But look on the bright side…employment in the local area.
Those stores employ far more than the family run businesses.
And all the other benefits.
@ Norway
It sounds like you’re enjoying your trip, Norway.
It’s a shame you’re not nearer to Stapeley Water Gardens, now that IS a garden centre worth a visit.
I like your style re the wine:cool:
with regard to the Town center shops , i think it is so sad to see so many empty ones, and oh the cheap shops, estate Agents etc. Empty ones probaly due to the fact that the owners of the property do nothing, just waiting to be able to charge a higher rent? maybe , but not something I know anything about.
Optitians !!Its chaerper for us to have eye tests and new glasses here than at home, so trip to our old optitians.
Great my eyes have not changed much since the last time , so not having new Glasses, well if I did , at 77 I may not get the full value out of them:confused: Wife had new ones , even here , glad im not paying, but to get a pair with progressive lens , tinted etc in Norway would cost in the region of at least £600:cry: so its even cheaper just to fly over stay with someone and get new glasses then fly back than to get them in Norway, and thats paying for everything including Eye Test.
Back to Food, we went to Farm shop , bought a SMALL piece of sirloin, just enough for two of us and a bit left for a sandwich. It was beautiful, certainly something that I do miss. Its not possible to get anything like it in Norway, they dont do Beef:-( as the British know it, its tough and tasteless. So we enjoyed this , and of course the wine to go with it.
A visit to my eldest nephew and his partener GRRRR! sorry im an old bugger and think marriage is a must to live together, BUT also a realist, and can see that other than being man and wife it has no other advantages. Anyway they have a nice small rented house with just enough furniture in for two, a bed , a sofa, cooker , well you know what I mean. Also they are still doing the things that thay like doing , concerts , etc, so no saving money, but so what , they are happy. Funny though to think he is now 28 and I still remember him climbing on my back whilst i crawled around the floor when he was about 2.
Upps did have one slight misjdgement with the car , went the wrong side of a keep left bollard:lol:at a road junction .
Right today , hopefully atrip to Stratford on Avon with the hope that oit does not coincide with the Stratford Mop, if so it will be a change of plans.
Hi
Lovely to read your blog Norway.
I have never been to Norway, do want to get there because of the fishing.
My son has been and loves it.
If you get chance, try Shrewsbury, lovely place, not too far away and the River Festival is on this week.
Stapeley Water Gardens was fantastic, unfortunately now closed and being developed for housing.
Norway 
It is sad to see so few decent shops in some of our small towns :-(.
Many properties are rented out, it is not so much the rent but the business rate charged by councils on top of the rent and that fact that many people shop on line that is killing the shops in our small towns.
New shops open up only to disappear again within a short time because they can’t make it pay. Around here charity shops predominate , they can claim ‘relief’ on business rates.
Enjoy Stratford the shops there are able to survive due to the high number of tourists.
if its salmon fishing , Laerdal river is one of the best in Norway, its where the King fishes , but any of the lakes or rivers are good and the fjords for Cod , haddock , plaice and salmon
Nice to hear your exploits Norway. I had an enjoyable week in Kirkenes in February this year and hope to be back in February next year.
Hi long time sice noticed you , glad you enjoyed your trip, its a bit cold up ther in Feb. though. Be careful dont put your foot over the border, or you will be off to the Russian steppes.Its about time you came back in the summer.
Well we had our trip to to Stratford, It seems that the cost of living also has effected the better off:-) I never thought I would see a Poundland in Stratford.
A very pleasant day there, not many tourists !! so we only swelled the numbers by two. I did work in Stratford for 9 years so do know it reasonably well, but a lot has been done around the canal basin, not all of it in keeping with Stratford. Too many boats for food etc and not many actual canal or other boats with people on holiday.
We paid a visit to the Butterfly farm. That was very nice, although some of them are monsters , even had a couple land on my head, wonder why ? some very beautiful ones , and my wife got many photos of them. We bought some sandwiches in M&S and ate them in the litle cafe at the farm. After lunch just went back in for another look. Not very impressed with the Ants and beetle tanks :twisted:
Went a walk along the river but it strted to get cool and of course my coat was in the car, well I cant help being a man .
Walking back to the car came across a Cheese shop !! couldnt resist that , so bought some Lancashire and a different Cheddar , all to take home . Pleasant ride back to the cottage for a dinner of fantastic sausages potatoes and BAKED BEANS, much better flavour than ours, although we do have Heinze Beans, but at approx £1.50 a tin are even too expensive in our eyes, so going to take home some small tins of sainsbury own . The pile of goods to go home is growing, going to have to check the weight.
