Pál Joensen - European swimming Champion x 2

He did it again! This time in the 1500m Freestyle event. He was almost 6 seconds ahead of #2.

This Saturday, he's got another chance at gold.

Pál Joensen - European swimming Champion

Today, the Faroese swimming prodigy, Pál Joensen, got gold in the 400m freestyle competition, at the European Junior Swimming Championships.

Pál was ahead all of the time, and it wasn't until the end, that he got some competion from #2.

Here are the results.

Silly mistake!

I was supposed to post pictures of the last few days on here. But, yesterday, my own camera went all crazy, and the focus-function didn't work on it. So, I asked my brother, if I could borrow his camera, so I could take pictures and such, because I was so determined to post alot of pictures on here. He agreed, and let me have the camera for a night. So, everything went fine. I took alot of pictures, and drank alot of alcohol. And somewhere in the night, i've misplaced the camera, or lost it somehow, and it's nowhere to be found. I tried calling the last known locations I was, nothing. I called the police-station, nothing.

Now i'm hoping that it'll be posted in the news-papers, under Lost/Found, that someone has found a camera, the camera i'm looking for.

I took some pictures, with my other camera, but that camera is at home, and I wont be going home until tomorrow, so i'll post some pictures from that camera.

Back soon!

As Workman is having internet issues, which are preventing him from attending his blog, fully to his wishes, i'm having mental problems these days, as in, the large consumption of food and alcohol is preventing my brain from working at full throttle.

There's one more night left of celebration.

I've taken some pictures of the celebration

Ólavsøka

As last year, i'm also going to attend our national holiday. I can't tell you anything about Ólavsøka, which others haven't told better before me, so i'm going to show you a link, where you can read more about it.

READ MORE HERE

On a more personal notice, I can tell, that I will probably drink, not alot. I will eat, probably alot. I'll wear our national costume. And I will probably take a few pictures, which I will post after the festivities have calmed down.

There may be a day or two, until next wednesday, where I wont post.

Gjáargarður - The halls of of Valhalla

I'm not going to go on an advertising spree on this blog, or anything like that. I'd like to tell you about the place called Gjáargarður, which is in the very small village called Gjógv.

Gjáargarður is a guesthouse, and you can read much more about it on the link provided above.

I hadn't been there, until a few years ago. But, I must say, and do not think it's of the same magnitude, but when I first entered, I thought, this must be how the vikings felt, when they entered the halls of Valhalla, in their afterlife.

Most of the interior and exterior is made of wood, and in my view, the place has a certain, majestic aura.

The feeling almost right away, is that no other place is like this, and being there, casts that one experience-stone more, into the water of life.

It has a very cozy surrounding and warmth.

There are pictures from the place, in the first link provided above.

The Next Country

(Here's an article, written by Elin Heinesen, the managing director of SamVit.)

The Next Country

By Elin Heinesen,

Managing Director of SamVit – Faroe Islands Enterprise

(The Trade Council and Tourist Board)

The Faroe Islands have suddenly received a lot of media attention for other things than banking and expensive tunnels. Why has this happened? Maybe it happens because this country seems to be a combination of powerful ingredients that are hitting a nerve right now.

These are really exciting times in the Faroe Islands. Never before have the Faroe Islands been as visible in the media abroad as in recent months. In October 2007 Bill Clinton was invited to give a lecture in the Faroes and

the world press turned its eyes towards us. Clinton talked very enthusiastically about the Faroe Islands – especially in terms of environmental issues – and he declared that he was now an unofficial ambassador for the Faroe Islands. Immediately after his visit National Geographic Traveler named the Faroe Islands as the most appealing island destination out of a shortlist of 111 island communities. This result was reached by a panel of 522 experts in geotourism. This has resonated in the world press and provided us with priceless publicity.

