House Colours, Midnight Light, Trondheim

(new pictures linked at the bottom of the post)

I spent the weekend in Trondheim - finally got a chance to actually play rugby here, rather than just refereeing. I know that I am a much better referee than I am player (though that's more a comment on my playing than my refereeing), however I still definitely get a big charge out of actually pulling on the same jersey as fourteen other guys and playing. There are all the physical positives that come out of the adrenalin from playing a contact sport, but there are also some great things that only come from team sports. As a result, I felt sore, but fantastic, after the game on Saturday. Too bad we lost. (What was the score, Ashley? Never you mind.)

After the game in Oslo, we went to an English pub (actually run by an Englishman who, in fine British form, was the primary bartender, as well) for the traditional dinner afterward with the guests. The bar has some interesting items painted on the wall. One is a "Norwegian Guy's night out", which you can find in the photos below. However, the other major one was the text of a Norwegian radio sports commentator's call of Norway's 1981 2-1 victory over England in soccer (football). At the time, it was unthinkable, and the commentator goes a bit over the top in his partisan ship. Here's the complete text, which you should read in the original "Norwegian" (he mixes in a fair bit of English anyway) first. Translation below it.

Vi er best i verden! Vi er best i verden! Vi har slått England 2-1 i fotball! Det er aldeles utrolig! Vi har slått England! England, kjempers fødeland – Lord Nelson, Lord Beaverbrook, Sir Winston Churchill, Sir Anthony Eden, Clement Atlee, Henry Cooper, Lady Diana, vi har slått dem alle sammen, vi har slått dem alle sammen. Maggie Thatcher, can you hear me? Maggie Thatcher, jeg har et budskap til deg midt under valgkampen, jeg har et budskap til deg: Vi har slått England ut av verdens mesterskapet i fotball. Maggie Thatcher, som de sier på ditt språk i bokse barene rundt Madison Square Garden i New York: –Your boys took a hell of a beating! Your boys took a hell of a beating!

We are the best in the world! We are the best in the world! We have beaten England 2-1 in football! This is absolutely incredible! We have beaten England! England, homeland of warriors - Lord Nelson, Lord Beaverbrook, Sir Winston Churchill, Sir Anthony Eden, Clement Atlee, Henry Cooper, Lady Diana, we have beaten them all together, we have beaten them all together. Maggie Thatcher, can you hear me? Maggie Thatcher, I have a message to you in the middle of your election, I have a message to you: We have beaten England out of the World Cup. Maggie Thatcher, as they say in your language, in the boxing bars around Madison Square Garden in New York - Your boys took a hell of a beating! Your boys took a hell of a beating!

It's a fun, and funny commentary, but it has certainly entered into the Norwegian consciousness - When I began reading it, one of the Norwegians at the pubs started rolling it off, out loud, in the accent of the commentator, which caught the attention of some others, and several people joined in. Obviously, the victory in question was massive, but the commentator's call has been immortalized. Here's a link to a RealPlayer file of it that I found on the internet:

http://www.btinternet.com/~alexc/audio/canyouhearme.ra

In other news, there are only about 4 different colours that are approved for houses in rural Norway. Not really, of course, but it certainly seems like there is a certain shade of red, one of a dark yellow, white, and the occasionally blue one that must be the only colours Norwegian paint stores stock. Kes was the first one to point this fact out, but I was reminded of this again when I looked through the pictures from this latest trip.

There are some items to note from the photos. First - how light it was at midnight in Trondheim. Second - how narrow the E39 highway is! Finally, check out the Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim. It's where the kings are crowned and buried, and is the most impressive gothic building in Norway. In Norway, the impressive churches are usually the truly ancient, but small, rural churches. As such, Nidaros is a bit unique, and very impressive. Then, I drove home via Kristiansund, just to explore another bit of Norway.

Here are the photos.

I'm back in Canada for the next week for a high school reunion (10 years!), so I probably won't post for something more than a week.

Cheers,

Ashley