The Helmut Post

Our New Home - the First Visit

2007-12-13T13:58:00.001+01:00

Today we had a chance for the first time to visit our future home. Construction works are going very fine despite the winter. Inside walls are only about to be built, so today we visited a large hall (but the identical flat downstairs was more advanced, so we had a chance to compare and we were very satisfied with what we've seen.
Keep your fingers crossed for a mild winter, so we'll be able to spend next Christmas in our new flat!

Cheers!

Gosia at the balcony

Michal seen through the phantom wall (in the middle of a study room)

...and at the future kitchen section (two small rooms behind)

Gosia in our sleeping room (which will look warmer in future, I hope)

...and at our entrance door (Home, sweet Home)

Quick look through the study room window (look out for falling bricks! :) )

The building overlook. (For the future overlook see here and here)

My Mobile Eye #2

2007-08-01T21:28:00.000+02:00

Od Obserwacje te...

Sightseeing Sisters

My Mobile Eye #1

2007-08-01T21:24:00.000+02:00

Od Obserwacje te...

"Venus of Milo 2007"

We've got EURO2012!!!

2007-04-18T18:27:00.000+02:00

Poland together with Ukraine overcame Croatia&Hungary and Italy and won a privilege of organizing EURO2012 Championship! That makes me feeling almost as good and optimistic as when it turned out that we'll join the European Union (you must remember that day, we were in Goteborg, celebrating our joy after the Polish referendum had given a positive answer). I'm happy even though I'm not a particular football fan - it's a gigantic boost of funds for infrastructure and - which is even more important - a gigantic mobilization for the country. Poland needed the latter: this country went so deep into political divisions and history discussions that our decision-makers couldn't have found some time and means for simply building infrastructure. Those of you guys who had a chance to travel by our roads or trains must know what I mean :)
This is also the end of a certain era. Jonas, the forgotten-by-God place you and Kristina visited in Warsaw was once a national stadium. It's a gigantic poor-market right now. It's been called "Europa Market" and was considered to be an East-West gate for Europe. Eastern Europe is starting right in that place and marks a mentality of Eastern Poland inhabitants as well as Ukrainian&Belorussian mentality.
Now, with a symbolic fact of rebuilding the Warsaw Stadium, the situation has a chance to be ceased and we - together with Ukraine (I believe it's even more important for this country) - have a chance to organizationaly and technicaly catch-up to Western Europe.
Celebrate with me, guys, it's an important day!
Cheers!

God Jul!

2006-12-25T19:09:00.000+01:00

Our Christmas preparations started sometime at the end of November this year. Kristina and I don't follow many traditions, but the Christmas lunch is serious business, since we take pride in preparing everything on the table ourselves. A novelty this year was the Polish cooked vegetable salad, which I enjoyed enormously when I had it on Easter 2003. My version of the salad was good for a first attempt, I suppose, but it wasn't quite up to par with the one that Gosia, Michal and Pawel made. We didn't make any Piftie this year, a Romanian meat jelly made from pig's ears and tails, to my great relief. Apart from these changes, we had everything from last year; ham, herring, red cabbage, gravlax, beetroot salad, sarmale, meatballs, sausages... Another tradition is our Christmas photo, taken from the same angle every year. This is this year's version:

After lunch, we watched "Kalle" on TV as all Swedes do, and had a very nice evening. I hadn't noticed how much effort I had put into this day, until the evening came and I literally collapsed in bed. We hope that all of you had a nice Christmas yourselves. God Jul och Gott Nytt År!

Meet Bdziag the Chipmunk

2006-09-05T19:44:00.000+02:00

This is Bdzi?g, the chipmunk, the new companion of ours. More photos at www.wiewior-bdziag.blogspot.com
(in the picture: consuming a pumpkin seed, one of the favourites).

The very last touch-ups

2006-07-25T19:33:00.001+02:00

I've spent a weekend painting our balcony blue, while Gosia was bravely cleaning our windows. Both activities required a dose of bravery, as both of us leaned over the abyss of our 4th floor :) Anyway, when I'm writing those words, Tadek, a friendly carpenter, is mounting our kitchen furniture. The very last stage will be to mount a lighting over a kitchen window and so we're done!

Moving - session two

2006-07-20T20:45:00.000+02:00

Here we are! We had taken a week free from unpacking, changing, driving, and so on and after that I took a week of vacation to do some serious stuff around the flat. The objective was to do something with the kitchen, with the old white wardrobe (the picture on the left) in that short part we call "the corridor" (but it's too short to bear this name :) ). We have ordered some furnishing to the kitchen and I went to a store to ask someone what do I need to paint some things orange :) Equipped with a paint and a set of paintbrushes and stuff I returned home to make the ordeal begin.
That goddamn wardrobe took me a day and a half but here it is (the picture on the right. There were surprises also: I discovered that somebody hid an air vent inside a wardrobe. That explains that fancy silver vent in a top left corner of the wardrobe, which required my crazy dance with a fret-saw (I'm telling you, this is relaxing!).
I took care for an old kitchen cupboard also, as we decided not to threw it away (I guess it has a value of a relic by now...). I needed to add some shelves, to paint it (guess the color). Tomorrow there'll be time for some touch-ups, some minor additions and we're expecting our kitchen cupboard to arrive on Monday :)
In the meantime I decided not to re-paint a bathroom, which is quite fine. Painting rocks, but not when overdosen :)

Moving - day six

2006-07-08T22:13:00.000+02:00

Saturday. OK, we did skip Friday which made me staying till the late night in the office. But Saturday was a fine touch-up day to conclude the first stage of our home-arranging ordeal.
Standard shopping was first, as we needed to fill our fridge with some edible stuff. We, certainly supplied also our wine-holder with some nice Morocco-originated shiraz and merlot (they import it to Poland by a very reasonable prize).
We concluded arranging a room by hanging a nice crossed-rectangle shelf over a computer. Than there was some time for a dinner (tomato salad with pita bread and cauliflower with a spicy sauce) made by Gosia.
Than we've mounted a cool IKEA-made kitchen "something" for storing stuff over a bar window. You can see it in the picture, as it's hard to describe (especially that the merlot is already gone :) ). We especially like a glass-hanger, it works just great :)
Anyway, there's a cleaning time ahead, and after that I'll try to do some painting in a bathroom and some renovations in a kitchen. But until then - we'll keep you informed as soon as we do something worth noticing on this blog :)
Cheers!

Moving - day five

2006-07-07T00:23:00.000+02:00

Thursday. I'm fighting with those f*** roller blinds from the very morning. Our new neigbors must hate me by now for all that drilling I need to do. It's not so easy. I give up and I need to go to work. It's 10 AM when I decide to hang two lamps in the kitchen - just for a sense that I did something right this morning :)
I'm back from work and I discover an interior changed. Gosia is unpacking our stuff. Making a flat into a home. A feeling is soo great.
And thre's our laundry machine delivered. I need to go to a store for some hoses and rubber bands to attach it to those 30 years old sewer systems in this block of flats :) I made it!
Gosia decides to launch our very first laundry and is very brave ordering our stuff, filling shelves and drawers with all those things we took with us. She even managed to clean my computer's casing, which I found impossible for all those years!
I was suddenly illuminated when I was coming back from work and I've found a solution for hanging roller blinds properly. I've attached them to a curtain holder. I hope that Gosia's sister, who's the owner of this appartment, will not realize that those curtain holders will never be the same again :)
Our flat looks much more like a place to live by now. It's a great feeling. That feeling of preparing ourselves a place to live is amazing, bursting and charging.
More to come soon!

