Monday, October 7 2019

10:00 Lois and I drive over to Leckhampton to pop into CookShop and buy 5-6 ready meals for the evenings when we're too tired to tackle cooking. Afterwards, we head into the store's café to recharge our batteries with a cup of coffee and a pastry, which we share by cutting into two pieces (simples! – you do the math ha ha).

At the next set of tables sits a group of sportswomen sitting and drinking coffee, some of them wearing shorts. John Betjeman, the famous poet, would have enjoyed sitting so close to them - he had a weakness for athletic women, to put it mildly - poor John! Come back, John, all is forgiven ha ha ha!

11:30 We drive home and have lunch. Afterwards, we talk a bit on whatsapp with Sarah, our daughter in Perth, Australia. Her 6-year-old twins, Lily and Jessie, are super excited and romp all over the room as they laugh and chat to us, which is nice. They were invited to two birthday parties on Saturday and Sunday: one took place in a "fairy shop" (??) and the other at a kind of sports centre for children's gymnastics (???).

we talk on whatsapp to Sarah, our daughter in Perth, Australia,

and to her 6-year-old twin daughters, Lily and Jessie

It is a real pick-me-up  for Lois and me to see the excited little faces of the twins, far away on the other side of the world. But after 20 minutes, Sarah has to end the call so she can get the girls to wind down a bit, ready for bedtime. My goodness!

13:00 Lois has to leave. She is going to Tewkesbury to meet up with Alf, another member of her sect. They have arranged to walk around another of Tewkesbury's residential neighbourhoods and deliver leaflets to residents' letterboxes: leaflets that publicise the sect and its activities: worship services, meetings, seminars, illustrated presentations on biblical topics, and the like.

The booklet is quite attractive in my opinion - the picture on the front page channels George Michael's famous iconic "Faith" album cover, which makes a refreshing change. But the George Michael lookalike has a Bible in his hand:

The front page of the sect's latest pamphlet

The pamphlet channels George Michael's iconic "Faith" album cover,

which makes a refreshing change, to put it mildly.

13:00 I have some alone time so I go to bed and take a gigantic afternoon nap. I wake up and listen to the radio for a bit. An interesting programme in which the famous American-born author, Bill Bryson, talks a bit about the brain, reading from his new book, "The Body".

Bryson sounds almost English now, but this is not very surprising considering he has lived here for 40 years or so, I believe.

The first chapter of the book is about the brain, but it is mostly "fun facts about the brain", rather than anything resembling a "Neurology 101" type of basic university course, which is fair enough: after all, we have to keep in mind, this is only a 15 minute radio programme.  And Bryson has a knack for making even the most arid biological processes sound fun and amusing, which is nice.

We hear about various syndromes throughout the programme. Bryson says it seems like there is an almost limitless collection of bizarre syndromes associated with neurological disorders, many of them a bit mind-boggling, to put it mildly.

For example “Anton Babinski syndrome”, affecting people who are blind but who refuse to believe it. Or “Cotard syndrome”, where people come to believe that they are dead and you cannot convince them that it’s not true.

Also “Capgras syndrome”, where people come to believe that the people they know best are all impostors - good grief, that’s an odd one!

Bryson says that perhaps the most unexpected fact about our brains is that they are quite a bit smaller than they were 10 - 12,000 years ago. And the difference is significant: the average brain has shrunk from 1500 cc to 1350 cc, which is a bit like scooping a lump of material the size of a tennis ball out of the brain - yikes!

And this reduction in size was happening at the same time worldwide, for some reason. Have our brains simply become more efficient – “better performance in a smaller space” - or have we become dumber? That's something the jury is still out on.

Also, during the same period, our skulls have become thinner, but perhaps with our modern sedentary lifestyle, we do not need to invest as much in our skull bones as in the past. My god, how fascinating!

Bill Bryson is very much on our minds right now - Lois has made his book, "The Road to Little Dribbling", into her current bedtime book, and she sometimes reads excerpts to me when we’re in bed.

Bill Bryson

Lois' current nightstand, with Bryson's book at the top of the pile

15:00 I get up and relax with a cup of coffee.

15:30 My friend Scilla calls me. I am a member of Scilla's U3A Old Norse group, that holds its meetings at our house every other Wednesday. She says one of Cheltenham's Swedish residents has contacted her - she wants to join Scilla's group and learn a little more about Old Norse, a language that is the predecessor of all the Scandinavian languages, including Swedish.

Scilla wants to meet with the woman tomorrow, and talk to her about the group's activities, etc. I tell Scilla I don't mind at all the group accepting a new member. I look forward to meeting this Swedish woman - we'll have to see. Scilla will brief me on her conversation with the woman in a few days’ time, she says.

