I’ve been in Sweden now for two days; I flew out on Friday with nothing but a suitcase and a rucksack. The place I’m staying has wifi but I must be some distance from the router as I’m only getting a weak signal, thankfully I post dated my picture blog posts while in The UK as it would take an age over here.

I’m renting a flat in a very old house. It’s quite nice, but I only have a single bed; I wonder if that’s to discourage entertaining. Otherwise the place is quite comfortable.

I don’t have much time to settle in as I’m back to work on Monday, so I spent yesterday trying to sort out the busses and get myself a travel card; but I’m hoping to have some time off soon.

The last time I relocated with my job, to London, there were very few updates to the Screeve website and I did very little writing. I sincerely hope this time will be different. Give me a few weeks to settle down and then I hope things will be back to normal.

An interesting article in the Swedish news:

Regular visitors to a Stockholm-area public swimming pool have expressed their outrage over the refusal of fellow bathers to get naked.

In an open letter published in local Stockholm news paper Södra Sidan, a group of regular visitors to the Skärholmen public swimming pool have demanded that something be done about visitors refusing take showers and saunas in the buff

“This is a difficult subject to bring up, as it is often dismissed as prejudice, as if we are judging a specific group in society or pointing our finger at ‘immigrants’,” the group wrote.

According to the authors, people with foreign backgrounds often flouted the rules posted on the walls of the swimming pool changing rooms by refusing to remove their swim suits or underpants in the showers and in the saunas, or for failing to shower at all before entering the sauna or gym.

The staff at the swimming pool charged with monitoring the situation seem to have ‘given up’ or are avoiding confrontation due to the ‘unpleasant behaviour’ of those that refuse to shower naked, the authors claimed.

“If this is a matter of timidity, they could always wear a towel wrapped around them in the sauna or turn away in the showers,” they wrote.

Thomas Lindell Taylor, manager of the public pool in Skärholmen, does not think that the writers of the article are right in their criticism.

“The article is identifying immigrants as the problem. I don’t agree with that,” he told Södra Sidan.

Instead it could be a question of a clash between generations, according to Lindell Taylor.

In his view, younger visitors to the swimming pool are simply ignoring the rules.

Swimming teacher Lars Birdal agrees added that not everyone is comfortable with nudity, explaining that the pool is many ways is a reflection of society at large.

“The public pool is like a miniature society and the problems you meet outside the walls you also see within,” Birdall told Södra Sidan.

Among visitors to the bath the opinions are mixed.

One Muslim visitor told the newspaper admitted to showering with his swimming trunks on and changing in a toilet stall in order to avoid undressing in front of others.

Another visitor said he is often irritated by the fact that people don’t take off their clothes before showering.

“Some people don’t care about the rules. It may have something to with their upbringing. But when I tell them off they start a fight with me. I am an immigrant to Sweden myself, but have been accused of trying to act ‘Swedish’. But all I want is for things to be clean and nice,” he said.

Not everyone agrees that there is a problem with overdressing in the Skärholmen public pool showers.

“Perhaps some aren’t used to getting naked in public, but I really don’t think that is a problem here,” one visitor said.

This story is the latest to be featured in our non-hosted section. It is a story of an eighteen year old who comes across the new owner of a near derelict house in his village. It’s a nice, easy paced story of a young man’s first time. It is not highly charged erotica, but that’s not what you want from a story like this. The story and the writings feels real and honest and is well worth reading.

My only issue with the story is the lack of editing with it’s spelling mistakes but it really didn’t spoil the story. I hope you like this and don’t be afraid to let Screeve and the author know.

Highland Fling by Andy Saquin

Way back in October 2010 I posted some pictures from a feature in The Guardian about Laura Pannack and her project to photograph young British naturists. Click here for the original post and feature article and here are some extra photographs.

Yesterday, I took a trip to the University Boating Lake for a little walk and some fresh air. The Lakeside Arts Centre is always nice to visit and look at their exhibitions. At the moment they have an interesting exhibition looking at sexuality in Roman times. The main focus is the Warren Cup, a unique silver Roman drinking cup which features two representations of homoerotic sexual acts. It was named after its first modern owner, the collector and writer Edward Perry Warren; the British Museum acquired the cup in 1999 for £1.8m. The pictures here don’t do it justice as it was quite stunning with the polished silver shining under the lights.

Look at the guy peeking around the door to spy on the two guys having sex.

The other exhibits were equally interesting although lacking the Warren Cup’s lustre, with tokens depicting different sexual positions and pottery. In all it was very interesting and well worth the visit. The walk and fresh air wasn’t bad either.

I knew there was a reason I keep going to chippies, Alexander Beck used to work at a chip shop until he was discovered by a model scout while out shopping in Waterstones. All I can say is that I wouldn’t mind a portion of what he’s got on offer.

Yahoo reported:

Alexander Beck’s life has changed dramatically since he was spotted by top fashion scout Cesar Perin while shopping in a Cambridge bookshop.

The 17-year-old who worked part time at Ocean’s Delight fish and chip shop in Essex and had no prior experience modeling was scooped up by Italian fashion house Prada to model their haute couture clothing on the catwalk at Milan fashion week.

Since his inaugural trip down the catwalk, Beck is being dubbed one of the UK’s most promising new models and has since worked for other notable labels such as YSL, Dior Louis Vuitton and modeled for Vogue magazine.

The up-and-coming fashion star said he had never considered modeling before he was spotted by the fashion scout.

‘I was studying for my AS levels and working in a fish and chip shop, so I didn’t think twice about packing it all in to become a model and travel the world.’ Beck told The Daily Mail.

‘I used to get up 15 minutes before my school bus would leave and didn’t take time over my appearance. I never thought I was good enough to be a model.

