CPH Post Newspaper 12-25 November 2021

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INSIDE

DANISH NEWS IN ENGLISH CPHPOST.DK VOL 24 ISSUE 13 12 - 25 November 2021

NATIONAL

Mette the minx?

Are deleted text messages a convenient excuse to keep affairs of state hidden

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SPORT The former boxer who punches for a biker gang

6 SCIENCE

Lyrically tweaking DJs advised to consider songs lest they offend guests

LET'S MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

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Corona pass is rushed back Unvaccinated will again need a test to enjoy a night out COMMUNITY New art cafe could very well be the city’s cosiest

15 EVENTS

Just wouldn’t be Xmas Crazy Christmas Cabaret back with a mafia-style vengeance

21 PRINT VERSION ISSN: ONLINE VERSION ISSN:

2446-0184 2446-0192

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N RESPONSE to rapidly rising corona rates, which are exceeding 2,000 cases on a daily basis, the government will bring back the corona pass from Friday.

It will be required to visit indoor venues, such as restaurants and nightclubs, and outdoor events where the attendance is over 2,000.

Before it could bring back the requirement, corona first needed to be reclassified as a socially critical disease by the Epidemic Commission.

This enabled the government to bring back restrictions in line with the Epidemic Law.

Dividends at last MEANWHILE, PM Mette Frederiksen and Søren Brostrøm, the head of the Sundhedsstyrelsen health authority, have been repeatedly calling upon unvaccinated people to get the jab.

And it would appear that their press conference on DR1 on November 8 has finally yielded some results, as DR reports that over 11,000 booked times for a vaccination via vacciner.dk in the hours that followed.

While Frederiksen said they are running out of excuses, Brostrøm pointed out that of the 319 people hospitalised with infection, “virtually none” of them are people under the age of 50 who have been vaccinated.

Some 39 people are in intensive care and 23 are on respirators.

Sixth best for expats

Good for healthy eaters

DENMARK is the sixth best country in the world for expats, according to a study by insurance provider William Russell.

It scored well for Happiness (8), Health (24), Employment (29) and Quality of Life (8). The top five were Finland, Austria, Lithuania, Slovenia and the Netherlands.

New Zealand (16) was the best non-European country.

DENMARK is the world’s most affordable country to live healthily, according to a report

by British fitness club chain PureGym. High average salaries, reasonably-priced monthly gym memberships costs and affordable fruit, veg, dairy, grains and protein saw it head a top five completed by the US, Switzerland, Australia and Germany.

Fossil fuel measures

Blue-blooded anti-vaxxers

FROM NEXT year, Denmark will stop financially supporting entities that promote fossil fuel in the energy sector abroad. However, there are some exceptions – primarily involving natural gas – for which support will continue until 2025 at the latest. Denmark recently took another step towards phasing out oil and gas in the North Sea by 2050.

SOME 21 percent of voters who favour Nye Borgerlige in the elections on November 16 are sceptical about the corona vaccine, reveals the HOPE project survey. Fellow blue bloc parties Liberal Alliance (15) and Dansk Folkeparti (9) also had a large share, but Venstre (3.3) had the same proportion as government party Socialdemokratiet.

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LOCAL

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

Ethnically-motivated eviction, claims lawsuit

ONLINE THIS WEEK FOLLOWING an incident in which a police officer had to pull out his gun outside the New Firm Derby in Brøndby on October 24, Inspector Mogens Lauridsen has told BT that the hooligan element in football is back larger than ever pre-corona - and at games previously trouble free. Five officers were injured in Brøndby – one seriously.

World's longest THE WORLD’S longest skate park, which recently opened in the suburb of Høje-Taastrup, has been named Åbenheden (openness). It includes a 1 km course designed by pro skateboarder Rune Glifberg. The skate park is also climate-friendly: parts have been designed to divert excess rainwater.

More millions shared NINE APPLICANTS to the City Hall’s post-pandemic business recovery pool will share 3.1 million kroner. In total, 17 applied. Earlier this year, 16 applicants shared 7.1 million kroner in June. Some of the funds will be spent on events, such as an American food festival in Carlsberg Byen.

Birthday popcorn

Proposed bathing zone A CITY Hall consultation on November 29 will decide whether Vandtrappen in Sydhavn will become a designated bathing zone.

High Court beckons for Ministry of the Interior and Housing over plans to relocate Mjølnerparken residents BEN HAMILTON

A

GROUP of 11 residents from Mjølnerparken, one of Copenhagen’s most notorious housing estates, want to take the Ministry of the Interior and Housing to court over its spring 2020 decision to permit the sale of 260 apartments, resulting in the forced relocation of all those living in them.

The residents group are suing the ministry for ethnic discrimination – significantly for the legal action, Mjølnerparken has been on the government’s ‘Ghettolisten’ since its introduction in 2010, and inclusion is dependant on half the residents being non-white.

The ministry approved the sale because it wants to reduce the estate’s public housing ratio down to 40 percent by 2030.

Looks destined for court THE MINISTRY has been trying

This is where we live, residents tell ministry

to out-manoeuvre the civil lawsuit, which began at the Eastern High Court on November 3 with the first of several hearings, by arguing the plaintiffs are not directly affected by the ministry's approval of the overall plan for Mjølnerparken.

Lawyer Eddie Omar Rosenberg Khawaja – whose lawsuit will cite the law on ethnic equal treatment, Denmark's international obligations in relation to human rights and the EU – rejects this claim.

“When the ministry's decision directly affects a citizen's opportunity to live in the home that has formed the framework for the citizen's home and family for many years, then it is my opinion that one is affected both

concretely, individually and with such strength that one has the opportunity to bring a case against the authority that made the decision,” he told København Liv. A strong case THE PLAINTIFFS feel they have a strong case – a sentiment echoed across the city’s legal community.

“We want to hold the ministry accountable for violating our rights and forcing us to move out of our homes,” one of the plaintiffs, Majken Felle, explained to København Liv. “We have chosen to sue the ministry because it is extremely unsafe to face a forced relocation.”

Malmö Metro plans solidifying at pace Two more stations in the works LENA HUNTER

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HE PROPOSED driverless Øresund metro between Malmö and Copenhagen will most likely jumpstart more metro development in Malmö.

Two stations will be installed

METRO COMPANY/DITTE VALENTE

IMPERIAL Biografen celebrated its 60th birthday on November 3 with reduced ticket prices and free popcorn.

• FLICKR/KIM BACH

Hooliganism back

Editorial offices: Holbergsgade 24 kld 1057 Copenhagen Denmark

12 - 25 November 2021

in Västra Mamnen and one near Malmö C – though precise locations are still unconfirmed.

More options for visitors EXTENSIONS to Värnhem or Södervärn are also on the table, according to a new report by the City of Malmö.

A future metro journey to Sweden will take 20 minutes,

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Hop on, cross sea, hop off

and the line will connect with the existing Copenhagen Metro in northeastern Amager.

ONLINE THIS WEEK

Bullying claim denied COPENHAGEN Court had rejected a claim for 100,000 kroner in compensation from a family in connection to their daughter being bullied at a school in Valby in 2018. However, the court conceded the school failed to come up with an action plan. The family are considering an appeal.

Most expensive of 2021 A 1,000 SQM VILLA at Svanemøllevej 41 in Hellerup recently fetched 62 million kroner, making it the most expensive purchase of 2021, confirms Boliga.dk. The all time-Danish record is 150 million kroner for a home in Vedbæk.

Harmonius harbours NORDHAVN and Islands Brygge are among Historiske Huse’s five nominees to find Denmark's most beautiful harbour areas.

Parking solution A MUNICIPAL carpark on Ole Maaløes Vej in Østerbro will be open to local residents at night. City Hall has still not decided how much they should be charged for one of the 200 spaces.

Leaky tunnel repairs TRAFFIC disruption is expected on Sølvgade in the centre of Copenhagen for the next six months as work is carried out on fixing a leaky tunnel that passes under the road, connecting Rigensgade with Kongens Have.

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NATIONAL

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12 - 25 November 2021

Is Minkgate revealing her inner minx?

ONLINE THIS WEEK

Master's suggestion

On the ballot sheet

THE ARBEJDERBEVÆGELSENS Erhvervsråd think-tank has suggested students studying for a master’s should not receive SU support from the government, reports Børsen. Instead they should be offered interest-free loans. The money saved can be spent on improving education, it reasoned.

FRIE GRØNNE, a political party founded by former Alternativet members with an anti-racist, climate-friendly agenda, has secured the necessary 20,000 signatures to contest the next general election. It just needs the formal approval of the Ministry of the Interior and Housing. Its leader Sikandar Siddique was recently racially abused outside Parliament.

Targeting the elderly EAST JUTLAND Police is investigating two cases of bank card fraud against elderly women in the same town. In the first, a man described as foreign obtained a 84-year-old woman’s Dankort and code by deception at her home in Risskov. An hour later, an 88-year-old woman handed over her card and code to a ‘bank employee’ who visited her home 30 minutes after a call.

Nobody’s picking up OF THE 165,732 calls received last year by the Livslinien, the Danish equivalent of the Samaritans, which counsels people who might be considering harming themselves, only 14,328 were answered.

According to Livslinien, which blames personnel shortages, this corresponds to half the callers not being answered, as many would have simply rung back again.

Prison time for pair TWO MEN have been convicted of defrauding Lillebælt Hospital in southeast Jutland of 2 million kroner in relation to their provision of supplies. Both received 21 months in prison–- a sentence reduced to three months should they be willing to perform community service of 250 hours. A third man, who worked for the hospital, received a similar sentence in May.

No digital posts THE PEOPLE of Denmark will receive no digital posts between November 26 and 29 due to an overhaul of the current system that requires a massive transfer of data. Two of the days are over the weekend.

Uneven playing field

It's behind you ... it's the panto that lasts all year

Something doesn’t add up about Mette Frederiksen deleting her texts, but will we ever find out the truth?

BEN HAMILTON

D

ANISH PM Mette Frederiksen seems to like press conferences. In fact, she’s called so many on Friday evenings you’d be forgiven for thinking she takes sadistic pleasure out of eating into our valuable drinking time – particularly journalists!

Normally they’re about corona. Lockdowns, restrictions, grave calls to arms that led to preposterous queues at the local supermarket – she likes a bit of drama when addressing the nation.

The one on November 3 was no different, albeit with a different focus: Minkgate, the nemesis that refuses to go away, which some pundits believe might hit Socialdemokratiet hard at the polls in the local and regional elections on November 16.

Trials are journalistic trials AT A NEWSPAPER like this, with pretty limited resources, you have to make a decision

early-doors about how much you’re going to write about a lengthy trial.

The opening day and the verdict, granted: put it on the story list. Likewise salacious detail – a daily report on the Peter Madsen trial was a no-brainer.

But minutes on Minkgate or Inge Støjberg's case? Forget it!

She said, he said, indecipherable legalese and parentheses, there’s a limit to how many stories you want to read about conflicting recollections.

Why were they deleted?

THE BOTTOM line in this trial is whether Frederiksen and her chums knew there was a lack of legal authority when they decided in early November 2020 to cull all 17 million of the mink in Denmark.

We’ve heard the testimonies of 26 witnesses over eight days in the courtroom, and there is no damning evidence as yet.

But the one recurring element is why are all the PM’s texts automatically deleted 30 days after they are sent.

This was the issue that Frederiksen went on television yesterday evening to address (right in the middle of the Champions League football, it

must be added – are you seeing a pattern here?).

Happened in summer of 2020 FREDERIKSEN insists the automatic deletion of text messages began well before the affairs of Minkgate.

She couldn’t say exactly when, but she revealed it was the head of the PM’s office, Barbara Bertelsen, who advised her to set up the automatic deletion – at the latest in the summer of 2020.

“It happened before the cull,” she said, before spelling it out again: “And it happened before the Mink Commission was set up.”

