Hurrah for the Blackshirts!
It Can’t Happen Here On the morning of April 9th 1940 mum’s cousin, Bjørg, got out of bed to celebrate her eleventh birthday. That wasn’t the only event to make the … Continue reading
Eivør Pálsdóttir: Tròdlabùndin. God Morgen!
Angelica emailed me this hauntingly beautiful song by Eivør Pálsdóttir today; to wish me good morning. I had to share it. Filmed during an open-air concert at Stigen in the … Continue reading
The Guardian weaves tangled web pages
My grandfather originated from Hammerfest in Norway. Once renowned for being the northernmost town in the world, the fact he was born there doesn’t cut much ice with anyone beyond … Continue reading
Recollections of my Father
AT SOME POINT in the 1950s, to the excitement of my three sisters and I, Dad ordered Woman’s Weekly magazine to be delivered to our house each Wednesday. We soon learned it … Continue reading
Catherine Ashton, Empress of Eurovisionia
Hush! is that Baroness Catherine Ashton, I hear? Could it really be the sound of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs of Europe and Security Policy for … Continue reading
Pedersen’s Last Dream – The morning after
IT WAS HALF AN HOUR into Sunday afternoon by the time my gooey eyelids managed to wrench themselves apart. The resulting sensation was a bit like having fine sandpaper coated … Continue reading
The Scream – A walk through Edvard Munch’s Oslo
NO PAINTING seems to sum up the alienation and isolation of 21st century existence as does The Scream by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch. After Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, it is the second … Continue reading
Hunger, the 19th century novel that spawned 20th century literature
THE OLD boarding house at Number 11 Tomtegaten no longer stands. Neither does the street. Most of the immediate area was demolished decades ago, leaving no trace of scenes Norwegian … Continue reading
Pedersen’s Last Dream – A novel in the making by Bryan Hemming
ONE Sometimes, when I look at my reflection, I realise the only people who don’t know what we really look like are ourselves. We see an image the reverse of … Continue reading
Bryan Hemming 