CPH POST 13 Dec 2018 - 10 Jan 2019 by The Copenhagen Post

SPECIAL EDITION

Choosing the right school is getting easier as they tailormake courses to suit your every need

These are exciting times for the Philippines, an island nation with unlimited potential

Our winter edition interviews the Australian ambassador and Denmark’s first astronaut INSIDE INSIDE

INSIDE

PIXABAY

DANISH NEWS IN ENGLISH CPHPOST.DK VOL 21 ISSUE 17 14 Dec 2018 - 10 Jan 2019

NEWS Sitting on top of our Pyramid was bad enough!

NEWS

Shutters-up Island World media take notice as state eyes prison at sea

BOSS IN TRANSLATION Immigrants missing free classes Absenteeism a sign more are working, says mayor

HISTORY Back when Santa took from the rich and gave to the poor

18-19 EVENTS

Baloney the lonely Your Xmas and New Year calendar just got busy!

20-21 PRINT VERSION ISSN: ONLINE VERSION ISSN:

2446-0184 2446-0192

9 771398 100009

BSENTEEISM rates at Danish language classes have probably fallen since the municipalities started charging for them, but not among immigrants eligible for free lessons – the refugees and those here via family reunification. According to a report from the Economic and Interior Ministry, nationwide absenteeism among the group rose from 24.8 to 36.4 percent between 2014 and 2017 – an increase seen in 93 out of the 98 municipalities. Saturday solution HOWEVER, Carsten Rasmussen, the mayor of Lejre Municipality, told DR that it simply reflected how more immigrants are finding employment, making it “more difficult to find

the energy and motivation”. Lejre has introduced Saturday classes to encourage more to come, as those regularly absent risk losing their integration benefits. Set to explode ACCORDING to Danmarks Statistik, there are now 493,468 people in Denmark who are non-western immigrants or their descendants – 8.5 percent of the population. And by 2060, this number is forecast to shoot up to 867,258, by which time they will account for 13.1 percent of the population. Pros and cons DANSK Industi views the prediction positively given the need to counter an average age that is steadily increasing as people live longer and have fewer children. Several MPs viewed it as a warning to curb immigration.

4-5

Rolex or your life!

Mohammed on iPad

TWO MASKED robbers armed with a hammer-like object and pistol threatened personnel in the luxury watch and fountain pen department at the Illum department store in Copenhagen on December 6. They escaped with a haul of Rolex watches and cycled down Pilestræde. A man was later arrested and he has since pleaded guilty to robbery of a particularly dangerous character.

A DANISH agreement with Iran regarding the return of rejected asylum-seekers stalled after the immigration minister, Inger Støjberg, posted a photo on social media last year that revealed she kept an image of one of the contentious 2005 Mohammad Cartoons on her iPad desktop. Støjberg’s November 2017 visit to Tehran was postponed – indefinitely.

Sunniest year ever

Bitten by a Mosasaurus

DMI HAS confirmed that 2018 has been Denmark’s sunniest year since records began 99 years ago. It surpassed the 1,878-hour record set in 1947 in early December, so it still has plenty of time to set a much higher benchmark. DMI believes 1,920 hours is within reach, which would equate to over five hours a day. May, June and July alone contributed 992 hours.

AN AMATEUR archaeologist has discovered the fossil of a 66 million-year-old sea urchin near the white cliffs of Stevns Klint on the island of Møn, one of the Danish sites listed on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Intriguingly, it has bite marks, and experts speculate it could be from the jaws of the Mosasaurus – a marine apex predator of that time.

INSIDE OUR NEXT ISSUE, OUT 10 JANUARY!

Diplomacy MAGAZINE SPRING 2018 - ISSUE 3

FIGHTING FOR WOMEN'S RIGHTS INTERVIEW WITH THE UAE AMBASSADOR HE FATEMA KHAMIS ALMAZROUEI

A CPH POST SPECIAL ON CHINA

Diplomacy MAGAZINE

SUMMER 2018 - ISSUE 4

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!

SPECIAL

MOGENS LYKKETOFT:

FROM FOREIGN MINISTER TO PRESIDENT OF THE UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO AMBASSADORS IN DENMARK

• DANISH PM'S GLOBAL OUTLOOK • THAILAND'S NEW AMBASSADOR • CROWN PRINCE TURNS 50 COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO AMBASSADORS IN DENMARK

NEWS

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

14 December 2018 - 10 January 2019

Price to pay for plotting with PET?

ONLINE THIS WEEK Perilous conditions THE WORLD’S oldest lighthouse ship, Fyrskib No X, came close to tipping over in Copenhagen Harbour due to the low water levels caused by stormy weather in late November. The ship was left resting on its keel, but emergency response units managed to keep it upright until the water levels returned to normal. The ship was built in 1877.

DRONER.DK

Drone company has its windows smashed in after helping intelligence agency to catch terror suspect BEN HAMILTON

HE WINDOWS of a drone company in Copenhagen, dronebutikken.dk, which helped the PET intelligence agency gather evidence against a Dane who has been charged with acquiring and sending equipment to Islamic State, had its windows smashed on December 4. The attack on their premises at Fredensgade by the Lakes followed the television appearance of its young owners, Toke Suhr and Frederik Skøt, revealing how PET approached them in 2016, reasoning that a suspect of theirs would approach them. He duly did and they informed PET.

Polar bear’s rare birth LYNN THE polar bear gave birth to two cubs at Copenhagen Zoo on December 1 – the first time the species has reproduced for two decades. Unfortunately, one died soon after being born. The zoo’s scientific director, Bengt Holst, has emphasised that it’s important the polar bears get peace and quiet.

Metro company coughs up METROSELSKAB, the company in charge of the capital’s Metro system, has been fined 1 million kroner for breaching the arbejdsmiljøloven working environment act 17 times. Metroselskab had been due to appear in court to contest the fines, but then decided to pay them. One of the breaches involved a worker having two of his fingers amputated after they were crushed by concrete.

They hadn't reckoned on the phantom menace lurking outside

Four arrests so far THE 30-YEAR-OLD has spent the last 14 months in custody. It is suspected he is part of a network that is helping IS, and in September three more individuals involved in acquiring drone equipment for IS were arrested

and charged. The police are seeking another man, a 33-year-old DanishTurkish resident of Turkey, who has previous terror-related convictions, and an international warrant has been put out for his arrest.

KB HALLEN in Frederiksberg has reopened some seven years and three months after it was destroyed in a huge fire. It transpired the hall had not properly renewed its insurance, and the rebuilding of the iconic building was reliant on the generosity of funds such as the AP Møller Foundation. Its first concert is scheduled for January 24.

