Finally went back to London today. Since mum and dad left for a holiday in 'the Swedish alps' (i.e. Sälen) yesterday, I had to get to the airport (Arlanda) myself. It turned out to be easier than I thought, and it only took me 1 hour and 10 minutes, from door to door with public transport. Flying with SAS, I had to go from the newly built Terminal 5. The building itself is very nice, and I'm sure it will be great when everything is up and running, but at the moment: no! Just loads of empty space as well as construction work going on. I also managed to buy the most overpriced and non well-tasting pasta salad ever in the only cafe I could find, only to afterward discover that there was a lovely Wayne's Coffee tucked away further in. Blah!
Spent the entire trip reading one of the books I bought on the book sale yesterday: 'En sorts kärlek' (English title: 'Love Life', original Dutch title: 'Komt een vrouw bij de dokter') by Ray Kluun (the other one I bought was last year's Nobel prize winner Le Clézio's 'Vandrande stjärna' ('Étoile errante') - very pretentious!). Finished the book on the plane, but really had to bite my lip and put the book down a few times in order for me not to cry. It was a very sad story (google it if you want to know the plot) and very emotional. Obviously, not many people agrees with the actions of the narrator, and I have since understood that there are lots of people who really hate the author (the book is largely autobiographical). But I chose to see it as a love story, and if you ignore the somewhat poor language (might be the translator?) and the too many pop cultural references, it was really good (in a sort of unsettling way). But maybe I am a very simple (or very forgiving) person? At least, I don't think I have the right to set the norms for how other people should be living their lives.
Anyway, it is nice to be back!
Traveling and reading
Huh?
I bought a pair of trousers the other day (the incredibly stretchy kind, which is amazingly unforgiving and will reveal anything and everything of your legs, but at the same time very comfortable), and was very happy with the purchase. So happy that I decided to go back yesterday and get myself a second pair (but, in my defense, in a different colour, and approved of by Tim, who has to pay). But then, when I got home, what do I discover? The new trousers - same brand, same model, same size - are 10 centimeters longer than my first pair! What?!? I mean, it's not an inch we're talking about here, but a decimeter. So, today I had to get up early and go back to the store. Surprisingly enough, they were not surprised (!) to hear that. 'Oh, it's probably because they're made by different producers.' Well, yeah, sure. But is that really acceptable? I know I'm probably sounding very whinging now, but I don't think it is. In the end I returned the trousers. Well, one less thing to pack, I guess.
Sweet dreams
Honestly now, people. What do you guys sleep in? I have a tendency to sleep in a t-shirt (mostly Tim's old ones). I would love to sleep in a lovely little nightdress, or even a tank top and shorts (and trust me, I have loads of both kinds) but I'm just always cold doing that. The one part of my body that needs covering up while I sleep is my shoulders! So, every now and then when I'm out shopping (like today, poor Tim spent an hour on a bench outside H&M - I was very proud of him!) I look for a nightdress with short sleeves. You'd think that be easy to find, but no! First you find the obvious nightdresses without sleeves (sleeves are apparently seen as very unsexy or incredibly untrendy), then the hangers with tank tops with matching shorts, then a few stacks of pyjamas, and then - finally - stacked away in some remote corner somewhere, the nightdresses with sleeves. But why, oh why, do they have to look like they do? Either they look like the have been designed by Grendel's mother, or they have a nice motif like Betty Boop or Snoopy* on them. And that's just it! I will not go to bed with Betty Boop on my chest! Anyone out there who know where to buy some decent things, or who wants to start designing (and selling) nightdresses with short sleeves? In the meantime, I sleep in t-shirts with beer or pub names on them...
* In this household aka Spoony, after a documentary I once saw on the production of pirate copies of big brands in countries like China. I thought the misspelling of Spoony, I mean Snoopy, was incredibly funny!
Happy 95
(She was also celebrated with a big family dinner on Saturday, with too much champagne and wine for all of us - including the birthday girl herself!)
(Very late) Christmas gift
For Christmas, I got a gift from Jim. Tim brought it with him when he came to Stockholm. It was a rather small package, red wrapping paper with a textile bow. Tim explained that our landlady had given it to me from Jim, but that it was only for decoration. Well, that was nice of them to think of me, even though we certainly didn't have a Christmas tree to decorate in London. After Christmas, I left the little ornament in the guest room in my parents' house, with the plan to possibly bring it back next time or simply leave it there and hang it in my parents' Christmas tree next year.
Well, coming back today I discovered that mum had opened the little package. Stupid woman, was my first thought. She should leave things were they are! But then I realized that there actually was something inside! Stupid Tim, is my new thought. He didn't realize that the ornament was actually inside the package (more logical, I know). We got a super cute Christmas ornament from George Jensen (fancy, I know) - and didn't even know about it! I'm quite embarrassed about the fact that I never thanked for the gift, but were happy with the thing I got. It is sort of nice to get Christmas presents year round!
For Swedes...
...who like books: a very good blog entry.
