In memoriam

Posted by High Priestess Kang as Sweden

It is with a very heavy heart that I share some tragic news.  The body of John Aherne has been recovered from the waters of Stockholm.  I, along with many, find myself at a loss for words.

I have never met John.  Nor have I met Karl in person.  However, one doesn’t really need to meet people face to face to develop a bond with them, to care about them, to bring them into one’s heart and love them, support them.

I think of the cliche, “You are judged by the company you keep.”  In this particular instance, after spending several days interacting with the friends and family of John Aherne, I am certain that John was a marvelous creature.  A wonderful man with a giant heart.  The photographs I have seen depict a man with an endearing smile and a twinkle of mischief in his eyes.  I am also certain that John’s friends, family and Karl are of the same cloth.  Wonderful.  Caring.  Endearing.  Kind.

There are neither words nor actions which can ease the pain, protect the suffering from grief and offer some sort of comfort.  There is no magic wand.  There is no way to und0 what has happened.  We, as a community, are rendered helpless, overcome with sadness at the loss of a promising, young life.

At this point in time, we can only take refuge in knowing that we have he will forever live in our memories, having touched everyone in such unique ways. 

Rest in peace, John.

Bless the Ahernes, friends and Karl.

The search for John Aherne continues…

Posted by High Priestess Kang as Sweden

:sighs:

Search continues for missing Irish tourist

Police are to continue the search for the missing Irish tourist on Tuesday. A five hour dive on Sunday gave no result.

Police are to continue to search the same area of water in the Norra Hammarby Hamnen area of Stockholm.

“We broke off the search at 4pm today (Sunday) after having begun at 11am. We will start again in the same area on Tuesday,” said police spokesperson Lars Bröns to The Local on Sunday afternoon.

“We are going to get in touch with the coastguard and make use of their Remote Operated Vehicle to assist in the search.”

Bröns explained that the police have found no reason to change the focus of their search.

32-year-old John Aherne came to Sweden to celebrate the St. Patrick’s weekend with his close friend Karl Lambert.

The two men went out with friends on Saturday night and had a few drinks together at a city centre pub.

When Aherne decided he was ready to go home, Lambert stayed behind and gave his friend a set of spare keys.

“He stopped off at a restaurant on the ground floor of the apartment building,” said Lambert, who has spoken to staff at the Orion restaurant on Katarina Bangata in the south of the city.

Aherne had a drink at the restaurant. Leaving his coat on a chair and his phone on the bar, he went outside. He has not been seen since.

“He told a guy in the bar he was just going out for a smoke and would be back in a minute,” said Lambert.

Anyone with information relevant to the case is advised to call the police at 114 14.

Please continue to keep the Aherne family, friends and particularly Karl in your thoughts and prayers during this horrific time.

John Aherne Update…

Posted by High Priestess Kang as Sweden

…sort of.  From The Local:

Irish tourist feared drowned

Stockholm police fear that the 32-year-old Irish man, who was last seen leaving a restaurant in the city on Saturday night, has drowned

Police conducted a dive in the Norra Hammarby Hamnen area of Södermalm in south-central Stockholm on Thursday and confirmed that something, as yet unidentified, has been found.

“There is something there and the search dogs are trained to look only for human beings,” said Lars Bröns, the press spokesperson responsible for the case, to The Local.

Bröns confirmed that the Irishman’s family had been informed of police fears on Thursday afternoon after the dive had been completed. The family has not given up hope that fears will prove unfounded when police resources permit a second dive.

“We will conduct another dive on the Easter weekend, probably Sunday,” said Bröns.

32-year-old John Aherne came to Sweden to celebrate the St. Patrick’s weekend with his close friend Karl Lambert.

The two men went out with friends on Saturday night and had a few drinks together at a city centre pub.

When Aherne decided he was ready to go home, Lambert stayed behind and gave his friend a set of spare keys.

“He stopped off at a restaurant on the ground floor of the apartment building,” said Lambert, who has spoken to staff at the Orion restaurant on Katarina Bangata in the south of the city.

Aherne had a drink at the restaurant. Leaving his coat on a chair and his phone on the bar, he went outside. He has not been seen since.

“He told a guy in the bar he was just going out for a smoke and would be back in a minute,” said Lambert.

