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Henning Mankell asked me what the weather was like in Belfast today. We'dÌýphoned him to do an interview for Arts Extra.ÌýThe Swedish Wallander is running on ´óÏó´«Ã½ 4 at the moment. So how do I explainÌýthe past few days here? Monsoon floods, snow blizzards and now theÌýsun splitting the stones, well there was sunshineÌýat lunchtime today.Ìý

"Ah snow in April" he said.

So what's it like where heÌýis?Ìý

"I'm in Gottenburg....it's raining....thenÌýnot raining....it's 5 toÌý6Ìýdegrees celsius...fairly normal....and I'm watching the birds that migrated for the winter coming home".Ìý I stare out the window of Studio 8 and see the sun has gone.

We did talk about other things, not just the weather!

ÌýHe loves the British Wallander, Kenneth Branagh. He's delighted that Branagh has signed up to another series.Ìý Ìý

He says that the popularity in crime fiction in Scandanavia isn't a consequence of the assassinationÌýof Olof Palme in 1986. "That's mythology" he says. "it's more coincidental".

ÌýBut, coincidentally, he hasÌýjust finished a play about Palme. He tells me it's called "Politics" and while there's no agreed date for its production he says it will be this year. And on the 22nd October another of his new plays "Darwin's Captain" opens at the Royal National Theatre in Stockholm. Oh, and he's going to be writing another Wallander. "One thing my critics can't accuse me of is being lazy" he says. Ìý

Twenty minutes later I say goodbye and he asks me another question. Do we celebrate Easter here?ÌýEaster starts today in Sweden he says. And just before heÌýputs down the phone, he wishes us all a Happy Easter and saysÌýnot to eat too many easter eggs.

Maybe an Easter Egg would be good forÌýhis depressed detective creation Wallander, lift his serotonin levels withÌýa bitÌýof chocolate!