sunflowers, pizza and pigs

Well, October, you certainly know how to kick things off the right way!

+15 C, castle park visit, sunflower picking,

one of the best vegetarian pizzas I've ever had in one of the most charming pizzerias I've ever been too - more of later -

meeting three adorable pigs - friends not food, right? RIGHT - and getting some promising emails.

Plus it was the World Vegetarian Day and even if it's going way to slow for the millions of suffering animals out there I do feel that a paradigm shift IS coming. That there are even more compassionate and powerful forces at work than ever before. Time to say goodbye to specieism. Have you seen these two articles?

The British shadow secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs is vegan - can we get a WOW!

Mainstream media writing about how industrial farming is one of the worst crimes in history - second WOW! - "Tens of billions of sentient beings, each with complex sensations and emotions, live and die on a production line. The march of human progress is strewn with dead animal."

And the powerful speech by the fantastic Philip Wollen - Animals should be off the menu. "When we suffer we suffer alike." Be prepared with lots of tissues.

So how has your October started?

from holmes to sherlock

I'm surprised at how much I like this Swedish biography-ish book about Sherlock Holmes by Mattias Boström. Because a) even if I do enjoy a bit of the older move adaptions of SH now and then and of course the latest Sherlock TV-series I've mostly found the character really annoying. And b) I may have been a bit intrigued by the book but I mainly bought it because it was on sale.

Little did I know I would be smitten from page one. It's written in a rather endearingly patronizing way combined with dry humour and interesting facts about pretty much everything Sherlockian from the author Conan Doyle and his sources of inspiration up to how the 21st century Sherlock-series came by. I'm appalled at the lack of copyrights before the early 1900s and I had no idea just how extremly popular teh Sherlock Holmes stories were back when it all began.

Of course I have no idea if I'll love the book through all its massive 460 pages, I'm only 1/4 in to it yet. But I'm impressed by the clearly well researched story and all the little factual tidbits through the centuries. It's strangely enough quite an exciting read, like a suspense novel in itself.

Don't know if it has been or is planned to be translated in to other languages. But if you're lucky enough to read Swedish I, 125 pages in, do recommend it.

the art of ageing

Someone on Instagram tipped me about this documentary on Swedish television about older women being absolutely fabulous and proving getting older does not in any way mean you have to get drab, grey and settle for a senior-mode or an inactive lifestyle. I never catched it on TV but it is still available on SVT Play (in Sweden only, with the title Pantertanter och krutgubbar: Mode) until August 6 - and I do urge you to watch it!

Because it's a great British documentary from 2013 - I remember hearing about it back then but it hasn't been shown in Sweden until now sadly -, showing 6 different, active women from the age 73 up to 91 that are absolutely aweinspiring and fantastic. It's called Fabulous Fashionistas and if you're able to watch it outside Sweden you really should.

Read more about the documentary here and here. None of the women had had plastic surgery and some of them showed that looking fabulous and stylish has nothing to do with money, charity shops, thrift stores and flee markets are great sources when you're on a modest budget.

Some truly inspiring 45 minutes of your life. Promise.

movies times six

The obvious pros of rainy summer weather is that its perfect for reading books and watching movies. Yes I've read books ready to be reviewed too, but this post is all about movies.

The very good, the awful and the one yet to be watched.

Pride - loved it! Heartwarming, funny and hopeful. That it's based on a true story is actually quite mindblowing.

Birdman - absolutely. utterly. awful. One of the worst movies I've ever seen actually. Pretentious and laughingly bad. That it won an Oscar for best movie is completely incomprehensible.

Paddington - so. much. love! Finally got to see it. So well made and adorable, the dark and sad streaks made it even more lovable. Oh the colours! The fabulous home of the family Brown. And Mrs Browns wonderful wardrobe (those purple high heel oxfords...). The expressive fluffy Paddington bear. With the voice of lovely Ben Whishaw.



Kingsman, the secret service - hadn't heard of this one, but I really enjoyed it very much. And not only because Colin Firth played a major role. And the thing is, that the bad guy does have a valid point when it comes to how to save the planet. Which people who always root for mankind won't like. Though why let a Norwegian play the Swedish prime minister?

The Imitation Game - not the first time this true story is told, but in a very very good way. So much more deserving of the Oscar than the above Birdman-crap (pun intended).

