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Boating - Swedish Style... May 4, 2003 Sweden is a land of lakes and rivers and water plays an important part in everyone’s life here, whether it’s skating and fishing (through holes in the ice) on the lakes in winter or swimming, fishing and boating in summer. But here’s a watery story with a difference. I couldn’t resist this one that featured in my favourite local Swedish newspaper, the Nya Wermlands Tidningen, this week. The events that follow happened at the end of August, last year. One of the great Swedish traditions around that time of the year is to have a crayfish party. The freshwater shellfish are boiled in water, dill, salt and sugar and left to cool overnight. The next day they are served with hot buttered toast and caraway cheese, accompanied by schnapps and beer. Or maybe it’s more truthful to say that the schnapps and beer are accompanied by crayfish. A forty year old local man was an attendee at one of these parties last year, and, as he lived not far away along the edge of the lake, known as Lake Visten, had driven his motor boat there. After a feast of crayfish, beer and schnapps, he decided that he would drive home in his boat. Unfortunately while at the party he had been rather extravagant with his consumption of alcohol - “I’d had perhaps 5 or 6 strong beers and 4 or 5 glasses of schnapps” he said afterwards. There was no mention of how many crayfish had been consumed. The man climbed into his motor boat, started it up and drove away from his friend’s party. Unfortunately his sense of direction had been somewhat impaired by the beer and schnapps consumption and he and his boat ended up unintentionally attending another crayfish party – which was being held in a boat house on a nearby jetty. Surprised guests at the second party were amazed to see a motor boat deposit itself on the shores of the lake next to the jetty. “I heard a loud crash, and went out to see what was happening” said the host of the second party, “and saw that a boat had come up onto to the land only a few metres away from my party.” Before coming onto land, our hero in his motor boat had also driven straight over a small row boat, much to the surprise of the rower in it. According to observers, the motor boat driver was not really drunk, but a little hard to talk to and understand. His explanation for the unfortunate sequence of events was that he had fallen down into his motor boat as he left the first party, and had hit his head. The rest of the events were like a black hole in his memory… The police were called and found that the man was indeed intoxicated, but not drunk. A blood sample taken an hour after the events at the scene of the crime proved that his blood alcohol level was indeed above the prescribed limit. The police claimed that in any case he had not had full and proper control over his motor boat when he drove up onto the land so close to people. The court found him guilty of driving a boat under the influence of alcohol and sentenced him to a month in prison for his actions. There was no mention of the fate of the rower who had been run over by the motor boat, but we can assume that he was safely rescued from the lake without serious injury. Hälsningar till nästa vecka, ------------ About the author: Robin Alan Bell is an Englishman by birth, but migrated to Australia back in '72. Married and divorced there. Spent the last 3 years living by myself on a remote farm in rural New South Wales with no mains electricity, water etc. All power, heating was from natural resources (solar, wind, wood). "Met" a Swedish girl on the internet, came to Sweden for a holiday, loved the place (and the girl), moved to Sweden permanently Christmas 2001 and married the girl in Easter 2002. Living happily ever after... Email Robin Alan Bell: sosoft@ozemail.com.au Comment on this column in the forum. ------------ |
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