oh, blow!

Yep, it's true. Our latest 3 year contract with Vattenfall (done earlier this year) was over 10% lower price than the previous 3 year contract.

Volvo appeal

Life saving pragmatism

full article at TheLocal  HERE

Red Nosed……bus?

Article here at Radio Sweden

Christmas–New Year Greeting

Rudolph the….reindeer

you can read the full article here

last weekend's snow all gone

Swedes oppose Euro

It's always nice when you can find a majority of people agree with your

own views. As an Englishman who campaigned against Common Market membership

(you may recall we were taken in without being allowed to vote…only after 2 years of

being in could we vote if we wanted to stay in or exit) I am now totally in favour of the

Common Market (EU) but totally opposed to the Euro and all the strings that come with it.

 

One of the founding principles of the EU was the preservation of the cultures of

the member countries.Indeed, the Social Fund exists primarily for this purpose, to

support and preserve the cultural infrastructure of each participant nation. I find

the concept of the Euro – a single currency – to be contrary to this founding principle.

Add to that the strings attached to the Euro (taxation and budget matters) and I have

always been opposed to it.

very well deserved award

 

Ist prize in the Fyrbodals area for the

most enterprising businessman

Buddy, can you spare a dime…?

Yep, it's already quite difficult to operate with cash in Sweden, even in country areas. It all sounds very good, very safe.

However, there are a couple of aspects that really need to be emphasised before we go all plastic:

1. Banks have traditionally existed as 'secure places to put your money', a role they now reject based on an

argument of 'cost effectiveness' (a.k.a. profits).

 

2. Security' is now increasingly the responsibility of…the customer! 

Do your banking by PC, or mobile phone. Fantastic? Not so.

Ok, I can understand that the majority of 'criminals' would not really be interested in hacking my measly account, however,

stealing my mobile phone is not so difficult,huh?

 

3. The big winners are the banks and card companies, not the customers. So what exactly do banks do nowadays, huh?

Snowy Dalsland

  Bengtsfors, Dalsland

 

this morning at daybreak

 

 

 

Åmal, Dalsland

Daybreak

Here comes the snow, di an du da, di an du da

Thanks Vattenfall

coding kids

first snow–59th Lake Street Song

Flowers of lovingness

'soft' super-power

Fox in Dalsland

716 per 100,000 v 51 per 100,000

Many folks, especially in the USA, complain at the 'high tax socialist
'  country of Sweden  with it's universal health care and cradle to grave
safety nets. The emphasis being on 'knocking' the 'socialist' system and
 trying to extol the 'virtues' of the raw uncontrolled capitalist system that 
is supposed to be the 'American Dream'.

full story here   International Business Times

Swenglish-001

more per capita than the US

read all about it HERE

site clearance today

The Beatles+50 years+Karlstad

50 years ago tomorrow the Beatles had their first concert outside of the UK. It was held in a town not so far from here - KARLSTAD.

Here they are on their first trip to Sweden

Deer me

first real frost

is just visible on the top of the table

those autumn golds...

Gothenburg magic

Halal Protest

The American Seer, Edgar Cayce (amongst others) said 'we are what we eat'. So at one town here in Sweden a movement has grown objecting to only Halal meat being served in school meals to their children. It would be easy to dismiss this a prejudice. 

However, there are very sound reasons on issues of hygiene, animal cruelty and human stress hormone ingestion to object to the Halal slaughter method.

I have many friends of many many different religions, so this is not,NOT, a prejudice
issue for me. It is a simply issue of modern, humane, hygienic and adequately controlled methods of slaughter being used 

Google it if you want the full horror story!

since 1913?

Big Elg waiting around the corner today

Beuatiful start to Octobner

Just close to the house

oooooh! those Autumn colours

Elg-Gustavsfors-Sweden