Merry Christmas!

Dear Friends and Family,


I hope you all had a great Christmas and remembered the birth of Jesus during the celebrations?!


I have attached a few phtos... more later..


November in Örebro









Moose outside our house in Luleå on Christmas Eve!!

Not Long Now..

It's been a while since I have sat down and actually written something... here goes..

Soon it will be Christmas and time has flown by again this year! It seems a life time ago that we were in Australia or even enjoying the summer weather of Örebro. Now we are both finishing off 2006 with our usual flurry of work and play.

We are returning to the backyard of Santa this year hoping to see some snow since none has materialised in Örebro. It will be nice to visit our 'home away from home' and catch up with the family and friends.

This term I have been studying Swedish after work which has also taken a lot of my free time. Thankfully I managed to pass a test at Uppsala University, which gives me an accreditation in Swedish for use at University (Svenska B).. like a HSC grade in Swedish... very rewarding.

We continue to reside in our massive estate just north of Örebro and are really happy to live close to town. We have been busy planning 2007 with our trips to England and Australia and at the moment our bank balance dictates we do nothing more in 2007!

We hope you all have a great chrissy and new year where ever you are. Over and out...

Some of my favourite photos...

I admit that they are mostly from Australia, but I rarely have my camera with me here in Sweden..

An Australian Christmas..

I like all the different people and reflections in this photo (above)

Seven Mile Beach.. with Berry Mountain .. A perfect swimming beach..

Australia ... calling us back...

"In Sydney Harbour the yachts will be racing on the crushed diamond water under a sky the texture of powdered sapphires. It would be churlish not to concede that the same abundance of natural blessings which gave us the energy to leave has every right to call us back" (Clive James, Unreliable Memoirs)

Can I say it better?! I doubt it...

Yes, the Royal couple has planned to visit Sydney and the norh Coast June-July 2007.

We look forward to seeing the "sunburnt country" again...

Autumn to Winter

Dear Readers,

Well... Autumn and come and gone so quickly this year. As we head into the dark winter, the only memories of the Autumn are some brown leaves clogging drains and a cold from two weeks ago.

I have begun my psychological preparation for winter by sitting in a dark room armed only with some snus and pictures from our last trip to Australia! Madam Broadley and I are busy busy busy as usual and we try to ensure that we see each other at least once a week and plan the coming week! Seriously, we are doing just fine, and Madam Broadley has been the busiest with her work and Uni keeping her out of trouble.

Regards

The Master of the House...

NEWFLASH in Götebrog

Another Criminal Captured by the Secret Agent B..

Continuing from our previous story from Malmö, another person has fallen victim to Sweden's skillful secret agent (also known as Agent B).

Again local citizens have informed the local Göteborg police of a man in the local area possing as a home handy-man and womeniser!He is pictured here below with is latest victim of his fast jokes, IT skills, strange faces and general MASSIVE muscles from his home renovation projects. He is considered extremely dangerous and has been on the run since being deported from Australia for similar crimes.

Agent B was flown up from Malmö to bring the situation under control.

With the skills comparable of Jason Bourne, Agent B transformed his appearance to sneak up on this menace from Göteborg. He attempted an arrest yet this dangerous fugitive managed firstly to turn the situation to his advantage and actually held Agent B hostage for a short time..!!!

Do not worry dear friends, that was not the end of the story! Agent B used the situation to his advantage and screamed like a small girl. This gave the local man the feeling that he was in control before Agent B could make his move.

Agent B then started talking about home renovations with this dangerous man. He talked about digging holes, bathroom replacement, and even the projected level of housing prices in Sweden. At this time the local man relaxed his hold on the rope, giving Agent B enough time to attack like a wild cat. The local man was caught off guard, especially by the Bruce Lee side kicks and fists of fury dished out by Agent B.

The situation is now under control readers as you can see. Sleep well tonight in the country of Sweden, your personal numbers are still safe, your Social Democrats are still in power, and taxes are still high:-)

Summer laughs..

A few snaps from the summer...

