Thursday 4 July 2019

10:00 I start cleaning up the living room and vacuuming, because our U3A Danish group is holding its regular meeting here this afternoon at 2:30 pm. And Lois and I also browse the next 10 pages or so of Anna Grue’s Danish crime novel, "The Further You Fall", which is the group's current project.

Earlier in the week, I e-mailed to group members a mini- interview with Anna Grue, which I had come across on the Gentofte (Copenhagen) local newspaper website:  Gentofte is the suburb of Copenhagen, where our daughter Alison lived with Ed and their 3 children for almost 6 years from 2012 to 2018. 

Anna Grue, 61, author.

Text of the mini-interview:

What novel have you been reading lately?

"I am just in the process of Mich Vraa's West Indian trilogy (" Hope "," Love of Peter "and" Faith "), and it is nothing short of excellent. Shocking slave stories, thrilling plot, very well-written.

Who is your favourite author?

"That changes constantly. Dickens, Irving, Austen. I'm very Anglo-Saxon. I think I’ll say Anne Tyler this time. Her characters are so credible and recognisable. She writes beautifully and also with humour."

What is your favourite genre?

"Fat novels with myriads of people and a good plot. I don't care if it's a crime story or not, but it has to be well-written!"

Have you ever given up on a book?

"Lots of times. You don't have to eat the whole apple to know it's rotten."

What book would you like to recommend to other readers?

"If you like novels in the John Irving genre, then give Erik Fosnes Hansen's 'A Lobster Life' a chance. There is an atmosphere of Norwegian mountains and strange family secrets and a lot of youthful sadness for your money!"

[end of mini-interview:  see http://gentofte.lokalavisen.dk]

Interesting mini-interview! And I am very glad that for once I have chosen for our group a Danish crime novel by a respected Danish writer. It is always my responsibility as group leader to choose the group's reading projects, but in the past I have chosen one or three real “turkeys” – that’s for sure! But it is so difficult to choose books in a foreign language that you do not know particularly well.

Factzone is a department of my go-to local news site, Onion News, and specialises in interviews with famous writers and thinkers. The department recently published a nostalgic countdown of their top 5 best interviews ever.

One Factzone interview that sticks in my mind is a memorable meeting between Factzone  staffers and Dr. Cornel West, the respected American philosopher, writer and civil rights activist, who rocked up one afternoon in FactZone's tiny offices way back in 2008.

Dr. West was put in the department's zero-gravity "Floating Fact Chamber", where he responded to TV viewer's tweets about his opinions on everything from Justin Bieber to his favourite animals, which was nice.

Happy times !!!!

Dr. Cornel West, the respected American philosopher.

It was a pure joy and a bit of a revelation, to put it mildly,

to read about Dr West's favourite animals and 

other aspects of his private life, no doubt about that

Sometimes, however, it's not a good thing to learn more than is absolutely necessary about one's favourite writers – that’s something I know for sure.

I recall the disappointment of local reader Blake McKenna when he found out that his favourite sci-fi writer, L Ron Hubbard, was actually in his private life a bit of a Scientology buff (source: Onion News).

PROVO, UT- Saddened to discover that his go-to sci-fi writer went along with the controversial belief system, local fan Blake Mckenna was disappointed to learn Monday that L. Ron Hubbard was actually something of a Scientologist.

"Man, it is such a disappointment to find out that someone whose work you really admire is super into Scientology," McKenna said, adding that he struggled to reconcile the fact that the author of ‘Battlefield Earth’ and ‘Typewriter in the Sky’ was not just a devout member of the religious cult, but was also some kind of priest.

"I mean, he is super into it, like Tom Cruise – and I'm like, I can't even believe it. I've read more than 350 of his 500 stories, but now I don't really know if I can look at his work the same way. "

At press time, McKenna was having trouble reading Dianetics, now that he realised all the allusions Hubbard was making to Scientology.

There is a warning there for all of us, no doubt about that! Sometimes it is better not to know about some of the darker sides to our heroes!

11:00 I take a little look at my smartphone. Yesterday we called Alison, our daughter, now back from Denmark and settled back in the family's old house in Haslemere, Surrey, and she told us that her eldest daughter, Josie (12), is travelling to Wimbledon today (Wednesday ) with 9 of her classmates to see some matches on court # 1, after the school had unexpectedly received 10 free tickets. How exciting!

