Wednesday 10 July 2019

11:00  Lois walks 1 mile down the road to town, and pops in to see Mary, our former neighbour, who has now been settled in a nursing home. Mary suffers from dementia, and unfortunately her husband, Bill, died a few days ago. Debbie, Bill and Mary's daughter from New Zealand, is currently living temporarily in the couple's former house, while she and her brother, Andrew, arrange Bill's funeral and handle other legal details regarding his death.

Lois has to be careful when talking to Mary because Mary has not yet been told about her husband Bill's death - the family is waiting for the nursing staff to decide Mary is strong enough to hear the news. My goodness, what a situation. I don't envy Lois - but she's so warm-hearted, and she's determined to visit Mary:  one concern is, that Mary will otherwise soon forget who Lois is - yikes!

The nursing home where Mary has been settled

The nursing home where Mary has been settled is only 100 yards from the first house that Lois and I ever bought (in 1974). At that time, the building was a factory that made fancy yachts – my god, we must now be two of Cheltenham's longest-standing residents, no doubt about that !!!!

11:30 I start reading yet another chapter of Njal’s saga, written in the 13th century in Iceland, although the saga itself and the events in it are much older. Scilla's U3A Old Norse group is holding its regular meeting this afternoon at 2 pm in the bar of the town’s Everyman Theatre, and this saga is the group's current project.

The deadly feud between the two women, Hallgerd and Bergthora, takes a break for once (the death toll now stands at about 10 among Hallgerd's employees, and about the same for Bergthora's employees too).

Hallgerda....

...and Bergthora - the score in their long-standing feud is 10-10

(number of employees killed)

Now, in a fun, delightfully lighter and slightly less lethal episode, Hallgerd sends her Irish (or Scottish) slave, Malcolm, on a mission, this time not to kill anyone, but to steal cheese from one of Bergthora's farmhouses, and also, while he’s about it, to burn the farmhouse down.

Initially it was decided locally that Hallgerd would have to be summonsed for getting Malcolm to steal the cheese, and Gunnar, Hallgerd’s husband, would also have to be summonsed for "receiving" the stolen cheese from his wife.

Good grief - what madness !!!

the moment the decision is made to serve a summons

on Gunnar and his wife Hallgerd - Hallgerd for arranging the theft of the cheese,

and Gunnar for having received it from her – my god, what  madness!

But fortunately in this latest chapter (no. 51), the case is discussed in the Althing, Iceland's parliament (the oldest in the world), and after a few threats about challenging people to duels over the so-called "Cheesegate"-madness, it is eventually decided that Gunnar should settle the dispute by paying compensation to Bergthora's family for the stolen cheese.

Thank goodness – “a bit of sense rules ok”, and we can all get some peace and quiet, for once ha ha ha!

And the Althing was obviously much more sensible and ready to compromise than our own so-called "Stupid Parliament" whenever they get talking about all that Brexit madness - I have to say !!

12:30 Lois calls me and tells me she has been delayed - she got trapped in the care home's "dementia unit" and had to wait for a staff member to rescue her with the unit’s access code and thus release her – my god, what madness !!!! [Go and take your nap, and get out your medication - Ed]

I hurry into the kitchen and start making a snack lunch.

12:45 Francis, our son-in-law in Perth, Australia, calls us. He says Sarah, our 42-year-old daughter, has checked herself into the local hospital in Joondalup, a suburb of Perth, with suspected appendicitis. It seems that Sarah, despite experiencing acute pain, insisted on spending the morning (Perth time) at work, because it was her responsibility, as the auditor, to monitor the company's monthly payday – my god, how conscientious she is!

My goodness, what will happen next, I ask myself !!! Poor Sarah. Francis has promised to update us.

Joondalup Hospital

13:00 Lois comes back from Mary's nursing home and I tell her Francis's news about Sarah. If only the family hadn't moved to Australia - they have very little support and back-up over there. If they were still in England, Lois and I could have helped out, but we feel a little helpless to say the least.

After a short afternoon nap, I take the bus into town, where Scilla's U3A Old Norse group is gathering at 2 pm in the bar of the Everyman Theatre.

We enjoy ourselves, as always, plunging into Iceland's medieval feuds and all its dark world of sex and violence. But there is so much noise in the bar these days - and the worst source of noise is not the bar's ordinary customers, but the masses of other old crows: other U3A groups, especially the French group.

And this afternoon there is even more noise, due to a performance of "Putting On The Ritz" in the theatre itself: as a result there are now even more customers in the bar than usual (even more old crows, in other words) during the musical’s interval - yikes!

