I am a technophobe, as most people know, but last year I bought a very basic phone, no camera, no wi-fi connection and no aps, just the ability to make phone calls or send texts. Jennie  showed me how to use it and how to send texts and I now have it for emergencies (like losing touch with Jennie or JW  in town or calling for a lift home) and on holiday. It was quite useful for co-ordinating our meeting with my Scottish friend in Norway.

I must be one of their lowest users having only topped up my credit once so it was a good investment for the princely sum of £4.95 and £10 top up, but it did enhance my view of Orange. Wouldn’t it be nice if the firms who make far more business with me all sent annual gifts?

Life and attitudes were quite different then. The country really was bankrupt then after six years of war and most ordinary people had few reserves after not only the war, but the depression of the thirties and high unemployment which immediately preceded it.

Despite all this I don’t remember an air of pessimism and gloom. On the contrary people were so happy to be free from the horror and worry of war that they looked forward with optimism to, what they hoped would be, peace.

Many of the cities had suffered terrible bombing attacks leaving a great shortage of homes and communal buildings so a huge re-building programme  was begun. There was no talk of cutting back to build up the finances first.

A huge loan was obtained from the USA which took 50 years to repay, so please don’t tell us that we are leaving a huge debt for our children to repay, we have lived through the repayment of a loan (and survived).  In this time we have seen living standards rise enormously. There have been advances in medicine, science, technology etc. which we could never have imagined at that time. The NHS and welfare state was established, so that poor people need never again die from lack of treatment, or feel the fear of watching their families starve or being evicted from their homes if they lost their jobs. Of course there will always be those who abuse the system, just as there are those at the other end of the system who abuse the tax system and find ways of avoiding paying all the taxes for which they are liable.

I don’t think anyone expected rationing to last as long as it did. I was six when the war ended. I think I thought that things would go back to the world I had been told about, but had never experienced, sweet shops full of sweets and chocolate, this mysterious thing called ice cream reappearing, no ration books, real eggs every day if you wanted them. I also expected my father to come home to live with us next day instead of the nine months in actuality. When he did finally arrive home it took a while to get used to him being home and having to share my mother with him!

The years after the war were difficult for the adults, but as a child I don’t remember it as a miserable time. Rationing became even more severe, wages were low but there seemed to be plenty of jobs around. Most people lived in rented accomodation but the rents were affordable on one wage  so most mothers stayed home. This meant that children were under the beady eyes of not only their own mothers but all the other mothers, which kept us safe and reasonably well behaved

As communities we celebrated the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Phillip, the 1948 Olympics, the Festival of Britain and the Coronation. It seemed as though every couple of years there was something to look forward to.

As schoolchildren we had more opportunities for further education than previous generations. Many in my parents’ generation were unable to take up scholarships as they had to go to work at 14 years old to help support the family. It was even rarer for girls to have higher education then, but I don’t know of anyone in my age group who had to renounce a scholarship on economic grounds.

We had far fewer “things” in those years after the war, our clothes were often hand-me-downs or homemade, (I had never heard of designer labels), bicycles were second hand and much prized,  presents usually only for Christmas or birthdays, no credit cards or extended credit, but we really were “all in it together” so had no peer pressure to worry about.

I think the positive attitude of politicians and the people did much to engender the optomistic air. Gloomy forecasting seems to be a self fulfilling exercise. Maybe our politicians and media wallahs could learn something from that.

The decorations all packed away for eleven months. I am not one of those who need a different colour scheme every year, I am far too sentimental and traditional for that. I love the memories evoked by our decorations, some inherited from my parents, some from JW’s family, some made by Jennie and her children and the newest ones collected on our recent travels. 

The cards are put away so that I remember who to send them to next year. The letters re-read and kept for answering. I send letters in about half the cards. Recently I had read that some people hate getting Christmas letters and was wondering whether I should send so many, so it was reassuring to hear from several of my correspondents that they looked forward to hearing all my news. I love hearing their news (even the occasional one who boasts about the family achievements!)  When they are from distant friends it reminds me that they too have grown up  children and grandchildren and some even have great grandchildren.  I still tend to think of them as I knew them, so my nursing friends are still only in their early twenties and my school friends even younger!

An encouraging fact to come from my letters was that nearly everyone knew someone who had had prostate cancer and, with treatment, had recovered. I had not realised that it was so prevalent. Has it always been so I wonder? Maybe they are more able to detect it early now.