Moving - day four

2006-07-07T00:17:00.000+02:00

Wednesday. OK, we need to recover a little bit. It's a good moment to go shopping to a store, buying some minor stuff, like roller blinds :) And we ordered a laundry machine!
We're meeting Patka and Brzezin in the night, being awfully late because of our shopping. We decide to take them to our place. I'm buying some beer and snacks on the way. Wine is already there (on our nice brand-new wine-holder :) ).
They were our very first official visitors. And they liked our orange sofa :)

Moving - day three

2006-07-07T00:06:00.001+02:00

Tuesday. The day that wrote a new brave page in the history of furnishing. The whole delivery came. Half of which we had to drag on our own shoulders onto the 4th floor. Accidentaly we met our new deliric-alcoholic neighbor who was conscious enough to offer his service if we were so kind to help him buying himself a beer. We were so kind :)
Assembling furniture! The whole stuff comes in pieces and there's this instruction which reminds good old days when LEGO blocks assured long hours of fun. It was fun, indeed. At least in the beginning.
Thankfully Gosia believes in a gender-equality approach and she was very helpful with the assembling ordeal. So was my sister Kasia (thanks, Kid!!!).
We obviously had a lot of fun with all that. The hard part turned out to be related to Sweden - because of IKEA, of course. That large bookshelf was a real pain in the a***, therefore I'm even more proud having it assembled :)
That's the moment when the Order appears from Chaos.

Moving - day two

2006-07-06T23:55:00.001+02:00

Monday. We needed to go to work, but I left as soon as possible to go and receive some furniture we had ordered. On spot it turned out there was a slight misunderstanding and our shelf awaits us in a neighbour town. They said it would be delivered for the next day. But that means all our furniture arrive on Tuesday...
Before I had gone to work I've plugged the internet connection. First things first :)
In the afternoon we took a warm-up mounting some lighting and cooking a wonderful soup :) And Gosia has smartly assembled our first do-it-yourself piece of furniture. Which was aparently that small shelf for storing bottles of wine :)
It's almost night when the very first furnishing delivery arrives. There it is! Our wonderful, cosy, ORANGE sofa! :)

We finally move!

2006-07-06T23:40:00.000+02:00

There we go! We finally obtained our new appartment keys and launched a procedure of moving to our new flat we'll be living together with Gosia. The procedure turned out to be lethally tiresome, but very, very joyful. I initially planned to keep giving you a day-by-day log of "what'sgoingons", but it aparently turned out to be impossible as in the end of every day we felt too tired to move any finger, which is crucial for typing a blog contribution.
But I'll do my best to recover the log. Here we go!
DAY ONE:
Saturday/Sunday: We've spent the whole last weekend to pack my old room. I dumped no less but 6 large sacks of garbage out of it, but there still was very much to pack to my car and to move to Traugutta street.
And there we are, opening the door, packing the whole stuff inside, feeling happy, but knowing there's still so much to do.
Thankfully we've ordered some furnishing and stuff before. Now it's time to have that all delivered.
There's almost nothing inside but we decide to stay overnight anyway. It took us to the late night to move all my stuff, happily there's a tesco supermarket opened 24hrs/day and we've found an airbed there. Which turned out to be our first piece of furniture here :)
But before that we went shopping. It was IKEA, of course :) Long live Sweden! :) It turned out to be a nice place for finding some minor stuff, but it was about to reveal how irresponsible is to buy an XXL bookshelf when it's supposed to be delivered in small boxes, disassembled...

Midsummer with the Leggatts

2006-06-25T12:18:00.000+02:00

On Midsummers Eve, we woke up to the sound of rain hammering on the widowsill. The weather has a tendency of disappointing Swedes on midsummer, but this was by far the worst I can remember. Armed with umbrellas and warm sweaters, we drove off to celebrate with the Leggatts and Jarlengrips. "The company will be nice at least", we mumbled as we comforted ourselves with hamburges at our pit stop on our way to Åsa. No need to worry. After some fika with Karin's parents, a midsummer celebration under ominous gray skies that just ended when we got there, and making a hasty escape from a boule death match tainted by the memory of last years defeat, the Gods of Valhalla exchanged their frown for a radiant smile, lasting all the way through the sill, snaps, färskpotatis and eventually the earth-geezers (jordgubbar), when the sun had finally set. What a lovely day it was! A big thanks to Karin and Garth for inviting us!

Anniversary

2006-06-25T11:52:00.000+02:00

After almost a year of making excuses not to post, I finally bought a digital camera together with Kristina. And what better way to christen it than our two-year anniversary? Kristina surprised me by taking us to Heaven 23, a very nice restaurant at the top of the Scandic hotel in front of Liseberg. Everything was perfect - delicious food and wine, a wonderful view of the city, and the best company imaginable. With only days left to midsummer, the sun flooded the city below us with light until almost midnight, when we left the restaurant to start enjoying our third year together.

Eurovision 2006!

2006-05-23T21:56:00.000+02:00

Kalimera!

Time to jumpstart our blog again, it's been too long...

Did anyone see the Eurovision song contest? (what other topic to regenerate interest?)

Athens... the Edinburgh of the South, location of the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest. Did anyone actually see the competition?

I missed it this year, but the result (as always) was predictable from the very beginning.

As always happens, the emerging nations of the former Soviet bloc will dominate the contest by the simple ploy of voting for each other (as was their enforced habit while festering under the Kremlin's wise guidance). I'll be completely amazed if Belarus gives anything other than full marks to Russia; the Big Bear asleep on their doorstep.

The jolly exchange of full marks between Cyprus and Greece is as old as the Odyssey. Germany will award points to Poland, but don't expect it to be a reciprocal exchange. Germany will get the usual votes from Turkey, because the Turkish "gastarbeitern" in Germany will have monopolised the telephones and awarded top marks to their homeland?

As happens most years, nobody will vote for the Brits. As happens every year, the UK will pretend they think it's all a bit of nonsense and wouldn't want to win anyway. The UK can be relied on to award full marks to Ireland, I'll eat the Blarney Stone if Ireland ever gives anything to the Brits!

The Scandinavians will vote for each other, Iceland and Denmark will cement their ancient ties, and Sweden will reward Norway handsomely (though the Norwegians never vote for the Swedes!).

Aside from the actual groups, the presenters are even more amusing. It's always good fun to watch them flirt heavily (and possibly sing to each other), in the manner of the unforgettable Estonian presenters who, six inches apart, bellowed into each other's faces. She was an opera singer, and he a leading Shakespearean actor who also played the accordion in a folk band. There's much to mock, but who couldn't fall in love with it?

Where other than Eurovision would you expect to see Germans in Stetsons and Finns like a cross between Klingons and Orcs and Icelanders phoning God? What about Latvians a capella, all with choreography straight out of the Sixties, bongos, banjos, musical saws... oh what fun!

