Fredag den 27. oktober 2017

09:00 Lois går hen til Billly Shears, den lokale frisørforretning, for at få håret klippet. Bagefter går vi udenfor, Lois ind i forhaven for at luge lidt mellem buskene og mig ind i baghaven for at luge lidt i grøntsagshaven.

Vi går i gang med at luge lidt i haven.

Lois går højt op i havearbejde, men det er ikke rigtigt mit nummer, må jeg indrømme. Men faktum er, at vi ejer dette enorme hus og have, og jeg har en synkende fornemmelse af, at Lois og jeg kommer til at dø her, fordi det er for vanskeligt at downsize, og det er for generende at gør det.

Jeg prøver at efterligne en anden lokal pensionist, Ned McDowell (67), der ifølge The Onion-nyhedswebsite har valgt havearbejde som den hobby, der vil holde ham gående til hans død. Han er for tiden heldig i, at han kun har et par pæoner og nogle russiske salvier, men han har planer om at udvide sine blomsterbede i løbet af de kommende år.  

Ned McDowell (67), en lokal pensionist, der har

valgt havearbejde som den hobby, der vil holde ham gående til hans død

McDowell forudser, at denne aktivitet vil give ham lige nok tilfredsstillelse og følelse af formål til at få ham igennem de ca. 18 år, han har tilbage i sin resterende eksistens. "Det er faktisk ikke så nemt som nogle mennesker tænker”, siger han.  ”Der er en masse at lære om jordens sammensætning, og man skal virkelig tjekke op på planterne hver dag. Men jeg nyder det virkelig, og forhåbentlig er det noget, jeg kan blive ved med i et stykke tid. "

Da nyhedshjemmesiden var ved at gå i trykket, var kilder i gang med at bekræfte, at en lokal blomsterhandler var ved at svare på McDowells spørgsmål om dette emne, der forhåbentlig vil holde ham beskæftiget, mens hans hjerte langsomt men sikkert nærmer sig mod en endeligt hjertestop.

Jeg er lidt misunderlig på McDowell over hans viden om planter – det må jeg indrømme.  Jeg tror, jeg har hørt om pæoner, men jeg kunne ikke i en million år identificere dem, og jeg har aldrig hørt før om russiske salvier. Det bliver åbenlyst, at jeg må efterligne ham og gøre lidt forskning, måske på nettet.

Denne åbenbaring kunne blive livforandrende, en sandt vendepunkt i mit liv. Men først synes jeg, må jeg heller vaske håret (copyright PJ Proby). 

11:00 Lois ringer til Interflora. Hun bestilte for et par dage siden en buket blomster til Sarah, vores datter i Australien, for at udtrykke vores sympati efter døden af familiens hund. Hun prøvede at betale først via Paypal, men det virkede ikke, troede vi, så hun ringede til dem og brugte kreditkort. i dag gik det op for os, at vi faktisk betalte to gange. Du godeste, det er dyrt nok engang at betale for at få blomster leveret til udlandet, endnu mindre to gange!!!!

11:30 Lois går hen ind i landsbyen for at afsende 3 børnemagasiner til vores børnebørn i København, og at købe endnu 2 børnemagasiner til vores børnebørn i Perth, Australien.

12:30 Vi spiser frokost og bagefter går jeg i seng for at tage mig en gigantisk eftermiddagslur – zzzzzz!!!! Jeg står op kl 15 og hopper op på min kondicykel. Jeg cykler 9 miles (15km), mens Lois går rundt i hjørnet til det lokale bibliotek for at genlåne sin nuværende sengetidbog, Gerald Durrells ”Gudernes Have”.

16:00 Vi slapper af med en kop te i sofaen og lytter lidt til radio, et interessant program ”Det Sidste Ord”.  Lois og jeg har for vane at høre dette program hver uge, fordi vi ønsker at finde ud af, om nogen i de seneste 1-2 uger døde eller ej (jeg har bemærket, at der i de fleste uger sker nøjagtig 5 dødsfald). Programmets vært er den charmerende Matthew Bannister.

Rodney Bickerstaffe døde. Han var formand for en enorme britiske fagforening, de offentlige ansattes fagforening eller National Union of Public Employees (NUPE), og dens efterfølge, UNISON.

Han ledt et langt, travlt live, men desværre nåede han kun at gøre to ting, der vandt min godkendelse – han overtalte affaldsarbejdere og  gravgravere i Liverpool til at gå i strejke i flere uger, hvilket førte direkte til Maggie Thatchers sejr i valget af 1979.