The Christmas cake, mince pies and other goodies have all been consumed so no excuse now not to adjust the diet.:)

The year has started well with Jennie’s latest scan. I had been having difficulty not telling anyone before, but Jennie was, understandably, nervous about spreading the news, so I couldn’t tell anyone the joyous news that we are expecting another grandchild in May.

We have the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee to look forward too and if it is anything like the Coronation and the Silver and Gold Jubilees that should lift the spirits of the nation after all the doom and gloom from the politicians and financial “experts”.

For the sports fans there are the Olympics and World Cup too, so something for everyone to look forward too.

I have been looking at my diary for the year and was struck by how many natural disasters were reported. It seems as though Mother Nature, (or whichever God you believe in), is saying, “Whatever destruction you bring on yourselves, I can do far worse.”

We have had earthquakes in Japan, New Zealand and Turkey and Spain, floods in Australia, Brazil,Pakistan and Thailand, tornadoes in the southern states of the USA and in the mid west and of course the devastating tsunami in Japan. Not to be outdone another volcano erupted in Iceland. In the Horn of Africa once again they have droughts and the subsequent horror of starvation.

Here in the UK we have had  the hottest March and October days, wettest, windiest, dryest times. Looks like the record book keepers will have a busy time. 

If only those in positions of power would concentrate resources to dealing with these disasters instead of wasting our resources and lives in so many wars. It seems that whenever one part of the world settles into (near)  peace another part erupts into fighting.

The “Arab Spring” is still ongoing with an uneasy peace in Egypt and Tunisia, struggles between tribes, religions and sects in Iraq and Libya and near civil war in Syria. Afghanistan is still claiming too many lives on both sides of the conflict and the relief for the famine in Ethiopia would be so much easier if there was no war around it.

 I would have more confidence in politicians and financial “experts” if I felt they knew what they were doing. When a report was published saying that the top earners pay had increased by 150% and the average pay by 2.9%, it did not inspire me with hope for the future economy!

It has not been a good year for leaders either, Bin Laden and Gaddafi killed, Kim Jong Il died, the presidents of Greece and Italy replaced by unelected financiers! and Arab Spring leaders still to be elected.

I wonder what 2012 has in store for us. I hope that it will be good to all of you and yours.

A belated Happy New Year to one and all.:)

I hope you all had a Christmas as happy as ours. I suppose ours started a few weeks ago when Jennie and I took Handsome and Cheeky to the theatre to see, “Joseph and the amazing technicolour dreamcoat.” We all knew many of the songs from watching the TV programme when they searched for a Joseph, and the story from the bible, but  I didn’t expect so much humour. It is lovely to see the boys enjoying live theatre.

We started Christmas “proper” on Christmas Eve at the carol service and Nativity, where Cheeky was a very sweet and solemn King.

Christmas Day we were invited to the excellent family meal cooked by GG’s brother in law. There were ten of us, from the newest member M, who cast envious eyes at the food we were all enjoying, to the oldest member, uncle P who will soon be 91.

Boxing Day Jennie and co. came round to us for the day. The boys are a delight to give presents to  because they are so appreciative. Cheeky immediately started reading a poem to us from one of the books I gave him and they all played the new board game, (proving that they can enjoy simple things as well as the DS and Lego)

Thursday Jennie took me to see the Russian State ballet perform “Swan Lake” to the accompaniment of the Orchestra of Siberia. The prima ballerina especially was brilliant. It is quite a long time since I went to the ballet so it evoked many memories, going to ballets with my Mother or with  Grandad R, dancing in various concerts. One concert was particularly brought to mind by “Swan Lake”, the Nottingham Festival ballet in 1951. We performed the “Dance of the cygnets”at Wollaton Park in front of the large lake there as the sun went down. It was quite magical.

I saw an article last week which said that large numbers of over 65s spend Christmas alone, so I feel especially blessed that we have our family around us, and I hope that you are all so blessed.

Statue of Bamse in Honningsvag

When we saw this statue of Bamse on our recent holiday I vaguely remembered hearing about him when a matching statue was installed in Montrose, Scotland a few years ago but could not remember the whole story, so I ordered a splendid book about him…. “Sea Dog Bamse, WW2 canine hero”  by Angus Whitson and Andrew Orr.

He was a 14 stone St. Bernard who was originally bought as a family pet by Captain Hafto. He was a gentle giant and had a remarkable affinity with humans and appointed himself as guardian to the four children, shepherding them around and giving rides on his back, carrying shopping home in the panniers on his back and pulling a sledge in winter.

