Tage Toppen cottage

Lake view from our summer cottage…

the cottage can also be seen here

Lofty males

The AVERAGE male is now 10 cms taller than the comparison in 1900.

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This probably accounts for all the neck injuries in males over 50….they are so busy stressing to talk to youngsters about bad diet (pizza, hamburgers, etc) as they have to look up all the time to these teenage 'giants'

Gallnas Easter Sunday morning

The really great thing about this time of the year is the way in which beauty is tantalizingly revealed a little at a time.

A journey into beauty and magnificence should not be an F1 race, but a gradual ascent into ecstasy.

Doing well in Sweden :-)

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Lewis wins China GP :-)

continuing my interest in F1 and Lewis Hamilton,

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As an LH fan, forgive me if I…

Siskins feeding

with thanks to Stefan at birds.se for help in identifying

010101 – 1 Sweden

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Kejsarn av Portugallien, Den Goda Viljan

My journey into Swedish culture took a major step forward when I dared to watch my first Swedish film without english subtitles – though I did use the Swedish subtitles.

I had the wonderful experience of watching the film written by Ingmar Bergman about his own parents early life (in english entitled  The Best Intentions).

A wonderful story and so beautifully acted and directed.

So my journey has continued and we have just finished watching

A fascinatingly enchanting  and delicately crafted story that is magnificently acted and produced.

Both have a haunting quality about them. The blend of beautiful scenery and those special character-full expressions and turns of phrase adding such richness to the events as they unfold in a leisurely, almost undramatic, way. Excitement is found not so much in the action, but in seeing the reactions of the participants.

One thing is very clear, whether it be the countryside, the culture or perhaps the hardness of life in those periods, I can be certain to behold some charismatic individual with a very special way of saying things.

Truly, truly, both films (total viewing about 8 hours) have been profound experiences for me.

Spring arriving

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Wolverine population growth

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Good Luck Lewis

April sunrise

In Memoriam – Joakim Dungel

 

Working for the United Nations mission in Afghanistan, Swede  Joakim Dungel  died yesterday when the compound was attacked by a violent crowd.

A lawyer, Joakim Dungel was dedicated to the advancement of human rights and had worked, amongst other things, with the War Crimes Tribunal at the Hague in respect of war crimes in the former Yugoslavia and in Rwanda.

A man who had clearly been dedicated to the assistance of humanity it is unclear how the Taleban, who claimed responsibility for the murder, could in any way enhance their political or religious attraction by such a brutal action.

For all you did – and all you tried to do – to enhance the lives of others, we sincerely thank you, Joakim Dungel.

RIP.

online Swedish/english news

So, ok, you have to remember that today is April 1st….which just might have something to do with this story

in my favourite online swe/eng newspaper:

via

Got it?  Well, the thing is that it's only a joke because the location has been changed from Malmo to Sarek National Park.

Freight problems

Hello there,

I am sorry to trouble you, especially since most of the time you do an absolutely incredible, fantastic job,

but…well…erhm… you see, it's now officially SPRING

which actually means that, well…erhm…….. THIS DELIVERY IS A LITTLE LATE!"!!!  (hint.hint.)

 

Yeah man, I gotta tell ya, it is kinda like snowin again!  Yep. It's quite definitely snowin again….

not that my li'l pal here cares a sh**. he's too busy eatin!  Does he really think he can eat as much as me…..?

hey! It's not April 1st yet…..!!!!!

eh? Did he say something?

Looks like spring is flying in

ehm….what?

woodpeckers-01

Swedish Radio is reporting a fall in the number of Woodpeckers.

I can only say that I have never seen so many Woodpeckers, coming after the food I put out, as I have this winter.

Maybe they have all heard that in Dalsland they get well fed, so they are deserting the other areas?????

Breakfast on a sunny spring morning