1 May - birds - Bob (Tim's brother, seen here) in the car today and Pat (his wife, who is normal) have noted 81 species of birds during their stay here this week.

Of other wildlife, we found a stray dog in Ørsdalen today, which we brought home and managed to reunite with its owner (who was staying in a weekend house here).

Apart from a walk this morning, Bob and Pat joined us on the Ørsdalen beach where we were filming Tracy's sermon for Sunday (like you do).
The sermon itself you can watch here.

And a game of Cluedo in the evening (Katie won!)

6 May - Hair today, gone tomorrow - A dramatic change in style today, involving a gift to the Little princess charity. Click photo, above right, for picture series.
The story even hit the local paper - Click photo, below right, for article.

Comments joanna, May 7th, 2014 Katie well done and I love the new you!! You look so sparky and older, not old, just more teens to twenties. The new hair style is great and I am sure you will enjoy it. I had very long hair as a youngster and the relief when I had it short was great, it didn't take as long to wash and dry for one thing. Enjoy and I'm sure your severed locks will do lots of good. Sandy and Phil, May 11th, 2014 Katie - love the new hairstyle and you should feel real proud of what you have done. Well done you. We love you. xxx

The phoenix. You will remember that just over a week ago, Andrew was hit by an awful blow, when his car, bought with hard-earned farm-working earnings, was completely destroyed in a fire, for which the insurance did not provide any cover. He will not be kept down, though - and bounces back. Today he came home in his new car - an L200 pickup (big diesel engine, very low mileage and good condition - click photo, left, for pictures). We can't help being impressed: to turn things around that quickly is a real achievement and shows great resilience.

8 May - It's less bovva with a lawnmower - Last summer we bought a new lawnmower. In all fairness it was only a cheap one, and on a special offer, and we bought it because it was actually cheaper to do so than to repair the faults on the one we had. Unfortunately, just before the end of the growing season it stopped propelling itself, so after a final cut the shop told me to take it under guarantee to a local workshop to be mended. Some nine months later, it's not yet returned from the workshop and as the grass is getting longer we've been getting a little impatient. The workshop claims that the parts are hard to come by, and blames the shop. The shop tells us to complain to the workshop. One manager at the shop said that they would replace the mower - as soon as they could get one in. Another manager seemed to think that the parts were still on their way and would arrive eventually. Patience had to be lost eventually, and yesterday I mentioned to the shop that I was just on my way to talk to my friend who is a journalist at the local paper. This was perfectly true, though the topic of the conversation was something quite different (a concert at church on Sunday). The manager looked thoughtful. "I have a good idea", he said. "We have a rather bigger and better mower in stock. Just have that one". So now, at last, it's lawn-cutting time. And it's started raining.

9 May - Spring in Norway is not just plant life; there are lots of animals around as well. We've previously commented the wide range of things we've been encountering on the roads (lots of deer, hares, a moose, the odd badger and what not) - and haven't even bothered to mention that the roads are again full of sheep and lambs. Driving through Ørsdalen is, as usual at this time of year, a matter of great concentration: a lamb standing alone usually means that its mother is in the field across the road, so as you approach the lamb will inevitably dive in front of the car at the very last second to get back to mum ... The last couple of nights we've had to sleep with the bedroom window closed - because far too early each morning the sheep have been getting up and indulging in some Irish dancing under our window (and they have bells round their necks, of course). In the north of Norway, though, it's reindeer-moving time. The reindeer are sent out to their summer grazing on the islands. They apparently look forward to their annual trip to the island pastures, and this film certainly seems to suggest that they're in a hurry to get there.

Swimming competition - Today and for the next two days, there's a swimming competition in Sandnes. Katie is competing each day. Today she won her heat in 50 metres crawl, knocking a couple of seconds off her personal best; we're hoping for great things over the next two days.

