Juba juba

Mirthful

More music, now, this time a duo that mainly made children’s records, though with the odd forage into the world of adults. They’ve split now, after some messy financial quarreling, which is quite sad, but the records live on.

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I am talking about Knutsen & Ludvigsen. A lot of children’s songs have zany lyrics, of course, but I think it might be hard to beat this pair. The original concept was that these two guys lived inside a tunnel, and one of the most popular songs is about a badger that accidentally sticks his head through their ceiling.

Vi har en grevling i taket,
greveling, grevelang,
vi har en grevling i taket, grevelang.
Vi har ikke ellediller eller krokofanter,
men vi har en grevling i taket.

(We have a badger in the ceiling,
badgering, badgerang,
we have a badger in the ceiling, badgerang.
We have no elediles or crocophants,
but we’ve got a badger in the ceiling.)

See what I mean.

One of their other songs, incidentally, deals with ‘matpakker‘. K&L do not appreciate them as they ought, their complaint, mostly, is that the different slices of bread and spread get mixed up.

My new pet

Mirthful

I’ll call him Charles, of course. I was supposed to convert him into a fishtank, but I don’t think I have the heart to kill him. I suppose I’ll have to think of a use for him as a computer instead.

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It’s 3 AM. I have made it half-way. Problem is, of course, this is where it gets difficult. Staying up past 3 AM is not something I do very often and staying up well past noon the next day usually only happens if I’m on a trans-atlantic flight…

S&F

Mirthful

Seng&Frokost, noen? Ja da, ja da, jeg vet at det finnes små pensjonater i Norge som ligner mye på Britiske B&Bs, men det er ikke det samme. Ikke i det hele tatt. Man må være i Storbritannia for å kunne spise skikkelig Engelsk/Skotsk/Walisisk/Irsk frokost. Man må ha ‘Tv in all rooms’ og ‘Tea and coffee making facilities’.

Og dusjer som bare på en måte virker. De er obligatoriske. Norske pensjonater har alt for pålitelige dusjer.

What’s in your lunchbox?

Mirthful

Norwegian lesson, now:

matpakke, n. literally ‘packet of food’. There is a tradition in Norway for the no-nonsense packed lunch which I love. Basically, whereas our neighbours the Swedes have hot lunches at school, Norwegian schoolchildren have a ‘matpakke’ from home that they unwrap and eat at lunch. And when I say no-nonsense I mean no-nonsense. No crisps. No chocolate. At a stretch some fruit, or more likely a carrot, but the main part is two (normally) pieces of bread with something nice and sensible like salami, pork liver pate or cheese (white or Norwegian brown goat’s cheese). The daring may stretch to a slice of pickled cucumber on the pate, or a sliver of red pepper on the cheese (the white). And we’re not really talking sandwich here, that’s a British concept. For convenience the pieces of bred might be turned to face each other for a sandwich effect, but more often than not pieces of grease-proof paper have been cleverly employed to keep the slices separate, allowing the inquisitive mind to have two different types of spread.

At least that’s how it used to be when I was a kid, and having grown up with that I find it natural to bring a ‘matpakke’ to work even now, though I am becoming lazy on account of having canteen food available if I can’t be bothered to make up a sandwich in the morning. What the kids eat at school nowadays I have no idea…

Te

Mirthful

I need tea! Beklager, det var ikke meningen å begynne å skrive på engelsk, det bare falt naturlig. Man er jo nødt til å beundre et land som kan bli kjent for at når noe går galt (mannen din stikker av med sekretæren, en bombe faller på huset ditt, hunden blir kidnappet av aliens, George Bush kommer på besøk osv.) er den naturlige reaksjonen: “I think we all need a good cup of tea.”

Så altså, jeg må ha te. Ikke at noe har gått galt, men jeg føler at jeg trenger noe styrkende.

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That cold shower

Mirthful

…is starting to sound like a very good idea. I’d try the power-napping thing if I didn’t know that the moment I lay down and close my eyes I will feel wide awake and probably just manage to nod off in time for the alarm to ring after 25ish minutes. So, cold shower instead. And then I’m going to see about this css. That might keep me alert. I hope.

On with the music

Mirthful

I mentioned Lillebjørn Nilsen a few days ago – naturally, as I was going to his annual summer concert that evening. Well, the concert was great, and did not make me feel sorry to understand Norwegian. I’m sure it would be possible to translate his songs, somehow – he’s done some himself – but it can never be quite the same thing. Lillebjørn’s lyrics permeats my whole life. Along with Erik Bye he was my favourite singer as early as kindergarden – and though Bye has faded a bit from my consciousness (a few notable songs excepted), Lillebjørn is ever present. Now more than ever, in fact, after I moved to Oslo. So many of his lyrics mention specific places in Oslo, so that sitting on the tram reading street signs my mind will automatically do a Lillebjørn Nilsen medley.

Det er nå

Mirthful

Nå. Nå begynner det å bli seriøst vanskelig å finne på noe å skrive om.

Jeg har en liste over ting jeg skal dekke i løpet av de neste 13 1/2 timene angående anglofili, men den er ikke lang nok til at jeg kan plukke ting fra den hver halvtime, og derfor må disse improviseres. Akk ja. Så får dere sånne interessante innlegg som dette…

Another screen

Mirthful

Just had a bit of a break from the computer screen to watch tv. Break? Right. Anyway, BBC Prime’s repeat of Parkinson with Robin Williams and Stephen Fry as guests.

So now my tummy aches from laughing.