THE OLYMPICS (3)
I am sitting here watching the opening ceremony for the London Olympics, and trying to recognise my son in the crowd (I have more chance of winning the lottery, I know). One thing is clear from the show so far; Britain has been responsible for a large proportion of the world's great pop music.
We are off to London to watch the games tomorrow, so only random blogging for two weeks. I thought about taking my Hong Kong t-shirt, the one that says "white people don't understand this" in chinese characters on the front. But then I thought that there might in fact be quite a lot of Chinese speakers at the games, so I decided not to. I'll have to content myself with my plain green one.
Walter Blotscher
Friday, 27 July 2012
Thursday, 26 July 2012
SEA BATHING
Sea bathing in Denmark is not for the faint-hearted. It is like I remember my childhood holidays in Britain, with grey skies, even greyer seas (North Sea, English Channel, Irish Sea), shingle beaches, little or no sun, howling winds. And very cold water.
I had no problem with those circumstances when I was eight years old. What spoiled me was 8 years in Tanzania, with blue skies, even bluer sea (Indian Ocean), sandy beaches, lots of sun, little wind. And lovely warm water.
Since coming to Denmark in 2000, I have found it difficult to readapt. My wife hasn't; she has happily relapsed into Viking mode, and is always badgering me to do the same. This week it has been really hot here, almost 30 degrees. And I am quite proud to say that she has managed to persuade me to go swimming in the sea both yesterday and today. I even managed to enjoy it.
Walter Blotscher
Sea bathing in Denmark is not for the faint-hearted. It is like I remember my childhood holidays in Britain, with grey skies, even greyer seas (North Sea, English Channel, Irish Sea), shingle beaches, little or no sun, howling winds. And very cold water.
I had no problem with those circumstances when I was eight years old. What spoiled me was 8 years in Tanzania, with blue skies, even bluer sea (Indian Ocean), sandy beaches, lots of sun, little wind. And lovely warm water.
Since coming to Denmark in 2000, I have found it difficult to readapt. My wife hasn't; she has happily relapsed into Viking mode, and is always badgering me to do the same. This week it has been really hot here, almost 30 degrees. And I am quite proud to say that she has managed to persuade me to go swimming in the sea both yesterday and today. I even managed to enjoy it.
Walter Blotscher
Wednesday, 25 July 2012
BURNING DESIRE
Weeds get everywhere on our property. In amongst the stones in the yard, underneath the gravel in the driveway, everywhere. I pull them up from time to time, but they just come back again. It's like painting the Forth Bridge.
My wife has had enough. Today she bought one of those small blowtorches, that the council sometimes use when they want to keep weeds from encroaching on roads. Two hours later, and the grounds have taken on a charred look. By killing the roots as well as the foliage, it should have a bigger effect. I hope so.
Walter Blotscher
Weeds get everywhere on our property. In amongst the stones in the yard, underneath the gravel in the driveway, everywhere. I pull them up from time to time, but they just come back again. It's like painting the Forth Bridge.
My wife has had enough. Today she bought one of those small blowtorches, that the council sometimes use when they want to keep weeds from encroaching on roads. Two hours later, and the grounds have taken on a charred look. By killing the roots as well as the foliage, it should have a bigger effect. I hope so.
Walter Blotscher
Sunday, 22 July 2012
BRADLEY WIGGINS (2)
Bradley Wiggins became the first Englishman to win the Tour de France, when it finished in Paris this afternoon. As I predicted at the start, the combination of lots of time-trialling and a strong Sky team to help him in the mountains played to his strengths. In the end, it wasn't even close, his closest competitor more than three minutes back. And that was his Sky teammate Chris Froome.
Although this was a triumph for Wiggins, it was even more of a triumph for Sky. The team only came into being at the start of 2010, with the goal of winning the Tour de France within five years. Many teams have that goal, and never attain it; so to do so two years early is pretty amazing. They also have Mark Cavendish on the team, the best sprinter in the world, and current world champion following his victory in Copenhagen last year. Overshadowed for much of the race, he still managed to win three stages, including the final sprint on the Champs Elysees for the fourth year in a row. The sight of Wiggins himself leading him out over the final kilometer showed how much this was a team effort.
