Tracked down the app used (supposedly) by cold war steve. And had a little play. This could be a fun edition to the blog.

Read about this in the Guardian. Some bloke on twitter who does topical daily photomontages that always, for some reason, include Phil Mitchell from Eastenders. They're quite funny digs at the establishment, Brexit etc.
​So i got inspired:

As you can see its very early days. And I only seem to be able to do brides at the moment, so it's a challenge. And not particularly topical or socially, politically insightful either. Oh well.

So we were going to eat with some of Sandra's pals tonight and then head to the sea and stay with some village chums tomorrow. But fear of contagious eye infection and some kind of sunstroke has put paid to that. Still an after work swim en famille with Malin and Malaika makes up for that. A cosy evening in the garden and tasty asian nooodle thing.

Saw two badgers on my latish (out around 9.30pm). bike ride last night.  Either that or one very fast badger, that managed to get up and down that hill before i did. They are quite strange to see up close when they're running. Theres a lot of fur going on, like someone sprinting along in a winter jacket that's far too big for them. It's all there, semi-rotating around an axis like a tumble dryer drum of shag. I thank you. It was good to get out into the relatively cool woods after an oppressively hot day.
Basically stayed inside with A/C on, doors and windows shut. Gunk eyed twins for company. Had a very refreshing swim at the lido in the village with da gals and then drove to Malaikas birthday bash. Ate inside the mozzy proof gazebo in the garden, but dammmn started to sweat straight away. No breeze in there. Lovely food though. 
Daniel showed me his new 'hand drum'. Lovely sound. Never seen one beofre. It's like a steel drum but convex instaed of concave and portable too. So you play it in your lap. Very mellow harmonious sounds.

So this is something that is clearly bothering Dom but not something that's ever been a problem in swedenland. (Although I will mention a leetle story about that later.) The politics and subleties of a local pub. A gang you know and the beer you buy.
The Drewe Arms then. Lovely old pub which i've been going to regularly for what, almost twenty years? Obviously John and now Dom have even closer connections.
For Dom, and others in the village, the Round has become a bit of a millstone. I think both financially and socially. So here's the thing, you fancy a pint or two. You go up to the pub and there's a gang of people you know. Seven or eight say. That's a good thing, that's what you're after.
Now Dom feels pressured to offer drinks to all and sundry as soon as pops his head around the door. As that is what the majority do. This is, however, both financially painful and potentially time consuming. As in, you stay until the Round is paid back. Thus the urge to go up for a couple and a chat diminishes.

Solution. Just go in and say I'm not buying a round tonight. i'm just having a cheeky couple. I like your company, but I'm fed up with the crippling pyschological pressure of the Round. It is, after all, a public house. So the public ( you and the others there) decide the rules.

Bring your Rules  of the Round pamphlet with you. Or, even better, buy our handy RoR beermat to leave surreptiously behind.
Rule One: I dont have to buy a Round
Rule Two: I don't have to be part of a Round
Rule Three : I can accept a drink off somebody.
Rule Four: I can buy a drink for somebody.
Rule Five:  If I accept a drink off somebody I may not pay it back that same night. But I will pay it back.
Rule Six: If I buy a drink for somebody I can't expect that drink to be returned.
That last rule works well i think. As you will quickly stop offering if the offer is never reciprocated.
To be Continued.

I can still remember the existential pain on the face of a swede who i offered to buy a drink for in the very early days in the Pickwick. Probably December 2000 or early 2001. I noticed this guy (Some Lecturer Guy) in our circle had nursed his drink for a long time and it was now empty. I was on my way up. 
Me: Can i get you something
SLG: Oh no thanks its fine (he wants one really)
Me: Are you sure its no problem 
SLG: No really I'm about to go (he reaches for his empty glass)
Me:Oh, go on, wharever you like
SLG: Well (this painful for him, the facial expression is discomfort) ok, maybe one more.
Me: Great, what can i get you?
SLG: I could have an orange juice.
Me: (feeling slighly deflated in my generosity) Sure! Absolutely!
An orange juice was duly bought. He never bought me a return.

