My voice

Congratulations!

Posted in music, news by Linda on May 17, 2009

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Today I just have to send a double congratulation to all my fellow county men and women out there. Not only is it Norway’s Constitution Day – the day we celebrate the independence and freedom of our beloved country, but yesterday “we” even won the Eurovision Song Contest through Alexander Rybak and his song Fairytale. How about that! I’d say it was good timing – and surely it added a special touch to the traditional May 17 celebration :)

In case you missed it, here’s the song

So am I happy then? Sure, it’s fun to be on the winning side. And it is a cool and catchy tune. However, I also had another favorite; What if We performed by Chiara, Malta. Take a moment and listen, it’s a beautiful song that deserves a few seconds of our time.

“There will be a star, no matter how far, shining”



Forests on Fire

Posted in news, reflections by Linda on June 13, 2008

The other day I wrote a post about last summer, and how it kept on raining continuously. Well, it seems nature has a hard time making up it’s mind because this summer (so far) we haven’t seen a single raindrop for weeks. And the consequences are of course, that nature becomes dangerously dry.

The news this week has been showing several forest fires in the southern part of Norway. The most extensive one is said to be the worst forest fire in more than 50 years. I’m glad it’s far away from where I live, but still; forest fires are really scary (and it’s just as dry around here).

According to the authorities the fire is at the moment out of control. The terrain in this area is challenging and the strong winds we’ve had the last couple of days are not helping.

The smoke has even spread to Denmark. There was actually a false fire alarm yesterday, as people could both see and smell the smoke, but then it turned out it was caused by the Norwegian fire.

I admire the firefighters and local volunteers who are working around the clock to put the fire out. An area equivalent to one thousand football fields has already been destroyed. Fortunately, so far no human lives have been lost (I fear we can’t say the same for many of the animals inhabiting the forest)

A couple of houses are currently at risk. I can only imagine how these people must feel, having to evacuate their homes leaving everything behind, while the flames of the forest are closing in on their houses. Hopefully they will be able to return in a few days, finding their homes untouched by the fire.

I’m really hoping and praying for some serious rain showers now, as I believe many with me also do.