A curious timeline EVEN IF the text messages still existed, they would not throw any new light onto the proceedings, she added – particularly “about my knowledge of the legal basis” for the decision.

However, she did concede that some of the texts are written in a "direct language and in a sharp tone”.

Frederiksen and other key members of the government were asked to safeguard all text messages pertaining to Minkgate in April. It took them until September to reveal they were deleted.

THE AMOUNT of money spent on the social needs of people in Denmark – for example, helping people with disabilities, mental illnesses or substance abuse problems – varies according to what municipality they live in, claims a FAO report. For example, in Dragør, 14,472 kroner per person has been spent in 2021 so far, compared to 54,721 in Lolland.

Help for homeless A 680 MILLION kroner, fiveyear governmental initiative, ‘Everyone must have a home’, seeks to reduce homeless numbers by providing 2,900 public housing units (1,200 existing and 1,700 new) with subsidies ensuring the maximum rent is 3,500 kroner a month. There are officially 6,500 homeless people, although it is quite common to omit foreigners from the total.

F-16s on the market NEWS BROKE on Wednesday that Danish Defence is making plans to sell 24 of its 43 F-16 fighter jets before 2025 in anticipation of receiving its full contingent of F-35s. For the last four months, Danish personnel have been testing four of the new planes in Arizona, and all 27 should be based on Danish soil by 2027. All revenue from the F-16 sales will be reinvested in the defence budget. It is believed the planes have another ten years on the clock. Turkey has emerged as a potential buyer.

12 - 25 November 2021

ONLINE THIS WEEK Warship deployed

INTERNATIONAL

All eyes on climate efforts at COP26 Large presence felt: from the prime minister to the many partners of the Danish pavilion

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THE WARSHIP Esbern Snare has been deployed to the Gulf of Guinea for the next six months to enhance shipping security in the pirate-infested area. It will be joined by a helicopter, special operations forces and a contingent of military police. Up to 40 Danish ships sail through the gulf every day.

Denouncing Israel DENMARK has teamed up with 11 other EU states and the UK to issue a joint declaration denouncing Israel’s plans to construct 3000 settlement units in the occupied West Bank. The joint declaration came one day after a US rebuke of the construction plans. Under Donald Trump, the US encouraged Israel's activity on occupied Palestinian land.

Poor ranking COPENHAGEN has ranked poorly in The Cities Best Facilitating Remote Work: A Global Index, a new study compiled by global HR platform WorkMotion. It ranked 40th out of 80 cities in a ranking topped by Melbourne, Montreal and Sydney. While it was number one for happiness and third for ease of compliance, it was fourth last for taxes and affordability.

HEAD OF COP26 officially kicking off in Glasgow on November 1, climate activists took to the streets of Denmark – most notably outside the Climate Ministry at the beginning of last week.

Scientists Rebellion, which is part of the climate movement Extinction Rebellion, organised a protest at how the government, for all its good intentions to cut emissions by 70 percent by 2030, is not listening enough to the science community.

The protests coincided with an event at the ministry where 11 speakers from the community had the chance to directly address politicians about climate change measures.

PM to the fore PM METTE Frederiksen has been among the Danish delegation in Glasgow, where Denmark has supported a wide range of initiatives to improve the climate of the planet.

Among them was a call on the International Maritime Organization to contribute

Deported from Turkey TURKISH President Recep Tayiip Erdogan has instigated the deportation of ten ambassadors, including Denmark's, following their joint call for the release of Turkish activist Osman Kavala, who was jailed four years ago for his alleged role in anti-governmental protests in Gezi Park in Istanbul in 2013.

Talks in Rwanda

Three Americans outed

THE FOREIGN minister, Jeppe Kofod, attended the EU-African Union (AU) Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Kigali, Rwanda at the end of October. Under discussion was climate change, the green transition migration, digitisation and COVID-19 recovery. Kofod also held bilateral talks with the foreign ministers of South Africa, Kenya and Rwanda.

THE PANDORA Papers reveal that three Americans who face up to 12 years in prison for defrauding the Danish Treasury of 1.1 billion in dividend tax refunds – Jerome Lhote, Matthew Stein and Luke McGee – had previously collaborated with Sanjay Shah, the main suspect in a separate case in which 12.7 billion kroner in dividend tax refunds were defrauded.

US Virgin interest

Syrian regime accusations

THE US Virgin Islands’ commissioner of tourism, Joseph Boschulte, has met Danish stakeholders in Copenhagen as part of the department’s strategic goal to strengthen ties with the country. The USVI team met tour operators, members of the media and other key partners ahead of travel restrictions to the islands being lifted on November 8.

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to climate action by adopting a goal of climate-neutral shipping by 2050, which Frederiksen personally presented on the opening day together with the US special climate envoy, John Kerry, and the Marshall Islands delegation leader, Bruce Bilimon.

The shipping industry emits about 940 million tonnes of CO2 annually and is responsible for about 2.5 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions.

“It is time to set a clear goal to ensure that the shipping industry is climate neutral by 2050,” commented Frederiksen.

Pavilion with the backing MEANWHILE, Denmark’s national pavilion in the UNFCCC Blue Zone has been busy facilitating and hosting side-events and dialogues between international decision-makers.

The main focus has been ‘Denmark towards 2030 – Climate partnerships for a greener future’ to highlight the importance of public-private partnerships in the process of accelerating innovation, scaling up new technologies and financing the global green transition.

Some 30 Danish public and private stake-

Big decisions in Glasgow

holders have been present in the pavilion, where affairs are overseen by organisers State of Green, Dansk Industri, the Danish Embassy in London, and the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Utilities.

The pavilion’s partners are Accenture, cBrain, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, Aarhus Municipality, COWI, Danfoss, Danica Pension, Danske Bank, EC Power, Energinet, Energistyrelsen, FLSmidth, Fonden Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping, Haldor Topsøe, IDA Ingeniørforeningen i Danmark, Nature Energy Biogas, Novo Nordisk, NREP, PensionDanmark, PFA Holding, Rambøll, Rockwool International, Seluxit, Velux, Ørsted, Folkekirkens Nødhjælp and Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects.

METTE REALLY GETS US! METTE ANNELIE RASMUSSEN

Running in: Copenhagen Party: Radikale Radikale ( Social Liberal Party) councillor Mette Annelie Rasmussen has spent many years living abroad, including long stints in the likes of Zambia and Georgia.

She knows first-hand how difficult it can be to live in a foreign city, not least through her day job at the UN where she frequently comes into touch with struggling internationals.

She is also passionately committed to furthering the city’s green ambition.

What benefits have diversity brought Copenhagen?

DANISH fuel suppliers Dan-Bunkering Global awareness! Studies show that diversity and Bunker Holding are accused of sup- is good for business and, when it’s allowed plying 172,000 tonnes of diesel to the to flourish, it makes life more interesting!

Syrian regime with a value of 648 million kroner, the Bagmandspoliti claims. The Why does Denmark lag behind in the fuel was shipped by Russian tankers from recruitment of skilled workers?

Turkey, Greece and Cyprus to buyers in The immigration issue clouds the discussion, the Syrian port city of Banias. A verdict unfortunately. We at Radikale feel the two is expected in mid-December. issues need to be completely separate.

Mette Annelie Rasmussen

How do we make the capital more international?

More international streams in Danish public schools. Internationals get to integrate, and the world is opened up to Danish kids.

Is Copenhagen still the greenest capital in the world?

Well, it needs to pull its socks up. Many cities have become super ambitious post COVID-19. Like in Paris, where they’re removing cars from the centre, and Ghent with its large-scale mobility plan reshuffle.

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SPORT

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

ONLINE THIS WEEK

VIKTOR Axelsen beat Japan's Kento Momota in the final of the Danish Open badminton tournament in Odense on October 25, and it's no exaggeration to say the 27-year-old Dane was pushed to the absolute limit. A wild duel of three exhausting sets saw Axelsen eventually prevail 20-22, 21-18, 21-12.

ONLINE THIS WEEK KIM MATTHÄI LELAND

Viktor wins again

Boxer, biker, brutal battery, bird

12 - 25 November 2021

Bendtner loses case NICKLAS Bendtner has appealed against the confiscation of his Porsche Taycan Turbo S and a 40,000 kroner fine. Despite having a threeyear driving ban in Denmark, Bendtner claims his lawyer advised him he could drive here because he has a British driving licence . His car will sit in an impound awaiting the result of his high court appeal.

Madison duo on top

The impenetrable wall

OLYMPIC Madison gold medallists Michael Mørkøv and Lasse Norman Hansen were once again triumphant at the track cycling world championship in Roubaix. Two months after their triumph in Tokyo, it looked like gold would elude them due to the pace of the Italian pair, but then Mørkøv took off at a blistering sprint to snatch victory.

CAROLINA Hurricanes netminder Frederik Andersen made 24 saves against his former team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, on October 26. His save percentage after eight games – which have all been wins for the Hurricanes – is 94.6, which makes him the best minder in the NHL.

Inter stint over

THE RANGERS vs Brøndby clash in the Europa League last Thursday was a lively affair, on and off the pitch. Not only did the sides share the points after a 1-1 draw, but they also shared accusations of thuggery.

Rangers maintains that Brøndby fans provoked their rivals in the stadium, while the Danish clubs insists that multiple Rangers fans bought tickets for the home enclosures despite repeated warnings not to. Danish sides were unbeaten in European action last week, with FC Copenhagen's impressive 2-1 away victory at PAOK the pick of the bunch. The win moves them to first place in the Conference League group. FCM also won away, beating Crvena zvezda 1-0 in the Europa League, while Randers and Brøndby earned battling draws.

THE DECISION has been made: Inter midfielder Christian Eriksen will not be able to play in Serie A due to the cardiac arrest he suffered during Euro 2020.

The 29-year-old has since been fitted with a heart defibrillator.

"The player's current conditions do not meet the requirements for obtaining a sporting qualification in Italy," it stated.

Cricket nets in city!

SOME 200,000 kroner has been set aside to construct bowling nets on the Kløvermarken playing fields, which are used by three local sides to play cricket. The facility will enable players to practise batting and bowling in the safety that passers-by won’t be hit by the ball.

Jungdal the Jaguar ANDREAS Jungdal, a player tipped to eventually succeed Kasper Schmeichel as the national team goalkeeper, has extended his contract with AC Milan until 2024. After 18 months at the club, Jungdal is a regular in the first team now. Not to be left out, his compatriot Simon Kjær, 32, has also extended his contract at AC Milan until 2024.

Euro drama

He looked like a boxer who biked. Now he's a biker who batters

The phrase ‘How the mighty have fallen’ could have been personally written about Patrick Nielsen MARIUS ROLLAND

T

HE STORY of former boxer Patrick Nielsen might one day be made into a film. The ending, though, depends on him.

Aged 30, it is not too late for the fighter, who once challenged for the WBA interim middleweight title in 2014, to turn his life around.

But for now, he is a member

of Satudarah MC, a biker club long since banned in the country of its creation, the Netherlands, where it quickly acquired a following thanks to its criminal activities.

Likewise, Nielsen has quickly become known by the police for more than his exploits in the ring.

Nielsen denies full extent IN MAY, he is accused of assaulting and robbing a man in a carpark in Ishøj. During the attack the man sustained fractures to his jaw – in two different places.

And in July, he is accused of assaulting a woman in a garden in Albertslund to the extent that she passed out. During the assault, he allegedly both strangled her and hit her in the face. Afterwards he allegedly sent messages to her family threatening them.

Nielsen has admitted his participation in the incidents, but denies that he used excessive violence.

Co-founded by Dutch and Moluccan bikers, Satudarah MC welcomes members of all ethnicities.

Third time unlucky

Tough Euros draw

Duck finally broken

CLARA Tauson lost to Donna Vekic 6-7, 2-6 in the final of the Courmayeur Ladies Open on October 31 in Italy. She was bidding to win her third WTA tournament of the year, but felt ill during the game. After the first set she even had her blood pressure measured. In the semis, Tauson saved five match points to beat Liudmila Samsonova in a thriller.

