Eleven years ago I took a trip to Vancouver for a bit of sightseeing and soul searching, just a week but long enough to have insightful conversations and forget the complications of lost loves in the company of two very wonderful people. As I took my seat on the flight home, a nine hour red eye to Heathrow, I introduced myself to the young man in the seat next to me and settled in for the flight. It turns out he had sat in the wrong seat but as fate would have it, he stayed put and we talked for the entire flight home. Many twists and turns and countries later we still share our lives together but now with the added company of our three children.
Last weekend we got to witness the culmination of another decade long relationship in a beautiful marriage ceremony on the edges of Oslo. The location was an intricately carved church nestled in the hills next to the famous ski jump at Holmekollen. In the coldest of settings on the clearest of days we entered the church and immediately felt all the warmth that came from both the wooden building as well as the happy congregation.
It is always a special moment when the bride enters the church to take her final few steps as a single woman and this was no different, she looked stunning in her dress. Preceded by her adorable little daughter the bride walked to the front of the church led by her exceedingly proud father. The vicar was funny and thoughtful and soon pronounced the happy couple to be man and wife, he followed the grand moment up with a rendition of Amazing Grace on his saxophone which was definitely a first for me.
The tradition for weddings in Norway is for a long sit down dinner which is interspersed with any speeches by those closest to the couple. A toastmaster leads the evening and welcomes guests to the reception, on this occasion it was the brides brother. Leading the celebrations the bride's father gave a heartwarming speech and magnificent song that had us laughing and wiping a tear, sometimes simultaneously. Best girlfriends had written a song that they performed, the best man made a speech and I think dinner lasted for at least four hours as we sat and laughed and shared fond moments of the couple in question. Dinner led to dancing and cakes which in turn late into the night led to hot dogs being served.
We awoke in the morning and took a stroll through the city to the Vigeland Sculpture Park. The work of Gustav Vigeland the sculpture park contains 212 statues cast in bronze, Human Condition is their title hence the proliferation of naked characters lining the walk way.
My favourite was the fountain near the top of the hill which was formed by giant men holding aloft a large bowl that would be flowing with water were it not quite so freezing cold. The centerpiece of the park is the monolith, fourteen years in the making and displaying a hundred and twenty one bodies all intertwined, the monolith reaches for the skies. I have to say I was very impressed by the crowds of tourists already at the park on a Sunday morning in the cold. By then my feet were no longer pliable and needing to head to the airport we returned to the hotel to collect our belongings.
These days the person I sit next to on an aeroplane is still the same man I met by chance so many years ago in Vancouver. Actually that isn't always true, normally we sandwich between us three wriggly bored children needing entertainment and frequent trips to the toilet so it was nice for a change to be able to sit together!
Dave and Hilde we both wish you a lifetime of happiness.
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