Let Me Tell You About Sweden

You must speak Swedish!

Shane — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 08:44:24 +0000

I was interested to read a piece on todays Local (Swedish news in English) about Brommapojkarna

Their Chairman Ola Danhard has told his players they must speak Swedish to be eligible to play for the team. Brommapojkarna play in Swedens top flight.

In some ways I have sympathy with him. Clubs at this level cannot afford hoardes of translators and Sweden does attract a lot of foreigners who are trying to make their way in the European game.

Of course from a footballing perspective its easier if you can all communicate. We had ‘fun’ watching Hammarby’s Brazilian duo last year, luckily one of the Bajen players starred for a Portuguese team so he was able to communicate with them but..

Unfortunately I do think this will hit BP as they will not be able to sign any of the foreign players. Its bloody hard to learn Swedish. I laugh when I read about Carlos Tevez learning English whilst watching Coronation Street. So many of the tv shows here are in English so… I cant see some of the non Swedish players watching Tinas Cookalong or Niki Nyfiken!

Some critics say this is a racist move but I dont see it as that. If the Chairman feels he will achieve better results by having a 100% Swedish speaking policy then thats his prerogative. In the same way the company I work for insists we use English as the common language for the whole business. As long as people are aware of that before they join I see no problem.

I wonder how long it is before this policy is reversed…..

House Hunters International

Shane — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:00:52 +0000

I got an email from a Casting Agent tonight. There I was thinking it was for my charm or my good looks, surely not for my singing? But alas it was a mail from a Casting Agent looking for families or couples who have recently moved to Sweden. Thats me out, maybe just as well as not sure I would want to foist my flat onto every living room into North America, fun as it may be.

Here is the email in full, might be of interest to some of you readers who have moved here:

House Hunters International is a real estate travel program that airs on the Home & Garden cable network (HGTV). They are currently casting people for this show right now in Sweden and are looking to tell your story on TV. Our show consists of a family or couple who has relocated in the past few years and the property they have purchased. The purpose of the show is to demystify the process of moving and living abroad. You can learn more about our show and watch episodes here: http://www.hgtv.com/house-hunters-international/show/index.html or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyQyGFyVwoQ

Putting together an episode with you would be a real treat for our audience and it’s a lot of fun for you too. Contributors to the show get a nice keepsake shot in HD video and also receive compensation for your time and efforts. Please contact the casting team at househunterscasting@leopardfilms.com for more information

30 day vegetarian challenge update Week 2

Shane — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:39:43 +0000

So that week went by really fast and I have to be honest I have not missed meat at all!

Its interesting to see the world through a vegetarians eyes. Supermarket shopping for lunch and at the local Thai for lunch…both had good veggie options.

Home cooking is easy, thats the beauty of vegetarian cooking its not just lentil soup. There are so many lovely dishes out there to cook. The Veggie Jalfrezi was delicious.

Some of you have written to me asking about Jason Vale aka The Juice Master’s three day detox juicing plan. I have only ever done the seven day plan. So just for you and because I feel like getting some more fresh fruit and veg inside me I will do the three day plan starting from tomorrow.

I have to give a big shout to the Blueberry Lifestyle shop in Stockholm. They have a few of the Juicemaster’s supplements in stock and lots of other goodies as well. They even have raw hemp powder so it means I do not have to order it in from the UK. Lovely!

Check out their menu, they offer a lot of freshly made juices and smoothies as well as some fantastic wraps and soups.

Everything is hard, until it is easy

Shane — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 13:48:48 +0000

Today I finally ran Årstaviken. Thats the bay where I live, it is around 5 miles (8k).

You can see my run here

A few things worried me before I set off. A lot of the paths are in the forest so there would be a lot of ice. There was going to be a lot of people out walking as the sun was out and the worst thing of all, at the end of the run in Årsta Forest – Årsta skog its really hilly. Not one long run but up and down up and down. I remember cycling it when I first moved to Årsta and I had to get off the bike.

Still I had to do a long run today and thought it was as good day to cross this one off the list.

When you run, you know in the first 10 mins how your run will be. I was struggling for some reason and knew it was going to be tough. I had to stop in parts as there were so many people, one day I swear I wont stop when people dont move out of the way. I also had to climb a lot of steps to get up to the top of the bridge at Liljeholmen and of course down the steps at Hornstull.

