We had a trip to The `Nord Kapp’ from the port of Honningsvag, one of the biggest towns in the Arctic Circle. Nord Kapp (North Cape) is the north-eastern point of the continent – nothing but sea between us and the Arctic Ice.
Hurrying along the quay (to get on the bus and out of the cold wind) I saw something that made me stop in my tracks.
Across the street from where I used to live in Montrose, there’s a statue of a St Bernard dog. Bamse arrived in Montrose as a mascot of one of the 13 Norwegian naval vessels which escaped from occupied Norway to Britain, in June 1940. His ship, the ‘Thorodd’ was based in Montrose for the rest of the war and Bamse became well known in the town, not only for saving the lives of two crewmen (in separate incidents) but also for breaking up fights between sailors, rounding up the crew to make sure they got back to the ship on time, and playing with the local children. My aunt used to tell me about how he wandered the streets round the harbour in Montrose.
When he died, he was buried with full military honours. Hundreds of Norwegian sailors, people from Montrose and Dundee (where his ship had been based for a while) and children, came to his funeral. His grave, among the sand dunes at the mouth of the River Southesk, is still well tended. In 2006, a commemorative bronze statue was erected at Montrose Wharf Street.
Since 2009, a duplicate statue, unveiled by children from Montrose area and from Honningsvag, has stood on the waterfront at Honningsvag. I turned a corner and there he was.
OK, I’ll admit it… I’ve never liked the statue in Montrose very much. Actually I’m not really a fan of any statues – especially animal ones. And this one is larger than life … a little bit surreal but not so much that you admire that quality, just enough to make you wonder if – if you know what I mean. Something about it just doesn’t seem right.
So no-one was more surprised than me when I started jumping about in front of it and clapping him like a long lost friend and grabbing people as they ran past: ‘Oh look, this is Bamse, he comes form my home town’.
Bamse as guest of honour at our Art Exhibition on 21st June in the Corn Exchange, Cupar? It passed through my mind… but unfortunately the tourist season is short in Honnigsvag so he didn’t feel he could make it. However, he agreed to pose for a photograph for our website.
Bamse says YES!
Aimee
Hurrying along the quay (to get on the bus and out of the cold wind) I saw something that made me stop in my tracks.
Across the street from where I used to live in Montrose, there’s a statue of a St Bernard dog. Bamse arrived in Montrose as a mascot of one of the 13 Norwegian naval vessels which escaped from occupied Norway to Britain, in June 1940. His ship, the ‘Thorodd’ was based in Montrose for the rest of the war and Bamse became well known in the town, not only for saving the lives of two crewmen (in separate incidents) but also for breaking up fights between sailors, rounding up the crew to make sure they got back to the ship on time, and playing with the local children. My aunt used to tell me about how he wandered the streets round the harbour in Montrose.
When he died, he was buried with full military honours. Hundreds of Norwegian sailors, people from Montrose and Dundee (where his ship had been based for a while) and children, came to his funeral. His grave, among the sand dunes at the mouth of the River Southesk, is still well tended. In 2006, a commemorative bronze statue was erected at Montrose Wharf Street.
Since 2009, a duplicate statue, unveiled by children from Montrose area and from Honningsvag, has stood on the waterfront at Honningsvag. I turned a corner and there he was.
OK, I’ll admit it… I’ve never liked the statue in Montrose very much. Actually I’m not really a fan of any statues – especially animal ones. And this one is larger than life … a little bit surreal but not so much that you admire that quality, just enough to make you wonder if – if you know what I mean. Something about it just doesn’t seem right.
So no-one was more surprised than me when I started jumping about in front of it and clapping him like a long lost friend and grabbing people as they ran past: ‘Oh look, this is Bamse, he comes form my home town’.
Bamse as guest of honour at our Art Exhibition on 21st June in the Corn Exchange, Cupar? It passed through my mind… but unfortunately the tourist season is short in Honnigsvag so he didn’t feel he could make it. However, he agreed to pose for a photograph for our website.
Bamse says YES!
Aimee