Salon gigs are THE new big thing!

Forget football stadiums and massive arenas

The new big thing is small, intimate gigs!

Jane Siberry has just done it and I read in this morning's paper than none other then Bonnie "Prince " Billy has just done an "at home" gig here in Stockholm.

And did Duncan fix us up with tickets? Sadly not.

This shindig was at the American Ambassdor's Residence. If only I'd have known, I'd have blagged my way masquerading as the British ambassador, no problem.

Multi Kulti Benefit concerts

On Tuesday and Wedensday (2 & 3 June) this week, Multi Kulti,the world's finest record shop are having two star-packed benefit concerts at Kägelbanan. Like all record shops they have been having a very rough time and there's a serious risk they may close down.

So go along, enjoy a great evening's music and support them!

Ulrika - a couple of practical things

If any of you want to send Ulrika a card, it's best to send it to us:

Ulrika Oscarsson
Vikstensvägen 53
12156
Johaneshov
Sweden


And for pals in Stockholm, she is also now well enough to receive visitors.

It's probably best to check with me (Tel 070 729 8573)before going. It would be a shame if lots of people came on the same day. Also she may well be moving to another hospital soon which has a better physiotherapy unit.

I asked Kai what he thought Mummy needed to help her get well soon.The answer? Lots and lots of Transformer robot toys. He's faithfully promised that he will personally take responsibility for the delivery of these. What a thoughtful son we have!

And now for an Icelandic Party Political Broadcast!

Ellen sent me this small treat.


http://bestiflokkurinn.is/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=154&tmpl=component&Itemid=1


I hope this doesn't give any British, or indeed Swedish, political parties ideas!

Ulrika Update Monday 31 May

It was a strange weekend but yesterday evening things took major turn for the better. Ulrika rang home and for the first time in 6 days she sounded a little more herself.More importantly, she's begun to question whether some of the events that she believed have happened recently are the product of her fevered imagination.

Piecing it together, she was under the impression that the following events had taken place.As Astrid said, this was her reality and she sincerely believed they had happened.

While on a visit to London (where she thought she was now in hospital) I had bricked Kai up in a cell where he had been a prisoner for three months. He had miraculously escaped and I had pursued him across Lapland but with the help of some reindeer he had got away. He had then been on a TV or radio prgramme in Gothenburg and had become some sort of national celebrity. Meanwhile the police were on my trail and once they had arrested me, I was going to be in prison for a long time.

A series of unfortunate events indeed!

Emile tells me that if you are suffering from a fever and experiencing nightmares,when you re-awake, it is common to believe that the events you dreamt about actually happened.

Astrid visited Ulrika on Saturday and Sussi kindly took the kids on Sunday. She's got to the point where she would appreciate visitors, but of course she is still ill, so best to touch base with me first.

Noggovision

Of course, I'd never admit it in public, but Eurovision last night was quite fun. Sussi came over and cooked supper for us, Astrid brought a mountain of strawberries and Zo danced all night. I tried hard (unconvincingly) to be cool, ironic and sardonic. As none of the contestants was a giant transforming robot, Kai's interest was lukewarm.

Dastardly deeds and dire deceptions!

Oh the shame! I never cease to be amazed by the depths of depravity to which a human being can sink. I'm afraid my behaviour today has not been admirable.

I've been scheming away and wondering whether I could take advantage of Ulrika's absence to get out of watching the Eurovision Song Contest with the kids this evening.

I was thinking that perhaps I could tell them that it had been cancelled due to a volcanic eruption in Luxembourg or a tidal wave in Switzerland? Or perhaps a postal workers strike in Albania would convince them?

I should point out that the ESC is a major event here in Sweden. Pubs and restaurants will all be empty this evening as people gather around the box to watch and eat mountains of popcorn and crisps. This year will be a little different though. The country has been cast into gloom by the fact that for the first time ever Sweden is not in the final.

But our son is no fool and there's no hoodwinking him. Before I could put my plan into action, he announced in a tone of voice that would do Tony Soprano credit:

It's Eurovision tonight, Daddy. We always watch it, don't we?

Nothing to do! if I'm lucky there might be some Lithuanian metal or Greek reggae that is half listenable.

Incidentally, a piece of ESC trivia. How many points did La Royaume Unie give ABBA in Brighton?

