Wood Work

Monday 5th August

Key Points-

1 : Last day before the rabble arrives!!

2 : Leisurely breakfast with Ernst discussing jobs to be done at forest huts;

3 : Very good start on all tasks:
   - Floor painting
   - Cast iron stove cleaning
   - Storage areas cleared and wasps nest
   - Standing for outside stove created

4 : Bad news - Anders Holt hit his leg with sledgehammer so fencing job postponed;

5 : Collected Pete, Adam and rest of group from Eidsvoll stasjon - they had a pretty good trip & flight;

6 : Curry for tea!!

Air Crew Flight Log ....

The 44th flying to Norway??!! I don't believe it - but indeed we did! After saying goodbye to the advance party on Thursday it was a long and agonising wait for Monday to come so that we could join them.

06:00hrs - Alarm clock calls "Norway here we come". After a bite to eat and nice hot cuppa I thought a quick look at the weather wouldn't go a-miss. Outlook for the next week or so - fine. Excellent.

08:00hrs - Arrived at STRS where rabble was congregating. Soon off in minibus with Jock & his grandchildren in tow to drive bus back. Before we'd realised it Heathrow was in view. Flight delayed so killed time in lounge area.

13:45hrs - Plane eventually takes off; Jocye rather quiet after being given seat next to stranger. Well planned, I believe.

Transfer to Norwegian time ..... +1 hour

17:30hrs - Plane lands and group are eager to get off and catch train for Eidsvoll. Slight delay however waiting for tent & rope kit bag to clear luggage handling and customs. The modern style to the airport earns from us a new name - IKEA airport!

17:45hrs - Train to Eidsvoll leaves at 18:00hrs so tickets are quickly acquired giving Pete his first chance to practice his Norwegian. The nice lady just laughed and said in perfect English that she understood .. and welcome to Norway. Everybody commented on the cleanliness and efficiency of the Norwegian railway system.

18:00hrs - Train leaves Oslo (IKEA) Airport.

18:11hrs - Train arrives at Eidsvoll - after a brief moment of panic with Andy who thought he'd lost his way - we disembarked and met up with Phil. Stopping off to buy some milk, it wasn't long before we'd arrived at the huts, sorted kit and laid claim to our respective bunks, devoured a fine curry supper and were just settling down in the main lounge with after dinner drinks when Ernst arrived to meet the whole party and brief everyone on the area and tasks he would be setting us that week. After a nice midnight walk and a nightcap, it was finally time to say goodnight to the mosquitoes .....

ADAM

The 'Hard Man' Crew ('Ferry Group' sounds a bit effeminate)

Having woken blissfully ill-prepared for Ernst's early arrival we hurried up and into the communal quarters. Only in the cold light of day could I see just how spacious were the cabins. We each had a corner of the sleeping quarters and once we moved into the main chalet for breakfast we could treat ourselves to a bench a-piece, space ample enough for our Alpen and Cornflakes, bread and spreads 'breakfeast'.

Eating with Ernst our conversation meandered from the quality and quantity of local climbing (or rather lack of it) to the exploits of the late Peter Scofield, creator of 1st Squadron SAS and executor of many daring commando raids in the WWII desert war in North Africa. Of course our conversation was punctuated by the necessity of louder repetition of statements in order to indulge Ernst's preference not to wear hearing aids!

Once we had finished our breakfast we moved onto Ernst's house in order to pick up some tools that we needed for our work in the forest at the saeter (huts) which we found situated at the end of an exceptionally steep and winding track. After a quick reccy we allocated our tasks - Alasdair in charge of stores, me in charge of the erection of an outdoor stove and Matt in charge of the watercourse development. After a few minutes I was the only one labouring on our intended chores! Persuading Alasdair to join me, we excavated a (perfect!) little pit about 4' by 3' by 1' deep on a little knowle next to the stores hut. At the point of near completion when we were thinking beyond the pit to how to rig up a stove, we discovered a 'kick-arse' wasps nest. After much contemplation we decided on our preferred method of attack to facilitate its removal with minimal chances of being stung.