OPENHAGEN is the sixth most expensive capital city in the world to visit, according to a survey carried out by Cuba Holidays for their Capital Economy Index. Of the 103 cities included, only Chisinau (Moldova), Athens, Oslo, Paris and Manama (Bahrain) were more expensive. Assessing six categories – hotels, attractions, transport, beer, coffee and restaurants – it found that the cheapest destinations were Jakarta, Skopje (Macedonia), Colombo, Bishek (Kyrgyzstan), Bogota, Pristina (Kosovo), Tbilisi (Georgia), Ha-

Editorial offices: International House, Gyldenløvesgade 11, 1600 Copenhagen Denmark

KB Hallen reopens

THE EUROPEAN School, a public international venture that opened in 2014 at a temporary base in Sydhavn, has moved into a new home in the Carlsberg district. At present, the school is split into two language sections – Danish and English – with plans to introduce a Frenchspeaking section next year. Once fully subscribed, it will have a thousand pupils aged six to 16.

noi, Havana and Manila. Among the findings for Copenhagen, the survey found that an average hotel stay costs 503 kroner, a coffee 36 kroner and a beer 12 kroner, generating an overall average cost of 1,550 kroner per day. Sixth for taxis too IN RELATED news, Copenhagen is also among the most expensive cities in the world to take a taxi, according to the latest Taxi Price Index report compiled by the consultancy group SilverDoor Apartments. Customers pay 63 kroner for the first mile (1.6 km) of their journey in Copenhagen, ranking the Danish capital as the sixthmost expensive, behind Bern (90), Oslo (88), London (71),

THE LIGHTS on the Rådhuspladsen Christmas tree were officially illuminated on December 2 by Father Christmas, who climbed to the top of the 20-metre, four-tonne tree to spark up a welding torch. This year’s tree, which is from Gribskov, is decorated with 800 LED lights and 100 Christmas hearts from aid organisation Børnenes Kontor.

Charged with murder PIXABAY

STEPHEN GADD

Relocated to Carlsberg

Xmas tree lights on

Sixth dearest capital city in world Copenhagen expensive for coffee, beer, hotels and taxis

ONLINE THIS WEEK

COPENHAGEN Police have arrested and charged two men with the murder of Nedim Yasar, the former gang member and radio host, in Nordvest on November 19. However, it is believed more people might be involved, and the police have appealed to anyone who might have seen the getaway vehicle – a dark blue VW Passat with flashy alloy wheels.

A bridge to Lars?

Reassuringly expensive

Tokyo (65) and Helsinki (64). The most affordable place was Cairo (2.87), followed by Mexico City, New Delhi, Bucharest and Manila.

CITY HALL momentum is growing to name a city bridge after the singer Kim Larsen. A delayed bicycle and pedestrian bridge located next to Langebro, which Larsen wrote a song about, is the favourite. However, rules stipulate that a year must have passed since somebody’s death before a place can be named after them.

To advertise – call 24 20 24 11 or email sales@cphpost.dk

Fredensborg is located in northeast Zealand

To tell us your story – call 93 93 92 01 or email news@cphpost.dk For all other inquiries – email info@cphpost.dk

Ejvind Sandal

Hans Hermansen

Tanya Vinogradova

Ben Hamilton

Rosemarie Christensen

Christian Wenande

Stephen Gadd

CO-OWNER

CEO

PHOTOGRAPHER

EDITOR

SALES MANAGER

NEWS/LAYOUT EDITOR

JOURNALIST

NEWS

14 December 2018 - 10 January 2019

ONLINE THIS WEEK A DANISH Foreign Ministry delegation has visited Tanzania as part of a review of the east African country’s human rights situation following reports that a leading politician wants to hunt LGBT people down as if they were wild animals. Denmark reacted by freezing 65 million kroner in aid. However, the Tanzanian foreign minister, Augustine Mahiga, is confident it will arrive eventually.

Trade was ceasefire hailed DANSK Industri has hailed the US-Chinese ceasefire over tariffs as “good news for Danish companies” as there were fears the trade war would “deteriorate further”. The three-month ceasefire is particularly good news for Danish firms that produce their goods in China and mainly sell them in the US.

Queen and PM in Reykjavik QUEEN Margrethe II and PM Lars Løkke Rasmussen were in Reykjavik on December 1 to mark the 100th anniversary of the introduction of the DanishIcelandic federal law. “Iceland is celebrating its independence but also showing that its roots are alive,” the queen told Icelandic President Gudni Thorlacius Jóhannesson. “I feel that's why you wanted me here in person.”

Danish couple under fire from Egyptian government for illegally scaling ancient monument and posing in sexual position CHRISTIAN WENANDE

ANISH photographer Andreas Hvid has caused a stir in Egypt by posting a video and photos of him and a female companion scaling the Great Pyramid of Giza and posing nude in a sexual position. Egyptians and Danes have condemned the act as a disrespectful desecration of a monument that is over 4,500 years old and the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still standing today. Under scrutiny JUST CLIMBING the pyramid is considered an illegal offence, and the Egyptian authorities are investigating the incident. It’s also illegal to be naked in public in Egypt. “Based on what was circulated and published yesterday evening in a short video film depicting two foreigners climbing the pyramid at night, along with a picture of them violating public morality, the minister of antiquities, Khaled al-Anani, has decided to find out the truth and immediately refer the incident to the deputy attorney-general for guidance to investigate the

Gloomy in Greenland

matter,” the Egyptian government announced. Swiftly removed THE 23-YEAR-OLD Hvid, who is known for his urban roof-top photography, has since removed the video from YouTube, but a photo, which he has named ‘Pyramid Fuck’, of the two naked Danes can still be viewed on his personal website. The Dane said he won’t be going back to Egypt in the near future for fear that he will be arrested over the photo session, which he isn’t very proud of.

sponse from many Egyptians too,” Hvid told Ekstra Bladet tabloid. ‘Pyramid Fuck’ was the dumbest idea I could have come up with. Privileged western youth at its worst. It just needed a joint and a bottle of vodka.”

Dumbest idea “I AM SORRY that so many people got so angry. But it’s worth noting that I’ve got a positive re-

Escalation unlikely TOMAS Anker Christensen, the Danish ambassador to Egypt, has been monitoring the situation closely and, while he doesn’t expect it to escalate, he considers the incident to be very serious. Recently, the Egyptian actress Rania Youssef was cited for wearing a see-through dress to a Cairo film festival. She will stand trial in January and risks up to five years in prison if found guilty of inciting debauchery

Lego aids refugee kids

‘Rewilding’ Scotland STEVE JURVETSON/FLICKR

A 54-YEAR-OLD Danish man who married his ladyboy fiancee in Thailand on December 1 apparently had no idea his sweetheart of four years and now bride is a man, reports haivisa.com. The Dane never thought to ask the 49-year-old, who has lived in Denmark for the last three decades and originally comes from the Thai town of Trang.

Great Pyramid of Giza or Cheops? We can agree on great bellend

LEGO

No idea she was a ‘he’

ONLINE THIS WEEK Russian missile a breach DENMARK and the rest of NATO agree with the US that Russia is in serious breach of the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty). Russia’s development of a new land-based 9M729 missile system – which has a range estimated to be upwards of 5,500 km – contravenes the INF Treaty’s ban on weapons with a range of 500-5,500 km.

