Letter from Strömstad: The picturesque Swedish town of Strömstad lies just over the Norwegian border. But it is not its scenic quality that attracts Norwegian visitors.
The reason is quite simple - basic thrift. Travelling for cheaper booze is a time-honoured custom in the far north and the Swedes are only too happy to indulge the Harry factor of Norwegian shoppers.
The expression Harry is curiously Norwegian. It implies a sort of vulgar, cheap and faintly rustic quality. But to be called a Harry Handler, roughly translated as a bargain shopper, is most definitely a Norwegian insult. I am not sure if most Norwegians are in denial because no one admits to being one but almost everyone I know engages in the practice to some degree or another - and not always in Sweden.
It is also in the long queues in the Systembolaget (the Swedish state-controlled wine monopoly) that you are most likely to hear svorsk spoken. Svorsk is an amalgam of the two languages, svensk-norsk (Swedish- Norwegian), rather than a real language. It is most commonly applied to Swedes or Norwegians living in one another's countries. But for thrifty Norwegian shoppers it is more akin to a working commercial language - a handy tool.
The Swedish-Norwegian connection is a topical one this year as Norway celebrates 100 years of independence from big brother, Sweden. The dissolution of the union with Sweden in 1905 is commonly perceived to have been a "peaceful settlement".
Bridge building, both practically and symbolically, seems to be the key theme. The ceremonial opening of a bridge at Svinesund, south of Oslo, linking Norway with Sweden is set to be a significant occasion in the many events scheduled to celebrate the centenary. The Norwegian King Harald and the Swedish King Carl Gustaf will officially open the bridge on June 10th. Norway as an independent nation and constitutional monarchy began after all with the king's grandfather, King Haakon V11.
A huge range of events and ceremonies to mark the occasion are planned or are already under way, right up until November 27th. In Oslo, there is to be a commemoration in parliament on June 7th, 100 years to the day that the union with Sweden was dissolved. A televised gala concert featuring Swedish and Norwegian artists is also planned. To mark the peaceful nature of the break with Sweden, the royal family will also be opening a new Nobel Peace Centre in central Oslo.
But it is not all about pomp and ceremony either. The ordinary Norwegian man and woman will be included with a week of theatre and street performances in Oslo. That is if there are streets to party on.
Downtown Oslo resembles a massive construction site at the moment. In fact, if the dissolution of the union had not been so amicable in 1905, the whole scene could easily be re-enacted in 2005 in the maze of cavernous excavations dotted around the capital.
The plan is that the main building projects will be completed by May 17th to mark Norway's national day. The city fathers must be getting a little anxious with the deadline less than a month away. There are an amazing 3,500 excavations scheduled in Oslo for this year.
Most Norwegians seem to be taking the inconvenience of rerouted traffic, dust and cracked streets in their stride. The sensible ones are avoiding it all by taking the underground.
The irony is that all the rebuilding and renovation projects have been designed to coincide with the centennial celebrations.
Abroad, the main focus will be on Sweden. But Swedes today might very well be lamenting the loss of that favoured past relationship with little Norway. Their new union with the EU is not quite as compatible as the union they might have had today with modern Norway. Swedes are slightly envious of Norway's non-EU membership and their oil-rich status. Norway rejected EU membership in 1994 while Sweden chose to join, a narrow vote, in the same year.
The big/little brother continuum has shifted somewhat recently with many Swedes now opting to live and work in Norway. According to the most recent figures from the Central Norwegian Bureau of Statistics, the average wealth of Norwegians is rising compared to that of the Swedes.
Norway has a common labour agreement with Sweden and the number of Swedes currently living in Norway has risen by 128 per cent. As a consequence, new unions now are of the more sensual variety. The term svorsks also refers to the children of Swedish-Norwegian couples. The happy result is that according to recent statistics there are 24,648 little svorsks today celebrating Norway's 100th birthday.