Sunday February 23 – Monday February 24 2020

Sunday, February 23rd

Lois decides to stay at home and not go out of the house today in case I get a 2nd “funny turn”, which is sweet of her. I've still had only one so far - I feel a little dizzy every now and then, but everyone knows all too well that dizziness is one of the most prominent symptoms of hypochondria haha! She listens to her sect's two worship services on line - and the system works well today for once.

Our daughter Alison, along with Ed and their 3 children, are flying back to England today after a week of skiing in Norway. The weather has not been very good the last few days unfortunately, strong winds and generally cloudy with fog and some snowfall in the bargain.

Isaac (9), Ed, and Josie (13) on their last full day at Geilo, Norway

Lois and I spend the evening watching some television, the third episode of an interesting new series that goes behind the scenes of the V&A Museum in London.

The series is about the members of the museum staff responsible for repairing and refurbishing old exhibits to make them look top-notch and ready to showcase to the public. The programme is Lois' choice, but I find it unexpectedly fascinating, I have to say.

We watch the staff preparing for an exhibition of Mary Quant mini dresses and mini skirts from the 1960’s. Lois says she liked Mary's earliest mini-skirts, which were not too short at first but gradually vanished towards the top of the thigh over the decade. The shortest Lois was prepared to wear were only 2-3 inches above the knee.

The best thing after about 1960, she says, was that girls no longer needed to wear tight-fitting corsets - corsets were history from then on.

Flashback to 1969-1970: when Lois and I hooked up for the first time.

- a couple of Lois' mini skirts.

Happy days !!!!

Monday, February 24, 2020

Lois has decided that I've actually lost a lot of self-confidence due to having a “nasty turn” and fainting for 5 seconds (a possible syncope, but that's something the jury is still out on) - the incident is now 18 days old, she says, and it's high time to get over it and move on, and she's right.

She drives me to the local Sainsbury’s supermarket to shop. I push the shopping cart around, up and down the aisles, while she picks out the foods, as usual.

I still feel a little dizzy every now and then, as expected, but I survive the shopping trip itself, which is nice, and encouraging. The supermarket parking lot is one big mess - half of it is being renovated for some reason – my god, what madness !!!!

What a crazy world we live in !!!!!

Danish translation: søndag 23. februar - mandag 24. februar 2020

søndag den 23. februar

Lois beslutter at blive herhjemme og ikke komme ud af huset i dag for det tilfælde, at jeg får en 2. ildebefindende, hvilket er sødt af hende. Jeg har stadig fået kun én hidtil – jeg føler mig nu og da lidt svimmel, men alle ved godt, at svimmelhed er én af de mest fremtrædende symptomer af hypokondri haha! Hun lytter til sin sekts to gudstjenester på nettet – og systemet fungerer godt i dag for en gangs skyld.

Vores datter Alison, sammen med Ed og deres 3 børn, flyver tilbage til England i dag efter en uges skiferie i Norge. Vejret har ikke været ret godt de seneste få dag desværre, det har blæstet kraftigt og det har været generelt overskyet med mist og noget snefald oven i købet.

Isaac (9), Ed, og Josie (13) – deres sidste fulde dag i Geilo, Norway

Vi bruger aftenen på at se lidt fjernsyn, det 3. afsnit i en interessant ny serie, der går bag scenerne i V&A-museet i London.

Serien handler om de medlemmer af museets personale, der er ansvarlige for at reparere og istandsætte gamle udstillingsgenstande, så de ser toptunet ud, og klar til at fremvise til pubikummet. Programmet er Lois’ valg, men jeg finder der uventet fascinerende, det må jeg nok sige.

Vi kigger på personalet forberede sig på en udstilling af Mary Quant mini-kjoler og mini-nededele fra 1960’erne. Lois siger hun kunne lide Marys tidligste mininederdele, der var ikke for korte i begyndelsen men som gradvis forsvandt mod toppen af låret i løbet af årtiet. Den korteste Lois var parat til at tage på var kun 2-3 inches over knæet.

