CPH Post 27 November - 10 December 2020

TAKE YOUR

FREE PAPER

SPECIAL EDITION

Sum of your beeswax!

With Advent nearly here, we’ll be burning more candles than ever, but at what cost to our health?

Welcome to Denmark!

Let us help you settle in and show you how to make the most of your time here in happyland

4

INSIDE VISIT COPENHAG

CPHPOST.DK 27 Nov - 10 Dec 2020

EN/ DANIEL JENSEN

DANISH NEWS IN ENGLISH VOL 23 ISSUE 16

FEATURE

LOCAL

Lady mayor likely Next year’s local election race is already hotting up

2

INTERNATIONAL Dear Brits: You can’t live here and you can’t bank there!

3 NEWS

COVID-19 the new Grinch Despite the vaccine promise, nothing can save Xmas

IN FUR TROUBLE?

6-7

Time for a wind of change?

EU energy targets a boon following mink debacle CULTURE

BEN HAMILTON

What a way to mark Roald Dahl’s 30th deathday!

T

8 BUSINESS

Bullish Black Friday!

Consumers have lots to spend, but will they shop safely?

10 PRINT VERSION ISSN: ONLINE VERSION ISSN:

2446-0184 2446-0192

HE MINK fur industry, which employs 2,000 people and last year generated 4.9 billion kroner in exports, has collapsed.

The pork industry, which employs around 15,000 and in 2018 generated 16.5 billion kroner in exports, is morally wrong and should be curtailed, we are told by an animal welfare activist group that left dead piglets all over the capital on Monday morning.

And now politicians are becoming an endangered species, with some even speculating that Mette Frederiksen could pay the ultimate price for her government illegally ordering the cull of 17 million mink.

Poised to pounce FORTUNATELY, the Danish PM has fair wind on her back, as the European Commission wants to invest 6 trillion kroner in increasing the continent’s wind energy capacity over the next 30 years … by 2,400 percent.

With the EU countries committed to being climate-neutral by 2050, the commission confirmed last week that this will require a substantial number of offshore windfarms.

And it will also require expertise – an area in which Denmark is the undisputed world champion.

Suddenly the loss of an industry, whose exports had been halved in recent years by competition from the likes of China, doesn’t sound so daunting anymore.

5 Hosting Euros alone

Magic pill for STDs

DENMARK is hosting the 2020 European Women’s Handball Championship (Dec 3-20) on its own following the withdrawal of co-host Norway over coronavirus fears. The government has given its approval providing all players and officials have been in isolation for two weeks before the start (so since Nov 19) and remain so until the final game.

A SEX OG Samfund survey of 950 upper-secondary students (ages 17-20) reveals that 24 percent think the contraceptive pill protects them against STDs, with 6 percent unsure. Some 20 percent (27 unsure) thought the same of the coil. STD rates are soaring among teens, and Sex og Samfund head Lene Stavngaard blames ‘friend’s for spreading misinformation.

Clean air concerns

International school joy

OVER 50,000 residents in the Danish capital have considered leaving the city due to the restrictions introduced due to the pandemic, according to an Epinion survey for Altinget. “The crisis has made homeowners more aware of the value of fresh air and an area with lower population density,” Realkredit economist Mikkel Høegh told Altinget.

COPENHAGEN is the most affordable city in Europe for international schools, according to the International Schools Database’s 2020 report. The average fees for a school are 30,200 kroner a year – primarily thanks to huge state subsidie. They would be less were it not for CIS, where the fees are eight times more expensive. The three most expensive cities were all Swiss.

2

LOCAL

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

Lady mayor looking likely for capital

ONLINE THIS WEEK COMMUTERS heading through Copenhagen Central Station may have noticed the presence of a bright blue globe covered in Lego buildings. The globe was part of UNICEF’s Children’s Day celebrations on November 20. It featured 430 Lego creations from all over the globe to showcase children’s creativity and unite us in the hope of rebuilding the world together.

Extra care at Xmas THE POLICE, City Hall and shop-owners are working together to keep Christmas shoppers safe in the capital this year. For example, a 1.6 km strip down Strøget will encourage shoppers to keep their distance, while shops will be required to stick to maximum customer limits.

Demolition imminent

Pork industry targeted COPENHAGENERS awoke to discover 16 dead piglets displayed artistically at prominent places to draw attention to the pork industry’s failing welfare standards in which animals are “mistreated, misused and systematically destroyed”. The venues included Parliament, the Council of Agriculture and Food, Politikens Hus and DR Byen.

HELEN JONES

I

F THERE was a municipal election tomorrow, Socialdemokratiet (S) and Enhedslisten would receive an almost equal amount of votes (23.8 vs 22.2 percent) – according to a poll by Epinion.

It is estimated that S has lost 4 percentage points due to the conduct of its former lord mayor, Frank Jensen, who recently stepped down due to sexual

misconduct accusations.

Should the left-wingers prevail, it will break a long tradition, as every single lord mayor of Copenhagen has been S. Luck be a lady S HAS PUT forward the capital region’s chair Sophie Hæstorp Andersen, and most pundits concur that Enhedslisten would be wise to also pick a female candidate for next year’s elections on November 16.

Andersen, a party member for 27 years, was the S spokesperson for healthcare issues before taking her current position in 2014. She will run unopposed as Jensen’s replacement, Lars Weiss, does not intend to stand.

Facing a Sophie choice

CHRISTIAN WENANDE

C

OPENHAGEN was taken over by hundreds of tractors on Saturday November 21 as farmers protested against the government’s handling of the mink scandal.

Many visitors to the capital were left with no choice but to use the S-trains or the Metro, as the vehicles clogged up the roads. Similar protests were also held in Aarhus.

Two-hour demo THE TRACTORS arrived at

AN 80.2 MILLION kroner bus terminal is planned near the Fisketorvet shopping centre – chiefly to alleviate the embarrassment at how many new arrivals to the city disembark from their coach on Ingerslevsgade near DGI-byen to find themselves in the middle of a busy cycle lane. Located close to Dybbølsbro Station, it will have room for 15 departure spots.

COPENHAGEN Airport reduced its capacity by 40 percent on Wednesday: some 24 of its 78 gates. It anticipates the closures will continue until 2022. Reopenings will need two months’ notice. The airport currently has 5,600 daily travellers – down from 83,000 a year ago. Only 20 of its 140 outlets remain open.

Unscheduled tractor derby takes city Farmers and fishermen make their feelings known about government’s handling of the mink crisis

New bus terminal

Airport capacity reduced

Meanwhile, Jensen retains the support of his wife Jane Frimand Pedersen. She told Amager Bladet that she does not believe the allegations brought against her husband. “He has paid a high price for being a normal person,” she said.

CHRISTIAN WENANDE

THE CARLSBERG Silo, 88 metres high and a hallmark from the 1960s, is to be torn down along with its surrounding buildings to make way for a new complex.

When the silo was converted into office buildings in 1997 to principally house Carlsberg, it became Denmark's tallest office building.

With #MeToo still on many minds, Enhedslisten is best advised to pick a female candidate to take on regional chair and Socialdemokratiet pick, Sophie Hæstorp Andersen

ONLINE THIS WEEK FACEBOOK

Display well

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

27 November - 10 December 2020

Buyers vs renters OF THE country’s 98 municipalities, Gentofte has the highest proportion of residents in debt, according to a Bankly survey. The average rate of debt is 1,407,340 kroner per resident, of which 1.2 million relates to housing. Brøndby had the least amount of debt (334,380), with Copenhagen the fifth least.

Chaotic start to week The longest wait for a right-turn in history

around 10:00 am via three main roads – Gammel Køge Landevej, Roskildevej and Frederikssundsvej – before congregating at Kalvebod Brygge and driving past Parliament and Kongens

Founded in 1998

by San Shepherd All rights reserved Published by cphpost.dk ApS. Printed by Dansk Avistryk A/S

Nytorv.

They ended up at Langelinie, where they were joined by numerous fishing vessels for a joint demonstration for two hours from midday onwards.

THE START of Week 47 was a chaotic one for commuters. On Monday, the M3 and M4 Metro lines went down, leaving the operators with no idea when services would resume. And then on Tuesday, a fatality at Svanemøllen Station caused delays to half the capital’s S-train lines.

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

Ben Hamilton

Christian Wenande

Stephen Gadd

Hasse Ferrold

Tanya Vinogradova

CO-OWNER

CEO

EDITOR

NEWS/LAYOUT EDITOR

JOURNALIST

PHOTOGRAPHER

PHOTOGRAPHER

27 November - 10 December 2020

ONLINE THIS WEEK

DENMARK will take over command of the European-led EMASoH mission in the Strait of Hormuz next year. The Danish Navy will assume command from France on January 21 in a mission that seeks to protect the world’s maritime industry as it moves through the sea passage. Belgium, Greece, the Netherlands, Italy, Portugal and Germany are also part of the EMASoH mission.

Sands stands accused CARLA Sands, the US ambassador to Denmark, has had a difficult month. First she was accused of undermining democracy by suggesting the US Election was potentially rigged. Claims her husband could have voted four years after his death were rejected. And then she was accused of lying when she suggested her own vote had not been counted.

Respirators to Ukraine DENMARK has sent 50 respirators to Ukraine to help treat its COVID-19 patients. The Ukrainian authorities are confident they can operate the respirators. In September, Denmark loaned out 30 respirators to Albania.

Married and then Malmö NEWLY-WEDS have started holding their celebrations in Malmö where there is no restriction on gatherings. Behroz Amzehi, the owner of event venue Admiral, told BT he received a dozen calls from Denmark asking to host last-minute weddings at his establishment.

Double whammy hits Brits Brexit just got real for the majority of expats living in Denmark

T

Philippine praise

London calling to the faraway towns

Blow for banks IN RELATED news, many UK banks have been contacting ac-

count-holders to inform them that if they cannot provide a UK address, their accounts may face closure following the end of the Brexit transition period – unless a new deal is reached with the EU regarding ‘passporting rules’.

Lloyds, Halifax, Coutts, Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays are among those poised to close accounts. However, HSBC and Santander have ruled out closures for now.

Joachim’s small blessings

Finn held on speed rap

More energy deals

TALKING to DR in his first interview since he was rushed to hospital with a blood clot in the summer, Prince Joachim has discussed his brush with death and his new life in France. The prince has found a new appreciation for life's little moments of happiness: “helping the kids with homework” and “being together with the family”.

A 27-YEAR-OLD man with Finnish citizenship was remanded in custody by a court in Sønderborg earlier this month after attempting to smuggle 20 kilos of amphetamines into the country. The man was stopped at the Frøslev border crossing between Germany and Denmark, where police found the drugs hidden inside his car.

THE DANISH energy agency, Energistyrelsen, has entered into extensive green energy co-operations with China, Vietnam, Mexico and South Africa – countries that account for over 30 percent of global emissions. It takes the number of energy partnerships to 16 – accounting for 60 percent of global emissions.

Staggered applications RESIDENTS with a CPR number should receive official notification in their e-Boks by the end of November, and then a further letter in December outlining where and when to submit an application, which

Helping diabetic Tazanians THE NOVO Nordisk Fund has earmarked 5 million kroner to help treat chronically-ill patients in Tanzania who have been somewhat forgotten due to the impact of coronavirus. For example, Tanzania’s Diabetes Association will use the funds to treat 120,000 people with the disease whilst reinforcing its capacity across the east African country.

HELEN JONES

HE MINISTRY of Immigration has assured British expats currently living in Denmark that all residence documents issued in accordance with EU rules on free movement will continue to be valid until a new residence document is issued.