Disguisting post

2006-01-01T23:10:00.000+01:00

This is going to be a low-profile, disguisting contribution. But the situation itself is low-profile and disguisting. As you probably know, Russia decided to show a strong arm to the Ukraine recently liberated from under her influences represented by a post-soviet oligarch Yanukovytch by what we all called the Orange Revolution (when the people stated strongly that it should be up to the Ukrainians, not Vladimir Putin to decide who should be a Ukrainian president). So there is Gasprom, the Russian gas monopoly, turning the knob down and cutting of gas supplies to the Ukraine. The world expresses its discontent attitude, but as long as no serious steps are performed, Russia will stay feeling omnipotent and the Ukraine will remain abandoned. And the question is: who goes next? Poland, for her clear support to the Orange Revolution? Or maybe Western Europe running on Russian gas, as soon as "My friend Schroder" is no long a German chancellor (nota bene, taking at present a lucrative job in "My friend Putin"'s company) and, let's say, the European Union will finally decide to say a word about Russia's politics toward Chechens...? Understand me well, I have nothing against Russia itself. But autoritarian regiemes should be named and must not be supported from outside. And what is a Putinist, oligarchian system if not an autoritarian regieme?
The funniest thing is that Poland's gas supplies are not diverse - the come from one and only source and it's... guess who. Yap, that's right. Russia. For two decades our Politicians have been too busy arguing around whether secret service files should be revealed or not, to notice the simple fact. Or maybe was there somebody profitably interested in remaining by a status quo? Ukrainian cut-off can already be felt in the whole Eastern Europe. Our new government (obsessively right-winged, Russia-disliking as only a stereotypical Pole could be) claims that there is a Plan "B". I'm wondering what could it be. Maybe we'll all switch from gas to electricity (still produced from old-fashioned, ineffective, expensive and polluting coal in Poland. There is no single atomic plant in this country). Or even better: in 20's Grand Marshall Jozef Pilsudski asked citizens to give their gold to the state in order to support a value of Polish currency in the years of crisis. Why don't we take example from those years? If our politicians couldn't draw solutions for the country's energetic safety, let's launch a National Drawing Gas Campaign! Let's support our energetic system like good citizens, from bottom up, ecologicaly, expressing our devotion to the country and attitude to our politicians!
Stand and fart for your country!

Peace and goodwill to all, except for...

2005-12-30T01:16:00.000+01:00

Dear all,

In case I don't get to post until after the holidays... HAPPY NEW YEAR in advance!!

Yes, sorry I've been so quiet but it's been busy for me over Christmas. I've had Tim D and we've been having a great time painting Gothenburg red this past week. The moment he arrived I cracked open that one litre bottle of Zebrowka (which I'd been saving for such an occasion), and would you believe, we polished it off entirely (perhaps not the best idea in hindsight... at least not in one of my best shirts!). Needless to say, it all went downhill from that moment on...

Now that the Christmas hangover has subsided, it's time to prepare for the NEW YEAR'S EVE drinking session! I always love New Years (the added advantage of being able to double it with a birthday celebration), and when thinking of New Years Day, that leads me to automatically think about New Years Resolutions...

There was a wise man (one much wiser than I) who once said it took 42 muscles to frown and only four to pull the trigger of a sniper rifle. How profound. Therefore, with that in mind I've decided to write a new years list, as I usually do at this time of year. But this time, an exception. Instead of writing an in-depth list of new years resolutions (promises I make which nearly always get broken after the first week... leading to angry stares from the women in my life), I'm writing a list containing a select few things in 2005 which really had my trigger finger itching. Here's praying we can get through 2006 without the following:

1. I'm SICK of all the self-help literature sent hurtling towards consumers over the last year. Therefore, my first peeve shall be directed at any individual who is going on a "journey". This should include a long journey, an emotional journey, a rewarding journey and especially an amazing journey. I advocate anyone going on a journey should have their destination re-routed off the nearest high cliff!

2. Paris Hilton, her gormless boyfriends, her shrivelled dog or her pet monkey. Yes, all young bucks like a rich, young tart... but let's enjoy her for what she is and NOT install her in a position of power an influence. She now intends to focus on her film career in 2006... well, it takes more than a boyfriend with a cam and an imagination to launch a successful film career! Generally speaking, if you're dressed like you're going to fight for the working rights to the local street corner you're not role model material.

3. Hearing Tom Cruise's advice on childbirth. Now God's former gift to women is an expert authority on the matter. Well, let me tell you this much Tommie mate, I've also been "a pregnant father" and I'd strongly recommend any man or woman soon to be a parent to disregard nearly everything you've said on the matter. In fact, hearing anything about Tom Cruise - except that he's died after falling off furniture while cavorting around like a chimp on crack. I wouldn't mind hearing that.

4. Any TV show in which the script relies heavily on the word "evict".

5. Children's books written by celebrities on the grounds that they once actually saw a child who had accidentally wandered into business class (Madonna, this means you)

6. Books which have the word "dark" in the title, or the name "Dan" on the front cover.

7. Designer dogs with breed names that rhyme with "strudel".

8. Offspring of the rich and famous whose names are destined to send them into early therapy. As in: "Cinnamon! You've left the #*@* door open and the #*@!# paparazzi have got in again."

9. The French.

10. Any American in a shiny suit pretending that intelligent design isn't just a rebandaged version of creationism.

11. The word "rebadged".

12. TV commercials featuring singing animals, usually zebras, who are incapable of rhyming "indeedy" with anything better than "seedy".

13. Systembolaget.

And that's about it. Once again, happy new year to all of you and all the best for 2006!!

Romanesque Christmas

2005-12-23T23:55:00.000+01:00

This is a tympanone over a portal of a 12th century romanesque church in Wysocice, nearby Krakow. Besides the triumphant Christ in the middle and adoring saints on the left, there is a Christ nativity scene on the right in it. You can easily notice a Bethlehem Star over it, a pair of oxes, traditionally on the spot :) and there is a Christ Child lying down. Interestingly, you can also find the Holy Virgin lying down in this sculpture. The fact is that a kneeling-and-adoring Mary was invented by later periods of art (in reinessance, for what I guess). The middleage Christmas scene was rather including her lying down.
Anyway, that's all for inthruding Christmas with my personal geek'ism on a point of the romanesque architecture :) More to find at Album Romanski.

Christmas time...

2005-12-23T23:33:00.000+01:00

My mother's kitchen is at present full of those best remembered scents, which - mixed together - mean Christmas atmosphere. There go almonds and poppieseed, yeast dough, sourkraft with mushrooms, dried fruits, fried carp... When the scent of fresh spruce tree will join, I will know it's Christmas without opening my eyes.

Gosia has already gone to her home town to celebrate Christmas with her family. It's all so strange. For me and Gosia it's the last Christmas we are spending apart. That brings a lot of thoughts, very serious, but very warm and joyful.

Christmas is there when there is a feeling that you are on a right way with those people you care most. It's the time when you can recapitulate your relations with them, to think how things can be renewed and restarted. It doesn't actually matter whether one believes in a newborn Christ Child or not, because the key is in the idea of being born new itself. To recapitulate and re-open one's life again. For me, as a Christian, that's what the newborn Christ Child brings.

I wish you warm and joyful thougts, my Friends. Thank you for being there. May it be a blessed time for you. Merry Christmas!

You know you've been in Australia too long when... ... ...

2005-11-25T21:07:00.000+01:00

You understand the expression "the bigger the hat, the smaller the farm".

The shorter the nickname you give to someone, the more you like them.

You know it's not a genuine Australian saying unless it involves a paddock, a lizard, or a rat.

You think a flash sports car driven by a middle-aged man should not incite envy - as in America - but hilarity.

It's not a picnic without a bull-ant climbing up your arse.

You refer to your best friend as "a total bastard", while your worst enemy is "a bit of a bastard".

Whether it?s the opening of Parliament, or the launch of a new art gallery, there is no event which cannot be improved by the addition of a sausage sizzle or a barbecue.

You expect all hamburgers must contain beetroot.

You think it's better to be down on your luck than up yourself.

