Sunday February 2 2020

Another Sunday when I have 2 and a half hours of alone time - while Lois is in Tewkesbury to attend her sect's two services. She has had a lot of back problems recently and she has asked me to drive her over there and pick her up when the 2nd service ends (1:45 pm), so my alone time is actually pretty short – but I have to try to get the most possible out of it, no doubt about that!

I get an encouraging email from Steve, my American brother-in-law. The email gives news (source: smithsonianmag.com) of a new exhibition to take place in London, where the remains of King Charles I's "execution suit" will be seen, including his bloodstained shirt. The exhibition sounds absolutely fascinating - I just hope that Lois and I will be able to experience it, but we'll have to see.

The king was convicted of treason - the prosecutor alleged that the king had placed his personal interests above the benefit of the country - ha! Let's just hope that Boris and as many of today's world leaders as possible can pop in and see the show and discover what can happen, if you repeat King Charles's failure of judgement and go for the "personal interests" approach to leadership ha ha ha!

Steve also reminds me how important it is every day to browse through the influential US news site Onion News's insightful "News in Brief" section, especially when it comes to keeping abreast of local news.

A most fortunate and timely reminder: and today I decide to take a quick look at the “News in Brief” section in the afternoon and what do I see?

I discover that the news site is just breaking some good news about local man Cy Gottlieb, who unfortunately suffers from mild dementia and who went missing recently  - it turns out he has wandered hundreds of miles, but has finally been tracked down at the International Space Station (ISS), which many of our neighbours will be very relieved to hear about, to put it mildly!

local grandfather Cy Gottlieb, who suffers from mild dementia

and had wandered off, has at last been found, on the ISS

08:00 Lois and I agreed last night to get up early today in case Sarah, our daughter in Perth, Australia, calls us on whatsapp - she often contacts us between 9 am and 10 am, but this morning we hear nothing from her. I imagine she and Francis and their two 6-year-old twin daughters Lily and Jessie are on a family outing somewhere.

flashback to April 2018: me (left) at a beach cafe

in the Margaret River region, Western Australia,

along with Francis, Sarah, and the twins

me with Sarah

Later, Sarah sends me a text message: they will talk to us tomorrow: it’ll be a big day for the twins, their first day in their new elementary school - the school held an open day Friday for new students. Sarah and her family moved a few weeks ago from their previous house in Ocean Reef to a new rental house in Lower Chittering.

11:00 I drop Lois off and drive home again from Tewkesbury, and quickly climb up the loft ladder like a madman. I collect a lot of broken or worn old toys, board games and the like, dating from our 2 daughters' childhood in the 1980’s, and stuff them into some big and small bags. These old historical remains have been stored in the attic for years, for reasons not totally clear, to put it mildly.

This work is part of the downsizing mini project I am responsible for. And I'm quite proud of my accomplishments so far: the whole attic was a complete nightmare a few years ago. There were so many big piles of junk up there that I became completely desperate at one point. I was considering hiring a container and / or maybe some house clearance company to take it all away for me.

But gradually I've removed a good part of it, either by taking things to the county council’s Wingmoor Farm Waste Landfill and Recycling Centre, or (recently) stuffing them into our wheelie bin, which would otherwise normally only be about 20% full when the borough council’s garbage truck swings by every other Wednesday.

 the county council’s  Wingmoor Farm waste disposal and recycling centre

Now in our attic there are even some empty areas that can be seen between all the piles of junk, which is nice, I must say!

I quickly climb the ladder and collect even more broken toys,

various jigsaw puzzles with missing pieces, board games with missing pieces,

and the like, which have been stored up there for 30 years

for reasons that are not entirely clear, to put it mildly

 - my god, what madness !!!!

Then I work on other tasks on my 10-mile long to-do list: I consolidate Lois' family history computer files and store them into a single folder, in preparation for upgrading our desktop from Windows 7 to Windows 10 later this week.

I complete my notes on the introduction to Byock's book about Medieval Iceland, in preparation for a short talk I will give on Wednesday at the next meeting of Scilla's U3A Old Norse group. I send off a Danish vocabulary test to our U3A Danish group members, and I print out a lot of information from the web about the crazy so-called "orthoepists" who tried to "standardise" English spelling methods in the 15th and 16th centuries. "Orthoepists" will be the topic when Lynda's Middle English group meets in the bar of the town’s Everyman Theatre on Friday. My goodness, busy busy busy !!!

