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O chionn ghoirid bha mi ann an Nirribhidh. Bha mi a’ sgitheadh anns na beanntan. Bha mi anns an Rondane. ’S e pàirc nàiseanta a tha ann. Tha an Rondane cudromach. Tha na fèidh mhòra – no fèidh an t-sneachda – fhathast a’ fuireach ann. Chan eil smachd aig daoine orra. Tha bothain anns an sgìre. Ann an Nirribhis, canaidh iad bu riutha. Tha mi an dùil gu bheil sin ceangailte ri bùth is both ann an Gàidhlig, agus ri bothy ann an Beurla. Canaidh na Nirribhich hytte ri togalaichean nas motha na bu. Tha sin ceangailte ris an fhacal Bheurla hut. Tha an sgìre ainmeil airson beul-aithris. Ràinig mi àite air a bheil Peer Gynt Hytte. Tha e a-muigh anns na beanntan. Uaireannan, bidh e fosgailte mar chafaidh do sgithearan. Tha e co-cheangailte ri caractar ainmeil ann an dualchas Nirribhidh – Peer Gynt. Sgrìobh Henrik Ibsen an dealbh-chluich Peer Gynt. Chuir Edvard Grieg ceòl ris. Tha an dealbh-chluich agus an ceòl ainmeil air feadh an t-saoghail. Tha an dealbh-chluich stèidhichte air beul-aithris agus air caractar a tha a’ cur seachad ùine anns na beanntan. Ach dè an ceangal a tha ann eadar bothan anns an Rondane agus an dealbh-chluich? Uill, chuir am fear-cruinneachaidh sgeulachdan, Peter Christian Asbjørnsen, oidhche seachad anns an àite sin. Bha sin ann an ochd ceud deug, ceathrad ’s a dhà (1842). Chruinnich e sgeulachdan mu shealg nam fiadh mòra agus mu mharcachd air muin ghobhar. Chuir Ibsen na rudan sin anns an dealbh-chluich. Dh’fhàg mi an Rondane. Chaidh mi gu baile Otta, far a bheil stèisean-rèile. Ann an sin, chuala mi stòiridh a tha a’ ceangal na sgìre sin do dh’Alba. Chan e deagh stòiridh a tha ann. Bha batail ann eadar Albannaich agus Nirribhich. Bidh sinn a’ cluinntinn mu fheachdan Lochlannach ann an Alba. An ath-sheachdain, innsidh mi dhuibh mu fheachd Albannach ann an Lochlann agus mar a chaill na h-Albannaich am batail.

Recently I was in Norway. I was skiing in the mountains. I was in the Rondane. It is a national park. The Rondane is important. [The] reindeer still live there. They are not controlled by man. There are bothies in the area. In Norwegian they’re called bu. I reckon that’s connected to bùth and both in Gaelic and to bothy in English. The Norwegians call buildings bigger than that hytte. That’s linked to the English word hut. The area is famous for oral tradition. I reached a place called Peer Gynt Hytte. It’s out in the mountains. Sometimes it’s open as a café to skiers. It’s linked to a famous character in Norway’s cultural heritage – Peer Gynt. Henrik Ibsen wrote the play Peer Gynt. Edvard Grieg wrote music for it. The play and the music are famous throughout the world. The play is based on oral tradition and on a character that spends time in the mountains. But what’s the link between a bothy in the Rondane and the play? Well, the story collector, Peter Christian Asbjørnsen, spend a night in that place. That was in 1842. He collected stories about hunting the reindeer and about [people] riding on the backs of goats. Ibsen put those things in the play. I left the Rondane. I went to the town of Otta, where there is a railway station. There I heard a story that links the area to Scotland. It is not a good story. There was a battle between Scots and Norwegians. We hear about Scandinavian [Viking] fighting forces in Scotland. Next week, I’ll tell you about a Scottish force in Scandinavia and how the Scots lost the battle.