Radar extension

PXHERE

Warning to Parisian Danes THE FOREIGN Ministry has warned Danes based in or staying in Paris to remain indoors due to the ongoing protests against the French government’s new fuel policy. “Follow the instructions of the local authorities and keep up to date with the situation via local media,” the ministry wrote on Facebook.

FLICKR-JORGE LÁSCAR

Tanzania under scrutiny

Don’t sit on top of my pyramid!

Superman's home is ruined

What's Latin for loves well?

Donald where's my legs?

A REPORT published in the magazine Nature paints an extremely gloomy picture regarding global climate change and its immediate effects. The report reveals that the ice in Greenland is melting at a rate much faster than anything seen over the last couple of centuries and maybe even the last millennium, reports DR. The pace has really picked up over the last two decades, as the melting rate has been more or less stable since the beginning of industrialisation. Today, the ice is melting 50 percent faster than it did before the industrial age and 33 percent faster than during the 20th century. (SG)

DANISH toy giant Lego is getting into the Christmas spirit a little earlier this year. The Lego Foundation has revealed it will donate 650 million kroner to a project that focuses on play and learning involving vulnerable refugee children who have been forced to flee areas of conflict in Syria and Myanmar. “This partnership marks the first step of the Lego Foundation’s commitment to work within the humanitarian field to support the holistic development of children involving learning through play,” said Thomas Kirk Kristiansen, the chair of the Lego Foundation. (CW)

DANISH billionaire Anders Povlsen has spoken at length about his project to “rewild” the landscape of Scotland, detailing plans that could end up returning lynx, bears and wolves – not seen in the country since the fifth, 11th and 17th centuries respectively. Last month, the 46-year-old owner of retail giants such as Bestseller became Scotland's biggest private landowner with over 220,000 acres in his possession. Povlsen, who now owns 12 estates, said this is the beginning of a “200-year vision” to reclaim Scotland’s “most vulnerable, precious and mysteriously beautiful landscapes”. (BH)

READ THE REST OF THESE STORIES AT CPHPOST.DK

DENMARK’S radar unit, which had been active at the Al Asad Air Base in Iraq and the Al Dhafra Air Base in the UAE since 2016, had been due to return home early next year, but now the government has confirmed the 30-odd personnel and equipment will stay put until January 2020.

Help for Ethiopia THE GOVERNMENT has agreed to set aside 1 billion kroner in aid to help promote democracy, fight poverty and create sustainable growth in Ethiopia over the next five years. Denmark will collaborate with partners from the Kenyan civil society as well as UN organisations to support the east African country’s democratic reform ushered in by Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed.

Supporting Ukraine THE FOREIGN minister, Anders Samuelsen, expressed concern following the Kerch Strait incident on November 25 in which Russian vessels fired upon and subsequently took control of three Ukrainian vessels that were trying to move a pilot boat and two smaller armoured ships from Odessa to Mariupol. Samuelsen underlined that Denmark is in full support of Ukraine.

PM inks migration deal DENMARK has signed the new UN agreement on migration, ‘Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration’, which mainly concerns tackling the numbers coming from Africa to the EU. PM Lars Løkke Rasmussen went to Marrakesh to personally ink the deal. However, it is not legally-binding and does not trump Danish law.

COVER

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

14 December 2018 - 10 January 2019

Wizards behind the words: the unsung heroes of Danish literature

From Russia and Japan to the US and Italy they congregate in Copenhagen every year. They may not be Danes, but they speak the language fluently CHRISTIAN WENANDE

HEY ARE the unsung heroes of Danish literature: that rare breed that embraces an oft solitary existence within the realm of linguistics. Their bodies may be foreign, but their hearts and minds are forever linked to Denmark. They are the translators. Since the late 1990s, the annual Bogforum book fair has provided a stage for them to meet one another, uncover new trends, discuss with authors, and scout for new prospective titles for their home markets.

MICHAL VAN ZELM

Language: Dutch Based in: Amsterdam Years translating from Danish: 12 Number of Danish books translated: 3 How did you get involved? I started learning Danish while studying philosophy in Amsterdam to be able to read

Shadow heroes ANNE-MARIE Rasmussen, a senior advisor at the Danish Arts Foundation and one of the key organisers of the annual gathering, regards the translators as ambassadors of Danish literature. “The American author Paul Auster has called them ‘the shadow heroes’, which I find is a very beautiful and accurate term,” Rasmussen told CPH POST. “Their work is very important. All the translators I’ve met are extremely dedicated to their work. They are passionate about Danish literature and culture, and I am amazed at the depth of their knowledge of both Denmark and the language.”

Kierkegaard’s books in the original language. So in the beginning I kept quite a narrow focus, but as I progressed, notably after a year of studies in Copenhagen, my interest in the Danish language and its literature broadened. I ended up taking a master’s degree in Scandinavian languages and cultures. What are the main challenges? Roughly speaking one encounters two types of problems: linguistic and cultural. While Dutch and Danish cultures have a lot in common, there is also a lot of heritage that is really unique to Danish culture (and vice versa). What corresponds to ‘æbleskiver’ in Dutch, for exin between these two cultures has always been part of my life, and probably it is not by chance that I ended up working as a literary translator – as a bridge-builder between these two countries.

EVA VALVO

Language: Italian Based in: Palermo Years translating from Danish: 6 Number of Danish books translated: 10 How did you get involved? I LIKE to say that Danish is my mother tongue … I was born in Denmark and grew up in Italy with a Danish mother and an Italian father. The experience of being

What are the main challenges? The challenges are many and diverse. For example, translating swear words can be problematic, because foul language may be perceived differently from country to country, and it is not always easy to reproduce the same or a similar effect in the target language. Then, it is always difficult to translate the so-called 'realia': terms and phrases describing real things or actual facts that are specifically related to a culture. A translated text needs to be comprehensible

Danish works come in all varieties of size, colour ... and language

Increased interest RASMUSSEN couldn’t say for sure whether Danish literature in increasingly striking a chord abroad, but ‘The ‘Nordic Noir’

wave, started by the Swedish crime author Stieg Larsson in combination with the success of Danish television and series, namely ‘Borgen’ and

'Forbrydelsen' (‘The Killing’), has certainly spurred interest in Danish titles as of late. CPH POST spoke with a handful of the translators.

ample? Even if Dutch cuisine has something rather similar, it’s probably not used in quite the same setting, and thus it will not call forth the same associations.

Is Danish literature becoming more popular? While Danish literature seems to be appreciated by some Dutch readers, it doesn’t (yet) have the same broad appeal as Danish cinema for example, which almost functions as a brand. I’m afraid few Dutch people will be able to give an example of modern Danish literature. Even if they might have read some, the names don’t seem to stick. But hopefully this will change.

stunningly evocative and overwhelming in its imagery, while leaving so much for the reader to think about. I’m impressed by the way she combines a strong poetic force and a humane voice, seemingly without straining for effect or becoming sentimental.

