Monday, July 13, 2020

Morning:  Lois and I have two parcels to send in the post, and we spend most of the morning trying to print out labels to stick on them, giving the addressee information, weight details etc, so that we don’t have to go into a post office to ship them – what madness!

The Royal Mail website always drives me into a fury because they’re constantly changing the format, so that I can never quickly find what I am looking for. Grrrrr!!!!

We are sending one parcel to Australia: some of our daughter Sarah’s old children’s books, so that her 7-year-old twins in Perth can read them. The other parcel is going to Coventry – an old cassette tape of Lois’s father, Dennis, where he can be heard choosing a selection of his 8 favourite "gramophone" records, à la BBC radio programme Desert Island Discs. 

The idea is to have the cassette tape converted to CD. Dennis was a popular lay preacher in Lois’s sect – much loved, in part, for his humorous approach:  he was a brilliant raconteur. It’s strange to hear his voice again as we play through the tape – he died nearly 20 years ago.

flashback to 1972: mine and Lois's wedding day

(left to right) my father (58), Lois's mother (56), Lois' father (Dennis) (58)

and my mother (52)

Afternoon: Lois goes down the road and posts the parcels in the local postbox.

Then she gets her mask ready for tomorrow – an exciting day. She gets to have her hair cut for the first time since the lockdown started. She has to wear a mask and gloves. Her hair stylist James will be dressed like a surgeon with all that PPE equipment we hear so much about  – what a crazy world we live in!

James, Lois's hair stylist in happier times

Evening: Lois goes into the dining room to take part in her sect’s weekly Bible Class. I relax in the living-room and listen to the radio: The Last Word. I try to listen to this programme every week to see if anybody has died recently or not. Usually it’s about 4 or 5 people only, so not too bad!

Enrico Morricone, the film score composer, died recently unfortunately. He made his name writing scores for so-called “Spaghetti Westerns”, films which his old school pal was directing.

Morricone wrote the score for “The Good the Bad and the Ugly before the film itself had been written, and he suggested that the director make up some story-line that would fit the music, which seems the proper way round to me. Pity that doesn’t happen more often!

I switch off the radio and see a bit of television, the second part in an interesting Channel 5 documentary series about the Battle of Britain in 1940. This episode concentrates on the most intense day of bombing of all, on August 30^th 1940, when the Luftwaffe tried to bomb the RAF out of existence.

It’s interesting that the RAF employed a lot of Polish air crew after the fall of Poland in 1939, but was inclined to trust them only with “light duties”. But after one Polish pilot shot down a German bomber on August 30^th, the RAF realised they were wasting one of their most valuable sources of effort, these Polish aircrews: they were actually much more experienced and battle-hardened than the RAF’s home-grown crews, who had had to be trained up from scratch.

It was extra difficult for the Poles initially, flying British fighter planes, which were totally different from all the continental ones – no surprise there! Also they had to learn our system of measurements: feet, yards, miles etc, which they were totally ignorant of, of course! 

What a crazy world we live in !!!!

22:00 It’s 10 o’ clock and here are Lois and me, in bed again already.

Zzzzzzzzzzzz!!!!

Danish translation:  Mandag den 13. juli 2020

Formiddagen: Lois og jeg har to pakker til at sende via posten, og vi bruger det meste af formiddagen på at udskrive etiketter til at klæbe på dem, som giver adressen, andet information, også vægtdetaljer osv., Så vi ikke behøver at gå ind et postkontor for at sende dem – sikke et vanvid!

Royal Mail-webstedet bringer mig altid til en raseri, fordi de konstant ændrer formatet, så jeg ikke hurtigt kan finde det, jeg leder efter.

Vi sender én pakke til Australien: nogle af vores datter Sarahs gamle børnebøger, så hendes 7-årige tvillinger i Perth kan læse dem. Den anden pakke sender vi til Coventry - et gammelt kassettebånd af Lois’s far, Dennis, hvor han kan høres ved at vælge et udvalg af sine foretrukne plader, à la BBC-radioprogrammet Desert Island Discs. Ideen er at få kassettebåndet konverteret til cd. Dennis var en populær lægprædikant i Lois's sekt - meget elsket til dels for hans humoristiske tilgang: han var en strålende raconteur. Det er underligt at høre hans stemme igen, mens vi spiller gennem båndet - han døde for næsten 20 år siden.