Den anden ting han gjorde, som vandt min godkendelse, var, at han var dygtig til at efterabe Daffy Duck.

Daffy Duck, som Bickerstaffe angiveligt

var dygtig til at efterabe

Hans største minus var det samme som med de fleste fagforeningsledere, dvs han troede, at forretninger og offentlige organisationer skulle drives til fordel for deres ansatte, og ikke for deres kunder. Også, at forretninger, industrier osv skulle alle blive holdt gående, uanset deres produkter var ønskede, eller ej. Så ingen overraskelse der!!!

17:00 Jeg kigger lidt på “Insta”, og jeg ser, at Alison, vores datter i København, har lagt et par charmerende fotos op af vores 3 børnebørn, Josie (11), Rosalind (9) og Isaac (7), som har været i gang med at forberede sig på deres skoles halloweenfest i aften.

vores 3 børnebørn i Danmark, Josie (11), Rosalind (9) og Isaac (7),

som i dag har været i gang med at forberede sig på deres skoles halloweenfest i aften.

18:00 Vi spiser aftensmad og ser lidt fjernsyn. De viser det første afsnit af Tracey Ullmans nye serie, ”Tracey bryder nyhederne”.

Meget underholdende, især skildringerne af vigtige tidspunkter i historien af franske politik. Vi ser for eksempel nogle meget rørende filmsekvenser, der skildrer historien af Emmanuel Macrons forelskelse i sin kone, Frankrigs første dame, Brigitte, da de begge var på højskole: ham som studerende og hende som dramalærer.

rørende scener, som Frankrigs første ægtepar

sidder i Elysee-paladset og blader igennem Emmanuels højskoleårbog

1994-højskoleårbogen, med de uhyggeligt akkurate

forudsigelse om Emmanuel: den mest sandsynligvise at blive præsident

før 40 års alder, og mest sandsynligvise at gifte sig med dramalæreren

en rørende scene – Emmanuel får øje på Brigitte,

mens han er ved at hente sine bøger og chartekker. Hvor romantisk!

det afgørende tidspunkt, som Brigitte springer på scenen

for at gratulere Emmanuel med hans præstation

da Brigitte sætter sig bevidst over for ham i skolecafeteriet, bliver

Emmanuel endeliig helt sikker på, at han har scoret hende

Lois og jeg er to gamle krager, og vi kender ikke den moderne verden ret godt, så derfor er det interessant at høre om nye versioner af gamle elektroniske ”stemmer”, som teenage-versionen af ”Alexis”, der lever og taler som en vranten teenager. Versionen er tilsyneladende meget populær hos forældre af børn, der lige er startet på universitet og gået hjemmefra.

Denne version of ”Alexis” er meget populær hos forældre,

der savner deres børn, efter de forladet hjemmet for at gå på universitet.

Alexis i seng med Siri 

22:00 Vi går også i seng – zzzzzz!!!!!

English translation

09:00 Lois goes to Billly Shears, the local hairdresser, to get her hair cut. Afterwards, we go outside, Lois into the front yard to weed a little between the bushes and me into the backyard to do a little weeding in the vegetable garden.

We get going with a little weeding in the garden.

Lois is very into gardening, but it's not really my cup of tea, I have to admit. But the fact is that we own this huge house and garden and I have a sinking feeling that Lois and I will die here because it's too difficult to downsize and it's too annoying to do so. anyway

I try to emulate another local pensioner, Ned McDowell, 67, who according to The Onion News website has chosen gardening as the hobby that will keep him going till his death. He is currently lucky in so far as he only has a few peonies and some Russian sage, but he plans to expand his flower beds over the next few years.

Ned McDowell (67), a local pensioner who has chosen

gardening as the hobby that will keep him going until his death

McDowell predicts that this activity will give him just enough satisfaction and sense of purpose to get him through the approx. 18 years he has left in his remaining existence. "It's actually not as easy as some people think," he says. "There's a lot to learn about the composition of the soil, and you really have to check up on the plants every day. But I really enjoy it and hopefully it's something I can keep up for a while. "

At press time sources were in the process of confirming that a local florist was responding to McDowell's questions about this subject, which hopefully will keep him busy while his heart slowly but surely approaches a final cardiac arrest.

I envy McDowell his knowledge of plants a little, I have to admit.

