Thursday November 14 2019

09:00 Lois and I stay in bed longer than usual – it’s raining heavily again and the weather girl says the rain will continue most of the day - damn!

We tumble out of the shower cubicle and after breakfast I take a little look at my smartphone. I see that the local racetrack has cancelled tomorrow's races: tomorrow was supposed to be the 1st day of a 2-day festival. Bad news for the racetrack and fans, but good news for local residents, no doubt about it - fewer traffic jams tomorrow when Lois and I plan to take the bus into town and do some shopping. Hoorah!

Later in the day, we see local schoolchildren coming home early from school due to the rain, flooding and the like. My god, what a crazy world we live in !!!!

11:00 I sit down with the computer and start browsing through several pages of Anna Grue's Danish crime novel, “The Deeper You Fall”, which is our U3A Danish group's current project. My aim is to reach the end of the third chapter before our next group meeting (next Thursday) and compile vocabulary lists of the difficult words, to save members having to look them up in a dictionary. I am so warm-hearted ha ha ha!

Anna Grue's Danish crime novel, "Deep to fall",

which is our U3A Danish group's current project

Police Detective Flemming Torp is currently investigating the killing of Lilliana, a mysterious cleaning assistant who gets garrotted while working late at night in the kitchens of a large Danish advertising agency, Kurt & Ko.

Police suspect the killer also works for the same agency as Lilliana, so Flemming has asked his best friend Dan Sommerdahl to help him with the investigation, because Dan, of course, knows the agency staff well, "who’s screwing who" and the like.

Police Detective Flemming Torp (left) along with

his best friend, Dan Sommerdahl and Dan's wife, Marianne

The mysterious Lilliana - no one knows her last name - shared a dingy apartment with another mysterious woman of the same age: Sally, an African woman who unfortunately disappeared without a trace at the same time as her roomie, Lilliana, got garrotted, which is strange.

Today I learn the Danish word "alfons" - "pimp" in English, which is nice. Lilliana's employer, Merethe, suspects that Lilliana was an ex-prostitute on the run from some "alfons".

What an interesting word! It turns out that the word comes from the French word "Alphonse", originally the name of a fictional person, "Monsieur Alphonse" in Alexandre Dumas the Younger’s 1873 play of the same name.

It's a bit of a shame that Alexandre Dumas the Younger is dead - it would have been very satisfying for him to know that the name he chose for his fictional hero had created new words across the continent - though not in Britain for some reason. Once again we are Europe's "odd man out" – damn!

I am quite sure that Britain's army of "pimps" would be very happy to be called an alphonse rather than a "pimp" – that’s something I have no doubts about !!!!

12:30 Lois and I have lunch and afterwards relax with a cup of tea on the sofa. While we sit and talk, the postman delivers a wedding invitation from my niece Maria and her long-time partner Tom. Lois and I actually met on Monday with my sister Gill, Maria's mother, and Gill tipped me off that the invitations were being sent out this week. The wedding will take place next April near the town of Newmarket.

the invitation

The Granary Estates where the wedding is to take place

Tom and Maria, a recent photo

Later in the day, we log onto the couple’s wedding website. Today we limit ourselves to accepting the invitation and booking a hotel room for two nights, right in the middle  of Newmarket. We leave the decision on a wedding present until tomorrow.

The schedule looks a little daunting, to put it mildly. I hope we can sneak out of the hall after the couple cuts the cake (7:45 p.m.) - Lois and I are both dyed-in-the-wool morning people, especially me, and I don't want to be at a party that starts at 8 pm - yikes, what madness !!!!

the couple's scary timetable -

my god, what madness !!!!

However, I suspect that Lois will want us to stay in the hall for at least the first hour or so of the party and that she will persuade me to dance with her, as she did at her cousin Brian's 60th wedding anniversary last August, and that we will get to enjoy several moments of public intimacy together, which will be nice. And I will pause for a while and remember the first time we danced, alone in the living room of my parents' house in Oxford exactly 50 years ago this year. Yikes - time flies, no doubt about that.

Flashback to August: Ruth and Brian's 60th wedding anniversary party

in Bournemouth, the last time Lois and I danced with each other

17:30 We talk a little on the phone with Alison, our daughter in Haslemere, Surrey, and afterwards we have dinner. We spend the rest of the evening watching some television, the final of this year's competition to be named "House of the Year" by RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects). The programme's host is the charming Kevin McCloud.

"Grand Designs" is the series I love to hate first and foremost because I hate these huge modern houses with their huge echoing half-empty living rooms, uncomfortable sofas that are too deep to sit on (one can only lie, half-lie or half-sit), massive heavy dining tables and dining chairs, massively high ceilings (double-height, or more), etc. The houses always look more like industrial complexes, a power plant, or a company's headquarters than a home in my opinion.