DENMARK have been drawn with Finland, Germany and Spain at Euro 2022 in England, where Denmark will attempt to go one better than their runner's-up performance in 2017. Held a year later due to the postponement of the men's tournament Euro 2020, the tournament will bring together 14 of the 16 teams that contested the last tournament.

ANDREAS Christensen, who scored a screamer for Denmark at Euro 2020, had never netted for Chelsea before. But finally, seven years after his debut, he found the net against Malmö FF In the Champions League: another Christensen missile!

The defender scored five goals for Borussia Mönchengladbach during a 62-game loan spell between 2015 and 2017.

Sisto returns DENMARK'S forgotten man of football, FCM winger Pione Sisto, has earned his first call-up since November 2020. Meanwhile, national coach Kasper Hjulmand has been linked to the vacancy at English Premier League club Aston Villa.

CULTURE

12 - 25 November 2021

ONLINE THIS WEEK

ONLINE THIS WEEK SCREENSHOT

It’s a bust

Lyrical tweaking to avoid offence

KATRINE Dirckinck-Holmfeld, who lost her job as head of department at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts after she threw its bust of Frederik V into Copenhagen Harbour in 2020, has been charged with aggravated vandalism. Additionally, the academy is demanding compensation of 44,350 kroner.

It’s even rumoured she might go to prison.

Niels Bohr medals sold TWO GOLD medals won by the Danish atomic physicist Niels Bohr went under the hammer on November 2. The auctioneer Bruun Rasmussen described the first as a medal of merit awarded by Christian X and the second as the Atoms for Peace Gold Medal, which Bohr won inaugurally in 1957. Also up for grabs were some rare coins minted by Christiania.

Worth one’s salt LÆSØ MUNICIPALITY has applied for inclusion on the Danish tentative heritage list, a first step in its bid to make it onto the UNESCO World Heritage List. The island, which is located off the northeast coast of Jutland, is thought worthy of the list in recognition of its seaweed roofs and historic salt production.

Best again

Another Oscar hopeful INDIEWIRE has named 'Flugt' as a frontrunner for the Best International Film Oscar. It will find out on December 21 whether it has made a shortlist of nine films, and on February 8 whether it is in the final five.

Directed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen, it relates the story of Amin, a LGBT Afghan refugee who arrived in Denmark in the 1990s. Next year’s Oscars are on March 27.

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He's got his own jet airplane ... which is environmentally irresponsible

No renditions of 'Fairytale of New York' at Rust this Christmas, even if it is most people's favourite festive song

I

N ORDER to ensure a "positive atmosphere", Rust music venue in the Copenhagen district of Nørrebro has issued guidelines to its DJs regarding what songs are acceptable in its nightclub.

For example, it advises the DJs to not play songs that are demeaning to women, minority genders or ethnic minorities.

The guidelines do not apply to Rust’s concert venue where paying customers presumably know what to expect.

No list, just guidelines “WE DO NOT want music to be played that has lyrics that are condescending or derogatory,” explained music director Mikkel Glenstrup to TV2.

“There will never be a list of words or artists that are not allowed to be played. What we have made is a guideline for how to create an atmosphere that is nice to be in for everyone.”

According to Glenstrup, the guidelines have been well received by the DJs, who he credits with the intelligence to make the right call.

Some artists get there first!

THERE have been several cases

of bands retrospectively changing lyrics to avoid offending listeners, although you suspect the damage had already been done.

For example, Dire Straits cut an entire verse out of its most successful ever track, ‘Money for Nothing’, because it repeatedly used a slur for homosexual people.

Little Richard also had to change the lyrics of his song Tutti Frutti.

The chorus was originally “Tutti Frutti, good booty!” and one of the verses ran: “If it's tight, it's alright; if it's greasy, it makes it easy.”

AALBORG University is the best university for engineering in Europe, and the eighth best in the world, according to the 2022 Best Global Universities list compiled by the US News & World Report. It is the fifth time that the university has topped the ranking. Additionally, it is the best in Europe and fourth best in the world for electrical and electronic engineering.

Minister’s concerns ANE HALSBOE-JØRGENSEN, the culture minister, is adamant that controlling misinformation on social media platforms such as Facebook is her biggest challenge. She contends that girls and young women are particularly vulnerable. "We have got giants who are inside the heads of our children, damage our well-being and polarise our conversation," she told Politiken.

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SCIENCE

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ONLINE THIS WEEK

12 - 25 November 2021

Buster’s last strand: A dream come true VON BERN

Targeted treatment

ONLINE THIS WEEK

WOMEN with certain mutations of the BRCA2 gene have an increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer, and researchers from the University of Copenhagen have discovered that BRCA2 requires a specific enzyme, PP2A-B56, to repair cancer-related DNA damage. The result may pave the way for targeted treatments.

Cancer most lethal CANCER remains the most common cause of death in Denmark, reports Danmarks Statistik, even if it is not as lethal as it was 25 years ago, when it killed 297 out of every 100,000 people. Its current rate of 277 accounted for 16,094 people in Denmark in 2019. Prior to 1996, the most common cause of death was heart disease.

Halloween came early!

Meningitis breakthrough

THE REMAINS of a human being were recently discovered in the southern Zealand village of Udby near Vordingborg, but no foul play is suspected. It is believed instead that the skeleton might date back to the Viking Age, confirms Museum Sydøstdanmark.

A STUDY on rats conducted by researchers at the University of Copenhagen and Lund University has succeeded in killing the bacterial meningitis infection using the body's own immune cells instead of antibiotics.

Magic of flower proteins

Not enough fish CHILDREN between the ages of 10 and 17 get only 105 grams of fish a week – about a third of the 350 grams recommended by the Danish Food Administration. But it’s not because they dislike it. Researchers at the University of Copenhagen conducted a survey of 669 Danish children aged 11 to 13 and found that 70 percent like it.

Childhood risks A UNIVERSITY of Copenhagen study confirms that children from socially-disadvantaged families are overrepresented in hospital admissions. They have a 30-90 times greater risk of being admitted to hospital. While young children are mostly admitted due to respiratory diseases, infections and nerve diseases, with older children it tends to be accidents and poisoning.

Gorillas in the risk zone A UNIVERSITY of Southern Denmark-led study of captive lowland gorillas has confirmed they could be extremely vulnerable to COVID-19 should an outbreak occur. Simulations carried out in co-operation with the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund suggest there would be a population collapse within 50 years in 71 percent of scenarios.

A UNIVERSITY of Copenhagen study has shown that the analysis of so-called flower proteins, found on the surface of cells, can accurately predict the severity of a course of coronavirus infection.

Blood donation freefall And he was always sitting in photos too

Professor Eske Willerslev jumped at the chance to confirm that the DNA of the current head of the Lakota tribe does prove he is the great-grandson of Sitting Bull LENA HUNTER

I

F DANISH geneticist Eske Willerslev was a Native American, they would have called him ‘Plays with DNA’.

In late October, he was able to confirm to the world that Ernie LaPointe, the head of the Lakota tribe, is indeed the great-grandson of Sitting Bull, the Sioux leader who famously beat General George Custer at the Battle of Little Bighorn.

Fortunately for the professor, who is tied to both the universities of Cambridge and Copenhagen, Native Americans were prone to leaving a lot of hair around, on the battlefield and at home.

And Sitting Bull was no dif-

ferent: a few of his 130-year-old locks were recently returned to LaPointe along with some rather tatty leggings.

Didn’t like the cowboys!

PROFESSOR Willerslev – who had admired Sitting Bull as a hero since childhood – said he “almost choked on [his] coffee” when he read a magazine article about the ancient hair being returned.

“I wrote to LaPointe and explained that I specialised in the analysis of ancient DNA,” he recalled.

“I explained that I was an admirer of Sitting Bull, and I would consider it a great honour if I could be allowed to compare the DNA of Ernie and his sisters with the DNA of the Native American leader’s hair when it was returned to them.”

Report released OLD HAIR is not easy to work

with, but using an advanced DNA-testing method, his research team at the Lundbeck Foundation GeoGenetics Centre at the University of Copenhagen was able to get absolute confirmation.

"We had to develop a new method where we estimate the extent of Sitting Bull and Ernie LaPointe’s genetic similarity based on the sparse data from Sitting Bull," explained Willerslev.

Usual DNA testing relies heavily on the male Y chromosome, but with LaPointe claiming to be related to Sitting Bull on his mother’s side, the researchers developed a different analysis technique based on “autosomal DNA” – a non-sex-specific DNA that people inherit from both mother and a father.

A report of the study, 'Identifying a living great-grandson of the Lakota Sioux leader Tatanka Iyotake (Sitting Bull)', is available for general consumption.

THE CAPITAL Region only has two-thirds of the blood it needs because not enough registered donors are showing up: some 30-35 percent don’t have the time. Normally the figure is 5-8 percent. The same trend can be seen in Region Zealand (25-33) and the Region of Southern Denmark (18-20).

Stem-cell culprit found THOSE with health issues from diabetes to heart failure have more fat and connective tissue in their skeletal muscle. Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have found the stem cell responsible for its formation and can target it for future treatments.

Extension for observatory THE DANISH space observatory ASIM was scheduled to be dismantled and destroyed, but the European Space Agency and Danish Agency for Education and Research have chosen to extend its mission to 2025 due to its excellent results in the area of measuring thunderclouds to better understand their effect and how lightning is created.

BUSINESS

12 - 25 November 2021

ONLINE THIS WEEK

Mortgage payments’ impressive yardage

ONLINE THIS WEEK PIXABAY

Back on the market

9

Pandora thriving again

SOME 4.4 percent of the holiday homes purchased during the 2020 corona lockdown have been put back on the market, according to housing site Boliga.dk. Dansk Industri housing economist Bo Sandberg rejects Boliga.dk's assertion that the development is driven by speculation, instead asserting to TV2 that it reflects a market suffering "a moderate decline".

JEWELLERY company Pandora has raised expectations for 2021, predicting growth of 18-20 percent this year. Its previous forecast was 16-18 percent. Third quarter sales totalled 4.7 billion kroner – a 16 percent increase on the same quarter last year. Pandora attributed the growth to strong developments in the USA and a steady improvement in Europe.

Milestone for bike service

Agriculture’s strong year

THE BICYCLE subscription service Swapfiets has reached 10,000 customers in Copenhagen just two years after its launch in Denmark, reports Erherv+. The service enables customers to rent a bike for a flat monthly fee and get all their repairs for free. Copenhagen is the company's second biggest city for customers after Berlin.

DANISH agriculture is in less debt than in previous years, reports Danmarks Statistik. In total, it was only 294 billion kroner in the red in 2020 – the lowest figure since 2007. Last year was a good one for both agriculture and horticulture.

Investing in a vampire

Revenue soars at DSV TRANSPORT company DSV Panalpina’s Q3 revenue grew by 76 percent to 49.6 billion kroner in light of greater demand for freight. In terms of turnover, it is Denmark's third-largest company after Maersk and Novo Nordisk.

Can’t believe it!

DAIRY cattle owned by Arla that are used to produce butter in the UK are fed soya derived from cleared rainforests in Brazil, a huge media investigation has revealed.

The soya is provided to the Anchor Butter cows by Cargill, which has been involved in clearing 800 sq km of forest and controlling 12,000 forest fires in Brazil since 2015.

Farewell to the MD-80 DANISH Air Transport recently organised a farewell flight for its MD-80 narrow body plane. On its final flight from Copenhagen, the public could hop on board for a price of 1,990 kroner.

Green car dominance IN OCTOBER, green cars accounted for 43 percent of all car sales, compared to 18 percent a year ago, according to De Danske Bilimportøre.

Few foreclosures despite the recent closures

Best rate for 14 years is mostly due to record employment figures, claims financial expert KARAKOZ YDYRYS

T

HE MAJORITY of homeowners paid their mortgage on time in the second quarter of 2021, with only 0.14 percent failing to, according to Finans Denmark – the best payment rate in 14 years.

