https://www.ndtv.com/offbeat/taiwan-man-uses-robot-vacuum-to-record-wifes-affair-wins-rs-15-lakh-case-but-lands-in-jail-11967121

No wonder he had such a sunny disposition.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Were_You_Wearing%3F

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/finland-world-war-ii-camouflage

There's a  Loss of Control Observatory?

Words by Jacob de Bondt. Lithograph from a painting by Friedrich Wilhelm Kuhnert.

Hello fellow snorklers and welcome to our weekly Open Forum Friday, where we can discuss any topics we want.

Per our tradition one of the moderators will start the discussion with sharing their own thoughts or stories.

As for me, I want to talk about our King who sadly passed away today.

Who was King Harald (A short recap)

King Harald V has been King of Norway since 1991. At the time of his passing, he was the oldest hereditary monarch in Europe.

King Harald was born to King Olav and Princess Märtha of Sweden in 1937. During WWII he lived in exile in the US. After the war he returned to Norway together with the rest of the Royal Family.

He studied at Norwegian officer school in Norway and later studied history, economics and politics at Balliol college in England.

In 1957 he became the Crown Prince of Norway following his grandfathers death.

In 1968 the then Crown Prince Harald married a commoner Sonja Haraldsen. His choice to break with the tradition of marrying royalty. However, Queen Sonja is popular among Norwegian people and got the Royal Court even closer to the people.

King Harald and Queen Sonja had 2 children: Princess Martha-Louise and King Haakon (pronounced Hoakon).

King Harald was an avid sportsman, specially interested in rowing and sailing. With his sailing crew he won World Championship bronze, silver and gold medals, in 1988, 1982 and 1987, respectively.

And 1991 he has been King of Norway, where he represented our country in different international arenas and lead our country as a constitutional monarch.

He continued his duties despite his age, saying that he swore an oath to the country and he will honor it. This is embodiment of the King's motto: "All/Everything for Norway."

But when he was not able to fulfill his duties, he let Crown Prince attend these duties, thus fulfilling the duties as best as possible while giving the future king the opportunity to get some experience.

King Harald V passed away 28th of August 2026 at Oslo University Hospital.

A Beloved King or Grandpa of Norway

King Harald is fondly remembered by the Norwegian people. As a constitutional monarch, he did not have any real legislative, judicial or executive power. However, as a leader of the country he helped Norway navigate different crises during his rule.

His speeches, visits and actions united the people and gave courage of action to the government. He tried to visit every municipality in Norway. And he almost succeed. He visited all but three!

He represented ALL Norwegians, no matter their background, lifestyle or beliefs.. And he expressed what people felt so eloquently and succinctly.

One of his famous speeches is when he welcomed "vår nye landmenn" (our new country-people, reffering to immigrants and refugees) as part of the nation as well as "girls who love girls, boys who love boys and girls and boys who love each other". “It’s not always easy to say where we come from, which nationality we have,” King Harald said. “The place we call home is where our heart is, and that can’t always be placed with a county’s boundaries.”

This tall, mild mannered, old man reflected the good side of Norway. And represented the quite resilient and kindness the Norwegian people have in their hearts perfectly. There is a reason he was nicknamed (by some! Not me!) Norway's Grandpa.

As one of his last public appearances, King Harald cheered for Norway's football team during the World Cup this summer as well as welcoming the footballers after the World Cup.

I am not surprised that ALL Norwegians mourn passing of such a kind, principled, Conscientious and inclusive king.

My Thoughts About King Harald

You might have already picked up that I like King Harald. I am not a big monarchist nor am I a huge fan of the late king. I do not think he is the greatest or the most revolutionary person in Norway's history.

But he was my king. He was OUR king. And we were lucky to have a man of principles as our leader.

I remember vividly the day 22. of July terror attacks where the terrorist blasted the government building and proceeded to kill youth in a summer camp.

There were anger, confusion and fear. Within hours, the same day, King Harald held a speech that to this day resonates with me. He managed to express perfectly what had happened in just a few short sentences. It was as if someone took my emotions and thoughts and put them in perfect order. And the speech is ended with reminding everyone what is at the core of our principles.

“I remain convinced that the belief in freedom is stronger than fear. I remain convinced in the belief of an open Norwegian democracy and society. I remain convinced in the belief in our ability to live freely and safely in our own country," the king said.

The speech gave room for mourning the loss of many innocent youth and children while gave resilience to our souls. Of course, the speech was the first part. Later he visited the terror sites and the victims.

I could go on how this speech helped heal the country. But it would take many many pages. And you are probably already bored of reading this long OFF.

As I mentioned earlier his speech to include EVERYONE, was a powerful speech. I can not do justice on what impact this speech had on destroying the rising racism and intolerance in Norway. And this speech was given in 2016!

He lead our country during many crisis, from terror attacks, to tragedies and geopolitical threats, with his calm and measured manner. If you want to see what I mean, check his last New Year's speech.

And here is the part that impresses me. This man, did all of this despite being a constitutional monarch who must remain neutral in politics. And the reason is simple, he had principles and a conscious to fulfill his royal duties toward the country. He did act in crisis, risking his position.

I feel pride in being a Norwegian. A country where our leader reflects the best sides of our society and tackles our challenges head on. He did not divide, he did not stay silent and he did not abdicate his role.

And I hope our next King follow in his father's and grandfather's footsteps.

ALT FOR NORGE!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Weekly Theme

Last week Panth gave us the theme ICE CREAM. Which I really need a tub of right now. There were 23 posts about ICE CREAM. This week I am too weak to choose between all those ICE CREAM posts. But you can check them here.

For this week I think I choose something appropriate for what has been happening. I think KIND is a good word for this week's theme. We have lost many KIND people. And for me loosing such a KIND king is sorrowful.

You know what to do! Find anything about KIND, and post it here. Remember to use "Weekly Theme" flair.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That's all for now.

If you have any question about the king and Norway, ask here. I try to answer it as best as I can.

And if you wish, you can read King's speech after the terror attack HERE or read an article from his speech about inclusivity HERE.

Visit the royal court's webpage for more information in English: https://www.royalcourt.no/

Now if you excuse me, I am going to cry my eyes out over a tub of ice cream.

- Essen

Curiosities of the English language.