I think I've heard of peonies, but I could never in a million years identify them , and I've never heard of Russian sage before. It is becoming obvious that I have to really take a leaf out of his book and do some research, maybe online.

This revelation could be life-changing, a true turning point in my life. But first I think I’d better wash my hair (copyright PJ Proby).

11:00 Lois calls Interflora. A few days ago she ordered a bouquet of flowers for Sarah, our daughter in Australia, to express our sympathy after the death of the family's dog. She tried to pay first through Paypal, but it did not work, we thought, so she called them and used credit card. Today we realized that we actually paid twice. Good grief, it's expensive enough to pay once to get flowers delivered abroad, let alone twice !!!!

11:30 Lois walks into the village to post 3 children's magazines to our grandchildren in Copenhagen and to buy another 2 children's magazines for our grandchildren in Perth, Australia.

12:30 We have lunch and afterwards I go to bed and take a gigantic afternoon nap - zzzzzz !!!! I get up at 3 pm and jump on my exercise bike. I cycle 9 miles (15km) while Lois walks around the corner to the local library to renew her current bedtime book, Gerald Durrell's "Garden of the Gods" .

16:00 We relax with a cup of tea on the couch and listen a little to the radio, an interesting program, "The Last Word". Lois and I have a habit of listening to this program every week because we want to find out if anyone has died in the last 1-2 weeks or not (I have noticed that most weeks exactly 5 deaths occur). The host of the program is the charming Matthew Bannister.

Rodney Bickerstaffe has died. He was chairman of a huge British trade union, the Public Employees Union or the National Union of Public Employees (NUPE), and its successor, UNISON.

He led a long, busy life, but unfortunately he only managed to do two things that won my approval - he persuaded garbage men and grave-diggers in Liverpool to go on strike for several weeks, which led directly to Maggie Thatcher's victory in the 1979 election.

The other thing he did which won my approval, was that he was good at impressions of Daffy Duck.

Daffy Duck, whom Bickerstaffe was allegedly good at

doing impressions of.

His biggest minus was the same as with most union leaders, ie he thought that businesses and government organizations should be run for the benefit of their employees and not for their customers. Also, that businesses, industries, etc. should all be kept going, regardless of whether their products were wanted or not. So no surprise there !!!

17:00 I take a little at look at "Insta" and I see that Alison, our daughter in Copenhagen, has added a couple of charming pictures of our 3 grandchildren, Josie (11), Rosalind (9) and Isaac (7), who have been getting ready for their school's Halloween party tonight.

our 3 grandchildren in Denmark, Josie (11), Rosalind (9) and Isaac (7),

who today have been getting ready for their school's Halloween party tonight.

18:00 We have dinner and watch a bit of television. The first episode of Tracey Ullman's new series, "Tracey Breaks The News" is on.

Very entertaining, especially the depictions of important moments in the history of French politics. For example, we see some very touching film sequences depicting the story of Emmanuel Macron's crush on his wife, France's first lady, Brigitte, when they both were at high school: him as a student and her as a drama teacher.

touching scenes, as France's first couple

sit in the Elysee Palace and leaf through Emmanuel's High School Yearbook

the 1994 High School Yearbook, with its scarily accurate

prediction about Emmanuel: the most likely to become President

before the age of 40, and most likely to marry the drama teacher

Touching Scene - Emmanuel catches sight of Brigitte,

while he is picking up his books and folders. How romantic!

The crucial moment, as Brigitte jumps on stage

to congratulate Emmanuel on his performance

when Brigitte deliberately sits down opposite him in the school cafeteria,

Emmanuel is finally sure that he has scored

Lois and I are two old crows and we do not know the modern world that well, so it's interesting to hear about new versions of old electronic "voices" like the teen version of "Alexis" who lives and talks like a sulky teenager. The version is apparently very popular with parents of children who have just started at university and have left home.

This version of "Alexis" is very popular with parents

missing their children after they leave home to go to university.

Alexis in bed with Siri

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

Torsdag den 26. oktober 2017

09:30 Lois og jeg er begge to lidt udkørte i dag og vi går meget sent i bad. Vi kommer i tøjet og står op. Vi spiser morgenmad.

11:00 Jeg har fået en sms på whatsapp fra Sarah, vores datter i Perth, Australien. Familien har fået den buket blomster vi bestillede til dem på nettet, for at udtrykke sympati efter døden af Buddy, familiens hund – hun og Francis, hendes mand, skulle aflive Buddy for nogle dage siden på grund af hans gigt og almindelig svaghed. Stakkels Buddy.

