The diary of David, a just-turned-30 Brit living in Norway
The trial of Anders Behring Breivik finally gets underway on Monday. It's hard to believe almost nine months have passed since the Oslo terrorist attacks. Life in the capital has long since returned to normal, although the government quarter which bore the brunt of the explosion is still out of bounds. I live a few hundred yards away and walk past the area most days, but with the impending trial and increased media interest, I decided to take a … [Read more...]
Today and tomorrow Norway votes in local and regional elections. With my political background it's been an interesting experience to be in another country during an election campaign. It is of course the first election here since the July attacks and Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg's Labour party are expected to do well, they've seen a 5-7% bounce in the polls since the attacks. However, support for the far-right Progress party has only dipped … [Read more...]
One week ago, Norwegian life was turned upside down by the actions of one man. It's not an exaggeration to say the last seven days have been some of the most traumatic and emotional of my life, and I've only been living in Oslo for three months. What it must be like for everyone else I can only begin to imagine. But today I want to write about the remarkable way in which Norway and Norwegians have coped. On Monday night a rose tribute was held … [Read more...]
This morning, Oslo awoke to a new reality. I can't be the only one who was awoken at 4am by a massive thunderstorm, thinking another bomb had gone off. When I eventually gave up getting back to sleep at 6am, the full horror of yesterday's events became clear. The death toll on Utøya had rocketed to more than 80. As devastating as the bombing in Oslo was, it was clearly just a distraction to give the gunman all that time on Utøya. What a … [Read more...]
It's taken me hours to gather my thoughts enough to be able to put them into words and I'm still shaken now, so forgive me if this is all a little "raw". I can't get my head around the events of today. I was in the supermarket at the bottom of my apartment block when I heard (and felt) the blast. It was one of those bizarre moments when you, and everyone around you, stops for a split second. No talking, no movement, what was that? And then … [Read more...]
I can't put into words how I feel right now - I live just a few minutes walk from where the blast was. I'll write more when I feel more up to it - but for now I wanted to let people know I am okay. … [Read more...]
He writes here about his new life in Norway: his observations and experiences, the language and culture, the people and places. [Read More …]
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