Co` latha breith sona dhuibh!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas full of joy and laughter :) My baby girl started crawling on Christmas Eve which was magical to watch. Today is my Birthday. My husband brought her in to give me a kiss, which she did in her usual fashion by knocking her big head into mine, then she said Mama for the first time. It made my day. Tonight it's dinner and drinks, and the babies are having a sleepover at Nonnas. Yay :) Oh and I got a pink Kitchenaid for Christmas so much to the joy of my children I'll be baking cupcakes forever more!

Thr Grinch vs, The Snowman

A notice-bearing city code enforcement officer has felled the controversial but much-loved giant 16 foot snowman, who has been built in the Power family's garden in Anchorage since 2005. A few weeks ago, city code enforcers left three red signs at Snowzilla's bottom body ball telling its builders to cease and desist. The city notified the Airport Heights community council about its decision to abate Snowzilla, telling council members that the two-story snowman caused increased traffic to the point of endangerment and that the structure itself was unsafe. Now, Snowzilla is just a big pile of snow rubble. Bah humbug!

Not a good day for turkeys

Army chiefs have flown out a special consignment of Christmas turkeys to replace the ones destroyed when Taliban insurgents attacked a lorry packed with the birds bound for British troops in Afghanistan. The frozen birds were completely destroyed in an explosion en route from Pakistan to Camp Bastion. The consignment of turkey roll breasts weighing 325kg was intended for soldiers stationed at Britain's main base in Helmand Province, where up to 3,000 personnel will spend the festive season. I wish all the heroes a Merry Christmas and may it be as peaceful as possible.

RIP Bettie Page

What can I say? Rest in peace to the best pin-up of all time.

One Giant leap for British bears

This is what school should be all about! Four teddies boldly went where no bear has gone before - to the edge of space with the aid of a giant helium balloon. Cuddly astronauts M.A.T and K.M.S and two bear colleagues were decked out in custom-made space suits and blasted 19 miles above Earth on a two-hour expedition. The student-run Spaceflight society is working towards reducing the cost of sub-orbital spaceflight. They have launched several payloads to near space on high-altitude helium balloons and are designing a system to launch a rocket from a balloon platform to out space for under £1,000 a go. Awesome.

Happy Heavens

Must have been awesome to see this - a rare cosmic alignment of the planets Venus and Jupiter meant they produced a smiling face with the crescent moon in Australia's western sky. Lovely way to start December :)

So sweet!

An adorable 15 inch Silver Dun Tovero foal was born 10 days ago at Riverdance Stud Farm in Victoria, South Australia. The vet gave her a clean bill of health and she is expected to grow to about 24 inches. I know what I want for Christmas!

feeling lucky?

I bought a mushroom ornament for the Christmas Tree from Pier 1 this afternoon. Then went to Myers of Keswick in the Village to get some Cumberland sausage... and... they gave me a bundle of steak pies for free! They were a little burnt - but very edible. Everyone should get a lucky mushroom :)

Tis the Season

In preparation for our move I have started to sort through all the clutter, boxes of old toys, clothing etc that litters my house. I wanted to share a great site for all you New Yorkers:

http://www.nyc.gov/html/mvc/html/donate/want_donate.shtml

It has a comprehensive list of places to donate everything you don't need. I believe in karma so for me it's a selfish act - anyone who has volunteered or donated will tell you it does you good to do good :) Especially in preparation for the onslaught of the family of Santas in the coming month.

Four is the new Seven

I read an article this morning and wanted to share it with you. In my case it definitely rings true. I've been married now for 4 and a half years and I do feel you hit a point where you realize things aren't what they were. Especially as the article suggests when you have children, you don't have the time or energy to make an effort to spend time with the one you used to devote all your energy to being with. In my case it's not that I wanted to leave, it's that I wanted to try harder to make time to be together with my husband. I think the issue with other couples is when one is trying all the time and the other doesn't want to try and so the one trying ends up "nagging" them to be with them. I think it's so sad when that happens, and in those cases often divorce becomes the only fair thing for all concerned. I for one could never be in a relationship unless I felt that love existed and that my husband was devoted to me. Without it, you might as well live with a friend, at least you wouldn't have all the arguing that goes along with the hate that abounds when love is gone.