In the aftermath of the rainy season Amazonia is utterly transformed

This evening, while I've been trying to get a very unwilling Zoe to bed, Kai has been watching the marvelous BBC documentary series, From the Andes to the Amazon and insisting on giving me a running commnetary which consists of large chunks of the narration.

Daddy, look that fish is a remorseless denizen of the deep!

A change is as good as a rest. Normally, our conversations consists of large chunks of dialogue from Transformers:

Puny humans! Resistance is futile! prepare to feel the wrath of Unicron!

That certainly livens things up at the breakfast table!

A sporting chance

The Word's weekly newsletter always comes up with Tube treats and this week is no exception:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0jPaTmWF5I

Auntie Maria boosts morale!

We've just had a visit from Auntia Maria from Öland which has certainly helped to keep the kids and me in good spirits.

It was good for them to have some extra attention and for me to have another adult to talk to to convince me that I wasn't bonkers.Ok then, not completely bonkers!

Ulrika update 27 May

Another strange day with several steps in the right direction.

As mentioned, Ulrika requested and enjoyed her first cup of coffee. At present she's a very strange mixture of clarity and bewilderment. I went to visit with Auntie Maria and we both were aware of things that were said that deviated from the truth.

She continues to be hostile and agressive towards me. She explained to Maria that I had bricked Kai in for three months!! Chance would be a fine thing! Someone's been reading a bit too much Edgar Allan Poe.

But then at the same time she's also very lucid. Sussi had sent her a get well soon card which she read and then explained to Maria about how she had met Grandma Stina.

I was very pleased to finally be able to take the kids to see her: a major hurdle crossed. Zo gave Mummy a hug and then wrigggled free and went off exploring. Kai really didn't want to come at all and found the whole experience rather scary. He went in to give Ulrika a cuddle but was frightened by the fact that Mummy talked in a strange voice. He found the hospital frightening and couldn't wait to get away.

That little scamp is well aware that while the cat's away, the mice can renegotiate bedtime. So long as Mummy's in hospital,the Reign of Misrule will continue.

Several of you have been very supportive regarding Ulrika's strange behaviour towards me.Thanks! It's not much fun to experience, even if I know on an intellecual level that it's the illness talking and not her.

I am such a fault-free, magnificent, angelic human being that only someone who was suffering paranoid delusions could possibly get pissed off with me!

Smoke on the Volga?

Priceless Purple!

http://darkerthanblue.wordpress.com/2010/05/07/another-collector/

Java Jive!

Ulrika has just requested and drunk her first cup of coffee in ten days! Personally, I prefer a cuppa but in caffeinophilic Sweden this was an important development.

Ulrika Update 26 May

Yet another day with great progress but with something of a sting in the tail.


When I got to the hospital today to visit Ulrika in the new ward she's now moved to, there were a doctor and two nurses taking care of her. They were very happy with the progress she's making. She's now sitting up in a far more stable fashion and was drinking using a straw.She seemed to be far more flexible than yesterday.

She'll be in this ward for probably two weeks. Then there will be physiotherapy at a local hospital once she is well enough to come home. (To be able to come home she's going to have to be well enough to climb two flights of stairs as we have no lift.)

What was less good news was that, despite being in far better shape than yesterday, she was not herself at all. She begun by talking about me going to prison for what I had done and how the kids weren't safe in the same house as me. She then accused me of locking Kai up for three months and then trying to bury the kids alive (I think).

All very confused, aggressive and not much fun to listen to. Of course, I mentioned this all to the medical staff who said that this kind of thing was not at all unusual for someone in her condition. When my mum was in the first stages of her Alzheimers,she was very much like this, which helped me to put it into perspective.

There are indeed many friends of mine who doubtless think that I ought to serve a long prison sentence for all the heinous crimes I have committed against humanity. Rarely has one individual inflicted so much unlistenable music on so many!

Auntie Maria has now arrived from Öland for two days. Tomorrow's visit will be interesting.

Thank you Buddha!

It's not at all unusual for seven-year olds to spend a lot of time talking about big questions to do with life and death or to aware of their own mortality. And, with his mum in hospital, it not surprising that Kai is having such thoughts.

Last night, at about 22.00, having read him bedtime stories and tried to settle him down, he suddenly wanted to know what happens when we die. I was totally exhausted and really not up to this discussion. I offered a few lame suggestions.

And then out of the blue, he said: Perhaps we come back as a new baby? Heaven knows where he's acquired ideas about reincarnation from, I was just grateful.

