Burger King on the Moon, soon?

In 1964, Pete Seeger wrote and sang "what did you learn in school today, dear little boy of mine?"

Most of my generation grew up with a different version by Danish singer-comedian, Eddie Skoller, poking fun of every nationality and accent, including Denmark and the US:

"I learned that Denmark is a little land, and in Denmark they do not understand, what the outside world is for, and then we didn't learn no more"..... US: "I learned that we were the first to put a man on the moon and I'm sure there will be a hamburger stand there soon; the next thing will be a military base but only to protect the human race....that's what I learned in school today, that's what I learned in school."


When I began my worldly travel 15 years ago, I could always count on being able to find a piece of that local culture...something unique from the country I visited. Sushi chopsticks from Tokyo; special coffee from the Blue Mountains in Jamaica; wooly sweaters from Ireland and flamingo music and cheap shoes from Spain. The only constant was McDonalds or Burger King. Today every city offers the same stores and the same merchandise....Mulberry, The Gap, Gucci, Starbucks. It has become so boring and unadventurous to travel in major cities that have the same flagstores everywhere.


TV is no different. Having been tied to the couch & 3 Danish TV stations, the past 11 days following my hysterectomy (I wasn't going to mentioned it but here we are) - I've noticed it doesn't matter where in the world you choose to lounge. " Who Wants to Be a Danish Millionaire in Britain's Got Talent So You Think You Can Dance in Holland with your Swedish Big Brother while you try to become America's Next Top Model, overcome your German Fear Factor and battle it out in Australia's Outback Survivor though you really are The Weakest Link and not the X-Factor you thought you were!!"
It's a global economy and global entertainment industry - whatever works in one language obviously works in another!


I'm glad that morphine too, works no matter what country you are in. Pain knows no boundaries and I for one feel I have crossed all borders of agony, so will swallow any little jagged pill to get pain free. Ah yes, modern medicine! Between that and Space exploration I'm sure we will have Starbuck and Burger King on the moon, soon.

God Save the Queen....and Henry!

Poor Henry! His cockadoodle doo sounded more like a teenage girl getting molested, than a full on proud rooster wake up call! But then he is only a youngster and a mini chicken. He did manage to wake me with his pathetic doodle two mornings in a row, while I stayed at Sally's in the UK. It's amazing how many families are going "green" and ecological - raising their own free roaming chickens and laying their own eggs (hens, not people) - but one has to wonder if the village zoning allows for roosters calling at the sun in small back yards.

The boys and I took a detour for a few days to good ole Brittania (work trip) and I spent the weekend horsing around on Harley and Lou, while Aidan and Hunter saw their buddies. Sushi in London with my boss and meetings in the UK office kept me busy a few days....

As always, it was a fantastic trip and great to ride in green surroundings, rather than sand dunes. I was quite surprised to see a castle and village in the middle of Bourne Woods! Last summer this old medieval scenery was not there - at least not to my knowledge - so I thought archeologists had been busy un-earthing old English artifacts. The castle was burnt and very real looking but soon I discovered that it was nothing but scaffolding and hardened foam. It was in fact no longer Bourne Woods but Sherwood - Russell Crowe's new film "Nottingham" about Robin Hood. Russell in tights, hmmnn - interesting, if not a farce! Unfortunately I was too late to see any action. Work crews were taking down the set and leaving the greenery to grow back. Sounds like there was a lot of controversy on the set and that Sienna Miller was sacked because she made Russell look old. Well, Russell - you are old! Duh!

This time we got to see Alison, Graham, Mark and Donna again - and probably gained 5 lbs due to the most awesome homemade Tiramisu (Alison is a great cook!) - but I have been warned by Donna not to post any pictures! As she is our most loyal blog follower, I have no choice but to honor her wishes. Besides, mark didn't do anything embarrasing enough - like letting ladies ride his back - so there is no point... Alison didn't say I couldn't post her so I snug one in :))

Now back in Copenhagen and still being kept awake - not by Rooster wannabees, but by desert rats running about in their cage and biting their metal door. I have the pleasure of sleeping in my nephew Oliver's bed with Spiderman sheets and his little critters are obviously night creatures (sigh) so my sleep is heavily interrupted. Mutti has been busy making a blanket for Slim for his bed (no I don't think we spoil him!) and Josefine and her proudly presented it to me when I arrived back.

We are anxiously awaiting Aric's arrival the 20th, not sure who is more excited, him or the boys...it has been a long time apart and we ended up changing his ticket because the longing is too unbearable! Oh yeah, I miss him too :)

Family Time

Poor Slim has blisters on 3 of his paws! Apparently he chased another dog around, playing hard for an hour on the concrete (which is hot)...he is licking his wounds today accroding to Aric. That will teach him to run around like an idiot dog.

Less hot in Denmark today, where the quiet summer rain is falling, making everything smell fresh and clean.

My friend Ella, her son Joni (Hunter's best friend), Hunter and I, just ran 5k. We jogged down to the small pier close to our old house - where we have memories of jumping in on Christmas and New Years day in 2002 like true vikings. I don't think it was much warmer today than those days in the winter of 2002, but it felt very refreshing to launch a cannon ball into the clear water and then float around for a few minutes. Jogging home was a wet affair, though I am inspired to do it again tomorrow morning :)

The past few days have been a series of social gatherings - dinner with Charlotte (Aidan's first Nanny and our very good friend) - she made luxury burgers with her boyfriend Brian. It seemed a good idea to bicycle all the way to Copenhagen center (7 miles) in the evening sun. After a few glasses of wine, I must admit that handling the bike and attempting to stay on the path at 12.30 am, required my tongue absolutely dead center to focus. Apparently I made it home, because I woke up the next morning in bed and the bike was parked neatly in its spot behind the house. Either I'm a well functioning drunk or I had a guardian angel!

Sunday, we visited my aunt and uncle, Lone and Erling and my cousins were there - Gitte, Martin and his girlfriend and daughter, Michelle and Deva. Gitte, like me, had a body full of big aches since we rode in Dyrehaven for 2 hours on Saturday. Funny how 6 months of hiatus since my last horsey outing can cause un-used muscles to rebel and get that stiff! Our whining didn't get us far - we ended up laughing all our self pity away. Great home made lasagna and pizza did the trick.

This week is the last week in the borrowed house. Saturday the boys and I go to England - they want to see their old friends and I have one more weekend of horsing around. Monday and Tuesday I have meetings and Wednesday we return to Denmark. Aric is getting lonely and envies all our activities, so he may end up coming to Denmark sooner than the 24th. We will see.

That depends on whether the kennel can take Slim a bit sooner.