"A professor from Wright State University surveyed husbands and wives once a year over the first decade of their marriages to observe how marital quality changes over time. The researcher, Dr. Larry A. Kurdek, found that couples often began their unions with high levels of marital quality, but that it appeared to decrease twice: once rather steeply over the first four years and again after about seven. (The pattern of change was the same for both husbands and wives.) He also reported that couples with children experienced the steepest declines. The research, in the September issue of the journal Development Psychology, began with a sample of 522 couples. Participants filled out an annual 32-item questionnaire on various aspects of marital quality. Sample questions included these: "How satisfied are you with your marriage?" "How affectionate is your partner?" and "To what extent do you do things together?" The husbands' and wives' responses were compared over time; 93 couples participated for the entire decade. Dr. Kurdek said "At the start of a relationship you can overlook the fact that he throws his socks around or that she leaves the refrigerator open. Over time, a sense of reality sets in. You'd started off making excuses for your partner. Then you don't. It's a natural evolution. "The second dip is more difficult to explain," he said. "It may just be the result of being in something for a long time. You start re-examining. It might just be the natural curiosity -- a sort of wondering about what else is out there." Dr. Kurdek also examined the factors that predict the rate of change. He looked at three major sets of predictors: divorce history, the presence of children and personality variables. He found that couples who have children together, not children from previous marriages, experienced the steepest decline. "There is ample evidence to indicate that having kids changes the overall quality of marriage," Dr. Kurdek said. "For the most part these couples are dealing with young kids, and they require extensive levels of supervision. You're spending less time together as a couple, may not have a lot of time and energy for sexual affection, and there's a lot more to argue about.

le sigh

It's a weird feeling. I feel uneasy. Time will tell.

Vote or Dont

Vote!! But don't vote, if you're going to do it just because the guy is the biggest celebrity in the world. Vote because you believe that person will handle the 3am call and the financial crisis. Vote because you want change of the right kind, not empty promises and a great smile. Vote or Don't. This broadcast is brought to you by me, a non US citizen, who cant vote, but lives here just the same. If you want to vote on my behalf - because you consider yourself my biggest fan - then do it (Just make sure you vote McCain) Thank you, and goodnight!

Happy Halloween

Have a safe and scary day

got milk?

Our family have a weekend house in Rhinebeck, Upstate New York so it was great to read that the good people of neighboring Hyde Park had rallied 'round the ovens - to bake 6,600 cookies for troops serving overseas. If only everyone else who bitches and complains about the war and Bush would show our heroes the same respect and love. Oh and yeah - doubtful that the cookies were like the ones pictured - I'm sure the guys out there would have liked these though ;)

Bon Voyage

The last great ship to be built in Scotland glided into New York City this morning for the very last time. After nearly 40 years of luxury transatlantic travel, she sailed under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge at dawn. For her 710th visit she was joined by Cunard's latest flagship, the four-year-old Queen Mary 2, a 39-foot-long red pennant streamed from her mast — a foot for each year at sea, traditionally marking the end of a ship’s commission. By afternoon, she was due to depart for a final Atlantic crossing back to her home port, Southampton, England, before sailing in November to a final resting place in Dubai. I feel really sad. I grew up dreaming of stepping a foot on that boat and sailing off Titanic style to the land of freedom. She was an awesome ship, the greatest in the world. Lets just hope she doesn't come to the same grizzly end as her predecessor - who was initially sold to be used as a hotel in Port Everglades, Fla., but when the project foundered financially the ship was resold to a Hong Kong tycoon, who planned to use it as a floating university. During conversion work, the ship caught fire, perhaps from arson; and capsized in Hong Kong harbor. Tres tragique!

Spread the Wealth Around?

You have got to be kidding me. Who the hell does he think he is. How can he possibly think it is fair to take money from hard working people who went to college, who worked night and day to get where they are - and give it to people who never bothered "trying". Most of whom didn't study, they didn't sacrifice, they didn't bother getting off their fat asses long enough to make something of themselves and yet he wants to give them our money - to "spread the wealth around". He really is the village idiot. To all the big wig Liberals who support this clown - it's OK don't worry about it - in December when you can't make your mortgage payment, at least Billy-Ken-Bob will be able to afford that new wifebeater.