Some commentators are already beginning to pick at Wiggins' victory; Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck weren't there, defending champion Cadel Evans was clearly below par, Wiggins didn't win a stage outside the two time trials, Froome looked to be stronger than his captain in the mountains. These are all quibbles in my view. Sky had a detailed plan, and they executed it to perfection. You can only beat the people who turn up, and Wiggins did that and more. And even if Contador and Schleck had taken time from him in the mountains, I doubt very much if they would have been able to keep up with Wiggins over 100km of flat time-trialling.
The biggest discussions have been over Froome's role as super-domestique. If he had attacked his captain in the mountains, could he have won the Tour? A lot of this is froth. Cycling is a team sport par excellence, so if the team management have formulated a plan around one captain, then it's stupid to change the plan, unless the captain falls completely to pieces (which Wiggins never did; he was either second, behind Fabian Cancellara, or first for the whole of the race). And although Froome distanced Wiggins on the finish to Thursday's mountain stage to Peyragudes, before falling back to help him, he would only have gained 20 seconds or so if had continued. There was a lot of speculation about what would have happened if Froome had genuinely attacked earlier. But it remains speculation. After all, mountain attacks often blow up (as Evans' own did in the Alps); and although Wiggins is not at his best in the mountains, he is no slouch either.
Anyway, we'll soon find out if Froome really is that good. Rumour has it that he will ride the Vuelta a Espana in August, where he will be up against a returning Alberto Contador on home turf and with something to prove. My guess is that Contador will win, and by some distance.
Walter Blotscher
Bradley Wiggins became the first Englishman to win the Tour de France, when it finished in Paris this afternoon. As I predicted at the start, the combination of lots of time-trialling and a strong Sky team to help him in the mountains played to his strengths. In the end, it wasn't even close, his closest competitor more than three minutes back. And that was his Sky teammate Chris Froome.
Although this was a triumph for Wiggins, it was even more of a triumph for Sky. The team only came into being at the start of 2010, with the goal of winning the Tour de France within five years. Many teams have that goal, and never attain it; so to do so two years early is pretty amazing. They also have Mark Cavendish on the team, the best sprinter in the world, and current world champion following his victory in Copenhagen last year. Overshadowed for much of the race, he still managed to win three stages, including the final sprint on the Champs Elysees for the fourth year in a row. The sight of Wiggins himself leading him out over the final kilometer showed how much this was a team effort.
Some commentators are already beginning to pick at Wiggins' victory; Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck weren't there, defending champion Cadel Evans was clearly below par, Wiggins didn't win a stage outside the two time trials, Froome looked to be stronger than his captain in the mountains. These are all quibbles in my view. Sky had a detailed plan, and they executed it to perfection. You can only beat the people who turn up, and Wiggins did that and more. And even if Contador and Schleck had taken time from him in the mountains, I doubt very much if they would have been able to keep up with Wiggins over 100km of flat time-trialling.
The biggest discussions have been over Froome's role as super-domestique. If he had attacked his captain in the mountains, could he have won the Tour? A lot of this is froth. Cycling is a team sport par excellence, so if the team management have formulated a plan around one captain, then it's stupid to change the plan, unless the captain falls completely to pieces (which Wiggins never did; he was either second, behind Fabian Cancellara, or first for the whole of the race). And although Froome distanced Wiggins on the finish to Thursday's mountain stage to Peyragudes, before falling back to help him, he would only have gained 20 seconds or so if had continued. There was a lot of speculation about what would have happened if Froome had genuinely attacked earlier. But it remains speculation. After all, mountain attacks often blow up (as Evans' own did in the Alps); and although Wiggins is not at his best in the mountains, he is no slouch either.
Anyway, we'll soon find out if Froome really is that good. Rumour has it that he will ride the Vuelta a Espana in August, where he will be up against a returning Alberto Contador on home turf and with something to prove. My guess is that Contador will win, and by some distance.
