It's a boat Jim...

..but not as we know it.

Think of a boat.. any boat you've ever been on that's made of wood. And take away the nails.
What have you got left? Hmmm.. not a lot..

Keel bolts, clinch nails, trenails and iron spikes. Simple, but extremely effective for holding things together - which is what makes the Cheops boat so special (apart from being four and a half thousand years old). It's held together by string...

All lashed together. Frames, stem post, planking, keel - everything. Quite extraordinary.. It's actually a technique used in arab boatbuilding until quite recently but it is still impressive to see the ingenuity and skill it took to build something this big.

I saw the Dover Boat when it was first discovered - a well preserved bronze age plank boat that is built with similar techniques - but Cheops is twice as large and a thousand years older.

Amazing...

The sands of time

It is hard in the minds eye to take away today... the tourist busses, the straggling crowds of onlookers and the persistent hawkers - and the city sprawl only a few hundred yards away -untidy streets and poverty.

But take a step back and see how these majestic structures dwarf us as we stand impotent at their feet. Four and a half thousand years old and still they draw crowds that wonder at the skill, inventiveness and resource of their creators. At least I did.

The pyramids are the only remaining structures left from the ancients seven wonders of the world.. and were ancient when that list was created. But without a doubt they are wonderful... Just a quick read about them shows what amazing structures these are. What a privilege to stand on the desert sand and look up at a structure that for over three thousand years was the tallest building in the world.

But.. while I am bowled over by the pyramids, and think the Sphinx was wonderful there is one other must see if you are ever there.

The Cheops boat...

Metropolis

The world is big... and has a lot of people. You know that of course - but it's hard to understand just what that means. Now, looking out the window from the plane as it descends you start to understand.

Cairo stretches as far as the eye can see... a dry patchwork of apartment buildings jostled together crawling slowly out into the desert. Eighteen million people in one city.. twice the population of Sweden compressed into just one town. We will stay in the part that looks like any other city... an international hotel, with marble foyer, fountains and pool in a well-to-do district. But this is not Cairo.

Cairo starts beyond the barrriers, the bollards and the security guard, out on the street. Follow the raod and soon it's busy, dusty and full of people.. cars heading all ways, a jostling mass packing the roads, filling the air with the sounds of motor horns. Old Ladas and nearly new Mitsubishis... Vans loaded high with hay, or cauliflowers, a pickup with two camels.. a lorry load of cows, standing tethered, looking balefuly over the side. A mini-bus, with people hanging out the door, pushing for space in the the throng. Inquisitive faces staring up at the tourists looking back.

Cairo is the forest of satellite dishes atop the crush of crude apartment blocks.. where the dark unpaved alleys lead off between. Emaciated donkeys pulling a tired old cart.. Stately mosques overshadowed by the modern sprawl.. and the megaphonic call to prayer.

But maybe this is also Cairo.. where the night skyline is broken by the neon graffitti - Hyatt, Marriott and the rest declaring - this is my turf now..

Entropy on the kitchen table

An old wallet, grey and dead.
Six nails.
A bowl with fruit,
Apples four and banana black.
Iron, glass & stone
Frame a candle.
Light from a friend.
A letter - from the bank.
Cuttings in black plastic.
Pots. Wrinkled leaves, fresh & deepest green.
Geraniums on long legs
Reaching for the sky.
Travel, a history in paper
Ready for a reckoning.
Marmalade - ginger.
A fragrant ball of wizened quince.
Trainspotting & USB
Still here from Halloween.
A stapler
and access from Japan.
A yearbook from STFen.
Ringits & Kontakt
and the bill for the electric.
Showergel, breakfast
and the tracks of my days...

Genoa calling

You know how it is... the plane arrives and the taxi takes you to the hotel. And after breakfast another takes you to the office, and then later back to the airport. Where was that exactly?

So here I am in Genova.. and ready to see something of the city for a change (not to mention trying a little latin dancing :-). I've moved out of the Sheraton - big modern and anonymous on the edge of the airport - and moved into the Hotel Verdi. Yes, it's right by the railway, and the rooms are smaller, but it's also on the edge of the city centre and walking distance for most of the sights. So when I've finished here it's off into town for a wander round .. most probably stopping off in the old port to check out the maritime museum and to check out the timetable for boats to Porto Fino for tomorrow.