Happy Autumn

I'm back. Whoa! Did not realize it had been so long since I last wrote. Time flies - and all that jazz. I've been working like a mad woman, started running again, watching my babies grow, thinking of new ideas for the boutique, been at Red Hook every weekend (only 2 to go!) getting irate over the elections, the bailout, politics in general... Oh and we went to Disney World for a week which was wonderful. Seeing the children's faces full of light and excitement is truly magical and worth bearing the never ending happiness of the place. Not long until Halloween! Yay :)

There's a black man roaming America asking for change

This is straight from the onion - but I pasted it for those too lazy to go there. It's as relevant now as it was in March and still just as funny :-D

http://www.theonion.com/content/news/black_guy_asks_nation_for_change

CHICAGO—According to witnesses, a loud black man approached a crowd of some 4,000 strangers in downtown Chicago Tuesday and made repeated demands for change. "The time for change is now," said the black guy, yelling at everyone within earshot for 20 straight minutes, practically begging America for change. "The need for change is stronger and more urgent than ever before. And only you—the people standing here today, and indeed all the people of this great nation—only you can deliver this change." The black guy is oddly comfortable demanding change from people he's never even met. It is estimated that, to date, the black man has asked every single person in the United States for change. "I've already seen this guy four times today," Chicago-area ad salesman Blake Gordon said. "Every time, it's the same exact spiel. 'I need change.' 'I want change.' Why's he so eager for all this change? What's he going to do with it, anyway?" After his initial requests for change, the black man rambled nonstop on a variety of unrelated topics, calling for affordable health care, demanding that the government immediately begin withdrawing troops from Iraq, and proposing a $75 billion economic stimulus plan to create new jobs. "What a wacko," Schaumburg, IL resident Patrick Morledge said. "And, of course, after telling us all about how he had the ability to magically fix everything, he went right back to asking for change. Typical." "If he's really looking for change, he's got the wrong guy," Morledge added. Reports indicate that the black man has been riding from city to city across the country, asking for change wherever he goes. Citizens in Austin, TX said they spotted the same guy standing on the street Friday, shouting far-fetched ideas about global warming. Cleveland residents also reported seeing him in a local park, wildly gesticulating and quoting from the Bible. And last week, patrons at the Starlight Diner in Cheyenne, WY claimed that the black man accosted them while they were eating, repeatedly requesting change. "I saw him walk in and I knew he was headed straight for our table," said mother of three Gladys Davies. "He just stood there smiling at us for a while, and asked how our food tasted. Then he went and did the same thing at the next table over. The nerve of some people." Those who encountered the black man Tuesday said he engaged in erratic behavior, including pointing at random people in the crowd and desperately saying he needs their help, going up to complete strangers and hugging them, and angrily claiming that he is not looking for just a little bit of change, but rather a great deal of change, and that he wants it "right now." "I'll be honest, when that black guy said he would 'stop at nothing' to get change, it kind of scared me," local mechanic Phil Nighbert said. "Just leave me alone." Though many were taken aback by the black man's brazen demands, some, such as Jackson, MS's Holly Moser, sympathized with him. She gave the black man credit for boldly standing up and asking every last person around him for change. "I told him I'd give him some if I saw him later, even though I probably won't," Moser said. "Very nice man, though." Most, however, ignored his requests. "I'm a hardworking American who pays his taxes, and the last thing I need is some guy on the street demanding change from me," said William Overkamp, a Springfield, IL gun-shop owner. He added, "What he really needs is a job."

Here's another great read: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1045090/Obama-President-Dont-count-chickens.html

teehee

This picture made me smile - the guys all look so peaceful going about their business with their new friend :)

angels or luck or something...