Tonight's episode is no exception. We see 5 horrible new houses, all of which are candidates to be named "House of the Year" by RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects).

Sometimes (though very rarely) one of the Grand Designs houses looks charming from the outside, but the effect is always ruined by the interior of the house, I think.

This episode’s  first house has a very beautiful roof, for example, which Lois and I both like - made of copper and helical. But the interior of the house is truly horrible, with the clichés of the massive uncomfortable sofas - you never see anyone sitting on them: they are just for the show, to look elegant, we think.

the effect of the beautiful spiral roof on the house ...

... is totally ruined by the horrible interior of the house, with

its massive uncomfortable sofas, etc.

not to mention the massive waste of space everywhere

If you like these typical modern houses, you just have to like noise and nuisance: no carpets or curtains, so all the sounds echo massively. No partitions, so all the conversations, the TV etc can be heard all over the house. Wooden stairs without carpeting are mandatory, so anyone coming up or down the stairs sounds like a herd of elephants. My god, what madness !!!!!

wooden stairs with no carpets are mandatory, so anyone coming up or down the stairs

sounds like a herd of elephants – my god, what madness !!!!

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

Danish translation: torsdag den 14. november 2019

09:00 Lois og jeg bliver liggende længere i sengen, end normalt – det regner kraftigt igen, og vejrpigen siger, at regnvejret vil fortsætte det meste af dagen – pokkers!

Vi vælter ud af brusekabinen, og efter morgenmad kigger jeg lidt på min smartphone. Jeg ser, at det lokale væddeløbsbane har aflyst morgendagens løb: det var meningen, at i morgen skulle være den 1. dag af en 2-dages festival. En dårlig nyhed for væddeløbsbanen og fansene, men en god nyhed for lokale indbyggere, ingen tvivl om det – færre trafikpropper i morgen, når Lois og jeg har planer om at tage bussen ind i byen og gøre lidt shopping. Hurra!

Senere på dagen ser vi lokale skolebørn komme tidligt hjem fra skolerne, på grund af regnvejret, oversvømmelse og lignende. Du godeste, sikke en skør verden vi lever i !!!!

11:00 Jeg sætter mig med computeren og går i gang med at blade igennem flere sider af Anna Grues danske krimiroman, ”Dybt at falde”, som er vores U3A danske gruppes nuværende projekt. Mit formål er at nå til enden på det tredje kapitel før vores næste gruppemøde (næste torsdag) og udfærdige ordforrådlister med de svære ord, for at spare medlemmer for at måtte slå dem op i en ordbog. Jeg er så varmhjertet ha ha ha!

Anna Grues danske krimiroman, ”Dybt at falde”,

som er vores U3A danske gruppes nuværende projekt

Politidetektiven Flemming Torp er for tiden i gang med at undersøge drabet af Lilliana, en mystisk rengøringsassistent, der bev garrotteret mens hun arbejdede sent på aftenen i køkkener af et stort dansk reklamebureau, ved navnet Kurt & Ko.

Politiet mistænker, at morderen også arbejder for samme bureauet som Lilliana, så har Flemming bedt sin bedste ven Dan Sommerdahl om at hjælpe ham med undersøgelsen, fordi Dan selfølgelig kender godt bureauets personale, ”hvem sover med hvem” og den slags.

Politidetektiven Flemming Torp (til venstre) sammen med

sin bedste ven, Dan Sommerdahl og Dans kone, Marianne

Den mystiske Lilliana – ingen ved hendes efternavn – delte en snusket lejlighed med en anden mystisk kvinde i samme alderen:  Sally, en afrikansk kvinde, der desværre forsvandt sporløs i grov træk samtidig  med, at hendes roomie, Lilliana, blev garrotteret, hvilket er mærkeligt.

I dag lærer jeg det danske ord ”alfons” – ”pimp” på engelsk, hvilket er rart. Lillianas arbejdsgiver, Merethe, mistænker, at Lilliana var en eks-prostituerede på flygt fra en eller anden ”alfons”.

Sikke et interessant ord! Det viser sig, at ordet stammer fra det franske ord ”Alphonse”, oprindeligt navnet på en fiktiv person, ”Monsieur Alphonse” i Alexandre Dumas den yngres skuespil fra 1873 af samme navn.

Det er lidt af en skam, at Alexandre Dumas den yngre er død – det ville have været meget tilfredsstillende for ham at vide, at hans fiktiv helt havde skabt nye ord hele kontinentet over – selvom ikke i Storbritannien af en eller anden grund. En gang til er vi Europas ”en der en tilovers” – pokkers!