It will be nice if we can get a Swede to join Scilla's group - currently Scilla is the group’s honorary Icelandic representative and I am the honorary Dane. All we need now is a Norwegian (maybe King Harald, who had an English grandmother?), and also a Faroese and Greenlander perhaps - then we will have a full set ha ha ha!

16:00 Lois comes back from Tewkesbury and we relax a little on the couch. She is exhausted after walking down a bunch of streets distributing her sect's pamphlets - today she and Alf were in a residential neighbourhood that has become a bit too upscale, i.e. where the houses are quite far back from the street, with long driveways, which was a bit annoying. Poor Lois !!!!

18:00 We have dinner and spend the rest of the evening watching some television, the second hour of a 2 hour movie, "The King's Choice". We saw the first hour a few days ago.

Lois and I don't watch a lot of movies, but we like the movies that are based on historical events because we feel we are learning something. Before seeing this film, we didn't know much about Germany's 1940 invasion of Norway, which was allegedly to "protect Norway from the British and their aggressive intentions against the country". And we did not know that King Haakon VII, along with Crown Prince Olaf and Olaf's family, the prime minister, the cabinet, and the entire parliament fled north just before the Nazis invaded the country.

We are especially enjoying this film in particular because of its atmospheric lack of glamour and glitz - it was an incredibly grim  period (short but intense) for the Norwegians, and the film's mood is suitably grim and desperate, with no background music, no smiles, no laughter, etc.

There are many harrowing scenes: for example, the young, frightened but brave teenage soldiers of the Norwegian Army and Home Guard with their simple weapons, being ordered to delay the advancing Germans in any way they can, so that the King and the government could move further north. It is a little scary to imagine that in 1940 the same thing, or similar, could have happened in Britain if we had been a little less fortunate.

the scared young teenage soldiers of the Norwegian

Home Guard wait anxiously for the arrival of the invading Germans

We see the decision being made that Crown Prince Olaf should stay with King Haakon in the north of Norway, but that Crown Princess Martha and their children should try to flee across the mountains to Sweden, so as  to ensure the long-term survival of the royal house.

And there’s another heart-breaking scene as the children are packed into the car with their mother, and they have to say goodbye to their beloved father, Olaf, and their grandfather, the king, with tears rolling down their little cheeks. Yikes!

As we watch the distraught  children, it reminds both Lois and me of the scenes 4 years ago when our little twin grandchildren, Lily and Jessie, left our house with tears rolling down their little cheeks, getting bundled into a taxi, en route to Heathrow Airport and their flight to Australia . Yikes (again) !!!!!

Flashback to November 29, 2015:

our (then 2 and a half-year-old) grandchildren leaving us to be taken

by taxi to Heathrow on their way to a new life in Australia

sob sob !!!!

Of course, the two situations were completely different, but in the children's eyes it was mostly the same - they didn't understand what was happening, and they were afraid and anxious about where they were going to be taken.

Sob, sob (again) !!!!

However, tonight's movie has a bit of a happy ending, which is nice. In the end, Crown Princess Martha and the children, including Harald, the eldest son (Norway's current king), travel from Sweden to safety in the US. 

And King Haakon and Crown Prince Olaf flee to Britain, from where they do their best to keep up the morale of the Norwegians and support the country's resistance movement.

And after Germany surrenders, we see King Haakon in London in 1945, greeting his grandson Harald, who now barely recognises his grandfather after the family's 5-year exile in Sweden and the US, which is touching, too, in a different way.

At the end of the war, King Haakon, who has been in exile in London

for 5 years, greets his grandson Harald, in an emotional scene

22:00 We go to bed. We have to get up early tomorrow because Ian, our friendly local window cleaner is coming at 9 am and we don't want him to catch us in bed or in the shower cubicle - yikes, busy busy busy !!!! Zzzzzzzzz !!!!!!

Danish translation: mandag den 7. oktober 2019

10:00 Lois og jeg kører over til Leckhampton for at kigge ind i CookShop og købe 5-6 færdigretter til de aftener, vi er for trætte til at takle madlavning. Bagefter smutter vi ind i butikkens café for at genoplade vores batterier med en kop kaffe og et wienerbrød, som vi har fælles om ved at skære i to stykker.

Ved det næste sæt borde sidder en gruppe sportskvinder, der sidder og drikke kaffe, nogle af dem iført shorts. John Betjeman, den berømte digter, ville have hygget sig meget med at sidder så tæt på dem – han havde en svaghed for atletiske kvinder, for at sige mildt – stakkels John! Kom tilbage, John, alt er tilgivet ha ha ha!