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

I feel compelled to offer that next time the group can meet at Lois’s and my house, where it’s nice and quiet, and Scilla and the other team members accept my offer gratefully. And the new venue will save me from having to take the bus into town, which is nice.

16:00 The group meeting ends and I take the bus home again. Lois and I relax with a cup of tea on the couch.

18:00 We have dinner and spend the evening watching some television.

An interesting documentary is on, all about misleading labels and packaging in supermarkets. The host of the programme is the charming scientist, Dr Hannah Fry.

What a programme, and filled with interesting facts and suggestions, no doubt about that, but where to start? [At the beginning would be good - Ed]

1. Bottled water: 100 times more expensive than tap water. "Natural mineral water" and "spring water" has to come from a named underground source, although with "spring water" supermarkets have no obligation to mention its contents. "Table water" can come from anywhere, including from taps: my god, what madness !!! There are more bacteria in bottled water than in tap water, because tap water contains chlorine. Bacteria in bottled water are harmless until the bottle is opened, but not for a long time, so drink it quickly! Microplastic particles are found in 90% of bottled water - a little more than in tap water, but the jury is still out about the potential dangers. And bottled water is not very nutritious: it takes 140 litres of bottled water to supply you with the potassium you get from one banana - what madness!

2. Labelling: no rules on the use of the word "natural", so ignore all references to "natural products" - also "good" or "healthy" labels ha ha ha! "Low fat" foods must mean less than 3% fat. Look carefully at the labels - blueberry-cereal bars contain only a tiny bit of blueberry: they are mostly cranberries, which are cheaper. Some so-called "cheese" products ("cheese slices" etc) have only a small amount of cheese (with a lot of potato starch for example), but the producers, who are not allowed to call such products "cheese", use pictures on the packaging to give us a false impression - scary!

3. "Fresh fish" could be up to 20 days old - yikes! One should always buy frozen. Bacteria in white fish will not hurt us, but it is a different story when it comes to, for example, tuna, mackerel and sardines, so beware.

4. Pesticides: 40% of food in general has been sprayed and 60-70% of fruit and vegetables. The average potato has been sprayed 32 times (compared to only 12 times back in 1990). Fruit: 90% of grapefruit, lemon, lime: 84% of strawberries, followed by pears peaches nectarines cherry, down to apples (64%). The producers can use up to 450-500 types of pesticides, only 28 when it comes to organic products. The problem is not with individual pesticides, but with the "cocktail effect" - unexplored and unexplored interactions between certain pesticides - some combinations have caused abnormalities in rats and hamsters - yikes! However Hannah, the programme's charming host discourages us from stopping eating fruits and vegetables, needless to say.

5. carbon footprint: the production of our food and drink is responsible for one third of the world's carbon footprint - if you buy food etc from abroad, it is best to buy goods that are transported by ship: for example, bananas from the Caribbean or wine from New Zealand. When it comes to meat, beef and lamb are the worst for CO2 - chickens grow faster and cause less CO2 ha ha ha! Cheese is environmentally friendly because you do not have to kill the cow lol (again). Peruvian asparagus out of season is bad because it arrives by plane, so buy only within the season. Also, it is clear that we are wasting a lot of food in the UK: 25% of it all gets thrown away. And we have to reduce our consumption of meat and dairy products, says Hannah.

6. ultra-processed foods, such as pizzas: preservatives, emulsifiers, antioxidants, glossing agents to make food glossy / shiny - yikes! E920, which strengthens dough, but which contains hair, nails and brushes of animals - scary. And above all, lots of sodium nitrite, which researchers believe is carcinogenic. Lots of salt and sugar, and calories – what’s to like?

7. Palm oil in cakes, biscuits, animal food, margarine, etc. - Malaysia and Indonesia have removed massive areas of rainforest to plant palm oil trees that are inexpensive, high yield and adaptable. To avoid palm oil, you have to look for the "RSPO" label, which guarantees that the product comes from a sustainable source.

8. Producers avoid using the word sugar on the packaging and labels for obvious reasons. Therefore, we often see "honey" or other, new names - agave, date-syrup, coconut syrup, etc. Fruit sugar is the best because it flows slowly into the blood stream. Coconut syrup is actually the worst - 12 millimoles in the bloodstream after 60 minutes (regular sugar 8.2; honey 7.6; agave 6.9; date date syrup 6.4.

My goodness, what a crazy world we live in !!!! [Go to bed – Ed]

22:00 I take a little look at my smartphone. I see that modern man came to Europe far earlier than previously believed (source: ekstrabladet).

