Friday December 20 2019

09:00 Lois and I tumble out of the shower cubicle, and after breakfast I sit down with the computer and browse the world's news media. I see in the Australian media that wildfires have been threatening Perth's northern suburbs, including Yanchep - where our daughter Sarah and her family lived a few years ago - yikes! The temperature had been up to 40C / 104F or so for several days - yikes (again) !!!!

Flashback to June 2016: Lois and I visit Yanchep National Park

with our daughter Sarah and her (then) 3-year-old twins

Let's just hope that these cute koalas and kangaroos didn't have to move from their homes as the wildfires approached - yikes (again) !!!!

Flashback to April 2016: Lois's "koala face"

Included for comparison purposes: Sheldon's "koala face" 

on the French version of The Big Bang Theory

Michael Portillo, one of Margaret Thatcher's former ministers (left)

TV host Simon Reeve

TV host Julia Bradbury.

Lois's version is still the best in my opinion, but that's just my taste - others can make their own choices ha ha ha! Don't write me any letters though ha ha ha ha !!!!

10:00 I continue to browse the news media and especially through the Danish news sites. When I spot Morten Ingemann's latest comic strip, I get a bit of a shock, to put it mildly.

Morten Ingemann, my favourite Danish cartoonist

Ingemann is my favourite Danish cartoonist - no doubt about that. He is particularly interested in ugly, obese, middle-aged or older people, the kind of people that most cartoonists rarely pay attention to.

He has the ability to turn a completely routine situation into one that makes us examine our motives, which is always refreshing. How often have one of us bumped into Santa Claus in a bar or in pub, and perhaps given the old guy more respect than he deserves, when news of some of his less jolly activities starts coming out - I have to say!!!

At Christmas, many of Ingemann’s  comic strip series feature a middle-aged obese Santa: today Ingemann's Santa is sitting in some bar talking to an obese, ugly customer sitting next to him. The customer says he has heard that Santa is getting a lot of "pussy" and he asks what his secret is. Santa explains that it’s just that he "knows where the naughty girls live".

The joke proves once again that the Danes are the least politically correct of all the Scandinavians, no doubt about that. 

I don't think it's a totally new joke, but I would not expect to see such a "just for adults", naughty cartoon strip in a British newspaper. My god, what madness !!!

But the cartoon supports the long-standing tradition that Santa is actually a bit of an alcoholic, whom the "fairies" have a hard time keeping sober for 24 hours, so he can do what is actually the only thing on his mission statement. Stay focused, Santa!

12:00 We have lunch and afterwards I go to bed and take a gigantic afternoon nap. Meanwhile, Lois walks around the corner to the local library to help library staff organize and lead their weekly "baby bounce & rhyme" session for the neighbourhood's very young children (and their mothers and grandparents).

18:00 We have dinner and spend the rest of the evening watching some television. An old edition of Top of the Pops is on, from Christmas Day 1988, showcasing the most popular songs of the year.

It is nostalgic to hear the old songs again, and Lois gets another chance to swoon over Pet Shop Boy Neil Tennant's curly hair.

The "boys" sing their version of the song "You Were Always On My Mind" and the line "I just never took the time, " also gives her the chance to make her usual comment: so why didn't you take the time?" ha ha ha! Can’t argue with that!!!!

I browse through our photo albums and I can hardly find any photos from 1988, except for a few not-very-good pictures taken on vacation. It was before the onset of the digital age, and we were much less inclined to take pictures, I recall.

I remember the year as a rather difficult period: our eldest daughter Alison had her 13^th birthday and turned into a bit of a rebel for a couple of years. Suddenly, family vacations became much more difficult because she tended to say that everything we did was boring - my goodness (and with hindsight she was probably right anyway ha ha ha)! And she didn't like being photographed and that kind of thing. The phase only lasted 2 years or so, if I remember rightly.

She joined her grammar school's military "cadet corps" and participated in group training sessions, field trips, night manoeuvers, etc. - yikes! It's hard to imagine it all now, I have to say, now that she’s  44, with 3 kids: the eldest one, Josie, also turned 13 in September this year.

Flashback to the autumn of 1988: our eldest daughter Alison aged 13, in our backyard,

in her grammar school cadet corps uniform, at the beginning of her brief rebellious period

- her appearance has changed a lot over the past 31 years,

although our backyard still looks the same, I notice.

Time really flies!!!!

our dear daughter Alison today

Alison (right) making sure that her smartphone-toting eldest daughter Josie (13) (left)

has everything she needs for another day at her local high school

Yes, time really does fly, no doubt about that.

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

Danish translation: fredag den 20. december 2019

09:00 Lois og jeg vælter ud af brusekabinen, og efter morgenmad sætter jeg med computeren og surfer igennem verdens nyhedsmedier. Jeg ser i de australske medier, at ildebrande truer byen Perths nordlige forstæder, herunder Yanchep – hvor vores datter Sarah og hendes familie boede for et par år siden – yikes! Temperaturen havde været op til 40C / 104F eller deromkring i flere dage – yikes (igen) !!!!

tilbageblik til juni 2016: Lois og jeg besøger Yanchep National Park

sammen med vores datter Sarah og hendes (dengang) 3-årige tvillinger

Lad os håbe bare på, at disse søde koalaer og kænguruer ikke blev nødt til at flytte fra deres hjem, da ildebrandene nærmede sig – yikes (igen) !!!!

