Wednesday October 30 2019

09:00 Lois and I drive over to the small town of Bishop's Cleeve, 3 miles north of Cheltenham, because Lois has an appointment at 9:30 am with the local clinic's physiotherapist to talk about her back and hip problems.

Bishop's Cleeve Village Clinic, where Lois has

an appointment with the physiotherapist

I drop her off in front of the clinic and head into the local supermarket to buy a few things, including candy bags in case we get visits from little trick-or-treat enthusiasts tomorrow night. 

Afterwards, I pop into the local hardware store to buy two padlocks I can use to lock our garden gate and shed: there's been a bit of a security craze recently  in the neighbourhood, after our neighbours opposite, John and Miriam, on the other side of the road, got a visit from a burglar last week.

the local Tesco supermarket where I buy candy bags

in case we are visited by trick-or-treat enthusiasts tomorrow night

Cleeve Supplies, the local hardware store,

where I buy two padlocks, in case we are visited by a burglar - yikes !!!

The current wave of security mania dates back ultimately to a decision by George W Bush in 2007 to improve security at the White House (source: Onion News).

WASHINGTON, DC – Citing a need for increased national security measures President Bush has added 8 inches to the 12-foot fence surrounding his residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

"The president has always been a strong proponent of domestic security, and this brave decision says to any potential burglar that if you want to get into his house, you will have an extra eight inches to contend with," said White House press secretary Tony Snow at a news conference Monday.

Snow added that the president will also leave the TV and the lights on every time he and the first lady go out. "In addition, the president has got another guard-dog, and from now on, the garage doors will always be closed." While Snow denied rumours that Bushes was considering moving to a safer neighbourhood nearby, he did concede that the new "This White House Protected by a Home Security System" sign on the front lawn is actually just a clever deterrent.

George W Bush - Improved security at the White House in 2007

It has taken Lois and me a long time, but eventually we are "on board" with Bush's ideas! And the padlocks were a little expensive, at £5 apiece, or so, but I consider them a good investment, and I'm considering emailing Donald Trump so I can recommend to him these padlocks, including the store where I bought them: they only have 2 of them left, so Donald must act fast, no doubt about that! I suspect Bush might have forgotten about the The White House’s garden gate and garden shed.

And Cleeve Supplies can only benefit from getting the president's interest in their business. I sometimes worry about the future of the store - I am their only customer most days - yikes !!!

11:00 I pick up Lois after her appointment. While sitting in the clinic's waiting room, I get a whatsapp call from Sarah, our daughter in Perth, Australia. She wants to ask Lois for advice on the first pumpkin she has ever had to prepare. She sends me a photo of it too. I tell her that the pumpkin is really scary, to put it mildly!

  

Sarah's pumpkin in their kitchen in Perth, Australia

I'm just an old crow, so I still find it very bizarre to say the least that I can be sitting in a waiting room in Bishop's Cleeve and talking to my daughter who is on the other side of the world, 9000 miles from here. What madness !!!!

11:30 Lois and I drive home. The physiotherapist has given Lois a set of exercises that she must do 5 times a day, which is nice.

We relax with a cup of coffee and afterwards I start clearing up and vacuuming all over the house because Scilla's U3A Old Norse group is holding its regular fortnightly meeting here this afternoon at 2:30 pm.

13:00 We have lunch and afterwards I go to bed and take a short afternoon nap. I get up at 2pm and prepare for Scilla's group meeting.

For the second time, Lois has decided to join in the meeting, which is nice. And I put another extra chair at the table because Scilla has said she has met a Swedish woman living in Cheltenham who is interested in joining the group.

14; 30 Group members ring at the door, but unfortunately no Swedish woman shows up - Scilla tells us that the woman has changed her mind - she apparently bought a copy of Njal's saga in Engish and unfortunately decided it was too violent. Those crazy Swedes !!!

But I sympathize a little with the woman. Some of the fights between the farmers in the saga are a bit over the top, to put it mildly. But the opponents always make peace with each other later, except for when one (or both) of them are dead, which is nice, I have to say. The whole thing is just a bit of fun, after all. See this example from Chapter 63, which we will be reading for Scilla's next group meeting, scheduled for November 13:

Good grief, what a crazy world they lived in in those times !!!! And extra proof if proof were needed that a farmer's life has always been tough, no matter what country you come from, no doubt about that !!!!

typical scenes from the annual conference of the

Icelandic National Farmers' Union Union (INBU)

16:00 The meeting ends and members leave. Lois and I relax with a cup of tea and a biscuit on the couch.