"Orthoepists" and their crazy ideas.

Good grief, what a crazy world we live in !!!!

William Bullokar, a typical crazy orthoepist from the 16th century

Bullock's crazy masterpiece

My god, what a truly demented world we live in !!!!!

18:00 We have dinner: roast pork with apple sauce, roast potatoes and carrots - yum yum! We spend the rest of the evening watching some television and listening to the radio.

The fourth episode of a new series is on, showing one of Margaret Thatcher's former ministers, Michael Portillo and his interesting TV series about train journeys in Southeast Asia.

Michael is in Thailand today and we see him get on a train running from northern Thailand south towards Bangkok. We see him sitting down in a seat in one of the train’s "regular" seating areas. And Lois and I almost have to put on sunglasses - his attire is, as usual, so bright and colourful, we have to say.

Lois and I did not know that Thai trains have a special section reserved for the disabled, plus old crows like Lois and me, fair enough - but also for monks. Good grief!

The buses in Cheltenham have some seating specially designed for the local handicapped and for local old crows: young, healthy people can also sit on them, but they are meant to give them up if an elderly person needs to sit down, which sounds reasonable. I just hope the bus company doesn't decide to extend this privilege to the town’s monks - that would cause complete chaos, no doubt about that ha ha!

21:00 We switch off the television and listen to the radio, a nostalgic programme consisting of Melbourne-born comedian Barry Humphries's selections of old songs from the first half of the 20th century.

Barry is even older about me, at 86 - I'm just a kid at 73 (although I'll be 74 next month, so I'll be catching him up soon, haha), so it's safe to say he's turned into a bit of an old crow. But old crows have a lot to teach us younger old crows about life, and Barry is no exception.

Humphreys says that when he was growing up in Melbourne in the 1930's, the whole culture, including music and literature, was overwhelmingly Anglo-centric: and in history lessons at school only British history was studied - it was thought Australian history was too short to deserve the name "history".

He admits that by starting a new season of his nostalgic programmes at the age of 86, he is at one and the same time "back by popular demand", but also "back against his doctor's advice". Yikes !!!!

Tonight, Lois and I hear a number of "forgotten" songs from the 1920’s (some of them rightly  forgotten), such as Elsa Lanchester's haunting "Don’t  Tell My Mother I'm Living In Sin".

Lois and I did not know that Elsa's parents themselves “lived in sin”, i.e. lived together without being married, so this song was partially autobiographical for Elsa: her mother's family, however, became so enraged at their daughter's "sinfulness" that they had her incarcerated for alleged "insanity", though she was later released by an appeals court judge.

It would have been better if Elsa herself, an incredibly lively, slim and attractive woman, had not married at all, says Barry, the programme's charming host. Unfortunately, she chose the overweight movie star, Charles Laughton, and was "crushed mentally by domesticity" and also periodically crushed physically, just by Laughton's legendary weight, says Barry. Poor Elsa !!!!

Elsa Lanchester in happier times -

before she married Charles Laughton

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

Danish translation: søndag den 2. februar 2020

En dag, hvor jeg har 2,5 timers alenetid, mens Lois er i Tewkesbury for at deltage i sin sekts to gudstjenester. Hun har haft en masse rygproblemer  for nylig, og hun har bedt mig om at køre hende derover og hente hende, når den 2. gudstjeneste slutter (kl 13:45), så er min alenetid faktisk nogenlunde kort – jeg må prøve at få mest muligt ud af det, ingen tvivl om det!

Jeg får en opmuntrende email fra Steve, min amerikanske svigerbror. Emailen giver nyheder (kilde: smithsonianmag.com) om en ny udstilling, der skal finde plads i London, hvor resterne af kong Karl 1.s ”henrettelsesantræk” vil kunne ses, herunder kongens blodplettede skjorte. Udstillingen lyder helt fascinerende ud – jeg håber bare, at Lois og jeg vil kunne opleve den, men vi får se.

Kongen blev dømt for forræderi – anklageren påståede at kongen havde placeret sine personlige interesser over landets gavn - ha!

