I’d always wanted to go to Norway and this weekend I did for the first time. The scenery was as amazing as I hoped it would be – we were lucky enough to take the train between Bergen and Oslo that crosses the mountains and remote areas dotted with patches of snow and the occasional hut. Simon tells me that in Scandinavia there’s a rule that much of the land is available for everyone to use – it’s not all generally private property as it is in England, so you can walk where you want and swim in a lake if you want to. The huts are apparently often simply put there for anyone who needs to use them, as long as they leave them clean and tidy afterwards when they move on. Sounds like a really nice scheme. Justin vowed that he’ll one day go on a holiday to Norway on the train, stopping at the various small stations and camping out. Hopefully I’ll do that one day too, would give you a lot of time for a good think!

In Bergen, we had most of the day to wander around. We went to a market and I bought a hat. Later, Leon, Amos and I had a good chat sitting on a hill overlooking the Fjord leading in to Bergen, about the band and about recording our album. We’re all pretty excited about it, but it will be hard work and long days. Plus we’ll all be living together for a month which we’ve never done before… I’m sure we’ll argue a bit but I think over the last two years and after all the trips away we’ve had, we know we’ll all get on fine!

Mark.x