A Scot Learns to Ski

At last! For a couple of weeks, Southern Norway has been buried in enough snow to gladden the heart of every Norwegian (and Scot) who loves to ski off into the forest – enough snow to dull the pain of past winters with very little of the fluffy stuff. The exotic character of winter in Norway is one of the main reasons I never left the country. But the recent snowfall has brought to mind groan-out-loud memories of how I, as a full-grown Scottish man who had thrived in the inner city grime of Scotland and England, first caught the bug. The itchy fever that compels you to strap planks onto your feet, turn towards the snow-heavy trees, and abandon all things that bind you to the civilised, urban world. My musings on winter wonders are in two parts, this is Part One, and the second comes next week.

EPISODE PHOTO
Here I am, enthralled by the poetry and wonder of winter.
Ok, only kidding. This is King Olav V of Norway in 1939, when he was Crown Prince. I just identified with that romantic stare into the white yonder... 

Photo: Anders Beer Wilse
Public Domain

(The photo embedded in the player is is a young enthusiast taking part in the Norwegian Championship in Cross-Country Skiing (Juniors) at Eidsvoll in 1963. Photo: Johan Brun (Dagbladet). Licence: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

CONTACT
Twitter: @northbynorway
Email: northbynorway@gmail.com

MUSIC
00:00 North by Norway
written on GarageBand by Andrew J. Boyle, using the Norwegian folksong ‘I Ola-dalom, i Ola-tjønn’

03:00 Sleigh Ride
Frederick Delius

Music performed on GarageBand by Andrew J. Boyle