De Fyra Kungliga Klubbarnas Fest 2009, a Swedish Royal event at the Grand Hôtel, Stockholm

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In a sea of tailcoats, in the Hall of Mirrors, Spegelsalen. I am wearing a red silk dress with pearl appliqués, designed by Francis Cheong in Singapore. The purse; a Louis Vuitton Monogram Vernis Sunset Boulevard in Amarante, from the LV shop in Stockholm. Kungliga Klubbarnas Fest, Grand Hôtel, Stockholm 2009.
Photo for CMC © J-E Nilsson and Cheryl Marie Cordeiro, 2009.

On Friday the 13th, March 2009, the bi-annual event of the Fyra Kungliga Klubbarnas Fest was held at the Grand Hôtel in Stockholm. Grand Hôtel is situated in the very heart of Stockholm beautifully overlooking the River Strömmen, which is such a defining feature of the city. Just opposite, on the other side of Strömmen, is the Royal Palace and Gamla stan (the Old Town) of Stockholm.

The event was hosted by the Royal Swedish Motorboat Club and co-hosted by the Nation of Italy, and was most notably graced by the presence of H.M. King Carl XVI Gustaf and H.M. Queen Silvia of Sweden.

Cheryl Marie Cordeiro and Jan-Erik Nilsson at the Fyra Kungliga Klubbarnas Fest at the Grand Hôtel, Stockholm 2009.

Champagne reception in the Hall of Mirrors

The evening began most pleasantly with a Champagne reception in the Hall of Mirrors (Spegelsalen), a magnificent ballroom decorated in gold, white and red. Ever since its opening in 1899 it has been the scene of countless conferences and brilliant parties. This evening was no exception as it held all the splendour of a White Tie event, a modern ball filled with a touch of magic! Ladies arrived dressed in their best fur coats only to reveal even more beautiful ballgowns in jewel toned fabrics. The men came dressed in full evening dress, some even with a top hat, and some in their mess dress. Continue reading “De Fyra Kungliga Klubbarnas Fest 2009, a Swedish Royal event at the Grand Hôtel, Stockholm” →

Winter casualty: how do you save a hotbod?

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A ladybug hotbod or warming buddy, filled with natural wheat, from Australia.
Photo for CMC by: Jan-Erik Nilsson © 2009.

As the temperatures dipped for this winter season in Sweden, I’ve been using or rather, abusing this little ladybug hotbod. These hotbods or warming buddies are Australian made and are filled with natural wheat.

They give off the most wonderful scent when heated in the microwave and can stay warm for up to 3 hours at at time. I find them absolutely perfect to have on my seat when working or having them between blankets to warm the blankets.

This little bugger though, has suffered quite some this winter season. Instead of giving off a wonderful scent of wheat, it has now started to smell of burnt popcorn when microwaved. I think it needs saving of some sort but I don’t really know how to save one of these hotbods.

Any ideas?

Midsummer’s Day 2008, in the Western Swedish archipelago

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Brrrrr! My first toe-dip of the season, and possibly my last.
Missing the warm beaches at Singapore’s Sentosa Island. It would take quite a lottery win for me to go swimming in the sea this summer if the weather doesn’t let up! Outfit: A white crochet halter neck dress by BCBG Max Azria.

This island in the western Swedish archipelago has its own tradition on Midsummer’s, where it was here that the Society of Arbores literally brought back forests and green life.

For a number of decades every century, as long as anyone can remember, huge shoals of herring used to suddenly appear along the western Swedish coast. It is said that the sea was so full of herring that they could hardly find space to swim amongst themselves. During winter the fishermen could cut a hole in the ice and the herring would pour up onto the ice by themselves. While this might be of a slight exaggeration, the thing was that year after year the herring did indeed come back, by the millions. The most important periods were between 1747-1809, and then in 1877-1904. Continue reading “Midsummer’s Day 2008, in the Western Swedish archipelago” →

Midsummer’s Eve 2008

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I know a bank where the wild thyme blows,
Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows,
Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine,
With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine
~William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, II (i).

