Nessers: you can find them in the Scandinavian chiller section, next to the Nesbos…

Well, dear readers…now that the warm glow of London 2012 is fading…

Now that the chillier nights are drawing in...

Now that the shops are tempting us back to their autumn specials…



The Blogbrarian’s thoughts are, I’m afraid, turning to Crime…to cold crime in fact, and some chilly Scandinavian Norse rivals to Morse…


Devotees of the ‘Nordic Noir’ genre will already know of Henning Mankell and Stieg Larsson… Jo Nesbo, too, is a best-seller (hardly surprising, in truth, since both his parents were Librarians!)…

But many more new names are appearing, too…(try one, get one free!) – there’s Asa Larsson (no relation), Anne Holt, Karin Fossum, Johan Theorin, Liza Marklund or Camilla Lackberg….And that's just the - ahem - tip of the iceberg...

But can I tempt you, dear readers, to try two of my very own ‘special offers’?...
Because this week, still pursuing my retailing analogy, “The Blogbrarian’s gone to Iceland” for a hearty helping of Arnaldur Indridason (although be warned, dear readers, for Indidason’s hero – Inspector Erlendur – likes nothing more than snacking on cold boiled sheep’s head as his culinary treat…).

So, while we’re passing the Scandinavian chiller shelves, why not try another of my own favourites? Hakan Nesser’s detective Van Veeteren is a much more civilised literary and dining companion…Yes! - Nessers – you’ll find them next to the Nesbos in all good libraries!



Enjoy, dear readers…You might want second helpings…(but remember, some of the Scandinavian specials might leave those of you with delicate constitutions feeling a teeny bit queasy…)

TTFN

Bristles in your buns?...

Whiskers in your waffles?...

Hairs in your hoagies?...

What’s to be done?...Bexley has the answers…


What-ho, food-fans!


Well now…to baking…

Regular Blog-followers will recall that I am absolutely devoted to The Great British Bake Off (see my posting for way back in September 2010)… Quite simply, it’s the greatest television programme in the world. Ever!

You will also recall how I was worried that, once the London 2012 Games and Paralympics were done and dusted, I’d be bereft of any stimulation…

What on earth will I watch on TV?...

How will I occupy my little grey cells?...

What on earth will fill that dark, howling void?...

Thank goodness, then, for the re-appearance of TGBBO (as we aficionados like to call it) and good old Mary Berry, and – my own particular favourite – the dapper, debonair Mr Paul Hollywood…Marvellous!



And yet, and yet…there’s something gnawing at me, a latent anxiety and sense of disquiet…

What is it?...Shall I tell you, dear readers?...
Well, it’s hairs and food – or, more specifically, beard hair and its proximity to baked goods…Eughhhh!

Now, much as I admire the work of Antony Worrall Thompson, and the Hairy Bikers, I do worry about Worrall’s whiskers and the Bikers’ bristles…

And then my worries continued to grow…what if there were even more bearded chefs around?...Hence, I set my Research Team the following task: - "Are there any more that I should worry about?"...

Luckily, they didn’t find many others – (only Captain Birdseye and Rick Stein’s dog) – so that was a relief!

What’s also a relief, is the discovery that my chums in Bexley’s Environmental Services have teamed up with the Food Standards Agency to reveal this: Hygiene ratings for food businesses in Bexley now available online

Marvellous, informative, and revealing…And it means that I can now sleep soundly in the twofold knowledge that The Great British Bake Off is back with us, AND that food standards in Bexley are being closely monitored. What a relief!

Now, if I could only persuade Mr Hollywood to go clean shaven…



TTFN!