This is Willie the Border Crosser – a fabulously energetic Norwegian wrestler from Kirkenes who has been travelling backwards and forwards to Murmansk and all over the old Soviet Union is a clapped out Toyota, taking teams of young men from Norway beyond the formal limits of the western world for the last three decades.
In case there's confusion. Willie's type of wrestling is more Greek-Roman Olympic sports stuff than Mickey O'Rourke.
Willie's first trip only happened because he realised the military Russian guard was a fellow restler – he had the same mangled ears! After that he just kept travelling – ironically his day job was managing the Mountain Hall sports and concert venue in Kirkenes – a cave turned into a bunker by the Germans, extended by the Norwegians into a nuclear fallout shelter in case of Russian attack and finally a concert venue for the Barents Spektakel showcasing indigenous Russian musicians!
Willie has paid no attention to the hard facts of the Cold War or the tedious form-filling and high cost of crossing the old Iron Curtain and now the bureaucractic but no less formidable Ice Curtain into Russia. Inspired by the example of the Vardoe boxers and wrestlers in 1959 who sailed into Murmansk for the craic and promptly got arrested by the KGB, (see Monday's Scotsman column!) Willie decided to keep visiting his neighbours across the Iron Curtain. After all, Oslo is three hours away by plane – Murmansk just two. And Nikel – a heavily polluted mining town is even closer. Just 45 minutes from Kirkenes. And yet 1 in 5 inhabitants of Nikel have never been to Norway. Willie though has paid no attention to the mere formalities that have deterred almost everyone else. Norwegians currently have to "import" their cars to drive over and Russians must itemise every item of clothing and belongings and pay tax on any discrepancy on return. And that's after they've managed to get days off work to make the ten hour round trip twice to Murmansk to submit and collect their visa application in person. After all that the Norwegians have tough rules. If Russians don't have enough cash to afford Norwegian accommodation, they may be rebuffed. But hopes are high that in April a new border zone will be created allowing free local passage for people living 30 kms from the border on either side.
This big step forward in trust and common sense is not just the result of high level talks in Moscow/Oslo, or even enlightened self interest as the two nations prepare to exploit the 20% of oil and gas reserves that lie in their shared seas (unless collapsing gas prices put that on hold). It's also a tribute to persistent border crossers like Willie. Now I'm about to hop on the plane to oslo and then Edinburgh – a border crosser myself after a month in Sweden and Norway.
I'm looking forward to seeing my old man. And maybe a few green fields of home after nothing but snow for weeks!