I am in shock! I just discovered yesterday that my beloved Tim Tams now come in this wonderful flavour - Chilli Choc Fling! And I demand to know why I wasn't told about this. My friends in Australia tried to tell me that they had never heard of them. Now I ask you, we are all aware of my non existent computer skills, so where did this picture come from? Do you think I photoshopped it myself or something? Nope. This is the ridgey didge item.

I think that if you asked Australian expats which food they missed most from home, my bet is that Arnott's Tim Tams would rate as number one. The slogan "Arnott's is more than a biscuit company, it's part of Australian culture" is certainly true. I can't think of another company that makes me think of home like Arnott's. They did go down in my estimation when they discontinued the white Tim Tams, but their range of biscuits is a dream.

I have never been enticed to go over to Nabisco, though this little number may tempt me. Whoever thought of this combination is a genius! The only thing that really turns me off is the spelling of Biskit. I so hate that advertising habit of "funny" spelling. It's a pet peeve of mine as I'm a bit of a language snob, so I always refused to buy them, preferring the Arnott's Chicken Crimpy and Savoury Shapes. But the pull of the Vegemite is too strong.

Unfortunately, there are no Aussie product suppliers in Sweden and the biscuits they do sell in the supermarket here are .... well... underwhelming. Not much choice and most of them rather sad - digestives, shortbread, Marie biscuits (great name!) but nothing in the luscious chocolate coated range. I rely on friends coming over here and if they ask, I grovel for Tim Tams. My husband also loves them and can't understand why Sweden can't make a decent biscuit.

I was thinking about the Tim Tams last night when I saw that the movie Chocolat was on again. It's a film that I particularly enjoyed, though friends here have told me that it is not as good as the book, which I have on order from the local library. I usually wouldn't read a book after I've seen a film because I have a lot of trouble reading without seeing the characters and scenes as portrayed in the film. Usually I'd read the book first, then be disappointed by the movie! You just can't win, can you? I'll be facing the same thing later this evening as I start my latest book, Jacqueline Du Pré having recently watched and thoroughly enjoyed the movie based on it: Hilary & Jackie. Wish me luck!

It is snowing furiously in the south and west of the country today and apparently it is headed this way overnight, accompanied by strong winds. It is so still and mild here that I can hardly believe it's really going to happen. This time tomorrow, we might be back in the winter wonderland landscape - I'm looking forward to that. There has been far too little snow this season.

And to finish off a rather amusing story from Germany about Zoo tempts gay penguins to go straight by importing some Swedish females. That Swedish reputation seems to cross species!