25.2.11

PLEASE JOIN: >"Meet the world" café - 1st March 2011. 17.00 - 19.00 TIVOLI HOTEL.

Photo Hasse Ferrold.

Invitation to "Meet the World Café" -"The World in Denmark - Denmark in The World".
ALL foreign- & Danish Networks / Expats, Business, Diplomats..... in Denmark and Danes are invited - FREE.
"Meet the world" café - 1st March 2011. 17.00 - 19.00 TIVOLI HOTEL.

You are with many other expats & Danes, international organizations and societies invited to the monthly initiative organized by President Hasse Ferrold, International Club Copenhagen, ICC.

Every first Tuesday of the month the event will be open to anyone interested in meeting other Expats & Danes from varying networks. Join them for an evening of mingling and entertainment on March 1st. Two outstanding succés-stories will be told by happy Foreigners coming to Denmark.

General info & Coming invitations http://international-club-copenhagen.blogspot.com/2011/01/meet-world-cafe-meetings-will-be.html
SIGN UP: You / Your Network send the number of participants (no names neccesary) - LATEST THE DAY BEFORE 12.00 - to mailadress:
Info@tivoli-cc.dk att.: Anne-Mette Bakkemose. Let your own network collect the sign ups and send it to her as one number of participants.
ICC-members Sign up directly to her and not to ICC.

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The kick-off 1/2 2011 at TIVOLI HOTEL was a REALLY SUCCÈS with 250 participants,Great Speeches by The Ambassador of India & Actor Ian Burns. Brilliant Music by Michala Høy and Andreas Flensted-Jensen. Two outstanding succés-stories were told by Foreigners coming to Denmark.

Read The Brilliant speech (Copyright IAN BURNS): "DENMARK" of Actor Ian Burns at the Launch of "Meet The World Café" 1/2 2011 at TIVOLI HOTEL.

Denmark, Ladies and gentlemen, This Lilliputian land of Lego, Carlsberg, Lurpack and bacon...your thumbnail covers the entire country on the world atlas, which goes to prove that, size isn’t everything!!

Denmark also dictates foreign affairs, security and financial policy for that huge land mass called Greenland, which gives it some weight in the world of strategic alliances...but as Michael Caine would say “Not a lot of people know that..”

Think of some of the unique talents that Denmark has produced:….

In no specific order I thought of; Niels Bohr, (Nuclear physisist) Tycho Brahe, (Astrologist) H.C. Andersen, (writer of fairy tales) A.P.Møller,(Shipping magnate) Carl Nielsen, (Composer) Karen Blixen, (author) Peter Schmeichel & Michael Laudrup, (Footballers) Søren Kirkegaard, (philosopher) Jørgen Udson (Sidney Opera House architect) and Victor Borge. (Comedian)

Victor Borge said:

“Laughter is the shortest distance between 2 people”. He also said this: “Love is what makes you smile when you’re tired”.

Which is sweet. And true. Is this little land of Denmark the land of love?

A quick glance at the coins in your pockets will reveal that they all have little hearts carved into them. Sweet! I thought that I would be in Denmark for 8 weeks - 20 years ago… Little did I know that I would meet my wife after 5 days and remain here. There are so many stories of people who have been infatuated and caught on this spider’s web of love. Many people who come here do so because they’ve met and been enchanted by a Dane on holiday…”Oh yes”, people nod at you in an understanding manner, “You’re here because of your girlfriend, or boyfriend”.

Well, I at least came here to work…

So my message to you if you are just “passing through” is don’t go out and try not to have eye contact with anyone for the length of your stay here. It can be dangerous.

Of course if you choose not to listen to me and end up living and having a family here as I have, there are worse places in the world to be. It ain’t perfect, but my 20 year “extraordinary” journey has shown me that the world should maybe be trying to follow a Scandinavian model of Iiving…

Cast your minds back…

The year is 1992 in the flaming month of June

The year when Denmark won the cup

And the world sang this tune:

Oh yes, there’s more to Denmark than bacon
Be proud to live in this nation
Fly your flags and sing out with pride
‘cos no-one could beat you as hard as they tried

You showed the world how to play football
The bigger they are they harder they fall
And poor Yogoslavia what can we say
We hope that your country is like ours one day..
Olé. Olé, olé olé olé…

The day I refer is when Denmark won the European football championship.

Afterwards I was walking home through the town hall square, which was packed with deliriously happy Danes, when I was stopped by the largest human being I’ve ever encountered. EVER. Obviously of Viking descent, no wonder my ancestors in Scotland were slightly frightened of them, I remember thinking to myself…He looked down at me and said in a deep Gravelly voice; “Hvor kommer du fra?” “Where do you come from?” I tried to deepen my voice as much as I could but my vocal chords could only manage a little squeaky sound saying; “Scotland!”

“Jeg kan virkelige godt lige Skotter” he said (“I really like Scots people” he said as he picked me up, threw me over his shoulder

and started to do a conga around the square. Pretty soon there were hundreds of people behind us joining in…(Conga) My view of this was from over his shoulder…After a circuit of the square he put me down, very gently, and put his hand into his inside pocket. “Oh, here it comes! I thought, the death-blow!”

But he pulled out an un-opened bottle of Glen Morangie whisky, which is one of my favourites by the way, he opened it, drank about a third of it in one huge gulp, then he wiped the bottle and passed it over to me and said “Resten er din, have a god aften, Skotte!” “Thank you”, I said in a squeaky voice and waved to him as he tumbled off into the crowd.

That was quite an evening. It has been quite a journey thus far. I hope that you enjoy your journeys here in Denmark.

Skol!

In closing I’d like to quote Karen Blixen who said:

“I belong to an ancient, wild and useless tribe, I am a story-teller”

So am I. I hope that you’ll come in and see my forthcoming theatre production. www.that-theatre.com
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