Beside the Seaside

« In Which I See The Northern Lights And Am Rendered Speechless (At Last) | Home | In Which I Come Over All David Attenborough »

In Which I Find Myself In The Company Of Strange Men

August 22, 2006 by Mike

Nusfjord, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Where to begin..? Where to begin..? So much to tell you... all of it fascinating of course. (Fingers crossed.) Where to begin:

The Zimbabwean landscape photographer-cum-diamond polisher-cum-Royal Navy seaman-cum-labourer-cum-hitchhiker-cum-sunbed factory worker-cum-farmer, living in northern Norway, who has broken both his legs twice, once in a motorbike accident (yes, I paid attention close to what happened) and once in a rumble in Istanbul, married to a Saami woman whose family owns a waterfall I happened to ride past ten days ago, with two daughters, aged 16 and 11, the eldest of whom, who previously learned to speak Saami at school in Kautokeino, has just finished work at a festival featuring musicians from indigenous peoples around the world and has also done a week's creative writing course; a man who, as you may have noticed, told me his life story?

Or

Coming face-to-face with another Mike With (sort of)?

Or

Riding a pristine 1980 Triumph Bonneville through the streets of a tiny fishing village under the express instructions to "make some REALLY LOUD noise" ringing in my ears?

Better take it chronologically and, to preserve yr sanity and my typing fingers, let's see if I can do each story justice in, say, 100 words.

1. Michel With in Stokmarknes
Great roads from Gratangen island-hopping via lovely Harstad and the amazing bridge at Sortland to Stokmansnes - mediaeval trading centre turned sleepy little town but in a previous life, birthplace of the Hurtigruten, Norway's celebrated coastal steamers. Founded, don't forget, by Richard With, (last seen in Tromsø, (and remembered here with another statue and another street name.) There's a brilliant museum (staff bent over backwards to help) that includes details of Richard's family: his great-grandfather Michel With was born in Riga in 1703. So... more news when I get to Riga! Another cold night in the hammock. Bloody Arctic!

2. Bonnies'R'us in Kabelvåg
Ferry to the Lofoten Islands, where one day I'll buy an old fishing boat to take around the coast of Europe - but that's another story. Accosted at a petrol station by a pensioner driving a jeep who owns, he informs me, a 1980 Triumph Bonneville. This he asks me to ride (loudly) round his 'hood so he can judge how annoying his riding is for his neighbours. (Answer: very.) (ie it's a fanTAStic ride.) (Sorry neighbours.) He works in the War Museum - also fascinating. He's very talkative and extremely generous. His girlfriend is half his age. My new friend, Tore.

3. Themanwhocouldn'tstoptalking in Nusfjord
At one stage in our conversation, I had occasion to play an Abdullah Ibrahim track on the laptop. Soweto Is Where It's At is 17'44" long. Paul didn't draw breath, much less give me a chance to speak. I know his life story. But I'm unduly harsh - he's holidaying alone and enjoyed the company. So did I - honest. It just came too soon after talkative Tore. This was here - Nusfjord - a gorgeously quaint Lofoten fishing village, preserved in aspic. I daren't tell you the price of my rorbu (fishing hut jutting over the sea) in case you know my bank manager.

--

Don't worry - I've counted. 100 words each. Of course, it's taken me about three times as long to be that concise, and I've missed oodles of Really Interesting Things -- did you know Nusfjord is the oldest and best preserved fishing village in Norway with archaelogical traces of rorbua dating back to 400AD? Aaah, but I'm cheating.

I will of course chunter on at great length if called upon by email.

Comments

Leave your comment

Back to Top

RSS feed | What are feeds?