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| In the Rector’s Advent Quiet Hour held in Church on Monday 11 December, he talked of how "Christ came, Christ comes and Christ will come again". The hour passed in quiet and peaceful calm with ample "space" for meditation, in preparation for the "coming" of Christmas. The Rector used personal "snapshots" to illustrate the 3 sections of this reflective time. He explained how we all have these images stored away and how they mean more to us than just the visible surface – special memories are often attached to those "snapshots". This brought to mind my own recent visit to Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon and the many "snapshots" that I will be able to recall in the future. For those of you who have never been to America it is difficult to describe, except to say that it is a vast and awesome land. |
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Las Vegas is loud and glitzy with an amazing variety of hotels as nowhere else. Each hotel has at least 3000 rooms, plus massive casino areas, restaurants and shops. In addition each hotel has its own unique "theme". Caesar’s Palace is set in Rome and has a show of the sinking of Atlantis! The Mirage has white tigers and a waterfall that turns into an exploding volcano! Bellagio’s has an indoor "garden" – a display of red poinsettias bordered with white cyclamens, resembling a fitted carpet. The smell of fresh flowers is overwhelming. |
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Treasure Island has a show depicting a battle between a pirate ship and an English galleon – the galleon being sunk at the end of an amazing series of stunts and fireworks! And there are many, many more similarly imaginative hotels. In stark contrast we took a visit to the Grand Canyon, which we flew over in a helicopter! An amazing spectacle! Such a dramatic and yet tranquil place. For me this was the highlight of the trip, to see a natural phenomenon over 250 million years old. I certainly do have my own "snapshots" – both from the video recording and photos, as well as my own mental recollection for which I am truly grateful. |
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In stark contrast Christmas 2000 was another special time for the Nilssens as we travelled to Norway to be with family and friends. The traditions observed by our Norwegian family are slightly different to Britain – the Christmas tree is not put up until "little Christmas Eve" (23rd December); many people only buy their tree that day so that it stays fresher for much longer. The tree is decorated, but the lights are not switched on before Christmas Eve (after the Church bells ring at 5pm) and as in many other European countries, "Christmas Dinner" is eaten on Christmas Eve. In Norway the tradition is to have "ribbe", which is pork rib with a very tasty crackling on top. This is served with sauerkraut, cabbage in white sauce, carrots, potatoes, gherkins and beetroot (and no gravy!). There is no traditional dessert, but plenty of main course! |
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The advent ring is lit before the meal commences and a traditional "speech" said as each candle is lit – and include prayers for hope and happiness. The meal is then followed by the all important opening of presents. It was good to read in the newspaper that Skien Kirke (the local church) had record numbers attending the two Family Services on Christmas Eve in the afternoon. On Christmas Day the tradition is to have a breakfast "Julebord" (Christmas table) similar to a Smorgasbord with lots of delicious goodies including salmon, hams, cheeses, herrings, meatcakes, salads and much more! During the day this is "topped up" for you to help yourself. There is always a good cup of coffee and a piece of "blottkake" (cream cake) available in between for those with a sweet tooth. Fruit, nuts and chocolate are freely available, much to the delight of some of us! |
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Whilst we were in Norway many friends visited us including Anna’s cousin who is her penfriend. We also went for another "Julebord" to Morten’s cousin Thor, who has a beautiful house situated on a mountain side, which can entail some very tricky manouevres reaching it in the car on thick snow! |
| Thor’s son Terje and his wife Tonje have a son, Lage, who is 7 years old in March, and last year they had a daughter, Liten. Liten was born with double the usual number of chromosomes, resulting in her parents being told that she would only live for 8 to 10 weeks. Apparently, there are so few cases of this type in the world that there is very little research and obviously no treatment or potential cure for the condition. However, Liten is now 9 months old and as each day goes by her parents grow more used to her as part of their family. It was a great privilege and a delight to meet Liten, and indeed, nurse her to sleep! She needs round the clock care and is fed by a tube into her stomach, but her mother treats the whole operation so naturally and the love and care that Liten receives is wonderful to witness. Liten (which means little one) is a very special person and meeting her was an important lesson for all of us as a family – to remember that what you see is only part of the picture, it is what is below the surface that really matters. Liten’s attempts to laugh and communicate, her comfort after being fed and then sleeping are all the reward that her parents receive, but nonetheless they love her unconditionally – she is their little miracle. |
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Our return back to Britain was an experience of yet another kind. We were due to fly back to Manchester via Heathrow, but after leaving Skien at 7am and a three and a half hour train journey to Gardemoen, Oslo Airport, we arrived only to be told that our flight had been cancelled. After queuing for some time at the British Airways desk we were told that as we were in fact travelling to Manchester we could take the delayed direct flight, which was due to leave in half an hour! We literally had to run through the airport to reach our gate, with only a short time to get our breath back before boarding a 50 seater plane and arriving back in Manchester 3 hours before we were originally due to land! |
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Ours were the last 4 seats on the plane as all our other fellow travellers only had tickets valid to Heathrow and could not therefore take that flight. We could not believe how lucky we had been, especially as we had to make a series of telephone calls via family to inform the taxi firm collecting us from the airport. Incredibly, our taxi arrived just as we came out of Manchester Airport. Christ came, Christ comes, Christ will come again…… |
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