Nevertheless, it has been confirmed that all British citizens, including those who already have permanent residency rights, will next year need to re-apply for their right to remain in the country once the transition deal over Brexit runs out on December 31.

will include the registration of biometric data.

Applications for the new residency document are being handled

by SIRI, the agency for international recruitment and integration, which will be spreading the applications across 2021 in order to avoid long processing times.

PHILIPPINES ambassador Leo M Herrera-Lim has thanked Denmark for its response to the typhoon that killed 17 people in his homeland in early November.

He praised Danes “for their messages of sympathy and solidarity”.

Ninth most expensive CITIES in the Americas, Africa and eastern Europe have become less expensive compared to 2019, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit. Western European cities like Copenhagen have seen their cost of living rise, and the Danish capital has risen two spots to become the ninth most expensive. Zurich, Paris and Hong Kong together topped the ranking.

Deaf to whistleblower?

REPORTS from a whistleblower in Forsvarets Efterretningstjeneste revealed in 2015 that the US, facilitated by a collaboration with the Danish intelligence service, spied on Danish ministries and private defence sector companies. It is unclear whether FE acted on the reports.

In a war-torn world, humanity knocks on your door.

Do you dare open?

Why Not Theatre Company presents the World Premiere of

THe cHeyenne Are LeAVing

by Tanja Mastilo

3

ONLINE THIS WEEK TXLLT

Taking over command

INTERNATIONAL

A story about love and war, friendship and survival.

An intimate, psychological drama with a touch of subtle humour.

VESTERBROGADE 150 1620 KBH V

Directed by NINA LARISSA BASSETT With NATHAN MEISTER and JOE YOUNG

TICKETS: BILLET@SORTEHEST.COM OR TEATERBILLETTER.DK

13th Nov - 5th Dec 2020 Mon - Fri 8pm; Sat 5pm

4

FEATURE

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

27 November - 10 December 2020

Mostly unseen by candlelight: damaged lungs and burnt-out homes

Advent is coming, but perhaps it is time to replace the instant hygge with an alternative BENJAMIN FROST

C

ANDLES are incredibly popular in Denmark – especially during the chillier months. Sure, you could just turn on the lights and fire up the radiator instead, but nothing really compares to the welcoming glow of a candlelit room.

And come Christmas, burning candles play a central role in the absolute pinnacle of the celebrations: the dancing around the tree.

Now, with the approach of this year’s Advent – starting on Sunday November 27 – many will be looking to secure their waxy wares in time for the festive period.

But surely it’s worth asking whether this poses something of a dilemma for a nation so obsessed with environmental impact?

Greener flames EVEN THE keenest of candle-holders would admit that they’re hardly chosen for their illuminative or warming qualities; they struggle to hold a light to Denmark’s modern, green-fuelled heating and lighting solutions. And in fact, the real impact may be far darker.

Many candles are made of a petroleum-based wax. When burned, these candles release toxins like benzene, acrolein and soot – to name a few – into the air. Similar toxins are released by diesel engines – not exactly the scent of a Redberry Autumn Woodland!

All of this means that your favourite scent may itself be contributing further toxins to your room’s aura, increasing its negative environmental impact.

And that’s without factoring in the packaging and additive-ridden wicks involved in the superfluous medieval light-source.

Think of the children!

IT GETS worse. These candles are known to ruin indoor air quality.

A study led by Aarhus University in 2015 suggested poor ventilation

in schools crippled students’ ability to concentrate. The added extra emissions produced by the atmospheric candle in the corner – at home and at school – only worsens the issue. These poor students just can’t catch a break.

Really, this should be obvious.

The frequent burning of candles can discolour walls and other parts of the home, as well as contaminating ventilation systems. If it can do this to a wall, it is a grim thought to consider what it might be doing to the body, and for those suffering from asthma or other respiratory issues the problem is only accentuated.

Researchers from the University of Copenhagen found that when exposed to particles from burning candles, the damage done to mice was worse than an equal dose of diesel exhaust fumes. Among the effects were lung inflammation and toxicity, arteriosclerosis, and ageing effects on chromosomes in the lungs and spleen.

According to the Danish Lung Association, the average Dane burns 3.5 kg of candles a year, and previous research has shown that 60 percent of ultra-fine particles in Danish homes stem from burning candles. All this quantity quickly adds up.

Solution to pollution FOR A COUNTRY that prides itself on its healthy eating habits and eco-friendly outlook, Denmark’s love of candles appears an aberration. Descartes’ ball of wax has served its purpose and perhaps it is time to look for more modern solutions.

Or perhaps it is not! For those not keen to give up their sticks just yet, rest assured there are plenty of simple ways to enjoy a candle’s aesthetic without jeopardising your and Mother Earth’s health.

Though not especially appealing on a chilly winter night, why not open a window? Increasing airflow reduces the pollutive effects, and perhaps makes for a more authentic winter experience. Maybe a suggestion for more evergreen candle enthusiasts.

Alternatively, it is possible

In Advent, you burn a little bit every day: 24 ways to start a house fire

to find candles that do not release such harmful chemicals.

At Kunstindustrien, co-owner Britta Schmidt prides herself on her products’ exceptionally low scores in soot tests.

“We are using the best, cleanest and most stable plant-based stearin and paraffins available to make our wax altar candles. This means that the candles burn very clean and stable, and without odours,” she told CPH POST. Bee on the safe side FURTHERMORE, there are a number of alternatives to the

common petroleum candle, including ones made of soy or beeswax. Both release far fewer toxins than their traditional counterpart, thus representing safer, cleaner alternatives.

Of course, these solutions come at a price noticeably higher than their ten-a-penny replacements.

But if we can begin to view candles as a luxury that comes at a heavy environmental cost, it might just be a price we have to pay.

However, housefires are one factor that even bees can’t protect you from. Regular campaigns mean that public awareness is

very high, but when this many candles are on the agenda, there is little that can be done.

For Mads Dalgaard of the Danish emergency management agency BRS, a candle-less future cannot come soon enough – particularly when you add up the number of Christmas trees that have caught fire whilst the family’s dancing around the bedrooms.

“We have lots of candles inside homes so we can hygge; it is something we have done forever. But people do stupid things ... Hygge is a wonderful thing, but beware of candles,” he told The Guardian.

POLITICS

27 November - 10 December 2020

FACEBOOK/MOGENS JENSEN

Concrete shoes with his mink coat The longer he resisted calls for his head, the deeper he plunged the government into a crisis.

The mink, Mogens ... Mette must be worried

Mogens Jensen pays price for illegal directive to commence cull CHRISTIAN WENANDE

J

UST A FEW weeks ago, the government was riding high on its immense popularity among Danes regarding its handling of the Coronavirus Crisis.

Now winter has arrived for Mette Frederiksen’s team, and the tide has turned with the reluctant resignation of the food, agriculture and fisheries minister, Mogens Jensen, following his contentious handling of the presence of COVID-19 at Danish mink farms.

Paying the price JENSEN paid the price for authorising a cull on November 4 over fears the mink were passing on mutated coronavirus strains to humans that could set back global efforts to find a vaccine.

Days later tight restrictions were introduced in seven North Jutland municipalities in a bid to limit the spread of the strain amid reports 11 people in the region had been infected.

But then speculation started to mount that they were old cases – and that Spain and the Netherlands had experienced and overcome similar problems. Suddenly it was doubtful whether the annoying mink cull was necessary.

In the space of a week, public support for the cull fell from 74 to 47 percent.

Was worth billions CRUCIALLY, Jensen’s directive had no legal basis. The government only obtained the necessary legal authority on Novem-

ONLINE THIS WEEK METTE FREDERIKSEN/FACEBOOK

KRISTIAN TØRNING

Løkke at sea

Cabinet’s coronavirus fears

FORMER Danish PM Lars Løkke Rasmussen is taking part in the next season of ‘Over Atlanten’, a reality TV show in which participants sail across the Atlantic.

His boat, which will be skippered by double Olympic gold medal-winning sailor Jesper Bank, will set off from Lanzarote on November 26. Rasmussen wants to “stare at the endless sea and think over what I want to do with the rest of my life”.

EARLY November saw almost half the cabinet self-isolating, including PM Mette Frederiksen. In the end, only the justice minister, Nick Hækkerup, tested positive for coronavirus. He has been joined by Venstre MP Lars Christian Lilleholt, the former climate minister.

In total, since early October, six MPs have contracted COVID-19.

Paludan jailed in Paris ON NOVEMBER 11, Rasmus Paludan, the head of the extremist party Stram Kurs, was jailed in a detention centre in Paris for two days after planning to burn a Koran in a largely-Muslim district of the city. Five members of Stram Kurs were also expelled from Belgium after arriving with similar plans.

Congrats to Biden PM METTE Frederiksen congratulated US president-elect Joe Biden over the weekend of November 7-8. "Democracy has spoken,” she said. Frederiksen also had some words of praise for outgoing president Donald Trump. "I think Trump has helped to start some important discussions, including in the area of trade," she noted.

ber 16, and by that time it was too late to save Jensen’s job, or a mink fur industry that will need years to rebuild.

The disputed decision to kill 17 million animals at around 2,000 farms has decimated an industry that was worth 4.9 billion kroner in exports last year.

Kopenhagen Fur, the auction house owned by the 1,139 members of the Danish Fur Breeders Association, has decided to close down by the end of 2022 at a loss of 300 jobs.

Thousands of jobs IN TOTAL it is estimated 2,000 people will lose their jobs and the mink farms will need 10-15 years to fully recover.

Farms in China, Russia, Greece and eastern European countries like Latvia, Belarus, Ukraine and Romania will most probably fill the void.

In the meantime, farmers in Denmark are not permitted to keep mink until the beginning of 2022, or transport living mink to or from Denmark.

They will be paid 30 kroner for every mink culled before November 19, and an additional 10 kroner for mink slain before November 12.

5

More severe than China NEVERTHELESS, alarm greeted the news that Denmark may be harbouring a mutated strain of the coronavirus.

The UK was the first to act, removing Denmark as a travel corridor on November 6, which it then followed with an entry ban.

"It is without precedent during the pandemic that the British have been so harsh on another country. Not even China was hit by such severe restrictions," commented DR's British correspondent Tinne Hjersing Knudsen.

Cabinet reshuffle FREDERIKSEN was quick to make changes to her ministerial team and revamp a few of the posts.

Rasmus Prehn will now head the Food, Agriculture and Fishery Ministry, while Flemming Møller Mortensen, 57, an MP since 2007, will replace him as the minister of development and Nordic co-operation.

The food minister, Lea Wermelin, will cease to be responsible for food, and the employment minister, Peter Hummelgaard, will assume responsibility for equality.

6

NATIONAL

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

ONLINE THIS WEEK

DOCTORS are up in arms that ritual circumcisions can only be performed using local anaesthetics … and therefore not in hospitals.

Since 2015, there have been around 200 cases of boys being hospitalised following a procedure.

Often too much skin is cut off, or the penis head has been severed.

About 2,000 boys are ritually circumcised every year in Denmark.

Stout, slothful, sloshed YOUTHS in Denmark are fatter, more immobile and prone to drinking more than ever. Every fifth teenager is overweight (compared to 51 percent of adults), 45 percent don’t exercise enough, and 75 percent of ninth graders have drunk alcohol in the last month.

In related news, unemployment among 25 to 29-year-olds is rising quicker than any other age group.