Deres 4-årige tvillinger, Lily og Jessie, er for unge til at forstå døden af et kæledyr, men har accepteret, at Buddy af en eller anden grund ikke længere kan ses her og der i huset.

Sarah sender os et billede af dem, hun tog i eftermiddags. De har i dag beskæftiget sig med at lave og pynte små papirfly. Hvor er de dog søde!! Lois kommenterer, at nogle børnelege ikke har ændret sig over tid siden hun og jeg var unge (sandsynligvis siden vores forældre var unge – du godeste!).

vores 4-årige børnebørn i Australien har i dag beskæftiget sig

med at lave og pynte små papirfly – hvor er de dog søde!!!

Nogle børnelege ændrer sig ikke over tid – uha!

11:30 Jeg lytter lidt til radio, et interessant program, der handler om forbindelsen mellem dinosaurer og udviklingen af fugle.

Teorien nu er at dinosaurer er tæt beslægtede ikke til firben, som man i 150 år har troet, og faktisk bare er forfædrene af nutidens fugle, hvilket Darwins assistent/tilhænger, Thomas Huxley, opdagede for 150 år siden, selvom hans teorier snart blev glemmet – stakkels Huxley!!!

Nylige opdagelser i Kina har vist, at de fleste dinosaurer, eller måske alle dinosaurer havde enten fjer eller hår – hår er bare en simpel version af fjer, og fjer er simpelten hule hår. Sikke et vanvid!!!!

Det er interessant, at se hvor tilfældige processerne af evolutionen var. Fjer og vinger udviklede sig oprindeligt ikke for at gøre flugt mulig. Forskellige små trinvise ændringer skete gradvist af en masse grunde, og det var helt tilfældigt på en måde, at det hele endte med at skabe evnen til at flyve, en evn, der blev bekræftet på grund af dens ulempe for overlevelse. Du godeste, sikke en skør verden vi lever i !!!!

Kom tilbage, Huxley, alt er tilgivet ha ha ha!!!

12:30 Jeg kigger lidt på nettet. Alison, vores datter i København, har sendt os en email. Alison og Ed, hendes mand, og deres 3 unge børn, flyttede til Danmark i november 2012, da Eds selskab sendte ham derover for at klare de juridiske aspekter af firmaerne, de ejede i Skandinavien. Dette arbejde er snart ved at ophøre, fordi selskabet har solgt sine skandinaviske datterselskaber.

Det viser sig nu, at selskabet vil have brug for Eds ydelser i Danmark i det mindste indtil påske 2018. Usikkerheden er begyndt at oprive Ed og Alison. Det er blevet umuligt at planlægge deres fremtid, hvilket er lidt bekymrende, i sær på grund at, at Josie, deres ældste barn, skal starte højskole næste september.

Alison har inviteret Lois og mig til at tilbringe julen hos dem, men Lois og jeg føler, at vi for tiden må fokusere på at spare penge sammen, fordi Sarah, vores datter i Australien, vil have os til at besøge hendes familie i marts – uha! Beslutninger, beslutninger!

Det er muligt at vi kan overtale Alisons familie at besøge os i England lidt før julen i stedet for. Vi vil prøve at skype med hende fredag aften.

I mellemtiden er de to kulsorte killinger, som Alison for nylig adopterede, er begyndt at være mindre nervøse rundt omkring i huset, selvom de ikke endnu har mødt familiens hund, Sika. Jeg forudser problemer forude – yikes!!!

De to kulsorte herreløse killinger, som Alison, vores datter i København,

for nylig adopterede – hvor er de dog søde (igen) ha ha ha!

13:00 Lois og jeg spiser frokost og bagefter går jeg i seng for at tage mig en gigantisk eftermiddagslur – zzzzzzzzz!!!!

15:00 Jeg står op, og kigger lidt på nettet. Jeg læser en interessant historie om Hans Hedtoft, også kendt som ”Danmarks Titanic”, som sank i 1959. Historien er dukket op i de lokale aviser i Gentofte (den forstad til København, hvor vores datter Alison bor sammen med sin familie), fordi en eller anden historiker skal på den kommende uge give en fremlæggelse om begivenheden.  

