So - time to see the Tourist Police. Sounds like some crack squad of madly devoted 'locals' that will stop at nothing to make sure that the 'local community' doesn't end up looking like Bournemouth beach on a Saturday.
Actually, it's just a place to register if you are a foreigner seeking residency status in Norway. I arrived at 8:50 and got seen at 11:10 - for a full 30 seconds and it was done.
Tuesday, 6 May 2008
Monday, 5 May 2008
South America
OK - South America... What can I say? Not much really...
You know, I met an old friend the other day, Alfie - it'd been a while since I last saw him, it was in a foreign country too... We tried hard to remember how long it had been - or avoid saying how long it had been - as it was 10 years - no, 11 years...
Now, I remember - when I was 9 or 10 years old - sitting in the back of the car listening to my parents talk of people that they hadn't seen for 10 years and burbling onto themselves, rather pleasantly, "Whatever happenned to old 'John'" - that probably wasn't his name - artistic license we can call it...
"'John', yes, what happenned to him" - and right there and then they would suddenly become far more reminiscent of my grandmother than my parents; no longer driving a car but looking absent mindedly into the shade of the back garden, trying to fathom where their thoughts had got to as they grasped out into nothingness hoping that somehow the 'idea' of what had happenned to good old John might come flooding back to them - despite having never known it in the first place. Out of breath - yes, I should have punctuated that sentence.
So - back to the night with my friend - there we were talking of ten years ago and carrying on like it was last week - which it might have well been for all I can remember of the time betwixt the two. ...and it suddenly occured to me that we had turned into our grandmothers - or, at least, mine. Alfie and Tom down the pub after black-out waving fingers and talking of the old times when we 'knew' people.
It was certainly not an experience I would like to repeat (not the seeing my friend bit, just the grandmothers' business) - so, the moral of this post is simply:- see your friends frequently and in short amounts - preferably over several pints so you don't really recall if you turn into your grandmother.
You know, I met an old friend the other day, Alfie - it'd been a while since I last saw him, it was in a foreign country too... We tried hard to remember how long it had been - or avoid saying how long it had been - as it was 10 years - no, 11 years...
Now, I remember - when I was 9 or 10 years old - sitting in the back of the car listening to my parents talk of people that they hadn't seen for 10 years and burbling onto themselves, rather pleasantly, "Whatever happenned to old 'John'" - that probably wasn't his name - artistic license we can call it...
"'John', yes, what happenned to him" - and right there and then they would suddenly become far more reminiscent of my grandmother than my parents; no longer driving a car but looking absent mindedly into the shade of the back garden, trying to fathom where their thoughts had got to as they grasped out into nothingness hoping that somehow the 'idea' of what had happenned to good old John might come flooding back to them - despite having never known it in the first place. Out of breath - yes, I should have punctuated that sentence.
So - back to the night with my friend - there we were talking of ten years ago and carrying on like it was last week - which it might have well been for all I can remember of the time betwixt the two. ...and it suddenly occured to me that we had turned into our grandmothers - or, at least, mine. Alfie and Tom down the pub after black-out waving fingers and talking of the old times when we 'knew' people.
It was certainly not an experience I would like to repeat (not the seeing my friend bit, just the grandmothers' business) - so, the moral of this post is simply:- see your friends frequently and in short amounts - preferably over several pints so you don't really recall if you turn into your grandmother.
Nearly a year later...
Clearly this blogging, for me anyhow, is a regular thing. It's only been 10 months since my last 'blog' and I'm pleased to report a fair amount of activity - albeit no activity on the blogg... So, I've been on a tour of Europe.
Not sure why - didn't really want to go - but after getting a short contract job and it coming to an even earlier end (with profuse apologies from those involved) I decided to cart myself round Europe in less than perfect conditions. The 'big' thing to do here would be to tell you how amazing it all was - all the different cultures and the like, which *is* true...
However, equally, it was *nearly* the weirdest experience I've ever had (the winner there goes to either Thailand or South America - still undecided) with some strangers treating me like an old friend and others with contempt that turned, on occasions for them, to tears... Weird - with a capital 'W'.
Aside from all that, the architecture was 'nice' or 'glorious' or some other adjective that someone who isn't really that interested in architecture would use. Similarly I took a lot of photos - perhaps I can torture my, as yet unborn, children with a slide show when they're at the cusp of 'teenagerism'. Manacle them to dining chairs and force them to watch my 'tour' saying, 'You'll learn something, I promise you' in that ever so slightly, but untintenionally, patronising voice.
Anyway - I have a job now... More on that later.
Not sure why - didn't really want to go - but after getting a short contract job and it coming to an even earlier end (with profuse apologies from those involved) I decided to cart myself round Europe in less than perfect conditions. The 'big' thing to do here would be to tell you how amazing it all was - all the different cultures and the like, which *is* true...
However, equally, it was *nearly* the weirdest experience I've ever had (the winner there goes to either Thailand or South America - still undecided) with some strangers treating me like an old friend and others with contempt that turned, on occasions for them, to tears... Weird - with a capital 'W'.
Aside from all that, the architecture was 'nice' or 'glorious' or some other adjective that someone who isn't really that interested in architecture would use. Similarly I took a lot of photos - perhaps I can torture my, as yet unborn, children with a slide show when they're at the cusp of 'teenagerism'. Manacle them to dining chairs and force them to watch my 'tour' saying, 'You'll learn something, I promise you' in that ever so slightly, but untintenionally, patronising voice.
Anyway - I have a job now... More on that later.
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