Walter Blotscher
Saturday, 21 July 2012
DENMARK AND NORWAY
Denmark has been associated with Norway since at least the time of King Canute (he of the obsequious courtiers, who were taught a lesson when he sat on the beach and let the tide wash over him), who forged an empire around the North Sea shortly before the Norman Conquest in 1066. Interestingly, the Norwegian throne was always hereditary, whereas the Danish one was elective until 1660, when Denmark became an absolutist state. So it was easier for the coming Danish king to become king in Norway than in Denmark, where the bolshy nobility tended to demand concessions in return for their support. Under the extraordinary institution of the Union of Kalmar, which lasted from 1397 to 1521, Denmark, Norway and Sweden (plus the colonial overseas settlements of Finland, Iceland, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, the Shetland Islands and the Orknies) were all united under the Danish king. Because he controlled the sounds giving access to the Baltic Sea, and the rich pickings of herring and "naval stores" (timber, pitch and other stuff), Denmark was the big cheese of northern Europe during the Middle Ages. And by levying tolls on ships wishing to trade, the Danish king became quite wealthy. It is estimated that at the start of the Thirty Years War in 1618, Christian IV was the second wealthiest prince in Europe after Duke Maximilian of Bavaria (an inheritance that Christian blew by joining in the war in the hope of acquiring north German bishoprics for his younger sons, getting comprehensively stuffed by the Imperialist forces at the Battle of Lutter, and then seeing his kingdom invaded thereafter).
The Union foundered on the Swedes' eternal reluctance to be ruled by a foreigner. So when it was dissolved in 1521, Sweden (+ Finland) went one way and Denmark-Norway (+ the isles) another. Where Denmark was an undisputed loser, Sweden was one of the big winners of the Thirty Years War, a power shift which has lasted until the present day. But it only became apparent after a further Swedish-Danish war in 1657-8, where the Swedes crossed the ice from their provinces in north Germany and threatened Copenhagen from the rear. As the price of peace, Denmark had to cede three provinces in southern Sweden (roughly all of the land south of Gothenburg), that had been Danish for more than 600 years. From a position of weakness, the Danish king took the opportunity to introduce absolutism.
The union with Norway lasted until 1814. During the Napoleonic wars, Denmark tried to stay neutral. But the British objected to the Danes' trading with France, and attacked Copenhagen in 1801 and 1807, pushing Denmark into the Napoleonic camp. With his defeat, Norway was taken away from Denmark and given to Sweden. The Norwegians objected, and declared independence, with a liberal constitution. A Swedish invasion crushed independence; but the Swedes had to accept a mere personal union, which lasted until 1905, Norway retaining separate institutions and that constitution.
After 800 years together, Norwegians and Danes were tightknit, and a number of famous "Danes" were in fact Norwegian. The languages are also very close, so although Scandinavians tend to talk to each other simply by speaking their own language (or English), it's easier for Danes and Norwegians to understand each other than Danes and Swedes. The Danes took the loss of Norway as a national humiliation, and turned their attention south to Schleswig-Holstein, a process exacerbated by the Danish king's German roots, his position as Duke, and his mistrust of Norwegians' liberal instincts. The Norwegians on the other hand quickly established the sort of national identity and culture, which Danes only really began to develop after 1864, when they were comprehensively beaten by the Prussians, and Schleswig-Holstein passed into Bismarck's hands.
2014 will mark the 200th anniversary of the dissolution of the union of the two countries. Yet whereas there will be big celebrations in Norway, I suspect that they will be much more muted here in its southern neighbour. The loss of Norway was the biggest territorial loss in Danish history; not many people will want to celebrate that.