Eftermiddag: Lois går ned ad vejen og lægger pakkerne i den lokale postkasse. Så får hun sin maske klar til i morgen - en spændende dag. Hun får håret til at klippes for første gang siden nedlukningen startede. Hun skal bære en maske og handsker. Hendes hårstylist James vil være klædt ud som en kirurg med alt det der PPE-udstyr – sikke et vanvid!!!!!

Aftenen: Lois går ind i spisestuen for at deltage i hendes sekts ugentlige bibelsklasse. Jeg slapper af i stuen og lytter til radioen: Det sidste ord. Jeg prøver at lytte til dette program hver uge for at se, om nogen er død for nylig eller ej. Normalt handler det kun om 4 eller 5 personer, så ikke så slemt!

Sidste ord

Enrico Morricone, filmkomponisten, døde for nylig desværre. Han lavede sit navn og skrev scoringer til såkaldte "Spaghetti Westerns", film, som hans gamle skolekammerat regisserede.

Morricone skrev partituret til “Det gode, det dårlige og det grimme, før selve filmen var blevet skrevet, og han foreslog, at instruktøren skulle sammensætte en historie, der kunne passe til musikken, der synes at være den rigtige vej rundt for mig! Skam, der ikke sker oftere!

Jeg slukker for radioen og ser lidt fjernsyn, den anden del i en interessant Channel 5-dokumentarserie om Slaget ved Storbritannien i 1940. Denne episode koncentrerer sig om den mest intense bombedag af alle, den 30. august 1940, da Luftwaffe forsøgte at bombe RAF ud af eksistensen.

BB! / 2

Det er interessant, at RAF beskæftigede en masse polsk luftbesætning efter Polens fald i 1939, men var tilbøjelig til at stole på dem kun med "lette opgaver". Men efter at en polsk pilot skød ned en tysk bombefly den 30. august, indså RAF, at de spildte en af ​​deres mest værdifulde kilder til indsats, de polske flybesætninger, der faktisk var mere erfarne end RAFs hjemmevoksne besætninger, der måtte være trænet op fra bunden.

Det var ekstra vanskeligt for polakkerne oprindeligt med at flyve britiske jagerfly, som var helt forskellige fra alle de kontinentale planer - ingen overraskelse der! De måtte også lære vores målesystem: fødder, værfter, miles osv., Som de selvfølgelig var helt uvidende om! Hvilken skør verden vi lever i !!!!

22:00 Klokken er 10 og her er vi allerede i sengen igen.

Zzzzzzzzzzzz !!!!

Sunday, July 12, 2020

Morning:  we talk on whatsapp to our younger daughter Sarah and her family in Perth, Australia: husband Francis and their soon-to-be 7 year-old twins, Jessie and Lily. Jessie is a great talker, but Lily won’t keep still for 5 seconds, and keeps bouncing in and out of shot, bless her!

Lois is engaged with taking part in her church service on Zoom for the first hour of the call, so it’s just me talking to all 5 of them – which I find quite exhausting, however pleasurable. I’m getting old – no doubt about that!

The family miss England after 4 years down under, and they are planning to maybe come back to England next year, depending on the state of the virus here. Western Australia has gone back to normal now – if you go shopping there, it’s no different from before the lockdown. 

Lois and I would like them to buy our house, it’s a good size family house, where Sarah and Alison were brought up after our return from the USA in 1985, when Ali was 10 and Sarah was 8. But it’s too big for Lois and me now - oh dear! And we miss them so much.

We spend the evening watching TV, the second part of an interesting 3-part series on the Art of Persia.

