- Red Nose Power

Donated Art

Ved en kunstudstilling, sidste år, faldt jeg over nogle malerier der kaldte på mig. Farverige og fyldt med glæde og ikke mindst en masse humor. Jeg var så heldig at få en sludder med kunstneren selv, Linda Stampe Eskildsen. En snak der, næsten et år senere skabte noget stort. Linda kontaktede mig og ville gerne donere et maleri. WOW, tænkte jeg… og pulsen dansede hip hop inden i mig. Billedet skulle udstilles og auktioneres ved årets Artfair udstilling i Falconercentret. I vinterferien blev billedet så færdigt og kom på staffeli ved udstillingen. Jeg var selvfølgelig med, både lørdag og søndag. Det var en vidunderlig oplevelse. Jeg mødte såååå mange dejlige kunstnere og gæster ved udstillingen. Men, mit hjerte bankede dog vildest for den kunstnerstand hvor Linda stod med sine humoristiske, farverige og glade malerier. Ikke mindst billedet af “Piphans”. Søndag blev billedet så endelig solgt. Jeg var nu så heldig at møde den nye ejere af maleriet. Og jeg er dybt taknemlig for beløbet der kom ind. Det er nemlig startskudet til en kommende rejse. Jeg har mange idéer om hvor jeg vil hen. Men, har ikke bestemt mig helt endnu. Der arbejdes på højtryk for at komme frem til hvor og hvornår. Følger i med her på siden vil i kunne læse om det snart. Afslutningsvis vil jeg sende den største knuser til Linda for hendes generositet, sin omtanke og positive bidrag med sin kunst. Gå gerne ind på hendes hjemmeside og se jer omkring. (www.lse.mono.net) Også, endnu et kæmpe tak til ejeren af “Piphans”.

***

At an art exhibition, last year, I came across some very nice paintings that calledto me. They where colorful and full of joy and especially spiced with a lot of humor. I was lucky enough to have a chat with artist, Linda Stampe Eskildsen. A chat that, nearly a year later came to something great. Linda contacted me and told me that wanted to donate a painting to help Danomino spread Love and joy. WOW, I thought … and the pulse started to danced “hip hop”, inside of me. The
picture was exhibited and auctioned at this years Artfair exhibition at Falconer Center, in Copenhagen. I was there, clowning, all weekend. It was a wonderful experience. I met soooo many wonderful artists and guests at the exhibition. But, my heart pounded, however wildest of the artist booth where Linda stood, with his humoristic, colorful and joyful paintings. Not least the painting of “Piphans”.
Sunday evening, the picture finally was sold to the highest bidder. I was so lucky to meet the new owner of the painting. And I am deeply grateful for the amount that entered. It is the start budget for an upcoming trip. I have many ideas about where
I want to go. But, have not decided yet. It is not easy, many things has to be planned, and for sure, I need to do some more founding’s to afford a trip. Followers at this site will be able to read about it soon. Finally, I send the largest hug
to Linda for her generosity, her thoughtfulness and positive contribution to art. Please make a visit to her website and look around. (www.lse.mono.net) Also, another huge thank you, to the owner of “Piphans”.

Romania 2011

Endelig har jeg fået tid til at skrive lidt om turen til Rumænien. Det var endnu en af de ture, hvor jeg efterfølgende har haft en masse små brikker der skulle på plads, for at smelte alle indtryk. Det var en meget intensiv klovnetur, da vi klovnede 4 dage uden stop… altså fra morgenstund til aften. Og så havde vi 3 nye klovne med på turen (Iben, Runa og Line) De gjorde det rigtig godt. Det hele foregik i og omkring Bukarest. En flot, og spændende by, jeg håber at besøge snart igen. Vi besøgte 4 store hospitaler og 6 børnehjem. Igen, som med de andre østlande jeg har besøgt, var standarden ikke særlig høj, på hverken hospitaler eller børnehjem. Dog var personalerne, for det meste meget positive overfor vores besøg. Der er nemlig ikke klovne på hospitalerne. Så vi blev modtaget med udstrakte arme og blev spurgt om at besøge til højre og venstre. Det var en fornøjelse men også en meget følelesesmesig rejse ind i en masse familiers liv. Mange steder boede moderen med det syge barn i et lille værelse, da de kom langvejs fra. Nogle havde ikke set sin familie i flere måneder og at bo på et    hospital, langt hjemmefra, med et sygt barn er ikke rart. Vi havde 8 kasser, bamser med, doneret bl.a. ved et stort golf arrangement for SOS International, de fik sig en dejlig ny ven. Fantastisk at se hvor meget det betyder for disse børn, (specielt på børnehjemmene) at få sig én ven at fortælle hemmeligheder for.