Anyone with information relevant to the case is advised to call the police at 114 14.

For those of you who haven’t been to Stockholm, Stockholm is (basically) a city comprised of oodles of islands.  It is surrounded by water - fresh and salt.

While I can appreciate the logistical planning that goes into staging a dive, I find it absolutely incredulous that the Swedish police are waiting until this weekend to resume the search for Mr Aherne.  To paraphrase Mark Base, “I think it’s time the Swedish Government did something about that.”

The Ex-Pat community on The Local, in spite of some irrational drama, is a very tightly knit community.  As you can imagine, we are all extremely worried about Mr Aherne, his family, his friends and our beloved Karl.

Please keep everyone involved in your thoughts and prayers.

Irländare försvunnen i centrala Stockholm

Posted by High Priestess Kang as Sweden

Irländare försvunnen i centrala Stockholm

Besökte en pub i lördags – sedan dess spårlöst försvunnen.

En 32-årig irländsk man är försvunnen i Stockholm sedan i lördags kväll.

Kommissarie Lennart Olingdahl vid citypolisens utredningsrotel bekräftar att polisen arbetar med försvinnandet. Han vill inte spekulera i om polisen tror att 32-åringen håller sig borta självmant, om han förolyckats eller utsatts för brott.  – Vi får ta ställning till allt det där senare, säger Olingdahl.

Mannen kom till Sverige för att fira irländska högtiden S:t Patricks. Han och en vän besökte en pub i centrala Stockholm i lördags. När 32-åringen bestämde sig för att åka hem till vännens bostad på Katarina Bangata på Södermalm stannade vännen kvar, men gav 32-åringen nycklar till lägenheten, rapporterar den engelskspråkiga nyhetssajten The Local.

Skulle ha åkt på måndagen

32-åringen tog därpå en drink på en restaurang i samma hus som lägenheten. Personalen såg honom lämna rocken på en stol och mobiltelefonen på bardisken och gå ut. Därefter finns inga säkra observationer av honom.

Den försvunne 32-åringen skulle ha lämnat Sverige på måndagskvällen. Men hans pass finns ännu kvar i lägenheten, och inget bank- eller kreditkort som tillhör irländaren ska ha använts sedan i lördags.

Polisen inhämtar nu information från mannens vänner och bekanta.

Missing Man in Stockholm…

Posted by High Priestess Kang as Sweden

Please read and alert the appropriate authorities if you have any information regarding the whereabouts of John Aherne.

From The Local

Irish tourist missing in Stockholm

Police in Stockholm are looking into the disappearance of a 32-year-old Irish man, who was last seen leaving a restaurant in the city on Saturday night.

John Aherne came to Sweden to celebrate St. Patrick’s weekend with his close friend Karl Lambert.

“I’ve called everybody I can think of: police, hospitals and the Irish Embassy. But I’m drawing blanks,” said Lambert.

The two men went out with friends on Saturday night and had a few drinks together at a city centre pub.

When Aherne decided he was ready to go home, Lambert stayed behind and gave his friend a set of spare keys.

“He stopped off at a restaurant on the ground floor of the apartment building,” said Lambert, who has spoken to staff at the Orion restaurant on Katarina Bangata in the south of the city.

Aherne had a drink at the restaurant. Leaving his coat on a chair and his phone on the bar, he went outside. He has not been seen since.

“He told a guy in the bar he was just going out for a smoke and would be back in a minute,” said Lambert.

Police in Stockholm said they were looking into the matter.

“He’s still missing. We have issued a description of him and we’ve been in touch with his family,” said police spokeswoman Jackie Moberg.

Aherne, who is an accountant, was due to leave Sweden on Monday morning but his passport is still at his friend’s apartment.

“His bank card hasn’t been used since Saturday night,” said Lambert.

Members of Aherne’s family said they were considering coming to Sweden on Tuesday in order to be closer to the investigation.

The family have also been in contact with Aherne’s girlfriend, who is currently in San Francisco.

John Aherne is described by his family as being around 1.77m (5′10”) tall, weighing 79 kilos (12.5 stone), with black hair and brown eyes.

He was wearing blue jeans and a blue and white striped shirt under a light yellow wool jumper at the time of his disappearance.