You interpret the phrase ?we?ve got a great lifestyle? as meaning everyone in the family drinks too much.

If the bloke next to you is swearing like a wharfie, he?s probably a media billionaire. Or possibly a wharfie.

You understand there isn't a single food which cannot be improved by the application of tomato sauce.

People with red hair should always be nicknamed ?Blue?, just as short people should be labelled ?Lofty?.

On the beach, you hide your keys and wallet by placing them inside their sandshoes. No thief has ever worked this out. Australia has some really stupid thieves, (or really stinky sandshoes).

Industrial design knows of no article more useful than the milk crate.

You can't work out why all the best heroes are losers.

You think the Alpha male in any group is he who takes the barbeque tongs from the hands of the host, and blithely begins turning the snags.

You don't think it's summer until the steering wheel is too hot to hold.

You like the beer served so cold it makes your ears hurt.

You think a thong is not a piece of scanty swimwear, as in America, but a fine example of footwear. Thus a group of sheilas wearing black rubber thongs is no longer as exciting as you might once have hoped.

A gum leaf, crushed in the hand, is the best smell ever.

Historians believe that the widespread use of the word ?mate? can be traced to the harsh conditions on the Australian frontier in the 1890s, and the development of a code of mutual aid, or ?mateship?. Alternatively, we may all be just really hopeless with names.

You hope to choose a partner who is attractive not only to yourself, but also to neighbourhood mosquitoes.

If it can?t be fixed using panty-hose and fencing wire, it?s not worth fixing.

All parties, in however grand and well-prepared a house, will be held, cramped and noisy, in the kitchen.

The most popular and widely praised family in the street is the one that just happens to have the swimming pool.

A swallowed fly, while disgusting, must be greeted with the plucky comment: "Um, protein".

We invented everything in the world worth inventing, but then sold the copyright to the Yanks.

You think that smearing toast with a spread that?s black and salty, and which has the appearance of axle-grease, is a good way to start the day.

You think that every older Australian has a bulldust theory involving ants, a Kookaburra laughing and the likelihood of rain, and every theory is the direct opposite of the last one you heard.

If invited to a party, you take cheap red wine, but then spend all night drinking the host?s beer. Don?t worry, he will have catered for it.

If there?s any sort of free event or party within a hundred kilometres, you?d think yourself an idiot not to go.

Every surname, brand-name and motor-car spare part must be shortened to the point of incomprehension, as in the phrase: "If I hadn't stuffed the diff I'd have taken Blacky to Maccas."

You realise the Aeroguard is far, far worse than the flies.

Despite the Geography you think of Australia as being somewhat out of place within the Asia-Pacific region; surrounded by unstable ex-colonial nations who regard you as racist, imperialist, and unfairly wealthy. You regard extreme anti-Australians such as Mahatir Mohammed very irritating.

You regard New Zealanders as basically our naive country cousins, who talk funny and for some bizarre reason, think that they invented pavlova. They are to be pitied and laughed at. They have no hope of gaining the upper hand in the endless sporting rivalry between our two nations.

You think Americans are loud and supremely ignorant of Australia (all they know about us they gained from Mick Dundee); British and Europeans in general are more quiet but pretentious and cowardly.

You've ever mimicked Alf Stewart from the TV show Home and Away's broad, Australian accent, eg. "push off, ya flamin' drongo!"

You've ever had an argument with a friend over whether Ford or Holden makes the better car!

You've done the "hot sand dance" at the beach while running from the ocean back to your towel.

You start using words like "reckon" and call people "mate".

You stop greeting people with "hello" and go straight to the "how ya doin' ?"

You've seriously considered running down to the shops in a pair of Ugg Boots.

You own a pair of ugg boots.

You've been to a day-nighter cricket match and screamed out incomprehensibly until your throat went raw.

You know the national anthem by heart, sing it at every opportunity (sporting events in particular) but don't know what "girt" means.

You have a story that somehow revolves around excess consumption of alcohol and a mate named "Davo" or "Bruce".

You've risked attending an outdoor music festival on the hottest day of the year.

You've tried to hang off a clothesline while pretending you can fly.

You've had a visit to the emergency room after hanging off the clothesline pretending you can fly.

You don't know what's in a meat pie, and you don't care.

You pronounce Australia as "Stralya".

You call soccer soccer, not football.You've ever sucked your coffee through a Tim Tam (for those who don't know, a variety of chocolate biscuit, one allegedly "better than sex").

You realise that lifeguards are the only people who can get away with wearing Speedos.

You pledge allegiance to Vegemite over Promite.

You understand the value of public holidays.Your weekends are spent barracking for your favourite sports team.

You have a toilet dolly.

Your Mum or Nan made it.

You've played beach cricket with a tennis ball and a bat fashioned out of a fence post.

You firmly believe that in the end, everything will be ok, and have told a mate in tough times that "She'll be right, mate".

You use the phrase, "no worries" at least once a day.

You constantly shorten words to "brekkie", "arvo" and "barbie", as well as all names...

You've adopted a local bar as yours.

You know the oath of mateship can never be limited by geographical distance.

You measure a journey in beer, not kilometres or time. (That's a 3 beer trip mate).

We love you Belgium, we do... Ooh Belgium we love you ! Loloo loloo loloololoo ....

2005-11-16T22:11:00.000+01:00

YES!! WE LOVE BELGIUM!!

Who couldn't love this place? Who doesn t love Belgium? Home of the Vlaamse friet (lekker met mayonnaise), unsurpassed handmade chocolates (just plain lekker), and of course the world famous Antwerp cut diamonds. The inventor of the saxophone hailed from there too!
And here she is, little Ingrid wearing the t-shirt that "Auntie Nele" gave her, she loved it so much she cried when we wanted to take it off her at bedtime!

Yes, sweet Belgium... a "country created by the British to annoy the French"... with all it has to offer, I include the following list (just for you Nele...)

YOU KNOW YOU'VE BEEN IN BELGIUM TOO LONG WHEN... ... ...

1. You always stop your car for traffic from even the tiniest little road from the right.

2. You consider breaking the speed limit normal, and honk and flash at people who don't.

3. If you have had less than 10 beers you drive your car home, but you still don't indicate when turning or respect the speed limit.

4. If you have a car, you consider any other means of transportation slightly suspicious.

5. You know the names of at least 10 different sauces for chips.

6. You catch yourself ordering a "Supplement Frites" with every single dish you have in any kind of restaurant.

7. You give other foreigners lectures on the difference between fake and real monastery-produced beer.

8. You don't drink the last two centilitres of a Westmalle trippel.

9. You never wear any colour brighter than dark green. You automatically assume anyone who does is either a. Dutchb. Scandinavianc. American ord. Extremely childish or rude

10. Just one day without rain even in July and August can make you happy.

11. On Saturday morning and Sunday evening of any sunny summer-weekend you accept spending more than three hours stuck in traffic jams on motorways in order to get to and from 100 km's of coastline that are completely cramped with high-risers 20 meters from the beach.

12. You don't mind that bouncers have to be given at least 10 Euros when you leave a disco as a bribe for letting you get in next time

13. You consider it normal that even the train to and from the airport has announcements in both Dutch and French, but not in English. You don't react when all the foreigners storm out of the train at the announcement of Brussels North when coming from the airport.

14. You do all your grocery shopping in either GB or Delhaize, and you don't understand anyone who shops in the other supermarket chain.

15. You consider it normal to go out to a restaurant at least five times per week.

16. You think it is logical that shops are closed Sundays and evenings, but buy the booze you consume in night-shops between 4 and 5 AM Sunday morning. 17. You use and understand abbreviations like NMBS/SNCB, MIVB/STIB and SMAP/OMOB.