What If - have heard so much good about this one so I have high hopes for it. Even if it's difficult to see Daniel Radcliffe as nothing else than Harry Potter. EDIT: Have seen it and it was darlin'. I find it sweet that the movie they go and see each on their own is "The Princess Bride", I did go and see that on my own too. Somehow it's a movie magical romantic and perfect to see by yourself.

So, a rainy weekend can be really really good for you. Movie-wise.

breakfast at the reichstag roof in berlin

On top of the German Reichstag (parliament building) in Berlin there's a cupola - which is a symbol for democracy, transparency and also an environmental project that is a great way to lessen the building's carbon footprint.



And beside that cupola on the roof is a restaurant opened for breakfast (lunch and dinner). If you book your breakfast you don't have to stand in line with the tourists and groups that want to visit the cupola. Still have to go through the same security check as at an airport though, but if your there early its a swift process.

So we had breakfast there at 9 am. And it was admittedly frightfully early for me to get up. And it turned out to be surprisingly difficult to find a nearby parking spot, because there were so many inclosures for unknown reason.



In the end we had to park quite far away, having to walk back in the rain and cold winds. Up on the roof the view over Berlin was spectacular. And being there so early in the morning meant there were much less people around of course. It was a nice experience, but way too early for some. If not others.






The restaurant itself was really nice, open and light - although honestly the toilets smelled quite a bit, they should do something about the plumbing... - and with grand views. Too bad it was such a rainy, cold day otherwise the glass walls would have been open to the terrace.





And what about the breakfast? Well, we accidently ordered three of them for two persons so we didn't exactly leave hungry or with completely empty plates. But tastewise, nothing exciting or supertasty, just nice and forgettable. There are so many better places in Berlin to have breakfast. But the food AND the panoramic view, that's a different story.



The Reichstag is a beautiful, old building (first idea in 1871, but the buidling didn't begin until 1884 and was finished in 1894) and the cupola is a fine, young part of it (built 1995-99). It's a building with a fascinating story, a factual and practical symbol of so much that has affected the rest of the world.







I think it's a nice thing that the place is opened to the public and the symbolism of the dome, the transparency of democracy and that, in the right light, you can look down at the speaker's chamber below where politicans work.



It was an overall good experience, I wish I hadn't been so tired  though, But as it happened, by the end of the week I got a nasty cold - which I haven't had for 1,5 year now - so I guess it was all way for my body to show exhaustion.



Also on our way from the visit suddenly there were a gazillion police cars out and about, new inclosures, the traffic lights not working. Suddenly we were abruptly stopped by police, cars, cyclist and pedestrians alike. Far away in the road I noticed lots of bluelights and even more police cars. Clearly there were some sort of police escort. People started cheering and we had no idea who was coming. So I snapped away and when they passed us close by and waved right at us in the car I realised it was queen Elizabeth and prince Philip visiting.



Needless to say really, despite this unexpected Berlin experience, which granted was a bit fun, I'm still very much a republican. In the European sense of the word of course.

how good is your english?

the swedish morning paper dagens nyheter (the daily news) recently published an english test consisting of 12 varied questions, spelling, grammar and comprehension. partly taken from the actual annual scholastic aptitude test, partly new questions. i couldn't resist taking it when i saw that only 3% had gotten 100%. with more than 50000 swedes having done so, it had to be difficult, right?

it wasn't rocket science. in fact it was nowhere near so. i'm gobsmacked only (now counting me) 4% got 12/12 right. obviously we aren't as good in english like we pride ourselves to be. if the test is anything to go by.

oh the shame, the humiliation if i hadn't been one of the 4% ones...

downton tabby

This might be one of the most clever, brilliant, awesome books I've ever read. It combines one of the best TV-series, Downton Abbey obviously, with cats. Or rather it shows the conspicuous similarities with the then behaviour and life of the upper class with the always ones of cats. 

A very thin book but brimming with hilarious observations for all of us who love cats and Downton Abbey. And wonderful illustrations. I've laughed and giggled myself to sleep a few nights now.

And of course most of the posh and not so posh Downton Tabbies are British Shorthairs. Go figure.

Oh I fear I sat the standard almost impossibly high for my reading year 2015 beginning with Downton Tabby.

