A Walk And A Meal In The Forest
Before we actually tried to make contact with the wolves, we went for a walk by a lake and then had supper by a fire.
It was surprisingly warm and I actually fell asleep in the sun for twenty minutes or so.
I think it is true to say, if I’d saw a video about the walks before I booked, I might have declined as they looked difficult.
But truthfully they weren’t as bad as they looked and I had no trouble with any of the places we walked either here or earlier, when we saw the ants.
Wolves And Wolf Research
We went to see if we could find any signs of wolves, but first we went to see a presentation about wolf research.
It was fascinating to see how wolves are migrating south through Sweden and the research that is being done to make sure the population is healthy and able to live easily with the human population.
I asked the researcher, if he had any views on our badger problem. He would not have any common ground with Brian May on the cull.
On the other hand, the wolf research will hopefully lead to the understanding of how wild animals and people can live together in harmony.
Hunting For Moose
After a supper by the lake, we started hunting for moose and I took these pictures.
The next evening, we also saw a lot more moose and actually lost count of the number we saw, but it was at least thirty. It made one of the party’s day, as she had come particularly to see moose.
We also saw several roe deer and a solitary brown hare.
Pensionat Udden
These pictures show the guest house, where we stayed on the holiday. Their web site is here.
The pictures show the lake behind the hotel. Just as with houses, location is so important.
Nothing was too much trouble for the owners and they coped with my gluten free diet magnificently.
I also slept well in a comfortable bed, but then I would only report if I didn’t. With me that’s usually the sign of a bad hotel.
It was a very convenient place for what we were doing and I wouldn’t have any qualms about staying there, if I should make a further trip to the area.
A Walk In The Woods
The trip wasn’t always about Sweden’s mammals, as these pictures show.
We had gone for a walk in the woods and I was very surprised at the size of the ant hills.
They were one of the surprises of the holiday.
Magnificent Skies
Living in London, you rarely get a clear sky with no light pollution.
But here in Central Sweden, about fifty kilometres north of Vasteras, we got some of the best skies I’ve ever seen.
Perhaps the best were in Alice Springs in Australia, when C and I flew around the country in a Piper Arrow. We were staying in this hotel and a local student had brought his telescope and set it up in the courtyard. He was showing anybody who wanted to view, the southern sky. Sadly, in the evening we were there, only C and I took up his offer. C would talk about it afterwards any time, we saw a magnificent sky.
My one regret on this Swedish trip, was not to bring a decent star chart with me. Another guy, who knew more than I do about astronomy, felt the same too.
It just shows how clear the skies were.
Next time, I go to the area, I’ll be better prepared.
The Walkie-Scorchie
This is one of the nicknames of London’s newest skyscraper, usually called the Walkie-Talkie.
The building focussed the sun and melted parts of a car parked in the street. Note the cones to stop it happening again. There’s a report of the incident here in the Independent.
How Many Good Paintings Have Gone In Skips?
This story about how Robin Darvell found a painting by John Constable in a job lot in an auction, is in The Telegraph.
The painting, bought at an auction in Canterbury ten years ago, has remained in a drawer ever since after the canny buyer spotted a faint signature on the corner.
It has now been revealed as a Constable painting, believed to have been completed near to his home in Suffolk, after being examined by experts on television programme Treasure Detectives.
It now looks like it’s worth about £250,000.
On my wall I have a painting by Arthur Perigal. He wasn’t in Constable’s class, but he is a well-known Scottish artist.
Villa Albani by Arthur Perigal
The painting of the Villa Albani, nearly went in the skip when I moved back to London, as it was in a broken frame and just thrown in the loft. It is signed Arthur Perigal RSA and dated 1872.
It’s not worth a lot, but then it would be worth nothing, if it was in the skip.
How my mother-in-law acquired the painting, can’t be determined now. But she did work for his son, Walter, who was the local doctor in New Barnet. The doctor was an amateur painter and she was given some of his paintings, when she left his employment. Or that’s the story C told. But knowing C’s father, I suspect he got them for perhaps doing a favour for the doctor.
Anybody, who knows the truth, died many years ago.
Paranoid Moi? But The Devil, She’s Getting At Me Again!
Today looked like being a good one, after looking at the weather about nine.
But it didn’t start well, as when I went to get the Sunday Times from my usual newsagent, none had been delivered and he said come back around twelve.
I did go around East London and over the cable car, as I often do on a Sunday, to see if there’s anything happening on Crossrail, that I could include in this blog. I didn’t have any problems with the trip and the cable car was unusually quiet. Perhaps it was because I was early.
Carluccio’s in Canary Wharf wasn’t busy either, when I arrived there for a late breakfast or an early lunch. I’d been looking forward to an eggs florentine, but as they didn’t have any gluten-free bread, I skipped it and just had a cup of tea. To even rub it in, the young lady on the next table had a delicious eggs benedict with normal bread and ate it with gusto.
So I then moved on to Waitrose to get the paper. But I was before twelve and so it wasn’t exactly shut, but you couldn’t buy anything. Surely, in this day and age, in summer when you want to encourage tourism and business, shops should be able to open when they want!
I then decided to cut my loses and try a paper shop round the corner from Waitrose. They were open, but they’d sold out of Sunday Times, as not that many had been delivered.
I then decided to come home and took the Jubilee Line towards London Brifge, where I hoped to get an elusive paper. I then remembered that Canada Water had a nice paper shop. But it didn’t have any Sunday Times.
So I took the Overground home and finally got the paper in the Co-op at Dalston Junction station.
However, the Devil was not finished, as the Liverpool Manchester United match wasn’t on Radio 5. They were commentating on motorcycle racing.
The sooner I get some fibre optic broadband the better!
An American Import We Don’t Want
This story, entitled US shops and restaurants fight patent trolls, caught my eye. Here’s an extract.
Patent trolls take out generalised patents, often on widely available technology, and then demand money from companies who use or offer it.
Shops and restaurants have been targeted for displaying QR codes and online store-locators, say the groups.
The real trouble is that the US has too many lawyers, who think that everybody else owes them a living. I’ll update an old joke.
What do you call a million American lawyers at the bottom of the sea?
A good start!
The Anonymous Widower 