18. You only buy the most up-market chocolate brands, and feel sorry for the geeks who buy "white products".

19. You start going to Quick instead of McDonalds and you have actually tasted the Quick Bearnaise Burger.

20. You think it looks nice when the type of pavement tiles in front of each house are different, and you don't mind falling over lopsided tiles occasionally.

21. You take dog-shit on the pavement as just another challenge on you daily walks.

22. You keep three colours of bin-bags for different kinds of waste, and remember which days to put out which kind of bag on the pavement in front of your house.

23. You don't mind when most streets are full of bags that have been put out on the wrong day, not even in the summer when the combination of the sun and intrepid dogs makes it a very interesting experience.

24. You automatically assume that everyone else speaks at least three languages, but refuse to speak more than one yourself.

25. You have given up on any sensible political discussion on the language divide in general and the Brussels Capital Region and the future of Belgium in particular.

26. You consider it perfectly normal when the names of towns on road signs change from French to Dutch and vice versa every 5 or 10 kilometres of motorway.

27. You have understood that the hassle of monthly visits to the municipality to obtain papers or residence permits is reserved for recently arrived foreigners who move every 6 months, and you therefore don't complain over your own annual visit where you wait in line for an hour or two.

28. While you may whinge from time to time, you wouldn't and couldn't live anywhere else BECAUSE YOU LOVE IT!!

LOCUM

2005-11-16T22:01:00.000+01:00

I felt this a worthy contribution to the blog It may be a little risqué, but since it was considered worthy to print in many major Swedish newspapers (and obviously slipped past the prudish newspaper editors), then it's good enough for "The Helmut Post"!

This surely has to be the mother of all mistakes in advertising. Behold this Swedish ad for "Locum" (in case you haven't heard of it, Locum is a large real estate agency/property management firm here in Sweden).

What a clever move their PR mob must have thought this would be... a strategically placed heart replacing the "o" in their long-established logo, which (inadvertently) changed the interpretation of the advertisement completely... for the worse (or for the better, depending on your point of view).

I don't need to say any more. If you tell me you don't get it then you admit to having led a sheltered life! :P

Wolf Creek

2005-11-13T15:50:00.000+01:00

And now, a film review!

Yes, it's time to give the blog a little variety and not just story after story about me getting pissed and falling down the stairs!

Well, here it is. I'd like to recommend the soon to be released film "Wolf Creek" to you all, a new Aussie film which should be screening soon in Europe.

http://www.wolfcreekthemovie.com/

While I've not actually seen the film, I've heard (from reliable sources) that this is one of the best examples of it's genre, a real cliff-hanger, a must see. Apparently, people back home have been so terrified during the preliminary screenings they've been scared out of the cinema (after being "scared in" of course).

While many of you may not be able to stomach horror/slasher type films, this one may prove to be a little different. Said to be "The Australian Blair Witch Project", it's loosely in the Hitchcock style with a completely unpredictable plotline (unlike so many other films which are painfully simple to forecast). Basically, the film is loosely based on a true story... three English backpackers who plunge into a hellish nightmare after meeting and accepting help from a (seemingly) friendly local in a rather isolated part of Australia.

Two other URL's...

A Daily Telegraph news story:

http://dailytelegraph.news.com.au/story/0,20281,17212862-5001022,00.html

And from the IMDB:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0416315/

I hope it hits the Swedish cinemas soon for I really miss Australian films. I only hope that I don't feel TOO much sympathy for the homicidal maniac when watching "Wolf Creek" (personally, I too have experienced violent urges towards British and American backpackers and their relentless "Crocodile Dundee" taunts!).

G

Life (in Gothenburg) goes on... ... ...

2005-11-12T22:08:00.000+01:00

Dear all,

It's about time this blog got a little exercise!

Karin and I finally got ourselves a broadband internet connection, which means we'll be able to more easily keep in contact with all of you. We like this new place on Ånäsvägen (as I think I mentioned to most of you before), but in the time it took to make the move and get settled ensured you didn't hear all that much from either of us.

Also, I mentioned that I got a job across town working at "IMS Medical Radar" (http://www.medicalradar.com/) , MR is essentially an information and consultancy company based in London (the Gothenburg office located near the centre of the city, near P-arken). I sit in the UK department, working in a research team consisting of other Australians, Kiwis, Englishmen and Canadians (sitting between the Dutch and Italian research teams). phoning and talking to specialist (British) specialists. While it can be monotonous being on the phone all day, at least I get paid for speaking English!

As for Ingrid, she's really doing well, almost walking, a mouthful of teeth and almost a year old! Time certainly doesn't stand still, where has that time gone? I might add that she's almost walking now, she's strong enough to stand (but only if she has something to support her weight). Karin's parents came with a little trolley which she can use to balance while walking from one side of the room to another (except she can't turn corners, only a straight line). She gets really mad if she can't turn it around herself!

It's late here, I honestly can't think of anything else to write. I promise to post some digital camera pics before too much longer.

Oh, except I can't forget to mention that Jonas, Kristina, Karin and I (and Ingrid of course) spent an enjoyable evening together last week, when Jonas and Kristina invited us around and cooked up a gastronomic masterpiece... Thai food (with generous CHILLI garnish!). The food was fabulous, everything was just great, we all enjoyed each others company...

However...

At this point I don't want to go into any details concerning the morning after? (It was midday the following day before I could sit down again!). Chilli, (like most pleasures to be found in Sweden) are better enjoyed in... moderation!

G

Back in Swe...

2005-10-03T22:19:00.000+02:00

Just to let you all know, I made it back to Gothenburg...

It's amazing just how much Ingrid has grown in the relatively brief time I've been away. I'm a little depressed in thinking that each one of those missed days can never be regained.

Anyway, I'm back... but not before Nele and I had a *super* time in Amsterdam. Both Nele and I can vouch for all of us, it's every bit as bad as it's reputation!

Will write more soon, I'm jetlagged and longing for a bed right now... G

Thanks mate :)

2005-09-03T01:02:00.000+02:00

Thanks mate,

I really appreciate your sentiments. I'm glad you and your work colleagues liked and appreciated my contribution, though it's nothing special :)

Just think, me and the former Pope now share a prominent similarity (aside from our inherent dislike of Nazist and Soviet-brand Socialist ideology). Now BOTH of us have written a (published) opinion column for the same Polish newspaper!

Changing the subject...

At this stage I'm due to return to Europe on the 30th of this month. It's taking a little longer to finalise things here in Cowra and there's another reason which is delaying my departure :(

Due to the expanding oil crisis costs of flight tickets have sharply increased. Australian oil prices have been heavily affected by the hurricane crisis unfolding in the American South since many oil refineries there are now inoperable. To make matters worse, a defective shipment of air fuel arrived a week before 'Hurricane Katrina' hit (unusable since it has the potential to create dangerously high amounts of static electricity). Therefore, petrol was being rationed at Australian airports before the cost of oil increased.

The cheapest fare I was able to reserve was with Malaysia/KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines) on that date (I'll also be stuck in Amsterdam for more than 14 hours waiting for my connecting flight to Gothenburg).

Naturally, I'm a little disappointed. It would have been great to have stopped over (albeit for a short while) in a city where I have friends (um, how far are you from Amsterdam Nele?).