Comments joanna, May 12th, 2014 After the success of day one what happened to day 2 and 3 in the pool? I'm on the edge of my seat waiting for news! Tracy, May 12th, 2014 Joanna, on day 2 she was entered in 3 races: 100m crawl, 100m breast and 50m butterfly. Unfortunately, in the breast-stroke race her goggles popped off and hung across her face blocking her nose. She knew she would be disqualified if she touched them so she swam the whole dstance only able to breathe through her mouth which seriously affected her style. She was also entered in the 50m breast-stroke relay and the team did well! On Sunday she had only one race, 50m breast stroke. We are really proud of our determined young lady. She is now talking of doing a sponsored swim in the autumn, the only decision is which charity... joanna, May 13th, 2014 Well done Katie! There are some crazy rules in life, fancy not being able to move goggles when you can't breathe!!! Katie, May 13th, 2014 If you break the pattern in breast stroke you will instantly be disqualified ...

13 May - Norwegian test today, which means at least that there's a new story - this time on the subject of "what I found in the box that was under the rug in the attic". So what has Katie pulled out of the box this time? The story was in Norwegian, of course, but has been rapidly translated here. Click the picture, left (you can see immediately what it is, of course?) to read the story - unless you are Uncle Bob, in which case perhaps you shouldn't.

Comments Uncle Bob, May 14th, 2014 I said jam not jade. Probably Persian blueberry. Delicious. Bob's brother, May 14th, 2014 Out of a pickle, into a jam.

14 May - Yesterday, Matt arrived home for a brief stay (together with colleague Joachim from work - the other person in those films), so he was quickly put to work. The first job was piano surgery (click photo, right, for pictures).

While the patient was waking up from the anaesthesia, Matt and Joachim took the boat out on the lake, ostensibly to catch fish. They returned without any, but then headed off to Bodø armed with a panda head, two 10-foot inflatable plastic balls, a large bin bag full of various goods, a rucksack each and other assorted bags. They're catching the train to Oslo, then the night train to Trondheim, then tomorrow's day train back to Bodø.

As Katie's story pointed out, the 17th May is approaching fast, with all this involves. It's a Norwegian tradition that pupils in their final year of sixth-form college have a period known as "Russ" between Easter and 17 May, during which they let their hair down a bit and have some fun (and traditionally a few pranks). Thomas Andrew falls into the "Russ" category this year; if he's got up to any pranks we have carefully avoided knowing about it. In Rauma (where we lived for 10 years until 2001), the "Russ" have been teasing their teachers. Amongst other things they bricked up the entrance to the garage of one of them, and shrink-wrapped the post box of another. Unfortunately, geography seems not to be a strong subject at that school - in both cases they managed to get the next-door houses by mistake, and are now busy with sledgehammer and plastic cutters. The choice of 17 May as Norway's national day marks the signing of the constitution, 200 years ago this year. But it's likely that they chose to do this in May at least partly because it really is the most perfect time of year here. Everything is at its most bright, fresh and colourful (for instance, just look out of our lounge window this afternoon) and people are wanting to spend time outside. Again in our old home at Rauma, a 14-year-old girl we knew vaguely in the mid-90s decided to put a message in a bottle and throw it into the river (which leads into the fjord and thus out into the open sea), inviting the finder in some far-off land to contact her. But she never got a reply. Today, the same girl (now in her mid-30s and still living there) was once again walking down the same river and found a bottle bobbing in the water. She pulled it out, took it home, and opened it - and found her own letter. In 20 years it had got about 100 yards. "Not the greatest long-distance delivery", she said. "No wonder I never got a reply".

Comments Jon, May 15th, 2014 Uncanny how the good folk who picked May 17th to be, well, the 17th of May, just to suit Ørsdalen's perfection, given it's "very isolated location". And on a completely unrelated note, I'd be curious to learn if the Russ of Rauma are intending seeking careers in the fire service! [The latter is a reference to this story (15 March 2012) from Jon's home town of Finnsnes/Lenvik - Ed.]. Tim, May 15th, 2014 I gather the Russ of Rauma have been doing work experience for the past three years with the fire brigade in Finnsnes. As for 17 May, they seem to have got it right - they're forecasting sunshine and 20 degrees here for the weekend - but don't tell anyone in Finnsnes, where the forecast is for 4 degrees and rain. Why don't you come here for the day?