Sentence hike proposed THE JUSTICE Ministry wants to raise the maximum sentence for involuntary manslaughter for hazardous drivers from 3 to 4.5 years.

Most culprits are male and aged 1824. Meanwhile, 199 people were killed in traffic-related accidents last year – a 16 percent increase from 2018. Some 40 were on a motorcycle or scooter, 31 were on bicycles and 30 were pedestrians.

Bird flu cases THE FØDEVARESTYRELSEN food authority has called a halt to the export of Danish eggs and poultry to countries outside the EU for three months, following the discovery of the H5N8 bird virus at a chicken farm near Randers.

Dozens of wild birds have been found to be infected in recent weeks. There have been no reports of humans contracting the virus so far in Europe.

It’s good to walk MORE PEOPLE are taking walks as a result of the Coronavirus Crisis, reports the DIF and DGI sports associations.

Walking is a “boon for mental health”, claimed their report.

Coronavirus: another male health issue Men are twice as likely to die or be hospitalised, but nobody knows why BEN HAMILTON

M

EN ARE 25 percent more likely to catch the coronavirus than women, according to Statens Serum Institut. There are twice as many on respirators, and they are twice as likely to die.

Svend Aage Madsen, the head of the Forum for Men’s Health at Rigshospitalet, claims society needs to investigate “the impact of gender on illness and infection”.

A recent report by the forum reveals that men see a doctor 35 percent less often than women.

It won’t be Christmas HOWEVER, most experts are more concerned about containing the second wave of COVID-19, which continues to claim in excess of 1,000 new infections every day.

The government has accordingly decided to extend the current restrictions until December 13, and PM Mette Frederiksen has warned the public that “we won’t be celebrating Christmas this year quite like we

ONLINE THIS WEEK FREE-PHOTOS

Circumcision outcry

27 November - 10 December 2020

Rats thriving RAT POPULATIONS are soaring due to the warm weather and more restrictions on using poison.

Pest control firm Mortalin, which estimates numbers have risen by 20-35 percent, warns that traps are far less effective than poison.

Wolves kill 60 sheep WOLVES recently killed 60 sheep in six attacks in southern Jutland.

DNA analysis confirmed that half of them were carried out by a bitch registered as GW1700F, which comes from just north of Berlin.

It’s got so bad Beyonce has stopped fantasising about being a boy

usually do”.

Nevertheless, hospitalisation times are shorter (as of Wednesday: 255 patients with 40 in intensive care, of which 23 are on respirators) and the mortality risk (797 confirmed dead) is significantly lower than during the first wave in the spring.

Is it Halloween again?

IN RELATED news, a Rigshospitalet study of 6,000 Danes has been unable to find clear evidence that facemasks provide significant protection against the coronavirus, while an Epinion poll reveals a third of Danes believe they have little to no impact

on limiting infection.

A fierce debate regarding masks in kindergartens is ongoing, with many arguing that kids are getting increasingly anxious at the sight of parents in masks.

By law, children under the age of 12, or their teachers, are not required to wear them.

Some of the country’s top coronavirus researchers in Denmark have been receiving death threats and hateful messages from the public.

And finally, there were 10 percent fewer road users at the end of October compared to last year.

Kids can’t be bought

Another boiler

No Kristallnacht reunion

ØSTRE Landsret has ruled that a Danish woman broke the law when she paid a Ukrainian surrogate to give birth to twins in 2013 and therefore cannot adopt them. The parenthood of the man is acknowledged because he is the biological father, but the high court upheld the original decision to reject the woman’s adoption application.

THIS YEAR is on course to be the second-hottest since records began in 1874. Only 2014, with an average of 10.0 degrees, surpasses the 9.8 averaged so far in 2020.

Ironically perhaps, but May and June were the only months cooler than average, with January setting a new record of 5.5. 2020 has also been sunnier and rainier.

MEMBERS of Muju and Co, the world's first Jewish-Muslim biker club, spent the evening of November 9 patrolling the Jewish section of the Vestre Kirkegård in Copenhagen. A year earlier, 84 graves were vandalised to commemorate Kristallnacht, a night in 1937 when the Nazis escalated their persecution of the Jews.

Commuters warned

Fock off

Fined for drawing ‘her’

THE TAX Ministry has warned home-bound workers that they will have to adjust their returns this year to reflect their lack of travelling to work. Around 1.2 million commuters are eligible for tax breaks if they travel more than 24 km a day – around 26 percent of your transport tickets or petrol costs.

FOLLOWING an exodus of members, Jospehine Fock has already stepped down as leader of Alternativet. Most departees blamed her combative style. When Fock assumed the reins in March, the party had five MPs. Now it only has one: Torsten Gejl, who has ruled out becoming leader.

BERLINGSKE intends to appeal a 285,000 kroner fine for publishing an illustration of the Little Mermaid that a court ruled was misused in a context of political messages and right-wing extremism under the word “evil”. The beneficiaries are the descendants of its sculptor, Edvard Eriksen.

Lions feasting on horses MORE DANES are having their old or injured horses fed to the lions at zoos across the country – to the extent most have waiting lists. Taking the horse to the vet tends to cost more.

Street gang’s last appeal ØSTRE Landsret has upheld Copenhagen City Court’s January 2020 decision to dissolve the street gang Loyal to Familia.

The decision has been appealed to the Supreme Court.

Public welfare surge THE NUMBER of public welfare recipients rose by 44,700 from the first to second quarter of this year – the biggest rise since Danmarks Statistik began recording such data in 2007. An estimated 49,000 people lost their jobs during the same period.

Mosques contributing A NEW STUDY by the University of Copenhagen reveals that voluntary work and social activities run by mosques promote active citizenship among Muslim women.

Taking the lead DENMARK could soon become the first country in the world to ban the use of lead in ammunition to prevent it making its way into Danish nature. Last year, 200,000 mammals were killed, and if every fatal bullet contained lead, this would correspond to 2,000 kilos.

27 November - 10 December 2020

ONLINE THIS WEEK

RESEARCHERS from Dansk BørneAstma Center and the University of Copenhagen have identified an early disturbance in the intestinal flora that comes with the onset of asthma in children born by caesarean section – a condition they are more susceptible to. The breakthrough could help its prevention through the use of probiotics.

Prince of brain AI AARHUS University's new IbrAIn centre may sound like a forgotten noughties Will Smith film, but researchers are hopeful it will aid the development of new technology for the treatment and diagnosis of diseases of the brain.

The centre brings together ongoing research into the brain and new, brain-orientated AI technology.

Life on Mars A NEW UNIVERSITY of Copenhagen study suggests water may have been on Earth much longer than previously thought.

Studying the Martian meteorite known as 'Black Beauty', KU academic Martin Bizzarro concludes that water originated with the creation of Mars, not through the impact of aquatic asteroids.

Supercows of the future THROUGH the use of AI, bioinformatics and gene sequencing, researchers from DTU are able to use egg transplants to improve cow breeding programs. The result is healthier and stronger cows.

Two home-grown vaccines Statens Serum Institut and University of Copenhagen versions ready for human tests

T

HE UNIVERSITY of Copenhagen – in collaboration with Bavarian Nordic, AdaptVac and others – has developed a COVID-19 vaccine that could be tested on humans in January if it gets the necessary financial support (around 2 billion kroner) and be available at the end of 2021.

The vaccine has been developed using unique technology that the researchers have developed and patented themselves.

It has been tested on mice and various primates.

“The consortium is now well positioned to scale this process with AGC Biologics to the billion-dose level once additional funding is secured,” a statement revealed.

Clean and clinical: like if ‘Trainspotting’ had been made in Scandinavia

Cluster concerns dismissed IT IS DENMARK’S second vaccine in the works, as earlier this month Parliament allocated 18.8 million kroner to the testing of a Statens Serum Institut (SSI) vaccine, which is also ready

“Does not work” IN RELATED news, following a damning report by Styrelse for Patientsikkerhed, the World Health Organization has said that Smittestop, the Danish infection response system, "does not work".

Since early this year, over 200 research projects related to COVID-19 have been launched in the Øresund region, according to the Medicon Valley Alliance, an organisation working to strengthen the region's life science industry.

Additionally, the Sundhedsstyrelsen health authority has advised people with symptoms not to take the antigen test because while it can yield results in 30 minutes, it is prone to being incorrect.

And finally, Kåre Mølbak, the executive vice president at SSI and face of Denmark's response to the coronavirus, is retiring on January 31 after 38 years at the institute.

A1 ant agriculture

Bird map almost done

Fossil lake discovery

THE TECHNIQUES used by ants to grow their own crops is far superior to those we currently use, according to a University of Copenhagen study. Fungal-growing ants have managed to grow their crop in such a way that it has survived through 60 million years of changing climate conditions and habitats.

UNIVERSITY of Copenhagen researchers are on course to map the genetic material of all the world's 10,500 bird species. The B10k project is 92.4 percent complete. In related news, Danish waters have provided only its fifth leatherback turtle since 1948. Unfortunately, it was dead on arrival.

IN THE first discovery of its kind, the remains of a huge, ancient lake have been discovered in northwestern Greenland. The lake is believed to be up to 30 million years old, with indications of previously unknown fossils and chemical traces set to be discovered.

to be tested on humans.

While another SSI vaccine has proven to be successful in combating the Cluster 5 mutation (see page 5) in tests on rabbits.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control are among those that have said it is unlikely Cluster 5 will impact the effectiveness of vaccines.

7

ONLINE THIS WEEK PIXABAY

Beating asthma

SCIENCE

AI a threat to climate RESEARCHERS from the University of Copenhagen contend that AI is contributing to climate change, as one ‘training session’ (to recognise patterns) consumes the same energy as 126 homes annually. In related news, a DTU forest study claims that CO2 calculations fail to account for trees’ ability to adapt and utilise it efficiently in photosynthesis – even at high temperatures.

Fly-killing toadstools DANISH scientists have confirmed the discovery of two new species of toadstool that can eat a fly from the inside out. Strongwellsea tigrinae and Strongwellsea acerosa, were found in Jægerspris and Amager respectively. The toadstools infect flies that land on them with spores, which eat away at the fly’s body to form a hole in its abdomen, all the while infecting other flies.

Intensive care study A NEW RESEARCH project is investigating and supporting the cognitive rehabilitation of intensive care patients during and after their treatment. The Novo Nordisk Foundation has granted the project 7.5 million kroner.

DTU scoops award THE IMPLEMENTATION of a campus plan supporting a strong teaching environment – attracting researchers, lecturers and students from across the globe – has seen DTU awarded the Client Award 2020.

LEARN FIRST AID WITH THE RED CROSS We offer courses weekdays and weekends, run by experienced instructors with a mix of both theoretical and practical skills.

We offer several types of courses: Traffic-related first aid, first aid for parents, first aid for watersports, first aid with defibrillators, and 12-hour first aid courses.

rodekors.dk/foerstehjaelp

8

CULTURE

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

ONLINE THIS WEEK

THOMAS Vinterberg’s film ‘Druk’ (‘Another Round’) has been selected as Denmark’s official entry in the Oscars ahead of ‘Shorta’ and ‘En helt almindelig familie’. ‘Druk’, which has sold 753,000 tickets so far, will learn if it is on the nine-film shortlist on February 9, and in the final five on March 15. The Oscars will this year take place on April 25.

ONLINE THIS WEEK SCREENSHOT

Another Oscar?

Golden ticks and gormless hicks

27 November - 10 December 2020

Statue in the harbour KATRINE Dirckinck-Holmfeld, a former art chief at Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi, threw the royal academy’s bust of Frederik V into Copenhagen Harbour due to the colonial era monarch’s close ties with the slave trade. The 39-yearold told Politiken she was acting on behalf of Anonyme Billedkunstnere. By & Havn recovered the statue hours after it was thrown in.

