Inside this week | Tolerating the cold, not the whingers

I’m always the last one in the office to complain that it’s cold. “Shut up, you mollycoddled wimp,” “Put a jumper on,” and “Stop dressing like a hooker,” are my usual responses to such a claim, but it is a common one, and working in such an international office, I like to pretend I’m a tolerant man.

The Danes are the worst. They practically live at the North Pole, but yet their bodies are tuned to the Tropics. Growing up in Britain, I was forced to wear shorts in all weather until the age of eleven and spent the best part of the preceding years looking for a radiator that actually worked. At Rugby School, Tom Brown cried when he was roasted in front of a fire; at mine that was the equivalent of winning the Hogwart’s Cup.

But today, I appreciated it was a bit chilly. So I changed my coat. While I tend to get by on just one pair of shoes, having summer, autumn and winter coats is a necessity if you don’t want to get caught shivering, sobering up on a street you don’t recognise, at three in the morning, or end up sweating like a pig at the ambassador’s residence after cycling through an unexpected burst of Indian summer in Hellerup.  

And it goes without saying that it applies to your kids as well. Fortunately Kids Corner this week has all the knowhow about equipping your little perishers with the seasonal essentials. And if you fancy saving a few bob, some of the selections in this week’s shopping column are second-hand shops that sell kids clothing.

Of course, complaining about the temperature is pretty common in blues music – take Stormy Monday’, as performed  by BB King (of the whingers) – so the stars of that genre should feel at home when they arrive for next week’s Copenhagen Blues Festival.

Singing the blues, it must be conceded, is a perfectly permissible form of complaining. But then again, I guess I’m just extremely tolerant.
 




  • How saying ‘yes’ to doing things led international Martijn Koekkoek to carve out a career in networking in Denmark

    How saying ‘yes’ to doing things led international Martijn Koekkoek to carve out a career in networking in Denmark

    Entrepreneurship wasn’t on the cards for Koekkoek when he moved to Copenhagen 15 years ago, but both by design and necessity, he laid the foundations of Everybody Networks Here—a networking community that encourages internationals to come as they are and connect over shared stories, passions, and struggles in an informal and inclusive setting.

  • Is Denmark’s budget surplus thanks to internationals?

    Is Denmark’s budget surplus thanks to internationals?

    Between 2002 to 2023, Denmark’s annual public balances have been underestimated by an average of 1,8% of GDP each year by the Ministry of Finance. The continued error accumulates 1,049 billion DKK unaccounted for the whole 20-year span. As the Danish government increasingly attracted international residents over that period, to what extent are internationals contributing to the country’s economic growth?

  • Bringing international theatre to the masses

    Bringing international theatre to the masses

    In a continually more globalized Copenhagen, the international crowds’ increasing demands for English entertainment have so far not been met. Now, an English-language theatre troupe, made up of internationals, is trying to bring Nordic high culture to the international crowd of Denmark

  • Trained nurses trapped in the system: Is it discrimination?

    Trained nurses trapped in the system: Is it discrimination?

    Despite language skills and years of experience, international healthcare professionals are unemployed due to system failures at SIRI and hospital recruitment.

  • Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen removed as CEO of Novo Nordisk

    Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen removed as CEO of Novo Nordisk

    According to a “mutual agreement” between board members of the global healthcare company Novo Nordisk, Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen will step down from his position as CEO. He was appointed at this position since January 2017

  • “More internationals should learn Danish”: interview to Studieskolen director

    “More internationals should learn Danish”: interview to Studieskolen director

    Qasim Shaikh, Managing Director of Studieskolen since August 2024, comments on the survey, pointing out that more Danes are becoming uncomfortable with English replacing Danish: “More internationals should consider learning the language. It would make their lives here easier.”