Tuesday 18th December 2012

Didn't get too much in the way of precipitation overnight.

Had porridge for breakfast with a banana. Quite a big bowl.

Wasn't sure how long it'd take to get to the office so I planned to set off at 0700hrs, allowing an hour. 

By the time I set off though, it was quarter past seven. 

I have now worked out the benefits of Fisherman's Friends. They stop me throwing up my food in the cold.

I was wearing the cargo pants to start with this morning, as well as the spikes.  I set off at quite a lick but other people were still keeping up or even going faster.

By the time I got to the office I was sweating like a piggy. It was so bad I had to remove the office shirt and put on the emergency t-shirt I had in the cupboard.

The day went by reasonably well and I think I made some progress. Hopefully it'll be accepted.  If not then they'll have to do it themselves.

I didn't leave the office until 1745hrs. I stopped off at the Kiwi Minpris for Gordon's chocolate bars and some chicken. Again it took me about 45mins to walk back to the apartment. My nose seemed to be running but not excessively.

Tomorrow I should be receiving my shipment from the UK.

Monday 17th December 2012

I had planned to get up reasonably early this morning to allow some more time to get up the driveway. If it didn't work first time I'd have enough time to come back down to put the tyre chains on.

This is exactly what I had to do.

The temperature was above zero today and a bit of slush was on the ground.

After the first failed attempt I came back inside to change out of the office attire into cargo trousers for getting down onto my knees to put the chains on. I'd just have to change into them once I got to work.

The left chain seemed to go on correctly but the right one looked a bit off. I couldn't be bothered to sort it out though so gave it a go. I managed to eventually get to the top. Sure enough the right had chain had slipped off. Luckily the chain hadn't caught in the wheel to wrap  itself around. It was still a bugger to remove though.

I made it to the petrol station and it cost me 200NOK and the fuel gauge did go up to full! Next time a car hire company says the fuel gauge doesn't work I'll insist we go to the pumps and try anyway!

Got to car hire place before 0735hrs. As they didn't open til 0800hrs I had to wait a little while before I could head off to the office.

The walk to the office wasn't too bad. I put my spikes on. Was carrying the laptop back to the office. Hadn't had chance to use it over the weekend. Seemed a bit odd walking from the town  centre straight to the office.

Office work was not too bad today. Well I had issues obviously but it didn't add up to much.

I walked back into town with Eileen. The pavements were very slippery. I was nervous as hell about falling over. Not getting any younger ya know.

When I got to Rimi I very nearly ended up on my arse. Time for the spikes.

By the time I got back to the flat it'd been about 1hr from the office. This included a stop at Clas Ohlsen for a stick-on hook and soap rack for the shower.

Had a freezer chilli with rice for supper.

Sunday 16th December 2012

Woke up at about 0715hrs. It was snowing again. Had a pee which also indicated I am dehydrating. Need to make sure I have water by my bed during the nights. Got back to bed and  my back is twinging.

Took a bit of time to watch Ice Age2. More snow related entertaiment! About 1130 decided I needed to finalise the move by picking up the frozen food and putting the bedding back. The driveway looked a bit better this morning so decidedto try without the chains. No chance. Got the chains on but not perfectly. These didn't help much either. Tommy did say that his little works van also has issues getting up the hill sometimes. His car is also front wheel drive but it doesn't seem to have an issue with the climb out. Might be because the engine is heavier pushing down on the front axle. Just as Tommy and myself were getting into it, the snow plough service turned up. Like a milkman this guy has a round to complete. He does a single shove and then goes off to the next part of the round. Tommy, the landlord, pays a fixed fee for the season. If it snows a lot he gets more for his money but if not he loses out. Does mean he doesn't have to worry about it.

After the snow plough moved out I made it out okay, without the chains. Slow(ish) drive to the old apartment.

Took me about 1.5 hrs to get everything out and hoovered etc. Loaded all the stuff from the freezer and fridge as well as scouring the flat for the rest of my kit.

Once back at the new flat I tried to do some washing. Gods the machine made a lot f noise at the spin cycle. Took the power out rather sharpish to stop it vibrating across the floor. After another read of the instructions in English I found a mention of transit bolts which needed to be removed. Hadn't seem any diagrams for their removal!

That's because they don't appear in any of the 15 language options. They were in a small leaflet with diagrams only, which I hadn't spotted before.

Lot quieter once they'd been removed.

Took some pictures showing the snow. 

Watched some more movies from the HDD. 

Was feeling fairly knackered as it'd been a fully packed weekend. Despite the shirts being washed I could only manage to iron one for the coming week.

No chance for Skyping this week as I haven't got the digital TV card verified yet.

Saturday 15th December 2012

Over night there had been quite a lot of snow fell. Well quite a lot for somebody who comes from the Southwest of the UK.  It was still snowing when I woke up. Hadn't slept particularly well during the night. New sofa bed not the most comfortable. It's also a bit too warm. Maybe I am dehydrating.

This morning I was supposed to meet Eileen at the station for 0900hrs. As I didn't have any food in either apartment I thought I'd set off reasonably early and find a McDonalds for a breakfast.

Didn't quite go to plan however because the lightweight berlingo van couldn't make it up the driveway. I tried going forwards but couldn't seem to get any further than 10-15feet before the tyres would slip and the engine rev up. I even tried going in reverse. The thinking was that reverse gear is the lowest ratio, and also the weight of the van would push down on the drive wheels, so might reduce the chance of spinning out.

This worked a bit better and I made it to the decking level, about 30feet up the drive. Then I tried going up the rest of the drive forwards. Didn't work. Got about 25ft further up, nearly at a level area where I should've been able to turn around and do the last section forwards. Just shy of my target it all stalled terribly.

While I was struggling, the landlord (Tommy) turned up. Apparently he'd been out running for two hours. It was still dark at 0900hrs. He had a large headlamp. I asked him what I doing wrong, but he said he didn't think I was doing anything wrong.

He brought up some gravel to put under the wheels and a shovel but this didn't help. Eventually I handed it over to Tommy, who was reluctant, but I have more mass for pushing.  We eventually sorted it out and we got the van to the top. Tommy had had the window open and the still falling snow had built on the door to about 1inch. This put quite a bit of moisture into the cab.

I had to spend a bit of time demisting before I finally set off. Texted Eileen to say I'd be late.

I was nervous to say the least on the trip into Asker. Not only did I have to cope with the snow, a two wheel drive van, driving on the wrong side of the road but also a difference in the way the Norwegians handle some junctions. In some areas you have to give way to traffic coming in from the right, even if it looks like you're on the main route! I guess this is because road markings just disappear under all the snow. The main worry was I wasn't sure where these junctions were. Some have to give way to the right and some don't. To play it safe I just took things very slowly. On the way in I decided to see if the car hire place had some chains available anyway. Bought a small aluminium shovel from the them just in case.

