With a start like this...

... it has to be a great day!

Brainless

Yeah, that's exactly what I had planned to do with my razors (and the packaging). I'm so happy they warned me in advance... Eh?

What about using your heads, people?!?

Dancing queen

Tonight I had one of the funniest nights in a long time. Sweden is taking over the EU presidency on July 1, and there will be loads of activities in connection to this. One of them is called ‘Sweden on stage’, and will be held in Hampstead Heath on the 4^th. So, I’ve been planning to hold a small ‘after-birthday-picnic’ there on the day. One of the performers will be Benny Andersson (of ABBA fame), so it’ll be quite an event. Tonight, he released his latest CD in the UK (and in English), and as a launch party, and as a preparation for the concert (to which Benny apparently want people to dance) there was a dance course held tonight. Folk dance! I had an absolute blast! Not that I think I’ll dance on the day (more than my usual drunken stumbling around), but it was still great fun – and the two-three years of folk dancing I did as a kid are still definitely in me!

Sunday, sweet Sunday

Maybe the picture below needs an explanation. All the ladies in the choir held a big party for the men; three course dinner, drinks, entertainment, the lot (any friend on facebook can see a few pictures there). It also included decorating the gents’ – walls covered in sports, candles everywhere, and a small table with a few cans of beer, and loads of samples of men’s toiletries (perfumes, deodorants, and even a facial crème). There was a Moroccan lamb stew (Jamie Oliver’s recipe, very nice) for mains, and the men were really waited upon. Loads of dancing and drinks afterward. A great night, I got home at around 3, but stayed up and chatted to Helena who stayed the night instead of going all the way out to her western suburb. Still managed to get up at 9 (!), when Tim made us a full English breakfast, while I baked scones. Helena left at 14, and then we went back to Battersea park. Took the bus there (quite a detour, but fun to see new parts of town – I really like both Clapham and Battersea now), and strolled around for an hour or so. Didn’t have time to go to the zoo, so I’m saving the otters for another day. Had party leftovers for dinner, and then watched the last Alien-movie. We started going through the series (which Tim got for his birthday last year) last Sunday, when I wanted to watch an action movie. Watched Alien on Sunday, then number 2 and 3 on the Monday, but haven’t had the time to sit down since. So, it was definitely time for the last one tonight. Tim doesn’t care too much for this one, but I quite liked it. So far, my favourites are Alien vs. Predator (maybe because that was the first one I watched?), Aliens (no. 2) and then Alien Resurrection (no. 4). Now I’m off to bed to dream about scary monsters…

Prepping

So, here's me documenting myself, having just decorated the gents' in the church with pages from the sports' sections. Isn't that what everybody does on a Saturday night?

Observations

Last week was the 65th anniversary of D-day, which for obvious reasons got some attention in this country. Of course, in Sweden, we have nothing like that to remember. I guess the closest thing we get is celebrating the death of Charles XII, who died fighting the Norwegians in 1718 (which happens to be pretty much the only year in Scandinavian history that I for some reason can remember). I am, however, using 'we' here in a very loose sense, since it has mostly been various 'nationalists' who have claimed the day as their own. Enough about that! But it is also interesting to follow the debates that have been in this country, whether the British should remember and commemorate the wars and their heroes more than they do. Personally, I'm not taking a stand in the debate, but I watched the memorial day service on TV last November, and was very moved. War is, luckily, for me such a foreign thing. (And I thought to myself that I can't even imagine living in a country which is in war - and then I suddenly realize that I do!) But I actually do appreciate all the memorial monuments that can be found across town. Take my bus trips into town, for example: If I take the no. 2 bus towards Marylebone I pass the Australian and the New Zealand War Memorials (for soldiers in the two world wars), the Royal Artillery Memorial, the Machine Gun Corps Memorial, the Animals in War Memorial, as well as the Wellington Arch and Marble Arch (for the Napoleonic wars). And if I'm on the no. 88 bus towards Camden I pass the Cenotaph, the Crimean War Memorial, and (my favourite) the Monument to the Women of World War II. It's quite a number, in other words. But I like them - they are part of the city's character and its history, but hopefully no new ones shall be needed.