guardian angel

n : an angel believed to have special affection
for a particular individual

I used to believe I had a guardian angel. When times were tough there would always be a way out, when things felt like they couldn't get any worse, daylight would shine through. A white feather appearing in the strangest of places, always gave me hope that my belief was real. (No thought of course that it could have come from a throw pillow, cushion or duvet!) For years now I've carried a gold angel with a pearl body - hidden in my suitcase whenever I fly. On my keyring there's a single angel wing. I don't know whether I really believe in this anymore, but it certainly makes me more comfortable in my fears. This week has been just plain odd. If ever there was a time when I suspected someone was filming a movie around me without telling me I was the star - this is it. Why can't they just pay me damn it?! Monday - I'm walking down the street and as I cross an avenue, a car comes much to fast and tries to make the turn parallel to me, they are going too fast and so skid sideways straight towards me and my 3 children. They stop about 6 feet from us. I walk very quickly across the rest of the road and almost vomit from fear. Then today, Wednesday (yes I know I'm writing this at almost 1am Thursday :)), I took my son to the Drs and while walking our usual route towards transport home I decide to cross the street then avenue instead of avenue then street. I have no idea why I hesitated, and chose a different path, but I'm sure glad I did. As I crossed the street I noticed a bunch of fire trucks and as I stepped off the pavement to cross the avenue a manhole cover blew up, exploding black smoke and fire and debris right in front of us. We were ushered inside a pizzeria until the smoke cleared, after another couple of loud bangs. Now had I done my usual journey and crossed the avenue then the street - I would have been standing almost on top of that manhole cover. I don't think I'll leave the house tomorrow!

Fuck Joe Schmuck

One of my children's favorite books is Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See?... took on a whole new meaning for me after reading the news today :( I read the Anchorage Daily News every day. Yes I know I live in NYC, but Alaska is the only other place I'd live, truth be told. Anyway, it saddened me to read this story, so I thought I'd share because hey if I feel doom and gloom why should you not feel it too?! State wildlife officials had to euthanize a wounded sow grizzly and her three cubs on the Kenai Peninsula. An Anchorage fisherman was hiking to a fishing spot about 150 yards downstream when he saw the bear. He said it charged him from about eight feet away. He shot two to three times in her face and gut with a .44 magnum. The sow with three small cubs did not die. Wildlife officials were called in and tracked the trail of blood and after finding her gravely injured, decided killing her was the best thing to do. The 3 small cubs, born this year, were too young to make it on their own, so the decision was made to kill the cubs too. (Mental note - when I have money to burn I will open a bear orphanage). Now don't get me wrong, I'm not going all Timothy Treadwell on you - but what the hell did City Joe Schmuck think he was going to come across 150 yards off track in bear country. And hey if you're carrying a .44 magnum at least know how the hell to shoot. Many of the comments said the same, or worse. A sad day for Grizzly Adams.

We NEED a South Park episode based on this article muhahahaha

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/gerard_baker/article4392846.ece

Brooklyn Crafts Festival

I've been selected to appear at the Red Hook Festival to sell my wares. I'll be on the waterfront Saturdays and Sundays until the end of August. On another note - who knew hair flowers would be my biggest success?! I'm selling some everyday including weekends - and I'm hoping by Thursday my new shop site will be up - Exciting stuff.

demons

I'll start by saying thank you. I got a lovely email from a reader that really brightened my week. I forget sometimes, that people actually read this, it's always just been a way of me steadying myself when times are tough, reassuring myself of better tomorrows and shouting to the world when the good times are rolling. I'm glad you like it. What follows however isn't exactly pleasant fodder - so I recommend you change the channel now! I used to fly back and forth between Los Angeles and London, 11 hour direct flights without a care in the world. I treated turbulence as if it were a roller coaster, and grinned all through it. I had no fear. These days even a 7 hr flight has me almost throwing up and getting that shaky, sweaty feeling - every slight shudder of turbulence chills me to my core. You see of late, the past 3 years actually, I have felt fear almost every day of my life. It's always of the same variety. I have the greatest fear of dying you see. I know that many parents feel the same, the fear of leaving their children to fend for themselves, but with me its like I can't see something joyful without having that icy chill of "that could be the last time" etc.. My Mother would say it's the Scottish Presbyterian in me. I read an interview today for W Magazine where Penelope Cruz said "I’m always finding very tricky and hidden ways to sabotage any beautiful moment. And it’s something so internal that I don’t think even my friends or family can catch me doing it. But I catch myself doing it. I’ve had that battle since I was a little girl. It’s like, Uh-oh, here it is again, the monster! Go away and leave me alone!" To many that will sound cuckoo - but to me I found myself nodding my head as I read. It's not even that I am a pessimistic person, it's just that I find myself unable to fully enjoy times because of the underlying fear of what lies ahead. Tonight I found myself questioning my religion, I was trying to work out what best fitted my fear, and which had th e most likely chance of reincarnation. You see I always thought deja vu was to do with reincarnation, something like we keep coming back as ourselves, getting many chances to choose the right path, correct wrongs, until finally our lives are perfect and great. Maybe I need to see a shrink, Ally McBeal style, or maybe I need to take up Yoga. Maybe having 3 babies in as many years has played havoc on my brain as well as my hormones! Whatever I do to fix this, I know I have to find a way to lay these demons to rest. Tonight I told my husband I don't want to live to die, for I am dying to live.

