Temple Mount and Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, looking over the Kidron Vallay

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Norway - Day One

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  After that long break I've decided to finish reflecting on my sabbatical in 2023. In part I have to do all the photos anyway, and in part it is a thing of joy to look at those photos and to try to remember what we did over those three or more weeks. We left St Georges with a number of other pilgrims in a sherut organized by the College. I was already feeling the effects of our food stall meal the night before, Bonnie started at the airport. It meant we were careful about what we ate and kept an eye for toilets.  We flew through Warsaw on Polish Airlines, a Star Alliance member. That meant we had access to lounges, and I would earn enough points to keep gold status for another year.  It was a long day travailing and we were pleased to arrive in Oslo to be met by our friend and host, Kenneth. Kenneth was an exchange student who came to stay with us after his first hosts proved to be  very inappropriate. It was so good to see him again and to see him in his house. He ...
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Norway Day Five- Norway in a Nutshell

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Day 5 was full of sights and adventures. We wheeled our bags back through Bergen to the car park where Kenneth’s father’s car was parked, and then headed off to the train station. Here we caught a The BergenRailway which runs from Bergen to Oslo. We met some lovely people heading out into the country who were very helpful. It is in itself a wonderfully scenic line. But even more awaited us. At Myrdal we disembarked and awaited our next rain and the beginning of Norway in a Nutshell. At Myrdal we waited for our next train - The Flåm Railway, or the Flåmsbana in Norwegian. It is often named one of the world's most beautiful train journeys and is also one of the world's steepest railway journeys. Our journey down to Flåm was in the original carriages – with a very modern eco-friendly engine. Our journey took us through tunnels, and views looking back on the track below, and of mountains, waterfalls and quaint farms and villages. We stopped at the impressive Kjosfossen falls ...
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Get those PSA Blood Tests Done Boys!

I had a strange conversation a few months ago. I was lying back in a chair, naked from the waste down, holding a nappy over my bits while I waited for the skin under my bits to go numb enough from liquid nitrogen or some such thing, so that they could inject the local anesthetic and then punch a couple of holes through to the prostate. All in all a fun experience. And while I waited the nurse made small talk and asked what I did. "I'm retired", I replied. "Oh, what are you planning to do now you are retired? any travel?" "Turns out not" I said, "It seems I'm just keeping my dairy open for dealing with health things." And I am still keeping my dairy open and still dealing with them. This journey began last year. I was already dealing with two other things, including a lump in my parotid gland which has been slowly growing there for about 3 years. When I got back from being overseas on sabbatical my doctor called me in to talk about that an...
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