March 2024 marked 2 years since I arrived in Norway. I still look back with a certain amount of amazement to the fact that I turned up at a tiny airport in the mountains with 2 suitcases to start a new career but here we are….
March was a very busy month - obviously it was Easter so there were a number of services up and down the islands including the first service back in Dønnes after the new heating and lighting systems were installed. On top of the normal services we also had the follow up to the Nativity play “thing” for the youngsters - “Påskevandering” (I think). This time rather than focus on the Christmas story it seems to follow the whole of Christ’s life (assuming I understood it properly). Felt very strange playing Away in a Manger just before Easter though! Fortunately there wasn't an active role for me this time so I could just sit behind the piano and tinkle the ivories.
And speaking of tinkling the ivories I had a call from local Kulturskole asking if I’d help out teaching piano for a short time while the regular teacher was off on sick leave. It would be to quite young kids who were between about 7 and 11. It would be following course books which was reassuring - one is always worried that the pupil is better than oneself however they were all quite new to the piano. I also figured that it’d be a good chance for me to work on my Norwegian, in particular my listening. Disaster was narrowly avoided when I double checked where it was - I had thought it was Sandnessjøen so was ready to get the appropriate ferry when it was pointed out that it was in fact in Herøy. I started out with 8 pupils with mixed abilities and mixed personalities. There was a lovely young lad who yacked away really happily and on the other extreme was a young girl who was terribly shy and really didn’t want to sit at the piano and play. Quite proud of myself of the way I chatted to her (I’m Graeme, what’s your name? Have you got any brothers/sisters, I’ll teach you piano if you’ll help with my Norwegian) - and by the last session we had together she was comfortable enough to come in no problem and sit down and play for me. The practice in listening is a great help - the first day I thought that one of the kids had said something was “purple” and I spent ages looking around the room, what clothes I was wearing etc and it took a while before we came to an understanding that she had said something was “little” (a keyboard under a table).
I’m still persevering with Innebandy but still a little bit “damaged” by the first match I played. Dønna had a series of matches against other teams over a weekend but I told the coach I’d rather not play until I think I’m a wee bit better. Still good fun though and who knows, one of these days may make my debut….
After the failed attempt to go to Bålkaffe with Jen, Sabine, Solveig and I tried again when the weather was better. Much more successful this time but it has to be said that my jacket reeked of smoke for days afterwards!
There were a couple of concerts over March - I played for a slightly informal concert given by Helgeland Projectkor. This choir is the successor to the Helgeland Kammerkor and have a couple of concerts coming up in April in Sandnessjøen and Nesna, This was a wee test drive of some of the music and we performed a short lunchtime concert in the library in Sandnessjøen. A wide variety of music was included - Purcell and Gjeilo to Pink Floyd. A good time was had and very appreciative audience as well.
A couple of weeks later Sabine and I gave a short Easter concert in Nordvik which seemed to go down well with an appreciative audience. It was a much lighter programme than our programmes last summer and we’re aiming to play the much the same programme in Herøy in May. We’re cautiously optimistic that we’ll need two hands this time to count the members of the audience.
It is alway exciting to welcome a visitor and I was delighted that Alison was able to fit in a wee visit before heading back to Kuala Lumpur. As is par for the course with my visitors the planned arrival time of around 4.30pm in Sandnessjøen airport came and went and Alison didn’t arrive until after 10.30pm which means the last ferry to Bjørn has departed. With apologies to Jen and Amy it finally occurred to me to look at the Seløy - Herøy ferry and lo and behold there is a v late ferry back so although it was after 1am we got back, at least no hotels were involved.
We had a lovely time catching up and putting the world to rights over copious amounts of coffee as well as introducing Alison to my new friends here on Dønna. Despite being a busy time in the church year with all the Easter services we still managed to fit a lot in - I showed Alison most of the churches and Solveig very kindly took us out on a walk to Hagen. Sadly, this was the last time I saw my Seattle Mariners baseball cap as a rather strong gust of wind took it away and despite various hunts it still has not been recovered. If any Seattle residents happen to be reading this…. :-) We were very kindly treated to meals at Sabine’s and Solveig’s and on the last full day we pottered down to Etcetera - the only shop open on the islands on Easter Monday (and it had free coffee!)
For the first time since I came to Norway I went to the cinema. Not sure whether it’s the same in all cinemas in Norway but it transpires that in Sandnessjøen the back row seats are for 2 people. Sadly I didn’t know this when I picked my seat so I looked like a sad and lonely old man who’d been stood up on a date. And then a couple came and sat in the chairs next to me and I spent the next wee while trying to slide unobtrusively to the other side of my chair. Didn’t make that mistake the next time.
On a similar note, I was excited to see that they were showing The Phantom Menace on May 4th and that tickets were going to go on sale at 10am on a Friday. Not wanting to miss out on this, I wrote it in my diary, and set 2 alarms to make sure I was ready and raring to go. Suffice to say I think I’m the only person who did - last I checked I think about 95% of the tickets were still available.
At the end of February I finally sold my flat in Dundee - it has been a long and dragged out process which I had hoped would be completed at the end of November but no, it dragged on for another 3 months. However it did eventually got done and, hoping this doesn’t jinx it, I have bought a property here in Bjørn. All being well, I should be able to move in at the end of May. It is literally the other side of the street so the moving shouldn’t be too stressful ( famous last words). Will be quite sad to leave my little appartment here but it will be nice to have my own place again.
Unfortunately unlike my place in Dundee which was brand new, this place will need a lot of work which is a big worry. The level of my handyman skills were amply demonstrated in my complete inability to change a lightbulb. First of all I couldn’t get the bulb out so had to ask Sigrid to do it for me (the shame) and then once I’d bought a replacement build I broke it as soon as I tried to put in so had to then go across to Sandnessjøen to buy another one. The fact I was chuffed with myself for being able replace bulb is a damning indictment of my skills in the DIY department and this is a worry for the new place. But fingers crossed……
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