Visit to the woodcarvers shop

Yesterday we went visiting the woodcarvers workshop. There were woodcarving in all stages going on. Some just starting out, some ready carved and being sanded, while other projects were being finished and polished.

The young men working there were sweaty. It was warm, it was stuffy, and they had hard work to do. All work were being done by hand, absolutely no help be electricity. CD racks, done by hand - a lot of work compared to the price they receive at the marked.

In the workshop there were materials and half finnished projects everywhere. For me it looked

like the total chaos, for them this were just the way things were done.

Norwegian Independence day celebrated in Lagos

The Norwegian independence day is May 17th. In Lagos we celebrated it from May 16th 03.00 PM to the end of May 17th.

We started out at the StatoilHydro compound the afternoon of the 16th with champagne and fingerfood, games and competitions for the children and Hot dogs with sausages from Norway. Then we went marching and singing in our traditional May 17th parade. We left through one gate and came back again through the other. We sang our national anthem very loud and clear, before the children went to the bar for a Norwegian childrens movie and some ice cream, and the adults went to the penthouse for traditional Norwegion food. And the party lasted until 17. of May had started.

Sofie decided to go home with another Norwegian family, so she went from the party to the Chevron complex. The rest of us continued to the beach next morning for a champagne breakfast, a birthday celebration and a relaxing day at the beach.

So May 17th celebration in Lagos is strongly recommended.

Wooden stools

There are a lot of nice and special wooden artifacts and furniture here in Nigeria. Some more practical than others. So I must admit that I have stuck to the practical ones, the one I think I can use when we go back to Norway.


I have found a really nice and gifted woodcarver (or truth be told - he found me) that are working on several objects for me. He made me a wooden bench with carvings, and so far he has delivered two wooden stools.


They both have the same carved pattern at the top, the largest is supported by 8 legs, the smaller by 6 legs. The smaller is made very dark, while the larger is lighter. Probably done with shoe polish. There will be two more so we can have 4 stools all together as extra space for guests when needed. And when not needed? They can be stacked away like a small tower, one on top the other.


According to plans a wooden chest, two more stools and a bunkbed for Sofie is to be delivered before we move home.

Tuesday night at the movies

We were several people going to Silverbird movie theatre yesterday to watch the preview og Angels and deamons. But we were told that the film was cancelled.

"How can you announce a movie as a preview and then not show it?" we asked the man told to be acting manager. The answer were that they did this to create awarness of the movie. That is why they had put adverts telling everyone that the preview would be there tuesda May 12th. "But why not show it?" We kept pressuring the guy until he finally told us that they did not know where the movie was, and that they normally change programmes on Thursdays.

What movie should we watch instead? X-men? Fast and Furious? They did not seem like good alternatives so we went out and had a lovely dinner instead.

Sofie has stomach pains

For the las weeks Sofie has suffered from "tummy ache". First (when I was travelling) the dad took her to the company doctor, to the hospital and they did some tests, gave her pencillin and pain killers and sent her home.

That seemed to help for a few days. Then it all came back again, and friday I spend the day at the hospital with her. Could it be amoeba? Appendix? Food poisining that do not result in vomiting or diarrhea? Side effect of the anti-malaria medicine they have put her on?

Well the took samples of blood, urine and stool friday, and today we are up for ultrasound scanning of the stomach.

Sofie normally eats breakfast at 6:15 in the morning, so now the local time is 8:55 and she is "starving" since she is not supposed to eat anything before the hospital visit today. Just hoping that the are able to find out what is causing the pain, and give her a proper treatment. ...and that we will spend just a few hours there, not the whole day.