Tide Games 2015

Well, you have probably read the story about the Tide Games already. I think Brom did a really good job at writing it (!). We are usually a gang of about 20 making our way to Voss, but this year we were only 12! Seven of those were playing football and the rest was cheering. Not nearly enough of course, so for next year we will have to do some serious recruiting!!

The journey over was good fun. I was in the guide's chair, since sitting two seats back wasn't making my tummy too happy. Besides, it's easier taking photos through a window! I kept my alcohol intake low during the whole weekend: one sip of white wine and one sip of vodka/fanta. And yes, it should be said in that order: it was strong stuff!!

The evening was spent in a good way as well. I took lots of photos during the weekend and during the evening I had my camera with me again. Not always used by me, two others would take it occasionally as well. Which resulted in some photos of me as well, which is always good.

The return was a bit of a dreary and quiet affair. Dreary because of the rain and quiet because most were trying to recover from the day before. Football aches and pains and a glass or two of whatever their tipple was does that to a person. We got dinner as well, so no need to get out plan B when I got home. The weekend ended with a bit of television. Unfortunately there seemed to be some unsettled weather in England, since it was difficult to get any channels properly. 

Brom on the road again

Coocoo

It was time for the annual Tide Games and this time I was allowed to come! I was so excited, because Mara had made me another great outfit! A Viking outfit!! Because this year everybody was supposed to come as Vikings. Mara didn't make it in time to make one for herself though, only making a felt helmet. 

First though, we had to drive to Voss. We would go by bus and I was allowed to sit in the window almost the whole time. I saw a lot of trees, mountains, apples and even snow! It was great fun, even if the driver would make me tip over occasionally! 

We got to the hotel and went up to our rooms, before Mara went down to have dinner. Without me, but I didn't mind, the bed was very comfy. When Mara came back after dinner, she wanted me to put my Viking outfit on, but she couldn't find my suitcase anywhere.

In the end she went downstairs and she found it at reception. It had been there for hours. It's a good thing nobody else had the same suitcase or I wouldn't have had anything to wear... As it was, everything was still in the suitcase and I put on my outfit. Mara then found some (fake) fur and made me pose for some photos.

Helping out the goalie

The next day was the day of the Games. This year there weren't as many people in our team and the football team had a bit of difficulty finding a keeper, but the managed eventually. The first game was won easily (the other time didn't show) and then came the second game. 

Someone get me out!!

I was helping the goalie (Mara says that's what they are called), but it was quite scary, even with helmet and shield! In the end I just sat in front of one of the goalposts. 

Me and the team!

We won the second game as well (10-2) and then went on to the semi-final. It was hard and tough, but me and the rest of the team did really well, and in the end we won 7-4. We were in the final! And we had to play the final against the same team we had already beaten!! Well, we won again and we were the champions. Everybody said I did a really good job, even the keeper from the other team gave me a kiss for helping his team out!!

After all that I needed a bit of a rest before we were going to dinner. Mara had brought my kilt along and that's what I wore to the gala dinner. 

We had a great table and somebody made sure I had a great view!! There was good food and a lot of laughs and then there were the prizes: 

the football cup, which was so heavy I couldn't lift it [it was actually very heavy], chocolates for a colleague of Mara's who had been hurt during the heat of the game and a golden bus prize for one of the teamleaders. He wasn't there to pick up his prize, but we clapped and cheered anyway!

Viking Mara and Viking Brom

In the end Mara took me up to the room, because I was very very tired. It was a great day. The next day we took it easy. We went home again and it was raining all the way. Which was a bit of a shame, but I enjoyed the trip anyway.

September

Incredibly enough it's already September. How the time has flown these past few months. A little update first: the headache I had had nothing to do with migraines or chocolate or cheese or wind or sun or anything like that. It was a good-old fashioned show of: you are ill, you should stay home. Because, I basically... ehm... was ill. Still not completely better, but much better than last week anyway. 

I spent two days at home feeling sick/not so sick before going back to work. All the while coughing my lungs out as well, because I had noticed some fluid in my windpipe (I could hear it) and I wanted to get it out. I don't think I quite managed that, but my voice is nice and deep now (!). 

In other news: Brom and I will soon be on the road again. To the annual Tide Games to Voss in Norway. I have been there twice already (I won for the best hat in the first year and the best horse in the second year), but Brom has never been! And since it involves a stay-over (well, two really), he will be coming along. 

The first year I was dressed like my clothes cabinet had exploded on me: colours everywhere. Last year we were supposed to be cowboys and -girls. And this year? Vikings!! Which means that tomorrow (when I am off) I will need to go shopping and get some Viking gear. I am making something for Brom as well, but I won't show until. 