When Germany invaded Norway Captain Hafto was recalled to the Norwegian navy. He was to take command of the Thorodd a former whaling ship which was fitted out for coastal protection. He took Bamse with him and in February 1940 Bamse was formally entered on the ship’s muster roll. A broom cupboard was fitted out as a cabin for him as a kennel, where he could retreat in bad weather (He suffered badly from sea sickness).

In the 62 days between the invasion and capitulation Bamse built his reputation for “fearless in action” and “steadfast under fire”. He refused to go below decks and took his place by the Oerlikon gunner, snarling at the enemy, wearing his steel helmet, hackles erect. He inspired the crew with his courage. Many of these were only boys and probably scared to death and Bamse was a kindly confidante.

There were some Allied victories around Narvik but by 3rd June the order was given for the Allied forces to withdraw and 7th June the Norwegian Royal Navy was ordred to save their ships and make for Britain. The Norwegian Royal family, government and diplomats and most of the gold reserves were spirited away from Tromso by HMS Devonshire.

Thorodd managed to sail over to Scotland and whilst she was being converted to a mine sweeper the crew had to get used to life in Britain. Bamse soon adapted to this very different lifestyle, learned to ride on a bus, ride on a train and got a liking for beer. He regularly accompanied the crew to the pub and shepherded them safely back to barracks! If he had stayed on board he would go out on “curfew patrol” and make sure that his crew was back on time. He could not bear violence and fighting and stories are told of how he would deal with any troublemakers. He was never aggressive, it was enough that he would raise himself on his hind legs to his full height of 6 feet, place his huge paws on the miscreant’s shoulders and push him away. He would also take his turn at guarding the gangway. He planted himself at the top of the gangway and refused to allow anyone onboard until given permission by the sailor in charge.

Bamse had an enormous appetite and quickly developed friendships with several food shop owners and made his daily round of visits. Luckily he had a liking for fish.

Bamse’s fame spread and he became a symbol of hope for many of the exiled Norwegians. On at least two occasions he is credited with saving the lives of “his” human friends. The first was when he was following a sailor back to the ship. A ruffian attacked the sailor with a knife.  Bamse saw what was happening and bounded along the quaysideto his rescue. He raised himself onto his hind legs and pushed the attacker away and over the edge of the quay.

The second time was when a seaman fell overboard into the fast flowing river. Bamse was the only one to see it and after barking furiously to raise the alarm he leapt over the meter high gunwale and managed to keep the seaman and himself afloat until they could be rescued.

By 1944 Bamse’s health was failing, in common with many large breeds St Bernards are not long lived and he was about 7 years old. By this time they were docked in Montrose and when Bamse died they had a funeral for him which was attended by many sailors and towns people, there are reports that when he was buried there was a crowd of several hundred spread among the dunes.

The grave has been maintained to this day and in 2006 a statue of Bamse facing Norway was was unveiled by Prince Andrew in Montrose. He was also awarded a post humous gold medal from the PDSA. In 2009 a matching statue was erected in Honningvag (facing South East towards Montrose)

Windfarms off the East coast of Britain

 The sky was grey and there was a slight drizzle. What a change from the blue skies and hot sunshine! We had been so lucky with the weather, sea like a mill pond, blue skies and no need for the warm clothes we had packed “just in case”.

JW  went off to his last session with the watercolour group and I went to Captain Bray’s final talk about his time in the Merchant Navy.

It was like the last day of term, time to pack, say farewell to the friends we had made and exchange addresses,  ‘phone numbers and E-mail addresses.

By the time we arrived back in Southampton, early on the 24th June, we would have travelled 3,543 NM right up to 71 degrees North, basked under the midnight sun and eaten like princes. The crew had lived up to their high reputations for friendly, cheerful service, (I was delighted to see that Fred Olsen Line has been voted Cruise Line of the year by Cruise International Magazine in September this year).

We had our final dinner served by the lovely Carlos, enjoyed the Farewell concert and said goodbye to the beautiful bar staff and then off to bed.

Next morning we docked early in Southampton, had breakfast and were on the coach by 9am. After a tedious journey home we arrived in Cardiff to find that Jennie had stocked up the ‘fridge, left a meal ready and put fresh flowers on the table. We had had a fabulous holiday but it was lovely to be home with our family again.

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After leaving Stavanger we had a programme of activities to choose from and a gala evening to look forward to.