Den bedste ting, siger hun, var at piger ikke længere havde brug for at tage stramtsiddende korsetter på. Korsetter var historie fra da af.

tilbageblik til 1969-1970: året Lois og jeg fandt sammen for første gang.

Nogle af Lois’ mini-nederdele.

Lykkelige dage!!!!

mandag 24. februar 2020

Lois har besluttet, at jeg faktisk har mistet en masse selvtillid på grund af, at jeg fik en ildebefindende og besvimede i 5 sekunder (en mulig synkope, men det er juryen stadig ude om) – hændelsen er nu 18 dage gammel, siger hun, og det er på høje tid at komme ovenpå og komme videre, og det har hun ret i.

Hun kører mig til det lokale Sainsburys-supermarked for at købe ind. Jeg skubber indkøbsvognen rundt omkring, op og ned midtergange, mens hun udvælger fødevarerne, som sædvanligt.

Jeg føler mig stadig lidt svimmel nu og da, som forventet, men jeg overlever selve indkøbsturen, hvilket er rart, og opmuntrende.  Supermarkedets parkeringsplads er ét stor rod – halvdelen af den er i gang med at blive istandsat af en eller anden grund – du godeste, sikke et vanvid !!!!

Sikke en skør verden vi lever i !!!!!

Monday February 17 – Saturday February 22 2020

Monday, February 17, 2020

My biggest achievement today: I compile a Danish vocabulary test that I want our U3A Danish group members to take in their spare time before our next group meeting, which takes place on February 27. The correct answers to the test always spell a "funny" (?) joke. I have been finding it more and more difficult to find a funny joke, but this one is not so bad, I have to admit.

"I'm sure wherever my dad is; he's looking down on us. He's not dead, just very condescending" (Jack Whitehall).

Also today: I walk out into the backyard and take a few pictures of our vegetable garden. Lois and I have started planning to replace the so-called Northeast Sector with an extra lawn, and replace the so-called Northwest Sector with a patio and three raised vegetable beds (about 8ft x 4ft, or thereabouts). Lois and I are two old crows and it is getting more and more difficult for us to bend down, etc.

a rough diagram of the area in question

the so-called northwest sector that we plan to replace

with a terrace and raised vegetable beds

the so-called northeast sector that we plan to replace

with an extra mini-lawn

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

This morning, I double-check my vocabulary test and send it off to our group members via email, while Lois is out of the house - she is taking part in her weekly exercise class for old crows, along with her friend, Fran.

I am not allowed to drive at the moment, after I unexpectedly fainted for about 5 seconds last week, so it is Lois driving me over to our new doctor's office, so the nurse can give me a blood test and an ECG: cross fingers for me haha .

Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Lois wants to buy a couple of birthday presents for his former colleague, Rose, and we head over to the local Webbs garden centre. I pop into the store's cafe and order a cup of coffee while Lois looks around the store - she picks two potted plants and some bric-a-brac, or something of the kind.

Finally, she joins me and we decide to order lunch. Unfortunately, the cafe is packed with old crows, just like us. Some of them have grandchildren along - this is the school's spring break this week, and many working mothers have palmed their children off on grandparents.

We order lunch in the Webbs garden centre café -

unfortunately it is stuffed with other old crows - damn !!!

Alison, our daughter in Haslemere, Surrey, is meanwhile vacationing in Norway this week, along with Ed, her husband, and their 3 children: Josie (13), Rosalind (11) and Isaac (9). Ali and Ed have posted a lot of charming pictures on Facebook and Instagram, which is nice.

our daughter Alison

Josie (13)

Thursday, February 20, 2020

We take the bus to the doctor's office to hear the results of my blood test and ECG. The blood test is satisfactory thank goodness, but the ECG shows some “anomalies”, says the doctor. He'll probably have to make an appointment for me at the local hospital's cardiology department - damn it!

Our neighbour, Stephen, once fainted a few years ago while playing in a football game at the local soccer field. The hospital implanted some sort of mini-pacemaker under his skin, and he has had no problems since then, as far as we know. He is still an enthusiastic cyclist, for example, no doubt about that. But we'll have to see.

