Book #65 The Chestnut Man

The Chestnut Man: A Novel by Soren Sveistrup
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

1989. Detective Marius Larsen travels out to Orum's Farm. Animals have broken through the fence, roaming the neighbour's fields. Farmer Orum needs to sort this out. When Larsen arrives at the farm what he is faced with is horrific...

Move forward to present day Copenhagen. Detective Naia Thulin works for the Major Crimes Division. Her boss, Nylander, tasks her with partnering 'the new guy'. A liaison officer named Hess, stationed at Europol's HQ in the Hague, ordered to Copenhagen for some blunder or other. They are faced with a brutal murder. The victim, Laura Kjaer, 37 years old, has been partly dismembered. A chestnut man figure lies nearby. Forensics uncover a fingerprint on its head. The print of Kristine Hartung. The 12-year-old daughter of Rosa Hartung, Minister for Social Affairs. The girl went missing less than a year ago and a few weeks later a young tech nerd was arrested and, given weight of evidence, he confesses to strangling and dismembering the body. No body parts were ever found. When more horrific murders occur the chestnut figures take centre stage. How can they all reveal a fingerprint of Kristine Hartung?

The Chestnut Man is a complex story with well developed characters. It is dark and disturbing with many horrific scenes. Perhaps though a tad too long as I found myself easily distracted. It did not anchor me to the pages and took me considerable time to read because of this.



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The Shed - Phases 2 and 3

After the enjoyment of a holiday in Copenhagen I have now returned, with vigour, to the garden shed project. Having dismantled, broken up and dispatched the existing wreck, my builder friend has laid a solid concrete base over the slabs that I originally laid some 25 years ago.

Today I purchased seven 20 kilo bags of 10-20mm Aberdeen pebbles. This took two trips to the local garden centre, a great deal of heaving and loading into my city car and an equal amount of heaving and unloading when I arrived home. I have now packed the entire circumference of the concrete base with these pebbles to a width of around 16 inches (40 cms) and a depth of some 2 inches (5 cms). The result is very satisfying and looks fantastic.

Opening each bag resulted in a whiff of salt, this shingle was obviously harvested from a beach somewhere (Aberdeen I suppose!) and the pebbles were wet and covered in a considerable amount of sand. Anyway, the net result is exactly what I wanted to achieve.

I now have to complete an amount of pruning of the lilac tree that sits close by to ensure that there is no incumbrance for the tradesmen who will deliver and erect the shed on the 27th June.

The mundanity of this post does not escape me, but little else has happened over the last few days, save of course the FIFA 2014 World Cup occurring in Brazil.

Frankly, I find the preparations for my new shed rather more interesting......

A Tricker Tale

I like good shoes. Shoes that are supremely comfortable and provide years of use. Particularly shoes for long walks. Shoes that fit any occasion. Shoes fit for a Prince. And that is what you get with a pair of Tricker shoes, by appointment to HRH The Prince of Wales. He wears them and so do I.

I walked around 5 kms a day in Copenhagen wearing my Tricker brogues. No foot fatigue at all. They are heavy and totally fit for purpose. This is the best pair of shoes that I have ever owned and I have worn this pair on and off for four years now. They will probably see me out!

Tricker Brogues on my feet!

At £400 (circa $675) they are not cheap although I know folk who pay more than that for bespoke shoes. This pair is rugged and can be worn over pretty much any terrain (well, within reason - you don't go rock climbing in these!) and look good with any attire from jeans to more formal wear. But the key consideration is the tireless comfort that these shoes provide for day-long wear. Take a look at http://www.trickers.com/ 

These shoes are made for walking.....

Copenhagen Collective

I managed to take 134 photographs on our enjoyable holiday to Copenhagen. We returned on Monday flying Norwegian Air from CPH to London Gatwick (an airline that I can thoroughly recommend for its modern fleet of Boeing 737-800s, leather seating throughout and delightful cabin crew).

We stayed at the Hotel Alexandra on H.C. Andersen's Boulevard, just two blocks from Rådhus-pladsen and Tivoli, Denmark's most-visited attraction.

Hotel Alexandra, a delightful boutique hotel in the best possible city centre location

The splendid archway entrance to Tivoli

Tivoli was opened in 1843, the creation of architect George Carstensen and commissioned by King Christian VIII. Apart from the beautiful gardens and numerous restaurants Tivoli contains thirty-odd rides, which include one of the world's oldest still-functioning wooden roller coasters and the hair-raising Spinning Top, which lifts up and twirls thrill-seekers around, some 80 metres above ground. No, I didn't!