Took the wrong turn to the station and had to go round again. Eileen had texted me to say she'd be at the Rema1000, which I had to go past. Unfortunately I didn't get this til I'd got back to the station. I called her and mis-understood her question. She asked if I was at Ultra. I said yes as I thought she'd asked if I'd gone towards it. Got another call to ask where I was, as I wasn't at Ultra. No I said, I'm at the station as agreed. I went to pick her up from there. We had a chocolate bread product. Quite nice and I wolfed mine down as I hadn't had anything since a peanut butter sandwich yesterday evening.

I had thought Eileen might like to see my new apartment and also give me some hints about furnishings etc. I decided against this however because of the trouble I'd had getting out.

I set up the GPS to take us to IKEA. Eileen was quite shocked that it looked like the snow ploughs hadn't been out yet. I thought the traffic was going a little fast but I stayed about 20kph below the posted speed limit. Some drivers got a little close behind me, but we made it to Billingstad without incident. All the stores we were due to visit were around the one motorway exit. IKEA, Elkjop and SmartKlubb.

We started on the wrong side of the motorway at SmartKlubb. This was a big store, a cross between Tescos and Aldi. We bought quite a bit of stuff there. I spent about 1800 NOK on all sorts of stuff, but I couldn't give you a complete list.

By the time we'd finished there I was getting quite peckish so we decided to go to the other side of the motorway to IKEA for lunch as well as shopping. I also needed to get rid of the cardboard before we got too loaded up. I thought I'd seen a couple of large skips outside during one of my previous visits. This wasn't correct. Bugger.

We found a pallet in the underground car park. Unloaded the garbage and went to park up. Plenty of spaces left. The Norwegians had obviously been late in getting out this morning. My back was still giving me issues if I spent too long in one position but I wasn't as bad as Eileen. First thing we did was get lunch. I finally had the meatballs. 15 in a medium portion. With a couple of potatos this was more than enough.

Spent about 30mins wandering around the upper floor getting ideas and putting smaller items in the basket. Eileen had only come along to get some towels. We both left with a lot of stuff.

I bought another three bulb floor lamp, a couple more table lamps, a set of shelves, 3 sets of curtains, bedding for the sofa bed, bulbs, coat hangers to name just a few. I was a bit uncertain about whether the shelves were going to fit in the van at first. As it happens they fitted perfectly without having to rearrange anything.

After IKEA we went back to the other side of the motorway to Elkjop for the TV, SAD lamp(s) and microwave.

Starting to feel tired. I picked a Matsui mcrowave off the shelf for about 450NOK. The SAD lamps were expensive at over 1200 NOK. I'll order one from Amazon for about £40 and see about getting it here in my bags. Finally settled on a 42" LG smart TV for about 6000 NOK. I would have to pick it up from their collection depot down past IKEA. We crossed that motorway a lot during the day.

Couldn't actually believe the thinness of the TV box as it came out. Didn't take too much fiddling to get it in the van without it falling over. By this time it was about 1545hrs and getting dark. I was due to take Eileen and her shopping back to Drammen. The snow ploughs had been out by this time but it'd been snowing non-stop all day so there was plenty of slush about.

Snow was still falling. Again I was going slower than the majority of the traffic. Luckliy we had no incident on the motorway. My habit of not touching the brakes proved useful as I was always far enough behind the car in front, to deal with changes in speed witthout panicing.

As we got to Eileen's house we were on the wrong side of the road. I had to head further up to find somewhere to turn around. Eventually got back to Eileens but had to park on the pavement as the hill down to her drive looked too steep. Fortunately the house is right on the road so she had access through the front. The snow was very deep to her front door. Nearly twisted an ankle going down the steps.

Got back to Asker about 1700hrs. Spent a bit of time shovelling snow out the front of th apartment. Wasn't too hard as it was light and fluffy. Took me a while to get the van unloaded. I had a pizza for supper, after which I set up the TV. I plugged in a HDD and started 'Casino Royale'. While that was playing I put the shelving together.

After that I watched 'Where Eagles Dare' for the umpteenth time.Thought it appropriate what with all the snow we had today. Picture quality was pretty good, especially as the files were made for a laptop screen. Can't wait for my movie collection to arrive.

Still haven't got the digital TV or WiFi sorted out yet.

Friday 14th December 2012

Poor sleep last night. Gas kept me awake most of the night. Might be I have a problem with garlic and/or the chillies in the chilli I had last night. Have to keep a food diary maybe to see what happens after I eat certain foods. Don't worry I wouldn't keep it here.

Going to be late getting to work this morning and I plan on leaving early to get the hire car. A bit nervous about the covering of snow/ice on the roads. Not just on the back roads either. Will just have to take it extremely slowly and ignore all the angry drivers I'm sure will get annoyed by it.

Snowing again today with much more planned for tomorrow. Oh joy. Just hope I don't get stuck or cause too much trouble with the driving.

Tracey-Anne sent a message asking if I was okay. Some sort of weird dream. Hopefully it isn't a premonition.

By the time I'd finished the AMOS help file for this week it was after 1600hrs before I left. Luckily it isn't too far to walk to the car hire place.  I didn't use the shoe spikes today. Trying to get used to not using them. Seems to be working at the moment. Still carrying them in the bag/pocket though.

The car hire place was easy enough to find. I was actually surprised that they showed me a lot of dings in the body work. I was expecting the usual nonsense where they miss one and try to claim it was my fault, and charging me for it. The heater fan was either off or full on. I was told that the fuel gauge wasn't working properly and didn't show full despite it being so. Wasn't sure about that but decided to trust them after they'd showed me the dents/scratches etc. I asked about snow chains but they said they wouldn't be needed. I didn't even make it out of the car park. I had to leave via the back way over the bridge.

Good start to driving. Not! Took the wrong turning and ended up driving for about 40mins from the car hire place to my temporary flat instead of 2!

The gps seemed to be a bit slow. As I headed towards the temporary flat it said 'take the first exit at the roundabout'. Unfortunately the lane on the right took me onto the blasted motorway. I had to go quite a few km's before the gps decided I could get off.

After exiting I was taken back via the back roads. Luckily it was quiet as I was nervous as hell. Snow covered roads, driving on the right, dark, with a smattering of fresh show in the air. I got close to the office and thought I knew where I was going. I decided to follow the instructions though. Bad move. I hadn't selected the correct location where picking on the map and it took me back onto the E18. As I passed the flat at about 100kph I was informed I'd arrived. Bugger! Bugger!

Off to Oslo then to find the next exit. At a petrol station I decided to pull in and sort out the gps location. I made sure this time the destination was in the middle of the estate.

Finally made it back.

It took me a while to get all  my stuff into bags and ready to go. Had a single peanut butter sandwich for supper.

Menum menum.
Do do do, do do!
Menum menum.

THAT song is on Simon Mayo's Friday all request drive time, as it is every Friday. I challenge anybody to listen to that and not sing along for at least minute.