Swedes basically don't do rounds. I quickly stopped asking. It works ok one on one though.

First post since my summer break! I've missed this. I like the routine of it.
Back to Lotta and Stoffe's but this time to destroy. Start with a slurp of coffee whilst Elias finishes his breakfast. He's been a bit grumpy as someone's gone and emptied his kitchen and things are all a jumble. Soon cheers up though. I begin to unscrew cupboards from walls and carry out stuff to the skip in the garden. When Lotta leaves with Bubbalias, the ripping starts in earnest. VERY satisfying to pull an old cupboard loose from the wall, carry out and hammer/ kick it flat. Aaaahh. Listen to foo fighters,hmmm, and the the soundtrack from an HBO series 'Killing Eve'. Nice
Break for coffee and sarnies

Once we've done all we can, ie everything but the kitchen sink, we set to the floor. A laminate wood effect. Crowbar under, lift, small nails pop, gap arises, continue. Also goes relatively quick. Then a fair while spent with mini crowbar wrenching out all the tiny nails. Like hundreds.
​Break for a pizza called Nybrostrand.
Lotta arrives with plumbing plugs to block off the water and out goes the kitchen sink. YeeHaa, time for a swim.
Absolutely fukkin amazingly wonderful. Maximum refreshment in a can. The sea was calm and cool. So nice after sweating through 2 polo shirts. Mmmmmm

Away to Dalby with the family after a swim in Genarp. For a BBQ with two very expectant parents. Weell, I suppose one of the most memorable part of this evening was Astrid taking a casual dump in the little red playhouse stuga out in the garden. That and the almost frightening size of a highly pregnant (one week late) Tiina. The burgers were good, they had some kind of burger press that they squeezed veggie mince into. Surprsingly tasty. Oh and air conditioning on in the house. Wow! That was nice.
Editor:
So when i return from my kitchen ripping the next day, there are not 3 but 5 chidren in the house and a somewhat tired and absent Sandra. Tiina and Kalle are away at the hospital awaiting the bubba.

I arrive a little late. Having had a long day with 4 small characters yesterday. This was a superb move on my part i feel. Cuddle kids. Hoover up some of the tasty smörgåtårta (nice n prawny) with a cool glass of white wine. Then down to the beach for some fun with kids. Back for BBQ. Smashin!

Fabulous weather and lots to see. Some of it was really quite funny. ​Its was nicely interactive. First you watch a show, 'Pippi and the pirates' for instance. Then the kids dash in and crawl all over the set and say hi to the actors. Lots of hugs, the prime minister made sure he got one too from Pippis dad.

There was a lovely spontaneous moment after one of the shows. The audience was cooling down in a stream that runs through in front of the fort and the actors were there chatting. They slowly moved back inside the fort and then began their chant-singing thing again. It was great. The look on the kids faces hearing the power close up!
​If you look closely at the pic of the last show you'll see a pretty realistic dragon uptonogood behind the rocks.

We get to the nice, cool stuga just in time to settle down and watch a bit of Sweden beat Switzerland and England beat Columbia (on penalties! Thank you lord). It's a cosy place, firmly nestled in the seventies with a nice big veranda on one side where we can sit and BBQ. We need shopping so me and Stella head in to fix. Pass a bar when Sweden score the winning goal to happy roars.
Hot as hell in the car going up. No A/C and filled to the brim with stuff n kids. Stopped at a hellhole MacD's (hot car park, very full with a long queue.) Blah. 
But all worth it for the next coupla days. The wee ones had a riot seeing stories from books n film come to life in front of them. But first a stuga tour with Astrid:
​

And as theme parks go it was pretty damn good. Loads of places to rest up and cool down. Merchandise wasn't pushed down our necks, in fact we bought nothing except coffee and ice cream.
Both days ended with a refreshing dip in Nossen, a nearby nose-sounding lake.