18:00 We have dinner. Lois eventually decides not to attend her sect's weekly Bible class, due to take place tonight in Tewkesbury library, and in fact, the class is later cancelled anyway, due to traffic problems around the M5 motorway. The motorway has been closed to traffic all day, after police found a body on the road shortly after midnight. They've closed the motorway so they can investigate and look for evidence and clues, and the like, but the downside is that there has been mega traffic chaos all over the area. My god, what madness !!!!

20:00 We are exhausted again. We spend the rest of the evening listening to the radio and watching some television. We hear an interesting radio show in the series SLICE: Politics and Personality (part 2) "L" = "Likes". The programme's host is the charming Jolyon Jenkins.

Cambridge Analytica discovered that it was just as good to count people’s Facebook ‘likes’ as to try to persuade them to take conventional psychological questionnaires – it was actually better, quicker and cheaper too.

And it turns out that Facebook users who like Hello Kitty score high on openness but low on conscientiousness, agreeableness, and mental stability. It's lucky that Lois and I both don't like Hello Kitty - I have to say! Of course we haven’t told anybody about this – until now – yikes! I think I just gave the game away. Damn!!!!

22:00 We go to bed - zzzzzzzzz !!!!

Danish translation: onsdag den 30. oktober 2019

09:00 Lois og jeg kører over til den lille by Bishops Cleeve, der ligger 3 miles nord for Cheltenham, fordi Lois har en aftale kl 09:30 hos den lokale kliniks fysioterapeut, for at tale om sine ryg- og hofteproblemer.

Bishops Cleeve Village Clinic, hvor Lois har en aftale hos fysioterapeuten

Jeg sætter hende af foran klinikken og smutter ind i det lokale supermarked for at købe et par ting, inklusive slikposer for det tilfælde af, at vi får besøg fra små trick-or-treat entusiaster i morgen aften. Bagefter kigger jeg ind i den lokale isenkræmmerforretning, for at købe to hængelåse, jeg kan bruge for at låse vores havelåge og haveskur: der har været lidt af en sikkerhedsmani for nylig i nabolaget, efter vores genboer, John og Miriam, på den anden side af vejen, fik besøg af en indbrudstyv sidste uge.

det lokale Tesco-supermarked, hvor jeg køber nogle slikposer

for det tilfælde, vi får besøg af trick-or-treat entusiaster i morgen aften

Cleeve Supplies, den lokale isenkræmmerforretning,

hvor jeg køber to hængelåse, for det tilfælde vi får besøg af en indbrudstyv – yikes!!!

Den nuværende bølge af sikkerhedsmani kan dateres af en beslutning af George W Bush i 2007 at forbedre sikkerheden på det Hvide Hus (kilde: Onion News).

WASHINGTON, DC - Præsident Bush henviste til et behov for øgede nationale sikkerhedsforanstaltninger da han tilføjede 8 tommer til det 12-fods hegn, der omgiver hans bopæl ved 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

"Præsidenten har altid været en stærk fortaler for indenrigssikkerhed, og denne modige beslutning siger til enhver potentiel indbrudstyv, at hvis du vil komme ind i hans hus, vil du have en ekstra otte tommer til at kæmpe med," sagde White Husets pressesekretær Tony Snow på en nyhedsmøde mandag.

Snow tilføjede, at præsidenten også vil forlade tv'et og lysene tændt hver gang han og den første dame går ud. "Desuden fik præsidenten en anden vagthund, og fra nu af vil garageportene altid være lukket." Mens Snow benægtede rygter om, at Bushes overvejede at flytte til en mere sikker forstad i nærheden, bekræftede han, at det nye "Dette Hvide Hus beskyttet af et hjemmesikkerhedssystem" tegn på den forreste græsplæne faktisk bare er et smart afskrækkende middel.

George W Bush – forbedrede sikkerheden på det Hvide Hus i 2007

Det har taget Lois og mig en lang tid, men omsider er vi ”ombord” med Bush’ idéer! Og hængelåsene var lidt dyre, på 5£ pr stykke, eller deromkring, men jeg betragter dem som en god investering, og jeg overvejer at sende en email til Donald Trump, så jeg kan anbefaler ham de her hængelåse, også den butik, hvor jeg købte dem: de har kun 2 af dem tilbage, så Donald må agere hurtigt, ingen tvivl om det! Jeg mistænker, at Bush kunne have glemt om bygningens havelåge og haveskur.

Og Cleeve Supplies kan kun nyde godt af at få præsidentens interesse for forretningen. Jeg bekymrer mig af og til om butikkens fremtid – jeg er de fleste dage deres eneste kunde – yikes!!!