The bike was loaded first with a lot of bags on top.

When I got to the new flat I saw that the driveway down the hill was covered in snow. As long as it didn't snow too much over night I'd be able to get out in the morning. Tommy, the landlord, had cleared a path to my front door.

Cup of tea, then unloaded the van.

As we were heading to IKEA in the morning I thought I'd take the cardboard back. It did take up quite a bit of room. We need to get to IKEA first thing so that we can load up all the things I was planning on getting tomorrow.

Slept on the sofa bed.

Thursday 13th December 2012

Back still an issue. Might be getting a little better. I am trying to walk as much as possible even up the three floors to the mess hall.

Work was the same old stuff. Getting somewhere with new job definitions.

Just after lunch we were given a Christmas present in the mess hall. Judging by the look of the stack of boxes, I initially thought it was going to be a box of chocolates. Not sure if I was supposed to wait but I opened it up and saw a set of three knives.

There were no country marks. Arno eventually tracked them down to a Swedish company. Not the most expensive obviously when you're handing out lots of them. They seem to have sufficient weight, the grip is a good size and made of rubber. I am pleased to get anything really as it shows that somebody is thinking about arranging something for US.

Got home later than usual after talking with Gatwick wallah about workboat jobs.

I started to pack my stuff up ready for the move tomorrow and the weekend. Basically consisted of throwing things in large bags. I will have to spend tomorrow evening at the new place as I don't think there's a parking space for the temporary flat.

Supper was a freezer chilli. 

Wednesday 12th December 2012

Same old same old at work.

My back was giving me issues. I'd be okay sitting down at the desk and I'd be okay walking around after a couple of minutes. It is the transition from desk to walking that's causing me issues.

In the evening I agreed to meet some of the guys from the Vespucci for a beer or three at the Lancelot.

I got to the flat and dropped off the bag. Got to Lancelot about 1725hrs but no sign of the crew.

Eventually Tim turns up at about 1750hrs. Had a good chat with him. Had a burger for supper. Was just about to leave when Mick, Eileen, Ross and Dave turned up. Would've been rude to leave straight away so sat down for one more. Lots of hot air.

Just about to leave again when Gaz and Alejandro turn up. Delayed by the duty free consumption apparently.

Tuesday 11th December 2012

Poor sleep again. Woke up early, then went back to sleep for a bit.

Have to find some sunlight today. Hopefully the forecast is accurate and I'll have a sun break.

I have been looking online at those S.A.D. lamps. Will order one from Amazon and bring it back with me. Cursory enquiries at work seem to suggest they won't pay for it.

My back is a little worse today. Going to slow me down getting to work I think. Maybe the walking on slippery surfaces is not doing my balance control any good, which is affecting the muscles etc. Haven't felt insecure in the last couple of days but Friday's slip could've upset something I guess.

Will have to call the electricity company to sort out who's going to provide the power. In Norway it seems they run the electricity supply something like the rail system in the UK. I have to pay a standing charge to the people who manage the supply equipment, such as meters, power lines etc. I then have to pay a separate bill for the actual energy consumed. In the UK all the standing charges are paid to the supplier and they deal with the payments for the equipment maintenance.

Managed to see a bit of sun after lunch. It was bloody cold though. Arno said he saw -15degC on the way in in the morning and it didn't feel any warmer. Thankfully there was no wind. Got some weird looks from some smokers.

Called the electric company. Gods Google Chrome is helpful, with its automatic translation feature on the fly. I now have an account. Oh joy.

The small boat stuff is going to take a while to sort out.

Also called the local car hire company to rent a berlingo for the weekend. Probably could've done everything Fri/Sat but didn't want to rush with unfamiliar roads, weather and rules etc. Luckily somebody else has agreed to help me. Well agreed is a bit strong. She also needed some stuff picking up so we're going to do it together.

I decided that a steak was required so went into town to buy one. While there I checked with the car hire company what docs I'd need. I stopped off at the post office to finally get Luke's letter sent off. Quite surprised that an international letter was only 18NOK, (approx £2.1). Even if that's second class it's a lot cheaper than I'd be paying in the UK.

Monday 10th December 2012

Can't really be bothered today.

Actually used the strap on spikes for the footwear today. The snow has been lying for a day or so now and has got compacted in places. Didn't want to repeat the slip of Friday. Feels like you're walking on small bits of gravel all the time.

Work was okay. Issues with the smallboats is bigger than I thought.

Some of the guys from Vespucci turned up to learn the new streamer system they're getting. Quite nice to see them again for a couple of minutes before they disappeared to a classroom somewhere.

I had actually missed a couple of calls from Tim. Now realise the phone was still on silent? Don't remember,unless it was on Sat evening, doing that.

Back has started to give me twinges during the day.

Actually got Luke's letter printed out. Now just got to post it.

Found out today I'll get no help from Team Relocation to move my stuff out of the temporary flat. I will have to ask around the office tomorrow and see who'll help. I reckon I can get the clothes in a bag or two. The bike will need to go on it's own obviously. Another box will take care of the food.

I was supposed to be cooking the reindeer meat from last week today. I decided on a stew in the end but couldn't in fact be bothered to wait for it so while that was cooking the oven I wolfed down a pizza.

Finally got annoyed with Dolphin browser on the tablet this evening and uninstalled it. I could never work out how to get another tab open. It's probably something quite easy but I'll now stick with Chrome (unless that gets annoying) as it's what I use on the PC.

Going to bed early.

Sunday 9th December 2012

Didn't get too drunk last night.

A bus was due to pick us up at 1815 from the Asker transport hub. I started in Lancelots with a bottle of Bulmers. Hans-Herman turned up in a jacket, tie and a bag. Bag? To contain the shoes of course! Duh! I hoped he was a bit over dressed.

The bus was a bit late as it had tried to pick a non-existant crowd up from the office and then had to go round the houses a bit to get back to us.

More were picked up from Sandvika and other locations before ending up at the new hotel.

I'm always a bit dubious of a hotel which has the word 'Quality' at the beginning. Do they have to remind everybody all the time it's supposed to be of a certain quality? You don't see the Ritz, Claridges or The Dorchester doing it! Maybe it is the brand name and they aren't actually quality at all.

It turned out to be a very posh evening. Most people were in shirt, tie and jacket! Some very smart jackets. Always been a bit jealous of people who can carry that off. Felt decidedly under-dressed in a pair of jeans (freshly washed of course), collarless shirt and a smart jumper. The clunky practical footwear didn't help either. The few people I did know assured me it'd be okay. Oh well chin up and brash it out as always.

MarkL warned me that the arranged 0145 bus wouldn't be getting back to Asker until about 3am. Urmm, wasn't planning on staying out that bloody late.

As we came through the reception we were presented with a champagne glass of some bubbly stuff or apple jiuce for those non-drinkers. General chit chat in the reception area in front of the dining/dance room.