It’s interesting to me that Farsi is distantly related to English, despite its weird appearance in Arabic-style script. I learnt a bit of Farsi in the 1980’s and discovered that the Farsi word for “twenty” is “bisto”, also the name of a famous UK make of gravy. “Bisto” = twice ten (my theory, not approved yet!), just like in French “biscuit” means “twice-cooked”. Simples!

Omar Khayyam is known in the West as a poet, the author of “The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam” (obviously). But he was also a mathematician and astronomer, who proved for the first time that the Earth spins on its own axis. He also worked out a more accurate frequency for leap years than was found in the Gregorian calendar: 8 leap years in every 33. His poem’s “Carpe diem” philosophy proved popular in Victorian Britain, surprisingly, and also with officers on their way to the front in the First World War – which makes a lot of sense!

And it was nice in the programme to see some sort of temple in Persia which had separate knockers for men and women. The knockers made different sounds, so the priest knew whether a man or a woman was waiting to come in, giving him time to comb his hair or ruffle it up, as appropriate! Perhaps Lois and I could install separate door-bells on our front door – it’s worth considering! Door-to-door salespersons and distraction thieves are seldom women, after all ! It would at least give us time to hide our money away!

22:00 It’s 10 o’ clock and here we are in bed again already.

Zzzzzzzzzzzz!!!!

Danish translation:  søndag den 12. juli 2020

Formiddag: vi taler på whatsapp med vores yngre datter Sarah og hendes familie i Perth, Australien: mand Francis og deres snart 7-årige tvillinger, Jessie og Lily. Jessie er en stor taler, men Lily holder ikke stille i 5 sekunder og fortsætter med at hoppe ind og ud af skud, velsigne hende!

Lois er engageret i at deltage i hendes gudstjeneste på Zoom i den første time af opkaldet, så det er bare mig, der taler - hvilket jeg synes er meget udmattende, dog behageligt. Jeg bliver gammel - ingen tvivl om det!

Familien savner England efter 4 år under, og de planlægger måske at vende tilbage til England næste år, afhængig af virusets tilstand her. Western Australia er vendt tilbage til det normale nu - hvis du handler der, er det ikke anderledes end inden lockdown. Lois og jeg vil gerne have, at de skulle købe vores hus, det er et familiehus i god størrelse, hvor Sarah og Alison blev opdraget efter vores hjemkomst fra USA i 1985, da Ali var 10 og Sarah var 8. Men det er for stort til Lois og mig nu - åh kære!

Saturday, July 11, 2020

The local convenience store and the local butcher deliver our food for next week. We swab every item down with disinfectant, just to be on the safe side – my god, what a crazy world we live in!!!

Lois gets an hour-long call from Gillian. Gillian and Peter are very old friends of ours – we have known them for nearly 50 years. Their son James, and also James’s wife Vicky, both caught coronavirus at the start of the lockdown, and neither one has fully recovered yet, after 3 months.

It’s strange that Peter, James's father, was infected by some sort of Chinese flu virus 45 years ago whilst on a business trip to China, and he has suffered from ill health ever since. Could it be that this original virus harmed Peter’s immune system, and that his son James somehow inherited something of this? We don’t know, but it’s an odd coincidence.

While Lois is on the phone, I do the latest London Times crossword from my book. There have been a spate of stories in the media recently about crossword editors who are serial killers and leave clues to their murders in their crosswords (source: the influential American news website, Onion News).

And then, as recently as last year: 

PLEASANTVILLE, NY - Expressing consternation that law enforcement officials remained unaware of his insinuations, New York Times puzzle editor Will Shortz on Tuesday expressed frustration that police had not yet solved patterns of hints and droll clues in his taunting crossword puzzles that reveal the locations of 40 years’ worth of murder victims. "Of course, I assumed that at least one detective at one point over the last four decades was smart enough to resolve one of these cases," said Shortz, who also suggested that victims' geographical coordinates could be determined by analysing the sudoku puzzles in the Sunday edition. “These riddles lead to an entire cemetery for bodies for anyone wise enough to find them” he added.