Som jeg skrev tidligere, er der altid en masse følelsesmæssige øjeblikke, der vil opholde sig i tankerne for altid, tror jeg. En af disse historier handler om en pige, jeg besøgte. Hun lå i en seng, pakket ind i bandager over hele kroppen, bortset fra hendes hænder og hendes hoved. I rummet var hendes meget bekymrede bedstemor. Pigen var 9 år gammel med smukt brunt hår og brune øjne, der var fyldt med angst, sorg og smerte. Jeg sad ved siden af ​​hende og holdt hendes hånd. Jeg havde ikke brug for at vide hvad der var sket hende. Jeg så bare ind i hendes øjne, sang en sang, og sendte hende al den kærlighed jeg kunne. Et smil var ikke målet her, men, omsorg og nærvær, det var langt vigtigere. Bedstemoderen fik et varmt knus og begyndte at græde. Hun fortalte tolken historien, og han oversatte. Sommetider er der ikke behov for at høre
baggrunden for hvorfor barnet ligger på hospitalet. Men jeg tror, ​​at bedstemoren ville have os til at vide, hvordan pigen var endt her. Det var svært at høre om, hvordan pigen var blevet brændt i en eksplosion, fra et gaskomfur. Og at moderen lå på et andet hospital. Nu havde blikket i hendes øjne allerede fortalt mig hendes historie. Men, med bedstemorens ord blev det hele meget mere tydeligt. I øjeblikke som dette spekulerer man på, om den Røde Næse har en betydning. Jeg tror, ​​ faktisk at den havde det her. Og ud fra bedstemorens ord om den største taknemmelighed for besøget, må jeg sige at det betød meget.

Jeg tænker, ​​ofte på alle de børn, forældre, frivillige hjælpere, læger og sygeplejersker, jeg mødte. Også på en engel, der hedder Raluca. Hun er én af ​​de type menneske, der dedikerer sig selv, at bringe håb i andre folks liv. Vi kalder det nok for en ildsjæl. Hun arbejder på et hospital, på den onkologisk afdeling, og er en inspiration for mange af de syge børn og deres forældre. Selv for en klovn som mig. Jeg fik det håb at vores besøg har inspireret til at flere ser hvad hun laver og at hendes arbejde kan blive mere annerkendt.

Jeg er sikker på at jeg vil vende tilbage til Rumænien en dag at besøge alle de dejlige mennesker.

************************************************

The trip to Romania was a very exciting and intensive clown trip. This was the 4^th “SOS Smile” clowntrip witha very tight schedule. We visited 4 major hospitals and 6 orphanages in 4 days. Normally we plan a day of, to catch up and gain some extra energy (physical and mentally). But there was no chance to do that this time. None of us had visited this country before. Everything was new.
Even 3 of the clowns. (Iben, Runa and Line) Except from a clowning course, this was actually their first encounter with clowning in real life.    And they did very well.

It all took place in and around the capital city, Bucharest. A beautiful and exciting city, i hope to visit again soon.
Again, as with the other countries in eastern Europe, I have visited, the standard was not very high on either hospitals or orphanages.

However, the staff at the hospitals and orphanages where very positive about our visist. As I know of, there are no clowns in the hospitals in Romania. There is a team of clowns in Bucharest, but they do not make visits on a regular basis. Well, we were welcomed in a fantastic way, and
were asked to visit wards, that we had not planned. They could see, feel and hear us coming and joined in the joy and happiness that entered the hospitals. It was a pleasure but also a very emotional journey into a lot of families’ lives.
In many hospitals, the mother lived with the sick child in a small room. They came from villages far away. Some had not seen his family for several months and to stay in a hospital far from home, with a sick child is not nice.

With us, we had 8 boxes, cuddly teddy bears, donated at a major golf event for SOS International.
It was great to see how much it meant to these kids, (especially at the orphanages) when they got a cuddly friend to hug, and tell stories and secrets to.

As I wrote earlier, there is always a lot of emotional moments that will stay in mind, I believe forever. One of those stories is about a girl I visited. She was lying in a bed, all wrapped up in bandages except from her hands and her head. In the room was a worried grandmother. The girl was 9 years old beautiful brown hair and brown eyes that were filled with anxiety, sorrow and pain. I sat beside her and held her hand. I didn´t have to know her story, I looked in her eyes, sang a song and sent her Love. A smile was not the goal here but, caring and presence gave much
more. The grandmother got a warm hug and started crying. She told the interpreter the story and he translated. Sometimes there is no need to hear the background. But i believe that the grandmother wanted us to know how the girl ended here.
It was hard to hear about how the girl had been burned in an accident, an explosion, from a gas stove. And that the mother was at another hospital. Now, the look in her eyes had already told me her story. But now it all became very close. In moments like this you wonder if the Red Nose has an effect. I believe it had, and words from the grandmother expressed so much gratitude for the visit.

