Good morning in September

The view as I went down to take the bus. Now, if only it was warmer, or I’d remembered my gloves…

Purple house

The purple house in the picture have received media attention in the local paper.

It’s just about the only house in that area of town with an untraditional colour. Most of the other houses are white or grey.

It seems everyone has an opinion on it – the neighbours have complained to the municipality, as they don’t think the colour suits the area.

And the articles online are overflowing with comments on how people should be able to choose the colour of their own house.

I walked past it yesterday. It is definitely a very visible house. But there are many houses in the area that are neglected… and it might be better for the municipality to focus on those first.

Summer weather

Sorry, Norway, but 60 degrees fahrenheit does not feel like summer weather.

I know a lot of people elsewhere are struggling with the heat, but here it is cold, grey and wet most of the time.

On the positive side, it usually doesn’t get that much colder for winter, here.

Quotation Monday #7

Since it is the Norwegian constitution day today.

Norway, thine is our devotion,
Land of hearth and home,
Rising storm-scarr’d from the ocean,
Where the breakers foam.
Oft to thee our thoughts are wending,
Land that gave us birth,
And to saga nights still sending
Dreams upon our earth,
And to saga nights still sending
Dreams upon us on our earth

- The first verse of the Norwegian National Anthem, translated to English

Signs of Spring in Norway

Every year there are certain signs that spring is coming to Norway: the snow is melting, the crocuses are popping up – and there is a possibility of widespread trade union strikes hanging over our heads.

In Norway, the trade unions hold the potential to paralyze the country for weeks on end. The unions have gathered in clusters, to be able to put forward more powerful demands. The biggest cluster contains roughly 25% of the population of working age.

And it seems like all these confederations or clusters of trade unions have chosen to negotiate in the spring.

This week there was a potential for a transport union strike. It would have put a stop to all transportation by bus. School buses included. Negotiations past the deadline ensured that it did not happen. (Instead we got ash from Iceland, putting all planes and helicoptres on the ground)

There is still a possibility of a construction strike, I think. I’ve chosen to be ignorant of the possibilities – until I am forced to accept them as realities.

Last year, on my first day of work… there was a possibility of a strike at my new place of work. Not the thing you want when you’re new and uncertain of where to go or what to do.

As a kid, I used to love the season, and the possibility that school would be closed on account of strikes. And once it was.

The biggest obstacles come when airline pilots or crew steike, when the healthcare sector does, but also when the garbage collectors do – or the truckers who transport food to the grocery stores. There was a major strike of the truckers some years back – and we almost returned to the rationing system of WWII due to the scarcity of foods in the stores.

But most of the time, springtime in Norway moves on without much trouble at all. Except for this year with the ash coming in from Iceland.

Norwegian election night…

Election in Norway tomorrow. Unlike the presidential elections in the US, when I stayed up all night to watch the results on the BBC, I will be sleeping in my bed. The reasons for that are many, but the most obvious one at the moment is that I’m no longer a student, who has the next day off… There is actually work on Tuesday.

The other reasons are that I am currently not owning a television set. I gave my old one away when I moved from Denmark, and I haven’t got to the point where I have bought a new one.

I suppose it will be streamed on the net, if I do decide to watch, so not owning a television set is no hindrance in that regard.

But the race looks to be so close anyway, that it probably won’t be decided night to Tuesday anyway.

I will be voting tomorrow. And it won’t be for the same party that I have voted for until now. Which makes the end result a bit more interesting. But I still won’t be watching the tallying of the votes. Unless Norwegian politics somehow becomes more interesting in the next 24 hours…

King Harald at Northumbria University

I was fortunate enough to be able to see King Harald in person when he visited Northumbria University last year. Here are some pictures and a video I took of the event. 

Pictures and video here.