Mothers Day in Cornwall

Today is mother's day in England. Irene and I spent the whole day in Falmouth.

First we had a Cornish Cream Tea. It consisted of a pot of tea, a pitcher of hot water, a pitcher of milk, and for each of us two scones, warm from the oven, full of raisins with cornish clotted cream and strawberry jam.

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We visited Irene's favorite sweets shop, and bought an assortment of fudge: peppermint, blueberry and clotted cream fudge.

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It was low tide when we got down to the harbor, and all the boats are at the bottom of the basin. Below is one of the pubs by the harbor with the casks of beer piled outside.

A little beyond the harbor we found the spring festival which has been going on all weekend. There was a market, and a few simple rides. No noisy tivoli with flashing lights and blaring music here. This merry-go-round is being cranked by hand.

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We met up with Jenny, one of Irene's friends at Falmouth, and together we walked all over Falmouth, enjoyed the park and looked at the house Irene will be living in next year. Finally we had ice cream made from organic jersey milk and cream at a local farm.

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After Jenny left us we still had over an hour to kill before going to the cinema. So we walked along a pathway from the beach in Falmouth to another beach further away.

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Our day ended at the cinema. The Falmouth cinema is very cool in that it has armchairs for seats with a little table and a menu between each 2 seats. You can order snacks and drinks to go with your movie experience. We had nachos. The film we say was thought-provoking but a little strange: "Never let me go" - a science fiction film of a society where a class of people are raised for the sole purpose to become organ donors for the rest of society. The films weakness was that you didn't get any sense of exactly how these organ donor children originated. The ending was kind of wierd as well. You kept expecting them to rebell, but it never happened. They just accepted their lot.

Surfing in Cornwall

Lounging around in our animal onesies at breakfast: Irene's is a cow with little horns and ears. After breakfast Irene showed me around the campus of her university. The grounds were lovely: full of flowers and rabbits hopping about in the evening.

Afterward we went for a walk up a country lane to a daffodill farm. There were horses grazing and you can see the student houses in the background. Irene lives in the green house.

We got picked up for surfing at 12:45. Irene has her own wet suit and board. I rented both.
The surfing was fabulous. And the water didn't seem cold at all. Porthtowan beach too was a facinating spot, with cliffs, blooming gorse and abandoned tin mines dotting the heather all around. And who would have thought it was such a workout! I have muscles aching that I didn't even know I had.

We watched "My Sisters Keeper" this evening. I'd read the book, and the ending was changed in the movie, but it still worked very well. If Irene was crying when we saw "Earthlings", it was now my turn for the tears to flow. That movie is sooo sad!

London to Cornwall

Got up early this morning and went to Marjana's cafe for breakfast. This time I had a hommous, haloumi and tomato bagel. The metro station is a minute away, and Ingvild went through first. I however didn't have enough money on my oyster card. When I went to the machine it refused to recognize my card so I stood in line for the ticket guy. After the 2-3 people before me were done, he validated my card and sent me back to the machine to top it up. In the meantime, the cafe called Ingvild to tell her that I had left my suitcase there! My second travel blooper! If I'd had money on the Oyster card, we would have been halfway to Paddington Station before getting the call!

The rest of the trip went without incident. It was wonderful from the train windows to see London falling away, and green fields appear with pastured cows, sheep with tiny lambs, free range chickens, and even a hog. Norman churches with their cross-shape and spuare towers, little villages, and farms. I love the english landscape. As we got into Devon and Cornwall the train began following the edge of the sea, and we passed resort towns, quiet now, in the off-season.

Irene met me at the station and we walked to her house. Here she is in front of the student houses. And below is Irene in her room. Much more spacious than Ingvild's room i London and with it's own bathroom. The kitchen too, was twice the size. Unlike London, where most of the students are still there revising for exams, the students at Falmouth are mostly away on Easter break. So we had Irene's flat to ourselves.

After dropping off my stuff, we went into Falmouth for the afternoon. It is the cutest town, reminding me of Ithaca. We shopped at her health food store, and I got my hair cut by her hairdresser. It was the coolest place full of odds and ends reflecting his various interests, and heavy on the sci-fi, particularly Star Wars. The clipping session was accompanied by rather loud, but not unpleasant music, and he told us about the parties he throws in the shop with dj's and live bands.