I think many times of all the children, parents,
doctors and nurses, I met. Also, on an Angel, called Raluca. She is one of those people that dedicate herself, to bring hope in other peoples life. She worked at hospital on the oncological part and was an inspiration to many of the sick children and their parent. I am sure I will come back to Romania one day, to visit all the wonderful people.

Ukraine 2011

Sidst i maj var det så tid til at komme afsted til Ukraine igen. Vi var samme hold som sidst. Bobo, Perle, Carl Kai, Gütse og så mig. Det var ekstra spændende denne gang, da vi, udover L´viv, skulle besøge en ny by der ligger lidt mere nord på, Lutsk. De har aldrig haft besøg af omsorgs/hospitalsklovne. Så det var spændende at se, hvad de ville sige. En præstekone havde hørt om os og derigennem var vores kontakt. Perle alias Berit, var taget aftste et par dage før os, for at undervise en lille gruppe unge piger som skal være starten på en fast klovnegruppe i Lutsk. Det første besøg på et hospital, dér var en success. De “helt” nye klovne klarede det super og der var en god stemning fra hospitalets side. Vi havde en præst med os. Juri, hed han og han var ikke helt uden humor. For Øffe, min gris, var tæt på at blive slagtet af ham. De er nemlig glade for pølser i Lutsk. Ok. Efter nogle dage i Lutsk, hvor vi også besøgte et par børnehjem var det tid at tage til L´viv. Her var der gensyn med klovneforeningen Dr. Clown. Og vi besøgte byens store regionalhospital, hvor jeg sidste år mødte “Nikita” den 11 årige dreng jeg skrev om sidste år. Det var ikke noget godt gensyn. Han var meget syg og var vitterligt skrumpet ind. Desværre fik jeg ikke talt med ham, men fik en god snak med hans mor, og så fik jeg lov til at komme ind og nusse ham lidt, mens han sov. Ikke rart. Der var mange af de tunge og rørende øjeblikke, denne gang. Jeg besøgte en dreng på 11 måneder, der havde fejl på sine lunger, han havde maskiner til at trække vejret for sig. Hos ham, var klovneriet noget helt specielt. Meget sanseligt. Han var meget glad for en lille mus jeg har som er meget blød og som kan ryste. Jeg fik sunget sange for ham og så var han meget betaget af sæbebobler. Specielt når de ploppede på hans hud. En anden, der påvirkede mig kraftigt var en lille prinsesse på 9 måneder…med kræft i maven. Jeg fik lov at komme ind alene et øjeblik hos pigen. Her fik jeg sunget hele mit repertoire igennem, af danske sange (og hjemmelavede tekster) Det kunne hun godt lide. Da jeg gik der fra fik jeg et kæmpeknus af moderen. “Hvor er det bare urætfærdigt…” tænkte jeg, da jeg forlod hospitalet. For at sammefatte hele turen, var det igen en vidunderlig oplevelse, men også meget rørende. Jeg er sikker på at jeg en dag kommer tilbage til Ukraine igen.

<3 <3 <3

At the end of may it was time to get back to Ukraine after 6 month. We where the same team as last time. Bobo, Pearl, Carl Kai, Gütse and me. It was a little more exciting this time as we, in addition to L’viv, should visit a new town situated a little more north, the towns name is Lutsk. They have never been visited by care / hospital clowns. So it was exciting to see what they would say. A pastor’s wife had heard about us and it was threw her we ended to go there. Pearl aka Berit, had left Denmarj a few days earlier, to teach a small group of girls, that should be the start of a clown group in Lutsk. The first visit to a hospital, was a success. The new clowns did a great job and there was a good atmosphere, from the hospital staff. We had a priest with us. Juri was his name, and he was not entirely without humor. Because “Øffe”, my pig, was about to be slaughtered by him. Everytime he saw it ha tried to catch him. They are indeed happy for sausages in Lutsk. Ok. After a few days in Lutsk, where we also visited a few orphanages, it was time to go to L’viv. Here we had a reunion with Dr. Clown Clown Association. And we visited the city’s major regional hospital, where I last year, met “Nikita” the 11-year-old boy I wrote about last year. It was a sad sight. He was very ill. Unfortunately I could not speak with him, but I got a good talk with his mother, and so I was allowed to come in and cuddle him a little while he slept. Maybee for the last time. There were a lot of heavy and touching moments, this time. I visited a boy of 11 months that suffered from lungfalure, he had machines to breathe for him. Clowning for kids this small, clowning is something special. There is more fokus on the senses and being close. He was very fond of a little mouse I have, which is very soft and can shake. I sung some danish songs for him and he was fascinated by soap bubbles. Especially when they popped of his skin. Another kid, who influenced me, was a little princess, only 9 months old … with cancer in the stomach. : ( I was allowed to enter only a few moments. Also here i was singing, i think i used my entire repertoire of Danish songs (not a big rep. ) She seemed to enjoy it very much. When I was leaving the room, I got a huge hug from the mother who had tears in her eyes. “It’s not fair …” was the only thought I had, when I left the hospital. Well, overall, the whole trip was once again a wonderful experience, but also very touching. I’m sure one day I will return to Ukraine again. To spread more LOVE and CARING.