A trip to Dramaten

Bereavement, romance, infidelity, unemployment, gambling addiction, alcoholism, authoritarianism, croneyism, child abuse, ... never a dull moment..

It was one of those modern plays that had you always waiting for what came next.. though sometimes squirming uncomfortable in your chair not quite wanting to know..

Challenging and thought provoking but somehow managing to remain entertaining. Definitely worth seeing:

Fördold av Lars Norén
showing at Dramaten until December

Turning Japanese

Despite the highrise, the traffic and the bustle I enjoyed Tokyo.. not that I really got to see that much between the office and the hotel. But I am left with an unexpected affection for the Japanese.

Sitting on the plane on the way home I was thinking why was that?? It's a funny place really with all that formal bowing and smiling... but the bowing and the smiling is infectious and sincere, and really what can be better than spending your day smiling??

Life is a carousel

The sky darkens slowly towards dusk, the city horizon a darker highrise shadow now sequinned with shining windows. Blue neon rings a ferris wheel starting another slow turn as cars on the big dipper are caught, briefly, silhouetted against the sky. Below, people swarm like ants across the lit plazas of the Tokyo Dome.

From my room on the 18th floor (the hotel has 43) I look out across the Tokyo city skyline, and hear the rumble of the cars and the gay screams from the fun-fair. It all has that existential timeless feel that comes from too little sleep.

I got in this morning - just twenty hours after leaving home and my body still doesn't know what time it is... except it must soon be time to sleep.

.........

Pity my camera's not working... :-(

Hot beer and cream...

You take the highland and I'll take the lowland... an islay from Scotland before you.. for me and my friends
...are at the Stockholm Beer and Whisky Festival!

Swedish porter, czech dark lager, weissbier, stout, and bitter. It's my first time at this annual tribute to grain, malt and hops - sipping my way round the exhibition with a group of salsa friends ... including not surprisingly a large contingent from the British Isles (a term which neatly includes Dublin as well as all parts English).

Dancers are of course renowned for not drinking.. (aren't they) so it was a very sober evening ;-) which finished in best Swedish fashion with an 'after-party' - at which I learnt how to follow in salsa... and how to dance bug AND foxtrot. If I could only just remember...

Sill & Nubbe

Midsummer... long lazy days when the sun barely seems to set before it is up again. Surely it is something to celebrate?



..which this year I managed to do in fine style.

First in Dalarö for traditional folk dance around the 'midsummer-pole' - a short walk to the beach and then back to the marina. We are heading for the archipelago :-)

Björkösund, and the island of Ornö is the destination, with an open invitation from Anders & Ilya to come and celebrate midsummer. The location you can only envy - a lovely old-fashioned new house perched on the cliffs with views out onto Mysingen. Add four boatloads of dancers, plus most of the neighbourhood and you have yourself the makings of a fine party.

Herring, snaps and boiled potatoes. Strawberries, and sticky chocolate cake. Blend some tradition food with a some spicy music, mix thoroughly with the guests and simmer until the small hours.

It was great!

Thanks Anders! 'You're a diamond geezer' - (as Ilya would say).

School's Out

Breaking up from school. No more hanging around in the old art room or feet up in the lounge at Baysgarth (..they tore it down long ago for a new sixth form centre.) No more teachers, no more rule books.. No more Alice Cooper on the radio.
Summer, and then university.. and good friends spread to the four winds.

Did we celebrate? I can't rightly recall.

Idas Studenten

Today, and here in Sweden it's another thing however. Schools out! And we're going to party! Bigtime!

At this time of the year the city gets a rude awakening as gymnasium finishes and thousands take their 'Stundenten' - rushing out from class to be met by their family and friends, before disappearing off into the streets to party.

This week it was Ida's turn (Karin's daughter). The weather was good.. and I had my camera in tow, both at school and back home afterwards. Lots of pictures in this one...
Grattis Ida, och jag önskar dig en lycklig framtid!

Heja Sverige!!

One of the those quaint and intrinsically English things is the summer fête... or so I thought.

Yesterday was Sweden's National Day - a relatively new invention of national fervour. No-one's quite sure how to celebrate it, though like May Day the extreme left and right wing seem to think it's a good excuse for a scrummage in in the city.