After they opened the doors it was a bit of a scramble to find a seat. I couldn't see a seating plan, which I thought a bit odd. How were they going to know where all the specific eaters were sitting? This was a non-issue as it turned out to be a buffet. I sat with a table full of couples. Feeling even more excluded now. I did make an effort to chat to a bloke I'd never seen before. The whole room was full of them so I'd need to start somewhere. I was joined by Tommy who's family were away on a holiday.

Why is the tea always gone? Changed the radio to Cerys Mathews on 6Music.

The compere, who sat at, and also played the piano, seemed to be a regular at WG events as he asked who'd been there at the summer event in Bygdoy. Oh dear I thought is this going to be my worst nightmare for a party, where we have to be sycophantic to a load of upper management while they gave speeches? Right at the start we got the SLB QHSE information about fire escapes and smoking policy from the hotel management.

There was enough to drink as long as you asked the serving staff for it. I started into some red wine. A Cona Sur Syrah.

The buffet was a scramble. They did try and stagger it a bit by saying which tables were going first etc. I am constantly amazed by people at these kinds of events. In the stack of plates two, on the top of large stacks, obviously hadn't been cleaned to same standard as the rest. Rather than take them both off and give them to serving staff to deal with so that people could access the plates beneath, people were just leaving them there and tutting! How does that bloody help? I leant through the scrum grabbed them both and delivered them to a member of hotel staff. Problem sorted with the minimum of fuss.

I managed to get two rounds of buffet, trying a little bit of stuff I don't usually have. At this typpe of event I'll always try at least one thing new, My philosophy is that somebody else is paying and if I don't like it I can leave it and try something else. The seafood was actually very good. Sometimes the rewards don't seem to justify the effort in peeling and shelling. I might have to try and get mussels etc from the local supermarkets to see what they're like. I asked some Norwegians why the sausage was called 'Christmas Sausage'. Maybe it had some special ingredient that was traditional during the midwinter festival? Nobody knew?

Editing this blog in the text editor is actually a lot easier than in the blog website itself as the browser doesn't seem to support cut and paste very well. You can select everything okay but small segments of text is a real pain.

The dessert section wasn't too bad either, with lots of creamy, sticky puddings. I didn't find the cheese board until after it'd been moved to a new section. Not too bad. We were only allowed 1 small glass of brandy each?

After the majority of the food had been consumed the entertainment started. A competition between the tables was started by the piano dude. He'd start playing part of a well known song and we'd be asked to leap up and sing the chorus. Not from where he left off but only the chorus. It was quite entertaining actually. Good bit of ice breaking. Unfortunately I didn't get very many except the Abba and Dolly Parton? What does that say about me?

A few of the tables near the stage were cleared away as a dancefloor. A band was also setting up. Quite suddenly the band struck up and a singer was heard, but not seen on stage. As we all looked around the singer was in the middle of the tables. She was very good. As she got on stage the dancers appeared. One particular couple were really in step with each other. They must know and be comfortable with each other. Quite impressed with that.

I enjoyed the band. The guitarist seemed to enjoy his solos a lot. They were quite good with popular songs. This was until the keyboard player joined in a duet with the singer to sing the Eurythmics hit 'Sisters are doing it for themselves'. She sounded flat. Good time to make an exit I thought. It was about 2315hrs.

I managed to find the bus stop at the back of the hotel. There was already some snow on the ground. It was falling as fine flakes. Bus arrived right on time at 2338hrs. Bit shocked to find the bus to the station was going to be 50NOK, until I realised that it would also cover the train from Skoyen to Asker. Had to wait at Skoyen for about 20mins before the train arrived. Got back to the flat not long before 0030.

That's probably quite enough about last night. I didn't cover every single minute but almost.

Now on to today. Going to be a lot less I can assure you.

Woke up to see that there had been a light falling of snow during the night.

Unlike the UK this doesn't seem cause panic or the screaming suspension of life as we know it.

As I was preparing brunch I saw three snow ploughs, spread across the whole carriageway, head up the motorway in convoy.

Cooked quite a bit for brunch. 4 rashers of bacon (extra crispy), 2 pork sausages, beans, toast and a fried egg.

Usual Sunday activities today. Ironing the week's shirts, hoovering and general tidying. Once I get the energy levels back up that is.

Chatted with Tracey-Anne on Skype this evening. Dad still has issues with Skype. Apparently it looks okay at his end but on my end he's 90deg out. Had speed issues with it as well to both.

Saturday 8th December 2012

Oh I so wanted to stop in bed this morning. Woke up to visit the loo about 0720 and then went back to bed. Felt even less awake afterwards. Didn't re-emerge until about 0930hrs.

Unfortunately I also feel it's important to ship some more stuff up to the new apartment.

Breakfast consisted of two boiled eggs.

Have loaded the large yellow bag with small items for the new apartment. Just have to work up the energy to get dressed! Why is the tea always gone?

I have now worked out how to get pictures into this blasted blog using my tablet. They have to be loaded into an online Picasa album first. This could be from G+ or another picasa album. This does mean that pictures will probably be added at least 1 day later than the text if I can remember.

After getting dressed in most of the layers required for major arctic expeditions, I set off. The temperature gauge was only reading -10°C. 1 less layer which was put in the bag, just in case.

The river by the railway has got ice covered. Must be getting quite thick as it had evidence of people walking on it and the stones in the picture don't look small. Can't imagine somebody didn't try really hard when they were dropped.

It only took me about 30mins to get to the new apartment.

Main purpose of the day was to finish building the bits which had been delivered by IKEA. A computer desk for the bedroom, and unwrapping the washing machine.

 It's a bit dark but the lounge area is starting to come together. Will require some shelving and small tables and a rug and some more curtains and......

Took a movie from the front door to show the view from the lounge.

About 1400hrs I headed back to the other apartment to chill out for a bit before getting ready for the office Christmas party.

 

No real idea what to expect tonight. Will report on the evening tomorrow.

Friday 7th December 2012

TFI Friday. No record on the temperature today. I won't bother reporting it anymore unless it is a new record or there's a massive change. Still no massive drifts of snow.

Woke up before both alarms today. Sleep was a bit broken last night. Went to bed last night at about 2030hrs, was really tired and couldn't read more than a page or two of the book, 'Mostly Harmless'.

I woke up and thought I'd been asleep for hours and hours. Checking the watch I saw it was 2115hrs. Eh! I read a bit more of the book before finally nodding off at about 2230hrs.

Started to think about the letter to Luke. Feeling a bit guilty actually. I started it a long while ago,before going home last time. I had intended to print it out and post it once I got home. Didn't work out like that though. Will have to start writing chapter two and definitely get it done before going home this time. Will give him plenty to read anyhoo.

Zinio tablet magazine reader reported that Jan 2013 editions of PBO and Popular Mechanics, are ready for download. Maybe just me but I feel that PopMech has far too many full page adverts in it at the start of the magazine. It does mean that you can't avoid them. The adverts in PBO are at the back where you know where to find them should you be looking for something sspecific.

