Sista sommarlovsdagen

Many summers ago, my dad took me and my sister on a trip to Böda Sand and northern Öland. It was the last Sunday before school would start, all ice cream was selling at half price, and the air carried a heavy sense of melancholy. I remember wanting to stretch out every moment, knowing that a long spell of freedom and uninterrupted time was coming to an end.

Luckily, my own kids are slightly more rational. Eddie has been away for four days at Kode Space Camp, while William decided to bake bread (sic!) entirely on his own as Anna and I went into town for some autumn wardrobe upgrades and, not to forget, a Basque cheesecake at A43.

Otherwise, the big thing around the corner is “kyrkflytten” in Kiruna (the moving of the town’s large wooden church) on Tuesday. Anna’s mother will fly up tomorrow morning to witness the spectacle firsthand, as the church – weighing 600 tonnes – is transported five kilometres in one piece, including its famous altarpiece by Prince Eugen. The painting, nearly five metres long and four metres high, was inspired by his trip to Florence in 1897. When in Kiruna during the winter months, the contrast to the outside world could not be more pronounced.