Tilbageblik til april 2016: Lois’s ”koala-fjæs”

Medtaget til sammenligning: Sheldons ”koala-fjæs” i Big Bang Theory

Michael Portillo, én af Margaret Thatchers ministre (til venstre)

Tv-værten Simon Reeve

Tv-værten Julia Bradbury.

Lois’ version er stadig den bedste i min udtalelse, men det der er bare min smag – andre kan gøre deres egne valg ha ha ha! Skriv ikke nogle breve til mig imidlertid ha ha ha!!!!

10:00 Jeg fortsætter med at blade nyhedsmedierne og især igennem de danske nyhedswebsteder. Da jeg får øje på Morten Ingemanns seneste tegneseriestribe. Jeg får lidt af en chok, for at sige mildt.

danske Morten Ingemann, min yndlingstegner

Ingemann er min yndlingstegner  – ingen tvivl om det. Han interesserer sig især for grimme, overvægtige, midaldrende eller ældre folk, de slags mennesker, som de fleste tegnere sjældent giver opmærksomhed til.

Han har evnen til at vende en helt rutinemæssig situation til én, der får os til at eksaminere vores motiver, hvilket altid er forfriskende. Hvor ofte har én eller anden af os stødt på julemanden på en bar eller pub, og måske givet ham mere respekt, end han fortjener, når nyheder om nogle af hans mindre anstændige aktiveter kommer frem – det må jeg nok sige!!!

Ved juletiden fremviser mange af hans tegnestribeserie en midaldrende overvægtig julemand: i dag sidder Ingemanns julemand på én eller anden bar og snakker med en overvægtig, grim kunde, der sidder ved siden af ham. Kunden siger, han har hørt, at julemanden får en masse ”fisse” og han spørger, hvad hans hemmelighed er. Julemanden forklarer, at han ”ved hvor de uartige piger bor”. 

Vittigheden beviser en gang til på, at danskerne er de mindst politiske korrekte af alle de skandinaver, ingen tvivl om det. Og jeg ville ikke forvente at se sådan en ”bare for voksne”, fræk tegnestribeserie i en britisk avis. Du godeste, sikke et vanvid!!!

Men tegneserien støtter den langvarige tradition, at julemanden faktisk er lidt af en alkoholiker, som ”féerne” har svært ved at holde ædru i 24 timer, så han kan foretage det, hvad faktisk er det eneste gøremål på sin mission statement. Bliv fokuseret, julemand!

12:00 Vi spiser frokost og bagefter går jeg i seng for at tage en gigantisk eftermiddagslur. I mellemtiden går Lois rundt om hjørnet til det lokale bibliotek, for at hjælpe bibliotekets personale om at organisere og lede deres ugentlige ”baby bounce & rhyme” session for nabolagets små børn (og deres mødre og bedsteforældre).

18:00 Vi spiser aftensmad og bruger resten af aftenen på at se lidt fjernsyn. De viser et gammelt udgave af Top of the Pops fra juledag 1988, der fremviser årets mest populære sange.

Det er nostalgisk at høre de gamle sange igen, og Lois får en gang til chancen for at dåne over Pet Shop Boy Neil Tennants krøllede hår – ”drengene” synger deres version af sangen ”You Were Always On My Mind”, og linjen ”I just never took the time”, hvilket giver hende også chancen for at gøre sin sædvanlige kommentar: så hvorfor tog du ikke tiden?” ha ha ha!

Jeg blader igennem vores fotoalbummer og jeg kan næsten ikke finde nogle billeder fra 1988, bortset fra billeder taget på ferie. Det var før starten på den digitale alder, og vi var meget mindre tilbøjelige at tage billeder, det kan jeg godt huske. Jeg husker året som en lidt svær periode: vores ældste datter Alison fyldte 13 og blev til lidt af en rebel i et par år. Pludselig blev famlieferier meget mere vanskelige, fordi hun havde tendens til at sige, at alt, vi gjorde, var kedeligt – du godeste (og i  bagklogskabens lys havde hun sandsynligvis ret ha ha ha)! Og hun kunne ikke lide at blive fotograferet og den slags. Fasen varede kun 2 år eller deromkring, hvis jeg husker rigtigt.

Hun sluttede sig i gymnasiets militære ”kadetkorps”, og deltog i gruppens træningsessioner, udflugter, natmanøvrer osv – yikes! Det er svært at forestille sig det hele nu, det må jeg nok sige, nu hvor er 44, med 3 børn: den ældste, Josie, fyldte også 13 i september.

tilbageblik til efteråret 1988: vores ældste datter Alison på 13 år, i vores baghave,

 i sin gymnasiums kadetkorpsuniform, i begyndelsen af sin korte rebelske periode

- hendes udseende har meget ændret sig i de seneste 31 år,

selvom vores baghave stadig ser det samme ud, bemærker jeg.

Tiden flyver virkelig af sted!!!!

vores kære datter Alison i dag

Alison (til højre) sikrer, at hendes ældste datter Josie (13)

har alt hun har brug for, før hun tager af sted til den lokale højskole

Ja, tiden flyver virkelig af sted, ingen tvivl om det der.

22:00 Vi går i seng – zzzzzz!!!