"The Secret Spot"

One of the best discoveries of the summer was "The Secret Spot"

Based on a local tip-off from a hobo (pictured) we navigated our way down Highway 47 ... counted the turn offs ..1...2...3...4... and disappeared left down a forrest road. Despite our fears of the unknown and the informant being a hobo, we continued with the promise of paradise!

We were not disappointed! We arrived to find a place resembling 'The Beach' in Thailand. People living in harmony and enjoying natural white sandy beaches (yes, they exist in Sweden) as well as sunbaking on the sun-warmed rocks by the water.

The hobo met us and warned us that he had already taken the best camping spot and we should stay away!! We were quick to remind him that it was actually our tent and therefore were allowed to stay for hotdogs.

We cannot release the location of the "secret spot" as the hobo is still in possession of our tent!

Enjoy some snap shots of this great place.

Finnspång during summer..

A big thank you to Erika and Frederik for the great time in the beautiful-country side outside Norrköping. We were made very welcome and were even treated to a crayfish party... hhhmmm.... NICE!Finnspång is a cozy town with a little castle in the town centre. The whole town is warmly surrounded by a magical river for swimming in. There was even a massive 15m diving platform near town. I must proudly say that I managed to dive-off from at least 5 meters!! I will not mention that 5 year olds were attempting the highest platform.

The second evening we retreated to the Andersson Estate. A picture perfect hobby farm looking over the wheat swaying in the fields. Finnspång, with an all year round warm climate, allowed us to sit outside in the balmy evening until we all felt fully relaxed...

NEWSFLASH - Plastic Surgery Top Models..

Luleå girls make a change for the better...

Following on the successes of reality TV, a small TV company in Örebro has gone a step further! A national search in Sweden has produced some finalists for their new TV programme.

The new show has show great ratings in test audiences. The idea behind the programme is to turn people who are in desperate need of plastic surgery into SUPER models.



In particular many from the Luleå area have applied, raising questions as to the environmental risks of living in Hertsön. We have exclusive photos of the finalists from 1200 entries for the show that will air in December.

The final result is just amazing! One of the three girls has already been married as a result of the programme and two others are travelling to England to pursue rewarding modelling contracts.

Look at the results and stay tuned!!!

Holidays Holidays Holidays...

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!

As you may see from this photo I have not been that active otherwise and have not been a good pen-pal. Please accept my apologies.

Seriously though, it's been a busy summer this year with trips to Malmö (Hi Mum & Dad). Göteborg, and the beloved Luleå. It is truly amazing how much time there is when you don't have a wedding to organise!

We have also invested our life savings and purchased a tent!! I have been heavily influenced by the 'Swedish backpacker' culture and I intend on circum-nativgating the world in white sock/sandals, backpack, dreadlocks (with Swedish pigtails) and finding love abroad (been there done that!).


I must admit that the pre-work twitches are starting to return and I have started ironing my shirts in giddy excitement of working 1o hour days again. Lady Broadley has also been preparing for University and practiced sleeping-in! (see below)

I hope you enjoy the snaps from the trips so far (Göteborg - are coming soon as they need their own newsflash!)

NEWSFLASH - The memory of Bernadotte remains..

Since 1810 has there never been such anticipation of a Royal visit.

In 181o the Swedish Riksdag had a special sitting in the Castle of Örebro to crown their new King Bernadotte. The country and especially the Örebro area were happy to receive someone from another country who they could love and call their own. History is now going to repeat itself in 2006...


Diplomats and politicians have long been in lengthy and troublesome negotiations to bring to Örebro royalty of a new order. King Docke and Princess Nana have now officially accepted an invitation to be pampered and waited upon by local residents of Örebro. The Royal couple are due to renew their promises to the Örebro people this October. We have managed to secure the first officially approved picture of King Docke for the Royal lovers of Svea!

NEWSFLASH - Illegal Immigrants Captured in Malmö..

Illegal Immigrants have been captured after a week on the run... Deportation proceedings were complete the next week.

The state of alert has been reduced in the sleepy town of Malmö after a week of a full scale searching for two illegal immigrants. The two females were first seen hiding in Malmö when the alarm was first raised.

They were first noticed as not being Swedish by local citizens due to their non-Swedish behaviour.

