I wonder if I can substitute cockatiels for blackbirds in that song?

I've been humming that nursery rhyme a lot lately. No, I'm not regressing just yet, but my motivation has been the fact that Bruce and Sheila have decided to do a spot of "redecorating" around the apartment.



Look, it's not that I'm saying they don't have a say in how their environment should look, but my poor cornice seems to be suffering quite a lot. And check out the damn cheeky look on Bruce's face. He's just daring me to try and stop him. I thought I'd scare him by leaving cookbooks around the place, open at such recipes as Quail In Cream Wine Sauce, Fried Mince Squab in Lettuce Cups or Moroccan Style Spatchcock. I've even been thinking of that great Grahame Bond sketch in Aunty Jack where they make Budgie Pizza.

What did our pair of intrepid destructors think of all that? Scared? Quaking in their feathers? Repentant, remorseful? Well, let's take a look:



Nope. Looks like it's back to business! But what can I say?

I'm having somewhat of a bird week. Perhaps some would say that is because I'm bird-brained and attract like minded things (though not many would say that to my face!). However, whatever the reason, I seem to be surrounded by "birds with attitude". I feel at times as though I'm on the set of Alfred Hitchcock's 1963 classic The Birds. We have the aggressive crows around at the moment swooping down and scaring the dog. But what really takes the cake as far as bird attitude here are the white swans. Forget Swan Lake, forget the graceful, elegant, regal birds gliding majestically across the water. No, here in Nynäshamn we have the thug swans. The ones that sit in the middle of the road and glare at the cars as though to say "What are you doing here?" and flatly refusing to leave. Poor Lars-Göran is scared they will get run over. He's trying to save them. Me? I'm scanning the net for swan recipes. Not really. Just kidding! But somedays, you have wonder if they WANT to be road kill! And are they grateful for Lars-Göran trying to help them? I'll let you guess...



The big news here in Sweden at the moment is of course the trial of Mijailo Mijailovic, a 25 year old Swede (of Serbian background) who murdered the Swedish Foreign Minister, Anna Lindh last September. It's been huge news here. So much so that they are telecasting the trial directly from the courthouse, which disturbs me on a lot of levels. But it seems like this guy was an accident just waiting for a victim. He is quite disturbed and both before and after the murder sought help for his severe illness. But because of cuts and downgrading of services here in Sweden, he was turned away.

Ironically, these services have been eroded away as a result of the 1995 investigation headed by none other than Anna Lindh's husband! The result of these closures has been to create a class of homeless, severly ill people who wander aimlessly around. Only in the last year there have been several deaths at the hands of persons who are instructed by "voices in their heads". So this trial is also going to highlight the state of the Swedish psyciatric system and society's attitude to the mentally ill.

He has admitted killing her and the charge is murder, not manslaughter, so it will be interesting to see what the outcome will be. I really admired Anna Lindh both as a politician and as a fine example of a woman of strength, commitment and humanity. It was a sad day indeed when she died. But I also have a great deal of sympathy for Mijailo Mijailovic, who realised he was on a downward spiral and really tried to get help. It also appears that he was taking 15 prescriptions for 8 different medicines, prescribed by 6 different doctors! Observers say the combination of some of those drugs could have had unfortunate effects. No shit, Sherlock! What a tragic story.

On a lighter note, the other story dominating the news is the effect that opening the EU borders and reduction of tax on alcohol in neighbouring countries is having on the Swedish government monopoly of booze. I'll write another day about the system here, but suffice it to say that the alcohol tax is horrific, you can only buy from the government shops and it is ultra expensive. So what do the intrepid Swedes do? Well, the lucky ones in the south and west of the country just cross the Öresund bridge to Denmark or grab a ferry to Germany and shop there.

This picture will give you an idea of what Swedes look like on their shopping trips. My husband cringes at such images, but it is true. People go there solely to buy grog! Is it cheaper? You bet! In some cases, less than half price. The government monopoly, Systembolaget, is quite worried. Statistics released yesterday showed that sales of alcohol in the south of the country have fallen 20% since the new regulations came into force. During the same period, the lower liquor and shopping prices have boosted Öresund ferry and bridge traffic over the Helsingborg - Helsingör waterway by a quarter of a million passengers since October. A whopping 40% increase.

Some silly expats here think that Sweden will bow to pressure and lower their tax to meet EU guidelines. Don't make me laugh. Sweden are lobbying to have the EU adopt Sweden's more restrictive policy. One reason the EU has permitted Sweden to maintain the retail monopoly was because of government assurances that the system allows for a wider assortment of products in shops than if other shops were allowed to sell alcohol.

Alcohol politics in this country is a huge hot potato, especially as they are trying to shake off the image of Sweden being "the vodka belt" of Europe. But it will be interesting nonetheless.

And as you all enjoyed my armadillo quiz, I'll leave you with Do you know what lives in your eyelashes?.

How can you not click with a title like that?

Till next time!