In January Faroese design duo Guðrun & Guðrun chartered an airplane, filled it with the international fashion press and flew them to the Faroe Islands where they had a arranged a fantastic fashion show in an airplane hangar at the airport. The fashion show received rave reviews. In April, Nobel laureate, former presidential candidate, and one of the world’s leading environmental activists, Al Gore, visited the Faroe Islands as the keynote speaker at the TransAtlantic Climate Conference – an event that that also drew the eyes of the world to the Faroe Islands

Shangri La of the 21’st century

The international press has started to notice the Faroe Islands. It is not unusual to hear journalists make statements like the one Eric Campbell from Australian TV-show ‘Foreign Correspondent’ made, “The Faroe Islands could very well be the world’s next country!” One of the world’s leading experts in nation branding, Simon Anholt, similarly said, “The Faroe Islands is the Shangri La of the 21’st century!” In a New York Times article in 2007 with the headline, “Into the Mystical Unreal Reality of the Faroe Islands”, the Faroe Islands were described as “the most curious place left on earth” and the journalist Stephen Metcalf described his impression such: “The Faroes are easily the most moodily beautiful place I have ever been”.

Different from the rest of the world

There is reason to believe that there perhaps is a growing demand for what we have to offer. We can see that from the increase in attention we’re getting from e.g. journalists and researchers. However, we have also ourselves been trying to generate exposure. We have the talent, we have the technology and we are putting our story forward in the right places. We still haven’t seen the big boom, because it is comparatively expensive to get to the Faroe Islands, but the number of visitors is growing every year. And there is an increasing number of people who offer to be enthusiastic ambassadors for the Faroe Islands. People seem to be looking for someone/somewhere like us because we are a little bit different from the rest of the world.

Tradition and modernity side by side

We may be perceived as a little bit odd, because many people consider us to be remote – but we are actually in a great strategic position in the shipping lane between the two wealthiest continents in the world and are only a couple of hours’ flight from the big cities in Northern Europe. There is still something to be said about our remoteness, because our relative isolation from the outside world for centuries has meant that we have been able to preserve ancient traditions. You could say that the ‘backwardness’ of the Faroe Islands mixed with the modernisation and globalisation of society has placed the Faroe Islands in a unique position compared to other countries – we are both extremely old-fashioned and extremely modern at the same time. We are in the middle of the modern world with our feet firmly planted in tradition – and we are using this to our advantage.

This contrast gives us a very strong identity that some envy us; people who visit to experience this, can see this in everything we do. There are probably not that many places in the world where young people think it is cool to wear their national dress on national holidays, but in the Faroe Islands they do while living a life that is just as globalised as the rest of the modern world, messaging on their mobile phones, Skype and gaming on the Internet and iPods.

Always risk in development

We are aware of the danger of losing our special national identity, like so many other peoples, when globalisation really starts affecting our life. There are many Faroese people who do not value the Faroese traditions and wish to distance themselves from the ‘old’ and would like all of society to become fully globalised and hyper-modern as soon as possible. But there are also many who would like to hang on to the things that make us special or unique, since they consider those things the main reason why we have survived on these islands for so long. I think it is possible to combine things – to be modern and traditional at the same time.

We are in the middle of forming a new identity. I see it as an advantage that we are lagging a bit behind other countries in some areas, because that means that we can learn from others and perhaps avoid making mistakes that others have made. There will always be risk associated with all development, but we cannot isolate ourselves only to preserve a strong identity.

Finding the balance

We would like to make society more open and accessible, but in a way that will enable us to preserve the values that we have. We feel that this is possible by e.g. creating long-term strategies for tourism that will emphasise creating services and offers for the visitors that are based on what is here already rather than killing our traditions and change society to achieve some international modern norm – in a mistaken assumption of what we ‘think’ the modern tourist expects and demands. We must not go so far in modernising that we ruin the very things that make us different and interesting in the eyes of others. I do think that we can strike that balance.

A lot to offer to visitors

We are privileged to have the opportunity to welcome tourists with modern conveniences with three and four star hotels, gourmet restaurants and café-life in Tórshavn, but we can also offer them to go to the small villages and islands in the immediate vicinity of Tórshavn where they can participate in traditional Faroese farming life, which to them would be a different and interesting experience – to herd the sheep, building boats or rappelling from ropes on the cliff face. In this way the tourist can even be involved in reviving traditions that are threatened and inject life in the outlying islands where the population is dwindling – dwindling because the traditional village life and work is no longer profitable. It may now become profitable again through tourism.