I had planned on making some jam. Either raspberry jam or blackberry jam. The raspberries were nearly gone though, I found one here and one there, but not enough to make an eggcup of jam, let alone a pot! The blackberries weren't ripe yet. They did tear down some of the blackberry bushes though, which wasn't very nice, but at least now I can get at them a bit easier. I think I will have to wait another week or so and then I can make some blackberry jam. 

My apple harvest this year consist of no apples. There was plenty of blossom on the tree in spring, but the weather then turned so bad with so much wind that the bees never got a look-in and didn't get the chance to pollinate. The plum harvest is a bit bigger, but I will be lucky if I can make a small pot of jam of the whole harvest! 

Well, that was me in a nutshell. 

The reveal

I had found the perfect dress-up dress to wear to the Tide Games this year. Only problem was the size: the largest girl size doesn't really fit that well on a woman with a bit more size than the average girl. So, I needed to adjust it somewhat. Tried with the sewing machine, failed and had to do it all by hand. Quite a bit of work, especially since I started it the night before we were due to leave. 

Seine is the (local) Norwegian word for either late or slow.
In my case it meant slow, as in slow up a mountain.

I looked fabulous though. Well, perhaps not fabulous, but pretty. Perhaps not even pretty, but I definitely got noticed. That's what you get when you dress up in bright (nearly fluorescent) pink! I only had the skirt though, so the rest was a mish-mash of things. My normal walking shoes, so I could be comfy all day long. Pink leggings, just in case I needed to run and/or get upside down. Or as the case turned out to be: use a toilet! Just drop the skirt and I am still decent. The t-shirt was supplied and then the hat.

Edgar wearing my hat

Of course the hat was brilliant as well. It wasn't pink as some of the others were, but ordinary dull brown. Which I had fiddled with somewhat by using pink ribbons and pink and purple stick-on thingies. But, as every cowboy knows: a cowboy ain't a cowboy without a horse! I don't know any horses. And showing up with a real life horse for our trip to Voss (nearly 5 hours on the bus) was not something I was willing to do. But...

There was an other option though. One of those toy horses. Well, a horse's head on a stick to be precise. When shaken it would make the noise of clattering hooves. Or a whinny or a pppfffffrrrrrtttt. It was brilliant. I called him Edgar, even though he was pink. And where last year they made a prize especially for my hat (I was the only one wearing one then, this year there were lots of hats), this year they made a prize especially for Edgar. Or the horse from Haugesund. Three kilos of chocolate! Now I have to think of something really good for next year!

The open class nominees. The guy on the left won. 

In an aside: I didn't win the open class of the Gold Bus, the one I had been nominated for. But chocolate is good as well!

Oops

Everybody has done it. Made a bit of a booboo when it came to interacting with people. I remember one time I had to drive a group of schoolchildren and their teacher to the bowling alley. The teacher had just gotten married and was treating his current and before classes to an afternoon of bowling and french fries. I didn't like the teacher. He was loud, he was obnoxious, he was wrong and he told too advanced jokes on the bus (they were 8 and 9 years old). But, he managed his children well and they all respected him. 

I sat at the bar waiting for them to finish so I could take them back home again and sipping a cup of tea. A lovely lady sat next to me and we started chatting. Turned out she was a teacher at the same school. And just as I was about to say something negative about the male teacher, she turns around and says she just got married to him! Oof! Saved by the bell...

This is not a story about that teacher though. Actually it's a story about the Tide Games I went to. After arriving last Friday, me and my colleague had a few drinks in our room, before heading down for some dinner. As I was waiting for my food, hanging in my chair, a man came to our table. He shook hands with several colleagues he apparently recognised and then shook mine. I asked him what he did. Was he a boss of something or other, or just a driver? 

He looked at me. Smiled. He was the manager of all managers!

I sat straight up after that. I started blushing. It was partly act, partly real. But how was I supposed to know? I had never met the man before. Nor had I seen a photo. And after he left, I still had to find out his name!! Which I know now. And I know what the big boss looks like. So next year I won't make that mistake again. Which means room for other ones...

Relay

The good thing about a weekend away is that you usually have so much to tell it will take all week. And it was no different this time. 

Starting the three-legged race

As I told you I was in the old-fashioned relay at the Tide Games. We were eight in total and came in second (after those blasted Indians, who were so fast). However, we started off like a rocket. One of my colleagues just shot away and was first to the change over position. Another colleague took over and was almost as fast. Then came the three-legged race, which was a bit more difficult, especially since they were hindered somewhat by the later winners who were sprawled out on the floor. 

The eventual winners: big strong men!