Just as I'm getting dressed I realise I'll have to throw out the second pair of undies in as many weeks. For us blokes throwing out clothes, any clothes comes as a bit of a shock. Even I couldn't justify religious pants.

Bit more excitement at work today. Not the sort I needed though. I had a conference call with people from the vessels and Gatwick office. One whole section of the dbase for the small boat group needs reconstructing from the bottom up. Not going to be easy. I'm worried about how that's going to progress. Luckily the meeting only lasted an hour.

Finally gotconfirmation of when my equipment from The Swamp is being delivered. 19th December at 1200hrs, which is 4 days after I am supposed to be out of the temporary flat!

Have also booked the rail tickets for the Christmas break.

I left work after completing this weeks AMOS help file at about 1700hrs. Just as I was going past the petrol station on the crossing I slipped over. Bloody white stripes of crossings can be very slippery. Took me completely unawares as I was concentrating on the cars and not my feet. No serious damage. Stained knees and pride is all.

Managed to get to the station about 5 mins before the next train to Oslo. Thought I'd go in to check out the Christmas market again.

Was a bit surprised to find some thermals that might fit for a reasonable price. 250NOK for top and bottoms. Gave the ladies behind the counter a shock when I said I didn't need a bag as I'd strip and wear them straight away. I didn't obviously...... or maybe not?

I also revisted the rock painter. I eventually settled on two. One is shown, which will look quite good once the tea light is lit. The flickering light might make the eyes twinkle.

Wasn't sure what else to buy for Christmas presents this year. Possibly should have a Norwegian tweak.

Visited Clas Ohlsen again to find some more little things I'd need for the flat. Chopping boards, foot pads for the furniture and a new window thermometer. I have also admitted I'm getting older by finally buying one of those lid turner things. Not sure whether it's the extra cold or lack of practice but I have struggled to open the last two jars, once of which I had to resort to very hot water on the lid. Oh well brain over brawn as they say.

Got back to the flat at about 2045hrs. Fish fingers, peas and an omelette for supper. Was surprised to see there were no baked beans whatsoever in the cupboards.

Thursday 6th December 2012

Again not much to report.

Seismic AMOS course today. Unfortunately only three people could make it due to change in crew change schedule.

Plodding on with the spreadsheets and data bashing.

I have booked a flight home and back again with Norwegian.no. Getting into Gatwick on 20th December 2012, and returning to Oslo on the 11th Jan 2013. Forgot to book the rail ticket though. Will have to remember to do that soon if not tomorrow.

Also need to send the moving coming an email to ask about the stuff delivery to the new flat.

Wednesday 5th December 2012

Not much to report today. He starts with that statement but we'll have to wait and see.

Weather still cold!

On way home from office went via fruit and veg store to pick up some bits. The plan was to use the meat I'd bought a few days ago to make a number of meals for the freezer.

Also stopped off at Clas Ohlsen store to get an iron and a kettle for the new flat. Bought a fire blanket as another backup. Better to be prepared than sorry.

Thought I'd start with a chicken curry. Unfortunately the chicken didn't smell as fresh as it could've been. It might just have been over the edge by a day but I wasn't prepared to risk it. Threw it away. Have to be careful of that in the future. Cannot afford to waste food.

Change of tack required then. The mince also looked like it was starting to gas as the pack was expanding. Not so bad though and I'd make sure it was fully cooked. This was going to start as a bolognese sauce. I added some red wine which made a difference to the sauce but also meant the bottle was now open.

While it was cooking I spent a long time getting the blog up to date for yesterday. Webster made a comment last time I was at home saying that people were reading it. Haven't seen any comments yet though.

When the bolognese sauce was ready I took one serving for tonights supper and portioned off another two for the freezer. To the remainder I added two pots of kidney beans and three large chillies from the freezer. The heat was turned down to minimum and left to simmer.

During supper I had the remainder of the wine. Felt good.

I stopped cooking the chilli at about 2230hrs and managed four pportions for the freezer. Not a bad haul really, 7 meals from 500g of mince. I think I could've added more beans to make even more chilli though to make it go further.

Tuesday 4th December 2012

Today was still bloody cold. Yeah, yeah, blah blah.

I'm not getting any younger and the cold is harder to deal with. Until to actually experience it, it's just a number.

Not much to report at work today.

The main issue today was the cycle up to the new flat to be there where when the IKEA delivery arrived.

I had a few smaller items from IKEA which I didn't need at the old place so loaded up a backpack. Fire extinguisher, curtains, table lamp and bulbs were amongst the items packed. I also included the small socket and screwdriver set I'd bought not long after I arrived.

I decided to go what I thought was a bit overboard with the clothing even though the temperature was down at -12 to 14degC.

On top it consisted of two wool thermal tops, a long sleeve t-shirt, a fleece top, topped off by hi-viz waist coat. On the legs I put undies, thermal leggings, pair of lounging shorts covered by a pair of cargo trousers. On the lower legs I added a pair of gaiters for wind resistance. I also had a snood which had front and back panels for extra heat retention. On my head I had a 'SealSkin' skull cap and a cycling helmet. 'SealSkin' gloves on the hands.

Extra clothes such as another hat, windproof mittens, and a windproof jacket were included in the backpack.

After putting that lot on I had generated quite a bit of heat.

The bike was similarily tricked out on the lighting front. Large powerful triple light on the handlebars, a standard white LED light on the left fork. At the back a single LED light. On my helmet a white and red LED. Nobody was going to hit me because I wasn't lit up. If the did hit me it'd be due to blindness or shock. Mobile christmas tree?

The inital plan was to wait a bit after getting home from work as I didn;t need to be at the apartment until 1800. Idecided about 1715 though, that it wasn't getting any warmer and got dressed.

Got down, eventually, to the ground floor when I realised that the clothing might just be enough.Thankfully the heavy bag meant I'd be generating some heat on the uphill portion of the trip.

As I took in the shock of the cold a few young lads came round the corner of the block of flats. I think they were quite shocked to see me stood there, dressed as I was.

After working out I didn't speak Norwegian one of the lads spoke to me. I should put the lights on my helmet on! Okay, no problem I said and I did. That looked good. This lad then proceeded to congratulate me on wearing my hi-viz jacket, a helmet and having lights on my bike. Eh! Wasn't sure how to take that? All I could say was 'Thanks a lot'

Off I set.

The ride up to the flat was fairly uneventful except it was cold! Damn cold! Luckily the ride was uphill I was generating the heat required to stave off imminent hypothermia.

One thing I did notice was that the tyre felt flatter than they should've been. I can only imagine that the cold got to the air in the inner tubes.

