the couple's circle of friends. Lois says it was very common
then for two women to live together without their relationship being suspected
of being a lesbian one. Yorkshire people must be particularly suspicious bunch,
we think.
What a crazy world they lived in in
those times!!!!
Anne and Miss Walker want to
"marry" at a private ceremony (without guests or minister) and swear
on the Bible, to “legalise” their gymnastics between the sheets.
And Lois and I think Rev Ainsworth is
a shit - and we don't want to see him in bed with the gorgeous Miss Walker – that’s
for sure. Piss off, Rev. Ainsworth ha ha ha!
22:00 We go to bed - zzzzz !!!!
Danish translation – søndag den 16. juni 2019
Fars dag i dag, men Lois’ gave til mig, en flaske Wicked Wolf gin, ikke
bliver leveret indtil i morgen, så vi beslutter at udskyde det hele indtil
mandag (inklusive mit farsdagskort), hvilket giver mening, synes vi.
tilbageblik til september 2018: jeg køber en flaske Wicked Wolf gin
i havnebyen
Lynton i det nordlige Devon
09:30 Lois taler lidt på whatsapp med Sarah, vores yngste datter i
Perth, Australien, og med hendes snart 6-årige tvillinger, Lily og Jessie.
Vi taler
lidt på whatsapp med Sarah, vores yngste datter, der bor i Perth, Australien
Det går fremad med tvillingernes
læse- og skrivefærdigheder – ingen tvivl om det. Jessie viser os et
billede, hun tegnede til sin mor.
Jessie viser os et billede hun tegnede til sin mor
Begge tvillingerne er vokset meget op siden Lois og jeg for sidste gang
så dem for lidt over ét år siden – deres skolegang, der startede for 4 måneder
siden, har virkelig stimulerede deres ynge sind. Lois og jeg følte, de før
februar ikke fik tilstrækkelig stimulering derhjemme.
Deres mor har altid været den udarbejdende, mens Francis, deres far,
passede på dem i huset. Og Francis’ prioritet var altid at gøre dem så
lav-maintenance som muligt, mistænkte vi, så han kunne lave sin egen ting.
Mange mænd har svært ved at være ansvarlig for børnepleje, synes vi.
Vi spørger Sarah om, hvad hun ønsker sig hvad angår fødselsdagsgaver –
hun fylder 42 på lørdag. Man ved, man bliver en gamle krage, når ens børn
begynder at nærme sig midalderen, det ved vi med sikkerhed. Hun svarer, at hun
ønsker sig det samme, som sidste år: en voucher til spabehandling hos Vanilla
Face & Body Spa, i havnebyen Scarborough – hun siger, sidste års oplevelse
var en højdepunkt i sit liv – du godeste! Men det er rart at vide, at vi valgte
klogt sidste år, ingen tvivl om det. Sarah får ikke en masse luksus generelt – størstedelen
af deres penge bliver brugt på andre ting for tiden, især på tvillingerne.
Vanilla Face
& Body Spa, Scarborough Western Australia
tilbageblik
til marts 2018: mig og Sarah i Scarborough, Western Australia
Sarah og Francis overvejer stadig at købe et stykke land i
Chittering-området og får et hus bygget derovre: Francis har beskæftiget sig
med at designe det, hvilket han har en stor talent til. Og han har allerede
haft en samtale med den lokale katolske skoleinspektør. Francis blev oprindeligt
opdraget som katolik, og i Australien er skoler tilknyttede kirker betragtede
som de bedste, lader det til.
10:00 Lois skal ud. Hun ønsker at deltage i sin sekts to gudstjenester,
der finder sted i dag i byen Tewkesburys bibliotek.
Jeg har flere timers alenetid, og jeg beslutter at genoptage mit arbejde
på vores igangværende downsize mini-projekt:
den nuværende fase kredser om Sarahs gamle skole- og
universitetsnotater, mapper og ringbind. Jeg adskiller papirdokumenterne fra
resten og putter dem i 7 store sorte plastiksække, som jeg gemmer i garagen.
de 7 store
plastiksække, propfyldte med Sarahs gamle skole- og universitetsnotater
Til sidst putter jeg alle de uønskede gamle mapper og ringbind i 4
andres store sorte plastiksække. Du godeste, sikke et vanvid!!!!
Men mens jeg arbejder, kan jeg ikke undgå at føle mig imponeret af
Sarahs masser af sirlige, detaljeret notater, som hun skrivede over næsten 12
års skolegang og college, det hele sirligt etiketteret og kategoriseret, næsten
som en tvangstanke – yikes!