The strengths of the Faroese people

The Faroe Islands is a bubbling cauldron of creativity. The concentration of artists and creative people is remarkable considering the number of inhabitants. I think it has something to do with the cocktail of a wild, raw, achingly beautiful nature and strong traditions mixed with globalisation which all creates a synergy that boosts creativity – especially among young people who are more global in their way of thinking than the older generations and therefore have a better understanding of how people think outside the Faroe Islands. They can use this to their advantage. The Faroe Islands is a combination of many powerful ingredients that are hitting a nerve right now.

Get More Information here:

www.faroeislands.com

www.visit-faroeislands.com

www.samvit.fo

Almost shortest summer-vacation.

Research, conducted by Eurydice, shows that the pupils in Primary school and lower secondary, in the Faroe Islands, are the ones with almost the shortest summer-vacation. Alongside Denmark, the pupils here, have 7 weeks off, whilst Germany, United Kingdom and a few others are at the bottom. Iceland has 12-13 weeks off, but don't have the same other vacations, during the school-year, as we have.. Here in the Faroe Islands, we have a week off in the Fall and during the Spring, and other shorter 1-2 days vacations inbetween.

Boys in a Band 24 hour gig explained

The online magazine, NME, has an article, in which they speak with the lead singer of the Faroese punk/rock/folk/(Insert genre here).. band, Boys in a Band.

24 hours straight, on 24 locations, all over the Faroese Islands. By helicopter, bus, rollerskating, etc etc.. they sped around the islands.

Faroese referee at the Olympics!

In 2 weeks, Schandorff Vang, will be at the Olympics, where he will be a referee in the archery discipline.

Schandorff has been an international referee since 1996, and has for example been refereeing at the Paraolympics, Indoor World Cup, World Cup and other events in the discipline.

Schandorff is a very able archer himself, as well as his wife and daughter. This trio have won several medals.

Here you can see the schedule for the archery discipline at the Olympics.

Comments on article in The Sun

I had heard things about this english tabloid, called The Sun.

Now, in wake of the EB/Streymur vs. Manchester City, they have this article in their paper today, in which it for example says:

...City manager Mark Hughes met the fans before the game and hailed them as “magnificent”.

He added: “We heard about their predicament and it’s great that they’re here. What great lads.”

But the pre-match meal proved hard to swallow. Whale penis, known as dork, has a bitter, leathery taste...

I can assure you people, that, although we sometimes eat whale here in the Faroe Islands (Very rarely though), we do not eat the private parts of a whale. Saying a thing like that, really is to stupify the people of the Faroe Islands.

The article also says:

...Atlantic boss Magni Arge, a part-time commentator on Faroese TV, said last night: “The Faroese are football-mad and have a lot of respect for English teams...

He's not been a commentator, for the last... 10 years or so.

The Sun article is here.

EB/Streymur vs. Manchester City - Match picture gallery

Here you can find an extensive gallery from the match itself:

GALLERY

EB/Streymur vs. Manchester City - FINAL RESULT 0 - 2

30 minutes until the match starts, and here is the line-up. Starting with goalkeeper:

EB/Streymur: René Tórgarð – Bárður Olsen, Marni Djurhuus, Egil á Bø, Leif Niclasen – Arnbjørn Hansen, Fróði Clementsen, Levi Hanssen, Anders Post Jacobsen, Hans Pauli Samuelsen – Peter Foldgast.

Manchester City: Joe Hart, Chinedum Onnoha, Micah Richards, Richard Dunne, Michael Ball, Stephen Ireland, Dietmar Haman, Michael Johnson, Martin Petrov, Darius Vassel, Silva Jo.

Kick off!

Match somewhat even, with a slight advantage to EB/Streymur at first. (Keep updating throughout the match)

5 minutes:

EB/Streymur keep pressing more, been more attacking. City though, showing more confidence.

City just had an enormous chance! Good goal-keeping.

8 minutes:

EB/Streymur more on the defensive now, under alot of pressure. I fear a goal is looming.