Ane Arnth Jensen, the deputy CEO at Finans Danmark, thinks a significant drop in unemployment may be the reason why more homeowners are paying their mortgages on time.

Reasons to be cheerful "WHEN THE corona hit Denmark back in the spring of 2020, we experienced a large increase in unemployment," said Jensen.

"But the number of unemployed has fallen again, and there are now slightly fewer unem-

ployed than before the corona crisis."

In August, the employment rate made a net gain of 15,000 jobs – the seventh monthly increase in a row. In fact, over the first half of 2021 the net increase was 91,000 people – the largest ever six-month increase.

Today there are an all-time record number of 2.869 million people in work, according to Danmarks Statistik.

Still held back a bit NEVERTHELESS, labour shortages are preventing the economy from fulfilling its potential, according to Dansk Industri.

With growth on a par with the rosy days of 1994, Denmark looked set to prosper. However, the shortages have meant that many companies are turning down orders and providing customers with products imported from abroad.

For this reason, DI expects

lower growth in 2022 and 2023.

Capital worst hit THE CAPITAL was the worst hit by corona, according to Danmarks Statistik. Its economy shrunk by 4.4 percent in 2020 compared to a nationwide average of -2.1 percent.

The sectors most hit in the capital (Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Dragør and Tårnby) were exports, transport, culture and leisure – most notably hotels and restaurants.

Outside the capital, Bornholm (-3.7 percent) and Funen (-3.1) were the hardest hit.

And Greater Copenhagen (13 municipalities), which is less dependent on tourists, got off the lightest at just -0.5 percent.

Still, they’re not immune to the high inflation ravaging the EU at present, even though Denmark’s September rate of 2.4 percent (up 0.6 percentage points on August) was well short of the union average of 3.6 (up 0.4).

AT LEAST 16 municipalities have shares in the Australian investment bank Macquarie Group, which the industry has nicknamed as "vampire kangaroo" due to its unscrupulous dealings, reports TV2.

The total value exceeds 5 million kroner. The municipalities made the investments through Jyske Invest. Macquarie used to co-own Copenhagen Airport and TDC.

More cuts for SAS SAS WILL again be cutting its costs, according to its CEO, Anko van der Werff. The deadline for negotiations is three months away.

Staff action has lately dogged the airline, which is accused of breaking its promise to rehire employees that it was forced to let go. During the corona crisis, SAS received almost 9 billion kroner from the Swedish and Danish states.

Vestas gets big apples OIL GIANTS Equinor and BP have designated Vestas as their preferred supplier of 138 wind turbines for two offshore wind projects off the coast of New York.

Each turbine can generate electricity for up to 20,000 households.

Vestas had been lagging behind in the US, but is resurgent now the country is investing heavily in wind farms again.

10 OPINION

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

12 - 25 November 2021

A tenth could be yours!

A

HEAD OF the upcoming local elections on November 16, the candidates for the seats on the councils of the municipalities and regions are now smiling at us from the lampposts.

Reality TV in the courts IN THE meantime we have two reality shows to watch: ‘Mette’s Minkgate’ and ‘Inger through the Ringer’.

Mette Frederiksen recently felt obliged to explain at a press conference why her SMS messages pertaining to the affair have been deleted. It’s a humiliating situation for a PM who thought she had closed the door on the case by firing the minister for food for his botched handling of the illegal order to cull the Danish mink.

Can Konservative capitalise?

SO, THE country is going to the polls and although it’s the local election, it will reflect the parties’ current popularity.

The PM is losing ground and polls indicate she has lost the public’s confidence regarding corona since the upsurge in cases.

Venstre is still fighting to recuperate from its defections most notably former PM Løkke Rasmussen who has now established himself as leader of a new party Moderaterne - while Dansk Folkeparti is in deep trouble with Morten Messerschmidt in court for fraud, leaving Nye Borgerlige to take over the platform for immigration hostility.

Only Konservative is doing well. Indeed, leader Pape Poulsen has lost weight and looks fit for the fight.

Wishing you all a happy election on the 16th! (ES)

Straight, No Chaser An Englishman abroad, Stephen has lived and worked in Denmark since 1978. His interests include music, art, cooking, real ale, politics and cats.

I

T’S THAT time of year again – no, not Hallowe’en but council and municipal election time.

This year, a number of candidates, especially those standing in the rich municipalities around Copenhagen, have hitched themselves to the ‘security’ bandwagon.

A recent opinion poll carried out for TV2 by Megafon revealed that 31 percent would feel more secure if their municipality “established its own private watch group that could keep order by patrolling selected areas”.

Not so happy after all?

BUT IS Denmark really such an unsafe place to live? Statistics from DKR, the Danish crime prevention council, reveal that 1-3 percent of people in Denmark are victims of violence every year and that this has not changed much over 30 years. In 2020, 1.3 percent of people in Denmark (so 56,000) between 16 and 74 reported that they were victims of violence, and 66 percent said that their attackers were under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Nevertheless, the latent fear of the 31 percent seems to dovetail with the government’s ‘Tryghed for alle danskere’ (security for all Danes) package launched in October 2020.

The introduction to this reads: “The government will not accept that there are areas of Denmark that are ravaged by hardened criminals and groups of young people that create insecurity.”

I am a camera A CORNERSTONE of this initiative is to increase the number of police surveillance cameras and allow more private surveillance cameras. The range of the cameras is to be increased from 10 to

30 metres outside these locations.

Political negotiations are still ongoing, so nothing is set in stone yet, but there are some serious civil liberty concerns. For one thing, what happens to the data collected by these cameras: how long is it kept – and who is responsible for deleting it?

Denmark’s record on this kind of thing so far is poor. Despite laws being passed concerning the deletion of personal data, the Danish secret services and the police have flagrantly ignored them.

In August 2020, Information revealed that Danish Military Intelligence (FE) have for years been breaking the law by collecting and passing on information about Danish citizens. As lawyer Jacob Mchangama, the head of the Justitia think-tank, remarked: “It seems that an agency that has an incredible amount of resources and is under practically no control has simply used these resources to break the law and at the same time undermine the very few controls that exist.”

Watch the birdie THERE is also the question of whether surveillance cameras actually work when it comes to reducing crime.

Most of the evidence indicates that cameras don’t deter random attacks but are best for combatting planned crimes, such as robberies. Most nightlife attacks are spur-of-the moment events and cameras can, at best, identify the perpetrators after the crime has taken place.

Burglary, however, is on the rise after a significant drop due to people working from home during the corona pandemic. The second quarter figures from Danmarks Statistik for 2021 record 7,900

PIXABAY

International clout ONLY A few slogans are visible, but some stand out. In Gentofte, the former permanent secretary at the Tax Ministry, Peter Loft, now with Liberal Alliance, has the short and powerful message: “Thanks to Toft [the mayor for decades, but now retiring] and in comes Loft.”

Also among the smiling faces are names that indicate they originate from outside Denmark.

According to the numbers, every tenth seat could be held by an international if they exercised their democratic right and cast their vote for a fellow non-Dane.

It would be great if the voices advocating for a more positive administration of integration and assimilation matters had a slight accent. Danish companies need foreign hands and brains and that could be facilitated if internationals demonstrated their interest in Danish local politics from elected positions.

Admissions that the PM uses rather direct language to communicate only further serve the reality TV aspects of an affair that ended up costing the government 16 billion kroner. Will it end up costing any more jobs? Hopefully sense will prevail, as the legal basis did come a day after the decision, after all.

Meanwhile, a verdict is expected soon in the Inger Støjberg case at the Supreme Court. The proceedings have revealed a strange regime of public management in which orders come in a more subtle form to the ones we’re accustomed to in business.

There’s no doubt the former minister wanted to separate the married couples without hearing them out first, but did she break the law? One thing’s for sure: it didn’t cost billions of kroner!

STEPHEN GADD

Every step you take ...

burglaries being reported – a rise of around 5 percent compared to the first quarter of the year.

More inequality GREVE’S mayor, Pernille Beckmann, wants to allow dogs as an extra option, but would not go into detail regarding their role. Also, should the watch have the power to levy fines like parking wardens?

The police are less enthusiastic. The head of the police federation, Heino Kegel, commented to TV2 that “we’re always glad for eyes and ears both day and night, but private watch groups are not the answer.”

Watch groups will have to be funded from the municipal budget, so this would favour rich municipalities.

“This is a challenge to the welfare state because it is reserved for the few and a challenge to the rule of law because you are delegating away some of the tasks the police have had a monopoly on up to now,” Kegel said.

He also expressed fears that criminals will just operate in neighbouring municipalities that can’t afford to set up private watch groups. So no easy answers – and for now, no budding Clints or Rambos need apply!

OPINION

12 - 25 November 2021

JACK GARDNER VAA

NEXT ISSUE

Englishman in Nyhavn

Mackindergarten

Jack escaped Brexit Britain in October 2019 to forge a new life in Copenhagen. In this column, he outlines the challenges expats face when integrating into Danish life. Jack (jacksgard@gmail.com) co-hosts the comedy podcast ‘Butterflies on the Wheel’, which is available on all major podcasting platforms

Some clever lines to say ...

FIRST-TIME readers: this is where I – a migrant – make sense of Danish culture by doing Danish things. Long-time readers: Mum, send Percy Pigs, the sweets here taste like sambuca.

The reader of my previous article who commented saying I’m “painfully unfunny”: I barely think of you. Or your profile picture of a husky. Are you yourself a husky?

It’d certainly explain your strong predatory drive and noise levels – the two primary disadvantages of huskies. Although, my (extensive) research suggests huskies have above-average canine intelligence, so I’m unconvinced you meet the requirements. But anyway, I barely think of you. Tony. You prick.

I’ve run out of ideas for this column. Or at least I did, until I had a trademark brilliant idea … why not write about Danish Wedding Traditions? I’ve often heard about their idiosyncrasies, but with my deadline fast approaching, I needed to find a wedding – FAST. … like I love you RECEIVING an invite seemed far-fetched. I decided instead to search for a Danish girl I could trick into marrying me.

After several weeks, I found one.

She was pleasant, polite, seemingly intelligent (but for the ease she was fooled into wedlock). As a bonus, she’s lived with me for six years, so we’re on first-name terms.

The Big Day arrived. The first Danish Wedding Tradition revealed itself, as it absolutely chucked down the entire day, despite said day being in August.

Perhaps my cunning plan had angered the Norse God of Thun-

ADRIAN MACKINDER

Green Spotlight SIBYLLE DE VALENCE PIXABAY

I

’VE RUN out of ideas for this column.

11

IN 2 ISSUES

A Dane Abroad KIRSTEN LOUISE PEDERSEN

Living Faith Something old, new, borrowed and blue, all right here

der – Thundor (citation needed).

However, the Danes would soon explain how wedding day rain promises future wealth. Buoyed by the prospect of a massive legal payout after a horrific workplace injury, my plot continued.

I know I stand in line DURING the ceremony, the Danish Girl tapped my shoulder and offered me a handshake.

I naturally assumed this related to our recent argument about which golfer would make the best IKEA companion. Thinking she’d finally recognised Ian Poulter’s eye for bathroom decorations, I gladly returned it. Only when people started clapping, did I realise something more serious may have been agreed upon.

Before the dinner I went to the bathroom, emerging to find every male guest in single file, lining up in a shocking post-matrimonial orgy, to kiss my one true love (name not remembered). I recall thinking: “Disgusting. In the COVID era no less. These superspreaders are directly causing HUNDREDS of deaths in their defiance of God.” Presently, my adulteress headed to the bathroom to bask in her infidelity. Whereupon, every female guest ran up to kiss me.

I recall thinking: “What a perfectly charming tradition to immerse myself in.” My wife’s grandmother later suggested my

use of tongue was excessive.

I go and spoil it all DURING the dinner, the guests clanged their cutlery together.