Anyone with information relevant to the case is advised to call the police at 114 14.

Live from Sweden…

Posted by High Priestess Kang as LOL Swedes, Religion, T3h Intarweb

…Scientology!!!!

Or should I rephrase that. Project Chanology.

Apparently, our Scientologist friends have absolutely no sense of humor. Nor do they want to know how scamilarious their “*religion” really is. In the spirit of good natured trolling and lulz, Anonymous, the folks of the seedy underbelly that is t3h int3rn3tz, have been working their hardest to expose the wacky, zany craziness. L Ron’s peeps Tom Cruise and The Fresh Prince are not happy.

Humorless phucks.

Now, there are rumblings of law suits and, “pwnership.”

What the hell.

You mean to tell me that a religion is so insecure that it gets its proverbial knickers in a twist because people are trying to have some innocent fun? Or…is there something to hide.

I will be heading into town later today to do some food-shopping. Perhaps a trip to Gothenburg’s Scientology Centre will reveal some more dirty, dirt cum scoop?

Dare I knock on the door?

All Swedes eat rhubarb.

Posted by High Priestess Kang as LOL Swedes

Discuss.

Gävlebocken

Posted by High Priestess Kang as LOL Swedes, Swedish Stuff

Gävlebocken has returned!!!

Last year, the goat managed to survive the entire season as those crazy town-folk decided to soak him in flame retardant. The nerve…depriving the masses of the sheer joy of watching a goat ablaze.

This year, to rub the victory in our disappointed faces, the Gävlebocken has his very own blog. Gamla Hälsingebock will certainly not appreciate that I am wishing for the incineration of his dear, “Kusin.” I’m thinking I can soothe the pain with a bushel of fermented apples, though.

Watch the goat here! Live! All goat! All the time!!!

Visit the Phorum for more Sweden (according to Kang)

Dude…

Posted by High Priestess Kang as LOL Swedes

…you suck.

From our good friends at The Local:

Keith Richards lashes out at Swedish tabloids

Two Swedish tabloids have provoked the ire of Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards.

In what the veteran rocker claimed was the first time he had publicly reacted to a review, he lashed out at Aftonbladet and Expressen’s reports on the band’s performance at Gothenburg’s Ullevi stadium earlier this month.

The papers both gave the Stones two stars. An article in Expressen was headlined “Keith was very drunk,” and gave the star a personal zero stars.

“This is a first! Never before have I risen to the bait of a bad review. But this time… I have to stand up for our incredible Gothenburg audience and for fans all over Sweden…to say that you owe them, and us, an apology,” Richards said in a statement released to newspaper Dagens Nyheter by concert promoter EMA Telstar.

The star continued his rant:

“You have a duty to wield the power of the press with honesty and integrity. There were 56,000 people in Ullevi stadium who bought a ticket to our concert - and experienced a completely different show than the one you “reviewed”. How dare you cheapen the experience for them - and for the hundreds of thousands of other people across Sweden who weren’t at Ullevi and only have your “review” to go on. Write the truth. It was a good show.”

But Expressen was unrepentant:

“Our reviewer has made one judgment on the quality [of the concert], and Keith Richards has made another,” Dan Panas, enetertainment editor of Expressen, told Dagens Nyheter.

Keith, Keith, Keith…

How would you know what a good show is? It’s been thirty years since the Rolling Stones have put on a good show.

I hate to say it, but there comes a time when the rock ‘n rollers need to put away their amps and mics and take up golf. Particularly if you’re a vocalist and your voice is roached to the point where you have to drop an octave to sing along (Rod Stewart, Mick Jagger, Steven Tyler…).

Life’s a bitch. We all get old. At least some of us do it with dignity. Others are called, “Parrot Heads.”

What I cannot stand is listening to some washed-up, law of nature defying, human petri dish bitch and moan, fostering airs of pretension about his, “craft.” Give me a phucking break. Am I to believe that Keith is not a total burn out?

Keith: You were drunk (and probably stoned). That’s your job!

Påfågel

Posted by High Priestess Kang as Amusement, LOL Swedes

Dock Ellis’ new colleague:

Not to be confused with others in the family such as:

1. en kisskuk
2. en ärt-kuk