Nuuk

 

Nuuk

                Nuuk, largest city and capital of Greenland.

This image appeared on my screen on Tuesday morning, and I thought it was so pretty and quite apposite.

Nuuk is the capital and largest city in Greenland, which is an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is one of the smallest capital cities in the world.

One third of the country’s people, numbering 20,113 in January 2025, lives in Nuuk. About 90% of the population is Inuit, and the culture and history are celebrated perhaps more than in any other indigenous city world-wide.

Greenland is the world’s largest island and is a land of mountains and fjords. It experiences long, snowy winters and short, cool summers. The landscape reflects this, in that there are few trees.

It has been associated with Norway and Denmark for a thousand years, both politically and culturally. Although it recognises both Danish and English, among other northern European languages, its official language is Greenlandic.

Education and healthcare are free, and it is a socially progressive country, affording widespread rights to LGBTQ citizens. There is more information here.

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

Victor Borge

 

Victor Borge (1909- 2000)

One of my all-time favourite performers was Victor Borge, an extraordinarily talented musician. Born Børge Rosenbaum in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1909, it was apparent at the age of two that he would be a prodigy. He gave his first piano recital when he was eight and was awarded a full scholarship at the Royal Danish Academy of Music when he was nine years old.

He performed as a classical pianist for several years and then began what was to become his signature career blending comedy and music. In 1940, the Germans invaded Denmark while he was performing in neutral Sweden. He travelled on to Finland and boarded the last ship to sail from that country to the USA. He returned once to Denmark during the occupation, disguised as a sailor, to visit his dying mother. That was a courageous journey to undertake, as he had publicly recounted jokes to the detriment of the Germans. Had he been intercepted, it is likely he would not have survived.

He became known variously as the Clown Prince of Denmark, the Great Dane and the Unmelancholy Dane.

When he arrived in the USA, he spoke no English and learnt it by watching films. This makes it all the more remarkable that he was able to joke in English and engage in word play. 

Two of his most amusing routines were ‘Phonetic Punctuation’ and ‘Inflationary Language.’ In the first, sound effects illustrated the different punctuation marks, like question marks and full stops and inverted commas. The second routine took numbers or homophones and inflated them by one. In this way, today became threeday, once upon a time was twice upon a time and so on and so fifth.

Victor Borge continued to perform into his old age, appearing 60 times when he was 90.

The available recordings are quite long and not of exceptionally good quality, but I hope this one  and this one will give a flavour of the man. Obviously, some will appreciate his humour, while others will be completely indifferent.

 Watching him always makes me laugh – such talent, such humanity.

ABC Wednesday - J is for Jutland

The Battle of Jutland (known in German as Skagerrakschlacht) took place on 31^st May 1916 in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark between the Royal Navy’s Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy’s High Seas Fleet. The Royal Navy’s objective was to defend the North Sea and to prevent the Imperial Naval Fleet from infiltrating the Atlantic and attempting to immobilise Britain’s merchant shipping.

Grand Fleet, Jutland

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

It was the largest naval battle of WWI and though the Royal Navy lost more men and ships (14 ships and around 6,000 lives) than the Germans (11 ships and about 2,500 casualties) the conclusion was that the Imperial German Fleet was defeated. The fleet was unable and in any case would have been unwilling to engage in fleet to fleet fighting for the duration of the war and relied increasingly on submarine warfare but the Royal Navy remained a potent fighting force.

At the beginning of the war the Royal Navy had more ships than their opponents. Realising that they were unlikely to gain victory in full fleet battle, the Germans decided on a strategy of ensnaring smaller groups in order to defeat them.

A series of incorrect messages and poor communication between ships led to more British losses than might have been forecast. For example, much of the most critical signalling was carried out with flags and lamps rather than by wireless. They were strange methods to rely on in misty conditions and with smoke issuing from the stacks of the coal-fired warships.

The battle was the first one in which an aircraft carrier was used. The single British 

craft carried a seaplane.

Four Victoria Crosses were awarded - only one recipient survived the battle.

Joyful Denise Nesbitt and her Jolly crew organise this weekly meme. Click here to see more Js.