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Juli 31, 2005
Playing
I'm in this week's photo, which was taken by Ian Brunswick.
I had two musical jobs this week. I DJed at a place called Indigo with Leon, a friend from London (newly moved to Oslo). I also gave a half hour performance of my songs at Blindern to International Summer School (ISS) students.
Posted by barry at 10:27 EM
Juli 24, 2005
Telemark
As you can see, I have no photo(s) from my travels through the Norwegian province of Telemark. This is because I have until now been using the camera on my phone, and now that my contract with T-Mobile in London has ended, the phone is locked, until I receive the pin number with which to unlock it so I can put a new sim card in it. I paid T-Mobile for this pin back in June, and despite phone calls, emails and a hand-written letter, they still haven't given it to me. So no phone, no camera. If you are in the UK or wherever else T-Mobile "operate", don't make my mistake of becoming one of their customers! This is the worst "customer service" I have ever experienced. Let their logo stand here as an anti-advertisement for their "services".
Posted by barry at 11:03 EM
Juli 17, 2005
Bergen
Up until now I've been writing about my experiences in the city of Oslo, capital of Norway. But Norway's previous capital was the west coast city of Bergen, a far more dramatic place, which I have just visited.
Oslo and Bergen are not near each other. I think the train distance is about 470k and we took the roads. I went with the summer school who organized a bus tour for about 65 of us. We stopped overnight at Lærdal and then arrived in Bergen the following evening.
Bergen is famous for its constant rain, but while there I experienced everything from downpour to beautiful sunshine. I was told this was atypical, even for July. So expect rain if you go there. I'm sure this is something that may put you off the place at first, but once you get beyond that there is so much to discover. Bergen has a character and feeling I can barely describe. The streets display architecture from all sorts of historical epochs, all jumbled together chaotically. The small city is on an incline, moving upward from fjord water to the high, misty forest that overlooks all.
Posted by barry at 10:13 EM
Juli 10, 2005
Bombs
I was rehearsing in the music room on Blindern campus on Thursday afternoon when I began to receive calls and messages from my Norwegian friends. London, where I'd been living for the last three and a half years, had been bombed.
At first it was unclear exactly how many tubes and buses had exploded, or what was going on. I tried to phone friends in London but the phone networks were down. Eventually I started to receive emails, and in the evening I finally got to speak to people. My friends are very much alive. In a couple of cases their regular train was bombed, but in most cases people I know seem to have either been in bed or were watching TV when it happened. But I knew many people in London, so I can't be absolutely sure I don't know one of the dead or injured.
It's a senseless waste of human life, whether I know the victims or not.
Posted by barry at 12:56 EM
Juli 3, 2005
Sommerskolen
("The Summer School"). Until the 5th of August, I am a student attending a Norwegian class at the International Summer School of the University of Oslo. This of course means I'm not earning anything, so I have to work out an economical way of getting through the day in one of the most expensive cities on Earth.
Continue reading "Sommerskolen"
Posted by barry at 1:15 EM