Sitting in a field of primroses

On November 22, 2020, we were given a parking fine for, apparently, parking without paying. As it turned out, we had paid and I could supply a receipt. A month later, on December 18, 2020, I received the welcome news that I was correct, I didn’t have to pay the fine and I could throw the ticket away.

Well, it’s happened again. Today we went to the café on Notholmen and returned to the car to find another parking ticket claiming we hadn’t paid. When we had. As soon as we returned home, I typed an email to the parking company and included their receipt to show I’d paid. Now I’ll just wait another month for the ticket to be annulled, as they call it.

The café was quite busy, with lots of people gathering for someone’s birthday as well as the usual hordes happily sitting outside enjoying the fact that it wasn’t raining. We both thought it was lovely seeing so many families out and about, lapping up the island delight.

And we spotted a couple of newcomers. Newcomers who the girls were very interested in.

The two big, black and white rabbits, have been holidaying on a farm, waiting for the weather to warm up enough for them to move back in on the island. I don’t think the girls have ever seen a rabbit before – at least not this close – and they were suitably inquisitive.

When we think about things we’ll miss about Sweden (in the if and when) the café on Notholmen is definitely one of them. We’ve come almost every weekend since October and now feel, not just like locals, but more like pieces of furniture.

There’s times I even feel like a bit of the landscape.

After a lovely brunch, we went for a short walk along the pier, checking out the two boats moored there. Actually, one was leaving. The one I’d have preferred. Of course, Mirinda would have had either of them. I pointed out that the smaller one would have been very difficult for me to climb into from the dock. Whereas, the bigger one, had a bedroom. And a sliding glass door.

I think I convinced her that my choice was definitely better.

I noticed a lot of fisherfolk today. On the bridge and on the rocks. I’ve yet to see anyone catch a decent fish. Lots of tiddlers that just get dehooked and chucked back. Of course, here in Sweden, you can eat what you catch but, I fear, a lot of the fisherfolk I see will probably go to bed hungry.

Apropos of nothing on the island, this morning, I clipped my reading of Nicktor’s football report from the Talking Newspaper this week and uploaded it here for anyone who might want to listen. It’s less than three minutes.

To finish this post, providing a marvellous full stop, I want to share something I spotted on top of the plastics recycling bin today.

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