9 minutes:

GOAL! Martin Petrov latches onto a cannonball from distance.

10 minutes: Huge chance for Darius Vassell.

13 minutes: Besides the goal, a rather uninteresting match.

16: Vassell is strolling around with the ball, so easy for City. Jo just kicked the ball way above.

18 minutes: EB/Streymur are at war, have settled themselves down in the trenches, and are under furious fire.

26 minutes: This is a total nightmare... EB/Streymur are under constant fire... and when they sometimes are on the attack, it soon dissolves.

28 minutes: GOAL! Dietmar Hamann has a go at it, just outside the area, and it curls slowly into the net.

34 minutes: The most interesting thing on the pitch at the moment, is the female referee

36 minutes: EB/Streymur have taken most of the pace out of this match... there are some instances of spark, bur mostly... kicking the ball around the pitch.

41: Maybe City should have been more effective. They've had too many chances, for the score to be nil - two.

42 minutes: Petrov the best player so far.

44 minutes: EB/Streymur have had 2 chances in the last minutes. A bit more visible on the pitch, but nothing alarming yet.

45 minutes: 1 minute of added time.

HALF TIME

2 goals, otherwise nothing to write home about.

During the half-time, the news are on, and they had a small segment, about Man. City fans, 'invading' the capital city, Tórshavn, and going around in the town, being happy and joyful, and drinking some beer.

(Great, picture just got frozen... I think it's production failure)

Listening to the radio...

4 minutes: Same result... Sounds like EB/Streymur are a bit more confident.

6 minutes: A bit more offensive play from EB/Streymur.

(I think time screwed up a bit, they've played 11 minutes now)

11 minutes: City on the defensive. EB/Streymur way more confident.

16 minutes: Picture is back on. Same as first half play... although... City keep defending. A bit more confidence from EB/S, then maybe they would have fared better.

(Will be switching the timer now)

63 minutes: Zzzzz...

65 minutes: City have played their way back into the game, and are starting to act as in the first half... attacking, without maybe being as effective as they should.

67 minutes: Players are starting to warm up, outside the pitch.

69 minutes: City players have much better condition than EB/Streymur... it clearly shows.

71 minutes: Petrov again with a chance, outside the area... just above.

74 minutes: City substitution on the way. Jo Silva out, Ched Evans in. Dietmar Hamann out, Gelson Fernandes in.

76 minutes: EB/Streymur substition: Anders P. Jacobsen, out. Brian (don't remember last name), in. Hans Pauli Samuelsen, out. Hanus Eliasen, in.

79 minutes: Manchester City don't seem as hungry in this half, as the first. Very good chance for EB/Streymur.

83 minutes: I predict this result not to change, but I might be wrong.

84 minutes: Substitution: Peter Foldgast, out. Dánjal Davidsen, in.

87 minutes: EB/Streymur attacking in a minor way. Doesn't seem to disrupt the City players... and it shouldn't.

89 minutes: There's a clear lack of quality in the EB/Streymur play. They shine inbetween, but nowhere near enough.

93 minutes: FINAL WHISTLE. Result 0 - 2. Winner, Manchester City.

Thank you! A very mediocre match, but I wasn't exactly expecting an action-packed match.

EB/S. vs Man. City news: Peaceful fans

The night before the match was peaceful. No rioting of any kind whatsoever.

Manchester City fans, thank Atlantic Airways.

From, the Scotsman. About the Manchester City fans, who wanted to travel to the match, with a trawler, and they got stuck with bad weather in Shetland, and couldn't proceed.

The Scotsman writes:

..."Everybody knew that the weather was unpredictable and that the boat might not be able to leave the harbour.

"We were willing to take any form of transport to get us there."

But as their dream faded and the party members resigned themselves to having to make their way back home without seeing their side take on EB/Streymur, a more conventional form of transport came to the rescue when a Faroes-based airline agreed to pick them up.

The Atlantic Airways flight was chartered for the group free of charge.

Magni Arge, the airline's president, said: "We've agreed to help these Manchester City supporters because this is a great event in the Faroes having Manchester City here.

