Magnus and his beard

I made a new friend this morning. I was walking into Trosa centrum when a man with a beard walked across the road specifically to say how much he envied my beard. I told him he had nothing to be envious about as his beard was pretty good too. While his was very well trimmed, it was somewhat shorter than mine. He had recently visited the barber who had cut half off in order to pretty it up.

Of course, he initially spoke to me in Swedish before instantly switching to near perfect English. He also asked if I was a tourist. He was surprised when I told him I lived in Trosa. And it wasn’t the only time this happened today.

Later, I accompanied Nicoline to the opening of a new deli and a woman there asked me if I’d moved to Trosa because I’d fallen in love with the town.

I told her the story of our first visit when, in fact, we did fall in love with Trosa. She seemed genuinely pleased, though she didn’t mention my beard.

The deli is a new enterprise started by Johan, the chef from Nicoline’s Not a Garden Party. He buys his meat from Bergs Gård, where we went for jul bord last December with Denise. Johan was looking very proud of himself, as was his wife, who showed us round the kitchen and poured us glasses of wine. Nicoline introduced me, but I’ve forgotten her name. Typical Gaz.

Anyway, we toured the whole facility, from the front counter to the store cupboard full of pots and pans. We also partook of some deli food generously supplied by the staff. This included some ice cream, provided by Trosa Gelato, where Mirinda always chats with the woman who works there.

The man from Trosa Gelato was handing out tubs from his amazing ice cream trike which, Nicoline reckons, he’ll be peddling around Trosa in the summer.

As well as the deli, Nicoline showed me the gym next door. She thought I would prefer it to the Friskis given the equipment and general size. We had a good wander round and chatted to the manager (Nicoline really knows everyone in Trosa) and the chap at the front counter.

The place looked amazing, and I could see myself working out there, but my problem would be the long walk back home afterwards. It’s further than the ICA and while a doddle in a car, it would be a bit of a long distance hike by foot.

It makes more sense to go to Friskis with Mirinda when she goes.

But, back to the man with the beard. He introduced himself as Magnus and told me about the two Kiwis who used to live in Trosa as well as an Australian property developer who lives somewhere in the area. I told him about the Aussie in Vagnhärad, which, I explained, didn’t count as a Trosa Aussie.

We had a lovely chat, in the middle of the road outside the church.

Then, as I was about to enter the Coop, the guy who organises the refreshments at the concerts came out and asked me if I enjoyed the show last weekend.

It’s getting to be like Farnham where I can’t walk down the road without being recognised.

The other thing that happened today was the replacement of the centrum benches. I sent this photo to Mirinda as she’d mentioned their absence the other day.

I think they hibernate over the winter. Mirinda thinks they are kept in barns, like the cows. Either way, the return of the benches is a sign of the town waking up ahead of the season. I really do love Trosa.