Lad os håbe bare på, at Boris og så mange af nutidens verdensledere som muligt kan smutte ind på udstillingen og finde ud af, hvad der kan ske, hvis man gentager kong Karls fejlskøn ha ha ha!

Steve minder mig om også om, hvor vigtigt det er hver dag at bladre den indflydelsesrige amerikanske nyhedswebsted Onion News’ indsigtsfulde ”News in Brief”-sektion igennem, især når det kommer til lokale nyheder.

En heldig og helt betimelig påmindelse: jeg kaster et blik over sektionen i eftermiddagen og jeg opdager at det faktisk er i dag, nyhedswebstedet bryder nogle gode nyheder om den lokale mand Cy Gottlieb, der desværre lider af mild demens – han er faktisk vandret hundredvis af miles, og endelig er han blevet opsporet på den internationale rumstation (ISS), hvilket mange af vores naboer vil være meget lettede over, for at sige mildt.

08:00 Lois og jeg står tidligt op for det tilfælde, at Sarah, vores datter i Perth, Australien, ringer til os på whatsapp – hun ofte kontakter os mellem kl 9 og 10, men i formiddag hører vi ikke noget fra hende. Jeg forestiller mig, hun og Francis og deres 2 6-årige tvillingedøtre Lily og Jessie er på familieudflugt ét eller andet sted.

tilbageblik til april 2018: mig (til venstre) på en strandcafé

i Margaret River-regionen, Western Australia,

sammen med Francis, Sarah, og tvillingerne

mig sammen med Sarah

Senere sender Sarah mig en sms: de vil tale med os i morgen: en stor dag for tvillingerne, deres 1. dag i deres nye folkeskole. Skolen holdt en åben dag i fredag for nye elever. Sarah og hendes familie flyttede for et par uger siden fra deres forrige hus i Ocean Reef til et nyt lejehus i Lower Chittering.

11:00 Jeg kører hjem igen fra Tewkesbury og klatrer hurtigt op ad loftstigen som en gal. Jeg samler en masse brudte eller slidte gamle legetøj, brætspille og den slags, daterende fra vores 2 døtres barndom i 1980’erne og propper dem i nogle store og små sække. Disse gamle historiske rester er blevet gemt op i loftet i årevis, af grunde, der ikke er helt klar, for at sige mildt.

Dette arbejde er en del af den downsize mini-projekt, jeg er ansvarlig for. Og jeg er helt stolt af mine bedrifter hidtil: hele loftet var et helt mareridt for nogle år siden. Der var så mange store bunker af lort deroppe, at jeg var helt desperat. Jeg overvejede at hyre en kontainer og/eller måske ét eller andet husoprydningsselskab for at tage det hele væk.

Men gradvist har jeg fjernet en god andel af det, enten ved at tage ting til kommunens Wingmoor Farm-affaldsdepot og genbrugscenter, eller (for nylig) proppe dem ind i vores hjulede grønne affaldsbeholder, som ellers normalt kun ville være 20% fuld, når kommunens skraldebil svinger forbi hver 2. onsdag.

kommunens Wingmoor Farm-affaldsdepot og genbrugscenter

Nu i vores loft er der endda nogle tomme områder, der kan ses mellem alle de bunker af lort, hvilket er rart, det må jeg nok sige!

jeg klatrer hurtigt op ad loftstigen og samler endnu flere brudte legetøj,

forskellige puslespil med manglende brikker, forskellige brætspil med manglende brikker

og lignende, som er blevet gemt deroppe i 30 år

af grunde, der ikke er helt klar, for at sige mildt – du godeste, sikke et vanvid!!!!

Derefter arbejder jeg lidt på andre opgaver på min 10-miles lange gøremålsliste: jeg konsoliderer Lois’ familiehistoriecomputerfiler og gemmer dem i en enkelt folder, i forberedelse på, at jeg opgradere vores desktop fra Windows 7 til Windows 10 senere på ugen.