"This is a great opportunity for us to show there is an airline based in the Faroes which can serve both Shetland and the Faroe Islands, and we've got some sponsors to help us make this feasible."

Each supporter had paid £285 for the boat and the journey to Tórshavn on the Faroes.

http://news.scotsman.com/uk/Faroes-to-rescue-after-fans39.4296422.jp

Here's a BBC video-coverage of the situation:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/7510650.stm

Here's an article from The Sun, and there we see, that this was a cooperative rescue:

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article1433502.ece


--

On a personal note, I must say, that i'm proud of Atlantic Airways, about them doing such a good job.

LIVE UPDATE! - EB/Streymur vs. Manchester City

Tomorrow night, I intend on giving live updates here, throughout the match. Not like, minute by minute, but with maybe 5-10 minutes interval. And ofcourse, if a goal comes, it should be here almost right afterwards.

So, LIVE UPDATE/SCORE tomorrow night! The match starts at 19:00 GMT.

Good swimming result.

A very... unimaginative headline I must say.

What I want to say is, that the FINA JUNIOR YOUTH SWIMING CHAMPIONSHIPS, were held in Monterrey, Mexico, from July 8-13.

The winner in 800 m. free relay, was Herman Heerden, he did it in 8.01.77.

Recently there was a swimming competition in Denmark. The Faroese swimmer, Pál Joensen, did it in 7.58.97, at that event.

Faroese player, signs new contract.

The Faroese football (soccer) player, Símun Samuelsen, has just signed a new 3-year contract, with the Icelandic club, Keflavík.

Until now, he's played 44 games with them, and scored 12 goals.

2 years ago, he won the Icelandic cup-final with them.

Tróndur í Gøtu statue unveiled

Gøta, my fathers birthplace, today unveiled a statue of Tróndur í Gøtu. He is an essential part of Faroese history and folklore. He was said to be very wise, a political tactician. It is also believed, that he had powers of a magician.

There is a huge gallery here.

The reason I pointed to that picture, as the place to look first, is because, that the man in the middle, is Hans Pauli Olsen, the sculptor of the statue. The one on the left, is Jógvan Fríðriksson, our Bishop. And on the left, is our Prime Minister, Jóannes Eidesgaard.

The statue is ofcourse of Tróndur, standing in an almost horizontal position, on the Faroe Islands, more directly, in Gøtu.

Westward Ho in the Tall Ships Race

The Faroese vessel, Westward Ho, will compete for the first time, in the Tall Ships Races.

The “Westward Ho” was built in Grimsby 1884, and sold to the Faroes in 1895.

With a crew of 20, she fished from the waters of the North Atlantic all the way to Greenland until she was laid up in 1964.

During the Second World War, she transported fish to Britain from the Faroes and Iceland.

After changes in ownership, the “Westward Ho” was restored in 1968 and again in 2005, and today the she has regained her original appearance above deck.

First link is at this place. It doesn't work linking directly to the page I want, so.

http://www.sailtraininginternational.org/ -> Races & Festivals (from the drop-down menu) -> The Tall Ships' Races 2008 -> Race Entry List -> Then after 2 pages, you'll see Westward Ho at the bottom of the page.

More pictures...

A day, with a drought in the news-area, brings new pictures...

Comments on a Man. City article!

Thomas Cook Sport have confirmed that they will be operating a very limited number of travel packages for supporters who qualify for a match ticket to watch Manchester City’s UEFA Cup tie in the Faroe Islands.

The Faroes are a unique destination as far as travel is concerned with severe restrictions on the types of aircraft that can land at Vagar airport and only limited connections via air and sea.

The runway at Vagar airport is shorter than London City airport and as such can only accommodate planes with less than 87 seats. This unfortunately rules out the use of Thomas Cook's usual fleet of aircraft.

Adding to this, pilots have to receive specific training on how to land at Vagar and have to have previously landed there, which further complicates matters.

Due to these factors charter airline availability has proved to be very challenging, so the only packages available will be on a scheduled service from Manchester via Copenhagen, departing Manchester on Wednesday July 16 and returning on Friday July 18.