Having sorted that out, we then moved on to the far safer ground of whether Tiger Wave or Megatron was the more powerful Decepticon.

Seven-year olds also tend to have a wonderfully butterfly mind!

One Day by David Nicholls

Not only does Duncan get me the best tickets for the very best gigs in town, he also is not averse to recommending books.

I've just finished the wonderful One Day which is going to be one of my (and everybody else's) novels of the year.

The sort of book one never wants to end and when it does, it gets even big, rough, tough, gruff chaps like Cooper and me reaching for the Kleenex.

A must-read!

Ulrika Update 25 May

Well,things are really starting to happen. Earlier this morning I actually got a phone call from Ulrika and now I've been up at the hospital talking to her for the first time in 8 days. A quantum leap!

She's very groggy and a bit confused and some things she said were strange or difficult to understand. She's also quite upset and when I mentioned Kai and Zoe and all the friends and family who've been asking about her she got quite weepy. And there's still very limited movement on her left side.

But it's an enormous relief to be able to re-establish contact.

There's a long way still to go. No one has offered me any kind of forecast as to how long it will all take. It seems that recovery is very individual.

A phone call from Ulrika!!!!

Ulrika just rang me up!! Very groggy but it's the first speech in a week. We are getting there!

Basil brings home the bacon

I had a night off yesterday and went to Dramaten, the very regal theatre on Östermalm to see a stunning concert by Joanne Newsome supported by Alasdair Roberts. Susan, Zoe's wonderful resource person from nursery, held the fort.

When I came home and asked how it had gone, she told me that Kai had been rolling around on the sofa for ages laughing hysterically at a strange programme about a fox. She found this very perplexing.

Basil Brush strikes again!

This morning when doing the washing up I also noticed that His Lordship had ordered a round of bacon sarnies from room service. He'd doubtless told Susan that Daddy made these for him every night.

Ulrika update Monday 24th May

Ulrika has now been moved to a normal ward which is a great step in the right direction. She looks a lot more human now devoid of most of those tubes sticking out of her and the great wall of technology. There seemed to a lot more movement in her eyes today however she's not talking yet which is troubling the doctors a little. It makes it even stranger to sit there babbling to her and get no response.

But patience is the key. Small steps every day and we'll get there. No one has offered any kind of forecast as to how long she will be in hospital.

And, the cavalry are coming! Auntie Maria is coming up from Öland mid-week for a few days. That will do Kai and Zoe a lot of good. They might even get fed! I tend to forget mundane practical things like giving them food.

It's Friday! It's five o' clock! It's football practice!

Kai has got it into his head that he wants to go to football training. I don't think he's desperately interested but it's something all the lads in his class are doing so he's succumbed to peer pressure.

Football practice is at 17.00 on Friday afternoon and I can think of many better ways of starting my weekend. The first time was unrelieved misery. Icy winds blowing and in places there was still snow on the ground. Tor Zombiedad and myself skulked around the perimeter like a pair of malcontents from a Jacobean revenge drama, muttering curses and profanities.

We parents were given a pep talk.In a few weeks time there would be a full day tournament and then later in the summer a two day tournament in some far-flung corner of Greater Stockholm. This was supposed to fire us up with enthusiasm. It sent cold shivers down my spine.

I've heard nightmare stories from parents with older children who have spent long hours on sports pitches. Pia in Canada claims that being a baseball parent is the pits. I wonder which team sport is worse.

What is this all about? It's great that the kids want to kick a ball about and they clearly enjoy themselves. And hats off to the parents who give up their time to lead the sessions, sell refereshments etc. It's very churlish of me to grumble. But I can't help thinking: isn't this all a bit over-serious? In a year's time, for example, girls and boys will no longer be able to play in the same team. Sport and exercise should be fun and as inclusive as possible. Friskis & Svettis are wonderful in this respect. I have a lot of time for their philosophy.

Kai is showing few signs of being the new Beckham. Week 2 he created his own new game: Forest Ball. Week 3 he was feeling out of sorts (not surprisingly with his mum in hospital) so he found some charcoal and did a makeover on his face so that he looked like one of the Black and White Minstrels.

He clearly is taking nothing too seriously.

Hats off to Jane Siberry!

There's a fine article in the new edition of The Word about the history of the rock concert. Or more perhaps how the live music experience has transmutated into the bloated behemoth that is stadium rock in 2010.