I took a short 3 min walk when I reached Skanstull, I had to change my playlist on my Ipod so I walked over the bridge, otherwise it was running all the way.

But the last segment was a bastard. Up and down, up and down. I was crying inside as I was tackling the steep climbs but I knew I was going to finish. I remembered the words of Göethe:

‘Everything is hard until it is easy’

I told myself that this was likely to be the hardest Årstaviken run because I had never run it or hills ever before. This would be the most pain and eventually I would be flying up and down these inclines. I do a lot of visualisation when I run, its what gets me through it. I took my mind back to last year when I started running and how after 7 mins I was out of breath and feeling sick. I remembered how after a few weeks I passed that and kept improving.

Got to give a big mention of the Garmin Forerunner 305, as you can see from the map above, even though I was under trees in a forest for some of this run yet I was still tracked ok by the GPS. This is a regular complaint about GPS that they dont work so well under cover but the Garmin performed well.

So 5 miles/8kms in 57 mins, I know I can get that to below 50 mins. I have to say this was awesome training and I think this route is going to prep me for the 10k Midnattslöppet.

Veggie Jalfrezi

Shane — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 20:52:59 +0000

I hope those of you who are interested in my 30 day vegetarian challenge are clicking the tab at the top. I am updating that post each day with my food log. Makes sense to do it that way rather than add a post each day on what I had for breakfast

Tonight I whipped up a Veggie Jalfrezi.

This was action packed with goodness and no animal flesh in sight.

It included: chili, cauliflower, chick peas, tomatoes, onion, garlic, sweet potato, red and green peppers. Lots of spices. I made this moderately spicy, it wasnt too keen. I also knocked up some brown rice to go along with it, very nice!!

Årstaviken

Long run tomorrow, so hope this gives me the energy I need. I am going to try and complete Årstaviken, its not the distance that worries me, more the ice and hills!

A rare treat!

Shane — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 14:38:13 +0000

On Wednesday night I got to see Swansea City’s home ground on Swedish TV. Wales were playing Sweden. The Swedes won 1-0 which wasnt a bad result considering how many injuries Wales had.

Today though is the real treat, Swansea take on Nottingham Forest away and its on TV4 sport! Its a rare treat to get to watch my home team and my first love, even rarer that its live on Swedish telly!

I will see them for real in a few weekends as I am going to London to watch us play QPR!

Lars ‘Two Faced’ Ohly

Shane — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 10:19:22 +0000

You couldnt make this up.

Lars Ohly, leader of the Left Party ‘Vänsterpartiet‘ is against private schools, fair enough thats what I would expect from the Far Left. However Expressen today reveals both of Lars Ohly’s children go to..yes you guess it private schools!!!

Now where a politicians sends his or her kids to school should be a private and personal matter. But not when you are trying to stop other children from enjoying the same educational benefits.

When asked for a comment about his son being at a private school, Lars Ohly refuses to comment. His Press Secretary answered ‘ you will have to speak his son.

This is typical Leftist hypocrisy. Can the Swedish people really put this guy in the government?

Help Emma

Shane — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 13:37:58 +0000

One of the great things about keeping a blog is the email contact from people who are kind enough to write in.

A lady called Emma mailed me this week. There is a chance her partner may start work in Stockholm and they are considering the life changing move to Sverige.

They are visiting next week and Emma will have the day to herself and is looking for ideas for things to see and do in Stockholm. I have added my reply below. If you have any better ideas or suggestion please free to leave a comment. Its what this blog is all about.

Hmm the weather is not the best for sightseeing, its around minus 6 today. Its a shame because Stockholms beauty is not its museums and galleries, for me its her archipelago, the water and the islands.

I would recommend you visit Gamla Stan (Old Town). Its nice to walk around there, soak up the atmosphere, look at the shops, both touristy and local. You can see the Swedish Parliament and the Swedish Royal Palace. Some nice cafes. You need to learn to ‘fika’, a very Swedish tradition it loosely means to sit down, have a coffee, tea with a bun and chat with a friend/read a newspaper. its a great work and one I think I will use even in English as we have no direct translation.

If you like walking, I would definitely suggest a walk to Djurgården. Its Stockholms greenest island and its beautiful to walk around there. Thats if you enjoy walking.

I will put a thread on the blog as others may have better ideas than me. So keep an eye on that and see what they suggest.