Haircut in Falmouth

The main street in Falmouth

A view of the harbor through an alley. Isn't the decoration great!?

Irene is really into organic food and vegetarianism. We watched the documentary "Earthlings" this evening. While it focuses on the horrible attitudes and practices of human beings towards animals as they use and abuse them for companions, food, clothing, science and entertainment, I didn't have the impression that what they showed was manipulated. I didn't like that it just gave a onesided picture, however I agree that it is important to be aware of the dark side of our relationship with animals as well as the positive side. And while I am not sure that I will become a vegetarian as a result of this awareness, I do intend to be more discerning in my consumption of animal products. In Norway for example, even though many of the practices so common in the USA and many European countries are illegal, poultry and swine do not lead a live in accordance with their basic instincts unless they are organic. Cows, sheep and goats have a pretty good life in Norway though.

Shopping in London

I spent the day with Ingvild and Marjana at Hyde Park and Oxford street. It was a sunny, warm and windy day. The flowers were so lovely and smelled so good!

Dancer and Ingvild at Hyde park

Marjana and Ingvild: best friends

Dancer and Ingvild at Hyde Park

Dancer a nd Ingvild

Marjana and Ingvild in the Nostrils of the disembodied horse

After hanging out in the park for a while we went to Primark on Oxford street and had a shopping frenzy. I had had a bagel with cream cheese and salmon for breakfast at the cafe where Marjana works. It was so filling that I didn't even get hungry until about 4 pm when we came out of Primark. Ingvild knew of a place further down Oxford street with fantastic belgian waffles with chocolate. The girls were going on to McDonalds for some real food but by this time my feet were screaming for a rest. I saw a Starbucks across the street and went there to sit and wait for the girls with all the shopping bags in a corner beside me. It took them a while, as the first McDonalds was closed for improvements and they had to go on to the next. I was so exhausted that I fell asleep waiting. All in all it was a nice day. I got some presents to bring back for husband. Looking forward to early bedtime tonight. Tomorrow early I get on the train to Cornwall to visit Irene over the weekend.

I was going to get this for Husband, but unfortunatly I didn't have enough money on my credit card.

This however, is what I got for myself: a rabbit onesie!

Sightseeing in London

In spite of sleeping in a new place and as a result not very well, I woke up at 6:30 and couldn't get back to sleep. Of course that would have be 7:30 in Norway, and I can't for the life of me sleep later, no matter how little sleep I have gotten. Anyway, when Ingvild woke up we went out for breakfast - mocha and chocolate croissant at this eastern cafe just around the corner where Marjana works. It was such a pleasant place, cheaper than chains like Starbucks or Costa. The profile is environment friendly (napkins of recycled paper, organic food). Also the food has an eastern twist: they serve bagels with halloumi and hummus. You know how some places put a cookie or piece of chocolate on the saucer with your coffee cup. This place put a piece of the most delicous turkish delight on the saucer.

The gate of the Knights of Saint John

The priory garden

The priory church: still used when the Queen gives awards, such as knighthoods.

The grave of a Knight of Saint John in the Crypt under the Priory Church

After breakfast we went out sightseeing. Also just around the corner from Liberty Court is this gateway. Turns out it used to be part of a priory of the Knights of Saint John, and there is a little museum there describing their origin and history. The knights of Saint John were divided into the Knights Hospitaller, who ran hospitals in Jerusalem and other places in the Holy Land, during the crucades, and the Knights Templar, whose mission was to protect the pilgrims. I was especially facinated in the description of how the Hospitaller Knights worked: for example cleanliness, fresh air and prayer were the foundation for nursing the sick: basically the same principles that were reinvented by Florence Nightengale 800 years later.

Ingvild's University seen from the square and up close. This is where she is studying Journalism this year and hoping to study Sociology next year. The place where her future is being hammered out.