I hate stadium rock and it's a very rare artist that will tempt me into a large sports arena for a show: Paul Simon, Leonard Cohen, Plant and Krauss and Peter Gabriel being the most memorable occasions. For the latter all the trickery with lights and gadgets really got in the way of the music: a boy dwarfed by his toys.The whole concept is so opposed to everything that I value in the live music experience, which is the creation of some kind of communion between artist and audience.

The article concluded by suggesting that everything was just going to get bigger, bolder and more expensive and it was a foolish artist who tried to do it any other way.

Thank heavens for fools then!

This weekend Canadian singer-song-writer Jane Siberry is in town and she is certainly swimming against the stream. She's doing a series of small intimate concerts in people's home and in an office with a very limited number of tickets. I should have gone tonight but, circumstances being what they are, had to give it a miss. It's wonderful idea.

I've only once been to a gig in someone's home. A colleague of ours from Folkuniversitet had her sister visiting from Rumania and decided to hold a concert in her flat. At home, she was a big Eurovision star and was used to playing enormous concert venues. And here she was, performing for us in front of the fireplace, giving it all she had as though we were a crowd of thousands. Bizarre and never to be forgotten. I suspect Jane will be slightly more low-key.

Delusions de blogeur?

This blog however is currently feeling like a small local newspaper who find themselves sitting on the major news story of the year. Or a pub rock band who've been told they're booked to play the Roskilde Orange Stage.

Ever since I started blogging I've had a steady readership of 6 - 7 people.(Not just any 6- 7 people, mind you! La creme de la creme!). This week that readership has shot up into double figures and many people who wouldn't normally go near it with a bargepole have almost been forced to visit. I do feel sorry for the poor souls who simply want to to know how Ulrika is doing who have to navigate their way through my rantings on other topics.

I am nevertheless quietly chuffed when I hear that readers have actually had a listen to some of the artists I've mentioned.

Ulrika update - Sunday 23 May

Another day of progress!

The respirator has now been removed and Ulrika is breathing naturally again. This means that she is now ready (touch wood) for the move to a normal infections ward.

This will hopefully happen tomorrow. A major step forward

She had her eyes open most of the time I was there and when the nursing staff asked her to blink or hold their hand tighter.she would do this. So she's hearing what's being said, even if she can't respond.

Ulrika looked eve more herself with some of the tubes gone.

Now let's just hope she continues to improve!

Today's babysitting thanks go to Karin, Manne and Konrad. The Terrible Twosome obviously had a lot of fun with them.

28,000 SEK a day!

All in all, a rather satisfying day. We've just got back from a BBQ supper at Sue and Peter's where Kai and Zoe had a great time. Mucking about with John and Mary and a tent in the garden kept them both in very good spirits. And Kai got to see the new Transformers film. An endurance test for any normal person but he was happy as a sandboy.

He's bearing up well but Mummy being in hospital is getting to him occasionally. Sue noticed that he was a little withdrawn when we got there and this morning at breakfast he suddenly announced: Daddy, I don't want to die! This is a perfectly normal thought for a kid of his age but current events are doubtless affecting him. Mercifully, he fairly soon changed the topic of conversation to: who is the more powerful Decepticon, Tiger Wave or Megatron?

My visit to the hospital went very well. The nurses all were very positive about the progress that UIrika is making. She's responding to their instructions and there is starting to be some movement in her left side. She's no longer on drugs to make her sleep and she'll very soon be taken off the ventilator. Once this happens, she'll be moved to a normal infection ward which is an enormous leap forward. From there, the process of recuperation and rehabilitation will really begin.

I stood there and babbled on. I'd be lying if I said that I got much response but her eyes were open for much of the time so I felt I was getting through in some way.

It's a great art to talk to someone who is not responding in any visible way. My mum used to have a Jamaican lady, June, who used to visit her, who was unbelievably good at it. She could talk none stop for two hours without the slightest problem. Admirable!

I happened to ask what the treatment at the intensive care ward is costing. 28,000 SEK a day. What will it cost us? 80 SEK a day. I am so glad I don't live in the USA!

Danbert of Burnley

Pooh had some major problems with Tigger on the food front. And I have had similar struggles with Kai. What do Kais eat for breakfast?

This morning I (at least for the moment) I cracked it. He asked for and then wolfed down a large bacon sarnie.