Researchers have carried out extensive analyses of two skulls found in a rock cave in Greece back in 1978, and have concluded that the older skull is at least 210,000 years old. And it is most likely derived from modern man, Homo sapiens.

This means that humans emigrated from Africa more than 210,000 years ago and that they reached further than we previously thought, right into Europe, says Katerina Harvati-Papatheodorou, professor at the Paleontology Dept at the Türbingen University in Germany, according to Videnskab.dk.  (The second skull found is about 170,000 years old and is from the neanderthal species).

According to Felix Riede, professor at the Department of Archeology and Cultural Heritage Studies at Aarhus University, the result confirms that human emigration from Africa took place in several waves over a very long period. Evidence for this has not been found before in Europe, says Felix.

22:15 (yawn) bedtime - zzzzzzzz !!!! What a day!!!!

Danish translation: onsdag den 10. juli 2019

11:00 Lois går 1 mile ned ad vejen mod byen for at smutte ind hos Mary, vores tidligere nabo, der nu er blevet anbragt i et plejehjem. Mary lider af demens, og hendes mand, Bill, døde desværre for nogle dage siden. Debbie, Bill og Marys datter fra New Zealand, bor i parrets tidligere hus for tiden, mens hun og hendes bror, Andrew, arrangerer Bills begravelse og klarer andre juridiske detaljer angående døden.

Lois bliver nødt til at passe på, når hun snakker med Mary, fordi Mary endnu ikke er blevet fortalt om sin mands død – familien venter på, at plejehjemmets personale tror, Mary er stærk nok psykisk til at høre nyheden. Du godeste, sikke en situation. Jeg misundner Lois ikke – men hun er så varmhjertet, og hun er fast besluttet på, at besøge Mary:  en bekymring er, at Mary ellers inden for længe vil glemme, hvem Lois er – yikes!

Plejehjemmet, hvor Mary er blevet anbragt

Det plejehjem, hvor Mary er blevet anbragt, ligger kun 100m fra det første hus, som Lois og jeg købte (i 1974). Dengang var bygningen en fabrik, der fremstillede lyst-yachter – du godeste, vi er nu nogle af Cheltenhams mest langvarige indbyggere , ingen tvivl om det!!!!

11:30 Jeg går i gang med at læse endnu ét kapitel af Njals saga, skrevet i det 13. århundrede i Island, selvom selve sagaen og begivenhederne er meget ældre. Scillas U3A oldnordiske gruppe holder sit regelmæssige møde i eftermiddag kl 14 på baren af byens Everyman-teater, og denne saga er gruppens nuværende projekt.

Den dødelige fejde mellem de to kvinder, Hallgerd og Bergthora, tager en pause for en gangs skyld (dødstal stå på omkring 10 blandt Hallgerds ansatte, Bergthoras ansatte også).

Hallgerd

Bergthora – scoren i deres langvarige fejde står på 10-10

(antal ansatte dræbt)

I en morsom, munter og lidt mindre dødelige episode, Hallgerd sender sin irske (eller skotske) slave, Malcolm, på en mission, denne gang ikke for at dræbe nogen, men for at stjæle ost fra en af Bergthoras stuehuse, også at brænde  stuehuset ned.

I begyndelsen er det besluttet lokalt at Bergthora bliver nødt til at blive indstævnet for at have sørget for, at Malcolm stjæle osten, og Gunnar, Bergthoras mand, skulle blive indstævnet for at have ”modtaget” osten fra sin kone.

Du godeste – sikke et vanvid!!!

det øjeblik, beslutningen bliver taget

at indstævne Gunnar og hans kone Hallgerd – Hallgerd for at have fået stjålet osten,

og Gunnar for at have modtaget den af hende – du godeste, sikke et vanvid!

Men heldigvis i dette seneste kapitel (nr. 51) bliver sagen diskuteret i Altinget, Islands parlament (verdens ældste), og efter trusler om at bekæmpe dueller om den såkaldte ”Cheesegate”-vanviddet, bliver det besluttet, at Gunnar skulle bilægge striden ved at betale kompensation til Bergthoras familie for den stjålede ost.

Gudskelov – fornuft regerer ok, og vi kan alle få lidt fred og ro, for engangs skyld ha ha ha!

Og Altinget er meget mere fornuftigt og klar til at kompromittere, end vores egen ”dumme parlament”, når de taler om det der Brexit-vanvid – det må jeg nok sige!!

12:30 Lois ringer til mig og fortæller mig, at hun er blevet forsinket – hun blev indspærret i plejehjemmets ”demens-enhed”, og blev nødt til at vente på, at et personalemedlem redder hende ved hjælp af enhedens adgangskode og befri hende – du godeste, sikke et vanvid!!!!

