Arrived on Landsort yesterday after a couple of nights staying in Stockholm at Pelles flat where we watched a truly terrible World Cup Final - poor game, poor result!!!

While in Stockholm we went to the Vasa museum, where a ship that sank in 1628 on her maiden voyage is displayed. A warship with 72 guns she was, for 1km at least, the pride of the Swedish navy, until she sank after firing a 'celebratory' broadside for the King who was presumably less than amused!! Due to the silt she has been remarkable preserved with over 95% of her timbers saved, plus countless artifacts, including sail cloth stored in holds - if anyone ever goes to Stockholm, go to see the ship, it is truly fantastic and worth spending a day there.

We also visited the zoo, which is combined with a museum of old houses, barns etc from around Sweden, many of which you can go in, another place well worth a visit. All in all a good couple of days with Pelle and Monica before we got to Landsort, where work starts. Today spent 6+ hours strimming net rides and paths, necessary to make sure birds caught in nets don't get tangled up in grass, reed etc and that they don't get wet if the foliage has dew on it. With that done we are up at 0400 in the morning to open up 'our' 30 nets, the start of a daily routine that will carry on until end of Nov, though thankfully dawn is getting later each day now, so 0400 will eventually end up as 0700ish - luxury.

Feels like we have not been away, although it is 8 months since we left last time. Tore, our friend who lives here was driving the ferry yesterday, so picked us up and loaned me the quad to get our kit to the house while he went off on his next trip! Delivered a couple of decent sized salmon steaks to us this morning - caught locally in the spring.

Off to bed shortly but can't go without giving a big (huge!!) thanks to our hosts from start of June until last Saturday - Bernt and Berit Johansson; Pelle's mum & dad. They have been fantastic company and the most hospitable hosts you could ever dream of meeting - great, honest, decent folk. We stayed in their summer house at the end of their garden where we thought we would cook our own grub - not a bit of it. Every morning we were treated to proper Scandinavian breakfasts of boiled egg, cheese, ham, fil (a kind of yoghurt), cups of tea and home baked bread. Every evening good wholesome homemade dinners, with homemade icecream, strawberries and cream - nothing could beat it!!!

Bernt & Berit have been great company and although we came here for 'the birds', their friendship will be one of the many lasting memories we go away with. Cheers folks, you treated us brilliantly!!!