My son clearly would not get on with Gary's old school mate, Nigel Hunter, aka Danbert Nobacon who I've just stumbled across as I explore some of the more obscure corners of Americana:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danbert_Nobacon

What a difference between Burnley and Pinner! Watson went to school with a transvestite, transexual exhibitionist; I shared the schoolyard with Michael Portillo.

More small steps.

Rung the hospital and the nurse said that Ulrika is responding more and more and there's even some movement on her left side which they were worried about. While I was on the phone Zoe found a bunch of grapes and explored the art of winemaking.

Wonderfully silly!

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/49YN8d/www.collegehumor.com/video:1935205

Pet Shop Bouyancy?

Friends continue to rally round.

I was explaining to that fine medic, Dr Emile De Sousa, that I drew a lot of inspiration from that awesome breed of men: rock and roll road managers. I see myself as the roadie who has to keep the Farrow Famiy Circus Tour 2010 on the road.

More like the pantomime horse! was his riposte.

That man has a bedside manner to die for!

Today the kids got a parcel from Jeanie: a print for Zo and a book for Kai: The day I swapped my dad for two goldfish by Neil Gaiman.

Far be it from me to complain, but if there's one thing our son does not need, it's ideas.He has far too many of his own. He's now, rather ominously, talking about visiting a pet shop tomorrow. This will end in tears when he discovers that the current exchange rate for used Dads is less than favourable.

Ulrika Friday 21 May update

Up at the hospital today and had a brief meeting with Mats Kallin, the doctor in charge of Ulrika's case.

A mixture of news, most of it good.

Things are continuing to move in the right direction but perhaps a little slower than they might have expected. The infection is decreasing and the inflammation is also diminishing.

The one thing that perplexes them is the lack of motion on her left side. They did a MRI scan yesterday and could detect no ischemia (damage). So they really can't explain that.

Hopefully she will be able to move to a normal infection ward early next week.

I spent some time with her as they'd taken her off sedation. She opened her eyes a little but I couldn't really say I got much response. So I just stood there and babbled on for half an hour in the hope she'd recognise my voice.

Models of efficiency

I must say I'm rather proud of Zoe and myself as a team. We are so efficient and get so much done!

On Thursday, not only did we get Zo through an ear operation (the removal of some grommets), we also managed a visit to Ulrika in hospital and squeezed in a gig between hospitals.

Luckily for us there was a special Nursery Day in town with a display of artefacts and a concert.Now if Zoe hears some musicians getting started she is, just like her dad, Up The Front in a jiffy .

The band played one of my favourite children's songs, The Sharks. It's all about two children swimming out to sea and getting eaten up by a family of sharks. A toe tapping treat! Swedish kids love it.

We even squeezed in a visit to Multi Kulti on the way home.

Thanks!

A big thankyou to everyone who has been so supportive during the last few days. All the emails, text messages, phone calls, babysitting etc really has helped a lot to keep me and the Terrible Twosome in good spirits.

It's very moving how very upset so many friends and family have been about this dreadful illness that has struck down Ulrika.

People have been very restrained about phone calls which I appreciate but if you want to ring, please do! If I'm too busy to talk, I'll say so.


I will endeavour to keep everyone who wants to know more up to date both by using Bacefook and this blog. I'll put more information here as it's open to anyone to read. This will normally happen later in the evening, once two small persons have finally gone to bed.

Today, the hospital have done some more tests and report that things are slowly moving in the right direction. I'll meet some doctors tomorrow hopefully to get a more detailed report.

If you come to the blog, just ignore my musings on Argentine reggae or whatever other bee I have in my bonnet that day.

Personally, it makes my day to get things like a photo of a Somaliland goat and an accountant, a cowpunk playlist or a Youtube clip of some long lost band from the Old Grey Whistle Test. Nowt queer as folks, eh?

Once again, thanks a lot!

La tortura no es cultura!

There was an article in this morning's Svenska Dagbladet about the debate currently raging in Spain about bullfighting. Catalonia want to ban it and this has made the rest of the country see red. The bullfight enthusiasts are trying to preserve it by having a some sort of cultural preservation order put on it.

I do find it odd how it's often the most apalling aspects of the national culture that get some sort of special status in Europe. In Spain, bullfighting; in Sweden surströmming. (If you don't know what that is, my advice is: don't go there!).


One Spanish writer remarked on bullfighting: Torture is not culture.
Probably not.