Black Sun again

Linde lands award

MILLIONS of starlings are congregating in the marshlands of southern Denmark to do their best to turn day into night. Yes, Black Sun season is here again. Seizing the moment, Danish photographer Søren Solkær has released a book covering the phenomena in “which real time ceases to exist and mythical time pervades”.

SOFIE Linde’s speech at the Zulu Comedy Galla 2020 on August 26, which has been credited with single-handedly starting the belated Danish #MeToo movement, has been named Årets Danske Tale 2020 – the award annually handed out to the best speech in the Danish-language sphere by Danske Taler.

Biggish tower BJARKE Ingels Group is designing a 25-metre, spiralling observation tower in the Wadden Sea National Park near Skærbæk.

The Marsktårn (marsh tower) will open next spring. In related news, 3XN/GXN is designing a new 24-room, CO2-neutral, climate-positive wing for the Hotel Green Solution House in Rønne on the island of Bornholm.

Plum role for Mads MADS MIKKELSEN is expected to replace Johnny Depp in the role of dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts franchise. Depp agreed to Warner Bros’ request to stand down following his recent libel action.

Mikkelsen has already pulled off a similar scary, silver-haired look for his role as the chief adversary in 'Doctor Strange'.

Improv show at Tivoli IMPROV Comedy Copenhagen (ICC) is hosting a Christmas comedy extravaganza this year at Tivoli’s iconic theatre Glassalen on December 3. Despite encouraging ticket sales, ICC has confirmed to CPH POST that more performances are unlikely. Tickets cost 280kr.

Fortunately Richard Hart has enough Oompa Loompa hats to see him through the winter

Just ahead of the 30th anniversary of the death of Roald Dahl on Monday, his spirit was live and kicking in Copenhagen BEN HAMILTON

R

OALD DAHL couldn’t have written a better story than the scene that unfolded at Bruun Rasmussen Kunstauktioner recently.

Two family members came in to enquire about selling a living-room suite in their possession for two or three generations, and shortly afterwards expert Peter Kjelgaard realised they were describing a work by Finn Juhl considered lost by the industry since 1939.

Daubed in paint IT RECALLED Dahl’s beloved short story 'Parson’s Pleasure' in which a fraudster dresses up as a clergyman to convince country folk into selling him their antiques on the cheap. One day he discovers a Chippendale commode sitting in a kitchen covered in white paint.

According to AD PRO, the Juhl sofa has also been painted: the maple legs in black! With only black and white photos to go on, nobody knows for sure what the original colour should be. An estimate of half a million US dollars will be in place when it goes under the hammer on December 10.

Urgh. Throw it away OBVIOUSLY a Dahl fan, Richart Hart, the British founder of Hart Bageri, hid golden tickets in five loaves of bread on sale at his new outlet at Strandgade 108 in Christianshavn – on the right after you pass over Inderhavnsbroen from Nyhavn.

Copenhagen’s answer to Willy Wonka awarded the lucky five finders with a free loaf once a week for an entire year. So, if you ended up freezing your Hart loaf, for god’s sake: don’t make it into breadcrumbs!

More Noma burgers HART BRØD + Bar is based at the former location of Restaurant 108, which like Hart Bageri lists Noma head chef Rene Redzepi as a mentor and shareholder.

And from December 3, it will

be joined by Noma’s new burger joint, POPL, which will offer fries and more salad and dessert offerings than the fast food popup at Noma’s permanent home over the summer.

Beef about sustainability REDZEPI explained to Politiken that the measure is necessary to help see his business “negotiate a very hard winter for the industry to get through”.

He defended questions about the sustainability of the beef, arguing it is sourced organically from the Danish Wadden Sea National Park and that there will also be vegetarian and vegan options made from fermented quinoa.

To eat in, the burgers cost 145 kroner and the fries 50 kroner, although as a takeaway option, the burgers only cost 110 kroner.

Hammershøi for Xmas DANISH painter Vilhelm Hammershøi (1864-1916) is being brought to an even wider audience thanks to a collaboration spearheaded by Statens Museum for Kunst, Den Hirschsprungske Samling and Bruun Rasmussen Kunstauktioner.

They have enlisted the art historian Peter Kær to make an advent video calendar celebrating the artist’s works.

Another legend dies MICHAEL Bundesen, who was long considered the second best Danish male singer after Kim Larsen, has died at the age of 71. He first achieved fame as the lead singer of Shu-bi-dua in 1973 and, bar a four-year hiatus in the 1980s, they were ever-present in the Danish charts until 2011, when he suffered a blood clot in his brain.

Rife in film industry ALMOST half of all women working in the film industry, along with a quarter of men, have reported that they have had unwanted sexual experiences, according to the ‘Grænseoverskridende Adfærd’ report. Just 5 percent of the women (men: 6 percent) brought up the matter with a union representative, and 42 percent (30) discussed the incident with colleagues.

SPORT

27 November - 10 December 2020

ONLINE THIS WEEK

A 4-2 LOSS in Belgium resulted in Denmark failing to reach the Nations League finals. A 2-1 home defeat of Iceland a few days earlier guaranteed the Danes second place ahead of England, regardless of the results. The win extended Udinese right back Jens Stryger Larsen’s unbeaten run for the national team to 31 games, but he was injured for the Belgium game. Iceland, meanwhile, were relegated from the Nations League top flight.

Seven for nifty Nadia DANISH striker Nadia Nadim scored seven in Paris Saint-Germain’s 14-0 brutalisation of Issy in the French top flight on November 14. Nadim joined PSG in January 2019 after escaping an unhappy time with Manchester City.

Golfer continues run GOLFER Emily Kristine Pedersen, 24, has continued her good run of form in 2020 by winning another tournament. Pedersen looked to have thrown away a lead at the Saudi Ladies International, but stormed back to take the title in a playoff against English golfer Georgia Hall.

First win in 15 years THE DANISH women’s national basketball team earned a 17-point triumph over Romania in Riga on November 15 – their first Euro qualification win in 15 years. After losing their first three qualification games, the Danes overcame the Romanians by a score of 91-74.

The Romanians (44th) are ranked 12 spots ahead of Denmark in the FIBA World Rankings.

Rune on the charge DANISH tennis starlet Holger Rune has again underlined he is one for the future by winning the ITF tournament in Valldoreix, Spain. The 17-year-old beat home favourite Cosano Javier Barranco 7-6, 6-3 in the final. Rune is ranked 547th in the world.

Top seed for draw DENMARK will be a top seed in the draw for the 2022 World Cup qualification groups on December 7, meaning they will avoid all the best sides. Of the second seeds, only Switzerland, who Denmark were lucky to beat last year, is a serious threat.

ONLINE THIS WEEK BERT DE BOER

Ahead of England

“Strongest Danish cycling field ever”

9

Sunglasses … that’s what happens when you finally have silverware to look at

Class of 2020 acclaimed for best performance on UCI World Tour since 1993 LUKE ROBERTS

S

INCE THE expansion of the UCI World Tour in 2017 to add ten more events, the Danes have never failed to win a race, chalking up seven in the process to be the 15th most successful country in the world.

But this year has been somewhat stellar, because out of the 21 races that went ahead despite the challenges posed by the Coronavirus Crisis, Danish cyclists won two, giving them an almost 10 percent share of the spoils.

Furthermore, once all the Grand Tour and other World Tour group stages are factored in, Danish cyclists crossed the line first in nine – the best performance by the nation for 27 years.

And many might remember that Rolf Sørensen single-handedly accounted for eight of the 11 wins in 1993.

Crowded field of talent "WE DO NOT have anyone right now who can win the Tour de France as Bjarne Riis did in 1996, but compared to the happy 90s, we have a much greater breadth among Danes at the top level who can win big races," cycling expert Brian

Nygaard told DR. Magnus Cort, Mads Pedersen, Jakob Fuglsang and Søren Kragh Andersen all notched up wins – "the strongest Danish cycling field ever", according to Nygaard.

Only six other countries landed more World Tour wins, with the Danes finishing above other major cycling nations including Germany, the Netherlands and Spain.

For Nygaard, it is a sign of good things to come. Highlighting the potential of Pedersen and Kragh Andersen, he stated: "It's not just a random trend right now. Danish cycling is at an exceptionally high level, and it may well continue to bring in great results in 2021."

Goal of the season LYNGBY centre back Nicolai Geertsen scored one of the season’s most unique goals in his side’s 9-0 demolition of Slagelse in the Danish Cup. After his initial overhead kick came back off the crossbar, still on the floor he scissor-kicked it in. The effort has been nominated for the Puskás Award given to the best goal of the year.

Bjarne backs out BJARNE Riis has left his position as team manager of the NTT cycling team following a mutual agreement with the team's head, Douglas Ryder. Riis, Jan Bech Andersen and Lars Seier Christensen have also cancelled plans to buy part of the cycling outfit.

10 BUSINESS

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

ONLINE THIS WEEK

Caution advised on Black Friday

ONLINE THIS WEEK PIXABAY

DFDS’s doldrums

27 November - 10 December 2020

DESPITE the free travel-by-ferry deals provided by the government’s July support package, DFDS saw a huge fall in passengers as a result of heavy global travel restrictions, resulting in an 80 percent decrease in turnover from July to September. It has cut 650 jobs – of which 200 are in Denmark.

Nets merger on cards DANISH payment group Nets is negotiating a merger with Nexi according to a statement from its Italian competitor. Reuters reports that Nets is now valued in the region of 60 billion kroner.

As recently as 2017, it was sold when private equity fund Hellman & Friedman bought and delisted the company from the Copenhagen Stock Exchange.

Maersk thriving MAERSK has posted an impressive third quarter performance.

Pre-tax earnings were up 39 percent – a result CEO Søren Skou puts down to a “disciplined execution of strategy”. Success was driven largely by improvements made in the Ocean arm which, despite a decrease in demand, saw profitability improve from $511 million to $1.8 billion.

Dan-Bunkering claims DANISH company Dan-Bunkering is under investigation for allegedly selling jet-fuel worth 647 million kroner to Russia – which then passed it on to Syrian forces. The business deal breaks EU sanctions installed between 2015 and 2017 to protect the country’s civilian population.

Those responsible could face up to four years in prison.

Nykredit takes a hit MORTGAGE lender Nykredit has posted a profit of 3.4 billion kroner for the first nine months of 2020 – a 30 percent decrease mostly attributed to 2 billion kroner in loans being written off as a result of the Coronavirus Crisis.

Lending and customer numbers both rose during the period.

Foreign labour joy TWO COMPANIES are thriving after receiving subsidies to support the employment of foreign labour.

Based in Middelfart, AmiNIC has created a device capable of measuring the freshness of fish and meat, while in Vejle, Vertikal AI has developed a system capable of detecting damage flow from the sensors in wind turbines – all thanks to their new foreign workers.

Rema reaps rewards

Paint it black: black as night, black as tar

November 27 might be a muted affair this year, with ministers fearing that panic sales might lead to further coronavirus infections

existing guidance if we want to have Black Friday this year,” warned the business minister, Simon Kollerup.

NORWEGIAN supermarket Rema 1000 is Denmark’s strongest brand according to the latest YouGov rankings that assess quality, overall impressions, value for money, recommendations, reputation and customer satisfaction. Lego has slipped down to number two, followed by MobilePay and Matas.

