Colourful Dreamer

Day 8 began with quite a drive down to the Færder National Park . The Visit Norway website says “is one of the country's most important areas for coastal outdoor activities. The national park covers 340 square kilometers of mainland, islands, reefs and seabed in Færder municipality. It stretches from Ormøy in the north to Færder lighthouse in the south. The landscape in the national park is distinctive and rich in geological formations. There are several important nesting areas for seabirds in the national park, and the national park has a very diverse flora and fauna. Plants and insects live here that can hardly be found anywhere else. The area in the national park is popularly used for boat trips, paddling, water sports, hiking, fishing and swimming.” We spent time at Verdens Ende or “World’s End”. One of the features is the Vippefyr lighthouse built from beach stones in1932 – a replica of ancient lighthouses. It was quite striking on its hill. Kenneth told us that in summer...

Day 7 was spent in Oslo and was also our last day with Rebekah. Kenneth had classes that day and was able to help us onto public transport with some ideas about what to do. We began our day at the Vigeland installation in Frogner Park . The sculpture park is the world's largest sculpture park made by a single artist with more than 200 sculptures in bronze, granite and wrought iron. And it turns out it is one of Norway's most popular tourist attractions. This unique sculpture park is Gustav Vigeland 's lifework, and was mainly completed between 1939 and 1949. Most of the sculptures are placed in five units along an 850-meter-long axis: The Main Gate, the Bridge with the Children's Playground, the Fountain, the Monolith Plateau, and the Wheel of Life.  All 212 statues depict people of different ages, sexes, and sizes, all in different and sometimes perplexing poses. Vigeland wanted his statues to capture all the aspects of a person’s life, both in a literal and in a met...

Last Sunday I was asked to take the service at the church I attend. Vianney was away. There were some great texts to play with, and the Season of Creation. So here are the notes from my quite long sermon. Sorry all!   Maungatapu –   28 th Sunday in Ordinary Time- Year C -2026 Readings: Psalm                          Psalm: 91:1-6, 14-16                       First Reading               Jeremiah 32:1-3, 6-15      Second Reading          1 Timothy 6:6-19         Gospel                     ...