Mountain Water

Norwegian has a word that describes a body of water that can be somewhere between a lake and a pond, but either of these too! Confusingly, the word is the same as the word for water itself: vann. The English equivalent in this mountain setting would probably be a tarn, but I have always found that word rather bland and nondescript, and somehow "water" works for me –probably because I have been in Norway for so long. This particular "water" in the mountainous countryside of mid Norway is apt to grow in size –being at its largest in spring after the winter snows have melted, and –if the summer is a hot and dry one– retreating to a marshy puddle later in the year. But here it sparkles in the afternoon sun of an early July. Calm, tranquil, somehow inviting and yet also perhaps a little mysterious (in a pleasant way). I've rendered the picture in sepia to accentuate this, but also because I find the cloud formations quite agreeable this way. Beyond the "water" and trees can be seen the ridges of three separate ranges of mountains, some still with snow on them. There is no one about, and were the picture to have an accompanying soundtrack, the only sounds that would be heard would be the slight rustling of the wind in the trees and the occasional distant buzz of some insect out on a spree. I find the picture very calming.

Location: Valdres, Norway

Gloves and Mittens Gone AWOL -No 5

A single mitten, lonely and lost, perching recklessly on the corner of a wall next to stairs outside the main library in Oslo on a winter's day. I would imagine that this particular mitten would have belonged to a child, perhaps even now being told off for losing it –or did it merely escape? Again I am fascinated that there should only be one –there almost always is. Is it because gloves are never lost in pairs, or perhaps, if they are, that they are immediately appropriated by someone else –whereas your single mitten or glove is like a forlorn soul, doomed to solitude. We must remember of course, that the moment one glove is lost, both become useless –unless you happen to only have one arm...

Location: Oslo, Norway

Old Sea Dog

Though not at sea we are in the water here, for this is HMS Warrior, the first armour-plated, iron-hulled warship, built in 1860 for the Royal Navy. She is now permanently berthed by the wonderful Historic Dockyard in Portsmouth as a museum ship, and is well worth a visit, even though most visitors tend to head first for the even more famous HMS Victory which is also found here. But this means there are less people jostling about and –at least when I was there– no queue to get in; in fact, for a large part of my visit I had the great ship pretty much to myself, being one of the first guests to arrive that day. However, I was not quite alone, for pacing the deck was this elderly gentleman –presumably a guide but perhaps a ghost, who by the manner of his gait and poise was re-living days of glory at sea. I imagined him to be a crusty old captain, only really happy when aboard a mighty vessel. Here he seems content –the seas are calm and all is well; there is no mutiny today nor any sign of the enemy. There is time for reflection, and thoughts of a life devoted to the sea. I felt the picture captured both something of the grandeur of the ship and the story of a man, and I like that he is standing a little in the shade, hands behind his back, in control.

Location: Portsmouth, England

Old England

Now, here's a building with character. Built in 1899 as a department store this wonderful art-nouveau edifice is now a museum devoted to musical instruments –the equally wonderful MIM. The building is audacious but not at all vulgar or overdone; it stands out among its neighbours but not in such a way that it dazzles or ignores them –a perfectly behaved building in other words. And yet the details of its wrought iron facade and fine windows fascinate and thrill. It's almost like a fairytale building, a benign one, that you feel compelled to enter and explore. Were all buildings like this it would be too much for the eye, but how uplifting it is to come across such fabulous frippery now and again.

Location: Brussels, Belgium