Yesterday I found out that Nadal, and also the British mini-“comet”, Johanna Konti, were scheduled to play (in separate matches of course) on court # 1. But now today I am looking again at a sports news site (something I rarely do) and I find that today's programme has been completely changed, and Josie and her classmates are actually going to see Federer, and also the other British mini-“comet”, Jay Clarke, which will be exciting for them, I have no doubt. But what madness to change the programme at the last minute in such a way - what a crazy world we live in !!!!

12:00 Lois and I have lunch a little earlier than usual so I can grab a quick post-lunch nap before this afternoon’s group meeting. I get up at 2 pm and get ready for the meeting.

14:30 The group members call at the door and we settle down in the living room with cups of tea, as always. But we are all old crows, so we spend the first 30 minutes of the meeting discussing our various diseases, aches and pains, etc., which is nice.

We read the next 10 pages of our Danish crime novel (or so) - sometimes we come across Danish expressions that we do not fully understand (as always), but today our only genuine Danish group member, Jeanette, unfortunately cannot attend: she has gone on an excursion to the famous annual Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival - lucky her!

"Oh Jeanette, you came and gave you without taking,

And we need you today" (copyright Barry Manilow ha ha)

Flashback: Jeanette, our only genuine Danish group member,

seen here in happier times

16:00 The meeting ends, but the members stay sitting in their armchairs and chat for another hour – my god, what madness! But it is nice to know that they feel so at home here, I have to admit.

17:00 Members finally leave, and Lois and I “collapse” on the couch - we are completely washed up, no doubt about that.

I take a little look at my smartphone - Alison, our daughter in Haslemere, has put a post up on Facebook about her daughter Josie's exciting visit to Wimbledon this afternoon.

Josie (second photo, she’s no. 4 from the right) with some of her classmates

19:00 It's quite warm, and Lois and I have dinner on the terrace for once, which is nice. We spend the rest of the evening listening to the radio. We are exhausted.

We hear an interesting discussion about the Spanish author, Lorca, in Melvyn Bragg's series "In Our Time". Lois and I did not know that Lorca is the Spanish author who has been most translated into English, which is interesting.

I have always had a weakness for Lorca, who was one of the few writers and dramatists with the courage to assign a lead role to an insect. I am referring, of course, to his first play, "The Butterfly's Evil Spell" (Madrid, 1920), where a cockroach falls in love with a beautiful butterfly: unfortunately the cockroach’s passion is not reciprocated, which is a bit of a shame to put it mildly.

Few writers have had the courage to write in English about insects' problems. I can only remember Woody Allen's comments on frugality:

“Take the example of the ant and the grasshopper: the grasshopper played all summer, while the ant worked and saved. When winter came, the grasshopper had nothing, but the ant complained of chest pains. Life is difficult for insects. And I don't think mice are having much fun either. "

Wise words! Let's not neglect our humble insects - they have a lot they can teach us, no doubt about that.

I tend to identify with the ant in Allen's well-loved folk tale. But I would like to become more of an grasshopper, I have to say. However, it may be too late for me now, at 73, to make the change. But we'll see - the jury is still out on that one!

22:00 What a day! We go to bed - zzzzzzzz !!!!!

Danish translation: torsdag den 4. juli 2019

10:00 Jeg går i gang med at rydde op i stuen og støvsuge, fordi vores U3A danske gruppe holder sit regelmæssige møde i eftermiddag kl 14:30 hos os. Og Lois og jeg blader igennem de næste 10 sider (eller deromkring) af Anna Grues krimiroman, ”Dybt at falde”, der er gruppens nuværende projekt.

Tidligere på ugen e-mailede jeg til gruppens medlemmer et mini-interview med Anna Grue, som jeg var faldt over på det Gentofte (København) lokalavis-websted: Gentofte er den forstad til København, hvor vores datter Alison boede med Ed og deres 3 børn i næsten 6 år fra 2012 til 2018 .

Anna Grue, 61 år, forfatter.

Hvilken roman har du sidst læst?

"Jeg er i gang med Mich Vraas Vestindien-trilogi ('Håbet', 'Peters Kærlighed' og 'Faith'), og den er ikke mindre end fremragende. Rystende slavehistorier, spændende plot, meget velskrevet. Den kan virkelig anbefales!"