I am playing catchup on the blog on the Wednesday. Just had a break for supper. A rather good bolognaise if I do say myself. There is also the Dr Moch Middle Aged Mid-Week Mosh on drive time Radio2. Just had the Ace of Spades by Motorhead. Now AC/DC's Thunderock. I never liked this stuff when I was younger but it's growing on me. Just a shame that head-banging might induce another detachment.......

Anyhoo back to the story.

The apartment was toasty. Nice. All could do was unpack the small items I'd brought in the backpack. Didn't take too long. I sat playing fruit ninja until I got a phone call from the IKEA delivery people. In Norsk unfortunately and nobody seemed to understand me. Bugger. Oh well I wasn't going anywhere, but I just worried that if they couldn't find me they'd decamp back to IKEA.

A short time later I got another phone from the same guys. I sort of understood that they were lost but there was no way I could make myself undderstood. I headed up to the decking, which I thought was the front door of the landlord, to have him talk to them. As I was asking him to do that, the delivery van turned up. Excellent. He also back kicked a sofa asking me if I wanted it for free! Oh dear I said I've just bought one and it's in the van. Need a second he asked? We'll have to see I said.

As I'd paid the extra for over the threshold delivery I sent them straight on down to the apartment front door. I went down to meet the guys and let them in via the patio doors. Was surprised to see a crew of three, 2 blokes and 1 women. They dropped off all my stuff as expected. Now all I had to do was build it all.

I set about the sofa bed first. The instructions said you'd need two people to construct but it didn't take too long even so. I also set upon the easy chair and rolling TV stand. I decided to call it a day after that at about 2100hrs.

I tidied up a bit before getting dressed again in all the layers I'd brought. As I was just about to leave I heard what I thought was a horrible icy squall. Not good.

Turned out to be nothing.

As I exited the road I saw a coule of mad women actually running? Gods I thought I was mad! I fair flew down the hill and it caused quite a bit of windchill. Actually slowed down a bit just in case I hit an ice patch. Stopped off at the  supermarket for some milk.

Got back and stripped off straight away to let the warmer air quicker access as I was a tad cool.

A little bit frustrated that the tablet doesn't appear to do loading of pictures  unless they're from my google plus uploads. It never seems to complete the ones from a folder search.

If pictures get loaded here they'll have been done from my laptop or something.

Video of bathroom.

Video of kitchen/lounge before delivery.

Picture of lounge after constructing a few pieces.

Monday 3rd December 2012

I know I keep harping on about the cold but this is a new record this morning (for me anyhoo),

The kitchen window thermometer at 0630 this morning. Roughly -12deg C.

Apparently it isn't as cold as it can get. Oh I can't wait !

I do say 'There's no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing', a lot and usually mean it, but surely there s a limit?

Had a good long chat with my sister and Maison last night.

Maison thought I might've been suffering the first stages of hypothermia yesterday. Could've been. Will have to watch out for that. Next weekend I'll go into some outdoor stores that actually know what they're talking about and ask them about layers etc.

Looking at todays hour-by-hour weather chart it might actually get sunny enough for a sun break at lunch time.

Put the little blue and green sets of led christmas lights up around the door at the office. 'Very nice but you're missing the red!'

Managed to get a sun break but it was damned chilly.

Usual stuff at work. Plodding along. Went looking online for posters to decorate the office and/or the new flat. For some reason couldn't find a shop like Athena in Oslo.

Today I had planned to get to IKEA this evening to buy most of the big stuff I'll need for the flat. Washng mahine, chair, sofa bed etc,

Thankfully Minggus agreed to drop me off again. We set off at 1630hrs.

I went for some food as soon as I got in, as the queue was no where near as long as it had been on my last visit. Didn't try the meatballs yet. Maybe next time as people keep telling me how nice they're supposed to be. I'm sure this won't be my last visit.

I set off looking for my bits. Despite having a printout of a fake shopping basket I'd created online it still took longer than I expected. Wasn't sure about the different shopping model really. Some bits you have to pick up straaight away, other bits you have to order for delivery at an Argos type counter and other bits you have to pick off a set of shelves on the ground floor.

After a very long list of things were put in or on two trolleys, and three bits of paper, I headed for check-out. Caused a bit of a stir trying to manouevre two heavily laden trolleys through the maze in front of the check outs made of extra stuff IKEA think you should buy.

As I handed over the three bits of paper which were for a sofa-bed, a washing machine and a chair, the operative told me that the chair was a self pick item off the shelves. Oh gods even more chaos as I know needed a third trolley.

Managed to get the three trolleys over to the home delivery area where I'd also have to wait for the two remaining items, washing machine and sofa bed to be delivered. This was at a counter in a similar fashion to Argos. Initially the operative only brought out 1 trolley adamant that was it until I hinted another look at the sheet again.

I eventually ended up with 5 trolleys under my control. Luckily the home delivery section is right there. Not an accident I think.

It cost mean an extra 100 quid to get the items delivered through the threshold and within a specifi hour of the day. I agreed tomorrow between 1800-1900 which would give me time to cycle there from the current apartment. It'd be bloody cold and I'd have to use the large lamps for the bike.

After finally paying for everything I headed out. Time was 2000hrs. I headed towards the free bus to Oslo as I thought that'd be easier than trying to find the local bus to Asker. The bus was too full for me to contemplate standing in for 30mins or so, and I stopped off.

At this point I saw the timetable and the buses ran every 60mins. Oops! maybe a packed bus wouldn't have been too bad after all. It was bloody cold and I had to resort to undressing to put the thermal stuff back on properly. Also repacked the smaller items into my back pack.

Didn't leave IKEA until the 2110 bus. Got on a train at 2153hrs back to Asker and finally sat down in the kitchen at approx 2245hrs. Quite a long day. Bit of a bummer having to do this in the wwinter and without a car.

Full list = washing machine, sofa bed, single arm chair, ironing board, drying rack, floor mat, computer desk, tv stand, laundary basket, fire extinguisher, 1 pair of curtains, 1 desk lamp, 3 heat stands (cork), tea lights, 1 floor lamp (3 bulbs), 4 E14 bulbs, 10 IKEA alkaline batteries, coat hooks, ccurtain hooks, fabric tape to shorten curtain.

Sunday 2nd December 2012

Bloody cold this morning. The kitchen window thermometer is showing -10°C.

Managed to change the bike tyres to the spiked variety in about 45 mins. Actually managed to do it without

doing damage to the inner tubes. I normally catch them with the tyre levers.

I might actually risk going out in the bloody cold weather. The sun is out.

Trying a different plan today for clothes in the cold. In an attempt to stop my sweat from freezing when I stop for a little bit I won't start out wearing a wind proof top. The bag I am carrying will have extra hats and tops etc in case I have to stop for any length of time.

Despite the sunshine it is getting colder by the day. The river by the rail tracks is getting more and more covered in ice.

The original plan was to drop the old tyres at the new apartment but I couldn't work out  how to carry them. If the weather was warmer and I didn't need the extra backpack I probably would have worn them bandolier style over my shoulders.

