Definitely the most exciting story of the week: male wolves have previously been seen in Denmark, a young female has definitely moved in. In the Guardian.

From from a researcher: “People were very surprised when wolves first appeared in Denmark but they are highly mobile and are just as adaptable to cultural landscapes as foxes are. The only ( Read more... )

LOTS of reindeer*, migrating from winter to summer pastures on NRK's latest snow TV. After a slow start when they weren't very interested in moving, they are finally on the march, though even this involves a lot of time standing around eating. Reindeer moss cannot be very nutritious, even for reindeer. Technically these are semi-domesticated ( Read more... )

Bølgen (The Wave) involves - you guessed it - a giant wave/inland tsunami that happens when half a mountain slides off into the fjord. It is based on a real place, under a real threat, and on real incidents of this type in the twentieth century. The actual event isn’t implausible. There’s a BBC clip of an interview here with a couple of sailors ( Read more... )

My God, last night's Downton Abbey stank. Crap script, crap acting, crap all round. I don't know whether Julian Fellowes isn't capable of better, or just doesn't care. Either way, it's entirely undeserving of its budget. It's a pity Michelle Dockery isn't a better actress, though, as in black she looks exactly like my mental image of a pre-Azkaban ( Read more... )

Less anticipated perils of nudism: Naked German women found in woods

Less amusingly, exploitation of berry pickers.

Apparently Morrisons sells jars of bilberries from Poland (where they are presumably picked by Poles), and any potential radioactivity doesn't present a health hazard. Alas, I don't have a local Morrisons. I shall have to go to ( Read more... )

It was dark - really dark - by 7pm! Where did September go?

I have noted before that the UK is not the only country that experiences Traffic Chaos with the first snow of the year. Norway is doing it again.

I have been canny and bought an electric blanket before the rush. I shall apply for my bus pass next week.

Since I mourned the demise of Aftenposten’s news in English I have wanted a replacement without, as is so often the case, hunting very hard for it. I think now, though, I have found it. No one volume could replace the drunk elk AND the economics of oil rigs, but the combination of http://www. ( Read more... )

The phone interview turned out to be a lot less intimidating than I had anticipated, and certainly better than trying to get to, across, and out of London by train. I would like more snow locally, but I can manage without, especially as in 6 weeks I shall be in Norway ( Read more... )

Farewell, Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten’s English page. Farewell, tales of drunk elk attacking washing or walking through windows, the inadequacies of the Norwegian State Railways, the articles about oil that I always skip, annual First Snow Sparks Chaos (not just the UK),the landslides, the financial troubles at Hurtigruten, students getting ( Read more... )