VIKTOR DONOVAN: August 2009

Sunday, August 23, 2009

PICKING MUSHROOMS

In almost every Swedish grocery store, you find various kinds of mushroom knives (The sharp end is to cut off the mushroom and the brush is to brush off the dirt).

It has been very warm and wet lately - the best climate for mushrooms.

People rush to the forests to pick them. Yes, mushrooms can pretty much be picked anywhere as long as it is not within sight of a private dwelling. This is possible due to the Swedish Right of Public Access.

Berry and mushroom picking is a national past time.

Of course, one can make money selling mushrooms to Italian companies that have established themselves in Sweden to collect Karl Johan mushrooms (Boletus edulis) or what the Italians call porcini mushrooms. This mushroom is rare and expensive in Italy, but plentiful in Sweden.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

HUMBER CARS

The Humber Car factory in England dates back to 1886.

This old brochure from 1933 must have appeared too fine to throw away, so my grandmother saved it in her attic. I knew she bought a Packard instead with room for most of her nine children.

Saturday, August 15, 2009

GRASP EVERY MOMENT

Friday, August 14, 2009

DADDY TIME

METRO (Sweden) Thursday August 13, 2009:

ONE MILLION DADDIES EXTEND THEIR VACATION.

One must be Swedish to understand what this really means.

Americans who only have two weeks vacation might wonder why the Swedish five week vacations need to be extended.

It has to do with the generous parental leave rules.

When you have, or adopt a child, a couple can take up to 13 months off work, divided between them. Mothers use most of the days, but it is more and more common that men take time off work to be home with their children. But it seems that when August comes, and the vacation is used up, the fathers are more interested in using some of the time. This year it is a million daddies who do precisely that, use some of their parental leave time to enjoy summer.

The Economist has an interesting article on the subject of encouraging men to take more paternity leave. Click here!

Wikipedia explains parental leave. Click here!

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

DANCING RABBITS

After the dance, they munch on apples.

Thanks for the performance!

Friday, August 7, 2009

MADONNA FRENZY IN GOTHENBURG

No, it isn't the religious Madonna, it's the pop star Madonna who is causing the frenzy in this city.

87 lorries/trucks arrived some time ago with materials for her elaborate show plus an army of workers to assemble the stage.

Madonna herself arrived yesterday and a candid photo of her in a Mercedes revealed that she is indeed 50 years old now.

She will perform at the Ullevi sports arena and as usual, the entire city, North to South, East to West, will hear what goes on during the concert.

Only a few weeks ago, U2, performed here and they brought 102 lorries/trucks of equipment with them (to Madonna's only 87).

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

WHEN IN STOCKHOLM

The Royal Dramatic Theatre (where Ingmar Bergman was active) is a marvel to behold, especially now when it is so superbly renovated.

It was built in 1908, Jugend/Art Nouveau inspired.

The architect was Fredrik Lilljekvist.

Don't miss it!

NEW BOOK!

Much of human activity is centered around food. We think of food whether we’re hungry or not. We spend a great deal of time buying it. We take hours preparing it (well, some do). We talk about it. We read about it in cook books. We watch television when chefs talk about it (sometimes to excess). When we socialize, it is often centered around the communal intake of it. We give it as gifts. Food, we can’t escape it! Some people become keenly interested in preparing food for themselves and others; many have become what we call “good cooks”. Usually a degree of creativity is involved together with a keen interest to entertain and a need to take care of others, to be a good host. It is such people that one remembers, and that is how I got started on Food & Folk, remembering, for example that excellent couple, Beatrice and Clayburn La Force on their ranch in Alpine California. After that I just kept going.

MY HOMETOWN GOTHENBURG

A series of closeups (224 photos) of Gothenburg, Sweden. Language: English and Swedish.----- This book consists of a series of closeups of Gothenburg. It is no history book but, hopefully, it will generate some curiosity about our city. When you walk in a city like London you are struck by Britain’s colonial past and its enormous wealth which manifests itself in buildings and institutions all over the city. When you walk in “Little London” as Gothenburg is often called, one is keenly aware of its importance as the best fortified city in Northern Europe. Two forts still watch over it. Remnants of the seventeenth century wall, and the meandering moat are a reminder of the city’s military past. Positioned on the West coast of Sweden, Gothenburg was once a world leader in ship building and shipping and evolved naturally into a merchant’s city. The English and Scottish heritage here is very important. There are clues and traces everywhere. One has only to look.

A GARDEN IN MY HOMETOWN

A book in English and Swedish about the Garden Society of Gothenburg--TRÄDGÅRDSFÖRENINGEN -----The Garden Society of Gothenburg is one of the best preserved early 19th century parks in Europe. It is situated directly downtown, offering lovely walks in the park or in the shaded woodland areas along the canal/moat, waterfront. The garden recently went through a major renovation under the auspices of Ulf Nordfjell, the internationally known landscape designer. The aim was to bring the garden back to its old nineteenth century glory. Carpet bedding returned and five new woodland areas were designed by five international garden designers. A superb new rose park was added, a successful blending of historical roses and perennials.

Love letters from my Swedish grandfather Folke to my American grandmother Olga 1909 - 1961

My American grandmother, Olga, met my Swedish grandfather, Folke Jonsson, in Brussels in 1909. Olga was 18 and Folke, 23. They settled in Gothenburg and Särö, Sweden. Olga, being American, had her family in Florida, and Folke soon came to realize that if you marry a woman from another continent, and this woman is charmingly independent, innovative and brave, and has her own means to boot, she is bound to want to visit her native country some time -- or several times -- or more than several times. To Folke, a sensitive soul, the long separations were quite painful and he suffered till his darling Olga returned. He “talked” to her in his frequent letters. Olga saved all his letters, in their original envelopes, in neat little bundles held together with different coloured ribbons. They were a treasured lifelong testament of his love. Olga and Folke corresponded in English as Olga was American and preferred writing in English. Had my grandfather Folke married a Swedish woman who had stayed at home, there would not be this stack of his letters today. He never intended the letters to be shown to others, but more than one hundred years have passed since Folke wrote them to his darling Olga. I have enjoyed getting to know my grandfather in this manner and I think others, not only relatives, should also share that privilege.

A pictorial Companion to the letters in the book above: 150 pictures of Olga & Folke 1909-1978

NEW BOOK BY DONOVAN O'MALLEY

REVIEW: "...O'Malley continues to prove that he is one of the more important writers around, a writer who with every book brings into our lives some very strange, often exceedingly humorous, and now, frequently very lonely people. His ability to create language for each of his characters is sharp, well studied and written, and without belittling anyone he, in language, shows the difference between class, and education, and exposure. Likely that comes from his experience in writing plays where characters are alive and moving, but with his considerable literary skills he makes his written page people morph into real life folks. He is in top form here ... " Grady Harp, June 12 (Hall of Fame reviewer)