Jeg fuldender mine notater om indledningen til Byocks bog om middelalderlige Island, i forberedelse på at holde en kort foredrag jeg skal holde på onsdag under det næste møde af Scillas U3A oldnordiske gruppe. Jeg afsender en dansk ordforrådstest til vores U3A danske gruppes medlemmer, og jeg udprinter en masse oplysninger fra nettet om de vanvittige såkaldte”orthoepister”, der prøvede at ”standardisere” engelske ordstavningsmetoder i det 15. og 16. århundreder. ”Orthoepister” vil være emnet, når Lyndas middelengelske gruppe mødes på baren af byens Everyman-teater på fredag. Du godeste, travlt travlt travlt!!!

”Orthoepister” og deres vanvittige idéer.

Du godeste, sikke en skør verden vi lever i !!!!

William Bullokar, en typisk vanvittig orthoepist fra 1500-tallet

Bullokars vanvittige mesterværk

Du godeste, sikke en skør verden vi lever i !!!!!

18:00 Vi spiser aftensmad: stegte svinekød med æblesovs, stegte kartofler og gulerødder – yum yum! Vi bruger resten af aftenen på at se lidt fjernsyn og lytte lidt til radio.

De viser det 4. afsnit af én af Margaret Thatchers tidligere ministre, Michael Portillos interessante tv-serie om togrejser i Sydøstasien.

Michael er i Thailand i dag og vi ser ham stige op på et tog, der kører fra det nordlige Thailand sydpå mod Bangkok, og vi ser ham sætte sig i en siddeplads blandt  togets ”almindelige” sektion. Og Lois og jeg bliver næsten nødt til at tage solbriller på – hans antræk er, som sædvanligt så lyst og kulort, det må vi nok sige.

Thailandske tog har en speciel sektion reserveret for de handicappede, også gamle krager som Lois og mig, og også munke. Du godeste, sikke et vanvid! 

Busserne i Cheltenham har visse siddepladser, som er specielt designet for de lokale handikappede og gamle krager: unge, raske mennesker kan også sidde på dem, men det er meningen at de må give dem op, hvis en ældre person trænger til at sætte sig, hvilket lyder rimeligt. Jeg håber bare på, at busselskabet ikke beslutte at udvide dette privilegium til byens munke – det ville betyde  ren kaos, ingen tvivl om det ha ha!

21:00 Vi slukker for fjernsynet og lytter lidt til radio, et nostalgisk program, der består af den Melbourne-fødte komiker Barry Humphries’ valg af gamle sange fra det 20. århundredes første halvdel.

Barry er endnu ældre om mig, på 86 år – jeg er bare en unger, på 73 år (selvom jeg fylder 74 næste måned, så er jeg snart ved at fange ham haha), så derfor er det sikkert at sige, at han er blevet til lidt af en gammel krage. Men gamle krager har meget at lære os yngre gamle krager om livet, og Barry er ingen undtagelse.

Humphreys siger, at dengang han voksede op i Melbourne i 1930’erne var hele kulturen, herunder musik og litteratur, overvældende anglocentrisk:  og i historietimer på skole var kun britiske historie studeret – det var troet, at australske historie var for kort til at fortjene navnet ”historie”.

Han indrømmer, at han på 86 år, ved at starte en ny sæson af sine nostalgiske programmer, er ”tilbage efter populær efterspørgsel”, også ”imod sin læges råd”. Yikes!!!!

I aften hører Lois og jeg en række ”glemte” sange fra 1920’erne (nogle af dem glemte med rette), som for eksempel Elsa Lanchesters hjemsøgende ”Don’t Tell My Mother I’m Living In Sin”.

Lois og jeg vidste ikke, at Elsas forældre levede sammen uden at være gift, så sangen var delvis autobiografisk:  hendes mors familie blev imidlertid så rasende over deres datters ”syndighed”, at de fik hende fængslet på grund af angivelig ”sindssyge”, selvom hun senere blev løsladt af en appeldommmer.

Det ville have være bedre, hvis selve Elsa, en utrolig livlig kvinde, overhovedet ikke havde giftet sig, synes Barry, programmets charmerende vært. Hun valgte desværre den overvægtig filmstjerne , Charles Laughton, og blev ”knust mentalt af hjemliger sager” og knust fysisk af Laughtons vægt ovenpåhende. Stakkels Elsa!!!!

Elsa Lanchester i lykkeligere tider –

før hun giftede sig med Charles Laughton

22:00 Vi går i seng – zzzzzzzzzz!!!!