Hell on Utøya

This is the Google translation of the blog of Prableen Kaur. The original page can be found here

Hell on Utøya

I woke up. I can not sleep more. I'm sitting in the living room. Feeling grief, anger, happiness, God, I do not know what. There are too many emotions. There are too many thoughts. I'm afraid. I react to the slightest sound. I will write about what happened on Utøya. What my eyes saw, what I felt, what I did. The words come straight from the liver, but I would also anonymize many names out of respect for my friends.

We had a crisis meeting in the main building after the explosions in Oslo. After that there was a meeting for members of Akershus and Oslo. After the meetings were many, many people around and in the main building. We consoled ourselves that we were safe on an island. No one knew that hell would break out with us too.

I stood in the main time when panic broke out. I heard shots. I saw him shoot. All started to run. The first thought was: "Why shoot the police on us? What the hell? "I ran into the little room. People ran. Screamed. I was scared. I managed to get into one of the rooms at the back of the building. We were many in there. We lay on the floor all together. We heard several shots. Were more afraid. I cried. I knew nothing. I saw my best friend through the window and wondered if I should go out and bring him to me. I did not. I saw fear in his eyes. We were lying on the floor inside the room for a few minutes. We agreed not to release more in case the killer came. We heard several shots and decided to jump out the window. Panic broke out among us. All in the room rushed to the window and tried to jump out. I was the last and thought: "I am the last to jump out the window.Now I'm dying. I'm sure, but it might be okay, then I know that the others are safe. "I kasket my bag out the window. Tried to managed down, but lost her grip. I landed hard on the left part of the body. A boy helped me up. We ran into the woods. I looked around."Is he here? Shoot him for me? Viewing him myself? "A girl had a broken ankle. Another was severely injured. I tried to help a little bit before I went down to the water. I sought cover behind a sort of brick wall. We were many. I prayed, prayed, prayed. I hope that God saw me. I called Mom and said that it was not safe we ​​would meet again, but that I would do anything to clear me. I said several times that I loved her. I heard fear in her voice. She cried. It hurt. I sent a text message to my dad, told him I loved him. I sent a text message to another person I am very, very happy in. We were a little contact. I sent a text message to my best friend. He did not answer. We heard several shots. Snuggled together. Did everything we could to keep warm. There were so many thoughts. I was so scared. My dad called me. I cried, said I loved him. He said he was going with my brother to take me welcome when I come across to the mainland, or they came to the island.There were so many emotions. So many thoughts. I told everything I could. It took some time. The other called parents eventually started all texting for fear that the killer would hear us. I thought of my sister who's away. How I would tell her how it went? What happened to me. I updated on Twitter and Facebook that I was still alive and that I was "safe." I wrote that I was waiting for the police. People jumped into the water, started swimming. I was lying. I decided that if he did, I would play dead. I would not run or swim.I can not describe the fear, all your mind, what I felt.

