Monthly Archives: March 2009

The statues in Trondheim brought to mind a museum that Christian and I found quite by accident in Naxos last year. It was a close afternoon in September, and we were making our way down from the old Venetian crusader … Continue reading →

It’s through their works and not their bones that you see the people who have gone before. The old Nidaros cathedral in Trondheim has had all the chequered history you’d expect from a mediaeval power seat. It was controlled by … Continue reading →

I had tired of carrying my snowshoes strapped to the side of my pack, making me stick in doorways and tearing at passers-by with their zig-zag metal claws. Gone are the days where such things looked like tennis racquets, by … Continue reading →

‘The first time I came to England was in 1950. I had very little money, and they were supposed only to let me stay three days, so I would have enough money to get home. But the man at customs … Continue reading →

I loved the Polar Museum in Tromso. Mainly because I have a childish fascination with old-school heroes, and also in a small way because it is the sort of museum that simply could not exist in Britain. Located in Tromso’s … Continue reading →

‘This is totally wrong!’ Shouted my new friend, jabbing with a half-smoked roll-up at a small newspaper cutting that he had taken out of his wallet. It featured a map of the world, with lots of dots and figures, and … Continue reading →

I was talking to a Dixieland jazz player, in his sixties, in a bar in Gamla Stan. I told him how much I was enjoying hearing band jazz played live, rather than being confined to Beiderbecke records.‘But you are from … Continue reading →

I think Stockholm is one of my new favourite cities. It has a peculiar layout, scattered across a number of islands, and a subtly European feel to it too. I know of course that it is in Europe, but technically … Continue reading →

I spent last night on a sleeper train from Narvik to Stockholm. Seemed a pity to be in Scandinavia and not at least have a look in at Sweden. Narvik was packed out for its winter festival, which is somehow … Continue reading →