Joanna Lumley in the Land of the Northern Lights Page #5

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fleece trousers and salopettes,

then another top which is that top,

then on top of that, another fleece.

We're only halfway there because I've put on my

heavy-going, "freeze on Everest" mountain jacket.

And on my feet, I've got ice fishermen's boots

which have got soles this big. Fabulously warm!

And I've got foot warmers pushed in there, hand

warmers, then two pairs of gloves, two hats.

On top of that, I shall put on a

life-saving suit without which you die!

So... That's good.

And the other one. Lovely.

This is snug. It's not exactly what

I'd wear to the Oscars, but you know...

Yes, I know. Horses for courses. That's lovely.

You're well-prepared now. That's good. Thank you.

I can't see anything, Kjetil.

No, there's nothing yet, but there's good

activity in the magnetic field tonight.

So we just have to be patient.

So we just wait here. Yeah.

Good luck. Thanks, Kjetil.

'I stand in the pitch black...

'by the side of the fjord...

and wait. '

WIND WHISTLES:

Look, much brighter there.

Something's happening there.

Oh!

Look up here!

Look what's happening here!

MUSIC:
"Solveig's Song" -

Edvard Grieg

We've got one, two...

We've got three kind of... bands.

Three falling curtains of green.

Just curling round

over the mountain.

Look at that!

Well, this is...

This is different from the green

stripe that I glimpsed down at A.

Standing here underneath this,

I feel a little bit like...

the illustration of Ponny the Penguin

who just stood humbly at the side,

her little flippers down,

just looking up.

This is the wonder of the world.

This is it.

I might just have to lie down

and stare up at this.

Oh, look at this!

And it just keeps changing

and changing.

I can't believe I'm seeing this.

It's fantastic.

And it's coming again.

I have been waiting... all my life

to see the Northern Lights.

And now I am seeing them on a scale

that is beyond description.

I'm as happy as can be.

Look, it's starting

just behind those little cottages.

Just below the moon and above

the mountains. Look at that!

SHE GASPS:

And all the way through it, you can

see stars shining through it.

And this little moon

is shining so brightly,

so it doesn't seem to affect

the moonlight, it's just...

It's extraordinary.

It's so exciting.

It's so immense.

This is the most astonishing thing

I have ever, ever seen.

I have a funny feeling

it sort of knew.

I know this sounds a bit mad...

It does sound a bit mad.

But it feels as though it knew

that we wanted to see it so badly.

And instead of just giving

a little strip of light

or a little bit of green and I would

have been so grateful for that,

we've got the whole business.

MUSIC:
"Solveig's Song"

This is terribly, terribly moving.

Thank you.

Thank you!

I think I can die happy now,

actually.

I don't intend to die just yet.

But when I do die, I'll die happy.

'I was still alive in the morning

'and quite utterly,

dazzlingly happy.

'My land journey north through Arctic

Norway has ended in the best possible way. '

PILOT MAKES ANNOUNCEMEN

'But I'm not going home.

'The strongest point on the compass

still pulls me northwards.

'My final destination,

far north across the Arctic Ocean,

'is the most northerly, permanently

inhabited place on Earth.

'Spitsbergen is the largest island

in the Svalbard Archipelago,

'a vast wilderness of mountains,

glaciers and permafrost.

'It's a natural habitat

for the polar bear.

'Hardly so for people. '

This is the Captain. Latest temperature in

Longyearbyen is minus 16 degrees Celsius.

PASSENGER ANNOUNCEMEN

Oh!

Wow!

Um... Maybe on second thoughts,

I...

This is like breathing knives,

but...

Here goes.

'Apart from the cold and the latitude, there seems

nothing that unusual about downtown Longyearbyen,

'home to 1,800

of Svarbard's 2,500 people.

'But I'm not convinced that the world's most

northerly kebab van does a roaring trade.

'People have been living and working

in Svarbard for more than 400 years.

'Whalers, hunters and trappers

came first,

'seeking valuable oil,

blubber and furs.

'For the last 100 years, it's mainly

coal-mining that has drawn people this far north.

'But to get the true measure of one of the

world's most isolated and extreme environments,

'I'll need to leave town tomorrow

and head north for the last time. '

'It's not yet 5am and my journey is

ending at its coldest and wildest.

'From October to February,

there is no light here at all.

'But by April,

the sun will shine round the clock.

'And even here, plants will find

the energy they need to grow again.

'I want to catch the sunrise

'and steal a quiet moment. '

Well, it's minus 26

and it's my last day in the Arctic.

It's such a very,

very extraordinary place to be.

It's just completely...

.. spectacular and hostile.

At least, hostile to man because

it's so hard to exist here, I think.

And it's so fragile.

And it isn't really the place for

men. I know men have lived here.

But we're not built to live here.

'I've reached the sea

one last time.

'Despite being this far north,

'the fjord here has not frozen,

'still benefiting from the warmth

of the Gulf Stream.

'Finally realising

my childhood dream in Malaysia,

'pulled by the strongest point

on the compass,

'was more amazing

than I could ever have imagined.

'But here,

the north at its very essence,

'is where my Arctic odyssey ends. '

That's the north.

That's 620 miles to the North Pole

and after this, there is nothing.

There might be a few scientists and

some explorers, maybe some hunters,

but there are no more towns, no more

villages. Nobody lives up there.

This is as far as I can go.

There is nothing

between me and the North Pole.

That's rather wonderful.

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