Jeg skynder mig ind i køkkenet og går i gang med at lave en snack-frokost.

12:45 Francis, vores svigersøn i Perth, Australien, ringer til os. Han siger, at Sarah, vores 42-årige datter, har indlagt sig selv på det lokale hospital i Joondalup, en forstad til Perth, med mistænkt blindtarmsbetændelse. Det lader til, at Sarah, på trods af at opleve akut smerte, insisterede på at tilbringe formiddagen (Perth-tid) på arbejde, fordi det var hendes ansvar, som revisoren, at overvåge selskabets månedlige lønningsdag – du godeste, hvor er hun dog samvittighedsfuld!

Du godeste, hvad vil det så ske, spørger jeg mig selv!!! Stakkels Sarah. Francis har lovet at opdatere os.

Joondalup Hospital

13:00 Lois kommer tilbage fra Marys plejehjem og jeg fortæller hende Francis’ nyheder om Sarah. Hvis bare familien var ikke flyttet til Australien – de har meget lille støtte derovre. Hvis de var stadig i England, kunne Lois og jeg have hjulpet til, men vi føler os lidt hjælpeløse, for at sige mildt.

Efter en kort eftermiddagslur, tager jeg bussen ind i byen, hvor Scillas U3A oldnordiske gruppe samles kl 14 på baren af Everyman-teatret.

Vi hygger os meget, som altid, med at kaste os ud i Islands middelalderlige fejder og alt den der mørke verden af sex og vold. Men der er så virkelig lydt på baren nu – og den værste kilde på støj er ikke barens almindelige gæster, men masser af andre gamle krager: andre U3A grupper, især den franske gruppe – du godeste, sikke et vanvid!

Og i eftermiddag er der endnu ekstra støj, på grund af en forestilling af ”Putting On The Ritz” på teatret: som resultat er der nu endnu flere gæster på baret, end normalt, (endnu flere gamle krager) under musicalens pauser – yikes!

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

Jeg føler mig tvunget til at tilbyde, at gruppen næste gang kan samles hos Lois og mig, hvor der er dejligt og stille, og Scilla og de andre gruppemedlemmer accepterer mit tilbud taknemmeligt. Og det nye mødested vil spare mig for at tage bussen ind i byen, hvilket er rart.

16:00 Gruppemødet slutter, og jeg tager bussen hjem igen. Lois og jeg slapper af med en kop te i sofaen.

18:00 Vi spiser aftensmad og bruger aftenen på at se lidt fjernsyn.

De viser en interessant dokumentarfilm, der handler om vildledende etiketter og emballage i supermarkeder. Programmets vært er den charmerende forsker, dr Hannah Fry.

Sikke et program, og propfyldt af interessante kendsgerninger og foreslag, ingen tvivl om det, men hvor skulle jeg starte? [At the beginning would be good – Ed]

1.                Flaskevand: 100 gange dyrere, end hanevand. ”Natural mineral water” og ”spring water” må stamme fra en nævnt underjordiske kilde, selvom med ”spring water” har supermarkeder ikke nogen pligt til at nævne dets elementer. ”Table water” kan stamme fra hvor som helst, inklusive fra vandhaner: du godeste, sikke et vanvid!!! Der er flere bakterier i flaskevand, end i hanevand, fordi hanevand indeholder chlor. Bakterier i flaskevand er harmløse indtil flasken bliver åbnet, men ikke for lang tid, så drik det hurtigt lol ! Mikroplastikpartikler findes i 90% af flaskevand – lidt flere, end i hanevand, men juryen er stadig ude om, om de potentielle farer. Og flaskevand er ikke særlig nærende:  det tager 140 liter flaskevand at forsyne dig med det kalium, man får fra én ba nan – sikke et vanvid!

2.                Etikettering:  ingen regler om brug af ordet ”naturlig”, så ignorer alle referencer til ”naturlige produkter” – også ”gode” eller ”sunde” ha ha ha! ”Fedfattige” fødevarer må betyde mindre, end 3% fedt. Kig forsigtigt på etiketterne – blåbær-cerealbarer indeholder kun en lille smule blåbær: de er for det meste trænebær, som er billigere. Nogle såkaldte "ost"-produkter (”ostskiver” osv) har kun en lille mængde ost (med en masse kartoffelstivelse eksempelvis), men producenterne, som ikke er tilladt at kalde sådanne produkter ”ost”, bruger billeder på emballagen for at give os et falsk indtryk – skræmmende!