What do you appreciate the most about Danish? Who doesn’t love bolle-å? And all the fuss about where to put a comma is quite fascinating. I wouldn’t be surprised if relationships have ended over it. The great (and maybe underestimated) Danish linguist Aage Hansen wrote a lovely book on the subject some 60 years ago, which I would recommend taking recourse to in case of marital problems!

to the readers in the target language, without smoothing out all the cultural differences. Otherwise, why would one bother reading a foreign book? What do you appreciate the most about Danish? I like the way you can say a whole lot of things with a single word, just by adding a prefix or a suffix or by setting two words together – you cannot do that in Italian. Words like these can make a translator’s life hard, but it surely feels good when you find a satisfactory solution: a bit like solving a puzzle or a riddle. Is Danish literature becoming more popular? As seen from Italy, Danish literature has a special position among

What is your favourite piece of Danish literature? I’m currently reading Josefine Klougart’s ‘New Forest’, which is really quite amazing. It’s the Nordic literatures. On the one hand, it enjoys its share of interest in ‘all things Nordic’ (including the crime novel craze). On the other hand it probably feels closer to us: thus less exotic, and maybe less interesting. Via my experience as a freelance literary scout mainly working with children’s books, I have seen a rise in the number of translated titles in Italy over the past couple of years. In my opinion, Danish children’s literature has not been translated and appreciated enough in Italy, but I’ve experienced that once you pave the way, publishers come and ask for more. What is your favourite piece of Danish literature? This is a difficult question …

What are you working on right now? I’m working on the translation of Lili Elbe’s memoirs from the 1930s. It’s the story of one of the first transsexual people to undergo genital reassignment surgery. The story has recently been popularised through a novel and a subsequent movie, ‘The Danish Girl’. does it sound too banal to say HC Andersen’s works? I love his joy of storytelling, his irony and his ability to shape a world or an atmosphere, which is recognisably his own and yet becomes part of our own imagination. What are you working on right now? I am working on a few scouting projects in the field of children’s books. I am preparing reader’s reports and sample translations of Danish books that I’d like to submit to Italian publishers. After the New Year, I will start on a crime novel by Katrine Engberg, ‘Krokodillevogteren’ (‘The Courser’), which is the first of a series. I will translate it together with my friend and colleague Claudia Valeria Letizia.

COVER

14 December 2018 - 10 January 2019

HELENA BŘEZINOVÁ

Language: Czech Based in: Prague Years translating from Danish: 15 Number of Danish books translated: 18 How did you get involved? My mother wanted me to play the piano when I was a child, but I was rejected by the music

school because I couldn’t sing at the acceptable level – so I took German instead. I hated it, but in university I took it again and picked Danish as another major. I decided on Danish as it had a connection to German and my Danish professors turned out to be far more inspiring than the German ones, so I wrote my dissertation and thesis on Danish literature. Now, I teach Danish literature at the university in Prague. What are the main challenges? The greatest challenge isn’t the language itself, but all the implied hints that a Dane can decode without trouble – but unfortunately remain ‘lost in How did you get involved? First I fell in love with a Danish girl over Coronas and tequila, and then I fell in love with the Danish language over Tuborg and aquavit.

PAUL RUSSELL GARRETT

Language: English (from Canada) Based in: London Years translating from Danish: 7 Number of Danish books translated: 10

BLANCA ORTIZ

Language: Spanish Based in: Madrid Years translating from Danish: 23 Number of Danish books translated: about 50

OLEG ROZHDESTVENSKIY

Language: Russian Based in: Moscow Years translating from Danish: 35 Number of Danish books translated: about 25

What are the main challenges? I think I've got a fairly good overall knowledge of Danish, despite only living in Denmark during a year abroad at the University of Copenhagen, but sometimes I come across everyday phrases that really stump me: for example, ‘at love guld og grønne skove’. How did you get involved? It was in the middle of a heatwave in Greece in the late 1980s. I sat next to some Swedes on the floor on a stuffed Interrail train. That was my debut with the Nordic language. A month later I was in a Danish class in Madrid, as Danish was the only Nordic language on offer in the Spanish capital back then. What are the main challenges? For me, the most difficult aspect isn’t the words in the book, but the cultural differences. The hardest thing is probably transferring How did you get involved? When I started at the philological faculty at the State University of Moscow in 1976, there were no Nordic language classes and I only managed to enter the new Danish class in the second semester. From the beginning, it was my intention to study Nordic literature, and the education made it possible for me to work with literature from almost all Nordic countries, but Danish literature is probably the priority – the first love, so to speak. What are the main challenges? When translating a work of literature, the biggest challenge is to

translation’. For instance, the names Putte and Luffe evoke some specific connotations with Danes that a Czech would have no clue about. Danish society is extremely ritualised and the ‘devil is in the detail’ in translation. What do you appreciate the most about Danish? It’s not so much the language but the use of it. I really enjoy that Danes, as opposed to us Czechs, avoid being too bombastic in their use of language. The vocabulary is rich enough, but Danes avoid the big words. Is Danish literature What do you appreciate the most about Danish? There are so many things I love about Danish: the way it sounds, the way entire sentences can sound like one word, and the way long compound words can simply be created out of thin air and sound perfectly natural in Danish. Is Danish literature becoming more popular? Nordic Noir has been a huge boon for Danish literature. The increased visibility and popularity of Danish TV, films and books a reality, which in many cases is completely different, and the distant cultural references so they have the same effect on the reader as those not familiar with them. And swear words! In Spanish, they are ‘slightly’ more aggressive and varied than the Danish ones. What do you appreciate the most about Danish? It’s so economical: that Danes are able, with two or three words, to say things that a Spaniard would require two or three sentences to convey. And I also envy their ‘get under the skin’ of an author to master the skill of following their thinking while correctly using the artistic materials of one’s own language. It really is an art. There are certain differences between Danish and Russian, and at times it can be a challenge equalising them. What do you appreciate the most about Danish? Danish is a very specific, precise and laconic language that sounds very unusual – and I like that. I enjoy hearing Danish spoken by the Danes and I appreciate the people and the culture. It’s also interesting that such a small

becoming more popular? Scandinavian literature in general is popular and I have to disappoint the Danes a bit here and say that Norwegian and Swedish literature is more popular among the Czechs. To begin with, the Peter Høgh effect generated interest in Danish literature, then Jussi Adler-Olsen came and we now have the Jussi effect. The light genre usually opens the door for other genres. What is your favourite piece of Danish literature? Just one? Ouch! Well then its ‘Lykke-Per’ by Henrik Pontoppidan. Since I first read the novel 25 years ago, I’ve read the book has really opened up a space for a wider range of Danish authors to be translated into English. I think the growth of smaller publishing houses in the US and the UK with a focus on translated fiction has also helped. Fitzcarraldo Editions is a great example.

several times and my students look at me incredulously every time we go through it because they can see how infatuated I am. Per Sidenius is one of the most fascinating heroes I’ve encountered in world literature. I understood him perfectly at 20 and I understand him even more with every year that passes. What are you working on right now? I’ve just written a book on HC Andersen’s adventures and inside are my translations of some of his lesser-known pieces like ‘The Will-o'-the-Wisps Are in Town‘. Soon I’ll start translating Helle Helle’s ‘de’.