Ukraine 2010

En tidlig morgen midt november mødtes jeg med 3 klovnevenner (Carl, Bobo, Gütze) i Kastrup lufthavn. Vi skulle på vores 2. rejse som “SOS smile clowns” En rejse i samarbejde med SOS International. Turen skulle gå til Ukraine. Den første var turen til Skt. Petersborg, tilbage i januar.  Perle alias Berit var taget i forvejen for at lave en workshop for en klovnegruppe som vi fandt ud af, var godt igang med at spræde smil og nærvær på hospitaler i byen L´viv. De kalder sig  доктор Kлоун og har eksisteret siden 2008. Det er en organisation fyldt med frivillige unge studerende, der besøger div. hospitaler i L´viv. Deres engagement og entusiasme er tydelig at mærke. Og at vi kom med ny inspiration til dem var tydeligt et stort hit. Vi blev så godt modtaget og følte os meget hurtigt i sikre hænder. Ikke mindst fordi vi nok havde en tolk/guide/engel med os i Maryana. Hun var med 120% hele vejen og gjorde det til en leg at være klovn i Ukraine. Noget vi ikke vidste, var at der i Radio, Avis og TV havde været stor opmærksomhed at vi skulle komme. Derfor var følelsen, nogle steder som om at vi var superstjerner. Ikke mindst når vi gik igennem L´vivs gader. Vi var inviteret til rådhuset og til pressekonferencer. Vi blev interviewet og der blev taget billeder og så var vi inviteret til at medvirke i direkte tv show. Alt var selvfølgelig for at promovere de ukrainske klovne, så de kan blive ved med at få støtte til at arbejde videre.  Vi besøgte forskellige afdelinger på flere hospitaler og på forskellige børnehjem. Og som i Skt. Petersborg var vi også på et opsamlingssted for gadebørn. Et sted hvor de bliver taget godt hånd om indtil de sendes ud til forskellige børnehjem for at, forhåbentlig blive adopteret. En skidt start på livet.  Som på en hver klovnetur jeg har været på er der mange følelser i omløb. Og jeg møder ofte nogen der sætter sig mere fast i nethinden end andre. Denne gang var det nok den 11 årige kræftramte dreng, Nikita. Han talte overraskende godt engelsk og kunne spille på mundharmonika. Vi spillede nogle melodier sammen (jeg på min kazoo) og talte om alt muligt mellem himmel og jord.  Han havde en lille dværghamster som vi legede med. Det var hans bedste ven, også selv om den lavede lort i hans seng. Når jeg skulle gå var han meget træt og hvad jeg kunne forstå, var hans tilstand…meget skidt. Jeg tænker også at der måske var en grund til han havde fået et værelse med hospitalets, måske bedste, udsigt. Den sidste dag inviterede vi de ukrainske klovne på middag. Det var en dejlig måde at afslutte turen. Jeg er nu stolt over at ha en ny klovnefamilie i Ukraine. Og jeg deler helt sikkert den samme følelse som mine klovne venner, at vi skal tilbage dertil igen.