I got to the new apartment after about 20mins. It is approx 3km from the current apartment. 

I did take some videos with the phone but they don't seem to have survived. I will try again next time I am up there. Should've taken some stills as well but there ya go.

Managed to get some off the original advert.

Front door on the left. Patio windows on the right. 

Quite a good view from the lounge which you should be able to see as a reflection in the window. The front drive is still just chippings until the weather improves and they can lay some tarmac. 

This picture of the lounge seems to have been taken from the front window looking down towards the kitchen. 

It did seem to be bigger when I originally looked at it. Hope all my stuff will fit okay?

The kitchen is buried all the way at the back. It has all the appliances I'd need in a kitchen including a dishwasher, fridge/freezer, cooker, cooker hood and cupboards. Although not shown there is also lots of crockery, glasses etc.

The bedroom is off the lounge via a small hallway which also goes to the bathroom. 

Unfortunately the bedroom wasn't big enough for the large double I have in Plymouth. If I did bring it over I would have about 50cm all around. Not really enough. Instead I have sent over a single bed. This should then allow me some room for a computer desk so that I can work from home if the snow is just too annoying.

The hallway contains the wardrobe space behind a couple of large sliding doors.

All the rooms have underfloor heating which I don't have to pay for. This is good as I will be using that for drying my washing in the bathroom.

All electricity will be down to me. Have to pick an efficient washer and TV.

Leaving the new apartment I went in search of a supposed shortcut into Asker town. Not sure I found it, as it didn't seem to be that much shorter, by the time I got to the main road.

At one point I looked at the small thermometer I carry and it was lower than -10°C. Bloody cold that ya know.

After approx 1.5 hrs it really was feeling pretty cold and I headed back to the town centre coffee shop. 

No coffee though, due to issues I had last time.

Will stick with the hot chocolate I think along with a blueberry muffin.

After getting home I got straight into a shower. The big toe on my left foot felt like it was off? Surface temp of the skin on my torso was very cold. The shower at the inital switch on didn't feel as cold as it normally does in a morning.

Got the usual ironing done for the coming weeks shirts. Was listening to BBC 6 music after Lucy suggested it on Friday evening. Was actually better than Jack FM.

Will be having baked potato for supper. Skype is available after finding a charger yesterday.

Saturday 1st December 2012

Woke up late today.

The kitchen window thermometer was indicating lower than -5°C. Looking at the weather website http://www.yr.no/place/Norway/Akershus/Asker/Asker/hour_by_hour.html it was only going to get cooler.

Left for Oslo about 1100 hrs. The streamer by the railway line has started to freeze over. The small amount of breeze is extremely chilling.

Not sure my hat and gloves will be enough.

Still, I'm in the right place to find solutions to cold.

As a change, I decided to try getting off at the National Theatre stop instead of going all the way into Sentrum.

Just outside the station they've setup a Christmas market selling lots of different foods, knick knacks etc.

There were a few stalls I would like another look at, including one where this guy had painted some rocks. Doesn't sound like much but they're actually quite good. Was thinking about getting some for the garden and maybe some as gifts as they also have a tea light bracket.

I didn't spend too much time looking around as I needed to find a charger for the ASUS tablet.

As I exited the market I was taken a bit by surprise by the sleighs pulled by the reindeer.

I eventually found the ASUS charger in a shop called Spaceworld close to the Sentrum railway station. Go figure. Still if I hadn't got off at NT I'd have missed the market. It cost me £40 but they's the breaks.

Had a lunch of pizza at Dolly's by the XXL outdoor store.

Made my way back towards the National Theatre for the market.

They have frozen an area just by the market for ice skating.

Looking at the crowds later on this is going to be quite popular. It does indeed seem like the Norwegians take the mid-winter festival quite seriously.

Apparently the market is going to open for the month of December from 10-20hrs each day. 

I will have to go into town in the evening during the week I think to see it with all the lights on.

There was a large tent which appeared to be from the Sami nation, which would explain the reindeer earlier. They were selling lots of reindeer products, knives, clothes etc. Skins for the floor are only £80. Might buy one as a rug for the bedroom.

I bought a few small items for Christmas presents. Managed to haggle a bit so promises good for buying larger items as well.

There were plenty of stalls offering foods and drinks. One of the biggest (no pun intended) was a stand selling Elk burgers. They have real road warning signs as advertising!

A few of the local cafes and hotels were handing out free hot drinks with pepper-cookies.

Despite a couple of very warming alcohol-free glu-wein, after about three hours it was time to head home, due to the cold starting to bite.

Got home and had after a buying spree at Ultra. A normal sized shopping bag cost me £50. Will have to make sure nothing is wasted and will go a long way by making large dishes which are divided for the freezer.

Had a fry up using some of the haul from Tuesday.

Checked my email as I am using the laptop tonight and found an email from one of the vessel superintendents saying he appreciated the work I was doing, as a reply to my first AMOS help email. Nice to be noticed in a good way. Unfortunately also found one from somebody else which put a damper on the whole thing.

Friday 30th November 2012

Not much difference in today's events. Managed to have breakfast though after buying milk yesterday. While listening to the radio on my tablet I realised I'd left the charger at the Swamp.

Bugger.

I had ordered a spare from Amazon but don't remember receiving it yet. Also thought I'd put it in the tech bag with all the other chargers cables etc but obviously not. Will need to see if I can find one in Oslo tomorrow. It'll need charging if I'm to Skype on Sunday as usual.

It was colder this morning, than before I left for the UK. Managed to hold onto breakfast.

The sun made a weak appearance during the day but not strong enough to tempt me into a sun break.

Finally got my finger out and ordered a ticket to Eddie Izzard at the Oslo Spektrum,

http://www.oslospektrum.no/eddie-izzard-force-majeure-world-tour-2013.5049361-133570.html

Lucy asked me if I wanted to go and get some refreshment later in the day. Eventually agreed to go to Lancelot's tonight and maybe Oslo Sentrum next week.

Managed to get the first weekly email out with a help file for the AMOS users. I really hope it'll be positively received. Planning on sending them out weekly obviously.

Spent a bit of time looking at the IKEA website to create a shopping basket to take with me next time to see what I'm after rather than just wandering aimlessly.

Managed to get to Lancelot's for just after 1700hrs.

Nobody else was there. Lucy didn't arrive too much later though. She told me she usually works til 1900hrs and coming out this early felt decidedly wicked.

Managed to spend about 45mins catching up since we'd worked together on the Western Regent, before some of the others arrived.

She and her boyfriend have decided to move out of Brighton which I never thought I'd hear. Also she told me that the spray on bathroom covering wouldn't be repeated good a system though it is. She also told me that I could probably get my Izzard tickets from one of the local Narvesens. Will have to check that out. I thought they'd be sent to the house address.

Grant did me a favour by looking on his smart phone to see if there were shops selling my ASUS chargers in Oslo.