Our next stop was to see the Uni where Ingvild goes to class. Considering it was spring break, it was full of students revising for exams. There was WiFi there as well so I got caught up on my ipad. We were starting to get hungry now, and had talked of going the the Indian Tapas restaurant Imli, but Ingvild knew of a Chinese restaurant that she recommended. We went there and had the Chicken and Prawn Satay. It was delicious, filling and cost under £8 per plate. Not bad at all.

Outside the Museum of Natural History. It has the most amazing architecture. Like a cathedral or palace. I suppose one could call it a place for the worship of the natural sciences

Here's Ingvild in the main hall, where the biggest dinosaur is exhibited. Amazingly the museum is free.

Dancer catching up with Charles Darwin.

After lunch we went to the Museum of Natural History. There we mainly spent time in the dinosaur section. We tried to see more, but were by then totally overwhelmed with impressions. We had to take refuge in a Starbucks on the way back to Liberty Court to have a drink and rest our feet and ears. For me London is like New York - or really every other big city I have visited: Lots of friendly people, cultural and historical places of interest, theatre, ethnic restaurants, opportunities for shopping... Everything within a hop, skip and a jump. And yet I find it hard to get used to the noise level, the crowds, and the close quarters. Once again I am reminded that though a city is fascinating to visit, I am a country person at heart.

London

I am visiting Ingvild in London for a couple of days. Left home yesterday on the 7:15 train to the small airport of Rygge outside Oslo, from which only Ryanair flies (I think). You gotta love Ryanair. My ticket Oslo/London/Oslo only cost like 150 kr (about £15 or $30). Course you have to pay extra to check a bag - it came to about twice the price of the seat, but still a cheap flight. You can sit where ever you want in the plane. It's like boarding a bus. You get on and find a seat. The atmosphere is very laid back.

Liberty Court: the student housing where Ingvild lives

I can't believe I did a "Bridget Jones" at the airport: the gate area where I was supposed to board from was closed when I got there so I found a quiet corner and settled down to watch an episode of the office on my ipad. Didn't notice that this was a 40 minute episode instead of the usual 20 minutes. Suddenly I hear my name being called over the PA system: "will Gudrun Lillekroken please come to gate 7 immediately as the gate will be closing in 2 minutes".

Ingvild at her laptop, combined workstation and source of R&R

I love England. It is the home of my imagination - or something. I learned so much English history at school as a child, all my favorite books as I was growing up were set in England or written by English Authors, and the world they opened for me was one of magic and imagination: Winnie the Pooh, Mary Poppins, Peter Pan, Narnia, The Lord of the Rings, as well as the books of Frances Hudson Burnett, George Macdonald, Charles Dickens, Jane Austen...I had read the complete plays by Shakespeare twice by the time I was 12. On the train from Gatwick to Victoria Station we pass a suburg called Croyden. Here I saw rows of houses joined together exactly as I imagine in C S Lewis' The Magicians Nephew, where Digory and Polly crawl along the rafters in the attics trying to keep track of which house they are in.

Here is Ingvild's room at Liberty Court. Mine is the blue pillow.

On this first afternoon I met some of Ingvilds best friends: Marjana and Tino. They are both really, really nice people. I got a glimpse of what student digs are like. An unassuming brick building. Each flat has several rooms of various sizes. In Ingvilds flat live 2 men and 2 women. The room is tiny, but with a nice view of a quiet courtyard. There are inspections to check that the students keep the kitchen and bathrooms clean. There is a guard/doorman/janitor guy who watches the comings and goings at the front door. Apparently the main manager is EVIL.

View from Ingvild's room.

On the way to the theatre Ingvild introduced me to London's cheapest meal: the meal deal from Tesco: a sandwich, choice of chocolate, fruit or crisps, and juice or waterbottle all for £2. The chicken ceasar sandwich was really yummy, the bread fairly decent. I chose sourcream&onion crisps and apple juice.

Dancer outside the Aldrich Theatre befor the show.

The musical we went to see was Dirty Dancing at the Aldrich theatre. I didn't know the show at all from before but it was great with lots of impressive latin/ballroom dancing and a good story of how naive and optimistic idealism wins the day (and hearts).