An early morning mid November, I met up with my three clown friends Carl, Bobo and Gütze at Kastrup airport. We were going on our second travel as “SOS smiling clowns” A Journey in collaboration with SOS International. We where gong to Ukraine. The first trip was the trip to St. Petersburg, back in January. Pearl aka Berit had left in advance to make a small workshop for a group of Ukrainian clowns that has existed since 2008. They call themselves доктор Kлоун. (Doctor Clown) It is an organization with young volunteers. Most of them are students. They visit div. hospitals in L’viv. Their commitment and enthusiasm is wonderful. Our visit seemed to be a great inspiration to them and off course the same for us. We were so well received and felt very soon that we where in safe hands. This was not least thanks to our interpreter / guide and Angel, Maryana. She was with us 120% all the way and made it so cool to be a Danish clown in Ukraine. Something we did not know was that in radio, newspapers and TV had been a lot of attention about us coming. We were superstars. That was the feeling when walking through L’vivs streets. We were invited to City Hall for a press conference. We were interviewed and a lot of pictures taken and then we were invited to participate in a live TV show. This was a great way for us to help promote the Ukrainian doctor clowns, so they can continue to get support to work on. We visited various departments at several hospitals and at different orphanages. As in St. Petersburg we visited a home for street children. A place where children are taken good care of, until they are sent to different orphanages. Hopefully, to be adopted by a good family. A sad start in life. As on any clown trip many emotions are in flow. And I often come across someone who catches my heart a little more than others. This time it was probably the 11 year old  boy, Nikita. He spoke surprisingly well English and could play on the harmonica. We played some tunes together (me, off course on my kazoo). We talked about everything between heaven and earth. And he introduced me to his little dwarf hamster, who we were playing with. It was his best friend, though it made “kaka” in his bed. When I had to go he was very tired and what I could understand, his cancer condition was … very bad. I am also thinking that perhaps there was a reason he had got a room with the hospitals, perhaps best view. The last day we invited the Ukrainian clowns for dinner . It was a nice way to finish the trip. I am now proud to have a new clown family, in Ukraine. And I am sure that I share the same feeling as my clown friends: that we will be back there again.

Möbius

Jeg besøger mange spændende steder og møder mange forskellige børn, voksne, unge og gamle på mine eventyr. Forleden dag var jeg i Kalundborg, med min gode ven Tonny (festteater.dk)  Her havde vi lavet en aftale med Möbiusforeningen om at lave sjov for børnene, ved deres årlige landsmøde. Der er sikkert mange af jer der sidder og ikke ved hvad Möbius syndrom er. Möbius syndrom er først og fremmest en meget sjælden diagnose. Den er kendetegnet ved lammelser i nogle af ansigtets nerver, hvilket specielt påvirker områderne omkring øjne og mund. Disse lammelser giver bl.a., et udtryksløst ansigt, nedsat mund-motorik samt problemer med øjets bevægelser. (kilde. http://www.moebiussyndrom.dk/) Tonny havde lagt sin røde næse i lommen og planlagt, en hel dags teatersports forløb, for børnene. Jeg synes det var supersjovt at se hvor gode børnene var til at lege og improvisere. Dagen afsluttede vi med en forestilling hvor børnene viste nogle af de ting de havde lavet. Og de var bare så seje! Da vi ca.8 timer senere var på vej hjem sad jeg med en indre glæde. Jeg var glad for at ha været en del af en dejlig dag sammen med disse børn. De har alle givet mig en skøn oplevelse. Jeg fik afvide at mange børn, med Möbius syndrom, er kede af deres udseende. At de ofte, udadtil, bliver forvekslet med at være udviklingshemmet. Det er de slet ikke! De er som alle andre børn og unge. Fulde af nysgerrighed og et varmt hjerte. Tak skal i ha. I er for seje!

I visit many exciting places and meet many different children, adults, young and old on my adventures. The other day I was in Kalundborg, (a city on North Zeeland) with my good friend Tonny (festteater.dk). We where there to visit some children, with Möbius syndrome. They where there, for the weekend, with their families, at the annual congress for theAssociation of Möbius syndrome in Denmark There are probably many of you who do not know what Möbius syndrome is. Möbius syndrome is primarily a very rare diagnosis. It is characterized by paralysis of some facial nerves, which particularly affects areas around the eyes and mouth. These paralyses give an expressionless face, impaired foot motor skills and problems with eye movements. (Source. http://www.moebiussyndrom.dk/) Tonny had put his red nose in his pocket and planned a full day of drama sports for the children. I really enjoyed, to see, how good children were to play and improvise. We ended the day with a show for the parents. Where the children showed some of the things they had made during the day. And they were just so cool! 8 hours later, we where on our way home. I felt an inner joy. I was glad to have been part of a wonderful day with these children. They have all given me a wonderful experience. I was told that many children with Möbius syndrome, is sad by their appearance. That they often externally, becomes confused with being handicapped. That is not the case! They are like all other children and adolescents. Full of curiosity amazing and with a warm heart. Thanks a lot. You are cool!