Good grief!

A beagle named Rocco that strayed from a NYC yard five years ago, has been reunited with his owners, after being found over 800 miles away in Georgia. Happy days..

life

I'm not having a great day, so it was a joy to see this picture of 3 rare white lion cubs, which have been born at a zoo in Germany. Their Mother rejected them, so they are being raised Knut style by keepers. They are just adorable! My husband burst into a large smile when he saw me tonight, saying I looked like a mermaid, which I took as a complement! Must be the large bosom and turquoise dress that did it ;) I still need your flames on

http://www.pinuppost.com/modern-pinups/belle-bramble/

and also make friends with the fabulous burlesque and pin up costume designer Sickgirl Creations on

www.myspace.com/sickgirlcreations

and vote for me in her blog contest. Speaking of which - sorry to go all "myspace" on you but I got a friends request AND message from none other than Ralph Burch! I nearly squealed, actually between you and me - I did squeal a little :) I've had his pin-ups on my walls for years. I'm starting a run of 4 weeks of shows next weekend, at the Red Hook NY Creates Festival, so I'm busy making jewelry, alongside hair flowers which are selling online amazingly well. We're planning to drive down to Disney World towards Halloween, so that should be fun :) Other than all that I want to be home with my family right now more than ever as I feel compelled to spend time with my Grandmother, my big brothers have eye surgery tomorrow and my youngest brother, is starring in Bard in the Botanics in Glasgow - and this will be the 2nd year I haven't seen him perform. C'est La Vie.

don't mention the war ;)

http://www.chromjuwelen.com

You'll have to do a search for me because I can't get the link to work, but hey yeah I'm there!

The life of a Starlet

So... after appearing on www.pinuppost.com on Saturday (I'm still there - please flame me!) - I've started getting fan mail! They want autographs. I will of course send a snazzy photograph with my best signature - when I invent one that is! I don't think I've ever handwritten Belle Bramble - so this should be fun :)

Viva Las Vegas

The King is dead - long live the King! I came across these pictures of Elvis, and had to share. He died the year I was born, but his music remained a big part of my early life. These photographs were taken by Alfred Wertheimer who was instructed by Elvis’s record company, RCA not to shoot in color because they thought he was just a flash in the pan. How wrong they were! Oh yeah - and I know that guy isn't Elvis, that's my actor brother Tom Duncan, but hey thought I'd throw him into the mix anyway ;)

Viva La Diva

I just listed my new line of silk hair flowers on ebay - yay! It took me an absolute age to get the damned listing right, but at least the ones I have are up. Phew. Over the next week I will be listing my jewelry for sale there, alongside my new site going live. Busy times ahead. The flowers are up now at brambleboutique on ebay. My Mum is busy finishing the illustrations for a children's book I wrote, I'm hoping to fire it at publishers over the Summer. Fingers crossed it will be the first of many. Speaking of my Mum - she, my Aunt and Cousin have formed a new company, organizing fairy parties and selling fairy merchandise. I named it for them - however until it's copy written I can't tell you my fabulous name choice - argh... keeping secrets, my worst trait.

Lost at Sea

So although I didn't participate in the parade (due to my sweet little water baby still not sleeping at night argh) I did attend as a photographer :) Here's a sample of what went down at the Coney Island Mermaid Parade this year.

lovely ducky

In this day and age where the news is filled with countless stories of human parents being cruel, or worse, to their children, I find joy in hearing of incidents like this one in the animal kingdom. Six little mallard ducklings in the North of England this week found themselves trapped in a dark sewer - their only hope of survival lay with their mother - whom they had last seen more than a mile away as they were sucked into a drain. The mother duck managed to follow the little ducklings more than a mile, apparently listening to their cheeps of distress at manhole covers as they were swept along below ground. The long journey took her across countless roads, a busy roundabout, a rail line, a housing development, two school playing fields and hospital grounds. It finally ended when she waddled into a street, where her chicks suddenly stopped. For the next four hours she stood over a man-hole cover, until local residents heard chirping coming from down below. Using a child's fishing net they managed to scoop all six from the sewer one by one and reunited them with their mother in a paddling pool.