But culture certainly often can be torture.

I can think of several cultural experiences that are pure pain.

Try some Slipknot!

They've suffered for their art and now it's your turn!

Tack

Jag ville bara tacka på svenska alla släktingar och kompisar i Sverige för allt stöd vi har fått under veckan: sms, mejl, telefon samtal och barnpassning.

Jag ber om ursäkt att jag bara skriver på engelska. Tiden räcker inte till att översätta. Det skulle ta dubbel så lång tid. Jag skriver på engelska därför det finns kompisar utomlands som vill veta hur Ulrika mår. Och jag är också fruktansvärt lat!

Idag är läget oförändrat. Tempen har sjunkit. Infektionsvärdet har gått ned. Ulrika är fortfarande på respirator och får sömnmedel och är medvetslös. Läkarna håller på fortfarande med olika tester.

Saker och ting gå sakta åt rätt håll. Men det kommer att tar tid!

An invaluable addition to our modern lifestyle, Gromit!

I don't like to boast, but we Oscarsson Farrows pride ourselves on being rather cutting edge when it comes to new technology. Earlier this week I splashed out and bought a rather state of the art gadget: a VHS player. The man in the shop said that they had been selling so well that they only had a few left.

What a joy! I have a mountain (literally!) of wonderful VHS tapes from when Kai was smaller and now Zoe can enjoy them all. All sorts of treats: Postman Pat, Bob the Builder, Trap Door, Fireman Sam, Rainbow,The Magic Roundabout,Thomas the Tank Engine.

First out was Maisie which went down a bomb.


Next week, I think I'll invest in another super-modern gadget: a casette player.

C30! C60! C90! Go!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXfgYTqwQUw

Ulrika update - Wednesday 19th May

Not an awful lot to report from today's visit. Ulrika's temperature has gone down to normal and the infection seems to have diminished slightly.

She's still under heavy sedation and not conscious yet. They'll be doing more tests tomorrow.

To sum up: a few small steps in the right direction.

Rise and shine?

Off to the hospital again. I'd forgotten how much waiting around there is in the medical world. Today I'm armed with my laptop.

Kai woke up at 5.30 and insisted on watching a Transformers movie. Wonderful start to the day! Giant robots remorsely and noisily beating the shit out of each other for two hours!

Somaliland pics

A couple of wonderful photos from Cousin Andy.

The first is him on payday, examining his salary. Accountants, eh? Overpaid the world over!

The second is the chamber maids that clean his room.

As a light traveller, Andy doesn't own a camera, so I asked whose camera he had borrowed.

To my fascination it turned out to belong to the hospital's founder,
Edna Adan. Wiki her! A rather extraordinary lady.

She's normally to be seen hob-nobbing with the likes of Hilary Clinton and was at the White house in the Lyndon B Johnson era.

And now she's rubbing shoulders with Craig of Clacton!

What an honour for her!

Ulrika update

Thanks for all the emails, phone calls, text messages offers of help etc.

Everything has helped to keep my morale up at this rather difficult time.

At the risk of repeating myself to some of you, here's a bit of an update.

I was up at the hospital for about four hours today. There was actually nothing useful for me to do. But I did get a briefing by two doctors and got to spend about two minutes with Ulrika. She's been sedated to enable her to rest. They woke her up briefly this afternoon and she responded appropriately but there's a long way to go.

So what did the doctors say?

Well, her condition is still very serious and she certainly isn't out of the danger zone yet. But thanks to lots of different tests they have a fairly clear picture of what's happening and they described things as under control. They've run tests on other organs such as heart, kidneys etc and there appears to be no damage.

She's on a respirator and there's a pipe into her skull to prevent pressure building up.

No indication as to how long recovery will take once the drugs start kicking in and winning the battle with the bacteria.

Back here in Kärrtorp we are in good spirits.

Gitte and dog picked up Zoe today which was a big hit. And yesterday Kai got picked up and ate at Tycho's and that was an enormous hit.

Neither of them have any problem being picked up by someone else, in fact Kai felt it a bit of letdown when I turned up today. But he doesn't want to go to the hospital. He thinks it sounds scary. Can't really argue with that. Seeing Ulrika with tubes in every orifice like something out of a sci fi film and great walls of computers with flashing lights doesn't exactly boost my spirits either!

