Dear friends in Class of 75
Marit and I are now living in Oslo, with all our four children and seven grandchildren within 15 minutes reach by car or tram. Both of us are now retired and spend much time at our cottages by the sea at Larkollen or in the mountains near Vinstra. We enjoy family life and see our friends and offspring quite often … and apt for this yearbook: we cherish our contact with friends from The Class of 75.
The time period after graduation covers nearly a lifetime of memories; from more than 40 years ago when Ingvar took me sightseeing under a bright midnight sun in the Reykjavik vicinity, and his wife, Inga, afterwards served us and their lokal friends a nightly meal of tenderloin meat and plenty lokal «Svatadaudir» (Icelandic aquavit by the name Black Death), until I joined Alan and Joan on a journey on board the coastal route, «Hurtigruten», along the Norwegian coast last year.
I laid down my surgical scalpel 3 years ago; after more than 40 active years operating and publishing in the field of GI-surgery and traumatology at hospitals in Kristiansaund N, Kristiansand S, Oslo and Fredrikstad, Norway. For a limited period during the 1990´s I changed both focus and field of work to more administrative positions: initially in the Norwegian Armed Forces (1989-1993) as Chief of Surgery and as Director General, followed by 5 years as Director of Medical Science and Health in The Research Council of Norway.
Professionally I have through the years been obliged to inspect hotspots of political unrest as well as paying visits, including «Visiting Fellowships», to institutions of clinical excellence in The Middle East, UK, USA, continental Europe and Scandinavia:
– As Director General I inspected armed UN-troops safeguarding the Israeli-Lebanese border, and experienced incidences where Israeli artillery were cannonading the opposing party with sharp ammunition.
– During a few months of 1998 I had the pleasure of filling in for Professor Norman Williams´ and joining his Staff at London University Hospital, and this gave me the opportunity also to assist legendary professor Bill Heald during his live demo-operations in front of audiences of visiting Surgeons.
– The Intervention Centre at Oslo University Hospital was built 1995, inspired by idéas presented in my Masters thesis from 1991.
Our Class of 75 has really been an inspiration for me throughout my professional life as well as socially, and I still keep close contact with friends from our year. Some of us still meet fairly regularly here in England as well as occasionally in my hometown Oslo, Norway.
Thank you guys for making my life brighter and more exciting, Marit and I very much look forward to seeing you all in Newcastle.