How swede it is!

By Glen Atwell
TENNIS fans think Bjorn Borg is the ultimate Swede, but Pakenham people reckon Lou Milner is as ‘Swede’ as they come.
Lou’s nickname has nothing to do with nationality or geographical location but a rather obscure vegetable.
And the 52yearold says the name dated back to his teens.
“Dad used to have me and my two brothers, Wayne and Rod, carting hay around the paddocks for him.
“The days were very long and one day was particularly gruelling. We were pretty hungry and everyone was under 18, so we couldn’t go anywhere,” Lou explained.
Looking towards the adjacent paddock for an answer to his grumbling stomach, Lou found relief in the form of a swede.
“They’re much like a turnip, so I grabbed one and took a few bites,” Lou said.
Raw vegetables are never much fun, but Lou was surprised at the pleasant taste.
“It actually wasn’t too bad, but then again, I was pretty hungry.”
The swede is a yellow root vegetable, a hybrid of the cabbage and turnip, and it originated in Scandinavia.
Swedes are best cooked, after being thoroughly washed and thickly peeled but try telling Lou that!
After the incident, Lou’s brothers tagged him ‘Swede’, and Lou has never managed to shake the nickname.
“It’s mostly my brothers who call me it, but it has started to spread. My 14yearold son, Daniel, is even catching on,” Lou said, who spends most days running his building business, L and L Milner.
Lou was a VFL player who made one senior appearance with Hawthorn in 1974 and then 60 matches with the club’s reserves.