What are you working

on right now? I've just submitted my translation of ‘Vivian’ by Christina Hesselholdt, which is to be published by Fitzcarraldo Editions in early 2019. Her second novel to be published in English, ‘Companions’ (‘Selskabet’), was published by Fitzcarraldo in 2017. And last month the playwright Anna Bro was in London to see a staged reading of ‘Varmestuen’ (‘The Warmhouse’). It's the second play I've translated by Anna Bro, and we're hoping for a full production and UK tour in 2020/21 for this fabulous play.

magical ability to create new words by merging old words.

that, and we are now beginning to reap some early rewards.

Is Danish literature becoming more popular? In 2008, Spain saw a spike in publishing Danish books – classics as well as modern. Spanish publishers realised that there is more to Danish literature than HC Andersen, Karen Blixen and crime novels. The next challenge will be to get the outstanding Danish children’s books on the Spanish market. We translators and others have worked long and hard at

What is your favourite piece of Danish literature? It would be impossible to pick just one book, but I can say that the book I’ve most enjoyed translating is ‘The Brummstein’ by Peter Adolphsen.

language can unite people from completely different countries – such as in the case with the Danish Art Foundation and the Danish translator gatherings.

when most books were published for purely political and ideological reasons, regardless of quality, is long gone.

What is your favourite piece of Danish literature? ‘Kongens Fald’ (‘The Fall of the King’) by Johannes V Jensen – I was hooked from the first page.

Is Danish literature becoming more popular? When you look at our growing translator team with representatives from across the planet, one has to say that Danish literature is quite popular globally. Of course, it’s not among the big literature nations, and in some places (including Russia) it is viewed by many publishers as a kind of ‘risk area’. But fortunately, the time

What are you working on right now? ’Myter og sagn fra Grønland’ (’Greenland Myths and Legends’) by Arctic explorer Knud Rasmussen.

What is your favourite piece of Danish literature and what are you working on right now? Tom Kristensen’s ‘Hærværk’ (‘Havoc’) is one of the best Danish novels that hasn’t lost its relevance – actually it is more topical than ever. Language-wise, it is a masterpiece and it is also what I am working on now, although I’m also working on smaller pieces, such as essays and articles and short stories.

NEWS

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

ONLINE THIS WEEK A RARE sei whale died in Mariager Fjord on December 7, ten days after it became stranded, despite the best efforts of many volunteers who tried to help it reach deeper waters again. Ten metres in length, it was initially found very close to a pier, with experts predicting that it was most likely ill and dying anyway.

More kids in poverty THE NUMBER of children living in poverty rose by 12,000 to 64,500 in 2017, according to an analysis of Danmarks Statistik data carried out by Arbejderbevægelsens Erhvervsråd. Its head, Lars Andersen, blames a ceiling introduced by the government on the ‘kontanthjælp’ basic unemployment benefit in 2016.

‘Ghetto List’ 29-strong THE GOVERNMENT'S annual ‘Ghetto List’ was released on December 1, revealing that 29 housing areas fulfilled the new more expansive criteria that came into effect earlier this year. The contentious list includes 15 areas that are deemed to be particularly hardcore – while an additional 43 were deemed to be vulnerable, but outside the scope of being designated as a ghetto.

Australia, Devil’s Island, Alcatraz … Lindholm Denmark the latest country to dabble in prisons on islands and overseas

OR MANY years the idea has mostly remained in the realm of science fiction: sling all of society’s undesirables onto an island and let them sort it out. It was more or less the plot of ‘No Escape’, a really bad Ray Liotta film in 1994. So it was no surprise to see Britain’s right-wing brigade – most notably the Telegraph, Sun and Daily Mail – jump on the story that Denmark’s 2019 budget agreement includes plans for a deserted island to house convicted foreigners and rejected asylum-seekers. “BANISHED! Denmark to send foreign criminals to live on a deserted island,” screamed the Sun’s headline – one of many to conveniently leave off the part about the rejected asylum-seekers. Replacing the cattle THE 17-ACRE island of Lindholm is situated in Stege Bay around 2.5 km off the coast of south Zealand near the island of Møn. It is currently being used by the DTU Veterinary Institute as a quarantined area to test against viruses that affect cattle and pigs. The island was among the measures needed to gain the support of Dansk Folkeparti for the budget, which includes a further tightening of immigration policy – most particularly switching the focus from integration to repatriation. According to Kristian Jensen, the finance minister, the island will not serve as a prison, as its new residents will be able to visit the mainland during the day. It will replace a system that required the group to regularly report to the Kærshovedgård centre near Herning in mid Jutland.

ONLINE THIS WEEK ERIK CHRISTENSEN

Visitor makes us blubber

14 December 2018 - 10 January 2019

It's like the start of a movie: like 'Shutter Island' or 'No Escape'

Denmark is in negotiations with Lithuania regarding the construction of a prison outside its capital Vilnius, which could house all of Denmark’s deported foreign criminals, but not necessarily meet normal Danish prison standards. The 2019 Budget Agreement states: “As soon as possible, and by the end of 2019 at the latest, an agreement must be reached with a partner country concerning the establishment of Danish prison space abroad, so expelled criminals can serve their sentences there instead of burdening the Danish prison system and society.” The persisting negotiations are locked in on what exactly Denmark must give up in return for dispatching the foreign criminals to the Baltic country. Lithuania has reportedly expressed “considerable interest” in the plan. DF has long campaigned for Denmark to purchase or lease a prison in eastern Europe, and parliamentary delegations visited prisons in Lithuania and Romania last year.

plan, reports TV2. And he royally put his foot in it. Under a photo of a plate bulging with traditional cuts of pork, Pedersen tweeted: “Incredible Christmas lunch fare – a safe bet to say it's a long way from what they'll be getting on Lindholm.” A number of his colleagues found the post distasteful, with PM Lars Løkke Rasmussen himself wading into the fray, tweeting: “In my view, people can eat what they like. That's not important. What is important is whether people want to respect the fundamental values in Denmark: freedom, liberalism, equality, and civil law over religious law.”

Lithuanian interest IT HAS also been revealed that

Twit tweets tripe OPINION is divided on the island proposals, with Venstre's business spokesperson, Torsten Schack Pedersen, among those to comment on the Lindholm

Elderly and animals IN RELATED news, more details of the 2019 budget have been released affecting the elderly and animal welfare – two other areas prioritised by DF in its negotiations with the government parties. Some 400 million kroner has been set aside to tackle loneliness among the elderly, 210 million to their nourishment, and 45 million to the recruitment and safety of careworkers. While 38 million kroner has been earmarked for setting up a taskforce to take action in cases of cruelty to animals. (CPH Post)

More free time

Victims of violence

Firm handshake promise

Book him a flight home!