Walter Blotscher
Denmark has been associated with Norway since at least the time of King Canute (he of the obsequious courtiers, who were taught a lesson when he sat on the beach and let the tide wash over him), who forged an empire around the North Sea shortly before the Norman Conquest in 1066. Interestingly, the Norwegian throne was always hereditary, whereas the Danish one was elective until 1660, when Denmark became an absolutist state. So it was easier for the coming Danish king to become king in Norway than in Denmark, where the bolshy nobility tended to demand concessions in return for their support. Under the extraordinary institution of the Union of Kalmar, which lasted from 1397 to 1521, Denmark, Norway and Sweden (plus the colonial overseas settlements of Finland, Iceland, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, the Shetland Islands and the Orknies) were all united under the Danish king. Because he controlled the sounds giving access to the Baltic Sea, and the rich pickings of herring and "naval stores" (timber, pitch and other stuff), Denmark was the big cheese of northern Europe during the Middle Ages. And by levying tolls on ships wishing to trade, the Danish king became quite wealthy. It is estimated that at the start of the Thirty Years War in 1618, Christian IV was the second wealthiest prince in Europe after Duke Maximilian of Bavaria (an inheritance that Christian blew by joining in the war in the hope of acquiring north German bishoprics for his younger sons, getting comprehensively stuffed by the Imperialist forces at the Battle of Lutter, and then seeing his kingdom invaded thereafter).
The Union foundered on the Swedes' eternal reluctance to be ruled by a foreigner. So when it was dissolved in 1521, Sweden (+ Finland) went one way and Denmark-Norway (+ the isles) another. Where Denmark was an undisputed loser, Sweden was one of the big winners of the Thirty Years War, a power shift which has lasted until the present day. But it only became apparent after a further Swedish-Danish war in 1657-8, where the Swedes crossed the ice from their provinces in north Germany and threatened Copenhagen from the rear. As the price of peace, Denmark had to cede three provinces in southern Sweden (roughly all of the land south of Gothenburg), that had been Danish for more than 600 years. From a position of weakness, the Danish king took the opportunity to introduce absolutism.
The union with Norway lasted until 1814. During the Napoleonic wars, Denmark tried to stay neutral. But the British objected to the Danes' trading with France, and attacked Copenhagen in 1801 and 1807, pushing Denmark into the Napoleonic camp. With his defeat, Norway was taken away from Denmark and given to Sweden. The Norwegians objected, and declared independence, with a liberal constitution. A Swedish invasion crushed independence; but the Swedes had to accept a mere personal union, which lasted until 1905, Norway retaining separate institutions and that constitution.
After 800 years together, Norwegians and Danes were tightknit, and a number of famous "Danes" were in fact Norwegian. The languages are also very close, so although Scandinavians tend to talk to each other simply by speaking their own language (or English), it's easier for Danes and Norwegians to understand each other than Danes and Swedes. The Danes took the loss of Norway as a national humiliation, and turned their attention south to Schleswig-Holstein, a process exacerbated by the Danish king's German roots, his position as Duke, and his mistrust of Norwegians' liberal instincts. The Norwegians on the other hand quickly established the sort of national identity and culture, which Danes only really began to develop after 1864, when they were comprehensively beaten by the Prussians, and Schleswig-Holstein passed into Bismarck's hands.
2014 will mark the 200th anniversary of the dissolution of the union of the two countries. Yet whereas there will be big celebrations in Norway, I suspect that they will be much more muted here in its southern neighbour. The loss of Norway was the biggest territorial loss in Danish history; not many people will want to celebrate that.
Walter Blotscher
Friday, 20 July 2012
CRIME RATES
The homicide rate in England and Wales is at its lowest for 29 years. Put simply, Brits are killing each other less often.
Recorded crime is also at its lowest for 23 years, and in Scotland for 37 years. Unlike the homicide rates, recorded crime rates can be fiddled somewhat. But together, they suggest that Britain is a safer place to be than before.
America, on the other hand, seems to be bucking the trend. Today there was yet another mass murder episode, this time at a Batman premiere. Could the difference be due to the fact that there are so many more guns in the U.S.?
Walter Blotscher
The homicide rate in England and Wales is at its lowest for 29 years. Put simply, Brits are killing each other less often.