While we're enjoying warm sunshine and summer temperatures, 9 miles away over the moors they're still trying to open the road to Lysefjord after the winter's snow (left). Cutting their way through it has left 47-foot-high cliffs of snow on each side of the road, so it has to be made safe before people can drive through.

15 May - Woke up to another sunny morning and saw a thick layer of early-morning mist over by the lake. There's not usually mist just there, and I commented on it to Katie before she left: "looks almost like someone's been burning grass, but it's too early in the morning and the wrong time of year". As usual, after she'd left I put some coffee on and glanced at the morning NRK news. A 16-year-old was describing her experiences of walking alone across Norway with her dog, an unfortunate squirrel had short-circuited the main power supply to a village near Ålesund, and a chicken farm somewhere had burned down during the night. I didn't bother to look more closely at these - until Tracy arrived with the news: the chicken farm was down by the Ørsdalen lake and half the county's fire services had been there during the night - and were still trying to get it under control (photo, right - click for enlargement). The NRK news describes the farm as being "in a very isolated location", even though it's right in the centre of Ørsdalen.

"A [17th May] procession without tin whistles can be like a funeral procession", reads the headline in this evening's news (click picture, right, for enlargement). The background for this statement is that Stavanger and its neighbouring suburb of Randaberg have banned children from blowing tin whistles in Saturday's 17th May parade. As everyone knows, this is heresy - you can't have a 17th May parade without tin whistles - so this breathtaking ban has prompted widespread protests, such as the large banner that has appeared on the wall of the town hall, saying "Give the children their tin whistles back!". "We remember how much fun it was to use whistles and cap guns when we were small", says one of the parents to the news, "and we're in agreement that if the children are not allowed their tin whistles they will loose interest in going in the procession".

Speaking of cities, even in Norway you need planning permission to build things in your garden, if it's an urban area. So Trondheim City Council received this planning application from two sisters, aged 4 and 5 respectively, who wanted to build a treehouse in the front garden. "Can we build a tree house in the garden? Is that all right? Are we allowed? Best wishes, Tiril og Ida". The City council sent a reply, also in coloured crayon, to the effect that they were allowed to build it and that they should be careful not to fall out of it. Next week, the two girls will be stock-market floating their consultancy company, Irresistable Planning Applications Ltd.

Comments joanna, May 16th, 2014 What with no tin whistles but with irresistible planning the children of Norway come up trumps. I do hope there is a good out come to the whistle and pop gun saga!! Where have all the true vikings gone? Norah, May 16th, 2014 What a lot I have missed in the last two weeks! Congratulations Katie on your story and your splendid gesture for the children's charity. Your new hair style suits you very well. Your swimming is brilliant. What next?! I hope the piano surgery was successful. Tim, May 21st, 2014 Thank you, Norah! The piano has improved dramatically. I've tuned it to the best of my ability - what they term "French" tuning in which each note is correct to the nearest 10% or so - and it seems to be holding. Disappointingly, it hasn't cured the other problem, that the piano plays quite a few wrong notes. I'm wondering whether this needs a factory recall?

17 May - A long day. - First we had a service in Bjerkreim Church. Because the 17th May contains so many consecutive events, we were threatened by the people at the Town Hall that the service had to be over by the appointed time; so everything was timed to the last second. Ten mintes before the start of the service we realised that the music for a new 17th-May song had been left with some other papers at the church office in the Town Hall, so Tim had a mad dash back there to collect it. The journey takes 7 minutes each way, if you're a little flexible with the speed limits, as well as a few minutes to turn the Town-Hall alarm off, get into the office and find the papers. Luckily, a children's choir was singing right at the beginning of the service; Tim made it back to church and up to the organ bench with several seconds to spare before the first hymn ... In the event, the only person who overran the allotted timings was the Mayor (so the hymns had to go extra quick to make up time), and we all made it out of the church on time.
In Vikeså's procession, of course, tin whistles and the like are allowed. Sadly, Uncle Bob didn't turn up and sneak into the procession to shout "God Save the Queen" or whatever (he'd have been most welcome). See pictures from 17th May in Vikeså here.