3.                ”Friske fisk” kunne være op til 20 dage gamle – yikes! Man må altid købe frosne. Bakterier i hvide fisk vil ikke skade os, men det er anderledes, når det kommer til, for eksempel tuna, makrel og sardiner, så  pas på.

4.                Pesticider: 40% af fødevarer i almindelighed er blevet sprøjtet, og 60-70% af frugt og grøntsager. Den gennemsnitlige kartoffel er blevet sprøjtet 32 gange (kun 12 gange tilbage i 1990). Frugter: 90% af grapefrugt, citrom, lime:  84% af jordbær, fulgt af pærer ferskner nektariner kirsebær , ned til æbler (64%). Producenterne kan bruge op til 450-500 typer pesticider, kun 28 når det kommer til organiske produkter. Problemet er ikke med individuelle pesticider, men med ”cocktail-effekten” – uundersøgte og uforskede interreaktioner mellem visse pesticider  – nogle kombinationer  har forårsaget abnormaliteter i rotter og hamstere – yikes! Selvom Hannah, programmets charmerende vært fraråder os at holde op med at spise frugt og grøntsager, unødvendigt at sige.

5.                CO2-aftryk:  produktionen af vores mad og drik er ansvarlige for en tredjedel af verdens CO2-aftryk – hvis man køber fødevarer osv fra udlandet, er det bedste at købe varer der bliver transporeret med skib: for eksempel, bananer fra Vestindien eller vin fra New Zealand. Når det kommer til kød, er oksekød og lam de værste – kyllinger vokser hurtigere op og foråsager mindre CO2 ha ha ha! Ost er miljøvenlig, fordi man behøver ikke at dræbe koen lol (igen).  Peruviansk sparges uden for sæsonen er dårlig, fordi de ankommer med fly, så køb kun inden for sæsonen.  Også er det klart, at vi spilder en masse mad i Storbritannien: 25 % af det hele. Og vi må reducere vores forbrug af kød og mejeriprodukter.

6.                ultra-forarbejdet mad, som for eksempel pizzaer: konserveringsmidler, emulgatorer, antioxidanter, glansemidler til at gøre maden blank/skinnende – yikes! E920, der styrker dej, men som indeholder hår, negle og børster af dyr - skræmmende. Og først og fremmest natriumnitrit, der forskere tror er kræftfremkaldende. Masser af salt og sukker, og kalorier – hvad er der, man kan lide?

7.                Palmeolie i kager, kiks, dyremad, margarine osv – Malaysia og Indonesien har fjernet massive områder af regnsko for at plante palmeolietræer, som er billige, højt udbytte og tilpasningsdygtige. Man skal lede efter ”RSPO”-etiketten, der garanterer, produktet stammer fra en bæredygtig kilde.

8.                Producenter undgår at bruge ordet sukker på emballagen og etiketter, af åbenbare grunde. Derfor ser vi ofte ”honning” eller andre, nye navne – agave, daddel-sirup, kokossirup osv.  Frugtsukker er den bedste, fordi den flyder langsomt ind i blodstrømmet. Kokossirup er faktisk den værste – 12 millimols i blodstrømmet efter 60 minutter (almindelig sukker 8,2; honning 7,6; agave 6,9; daddel-sirup 6,4.

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

22:00 Jeg kigger lidt på min smartphone. Jeg ser, at det moderne menneske kom til Europa langt tidligere end først antaget.

Det mener flere forskere efter at have undersøgt to fossile kranier, der blev fundet i en klippehule i Grækenland i forskerhold har siden lavet omfattende analyser af de to kranier, og de konkluderer, at det ældste kranie er mindst 210.000 år gammelt.

Det stammer med stor sandsynlighed fra det moderne menneske, der også kaldes Homo sapiens.

- Det betyder, at mennesket udvandrede fra Afrika for mere end 210.000 år siden, og at de nåede længere, end vi tidligere har troet. Helt til Europa, siger Katerina Harvati-Papatheodorou, der er professor på Sektion for Palæontologi på Türbingen Universitet i Tyskland ifølge Videnskab.dk.

Det andet fundne kranie er cirka 170.000 år gammelt og stammer fra menneskearten neandertaler.

Ifølge Felix Riede, der er professor på Afdeling for Arkæologi og Kulturarvsstudier på Aarhus Universitet, bliver modellen for menneskets evolution bekræftet, efter man har analyseret det 210.000 år gamle kranie.

- Det her bekræfter egentlig, at menneskets udvandring fra Afrika foregik over flere udvandringsbølger. Det har man ikke fundet evidens for før i Europa, siger Felix.

22:15 (gab) sengetid – zzzzzzzz!!!!