A one came. "I'm from the police." I was lying. Some shouted back that he had to prove it. I do not remember exactly what he said, but the killer started shooting. He charged.Extension more. He shot those around me. I was lying. I think: "Now it's over. He's here.He takes me. Now I'm dying. "People screamed. I heard that others were shot. Others jumped into the water. I was there. The mobile phone in hand. I lay on top of the legs of a girl. Thurs the 2nd was on top of my leg. I was lying. The insert in text messages. The mobile phone rang several times. I was lying. I played dead. I lay there for at least an hour. It was completely quiet. I gently turned her head to see if I could see someone live.I looked like. I saw blood. Fear. I decided to get up. I had been lying on top of a dead body. Thurs like lying to me. I had a guardian angel.  did not know if he would come back again. I had not the courage to look at all those who had called and texted me. I hurried down to the water. I took off my sweater. It was great. I thought it would be difficult to swim to me. I considered whether I should bring my cell phone or leave it again. I put it in his back pocket and jumped into the water. I saw several others in the water. They had swum far. I saw that someone had gathered around a floating luftbåt or something like that. There were many who picked up those who swam out. I swam, swam, and swam towards the air thing. I screamed. Weep. Was cool. I thought of when I would drown. It was heavier and heavier. I asked. I continued.Was tired arms. Decided to turn my back and just use your legs to swim on. I sank. I started to swim normally again. A little while I thought they had gathered around the air boat began to move away. I screamed. Begged them to wait for me. I must have seen visions. I swam at least a few hundred meters before I arrived. We talked a little together.Did what we called, where we came from. When the boats passed us shouting for help, but they picked up the others just swam first. A man in a boat came to us. He threw out several life jackets. I got hold of one. Got it on me. I held on to the small air boat a long time until the same man came back to pick us up. All got into it. He began to run towards the shore. After a while it started small his boat to take in some water. I did everything I could to get the most water out. I used a bucket. I was exhausted. Another girl in the boat took over. We came to the country. We got blankets. Tears pressed on. I cried more. A woman hugged me. It was so good. I wept aloud. I sobbed. A man lent me his phone. I called my dad, "I live. I did it. Now I am safe. "I hung up. Cry more. We had to walk a bit. Completely unknown people took us into their cars and drove us to Sundvollen hotel. I ran in to see if I could see my best friend. I saw him at any place. I saw a friend. I cried loudly. We hugged each other for long. It was good. I walked around, looking for friends. My heart pounded. I cried more. I signed up with the police, then through all the lists. I did not know about my best friend lived. I looked through all the lists. I could not find his name anywhere. I was scared. I got a duvet. I took off my wet socks. I was half naked. Got a jacket. I tried to dial a bit. Contacted my parents again. My dad and brother were on their way to fetch me. I drank some cocoa. I sat down. Thought. Weep. So many friends. Hugged them. Weep. I borrowed a computer. Updated the Facebook and Twitter again that I was safe. I was at the hotel for several hours before my family came.I looked for familiar. I talked to a priest. I told all I had seen. It was a good call. A man from the Red Cross saw all my wounds. Cleanse them. Time passed. I was with some of my friends. All talked about the same. How we survived. What had happened. I asked several if they had seen my best friend. No one had seen him. I was scared. I thought that it was my fault because we had not managed to stay together. A friend got the key to a hotel room. We sat there, looked at the news. There was anger, sorrow, so many emotions. My dad called, they had come. I took the elevator down. Run out to them.Hugged my brother and my dad a long time. I wept aloud. My brother was crying too. It was a good moment. I saw a boy who looked like my best friend. I shouted his name. He turned around. It was him. We hugged each other for long. Both crying, we asked each other how we had managed. After a while, I registered myself and we drove home.Someone else sat in with us. My best friend was with me. His brother had come to me with his best friend. There were several who had gathered at my home. They would not go home until they had seen that I was fine. We talked a little bit. I drank a juice Gladden.Ate a yogurt. Talked some more with my mom and my family. I called my best friend. It was a good call. She said: "I was not sure if I would ever get this phone." Tears pressed on. We talked a little bit. After that I lay. It was three. Mom refused to let me sleep alone, so we slept together.

There have been several hours since all this happened. I'm still in shock. Everything has not fallen into. I have seen the corpses of my friends. Several of my friends are missing. I am glad that I can swim. I am glad that I live. For that God watched over me. There are so many emotions, so many thoughts. I think of all the relatives. In all I lost. In the hell that is and was on the island. This summer's most beautiful fairy tale is transformed into Norway's worst nightmare.

Mark, Amy and 74 Norwegians

I must admit I've found it difficult to match the displays of sentiment shown for Ms Winehouse in these past couple of days- but then it seems I'm so often out of step with others! With her death coming on the same day as  the deaths of 74 Norwegians I tried to balance the two but was unable to find even an ounce of sympathy for AW. Her death was of her own choosing, no doubt originating in her choice to take drugs and to drink excessively. And it IS a choice. It's a choice made of free will that takes people along a treacherous path, often to self destruction. There are those who see no problem with her becoming a drunk and a druggie, rather seeing it as a sign of her independence, as a symbol of her creativity and the bizarre thing is, people are leaving vodka bottles at the streetside memorial.