Görvälns Slott

Out in the sticks we have more modest ways of flying the flag... which is how I came to take a walk out through the woods to Görvälns Slott with Peter and Karin my neighbours to sample what was, for want of a better word, a village fête: stalls selling handicrafts, a stage with people jumping somersaults, or between times playing folk music, rides on a horsedrawn cart, fresh baked waffles, or just a chance to lie out on the grass.

There was even the obligatory 'loppis' - a stall selling jumble. Since re-use is better than recycling I felt obliged to do my civic duty, and after a determined rummage I came away with albums by the Cranberries, Manic Street Preachers, U2 .. and of course some salsa for the princely sum of 40kr. Plus a burner for a Trangia spirit stove (to an old design I'd not seen before) - which is great, because two years ago I bought a stove that had no burner :-)

Patience they say, is a virtue...

By the way.. can I get a day off for Trafalgar day?

On the water...

I suppose I should have said earlier... but if you're looking for sailing that's all in another place. Two for the price of one. What a bargain!

See how my garden grows

It's a few weeks now since the winter wraps came off the balcony. A quick inspection showed quite a few casualties to the winter so my shopping trolley was quite full after the annual pilgrimage to Plantagen.

That was then, but with more TLC than usual the plants seem to have got off to a good start... Even the lettuce I found sulking in the fridge is looking good after planting out in my 'shrubbery'. But as they say.. a picture is worth a thousand words!

Updated: More photos added 27th May

Czech it out...

One of the things I miss in Sweden is spring... it comes late and gallops along with undue haste to catch up... so it was a pleasant & relaxing change to sit in the taxi going into Prague and see the fresh green face of spring.

It is a lovely city, with fine old buildings and winding streets - plenty enough of both for a couple of days of touristing, seeing the sights and taking pictures (check them out - click on the picture). But it's not a city break we have come for, but a salsa festival... so the weekend brings a distinct change of pace.

Lots of people from half of europe (the eastern half!) thronging a capacious building not far from the city-centre. Lessons: salsa, rueda, bachata, cha-cha, footwork .. & more salsa, and in the evenings; simply dance, until the wee small hours. After all, practice makes perfect... (but it's going to need a lot of practice!)

Ahhhh... the joys of spring :-)

Just arrived

The taxi stopped to let us out right in front of Marks & Spencers, over the road from C&A and Debenhams. It gave an unexpected feeling of déja vu. This isn't Coventry or Harrogate... it's Prague!
...and we're here for a salsa festival. With a bit of time over to look around first.
Time I got started!

Down to the water's edge...

The clocks have changed, and the equinox has passed and spring is in the air - all of which means, among other things, that I have my sunsets back.
And that's so nice! You only have to see to understand - and so see you shall.

From Kitchen Views

Not all this album is from my window - I cheated just a little and took my camera down to the water's edge. But you get the picture... :-)

Ancient and Modern

From the city walls, looking out in the late afternoon sun, you can watch the boats sailing for Finland and Sweden, and imagine an earlier time when stout cogs weighed anchor and set sail in the stiff spring breeze - bound for towns as far afield as Lübeck or London.

I've traded Stockholm this weekend for Tallinn and a different taste of Baltic life... The walls of the Hansa city still ring the old town and from their vantage point you look out over the rising towers of the new centre. Ancient charm giving way to modern ubiquity?

The old city does hold the charm... within it's cobbled streets and alleys, behind the medieval facades we find plush and eclectic coffee shops for herb tea, or rich hot chocolate, and the hushed chambers of an exclusive restaurant. How sweet, how fine...

And what's not food for the body is food for the soul. Rachmaninov and Schubert .. and art, as old and as new as this lovely city.

All in all a lovely weekend - even if I was feeling very ancient..

Tänan tien Eha!

No salt in the porridge..

February is 'sportlov' - and half of Sweden it seems takes time off from work to go skiing. After six years the itch finally got to me and this year I joined the crowds bound for the slopes. Not for me though the 600km trip to the Swedish fjälls. I have that last minute place on a bus to the Alps instead. A mere 35 hours rolling down through Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland...

So by saturday afternoon the great unwashed are rolling into Serre Chevalier, set for a week on the slopes. Somehow it all looks a lot bigger than the slope at Sollentuna!

