Congratulations to the school

Our local High School, in this small town, has just been ranked 2nd best in the whole of Sweden

A fine example of what you get when you don’t research adequately…DT

via theLocal

Sweden–and Europe–is laughing

God Help America!

Monet morning

Don’t you just love it when Monet moods the morning?

Valentines Day,Vestre Silen Lake,Dalsland

gr8 breakfast

ice ice ice nice ice

 

Radio Sweden reports

transcendant humanity

It is my experience that most Swedes who are opposed to the present immigration scenario are opposed…for economic reasons.
Let me explain. It seems to most people I know that the Government is paying out vast sums of money…not to the refugees seeking asylum…but to orgs who offer support services (accomodation,etc) to these desperate people.  You see, it was decided that a certain standard of care be provided as a prelude to integration and that standard is quite high and expensive.
This is the most common complaint I hear from Swedes about this situation. It is not a complaint about skin colour. It is not a complaint about religion (although there is a media reinforced misunderstanding of the amount of say, muslims, in the land…it is actually less than 5%)..it is about the ‘lavish treatment’ the refugees ‘appear’  to be receiving. A treatment that is not, so I repeatedly hear, handed out to indigenous Swedes. In my local small town, population now a little over 3000 (2016) there are 42 different languages. Can you imagine. the problems in the schools that that can create – but even in this small town there has been an incredible effort to deal with those problems. Caring and compassion are reflected in many different ways, just like the beauty of a diamond.
That having all been ‘necessarily said’, I have the utmost respect for what the Swedish nation has managed to do in the past 2 years. For a nation that only last week reached the 10 million population milestone, the Swedish heart has been overwhelmingly open to the desperate needs of others. Here is just one more – of many,many – stories about that heart.


published in the guardian.com you can read the full story here  (please note: the trial is for helping ONE refugee)

population milestone

at 7-47 am last friday morning

Sweden ranks very high in…FREEDOM

you can read more here

Peace is a luxury we should not take for granted

I talked today with a refugee from Afghanistan. It is hard for us to imagine or recognise the incredible good life we have.
His parents had grown up in  a war torn country – the Russians went in in 1979. He, being only 17, had never known peace in his land.
Can we imagine what it actually feels like to be able to walk in the forest, or drive down a road, without being blown up?

in Aghanistan the are 10 million land mines – that is

is this the definition of a REAL SWEDE?

you can read the full story of this amazing young man here

Residence status

It is to be hoped that in the struggle to find a balance the Immigration authorities can take into account the reports from the local Swedish population as to the desirability of allowing young people refugees to remain in Sweden where such persons are considered, by their personality and character, to be a welcome asset in the community. In such difficult matters of policy it would be wise for the authorities to take this into consideration. There should be a scenario where if a substantial number of people in a community wish to have that person remain amongst them that such a scenario will weigh heavily in favour of a positive decision.

In matters of compassion a rule book is not a cover all blanket!

Fantastic evening in Karlstad

So, Friday last was a very rare event for me – I actually went to a live ‘pop performance’ given by famous folk. Rare? Yeah, probably about only the 3rd time I have ever done it in my life!!!  Had it not been for a singer guy I know, Dick Johansson who so kindly invited me along, I would have missed one of the best nights I have ever had in my life.

like many englishman, I fell in love with Abba and their melodic ‘make sense lyrics’ songs still sit close to consciousness in the memory.

It was an evening of incredible highlights and following the show the highlights just increased in luminescence – for what could be better than a good meal in good company in a place with a good ambience?  Totally by accident – or as I prefer to think by destiny – we tumbled into a place called

translated it means ‘Golden Monkey’. As well as being an award at the Swedish Hit Music Awards the monkey has an incredible tradition in the cultures and mythology around the world. One meaning/significance is found in astrology signs – where it means ‘ fun, activity,charm and an energetic nature’. The Guldapan restaurant was all of these – plus a lot more.

Amongst a varied menu we found such “mundane” items as sausage and mash and a beefburger with gruyere cheese. However,to describe what we recieved as mundane is an abuse of language. I always love it when you think you have ordered a ‘run of the mill’ thing and what you get turns out to be – well, an extraordinary feast for the mind as well at the palate.

The sausage?  Home made…and the best I have tasted anywhere in 30 years of being in Scandinavia.

The beefburger? Home made – pure lean beef, no fat (and I’m really fussy about that) very thick.

I also had --- chips (well,I am English). For me you can judge the standard of a place by the chips it makes, because chips are regarded so much as just an ordinary thing most places don’t really bother to produce good ones. NOT GULDAPAN, even the chips were amazing!

An incredible range of drinks, amazing range of beers and when I asked for a low alcohol beer the very friendly guy behind the bar rattled off a list so fast I couldn’t count them all. So I simply asked what he recommended (not always a good question to ask,huh?).With a refreshing honesty that matched the superb refreshing quality of the beer I got, he told me that he drinks Mikkeller Drink’in the Sun. So I had one, then I had another. It was a totally enjoyable taste experience.

This is a restaurant where the staff are..and I mean this…super friendly and exceedingly diligent. It has a friendly ambience….and food that ranks in my top 5 experiences for excellence in Scandinavia in the last 30 years.

 

The only problem with telling you this is…I might not be able to get a table next time I want to go!  But then, the good things in life just get ‘gooderer’ the more they are shared, huh?

Warmest New Year’s Eve on record in Stockholm

via

power to the people

via

myth busting-001

fuller story

Democratic socialism’s results in Sweden….

remember that argument about ‘socialist states’ and poor econimies. Well, eat your heart out all you critics

full article is available here at the Government Offices of Sweden website

do you get good value for your taxes? The Swedish answer

 

Since no person is an island there are costs to living in a society. So we pay taxes to maintain the kind of society we want to live in.

But are we satisfied with the services we get for our taxes?  Well, granted that it is generally the fashion to complain about government (national or local)

it’s interesting to see how folks consider the ‘satisfaction index’ of the main services. The ‘Swedish Quality Index’ gives some answers about the local level:

Water and sewage (76.7)

Preschool (75.8)

Upper secondary school (73.5)

Garbage and waste disposal (72.7)

Home services (72.5)

Health care (72.2)

Primary school (71.1)

Sports & recreational services (70.9)

Retirement homes (70.9)

Culture and leisure (68.2)

Municipalities and county councils (67.6)

Public transport (67.1)

Business services (62.2)

Security (61.1)

Environment and climate services (56.7)

Public information services (56.6)

Road maintenance (54.1)

Individual and family care (54.1)

 

and what may also surprise many is that Sweden does NOT pay the highest taxes compared to many European countries. Click below to see the details

the art of Swedish proverbs

To some it's a confused mess, to others it is an artistic masterpiece.....best to go

with the art as a reflection of who you really are