deliriouslove1970. The life & times of Gary and Denise Flanders. (Free and worth every penny. If you would like to compliment the editor, send to garytheflan@deliriouslove1970.com. If you would like to complain, call your mother.)

The Kingdom of Norway (the official name of Norway.). This familiar Nordic country in the north of Europe is bordered by Sweden on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other.

The country was established in 872 so it has been a continuous country for 1,149 years. It is where the Vikings come from. In it’s history it had rulers with ‘cool’ names such as Magnus The Good and Saint Olav. Norway has what is known as The Nordic Welfare Model which includes Universal Health Care and Social Security for all. In 2017 it was ranked first in the World Happiness index. It has one of the lowest crime rates in the world.

With an ancient history, those Norwegians know how to design flags.

The flag we know for Norway was designed in 1821 by Fredrik Meltzer. The flag features the Nordic Cross. Meltzer said the ‘Intense Red’ shows a comradeship with Denmark and the ‘Dark Blue’ is for their kinship with Sweden. When you add the white border it equals freedom. An interesting factoid is when the flag is lowered it is not folded into a triangle, it is rolled up in a cylinder and tied.

And of course, where would we be without the famous Norwegian scientists who did the research on Mermaids?