Fode and his new companion Tude also had a pleasant moment when they where informed that their photo permission for the air base had been canceled.
A cancellation that lasted about the same length as a flight plan in the operation room. (For our next campaign we probably will need watches measuring in nanoseconds to be able to track the changes of mind in this mindful room.)
Today's most frightened face belonged to our good colleague from Bangalore, Muralidhar, as someone popped the news that it might get a little colder here the upcoming days. Let's say that winddiving in centigrades below zero is not his favorite pasttime. I find that very understandable.
Astrid from Univisjon and Reinhold from DLR tried to leave today, but the magnetism of this project held them back a couple of hours. Or rather the lack of motion in one of the Widerøe propellers. They left a couple of hours later, and Reinhold hoped that Emma had made so many delays that he still could reach his plane out of Oslo. That is the Central European storm Emma, and not our local and pleasant føhn wind carrying the same name. Birgitte took of on the same plane, but heading on to Longyearbyen, where she certainly will continue her mission as party planner. We wish all three of them well.
The weather situation for the upcoming days remains unbelievably promising for the project. The scientists have a certain bright halo around their heads, as they eagerly awaits the next model or satellite image or whatever they can extract from the screens. Tonight they even started turning pictures upside down to find the smiling face of a monkey. Only the badly disguised threats from yours truly that he will get hold of a three meter high enforced fence with triple barbed wire to mount around the range so as to keep ordinary people away from this mania, could ease the mood a couple of hectopascals. (As I write this, Jón Egill enters the room, watches a fresh product on screen, and moans in a way that would rate our movie with at least four x's, had the film crew remained awake.)
Ivan made a praiseworthy plan of taking some of us to the movies tonight, but got to busy showing Trude the secrets of the tropopause. In stead he brought his laptop along with him to bed. Please don't forward this to his dear ones.
Some of you might be pleased to know that this will be the last letter of this kind for a while. The editor is taking a well deserved holiday in Oslo. Going down there tomorrow. Probably returning on Thursday. Perhaps information from other sources then may have become so abundant that chitchat like this will seem improper to release. Time might show.
I bid thee farewell and thankest thee with some cloudy pictures of the northern skies.
regards,
g-