I study my own finished puzzle for today, and conclude that this particular crossword offers tantalising clues to a gruesome murder in the Welsh county of Dyfed (27 across), a killing with an ideological motive (“martyrdom” – 8 down). The victim was probably a Eurosceptic (13 down), of blood type (20 across) “E” (short for Eurosceptic: there are many examples of blood-type E among elderly UK residents), the victim having been stabbed in the back (28 across). I will email the local County Constabulary later with my theories.

the crossword I finished today, which is pointing to the gruesome

martyring of a Eurosceptic in Dyfed, South Wales.

Afternoon:  for Lois a first read-through of her periodical, “The Week”, which gives a digest of the last 7 day’s news; for me, this means a nap on our bed, followed by a ride on my exercise bike.

a recent (Thursday) picture of me enjoying a nap: it's not as recent as today's

picture (not yet available), but is essentially showing the same degree of smugness

We spend the evening watching TV, an old episode of “Peter Kay’s Car Share”. John and Kayleigh work at the local supermarket. John is a manager, while Kayleigh works on the cheese counter. They live near each other so John drives Kayleigh to work each morning.

In tonight’s episode, when they reach the supermarket staff car park, Kayleigh spots that John has got mud on his trousers and she tries to get it off with spit. Unfortunately a co-worker, Barry, sees the incident. This is bound to add fuel to the fire of the rumours going around the staff that John and Kayleigh are enjoying a frantic sex-life.

Poor Kayleigh!!!!

Poor John !!!!!

22:00 It’s 10 o’clock and here we are in bed.

Zzzzzzzzzz!!!!

Danish translation: Lørdag den 11. juli 2020

Den lokale nærbutik og den lokale slagter leverer vores mad til næste uge. Vi skyller alle genstande ned med desinfektionsmiddel, bare for at være på den sikre side - herregud, hvilken skør verden vi lever i !!!

Lois får en times lang opkald fra Gillian. Gillian og Peter er meget gamle venner af os - vi har kendt dem i næsten 50 år. Deres søn James, og også James 'kone Vicky fangede begge coronavirus i starten af ​​nedlukningen, og ingen af ​​dem er kommet sig endnu.

Det er mærkeligt, at Peter blev smittet af en slags kinesisk influenzavirus for 45 år siden, mens han var på forretningsrejse til Kina, og han har lider af dårligt helbred lige siden. Kan det være, at denne oprindelige virus skadede Peters immunsystem, og at hans søn på en eller anden måde James arvet noget af dette? Vi ved det ikke, men det er et underligt tilfældighed.

Mens Lois er på telefonen, gør jeg det seneste London Times krydsord fra min bog. Der har for nylig været en række historier i medierne om krydsordredaktører, der er seriemordere og efterlader ledetråde til deres mord i deres krydsord (kilde: det indflydelsesrige amerikanske nyhedswebsted, Onion News).

overskrift1

overskrift2

PLEASANTVILLE, NY - Ved at udtrykke betændelse over, at de retshåndhævende myndigheder forblev uvidende om hans insinuationer, udtrykte New York Times puslesedaktør Will Shortz tirsdag frustration over, at politiet endnu ikke havde løst mønstre af antydninger og drol-ledetråde i hans sprudlende krydsord, der afslører placeringerne af 40 års værd for mordofre. "Selvfølgelig antog jeg, at mindst en detektiv på et tidspunkt i de sidste fire årtier var smart nok til at løse en af ​​disse sager," sagde Shortz, der også foreslog, at ofrenes geografiske koordinater kunne bestemmes ved at analysere sudoku-gåderne i søndagsudgaven. ”Disse gåder fører til en hel kirkegård til kroppe for enhver, der er klog nok til at finde dem” tilføjede han.

Jeg studerer mit eget færdige puslespil for i dag og konkluderer, at netop dette krydsord giver fristende ledetråde til et grusomt mord i det walisiske amt Dyfed (27 på tværs), et drab med et ideologisk motiv (“Martyrdom” - 8 nede). Offeret var sandsynligvis en Eurosceptic (13 ned), af blodtype (20 på tværs af) "E" (forkortelse for Eurosceptic: der er mange eksempler på blodtype E blandt ældre UK-beboere. Jeg vil e-maile den lokale County Constabulary senere med min teori.

