Stanley - Thursday
As I wrote in my blog last week, I have just been in beautiful Norway, both along the coast and in Bergen. The timing of the trip was important because I wanted to be in Bergen for a party on October 15 to celebrate the 74th birthday of a man known around the world. A famous man.
As I wrote in my blog last week, I have just been in beautiful Norway, both along the coast and in Bergen. The timing of the trip was important because I wanted to be in Bergen for a party on October 15 to celebrate the 74th birthday of a man known around the world. A famous man.
I definitely
didn’t want to miss this grand affair.
I have never
been to a birthday party quite like it – a party that included a tour of homes where
the gentleman in question had lived, and places he had frequented.
In the evening, over a hundred people crowded into the bar of the Scandic Strand hotel in the old section of the town, including four who had travelled from London just for the occasion. We listened to tributes to the man (in Norwegian) and, when the talking was over, the local brewery popped the top of a new beer named for the birthday boy.
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| Part of the crowd on the walk |
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| Birthday boy's route to his office |
In the evening, over a hundred people crowded into the bar of the Scandic Strand hotel in the old section of the town, including four who had travelled from London just for the occasion. We listened to tributes to the man (in Norwegian) and, when the talking was over, the local brewery popped the top of a new beer named for the birthday boy.
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| Some of the London visitors (Susan Cooper, Mike Linane, Liz Cooper and local) enjoying the sun. Bergen has rain on average over 19 rainy days per month. |
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| Master of ceremonies and owner of the bar, Hans Bru, introducing the speakers |
(I have to admit
I had a few most enjoyable bottles – a medium beer, soft on the palate. Then I heard
that at one of the previous birthdays an aquavit had been created in his name
also. I had to taste
that too. Delicious and quite mild.)
So, who was the man we were honouring, and what made the whole affair so special?
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| The brewer pours the first bottle of Varg Veum beer |
So, who was the man we were honouring, and what made the whole affair so special?
Well, part of
the appeal was that the man doesn’t exist.
He’s a figment of the imagination.
How could one resist the opportunity to join a hundred real people
celebrating in all seriousness the birthday of someone who is just an idea?
To be fair, to
all intents and purposes, he does
exist in these and other people’s minds.
Including mine. After all, there
is a life-size statue of him outside the hotel and, just along the passage from
the bar, is his office, clearly marked PRIVATETTERFORSKER (Private Investigator). I knocked on the door, but he must have been
out, although he may have been there since some people say he is too shy to open
the door and welcome visitors.
The person I am
writing about is VARG VEUM, the protagonist of mystery writer, Gunnar Staalesen’s long-running
series set in Bergen. How cool is that? That a character in a book is celebrated with
beers and aquavit in his name; that people celebrate his birthday; that there
is a statue of him for all to see. And
that he has an office in the Scandic Strand hotel. What’s more, a corner of the bar has his name
and contains tributes to him.
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| The Varg Veum corner of the bar |
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| Gunnar Staalesen talks about his creation, Varg Veum (in background) |
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| London hangers-on, Neil Davies and Mike Linane, trying to look like Varg |
So who is this man, Varg's creator, Gunnar Staalesen?
He is truly one
of the fathers of Norwegian (and Scandinavian) crime writing. His first Varg Veum mystery, Goat to Honey, was written in 1977, and
his twenty-first, Big Sister, has
just been released in Norwegian.
The books that
have been translated into English are, in chronological order (year of
publication in parentheses):
Yours Until Death, (1993)
At Night All Wolves Are Grey, (1986)
The Writing on the Wall, (2002)
The Consorts of Death, (2009)
Cold Hearts, (2013)
Where Roses Never Die, (2015), Orenda Books
In addition,
there are 12 Varg Veum film adaptations and two Varg Veum short-story
anthologies.
I'm not going to give you a biography of Varg because that would spoil the pleasure of finding out through his books.
Lest you think
that Gunnar is only a writer of private-eye mysteries, he has also written The Bergen Trilogy, which is a
three-volume saga set in twentieth-century Bergen, children and young-adult
books, plays, and five graphic novels.
And he still has
time to take people around his city and celebrate his protagonist’s birthday. And as we walked, it was apparent everyone knew who he was. "You know everyone in a small town," Gunnar commented. A small town of 250,000 people.
In fact he is so well known, that he is on Bergen's Walk of Fame, next to Sir Paul McCartney's plaque. When I asked him what the significance was that the plaques were directly in front of Bergen's last operating bordello, he just smiled.
In fact he is so well known, that he is on Bergen's Walk of Fame, next to Sir Paul McCartney's plaque. When I asked him what the significance was that the plaques were directly in front of Bergen's last operating bordello, he just smiled.
In addition to the delight of being at this unique birthday party, there was a huge bonus for me on the visit. Gunnar introduced me to Jo Gerstad, a man who knows everything about Bergen, including my family history. Jo even showed me the house where my great great grandfather lived, and he gave me a history of the family, written in 1904, by one of my great great aunts. What a treasure.
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| The street, Skoken, on which my ancestors once lived |
Thank you both for this wonderful occasion.
Posts
How cool is that? VERY cool!
ReplyDeleteI actually agree with EvKa! But even more, to have found such a treasure trove of info on you own roots had to be particularly thrilling.
ReplyDelete