17:00 Mark swings by - we asked him to mow our lawns in our absence later in the year when we visit Sarah, our daughter in Perth, Australia, and her family - Francis and their 6-year-old twin daughters, Lily and Jessie. He looks like a nice, trustworthy guy, and he doesn't live very far from here. And he comes with a lot of recommendations from the local "nextdoor" website.

Our daughter Alison's holiday in Norway with Ed and their 3 children continues - with more pictures posted today on Facebook and Instagram.

Ed

Isaac (9) and Rosalind (11)

Josie (13) and Ed

Friday, February 21, 2020

Lois and I had planned to drive to Bishop's Cleeve this morning to go grocery shopping at the local Tesco supermarket, but unfortunately I feel a little uncomfortable again so we postpone the trip until tomorrow.

Later in the day, our new neighbour, Nicki, moves into the house next door- three medium-sized moving vans show up at around 2 in the afternoon. It will be nice to have someone living in there, a young woman, a 30 something, with 3 children, recently divorced. For the first time in months, the light from their bathroom now and then shines into our staircase at night while we lie in bed, which is cosy.

When Lois and I moved into our current house in 1986, the old lady who then lived in Nicki's house said something similar to us - that she found it comforting to see our light on, shining through the landing window. Yikes! Only 34 years ago!!!!  Time really flies doesn't it!!!!! And now it's us that are the old crows haha!!

Saturday, February 22, 2020

I still feel a little uncomfortable, so Lois decides to walk into the village and buy groceries at the local convenience store, the former Bakery Stores. While Lois is out of the house, I happen to bump into Nicki, our new neighbour, and I introduce myself. 

A very sweet woman - she says she'll have to spend most of the weekend emptying out a lot of her moving boxes: a bunch of relatives and friends will show up later, she says, to help her with everything. Her children are having to stay elsewhere this weekend - with their grandparents, I suppose.

Danish translation: mandag den 17. februar - torsdag den 20. februar 2020

Mandag den 17. februar 2020

Min største bedrift i dag: jeg udfærdiger en dansk ordforrådstest, som jeg vil have vores U3A danske gruppes medlemmer til at tage i deres fritid før vores næste gruppemøde, der finder sted den 27. februar. De korrekte svar til testen staver altid en ”morsom” (?) vittighed. Jeg har fundet det mere og mere svært at komme med en morsom vittighed, men denne er ikke særlig dårlig – det må jeg indrømme.

"I'm sure wherever my dad is; he's looking down on us. He's not dead, just very condescending" (Jack Whitehall).

Også i dag: jeg går ud i baghaven og tager et par billeder af vores grøntsagshave. Lois og jeg er begyndt at planlægge at udskifte den såkaldte nordøstlige sektor med en ekstra græsplæne, og udskifte den såkaldte nordvestlige sektor med en terrasse og tre hævede grøntsagsbede. Lois og jeg er to gamle krager og det bliver mere og mere sværere til at bukke os ned osv.

et grovt diagram af det pågældede område

den såkaldte nordvestlige sektor, som vi planlægger at udskifte

med en terrasse og hævede grøntsagsbede

den såkaldte nordøstlige sektor, som vi planlægger at udskifte

med en ekstra mini-græsplæne

Tirsdag den 18. februar 2020

I formiddag dobbelttjekker jeg min ordforrådstest og afsender den til vores gruppemedlemmer via email, mens Lois er ude af huset – hun deltager i sin ugentlige motionsklasse for gamle krager, sammen med sin veninde, Fran.

Jeg er ikke tilladt at køre bil i øjeblikket, efter jeg sidste uge besvimede uventet i ca 5 sekunder, så er det Lois der kører mig over til vores nye lægehus, så sygeplejersken kan give mig en blodprøve og et ecg: kryds fingrene for mig haha.

Onsdag den 19. februar 2020

Lois har lyst til at købe et par fødselsdagsgaver til sin tidligere arbejdskollega, Rose, så kører vi over til det lokale Webbs-havecenter. Jeg smutter ind i butikkens café og bestiller en kop kaffe, mens Lois kigger rundt omkring i butikken – hun vælger to potteplanter og nogle nips, eller noget lignende.