Eftermiddag: for Lois en første gennemlæsning af hendes tidsskrift, "Ugen", der giver en fordøjelse af de sidste syv dages nyheder; for mig betyder det en lur efterfulgt af en tur på min motionscykel.

Et nyligt (torsdag) billede af mig, der nyder en lur

Vi tilbringer aftenen med at se tv, en gammel episode af ”Peter Kay's Car Share”. John og Kayleigh arbejder i det lokale supermarked. John er manager, mens Kayleigh arbejder på ostedisken. De bor i nærheden af hinanden, så John kører Kayleigh på arbejde hver morgen.

notering

I aftenens episode, når de når supermarkedet personale parkeringsplads, Kayleigh opdager, at John har fået mudder på hans bukser, og hun forsøger at få det ud med spytte. Desværre ser en medarbejder, Barry, hændelsen. Dette er bundet til at tilføje brændstof til ilden fra rygterne, der går rundt om personalet om, at John og Kayleigh nyder et hektisk sexliv.

fange 1/2/3

Stakkels Kayleigh !!!!

Stakkels John !!!!!

22:00 Klokken er 10, og her er vi i sengen.

Zzzzzzzzzz !!!!

Friday, July 10, 2020

Lockdown was declared three and a half months ago.

Alison, our elder daughter in Haslemere, texts me. The family are adopting a second dog – how crazy!! They already have a Danish dog, Sika, a Danish ex-street-cat, Dumbledore, and a thrusting, dynamic young British cat, Otto. The family will never be able to go on holidays now!!!!

Sika, the family’s Danish dog, in happier times:

then not aware that he would have to share a house with a British dog!

Poor Sika!!!!

I email out to our U3A Danish group members the vocabulary lists to the next chapter of our Danish crime novel, “Dybt at falde” by Anna Grue. I go down the road and post a print-out of the chapter to Scilla, who cannot cope with email – what madness!

We order next week’s groceries from the local convenience store in the village, and meat and cheese from  the butcher in the village. They will both deliver tomorrow.

Highlight of the day: Lois and I dust and hoover in the living-room – exciting! Afternoon is a nap for me and gardening for Lois.

I order 4 new bulbs for our lights in the kitchen, hoping I have picked the right size etc. Modern lightbulbs are one of my biggest nightmares – there are so many different kinds now. Oh for the good old days when you could only get one sort and just had to choose the right wattage! Come back, old bulbs, all is forgiven!!!

We spend the evening watching TV, an old episode of “Peter Kay’s Car Share”. 

John and Kayleigh work at the local supermarket. John is a manager, while Kayleigh works on the cheese counter. They live near each other so John drives Kayleigh to work each morning.

Tonight Kayleigh thinks that John is plucking up courage to ask her out on a proper date, but he’s only suggesting that she joins his Christmas planning team at the store.

Poor Kayleigh!!!!

Poor Kayleigh (again) !!!!!

22:00 It's ten o'clock and here we are in bed already. 

ZZZZZZZZZZ !!!!

Danish translation: Fredag den 10. juli 2020

Nedlukningen blev erklæret for tre og en halv måned siden.

Alison, vores ældste datter i Haslemere, tekster mig. Familien adopterer en anden hund - hvor skørt !! De har allerede en dansk hund, Sika, en dansk eks-gadekat, Dumbledore og en dynamisk ung britisk kat, Otto. Familien kan aldrig rejse nu !!!!

Sika, familiens danske hund, i lykkeligere tider:

dengang ikke klar over endnu, at han skulle dele et hus med en britisk hund!

Stakkels Sika !!!!

Jeg sender ordforrådlister til det næste kapitel i vores danske krimi, Anna Grues “Dybt at falde”, til vores U3A-danske gruppemedlemmer. Jeg går ned at vejen og  lægger i postkassen en udskrift af kapitlet til Scilla, som ikke kan klare e-mail - sikke et vanvid!!!