Such behaviour included:
- Complaining about the cost of booze at pubs
- Holding the door for strangers
- Smiling at strangers for no apparent reason
- Not knowing who Olof Palme was
- Could not drink strong coffee without milk and sugar

The search proved so difficult that the Swedish Police enrolled their top agent for tracking illegal immigrants. The only man able to really understand the thought patterns of a true immigrant was needed. His identity is top secret and therefore we have been told to blur this photo.

For a total of five days he tracked these two females and eventually he captured the last illegal immigrant on the Malmö coastline. She apparently was a dead give-away as she was smiling and enjoying herself despite the rainy Swedish weather. We were at the scene when the arrest took place..

The House of Broadley send a big "thank you" to this officer of immigration for his efforts to ensure that the personal ID number system is still upheld for the safety of us all from outsiders.

27 Years Old!! More than half way to 50!!

BROS celebrates 27 years!!

The House of Broadley sends their best wishes and a few song requests..

He celebrated the event in a quiet area of Örebro amongst friends and life long fans invited to the event. The presents came flooding in to his residence as we have in this exclusive photo.

We wish him the best..

ONE YEAR LATER - The Royal Wedding...

Disabled man managed to walk down the aisle to win a beautiful wife...

YES, love will find a way!!

On the 9th of July 2006 is going to the day of National Celebrations in Luleå. The man pictured here was bound to a wheelchair and could only manage this photo before the ceremony (see the picture above and just see those legs!!).

However, with the opportunity of a happy life it helped him walk down the aisle...

We have the pictures of this great day of him transformed.. Enjoy..

NEWSFLASH - Man tells funny joke

A Unidentified Man Told a Funny Joke...

A middle-aged Luleå man is rumoured to have told his funniest joke last summer. Crowds of people lined the streets in the hope of another joke a year later yet they were sadly disappointed. We managed to catch the moment of his punch-line with a photo..

Easter Fun...

Hello Dear Readers (all 3 of you!)

As you can see from the photos, Lisa and I have had an exciting Easter.

We spent a night in a Japanese Spa in Stockholm. I don't think I have every had so many showers in my whole entire life! It was great fun to do a few different things, in particular we had a go at Zen meditation! Not only could I not ignore the pain from crossing my legs as a Hindu Priest would, but we were made to stare at a wall for 30 minutes! It was very relaxing, but I did compare the experience to being in school detention! All in all though, we had a great time, but I did surcome to pretending I was in a Matrix film set and let loose with a few aerial stunts, kicks, and body blows to the meditation teacher. As she was in a trace like state from her Zen training it made it easier to get a few good hits in :-)

After the night in Stockholm we headed up by car to Luleå, where we met the folks and enjoyed good food and skiing on the frozen ocean. Lisa's parents, now accustomed to my break neck skiing speeds, decided that a small 100 meter round-trip would suffice for the day. It was comforting to be able to have a day out and know that if the ice cracked that I could fall over and only be a few meters from the car!

Hope all the readers out there had a great Easter..

Another Birthday!!

This old man wishes to remain nameless...

The boy in this photo has turned 28 years old!!

An old photo has been used to hide his ageing face...

NEWSFLASH - BEEP BEEP BOY CELEBRATES!

THE EXCITIEMENT IS HARD TO HIDE ... "Me is TWO fingers old!"

We have a reporter on the scene to interview the Birthday Boy on his special day. During the excitement of the day we asked a few simple questions from the House of Broadley...

Reporter - "How does it feel to be 2 years old?"

Beep Beep Boy - "It' s like drinking red cordial, eating biscuits for breakfast, having a bat and ball, driving Dad's car, playing with a water hose during summer, and blowing bubbles in your hand all at the same time" he replied

Reporter - "What are your plans for the big day?"

Beep Beep Boy - "I am going to run around the house and make sure that everyone knows I am the birthday boy and keep the attention away from my sister like the good old days. I am especially looking forward to really tiring out Mum and Dad, not to mention getting Grandpa to have to run after to me like a servent. I think I will finish the day off by taking out all my toys and spreading them around the apartment. Once that is complete I will then decide to play with none of them and let someone else pick them up. It's just such great fun being 2 fingers old!

The House of Broadley sends their love and best wishes from Big Dan and Issie...