Hvem er din favoritforfatter?

"Det veksler ustandselig. Dickens, Irving, Austen. Jeg er meget angelsaksisk. Jeg tror, jeg vælger Anne Tyler denne gang. Hendes personer er så troværdige og genkendelige. Hun skriver smukt, og så har hun humor."

Hvad er din favoritgenre?

"Tykke romaner med et mylder af personer og et godt plot. Jeg er ligeglad, om det er en krimi eller ej, men velskrevet skal bogen være!"

Har du nogensinde opgivet en bog?

"Masser af gange. Man behøver ikke æde hele æblet for at vide, at det er råddent."

Hvilken bog vil du anbefale andre læsere?

"Hvis du kan lide romaner i John Irving-genren, så giv Erik Fosnes Hansens 'Et Hummerliv' en chance. Der er norsk fjeldstemning og sære familiehemmeligheder og ungdommelig tristesse for alle pengene."

[endet på mini-interviewet: http://gentofte.lokalavisen.dk]

Interessant mini-interview. Og jeg er meget glad for, at jeg for en gangs skyld har valgt en dansk krimiroman af en god, velanset forfatter. Det er mit ansvar at vælge gruppens læseprojekter, men jeg har før i tiden valgt en eller tre rigtige fusere – det ved jeg med sikkerhed! Men det er svært at vælge bøger på et fremmed sprog, man ikke taler særlig godt.

Factzone er en afdeling af mit go-to lokale nyhedswebsted, Onion News, og specialiserer sig om interviews med berømte forfattere og filosofer. Afdelingen offentliggjort for nylig en nostaligsk nedtælling af deres top 5 bedste interviews nogensinde.

Ét Factzone-interview, der sidder fast i mit sind er et mindeværdigt møde mellem afdelingens personale og Dr. Cornel West, den respekterede amerikanske filosof, forfatter og borgerrettighedsforkæmper, der smuttede ind hos FactZones lillebitte kontor  i 2008.

Dr. West blev sat i afdelingens nul-tyngdekraft- "Floating Fact Chamber", hvor han svarede tv-seers tweets om hans mening om Justin Bieber og hans yndlingsdyr, hvilket var rart.

Lykkelige tider!!!!

Dr Cornel West, den respekterede amerikanske filosof.

Det var en ren glæde og lidt af en åbenbaring, for at sige mildt,

at læse om hans yndlingsdyr, og lignende aspekter af hans privatliv, ingen tvivl om det

Nogle gange er det ikke en god ting at lære mere, end nødvendigt, om ens yndlingsforfatter – det ved jeg med sikkerhed.

Jeg mindes om lokale læseren Blake McKennas skuffelse, da han fandt ud af, at hans yndlings-scifi-forfatter, L Ron Hubbard, faktisk var i sit privatliv lidt af en scientologi- fan (kilde: Onion News).

PROVO, UT- Den lokale fan Blake McKenna, skuffet over at opdage hans sci-fi forfatter fulgte med det kontroversielle trossystem, var skuffet over at lære mandag, at L. Ron Hubbard var en scientolog.

"Mand, det er sådan en skuffelse at finde ud af, at en person, hvis arbejde du virkelig beundrer gik højt op i Scientology," sagde McKenna og tilføjede, at han kæmpede for at forene det faktum, at forfatteren af Battlefield Earth og Typewriter in the Sky ikke blot var en hengivne medlem af den religiøse kult, men var også en slags præst.

"Jeg mener, han går super højt op i det, som Tom Cruise – jeg er sådan, jeg kan ikke engang tro det. Jeg har læst flere end 350 af hans 500 historier, men nu ved jeg ikke helt, om jeg vil kunne se på hans arbejde på samme måde. "

På pressetiden havde McKenna problemer med at læse Dianetics nu, da han blev klar over alle de allusioner Hubbard lavede til Scientologi.

