The Scandinavian Series #13 - Bertil Vallien (2)

A beautiful article from the Helsingborgs Dagblad. Needless to say, I fully sympathize with Bertil Vallien.

Glass artist Bertil Vallien refused to take off his beret and consequently, was made to leave a restaurant in Helsingborg. 

Bertil and his wife Ulrica Hydman Vallien spent the weekend in Helsingborg and visited restaurant "Bara Vara" ("Just Be")  along with a few good friends. "When we sat down, a cheeky waitress came up to me and said that I had to remove my hat.  I've always got my beret on me, it has pretty much grown attached to my head" he says.

"I wear it always, even when I opened the altar in the Växjö cathedral. And I've had it at a black tie dinner where I sat beside Crown Princess Victoria. It all went well."

Bertil says he and his friends did not believe their ears. "They did not want thugs in the restaurant". I was cheeky back and said "I'm a nice guy at 73 years old and no thug"..

The waitress called on a colleague.

He told us to immediately leave the restaurant. I was sad, says Bertil.

"I need my beret. It is pure vanity. I'm fucking bald and a beret is good for my self-esteem. That's it. I was not being stupid or loud or anything. If they had a dress code, they could tell us about it in a nice way."

Bertil and his company found another restaurant to eat dinner at. But then the evening was already ruined.

Christoffer Skoog, one of the owners to "Just Be", tells the Helsingborgs Dagblad that the ban on headgear is to be followed. We do not think it's nice to have to sit and eat a three course meal with your family or boyfriend and having to sit next to someone with his cap on. We work with fine ingredients and fine wines. We try to keep the style all the way up."

The rule came about when the restaurant was visited by visitors with hats and caps who did not want to take them off. 

According to Christopher Skoog, only headgear is banned. Otherwise, guests can dress as they please.