Sharon takes a break

The plan was simple enough. We’d invited a few Swedes over for dinner tonight in order to give Sharon and Jud a bit of a send-off before they fly home tomorrow. I’d worked out, what I thought was, an easy enough menu and started preparing as soon as I returned from the ICA.

Mirinda and Sharon took the girls to Stendorren and Jud spent a fair few hours in Trosa, mostly at Tre Små Rum, leaving me to it. There was a plan for Sharon to sous chef for me later.

And it was all going so well. I’d made the dessert and the soup and was just starting on the moussaka when I received a text from Mirinda which, basically, put paid to it all.

Sharon had fallen and hurt her wrist. She slipped on a rock. At sea level. This is the woman who recently climbed and walked in both the Pyrenees and the highest mountain in Norway. The injury sounded a lot like my 2011 Colles’ fracture. I hoped for her sake it wasn’t.

After having a bit of lie down by the offending rock, they returned to the house where I’d found the address for the medical clinic in Trosa. They set off, only to discover that the clinic doesn’t have an X-ray machine. They would have to go to Nyköping. The thing is, they were halfway there at Stendorren. Still, they managed to drop the girls home before heading off again.

The next message I received was to pay for their parking which was followed by a request to call Harald. This was odd because I’d only just seen him when he delivered Mirinda’s Auctionet items earlier in the day. It turned out he wanted to know which colour toilet seats we like.

All up, Mirinda and Sharon were at A&E at the hospital for five hours. And Sharon did have a fracture. She was drugged and her arm was put in plaster. It’s remarkable that Sharon could still be smiling, though, perhaps that’s the drugs.

Eventually they returned and Mirinda told a sad and woeful tale about how difficult it was finding A&E and how the staff didn’t know anything about the reciprocal health care agreement Sweden has with Australia. Obviously, Mirinda made sure they do now.

Then, we sat down to our three-course meal, just the four of us. Sharon opened the wine, making sure her arm wasn’t the only thing plastered. Though Jud and I had made a good start without them with beer and rum. Note that we’ll be eating the same for tomorrow night as well, given I’d catered for seven.