when hope is gone - part deux

EDIT: There are some sick people out there.

dream on dreamer

On Saturday night I dreamed that I was taking care of 3 bunnies.. It felt like one of those long dreams with very complex other bits to it. The last of it was me carrying 2 of the bunnies and looking for one that was hiding. All of a sudden one of the bunnies I was carrying started biting my neck but it didn't hurt just felt like a pressure. But then I felt something biting my bum! And that hurt - a lot! It was like a long pressure pain then and OWW!! At that point I woke up thinking that the missing bunny had bitten me, only to find there was a mosquito in the room and I now had a lovely bite on my bum (It was hot - who needs blankets!) Anyway, the thing is, that apparently dreams are just seconds long, and therefore my dream was probably a reaction to the bite ie my mind had to make up a story to match the pain I felt in reality. So this leaves the question - why the hell was I dreaming about psycho bunnies?!

on newstands now

Published in 4 newspapers in Scotland today, and I made the front cover next to Dumfriesshires better known export Ugly Bettys Ashley Jensen - yay!

Can't bear to be apart - hehe

Eight years ago this beautiful black domestic cat Muschi (which means pussy in German) appeared from nowhere at a zoo in Germany and immediately struck up an unlikely friendship with a 40-year-old Asian bear called Maeuschen (little mouse' in German). Who to me bears (sorry) and uncanny resemblance to Totoro! They eat together and sunbathe together. Regardless of their differences - sounds puuurfect to me :)

Happy Friday 13th

Not a horror in sight. Just some sweet pics instead! A family of swans in a town in the South of England took a walk along the main street, stopping by the fish and chip shop before returning to the lake.

too hot to handle

95f is not fun - tomorrow it's to be 97f - joy isn't a word that springs to mind either! In New York I spend the long icy Winter praying for warmth and the long sticky Summer praying for that first crisp day of Autumn. Mother Nature simply can't win. Yesterday I spent 9 hrs in the high 90s at the market - dehydration came quickly. I couldn't have possibly drank enough water to satiate my thirst. High 70s/low 80s is my ideal Summer weather - preferably with a cool breeze. I have such a craving for Alaska right now.

My new Sunday residence

I will be at the Brooklyn Flea Market - Downtown on Sundays starting this one, the 8th. Details can be found here:

http://www.brownstoner.com/brooklynflea/

I'll be selling my collection of original Vargas alongside jewelry and repro prints. And yeah ok the picture above is Cologne in December - but hey - whenever you find love it feels like Christmas or you know whatever.

a darker shade of gray

I feel so lonely. Strange to some I guess who can't imagine that one could ever be lonely - having 3 small children each requiring attention on a constant basis. But somehow I am still very much alone. I have a very bad cold. The kind that makes it almost impossible for you to speak or breathe without coughing up your lungs. My throats so raw I've spat blood down the sink 3 times since I got up. The children are of course being on their worst behavior - it's like they could instantly tell the moment they got up that I can't raise my voice today. My husband is at work, of course. So no help there. My family as you know are over 3000 miles away. I wish I was at my Mums house. The children could play in the garden all day long while my Grandmother would adore looking after the baby. That's the way I envisioned raising a family - isn't that the saying - "it takes a village to raise a child"? Well this village is a one woman show, who's not doing such a great job today. Roll on tomorrow.

Eggs anyone?

Easily the coolest thing I've seen in a loooong time - the Eglu. And yes as soon as we move to a bigger property there will be one in my garden :)

Can't bear to think about it...

I was upset to hear that the first polar bear to swim to Iceland in 15 years has been shot dead by police, even though the knockout drugs that could have spared his life were less than an hour away. The bear was spotted by a farmer strolling along a road near the town of Skagafjördur yesterday morning. The argument going on now is the police man who shot him says he had to do it to protect people who were gathering to look at the bear, and the local vet says they should have closed the road, and could have watched him for an hour while the tranq gun was flown in. Whatever. I just find it a damn shame that this happened. The last time a polar bear visited was in 1993 when sailors saw a bear swimming off the coast of Strandir. It was also killed. Le Sigh...