Vi bestiller næste uges dagligvarer fra den lokale nærbutik i landsbyen og kød og ost fra slagteren i landsbyen. De leverer begge i morgen.

Dagens højdepunkt: Lois og jeg støver og støvsuger i stuen - spændende! Eftermiddag er en lur for mig og havearbejde for Lois.

Jeg bestiller 4 nye pærer til vores lys i køkkenet, i håb om at jeg har valgt den rigtige størrelse osv. Moderne lyspærer er en af mine største mareridt - der er så mange forskellige slags nu. Åh for de gode gamle dage, hvor du kun kunne få en slags og bare skulle vælge den rigtige beløb watt! Kom tilbage, gamle pærer, alt er tilgivet !!!

Vi bruger aftenen på at se tv, en gammel episode af ”Peter Kay's Car Share”. 

John og Kayleigh arbejder i det lokale supermarked. John er manager, mens Kayleigh arbejder på ostedisken. De bor i nærheden af hinanden, så John kører Kayleigh på arbejde hver morgen.

I aften tror Kayleigh, at John tager mod til sig for at bede hende ud på en ordentlig dato, men han antyder kun, at hun tilslutter sig til hans juleplanlægningsteam i butikken.

Stakkels Kayleigh !!!!

Stakkels Kayleigh (igen) !!!!!

22:00 Den er klokken ti og her er vi allerede i seng.

Zzzzzzzzzz!!!!

Tuesday, June 30, 2020

Mark arrives at 9:30 am to do some gardening, clip the hedges, and mow the lawns behind the house.

I call Scilla, a member of our U3A Danish group, to tell her about my plans to hold a group meeting on zoom on July 16th. Unfortunately, it turns out that day is her birthday, so I will try to advance the meeting to July 9 instead.

Lois still has a bad stomach, so I hurry into the kitchen to make lunch - poached eggs on toast: one of my signature dishes - yum yum!

This afternoon, we pick the remaining gooseberries and top’n’tail them while drinking a cup of Tea Pig Early Grey tea with a biscuit or two – yum yum (again)!

Danish translation: tirsdag den 30. juni 2020

Mark kommer kl 9:30 for at lave lidt havearbejde, klippe hækkene, og slå græsplænerne bag huset.

Jeg ringer til Scilla, et medlem af vores U3A danske gruppe, for at fortælle hende om mine planer om at holde et gruppemøde på zoom den 16. juli. Desværre viser det sig at den dag er hendes fødselsdag, så jeg vil prøve at fremrykke mødet til den 9. juli i stedet for.

Lois har stadig lidt af en dårlig mave, så jeg skynder mig ind i køkkenet for at lave frokost – pochede æg på toast: én af mine signaturretter – yum yum!

I eftermiddag plukker vi de resterende stikkelsbær og trimmer dem, mens vi drikker en kop Tea Pig Early Grey té med en kiks eller to – yum yum (igen) !!!

Monday, June 29, 2020

It's cold today and it's windy. I vacuum all over the house while Lois goes out in the back yard and weeds a bit in our shiny new raised beds. Later in the day, she plants vegetable seeds in 2 of the 6 beds: parsley, spring onions, salads, spinach and dwarf beans in one bed and carrots, parsnip, beetroot and potatoes in the other.

Flashback to June 9: our raised beds in happier times:

Lois here is showcasing them when they were brand new,

 and the birds and wind had not yet had the opportunity

to “plant” weeds in them – sob sob!

I write an email in Hungarian to my Hungarian pen pal, Tünde. My Hungarian has become a bit rusty to put it mildly and I am quite sure there are many errors in my email. Damn!

Lois has had slight stomach ache much of the day - the poor thing! So we go to bed early: 9 pm - zzzzzzzzzzz !!!!!

