While I was in Stockholm I caught up with an American travel writer called Doug Lansky. Doug has married a Swedish girl and lives in a cool Scandinavian cottage with a Japanese toilet and a Thai rickshaw that he takes the kids to day care in. On Friday night he invited me over to help him and his family demolish a salmon as big as a dog. I bought along a cheeky Australian Chardonnay that I picked up at a Systembolaget, the State run bottle-o that tries to keep Swedes from drinking themselves into oblivion. (Examples of the alcohol available are kept behind glass – like in the pic above – and after you make your decision you tell a sales clerk who fetches it for you.) I’m pleased to report that there is still some credit left on my credit card, but only just.
Anyway, Doug has just released a fantastic book about funny signs from around the world. It’s called Signspotting and it makes the perfect stocking stuffer for the traveller in your life. It should have been Crikey! that was filling stockings, of course, but that’s another story. Instead, this book gets my personal stamp of approval. And if that’s not enough for you, it’s already been No.1 in New Zealand.
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Shame about Crikey as I can’t wait to read it. Was looking at ‘signspotting’ in waterstone’s leadenhall market yesterday, some classic signs in there.
Is there any news on the release of Crikey in the Uk yet Peter?
I just finished an advance copy of Taras Grescoe’s The Devil’s Picnic and it’s terrific, probably the best piece of travel lit I’ve read in two years when I devoured Swahili for the Broken Hearted, Yoga for People who can’t be bothered to do it and Of Cats & Kings – still three of my favourites.
Grescoe goes in search of various “forbidden fruits” the world over and his adventures flouting taboos are a hoot. For anyone who loves playing a few rounds of Let’s Break the Law! while in Singaore. And I really, really want to try genuine absinthe.
I think it’s coming out in January so look out for it.
Missed replying to you before you made it out here, so next time you are in Stockholm in december my tips would be in order of priority:
1) 13 december – “Lucia” – workplaces and public places filled with lines of girls dressed in white singing songs with lighted candles strapped to their heads, followed by a bloke in a dunces hat. Two years ago the nobel prize winner for physics even had his own personal lucia “train” as its called visit his hotel room.
2) Bandy – a game placed on ice in the open – As its cold, clapping is performed in gloves resulting in the so called “bandy clap” (not contageous) For most of us watching the experience is a) 10 mins watching the game (difficult since the ball is very small and lighting usually bad.) b) to the pub until the end of the 1st half. c) back to the stadium with your “bandy portfolio” – this MUST be an old battered brown briefcase, usually passed down the family. In this is a bottle of something strong which is shared and consumed in the second half. c) watch a bit of the game. d) back to the pub. Sweden have been the world champions in this game (its only played in canada, russia and few other places). As I said earlier, normally the lighting is bad, but in Stockholm they have now installed new floodlights which light up half of the island of Södermalm, reducing local resident’s lighting bills dramatically.
c) the stamp museum – because its there. It really illustrates that Swedes will open a museum on just about anything regardless of its interest level.