Villeneuve is quite small - a tourist resort for the ski trade. The UCPA hostel sits at the foot of the slope, a short walk from the nearest ski lift - and with fresh snow and guided skiing all week can you ask for more? Even the food was good - in a 'copious quantities to keep body and soul together' sort of way. (I did hear complaints of no salt in the porridge, but as porridge is a french concession to swedish taste what do you expect?)

Skiing they say is a bit like riding a bike.. and i guess that's true - but if I got on a bike after ten years abstinence and fell off as much as I fell down this week I think I'd throw it under the hedge and walk. But, after surviving the first few days, wearing my legs ragged and practicing improptu aerobatics at every turn I did eventually get back the knack and manage to keep up with the lovely ladies

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And after skiing it is of course time for Aprés-ski.. which seemed to consist largely of swedish pub bands in the local hotels playing an eclectic mix of easy listening and hard rock - with those lovable swedish favourites thrown in for good measure. And if it's not swedish bands it's English one's pretending to be Swedish... a raucous evening of pseudo-ABBA. Wake me up for breakfast will you?

It's hard to put a week into a few words - so I'll leave it to the pictures instead to tell the story - above a selection of pictures by Lasse Sunden out on the slopes and then below an 'axplock' from my pictures out and around Serre Chevalier. Clicking on the pictures opens the web album... or just enjoy the show!

But now for breakfast! Where did I put the salt?

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Forecasting snow?...

It's less than a week now and I'm off skiing. In something of an impulse purchase I took over Anders' booking to go down to France and ski with Lena and Annette. So, when I'm not dancing I'm trying to work out what I need. Ten years since I went downhill skiing. You kind of forget...

Which I why it was good today to get in a couple of hours on the ski slope in Sollentuna. With my neighbour Karin for company I spent a happy couple of hours being dragged up the slope and then skiing down. We could have gone to Bruket - which I can see from my window - but the slope there is short and steep and they don't hire out equipment. Horses for courses...

I was pleased to find I'd not completely forgotten everything.. and two hours was enough to get a taste for trying the real thing. Next week - in Serre Chevalier!

Looks like I might need to pack a good sweater :-)

Chips and dips...

Saturday night and the winter cold is warm with latin rhythms... the apartment is full of dancing feet and glad chatter. I like it like this :-)

On the excuse that it's six years now I've been in Sweden I gathered a few friends.. made some tasty bits to eat - cracked a bottle or two, pushed back the furniture and set on some salsa. A genuine home-grown party - and quite a good recipe if I do say so myself. Happy smiles all round.

And now... some pictures even..

Hemmafest feb 07

The best laid plans..

..of mice and men, of cabbages and kings

Well, I got home all prepared to do some baking in advance of the party on Saturday (err... yes - a party on Saturday, didn't I say?). ..but as it turned out the filo pastry I bought wasn't. It's something nearer to shredded wheat - and I'm sure I've got a recipe somewhere that can use it - but it's not much good for salmon parcels.

So I got on with my 'filo-cigars' using the other filo from the freezer.. but strangely enough this recipe for 30 only lasted to thirteen. Oh dear. I feel a re-planning on the catering front coming on.

Still - I got the music sorted. Mostly salsa -as you might have guessed - but life would be dull without a little cha-cha and merengue don't you think? A little reggae, and some reggaeton - calypso, disco, some soul and something very "drum machine" off that 'Trainspotting' album John gave me. Perfect.. There's always the fast forward button :-)

Gone skating...

Ice. Smooth, black and hard like glass. See the bubbles and fine cracks as you look down into it; the breaks where a crack runs right through, the white schism going down to meet the water below.

Ice. White and marbled, rough and rugged. Upwells of lake water, refrozen meltwater? Ice like cobbles beneath the skates.

Ice. Ground together, or pulled apart. Long scars tracking to the horizon. Windblown ripples frozen fast. New ice meets old. Broken ice refrozen; tesselated- grey, white, black...

Today's ice... still there after yesterdays skating. :-)

The New Ice Age

The ice has come.. last weekend in fact. One day it's a little bit hemmed in behind the reedbeds, with flocks of tufted duck swimming out around the jetty and the next morning the waves are gone and the icy sheen stretches to the horizon.