11:30 Vi kører hjem og spiser frokost. Bagefter taler vi lidt med Sarah, vores datter i Perth, Australien. Hendes 6-årige tvillinger, Lily og Jessie, er meget begejstret og boltre sig over hele rummet, mens de griner og snakker med os, hvilket er rart. De blev inviteret til to fødselsdagsfester  lørdag og søndag: den ene fandt sted i en ”fe-butik”(??) og den anden  på en slags motionscenter til børnegymnastik (???).

vi taler lidt med Sarah, vores datter i Perth, Australien,

og med hendes 6-årige tvillingedøtre, Lily og Jessie

Det er en reel opstrammer for Lois og mig at se tvillingernes små begejstrede ansigter, langt væk i den anden side af verden. Men efter 20 minutter er Sarah nødt til at ende opkaldet, så hun kan få pigerne til at geare lidt ned, i forberedelse på sengetid. Du godeste!

13:00 Lois skal af sted. Hun skal mødes i Tewkesbury med Alf, et andet medlem af sin sekt. De har aftalt at gå rundt omkring i endnu en af byen Tewkesburys villakvarterer og levere pjecer til indbyggernes brevkasser: pjecer, der publicerer sekten og dens aktiviteter:  gudstjenester, møder, seminarer, illustrerede fremlæggelser om bibelsk emner og den slags.

Pjecen er ganske attraktiv efter min mening – billedet på forsiden kanaliserer George Michaels berømte ikoniske ”Faith”-albums omslag, hvilket er en forfriskende forandring. Men George Michael-lookaliken har en bibel i hånden:

Forsiden af sektens seneste pjece

Pjecen kanaliserer George Michaels ikoniske ”Faith”-albums omslag,

hvilket er en forfriskende forandring, for at sige mildt.

13:00 Jeg har lidt alenetid og jeg går i seng for at tage en gigantisk eftermidddagslur. Jeg vågner op og lytter lidt til radio. Et interessant program, hvori den berømte amerikansk-fødte forfatter, Bill Bryson, taler lidt om hjernen, læsende op fra sin nye bog, ”The Body”.

Bryson lyder næsten som en englænder nu, men dette er ikke særlig overraskende i betragtning af, at han har boet her i 40 år, eller deromkring.

Bogens første kapitel handler om hjernen, men det er for det meste ”sjove fakta om hjernen”, snarere, end noget i stil med et ”Neurologi 101”-type af grundlæggende universitetskursus, hvilket er fair nok: trods alt må vi huske på, at dette radioprogram varer kun 15 minutter – nok sagt! Og Bryson har en talent for at gøre selve de mest tørre biologiske processer sjove og morsomme, hvilket er rart.

Vi hører om forskellige syndromer i løbet af programmet. Bryson siger, at det lader til, at der er en næsten ubegrænsede samling af bizarre syndromer forbundet med neurologiske forstyrrelser, mange af dem lidt sindsoprivende, for at sige mildt.

For eksempel, Anton Babinski-syndrom, der påvirker mennesker, som er blinde, men som nægter at tro på det. Eller Cotard-syndrom, hvor folk kommer til at tro på, at de er døde, og man ikke kan overbevise dem, at det ikke er sandt.

Også Capgras-syndrom, hvor folk kommer til at tro på, at dem, de kender godt, er alle bedragere – du godeste!

Bryson siger, at måske det meste uforventet faktum om vores hjerner er, at de er meget mindre, end de var for 10 – 12.000 år siden. Og forskellen er helt betydelig: den gennemsnitlige hjerne er skrumpet ind fra 1500 cc til 1350 cc, hvilket er lidt som om man øser en klump materiale, der svarer til størrelsen af en tennisbolde, ud af hjernen – yikes!

Og dette reduktion i størrelse skete på samme tid verden over, af en eller anden grund. Er vores hjerner simpelthen blevet mere effektive: bedre præstation i et mindre rum, eller er vi blevet dummere? Det er juryen stadig ude om.

Derudover gennem samme perioden er vores kranier blevet tyndere, men måske med vores moderne  stillesiddende livstil, har vi ikke brug for at investere så meget i vores kranieben, som før i tiden. Du godeste, hvor fascinerende!

Bill Bryson er i øjeblikket meget i vores tanker – Lois har gjort hans bog, ”The Road to Little Dribbing”, til sin nuværende sengetidbog, og hun læser uddrag op til mig indimellem.

Bill Bryson

Lois’ nuværende natbord, med Brysons bog på toppen af bunken

15:00 Jeg står op og slapper af med en kop kaffe.

15:30 Min ven Scilla ringer til mig. Jeg er et medlem af Scillas U3A oldnordiske gruppe, der holder sine møder hos os hver anden onsdag. Hun siger, at en af Cheltenhams svenske indbyggere har kontaktet hende – hun vil slutte sig til Scillas gruppe og lære lidt mere om oldnordisk, et sprog, der er forgænger af alle de skandinaviske sprog, herunder svensk.

