Header picture - river near Bjerkreim

1-2 September - two-day staff meeting - Tim is hard at work, at a 2-day staff meeting in a cabin on the south coast to plan for the coming half year. This is hard work Norwegian style, of course (click photo, left, to see pictures).

At the end of the second day's work (i.e. lunchtime) Tim drove to nearby Flekkefjord (right on the south-west corner of Norway) to play a concert in the evening. There was something a little special about playing a concert today - 1 September is thirty years to the day since that very first concert in Norway (in Mo i Rana) and 2 September is thirty years since the first visit to and concert in Lurøy, which one year later became T&T's first home together.

4 September - Morning service at Tracy's church, then evening service at Tim's church. The latter included the formal commissioning of the church's youth teacher by the Bishop and the presentation of a bible to each of the coming year's confirmation candidates. Entertainment by the church choir (photo right — click for enlargement) and by trying to guess which of the two possible approaches each youngster would adopt to receiving the proffered bible (the two possible approaches are illustrated here) (All photos taken by Katie).

Comments Tracy - September 5th, 2016 Have you noiced that the bishop looks like he is vomiting on the floor? joanna - September 5th, 2016 Yes! Now you mention it! May be he was feeling ill with the thought of the good time Tim was having. Love the two lads getting their bibles! Norah - September 12th, 2016 It is hard to believe that 30 years have gone since you showed me the pictures of your first visit to Norway - with such enthusiasm. Obviously, from the present pictures, the work is very tough. Tim - September 13th, 2016 Yes - those Plas Gwyn lunches are beginning to be a long time ago! But it's still easy to be enthusiastic about Norway - as you still are about Caernarfon! Some things never change!

12 September - Continuing the tradition of Terribly Hard Work, Tim has spent a few interesting days at a music conference in Gothenburg. Matt came along and explored the city (which is pretty enough in the centre, with its canals and attractive architecture, but a bit tatty in the outskirts), before going on to spend a week in Germany, visiting the same lakes and rivers that we have previously reported on. With unbroken sunshine and temperatures around 30 degrees, it's lovely and he's enjoying himself (photos here).

16 September - Our occasional series on Norwegian parking habits takes us today to Oslo, where this driver was surprised when his car followed him into the underground ("don't go without me!"). Norwegian drivers never use the handbrake (I heard once that they are discouraged because they freeze on in the winter) but just put the car in reverse instead. Even 30 years on it still catches me out when I'm using someone else's car or the church van. This driver seemingly didn't get the car properly into reverse before leaving it.

This weekend (yet more Hard Work in store) we're all off on a parish weekend with Tracy's church, to an activities centre just north of here, near Haugesund. The good weather, pleasant surroundings and cheerful people have all contributed to a great weekend. Photos left.

17 September - Thanks to spies in the enemy camp (Thanks, Thomas Andrew) we were the first in Ørsdalen to know that the Highways Authority have decided to close the tunnel again all next week (at least, from 9am to 11pm every day). Disruption ahoy!

18 September - Heading back to Ørsdalen while we may! Our journey home from Haugesund reminded us of our first visit to England after moving here, back in October 2009. After a brief and stressful visit in which England had exhibited every negative quality it possessed, we flew back to Haugesund, received a relaxed and warm welcome from the customs officer and set off along the gorgeous coast road, complete with ferry crossing. In those days we weren't doing photos of everything, so we make up for it here (click picture, right) with a bit of road film and some ferry pictures. Our first home together was on the island of Lurøy, where we were over-dependent on ferries (and the sea was a lot rougher, too), so they were just a pest. Our decade in Måndalen required ferries only for journeys to Molde (the nearest big town) or southwards to Bergen and the England boat, so we were able to enjoy them a little more. Now ferries are a rarity for us — and actually something of a treat. An opportunity to stop, chat to people and enjoy an ice cream while watching the scenery float by.

Comments Katie - September 21st, 2016 The great moments just keep floating by ... Tim - September 21st, 2016 And don't they just? You know, that could be a kind of motto for this blog. I often click back through it and enjoy re-living some of those great moments. (The phrase, by the way, is a family joke dating back to a Norfolk holiday 3 years ago).

25 September - Amidst all the usual stuff — harvest festival at Sandnes church, sheep everywhere, sorting out the last of the winter's firewood (picture to follow) and so on — we've been enjoying the still unbroken sunshine and absolutely extraordinary 20 degrees, as well as going this evening to the cinema in Egersund to watch the rather unlikely but absolutely excellent film "Sully" (of "you'll find us in the Hudson"-fame).

The Norwegian national news today contains two news stories about living environments.

1. You know when you've just got comfortable with a good book in the hammock on the verandah (no? - then you've not visited us here) and the sun goes round behind the house so that you've got to get up and move? Or when you feel that you'd just like a different view out of the lounge window? Someone not far from here (close to where we had that parish weekend last week) has built themselves a new house that solves these and other problems. You see the round wooden platform? That's a turntable, with which you can revolve the entire house at will. Even the hosepipe appears to be on the turntable (so you can water the whole lawn without getting up from your cup of coffee: just be careful not to spin the house too fast or you'll be too dizzy to drink it).
2. A little further north, a fisherman who has one of the traditional northern-Norway fishing boats has just had a baby girl. His friends have made her a pram that is an exact copy of his boat.

And you say nothing happens in Norway?

Comments joanna - September 30th, 2016 The boat/pram looks great but I think it may be hard to push!! I wonder if it has a lifebelt in it! Tim - September 30th, 2016 Certainly does — just next to the buoy-shaped dummy. You can also take the top part off the wheels and it then has rockers — they're intending to get the child used to the feel of waves from an early age! Joanna - October 4th, 2016 My question was tongue in cheek, might have known the Norwegians would rise to any challenge!!