Once again, I am very glad to be living in Sweden where there's such a great public health service. I dread to think what this wonderful care that she's receiving is costing.

I won't be complaining about paying my taxes this year!

So keep crossing those fingers, holding those thumbs, saying prayers, lighting candles, dancing naked round magic trees, sacrificing small animals etc: it all helps. we aren't out of the woods yet! But maybe we've made a few faltering steps in the right direction.

PS for music nerds

I spent my idle hours reading a fascinating book about Americana music: South by South-West by Brian Hinton.

Maybe not a masterpice but it has filled in some of the gaps in my knowledge about western swing, honky tonks, Appalachia, cowpunk etc.Understanding things like the link between Harry Smith's Anthology of American Music and the Grateful Dead brightened up my day.


I now have a list of about 200 albums I'd never heard of that I now just have to get hold of. Which of course is just what I needed!

Grim news!

I could happily have done without May 17 2010!

Ulrika got rushed to hospital early yesterday morning and is now in intensive care at the Karolinska Hospital with meningitis.

A total nightmare!

She is undoubtledly in the best hospital in Sweden for her condition. More high tech than Star Trek and stupendous doctors. She seems to have stabilised a little and so it's up to the antibiotics and her body to fight back.

Local friends here in Stockholm have been magnificently supportive with practical things and I've had lots of kind emails and text messages.

The Terrible Twosome are keeping me in good spirits. Zoe doesn't really understand what's happened although she senses something is wrong and Kai is putting on a brave face.He understands that things aren't good but he won't show it.

He was actually in our bed when the ambulance crew picked Ulrika up. When he woke I told him that he'd missed a crisis.

Yeah ! Daddy! There were some little green doctor men here. I saw them and then went back to sleep.

It would take Doctimus Prime and the Medibots to come crashing through the ceiling to wake him up!

Not a lot I can do except sit around and hope for the best and be supportive. Wow! A crisis tailor-made for me. What do I have to do? Nothing. The one thing in life at which I excel!

Oh Joanna!

I discovered this wonderful oddity on a Columbian website (as one does!)

A whole new approach to tinkling the ivories!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14jPvnWhdNM

Logical really.A grand piano is a big instrument. Why restrict it to just one player?

Headlining at Roskilde 2010.....

There's a wonderful function on the Skilde website where you can design your own festival poster. It takes about 10 minutes and all you need is a good photograph of yourself. You can even win a ticket to this year's festival.

The photo I used is of Zo and I when she was about one month old.

What I enjoyed most was putting Orchestre Poly-Rithmo de Cotonou, the Narasirato Pan Pipers and Staff Benda Bilili in their rightful place at top of the bill and consigning all the heavy metal geezers like Motorhead and those Vultures to the Camping Stage.

Hours of fantasy fun!

Of course, my personal version of Roskilde 2010 would probably sell about 10 tickets.

schemas

A few years back, Kai spent the entire weekend tying together all the pieces of furniture in our flat with string. The place ended up looking like one enormous spider's web and was Ulrika pleased when she got back from her weekend away!

I mentioned this to Clare (Craig) who introduced me to the concept of schemas. These are phases in a small child's development which manifest themselved in play:

http://www.dorsetforyou.com/357248

Kai was exhbiting classical Connection behaviour.

Zoe is currently classic Enclosure/Containment behaviour. Everything that can be opened and emptied, is. The kitchen cupboards, the laundry bags, my wallet,the Cd cuipboard, the toy basket etc.

Favourite activity is to empty the kitchen cupbaord where we keep all the plastic containers for food and spreading them all over the kitchen floor. She can happily do this five or six times a day.


Walking around the consists of navigating one' way between various onbjects strewn over the floor. Hours of fun!

Feline Groovy

Catflaps are so 2009! Today's felines are all going for a catladder!

My thanks to Ellen for sharing this with me.

http://catladder.blogspot.com/

You'll notice that 17 of the photos are taken in Björkhagen where Kai goes to school and we used to live. It's clearly a major centre for sophisticated modern, metropolitan moggies!

Somaliland despatch from Cousin Andy

I've just received this wonderful story from Cousin Andy in Somaliland. Heaven knows what budgie smugglers are. An Australian garment that we whinging poms have no truck with!

What an adventurer! However I feel I must take some of the credit for his survival skills. A weekend at the rainiest Roskilde Festival in years with me and the gang must have been good training for flash floods in Africa.