Scilla vil mødes med kvinden i morgen, og snakke lidt med hende om gruppens aktiviteter osv. Jeg fortæller Scilla jeg ikke har noget imod, at gruppen accepterer et nyt medlem. Jeg glæder mig til at møde denne svenske kvinder – vi får se. Scilla vil briefe mig om hendes samtale med kvinden om et par dage.

Det vil være rart, hvis vi kan få en svensker til at slutte sig til Scillas gruppe – for øjeblikket er Scilla gruppens honorære  islandske repræsentant, og jeg er den honorære dansker. Alle vi nu har brug for er en nordmand (måske kong Harald, som havde en engelsk farmor?), også en færing måske – så vil vi få et fuldt sæt ha ha ha!

16:00 Lois kommer tilbage fra Tewkesbury og vi slapper lidt af i sofaen. Hun er udmattet efter at være gået ned en masse gader for at distribuere sin sekts pjecer – hun og Alf var i dag i et villakvarter, der er blevet lidt af en ”velhaverghetto”, hvor husene er på lidt af en afstand fra gaden, med lange indkørsler, hvilket var lidt irriterende. Stakkels Lois !!!!

18:00 Vi spiser aftensmad og bruger resten af aftenen på at se lidt fjernsyn, den 2. time af en 2-timers lang film, ”The King’s Choice”. Vi så den 1. time for et par dage siden.

Lois og jeg ser ikke ret mange film, men vi kan godt lide de film, som er baserede på historiske begivenheder, fordi vi føler, vi lærer noget. Før i aften vidste vi ikke særlig meget om Tysklands invasion af Norge, angiveligt for at ”beskytte Norge mod briterne og deres aggressive hensigter mod landet”. Og vi vidste ikke, at kong Haakon 7., sammen med kronprinsen Olaf og Olafs familie, statsministeren, kabinettet, og hele parlamentet flygtede nordpå lige før nazisterne invaderede landet.

Vi nyder filmen især på grund af dens mangel på glamour og glitz – det var en utrolig bister periode (kort men intens) for nordmændene, og filmens stemning er passende bister og desperat, med slet ingen baggrundmusik, ingen smil, ingen latter osv.

Der er mange sindsoprivende scener: for eksempel de unge, skræmmede men modige teenage-soldater af de norske hær og hjemmeværn med deres simple våben, beordret at forsinke på en eller anden måde, de kan, de avancerende tysker, så kongen og regeringen kunne flytte videre nordpå. Det er lidt frygtende at forestille sig, at der i 1940 kunne være sket de samme ting, eller lignende, i Storbritannien, hvis vi havde været en lille smule mindre heldige.

Beslutningen  er taget, at kronprins Olaf ville forblive med kong Haakon, men kronprincesse Martha og deres børn ville flygte over bjergene til Sverige, for at sikre kongehusets langvarige overlevelse. Endnu en sindsoprivende scene, da børnene er pakket ind i bilen med deres mor, og de er nødt til at sige farvel til deres elskede far, Olaf, og deres farfar, kongen, med tårerne trillende ned ad de små kinder på dem. Yikes!

Da vi ser de grædende børn, minder det både Lois og mig af scenerne, da vores små tvillingebørnebørn, Lily og Jessie, forlod vores hus med tårerne trillende ned ad de små kinder på dem, på vej til Heathrow-lufthavn og deres fly til Australien. Yikes (igen) !!!!!

tilbageblik til den 29. november 2015:

vores (dengang 2,5-årige) børnebørn forlader os for at blivet taget

med taxa til Heathrow på vej til et nyt liv i Australien

hulk hulk !!!!

Selvfølgelig var de to situationer helt anderledes, men i børnenes øjne var det for det meste det samme – de forstod ikke, hvad der skete, de var bange for, hvor de ville blive taget.

Hulk, hulk !!!!

Aftenens film har imidlertid lidt af en lykkelig slutning, hvilket er rart. Til sidst rejser Martha og børnene, inklusive Harald, den ældste søn (Norges nuværende konge), til USA. Og kong Haakon og kronprins Olaf flygtede til Storbritannien, hvorfra de gjorde deres bedste for at holde nordmændenes moral oppe og støtte landets modstandsbevægelse.

Og vi ser kong Haakon i 1945 i London hilser sin barnebarn Harald, der næsten ikke genkender sin farfar efter familiens 5 år lange eksil i Sverige og USA, hvilket er rørende også, på en anderledes måde.

22:00 Vi går i seng. Vi skal stå tidligt op i morgen fordi Ian, vores venlige lokale vinduespuser kommer kl 9 og vi vil ikke have, at han fanger os i sengen eller i brusekabinen – yikes, travlt travlt travlt!!!! Zzzzzzzzz!!!!!!