Endelig slutter hun sig til mig og vi beslutter at bestille frokost. Desværre er caféen propfyldt med gamle krager, ligesom os. Nogle af dem har børnebørn med – det er skolernes forårsferie denne uge, og mange udarbejdende mødre har tørret deres børn af på bedsteforældrene.

Vi bestiller frokost i Webbs-havecentrets café –

desværre er den propfyldt med andre gamle krager – pokkers!!!

Alison, vores datter i Haslemere, Surrey, er i mellemtiden på ferie i Norge, sammen med Ed, hendes mand og deres 3 børn: Josie (13), Rosalind (11) og Isaac (9). Ali og Ed har lagt en masse charmerende billede op på Facebook og Instagram, hvilket er rart.

 vores datter Alison

Ed sammen med Josie (13)

Torsdag den 20. februar 2020

Vi tager bussen over til lægehuset, for at høre resultaterne af min blodprøve og ekg. Blodprøvet er tilfredsstillende gudskelov, men ekg viser nogle anomalier, siger lægen. Han skal nok arrangere en aftale for mig hos det lokale sygehus’ kardiologiske afdeling – pokkers!

Vores nabo, Stephen, besvimede engang for nogle år siden, mens han spillede i en fodboldkamp på den lokale fodboldbane. Hospitalet implanterede en eller anden slags mini-pacemaker under huden, og han har ikke haft problemer siden da, så vidt vi ved. Han er stadig en entusiastisk cyclist, ingen tvivl om det. Men vi får se.

17:00 Mark svinger forbi – vi har bedt ham om at slå vores græsplæner i vores fravær senere på året, når vi besøger Sarah, vores datter i Perth, Australien, og hendes familie – Francis og deres 6-årige tvillingedøtre, Lily og Jessie. Han ser ud som en sød, trofærdig fyr, og han bor ikke ret langt herfra. Han kommer med en masse anbefalinger fra det lokale "nextdoor"-websted.

Vores datter Alisons ferie i Norge sammen med Ed og deres 3 børn fortsætter – med flere billeder lagt op på Facebook og Instagram.

Ed

Isaac (9) og Rosalind (11)

Josie (13) og Ed

Fredag den 21. februar 2020

Lois og jeg havde planlagt at køre til Bishops Cleeve i formiddag for at gå madindkøb på det lokale Tesco-supermarked, men desværre føler jeg mig lidt dårlig tilpas igen, så vi udskyder turen indtil i morgen.

Senere på dagen flytter vores nye nabo, Nicki, ind i nabohuset – tre mellemstore flyttevogne dukker op ved 2-tiden om eftermiddagen. Det vil være rart at have én, der bor derinde, en ung kvinde, nogle og 30-årig, med 3 børn, for nylig fraskilt. For første gang i flere måneder skinner lyset fra deres badeværelse nu og da ind i vores trappevindue om natten, mens vi ligger i sengen, hvilket er hyggeligt.

Da Lois og jeg flyttede ind i vores nuværende hus i 1986, sagde den gamle dame, der dengang boede i Nickis hus, noget lignende - at hun syntes det var trøstende at se vores lys tændt og skinnende gennem trappevinduet. Yikes! For kun 34 år siden !!!! Tiden flyver virkelig af sted, ikke!!!!! Og nu er det os, der er de gamle krager haha!!!!

Lørdag den 22. februar 2020

Jeg føler mig stadig lidt dårligt tilpas, så beslutter Lois at gå hen ind i landsbyen og madindkøb i den lokale nærbutik, den tidligere Bakery Stores. Mens hun er ude af huset, møder jeg tilfældigvis Nicki, vores nye nabo, og præsenterer mig selv. En meget sød kvinde – hun siger, hun vil måtte bruge størstedelen af weekenden på at tømme en masse flyttekasser: en flok af slægtninge og venner skal dukker op senere, siger hun, for at hjælpe hende med det hele. Hendes børn skal bo andetsteds i weekenden – hos bedsteforældrerne, formoder jeg.

Sunday February 16 16:00 – Sunday February 16 23:59 2020

20:00 A typical evening, ideally suited to 2 old crows, begins for us with a Channel Five documentary dealing with the question of why Egypt's Ptolemaic dynasty collapsed with the death of Queen Cleopatra.