Having placed the wheelbarrow beneath it (with a bucket in it) I stood inside the hut and knocked the nest into the barrow with a long plank of wood before shutting myself inside the inner store. Unfortunately the nest missed the bucket and so Alasdair was unable to trap it and its now buzzy stingy and irate wasp population with the lid. Thus he had to wheel it outside as it was. After a few minutes when the angry and venomous 'little killer beasts' had calmed down I emerged unscathed from my hideout. This took us up to lunch which we ate from a table by the "HQ" hut. This whole time Matt was engaged in rather less vigorous activity (I had to say that!) de-rusting a cast iron wood stove from the HQ hut.

Post lunch activity was pretty much a continuation of pre-lunch labourings. Matt continued on his stove with a bit of help from Phil (who had spent the morning removing the stove from its chimney in the centre of the HQ hut and then painting the hut floor) while Ali and I made a border of wood for our stove 'pit'. Having selected the lengths desired we skinned then nailed the wood together into a snugly fitting border.

At about 4 o'clock Phil left with the minibus to collect the plane crew whilst we continued and tidied up. Soon enough Ernst returned and gave us a lift back to the huts in the forest at Gjeddevasskoia. Here a number of activities were to engage - indeed amuse us - until the fact of the plane crew was to befall us. After a long cup of tea I went and bathed in the river some 30 metres downstream of the bridge (next to the rapids). Then we played croquet, spy-on-your-neighbours and generally made the most of the freedom, quiet and space until the minibus returned - and disgorged its supercharged, hyperactive and peace-shattering contents into the Norwegian forest. The rest - as they say - is history. Gjeddevaskoia will never be quite the same!

RICH HOLLAND

Tuesday 6th August

The first full day with the whole unit together began from about 7am when people gradually awoke. Joyce decided to have an early morning fish but to no avail as he lost his spinner in a tree!

Breakfast at 7.45am woke everyone up except Rich Holland who delayed us so much that we didn't leave Gjeddevasskoia until 9.30am. After about half an hour in the minibus we all arrived at our worksite for the day and were assigned to working groups. I was in Matt Key's 'water-fixing' group and along with Andy and Gav we completed a new bridge, cleared the driftwood from the watercourse and made the famous Dales hole. Other groups did tasks such as gathering gravel to provide a base for the "brakke" (a forester's mobile living hut - early Norwegian caravan), cutting and splitting logs into firewood and useful stakes and Alasdair's project to build an outdoor oven.

Everyone worked strenuously until the novelty of chopping wood and breaking things gradually wore off and the need for food became unbearable. So when the bus arrived back with the food, it was mobbed. This was because no-one had thought to take off the lunch provisions before Phil went off to get some supplies and he did'nt get back until gone 1.30pm.

After we had been suitably replenished we got back to work on our adopted river (stream), completing the bridge with help from Mr Davies. I then discovered and decided to catch a huge Norwegian frog. Why not eh!

After the water group returned from an adventure with our axes (he he he) we packed up for the day and headed back to Gjeddevasskoia - minus my bag which caused a quick detour back up to the huts to retrieve it. Doh!

We got back to base at about 6pm and an expedition to a local swimming lake was mounted. Basically, the lake was an adapted woodland pool, it had too many weeds in it, it smelt, had a dodgy colour and the midges there soon became unbearable, so the group returned to base to be greeted by a dinner of sausages, burgers and veggies. Dessert of chocolate blancmange stuff and strawberry jelly with a vanilla cream sauce was also inhaled at a fair rate.

A strange Norwegian then walked into the chalet - just in time for coffee. While the older members of the group sat around talking and philosophising with our new guest, us younger more active fellows excused ourselves to watch Joycey try and catch another tree with his fishing gear and explore the surrounding woods and lakes. What with the hour's difference and being further north than home, it came as a surprise how late the hour was and still a fair semblence of daylight remaining in the day.

DAN DALES

Notes!