Tilbageblik til 1959: ‘Hans Hedtoft’ sejler ud på sin første - og sidste - tur til Grønland.

forliset ramte overskrifterne hele verden rundt

Skibet blev anset som ude af stand til at synke, men alligevel ramte ’Hans Hedtoft’ et isbjerg på sin jomfrurejse og sank - ligesom ’Titanic’. Alle om bord på ’Hans Hedtoft’ omkom i det iskolde hav syd for Grønland. Samtlige 95 ombordværende omkom ved forliset, og skibet er aldrig blevet fundet.

Uhyggeligt – når jeg dør, synes jeg, at en død, der ikke finder sted i iskoldt vand, er at foretrække. Og hvis jeg spiller mine kort rigtigt, kan det være, at dette er en del af min død, jeg kan have styr på, eller det håber jeg på i hvert fald. Ingen krydstogter til Grønland for mig!!!

15:15 Jeg fortsætter med at surfe lidt på nettet. Jeg finder Morten Ingemanns seneste tegneseriestribe. Du godeste! Jeg får lidt af et chok.

Danske 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.

Danske Morten Ingemann, min yndlingstegner.

I dag fokuserer han ikke på de overvægtige og midaldrende , men på de unges irriterende dille, der forhåbentlig snart går ud af mode, at fotografere retten, de er ved at spise på en eller anden restaurant, og lægge billedet op på Facebook eller ”Insta” osv. Sikke et vanvid!!! Hvad kunne være mere kedeligt?

I Ingemanns seneste tegneseriestribe ser vi to fluer på en date, der er ved at mæske sig i en bunke frisk lorte. Selvfølgelig er fluer i samme grad slaver af mode, som mennesker, og den ene flue har taget en selfie-stik med og har til hensigt at lægge billedet op på Facebook for at prale lidt til deres venner. Sikke et vanvid!! Fluer er åbenbart ikke immune overfor samme galskabet som mennesker – hvilket er lidt deprimerende, det må jeg indrømme!

15:45 Vi går hen ind i landsbyen og køber ca. 90 julekort, og frikadeller til aftensmad. Vi kommer tilbage hjem igen og slapper af med endnu en kop te i sofaen.

Vi lytter lidt til radio, et interessant program, der handler om nordiske mytologi i film, i anledning af udgivelsen af den seneste film i Taika Waititis Thor-franchise, Thor Ragnarok. Programmets vært er den charmerende Francine Stock.

BBCs Francine Stock

Lois foreslår, at jeg inviterer medlemmerne af Scillas U3A oldnorske gruppe til at gå i biografen med mig og se denne seneste film i Thor-franchisen. Lois og jeg er enige om i, at Thor, tordens gud, i filmen er en godt skildring af den oprindelige nordiske gud, der grundlæggende havde en hjerne, der havde en skrue løs – han var helt anderledes, end Odin, sin far, og var helt bestemt ikke en intellektuel. Hans arbejde var at beskytte guderne fra giganterne, intet mere kompliceret, end det.

Thor er ikke en vittig gud, og han er en skovl til smarte replikker. I en argument med Odin, hans far, er hans top replik ”Thegj thu!” (hold kæft!), eller noget lignende. I filmene i denne franchise bliver denne repli simpelthen ”Shut up!” på engelsk.

Naturligvis taler guderne på engelsk i alle disse film, men det er jeg nu blevet ligeglad med. En abonnent til den indflydelsesrige websted YahooAnswers! spurgte webstedets eksperter og dets andre abonnenter for ca 7 år siden, hvilket sprog de nordiske guder talte på. Heldigvis en af de græske guder, Hades, var også abonnent til siten, og han gav sit autoritative svar, at de nordiske guder faktisk var flersprogede.

18:00 Lois og jeg spiser aftensmad og smækker benene op foran fjernsynet. De viser det seneste (3.) afsnit af Big Bang Theorys nye serie.

Vi ser en morsom drømmesekvens i køkkenet, hvor Sheldon, der åbenbart er ubevidst bekymret for sit kommende bryllup med Amy, forestiller sig selv i sin drøm som en meget mere afslappet personlighed. Da Amy fortæller ham, at de er løbet tør af Applejacks, en morgenmadsprodukt, på en "Applejacks-dag", svarer Sheldon kun med verdens mest afslappede svar muligt: ”Whatev” (hvad end). Han tilføjer, er han nu er til smooth jazz, og han tager en trompet frem og begynder at spille den lige der i køkkenet.