Pretty to see - but skatable it is not. The following day it snowed, a pristine white blanket, and then thawed , and now it looks grey and uninviting and certainly not strong enough to take the weight.

Temperatures are up again. Will we get good ice?
Winter just isn't winter...

Salsa Genovese?

Pesto should be the answer. (Genoan sauce?) - but in this case you'd be mistaken. Not sauce but dance. With a few tips from my boss I find my way to disco club Chango' to see what Italians do on a Wednesday night.
I was expecting a throng of stylish Italians showing off their best routines - but that wasn't quite what I found. Perhaps on a week-end it's different but this was a small crowd in a large club - relaxed and casual & plenty of space for dancing.
Cuban style was the order of the day (that and Bachata) - which is not my strong suit- but they do say that practice makes perfect - even if it's going to take a ot of practice!
It's strange dancing with people that don't understand a word you say (apart from grazie) but at the same time it's nice to be accepted even as a complete stranger.
But is it like this every wednesday? Well... I can't rightly say.. I didn't find anyone that understood the question!
Ciao!

The Italian Job

Liguria is just like home.. .. you see the english flag everywhere. - unless of course the Ligurian flag happens to be a red cross on a white background?
Genova is northern Italy - a town pressed in between the mountains and the sea. It sprawls along the coast for about 20km and wraps itself around the foothills so that at night they shine with a web of lights. It's not a tourist town. People live here...
The centre is old - fine imposing buildings in what I'd call 'renaissance' style - though in truth they're probably later. Broad avenues, fine facades, gushing fountains and tiny twisty side- streets.
and this week I'm staying in the centre - on the waterfront. I forewent the pleasure of the airport hotel - walking distance to the office - to be in town and enjoy the feel of the city. Not a choice I regret.
Of course that means getting to and from work. But as chance has it the #1 bus takes me right to the office. Twenty minutes watching the changing view of the city. Harbour, port, shops, flats and businesses - the railway and an ugly elevated road scoring through the city. Cars juggle by and mopeds appear in swarms and buzz off again.
How do i know when to get off?

Pennies from Heaven

Well not quite ... but I did get an unexpected windfall from upstairs.
Karin donated some old change to me she'd had from her mother - including a selection of pre-decimal coins dating from 1966 way back to 1906 ... and from four different monarchs - Edward VI, George V, George VI, and Elizabeth.

So I thought I'd share them with the world, in pictures.


Half a crown is about the same as 12,5 pence in modern currency - which makes a British crown worth about four Swedish crowns (kronor).
You always wanted to know that.. :-)

Blue sunday

It was snowing and blowing on the walk up to the station. Squally chilly weather coming in off the lake.. but the train is warm on the way in to town ..and not so very long after we are meeting up in the bar at Akkurat getting warm with a pint of traditional English winter ale. (..a pint of "Reinbeer" please!) me, Karin (my neighbour), Pål (needs no introduction(?)), Alexandre & Annelie (salsa friends)

Akkurat is one of the better pubs in Stockholm - but tonight it was not the wide and international selection of beer that was the attraction - not even the hundreds of different whiskies or the tasty mussel specialities on the menu. It was blues - in the form of Paul Jones & Dave Kelly - better known in the guise of the Blues Band perhaps. ..or for Paul Jones - his spell, long ago, with Manfred Mann.

But to be honest I'd come because a friend at work had said it would be good. And my friends were there because they believed me when I told them the same. ..and fortunately they were not disappointed. Two sets - the first with just Paul & Dave playing Mississippi blues on harmonica and guitar - and a second with a backing of sax, bass and drums with a more uptempo mix. Different in character but both really good.

Professional musicians who know their stuff seen at close quarters.. good tunes lovingly played - sweet slide guitar - and harmonica as good as it gets! Priceless! ..and free!
... errrr. Yes - I enjoyed it :-)

Cooling in the kitchen..

Marmalade, as of course you all know, is a word deriving from the old french name for the quince... and although there is a quince growing on my balcony it has in fact nothing to do with the marmalade now cooling in the kitchen.

..and now is just the time of year to find the Seville oranges that you need for good orange marmalade. But, I was too lazy to go all the way into town to see if they had any in the only place I know that might so it's not that that's cooling in the kitchen either.´

So this year's brew is 'Three Fruits Marmalade' - orange, lemon and lime.. with a little ginger and green pepper to warm up the taste a little.

