Vibrant : Weekly Photo Challenge

This is my ‘Vibrant‘ entry, my grand daughter, Caitlin, having fun in the Norwegian snow, all wrapped up in her winter colours, falling down, getting up again, falling down again, and getting covered in snow, and loving it all!

having fun in the snow

Photo 101 : Day 5 – Solitude

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.

Here are my entries for ‘Solitude’, one from West Cork, overlooking Bantry Bay, and my second photo is a beautiful sunset in Mana Pools, Zimbabwe, both great places to stop and admire the beauty of nature.

Time to stand and stare

Sunset at Mana Pools

And I couldn’t resist this winter shot of my granddaughter in the first snow of the season last year, though she is probably checking out the best place to build a snowman, rather than enjoying the solitude!

First snow…fun times!

Weekly Photo Challenge : Adventure

We all enjoy a little adventure and excitement in our lives, and whether young or old,  we all get a buzz from doing something that gives a rush of blood to the head.   My first photos were taken in Norway, when we took my grandchildren to a playground so that they could run around and play on the swings and slides and roundabouts. If you are a little more mature for swings and roundabouts, how about some wind surfing or horse riding on some of our beautiful beaches here in Ireland?

Garrettstown beach, Co. Cork

Linked to Weekly Photo Challenge

Oslo Opera House : Let’s Dance

Right in the centre of Oslo, very close to the railway station, is the Opera House.  But this is no ordinary building, it’s a marble and glass building, designed by a Norwegian architectural firm, Snohetta, and was opened in April 2008.   It has a white sloping marble roof, which allows visitors to walk on the roof and enjoy the views of the Norwegian fjord.   It has been described as ‘rising out of the fjord like a giant ice floe’

As well as holding operas (currently showing Madame Butterfly), there are also many concerts, shows, art exhibitions and such like on at The Opera, and the coffee shop serves the most divine hot chocolate, a very welcome drink, especially when it’s cold outside, and you climb up and down on the roof very carefully, because of the ice and snow which can make the marble fairly slippery.

Right next to the Opera House,  in the fjord, is a steel and glass sculpture which  looks like it is floating in the water.   It is on a concrete plinth, but it can move on its axis, and turns with the wind and the tides.   The sculpture is called ‘She Lies’ and as you can see, is a most unusual piece which is certainly dramatic!

Sculpture’She Lies’ floating in the fjord.

We took my grandchildren to visit Oslo recently, and this was our first stop, before we got the ‘hop on hop off’ tourist bus to visit the other sights in Oslo.    Have a look at the gallery, it gives some idea of the very different and unusual space.

Reflections

Having fun and coffee

 

Six Word Saturday

I am not speaking to you!

Another of the wonderfully expressive sculptures by Vigeland at Frogner Park,Oslo

linked to Six Word Saturday

Let’s go Fly

These were just a few of the planes that  we saw at the Skien (Norway) air show today, there was such a great selection of old and new planes, some small two seaters, a Dakota that took people for a flight over the town, two Tiger Moths, and two Warsaw Pact planes called the L29,  that did a series of low level passes and aerial acrobatics.

The highlight of the show was an old RAF Spitfire from the Second World War. Some of these Spitfires later served with the Norwegian Air Force up to 1954.   I don’t think there are many of these Spitfires left today, except maybe in museums. When my children were young, there was an old one in the playground in Salisbury, Rhodesia, and there is also one preserved in the museum in Bulawayo.

There was an Aloutte 111 helicopter that performed a ground attack simulation, with machine gun and rocket fire, much to the delight of all the spectators, as there were lots of flames, smoke and noise, and luckily, or conveniently, the Fire Brigade rushed in to put out the blaze and saved the day.

Walking is too boring when you learn how to fly

When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return – Leonardo da Vinci

Water, Water Everywhere : Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge

Water is everywhere – well maybe there is not so much of it in the Sahara desert – but it is most necessary for all of us to survive.   Our doctors keep telling us to drink water, our gardens and flowers and vegetables need it to thrive and grow,and looking at rivers and lakes has a calming effect on us all.  Here are a few watery shots!

The Zambezi River near Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

 

Dolomite mountains, Italy

Reflections in still waters, Norway

The River Lee in Cork City

Cork City

Sunday Stills : Sunrise or Sunset

This is a favourite photo, taken on a very early morning ferry from Horten to Moss in Norway  .We were only on the go at this unfriendly hour, as we were rushing to catch a Ryanair flight back to Dublin at the end of a visit to our family in Norway.  The view of the sunrise was totally worth the early start!

Travel Theme : Pink

Fuschias

Pink is a colour that always cheers people up, and is loved by all girls, big and little.   These pink fuschias remind me of a summer’s day, and I look forward to seeing the fuschias in bloom in the next few months.

And I will be putting on these trainers soon, to brighten up my evening walks.

Time to go walking!

And my sweet grand-daughter is pretty in pink as she enjoys the snow last winter

Fun in the snow

Travel theme: Pink

Viking Kings of Norway

One of the oldest buildings in Chichester is the Church of St Olave or Olaf, who was a Viking King of Norway, born 995 and died 1030.He was also a Christian and was canonised a saint in 1164.

It seems though that the young Olaf, known as Olaf the Stout, was not always so saintly.  In his teenage years he was given his first Viking Ship and spent his early teens raiding towns and villages up and down the Baltic Sea.    At 18 years old, he joined forces with another Viking, Thorkell the Tall, a Danish Viking Chief, and, as young men do, they decided to head west to England, where they spent three years pillaging and destroying much of the south east of England.    When they got bored of England, they sailed across to Normandy and carried on to parts of France and Spain, before returning to Normandy,   While he was in Normandy, he became a Christian, and in 1013 he headed home to Norway and a few years later, at the age of 22,  he became King.

Over the next few years, he slowly converted the people of Norway to Christianity, and Olav did not only make people accept Christianity, but on advice from his Bishops, he also made ‘Christian law’ the law of the land. All other laws had to be changed to fit the ‘Christian law’. This meant big changes in the everyday life of the people and he soon became very unpopular among many, especially the chiefs and earls. The new laws reduced their position in society and they too now had to abide by them.

All did not go well for Olaf  because of his new rules, and  King Canute, who was ruler of Denmark and England at the time,  saw that a lot of the people in Norway were unhappy with Olaf, so in 1028 he arrived in Norway and siezed the throne from Olaf.   Olaf  had to flee to Russia, and he stayed there for two years, getting together an army to go back and re-conquer Norway.   He came back in 1030 and a fierce battle ensued, but Olaf was killed in the battle.  After his death, there were rumours of miracles happening  and strange lights being seen in the place where he was buried.   Even his enemies had a change of heart, and decided that they should not have killed him,  and shortly after that  he was declared a saint.

Gradually,  the whole of  Norway embraced the Christian faith and values, and for a long time, his shrine was one of the most visited in northern Europe.    His popularity spread to many places outside Norway, and there are churches and schools all over England, and even a few in Ireland, dedicated to St.Olave or Olaf.   This article will tell you more about this Viking King.

Church of St.Olave, Chichester