A Dark Time

It is a struggle to stay awake.

I am in a constant state of drowsy powsy. My eyelids hang, heavily, suspended by sheer will power and forced concentration.

It is like a permanent early morning. This is not good. I am grumpiest in the early morning.

It is autumn here in the Northern Hemisphere, a dark time.

The summer solstice in June delivers 20 hours of daylight in Oslo. We are now heading for the winter solstice in December which delivers 6.

The 6 or so hours of light are obfuscated by the grayness of the autumn sky.

We are fortunate. The poor buggers in Tromsø are now in a total darkness known as mørketid, polar night, or dark time literally translated. They will not see the sun until the middle of January.

For a sun worshipper like me, it is a huge struggle.

I was in the habit of popping to the loo for a quick afternoon nap at the office. I don’t bother now. I simply clear my desk, make a pillow with my scarf and get horizontal.

No one bothers with me, I am too grumpy.

Thank goodness Christmas is coming. Xmas in Norway is magical. It is like being in Whoville but without the Grinch.

The run up to xmas is filled by many dinners and revelry with colleagues and friends in preparation for the big family holiday. The ambiance of the town centre, the pagan symbolism, and the good nature of my fellow Norwegians lights my soul.

We spend our xmas in the mountains, and the ski conditions look to be good this year! I am moist with anticipation.

A special time to look forward to, and help get me through this dark period.

Following xmas, it is a short run to March and the spring equinox which delivers and equal 12 hours of sunlight and darkness.

My tan will be back by Easter. Thank the sun gods for that.

Beaverboosh

Brewery Takes The Piss

Another most excellent yuletide in Norway has now passed and the local brewery has connected an extraction unit to my penis to (re-)bottle a special 2008 New Year's brew. To be honest, I've only taken to drinking my own urine in emergencies, but this year's vintage shows great promise.

The yuletide season here in Norway is magical and starts on the 24th of December. We dress in traditional National Dress (Bunad), and after our feast, hold hands and sing and dance around the xmas tree. It is like living in Whoville but without the Grinch.

Mrs. Beaverboosh and I have not started a family yet, so it is principally an adult affair, sans any little shits. Don't get me wrong, I love children, though I couldn't eat a whole one.

New Year's Eve is especially exciting as thousands of totally pissed members of the public ignite industrial military grade fireworks at the stroke of 12. These weapons are unavailable in any other country I have visited but to professionals. Here you buy them in the corner shop.

We are in the mountains, on a ski hill, so positioning before midnight is always tricky. It's like being in a firefight in Iraq... with snow, champagne and lots of hugging and kissing, ... and some falling over... and the occasional 3rd degree flesh wound or loss of sight!

It's all very merry, really!

Only 4 more days to the 5th and our 12 days of xmas will be over for another year. I am hoping the brewery will dispatch their man promptly to disconnect the apparatus.

Here is hoping that 2008 is your best year ever!

Beaverboosh