I have received a couple of emails asking what musical instrument was used in the video on my last post. I have to say that one of the reasons that I particularly liked that version of the national anthem was that it was played on a traditional Swedish instrument - the nyckelharpa.




This is not an instrument that I was familiar with at all before I came to Sweden, but it is instantly recognisable when you hear it - very haunting. For those of you who may be interested, you can read a little about Swedish national emblems here, including a link to a very good recording of the national anthem, along with a translation in English of the words.

Today, we drove to the town of Västerås to pick up our new inflatable rubber dinghy. The zodiac we had has all but died, so we have been looking around for a suitable one and found the one we wanted - a 2.85m Brig Dingo. How could we go past a boat called Dingo, I ask you? They were supposed to be delivered to the Swedish agent in Västerås about three weeks ago, but there has been a delay. We are leaving at the end of next week for summer sailing, so this was not good news for us. The agent offered us the demo model he had used at the Stockholm Boat Show earlier this year and also offered a substantial discount on it - too good to pass up, even if the boat is RED. So we jumped in our trusty little Atos and headed north west.

It was a glorious summer day and what stunned me as we drove along were the beautiful fields of towering, stately lupins in shades of purple, pink and cream as far as the eye could see. Along the lakes and even in heaps by the road, there were lupins everywhere. This beauty in an unexpected place is wonderful.




I had forgotten about this flower until I saw them today, then I cracked up as I remembered the Monty Python sketch where the idiotic highwayman Dennis Moore held up stagecoaches and robbed lupins from the rich and gave them to the poor, who for some reason were quite underwhelmed and positively ungrateful while they grumbled about wanting bread or gold instead.

So of course I had to start singing:

Dennis Moore, Dennis Moore,
galloping through the sward,
Dennis Moore, Dennis Moore,
and his horse Concorde.
He steals from the rich,
he gives to the poor,
Mr Moore, Mr Moore, Mr Moore.

Enough silliness. Though I am still laughing at the line "Your life or your lupins, my lord."

It is one of the hottest days we have had so far this year, with temperatures nudging 30C, which is very hot by Swedish standards. Even though we left early in the morning, the lakes had a fine haze over the water in the shimmering heat. I am SO glad that we have air conditioning in the car. Who would have thought you'd ever use it in Sweden? And I am also glad that Lars-Göran is so softhearted that he bought Lambi a Cool Bed. We have noticed that with increasing age, she feels the heat terribly, so the people at our local pet shop suggested we try this product and it is wonderful. It is a water/gel filled cushion that stays cool and helps keep her cool in the car and on the boat.

She'll be a cool dog in more ways than one this summer.