Jeg er helt sikker på, at Storbritanniens hær af ”pimps” ville være meget glad for, at blive kaldet en alfons, frem for en ”pimp” – det har jeg ikke nogen tvivl om!!!!

12:30 Vi spiser frokost og bagefter slapper af med en kop te i sofaen. Mens vi sidder og snakker, leverer postbudet en bryllupsinvitation fra min niece Maria og hendes langvarige partner Tom. Lois og jeg mødtes faktisk i mandags med min søster Gill, Marias mor, og Gill tippede mig om, at invitationerne denne uge var ved at blive afsendt. Bryllupet skal finde sted næste april i nærheden af byen Newmarket.

Invitationen

Granary Estates, hvor brylluppet skal finde sted

Tom og Maria, et nyligt billede

Senere på dagen logger vi ind i parrets bryllupswebsted. I dag begrænser vi os til at svare ja til invitationen og booke et hotelværelse i to nætter, midt i byen Newmarket. Vi overlader beslutningen om en bryllupsgave indtil i morgen.

Tidsplanen ser lidt skræmmende ud, for at sige mildt. Jeg håber på, at vi kan snige ud af salen efter parret skærer kagen (kl 19:45) – Lois og jeg er begge to vaskeægte morgenmennesker, i sær mig, og jeg har ikke lyst til at deltage i en party, der starter kl 20 – yikes, sikke et vanvid!!!!

parrets skræmmende tidsplan –

du godeste, sikke et vanvid !!!!

Jeg mistænker imidlertid, at Lois vil have at vi bliver i salen og deltage i det mindste festens første time eller deromkring, og at hun vil overtale mig til at danse med hende, som hun gjorde til sin fætter Brians 60. bryllupsdagsfest sidste august, og vi kommer til at nyde flere øjeblikke af offentlig intimitet sammen, hvilket vil være rart. Og jeg vil standse et stykke tid og mindes om den første gang vi dansede, alene i stuen af mine forældres hus i Oxford for præcis 50 år siden i år. Yikes - tiden flyver af sted, når man har det sjovt, ingen tvivl om det.

tilbageblik til august: Ruth og Brians 60. bryllupsdagfest

i Bournemouth, den sidste gang Lois og jeg dansede med hinanden

17:30 Vi taler lidt på telefon med Alison, vores datter i Haslemere, Surrey, og bagefter spiser vi aftensmad. Vi bruger resten af aftenen på at se lidt fjersyn, finalen af årets konkurrence til at blive nævnet ”årets hus” af RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects). Programmets vært er den charmerende Kevin McCloud.

”Grand Designs” er den serie jeg først og fremmest elsker at hade, fordi jeg hader disse enorme moderne huse med deres enorme ekkoende halv-tomme stuer, ukomfortable sofaer, for dybe til at sidde på (man kan kun ligger, halvt-ligger eller halvt sidder), massive tunge spiseborde og spisestole, massivt høje lofter (dobbelt-højde, eller mere) osv.  Husene ligner altid mere industrielle komplekser, et kraftværk, eller et selskabs hovedkontor, end hjem efter min mening.

Aftenens afsnit er ikke nogen undtagelse. Vi ser 5 horrible nye huse, der alle er kandidater til at blive navnet ”årets hus” af RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects).

Nogle gange (om end meget sjældent) ser ét af Grand Designs-husene charmerende ud set udefra, men effektet er ødelagt af husets indre, synes jeg.

Afsnittets første hus har et meget smukt tag for eksempel, som Lois og jeg godt kan lide – lavet af kobber og spiralformet. Men husets indre er sandeligt horribel, med klichéerne af de massive ukomfortable sofae – man ser aldrig nogen sidde på dem: de er bare for et syns skyld, for at se elegante ud, synes vi.

effektet af husets smukke tag, spiralformet...

...er ødelagt af husets horrible indre, med

de massive ukomfortable sofaer osv

for ikke at nævne det massive spild af plads overalt

Hvis du godt kan lide disse typiske moderne huse, må du kunne lide larm og støj: ingen gulvtæppe og gardiner, så al støj ekkoer massivt. Ingen skillevægge, så alle samtalerne, fjernsynet osv kan høres hele huset over. Trætrapper er obligatoriske, så én, der kommer op og ned ad trappen lyder som en flok elefanter. Du godeste, sikke et vanvid!!!!!

trætrapper er obligatoriske, så én der kommer op og ned ad trappen

lyder som en flok elefanter – du godeste, sikke et vanvid !!!!

22:00 Vi går I seng – zzzzzzzzz!!!