Recorded crime is also at its lowest for 23 years, and in Scotland for 37 years. Unlike the homicide rates, recorded crime rates can be fiddled somewhat. But together, they suggest that Britain is a safer place to be than before.
America, on the other hand, seems to be bucking the trend. Today there was yet another mass murder episode, this time at a Batman premiere. Could the difference be due to the fact that there are so many more guns in the U.S.?
Walter Blotscher
Thursday, 19 July 2012
KILLER SNAILS
The Iberian forest snail ("Arion Lusitanicus", known popularly in Denmark as the killer snail) is a brown snail with a voracious appetite. In its native southern Europe and Spain, the hot, dry climate and natural predators combine to keep down the numbers. But here in wet Scandinavia, there is no natural predator. So, if they manage to survive a cold winter, their numbers explode during the summer, threatening both local kitchen gardens and the domestic black forest snail ("Arion Ater").
It is thought that the invasive species arrived in Scandinavia through the importation of plants. It was first seen in Sweden in 1975, in Norway in 1988 and in Denmark in 1991. In each country the pattern was the same; half a dozen years of low activity followed by a huge increase in numbers. With no natural predator, humans' killing them is the only option; yet that is not without problems, since killer snails are also cannibalistic, so dead snails merely attract more of the same. My post-badminton beer sessions have often been taken up with animated discussions of the best way to kill these wretched creatures. Beer traps appear to be the consensus weapon of choice; though I have recently heard of a foodstuff that constipates them so much that they die of starvation (as also happens to the next snail that eats its dead companion).
Although we have a wood on our property, I have never seen a killer snail in the 10 years I have lived here. Until this summer. So the problem has finally reached us.
Snails of all sorts tend to "come out" just after it has rained. It has rained for most of today, and I went out on a bike ride this evening after it had stopped. Crikey, there were a lot of snails out on the roads, more of them brown than black, I'm afraid. A lot of the brown ones died under my front wheel as I whizzed along. Just another billion to go.
When I got back, I went down and checked my kitchen garden, and found to my horror three killer snails sitting on top of my lettuces. The pesky things had managed to cross the ditch that I had dug around it, so it shows how resourceful they are. The three died a nasty death, being speared by my garden fork. I suspect that they were the first executions of many.
Walter Blotscher
The Iberian forest snail ("Arion Lusitanicus", known popularly in Denmark as the killer snail) is a brown snail with a voracious appetite. In its native southern Europe and Spain, the hot, dry climate and natural predators combine to keep down the numbers. But here in wet Scandinavia, there is no natural predator. So, if they manage to survive a cold winter, their numbers explode during the summer, threatening both local kitchen gardens and the domestic black forest snail ("Arion Ater").
It is thought that the invasive species arrived in Scandinavia through the importation of plants. It was first seen in Sweden in 1975, in Norway in 1988 and in Denmark in 1991. In each country the pattern was the same; half a dozen years of low activity followed by a huge increase in numbers. With no natural predator, humans' killing them is the only option; yet that is not without problems, since killer snails are also cannibalistic, so dead snails merely attract more of the same. My post-badminton beer sessions have often been taken up with animated discussions of the best way to kill these wretched creatures. Beer traps appear to be the consensus weapon of choice; though I have recently heard of a foodstuff that constipates them so much that they die of starvation (as also happens to the next snail that eats its dead companion).
Although we have a wood on our property, I have never seen a killer snail in the 10 years I have lived here. Until this summer. So the problem has finally reached us.
Snails of all sorts tend to "come out" just after it has rained. It has rained for most of today, and I went out on a bike ride this evening after it had stopped. Crikey, there were a lot of snails out on the roads, more of them brown than black, I'm afraid. A lot of the brown ones died under my front wheel as I whizzed along. Just another billion to go.
When I got back, I went down and checked my kitchen garden, and found to my horror three killer snails sitting on top of my lettuces. The pesky things had managed to cross the ditch that I had dug around it, so it shows how resourceful they are. The three died a nasty death, being speared by my garden fork. I suspect that they were the first executions of many.
Walter Blotscher
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