Radon Removal

This winter Husband decided to order a couple of tracefilm cannisters to be placed on the first and second floor of our house to measure the concentration of Radon for 2 months. You can get these for free from the municipal office. After 2 months we sent them in to the Norwegian office of Radiation Protection and a week or so later he got an email with the report. We had 1400 bq/m3 in the first floor living room, 1300 bq/m3 in the second floor bedroom. The average year-round levels were calculated to be over 1000 bq/m3, the equivalent of smoking 20 cigarettes a day. The Office of Radiation Protection recommends that levels not exceed 100 bq/m3, the max allowable limit (in new buildings) is 200.

We were sent a list of qualified Radon removers and wrote to the 3 that were closest to where we live. One replied that they were mistakenly on the list. They only measure Radon, they don't remove it. Another was book up for a long time to come. A third, who is actually the closest one, being located in the next county, came by with his radon measuring instrument to look at what could be done to fix things. He measured 2000 bq/m3 in the basement (good thing we don't hang out much down there), and said he would come back in 2 weeks to remove the Radon.

Two weeks later we hadn't heard from him, so we waited a couple more days and then called him up last wednesday. He said the fans he had ordered would be arriving the next day and he could come on monday at 10 am. He showed up today with a bunch of pipes on the roof of his van, and has been spending the day, puttering about in the basement. I think the plan is to set up a couple of fans in the basement that blow the Radon out through the pipes that he is going to feed through the walls of the foundation - hopefully away from any open windows.

He is coming back to continue working tomorrow, but I am leaving for England in the morning, so the rest of the story will have to come later. To be continued...

Snowdrops

Remember my post 10 days ago. On monday the snow started seriously melting. Here is what those same views look like today.

Also I discovered the first snowdrops peeping up from among the lavendar.

Monday morning

Just came home from a milk and egg run. I have a night shift tonight, and husband had to get up early to get the barn ready for a new load of 44 up-and-coming breeding boars, so I got up together with him. I like to get up early before a night shift, because it makes it easier to take a 3-4 hour nap in the afternoon, which I find necesary for me to be maximally alert during the night. So we got up at 5:45.

Two of my egg customers from my previous job were coming off a night shift and I'd agreed to bring them eggs before they went home. Thus I started out the day making an egg run at 7:15. On the way home I stopped at Nøttestad (husbands former workplace) the farm where we get our milk, untreated, straight from the cooling tank. Though it was 8 am no one had started chores there yet. The cows get milked by robot so it's no big deal. I got this great picture of one of the barn cats presiding in the seat of the tractor, while one of the calves it trying to reach the load of carrots that will be their breakfast.

Red Cross

This morning I had an interview with the International Red Cross. They are looking for delegates for their Emergency Response Unit. The ERU goes out at short notice to disaster areas to set up a field hospital and tend to the injured, at the same time offering training to local health care workers to deal with the situation.

This is the third time I have applied, but the first time that they responded. I had a telephone interview last week and a face-to-face this week. In two weeks I will hear whether or not I am chosen to be part of the team. This has been a dream for years - to go out and work with disaster relief. It is part of the reason why I chose to study nursing and the main reason why I took anesthesia. Now the dream is on the brink of coming true.

Visit in Folldal

Birthday boys

We spent the weekend in Folldal, the valley where Husband comes from and where his parents and brother live. The primary occasion was the 8th birthday of Husband's nephew, as well as the 70th birthday of his father. However the weekend was overshadowed by the fact that Husbands mother was diagnosed with bone metastases of her breast cancer a few weeks ago. She is experiencing pathological fractures in her pelvis which cause a good bit of pain, as well as anemia due to impairment of blood formation. The prognosis is uncertain but definitly not good. She can get around the house with a walker, but hardly gets out of the house as steps are a real problem. This is all very saddening for the whole family.

Still a lot of snow

So we are in the first third of march, and everyone I know is talking about balmy temperatures and daffodills. Here, we still have a lot of snow. The way we notice that spring is coming is that even when it gets real cold at night, the sun warms up considerably during the day. You can see buds developing on trees and bushes. And then there is the bird song, and birds nesting...