Others stomped their feet. My wife stood on her chair. The utter randomness of these events helped me conclude I was dreaming. I began searching for my Sleep Paralysis Demon and, after securing the perimeter, whittled a shiv from a nearby kitchen knife before adopting my combat pose. My wife then explained I was only meant to have stood on my chair and kiss her.

Supposedly this is “just something Danish people do”. Boy, I bet they all felt pretty stupid.

But now, the sinister showstopper. For the First Dance, the Danes insist on the 1854 ‘Brudevalsen’ waltz – a Grade A banger.

My wife and I waltzed, encircled by our guests, who were clapping, clapping, moving closer, closer, closer, Jack no, stop, it’s fine, it’s just a panic attack, it’s not like they’re going to attack you with scissors or anything.

At which point, my guests picked me up and attacked me with scissors, forcing off my shoes, cutting my socks and filling the ends with loose change.

Here I am trying to write a charming newspaper column about coercing an unknowing woman into a legal bond … and the Danes just had to make it weird.

REVD SMITHA PRASADAM IN 3 ISSUES

Early Rejser ADAM WELLS

Crazier than Christmas VIVIENNE MCKEE IN 4 ISSUES

Straight Up ZACH KHADUDU

An Actor’s Life IAN BURNS IN 5 ISSUES

The Road Less Taken JESSICA ALEXANDER

Mishra’s Mishmash MRUTYUANJAI MISHRA

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

green' or 'stone grey' and immediately we all know the exact meaning of these words.

And not only can we recall the exact colour, but we recollect from our memory an entire ambience and this inspires us even further to make more nice choices, like matching an 'autumn red' with a 'pumpkin orange'.

W

Process of the palette IN THE colour palette I have prepared for you, I am trying to illustrate this process.

Of course, many variations can occur when it comes to an interior space: variations that have to do with the natural light, the existing basic materials (like the floor, cabinets, tiles, how spacious or restrained the room is) and most of all, the people living there - the essence of their personality.

You see, we can take the exact 'autumn' palette and apply it to a large living room of a country house, to an office room in a city apartment, and to decorative objects in a kitchen and dining area.

And in doing so, we can make the palette more vibrant, more pastel or more minimal. We can change the proportions, choose a dominant colour, minimise the usage of another, add extra hues of another one, and so on.

Majesty of Mother Nature FOR ME, there is no bigger master than nature and her endless colours and textures, all combined in the most elegant and harmonious way.

Most of the pictures on my cell phone are from plants, rocks, fallen leaves, natural patterns, sky views and sunsets and, more than often, I scroll through these pictures to get inspired. After all, everything we see with our eyes stays imprinted in our memory, evoking sensations and feelings even years later.

It is partially because of these memories that we feel nice inside a place or not: for example, why we feel relaxed sitting in a living room, or energised to cook in a kitchen.

To give you a simple example, we often use expressions like 'sand's beige', 'forest

Remember to remember!

THE BOTTOM line of this adventurous process is that we can never go wrong, as long as we take time to observe the balance of the colours we choose, the harmony of their combination, the primary feeling they provoke in us (for example, calmness, energy, warmth) and, most of all, whether we feel alive inside and eager to live in the space we design.

It’s exactly like the way we process a walk in the nearby park or forest. Each and every one of us goes into the park or forest overthinking, distracted, in a hurry and feeling disconnected. But, each and every one of us leaves the park or a forest more centred, balanced, alive and joyous.

This autumn, I invite you to observe nature more and, in case you are in the middle of a project that requires some colours and material definition, to just relax. Sit back, take a breath and visualise your perfect memory of nature.

Is it a walk on the beach, a city park after rain, a cloudy sky or a calm lake? My heart is pumping with all the beauty that lies in there and the endless possibilities of beautiful colour palettes. I am sure you will see them too.

KATERINA DELIGIANNI WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD Katerina is a visual artist/interior architect who came to Denmark a year ago to explore the north together with Wally, her dog.

With a Greek heritage, Italian culture and universal vibes, she gets inspired by Mother Nature and human smiles, finding beauty in the details. Her dream would be being able to take pictures with her eyes to show you the world as she sees it.

HEN IT comes to choosing colours for an interior space, whether it is changing the upholstery on a sofa or renovating a bedroom, the most typical question I get as an interior architect is: "How do you know it will look nice?”

I realise from people's reaction that the doubt is genuinely there together with the difficulty to pick a hue of green among hundreds of them. Thankfully, nature has our back once again and all we need is some time to observe.

12 - 25 November 2021 ALL PHOTOS: PIXABAY

12 LIFESTYLE: DESIGN

LIFESTYLE: EDUCATION

12 - 25 November 2021

granted the good fortune of that gaping yawn. We fight the yawn until it wins and drags our overused machine to sleep.

JENNIFER & JONATHAN BAUER ED TALK Jennifer and Jonathan Bauer are both teachers. Jennifer is from Chicago, and Jonathan is from New York. Jennifer has been teaching for 14 years and Jonathan for 11. They are parents and amateur Epicureans. Jennifer currently teaches privately. For more information, go to jennibauer.com.

C

AN THIS generation achieve the virtue of being bored? Busy school days, after-school clubs, sports, cultural experiences like art and music lessons, all to keep kids busy – to keep them ‘off the streets’, even though this is a somewhat sheltered life here in Denmark.

We know who we are.

The affliction COME HOME. Homework. Dinner.

Game time. Favourite YouTuber/TikToker/Instagrammer/anime. Not necessarily in that order. Raise your hand if this sounds familiar!

Stay up late, device tucked under pillow from where it casts a glow upon your child’s face as you peek in at around 11 pm, immediately flickering off to slumber’s pretence. This foreshadows a cranky breakfast, low-learning day, and fear of conflict with media junkies: our children.

Down time is no longer down time.

Our brains are on autopilot until we’re NEXT ISSUE

The addiction WE ARE busy. With apps. In fact, there are even apps – media’s methadone – designed to shut down other apps in order to help our children kick the habit and become enriched by all the things that they have little interest in. But at what price?

During the initial withdrawal stages, we are forced to interact with them. Ew! Why do we have to stop binging that series, or quit our mindless games, and get off the hamster wheel that keeps our wheels in motion? No scrolling, tweeting or binging for us.

Is modelling healthy habits fun for us?

Is going to the gym, particularly when you’re in terrible shape, fun? Is there family therapy or a 12-step program for all of us? This is the ice cream we forbid our kids from eating on a regular basis.

The same ice cream that we pull from the freezer while they sleep?

The prescription WHO REMEMBERS hours of TV? Vegging in front of the [pre-you] tube?

Did we turn out okay? We played outside too, by choice. We came up with fantastic ideas out of boredom. Some of us didn’t finish our homework because we were either busy socialising, creating or procrastinating, but we were not slaves to media. Or were we?

Perhaps it’s time for comprehensive work to be done in schools in conjunction with parents in order to create an equally potent monster to combat these media giants? How effectively are children learning, acquiring and retaining knowledge, and problem solving?

In Denmark, we have the good fortune of a national curriculum where there is room to face challenges that the latest forms of technology pose.

But it needs conviction HOW CAN we protect our kids and IN 2 ISSUES

ourselves from this monster? Do we bother trying? How much time do we even have on this planet? Maybe we’re too busy binging to notice the frightening changes brought on by the impending effluvium.

Do we continue to ’chase the dragon’ and rationalise how technology is a beast IN 3 ISSUES

that has been growing at an exponentially fast pace, and who are we to stand in its way? If you can’t beat ‘em, do we just succumb to the collective ‘crack pipe’ and enjoy the ride with our kids?

Or are you up for facing these challenges? If so, what would you do?

IN 4 ISSUES

Dating the Danes

All Things Beautiful

Style Stil

Building Green Habits

Copen' with the Kids

Taste Bud

Mental Kinda Health

Up the Alternative Alley

JENNIFER & JONATHAN BAUER

GABRIELE VISCO

13

14 GUEST OPINION THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

A

T THE END of October, the original Legoland amusement park in Billund said farewell to its best known employee, Jan Friborg.

Reservations RATHER than declaring the error and discharging the Chief with a brief, well-modelled statement about improving their cultural understandings, officials preferred to cloak Friborg’s departure under the removal of the entire area. Sure, it’s a victory overall, but they took the easy way out.

And the Chief is getting a hero’s farewell as his noble story is being covered with awe, praise and gratitude across the region, while Legoland stages a grandiose marketing campaign to celebrate him by collecting stories and memories from guests around the world.

Beloved by visitors for years LEGOLAND/FACEBOOK

Longears’ last stand BETTER known as ‘Chief Longears’, Friborg has proudly manned the popular Indian Camp area of Legoredo, the park’s Wild West-themed section, since 1985. It’s no understatement that Danes nationwide, as well as countless tourists, can recall a visit to Friborg’s campfire and trading post scene.

Along with a rotating cast of young, white ‘Indian maidens’ throughout the years, Friborg has donned an extravagant costume resembling his own version of a Native American patriarch from the American West from ... whenever.

He’s warmed the hearts of generations of visitors with his big, friendly smile and his ‘Indian language’ – a critical part of the original job posting that he first came across in the local newspaper nearly 40 years ago – and it’s a skill he has wielded proudly, with short guttural phrases like “How How” and “ooga booga” (not kidding, there’s video footage).

From the horse’s mouth THE STRUGGLE to be rid of the sad variety of racist tropes and tendencies in our world continues like a game of Whacka-Mole. Even this guest opinion piece represents my own need to do something more: something louder than what little good I thought I was able to do at those few meetings I had over many months with Legoland officials in Billund.

At these discussions, I was grateful to be joined by a small inspirational team: an American anthropologist, a journalist, a native Greenlander, a Danish librarian, and two high school teachers with several of their students from Native American Community Academy in Albuquerque, New Mexico (via video and letter correspondence).

LEGOLAND/FACEBOOK

MIKE SULLIVAN

12 - 25 November 2021

Reasoned responses THE NATIVE American students’ perspectives alone were fascinating – and worthy of an entire piece on their own – but unfortunately they too received little attention from the marketing officials at the park.

Some of the teens were furious at the ignorance of the park officials and employees, others just laughed it off as so idiotic it was harmless, and one even suggested making the ‘Indian Camp’ employees’ costumes more accurate rather than doing away with them entirely.

Another student implored Legoland to contact the Lakota community for input and participation. Regardless of actions taken or not taken, the ‘Indian Camp’ is soon to be no more. Lego officials have been engaged in serious discussions about their park’s responsibility to combat the propagation of racist, antiquated stereotypes.

Longears, closed ears OF COURSE, I had hoped that here in Denmark (widely considered the world’s happiest, most egalitarian country), and right here at the headquarters of Lego (the world’s most benevolent toy company and arguably

Denmark’s proudest invention), it would be much easier to right this wrong than it turned out to be.

Silly Legoland. Silly me.

Mike Sullivan is an American educator, anthropologist and entrepreneur.

A regular visitor to Denmark since 1995, he has been based in Billund since 2013. Find out more about him at anthroplayology.com

COMMUNITY

12 - 25 November 2021

15

Build it and they will come: Denmark’s answer to ‘Field of Dreams’ is a cafe When Canadian artist Melanie Smith combined an artists’ workplace with a cafe, she did it instinctively, and just like the dishes on the menu, it has flourished organically BARBARA MENSAH

M

ELANIE Smith, a Canadian artist/entrepreneur who has called Copenhagen her home since early 2013, really is proof that “hard work really can move mountains” … even if you are a little overwhelmed.

For Melanie, this has been a familiar feeling, not only as a mother of three, but also when she first moved to the capital.

But she learned the hard way that if you want something bad enough in this country, you can achieve it, even if it does mean strapping your one-month-old baby to your chest and just getting on with it!

Huge culture shock MELANIE felt distinctly unwarrior-like when she made the same journey travelled by the Vikings a millennium ago, but in reverse from Newfoundland, in 2013.