1 : The "strange" Norwegian was Ben Davies, Ernst's son, who is British (by choice) ... and who now lives in Belgium. Hopefully he's getting up a team of locals to play us at football on Saturday morning - supported by local friends .... opportunities for Matthew??

2 : Excellent and impressive progress made on all areas/tasks at the nature centre = forest huts! Watercourse looking clear with relocated bridge a fine addition. Hardstanding for the brakke (foresters 'caravan') laid down (lots of gravel shifting in the trailer). Equipment store and outside stove area tidy and organised. Pete and Rob diminished wood pile to nothing - all stacked as kindling behind equipment store. Had to insist Pete stopped chopping - he could have cleared half of the forest if we let him!!

3 : 'Elk Hunt' not successful. Location recommended is just over the bridge passed the "Joker" foodstore - first two fields and road crossed by thirsty elk at dusk as they make their way to water.

4 : Wasps have started rebuilding nest in eaves of equipment store.

Wednesday 7th August

The second full day for the unit and we all woke up about 8am. Breakfast underway by 8.15am and we had all finished and were about to get ready to go when Rich Holland finally emerged - late again!!

By 9.30am we were ready to go off to work in the forest and piled into the minibus. While waiting for the leaders we took up Dales and Joycey's suggestion to test the suspension while singing loudly "Why are we waiting?" This didn't go down too well when the tardy ones arrived - it was pointed out that clearing away the breakfast things and getting the lunch provisions ready were part of the preparations activities we ALL should join in -"You're not at home now. We're not your mothers!" - and that testing our only means of transport to destruction would not endear us to either them at this point in time nor the bursar when we got back to the UK. Net result - we all had to walk for the first mile and everyone was a bit sheepish for most of the morning (except Sheepy who is alway sheepish).

During another hot day we continued to clear the forest floor of wood, Alasdair continued fixing up the equipment store, Adam continued fixing up the brakke, Mr Lloyd continued to hack his way through the forest and the wasps continued to rebuild their nest in the store hut.

Dales and Mr Brown had gone shopping and did not appear until 1pm, a point where we were all tired, the heat was at its peak and the midges started to come out. We took around 45 minutes for lunch break to recuperate before Mr Davies set some of us off on the task of stripping all the branches off some felled trees and stacking them for drying out.

At about 5pm most of us decided to follow Matt on a walk through an overgrown path to find a cliff which was supposed to be good for climbing - however it turned out to be a rockface only 10 metres high with half of the face looking like it would collapse if someone applied any weight on it. So we returned to the minibus and trundled our now weary way back to Gjeddevasskoia where several members decided to go swimming at the peaty lake again.

The unit was greeted at dinner with that superb (not!) dish known as "Chicken Supreme", mercifully followed by tinned peaches and left-over vanilla sauce.

Another elk hunt took place after dishes which was again unsuccessful. Several locals passed us by saying "Did you see the elk?"; we however were fast coming to the conclusion that these very large beasts do not in fact exist - it's just a myth perpetuated by the Norwegian population in these parts for their amusement - to see foreigners go out at dusk and stand straining their eyes and ears at the forest edges as they are gradually and systematically drained of blood by the ravenous myriad hordes of tiny flying vampirical insects.

To make matters worse, when we returned anaemic to the chalet we found that Gav, Andy and Chris had consumed all the Jaffa cakes! Still as we bedded down for the night we consoled ourselves with the prospect of visiting civilisation tomorrow and fell into slumber dreaming about all the beautiful blonde bombshells we would meet in Oslo!

ROB HAYES

VSL's Diary Extracts-

Yet again a hot and, in the forest, sultry day. Work progressing spasmodically with some of the younger ones growing tired of their tasks and becoming somewhat tiresome and juvenile in their behaviour. Tomorrow's the Oslo trip for some history and culture .. and no doubt a few 'big macs' (YUK!) will restore their e-number balance and composure. Let's hope so! (Just about all we can do in Joycey's case - hope!!)

The shadoof - variant Norsk/44VSU Mark III(a) & ½ - looks just the job now. Well done Matt and others. The whole water course in fact looks very good - just a little finishing with large boulders to complete on final bend into pool.