Channel Five's many documentaries are always a little suspect in our opinion - often about 10 minutes of solid material is padded out with reconstructions and other fillers etc to last 1 hour, including commercials, etc. And this programme is no exception, I have to say.

Unfortunately, I manage to fall asleep during the important part, which is a bit of a shame, to put it mildly. Luckily Lois starts making some notes after she fails to wake me by her usual method of shaking me violently.

It seems that the collapse of the dynasty was accelerated around 44-43 BC, when the annual flood of the Nile River failed for two consecutive years, leading to famine, riots and the like.

For the first time, in recent years, researchers have been investigating ice cores from the North Pole and the South Pole, and they have linked the years when Nile's flood failed with major volcanic eruptions. Both poles show traces of a gigantic eruption in 44 BC, so scientists suspect that the volcano in question was somewhere near the equator - the best candidate being some volcano in Nicaragua, it seems.

(just a reconstruction haha!)

Poor ancient Nicaraguans!!!! They had to suffer a massive volcanic eruption, and the world's media did not get wind of it, even though it led to the collapse of a 300-year dynasty !!!! What a crazy world we live in !!!!

As usual, in the many documentaries in which historian Bettany Hughes participates, Lois and I like to classify the extent of her cleavage as either small, medium, or large. Tonight is only medium size, we think, but the jury’s still out on that one.

21:00 We switch off the television and listen to the radio, an ideal program for two old crows to go to bed on - the Melbourne-born comedian Barry Humphries' Forgotten Musical Memories.

Barry says that back in Melbourne, starting from an early age, he began to feel an attachment to the songs of George Gershwin. And not long ago, he saw advertised a second-hand copy of the George Gershwin Songbook, published in 1934, the year Barry was born.

This songbook was pretty expensive, but the seller said it was cheaper than normal because someone had scribbled something on the book’s fly-leaf.

Barry bought it without being able to see it in advance, and when he got the book, he saw that someone had indeed scribbled something on the book's cover page and done what appeared to be  a crude self-portrait. But it was Gershwin himself! So Barry now has a special unique copy of the songbook of one of the 20th century's great composers.

My god, what madness !!!!

22:00 We go to bed. I read about 20 pages of my bedtime book before drifting off to sleep - zzzzzzzzzzzzz !!!!!

One of my periodic blog breaks starts tomorrow, to give me time to fix some of the tasks on my to-do list, which has now grown to 100 miles or thereabouts - yikes !!!! See you in a few days.

Danish translation:  søndag 16. februar 16:00 - søndag den 16. februar 23:59 2020

20:00  En typisk aften, egnet til 2 gamle krager, begynder med en Channel Five-dokumentarfilm, der handler om det spørgsmål, om hvorfor Egypts ptolemaiske dynasti kollapserede med døden af dronning Cleopatra.

Channel Fives mange dokumentarfilm er altid lidt suspekt i vores mening – ofte er der omkring 10 minutter solid materiale fyldt ud for at vare 1 time, inklusive reklamer osv. Og dette program er ikke nogen undtagelse, det må jeg nok sige.

Desværre lykkes det mig at falde i søvn under den vigtige del, hvilket er lidt af en skam, for at sige mildt. Heldigvis går Lois i gang med at lave nogle notater, efter at hun ikke når at vække mig ved at ryste mig voldsomt.

Det lader til, at dynastiets sammenbrud blev fremskyndet omkring 44-43 f. Kr, da floden Niles årlige oversvømmelse mislykkedes to år i træk, hvilket førte til hungersnød, optøjer og lignende.

I nylige år for første gang har forskere undersøgt iskerner fra Nordpolen og Sydpolen og de har forbundet de år, hvor Niles oversvømmelse mislykkedes med større vulkansk udbrud. Begge poler viser spor af en gigantisk udbrud i 44 f.Kr, så forskere formoder, at den pågældende vulkan var et eller andet sted i nærheden af ækvatoren – de bedste kandidat er en eller anden vulkan i Nicaragua, ser det ud til.