“Coming from friendly, wonderful Newfoundland to Copenhagen was a huge culture shock; I struggled with living here every day for about seven years,” she recalls.

“But after having my two little ones in the past four years, together with my eldest, I finally began to accept that Denmark is home and that I needed to secure roots in this country if I’m going to thrive here.”

Opportunity knocked up AS A HIGHLY creative individual, Melanie had been on the outlook for some outlets for some time before an opportunity presented itself. And nothing was going to get in her way!

It came after she was accepted by a “lovely collective”, which was then called Red Door.

“This opportunity was the beginning for me … it paved the path for what is now ArtEscape Studios,” she contends.

“I was three months pregnant

with my son, with a one-year-old and an 11-year-old at home, but I was more determined than ever to build something strong and full of heart. When Aksel was just a month old, I went back to work with him strapped to me and dug my heels in.”

Haven for the community THE RESULT is Art Escape Studios & Cafe, a cosy, art-focused eatery that provides a home to 13-full time artists and serves as a gathering spot: “an all-female initiative aimed at boosting community ideals and promoting creativity”.

Many come to enjoy the organic vegan and vegetarian menu, for which most items are sourced locally. Combined with a fine range of organic coffees, teas and juices, it has everything healthy eaters could want.

But the main draw is the art.

The cafe offers classes, workshops, exhibitions, open mics and comedy nights – to name just a few of the events and services on offer.

“The artists in the AES Arts Collective have the opportunity to generate income and maintain their creative aspirations, while those with an ‘Escape’ membership have access to exhibition space and other benefits that we are working on expanding in the new year,” reveals Melanie.

“My hope is that people gain a feeling of security and acceptance and, in that, find possibilities that can nurture their creative growth.”

So many to thank MELANIE credits the rapid growth in the cafe’s popularity to the strong community that has grown around it – a togetherness she infuses with her own close-knit familial ties.

Over the last two years I’ve worked so hard to get AES where it is today, but I haven’t been alone,” she enthuses.

“The people I have met, work with, and have the privilege of calling friends have all helped along the way. My husband Mads has been an incredible resource and support system, and the Art

Cosiest cafe in Copenhagen

Escape Studios community has truly become my home and my family. I’m so grateful for all that has been accomplished, and I’ve definitely realised the importance of community and family.”

Moving mountains ART ESCAPE Studios & Cafe is truly a unique space that has quickly become a staple in the Østerbro neighbourhood.

Perhaps the secret of its success is the way it has grown, very much like the food it serves, organically.

“I never really knew, when I started, where this would go, if I could do it, and I, of course, had plenty of doubts. I still do most days,” confesses Melanie. To be fair, she could be describing the plot of ‘Field of Dreams’.

“But I’ve learned that consistency, kindness, transparency and hard work really can move mountains!"

Find out more!

SO IF THIS has tickled your need to find an outlet for your own creative talents, or woken up a hankering for some great vegan food, why not pop along to the cafe?

To find out more about forthcoming classes and events, or just to check out the menu, visit artescapestudios.dk.

And you can follow the cafe on Facebook and Instagram @artescapestudioscph.

Melanie Smith – owner of Art Escape Studios

16 COMMUNITY

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

ABOUT TOWN

12 - 25 November 2021

PHOTOS BY HASSE FERROLD

Saudi Arabian ambassador Sahal M Ergeosous (second right) was among the guests of Chilean ambassador Ximena Verdugo (left) at a reception at her residence in Skodsborg to mark her country’s national day on October 27.

The event was officially called the Chilean National Day of Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development

Actress Tina Robinson (centre), one of the stars of the HIT play ‘The Clean House’ in 2019, celebrated her 60th birthday at Admiral Gjeddes Gaard on October 28. Among her guests were fellow actors Ian Burns (left), Vanessa Poole (second left), a co-star in the ‘The Clean House’, and Linford Brown (second right)

Crown Princess Mary, the patron of the Julemærke festive seal, was once again at hand to witness its unveiling at Festsalen on November 1

Czech ambassador Radek Pech (centre left) was proud to present violinist Lada Fedorova (centre right) to his guests at the Czech National Day celebrations at his residence on October 28

The new Ghanaese ambassador is Sylvia Naa Adawa Annok. She was presented to the queen on November 5

Pral was one of the exhibitors at the Copenhagen Bolig Mad Design event at Forum in late October

HISTORY

12 - 25 November 2021

17

Oh horrible, most horrible. Turns out Denmark's famous prince was really Hamlet the Celt JENNIFER BULEY

W

HILST digging around in Shakespeare's literary sources in 2011, an expert on medieval Scandinavian languages discovered that Hamlet the Dane might not have been a Dane at all.

From Saxo to Shakespeare LITERARY scholars had long believed that William Shakespeare took inspiration for his world-famous tragedy Hamlet from a story in ‘Gesta Danorum’, a 12th century history book written by the scholar Saxo Grammaticus.

Saxo’s book, which roughly translates from Latin as ‘Deeds of the Danes’, is a patriotic compilation of stories about Denmark and Scandinavia. It has long served as an important source work for Denmark's early medieval history.

Saxo tells the story of Amleth, of which Shakespeare's Hamlet is a beginner's level anagram. Saxo’s Amleth is in turn based on a Scandinavian saga from the 10th or 11th centuries, which was recorded by an Icelandic author called Snow Bear, in which a character named Amlothi appears.

Amleth, Amlothi, Admlithi BUT LITERARY research in 2011 suggests that Hamlet, or at least the story that inspired the famous character, was not Danish. He wasn't even Scandinavian.

An expert on old Nordic languages from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, Dr Lisa Collinson, claimed to have found clear evidence that Amlothi was in fact Irish.

“The name Amlothi is highly unlikely to be Norse in origin,” Collinson told The Guardian.

“There really is no convincing way to explain its form with reference to any known Norse words – although this hasn't prevented scholars from trying in the past.

The paradox that Amlothi - Hamlet’s source character – has an unScandinavian name led to Collinson delving deeper into the literary sources for Snow Bear’s stories.

That was how she discovered that something is – if not rotten – at least Irish in the state of Denmark.

As mad as the sea COLLINSON found references to an Adm-

Those English invaders have been useful for once. Who's up for some football?

lithi - the D is silent - in an Irish story from the eighth or ninth century entitled ‘The Destruction of Da Derga’s Hostel’. It is a tale about a king who breaks some social taboos and pays a price in a bloody finale.

But in that tale, the character of Admlithi only has a bit part, not the leading role.

Collinson notes that Admlithi, which she contends is the origin of Saxo’s ‘Amleth’ and Shakespeare's ‘Hamlet’, has some interesting connotations that might provide new inspiration for literature scholars concerned with symbolism and character motivation.

The Gaelic word ‘admlithi’ was used by sailors to describe “a dangerous sea feature such as a whirlpool”.

“What's most exciting to me is the idea that a version of the name Hamlet may once have described not just a man ‘as mad as the sea’ or ‘threatened by a sea of troubles’, but in fact the sort of ‘gulf ’ or whirlpool to which Shakespeare had the character Rosencrantz compare the ‘cess of majesty itself ’,” she said.

“Hamlet becomes, by name, a whirlpool incarnate – in essence a soap water vortex- somehow made flesh.”

Seamen spreading stories HOW ADMLITHI the Gael becomes Hamlet the Dane can probably be traced to seamen who have plied the seas between Ireland, Britain and Denmark, trading goods and stories, since Viking times.

“It's likely that sailors played a critical role in [the story's] transmission to Scandinavia.

The Icelandic poet Snow Bear was probably a sailor himself,” said Collinson.

But even if Hamlet is Irish, at least two other characters in the play have

truly Danish pedigree. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (Gyldenstjerne in Danish) were powerful Danish families in the 14th and 15th centuries and relatives of the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe.

Historic setting THE PLAY ‘Hamlet’ is set in the real-life

Kronborg Castle in Helsingør (called Elsinore in the play).

In Shakespeare's time Helsingør was a powerful seaport that controlled shipping access to the Baltic Sea. Every August a world class production of ‘Hamlet’ is held in the courtyard of Kronborg Castle.

SPØGELSERNES NAT PÅ SLOTTET

Hver torsdag 28. okt. - 25. nov. kl. 16 - 20

www.kronborg.dk

KRONBORG CASTLE/FACEBOOK

Alas, poor Mick, I thought I knew myself! Turns out Hamlet is Irish!

18 ART REVIEW

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

12 - 25 November 2021

Visionary, innovative printmaker with a contemporary twist «««««¶

STEPHEN GADD

T

HE NATIONAL Gallery of Denmark is showcasing one of the finest engravers of the 18th century. His large-scale prints, packed with incredible detail, provide much to marvel at.

Giovanni Battista Piranesi is probably not a name that rings many bells unless you’re an art buff. Born in Venice in 1720 to a stonemason father and brought up on the Classics, he was later apprenticed to an uncle who was responsible for restoring historic buildings. His career took off rapidly, as his talents were quickly recognised. He was also a qualified architect and an archaeologist.

Although famous in his own time, if anything his reputation has grown subsequently, and he has been a recognisable influence on architects, artists, film-makers and even computer game developers.

France/Greece vs Italy/Rome IN PIRANESI’S time, there was an intense rivalry going on between French intellectuals and their Italian counterparts over which of the ancient civilisations was more ‘civilised’ and sophisticated: ancient Greece or ancient Rome. The French felt that the Romans had somehow corrupted a pure style and over-embellished it, whilst the Italians saw this as a sign of progress and a cultural highpoint.

The ‘Imaginary Prison’ series has been interpreted by some art historians as a contribution to this

argument, as in the second series there are some named people being unjustly executed or tortured

by Nero’s tyrannical henchmen.

The Italians argued that Nero’s reign was decadent and tyrannical because he had abandoned ‘Lex Romana’ and introduced a new legal system based on ideas from Greece – a somewhat arcane point perhaps, but worth bearing in mind when you view the prints.

Piranesi also used the ruins of ancient Rome to promote his point of view, and amongst his bestknown works are those depicting the Colosseum: The Forum and Cestius’s Pyramid. On the other hand, his images were not always completely true to life; he played around with perspectives and, for example, the pyramid is much larger than it really is. Piranesi often peopled his images with figures, but they are usually very small and almost insignificant.

Stairways to heaven REGARDING contemporary relevance, anyone who has read or seen a Harry Potter film will immediately be able to recognise the staircases that seem to go nowhere or are moveable. Dutch graphic artist Maurits Escher’s impossible constructions also have their roots in the ‘Imaginary Prisons’ series.

The first state of this consisted of 14 etchings and was published in 1750, untitled and unnumbered. Piranesi later reworked the plates and added two prints, together with numbers and titles for some of them. There is a vast

The Pyramid of Caius Cestius seems to have grown

The Colosseum. Plate from Views of Rome, 1748-1778

difference between the two states: the first being much lighter, whilst the second really does exude a dystopian doom and gloom.

This series really made his name and they were published in a so-called elephant format – a whopping 550 x 400 mm. They were originally bound into books and designed to be read that way.

Later, many of the books were broken up to extract the prints.

In many cases, any commentary that went with them was discarded.

Nice little earner?

AS A TRAINED architect, Piranesi was interested in design and Egyptian art and antiquities. He created many drawings of ‘Egyptian’ chimney pieces and some of these were manufactured – often to sell to rich English visitors to Rome passing through on the Grand Tour wanting to take something back to furnish the stately home and show off their good taste.

These chimney pieces were not based on any one particular Egyptian original, but were created from a number of sources, with a good deal of flair and fantasy.

It’s all done by mirrors IN THE centre of the exhibition there is also a new installation created by AVPD (Aslak Vibæk and Peter Døssing) utilising two-

way mirrors that form rooms and corridors “creating an architecture with an impossible perspective” – all very much in the spirit of the Italian master.

With more than 120 works on show, you can really delve into Piranesi and have fun trying to decode some of those hidden meanings!

