Ketso is the name of this mind-mapping tool, with the leaves and the felt, invented by a colleague of mine (Joanne Tippett) at the University of Manchester (see www.ketso.com). I am using it at the moment in a research project with my colleagues in Bergen, hence my flight there last night. Atle (left) and Cristoffer seem rather confused, which tends to happen with my research projects.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. The only real spiritual benefit one gets from air travel is seeing the world from 30,000 feet. It can be an amazingly beautiful place.
Having graced it back on my last visit to Bergen in June, Maria-Carme becomes the latest in a run of people to make their second appearance on this blog. This is her in her office prior to our project meeting today. I like her impressive chair and the way her hand seems to have become a separate, spider-like entity.
Having been convinced, over the three years I have been coming here regularly, that Norway actually doesn’t have any decent bars or pubs, I have over the last couple of visits ended up in three spectacularly good examples, one in Stavanger, one in Oslo and tonight, this one in Bergen — Kafé Spesial — each of which has literally hundreds of different beers. Am I complaining? Not at all. As you may have gathered from following this blog, I quite like beer. The choice and quality of the stuff available in each almost makes the outrageous alcohol tax in this country tolerable. Well, almost.
I’m sure you’ll eventually work out what’s going on with this shot…
I got pictures of a few Oslo landmarks today but I have chosen this one because, firstly, I sort of stumbled across the place, having taken a wrong turn on my walk back into the city after finishing work at the university (comfortably early, but that’s Norway for you, where they do things early — 11.30 is a typical time for lunch).
Second, this is the scene of something I remember watching at the time, and even then, aged 11, I thought it was quite impressive. With 32 years’ hindsight, what Sebastian Coe did on 10/6/81 must be counted as one of the most astonishing athletic performances of all time, setting a world record for the 800 metres (1:41.73) that was not beaten for 16 years and has still only been bettered twice. Which is quite mind-boggling, when you think about how records tend to fall in that sport. And here’s where it happened.
[Having checked these facts on Wikipedia I feel duty bound to point out that the women’s 800m record was set by Jarmila Kratochvila in 1983, which is, perhaps, even more amazing.]
And here is my host and mountain guide, Eystein — or at least, his back — pictured on the way back down from a summit that nearly bears his name, Øysteinnatte (Øystein’s Knott, a knott being a rocky tor), part of the larger massif of Lifjell. An enjoyable weekend’s walking to say the least, but it’s back to work (in Oslo) tomorrow.
Saturday saw us walking up to the peak of Gøysen, part of the Skorve massif. This shot was taken at approximately 1250 metres above sea level, making it one of the highest on this blog so far. I love the crystal clarity of the water in this tarn (one of many terms for mountain features which have been adopted into English, or at least into northern English dialect, but which come from Norwegian originally: like force (foss: a waterfall) and fell (fjell: a mountain)). The colours on the mountain were also very profuse. More photos from this walk have been uploaded onto my walking blog, by the way.
So here I am back in Norway for a week, where, if in doubt, there’s always the landscape shot. This is the lake of Seljordsvatn, by which I was lucky enough to be spending the weekend, in the cabin of my friend Eystein and his family (you’ll be seeing him on Sunday’s pic). The lake is famed for its legendary water serpent, apparently. This is also one of the better shots I have ever taken from a moving car.
As you’ve probably noticed I experience a lot of hotels. The Rica Forum on the outskirts of Stavanger is nothing special really: except in one respect. This is the view from its breakfast room.
Although I should add that I’d really like to meet the man (and it will have been a man) who thought that building that concrete monstrosity to left of centre was a good idea. Do you think we should go for a trial by jury, or move straight to the execution? Anyone who could willingly offend the eye so readily and permanently really must have been a severed child.
Being 42 