(bare en rekonstruction haha!)

Stakkels antikke nicaraguerer!!!! De måtte lide et massivt vulkansk udbrud, og verdens medier fik ikke nys om den, selvom det førte til sammenbruddet af en 300-årige dynasti !!!! Sikke en skør verden vi lever i !!!!

Som sædvanligt, i de mange dokumentarfilm, hvor historikeren Bettany Hughes deltaler, kan Lois og jeg lide at klassificere omfanget af hendes kavalergang som enten lille, mellemstor, eller stor. I aften er det kun mellemstor, synes vi.

21:00 Vi slukker for fjernsynet og lytter lidt til radio, et ideelt program for to gamle krager at gå i seng på – den Melbourne-fødte komiker Barry Humphries ”Glemte musikalske minder”.

Barry siger, at tilbage i Melbourne begyndte han, startende fra en tidlig alder, at føle en hengivenhed for sangene af George Gershwin. Og for ikke længe siden så han annonceret en brugte kopi af George Gershwin Songbook, der blev udgivet i 1934, det år, Barry blev født.

Denne sangbog var temmelig dyr, men sælgeren sagde, at den var billigere end normalt, fordi nogen havde kradset et eller andet ned på bogens forsatsblad.

Barry købte den uden at kunne se den på forhånd, og da han fik bogen, så han, at nogen faktisk havde kradset noget ned på bogens forsatsblad og lavet et groft selvportræt. Det var selve Gershwin! Så derfor har Barry nu et unikt eksemplar  af sangbogen til en af det 20. århundredes  store komponister.

Du godeste, sikke et vanvid!!!!

22:00 Vi går i seng. Jeg læser omkring 20 sider af min sengetid bog, før jeg glider over i søvnen – zzzzzzzzzzz!!!!!

Én af mine periodiske blogpauser starter i morgen, for at give mig tid til at ordne nogle af opgaverne på min gøremålsliste, der nu er vokset til 100 miles eller deromkring – yikes!!!! Vi ses om nogle dage.

Saturday February 15 16:00 – Sunday February 16 16:00 2020

20:00 Lois and I settle down in the sitting-room to watch tv: a Channel 5 documentary about an archaeological excavation at Sudeley  Castle, which is only about 8 miles from here, and a place we have been visiting on and off for nearly 50 years, with our children and later our grandchildren, and with a mixed bag of relatives and friends.

Sudeley Castle, Winchcombe, Gloucestershire

The trouble with this Channel 5 archaeological series is that there isn’t usually much archaeology in it. There are 2 presenters – Alex Longlands and Raksha Dave. Alex covers the actual excavation, while Raksha travels all round the country talking to experts and seeing other sites, to find out about the historical background.

Mostly we see Raksha, because although the archæologists sort of find what they’re looking for, what comes out of the trenches is unfortunately not visually spectacular.

what comes out of the trenches is a tray of rubble and other rubbish, some of it modern 

- and not visually spectacular, to put it mildly – yikes!!!

Eventually we see a few traces of a massive ornamental garden, created by Lord Chandos to impress Queen Elizabeth I and her courtiers during their 3 week visit to the castle in 1592. The visit was part of the festivities to celebrate the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, a victory that saved us from the Pope's legendary "long arm".

the castle and its grounds as it looks today

a computerised concept of what Chandos's massive ornamental garden

would have looked like, with a red-roofed banqueting hall in the upper left corner

Chandos actually went bankrupt due to his massive attempt to impress the queen, and to make matters worse, he failed to win any special favours from the queen in compensation.

Lord Chandos

Poor Chandos !!!!!!

flashback to July 2014: Sudeley Castle in happier times.

We visit the castle with our daughter Alison and her 3 children -

we dress up as medieval vip’s

21:00 We continue to watch some television, the second episode of an interesting new series that goes behind the scenes at the V&A Museum in London.

The series is about the members of the museum staff responsible for repairing and refurbishing old exhibits to make them look top-notch and ready to showcase to the public. The programme is Lois' choice, but I find it unexpectedly fascinating, I have to say.

Tonight we see a jewelled butterfly ring, commissioned by Jay Z, as a gift for his wife, Beyoncé.