The Drawbridge – first state

PIRANESI: VISIONS AND VERACITY ends Feb 27, open Tue-Sun 10:00-18:00, closed Mon; National Gallery of Denmark, Sølvgade 48-50, Cph K; over-27s: 120kr, under-27s: 95kr, under-18s free adm; smk.dk

THEATRE REVIEW

12 - 25 November 2021

19

More like bonny score: Solid gold within the most unwelcome visit in history LENA HUNTER

T

HAT THEATRE Company’s celebrated ‘The Visit’ is back for another run at Krudttønden this November.

Frolicsome, creative and loaded with history, this one's worth a visit.

Written by and starring Barry McKenna and Peter Holst-Beck – who wrote and directed the ever-successful ‘Hamlet Live’ at Kronborg Castle – and co-starring That Theatre founder Ian Burns, ‘The Visit’ recounts the real events of HC Andersen’s overlong five-week stay at Charles Dickens’ family home in Kent in the summer of 1857.

On paper, the pair had the markings of a great friendship. Dickens was the pearl of 19th century British social commentary, while Anderson’s nine volumes of 156 fairy-tales have become touchstones of the collective literary consciousness in the West.

McKenna, Holst-Beck and Burns bring to life the authors’ tumultuous – and now notorious – comradeship in an arcing historical comedy that muses on the creative process of writing.

Familiarity breeds contempt BURNS and Holst-Beck’s chemistry on stage is nothing short of charming. The two go toeto-toe, chatting, jesting, sparing and all-out clashing as equals in

THAT THEATRE COMPANY

««««««

exchanges littered with humorous misunderstandings.

Holst-Beck’s Andersen toes a line between antagonising and pitiable, whilst Burns’ Dickens oscillates between short-fused and relatable.

McKenna – Dickens’ grouchy, whisky-swigging housewife – punctuates the battle with witty jibes. As the three navigate successive episodes of social-clanging microaggression, the roving finger of blame for the bad atmosphere never rests on one for too long.

Writers’ tears IT’S THE swell and break of small tensions that prevents the prickly awkwardness from boiling over and, all said, an undercurrent of genuine regard between the two men is what comes out in the wash.

Near the end of his stay, Andersen breaks down in tears when he reads a literary review of his philosophical work ‘To Be or Not to Be’, in which it’s trashed as “confusing, meaningless and vulgar”.

It’s a touching moment, in which Dickens – by now offering nothing short of a cold front – drops his grudge and comforts Anderson with some well-chosen words of experience.

Literary boffs delight NATURALLY, there are a wealth of Easter egg references to Dickens and Anderson’s collective oeuvre.

“Toodle pip! Wait … Pip …

When Pally met Gravelly: Peter Holst-Beck and Ian Burns on splendid form

what an excellent name!” exclaims Dickens, from his writer’s desk. Later, Andersen wonders romantically whether a little girl selling matches might be wandering the streets of London.

Likewise, there is talk of Dickens’ newly-published ‘Little Dorrit’ flopping, and hints of Andersen’s ‘The Ugly Duckling’ peppered into the conversation on a country walk.

Split into ten ‘chapters’, the structure of the play also leans into the literary theme. At the outset, Burns introduces a large prop manuscript bearing the chapter names, the pages of which are turned throughout.

It’s one of a few visual gimmicks and creative props that succeeds in adding playfulness to the whole production without becoming kitsch.

A milestone production WHEN ANDERSON finally left, Dickens wrote on the mirror in the guest room “Hans Andersen slept in this room for five weeks – which seemed to the family ages!”, and his daughter Kate described him cruelly as “a bony bore”.

That said, the lasting impression of That Theatre's visit is one of compassion, writerly influence and professional respect.

This is That Theatre Company’s 50th production – a fitting landmark for a performance that muses on the importance of artists supporting artists.

THE VISIT Ends Nov 27, Mon-Fri 19:30, Sat 17:00; Krudttønden, Serridslevvej 2, Cph Ø; 175kr, teaterbilletter.dk First performed in the spring of 2020, but cut short by the pandemic, this is a chance to see a very special performance that CPH POST has now awarded six out of six stars to twice.

20 EVENTS

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

12 - 25 November 2021

Miss this double show at your peril as silliness, science and sorcery collide!

Funny Bald Magician and Dr Matt's Life of Science really do sound like a next generation of comedians BEN HAMILTON

I

T’S FUNNY how Kojak has always been the go-to for jokes about baldies. But did he ever have a scientist friend to say “Who loves ya, speccy?” to? Captain JeanLuc Picard certainly had one, if not two. One was a member of the undead, the other MC Hammer.

Curiously, neither have been seen since the theme for ‘The Addams Family’ was sung by a grave.

Well, the baldy and scientist combo is back - in fact, let’s call them the ‘Next Generation’. Two American comedians, magician Harris Fellman (Funny Bald Magician) and stand-up scientist Dr Matthew Murtha (Dr Matt's Life of Science), have joined forces to put on one stellar show, the ‘Science vs Magic Tour’, and there’s a chance to see them both in action, back to back, on the evening of November 23 at the Drop Inn, which can be found at Kompagnistræde 34 in the centre of Copenhagen.

Furthermore, they are also performing in Odense on November 19, Aarhus on November 21 and in Lund in Sweden on November 22. Needless to say, but worth saying just in case, both of their shows are entirely in English.

Mind-reading llamas!

FELLMAN, very much in the

tradition of offbeat comic magicians like Rune Klan or Lioz Shem Tov – but not so much the ‘taking themselves deadly serious’ artistes, such as David Blane, ‘I’m a showman … look at me!!’ posers like David Copperfield – likes to engage with audiences, so don’t expect to spend the whole show sitting down!

“Don't let the ‘English’ scare you away. Magic transcends language because it's so visual – so, even if your English is as bad as Harris' Spanish, you'll still have a great time!” promise the tour organisers.

Have you ever seen magic featuring tortillas or a mind-reading llama? Exactly! That’s why Harris Fellman’s show really needs to be seen to be believed.

Even popular with husbands ALREADY a seasoned performer all over the world, just last week Fellman performed on Spain’s Got Talent, and in the same country Barcelona Metropolitan hailed his show as “an evening filled with laughs, wonder, and just a ton of fun!"

The Comedy Clubhouse is also a fan. “Harris's shows always bring down the house!! He is a great performer. 10 out of 10 and would definitely recommend it!” it chimed.

Clearly from other reviewers, it is clear that Harris is equally popular with both sexes. “Thank you for making even my husband laugh!” said one satisfied (well, at the show anyway) audience member.

Presenting Funny Bald Man and Dr Matt's Life of Science

Doctor in the house!

DR MATTHEW Murtha, meanwhile, is indeed a genuine scientist – a cancer biologist to be exact – and he extracts untold mirth about the assumptions people make about his profession and numerous, hilarious anecdotes about the challenges he faces.

The latter lends itself to some pretty dark humour at times, and like Fellman the doctor likes to engage with his audience.

Also an experienced tourer, he’s opened for the likes of Judah Friedlander and Jim Gaffigan in what has been a blossoming career.

After all, you hear ‘scientist comedian’, and you instantly know who they’re talking about!

Not just for rocket scientists!

IT’S CERTAINLY an origi-

nal take on standup comedy, as not only does Murtha bring the house down, but he also manages to educate his audience.

But it must be stressed that no scientific knowledge is required to enjoy the show.

As Comedy Clubhouse BCN applauds, this is “a direct injection of humor straight to the brain!"

150 kroner.

But the steal is to acquire a ticket to watch both shows for just 140 kroner.

Find out more about how to obtain tickets at CopenhagenMagic. eventbrite.com and Copenhagen-comedy.eventbrite.com.

And find out more about Funny Bald Magician via fb.me/e/2EE4IeOUP and Dr Matt's Life of Science via fb.me/e/1blYRgv7X.

VIP options on offer THE DOORS open on show night at 19:30, with SCIENCE VS MAGIC TOUR PRESENTS Funny Bald Magician performing at 20:00 Funny Bald Magician & and Dr Matt's Life of Dr Matt's Life of Science Tue Nov 23 at 19:30 at Drop Inn, KomScience at 21:00.

Tickets cost 90 pagnistræde 34, Cph K, further shows in kroner per show, with Odense (Nov 19), Aarhus (Nov 21) and VIP options (preferred Lund (Nov 22); tickets in Copenhagen: seats, guaranteed 90kr per show, both shows 140kr, VIP opparticipation and a tions 150-300kr; eventbrite.com cocktail) available for

EVENTS

12 - 25 November 2021

21

This year’s Crazy Christmas show: let us tell you about it!

Miami-based ‘Tell Me About It’ will take you into a world of gangsters and their molls – 1980s style BEN HAMILTON

D

ID VIVIENNE McKee really retire? Well, yes, she tried in 2017, but her audiences didn’t let her.

“One more year, one more year,” they bellowed at the end of every performance of her Crazy Christmas Cabaret (CCC) show following her announcement until she gave in.

But yes, the reason why we haven’t heard much about Vivienne, and most thespians to be fair, is corona. CCC was completely cancelled last year, so the premiere at Glassalen theatre in Tivoli on November 16 will be the first show for nearly two years.

And given how corona has made time drag on much slower than normal, it’s been a long, long wait for the estimated 60,000 who return year after year.

That’s the CCC way!

A FEW YEARS ago, we wrote up a history of the CCC, which began accordingly: “If you want to know how to get Copenhagen, you must be prepared to go all the way – to not give up the fight until one of you is dead! So here’s how you get Copenhagen: he pulls the Dane, you pull the Dame.

He makes one of yours cry with

laughter, you make one of his die of laughter! That’s the CCC way!”

Yeah, someone alert David Mamet’s lawyers, as we ripped off his script for ‘The Untouchables’. But maybe our lawyers should dust off the cobwebs on their filofax (they really are that old) and give the CCC a ring.

Because they’ve only decided to give this year’s show a mafia theme. Granted, it’s more Al Pacino Scarface than the Al ‘Scarface’ Capone taken down

by Eliot Ness in ‘The Untouchables’, but as looneys in US courts often remark: “It’s an uncanny coincidence”.

We needed warming up YES, JUST like Oliver Stone’s classic film ‘Scarface’, the CCC play ‘Tell Me About It’ is set in Miami.

McKee felt that after all the rotten luck we’ve had, we could do with a bit of cheering up and Florida sunshine.

“I knew I wanted to whisk audiences away from cold Denmark, and the fear of further Covid restrictions, and transport all of us to a warm, nostalgic world of sunshine and snap-happy music,” she explained in her latest Copenhagen Post column.

“So where and when should I set this year’s show to help us escape from today’s miserable pandemic and politics? I flipped open a travel magazine and saw a sandy beach and a soaring luxury

The gang are here to entertain you

hotel. Of course, where better than Miami – much loved by sun-seekers, celebrities, criminals and Trump supporters?”

Vivienne’s fav decade THE ERA is also important, and just like the Stone film, this year’s CCC will be set in the 1980s.

“In my mind, the Eighties was a time of both innocence and excess. A decade of big hair, big shoulders, lycra, leggings, gadgets and gameboys.

A time when young people still talked to each other, instead of burying their heads in their mobile phones or sitting at home hunched over their computers,” continues McKee. “We had TV shows with family values like ‘The Cosby Show’ and ‘Soap’, soaps like

‘Dallas’ and ‘Dynasty’, movies like ‘Ghostbusters’ and ‘Dirty Dancing’ and action-packed series like ‘Miami Vice’ – iconic in every way, from its groundbreaking fashion to terrific music. And what about the pop stars in their prime: Michael Jackson, Madonna, Tina Turner and Prince?”

Nobody makes a better case than James Bond himself, she argues. While “Daniel Craig scowls his way through them with no funny lines or implausible gadgets”, Roger Moore “grinned and quipped through comedy capers with gadgets (and pussy) galore!”

