Saturday 11 September 2010
Thursday 2 September 2010
One rockin' summer!!!
It's been a hot summer, and a MASSIVE summer of music up here in the Nordic countries - here are the highlights!
I've attached links to some clips from the gigs...
Bergen, Norway:
Guns n' Roses
Roskilde festival, Denmark:
Gorillaz [Clint Eastwood]
Prodigy
Dulsori - amazing Korean drummers
Teddybears
Muse
Jack Johnson
Them Crooked Vultures [Dead end friends]
Shantel & Bucovina club orchestra [Disko Partizani - check out the crowd at 1:48. MAD!!!]
Prince
Kristianstad, Sweden: Babian
Ilosaarirock, Joensuu, Finland:
Mokoma
Ricky-Tick big band
Boban I Marko Markovic Orkestar
Bad religion [Punk rock song]
Faith no more - their last gig [Evidence] [Mike Patton borrows a video camera]
Viljandi folk, Estonia:
Pantokraator
Vägilased
Otava yo - these guys played for hours! 0:28 "you are sailor? this is song for YOU!"
Flow festival, Helsinki, Finland
Uusi Fantasia
Husky Rescue [Summertime cowboy]
Robyn
Malmöfestivalen, Malmö, Sweden:
Band of horses
Salem al Fakir [Roxy]
Teddybears (again!) [Automatic lover] [Cobrastyle]
Big thanks to everyone who joined in. You know who you are!
Tuesday 1 June 2010
Shed project
There comes a time in every man's life when he needs to build a shed.
Step 1: Clear some vegetation.
Step 2: Dig the foundation holes.
Step 3: Put cardboard tubes in the holes.
Step 4: Level the tubes and fill with cement.
Step 5: Lure some friends to your place with the promise of free beer and food. The house goes up in no time! Thanks folks!
(Photo courtesy of Karin, I was on the roof. I could see my house from there!)
Step 6: Finish the construction.
Step 7: There's only one colour in Sweden: Falun Red. First coat...
More to come later...
Step 1: Clear some vegetation.
Step 2: Dig the foundation holes.
Step 3: Put cardboard tubes in the holes.
Step 4: Level the tubes and fill with cement.
Step 5: Lure some friends to your place with the promise of free beer and food. The house goes up in no time! Thanks folks!
(Photo courtesy of Karin, I was on the roof. I could see my house from there!)
Step 6: Finish the construction.
Step 7: There's only one colour in Sweden: Falun Red. First coat...
More to come later...
Saturday 1 May 2010
Negotiating the ash cloud
Most people in Europe have a story about travelling during the ash-cloud madness. I got away without sleepless nights or fruitless trips to airports, but here's the story anyway.
I was trying to get from Malmö, Sweden to Stavanger, Norway. Normally it's 45 mins to Copenhagen airport and a 1hr 20min direct flight from there.
I started with train tickets from Malmö to Gothenburg (3 hrs) and Gothenburg to Stavanger (4hrs to Oslo, then 9 to Stavanger) plus a flight from Gothenburg to Stavanger via Oslo. The first leg was fine and the train had internet so I could keep up with the changes. The Gothenburg-Oslo flight was cancelled so there was only one option. I had a quick early dinner at Gothenburg station and then boarded the train to Oslo.
The train was full and I was sitting next to some Americans who were struggling to get back to Oslo. One guy had been travelling for 6 days from Johannesburg, at great expense. Everyone had a story.
The night train was an ugly option. Beds were full and there were only seats. This wasn't a problem for me when I was backpacking around europe, but this time I had a meeting with a new client in the morning. The flight was far more civilised, but if I went to the airport and the flight was cancelled, it was too late to get back to the train.
So is the plane going, or isn't it?
No use calling SAS, the lines were so busy it wasn't even possible to get into the on hold queue. Someone had a gold card and tried calling another number, but he got no further. Someone else said there was flight information at the airport train area.
Finally the train pulled into Oslo Central station. It was vaguely familiar, but I hadn't been here since 2001. There was 1 hour before the night train to Stavanger.
Decision time. I was looking at the flight board which showed a host of cancellations. Bergen and Stavanger were still listed - but there's no indication that it's likely to fly. Just a blank space in the information column. There were others buying tickets for the airport train, so I asked one group of businessmen who said they were bound for Stavanger. So worth a try.