Danish translation: mandag den 28. juni 2020

Det er koldt i dag, og det blæser kraftigt. Jeg støvsuger overalt i huset, mens Lois går ud i baghaven og luger lidt i vores nye hævede bede. Senere å dagen planter hun grøntsagsfrø i 2 af de 6 bede: persille, forårsløg, salater, spinat og dværgbønner i det ene bed og gulerødder, pastinak, rødbeder og kartofler i det andet.

tilbageblik til den 9. juni: Vores hævede bede i lykkeligere tider:

Lois fremviser dem, da de var spritnye, og fuglene og vinden endnu ikke havde

haft muligheden for at ”plante” ukrudt derinde : hulk, hulk!

Jeg skriver en email på ungarsk  til min ungarske penneven, Tünde. Mit ungarsk er blevet lit rusten for at sige mildt, og jeg er helt sikker på, at der er mange fejl i min email. Pokkers!

Lois har haft ondt i maven i hovedparten af dagen – staklen! Så går vi tidligt i seng: kl 21 - zzzzzzzzzzz!!!!!

Sunday, June 28, 2020

Sarah, our daughter in Perth, Australia, calls us on whatsapp and we have fun talking to her and the family's soon-to-be 7-year-old twins, Lily and Jessie. Sarah and Francis are considering moving back to England next year after 5 and a half years over there - they are likely to move either to Harrogate in the north of England, where Francis has some relatives, or back to Cheltenham: they haven't decided yet.

This afternoon, Lois makes two birthday cards for the twins and we walk down the road to put them in the local mailbox. They have a birthday on July 26, but the post for Australia is a bit unreliable, to say the least. Our birthday card for Sarah herself, who turned 43 on June 22, took almost 4 weeks - what madness !!!

On the way home from the mailbox, we look at the local soccer field, which is currently closed to the public: the parish council is in the process of "upgrading" the area, so it also includes a so-called MUGA (multi-use games area) where people can play netball or basketball , various types of exercise equipment, and a mile-long running track, as well as a car-park.

My god, what a crazy world we live in !!!!!

the parish council’s crazy plans

– my god, what madness !!!!

Danish translation: søndag den 28. juni 2020

Sarah, vores datter i Perth, Australien, ringer til os på whatsapp, og vi får det sjovt med at snakke med hende og familiens snart 7-årige tvillinger, Lily og Jessie. Sarah og Francis overvejer at flytte tilbage til England næste år efter 5,5 år derovre – de vil sandsynligvis flytte enten til Harrogate i det nordlige England, hvor Francis har nogle slægtninge, eller tilbage til Cheltenham: de har ikke besluttet sig endnu.

I eftermiddag laver Lois to fødselsdagskort til tvillingerne og vi går hen ned ad vejen for at lægge dem i den lokale postkasse. De har fødselsdag den 26. juli, men posten til Australien er lidt upålidelig, for at sige mildt. Vores fødselsdagskort til selve Sarah, der fyldte 43 den 22. juni, tog næsten 4 uger – sikke et vanvid!!!

På vej hjem fra postkassen, kigger vi på den lokale fodboldbane, som for tiden er lukket for offentligheden:  kommunen er i gang med at ”opgradere” området, så det også inkluderer et såkaldt MUGA (multi-use games area), hvor folk kan spille netball eller basketball, forskellige typer af motionsudstyr, og en mile-lang  løbebane, også en parkeringsplads.

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

kommunens skøre planer – du godeste, sikke et vanvid!!!!

Saturday, June 27, 2020

 Today would have been my late father's birthday. He would have been 106.

The dairyman delivers a giant sack of compost and the owner of the local convenience store delivers next week's groceries. I swab everything down with disinfectant to be on the safe side. My goodness! What a crazy world we live in! 

The mini-heat wave is over - hurray! And it is windy and raining heavily from time to time till the middle of the afternoon.

Lynda calls me. She wants to hold her U3A Middle English group's next monthly meeting on Skype instead of zoom. Cynthia has not been able to master zoom for some reason.

Alison, our daughter in Haslemere,  calls us. She and Ed's house is now on the market and 3 potential buyers have looked around the house. But the housing market is still not very lively, to say the least. However, the real estate agent believes that in the next few months, many people currently living in London will want to move to the more attractive suburbs. Let's hope he's right!