Sitting at the foot of the Midsummer pole. Western archipelago of Sweden, 2008

The weather is ever changing this Midsummer’s Eve, which marks the ancient middle of summer or the summer solstice. It is during this time that even south of Sweden experiences hardly any night and where night is marked these few days with a long dusk that turns to dawn. Continue reading “Midsummer’s Eve 2008” →

Dinner onboard the Swedish East Indiaman Götheborg III

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“You’ll be dinin’ with the captain.” – Pintel to Elizabeth in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) But unlike that scenario, I wasn’t disinclined to acquiesce to the Captain’s request.

Just noticed in DN that Gotheborg III was now visiting Stockholm. The reconstructed 18th century Swedish sailing Ship Götheborg III has made its trip to Canton in China, and back. It was time now to hold a final Board of Directors meeting to close the books on the entire adventure of building the replica ship and its sail to China and back. On the agenda was also the ship’s future adventures. Her upcoming Baltic Sea Tour 2008 looks to be enough of a challenge to keep even the most hard core sailing enthusiasts happy, but even so, it sounds a breeze and a walk in the park compared to the high sea sailing to China.

After the meeting, it was dinner onboard the East Indiaman Götheborg III. Continue reading “Dinner onboard the Swedish East Indiaman Götheborg III” →

April 2008 in the garden, in denim and lace

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In April spring of 2008, in the garden, in a Brazilian made denim and lace bikini.
Text © JE Nilsson, CM Cordeiro-Nilsson 2008

April weather along the Swedish west coast is not always warm. This particular year however, the temperatures were just about alright for a brief visit with the sun in the garden.
Continue reading “April 2008 in the garden, in denim and lace” →

A cheese and wine dining

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Cheese and wine brunch setting

A selection of wine and cheese with bread

I think Asians generally have a different socialization towards diary products than Europeans – we just don’t consume diary products all that much. My idea of cheese when growing up in Singapore was hard Cheddar or pre-packed sliced cheese, the kind you toast on bread and little cubed cheese in various flavours, which I liked very much.

I also think my encounters with milk and cheese would be more numerous than my classmates’ experiences since most of their lunches as I recall consisted of spam and bread, hard boiled eggs and baked beans and Bovril sandwiches as the most mainstream. Continue reading “A cheese and wine dining” →

My secret garden

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A picture of Spring in Sweden. Photo: Kevin D. Cordeiro

This picture, taken by Kevin D. Cordeiro, reminds me of the phrase, my secret garden, the loosely tied rope around the tiny gates that promises green pastures beyond.

My secret garden as a phrase that has about 1.5 million hits on google if you search for it. The most popular is a metaphorical use of the phrase in a book by Nancy Friday. Her books are recommended reads. And a favourite of mine is My Secret Garden, a restaurant by that name just beside Plaza by the Park in Singapore. Continue reading “My secret garden” →

Fat common sense

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In today’s Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet Dr. Annika Dahlqvist, who has her own blog on eating healthy argues in an open letter that children are stumped in their growth and intelligence development by a lack of natural fats in their diet. The Swedish public food authority Livsmedelsverket, retaliates on her standpoint, saying that Dahlqvist has no scientific grounds making such claims. Dahlqvist naturally retaliates right back and will do so on national live television later today.

The general standpoint that natural fats are good for the body and in fact help maintain weight, is a continuation of a more and more pronounced public opinion in Sweden, that questions the goodness of low fat products and a low fat diet.
Continue reading “Fat common sense” →

Easter weather

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frozeneasterlilies.jpg

Photo: Jan-Erik Nilsson
A bouncy yellow despite the cold

It’s a snowy Easter for Sweden this year. A picture here of our poor Easter Lilies battling the snow in our garden. Stubborn resilience.

The editors of Göteborgs Posten loved the picture so much that they had it published in GP – Vårtecken on 22 March 2008 with JE’s corresponding caption

Vart tog våren vägen? frågar våra småpåskliljor som såg så hoppfulla ut så sent som i går

“Where did the Spring go?” asked our small Easter Lilies, bright and hopeful as recent as the day before.