Compare her death with that of those who were simply going about their daily lives in Oslo, looking forward to the weekend, or the young people gathered together for a summer camp on Utøya, no doubt also having fun and enjoying the association with like-minded peers. It's impossible to imagine the terror that must have gone through the minds of all those involved but for those young people to lose friends, to see them being killed in such a callous way and with such terrble ammunition, must surely damage them for life. On the plus side, what Anders Behring Breivik seems to have done is bring the nation even closer together, rather than eschew the multi-culturalism and plurality that this hate-filled Christian (explain THAT one) wants to see disappear.


Oh, and Mark? That will be the late Corporal Mark Palin of the 1st Battalion, The Rifles, killed in a bomb blast whilst attempting to neutralise near complete IEDs. He leaves a son and a pregnant wife. His funeral will go unremarked by many bar his family, his colleagues and the residents of a small market town in Wiltshire.

A Submarine Weekend - kinda

Another weekend, another day acting as a guide on HMS ALLIANCE at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum. The big turnout would seem to indicate that t was either a rainy day (it was), or that the summer holidays are almost here (they are); the 4 guides were taking a tour of 25 people through every 20 minutes.

This weekend I was able to cross the generations. It's always good to chat to the older, more experienced guides for it's always possible to learn something new about the boat (more in a later blog) but the tours often include other older submariners. This weekend I encountered a Chief Stoker from the modern day HMS VANGUARD,

HMS VANGUARD S28

HMS TAURUS P399

and an old salt who served on the previous T Class of submarines, and on X craft (Coincidentally, this article appears in today's Daily Mirror). Both were able to give me the benefit of their experience and that will enable me to give a better tour next time I'm there.

Then there's always the kids :) When you get the good ones, they are so curious and so well informed and they are a joy. Some do seem to have fairly gruesome ideas that involve either the destruction of the boat, or the world, or where is the dead body is kept if someone dies. Then you get the one who will cling to his mum with his cuddly toy and not even say hello. I'll take the former every time.

X24

Images from Wikipedia

Grumpy Online People

Something I’ve noticed on-line these days is how harshly some people respond to articles and blogs. They seem unconstrained by manners, consideration of feelings, or reasoned thought If an article (for article read blog or any other type of post) differs from their point if view, or suggests a technology is better than the preferred one, then their immediate response is to post text that is abusive or derogatory, rather than structured or considered debate. No doubt this is enabled by the anonymity of the Web, but also by the fact that they are able to respond immediately.

Ah well. It takes all sorts to make a world

Facebook Video Chat

Hallo guys,

Facebook has just added a new feature, and unless you're fellow minor-geek, you may be unaware of it.

They've added video chat to your chat window.

Facebook has done this in association with Skype which is probably the biggest name in video chat/messaging. If you want to use it, it's dead simple.

First, click on the name of the individual with who you wish to chat.
At the top of the Chat window you'll see the little camera icon.
Click on that.
You'll now get asked if you want to install and use the that feature so accept that and a download will start.
Just let that run and accept the default options that pop up.
There will be a small file installed and Hey Presto, you're up and running.
Comb your hair, check your teeth for cabbage and chat away,

On Facebook you can only videochat to one person at a time but the new Google+ allows you to chat to up to 10 people at a time. I should point out that Google+ is still only open to a few testers at this moment. On that point, you'll notice that many of the Google products are being redesigned with a cleaner, simpler look, and the latest to undergo  amake over is Youtube, although you have to opt into it at the moment. If you'd like to have a look at it, follow this link. You can always change back to the old format.

http://www.youtube.com/cosmicpanda

Collagen

An extract from www.lifecanbegood.co.uk 

COLLAGEN, used in anti-aging creams to combat wrinkles, is now being used to restore health to diseased and painful joints.

A study at the University of Munich and Stamford University in the US on 2,000 men and women with osteoarthritis of the hip and knee found it reduced pain and increased mobility in more than 75 per cent of cases.
Patients who took supplements of collagen hydrolysate daily for three months were able to reduce pain-relieving medication significantly. Few side effects were reported.


