Day:330, words:330

The snow has taken a break and the town was able to get on with the important things in life like making gingerbread men. The Christmas preparation period is in full swing in the week before advent kicks off. Kitchens all over the village were filled with the essential incredients of flour, ginger and plenty of syrup and sugar. In some families the baking of gingerbread men is done in combination with the constuction of the kids advent calenders. From December 1, children of Øksfjord can open a small gift everyday in the lead up to the glut of presents they will receive on Christmas Eve. The daily suprises can range from chocolates to money to toys to gingerbread cookies.

The idea of such a massive lead up to Christmas has to do with darkness that engulfs the northern parts during this time of year. The extravagant lighting along verandahs and inside the cosy homes, helps to raise the spirits in a difficult time for many. The tiredness is widespread as the sun has now dipped the horizon, not to return until the start of February. The difficulty in waking up for work can be likened to being held prisoner in a Mexican jail, while being forced to listen to the very best of Justin Beiber volumes one and two and a Sarah Palin policy speech.

After the initial crawling up the stairs to pour a large amount of caffine down the throat, the day progresses quite well until around 2pm where the sudden wall of exhaustion bears down upon the working public. Dinner is an early affair in northern Norway at between 4 and 5pm and probably just as well as the new injection of energy is well received. Afternoon activities include judo, football, yoga, aerobics, swimming, arts and craft and choir practice. A common annoyance is resurgence of alertness and energy when we should really be thinking about bedtime. This ensures the continuation of the dreaded cycle tomorrow.

 

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Day: 329, words:329

Oh the weather outside is frightful. But the fire is so delightful. And since we've no place to go. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!!

Obviously Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Micheal Buble had never visited the fjords in northern Norway and if they did, they would surely be singing make it stop, make it stop, make it stop. Having just finished a marathon shovelling session, the love of the white stuff is waning.

Tottenham football club is due to fly into these parts in a few days to face Tromsø in a UEFA cup tie and the players can expect to be playing on a white pitch with an orange ball. There have been quiet whispers of the dreaded 97 winter, which coincidentally was the last time a London club was in Tromsø. On that particular occassion, it flopped down, bringing visability to a minimum, allowing the lowly Tromsø team to defeat reigning FA cup champions Chelsea 3-2. After witnessing 90 minutes of the orange ball being ploughed through the snow, occassionally being squeezed into the net, the losing manager Ruud Gullit pronounced "This is not football". The match remains an historic highlight in the town known as 'The Paris of the North'. With similar conditions being predicted for Thursday evening, let's hope the result is the same.

The conditions have become a massive inconvenience for dozens of travellers trying to reach their destinations. Closed roads, mountain passes, airports and cancelled boats have forced many to remain in limbo, forced to find emergency accommodation or even camp out in the local waiting area outside of the closed kiosk. Students have been unable to return to their studies and doctors have been stranded after been flown around the country in search of a safe airport to land at. But as the saying goes...'we know where we live'. So there really is nothing else to do but get properly dressed, gravel your shovel and get to work.

 

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Day: 328, words: 328

Well the saga continues. The tunnel that was built a couple of decades ago to provide a safer road both into and out of Øksfjord has been under continuous fixing projects since 2009. The one lane, dark, damp and icy stretch of road that lasts for over four kilometres has been closed since the summer. The council opened the previously closed coastal road with the assurance that the improved tunnel would be re opened for business before the heavy snowfalls arrived along with the avalanche warning season. Well, as most 4 year olds know, late November in northern Norway brings lots of snow. It has done so for a thousand years and will continue to do so for the next thousand or so.

The tunnel remains closed as more bucket loads of dough has been poured into a project that has proven to be as effective as an inflatable dartboard. The seasonal snow has resulted in avalanche warnings and unsafe roads. So now, the road that was so dangerous in winter that a tunnel needed to be built to provide a safer route, is closed. The tunnel that was to provide the safer route, is also closed. Locals have debated in depth as to which route is indeed the most dangerous as anyone who has braved the tunnel journey could attest to. It looks as though for the time being that the Christmas shopping pilgrimage to Alta will have to wait, unless other transport methods can be arranged. One generous, local business tycoon took it upon himself to transport stranded and frustrated locals from the other side of the tunnel to back home with the use of his spacious boat.

If it wasn't so damn frustrating, it would be amusing. The jokes about taking an entry fee and promoting the tunnel as some kind of scary theme park are beginning to wear thin. Perhaps a new sign should be erected...Welcome to Øksfjord, home of the country's worst tunnel!

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Day: 327, Words: 327

Well here we are again, one year ago exactly since the bloggate episode that caused a sudden halt to the project due to a technical nightmare. The daily updates from the northern paradise stopped short, just 39 days shy of the new year. Well it's late November now. It's dark, it's full of snow and the town is in the last stages of a countdown before the Pre-Christmas crazy period begins. The year in this magical village has produced a glut of controversies due partly to political madness and questionable leadership. There have been some notable moves from families to larger pastures, while others have newly settled into Øksfjord, awaiting new challenges and fresh opportunities.

The football season has finished with at least one group of boys enjoying an end of year gathering at a winter cabin. After a long journey, trudging through knee high snow, the lads relaxed with some time in the sweltering log fired sauna followed briskly by a 20 second dip in the newly dug ice bath on the edge of the frozen lake. Severe winds have battered the Norwegian coastline in recent days and emergency warnings were also issued to the vulnerable Øksfjord. However as nearby Hammerfest and Alta witnessed angry storms, the smug residents of Øksfjord boasted of life within the often reffered to as the 'corridor of good weather'.

Meanwhile along with death and taxes, some things remain constant, the state of the Øksfjord tunnel for example. For those who are unfamiliar with the saga, the tunnel was built some twenty years ago as a safe alternative to the avalanche prone road along the fjord. A one lane tunnel, with poor lighting, dripping celings and dangerous ice humps throughout the 4 kilometre long disaster waiting to happen. Since 2009, this embarrasing landmark has been patched, prodded, repaired, analysed and renovated. The result of this work is a closed tunnel, a multi billion kroner bill and a bunch of peeved residents.

 

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