But I'm missing Karin and Ingrid more than anything. It's getting to the stage now where I don't really care how I get to Gothenburg, just so long as I get there sooner rather than later. The earlier I'm back with them the better, it's torture living like this :(

Now I'm really stuck between two continents. Wherever I live now, Europe or Australia, I'm going to be longing for the other side :/

Aussie published in Polish :)

2005-09-02T13:13:00.000+02:00

Hello everyone!

There's been one Aussie's article published in Poland recently. It was around the anniversary of Gallipoli masacre. The Polish title is "The legend of free spirits".

"W?a?nie fakt, ?e kontynent australijski le?y tak daleko od reszty ?wiata, wiele wnosi do znaczenia ?wi?ta: podczas tej kampanii Australia po raz pierwszy zosta?a uznana za aktora mi?dzynarodowej polityki. Poza tym, bior?c pod uwag?, ?e Australia nigdy nie do?wiadczy?a ?adnych wewn?trznych niepokojów, takich jak rewolucja, ani te? nie by?a okupowana (a wi?c i wyzwalana), wszystkie uczucia narodowe koncentruje i kanalizuje to historyczne wydarzenie."

You can find the contribution [here]

A new Polish joke...

2005-09-02T12:47:00.000+02:00

Dear mates,

I just found a Polish joke online (another one).

A little offensive perhaps. If the Poles on the list find it so terribly offensive I'll remove it... but I think it's a one-off rarity to find a NON CATHOLIC Polish joke! Those are so rare (in English) you know! :)

Anyway, here it is...

------------------------------

More than a decade after the defeat of communism the Polish economy was sluggish in recovering and Polish President, Aleksander Kwasniewski, found his popularity ebbing (having held office for more than ten years). To divert attention from the troubles facing the Polish administration, Prime Minister Belka made a suggestion to the President...

The wiley Prime Minister suggested that Poland run a monster international lottery with three "mystery prizes". This lottery would be widely publicised, increase Polish tourism and (hopefully) shine a more favourable light on Poland's international image (and it's leaders, since they would obviously be seen awarding the Prizes).

And for a time, it did just that. Millions of people around the world bought tickets amid an intense publicity campaign.

The day of the prize giving arrived. The world watched and waited as the Prime Minister and President, both standing on the balcony of the Presidential Palace (before raptuous, cheering crowds) congratulated the three prize winners, asking them to come forward individually to collect their three "mystery prizes".

The winner of the third prize stepped forward. The President congratulated him (amid rapturous cheers and an explosion of flash bulbs), announcing the third prize as "a free trip around the world on Lot Airlines"...

***APPLAUSE!***

Then the second little man came forward. This time the second prize: "a fruitcake".

***GASPS***

"Vot!?" exclaimed the little man. "Zis is unfair... ze tird prize is much better prize I zink!".

But the Prime Minister politely exclaimed that the fruitcake was a much better prize. "Zis is a very, very spezial fruitcake az it vos baked by none other than the Presidents glorious wife, Jolanta Kwasniewski".

***APPLAUSE***

But the little man wasn't impressed. He started to swear... "I don't vont ze fruitcake! FUCK Jolanta Kwasniewski!". To which the Prime Minister promptly replied

"Oh, no, no, no, you vill be vanting first prize!"

Back in Aussieland...

2005-08-22T02:47:00.000+02:00

Dear all,

After a gruelling 29 hour trip, I made it back home in one piece. Everything is precisely where I left it, the town hasn't changed a particle...

But there's a great stillness, an emptiness, a void which only Karin and Ingrid can fill. While I'm glad to see my home, mother and friends again, I can't wait to get back to Europe.

Having said that, it is comforting being home in other ways.

I missed the fabulous food - glorious steaks, exotic 'Pacific Rim' cuisine complimented with wine to suit every palate, not to mention one litre bottles of gin for only $24.00 and bottles of beer at $1.50 apiece.

Only in Australia... last night, breaking news on the TV is a car crash on a local highway and the evening news concluded with a list of the cheapest petrol prices in the local area.

Being a new country is part of what makes Australia great. But the only reason it is a new country is that it took so damned long to find. The blessed isolation is superb, the only down side being that we Aussies don't feel engaged in the wider world in the way Europeans or Americans do. In your congested, centrally located homelands you're at the heart of something whereas Aussies are a million heartbeats away from the rest of the Western world and its concerns.

That's why commercial TV stations will lead the nightly news with 'Crash on Bourke Highway, one dead', while Baghdad burns and the rest of the world goes to hell in a wheelbarrow.

In other words, it's a great place to unwind! :)

However, on last nights news I heard that the Catholic orientated "World Youth Day" (coincidentally, the large event in Germany which Michal has been writing and researching articles recently), will be held in Australia in 2007. That should prove to be interesting, since such large non-sporting events usually bipass Australia completely. What have you heard relating that Michal mate?

Will write more soon mates, I need to go now. Lacking an internet connection I find myself sitting in the 'Cowra Municipal Library' using a borrowed computer and my time is set to expire.

Cheers all...

The EU... help or hindrance?

2005-08-15T01:48:00.000+02:00

Time for a political discussion!

I CONFESS! I admit to being that most annoying of cocktail party bores - an EU sceptic. I distrust EU institutions and possess a strong dislike of the direction the EU has taken since Maastricht. I think too many people assume that EU integration is an inevitable event without scrutinising the means and processes of achieving this unity in the closeness such important change deserves.

THERE! I said it! :)

However, in criticizing this odious institution I remember that many of you think of the EU in a more positive light. This lead me to want to learn more. However, the more I read the more disillusioned I become.

To be completely fair, I concede the original idea of a European free-trade union was both noble and smart. It aimed to bind European countries so closely by trade ties that war between them became impossible. Had the merger stopped when trade and economic barriers fell, it would have achieved its goal without threatening the distinctive political and cultural freedoms of individual countries. But the drive for political union is, in my opinion, an ideal too far.

I can't help but be naturally sceptical of the EU. Like the old USSR, the EU proceeds by a series of five year plans proposed by a 25-member politburo and rubber stamped by a tame parliament). Like that of the Supreme Soviet, the recently bombed EU constitution lacked any mention of the word "God", but yet made many grand references to hopelessly utopian aims, including "sustainable development based on balanced economic growth and price stability, a highly competitive social market economy, aiming at full employment and social progress to combat social exclusion ... promote social justice ... solidarity between generations". And on, and on, and on it goes! For the life of me I can't figure out how a nation like Poland, having painfully endured under one Godless regime, sustained by it's Catholic integrity, would permit itself to be slowly and insidiously absorbed by another?

Europe has had its fair share of bad experiences with central planning and authoritarianism. Take your pick of left or right-wing "isms"; Fascism, Nazism, Communism. Given that history, it's odd that Europeans have opted for more central planning under the banner of the EU "ism" (however and whatever the hindsight of future generations choose to name it).

Don't the Europhiles amongst you think the EU should be a free trade area in goods, services and capital (but not labour, except perhaps, by bilateral agreement)? Why does the EU need pretensions to statehood? Why can't it be a forum for co-operation on those few matters (such as environmental protection) where multilateral institutions can play a useful monitoring role? Surely European regulators of the single market should strive not to "harmonise" taxes and social policy across the continent, but to foster growth on the principle of comparative advantage among different and self-regulating economies?

As for the social complications, far from dampening conflict don't you think that political union may even increase the risk of future European conflict? History is littered with wars of secession, or liberation (depending on your perspective) driven by the need to reassert lost national identity. Overbearing gigantism and monolithic states simply invite the likes of extremist groups in France and Germany and the Netherlands to seek, one day, independence from central authority through violent means.