The findings could offer relief for more than eight million people in the UK suffering from painful joints and reduced mobility caused by arthritis. Many rely on anti-inflammatory medications but these can damage the gut lining, causing ulceration.


Used by British Olympic athletes to speed their recovery from sports injuries, collagen supplements help to restore joints to health. Collagen is the most common protein in the body. "We need it for healthy joints, physical resilience and the ability to recover from injuries," explains Professor Greg Whyte, senior physiologist at Liverpool University and advisor to the British Olympic Team. "Yet we lose 1.5 per cent of our collagen every year after 25. By 40, we have lost 30 per cent."


James Greenwell, former Great Britain pentathlon team captain, began taking collagen hydrolysate supplements six years ago, after ripping tendons in his ankle. He was so impressed he set up proto-col to research collagen supplementation.


"My physio gave me 12 weeks to make a recovery,’ says James. ‘I took 15 capsules of collagen hydrolysate a day and I’d recovered most of my joint function in less than a month."


The form of collagen you take is vital, he says. "Collagen hydrolysate is the form that is proven to be effective in trials," says Professor Whyte.


Greg Whyte was the man rsponsible for advising Eddie Izzard during his 43 marathons in 51 days

A Blog of Bits

Some random jottings

Electric Toothbrushes


After a few years of being encouraged by dentists to get an electric toothbrush, we finally succumbed and surrendered the battery operated ones. This new fang-polisher is wonderful with the difference in the end result being quite noticeable. And, ever the one to be easily amused, this Braun prompts you every 30 secs over 2 minutes to move to another mouthy quadrant and start cleaning that area.

Google+


I've been testing out the new Google+ social networking site, and it's showing promise. It  has a very clean look, as do many of the Google suite products. It's system of arranging friends and contacts, called Circles, is very simple and very efficient and it allows posts to be made only to specific Circles, or to everyone should you wish. It has an integrated video chat called Huddle and integrates to Google Talk. No doubt other features will be added as we move through the beta testing stage. There is already a lot of hype and discussion about being a Facebook 'killer' although i think that's premature as FB is now well established and many users wll be loathe to make the move. We'll see.

Repatriations


I'd posted earlier about the repatriations when they move to Brize Norton; more specifically about the rubbish that was being repeated. I'm glad to see that someone who has been intimately involved with those ceremonies has written to debunk the stories, and I'm pleased to be able to provide a link here:

Repatriation ceremonies in 2012

Random photographs

The Seven Ages of Man and Broadcasting House

Broadcasting House at 0900 on BBC Radio 4, is always worth listening to on a Sunday morning. It's always an interesting collection of current affairs, or newspaper reviews, and of slightly sideways looks at items of interest in the current media. Today they acknowledged the forthcoming Dilnott Report by asking Sir Ian McKellen to read the following:

The Seven Ages of Man: Shakespeare:

"All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players,
They have their exits and entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms.
Then, the whining schoolboy with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honour, sudden, and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon's mouth. And then the justice
In fair round belly, with good capon lin'd,
With eyes severe, and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws, and modern instances,
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slipper'd pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose, and pouch on side,
His youthful hose well sav'd, a world too wide,
For his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice,
Turning again towards childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything."

Amazing coincidence Number 91387

{EAV_BLOG_VER:2a0bea0c3745c8b0}

I was taking a group through HMS ALLIANCE last week. As a diver I recognised the Scapa Flow polo shirt one of the visitors was wearing and remarked upon it, and continued with the tour.  A friend commented on a Facebook post of mine today where I said I would be guiding today, that it was his diving club that were on the boat; their diving trip had been blown out so were filling their time. A minor, so slightly amazing, coincidence.

One of today's trips included an original crew member of HMS ALLIANCE, a comms tech (another name for an intelligence gatherer, and some Poles who were sailing back to Poland having started in Brest.

And if anyone knows about the strongbacks on the Tube Space doors, and the locking rings, I'd like to hear from you.