Sheldon drømmer ved siden af Amy

i Sheldons drøm fortæller Amy ham i deres køkkenet,

at de desværre er løbet tør for Applejacks på en ”Applejacks-dag”.

Sheldon svarer kun ”Hvad end”

Sheldon tilføjer, at han nu er til smooth jazz og han tager en trompet frem.

Han begynder at spille den lige der i køkkenet.

Det er en meget attraktiv idé at blive til en mere afslappet personlighed, synes jeg. Men måske ikke så attraktiv for ældre mennesker – man forestiller sig selv rullende for hurtigt ned ad bakken mod ens egen død – yikes!!! Men det er jeg rimeligt ligeglad med, så længe det hele ikke kommer til at ske i iskoldt vand ha ha ha.

"Hvad end" ha ha ha !!!!!

22:00 Vi går i seng. Jeg læser 4 sider af min sengetidbog om slaget om Budapest, før jeg glider over i søvnen – zzzzzzzz!!!!

English translation

09:30 Lois and I are both a little jaded today and are very late going into the shower. We get dressed and get up. We have breakfast.

11:00 I've got a text on whatsapp from Sarah, our daughter in Perth, Australia. The family has received the bouquet of flowers we ordered them online to express sympathy after the death of Buddy, the family's dog - she and Francis, her husband, had to have Buddy put down a few days ago because of his arthritis and general weakness. Poor Buddy.

Their 4-year-old twins, Lily and Jessie, are too young to understand the death of a pet, but have accepted that Buddy for some reason can no longer be seen around the house.

Sarah sends us a picture of them she took this afternoon. Today they have been working on making and decorating small paper aeroplanes. How cute they are!! Lois comments that some children's games have not changed over time since she and I were young (probably since our parents were young - my goodness!).

Our 4 year old grandchildren in Australia have been busy today

making and decorating small paper aeroplanes - how cute they are!!!

Some children's games do not change over time, no doubt about that.

11:30 I listen a little to the radio, an interesting program all about the connection between dinosaurs and the development of birds.

The theory now is that dinosaurs are not closely related to lizards, as has been believed for 150 years, and are actually 'merely' the ancestors of today's birds, which Darwin's assistant / supporter Thomas Huxley realised 150 years ago, although his theories were soon forgotten - poor Huxley !!!

Recent discoveries in China have shown that most dinosaurs, or maybe all dinosaurs, had either feathers or hair - hair is just a simple version of feathers, and feathers are simply hollow hairs. What madness !!!!

It is interesting to see how random the processes of evolution were. Feathers and wings did not originally develop in order to make flight possible. Various small incremental changes happened gradually for a lot of reasons, and it was purely by chance in a way that it all ended up creating the ability to fly, an ability that lasted and was confirmed because of its advantage for survival. Good grief, what a crazy world we live in !!!!

Come back, Huxley, all is forgiven ha ha ha !!!

12:30 I take a little look online. Alison, our daughter in Copenhagen, has sent us an email. Alison and Ed, her husband, and their 3 young children, moved to Denmark in November 2012 when Ed's company sent him over there to handle the legal aspects of the companies they owned in Scandinavia. This work is about to end because the company has sold its Scandinavian subsidiaries.

It now appears that the company will need Ed's services in Denmark at least until Easter 2018. The uncertainty has begun to upset Ed and Alison. It has become impossible to plan their future, which is a little worrying, especially because Josie, their eldest child, has to start high school next September.

Alison has invited Lois and me to spend Christmas with them, but Lois and I feel we need to focus on saving money because Sarah, our daughter in Australia, wants us to visit her family in March - oh dear! Decisions, decisions!

It is possible that we can persuade Alison's family to visit us in England a little before Christmas instead. We will try to skype with her Friday night.

Meanwhile, the two coal-black kittens recently adopted by Alison, have begun to be less nervous round the house, even though they have not yet met the family's dog, Sika. I predict problems ahead - yikes !!!

The two coal-black stray kittens, which Alison, our daughter in Copenhagen,

recently adopted - how cute they are (again) ha ha ha!

13:00 Lois and I have lunch and afterwards I go to bed and take a gigantic afternoon nap - zzzzzzzzz !!!!

15:00 I get up and look a little online. I read an interesting story about the Hans Hedtoft, also known as "Denmark's Titanic", which sank in 1959. The story has appeared in the local newspapers in Gentofte (the suburb of Copenhagen, where our daughter Alison lives with her family) because some historian or other is going to give a presentation about the event in the coming week.