11:00 Jeg afhenter Lois efter hendes aftale. Mens jeg sidder i klinikkens ventesal, får jeg et whatsapp-opkald  fra Sarah, vores datter i Perth, Australien. Hun vil bede Lois om råd, hvad angår det første græskar, hun nogensinde har måttet forberede. Hun sender mig et foto af det også. Jeg fortæller hende, at græskarret er sandelig skræmmende, for at sige mildt!

Sarahs græskar i Perth, Australien

Jeg er bare en gammel krage, så finder jeg det stadig meget bizart, for at sige mildt, at jeg kan sidde i et ventesal i Bishops Cleeve og tale med min datter, der er i den anden side af verden, 9000 miles herfra. Sikke et vanvid!!!!

11:30 Vi kører hjem. Fysioterapeuten har givet Lois et sæt øvelser, som hun skal dyrke 5 gange om dagen, hvilket er rart.

Vi slapper af med en kop kaffe og bagefter går jeg i gang med at rydde op og støvsuge overalt i huset, fordi Scillas U3A oldnordiske gruppe holder sit regelmæssige fjortendagsmøde i eftermiddag kl 14:30 hos os.

13:00 Vi spiser frokost og bagefter går jeg i seng for at tage en kort eftermiddagslur. Jeg står op kl 14 og forbereder mig på Scillas gruppemøde.

For den 2. gang har Lois besluttet at være med til mødet, hvilket er rart. Jeg sætter en ekstra stol ved bordet, fordi Scilla har sagt, hun har mødt en svensk kvinde, der bor i Cheltenham, som interesserer sig for at melde sig ind i gruppen.

14;30 Gruppemedlemmer ringer på døren, men desværre dukker ingen svensk kvinde op – Scilla fortæller os, om kvinden har ombestemmet sig – hun købte et eksemplar af Njals saga, og besluttede desværre, det var for voldsom. De der vanvittige svenskere!!!

Men jeg sympatiserer lidt med kvinden. Nogle af slagsmålene mellem bondemændene i sagaen er lidt over the top, for at sige mildt. Men de modstandere forsoner sig altid med hinanden senere, bortset fra hverken den ene eller den anden (eller begge to) er døde, det må jeg nok sige! Det hele er bare lidt af sjov, på trods alt. Se dette eksempel fra kapitel 63, som vi skal læse i forberedelse på Scillas næste gruppemøde, bestemt til den 13. november:

Du godeste, sikke en skør verden de levede i i de der tider!!!! Og ekstra beviser på, hvis beviser blev behøvet, at en bondemands liv altid har været hårdt, uanset for hvilke land du stammer fra, ingen tvivl om det!!!!

typiske scener fra den årlige konference af den

Islandske Nationale Bondemænds (INB) fagforening

16:00 Mødet slutter og medlemmer skal af sted. Lois og jeg slapper af med en kop te og en kiks i sofaen.

18:00 Vi spiser aftensmad. Lois beslutter til sidst ikke at deltage i sin sekts ugentlige bibelklasse, der finder sted i aften i byen Tewkesburys bibliotek, og faktisk bliver klassen i hvert fald aflyst, på grund af trafikproblemer omkring M5-motorvejen. Motorvejen er blevet lukket for trafik hele dagen, efter politiet fandt et lig på vejen kort efter midnat,. De har lukket motorvejen, så de kan foretage en undersøgelse og lede efter beviser og spor, og den slags, men ulempen er, at der har været mega trafikkaos hele området over.  Du godeste, sikke et vanvid!!!!

20:00 Vi er udmattede igen. Vi bruger resten af aftenen på at lytte til radio og se lidt fjernsyn. Vi hører et interessant radioprogram i serien SLICE: Politics and Personality (2. del) ”L”= ”Likes”. Programmets vært er den charmerende Jolyon Jenkins.

Cambridge Analyica opdagede, at der var bedre, hurtigere, og billigere at tælle folks Facebook-likes, end at overtale dem til at fylde konventionelle psykologiske test osv. Og det viser sig også, at Facebook-brugere, som kan lide Hello Kitty scorer højt på åbenhed, men lavt på samvittighedsfuldhed, behagelighed, og mental stabilitet. Det er heldigt, at både Lois og jeg ikke kan lide Hello Kitty – det må jeg nok sige! Selvfølgelig har vi ikke sagt noget om dette – indtil nu  - yikes! Jeg synes, jeg lige har afsløret det hele – pokkers!!!!

22:00 Vi går i seng – zzzzzzzzz!!!!