Oslo airport that night was the quietest major airport I've ever seen. No check-in queues, only one security line and no queue there either. All the shops closed except for a sandwich shop. Only the two gates working. Our gate looked like it was a full flight. Lots of people sleeping, on the way home from long journeys. The mood improved when we saw the cabin crew boarding the plane. After a half hour delay they started boarding our flight. So I made it to the hotel in Stavanger by 1.30am, in time for a decent night's sleep before work in the morning.
Of course, the next morning I found out my job was delayed until Friday. All the airports were open again by then!
So for all the criticism of airlines, airports, missing baggage and flight delays - it's still way better than the alternatives.
There's talk about another volcano next to Eyjafjallajökull which could erupt for several months. If this happens, it's time for me to change jobs!
I was trying to get from Malmö, Sweden to Stavanger, Norway. Normally it's 45 mins to Copenhagen airport and a 1hr 20min direct flight from there.
I started with train tickets from Malmö to Gothenburg (3 hrs) and Gothenburg to Stavanger (4hrs to Oslo, then 9 to Stavanger) plus a flight from Gothenburg to Stavanger via Oslo. The first leg was fine and the train had internet so I could keep up with the changes. The Gothenburg-Oslo flight was cancelled so there was only one option. I had a quick early dinner at Gothenburg station and then boarded the train to Oslo.
The train was full and I was sitting next to some Americans who were struggling to get back to Oslo. One guy had been travelling for 6 days from Johannesburg, at great expense. Everyone had a story.
The night train was an ugly option. Beds were full and there were only seats. This wasn't a problem for me when I was backpacking around europe, but this time I had a meeting with a new client in the morning. The flight was far more civilised, but if I went to the airport and the flight was cancelled, it was too late to get back to the train.
So is the plane going, or isn't it?
No use calling SAS, the lines were so busy it wasn't even possible to get into the on hold queue. Someone had a gold card and tried calling another number, but he got no further. Someone else said there was flight information at the airport train area.
Finally the train pulled into Oslo Central station. It was vaguely familiar, but I hadn't been here since 2001. There was 1 hour before the night train to Stavanger.
Decision time. I was looking at the flight board which showed a host of cancellations. Bergen and Stavanger were still listed - but there's no indication that it's likely to fly. Just a blank space in the information column. There were others buying tickets for the airport train, so I asked one group of businessmen who said they were bound for Stavanger. So worth a try.
Oslo airport that night was the quietest major airport I've ever seen. No check-in queues, only one security line and no queue there either. All the shops closed except for a sandwich shop. Only the two gates working. Our gate looked like it was a full flight. Lots of people sleeping, on the way home from long journeys. The mood improved when we saw the cabin crew boarding the plane. After a half hour delay they started boarding our flight. So I made it to the hotel in Stavanger by 1.30am, in time for a decent night's sleep before work in the morning.
Of course, the next morning I found out my job was delayed until Friday. All the airports were open again by then!
So for all the criticism of airlines, airports, missing baggage and flight delays - it's still way better than the alternatives.
There's talk about another volcano next to Eyjafjallajökull which could erupt for several months. If this happens, it's time for me to change jobs!
Monday 1 March 2010
Postcard from Tunisia
This comes to you from Sfax, Tunisia, 270km south of the capital Tunis. It's a coastal port town, quite industrial, and not very touristy. The walled medina (old city) is fantastic - full of market stalls selling food and everyday items - not tourist tack and souvenirs like, for example, the old souq in Damascus or Istanbul's Grand Bazaar.
The language here is mostly a mix of Arabic and Tunisian Arabic (I can't tell the difference) but is interspersed with French words - especially in business conversations. Unlike countries like Syria the numerals used are often western, not the Eastern Arabic numbers (٠.١.٢.٣.٤.٥.٦.٧.٨.٩).
French influence is here in the food as well - instead of the flat bread of Syria, Jordan and Lebanon the long French baguettes are everywhere. There are French style cafés everywhere, plus a lot of Italian restaurants and pizzerias. The coffee is good, and strong. The speciality in Sfax, however, is the fish - there's a big fishing industry and it's fresh and normally served whole and grilled. Sea bass (loup) seems to be common. But look up loup in your French dictionary and it comes up with wolf. Fillet of wolf? I hope not...
The architecture here seems to switch between French and north-African arabic styles. The new city centres are unmistakably French:
Photos are here and I'll update as I go.
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