Today is last day , so much cleaning and packing and a final visit to family with Christmas presents and cards for them to post for us . !0 days just flown by. Lets see tommorrow how the trip home goes, Southern Rail strike !!!
Yes it was cold, went down to -18 and froze the moisture out of the air(and froze the sea)
.
Had 2 snowmobile trips, one was along the Russian border to the Barents Sea keeping on the Norwegian side of the river.
I had 2 displays of the Northern Lights and one morning I saw a sun dog.
A very enjoyable week.
Glad you’re enjoying your stay in the UK.
well today has been packing day, thought we would not have so much to take back ha ha! we have had to juggle the cases to keep under the weight limit, but its all gone in . I only hope we donot get stopped, or they will have alaugh at our tins of baked beans and packet soups, packets of weedkiller, Chocolate , cough mixture,the list goes on and on .
so tommorrow , car back , train from kidderminster at about 12.30 train from Birmingham at 14 30 walk to st Pancras, train to Gatwick, then FOOD
Flight to Bergen 20 45 arrive in Bergen 23,30 Hotel there . Thursday bus to city then bus from there to Skei about 5 hours then pick the car up and home.
Be glad to get back , but had a nice interesting time . BUT never want to live here again, far too many people, Traffic and noise.the traffic has increased by loads since we left 11 years ago.
That sounds like a long and tiring journey home, Norway … safe journey to you
Good luck on your journey home. Traffic in Norway always amazed me. Stopping to let me take a photo. Stopping to let me cross a road(when I was only looking to see what was up the road opposite). Norway is a lovely country.
New St Station, how that has changed, now very smart, ssitting hwere in 1st class lounge as have await for our train , coffee and comfort
Struth! New Street must have channged since the last time I was there.
Anway, glad you enjoyed your trip. Don’t fret about the goodies you’ll miss, with the pound plummetting, you’ll be able to import everything for next to nothing.
Trouble with the pond dropping , the value of our money also drops when we change it from pounds to N krone.
Ok train from New st Ok , think it was one of the old Virgin Voyagers, long past bits sell by date., Euston then Treck to St pancs. then Gatwick, that must be one of the gates from hell. Security seem to be running round like chickens with their heads chopped off, one say you cant put that in ther another says its ok, they decided to check all our medication , that took another 10 mins . I had to be scanned by that scanner thing , not suprised because I have had my hip done. What does suprise me is that security is different at all Airports. The luggage in the Hold worries me, how can they tell that my tins of baked beans didnt have some sort of explosive in ?
Anyway flight left on time and arrved back At Begen Airport at 11.45pm, decided that after all the hassel we needed a drink , so had the botttle of wine out of the mini bar and a packet of crisps, just 30 mins to calm down. So many things wrong with the room that
they waved the charge for the wine, so its worth complaing sometimes.
Bus to Bergen then Bus home to Skei and car from there to Home, so from leaving the cottage at 10am on Wednesdy to getting home, a long trip AND we estimated that we pulled around approx 60KILOS of luggage or nearly 10 stone.
We had a great time , nice to see everybody and also to see the old country. I do feel that somehow they have now got to make Brexit work, but if it were left to the British people it would, they dont pussy foot around they get on with things and get them done .
I wouldnt want to go back to live , not after 10 years here, the noise and Traffic would drive me round the bend.
It is perfectly silent here now , - 4c clear sky. I dont want any more.
Thanks for reading.
If I do one of my short Train trips i will tell uyou aout that :-D:-D
I bet you’re ready for your bed…that a long time travelling.
At least you are a couple of visitors that wont complain it’s too cold:)
Glad you enjoyed it and had a safe journey.
Once again, please accept my apologies for my comments and I’m glad you didn’t abandon your trip report.
Glad you and your wife are safely back home, Norway.
I’ve enjoyed reading your ‘adventures’ here and pleased you enjoyed your stay.
Back to the thick, warm jumpers again! 
THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A PM but you have so many that they will not allow you to take any more so you will have to read it here with everybody else:-D
Hi , thanks for the apologies , but no need. I am as bad as anyone for engaging the mouth before the Brain.
You know my Doctor is a Man. Untd supporter:twisted: and both my wife and i rib him about his team, so if he sees that we have an appointment he wears his man Untd T shirt, so yes it takes all sorts:-D We are both hoping that Liverpool beat them:-D. but not on a day when we may need an injection, he is not very good at those at the best of times ,
Ok keep well and spend the inheritence money
Lol, I will be spending their inheritance, not so wisely I must add.
I hope everybody beats MU, spit spit
Thanks for the not so private, private message.
