History is HIS - Story.  Well, this is MY Story.

Over a thousand years ago, inbetween farming, fishing, schooling, and developing a civilization according to ideals which became today's common law, we sailed off and discovered America.

During that time, before 1000AD, the Northern Hemisphere was warmer than is today, and we found grapes growing wild in Newfoundland.  One oarsman, named "chicken little", claimed it was due to what he called "global warming", caused by "emissions" from our many long boats and smoke from our fish fries.  He was simple minded and had politically correct ideas.  But when he insisted our longboats were evil SUV's we finally tossed him overboard, assuming he must be a Swede.

Then, somehow, it grew cooler again, so we returned home.  In fact, it eventually became so cold that ice returned to the North Atlantic, and by 1700 a "little ice age" fell across Northern Europe.  (I wonder if it has warmed up enough by now to again grow grapes in Newfoundland?)

Back in 1066, as Norsemen (North Men) [Normans], we "rescued" England from other Vikings and Viking wannabees at the Battle of Hastings.  Hundreds of years earlier, we rescued Ireland, Iceland, Greenland, and many other undeveloped islands in the region.  According to some records, we also visited South America.  Probably just side trips for fun, after sacking Rome and other humanitarian efforts.

Around 1492 we sold some of our maps to Italians and Spaniards.  I hear those Mediterranean late-comers actually followed the maps, more or less, and did some touristing in North and South America, and other places we had explored much earlier.

But, at midsummer, this longest day of the year, it's traditional to proclaim:
 

......................................... 
W6OVP
"nu går vi mot mörkare tider"
("we now approach the darker times", or "...countdown to the dark days")

for winter is on the way ...

 

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