And whether it's good or not I can't say - but it will make a nice change from Konsums best!

Come back at breakfast... :-)

One flew over the cuckoos nest..

The show was called 'Gökboet' - but it came to the same thing. On Friday I was lucky enough to get tickets for Dansens Hus to see Bounce! in the penultimate performance of Gökboet, a show which had had good reviews and, luckily for me, had been extended into January.

Bounce! are a Street Dance company and to be honest I wasn't sure what to expect.. a dance show based on a play about inmates at a mental hospital? Hmmm...
But it was VERY good.

The music, the set, the lighting and the dance... all were good. There was a little dialogue - in the very beginning - the inmates talking swedish and the doctor and wardens english - but for the rest it was dance that told the tale. Dance on crutches, dance in bed - dance in wheelchairs and dance climbing up the walls. Dance in the movies and even dance among the audience. Very energetic, but yet sympathetic, to music ranging from brash techno to 'Peter and the Wolf'.

I came away full of admiration for the cast - and the flair and imagination that had gone into the production. Highly recommended...

And after? Dinner after at Bistro Bohéme (Stockholms quirkiest decor?) was just the thing to round off the evening. A nice way to end the week..

New Years Eve 2007

December made way for January at a party in Sköndal - which for those that don't know is way over the other side of Stockholm from my home in Kallhäll. Annika and Niclas had booked a lovely spot - an upstairs room in a college looking out over a lake - but not exactly on my doorstep!

Fortunately for me I bumped into Astrid on the night bus home from town only a couple of nights before. She lives just up the road from me - more or less - but we hadn't met in six months - however, as it turned out, she was going to the same party and I gratefully accepted a lift. Serendipity :-)

So two nights later, by way of Carin's for aperitif, we found ourselves in Sköndal with 60 other salseros to celebrate the old year and the new. Appropriate for me that it was a salsa party as there's been a lot of that this year - and nice that there were plenty of familiar faces there to celebrate -almost all folk I've met during the year just gone...

I guess like most parties you had to be there to really appreciate it but I can say it was GOOD. Good food, good company and lots of dancing... mostly salsa of course and after salsa - sauna. Not so many of us made it that far it has to be said.. but it was the perfect way to wind down and welcome the new year.

And now it is 2007! God Fortsättning! (Good continuing...)

... and below, some pictures. Scroll through here, or click on the picture to go to the web-album.




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Or for the full party feeling check out Karims web album.
Karims Album

The year in retrospect

December was busy and I never did get round to writing one of those 'this is the year that was' letters to go out with my Christmas cards so this is a quick retrospective on 2006... And because it's quicker and easier you will find lot of it in pictures. But if a picture is worth a thousand words you're getting quite a lot for your money.

Summer means sailing, amongst other things. This year our maintrip was southward - past Nynäshamn to Trosa skärgården and back around the fringe of the archipelago. The weather was kind - a bit blowy in places but nothing too untoward. And the sunsets.. you have to see them :-)

Which reminds me... the photos!




After the sailing holiday... came a sailing holiday - with a difference. Sailsalsa! Five days of sailing, swimming, canoing & four nights with nothing to do but have fun & salsa! (Spot the fancy dress party..) Just me, and forty of the nicest people you'll ever want to meet. I sailed to Vindalsö in Mata Hari (with Andrea who'd never sailed before) turning it into a full weeks holiday. Nice.. but I so tired when I got home...




Autumn & the boat is out the water - which just leaves salsa to keep me busy. Halloween is not at all swedish, but it gets celebrated anyway - why miss a party? Fancy dress... again.

The view from my kitchen window

Every blog has to start somewhere I suppose .. and since I'm sitting here looking out the window it seemed as good a place as any. The elm and the alder is the view from my kitchen window - that and Lake Mälaren whose waters lap almost up to the door.

There is another blog - that has something to do with salsa and probably will get much more widely read than this - but that's in swedish and doesn't really say that much about life off the dance floor. This one is in English and is intended for you - and a few more of my friends and family that might be interested to drop by.

How much this one gets used we will have to see - but I thought at least it would be useful for linking to photos. Hopefully from time to time I'll even find the time to do what a blog is for - blogging- and add a little colour from life in Stockholm.

Enjoy!