Yes, a fortnight from now I will be spending my first night in Oslo itself – having travelled over on the Tuesday evening from Birmingham. The whole thing is beginning to set-in, a whole new challenge in a foreign country is steadily rampaging over the horizon like a very big daunting thing indeed.
I’m currently sat up in bed typing this on the trusty laptop whilst watching some Basketball on Five. I say “watching” – it’s more of a background companion until something starts on BBC Four in about 30 minutes. The laptop itself (which I purchased in October last year) will prove a handy bit of kit for when I’m over in Norway – it’ll allow me to keep in touch with stuff happening back in the UK with family and friends – making that transition that little bit easier.
It also contains all of my documents relating to job searches (with a couple of CVs and about 5 covering letters for different job types) – which will also help when I start hammering the agencies in the first week or two I’m there. There’s only so much I can do from the UK – I feel that it’ll be easier to sort stuff out face to face.
I’ve already sorted out one thing – the refereeing. I’ve made it known to the NFF (The Norwegian FA) that I’m coming over – and thanks to the help of a colleague I met through the Norway Cup – I’m also now a member of a football club – which is the main stipulation to referee in Oslo.
That may sound strange to our UK readers who are used to the Referee Society and County FA systems. In Norway, you have to be a member of a football club to be allowed to referee, it replaces the Referee Society in the scheme of things. You’re treated the same as a player if you want to move clubs (say if you relocate to a different town in the country) – then you have to put in the same transfer form as a player would.
The County System is also in place – which also helps with training seminars and the actual appointing of officials to games. I hear the weather is still pretty bad out there (as it’s still snowing quite a lot) so the season start may be delayed somewhat.
Apparently from what I can make out – the football club takes care of kit and training requirements for referees – in return, we agree to officiate on their friendly games and also help with the club’s in-house training on the Laws – educating the players.
Anyway – back to the present. I’m off out later on Wednesday to see some people, collect some stuff, and start to tie up the loose ends that need doing. After that I’ll turn the focus to what I need to take with me initially.
I only get 25kg luggage allowance (including Cabin Baggage) – it’ll be an interesting exercise…