The Spinning Top

 During our visit to Tivoli we enjoyed lunch at Groeften, a historic restaurant, popular with celebs of a certain vintage, so it suited me!

Restaurant Groeften

This magnificent Peacock put on a display for us.

Peacock in Tivoli Gardens

On Saturday we met up with friends Kaare and Charlotte for lunch at Restaurant Heering on picturesque Nyhavn, a very popular hangout for locals and tourists alike. The 'new harbour' was created in 1671 to link Kongens Nytorv to the sea. The earliest of the townhouses, No.9, dates from this period. Hans Christian Andersen lived for a while at No.67.

Nyhavn

On Sunday we took a canal trip from Nyhavn that enters Copenhagen harbour and then negotiates the numerous canals connected to it. The Danish 78 metre royal yacht HDMY Dannebrog was moored in the harbour, a vessel of beauty and elegance. The vessel was commissioned on 26th May 1932 and is the oldest royal yacht in service.

HDMY Dannebrog

Just a short walk from our hotel is located the Latin Quarter, one of the city's most historic areas. The buildings around Fiolstraede date back to the foundation of Scandinavia's earliest university in 1475.

The Rundetårn (Round Tower) in the Latin Quarter was built by Christian IV in the mid 17th Century and functioned both as church tower and observatory. The observatory is still operational.

For our last dinner in Copenhagen we splashed out at A Hereford Beefstouw located at Tivoli http://beefstouw.com/tivoli/ . The food was amazing - and so was the bill! But it is a fabulous location. I certainly enjoyed it...

and so did my wife Rosalind...

And all to soon our magical visit to wonderful Copenhagen was over. Until the next time.....

  

Time to Catch Up

It has been a while since I last posted to my blog. Ros and I are now back home from our wonderful five day trip to wonderful Copenhagen. And it is wonderful. I will be posting photographs for those of you who are interested, but not until Wednesday...

Tomorrow, come rain or shine, I have to dismantle our existing garden shed to make place for the new shed to be delivered on the 27th. Before then, my builder has to set a new concrete base for the new, heavier built unit. So, it's back to the usual with a vengeance.

In the meantime, here is a pic of the Danes favourite transport...

Countdown to Copenhagen

It is now 11:17pm in the UK and my wife has been busy packing this evening for our holiday in Copenhagen. My last visit to this capital of Denmark was in 2012 on a business trip. I wonder how I might feel now as a 'tourist' travelling to this Scandinavian city....

Retirement has its rewards. The stress of the commercial aspects of travel is a distant memory as I have been retired for 16 months now but I do sometimes miss the buzz of visiting customers and meeting up with old business acquaintances. I still maintain a keen interest in the success of the company that I ran as MD before my retirement and am happy to report that it continues to prosper. But, there is no going back....

Travel now, for me and my wife, has to contain all the elements of history, culture, comfortable accommodation, good food and wine and of course - good weather. Here's hoping...

 

The Little Mermaid

My wife and I will be flying on Thursday to Copenhagen. Flying Norwegian Air to Denmark. Norwegian Air from London Gatwick airport. To Denmark. I rather like that. I have flown Norwegian Air before and find its service exemplary. They have one of the newest fleets of Boeing 737-800s in Europe and use LGW as their hub in the UK. Perfect for us as we live in Brighton, just 35 miles (56km) away.

We will be staying at The Hilton Hotel on Wednesday evening at LGW South Terminal. A good night's sleep before our flight at 8:45am on Thursday. The Hilton has a walk through from reception to the South Terminal concourse. Easy.

I have visited Copenhagen many times. It will be the first visit for my wife, Ros. More than anything she wants to see The Little Mermaid, based on the fairy tale of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen.

A visit to Tivoli Gardens, the famous amusement park, will certainly be on the cards as well as a stroll along Strøget, the longest pedestrian shopping area in Europe. Just hope there aren't too many shoe shops!

And we will be having lunch on Saturday with old friends, probably at a restaurant in Nyhavn.

All we need to make our trip perfect is some good weather....

Shedding the Shed - Part 2

I have had a particularly busy day today. I could put it off no longer. Clearing my garden shed of 27 years of detritus including rusted implements, old bathroom tiles, broken storage containers, warped MDF shelves and not forgetting the numerous woodlice that crawled out of every nook and cranny, the snails that had attached themselves on every available surface and of course, the spiders. Six heavy duty bags of 'stuff' were dispatched to the municipal tip. What remains will be stored under a tarpaulin on the patio in readiness for Phase 2.