Flashback to 1959: The 'Hans Hedtoft' sails on her first and last trip to Greenland.

 the sinking hit the headlines all over the world.

The ship was considered unsinkable, yet the 'Hans Hedtoft' hit an iceberg on her maiden voyage and sank - just like 'Titanic'. Everyone on board the 'Hans Hedtoft' died in the ice-cold sea south of Greenland. Yes all 95 occupants died in the shipwreck, and what's more the ship has never been found.

Scary - when I die, I think that a death that does not happen in ice-cold water is to be preferred. And if I play my cards right, this could be one part of my death I can get some control over - that's what I hope, at least. No cruises to Greenland for me !!!

15:15 I keep surfing a little online. I find Morten Ingemann's latest comic strip. My Goodness! I get a bit of a shock.

Danish Ingemann is my favorite cartoonist - I have no doubts about that! He is particularly interested in ugly, overweight, middle aged or older people, the kind of people rarely given attention by most cartoonists.

The Dane, Morten Ingemann, my favorite cartoonist.

Today he is not focussing on the obese and middle aged, but on young people's annoying craze, hopefully soon about to go out of fashion, of photographing the dish they are about to eat at some restaurant and putting the picture up on Facebook or "Insta " etc. What madness !!! What could be more boring?

In Ingemann's latest comic strip, we see two flies on a date, about to gorge themselves on a pile of fresh turds. Of course, flies are as much slaves of fashion as humans, and one of the flies has taken a selfie stick with him and intends to post the picture up on Facebook to brag a little to their friends. What madness !! Flies are obviously not immune to the same insanity as humans - which is a bit depressing, I have to admit!

15:45 We go into the village and buy approx. 90 Christmas cards, plus some meatballs for dinner. We come back home again and relax with another cup of tea on the couch.

We listen a bit to the radio, an interesting program all about Norse mythology in films, on the occasion of the release of the latest movie in Taika Waititi's Thor franchise, Thor Ragnarok. The program's presenter is the charming Francine Stock.

The BBC's Francine Stock

Lois suggests that I invite the members of Scilla's U3A Old Norse group to go to the cinema with me and watch this latest movie in the Thor franchise. Lois and I agree that the film version of Thor, the god of thunder, is a good depiction of the original Norse god, basically having a brain with a screw loose - he was completely different from Odin his father, and was certainly not an intellectual. His job was to protect the gods from the giants, nothing more complicated than that.

Thor is not a witty god, and he is a total dork when it comes to giving smart replies. In an argument with Odin, his father, his top piece of repartee is "Thegj thu!" (Shut up, thou!) or something similar. In the movies in this franchise this retort simply becomes "Shut up!" in English.

Of course, the gods speak English in all of these movies, but I don't mind about that now. About 7 years ago a subscriber to the influential YahooAnswers site! asked the site experts and its other subscribers what language the Norse gods spoke in. Fortunately, one of the Greek gods, Hades, was also a subscriber to the site, and he gave his authoritative answer that the Nordic gods were actually multilingual.

18:00 Lois and I eat dinner and stick our feet up in front of the television. The latest (3rd) episode of the Big Bang Theory's new series is on.

We see an amusing dream sequence in the kitchen where Sheldon, apparently subconsciously anxious about his upcoming wedding to Amy, imagines himself in his dream as a much more relaxed personality. When Amy tells him that they have run out of Applejacks, a breakfast cereal, on an "Applejacks day", Sheldon just answers with the world's most relaxed answer: "Whatev". He adds, that he is now into smooth jazz, and he takes a trumpet and starts playing it right there in the kitchen.

Sheldon is dreaming at Amy's side 

In Sheldon's dream, Amy tells him in their kitchen,

that they have unfortunately run out of Applejacks on an 'Applejacks day'.

Sheldon just answers "Whatev"

Sheldon adds that he is now into smooth jazz and he takes a trumpet out.

He begins to play it right there in the kitchen.

It's a very attractive idea to become a more relaxed personality, I think. But maybe not so attractive to older people - one imagines oneself rolling too quickly down the hill towards one's own death - yikes !!! But I am reasonably relaxed about that as long as it is not going to happen in ice-cold water, ha ha ha.

"Whatev" ha ha ha !!!!!

22:00 We go to bed. I read 4 pages of my bedside book about the battle for Budapest before I drift off to sleep - zzzzzzzz !!!!