I had a burger for supper. Left after that and three bottles of Bulmers cider. That's quite enough at £9 a bottle.

Very cool in the evening on the walk back. I tried to buy a loaf of bread at the REMA1000 but got frustrated by the couple who seemed to be buying the weekly shop in front and only one person on the tills. I left without the bread. Can buy some tomorrow.

Got to bed reasonably early, but did have a small glass of Jameson' whisky.

Thursday 29th November 2012

Not an overly good day today.

Woke up as usual but didn't feel like getting out of bed but I guess that's not unusual.

The weather is definitely cold. Looked at the weather website today www.yr.no and saw it was going to be cold but sunny. Below zero all day.Hopefully will be clear enough for a sun break. I do feel better after a bit of sunshine. Seriously thinking about getting a S.A.D. light for the office.

Didn't have any breakfast except a couple of crips breads. Hadn't got any milk in apart from the stuff I'd left when I went home. Seeing as there's no Marmite in the house the chances of me drinking that was zero.

Tried to do work today but things kept getting in the way, the biggest was that the computer didn't want to play ball.

Not clear enough for a sun break.

Computer finally got a kicking by me killing everything and shutting down at 1600hrs. It doesn't take much for me to do that anyway, but for it to actively piss me off was just too much.

Did a bit of shopping to get something to go with the defrosting chicken, some pickled ginger, eggs, as well as some milk.

During the two weeks that I was away at home, the TV schedule has changed. There goes my plan of having a schedule.

This tablet is having some trouble keeping up with me this evening. Same symptoms as with the PC at work?

I have noticed that the vari-focals I currently have on are a lot better than the last ones. It would appear that the Norwegian optician dude seems to know what he's on about.

Some time in the future I will try and update the blog for the days I was in the UK. See how the memory goes.

Wednesday 28th November 2012

The keys debacle was worse than thought yesterday.

The hotel had been cancelled last night. I decided to wake up whenever rather than waiting fo an alarm. Just before 0900. Took meat products out of little fridge in the room. Not sure how well that worked but we'll see I guess. Just had time for breakfast.

Taxi took me to the office. Looks like it has been snowing recently.

All changed around as some more people have now joined us on our floor. The PDN mob have dropped a floor as the Nessie6 people are breeding or splitting, or whatever microbes do to take over an organism.

Not really feeling rested. Completely wasted in fact. Meat products transferred to work fridge.

Going through my emails I found a confirmation that the keys had been left at the office reception by Team Relocation Asker. Bugger. Could've been in the flat a bit earlier last night. Oh well c'est la vie.

Found an email from Ken with a picture of the keys I'd left at The Swamp.

They were in a jacket I'd used going home but didn't bother bringing out this time. Oops. Oh well at least they're around.

Just tried to go through some tickets and catch up with new training modules etc.

Got a bit irate with somebody on the MOC, which I shouldn't've done really. Definitely not with it.

Lucy said hello. Sounds like they're finally making some headway with engineering out the possibilities of cocking it up.

On the way home (well the apartment) I decided to order a taxi rather than risk carrying my bags across potential icy paths etc. Didn't have the spikes available yet either.

Got the meat products split up into portions before transferring to the freezer.

Had a quick pizza for supper and was in bed before 2000hrs.

Tuesday 27th November 2012

Well here we are again.

Finally on the airport train from Oslo to Asker.

It's been a trying day to say the least. Got up this morning thinking I had left plenty of time for the train to Gatwick. Even allowing for a bus between Exeter and Taunton due to the flooding, a 0925 start was early enough.

Called for a taxi at 0830 but they said they were fully booked but could do one later at 0900. That was pushing it a bit and asked for anything earlier. Yup ten minutes. Bit of a rush to get dressed but I made it. Loaded up the bags and checked to see if I had my travel documents. Yup. All there, lets roll.

Got close to Morrisons when I missed my phones. We pulled over to check. Nope. Had to quickly go back and get them off the chair. Idiot boy.

No worries now mate.

Any train to Exeter will do they said at the counter as I checked the routing. Train left on time.

There was an awful lot of water still on the ground. I was actually surprised more of the network hadn't been affected by the very extensive flooding.

Got into Exeter St. Davids to get on a bus for the trip to Taunton. This normally takes about 20-25mins by train but took just over an hour by bus. Actually went by quite quickly.

Once off the bus, one of the fat controllers shouted 'platform 5 for London'. Off I trotted probably doing lots of damage to my knees in the process. At platform 5 I asked a couple of uniforms if they worked at the station to confirm the platform was correct. Nope they said, we work ON the trains not the stations. Looking up at the departures board I saw the London train was in fact due to leave from platform three.

Off I trotted again.

Starting to wish I hadn't packed 1kg of cheddar, two jars peanut butter, two packs of bacon, two packs of sausages, two packs of instant gravy, and three litres of cider.

Got into the first class section before the train was due to leave. Just taking my jacket off when I saw the two uniforms from platform five enter the galley.

This train did not leave on time coz the driver was still on his way from Exeter St. Davids by taxi?

About 20mins late we departed. No trolley service today so had to go get my complementary drinks myself! The cheek.

Was feeling a bit peckish by the time we arrived in Reading. We were slightly delayed due to a maintenance train in front only doing 5mph for a short period.

As I had about 45mins til the next Gatwick train at 1435hrs I got a Subway.

Drinking a cup of tea I suddenly realised I didn't actually know where the temporary apartment keys were!

Bugger :-X Not good.

I thought I'd left them in my laptop bag as is normal for house keys I am not currently using. Nope. Not in the usual place at all. It is getting close to the train departure time but I am now very concerned and start taking the bags apart.

More fretting had to wait until I was on the train. Sent email request to Ken to see if he could find them. If I have lost them it means a change of locks at the flat.

Called the boss and appraised him I'd need a hotel overnight and could he contact the

Team people in Asker to see if they can bring me a set of keys tomorrow. No problem.

Got a text confirming booking by Randi a few minutes later.

Got a call from Team saying they'd drop a set of keys to WG reception so I could pick them up from there and go straight to the flat and not bovver wiv da otel.

Further updates arrived from the boss, to say the keys wouldn't be available until tomorrow so the hotel was back on.

Had a brief meeting with Gordon in Gatwick. Had to use a trolley to carry all the stuff I had got. Thinking about how I'll need to travel in the future.

By the time I got to the airport I was feeling very tired indeed. Had a quick sandwich as I didn't feel I had enough time to sit down to something more substantial.

The flight over was uneventful. Bought a bottle of Irish Whiskey to allay fears from customs about what else I might have in the bags. Would look a bit suspicious going straight through without buying something.

The train took me to Asker. Got a taxi to the Scandic hotel. As expected the room had indeed been cancelled. I eventually found the booking reference on my phone by booting up the laptop. Long story don't ask.

Had a quick shower and went to bed without an alarm.