As the tagline promises: “This is “No Time to Die’ – but time to die laughing!”

40-year jubilee show THIS IS McKee’s 40-year jubilee show, so expect something extra special – especially as the world can move on now Trump is gone and Brexit done and dusted.

The story of Don Calzone and his children Dino, Dolce Vita, Al Fresco and Cappuccino is exactly the pick-me-up we all need.

Running until January 15 this year to ensure nobody misses out, it’s still best advised you reserve your tickets as soon as possible, as an awful lot held onto the tickets they bought for last year’s show.

You can almost hear them now: “It’s been too long, it’s been too long.”

And for you first-timer, surely this is one offer you can’t refuse!

22 EVENTS

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

12 - 25 November 2021

Sampler Hike

Drag Race get-together

Øenfest

Club Soda #3

Chekhov’s Dreamers

Nov 14, 10:00-14:00; Carlsberg Station; free adm Come for a Sunday walk to some of the guide’s favourite spots in Copenhagen. The walk starts at the Carlsberg S-train Station.

Meet in front of Lagkagehuset and be prepared for a 12 km stroll, with time for an obligatory coffee break along the way. (NJB)

Nov 12, 20:00-23:45; G*A*Y Copenhagen, Vester Voldgade 10; free adm Come and watch RuPaul’s Drag Race UK Season 3 with the rest of the cistas and kitty gurls. The lovely Annie Rection from CPH Drag Booking hosts viewing parties every Friday. The doors open at 20:00 and the viewing starts at 21:00. Be there early! (NJB)

Nov 12, 22:00; BHG44, Bådehavnsgade 44D, Cph SV; from 125kr The team behind Øencast on Soundcloud is throwing a party – so bring your dancing shoes and enjoy techno and house all night long. For those who love their melodic techno and house. (NJB)

Nov 12, 22:00-04:00; Basement CPH, Enghavevej 42; 60kr Welcome to Club Soda's 3rd instalment of Disco, Afro, Boogie, Funk, House, Dub and other genre-dodging vibrations that move mind and body. The event adheres to the motto ‘Bigger Diversity = Better party’. Get into it and respect people’s boundaries. (NJB)

Sparkling Mead Launch

ChurchDesk Friday Bar

Nov 12, 16:00-18:00; The Social Beer Shop, Istedgade 61, Cph V; free adm The Copenhagen Mead Company has a new product. Come and try free samples of what has been described as a walk in the countryside, but in a bottle. (NJB)

Nov 19, 16:00; Nørrebrogade 45E, Cph N; free adm It's time for another ChurchDesk Friday Bar: the chance to have a great time with great people.

Enjoy cold beer and cocktails at this fusion of startup community, friends and family. (NJB)

Nov 13, 19:00; DR Koncerthuset, Ørestads Blvd 13; from 80kr Science & Cocktails is proud to present cosmologist superstar Hiranya Peiris, a woman whose knowledge of outer space is as limitless as the universe! Hiranya will dive deep into the universe, the Big Bang and the enormous structures that we can see out there in vast space. And yes, you can drink cocktails while going on the journey while listening to the sound of ROSYAN. (NJB)

Nov 16-21, Tue-Sat 19:30, SatSun 13:00; Salen, Biblioteket, Rentemestervej 76, Cph NV; 160kr, ctcircle.dk Acclaimed director Kate Barker-Froyland presents her own adaptation of the works of Russian playwright Anton Chekhov.

An all-female cast will bring to life a collection of different stories, which are all connected by their central characters yearning for a different reality whilst dealing with difficulties of their current predicaments. Barker-Froyland, who hails from Brooklyn but recently married a Dane, is something of a big name, as in 2014 she directed ‘Song One’, a US film starring Anne Hathaway that she also wrote.

Christmas at the Zoo Nov 20, 10:00-20:00; Copenhagen Zoo, Roskildevej 32; from 195kr Experience a magical Christmas at Copenhagen Zoo. Once again, the zoo invites you to an adventureland under the glow of half a million Christmas lights.

Take your friends and family ice skating among pandas and penguins, or dive into the many Christmas activities. (NJB)

Art Workshop Nov 15, 18:00-20:00; Nørreport station; 150kr Join the Art Workshop in English in Central Copenhagen, get inspired and start your personal art project. They gather every week to discover different art materials and techniques, whilst having a fun and relaxing time in a friendly atmosphere. No previous experience is required, just your open mind and a big smile. (NJB)

AML & Cybercrime Prevention Nov 23, 14:00-16:00; online by Copenhagen Fintech; invite only Interested in the AML solutions that can solve some of the most pressing challenges for incumbents? Then this demo day is for you. Join us as we deep-dive into AML solutions offering groundbreaking cryptography, novel tools for fighting crime in real-time across banks, and empowering incumbents to fight back against global illicit flows. (NJB)

City Volley beach Nov 20, 14:30-18:30; Hafnia Hallen, Julius Andersens Vej 6, Valby; free adm City Volley welcomes you to play indoor beach volleyball.

The event, which will have a Hawaian theme, is free to join for members of City Volley. Sign up at cityvolley.dk. (NJB)

TheUniverse:aDetectiveStory

Culture Box x Bjørn Svin Nov 17, 20:00-23:00; RUST, Guldbergsgade 8, Cph N; 135kr Bjørn Svin is a bit of a pioneer in the Danish DJ environment.

Since producing his first piece of music in his teens, his sound has been influenced by everything from synthpop to rave. Today it is a darker, futuristic sound that dominates his soundscape, combined with a playful rhythmic expression that has both abstract and cinematic components. (NJB)

Adventure Film Festival Nov 23-28, 23:00; Cinemateket, Gothersgade 55, Cph K; various events Celebrating adventures across the world, from the west coast of Jutland to the Himalayas, encountering the big unknown. (NJB)

Gurus present ‘Nova Luna’ Nov 17, 19:00-22:00; Bastard Café, Rådhusstræde 13; free adm Bastard Café’s Gurus present a game every Wednesday. Join with people you are not afraid to sit next to for a couple of hours. This week it is ‘Nova Luna’. In each round of this abstract tile-laying game, you have to plan your future anew, developing a new strategy to cope with what the moon wheel has to offer you. (NJB)

True dating stories Nov 11-13, 18-20 & 25-26, 20:30; Teater PLAY, 7 Strandlodsvej, Cph S; 180kr; contact team@storyparty.co You are the star of this two-hour show. The audience are invited to write down their true dating stories and then the ‘best’ ones are shared.

Event Horizon ongoing, ends Nov 30; open daily 11:00-18:00; Cisternerne, Søndermarken, Roskildevej 28, Cph V; 125kr Visit this exhibition by Tomás Saraceno at Cisternerne where a strange subterranean journey awaits by water. Hopping onto a boat is essential for appreciating Saraceno’s large-scale project. (NJB)

Infinite Deep ends Jan 16; Nikolaj Kunsthal, Nikolaj Plads 10, Cph K; 40kr CURATOR Christian Nørgaard had exclusive access to David Lynch's photo archives to make this exhibition. It’s tailor-made to fit in with the gothic style of Nikolaj Kunsthals Øvre Galleri og Tårn. The church tower dates back to the 16th century. (NJB)

Globe Quiz Nov 18, 19:15; Globe Irish Pub, Nørregade 43-45, Cph K; 40 kroner per person Game night’s on at this pub on Nørregade! Gather your four best-informed friends and secure a spot in the pub before they’re all gone. The winners will be awarded 1,000 kroner, and there are plenty of spot prizes too. (MB)

danish on a sunday english subtitles Watch Danish masterpieces on the big screen with English subtitles!

On November 28 we present ’Love Child’ - a beautiful documentary about a couple who have fled from Iran to Istanbul.

See what’s on at cinemateket.dk or visit us in Gothersgade 55.

ENGLISH JOB DENMARK Recruitment Announcements Part of The Welcome Group PYTHON DEVELOPER FOR SPACE DATA, DHI

This role is in the data and analytics section of DHI, where we specialize on expertise about environmental data from space satellites, in-situ measurements, industrial sensors, as well as data analysis and assimilation, scalable processing and efficient dissemination.

Location: Hørsholm Deadline: 5 December 2021 Jonas Sølvsteen, Contact: josl@dhigroup.com

TRAINING CONSULTANT ONE ERP, DANFOSS

The ideal candidate can transform complex information into training and have a natural interest in teaching.

Location: Nordborg Deadline: ASAP Sigurd Hansen, Contact: Head of Training Management, +45 53 71 06 34

GLOBAL CODE OF CONDUCT SPECIALIST, DANISH REFUGEE COUNCIL

You will join a team of 4 persons in HQ and support the CoCRM setup in regions and countries and your role will contribute to the development, promotion and roll out of policy to promote a culture which has a zero tolerance to fraud, corruption and safeguarding.

Location: Copenhagen Deadline: 28 November 2021 Colin Picard de Gennes, Head of Contact: Unit - Code of Conduct, colin.gennes@drc.ngo

To advertise your vacancy here and reach 60,000+ readers weekly, contact: info@englishjobdenmark.dk or call 60 70 22 98.

For more information about what we can offer: https://englishjobdenmark.dk/

ENGLISH JOB DENMARK

IT ADMINISTRATOR, LOGIC ARTISTS APS

You will be responsible for internal IT infrastructures and resource maintenance and be the point of contact for employees as well as external service providers.

Location: Copenhagen Deadline: ASAP logicartists.com Contact:

HOUSEKEEPER, DAY TIME - 120 HOURS MONTHLY, SCANDIC CPH STRANDPARK If you can take responsibility, have an eye for detail and take pride in making our hotel shine, we believe you could be our new day time housekeeper.

Location: Copenhagen Deadline: ASAP Monika Belina, Contact: Housekeeping Manager, +45 20 95 47 87

SENIOR LABORATORY TECHNICIAN, ZEALAND PHARMA Seeking an experienced technician with strong skills within HPLC/UPLC, mass spectrometry, preparation of formulations and physical characterization methods.

Location: Søborg Deadline: 7 December 2021 Jesper Villadsen, Contact: +45 50 60 36 91

STUDENT ASSISTANT - BAHS AUDIOLOGY & SOFTWARE, RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, OTICON MEDICAL

Are you looking for an exciting student job where you can get practical experience in an international team of engineers working on cutting-edge hearing solutions? Are you interested in signal processing, psychoacoustics and hearing sciences?

Location: Smørum Deadline: 5 December 2021 Patrick Maas, Contact: Senior Developer, pmaa@oticonmedical.com

LOGISTICS ENGINEER, INTERNAL CONSULTANT, ROCKWOOL

You will play a key role in logistic projects securing that semi-finished and finished products are handled efficiently and traceable. You will identify processes and automation possibilities with focus on internal transport and warehousing.

Location: Hedehusene Deadline: 28 November 2021 Thomas Randrup, Contact: thomas.randrup@randstad.dk

MACHINE LEARNING ENGINEERING, ECHO SKO A/S

Do you want to develop, implement and productionalize advanced analytics solutions to deliver data-driven decisions for consumer actions, marketing effectiveness, inventory management, supply chain and dynamic pricing?

Location: Copenhagen Deadline: 6 December 2021 René Matzen, Contact: Lead Data Scientist, +45 23 73 10 12

EXPERIENCED GLOBAL MARKETING MANAGER (6854), CHR. HANSEN

You will be responsible for driving our own tasks from start to finish and you will have a broad range of stakeholders both in and outside the organization such as agencies, regulatory affairs, scientific advisors, commercial development managers and corporate communication.

Location: Hørsholm Deadline: 21 November 2021 Karoline Thorsøe Elmstrøm, Contact: Global Marketing Director, +45 22 12 72 45

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Cecilie Manz

The Needle in the Haystack September 17 – January 9, 2022 What considerations, doubts and thoughts go into good design? Visitors can explore all this and much more when one of Denmark’s most renowned designers, Cecilie Manz, opens the doors to her design universe.

dac.dk