Pete's wood stacks are ever growing - is there no stopping him??! - and Adam's made good repairs to the "new" brakke roof. The stove is back in place waiting for its blackening coat of paint and the equipment store is now well organised and tidy. Including newly progressing wasp's nest!

(later) ....

Oops! I thought that diesel was cheap. "Avgiftfrei" means "Tax free/Duty free" - ie: I just filled up the minibus with Norway's equivalent of red diesel - for agricultural use only!! 5.15NOK instead of 8.73NOK pro liter - maybe a 'mistake' to repeat at that saving!!

(later still) ....

Took off with Adam up hill behind saeter to find top (479m) and pick up path/track shown on map just other side of hill. A hot and sticky climb. Didn't quite reach top but contoured round in time allowed before tracking down a trail cleared by 'de-forester' machine. Generally rocky underfoot our route crossed cleared open sunny patches of old stumps, fresh conifer growth and lush blueberry carpeted clearings, to old stunted and dead conifers under taller canopy of living conifers, lush damp moss covered hollows - all the time evidence of serious elk gatherings (lots of fiske-bolle sized droppings). Startled sheep at one point - they ran off with alarm call that was almost cat-like hiss/spit noise. Weird. Finally dropped our way down to Saetersjoen, a large lake with its sandy bathing area and picnic tables and .... lovely bathing beauties. Dare we tell Matt of our meeting and arrangements for tomorrow? (I don't really expect that Siv and Maria will actually join us at Eidsvoll station tomorrow to be our Oslo guides - and to meet Matt! Still the info about the intercity train at 8.56am was useful!)

(later on still) ....

Was it an elk? Or just some bushes moving? Excited Ben and Els stopped to tell us of their sightings! Local resident taking dog for walk offered his services as "tracker"/leader for elk-seeing operation on Fredag. He also told us that he is registered to take 16 elk during the hunting season, the meat is delicious and there are beaver in the nearby river (two lodges) and today he'd been hunting roe deer with his dog. Perhaps he could give Joycey a few fishing tips as well? Eg the difference between a pine tree and aquatic habitat where fish live. Maybe we could ask him to give Joycey a head start ......??? Stubby Steaks!!

Oslo tomorrow : ho-hum! Lots to see and do - a tiring day no doubt. Early start too! We'll see!! Vi sees!! Harda bra!
Elgen ar i sykehuset!

Fredag 9 August

Matthew's bad start to the day:-

He sat and lazily took off the top of the Brelett spread in reserved anticipation of seeing his latest 'love' and ....

....... she was gone!!!

Only the remnant of the yellow smør substitue clinging oily to the edges of the tub.

Disaster! And no milk or bread either for breakfast.

He sadly turned and shuffled out of the door and into the dark recesses of the forest, a shattered, broken man.

Murder at Gjeddevasskoia!!

The quiet solitude of the VSL's early morning tea and flatbrød was shattered by death - a poor innocent tiny mouse dared show its quivering nose and whiskers and - SPLAT! - Adam added mouse-murder to his ever growing portfolio of talents (following on from stalking and voyeurism).

A poor little mouse
Ran out of his house
For breakfast at Gjeddevass K
Yet it wasn't the cat
But a bloody great 'Splat'
That finished his dawn raid foray.

With Adam around
There's no need of a hound
To keep little vermin at bay
With an aim that is good
And a huge plank of wood
He'll squish and he'll squash them all day!

Educational Footnote

The Norwegian word for "mouse" is "mus" (pronounced 'moos') and they call the large antlered herbivore that lives in the secret depths of the Scandinavian pine forests "elg" for which the English is "elk". However, thanks generally to the American mis-use of the English language, the "elk" is more popularly known as the "moose", pronounced the same as the Norwegian word "mus".

Hence the strange looks encountered when Adam informed the Norwegian locals that he'd killed a large moose in the kitchen with a plank of wood.

Taken from Daily Log Book Entries