First came the Captain’s farewell cocktail party, then a superb dinner before going with our friends, Pat and Tony, to the Neptune bar to enjoy the farewell performance from the regular company and the guest entertainers. The seats in the Neptune are arranged around small tables on tiers down to the stage. The tables are attended by the amazing bar staff, mainly Fillipinos and Indonesians, who give the impression that your happiness is their main concern in life. After your first visit they not only know you by name but know what your favourite tipple is. They are friendly without being obtrusive and treat everyone alike whether they are heavy drinkers or virtually TT, like me! They are immaculately dressed, however busy and despite the long hours never show tiredness or impatience. One funny thing which happened though was that early in the cruise they started calling  JW  ”Sir Patrick”, whilst all the other men were Mr Tony or Mr …..

I don’t know where this came from, but it spread by bush telegraph and soon the table steward and cabin stewardess were also calling him Sir Patrick!

At midnight we were invited to the Gala Buffet where the chef and her staff had prepared a sumptuous cold buffet, much of the food sculpted into fantastic shapes.

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Three of our lovely waiters

 By the time we went to bed we had left Norway behind and had started back across the North Sea.

En-route Bergen - Stavanger. Last chance to see the impressive sunset over Norway

We docked in Stavanger at 8am 22nd June. We decided that we would just wander around Gamle (old) Stavanger as we only had a few hours. I had had several short stopovers there before, as that was part of the route on the Bergen Line ferry service from Newcastle to Bergen.

We decided that we did not have time to visit any of the several museums, which cater for all tastes, and just walked up and down the steep cobbled streets of the old town. The wooden buildings there date from the 19c.

We came across a flower market in one of the squares. Most of the flowers there were indoor plants, which reminded me that most of the private houses  I had visited had a variety of indoor plants, no doubt to compensate gardeners  for the long winters and short summers. As usual there are many statues around, some of people I had heard of, but many I hadn’t.

Pigeons the world over have no respect for worthy citizens!

I’m afraid I don’t remember who this gentleman was and have lost the notes I made. Maybe someone out there can enlighten me.

When we arrived back on the Balmoral, the official from the tax office was there to refund the VAT we had paid on some of our purchases which was rather pleasant.

 We left at 1pm and waved our fond farewells to Norway.

I decided to treat myself to a spa treatment in the afternoon. The spa is staffed, mainly, by beautiful girls from Thailand. They are tiny, perfectly proportioned ladies with welcoming smiles and give the impression that their aim in life is to make you feel special.

My lady was called Lala and as I peered through the hole in the bed, when I was lying face down, I realised that her immaculate grooming even included beautifully pedicured feet with the nails  French varnished.

I had never visited a spa before but I  could see how addictive it could become, (for those with money to spare!), as I floated out of the salon to go and get ready for the Captain’s farewell cocktail party and gala dinner that evening.

It was cloudy when we arrived but I had high hopes that we would have a repeat of the previous day and the sun would find its way through again.

We met B at the dockyard gates as arranged. I had been a bit apprehensive about him recognising us as it was 10 years since the last meeting and I had put on weight in the intervening years and my hair was lighter! It hadn’t occured to me that B might have changed too! Fortunately, after a double take, we managed the reunion. (JW recognised him straight away).

It is strange how the years roll away with true friends and it took no time at all for us all to adjust.

We wandered back along the quayside and round Bryggen, the old Hanseatic merchants quarters and now a World Heritage site, where the old wooden buildings now house interesting small shops etc. By the time we had wandered around there the sun was showing through so we decided to take advantage of this and go up the Mount Floyen on the funicular railway. Luckily we arrived before the crowds and were soon whisked up to the top where we had coffee and waffles whilst surveying the fantasic vistas.

                                                     “Happy Snappers” at the top of Mount Floyen

Another view from Mount Floyen

Bergen has welcomed visitors from the sea for over 1000 years. The Hanseatic merchants established one of their most important trading stations here.

When we came down from the mountain we strolled along to the fish market. This has changed since I was a fairly regular visitor and now has a variety of stalls as well as the fish. When I used to visit nearly all the stalls had a large tank of live fish, from which you chose the fish you wanted. This time we had to hunt around for a tank and only found one with crayfish.

We had a break for lunch and then went to explore the Rosenkranz Tower and Hakon’s hall before repairing to the oldest inn in Bergen, a wonderfully preserved wooden building in Bryggen, where we enjoyed a nice cool drink whilst admiring the painted walls.

We had caught up with all the friend’s and family news, worked out that we had been friends for 45 years and promised that we would not leave it another 10 years before we meet again and then it was time to say goodbye. B to the airport and us to the Balmoral.

We left at 8.30pm sailing down the fjord to our last port of call, Stavanger, and we went to celebrate British Evening.