DANES enjoy three hours more free time per week than they did ten years ago, according to a Rockwool Foundation survey. The increase is the result of spending less time on chores, as working hours have not changed, and parents tend to spend the surplus with their children. On average mothers spend 2.5 hours a day with them – 30 minutes more than fathers.

SOME 17 percent of immigrant women have endured domestic violence, and 37 percent know someone who has, according to a study carried out by gender equality advocacy organisation Danner. Of the victims, 54 percent were in a relationship with an ethnic Dane. An estimated 38,000 women are subjected to domestic violence in Denmark every year.

PROSPECTIVE Danish citizen Billy O'Shea, 61, has written to the Ministry of Immigration to tell them he won’t be shaking hands with a municipal representative at his citizenship ceremony, as handshakes should be “voluntary and an expression of mutual respect … and that respect cannot be enforced by law.” The ministry replied that failure to do so will cost the Irishman the citizenship.

DANISH PM Lars Løkke Rasmussen recently met the Moroccan foreign minister, Nasser Bourita, to discuss the case of Said Mansour, the 'bookseller from Brønshoj', a MoroccanDane currently in prison in Denmark after being convicted of inciting acts of terrorism. Rasmussen, who wants him deported, said the talks were “constructive”.

Hail the holiday hike? THE TAXI firm Taxi 4x27 will increase its initial charge on December 24 and 31 to 135 kroner – a hike of 97 kroner. Other firms will also be raising their prices. Thomas Wiigh Larsen, the head of the cab drivers’ association, told DR it was only fair, as other professions – such as emergency response workers and careworkers – are also paid considerably more.

Mandatory divorce course FROM APRIL 1, divorcing parents will be required to take a 30-minute course, ‘Samarbejde Efter Skilsmisse’ ('Co-operation After Divorce’), to officially seal the split. It is designed to make parents view the divorce from the perspective of their kids whilst giving them the tools to calmly talk to one another. The course is believed to have a positive effect in six out of seven cases.

Camilla craves candy WOMEN aged 18-49 with a high level of education living in Copenhagen Municipality are the group of Danes who eat the largest amount of confectionery, according to a Megafon poll for TV2. Amongst women in general, 30 percent eat confectionery at least four days a week, compared to 22 percent of men.

Pricey for petrol ACCORDING to the Global Fuel Price Index, Denmark is among the most expensive countries to fill up your car with petrol. Spending 50 British pounds (420kr) enables Danes to travel 343.72 miles, ranking them in the bottom five, only ahead of Italy, the Netherlands, Norway and Hong Kong. Iran topped the index with 2,356.9 miles, while the US scored 773.36.

Radios recalled TWO PINELL radio models, released in 2013 and 2015, have been recalled after causing over a hundred fires in Norway. The ‘Pinell GO’ and ‘Pinell GO +’ were sold in Denmark by Elgiganten and Power. The problem would appear to be an exploding Chinese battery. Consumers are advised to check with the store they purchased the radio from.

Low life expectancy THE MEDIAN life expectancy in Denmark is 80.9 – the lowest amongst the western European OECD countries. In Spain and Switzerland, in contrast, the average was over 83. Experts blamed heavy smoking, particularly among women, and a high alcohol consumption for the difference.

NEWS

14 December 2018 - 10 January 2019

ONLINE THIS WEEK A HERD of bison at Almindingen on Bornholm are suffering after becoming infected with the potentially fatal lungworm parasite, according to University of Copenhagen researchers, who found high concentrations in their dung, reports TV2. However, the Naturstyrelsen nature agency disagrees, asserting that the infected animals are mostly thriving.

North Sea reserved THE GOVERNMENT has reserved large swaths of the North Sea for the state development of offshore wind energy. The price of wind energy has dropped to the point where the government expects to be able to establish offshore wind turbine parks without funding support. That will also require a significant upgrade of the national electricity grid, which could cost billions of kroner.

Fashionable but flawed DITTE Welner, an enzyme researcher at the Technical University of Denmark, is part of a team led by the University of Berkeley that is working to produce an indigo dye (made with genetically-modified bacteria) not harmful to the environment. The dye favoured by the denim industry uses harmful chemicals and acids as well as lots of water.

THE ENERGISTYRELSEN energy agency reports that coal consumption fell by 25.5 percent from 2016 to 2017, while the utilisation of sustainable sources rose by 11.4 percent. Coal consumption has decreased by 81.4 percent since 1994 and oil consumption by 89.5 percent, while CO2 emissions have fallen by 38.3 percent since 1990.

HE GOVERNMENT’S recently-announced ‘Plastic without waste’ strategy, which is a part of a bill that will seek parliamentary approval, comprises 27 initiatives geared towards reducing plastic waste in nature and incinerators and improving recycling. The environment and food manager, Jakob EllemannJensen, believes that Denmark shouldn’t stop the use of plastic, but rather embrace it in a more intelligent manner. “Today, we burn far too much plastic and we must become better at recycling it,” he said. “We don’t have unlimited resources at our disposal, and there is no reason to explore new resources when we can use the ones we already possess.”

End up inside turtles AMONG the 27 initiatives are the establishment of a national plastic centre, better sorting of plastic waste, and banning the thin plastic bags customers get at kiosks, pizzerias and greengrocers. “We need to move away from

Puberty ever earlier

ONLINE THIS WEEK Using less water ACCORDING to the latest edition of Danskvand, the Danes have set a new record for the amount of water they consume every 24 hours: the lowest figure since records began. The average household used 103 litres a day last year – considerably lower than the 200 litres used just 20 years ago.

Antarctica discovery

"Can we incinerate this? Sure, we've got until 2050"

the 'use and throw away’ culture that we have probably embraced a little too much in terms of plastic bags,” Ellemann-Jensen told TV2. “These thin plastic bags that are common in pizzerias are not very recyclable – we need to stop using them. It’s inefficient and negligent. We must become much better at reusing the thicker plastic bags when shopping.” Henrik Beha Pedersen, the founder of interest organisation Plastic Change, added: “These bags are the ones found in turtles and whales in the ocean. We simply use too much plastic and we don’t consider the impact because the bags are free.”

Maritime rubbish focus IN RELATED news, the government has set aside 20 million kroner in the 2019 budget to support a new fund under the auspices of the World Bank to tackle the problem of plastic waste in the maritime environment, reports Ingeniøren. The development minister, Ulla Tørnæs, recently launched the Ocean Plastic Forum – a collaboration between 18 Danish partners to find solutions to protect the world's oceans. Its focus will be especially on developing countries where increasing prosperity has often led to increasing amounts of plastic being produced.

Bio-fuel first

Obesity gene research GAULSSTIN/FLICKR

Coal consumption falls

CHRISTIAN WENANDE

DS NORDEN

THE DISCOVERY by a team of international researchers led by the University of Copenhagen of a 31 km diameter crater beneath the Hiawatha icecap in Greenland, which was created by an iron meteor of around 12 billion tonnes around 12,000 years ago, has been nominated for Science magazine's 'breakthrough of the year' award. It will face competition from 11 other pieces of research.