Phase 2 requires a logistical approach to dis-assembling the incumbent shed. My good friend Graeme has been coerced to help. This event is planned to take place on the 11th June when Ros and I will have returned from our vacation in Copenhagen. A local tradesman is booked to carry away the various panels of this dis-assembly. So far so good, if all goes to plan.

A builder friend has agreed to then lay a solid concrete base ( a level concrete base) to accommodate the new shed, which should be delivered and assembled on 27th June by Skinner's Sheds. So, the base has to be laid soon after the 11th June. One can only hope for clement weather.

That is the plan - to have a robust, shiplap tongue and groove shed installed by the end of June. Somewhere I can sit with a good book and a glass of beer and watch the nature in my garden. Sad, I know, but I am rather excited about having a new garden shed...

The Passport Saga Concluded

On Sunday (yes, Easter Sunday) I received a 'phone call from the Durham Passport Office advising that they could not guarantee delivery of my replacement passport by Wednesday 23rd (despite earlier assurances that they could). As Ros and I were due to fly to Copenhagen on Thursday morning I adopted the posture of a headless chicken and, at considerable expense, re-booked our flights for early June (Ros being unable to book leave during May). I also had to re-book the taxi to Gatwick and re-book the hotel in Copenhagen, which will now cost considerably more, the dates falling into their 'peak period'. OK, adopting a philosophical attitude to life's vicissitudes, I thought 'That's that'....

This morning I receive a further 'phone call from the Durham Passport office advising that my passport was being printed and if I was prepared to pay £5.82 to cover the cost my passport would be delivered tomorrow, Wednesday 23rd April before 1:00pm. They had decided to waive the additional cost of £55.50 for the Premium Fast Track service as a senior manager had decided that that was not warranted in my case (it never was; it all came down to my not receiving their so called letter of 13th March about the photos I had submitted).

Their mishandling of my passport renewal has now cost me an additional £400 for a mini break to Copenhagen. It had better be worth it....

The Nick of Time

You have no doubt heard of lastminute.com? Well, in my case it's lastminutepassport.com. Have you ever had to deal with the UK Passport Office? Any of them (there are several)? I sent a passport renewal application on 10th March to the Durham office. The general timescale is for passports to be issued in 3 weeks from date of application. Having heard nothing I completed an on-line tracker on 31st March.... and heard nothing. I sent another tracker two days later... and heard nothing. And then, on 7th April I received a 'phone call from said Passport Office asking if I had received their letter of 13th March advising that the photos I had submitted were not acceptable. No, I hadn't received a letter otherwise I would have acted upon its content forthwith.

I had to obtain new photos in which there was sufficient space between the top of my head and the top of the photo. We are talking an additional 2mm here. I don't look any different in these new photos. Anyway, I did this and, as requested, sent them by Signed For mail to the - wait for this - PRIORITY HANDLING DEPT. Job done I thought. Should now get my passport fairly quickly. Uhuh.

Numerous 'phone calls and emails later I finally had to agree yesterday to pay an additional £55.50 to have my application treated as Premium Fast Track and bumped to the top of the queue. The plan is that I should receive my new passport on Wednesday 23rd April, delivered by courier. In the nick of time you might say as Ros and I are booked on a flight at 8:45am on Thursday 24th to Copenhagen.

And if it doesn't arrive? I am screwed and will lose a fortune. And all for the want of 2mm......

Wonderful, Wonderful Copenhagen

Well, at least that's the way the song goes doesn't it? As sung by Danny Kaye many moons ago?  Friendly old girl of a town, it continues. Not sure about the 'old girl' connection but I do have wonderful memories of my visits here. So, I am delighted that my wife, Ros, has agreed to a holiday in Copenhagen to celebrate her birthday towards the end of April. Yes, of course I am going too - I'm paying!

I have booked accommodation at the delightful Hotel Alexandra http://www.hotelalexandra.dk/ where I have stayed before. I love this hotel situated right in the heart of Copenhagen and near to the Tivoli Gardens. And furnished with elegant and classic Danish furniture. It doesn't come cheap but then nothing does in this Danish capital.

Copenhagen also has my favourite antiquarian bookshop anywhere in Europe. Hours of blissful browsing...

Yes, I am looking forward to this trip.