Filed under Clothing
Princess Feya ran into the forest clearing, her long robes flowing. She stopped, and turned to her little band of elves who were gathered there, waiting patiently. Her face was lit by the moon as she said “We must seek out the book of truth and wisdom for mankind. You must help me find it, and the answer to beating the forces of evil in the world”.
This little scene was being acted out with the help of Schleich figures, on the living room floor, by the eight-year old daughter of our neighbour when I popped round for coffee the other morning. Such is the convincing detail of these models that you are drawn into a world of fantasy. The fantasy genre of the 20th century stems from 19th century Romanticism. Writers such as Tolkien, the Grimm brothers, and Andrew Lang made popular “fairy stories” sourced from popular folklore. One of the pioneering works of fantasy writing was The King of Elfland's Daughter, a 1924 novel by Lord Dunsany Tolkien, of course, gave us The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Fantasy elves became extremely popular, representing perhaps, an alternative form of the human with sharper perceptions and greater moral values. These beings have the power of magic, which has long held sway in the human mind. We love to believe in magic and supernatural powers beyond what we can see.
Early English folktales portrayed elves as small, elusive people with slightly mischievous personalities. They were not evil but liked to meddle in human affairs. Elves were often thought of as representing a type of fairy, or even the embodiment of a force of nature. William Shakespeare imagined elves as little people who had pointed ears and were able to harness the forces of nature
Such is the strength of traditional wisdom, handed down by word of mouth, that still today, some of the natives of iceland truly believe in “hidden folk” that dwell in rock formations. The elves of Norse mythology were imagined as beautiful females who lived in the forest with an Elvan king. They were long-lived, fair-haired, and light-hearted in nature, except when offended. In some cultures elves have been looked on as semi-divine beings, often associated with fertility and also ancestor worship.
Elves were originally thought by many to be spirits of nature with magical powers that they could use, both to help or hinder mankind. In more recent times they have been associated more with good, and the fight of good to triumph over evil.
The world of fantasy is only one of several worlds that Schleich can transport you to. There are also ranges of models and figures that can help to educate children in respect of the world today and the different types of domestic and wild animals that exist, the history of the medieval world of knights and castles, the history of the Wild West, and the extraordinary range of dinosaurs that once roamed the earth. Schleich models are so well formed and detailed that they are truly representative, and can inspire the mind in the way that pictures alone may not. If you wish your children to learn about the world, past and present, what better way is there, than with realistic models that they can hold in their hands?
Robert Esmund works with www.totallyschleich.co.uk">Totally Schleich
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Filed under Business
Norway's economy is highly dependent on its offshore petroleum industry, centred around Stavanger and a vibrant freight services and shipping infrastructure has been established to support the continued growth of this industry. Norway has the third highest GDP per capita in the world, as well as achieving the top position in the world in 2009 for its UNDP Human Development Index. So Norway is a successful mixed economy with a winning combination of private sector activity and also large state ownership in key strategic market sectors, including offshore petroleum technology through Statoil, in which the government has 62% ownership, and the fully state owned Petoro.
In addition to this, the government has a stake in hydroelectric energy production, through Statkraft, aluminium manufacturing through Norsk Hydro and the major telecommunications provider, Telenor. Through direct oil license ownership in other non-listed companies, the state has an even higher share of ownership.
So the government in Norway is a key player in the Norwegian economy and has encouraged and supported the development of the country as a leading shipping country, with a merchant fleet that is the sixth largest in the world. It has therefore also invested across the international freight sector to ensure that freight transport is at maximum efficiency and can help drive the economy forward. Shipping companies are encouraged and helped to streamline their operations through a government that is proactive and supportive to the international freight sector.
Norway's high level of oil and gas exports and its extremely robust capital reserves, which are again amongst the highest in the world in per capita terms, make it likely that Norway will continue to be one of the wealthiest countries in the world for at least the short and medium term. This bodes well for continued investment in the freight services sector, which in turn is good news for every shipping company and freight company that operates in Norway.
The cost of living is about 30% higher in Norway than in America and the standard of living is one of the highest in the world. These are amongst the factors that led Foreign Policy Magazine in 2009 to judge Norway to be the best functioning and most stable country in the world – a quite remarkable accolade!
The country has achieved this enviable situation partly because Norway has been blessed with natural resources, including oil, natural gas, fish, forestry and minerals, which are particularly high in relation to the small size of the population. In fact, fish have been exported from Lofoten for over 1000 years.The freight services industry has developed and strengthened over the long term to become the model of efficiency it is today. Meanwhile, export revenues from oil and gas make up 45% of total exports and account for 20% of GDP. So shipping companies and freight services have geared up to handle the specific needs of these industries in terms of storage conditions and handling, as well as the more general freight forwarding needs of some other sectors.
This abundance of natural resources and the income they generate for Norway has led to a situation where the hourly productivity levels as well as average hourly wages in Norway are among the highest in the world.
Norway has stayed outside the European Union, following referendums in 1972 and 1994, but together with Liechtenstein and iceland, it takes part through the European Economic Area agreement and other inter-governmental agreements between the EU member states. This means that Norway is integrated with the EU internal market in the main and freight transport too has benefited as a result of co-operation across borders with other European countries.
As a result of the winning combination of factors, some of which are outlined here, The Norwegian trade surplus for 2008 was around 80 billion dollars, so Norway is well cushioned against the effects of the global financial crisis and in fact it was the only Western country to run a state budget surplus in 2009. Overall, it is one of the countries in the world to be least affected by the worldwide downturn in 2008 and 2009 and unemployment in Norway is still running at under 4%.
So the freight transport sector in Norway can face the future with confidence, as the economy is in good shape and there is likely to be continued substantial government investment in the international freight infrastructure and the industries which it serves.
About the Author: Stephen Willis is Managing Director of RW Freight Services a UK based freight transport company, established in 1971 and operating worldwide freight forwarding services including specialist freight services to and from Norway