The days of taking home takeaways in free plastic bags are numbered, as the public are urged to rethink their usage

GENESIS89

Discovery shortlisted

PIXABAY

Bornholm bison hit

Drastic measures to fight plastic menace

USING radar measurements taken by aircraft, DTU Space has helped the British Antarctic Survey to discover a massive area under the ice that is the size of Funen and melting faster than expected. The melting could be the result of radioactive cliffs and warm water streaming up from the underground.

Vegan cheese wins award A TEAM of DTU students have won an award for an innovative vegan cheese that reduces food waste and has a minimal climate footprint. ‘Cheese it Yourself’, which consists of plant-based ingredients mixed into water used to soak chick peas, was recognised at the Ecotrophelia competition in Paris.

A spoonful of football PLAYING football is an excellent way of avoiding prostate cancer, according to research led by the University of Copenhagen. The study assessed 214 men with prostate cancer over a one-year period. Every year, of the 4,500 men in Denmark diagnosed with the cancer, about 3 percent die.

Recycled in peace Awkward family photo time

Time to u-turn on sulphur?

He's got the genes alright

AN AARHUS University study reveals that girls on average have their first menstrual period three months earlier than their mothers. Boys, meanwhile, entered puberty six to 12 months earlier than they did 15 years ago. Data from 14,759 children was used. Girls were asked about breast development, pubic hair, their first menstruation, acne and armpit hair, while the boys were asked about whether their voice had broken, their first ejaculation, pubic hair, acne and armpit hair. Experts tend to concur that early puberty increases the risk of having diseases as an adult. (SG)

DANISH shipping company DS Norden carried out the first commercial test voyage of a ship using CO2-neutral bio-fuel in September. The Nord Highlander sailed from Rotterdam to Talllin. The move could be critical in tackling climate change in the future and the firm hopes to be able to offer customers bio-fuel options in the coming month or so. It is currently more expensive to use bio-fuel than a traditional fuel, but new restrictions from 2020 will mean shipping companies can no longer use the cheapest kinds of sulphur-based oil, making bio-fuel a viable source. (CW)

A DANISH study concludes that children with the 'obesity gene' are able to lose weight just as easily as those born without it, reports Videnskab.dk. Researchers took a group of 754 obese or seriously obese children with an average age of 11.6 years, who all had at least two of the 15 gene variants thought to increase the risk of obesity. The study showed that lifestyle changes – such as dietary patterns, level of physical activity, social activities, amount of sleep and intake of snacks – made it possible for the children to lose weight in the same way as those without the genes. (SG)

READ THE REST OF THESE STORIES AT CPHPOST.DK

BY REPLACING fuel with BioLPG, a new form of propane, the municipal crematorium in Aarhus expects to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by 200 tonnes a year. While Denmark is aiming to be fossil fuel-free by 2050, Aarhus want to cut them by 2030.

Support for elephants THE GOVERNMENT together with Dansk Folkeparti have set aside money in the 2019 budget to allow the last four elephants used by Danish circuses to retire gracefully. Although performing elephants are still permitted, DF feels that the time is ripe for them to call it a day.

CULTURE

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

ONLINE THIS WEEK Coming in the Aarhus night BOY GEORGE and Culture Club postponed their December 7 concert at Forum, moving it to the Spektrum Arena in Vejle on April 13. Also performing in Jutland next year are Patti Smith (Aarhus Musikhusparken, June 21), Volbeat (Ceres Park, June 29) and Phil Collins (CP, June 8). Other confirmed 2019 dates include Lisa Stansfield (DR Koncerthuset, Nov 23), John Cleese (DRK, Aug 27-28) and Tears for Fears (Roskilde).

Rapper central US RAPPER Lil Pump was arrested on December 4 following a search of his car. In related news, DR is tipping Michael Williams, who moved to Østerbro aged three from Brixton in South London, as a future rap superstar. While Ella Daisy Anthony-Collins, who has a large role in the TV2 drama ‘Håbet’, also has British roots. Her father Russell co-founded the drama school SceneKunst.

Films nobody’s seen

Worst for Netflix, but who cares?

ONLINE THIS WEEK All set for Sundance

Popularity of shows like 'Making a Murderer' and ‘Manhunt: Unabomber’ suggests 79 kroner is still value for money

TWO DANISH films – 'Dronningen' and biodoc 'Cold Case Hammarskjöld' – have been confirmed for January’s Sundance Film Festival. The former stars Trine Dyrholm as a matriarch who has an affair with her 17-year-old step-son, while the latter looks at the life of the Swedish UN secretarygeneral who died in a plane crash in 1961 aged just 56.

BEN HAMILTON

ETFLIX offers terrible value to Danish subscribers once the price and number of titles are factored in, according to a comparitech.com study of 78 countries. A third more on average CLEARLY there’s a strategy to offer customers in countries with high salaries a high subscription cost, so it was no surprise to note the countries with the worst deals are all European. Denmark ranked worst, followed by Switzerland, Norway, Sweden and Ireland. Danes have 800 titles to choose from − the 11th fewest. Still, to many Danes, 79 kroner a month won’t seem like a lot, even though it is 36.6 percent more than average. Canadian subscribers, meanwhile, got the best deal, finishing first in a top ten completed by Colombia, India, Mexico, Brazil, Japan, the US, Australia, the UK and Pakistan.

Making a lawyer OUTSIDE the realm of Netflix’s library, the US lawyer Jerry Buting isn’t particularly well known, but thanks to the streaming service’s mega-hit 'Making A Murderer', he is becoming a household name. On December 1, he appeared at Bremen Teater to make a presentation and answer questions from the audience, alongside US lawyer David Rudolf, who found fame on a similar series, ‘The Staircase’. Unabomber’s nemesis BUT WHY settle for the lawyers who help convict the criminals,

when you can meet the individuals who catch them? The renowned FBI profiler James R Fitzgerald visited SDU in Odense on December 12 to talk about his experiences catching killers such as Ted Kaczynski, the man the world knew for 17 years as the Unabomber. For many years, Fitzgerald’s work has played second fiddle to John E Douglas, the inspiration for the Netflix series 'Mindhunter', but a recent miniseries showcased the way he trapped Kaczynski by looking at the linguistic choices he made in his publicly aired writings.

The Nutcracker

Alice’s Adventures in W

Fogg's Off!

DANISH actor Claes Bang, who aged 50 had a major breakthrough in Swedish film 'The Square' last year, has landed a monster role. He will play Dracula in a new Netflix miniseries penned by Steven Moffat and Mark Gattis, the creators and writers of 'Sherlock'.

Did James R Fitzgerald get a grilling at SDU?