Records still in sight THE AMERICAN phenome-

non that is Black Friday has seen steady growth since its first real footing in Denmark in 2013.

Coronavirus restrictions may keep customers from heading to the shops this year – but with governmental encouragement to move trade online and an increasingly tech-savvy consumer market – this year’s Black Friday may still be one for the record books.

In related news, the government has urged shops to extend their opening hours and give people more time to exchange unwanted items during the anticipated increase in shoppers over the next five weeks.

Additionally, consumers are encouraged to make use of shops' full opening hours: shopping on less busy days and at less busy times.

Norwegian looks doomed

Note the difference!

Behold the biggest?

ISS slipping

ALL OF Norwegian’s flights to Denmark have been discontinued.

Originally founded to disrupt and redefine the aviation industry, it is now on its last legs following its own government’s refusal to support it beyond its broad airline industry package. Norwegian, which now operates just 12 routes, acknowledges that bankruptcy is a strong possibility.

NEWLY-PRINTED 500 kroner banknotes have hit the streets after arriving from a factory in France.

It is the first time that Danish banknotes have not been printed in Denmark. The major difference is the addition of a number of new security features. All banknotes issued after 1945 remain valid. If a store refuses one, they can be exchanged at the bank.

TOGETHER with Canadian insurance firm Intact, Tryg is set to take over British insurer RSA in a deal worth around 60 billion kroner that will make it Scandinavia’s largest insurance company. Tryg will acquire RSA’s activities in Sweden and Norway, Intact will acquire the rest of RSA’s global activities, and the pair will share ownership of Codan’s Danish business.

SERVICES giant ISS has seen a 5 percent dip in turnover in the first nine months of the year. The company – which is responsible for, among other things, cleaning and canteen operations across the world – has been hit hard by the pandemic. Measured on revenue, it is Denmark’s sixth largest company, and it has more than 400,000 employees worldwide.

HELEN JONES

W

ITH THE economy more buoyant than expected thanks to record GDP growth of 4.9 percent during the third quarter, you might be expecting Black Friday on November 27 to be something of a blowout for consumers.

However, the government is warning shoppers to be cautious, whilst advising retail outlets to not run promotions that might result in any mad rushes on products.

“We all need to remember to keep our distance and follow

Fear of panic sales RETAIL businesses in particular are being advised to lengthen their opening hours, potentially stretching Black Friday out over the entire weekend – and to avoid sudden flash sales that might encourage a rush of shoppers.

It’s hard to see how shops will be able to offer the drastic onetime deals that customers have come to associate with Black Friday – particularly as ministers point out that if infection rates are seen to go up again, further restrictions may be required.

Deposit charges ON JANUARY 1, Danske Bank will begin charging private customers who keep deposits larger than 250,000 kroner. Currently the limit stands at 1.5 million kroner. Meanwhile, it has posted a profit of 3.1 billion kroner for the first nine months of the year – its worst result since 2011. Some 6.3 billion in loans have been written off due to the Coronavirus Crisis.

Wind in their sales VESTAS has seen a hugely successful few months, fulfilling huge numbers of wind turbine orders, and posting a 31 percent increase in quarterly revenue amounting to 35.5 billion kroner. In high demand, the wind turbine manufacturer has 253 billion kroner’s worth of order backlogs.

27 November - 10 December 2020

NEIL SMITH DANISH CAPITAL IN 2020 Neil is a Scottish-educated lawyer with 18 years’ experience in corporate structuring and general commercial matters. Based in Copenhagen, he primarily advises on international deals.

Out of the office, his interests include sports and politics. His column explores topical international financial and economic issues from a Danish perspective.

BUSINESS OPINION

T

HE WORLD’S most hyped reality show is coming to an end.

Stay tuned for the finale FOUR YEARS after its first episode featured a shock victory and fantastical claims of record-breaking crowds, the finale will see the protagonist begrudgingly exit the stage. And many Americans (and countries around the world) will hope that normal service will quickly resume.

Therein lies one of the great unseen dangers of the Trump administration. We have all been deeply involved in the reality show: the palace intrigue, the outrageously false claims, the personal vendettas and the breaching of any sense of decorum. This has taken up so much bandwidth that deeper structural issues have not been

W

No more excuses ONE OF the most striking results of the recent election was not that Joe Biden won – that was predicted by the polls. Neither was it that Biden won Arizona and Georgia; whilst impressive, the winds of change have been blowing there for some time. The most jarring fact was that Trump won 74 million votes.

When Trump won the presidency, many Americans said this was not reflective of their country. Trump won, they said, because of a combination of misogyny against Hillary Clinton, FBI director James Comey’s poorly-timed Clinton email investigation reopening and Russian interference. Americans didn’t know what they were getting and could be forgiven

for choosing the self-proclaimed business genius to cut through the gridlock.

Anything but normal!

IN 2020 THE situation is clear. We’ve had four years of Trump consciously choosing wedge issues, making shockingly false claims, and handling the pandemic so disastrously that 250,000 Americans have died.

The ‘master dealmaker’ even got played by Xi Jinping and Kim Jong-un. Yet tens of millions of Americans still voted for four more years. Let nobody say that Americans (or 47 percent of them) don’t want this man.

Some Trump voters, no doubt fearful of the country’s march to majority minority status, enjoy the race-baiting. Others like his appointment of conservative judges and tax cuts. But many more, particularly on

low incomes, simply do not see a return to normal as positive.

Normal means decades in which wages hardly rose, job security vanished, economic activity in the local area fell off a cliff, and the number of crystal meth addictions skyrocketed.

More of the same ahead THE REALITY show took attention away from this, further entrenching divides. How do we build a fair modern economy?

How can old manufacturing towns operate in a post-industrial world? How can ordinary working people with traditional values feel part of modern America?

Millions of Americans are not celebrating a return to normal, and if that’s all Biden can offer, the next charismatic disruptor will be waiting in the wings.

Formerly the CEO of a consulting firm, Karey-Anne is a partner of The Welcome Group.

Over the past 20 years, she has worked extensively in strategic HR, overseeing change management projects, the training of employees and managers, and the recruitment of international specialists and executives.

Developing diversity SO, HOW do you create a diverse workforce in order to reap financial success?

First, a business that wishes to work with diversity and inclusion should create strategies for how this will be achieved. It is not good enough to spray-paint buzz words in the conference room or to adopt inclusive wording in your mission statement. Unfortu-

nately, I’ve encountered both of these numerous times and words are simply not enough.

Diversity in the 21st century includes issues like fair pay, bias and favouritism. Understanding how to grow and manage a diverse workforce – one that will strengthen your organisation in every aspect and transform it for the better – is key!

Once a diverse and inclusive workplace is established, the company will benefit from different ideas and perspectives, challenging and sparring with the creation of innovative solutions to problems. Employees learn from one another, so their skills are continually developing.

With employee satisfaction increasing, so too will customer satisfaction. In other words: A more diverse workforce will have a better understanding of the needs of different customers.

Inclusion always ongoing DIVERSITY and inclusion recognises that diversity alone is not enough; equal attention must be given to creating and cultivating an inclusive environment. This may include a greater focus on hiring people from different backgrounds and should include an element of catering to the company’s current team. It’s good to remember that company inclusion does not end during the onboarding process – quite the opposite!

The onboarding process is where it often begins; however, in order to maintain an inclusive workforce a company must continually work with the current team to assess and support, as well as encouraging open communication, so a company can learn more about the employees and their needs.

Understand their needs WHEN THE company better understands the needs of its employees, it is able to incorporate measures to support them, such as conducting meetings with a PowerPoint presentation (for those who are visual learners, for example).

By knowing your team’s needs, you are able to support them more adequately, as employee satisfaction often goes handin-hand with knowledge and a better understanding of the needs and wants within the workplace.

Better communication is also key to realising, acknowledging and encouraging individual growth. By establishing communication links, you can dive into topics such as learning and development to aid the employee’s growth.

So, does your company have the potential to grow?

NEXT ISSUE

IN 2 ISSUES

IN 3 ISSUES

IN 4 ISSUES

IN 5 ISSUES

The Valley of Life

Just Say It As It Is

Economics Explained

Union Views

UK-DK Trade

Global Denmark

Startup Community

Get Your Biering’s

KAREY-ANNE DUEVANG WELCOME ONBOARD!

Fit For Business

Give Yourself a Chance

ORKING as an HR business partner, I have teamed up with numerous companies over the years to help them to create people-focused strategies in order to drive growth.

With studies suggesting that diversity within an organisation has direct links to financial performance and growth, it’s little wonder that companies are trying to adopt a more diverse and inclusive culture.

fully addressed.

11

12 OPINION

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

27 November - 10 December 2020

Corona again and again

T

HE VIRUS is still bothering us. The daily count is about 1,000 new cases, even though the hospitalisation and casualty numbers are far lower than in April.

Look, it’s Concorde!

THE WHOLE of Europe is more or less locked down in the hope of taming the thirdwave spikes.

In the meantime, life is going on in accordance with the new normal. We have adopted the extensive use of masks. We are working from home and avoiding public transport. We are pointing to the sky when we see a plane as they are a rare sight like 75 years ago.

This will be our reality for months to come. We are still waiting for the world’s best brains to produce a vaccine, but probably with no light at the end of the tunnel until

An Actor’s Life

springtime.

Pioneering Pyongyang IT IS IRONIC that the only country in the world without the virus is North Korea – a country totally locked down for political reasons for 60 years. We have growing concerns that we are moving in that direction, and a growing resistance against the restrictions is emerging in many countries.

In Denmark, the travel, hotel and entertainment businesses are reduced to next to nothing.

Thousands of cabins, rooms and venues lie empty. And while the population mostly remains patient and disciplined, the murmur to reconsider the policy is growing.

After all, the mortality rate is not above average for the season – not least because the normal flu season has been hit by the distancing and improved hygiene along with rigorous vaccination. In fact, if these habits are the new norm, we may find ways to loosen the grip and find the golden middle way.

AC/AD’s Highway to Hell THE SAD truth is that even if we eliminate this coronavirus, we will be merely waiting for it to happen again – in another shape and form. We live on with the knowledge that a virus can capsize modern society at will.

Whether we like it or not, our way of life must change – so much so that 2020 could become our new year dot with AC (After Coronavirus) replacing AD. (ES)

A resident here since 1990, Ian Burns is the artistic director at That Theatre Company and very possibly Copenhagen’s best known English language actor thanks to roles as diverse as Casanova, Shakespeare and Tony Hancock.

T

HASSE FERROLD

Early turkey for Xmas?

ON THE other hand, the fur business has been eliminated, along with 17 million mink, in the hope we can avoid mutations of the virus that are immune to the vaccines in the works.

Government minister Mogens Jensen ordered the cull without proper legal basis, instigating his own turkey hunt in the process, although he didn’t even make it to Christmas.

And while the festivities aren’t cancelled, it will be very different to the ones we’re used to. Santa will have difficulty obtaining clearance to cross borders, so even the nice kids have reason to be nervous.

IAN BURNS

RUMP WILL be remembered as the biggest whiner in history and its worst ever president.

Orange is the new inmate NO, I DIDN’T accidentally leave ‘US’ out … that’s including Ferdinand Marcos, Baby Doc Duvalier, PW Botha, and Idi Amin.

With any justice he’ll become a euphemism for deplorable human being. “You Trump!” citizens will shout and sneer.

I look forward to the day when his stupidity, orange-ness, tweets and family members are all a very distant memory – hopefully in prison.