I took over with the potato and spoon. But we were told to forget the spoon and just hold the potato between our knees! The winner (very tall) just jumped. I tried to walk and later on jumped. Until I keeled over, managed to just touch the ankle of my teammates and they wheelbarrowed the rest of the race. Finishing second. 

No blood!

With the fall I had of course grazed my knee (again). As one colleague said: you go out on a trip/tour and you come back injured. I guess she is right. I was able to get up though, it wasn't a major surgery-requiring injury or something. It was great fun though, although we might need some practice (or bigger stronger people) for next year!

Dressing up and down

The first time anybody talked to me about legwarmers, I didn't know what they were going on about. And then I found out that all the girls would be wearing them during the Tide Games. Which meant that I would have to make a pair to wear. So, I got out my knitting yarn and needles and started. Yellow and green stripes. But, since I can't knit with a round-knit needle, I had to think of something else of putting the things together. Buttons!

Not quite what I went for in the end, but you get the idea

Apart from the legwarmers I had decided to take my royal orange hat (the winner) and my orange/red/white/blue boa with me and wear those. And when we got to Voss, we got a blueish t-shirt and a green raincoat. Plenty of colour to wear. My teamleader and roommate had dug up her fantastic grey afro wig, found a pair of sunglasses (it rained all day), green raincoat and donned her pair of legwarmers which were yellow! We looked fantastic and got lots of comments and smiles. 

The evening however was completely different. They really do dressing up over here in Norway. I saw fantastic full-length dresses, I saw a dress that looked very like mine (and she had similar shoes as well) and plenty of lovely cocktail dresses in all colours. The men came dressed (mostly anyway) in suits with ties and it all looked very glamourous. Of course I wore my new red shoes and new black dress, trying to look as glamourous as the rest!

The evening wasn't just used to dole out prices for football and stuff, it was also to honour the best team, teamleader, planner and there was an open class. Unfortunately our team, teamleader and open entry didn't win the gold bus (as it was named), but we had a good night nonetheless. There was a comedian/singer and after a really nice dinner there was music and dancing. I went to bed early though, since I was quite tired from being outside in the rain all day. But I had great fun.

Tide Games

During the Tide Games I participated in two things: the precision driving and the old fashioned relay race. I had never tried precision driving before and it looked extremely difficult to me. Once I got started though, I realised it was extremely difficult in some places and other places were okay. 

I had to position the front of the bus over a circle and every centimeter off the center cost me points. (fail)

I had to pull a weight off of a barrel and then have it land in a bucket. (fail)

I had to pull two barrels apart to a certain distance enough for the bus to pass through. (I was okay-ish)

I had to touch a green bar while leaving the red one untouched (nailed it)

I had to drive past a cyclist with a distance of 1.20m! Obviously they have never been in Amsterdam! (9cm off, way to go!)

I had to back up the bus until the lights came on. (too far, the sirens went off)

I had to knock some green sticks down, while leaving the red ones standing. (four green, one red)

I had to park four meters away from an obstacle (way off)

I had to parallel park with a distance of 1.50m from the bus to the bar at the front. (nailed the parking, 84 cms off)

I had to park 1,50 meters away from an obstacle (only a few cms out)

I had to guestimate the height of a bar I had to pass under. (quite off)

I had to park the front wheels in a red square on the ground (short)

It was good fun to do and I managed okay-ish. I would have loved to know the score, but I forgot to ask! 

Chocolate

I was away at the weekend. Stayed at a hotel in Voss. Spent Saturday getting soaked. Wore my new dress and shoes and lipstick. And I attended a gala dinner. All in honour of the Tide Games (pronounced Teeduh Games) which were being held in Voss and saw drivers and office staff from all over the country come together and try their hand (or foot) at football, ticket machine throwing, old fashioned relay and precision driving. I participated in the latter two. But some of my colleagues from Haugesund were also in the football and the ticket machine throwing. 

There were prices to be had for winning the football, ticket machine throwing, old fashioned relay and precision driving. Plus best costume, best supporters and several others. During the gala dinner the prices were doled out, some got cups, others got a large thing containing something. The best precision driver was somebody called Robert. I think. The best football team was from Trondheim. The best costumes were worn by the nuns and sheiks. And the best hat? 

This was the hat that won
Photo taken earlier this year

Well, the best hat didn't have a name. It was just the hat from Haugesund! And since I was the only one who had worn a hat that day... I had won! Completely unexpectedly I had won! They had actually made it a category after seeing the hat: they thought it deserved a price! I was in shock walking up, I was in shock walking down with a large plastic container containing nearly two kilograms of Toblerone chocolates!!

Get your hands off my chocolate!

Now I am just wondering what to wear next year, I can't wear the same hat twice...