‘Cesar said he had never scouted anyone like that before. He was so nice and approachable – he made me feel instantly at ease.

‘Looking back, I never in my wildest dreams thought I would be where I am now – walking down the catwalk.

‘I have heard from some people that Kate Moss was at the same stage in her career at 17 as I am.’

The fashion scout and mentor to Beck, Cesar Perin, said that the new model’s face was ‘exotic looking’ and stood out from the crowd when he spotted him in Cambridge.

‘For a first job being booked exclusively is like a golden ticket. All the labels, including, Gucci, wanted to book Alex, but Prada booked him exclusively,’ Perin told The Daily Mail.

‘From Milan I took him to Paris where Dior were sending a car to pick him up from the airport. He opened and closed shows, which is the best slot to get.

‘He is a perfect model. All the clothes fit him like a glove. It is very hard to find models as good as Alex.

‘Alexander’s uniqueness stood out. He is very exotic looking, with sharp cheekbones and a very symmetrical face. On top of this he has an amazing personality too.

‘His strong bone structure and green eyes make him a favourite with designers.’

Beck is currently signed to London agency FM and has since shot two editorials for Vogue Hommes Japan, to be published in the spring.

Steven Davies is the first active professional cricketer to announce that he’s gay. I’m sure we all wish him well and hope that he makes it easier for other professional sportsmen to follow his lead.

The BBC reports:

England wicketkeeper Steven Davies has received support from senior figures in cricket after revealing he is gay.

England coach Andy Flower said he had known for some time, adding: “Steve’s private life is his own concern.

“It has absolutely no bearing on his ability to excel at the very highest level in international sport.”

Vikram Solanki, chairman of the Professional Cricketers’ Association, said: “Steve has the full support of all his colleagues in cricket.”

Surrey’s Davies, 24, is the first active professional cricketer to confirm he is gay.

“I’m comfortable with who I am – and happy to say who I am in public,” he said.

“To speak out is a massive relief for me but if I can just help one person to deal with their sexuality then that’s all I care about.”

Davies, who was part of the victorious Ashes squad but who missed out on a place in the England squad for the current World Cup campaign, came out to his friends and family five years ago.

He decided to confide in Flower ahead of the recent tour to Australia.

The coach, together with captain Andrew Strauss, then let the rest of the squad know.

“It was a fantastic thing to do, telling the lads. The difference is huge. I am so much happier,” said Davies.

“I told Andy Flower first. It was a tough thing for me to do, to tell him face-to-face, but I had to do it.

“He supported me 100%, [both] him and Andrew Strauss. It was the right thing to do as I felt I couldn’t live like this any more.”

Davies, who made his international debut in a Twenty20 match against the West Indies in Trinidad in 2009, is a former England under-19 captain who made his debut for Worcestershire at 18.

And former England captain Alec Stewart suggested Davies’ decision could make him a better cricketer.

“It means he can be more relaxed and express himself even more and that must surely be great,” Stewart, who knows Davies well through their Surrey connections, told BBC Radio 5 live. “In today’s world it’s not a problem – it’s neither here or there.”

Davies is one of only a few professional sportsmen to come out. Footballer Justin Fashanu, who died in 1998, and dual-code rugby international Gareth Thomas both did so during their careers.

Davies says he would be happy to help any other sportsmen if they also took the decision to reveal that they were gay.

“Yes, definitely,” he said. “Gareth Thomas’ story helped me. It showed me it can be done.

“He was brave enough to stand up and say who he was. If I can help anyone else like he helped me, that would be great.”

Flower told the England and Wales Cricket Board website that Davies “has had and will continue to have the full respect and support of the entire squad”.

“This is something Steve chose to discuss with me and the squad some time ago,” Flower added.

“I would like to make it very clear that Steve is first and foremost a very talented cricketer and a valued member of the England set-up.

“Steve has had and will continue to have the full respect and support of the entire squad and everyone involved in England cricket. I have no doubt that he will continue to work hard to regain a place in the England squad.”

Solanki added: “Many of those Steve plays with and against have known about this for some time and none of them regard it as anything other than an entirely personal matter.”

England batsman Ian Bell said: “We knew before the Ashes series – and, for us, that didn’t change anything.

“Steve is a very popular guy in our team. He’s a fantastic cricketer and that’s what we see him as. He’s a massively important person in our team going forward. The more cricket he can play for England, the better.”

Hugh Morris, managing director of England Cricket, said: “Steve Davies is held in the highest regard by the ECB as a very talented young cricketer and he has our full support at a time when he has chosen to talk about his personal life, and that stance will remain consistent for any player.

“We work closely with the PCA to ensure we have adequate support systems in place to offer guidance to all players on matters both on and off the field and our ‘One Game’ project demonstrates an ongoing commitment to ensuring that cricket is inclusive at every level.”

Welsh rugby legend Thomas who came out in 2009 and is currently playing rugby league for Super League team Crusaders, said: “The ECB should send out its own message that Steven must be respected, then there wouldn`t be any abuse.

“You wouldn’t tolerate racism so why would you tolerate any other kind of discrimination?

“There was one incident during my first away game in rugby league where a section of Castleford fans chanted abuse at me.

“They were reported by other Castleford fans, and the RFL banned them and fined the club, demonstrating that rugby league is a game for everybody.”

The decision by Davies to go public over his sexuality has been supported by other sports stars and celebrities on social media network Twitter.

Former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan said: “Steve will get a huge amount of support for having the courage to come out. I am sure it’s relief for him now that he is not hiding anything.”

Yorkshire captain Andrew Gale said: “Good on Stevie D, good bloke, takes some bottle. Good role model, you are who you are, others may be more confident to come out now.”