The King and Queen of Sweden (Carl XVI Gustaf and Sylvia) have recently been on an official visit to Australia. Aren’t they smart to have found a way to escape from Swedish November? I know what you are thinking – Marie’s just jealous. And you’d be absolutely right!

As part of the tour, they came to my home town of Adelaide to visit the offices of SAAB. Some friends who were there sent me some photos they took on the day, including this charming one of the queen with some of the children she met.



As usual, Queen Silvia looks cool, elegant and stunning. And aren’t those kids gorgeous waving their Swedish and Australian flags while sipping on their fruit juice? So cute and so casual, even though they are meeting royalty.

I’m actually wondering if I should volunteer to accompany the royal couple next time as a sort of cultural adviser and taste tester. I mean we don’t want them to make the old Waltzing Matilda faux pas, do we? There’d be a riot. I can also do a quality check on the Farmers’ Union Iced Coffee, the Balfour’s Frog Cakes, the Perryman’s Pies, the Arnott’s Tim Tams, the Golden North honey-flavoured icecream, all of the McLaren Vale, Adelaide Hills, Barossa Valley and South-East region wines, the Kangaroo Island cheeses and each and every stall at the Central Market. Just to make sure that the products top quality, you understand. Purely in the interests of maintaining a continuing good relationship between Australia and Sweden. I’d be so perfect for the job! Especially if they go in November.

Meanwhile in the northern hemisphere......

The grey, damp weather continues to sap my will. I’m so pleased that Advent starts tomorrow and people will begin cracking out the chrissie lights to cheer up the scene. Poor Lars-Göran had to haul out the crane this week to raise three boats – several weeks after everything had been packed away for the season. First there was a motor boat that was transported here from Stockholm:



Then the following day, a sailing boat that came up from Malmö. And yesterday, another large yacht that had to wait for a heavy-duty crane to be available as it is so wide and heavy – well over the ten ton limit we have on the club’s crane.

He’s packed the crane away for winter again, so I hope that will be the last lift until next spring as it is getting too cold and dark to be hanging around working on the wharf.



This is definitely couch weather.