The wings of the butterfly flutter automatically whenever the person wearing it moves their ring-finger, which is totally captivating, especially for James, one of the museum's many experts, and we get a rare chance to see James's famous "butterfly face".

James's "butterfly-face"

Last night, Lois and I saw another of the world's most famous "butterfly faces", Michael Portillo’s. As a reminder, I reproduce images of Portillo's version, included for comparison:

flashback to last night: a brief glimpse of Michael Portillo's iconic "butterfly face",

included here for comparison

22:00 We go to bed - zzzzzzz !!!! But we toss and turn a little - I have to say. Storm Dennis is raging outside - it's raining heavily and the winds are terribly strong. And sometimes we hear strange sounds as if something in our garden or our neighbours' gardens is crashing to the ground - yikes! We huddle under the duvet. Can this be the much-heralded Doomsday ???? !!!!

09:00 Apparently not! We get up and everything looks okay in the garden thank goodness. 

Sarah, our daughter in Lower Chittering, near Perth, Australia, calls us at 10 am on whatsapp.

Sarah is the family breadwinner, but she says that Francis, her husband and "papa latte" (stay-at-home dad) to the couple’s 6-year-old twin daughters, is now in search of a part-time job. However finding one far out in the countryside is not easy when he has to drive the kids to school every morning and pick them up at the end of the school day.

Could he qualify as a wildlife photographer perhaps? Earlier in the day, he posted a few pictures of the wildlife he has seen in the couple's backyard: a kangaroo and a lizard. He says the lizards eat the snakes, which is good news, to put it mildly. Now we just want something to eat the lizards.

the pictures that our son-in-law Francis has taken today in their backyard

It is reassuring that the lizards over there eat the snakes - Lois in particular is very happy to hear that. We don't want to become yet another statistic for the newspapers over there to write scary headlines about, when we visit the family later in the year - yikes!!!!

11:00 Here in Cheltenham it’s still raining heavily this morning and Lois decides to listen to her sect's two services online, instead of attending them in person in Tewkesbury. After lunch, the storm quietens down a bit of thank goodness - I go to bed and take a gigantic afternoon nap. I get up at 3pm and hop on my fitness bike. I notch up another 4.5 miles.

Alison, our daughter in Haslemere, Surrey, is flying to Norway this afternoon, along with Ed and their 3 children. They will land in Bergen and travel by train to Geilo and the area's Vestlia ski centre. Their flight has not been delayed by Storm Dennis thank goodness.

Bergen to Geilo by train

Ed on the train, a few minutes ago!

Danish translation: lørdag 15. februar 16:00 - søndag 16. februar 16:00 2020

20:00 Lois og jeg sætter os til rette i stuen for at se tv: en Channel 5-dokumentarfilm om en arkæologisk udgravning ved Sudeley Castle, som kun ligger cirka 8 mil herfra, og et sted, vi har besøgt af og til i næsten 50 år sammen med vores børn og senere vores børnebørn, og med en blandet landhandel af slægtninge og venner.

Sudeley Castle, Winchcombe, Gloucestershire

Problemet med denne arkæologiske serie af Channel 5 er, at der normalt ikke er meget arkæologi derinde. Der er 2 værter - Alex Longlands og Raksha Dave. Alex dækker selve udgravningen, mens Raksha rejser rundt onkring i hele landet for at tale med eksperter og se andre lignende steder for at finde ud af om den historiske baggrund.

Oftest ser vi Raksha, for selv om arkæologerne finder det, de leder efter, er det, der kommer ud af gravene, desværre ikke visuelt spektakulært.

det, der kommer ud af gravene, desværre ikke visuelt spektakulært,

for at sige mildt – yikes!!!

Endelig ser vi nogle spor af en massiv ornamental have, skabt af Lord Chandos for at imponere dronning Elizabeth I og hendes hovmestre under deres 3 ugers besøg i slottet i 1592. Besøget var en del af festlighederne for at fejre nederlaget for den spanske Armada i 1588.

slottet og dets omgivelser, som det ser ud i dag

en computeriseret begreb om Chandos’ massive ornamentale have,

med en taget festsale i  det øverste venstre hjørne

Chandos gik faktisk konkurs på grund af sit massive forsøg på, at imponere dronningen, og det lykkedes ham ikke at vinde nogle særlige tjenester fra dronningen som kompensation.

