Which Nordic Noir character would you like to be?

I've got a bit of a girl crush on many of the female characters in Nordic Noir fiction, TV and film.

It all started with Lisbet Salander, the feisty female sleuth in Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy. Who wouldn't want to battle misogyny on the streets of Stockholm? I might not have been able to do all the techie stuff, nor am I very good in physical combat, but boy, would I, like Ms Salander, love to spend my time fighting for the cause of feminism!

Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth Salander 

My more recent fictional heroines are from TV: The jumper-wearing Sarah Lund from The Killing, who sacrifices her personal life for the good cause of crime fighting, and the socially awkward Swedish detective, Saga Noren, from the Danish/Swedish TV series, The Bridge. Her brain is as big as a house, she wears tight leather pants, drives a vintage Saab and asks a man to move into her flat because, 'I like having sex with him.' That a girl!

Sofie Gråbol as Sarah Lund

Sofia Herlin as Saga Noren

But, my all time hero, and someone who I secretly would really like to morph into, is Birgitte Nyborg, the head-strong Prime Minister in another Danish TV series, Borgen. This might have something to do with the fact that The Englishman has been totally in love with her since Series One, but for me, being in charge of a whole country is also incredibly sexy. I've always been interested in Politics, I studied the subject at uni, and even once upon a time dreamed of being an MP in the UK.

Alas, my career has taken a totally different direction and I cannot really imagine that I would ever be able to carry such a heavy responsibility.  I would, however, be quite at home telling several good-looking, powerful men around me what to do...

Sidse Babett as Premier Nyborg

'Dream on', says The Englishman.

Which Scandi character would you like to be?

Shopping: T-shirts

With a slightly heavy head after yesterday's wedding celebrations, I thought I'd share with you an online t-shirt company who I've used for some time now to buy fun presents.

Shot Dead in the Head make good quality, durable, funny and topical shirts for adults and children. These two motifs caught my eye today and I only wish I had time to get a few of these for my family as presents, but alas we are leaving for Helsinki tomorrow. For once, I wish an online store also had a high-street presence!

These t-shirts are £17.99 and come in several colours.

Danish YWCA Christmas Fair in Hampstead

I now have a nearly full set of Nordic Christmas Fairs in my basket of seasonal shopping activities. The last one (I promise) was a Danish one, which was held at Maresfield Gardens in Hampstead. This is an annual occasion and seemed very popular with locals and those travelling a bit further away. My friend who had tipped me off about the event, said we needed to get in early if we wanted to have any of the Danish smörrebröd. She was right: they opened the doors at 12 noon last Sunday, and when we arrived at 15 past, there was already a queue for the 'Red Indians' at the hot dog stand outside.

Inside the rooms, housing the familiar-looking Nordic Christmas decorations, were also filling up. I could tell there was a slight difference to the style here: The Danes seemed to favour window displays above candles; the elves with red hats had broader smiles on their round faces and there were more Danish flags about. I doubt, however, that a non-Scandi would have noticed any difference to the Finnish or Swedish Christmas offerings.

Danish flags look so pretty and Christmassy.

The Danish Royal Couple 

I was very tempted with these straw pigs.

With great difficulty, I tore myself away downstairs, where the two cafes were already full to bursting. I chose some marinated herring with rye bread and an open sandwich with beautifully spiced roast beef and horseradish. The food was delicious. Together with a tin of Danish beer, the sill tasted almost  as good as anything they have in Åland. (The 'almost' is here for my mother's benefit - she marinates her own herring which wins hands down in my book.)

Smörrebröd

Although I didn't buy anything apart from lunch at the Danish YWCA Christmas Fair I recommend this venue for its good value Danish food, and the many very pretty decorations on offer. It was also lovely to listen to the Danish being spoken all around us; if I closed my eyes I could imagine hearing Lund from The Killing herself shopping for Christmas decorations (as if she'd ever be so domesticated!).

The Fair is organised every year, but if you decide to go, take my friends' advice and arrive early.

Danish Christmas Fair: Last weekend of November.

Danish YWCA
43 Maresfield Gardens
London NW3 5TF
Tel. +44 (0) 207 435 7232
E-mail: k@kfuk.co.uk

Same old, same old

Do you sometimes feel that you want to wear the same clothes all the time? Especially when the nights draw in and it gets cold outside, I become a hermit, not just in mind, but also in what I wear. And when I find something that I'm comfortable in, like this poncho below, I find myself putting it on day after day. 

I love this simple garment mainly because it's made of the softest cashmere, but also because it's so versatile. I can wear it several ways, even as a scarf, which makes it handy for wearing under winter coats.

Which brings me to my second current obsession - my new Barbour.

Cashmere poncho and Barbour worn together.

All I can say, as once again I decide on the poncho and Barbour combo for tonight's meeting of West End Lane Crooks (I'm not such a hermit after all...), I'm glad I'm not the only busy woman who finds herself wearing the same old, same old, day after day. Some of us even make a fashion statement out of it....

Sofie Gråbol as Sarah Lund in 'The Killing'.

(I can't wait for the second series of this Danish cult TV crime series. It starts here in the UK later this month. Bring it on, sexy jumper wearing Sofie Gråbol! )

Learning Danish

In the past week we've entered a TV viewing zone called The Killing. This is a cult Danish thriller series which has finally reached Britain. It's shown on BBC Four on Saturday nights in double episodes, and I think they're still all on iPlayer. We began our viewing on Sunday night, thinking we'd watch just the one of the episodes we'd saved up, but after getting through four understood that this was compulsive watching.

The story of Förbrydelsen centres around a murder investigation, which slowly entangles the lives of a politician, a teacher, the female detective, Sarah Lund, played by Sofie Grabol (above) with her family and colleagues, and obviously the victim's friends and family. The nineteen-year-old girl is murdered after suffering a weekend of abuse. At first everyone who has come in contact with her is under suspicion. The series is filmed in the classic Nordic style, with most scenes shot in either driving rain or in bleak twilight. There's even an initial scene where the female detective gazes into a row trees framing a vast field - very Wallander indeed.

But true to stylish Danish flare, the viewer is soon very sure this is no Wallander. Especially the political scenes showing the cut and thrust of a modern society seem somehow more Danish; while the clothes and dialogue show a far more relaxed attitude to life - even when a murder investigation clashes with an election campaign.

Troels Hartmann (Lars Mikkelsen) and Deputy Superintendent Sarah Lund (Sofie Grabol) in The Killing. Photograph: BBC/DR/DR

But I'm no expert on Denmark. I've only been to the country a few times, mostly travelled through it, not even leaving the train while on my way from Sweden to the UK.

But watching The Killing I've found the language quite a revelation: I understand much more than I thought I would and after a two-hour session of the series, I'm sure I could quite easily tale Dansk if push came to shove and my life depended on it. Well, I'd have a go anyway. I'm sure my lovely blogging friend Mette Bassett would disagree and even laugh at my efforts...in her very Danish, jolly way.