Boris Johnson, ‘The Lazy Etonian’, will be sad to see him go as he licks his self-inflicted wounds in self-isolation. I wouldn’t miss him either if he decided never to appear in public again - would you?

He recently said he was“fit as a butcher’s dog”. More like “mad as a fucking hatter!”

Double Dominic dilemma HERE’S a whine of mine, although it’s at the front of a pretty long queue that includes stopping adverts for all gambling on the TV and radio, giving Dominic Cummings a good smack and arresting Steve Bannon for inciting violence.

I haven’t heard one positive reason for the chaos that Brexit will cause yet (answers on a postcard please to this newspaper).

I have an issue with the former British ambassador Dominic Schroeder – who recently left these shores without saying goodbye (hurtful) – and recently disgraced US ambassador Carla Sands (I am proud to say that I never invited her to any of my productions), who will soon be waving farewell too.

The double act making comedic diplomacy great again

Schroeder and Sands, who sound like a bad comedy double act, have both proved they are people ever-ready and willing to lie for their respective bosses. No doubt they will soon be spreading untruths somewhere else.

Spluttering shambles I WENT to Bornholm at the behest of Schroeder three summers ago to take part in a debate about Brexit. Little did I know that as a ‘remainer’, I was outnumbered three to one.

We were asked to bring something that we thought represented the country we lived in. Kim Bildsøe Lassen, a DR TV reporter chap who was based in London, brought the front page of The Times printed on the day after the Referendum, which had one word emblazoned on it: “FREEDOM”.

Dansk Folkeparti representative Søren Espersen brought a china cup and saucer saying: “No matter what happens, the English will always make themselves feel better by having a nice cup of tea.” Only a cup, I thought. This Brexit shambles matey will take an ocean of tea to drown our sorrows.

Schroeder, his diplomatic skills badly out of sync that day, brought a night-light (fyrfadslys)

and accused a mainly Danish audience of “wasting the world’s resources” by burning candles at 4pm on a sunny June afternoon.

“Why do you do this?” he spluttered, putting whatever size feet he’s got onto a slippery Scandinavian smørrebrød.

My microphone was on and I said: “It’s called hygge”. Laughter all round, but dear Dominic didn’t get the joke.

Playing with our lives I PRODUCED a pile of 28 Lego bricks and asked an audience member on the front row to be creative and build something that represented Europe. When she was finished, I asked her to choose one piece and to throw it away.

That piece represented the UK, I pointed out. A piece that had chosen to no longer play with the others. A piece that lay on the floor, alone, isolated and ignored. That’s the piece we have become. It is embarrassing. It is a crying shame and many people’s lives are going to be ruined.

Sadly, it will make our COVID-19 problems – thanks to its longevity, we have postponed our forthcoming production of Rub-a-Dub-Dub by Fergal O’Byrne until the spring of 2022 – look minor in comparison.

OPINION

27 November - 10 December 2020

JESSICA ALEXANDER

13

NEXT ISSUE

The Road Less Taken

Englishman in Nyhavn

Jessica is a bestselling US author, Danish parenting expert, columnist, speaker and cultural researcher. Her work has been featured in TIME, The Huffington Post, The Atlantic and The NY Times, among others. She graduated with a BS in psychology and speaks four languages. Follow Jessica on IG @jessicajoelle_ or jessicajoellealexander.com.

Green Spotlight

JACK GARDNER

SIBYLLE DE VALENCE PIXABAY

IN 2 ISSUES

Mackindergarten ADRIAN MACKINDER

Living Faith REVD SMITHA PRASADAM IN 3 ISSUES

A Dane Abroad I'm all for communal gardening, but who dug the heart-shaped hole?

W

It’s ‘we time’, not ‘me time’, and for some individualistic cultures this can be a fantastic lesson for the future.

Unity in harmony FÆLLESSKAB is a huge part of Danish society. It’s essentially the feeling of unity that comes from being in harmony or a team.

There are two kinds of fællesskab. One is the fun kind that flows easily. This could be the feeling that comes from playing a fun game or collaborating well with people we get along with.

We are effortlessly part of the group and it’s fun and cosy.

The other kind of fællesskab is the feeling of community we get from making an effort to be part of the group even if we don’t always want to be. It is called ‘forpligtelses fællesskab’(communal duty). It’s not something we usually think of to teach, but in Denmark it’s a big part of schooling and family education.

Cherish the chores “YOU HAVE to give something to receive something from the fællesskab,” explains Kasper Nyholm, the principal of Absalon Skole, which focuses a lot on ‘forpligtelses fællesskab’.

“Maybe you aren’t getting all what you want in your own way, so you have to make some changes to compromise. Humans are social animals. It takes work to rely on each other, and sometimes that means doing things a little against your own wishes.”

One of the ways to encourage fællesskab at home is by doing chores together as a family. Some 99 percent of parents in Denmark think that children must participate in the household. This could be cooking together, cleaning together or even baking together.

Fællesskab is about being more inclusive rather than giving orders or doing everything on your own. It’s a way of seeing everyday activities as an oppor-

HEN THE pandemic first hit, I feared for how my family would cope in lockdown. I wondered if constantly being together might break us apart. Ironically, it was the Danish concept of ‘fællesskab’ (community) that held us together.

tunity rather than an obstacle to spending time together. The good news is that the earlier you start the more it becomes a habit, and this may be setting your child up for success in the long run as well.

For the future A HARVARD Grant study – one of the longest running longitudinal studies in history – found that one of the key factors that contributes to professional success in life comes from doing chores as a child. Children who regularly do chores are able to better deal with frustration, delay gratification, have higher self-esteem and be more responsible than those who don’t do chores.

So the next time you are about to give an ultimatum to your child to clean up their room or else - – or you are going to do the shopping and cooking by yourself – see if you can’t find a way to work together to create that feeling of ‘fællesskab’ instead.

You may find that seeing your family as a team, and treating them as such, will be a big win for everyone in the future.

KIRSTEN LOUISE PEDERSEN

Straight, No Chaser STEPHEN GADD IN 4 ISSUES

Straight Up ZACH KHADUDU

Early Rejser ADAM WELLS IN 5 ISSUES

Mishra’s Mishmash MRUTYUANJAI MISHRA

Crazier than Christmas VIVIENNE MCKEE

14 GUEST OPINION THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

27 November - 10 December 2020

Expat in shock at dumpsters full of perfect food in ‘world’s greenest city’

My first urban harvest ON A DRIZZLY, autumnal evening, I packed my gloves

and headlamp, donned my rain clothes, and jumped on my bicycle to go and investigate my local supermarkets – around the back. Discreetly, I parked my bike against a mountain of green Arla milk delivery crates, opened the lid of the first dumpster before me, and peered down.

An absolute treasure trove met my eyes: South African blueberries, Dominican Republic bananas, Chilean lemons, Danish pigs raised on Brazilian soya beans! I was in business. Average Danish temperatures over the winter months would also make for optimal food preservation – like a giant outside fridge.

Whenever I had time, I would cycle by my three local supermarket dumpsters, carry home what I could manage, take a photo, and share it with the world on Instagram. By posting my urban harvests on social media, my hope was to bring all these food waste statistics to life!

A year on, it is safe to say that I am shell-shocked by just how much perfect food these busi-

MATT HOMEWOOD

A

THIRD? A half? What on earth!?” I muttered when I discovered last year that society wastes between 33 and 50 percent of all food produced on this planet. That’s between 1.2 and 2 trillion kilos of wasted food every single year.

No wonder we have created all these social and environmental problems for ourselves.

As I started diving ever deeper into the issue of food waste, it became apparent that food waste organisations and politicians had tacitly agreed that it was mostly the consumer’s fault. We are the ones to blame for this disaster!

Ever the skeptic, I wondered: “What about the places that sell us all this food? What role do supermarkets play in this issue?

Are they generating waste? What do they waste the most? How much? How often?” And just like that, ‘An Urban Harvester’ was born.

nesses dump out daily. Given I harvest by bicycle, it’s worth emphasising that my photographs are only the tip of the iceberg, particularly as I focus on just three of the country’s 2,800 stores. Every year, Danish supermarkets throw out 160,000,000 kg of food. Most of it is out of sight and so out of mind – and, crucially, public awareness.

Greedy pricing MY DEDUCTION is that supermarket bosses are overcharging consumers by maintaining too high a price on soon-to-be-expired products relative to demand. How much of the meat banquet I harvested on one memorable day would customers have bought if products had cost 30 percent of the original price rather than just reduced by 30 percent at the death? Why send still-edible food to the incinerator when, at the right price, it could be eaten?

No number of NGOs, WeFood stores, food banks, Too

A feast every time

Good To Go apps, and royal events can solve the scandal of commercial food waste. The only way to end the madness is by economics. It is high time that

supermarket food waste went from being merely immoral to illegal, so that food is sourced, ordered, and priced in a sustainable and fair way.

Matt Homewood Born in Paris and raised in London, Matt moved to Copenhagen to study a climate change master’s at the University of Copenhagen, where he specialised in the global food system. His urban harvesting exploits can be followed on Instagram @anurbanharvester.

Why expats should join and become active members of Danish trade unions

Exploitation at work I, AS WELL as many young people I have met here, have faced exploitation at work through harassment from bosses, unfair dismissals and low wages.

Given that job opportunities

are hard to come by when you’re not fluent in Danish, many of us feel unable to speak up about these problems as it can feel lucky to even have a job. Our workplace issues are individualised when, in reality, they are likely to also be felt by our co-workers.

Empowering experience LIKE MANY other expats, I’ve never worked a job in Denmark covered by a unionised contract. I also didn’t join a trade union when I moved to Denmark or try to organise at my workplace – I had no idea how to even begin doing this.

However, over the past year I have become involved in the trade union movement and have organised with other Wolt couriers for improved conditions with the help of the union 3F. This has been an empowering experience, and whilst we have not yet got the unionised contract we desire, we have seen

LAURA MOLLOY

D

ENMARK is famous for its strong trade unions.

Around 70 percent of working age Danes are members of a trade union and roughly 80 percent of workers in Denmark have a unionised contract.

This high level of trade union density is a key factor in why inequality is so low in Denmark and why Danish workers have the best work life balance in the world.

I was aware of this before moving, so I expected better working conditions than I got back home in the UK. I was surprised to learn that, despite the hype, working here could be just as bad, if not worse, than jobs I’d previously had.

some positive changes in our workplace that we believe are down to our collective resistance.

Stronger together ALL TOO often trade unions are viewed as a kind of insurance policy that can protect you if things turn sour in your workplace.

I firmly believe that the strength of a trade union is measured by the strength of its members – a union may be able to help you with your individual case at work, but you and your co-workers will be in a far stronger position if you talk amongst yourselves and form collective bonds.

It’s easy enough for bosses to pick off individuals who they perceive to be troublemakers, but it’s far more difficult for them to break a bond developed between a significant segment of the workforce. A trade union can give you the structure, resources and negotiating expertise in support of your collective resist-

Ever thought you recognised your Wolt rider?

ance to the exploitative conditions you may face at work.

Pop by for free advice IF YOU have little or no previous experience in trade union organising and are interested in

free advice, then drop by MigrantCenter Hovedstaden.

We can offer you advice on how to approach these conversations with your colleagues and to begin to develop a strategy to win the changes which you and your coworkers need.

Jack Campbell Jack Campbell is a union organiser with the Wolt Workers Group and a researcher on precarity in the Danish labour market. He also volunteers at MigrantCentre Hovedstaden, advising workers on how to organise in their workplace.