Which is your first book of 2015?
Enjoyable or not?

night film and other books

Only a couple of weeks later it's time for another heap of books to get their short review - I'm certainly back on my reading track for sure!

Just like the last time it's a mixed bunch of recently read and not so recent. And I'll rate them from 5 (best) to 1 (worst). Here goes.



The tiny wife and All my friends are super-heroes by Andrew Kaufman 4/5 both

Bought and read this tiny book back in 2011. It was a lovely, quirky, ingenious quick read which I loved. Even if it didn't give my reading mojo back it was a book I read from start to end within a few days. Highly recommended read! And so is another book of his "All my friends are superheroes" which I quickly finished and enjoyed while finding myself very unexpectedly in hospital back in 2012. Looking forward to reading more of his works!

We bought a zoo by Benjamin Mee 3/5

A true story about and by the owner of Dartmoor Zoo, Benjamin Mee and his family. Bought and read the book back in 2009 it was certainly an interesting, unusual and moving read. It was also upsetting and heartbreaking given how the animals were treated in the then zoo. If the book is anything to go by it's a better place today, but still my views on zoos are not of the benevolent kind. I'm really not sure the conservation part of zoos in general make up for all the heartache, sorrow, pain and death wild animals have to endure all over the world in captivity within zoos.

Remember the annual senseless slaughters and capturing of dolphins in Taiji, Japan? The horrific murder of poor giraffe Marius in Copenhagen, Denmark? Keep in mind that this happens all the time, all over the world just because stupid humans keep bringing their kids to zoos where wild animals are kept in unnatural, poor conditions for entertainment. It breaks my heart.

Also, the book could do with a decent proof-reading.

Espresso Tales and Love over Scotland by Alexander McCall Smith 4/5

The 2nd and 3rd book in the 44 Scotland Street series, not as great as the Sunday Philosophy Club-series (one of my favourite books/series!) but still good reads. Also bought and read 2009-10. Clever, entertaining and easy to get through, with thoughtful and wise passages all through the books. I have a couple of more books in the series in my to read heap. Which I'll hopefully get to some time soon, at this reading rate.

L'Échappée belle by Anna Gavalda 3/5

Gavalda is one of my favourite authors - read my previous views on Hunting and Gathering, Someone I Loved, I wish someone was waiting for me somewhere and The Consolation Match - her writing is exquisite and modern, clever, intellectual and most always with a high recognition factor.

This one was a short novel, an easy read I picked up last summer. One of those few books I've been able to get through since 2010. It was a nice read, not as good as her previous books but worth a read.



A tiny bit marvellous by Dawn French 1/5

I picked this up a thrift store and I thoughtit would be a light and entertaining read. After 50+ pages I gave up. Super-annoying characters and a story that never took off. It's now in the heap of books to send on a Book-crossing journey. Perhaps someone else will enjoy it.



Dead clever by Scarlett Thomas 2/5

Another book from 2009. One of Thomas' early books this is really not at all as fantastic as her PopCo or The End of Mr Y, both of which I adore. A simple story, easy read suspense novel which could do with being shortened down a few chapters. Perhaps I will read another Lily Pascale-mystery book some day. It certainly isn't a top priority notion though.

I am however looking forward very much to another three pair of books of hers soon to arrive in a book parcel for me. And I already have her "Going out" which I'll start reading soon.



Night film by Marisha Pessl 5/5

I finished this brick novel within a reasonable time-span, hooray! And it's a stunning (suspense) novel! Perhaps not quite in the same way as Special Topics in Calamity Physics, but still very well researched and built this clever suspense novel sent many chills down my spine and to be honest I didn't dare turn out the lights to sleep after reading it in the evenings. So in the end I had to read it during daylight and not in the bedroom. It gripped me from the first page and 590 pages later I can safely say it's one of the best thrillers I've ever read. Although, possibly too many question marks remain once one reach the end. But it makes you think about the fact that all is not what it seems. Or is it?

I was disappointed that the Nightfilm smartphone app didn't work though. That would have added and extra touch of smart to the reading experience.

What's the best book you've read recently?

the noble art of dripping with pleasure

Many years ago when staying at a B&B in England there was a cat that took every chance at a cuddle with anyone close by. While doing that she salivated profusely. One of the other guests called it "dripping with pleasure". Such an apt expression for it and it has stuck.

