, Author at BRIDGET THE MIDGET

The Tall Ships

20th July 201318th March 2020 By roychinnorNo Comments

From Oulu we travelled south to Jyvaskyla in central Finland. Bridget is running very smoothly. The town of Jyvaskyla is not really a tourist centre and although pleasant enough I couldn’t in all honesty recommend it as a place to visit. The following morning we continued south to Helsinki, the Capital City of Finland. As Capital Cities go Helsinki is definitely one of the better ones, with cleaner air than usual, wide boulevards and relatively little traffic. The architecture, on first glance, looks interesting. Bridget and I arrived to a tumultuous welcome, but unfortunately it was not for us, but for the participants of the Tall Ships Racing. Helsinki is 2013 host for this annual event which is organised by the Sail Training International. As we have several days in Helsinki, I have decided to give Bridget a good rest. As we arrived I couldn’t help noticing the oil pressure was fairly low. So much so that I checked that we hadn’t lost...

Oulu

19th July 201318th March 2020 By roychinnorNo Comments

From Rovaneimi we made our way down to Oulu, the capital city of Northern Ostrobothnia region. The new City of Oulu was only formed this year, 2013. It is the unification of five far older towns Haukipudas, Kiiminki, Oulo, Oulunsalo and Yli-li. In my humble opinion it is justified just to avoid trying to pronounce the old names. Oulo is a strange mix of old and new, and most of the old is made of wood, typical of the Nordic countries. However, because a building is constructed of wood does not mean it cannot be very old, which was the way my mind tended to think. For example, Oulu Cathedral was built in 1777 of wood on stone walls. Much of the original city was destroyed in a fire in 1822. What impressed me most about the cathedral, was the two church organs, both of which I thought sttod out from the usual instruments, one because it was apparently a modern design and...

Return To Dark Nights

15th July 201318th March 2020 By roychinnorNo Comments

We have now left the Arctic Circle behind us and are heading back into balmier climes, I hope. Actually our last day in the Arctic was a rather warm sunny one but you couldn’t rely on it continuing. The visit has been well worthwhile for the scenery alone, particularly Norway. It has also been an interesting insight into the culture here as well. Although across Norway, north Sweden and Finland there are differences in culture, I felt these were outweighed by the similarities. The population of this part of the Arctic Circle have learnt how to live with nature rather than trying to adapt nature to suit human traits. There are noticeable similarities with the Canadian population where the climate is just as harsh. Tasks generally can be achieved when the person is ready to do them, relatively little needs to be done immediately. The people are more relaxed than in most of Western Europe or the USA. This attitude...

Bridget Visits Santa Claus

13th July 201318th March 2020 By roychinnorNo Comments

Fridays' drive from Kiruna to Rovaniemi was completed in splendid wonderful sunshine. The scenery has reverted to fairly standard forestry and farmland, but we are still in the Arctic Circle. The roads were fine with minimal traffic. The highlight of the journey was spotting a reindeer strolling into the forest just as I was passing. Bridget screeched to a halt, I grabbed the camera and jumped out as quickly as one can from a Midget. I walked back up the road to the point where the deer entered the woods and as quietly as possible went after it. Within a hundred yards I came across it grazing in a clearing. I managed to get several photos before it trotted off further into the forest. I realised on arriving in Rovaniemi that Bridget has completed 3,500 miles on the run so far which, together with the testing, etc. prior to leaving, means she needs a short service. I visited four garages in the...

Arctic Lives Up To Its’ Name

11th July 201318th March 2020 By roychinnorNo Comments

I have been negligent in my reporting duties and for that I apologise. My only excuse is that the driving since leaving Bergen has been fantastic. The scenery here is much the same as the west coast of Scotland, only there is much more of it in Norway. From Bergen we have driven north despite the cold and the rain (I know, Britain has been basking in sun for the past ten days or so. In the famous words of the late Harry Secombe "Raspberries"). We travelled up through Alesund, Trondheim, Mosjoen and eventually to Narvik. The daily distances weren't great, around two hundred miles a day, but the time taken to cover those miles was roughly double that of normal driving. This is because every fifty miles, or so, you need to take a ferry, and because although the roads aren't all that bad, they are single carriageway with almost no overtaking points. Once you are behind a truck you...