Article taken from here.
-------------
Reading that article, people may get a negative feeling, about traveling by air, to the Faroe Islands. It's true that the runway is shorter than many other runways. But the BAe-146, which Atlantic Airways uses, is very suitable for the runway. The runway and airport itself, was built by UK soldiers, during the WW2. Ofcourse, certain areas have been updated since, but the mainstructure is built by soldiers from the UK.

Old findings in Vestmanna

Faroese archaeologists, have found 4-5 houses in Vestmanna. They date from the middle-ages and the Viking-age. They will be used as a tourist attractions.

Several other items are also found.

Netverk.fo - Social Network.

SamVit (Faroe Islands Enterprise) and Vinnuvitan (a Faroese business-related newspaper) will launch a webpage later this year, where Faroese people abroad, and friends of the Faroes (meaning, those who are interested in our islands), can sign up. When the page is up and running for real, it'll be possible to submit your work-experience, your interests, and other things.

People can sign up now, although, only with contact info, and then they will get an e-mail, when the page is up and running. The form is in Faroese, but i've taken the liberty of translating it.


* Kravt = Required

Fornavn = First name

Eftirnavn = Surname

Bústaður = Here they want the streetname & number.

Postboks = PO Box

Postnummar = Postnumber

Bygd/býur = City

Land = Country

Føðingardagur = Date of birth

Teldurpostur = E-mail adress

Telefonnummar = Phone-number

http://netverk.fo/default.asp?a=reg1

Man. City contenders' loosing streak.

EB/Streymur, which will face Manchester City, later this month, lost the second time in a row, in the domestic league. 2 goals to nil on both occasions. This was against teams in the middle and bottom of the table.

Couple of pictures!

just took these few photos today. You've probably seen the scenery before on here, but, anyways, here it goes:












I

Faroese politician, freed of all charges.

The Faroese member of parliament, and leader of the Centre Party, Jenis av Rana, was told in court this morning, that he was free of all charges put against him.

His other work, besides being an MP, is working as a doctor. He was charged with, not telling the child protection services, about an incident, when a 16 year old girl told him, that her father had sexually abusive towards her.

More Teitur reviews.

The overall of the reviews coming in today, say that Teitur was maybe the wrong person to start with on Orange Scene. That he should have played on a smaller and more intimate stage.

The reviews don't complain about the mans abilites as a singer. Because he's a very able singer.

Today it's more 3 out 6 stars.

Teitur opened the Orange Scene!

Today, Teitur opened the Orange Scene, on the famous Roskilde Festival. This is the grandest stage, on the festival itself, and it's considered a great honour, just playing on that stage.

The first reviews are in, and they are all very positive. 4-5-6 stars out of six. They usually start that stage, with something... energizing and pumped up. But Teitur isn't about speed and energy, it's about music and intimacy, and it worked to perfection.

Man arrested in Faroese customs.

A man was arrested yesterday, on the airport here in the Faroe Islands. He had hidden a couple 100 grams of hash in his stomach, and up his rectum.

The man was known to the authorites, prior to this. The K9 dog, also found another 50 grams, hidden under a safety-vest, on the plane.

Manchester City equals bookings!

The Faroese flight-company, Atlantic Airways, have been bombarded with enquiries, about getting to the Faroe Islands, now that Manchester City are coming here to play in a forthnight.

Manchester isn't a part of their destinations, so they have told the people which have called, about other ways to get to the Faroe Islands, besides directly from Manchester.

But, they are also planning on a couple of take-offs from Manchester, prior to the match, now that the demand is so huge.

Manchester bafoonery

In this article, The Mirror, is trying to keep it light, breezy and sarcastic.

EB/Streymur vs. Manchester City

EB/Streymur, will face Manchester City, in the UEFA Cup championship.

The EB/Streymur manager, Sigfríður Clementsen, said in the Faroese national radio, prior to the draw, that he would rather that the team faced a high-profile team, rather than a 'easier' (not his words) team. The EB/Streymur team, has many talented players, when it comes to Faroese standards.

You can read more about it here.