Many years ago I had a gorgeous chinchilla persian cat who also was a cuddle monster. As well as a master drooler. Since then none of the cats has shown any drooling while cuddling tendencies. I can't say I missed it.



Things have now changed. This is how my evenings pretty much always are rounded off these days. The one named Ztina has recently shown quite an obsessive behaviour when it comes to being near me, for reasons unknown. Even if it's of course always nice to be loved, I'm not ungrateful for the affection shown. Far from.

It's just that it seems, to me, more laboursome than lovely to always, always, always purring very loudly whenever I'm nearby. Always swirling around demanding belly rubs and cuddles when I sit down, stand up, walk by. Add to that drooling. Yes she is now also showing obvious signs of becoming the next big drooler in this residence.



Adamantly working her way to perfection in the noble art of dripping with pleasure. Another side of the life with the Prosit sisters.

speckled egg nailpolish

This spectacular nailpolish actually shows the power of social media. Albeit a more superficial part of it, but still. Hadn't I seen a fabulous snap of it on Instagram I would never (probably) have known there was such a grand thing a speckled egg nailpolish.

A UK brand not sold in Sweden (yet) called Models Own, very affordable prices though alas Boot's doesn't ship to Sweden. But the gal who sported the nailpolish on Instagram helped me find the Models Own webshop which does ship overseas. At a rather hefty price I might add. But if one order with other nailpolishtas the price gets reasonable of course.



The most fascinating thing about the order was that I placed it on Saturday evening and on Tuesday it arrived with FedEx already...! I am so impressed, that's much quicker than if you'd order something in Sweden to be shipped in Sweden... I'm so happy it actually arrived in time for Easter.



Less impressed with the unfortunate thing that one of the bottles was broken upon arrival. The package reaked of nailpolish and it was a nervous thing to open the parcel. But I'm grateful it was only one bottle which didn't make it. Hopefully that issue will be sorted asap.

It's a lovely polish irl too, the effect is quite magical I have to say. To actually have nails looking like tiny pastel speckled eggs, who knew that was even possible?



And needless to say, one can always rely on them bobbaloos to be colour matching to anything fine that arrives to this household.

Have a lovely lovely Easter one and all,
speckled egg nails or not!

one chance

Have seen the movie 'One Chance' about the life of Paul Potts, the guy who won Britain's Got Talent with his fantastic tenor voice in 2007. 

Great actors and an inspiring true story, tears and laughter made for a very enjoyable couple of hours. 

If only more people would dare to follow their dreams! And if only more family and friends would encourage and support that. To slowly die inside because you aren't true to yourself, heartbreaking.

Dream and follow your passion. The world will be a much better place if more people dare to do that.

eating out - the latymer at dill sthlm

There are reasons why I in general don't fancy fine dining. Imho the food is often more hyped, pretentious and pretty to look at than it is flavour and texture carousing, mind-blowingly enjoyable to eat. Not to mention over-priced. I'd rather go on a trip or get more shoes than pay a hefty price for a fine dining experience to be honest. My best, most awesome meals have so far been prepared and cooked by people skilled at seasoning using good produce. And for a reasonable price, often more than reasonable priced actually.



That said, I think it could indeed be a delightful experience to have dinner at the pop-up restaurant Dill Sthlm hosted by British Michelin star chef Michael Wignall, The Latymer during a few weeks this autumn. I was lucky enough to be one of the eight chosen Yelpers to have dinner there this evening.



The restaurant is situated in old industrial premises which have been lovely and simply done up in a both rough and romantic way creating a lovely ambiance. Huge windows overlooking a road with heavy traffic and the Saltsjöbanan train rails, two portaloos being the only facilities - which made for a rather interesting experience using them when the train ran by just behind your back. As well as putting one of the dampers on the evening, because you couldn't wash your hands with water and soap after using the facility. Neither nice nor classy.


the tiniest imaginable starter (for two!) consisted of seaweed/dill crisp and something cheese (i know, i didn't pay a lot of attention to all ingredients...), okey but a bit too salty

Greeted with champagne and a duet playing classical tunes, which was indeed a nice start to the evening we'd all been looking forward to a lot. Unfortunately though the food didn't at all live up to our expectations and neither did the service, with exceptions of course.