If a bombing campaign is used to win Basque autonomy, why not a Netherlands, an Austria or a Sweden free of EU overlords? It is a sobering reminder that utopian talk may sound harmless but it often delivers a dangerous punch.

These are but a few of the questions burning in my mind at the moment. Until I receive an answer to them I intend to remain an EU sceptic,... moreso after the failed French and Dutch referendums) since the direction of the EU is much less clear. Those on the conservative Right are generally suspicious of centrally planned solutions, particularly on vexed issues such as open borders and immigration. The Left likes central planning but only if it gets to choose the plan.

In France, many workers were worried they may have to give up their prized, hard-won working conditions because hungry, hard-working Poles and Czechs are willing to work longer. The fear is that these east European Thatcherites will set the standard for a new European workplace, which means a well-deserved "au revoir" to the bloated and slovenly French public service.

If there's any justice in Europe, the odd alliance between left and right in the defeat of the French and Dutch referendums might just mean that the EU will become the latest in a long line of lessons on how grand utopian experiments fail. A closer look at those countries which have voted so far on the EU constitution reveal quite a bit concerning the motives of those who wish... by stealth... to dump the nation state.

I personally believe that more people across Europe are starting to take a closer look at the EU constitution. You don't need to delve too far into the hundreds of provisions to learn that there will be an EU president, an EU foreign minister and EU foreign policy. While countries have a right of veto over certain subjects, how long will that last if the EU monolith keeps growing? But does it matter that much anyway when so many supposedly sovereign parliaments were using subterfuge to sign their nations up the EU constitution without even a basic vote?

Of course it's not entirely all their own fault. The weird login in, say, Germany for example, means that plebiscites, abused by Hitler, are still banned. That means the Germans won't get a direct vote on these latest moves to strip more power away from the people to a mammoth centralised EU bureaucracy in Brussels. As another founding father of the EU, it is as if Germans still do not trust their own people to act as the ultimate check on power.

But the German leaders aren't the only ones in denying a vote to their citizens. Many nations (including Belgium and Sweden), had intended to push the constitution through without putting it to a vote on the pretence that the majority of voters weren't intelligent or sophisticated enough to understand it, while those French and Dutch voters who dared to vote "no" were scoffed at as not having properly understood the issues. The comment made by Junkers (the so-styled "president" of Europe), properly sums up the arrogance of that regime "if the answer is yes, we move forward, if the answer is "no" on we go anyway".

I want to be optimistic on this, I don't like pessimism, but I can't help but become more and more anti-EU as time progresses since I"m naturally wary of any collectivist, centralised government pushing an abstract, utopian political ideals. .Nevertheless, I'd appreciate any an all feedback on this issue. Put my mind at ease you lot... please! :)

And now it's time for bed. I've had too many G&T's and since Karin is already in bed I've nobody here to tell me that I've been sitting at the computer for too long. I'll be away from the computer for a couple of weeks (and I doubt I'll have access to the internet in that time) but I'll look forward to getting back in touch with you all the moment I return :)

Marital Advice

2005-08-15T01:32:00.000+02:00

Dear all, (but targeted at the newly engaged couple).

While cleaning up my deleted items folder I discovered the following e-mail sent to me by a friend back home. Highly relevant to the moment, containing several humorous quotes relating to love, engagement and marriage. I was going to send it to the mailing list but I figured it better to post on the blog :P

Oddly and eerily, I've since learned that most (if not all) contain more than an element of truth therein! (aww... come on, if we married men didn't LOVE this lifestyle is there ANY way we could laugh at such jokes?) All harmless fun!

Congratulations again Michal mate, on behalf of us all I'm sure. You both have a bright and happy future to look forward to :)
------------------------------

If you want to know how your woman will treat you after marriage, just listen to her talking to her little brother - Sam Levenson.

Marriage is a three-ring circus... engagement ring... wedding ring... suffering... Old Australian Proverb.

Love is a fire, but whether it is going to warm your heart or burn down your house you can never tell - Joan Crawford.

The only difference between a successful marriage and a mediocre one is having left three or four things a day unsaid - Old Australian Proverb.

To keep your marriage brimming,
With love in the loving cup;
Whenever you're wrong, admit it,
But whenever you're right, shut up!- Ogden Nash

No married man's ever made up his mind until he's heard what his wife has to say about it - Somerset Maugham.

Sex when you're married is like going to a 7-Eleven. There's not as much variety but at three in the morning it's always there - Carol Leifer.

A man is not truly complete until he's married... then he's finished - Zza Zza Gabor.

My two year old nephew says "I love you" to everyone. My sister says he doesn't know what it means, he just says it to get something. I think he knows *exactly* what it means - Tim Young.

They say marriages are made in heaven, but so are thunder and lightening - Clint Eastwood.

Marriage is an adventure... like going to war - G K Chesterton.

Marriage - The state or condition of a community consisting of a master, a mistress and two slaves, making in all two - Ambrose Bierce, The Devils Dictionary.

I love being married. I was single for a long time and I just got sick of finishing my own sentences - Brian Kelly.

That married couples can live together day after day is a miracle the Vatican has overlooked - Bill Cosby.

25th anniversary of "The Solidarity" ahead

2005-08-08T16:37:00.000+02:00

When "Solidarity" appeared, I haven't even been born. The movement was a first outbreak of freedom in so-called "Soviet block", and despite the fact that it was suffocated by commies in December 1981 (when a 3-year martial law was introduced), it moved domino bricks: the round table in Poland (1989), "the velvet revolution" in Czechoslovakia, finally - the fall of Berlin Wall and soviet empire itself.
The process keeps going with outbreaks of freedom in Ukraina (the Orange Revolution, 2004), or Georgia... We're all waiting for Belarus now. My memories from childhood are connected with empty shops, 2-channels TV with lame soviet cartoons once a day and sad dreams about western toys. My children - for what I hope - won't notice a difference between Poland and "normal world". They won't be asking about guys in uniforms on TV.
That's why the 25th anniversary of founding "Solidarity" is important for guys like me.

PS. There's a site concerning "Solidarity" really worth seeing here.

We are engaged

2005-08-06T16:31:00.000+02:00

Let's make it official now... :)

I am very happy to announce that on Wednesday, 3th August, I asked Gosia a very important question and she said "Yes".

We are engaged!

What now? We want to enjoy that fact first. Then we'll start thinking about setting a date and time. But next summer sounds good :)

From Michal's camera... fatherhood! :)

2005-07-31T02:04:00.000+02:00

Michal (or was it Gosia? I can't remember) took this photograph.

I like this pic a lot. One of the many, many joys of being a father :)

Dear sweet mother of God!! NOOOOoooooo!!!

2005-07-31T01:54:00.000+02:00

Well, how fitting it seems that my friends not only witnessed our wedding but (via this blog) will also witness our first FIGHT as a married couple!!

NO MORE WILLIE PICS!!

Helmuts FIRST all-male calendar pics!

2005-07-31T01:25:00.000+02:00

Karin posting here, I know what Garth will think of this. As he's always "taking the piss" Here are the SAUNA BOYS of Helmutsrogatan!!!!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!

The wedding speech

2005-07-31T01:03:00.000+02:00

Dear all,

Just looking through my files for interesting titbits which might be worthy of posting. I have my wedding speech here, I'll start by posting that :)

I keep banging on about it, but it was such a fantastic experience to have all my friends on board to witness what turned out to be one of the most important days of my life. The birth of Ingrid and my wedding are among the two most important memories I'll treasure (among many memorable moments in the Helmutsrogatan common kitchen of course!).