CABARET

Finally a British premiere

LONDON TOAST THEATRE

BALLET

SIGNE VILSTRUP

BALLET

Bang on Dracula

TIVOLI

FOLLOWING four years of prep work, the DFI will soon start digitalising 415 Danish silent movies, of which at least 100 have never been seen by anyone still alive. The ‘stumfilmarv’ archive amounts to 350 hours of footage. The restored movies will be available to watch online so the public can access them for free.

14 December 2018 - 10 January 2019

Come on Lars! WHILST the Danish film industry has hailed Lars von Trier’s film 'The House That Jack Built' as a masterpiece, international critics and Mette Bock, the culture minister, are not too sure. “Imagine if he challenged himself to make a movie sparkling in hope and joie de vivre,” Bock tweeted. “Come on Lars – I know you can.” So far, the film has scored 43 on Metacritic.

World buffet champs A CATERING team representing Denmark in the Cooking World Cup in Luxembourg were crowned world champions in the buffet section. They served a menu for 150 people featuring stewed cod with spicy quinoa and beer-braised pork chops.

«««««¶

««««««

FROM THE first flick of the conductor’s baton, Tivoli Concert Hall is filled with Tchaikovsky’s most memorable melodies. A sublime score and one of the most instantly evocative works in the classical repertoire, it's practically the soundtrack to Christmas. Overall, it's a unique and feel-good experience for the whole family. While there’s plenty for Mum and Dad to enjoy, the children get to gasp at the tutus, the dancers, and the sets – a perfect first experience of live ballet. Tivoli succeeds in increasing the attention span of the average sixyear-old to 90 minutes. (SdV)

MOST PROBABLY the best ever ballet to visit Denmark, and the biggest ever produced on Gamle Scene, this dazzling creation is a must-see. With 350 colourful and extravagant costumes, 750 pairs of shoes, 140 roles divided among 90 dancers and 30 scenes, bursts of laughter and thunderous applause filled the sumptuous theatre at the premiere. Prominent choreographer Christopher Wheeldon and Bob Crowley, a living legend in the world of scenography, push Alice’s unusual encounters to extremes of British whimsy and eccentricity. (Sibylle de Valence)

«««««« JULES Verne's novel 'Around the World in 80 Days' was an inspired choice – rarely have I witnessed Glassalen erupt with as much laughter as it did throughout the course of 'Fogg’s Off'!' The chemistry between the actors is a joy to behold, and it is clear they enjoy the show as much as the audience. In previous years I took issue at the length of the show. This year I have zero complaints. Everything from the jokes to the music and choreography, to the improvisation and the costumes was absolutely on point. One of the best Crazy Christmas Cabarets in recent memory! (MR)

READ THE REST OF THESE REVIEWS AT CPHPOST.DK

BARELY anyone in the UK has heard of ‘Dinner for One’, a one-off comedy starring British music hall star Freddie Frinton, which the Danes and Germans religiously watch every New Year’s Eve. But in early December it finally enjoyed a British premiere at the Scottish Comedy Film Festival's Slapstick Weekend – 55 years after it was made.

1/40 of the price THE ONLY known communication sent in Danish from the Titanic – a postcard from a husband to a wife – has sold for 26,000 kroner in auction. The postcard poignantly starts with the words: "Dear Augusta! This is the last thing you will hear from me from this side.” But a similar postcard written in English recently fetched 1 million kroner. Of the 14 Danes on the ship, only two survived.

Surprise wedding SHANE MacGowan, the lead singer of the Pogues, surprised the world’s media by marrying his fiancée at Copenhagen City Hall on November 26 – with his pal Johnny Depp in attendance. Victoria Mary Clarke, his partner for 32 years, told the Irish Independent they wanted to go “someplace that we know nobody and nobody knows us”.

SPORT

14 December 2018 - 10 January 2019

Denmark looking good for 2020

ONLINE THIS WEEK Handballers crash out

Double joy for Lord

PERNILLE Harder missed out on winning the inaugural Ballon D’Or award for the best female footballer on the planet, finishing a slender six votes behind the Norwegian winner Ada Hegerberg. However, days later the Wolfsburg forward was named Female Footballer of the Year by the Guardian, to add to the UEFA Women's Player of the Year she won a few months ago.

AFTER the 2018 Women’s Handball European Championship in France was interrupted by the Paris riots, the Danish women's handball team crashed out of the tournament following three straight losses to Serbia, France and Russia – the latter two defeats coming in the middle group stage round. The Danes now sit bottom of their group without a chance to reach the semi-finals.

2018 HASN’T been the greatest of years for Nicklas Bendtner thanks to his autumn run-in with a taxi driver and 50-day custodial sentence, but things have ended more favourably. First the Danish striker won the Norwegian league with Rosenborg, and then he scored two goals in the cup final to secure the Norwegian double. A fellow Dane, club captain Mike Jensen, also scored.

Chelsea of the north

FCK’s uphill battle

Badminton dispute deepens

IN THEIR final game before the three-month Superliga winter break, Brøndby made Danish league history on December 2 when they became the first side to field a starting line-up featuring no Danes. They fielded 11 players from six different countries, despite an acclaimed youth set-up that has produced the likes of Daniel Agger, Andreas Christensen and the Laudrup brothers.

FC COPENHAGEN know qualification for the final-32 of the Europa League is out of their hands this Thursday. Should they beat French outfit Bordeaux Girondins at home, they will also need Zenit St Petersburg to win away at Slavia Prague. Zenit, who narrowly beat FCK 1-0 at home two weeks ago to qualify, have little incentive to name a strong side.

SEVERAL Danish badminton players, including world number four Viktor Axelsen, are no longer welcome to train with the national team in Brøndby due to an ongoing conflict over their image rights. Mads Øland, the chief negotiator for both the men’s and women’s national football teams in their recent conflicts, is heading negotiations on behalf of the badminton players.

DBU

Consolation for Harder

Clubs less enthused by prospect of second Europa League

ENMARK will need to finish in the top two of a group featuring Switzerland, the Republic of Ireland, Georgia and Gibraltar to qualify for Euro 2020 – a draw that the national team’s management were delighted with in Dublin on December 2. The group means they will play Ireland for the fifth and sixth time in competitive football in the space of two years. Three 0-0 draws and a 5-1 away win to qualify for this year’s World Cup have been the results so far. Should the Danes falter, they will still have a chance to qualify via the Nations League playoffs. The tournament will run from June 12-July 12 in 2020. Less money, better odds DANISH club football’s prospects are not so rosy, following confirmation that UEFA will launch another tournament

Celebrating the draw?

in 2021, the Europa League 2, which will simply share the prize money currently allocated to the current second-tier cup. Denmark, which is currently ranked 13th in the UEFA coefficients, will most probably see its EL1 allocation reduced from three to one sides, as that tournament reduces in size from 12 to eight groups. Nevertheless, the introduction of the EL2 will significantly improve the odds of a Danish side one day lifting some European silverware. The closest one has ever come was Brøndby reaching the semis of the UEFA Cup in 1991.

Happy Christmas st-albans.dk

Nørregade 43-45, 1165 København K www.the-globe.dk www.facebook.com/globeirishpub

15 Dec