The best memories I take with me from the evening is the great company of people that made me laugh a lot, the ambiance and the absurdity of a lot of things placed before us, during the 10 courses molecular gastronomy tasting menu (yes you could choose a vegetarian one!).


the watermelon - pretty nice, the texture of the dehydrated watermelon was awesome

the beetroot - the nicest one of the 'main' courses, but just the thought of someone turning the skin of boiled milk into 'milk crisp' was actually one of the most laugh-instigating things of the evening, seriously, come on...

the tomato - too fruity and sweet for my tastebuds and an onion that hadn't been peeled properly

the leek - also rather nice (but served in a silly bowl)

the parsnip - rather nice, but again too heavy on the salt

the cheese - i do not like blue cheese, but it was rather good with the apple, the jelly blob was nasty though (dimmed lights, crappier snap)

the exotic egg - the crappiest snap was of the nastiest of the dishes, the first dessert, apart from the tiny pain perdu i think the flavour and texture of the 'egg' was revolting actually

the chuao - now we're talking pure and utter tastebud delight! full of wonderful flavours and textures that complimented eachother sweetly

the apple - also this dessert, the very last dish, was superb, lovely flavours and textures

Apart from what I thought of the dishes themselves, here are a few more negative impressions I have of the evening. Yes I do expect more from a restaurant claiming to be fancy.

~ The waiters really should ask whether you want the meat/fish menu or the vegetarian one, you as a guest shouldn't have to ask for it.
~ When you've established you do indeed want the vegetarian menu it shouldn't take three courses before the waiters remember that simple fact.
~ When you ask about the ingredients and their origin the waiters really should be able to answer and not only say 'the egg comes from a hen'.
~ The waiters should be attentive and refill your water glass regularly without you having to wave at them for some time.
~ Some of the waiters were really nice and friendly, some did have a bit of an attitude problem actually.
~ As someone neither interested in nor fond of alcohol I think dinner is best enjoyed with water as beverage, I do prefer ice water before carbonated water. It is a nice gesture to let the guest choose and not impose one of them only. And the quality of the carbonated water was not good, there was a stale tang.
~ And yes, as it turned out, having to pay a simply ridiculous price for a decanter of (not good) water, is just... simply ridiculous.
~ Also, paying good money for a hyped meal of this kind (and yes I am well aware of the fact that a meal at the 'real' restaurant would indeed cost much more, still cheap it was not) strange as may seem, it is indeed nice to leave the restaurant satisfied and pleasantly full. We did not.
~ The guests who paid for the wine package got quite a generous, recurrent serving of wine, which did feel a bit absurd given the size of the portions... Perhaps the idea was to fill the diners with plenty of alcohol so they wouldn't taste or be critical of the hyped food?
~ Also, both the price of the taste menu and the wine package had been bumped up, without advanced noticed.

Apparently, it takes a lot more to charm me and my tastebuds completely than something hyped and Michelin-starred. A pleasant overall experience, Dill Sthlm, even if the food in general didn't at all live up to my expectations it was an eye-opening and fascinating evening on many other levels.

EDIT 13.09.29 - Apparently the Dill Sthlm experience was a PR-coup by the rather infamous German discount supermarket-chain Lidl. They've hired the Michelin-chef to prepare food from their groceries, to make people see that you can prepare great food from their stock quality doesn't count.

And once again some ridiculous PR-firm has made a mess of things, this is not the way to build customer relations and credability for a brand. Not to mention the reputation of the Michelin chef, if one had a wish to some day visit the Latymer that wish has certainly evaporated after this experience. I hope the money he was paid made up for a poor decision reputation-wise.

It doesn't get better with, yet another, communication manager being quoted to say "This has never really been a secret, we would have told if anyone asked. But noone asked." Surprise, on the evening in question we DID ASK where the name Dill came from and the waiter told us "It's because it's the same simple word in both Swedish and English". Clearly they'd either deceived the staff too or instructed the staff with that answer in order to deceive the guests. 

Let's just say I'm very pleased I was not one of those who naively praised the hyped food. And that I (we) did pick up on several negative impressions during the evening.

The only thing I buy at Lidl is kitty litter, will continue to do so. And somehow that is indeed a perfect symbol for what I think of Lidl and their business idea. And ridiculous PR-coups.