REVIEWS

27 November - 10 December 2020

15

Far from leaving with the Cheyenne, we waited with Sitting Bull wanting more «««««« THEATRE BEN HAMILTON

T

HE ACTION is confined to a room, but the stage at Teatret ved Sorte Hest, where Why Not Theatre Company’s production of the brand new English-language play ‘The Cheyenne are Leaving’ is running until December 5, is so much bigger than that.

Soon we have the sense of a tenement block with poor security, a mostly deserted housing estate, the southern district of a city, and a river running through it.

If that sounds poetic, it’s because it is. Playwright Tanja Mastilo weaves tapestries for her characters to inhabit that extend far beyond the confines of the four walls of the stage. The art of building such worlds reminds us that as much as others might try to confine us, they can never restrict our imaginations.

Too sexy for this room OF COURSE, we’re not really here to appraise Mastilo’s play (or ruin it by giving away the plot

like most Danish theatre reviews), but Nina Larissa Bassett’s staging of it – and together with scenographer Peter Rasmussen she has given the play the very best environment in which to thrive.

As we enter the theatre, stage smoke is seeping off the stage, an entry system monitor is flickering by the only door on view and some gymnasium students are chatting loudly in the back row. One of them announces: “I know I am sexy.”

The sound of distant bombs, and then closer machine guns, conveys the war-torn nature of the setting, and the sparseness of the room – an armchair sits in a sea of carpet, as isolated as the protagonist, it will transpire – suggests it’s been a while since the decorators have been in.

The auditorium lights suddenly flick off, and then on again, the students are quiet now, and we’re half expecting the ceiling to cave in. A distant citar tells you all is not well.

Grabs you like a gent AN ENGAGING opening then

pulls us in … and it never lets go.

It’s like the protagonist, Noah (Why Not Theatre and Mastilo stalwart Nathan Meister), an acclaimed author who lives alone, has grabbed us by the scruff of the neck, or perhaps lapels would be a better description such is the dignified nature of his address.

Monologues can go wrong, but this one is punctuated by all manner of distraction, from imaginary family members to irritating doorbell ringers who Noah gets to shout at from his window. And all the time, the tension is building: this, we are told, is very much Noah’s habitat. The thought of an interloper … it becomes unthinkable.

When 'he' first appears, we see him through the frosted window of the door, his outline foreboding. It’s reminiscent of a horror film in which you can’t quite see the menace until it’s got you in its vice: blurry in a fog, black and white outlines, mummified.

Without doubt, it's the highlight of Rasmussen’s contribution.

When the door is finally, reluctantly opened and Leon (Joe

Young) walks in, the routine becomes exceptional. After all, it’s in their nature: doors open. But few like this. The tension of the moment is testament to a director with her finger firmly on the pulse of her text.

Meister, Mastilo, masterclass FOR MEISTER and Mastilo, this is four out of four – he’s been in every one of her plays, and his confidence in her writing really shines through. You never feel he is rushing or sign-posting.

It’s true he doesn’t look like he’s living on tea and cup-a-soups, but otherwise he’s been convincingly aged for his role as the middle-aged author without looking ridiculous (like Harry Potter at the end of the last film, for example).

But in the intimate setting of Teatret ved Sorte Hest, it is Young who gives the stronger performance. His eyes never stop conveying his inner turmoil, and it’s his emotion that you end up subscribing to the most.

Play's emotional heart A SPECIAL mention should also

go to Kerry Norton-Griffith (following on from her superb turn as the title character in Mastilo’s 2019 triumph, ‘Mairead’, no less), the voice of Dolores, whose letters are read out at various ventures.

Her superb reading evokes the true meaning of home – the central theme of this play – and truly provides its emotional heart. Credit must go to the director for the way Dolores’s voice was used as Noah’s conscience – to the extent that its first use was seriously disarming.

The involvement of an established British actress like Norton-Griffith is further proof of the ability of artistic director Sue Hansen-Styles to attract and nurture such talented individuals. Her faith in her resident playwright is really paying dividends: long may their success continue!

THE CHEYENNE ARE LEAVING ongoing, ends Dec 5, MonFri 20:00, Sat 17:00; Teatret ved Sorte Hest, Vesterbrogade 150; 205kr

Like ‘Love Actually’, but set here: the ideal stocking filler for those in love with the city «««««¶

BOOK

DAVE SMITH

S

OME DANISH authors have a special way of writing about the city of Copenhagen that makes you fall in love with it, even if you already live here. Suddenly, you spot a romantic side to the city you never noticed before.

‘Lover’s Moon’ (‘Månen over Østerbro’) by Danish author Claus Holm is that kind of book.

Across the spectrum ON A FRIDAY night in Østerbro – as a full moon shines down on the city and incites love stories wherever its light touches – 12 different people experience love in all sorts of different ways.

Holm takes us across the love spectrum: whether it’s two teenage kids hooking up, two gay men finding it hard to recon-

cile that one of them is already married to a woman, two seniors experiencing the end of a long and glorious life together, a man’s love for his pet dog or a child’s love for her parents.

the book feels like various pieces of a puzzle that fit together to create a larger picture. The 12 stories are all different, and yet, because of the patchwork effect, they are similar enough that they feel like one.

Bit like ‘Love Actually’ THE STORIES themselves rest on the characters, and some of them are genuinely touching – especially the old couple Susan and Elmer, who are dealing with Susan dying of cancer and Elmer performing one final, huge act of love for his wife of many years – but overall it’s the way they hang together that is the book’s biggest appeal.

The stories are all connected by the places and meetings, so most stories lead into the next by having a character from another story appear somewhere – a bit like David Szalay’s ‘Turbulence’ or the film ‘Love Actually’.

The subtitle ‘A Patchwork of Love’ seems very fitting, because

Pleasing moments WHEN A character from an earlier story pops up again, you have a real sense of pleased recognition. There are also conversations that are witnessed twice, but from two different perspectives, and even though you would think that would feel repetitive, they really don’t.

There is also enough edge to some of the stories that it never feels too saccharine – some of the love presented in the book isn’t as nice or easy as it might appear.

Sometimes, you love a person when you really, really shouldn’t …

The city we all love HOLM’S prose is very tight, and

even though you can tell that the book was written in Danish, you can still tell he’s captured a good feel for how Danes speak.

He also very clearly knows Copenhagen, more specifically Østerbro, like the back of his hand, because he describes the parks, streets and buildings with such clarity that even if you’ve never set foot on those streets, you feel like you know them after you finish the book.

Leaves you wanting more MY ONE regret is that it’s a quite short read at only 180 pages long. Quite simply, you want to get to know the characters more.

Altogether, this book is a very enjoyable read and would make an excellent stocking filler, both because of its relative small size and the lovely pieces of romance to warm you on a cold winter’s eve.

Not to be confused with the celebrity chef of the same name, Claus Holm is best known for his supernatural thriller trilogy Tempus Investigations.

Holm considers himself an ‘honorary American’ as he feels more connected to the USA than his native Denmark. ‘Lover’s Moon’ is currently available via Amazon in both paperback and eBook form. Find out more at clausholm.net.

16 SCHOOLS

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

27 November - 10 December 2020

The serious business of playtime: how pause for reflection is key Denmark has quite a unique approach to early education – but one that brings its own benefits LUKE ROBERTS

P

ARENTS arriving in Denmark are often in for a bit of a surprise when their children start school. Curricula of the kind many are used to – quietly sat before a teacher, reciting times tables – are implemented when children reach the age of six. Before that time, play is all that’s on the timetable.

The Danish early-years education system is similar to that of its other Nordic neighbours, but globally it is still far from the norm. Its fluid, play-based system can often leave expat parents with concerns regarding their child’s future, but educators are keen to allay these fears.

A child’s world IN BRITAIN, parents are used to kids typically entering education at four, before beginning on a more rigid path at five. In countries like France, the US, India and China, a similar path is followed. For parents coming from this background, the Danish system can bring about a sense of unease, with fears that their child is being left behind compared to his or her international peers.

Despite this, across Scandinavia, and particularly in Denmark, pedagogues are increasingly pushing for an early-years education of a playbased variety. The calculators are put down until six, and kids are provided an environment in which they can explore the world on their own terms.

An education in play FROM AGES three to six, the only requirement in Denmark is that children learn the alphabet.

The rest of the time is, at least superficially, set aside for play.

But what kids really do in this time is develop a range of or-

ganic social and academic skills – skills ignored within other teaching systems.

Children, being naturally inquisitive, will pick up many of the same skills and understandings covered in parallel age groups the world over. Here however, they do so in an environment where there is time for their questions to be answered. It is a culture that maintains curiosity, channels it, and produces children with the social skills that allow them, crucially, to continue to be curious.

Between two worlds COPENHAGEN International School is an institution well used to treading the line between the international and Danish worlds, and it has proved well-equipped at implementing the best of both. It is a system self-described as ‘Danish-lite’: more structured than a typical Danish børnehave, but with a focus on play that makes it typically Scandinavian.

The pre-kindergarten program takes kids from ages three through five, and the kindergarten program from ages five to six. Unlike most Danish nurseries, the early-years program involves a clear curriculum, with learning objectives set for each given year, even if there are no clear lessons to identify precisely when this takes place.

Means to an end JUDETH Christensen is one of the teachers responsible for delivering the pre-kindergarten program, and is clear that there is never truly such a thing as ‘free play’.

“Everything we put out for [the kids] we believe they will learn from through their play, inquiry and interaction,” she explained.

It is a sentiment echoed by Rachel Curle, the school’s primary years program co-ordinator.

She emphasises repeatedly that we are “a school not a daycare” and describes a framework of learning ‘co-constructed’ with the children themselves: interest-driven and

motivated by the child’s boundless curiosity. Play is not an end itself; “play is the tool”.

Engaged, empowered, excited THESE early years provide a defining foundation for kids’ education. Rachel Beck, a kindergarten teacher, asserts that “kids in our system have more confidence, more self-esteem, and are happier”, providing examples of children joining Copenhagen International School from other systems lacking in confidence and taking time to adjust.

It is a philosophy put succinctly by Curle: “Children have a voice, and children have a choice … We give them agency.”

Success is achieved in a large part through an early-years education that puts as much emphasis on emotional learning as it does on more traditional teaching. In fact, Beck went as far as to say the pandemic had brought with it some benefits: with parents no longer able to have any presence in the classroom, there has been a significant increase in scope to promote independence and assertiveness.

Why pay to play?

OF COURSE, this hybrid system comes at a price. Copenhagen International School is not cheap, but it does boast some impressive facilities. The school includes a specialised early years gym, a greenhouse area where kids can interact with nature in the heart of Nordhavn, and a whole host of specialist subject teachers not found at your typical nursery.

Perhaps more importantly for Denmark’s international parents, it offers the reassurance of structure in a system unsettlingly playful. The Danish model promises an exciting, modern method – far from being left behind, these kids have an approach to learning that drives them forwards – and Copenhagen International School stands as one of the schools at the forefront of this approach.

Left to right: Judeth Christensen, Rachel Curle and Rachel Beck

27 November - 10 December 2020

SCHOOLS

17

Six degrees of separation, Halloween-Diwali: Out of darkness into the light How does one school celebrate seven festivals in one week? Easy, with North Zealand International School onboard

From Day of the Dead to Thanksgiving: for the children, it was a chance to marvel at the many festivals that have formed their childhoods and learn how diverse they can be just because a border separates them. That calls for a message of gratitude on the Thanksgiving Tree!