Yesterday was Friday and is the Somaliland version of the weekend. Short but welcome. Two people were travelling to Berbera, which is the important port on the Aden sea to the North, and I squeezed in for the trip. As it happens they were a psychiatrist and a psychiatric nurse going to Berbera to visit the mental health hospital.

Picture this. I am in the front of the first car alongside the driver. In the back are a psychiatrist and a psychiatric nurse. In the accompanying car there is a driver, a medical intern and two policemen armed with AK47s or similar. We are heading for a mental hospital. Now isn't that always the way you thought I would end up?

It's about three hours drive and there is a road, albeit in desperate need of repair in places, so we make good but bumpy progress. There are two small communities on the way and some other small groupings of dwellings. Otherwise it is all desert scrub and very dry. We cross two dry riverbeds. However it is a gentle slope down from Hargeisa at about 1300 metres to sea level, so it gets hotter and more humid with every kilometre travelled. Berebera is the most uncomfortable place I have experienced due to the heat and humidity. We visit the mental hospital which is clearly very friendly, and the local hospital which could do with a clean-up. Then we got to the Mansour Hotel, which is posh, and have a great lunch for about $6. Then we go swimming. The girls have to go in practically fully clothed, being allowed dispensation only to remove head covering. I, of course, am wearing good old ozzie budgie smugglers.

Then we set off about 03:30 as THET, our sponsors, have curfew at 7 pm. As we approach Hargeisa we can see heavy clouds off to the East, where it is obviously raining but we get not a drop. Then about an hour from home we come to a dry riverbed. But no more. Now it is a raging torrent with huge standing waves and no-one can cross, not even the big lorries.

We phone home and are advised to wait. We go back to the last group of dwellings we passed through and are welcomed by a large corpulent gentleman named Dingal, who tells us that the village is named after him. He has henna'd hair and beard and is carrying a large metal wardrobe pole. Tea is drunk and conversation conducted for two hours when vehicles start to cross. We return and the waters have subsided to a fast flow and we cross safely and arrive home safely.

Isn't that the typical image of Africa? Floods in the middle of a drought.

Andy

Our man in Somaliland!

Hats off to my globe-trotting cousin, Andy Craig.

A few years ago he endured the mud and chaos of Roskilde and even ventured into darkest Öland and tried some body cakes.Now he is doing two months volunteer work in Somaliland.


Andy is staying at the Edna Adan Maternity Hospital, who are doing some very important work

http://www.ednahospital.org/


I thought accountants had dull, dusty jobs. Far from it! After, I presume, doing a crash course in Arabic for Accountants, Andy is now flying across Africa in small, rather dodgy twinprop planes!

Respect!

Election night of the living dead!

Many years ago I worked at a polling station in Hove on election day.

The atmosphere was rather like a zombie film. The Tories were bussing in hundreds of very aged, very confused senior citizens, nearer life than death, to vote for them. Looking at the state of some of the voters of some of the voters, I suspected they'd been raiding the morgues and graveyards too!

She and Him - and all of Them!

Fine concert by She and Him on Monday night. Strange to see the very talented M Ward, who can single-handedly sell out a venue, happy to be a sideman.But I think he was enjoying himself and Zooey Deschenel has a voice to die for so I can well understand why he does it. Close your eyes and you could have been back in the 60s.

Before the band came on, they played Foever Changes in its entirety.Weird.Most of the audience were not born when I had my first copy of that album.

But jinkies! It was packed - with hordes of gorgeous young women. What was I doing there? Pop music that is popular. That will not do.
Kägelbanan was actually sold out.

What a total nightmare! You couldn't get to the bar, there were queues to the loo and worst of all, it was quite impossible to see if anyone I knew was there. Normally when I'm at a gig, it's very easy to find my pals: we're the only people in the room!

I should have seen the warning signs when Duncan didn't want to come.I can rely on him when it comes to sparsely populated gigs.

Thinking about trying Icelandic collective Seabear on Wednesday. I just hope Debaser can guarantee a low audience density!


Too much excitement in one week is more than I can deal with!

Bonfire time in Kärrtorp

Yesterday evening Sweden greeted the arrival of Spring.

We went down to our local bonfire. Along with the tombola, hot dogs etc,there was also a small stage where young, local bands were playing. Not much doubt in Zoe's mind where she wanted to be: Up the Front! Our Princess of the Moshpit was seriously getting into it!