Longing for simpler times

I just got off the phone with Viasat. We have no image and no sound on our TV for no special reason. It has worked fine since our arrival up to now, but all of a sudden it gave up. After being told that there would be a wait of 56 minutes and answering a whole bunch of inane questions with 'Yes' and 'No', I decided to still go through with it. I fell asleep twice. When it was finally my turn I got to speak to an over-friendly, totally incompetent young man who gave me absolutely no help whatsoever. All he could say was that he could send someone out and that it would cost 950 SKr. He could book him for the end of next week.

This came on top of all the other technical problems you have in today's modern society. I am thinking of buying chargers for your mobile  phones (we have four going at the moment from different countries) and charging them up and also charging your dongle (I know, it sounds yucky but it is a little gadget we need for internet here in the cottage).

Furthermore we have had an ongoing saga trying to get our daughter's husband over here for a visit from Senegal. He was refused his initial visa so they couldn't arrive together but he finally turned up three days ago. This had involved many visits to the tax office and phone calls to a certain Madame F in Dakar who was in charge of the Swedish visas even though she worked at the Spanish embassy. We thought it would be easier to have our own printer here so we bought one and that is the start of another fresh technical nightmare ... and  it goes on.

So, yes I long for the times when you arrived at a summer cottage and there was blissful silence and no mobile phones and Fb and Instagram and Messenger and all that stuff. You might receive a post card from someone during the summer and you would speak to your neighbour. If someone went shopping they might buy the newspaper and you could sit and read it in the sun. Good times!

On the bright side we have seen and done so much in a relatively short time. My sister-in-law and I went to Hjo for a big craft market that is held every year. It is more than a market; I would call it a craft fair. It rained a little bit for the first time in weeks but all the stands were covered and they seemed to do a roaring trade.

We met up with my nephews and great-nephew and accompanied them back to the older nephew's cottage on the lake Vattern.

The day before we got there we visited Lacko Slott which is very beautiful.

We also went to Warnhem Abbey and to Skara Cathedral. We had a night in a very nice hotel with a nice breakfast buffet the next day.

Yesterday was spent in Gothenburg visiting my sister's grave on the 12th anniversary of her death and having lunch in town and sightseeing etc. Today I am having a home day and hubby is taking the visitors to Nordens Ark which is a zoo with Nordic animals and some endangered species and they are hoping to see a wolverine.

Have to go now and tidy and prepare meals for later. Oh, by the way, the TV works now. All you had to do was pull out the plug and card and put it back again. The old usual "have you tried turning it off and on again" applied here as usual.

There will be more soon. Have a nice day!