Then, after the usual events, on to coffee and cake with a friend, before heading off to Egersund for the 17th May procession there. We wouldn't normally go to that, of course, except that Katie's swimming club was taking part in the Egersund procession - wearing swimming hats and goggles - so we had to see that. So here are some pictures from 17th May in Egersund.

18 May - A hot day - After church this morning, some friends visited for coffee, after which we sat out in the garden - just moving into the shade from time to time when the temperatures became too unbearable. It's been unbroken sunshine and mid-to upper-20s C (just pushing 80°F)! Pictures here.

21 May - Want a new car? - None of us are interested in a new car, so you can have it if you like. The advert was somehow or other spotted by Thomas Andrew (he has a nose for this sort of thing). Click the picture, left, to read the description.

27 May - these computers - Sorry to have had a few days of absence. To be a little geeky for a moment, I've finally taken the plunge, permanently expelled Windows from the computer, cheerfully waving Mr Gates off down the drive, and installed the latest Linux Mint as an operating system. Should have done it years ago - it's wonderful. But it's meant changing a few programmes over, so I've not been able to update this page until everything was back under control.

That doesn't mean we've not been doing "real" things. The weather has been glorious for days - uninterrupted sunshine, blue skies and high temperatures. Tracy discovered a waterfall we didn't know existed - in Ørsdalen, and we've driven past it every day without ever seeing it. So we had a little walk there (click photo, above right, for pictures), as well as another up the lane from the house (pictures here). Confirmations are going on at Bjerkreim church, an Alpha course and lots of other events at Tracy's church, exams at Katie's school, final exams at Thomas Andrew's school, and lots more, so all noses are firmly pressed against their respective grindstones.

Despite final exams, Thomas Andrew somehow found time today to add "mechanical digger" and "front loader" to his ever-growing list of driving licenses. Congratulations! (pictures here). Congratulations also to Katie who had exams today. In the Norwegian school you don't automatically sit end-of-year exams in everything (there is a combination of continuous assessment and regular tests): you are randomly selected to be examined in a couple of subjects and given short notice (24 hours in this case) of what they are to be. So today, Katie had to give a presentation on how the earth has been and is being shaped by natural forces, followed by a verbal exam on Napoleon and the effect of the Napoleonic wars on Scandinavian politics. She got the highest-possible grade, so we were all pleased. Tomorrow is Ascension Day (a bank holiday in Norway), which means that schools are also closed on Friday (there's no point going back for one day), so it's now weekend.

29 May - another walk - As neither Tracy nor Tim had a service today, we went to the closer of Tim's two churches (Ivesdal - just a few miles up the road) - not for "work" but in order to explore a path that leads from there and to a lake, well hidden in the mountains. Yet another hot, sunny day - it reminded us of walks in Mallorca - and a couple of hour's walking on a steep path, but we were well rewarded. Click picture, above left, for 8 (!) photos (sorry - the scenery was irresistible!).

Comments joanna,May 29th, 2014 Lovely photos! Can we have some of your sunshine!!! What has happened to Tune? She seems to be missing from the last photos!!! Tim, May 29th, 2014 I'll pack some sunshine into an envelope and send it over straight away. Tune sends her regards. She's been limping a bit for the past couple of weeks, so we're sneaking anti-limping tablets into her breakfast while she's not looking and leaving her at home when we're on longer or more demanding walks. joanna, May 30th, 2014 Hi thanks, the envelope has arrived already!!!! Its a sunny morning!! Glad Tune is basically OK. Older age hits us all!!!

30 May - yet another - Yet another day of Spanish temperatures saw another trip to nearby Ivesdal, this time to explore a different track leading to a different lake in the mountains. Yet more pictures here; only 3 this time!. This time we spent some time by - and in - the lake (Katie refuses permission for publication of photo), before going on to the town to buy ice creams and other necessities. Such a hard life!

31 May - "It's too hot out here!" Those who know Tracy well will understand the significance of that quote, from this afternoon outside on the balcony. And it's still only May. It's now evening and we're about to have our thousand-and-somethingth family Saturday pizza (a weekly tradition for at least two decades now) outside on the balcony - if we can cope with the heat, that is.