13:00 Du godeste, jeg føler mig totalt slået ud – yikes (igen).
Jeg spiser frokost og går i seng for at tage en gigantisk
eftermiddagslur.
14:30 Lois kommer tilbage fra Tewkesbury, og jeg står op kl 15:30. Vi
slapper af med en kop te i sofaen.
17:00 Jeg hopper op på min kondicykel og cykler 6 miles.
18:30 Vi spiser vores såkaldte ”farsdagsaftensmad: pølser med smagen af marmite, som vi forleden
købte hos Waghornes, den lokale slagterforretning – yum yum!
19:00 Vi smutter ind hos Bill, vores nabo for at sige farvel til ham –
han flytter ind i et palliativ plejehjem i morgen. Han har besluttet at han
gennem sine sidste måneder gerne vil have pleje og/eller overvågning døgnet
rundt.
Hans religion er en trøst for him, synes vi. Hans ny katolisk præst har
fortalt ham, at hun ikke har noget til at bekymre sig over, nå han dør. Det
tror han på 100% tilsyneladende, og han fortæller os, at han er på vej til
himlen, hvor han vil have ikke andet at lave, end at vente på sin kone Mary,
der selv flyttede ind i et plejehjem for tiden.
Det må være rart at have denne slags trøst, som man nærmer sig sin død. Men hvem vil trøste mig, når det bliver min tur – yikes!!!! Det er juryen stadig ude om ha ha ha!!!!
Familien flyttede tilbage til England sidste år efter næsten 6 års
ophold i København, men Ed har desværre ikke fundet et permanent job endnu.
Hans midlertidlige job hos en indisk oliefirma er lige sluttet, og hans næste
skridt er ikke helt sikkert. Han ansøgte for flere måneder siden om et
drømmejob i Canterbury, og hyringsprocesser har nu tendens til at blive meget
forlænget – alle kandidater bortset fra Ed og én anden person blev elimineret
over flere måneder, men Ed hørte for nylig, at hans rival lige var blevet valgt
til jobbet, hvilket er en stor skam – stakkels Ed.
Vi bruger aftenen på at se lidt fjernsyn. De viser det seneste afsnit af
”Gentleman Jack”, der kredser om en virkelig liv victoriansk lesbisk kvinde,
Anne Lister (spillet af Suranne Jones).
Anne skrev rigelige dagbogsnotater, inklusive om sit sexliv (hun brugte
en simpel substitutionskode for at skjule de mest følsomme detaljer), hvilket
har tilladt seriens forfatterinde til at skabe en autentisk skildring af Annes
dramatiske livstil i 1830’erne lige udenfor byen Halifax i grevskabet Yorkshire.
Det er rart at se Anne virkelig hygge sig i sengen med sin nuværende
”squeeze”, frøken Walker. Den nervøse frøken Walker har virkelig begyndt at
slappe af og få det sjovt.
Også Lois og jeg
synes, at frøken Walker ser langt mere attraktiv ud, med løst hår, for en gangs
skyld, med sine hårnåle taget ud.
frøken
Walker ser langt mere attraktiv ud med løst hår, synes vi
Men det er lidt af en skam, da frøken Walker modtager et brev fra den
præst, Rev. Ainsworth, der for et par år siden voldtog hende – han er lige nu
blevet enke, og ønske at gifte sig med hende – pokkers!!! Og ifølge den
daværende tidsånd, føler hun, som ”beskadige varer” at hun må sige ja.
Frøken Walker føler sig under massiv pres til at gifte sig med Rev.
Ainsworth – alle hendes venner og slægtninge opfordrer hende konstant til at sige
ja.
Og alle disse venner og slægtninge virker at blive mistænksomme om
frøken Walkers forhold til Anne Lister, som de betragter som ”unaturligt”.
Lois og jeg er lidt betuttet over reaktionen af parrets omgangskreds.
Lois siger, at det dengang var meget almindeligt, at to kvinder boede sammen,
uden at deres forhold blev mistænkt for at være lesbisk.
Sikke en skørt verden de levede i dengang!!!!
Anne og frøken Walker ønsker at ”gifte sig” på et privat ceremoni (uden
gæster eller præst) og sværge på bibelen, for at gøre deres lægegymnastik
”lovligt”.
Lois og jeg synes, at Rev Ainsworth er en stor skid – og vi har ikke
lyst til at se ham i sengen med den pragtfulde frøken Walker – det ved vi med
sikkerhed. Pis af, Rev. Ainsworth ha ha
ha!
22:00 Vi går i seng – zzzzz!!!!
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