Cheers

Shane

Shane to go to Melodifestivalen final!

Shane — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 07:37:50 +0000

I have blogged before on how much the Swedes love Eurovision. I have also blogged on Melodifestivalen. These are the heats held in various Swedish towns to find the ultimate winner that will represent Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest.

I watched Melodifestivalen once and vowed not to watch it again. I cant say I am too keen on the music, what with my Indie/Punk roots. Last year 4 million Swedes watched the final on tv, thats almost half the country!!!

But a corporate guest has kindly given me a VIP invite. Thats a nice meal and drinks at a nice hotel, then transported to Globen for the finals, then whisked away to an exclusive bar in town.

Its a very gracious invite, I could not really say no and as my client suggests, its a great way to become more of a Swede!

I was given two tickets but as there is currently no Mrs W… I am sure several lady friends would have liked the ticket but I am not that shallow. I decided to offer the second ticket as a prize in the office based on sales results. My guys are very excited about it!

Its been some year, what with Gunilla taking me to the very Swedish new year celebrations at Skansen and now a Melodifestivalen.

Of course blog report and photos to follow!!

30 day vegetarian challenge – week 1

Shane — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 14:48:12 +0000

I have created a category (see at the top) so you can click this page for the first week of my vegetarian challenge meals by day. I thought it would be good to write up each day what meals I have had. Either as an inspiration to others and so that any experienced veggies can point out any errors I may be making. Hopefully they will suggest where I can improve my diet.

March 7th – day 7 of the 30 day Vegetarian Challenge
Breakfast
Porridge, real oats, soy milk, flax seed and blueberries

Lunch
Peanut Butter on whole meal bread – was a post workout bite after running 8 kms
Post work out smoothie an hour or so later, including berries, apples and hemp powder

Dinner
A Veggie Patty sandwich from Subway. I was out and about so this was probably the best choice from what was available. I rather like their veggie patty.

March 6th – day 6 of the 30 day Vegetarian Challenge

Breakfast
Porridge – with real oats, soy milk and flaxseed

Lunch
Beans on wholemeal toast. One of my favourite dishes! Nice splash of Worcester Sauce

Dinner
Veggie Jalfrezi – honestly you dont even miss the meat with this one as its action packed with tasty vegetables.

Dessert:
Yes I had afters today: One slice of apple pie and tofuline ice cream (Ice cream not made from ‘real milk)

March 5th – Day 5 of the 30 day Vegetarian Challenge

Breakfast
Berry smoothie, fresh apples juiced, assorted berries, hemp powder, flaxseed, soya yoghurt.

Lunch
Took two colleagues out to a French place. They had steaks but the French chef did me a great veggie curry, very tasty!

Dinner
Quorn burger, veggie schnitznel (hälsans kök) with an egg salad. Not so sure about the Quorn burger was ok with some hot sauce, the schnitzel was very nice though.

Nuts and fruits during the day.

March 4th – Day 4 of the 30 day Vegetarian Challenge

Breakfast
Porridge with real oats and quinoa, flaxseed and pumpkin seed, soyghurt, soy milk and chopped bananas.

Lunch
Had some colleagues visiting from another office so went out for Thai.

Panang curry with rice, had the vegetarian option which was tofu, that was lovely!

Dinner

Salad with chickpeas, feta, cucumber, tomatoes, alfafa sprouts, lettuce, pine nuts, 2 boiled eggs, chick peas, balsamic vinagerette. very nice and filling

March 3rd – Day 3 of the 30 day Vegetarian Challenge

Breakfast
Berry Smoothie. Includes blueberries, raspberries and strawberries. With freshly juiced apples, soy milk, flaxseed and goji berries.

Lunch
Vegetarian Bullar with bulgur, carrot and hoummous. The bullar were made from chick peas and herbs. Very nice.

Dinner
2 peanut butter rolls. (This was more for my post run workout)
Fruit smoothie. Again home made.

Various fruit and nuts during the day.

March 2nd – Day 2 of the 30 day Vegetarian Challenge

Breakfast – porridge with quinoa, soya milk, chopped banana

Lunch – böngryta from Örtagården

Snack – peanuts with dried cranberries

Post Workout – home made berry smoothie with hemp powder and banana.

Dinner – salad with feta and chickpeas.

There are some great vegetarian recipes out there that even carnivores will enjoy. This black bean burger from Beck on the Run was delicious