Lord Chandos

Stakkels Chandos !!!!!!

tilbageblik til juli 2014: Sudeley Castle i lykkeligere tider.

Vi besøger slottet sammen med vores datter Alison, og hendes 3 børn –

vi klæder os ud som middelalderlige vip-er

21:00 Vi fortsætter med at se lidt fjernsyn, det 2. afsnit i en interessant ny serie, der går bag scenerne i V&A-museet i London.

Serien handler om de medlemmer af museets personale, der er ansvarlige for at reparere og istandsætte gamle udstillingsgenstande, så de ser toptunet ud, og klar til at fremvise til pubikummet. Programmet er Lois’ valg, men jeg finder der uventet fascinerende, det må jeg nok sige.

I aften ser vi en sommerfuglring, bestilt af Jay Z, som en gave til sin kone, Beyoncé.

Sommerfulgens vinger basker automatisk, når selve ringfingeren bevæger sig, hvilket er totalt fængslende, især for James, én af museets mange eksperter, og vi får en sjælden chance for at se James’ berømte ”sommerfugl-fjæs”.

James' ikoniske "sommerfugl-fjæs"

I går aftes så Lois og jeg et andet af verdens mest berømte ”sommerfugl-fjæs”, Michael Portillos. Som en minde, gengiver jeg billeder af Portillos version, medtaget til sammenligning:

tilbageblik til i går aftes: Michael Portillos ikoniske ”sommerfugl-fjæs”,

medtaget til sammenligning

22:00 Vi går i seng – zzzzzzz!!!! Men vi kaster og vender lidt i sengen – det må jeg nok sige! Storm Dennis hærger udenfor – det regner kraftigt og det blæser forfærdeligt.  Og af og til hører vi underlige lyde som om et eller andet i vores have eller vores naboers haver ramler til jorden – yikes! Vi kryber sammen under dynen. Kan det være dommedag????!!!!

09:00 Vi står op og alt ser ok ud i haven gudskelov. Sarah, vores datter i Lower Chittering, nær Perth, Australien, ringer til os kl 10 på whatsapp.

Sarah er familieforsørgeren, men hun siger at Francis, hendes mand og deres 6-årige tvillingers ”latte papa”, er på jagt efter et deltidsjob, men det er ikke nemt at finde ét langt ude på landet, når han skal køre børnene i skole hver morgen og hente dem ved slutningen af skoledagen.

Kunne han kvalificeres som en dyrelivfotograf måske? Han har tidligere på dagen lagt et par billeder op af det dyreliv han har set i parrets baghave: en kenguru og en firben. Han siger, at firbenene spiser slangerne, hvilket er en god nyhed, for at sige mildt.

vores svigersøn Francis’ billeder taget i dag i deres baghave

Det er beroligende, at fibernene derover spiser slangerne – det er Lois i særdeleshed meget glad for at høre. Vi har ikke lyst til at bliver endnu en statistik for aviserne derovre til at skrive skræmmende overskrifter om, når vi besøger familien senere på  året haha!

11:00 Her i Cheltenham regner stadig meget kræftigt ii formiddagen og Lois beslutter at lytte til sin sekts to gudstjenester online, i stedet for at deltage i dem personligt i Tewkesbury.

Efter frokost stilner stormen lidt af gudskelov – jeg går i seng og tager en gigantisk eftermiddagslur. Jeg står op kl 15 og hopper op på min kondicykel. Jeg tilbagelægger endnu 4,5 miles.

Alison, vores datter i Haslemere, Surrey, flyver til Norge i eftermiddag, sammen med Ed og deres 3 børn. De skal lande i Bergen og rejse med tog til Geilo og områdets Vestlia-skicenter. Deres flyvetur er ikke blevet forsinket af Storm Dennis gudskelov.

Bergen til Geilo med tog

Ed på toget for nogle minutter siden !