Offended

Well, I guess I shouldn't be upset, but I still am. After going out with some of Tim's old friends last night (Tim, however, had to go out for a business dinner - after already having had two lunches!) I still needed to get some work done before going to bed. So, in order to stay awake, I decided I needed some sugar, and that the best option was to buy some sweets in one of our corner shops, just by the bus stop. I found myself a bag of winegums and went up to the counter to pay. I was a bit tipsy, but nothing bad, and was my usual cheerful self (?) and asked the old Indian man behind the counter how he was doing. He smiled back, and asked if I was having some munchies. I replied that I had to stay up late, and just needed something sweet. But when I went out of the shop I was secretly annoyed that the man had questioned my eating habits - thinking I was a pig who had a large bag of sweets at 22.20 at night (I might just be, but that's not for him to comment on). I told Tim the story when he got back home an hour later. And that's when Tim explained to me what the munchies actually mean: getting hungry after smoking weed! (Well, obviously my English slang vocabulary isn't good enough - or possibly I'm hanging with 'the wrong people'.) I'm shocked! As if being called a fat pig wasn't bad enough - being taken for a junkie is definitely worse (although, seeing my own tired face in the mirror, I could absolutely see myself being taken for a crack whore). I just want to hide today!

New discovery

We dropped Christina off at the coach terminal (after a rather unsuccessful stroll through St James' park to feed the squirrels - rainy and hardly any squirrels out) and decided to go for a walk, as the weather was clearing up. Walked from Victoria to Battersea bridge, and then across to Battersea Park, which I had wanted to see for some time now. Lovely place! The park was much, much bigger than I expected. We walked around it for a good hour and a half, and I still don't feel like a got to see more than a corner of it. There were running tracks and tennis lawns, forests in the outskirts, a big big lake (with pedaling boats and everything), a children's zoo (which I thought was probably a few bunnies, but after looking at their homepage I'm definitely going back for the lemurs and the otters!), a tropical garden (the country's oldest - however, it was destroyed in the WWII in order for the public to be able to grow crops, but has since been reintroduced) - you name it! This park is an absolute treasure! I cannot wait for the weather to get better, so that we can go back and explore some more...

Shopping

Congratulations, Sweden! (Not that I'm celebrating our national day, but anyway.)

Well, Christina is here, and we're having a great time. Been a little bit cultural (British Museum* and the National Portrait Gallery), eaten a lot of good food (and tonight Tim is making a great roast chicken dinner, so looking forward to that), but mostly looked in shops. And shopped... After having done a great deal last week (3 pairs of shoes for £30) I felt that I shouldn't probably buy anything more for a while. But what can a girl do, when she is dragged in to the stores by her company??? I felt slightly guilty after buying one skirt, two dresses and two facial creams (I'm such a sucker for that kind of stuff - but I was running out of my normal Lanôome creme, and have wanted to try Boot's No 7 for some time**. Whether it'll make me look younger or not, remains to be seen), but then Christina bought loads more, and thus made me feel better about myself. Thank you very much! (And I have an upcoming translation job, so knowing there are money coming in also helps.)



* I had been looking forward to the new Medieval room, which the BM had been preparing for some time, and which was launched a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, I cannot say I was very impressed. One room - that was all! I'm now putting my hopes to the V&A, which are currently redoing their Medieval exhibition.

** No, it was not because I had (yet?) bought the enormous hype around the 'Protect and Perfect serum', but rather because I needed something quite cheap. I was lucky, though, because they had 3 for 2 on everything, and a free gift if you spent more than £28 (which was very easy indeed). Surprise, surprise - the free gift included a sample of the aforesaid serum. Reviews might just follow (although I highly doubt that the tiny sample will be enough for a month - which is the time they claim it'll take for you to see any results - yeah, right!)

Hot!

Results after yesterday: Tim is bright red - 'looks like a baboon's bum with a face', as he so nicely put it himself. I have an enormous red spot on my forehead, growing like a big horn. If it was just a bit closer to the middle, people would stare and scream: 'look, there goes the devil's unicorn!' We are such a good looking couple.

Today, Monday, we are expecting 26 degrees...