Sorry, I do not normally link to other people (I assume that you are all good individuals who reads whatever you like/interests you, but this was rather 'spot on'. Basically, it disapproves of the development of the book stores in recent years: removing anything 'obscure' (e.g. reference works, poetry, history, etc.) and basically only doing product placing of 'popular literature' - and no, there's nothing wrong with pop culture (I'm a big fan!), but there must also be room for more 'narrow literature' as well! (And no, being able to buy it online is not an equal alternative.) So, no more buying from big chains!
And if you happen to live in/visit Stockholm, then I recommend the antiquarian book stores: Rönnell's and Mats Rehnström's (only open on Thursdays), or, in Uppsala: Röda rummet or Redins. They have everything! (But yes, I guess I contradict myself a bit, since all of them also have gone online.)
Super Sunday
M and I went to the Swedish church last night, where they showed Melodifestivalen - the Swedish part of the Eurovision Song Contest. The place was absolutely packed, with a great atmosphere.* Went out afterwards with a big group of other Swedes, first to a bar, and then on to a restaurant. Got home at around 2.30, and, as you could probably guess, slept till lunch time today. But today has been such a beautiful day - sunny and warm. So Tim, M and I went down the street and had brunch at a local cafe. (Greasy food was high on our priority list, but as they were out of burgers I had a tuna baguette instead, but perfect brunch food.)
Tim and I then decided to go for a walk, and went down to Brixton.
(Picture from http://www.londonisfree.com/ongoing-events/markets)
I have been to the area a few times before (as it has the closest Argos), but last time we tried to visit the market it was absolutely pouring down, and we left rather quickly. But today was a perfect day for just strolling around. Of course, the actual market is not open on Sundays, but all the butchers, green grocers and fishmongers were still open. We became really excited, and ended up buying a kilo of really amazing beef for stews for only £3! And then a big bag of assorted veggies for £1.40! We are sooo going back there more often to do more shopping.
So, when we got back home Tim made a super yummy beef bourguignon (yes, I had to look up the spelling on that one). It was such a perfect ending to the weekend!
*Anyone curious can find the winner here.
In the system?
So, I think I'm finally in the system. I decided to be a good girl the other day, and apply for a National Insurance number, which is needed if you want to work in this country. Unlike the Scandinavian countries, you don't seem to need to inform the government about where you live etc (unless you want to vote, but then I'm not eligible for that here anyway) although they seem really picky about having the right people paying council tax and the like. Can't say I really understand the system... Until now, I have been sort of in a limbo: my name and address are on our bank statements and I actually have a NHS number (National Health Service); but no name on a rent contract or any utility bills (for some reason the Brits seem slightly obsessed with utility bills).
Anyway, I called two days ago, and was scheduled in for an interview (!) today. The woman I talked to said everything would be sent in the mail - but it not arrive until 45 mins before I had to be there - in Tooting! (Panic! Where is Tooting???) Had quite an argument with Tim yesterday about the things I needed to bring. Papers they had asked for included proof of address (as I said: don't have any official ones) and our marriage certificate (do we have one? Have we ever seen one? Will the archbishops sign of approval be good enough?). Well, I managed to find my way to the 'jobcentreplus', as it is so nicely called. (A name which in my eyes indicate a complete desperation for work, so it felt a bit awkward.)
I was a few minutes late, but ended up having to wait almost an hour anyway before anyone had the time for my interview. The woman I talked to was super friendly, and bank statement worked fine, and she did not ask for marriage certificate. 15 minutes later it was all over, and I am now waiting for my number to pop down in the mail in two weeks. It probably sounds really harsh, but I think they were probably happy to see such an 'easy case'. There were so many people there with hardly no knowledge of the language* and those who seemed really desperate for benefits (something handled by the same department). It is often easy to forget what an advantage it is to have 'Scandinavian good looks', be fluent in English and have a British surname.
(Something similar also happened to Tim when he applied for a permit to stay and work in Norway. He was taken out of a queue of about 100, and went straight up to the counter, just because of his nationality (and western European looks). Scary, when you think about it!)
*I felt truely sorry for a man who had to explain to his client over and over again that the number he had been given was only a reference number, and not his NI-number!
Crime on the tube
No, don't worry. Nothing bad has happened to me (yet). But a few months ago, they (i.e. Transport for London) started a campaign in order to fight knife crime on the tube, i.e. they randomly put up metal detectors on different tube stations. Today was the second time I've seen one in Stockwell. Apparently, the campaign has been successful, because crime related to knives has gone down (by as much as 30%, one of the papers states). But I'm still a bit doubtful about it all. It's absolutely fine that they just have a few metal detectors, and keep moving them around, but not everybody is searched, which is understandable, especially in rush hour traffic. However they target certain groups, which makes sense, but doesn't really improve relations with these groups of individuals. Also, every detector is watched/supervised by 14 coppers! Yes, fourteen! Ok, if they find something suspicious, it might be better to be more than one, or if a whole gang comes in, it's probably good to be a few people. But still!? Isn't 14 a bit of a waste of resources? Couldn't two of those policemen patrol the streets instead, or do something equally important?!