Danish translation: lørdag den 27. juni 2020

I dag ville har været min afdøde fars fødselsdag. Han ville have været 106.

Mælkemanden leverer en gigantisk sæk kompost, og ejeren af den lokale nærbutik leverer næste uges dagligvarer. Jeg skyller alt ned med desinfektionsmiddel for en sikke reds skyld. Du godeste, sikke en skraber verden vi lever I! !!

Mini-hedebølgen er forbi – hurra! Og det blæser og regner kraftigt af og til indtil midt på eftermiddagen.

Lynda ringer til mig. Hun vil gerne holde sin U3A middelengelske gruppes næste månedlige møde på Skype i stedet for på zoom. Cynthia har ikke kunnet mestre zoom af en eller anden grund.

Alison ringer til os. Hun og Eds hus er nu på markedet og 3 potentielle købere har set sig om i huset. Men boligmarkedet er stadig ikke ret livligt, for at sige mildt. Ejendomsmægleren tror imidlertid, at i de næste få måneder vil mange mennesker, der for tiden bor i London, vil have lyst til at flytte til de mere attraktive forstæder. Lad os håbe, han har ret!

Friday, June 26, 2020

It''s now 3 months and 3 days since the lockdown was declared in the UK.

It's quite hot again today (77F / 25C), despite yesterday's weather forecast - damn it!

Yesterday's letters: a letter from DVLA stating that it's okay for me to drive again - hurray!

This morning's phone calls: Lois calls the local convenience store to order next week's groceries: they will deliver them tomorrow. I call Cotswold Dairies, who supply us with 5 pints of milk 3 times a week to our doorstep, to order another bag of compost. And I call Honda Blade Gloucester to arrange the car's annual service and MOT test - they will pick up the car (and deliver it back a few hours later) in a month's time.

We drive the car to Bishop's Cleeve and back, to keep the car's battery in good condition - a total of 5 miles. On the way, we put 2 birthday cards in the local mailbox: one for Lois's niece's daughter Lily Rose, and the other for Lois's nephew's son, Charlie.

Afternoon: I go to bed and take a gigantic afternoon nap. The Amazon van delivers my 150 Tea Pig Extra Strong Earl Grey tea bags, a Father's Day gift from Alison, our elder daughter - yum yum!

Evening: we stick our legs up in front of the television. We go to bed at 10pm, with the windows wide open - phew! Zzzzzzzzz !!!!!!

Danish translation: fredag 26. juni 2020

Nu er det 3 måneder og 3 dage, siden nedlukningen blev erklæret i Storbritannien.

Det er ganske varmt igen i dag (77F/25C), på trods af gårsdagens vejrudsigt – pokkers!

Gårsdagens breve: et brev fra DVLA, hvor der står, at det er okay for mig at køre bil igen – hurra!

Formiddagens telefonopkald: Lois ringer til den lokale nærbutik for at bestille næste ugens dagligvarer: de vil levere dem i morgen. Jeg ringer til Cotswold Daires, som forsyner os med 5 pintes mælk 3 gange om ugen til vores dørtrin,  for at bestille endnu en sæk kompost. Og jeg ringer til Honda Blade Gloucester for at arrangere bilens årlige service og MOT test – de vil hente bilen (og levere den tilbage et par timer senere) om en måneds tid.

Vi kører bilen til Bishops Cleeve og tilbage for at holde bilens batteri i god stand – alt i alt 5 miles. På vej lægger vi 2 fødselsdagskort i den lokale postkasse: ét til Lois’ nieces datter Lily Rose, og det andet til Lois’ neveus søn, Charlie.

Eftermiddagen: jeg går i seng og tager en gigantisk eftermiddagslur. Amazon-varevognen leverer mine 150 Tea Pig Ekstra Stærk Earl Grey teaposer, en farsdagsgave fra Alison, vores ældste datter – yum yum!

Aftenen: vi smækker benene op foran fjernsyn. Vi går i seng kl 22, med vinduerne på vid gab – pyh! Zzzzzzzzz!!!!!!