“Yes, I know Narnia was celebrating Halloween every day until Aslan turned up with Christmas, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be part of the fun,” was this North Zealand International School first-grader’s response to her teacher’s question about her entry to win the ‘Best Pumpkin’ award. And Halloween was just the beginning. In the space of a week, the school managed to raise a glass to six more festivals from around the world: Thanksgiving, Day of the Dead, Bonfire Night, Mortens Aften, Mid Autumn Festival and Diwali. The extravaganza of culture was once again a reminder of the incredible diversity of its pupils and teachers.

The Mexicans have this with this seven-layer altar … agree if you want to live

And the week concluded with a Diwali rangoli: proof there is always light at the end of the tunnel we call winter

18 EVENTS

THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK

27 November - 10 December 2020

A Danish Christmas

CPH:PIX Talents

Language Café

Soulitate

CineWine

Dec 5, 13:00-13:40 & Dec 12, 15:00-15:40; free adm Don’t miss these live streamed events from Heather Gartside at WWWalks Copenhagen, who will be taking you on tours of Frilands Museum and then Copenhagen by boat, taking in centuries of history on the way. So put your virtual wellies on and jump aboard!

Dec 6-13; Grand Teatret, Mikkel Bryggers Gade 8, Cph K; various events; cphpix.dk One of Copenhagen’s biggest film festivals is introducing a special program this year to showcase new talents within the Danish film industry. (NJB)

Dec 1, 18:30-21:00; Huset, Rådhusstræde 13, Cph K; free adm This month’s Astronomy on Tap is taking on the final frontier. Copenhagen Suborbitals will brag about its six rocket launches since 2011 and Catarina Fernandes will talk about her PhD regarding low-mass stars and what climate change on Earth means from an astronomical perspective. (NJB)

Dec 4, 19:30; Huset, Rådhusstræde 13, Cph K; free adm This film by Shubhdeep Singh Parwana will for the first time tell the story of Soulitate chaibar – a place in Aarhus that is so much more than just a coffee shop. It is a place providing a platform and a meeting spot for cultural exchange and building a community. Seats are limited, so make sure you arrive in good time. (NJB)

Nov 30, 18:30-21:30; Råhuset, Onkel Dannys Plads 7, Cph V; free adm Come and enjoy a good movie with a glass of wine. The event is meant to create a community of regular movie-watchers and wine-drinkers in a cosy, welcoming environment. The club encourages people of all backgrounds to enjoy the discussions that follow. (NJB)

Paint, wine and pizza

Dec 5, 15:30; Studenterhuset, Købmagergade 52, Cph K; free adm Have you always wanted to practise the Spanish you learned five years ago, but there was just no opportunity to do so? Come and join the language café, where you will have the opportunity to show off your language skills with many native speakers of all languages. Check the language list before arriving. (NJB)

Jazz evening

Dec 6, 19:00; Støberiet, Blågårds Plads 5, Cph N; free adm ‘Tomorrow’ is a documentary regarding current climate struggles and how we as a society can encourage change and promote a sustainable future. It focuses less on doomsday prognoses and more on empowering us to make positive changes in our lives and communities. Free entrance is ‘first-come-first-served’. (NJB)

Dec 5, 18:00-22:00; Bræt, Frederikssundsvej 92A, Cph NV; 335kr Bræt introduces creative nights with drinking, eating and painting. Under the trained eye of Maja Kristine Johansson, a Götegorgs Academy of Fine Arts alumni, you will learn the basic techniques of acrylic painting. All drinks, food and supplies provided. (NJB)

Christmas at Reffen ongoing, ends Dec 20; Reffen, Refshalevej 167, Cph K; various events Come and enjoy this year’s most wonderful time down at Reffen.

From warm gløgg to the Christmas Drag Night event, there’s something for everyone, although the weekend market is a disappointment.

Check Reffen’s Christmas calendar for more information. (NJB)

Dining in the Dark Dec 3, 17:45-19:15; TBA; 375kr This eating experience will awaken all your senses – except one. This blindfolded dinner is a unique opportunity to explore new flavours in extraordinary circumstances to elevate your culinary experience to its maximum potential. Three dietary options are available: vegetarian, seafood and meat. (NJB)

Terrestrial Tidings

Movie marathon Nov 29, 14:30-21:00; Studenterhuset, Købmagergade 52, Cph K; free adm Spend a cold November night cosied up with your friends in the Main Hall. The screened movies will be voted for by those present. Drink a hot drink, relax in front of the silver screen and don’t forget your cosy sweaters! (NJB)

Gløgg and æbleskiver Nov 27, 15:00-21:00; Kulturtårnet på Knippelsbro, Knippelsbro 2, Cph K; 20kr Come by Kulturtårnet to feel the magic of Christmas. With holidays just around the corner, Kulturtårnet is ready to get you in the right spirit with aromatic gløgg and sweet æbleskiver. Enjoy holiday treats with a beautiful view of Copenhagen’s canals. (NJB)

Disco on Ice Nov 27, 16:00-20:00; Broens Gadekøkken, Strandgade 95, Cph K; free adm Winter is upon us, which can only mean one thing: ice skating! Bung on your own skates or rent some at the spot for 50kr and skate your night away to some funky disco beats. The first two hours are reserved for the younger crowd, and from 18:00 it is time for the grownups to show off their twirls. (NJB)

Christmas in Tivoli ongoing, ends Jan 1, 11:00-22:00; Tivoli; various events Come and see the Christmas lights as Tivoli throws on its decorations and brings in the festive cheer. Find Santa in his Christmas grotto, see the parades, or even sample some traditional æbleskiver to get you in the Christmas spirit. (HJ)

Vegan breakfast meal Dec 6, 11:00-14:00; One Bowl, Borups Allé 205, Cph NV; pay as you feel One bowl is a community restaurant where you pay as you feel to increase inclusivity. Enjoy a ‘Full English’ breakfast that is 100 percent vegan. Eat in or take it to go. (NJB)

Nov 27, 17:00-21:00; Madklubben Østerbro, Østerbrogade 79, Cph Ø; free adm Enjoy dinner with live jazz music.

For one night only the restaurant will become a cool jazz lounge filled with velvety tunes and cool drinks. The event is free for all seated guests that decide to join Madklubben for dinner, so make sure you book a table beforehand to secure a spot. (NJB)

The Cheyenne are Leaving Nov 13-Dec 5, Mon-Fri 20:00, Sat 17:00; Teatret ved Sorte Hest, Vesterbrogade 150; 205kr Tanja Mastilo’s brand new play is set in a fictional world destroyed by war. The protagonist, an isolated writer, welcomes an interloper into his home. The story explores the idea of ‘home’ and how far we will go to hang on to what was once familiar. (NJB)

Globe Quiz Dec 3 & 17, 18:00; Globe, Nørregade 43-45, Cph K; 40kr per person The winning team gets 1,000 kroner. Get there at 17:00 as there’s currently a maximum capacity.

Tomorrow

Krxds: The Explorer Festival Dec 10, 17:00-19:00; Rytmisk Musikkonservatorium, Leo Mathisens Vej 1, Cph K; TBA The festival is a unique collection of musical constellations created by musicians, producers, songwriters and composers from the Rhythmic Music Conservatory. It invites the audience to partake in a musical treasure hunt by presenting them contemporary compositions created for the fleeting moment. The event will be available both virtually and as a physical event. Ticket info is to be announced. (NJB)

Kennedy’s Quiz Dec 7, confirm start time with pub; Gammel Kongvej 23, Cph V A great night with 800 kroner for the winning team.

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

On December 6 we present ’The Two of Us’ - with nostalgia of the Danish summer and every feeling attached to a young couples first love.

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

ENGLISH JOB DENMARK Recruitment Announcements Part of The Welcome Group AWS DEVOPS ENGINEER / TECH LEAD, CLIO

Do you want to help change the way children are educated all over the world?

Can you be playful and serious at the same time? And are you ready to be part of a rapidly evolving company where you can really make a difference?

Location: Copenhagen Deadline: When filled Contact: Odin Tribler, Hiring Manager, oditri@clio.me

HEAD OF PARTNERSHIPS, LUNAR

Do you want to help Lunar identify qualified potential partners and establish long-term relationships with their key decision-makers which result in win-win partnerships?

Location: Copenhagen Deadline: When filled Contact: Signe Julie Valeur, CMO, sjv@lunar.app

DESIGNER OF SENIORITY AND LIFE CHANGING GAMEPLAY, BETADWARF

If you’re looking for a highly challenging environment to take on a multitude of design related challenges, you’re the one for us!

Location: Copenhagen Deadline: When filled Contact: career@betadwarf.com

To advertise your vacancy here and reach 60,000+ readers weekly, contact: info@englishjobdenmark.dk or call 6070 2298.

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

ENGLISH JOB DENMARK

HR OPERATIONS MANAGER (MATERNITY COVER), SAXO BANK

PROCESS VALIDATION SCIENTIST, AGC BIOLOGICS

GROWTH MARKETING MANAGER BLONDE MEDIA

CI/CD ENGINEER, STORYTEL

We offer a hands-on role with plenty of interactions with the business, but also with specialized tasks within recruitment, HR administration, HR systems and employee relations.

Location: Copenhagen Deadline: 7 December 2020 Contact: Malene Friis, +45 25 10 05 86

Resonsible for our overall growth, you will raise our marketing to a level where we can create a continuous flow of new projects.

Deadline: When filled Contact: Info@blondemedia.dk

ENTERPRISE ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE, TEMPLAFY

We are currently looking for high-energy, driven Enterprise Account Executives with knowledge of technology and solid business-to-business sales experience.

Location: Copenhagen Deadline: When filled Contact: info@templafy.com

EXTERNAL LECTURER ON TRANSFORMING ECONOMIES AND SOCIETIES, COPENHAGEN BUSINESS SCHOOL

The position includes teaching in Transforming Economies and Societies, with particular reference to social and cultural theories, and (critical) management and organization studies.

Location: Copenhagen Deadline: 4 December 2020 Contact: Lena Olaison, lo.mpp@cbs.dk

You are responsible for designing validation risk assessments, validation plans and protocols, supporting execution of validation studies, compiling data and completing validation reports for late stage / commercial manufacturing validation.

Location: Copenhagen Deadline: When filled Contact: Kristian Becker, Head of Process Transfer, kbe@agcbio.com

You will work with experienced testers and developers across a wide field of technologies.

Location: Copenhagen Deadline: When filled Contact: jobs.storytel.com/jobs

SERVICE DELIVERY MANAGER, I&O DELIVERY, LEO PHARMA If you are motivated by having high level impact, visibility and responsibility, you can now take an active part in the transformation process.

Location: Ballerup Deadline: 6 December 2020 Contact: Morten Kjærsgaard, +45 31 22 98 23

NEWLY LAUNCHED - ENGLISH JOB DENMARK CLUB Gain free access to articles, webinars, Live Q&A with a recruiter & much more for the price of a few coffees a month! Register today and you will have access to over 500DKK worth of webinars each month! Let us help you take a huge leap forward in your job search Contact us for more information: info@the-welcomegroup.com

Working together with internationals and companies to better understand the needs of one another.

The Welcome Group has created this page and provides additional services, including an online community supporting employment for internationals on Facebook.

LEARNING DANISH IS

NO COW ON THE ICE [ “No cow on the ice” is a strange Danish way of describing things being easy ] Learn Danish – or simply improve your Danish – quick and easy at Studieskolen in the centre of Copenhagen. We guarantee the highest quality Danish lessons in an international study environment.

Find out more about our new courses every six weeks for beginners, intermediate or advanced learners at studieskolen.dk.