==============================

My mother, my dear friends and new family? one and all. Min mor, mina kära vänner och min nya familj... What an honour, a privilege, a pleasure. The most extraordinary feeling of joy you have created in me to be here today and able to share our happiness. Some of you have travelled great distances, others have driven from just down the road, but with this same intention, for which I am grateful to each and every one of you.

Det är min en ära, ett privilegie och ett nöje. Den högsta känslan av lycka har du gett mig och den finns här idag för att delas med dig. Många av er har rest långa stäckor medan andra bara svängt runt hörnet. Men alla med samma avsikt och för detta är jag tacksam gentemot var och en.

Nevertheless, there is much more to that sentence than just words.Today is important for so many reasons. For me, it signifies the end of one way of life and the beginning of another. Today marks the end of a period of freedom, of loneliness, uncertainty, trial and error, before which all accountability was mine and mine alone. More importantly, it is a beginning. To me it means new responsibilities, trust and sharing.

It can be said, that today?s younger generations are not so different from past generations. We still leave home, get married and have children? but today not in that precise same order!

Unga människor, dagens generations, är inte så olik fran tidigare generationer. Vi lämnar fortforande hemmet, gifter oss och får barn, men, idag sker det inte direct I samma ordning!

To my new parents in law, Björne and Margareta,

Till mina nya svärföräldrar, Björne och Margareta.

In a traditional way of thinking, one might say that Karin belongs to you - but as of today: She belongs to me - and I belong to her.

På ett traditionellt sätt att tänka, kan man säga att Karin tillhör er - Men från idagTillhör hon mig - och jag tillhör henne.

By giving me your consent in taking Karin?s hand and walking alongside her towards a new life, for better and for worse, you have both shown that you share faith and trust in me to be capable and responsible in that act throughout life ? that is called love. For that, I am very grateful to you both.

I och med er tillåtelse att ta Karins hand och gå vid hennes sida mot ett nytt liv, i både medgång och motgång, har ni båda visat tillit och tro att jag är kapabel och ansvarsfull nog genom den akt i livet - som kallas kärlek. För det här är jag djupt tacksam till er båda.

I thank you for the gift of your beautiful daughter, your gift to this world, and to me. I love her and I will protect her with all my heart. I will do my best to make her feel confident, secure and happy in whichever land and within whatever circumstances we find ourselves in as the months and years pass.

Jag tackar er för för eran vackra dotter, eran gåva till denna värld, och mig. Jag älskar henne och kommer att ta hand om henne med hela mitt hjärta. Jag kommer göra mitt yttersta för att få henne att känna sig självsäker, trygg och lycklig oavsett vilket land eller under vilka omständigheter vi befinner oss i genom åren.

I consider myself to be extremely fortunate in having such exceptional parents in law, but I must also include mention of my other ?new? family members, in particular, my brothers-in-law Johan and Karl, whom I now regard to be like my own brothers (which, being an only child, I have never had before). Their friendship has made my time in this foreign place all the more enjoyable since we first met.

I also wish to thank my own mother, whose maternal love, wise guidance and understanding over the years have shaped me into the man I am today. Ever since I was born I have been surrounded with love and affection. Mum, I thank with all my heart? for these gifts as well as your bravery and courage.

Not only the courage needed in making that long and uncomfortable journey from Australia to here, but for encouraging me to come to Sweden in the first place. It could only have been unconditional maternal love, which led you to support your only child to leave for a years study at a University on the other side of the Earth only a few months after the death of my father. Since that horrible time, it has not been easy and the pain persists? we both continue to miss my father very much. He was a wonderful man, whom unfortunately neither Karin nor Ingrid will ever know, who should have been at my side on this day of happiness.

Now you have a new daughter-in-law now and a new granddaughter, signifying that life, however painful, continues to renew itself. I love you mum, am proud of you and thank you for all you have done for me.

To Karin, my Karin, min älskling? my darling wife? In the year 2003, I undertook a journey of significance, to Sweden? Gothenburg to be precise? a vague and distant land populated with what seemed to be vague and distant people.

It was a very uncertain time for me; only months before my father had passed away, leaving an unfillable void in my life.Your radiance shone clearly for me from our very first meeting. Since then I have been blinded and totally dependent on it.

From the moment you walked into my world until now, much has happened. Since the arrival of our beautiful little daughter, Ingrid, I have known true happiness? but it is a happiness that is incomplete without your love. In front of us, we have boundless plains to explore together, side by side. In light and darkness, in summer, autumn, winter and spring ? always. You give me security, joy and happiness. I have come to learn that without you, I am only half a man.

The joy and strength you give me is like the relentless Australian sun, the whitest and brightest light imaginable which melts all doubts and darkness on Earth. Then, like the much milder Scandinavian sunlight, you shine with a watchful and far more delicate beam of gentleness, which extinguishes all ignorance, fear and uncertainty.

I have no idea as to what the near and distant future has in store for us ? but as you always say, ?life is full of surprises? and all we can do is wait and watch, hand in hand.-Today, two very important questions have already been answered with a simple ?yes? from us both and it is an answer which will hold good for us always.

If ever we need light in our search for answers, all we need to do is to remember all we have learned from the people who love us, the good advice which will illuminate the path of life that is sometimes lost.

Idag, har två väldigt viktiga frågor redan besvarats med ett enkelt "Ja" från oss båda och det har bundit oss samman för evigt. Om vi någon gång behöver hjälp i vårat sökande efter svar, behöver vi bara minnas allt vi lärt oss från dom människor som älskar oss, de goda råd som kommer att lysa upp vår väg i livet som ibland kan ta villovägar.

Karin, jag älskar dig. From now until eternity, a strong and unconditional love awaits us both. Today is ours and ours alone. This moment is ?us? - the two of us ? newly together, young together, in love together ? simply ?together?.

Karin, jag älskar dig. Från denna dag och all framtid, väntar en stark och vilkorslös kärlek. Idag är det vår dag. Denna stund är "Vi" -oss två- nya tillsammans, unga tillsammans, kära tillsammans - helt enkelt "tillsammans".

My dear friends and family?May I ask you all to rise, and join me in drinking a toast to my bride.

Re: the new blog...

2005-07-31T00:42:00.000+02:00

What a wonderful suggestion Michal mate! :)

I've been meaning to start a blog for some time now but I never quite got around to it. Karin's brother is an avid blogger, he's been trying to talk me into it also.

I have a friend back home who uses his blog as a mere list of URLs (obviously, he uses many different computers and he can't go around leaving URLs in many different 'favourites' lists). It's a great way to keep in touch with friends living abroad also :)

Brace yourselves and be prepared for a lot of smutty Australian humour! :P

A couple of questions though; this is semi-private, semi-public blog is it? Can we post imagery also?

Let's launch :)

2005-07-30T12:40:00.000+02:00

Giday!
As we had been thinking about it before, I've launched a blog for "Goteborg" mailing list. Since we're a gathering of inteligent, nice, easy-going, educated (and modest) people from around the world (or at least European world), it would be great if we created a new quality in our communication: the blog. Blog is more than a diary or a log. It's a way people communitate on the narrow border between public and private. Everyone is welcome to read what we want to express (if, obviously, anyone finds this place on the internet - so, try to make some publicity, guys! :) ), so we can use it to communicate any stuff we'd normally post on our mailing list, which we consider to be interesting for a broader audiens than us only.
Anyway, I hope that'll work! Let's do it!