Der er der en advarsel for os alle, ingen tvivl om det! Nogle gange er det bedre ikke at vide om nogle af de skyggesider af vores helte:

11:00 Jeg kigger lidt på min smartphone. I går ringede vi til Alison, vores datter, nu tilbage fra Danmark og bosat igen i famiens gamle hus i Haslemere, Surrey, og hun fortalte os, at hendes ældste datter, Josie (12), i dag reiser til Wimbledon i dag (onsdag) med 9 af sine klassekammerater for at se nogle kampe på bane nr. 1, efter skolen uforventet havde modtaget 10 gratis billetter. Hvor spændende!

I går havde jeg fundet ud af, at Nadal, og også den britiske mini-comet, Johanna Konti, var bestemt til at spille (i adskilte kampe selvfølgelig) på bane nr. 1. Nu i dag kigger jeg igen på en sports-nyhedswebsted (noget jeg sjældent gør) og jeg finder, at dagens programmet er blevet helt forandret, og Josie og sine klassekammerater kommer til at se Federer, og også den britiske mini-comet, Jay Clarke, hvilket vil være spændende for dem, det har jeg ikke nogen tvivl om. Men sikke et vanvid, at skifte programmet i sidste øjeblik  på denne måde – sikke en skør verden vi lever i !!!!

12:00 Vi spiser frokost, lidt tidligere, end normalt, så jeg kan snuppe en hurtig eftermiddagslur, før eftermiddagens gruppemøde. Jeg står op kl 14 og forbereder mig på mødet.

14:30 Gruppemedlemmerne ringer på døren og vi sætter os til rette i stuen med kopper te, som altid. Men vi er alle gamle krager, så vi bruger mødets første 30 minutter på at diskutere vores forskellige sygdomme, ømheder og smerter osv, hvilket er rart.

Vi læser de næste 10 sider af vores krimiroman (eller deromkring) – indimellem falder vi over danske udtryk, vi ikke fuldstændigt forstår (som altid), men i dag kan vores eneste ægte danske gruppemedlem, Jeanette, desværre ikke deltage: hun er gået på en udflugt til den berømte årlige Hampton Court Palace havefestival – hun er heldig hende Jeanette!

Oh Jeanette, you came and you gave without taking,

And we need you today  (copyright Barry Manilow ha ha ha)

Tilbageblik: Jeanette, vores eneste ægte danske gruppemedlem,

i lykkeligere tider

16:00 Mødet slutter, men medlemmerne bliver siddende i deres lænestole og snakke i endnu en time – du godeste, sikke et vanvid! Men det er rart at vide, at de føler sig hjemme hos os, det må jeg indrømme.

17:00 Medlemmerne tager endelig af sted, og Lois kollapser i sofaen – vi er helt slået ud, ingen tvivl om det.

Jeg kigger lidt på min smartphone. Alison, vores datter i Haslemere, har lagt en post op på Facebook, om hendes datter Josies spændende besøg til Wimbledon.

Josie (2. foto, nr 4 fra højre) med nogle af sine klassekammerater

19:00 Det er ganske varmt, og vi spiser aftensmad på terrassen for en gangs skyld, hvilket er rart. Vi bruger resten af aftenen på at lytte til radio. Vi er udmattede.

Vi hører et interessant diskussion om den spanske forfatter, Lorca, i Melvyn Braggs serie ”In Our Time”. Lois og jeg vidste ikke, at Lorca er den spanske forfatter, der er blevet mest oversat til engelsk, hvilket er interessant.

Jeg har altid haft en svaghed for Lorca, som var én af de få forfattere og dramatiker med moden til at tildele en hovedrolle til en insekt. Jeg henviser selvfølgelig til hans første teaterstykke, ”Sommerfuglens onde trylleformular” (Madrid, 1920), hvor en kakerlak forelsker sig i en smuk sommerfugl: hans lidenskab er desværre ikke gengæld, hvilket er lidt af en skam, for at sige mildt.

Få forfattere har skrevet på engelsk om insekters problemer.  Jeg mindes kun om Woody Allens kommentarer om sparsommelighed:

”Tag eksemplet på myren og græshoppen:  græshoppen legede hele sommeren, mens myren arbejdede og sparede. Da vinteren kom, havde græshoppet ikke noget, men myren klagede over brystsmerter. Livet er svært for insekter. Og jeg tror heller ikke mus har det sjovt.”

Lad os ikke forsømme de ydmyge insekter – de har meget, de kan lære os, ingen tvivl om det.

22:00 Vi går i seng – zzzzzzzz!!!!!