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In Which I Dissect A Small Town Before Yr Very Eyes
August 8, 2006 by Mike
Ten Things That Interest Me About Berlevag
Berlevåg
(and the great thing about this little world of ours is... take any town, village or hamlet, any community of say 1000 souls, and there will be sooooooo much to talk about. So for Berlevåg, read 'Anytown'.)
(And I realise absolutely that not only is my list incomplete, it's also highly personal. Come and spend a few days here, and make a list of yr own.)
one There is a road, a small road, in Berlevåg, named Astrupsgate. Possibly after a distant relative via my mother (nee Astrup), a fish merchant who was one of the richest men in Finnmark many years ago. Apparently.
two But what I find even more incredible, there is a road named JM Withs Gate.
With is a ridiculously unusual surname. Anywhere. But, it turns out, there have been Withs in Berlevåg for 100 years. JM With was lost at sea in 1926 - one of many such names recorded in the town museum. He was also a policeman -- clearly, not a close relative! His daughter still lives in Berlevag, but wasn't well enough to meet me. Her husband was not a man of many words, but he promised to pass on my regards, and to another family of Withs in Berlevåg who are on holiday at the moment. His wife's family moved north from the Trondheim region -- I'll keep my eyes peeled when I get there.
three Someone made a film about the Berlevåg Male Choir. And why not? I saw Heftig og begeistret ('Cool & Crazy' in UK/US) when it came out, with no thought of ever seeing the place. It's funny, sad, revealing, eye-opening, toe-curling and occasionally toe-tapping: highly recommended.
Some of the townspeople who don't appear in it were a little disparaging, some bored of the attention, others amused. A couple of choir members wore t-shirts with the film's name splashed across them.. but they make awful celebs.. not one of them pushed to the front of the queue in the local Spar saying "don't you know who I am...?" while I was there.
four You have eaten cod caught by the fishermen of Berlevåg (and processed by the women). Yes, you have. It's one of the biggest producers of cod in the world. Even if, like me, you don't like fish (but figure that fishfingers don't count, cos when did fish ever have fingers anyway?), you have eaten cod from Berlevag.
five Everyone from Berlevåg, and the surrounding communities, who went on holiday in the 60s and 70s, went to Sochi. This, dear reader, is my likely destination, far away on Russia's Black Sea coast close to the Georgian border. Unless turkey counts, it's the end of my road. And these people, from the very beginning of the journey, all know the place.
This freaked me out!
Turns out it was easier to follow my bike trip in reverse... to take the boat to Kirkenes, a bus to Nickel, train to Murmansk and fly (via Leningrad or Moscow) to Sochi.. than it was to travel south through Norway and fly out to, say, the Canary Islands, where the rest of Norway decamps every year. I love that.
six There are two pubs in Berlevåg. Avoid the Anchor (seems the landlady is an old crone) but the Neptun [sic] is pretty friendly.
seven Yes, there are two pubs. Also two hairdressers, two groceries (both Spar), two choirs (the women didn't get to be in the film); one masseuse (steady!), one petrol pump, one refugee family -- Tamil -- and one road out. Yes, just one road out. It's 40 miles to the nearest road junction -- this also freaked me out, and some of the locals when I pointed it out to them -- and another 40 beyond that to the next shop.
eight There's even an Englishman in Berlevåg. Gary arrived nearly 20 years ago. Doesn't speak a word of Norwegian. Still calls the nearby hamlet of Kongsfjord 'Kingsford' -- in broadest estuary English. Introduced darts to the town and also.. how can I put this?... introduced darts fashion to the town.. beer gut out to here and Gary, you've got to lose the mullet. The world's only Chelsea and Millwall fan (is that why he had to get out of London?) spends much of the summer, and I imagine all of the winter, downstairs in The Bunker, an underground, windowless room in his house with a huge fridge stacked with beer bought cheap over the border in Finland, satellite telly showing English football and re-runs of Jeremy Clarkson every night, drinkin' beer and smurkin' tabs.
Gary's also a doting father who wouldn't swap Berlevåg, and the safety, freedom and healthy lifestyle it offers his two lovely daughters, for all the world. And a most convivial and generous host -- to me and to his neighbours. Top man.
nine In 1943, seven men from Berlevåg were arrested by the Nazis for colluding with the partisans -- Norwegians working for Soviet intelligence, transmitting details of Nazi shipping and troop movements back to Murmansk. The seven were sentenced to be shot. They were ordered to dig their own graves. One took this shovel, attacked and killed a German guard. In retaliation, the prisoners were beaten to death. The wife of one of them, Dagny Loe, was sent to Germany. Separated from her seven eldest children, her baby died during her captivity. Dagny Loe, about whom the Swedes made a TV movie, still lives in Berlevåg.
ten For a moment there, the charming people, stunning location and unseasonably warm sunshine hoodwinked me into thinking it almost makes sense living on the very edge of the world, where snow covers the ground for eight months of the year and there are snow storms in June, and everyone eats fish every day, and it's OK to drink all night if the sun's still up and then go to work the next day and then do it all again the next night, and.... yeah, well... what's so bad about that??
Comments
By Mike With | December 10, 2006 5:55 PM
Update in December 2006: make that *eleven* interesting things. I've just learned that 'Babette's Feat' is set in Berlevåg. That's another film I have to get out and watch...
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By Peter Michael With | August 12, 2006 8:35 AM
Drinking beer daylight to daylight! I like that!