The Local Sweden

Keeping the kids happy in a Nordic winter

Tue, 04 Dec 2007 20:32:00 +0100

Struggling to keep the kids entertained and keep yourself from pouring the first gin at 3pm? Kathleen Harman has some top tips.

From panties to pies

Sat, 24 Nov 2007 00:20:00 +0100

Kathleen Harman just had to pay homage when a legendarily saucy British underwear chain opened in Stockholm. The trauma left her young son in need of the home comforts of the city's most traditional konditori.

A delux treat for the hostess with the mostess

Fri, 16 Nov 2007 20:12:00 +0100

As Christmas nears, Kathleen Harman feels under pressure to be the perfect hostess. A trip to a Michelin-starred restaurant in Stockholm was a good way to get some tips.

Getting high with my weekend visitors

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 16:36:00 +0100

Entertaining visitors in the dog days of late autumn is always a challenge, but Kathleen Harman thinks she's found just the place to keep them amused.

'Forget the makeover - give me chocolate'

Fri, 26 Oct 2007 15:47:00 +0200

When even a full emergency makeover in one of Stockholm's largest department stores left Kathleen Harman looking like a cross between Posh Spice and Cruella DeVille, there was only one option left: chocolate.

Mosebacke: Observing the SoFo brigade

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 20:42:00 +0200

Kathleen Harman finds that Mosebacke's jazz brunch is a great place to observe Stockholm's alternative set.

Fantasies of escaping my squalor

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 15:48:00 +0200

Kathleen Harman is a firm subscriber to the belief that it is a dull woman who keeps a tidy house. But lack of space, time and money doesn’t stop people having aspirations for their living spaces, she finds.

'You can't eat when your tongue's hanging out'

Fri, 28 Sep 2007 14:55:00 +0200

Kathleen Harman takes her overseas guests to some of Stockholm's flashier nightspots, but finds that the sight of tall, blonde women is enough to put her companions right off their food.

Kitsch, colourful and veggie

Fri, 21 Sep 2007 16:47:00 +0200

Kathleen Harman's dying to add some colour to her life, and is relieved to find that Stockholmers occasionally have the capacity for slightly kitsch taste. One place particularly replete with colour is a restaurant at the city's Hare Krishna temple.

Showing off the gritty side of Sweden

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 12:46:00 +0200

An exhibition of photos from winter in the industrial town of Borås might not sound like the best way to entertain visitors from abroad. But Kathleen Harman is strangely moved.

A 'Clone-a-Willy' kit? The things one needs to do to integrate

Fri, 07 Sep 2007 13:16:00 +0200

Tipping Point: Shocked by the adult nature of some of the literature landing on her doormat, Kathleen Harman goes in search of a family-friendly feast.

Eating my way through Sweden's winter

Fri, 31 Aug 2007 14:25:00 +0200

Tipping Point: Detecting a chill in the air, Kathleen Harman decides it's time to add a layer of blubber. Thankfully, traditional Swedish food is more than up to the job.

Deadly impressive: Stockholm's woodland cemetery

Fri, 24 Aug 2007 15:31:00 +0200

Tipping Point: Kathleen Harman has always enjoyed a good cemetery, so was immediately drawn to Stockholm's Skogskyrkogården, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. What she found was a work of stunning Swedish simplicity.

A touch of Thai magic

Fri, 10 Aug 2007 14:49:00 +0200

Tipping Point: Kathleen Harman finds a Thai restaurant in a converted horsebox by a derelict shipyard has unexpected charms.

Beans, sandals and Japanese tea ceremonies

Tue, 31 Jul 2007 15:10:00 +0200

Tipping Point: Kathleen Harman enjoys a Japanese tea ceremony, eschews beans and brown rice and savours the bijoux charms of Stockholm's Ethnographic Museum.

Ditch your coats - warm up with a curry

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 14:19:00 +0200

The terrible summer might have people reaching for their skiing jackets, but Kathleen Harman prefers to warm up from the inside out, with Stockholm's best Indian curry..

Ghoulish greetings from the ghost train

Fri, 13 Jul 2007 15:26:00 +0200

If you thought the sight of ear hair first thing in the morning was frightening, just wait till you see the guy in the dinner jacket on the ghost train at Gröna Lund. Kathleen Harman lived to tell the tale.

The perfect way to enjoy 'herbal tonic'

Thu, 21 Jun 2007 16:32:00 +0200

Tipping Point: When Kathleen Harman was invited to her first Swedish Midsummer party it was a raucous affair in an English village. She has a recommendation for anyone wanting a more sobre way to spend the day.

The Dame Judi Dench of garden centres

Fri, 15 Jun 2007 12:53:00 +0200

Tipping Point: Growing old gracefully is an art that many women haven't quite mastered, says Kathleen Harman. But she finds one old lady of Stockholm who has weathered the years with distinction.

'Turn me into the Queen Mother of Yummy Mummies'

Fri, 08 Jun 2007 13:58:00 +0200

Tipping Point: Kathleen Harman finds an oasis to recharge in her battle against Stockholm's buffed, designer clad metrosexual daddies.