Sepia Saturday 827 - Men At Work

 

The Sepia Saturday prompt for this weekend shows photo from an old shoe factory, and the host Alan Burnett asks us to "search out your old photographs of factories, workplaces, shoes, boots, benches, leather belts .... or whatever" ... 

At first I thought I have no photos like that... But then a summer holiday trip from the past popped to mind - made with two friends nearly 50 years ago (49, to be exact), to the Swedish provinces Halland, Skåne and Småland. The colour photos in my album from 1977 have faded - but since this is Sepia Saturday, never mind! ;)  I managed to copy some with my phone camera, and edit them a bit.

The friends I was with on this trip were Gunilla and Lena. Gunilla sadly passed away three years ago. (She's the short one in the photos - she stopped growing when she was around 8 to do with health problems and medication with that side-effect.) Lena is the same age as me and since her official retirement (from teaching) is still keeping busy more or less "full time" as a water-colour artist, living on the west coast (where she was also born), and having several exhibitions there every summer.

Back in the mid 1970s, all three of us were living/studying in Karlstad; and that summer we went on a car trip together to the southern Swedish provinces of Halland, Skåne and Småland - where we visited several places do with different kinds of handicraft.

 In Halland, we visited the workshop of an old shoemaker, still making wooden clogs by hand. (Wooden soles, leather tops.) I think this was someone Lena knew since before.

From Halland we went on to Skåne, where we visited a ceramics workshop or two in Höganäs - a village well known for several workshops and factories of that kind.

Here are my friends posing near one such place; and then going in...

The photo below is not my own but a postcard (glued into my album).

The province of Småland is best known for its many glassworks. We visited at least two of them, Boda and Kosta. I'm not sure at which of them the two photos below were taken.

Linking to Sepia Saturday 827

Sepia Saturday: Sisters

  

In his introduction of Sepia Saturday 824, the host Alan Burnett writes:  

"If you are wanting a theme you can have celebrations or cakes or two splendid ladies - the choice, as always, is yours."

What came to mind for me this week was my own mother (who liked to bake cakes), and her sister, who celebrated her 90th birthday this week. 

Below is a photo of the two of them together, from 1966 - i.e. 60 years ago.

Mum (36) to the left, and my aunt (30) to the right, sitting on the lawn outside the house where we had been living for about one year then. My aunt and uncle lived in the nearby town back then, and my little brother and our oldest cousin (also a boy) were the same age. So the two families used to get together quite frequently.

Later on, my aunt and her family moved farther away, and family get-togethers got less frequent. However, when my dad retired (at age 60), my parents moved back to their home town/area, which was by then also where I lived (and still live). And as my aunt and uncle also had both family and old friends here, we all saw each other a bit more often again. After my parents died (2009/11), my aunt and uncle also still visited me when they were in this area. Since a few years, they no longer drive this far from home, though. But my brother and I last met up with them last summer in Linköping, where they live.

My mum died in 2009, a few months after turning 79; and my dad did not live to celebrate his 80th either. But (as already mentioned) my aunt turned 90 this week. I sent her a parcel, and also phoned her on the day. Her main celebration will be with her own sons and grandchildren this weekend - and it seems that at age 90, she finds that enough. I kind of assume that a birthday cake in some form will probably be part of the celebration, though. What that one might look like I don't know, but here is one that my mum baked for some other occasion in the past (probably Christmas, judging by the table cloth):

PS. My aunt used to read my blog sometimes, but I'm not sure if she still does. I think in the past I've just referred to her and her husband as my aunt and uncle, no names mentioned, so I decided to stick to that with this post as well.

Sepia Saturday: Early Days of Television, and Barbie Dolls

In his introduction to Sepia Saturday 823, Alan Burnett writes: 

"Back in the 1950s and 60s, people often wanted their television sets included in photographs; those box-like, round-knobbed sets were the status symbol of their time."

This reminded me of probably the only "TV photo" that I have from my early childhood. It's in my first photo album (put together by my mum), and when looking it up now, I note that it's from the autumn of 1957 - which means I was only two years old when it was taken. 

My mum's note (in Swedish) below the photo translates: The child in the Age of Television - or "Look, it's snowing". ...  "Snowing" referring to the fact that more often than not, back then, there was nothing on to watch - and even when there was, the image might often be rather blurry and "snowy"... And here I'm obviously just staring at a blank screen! 

The TV belonged to my maternal grandparents, and the photo is from their living room. Regular TV broadcasts in Sweden did not start until 1956, but my maternal grandfather was always keen to try new inventions, so did not wait long to get one... My own parents did not get one until years later, I think. 

---

I'll combine this with a few photos I snapped from my flat screen TV a few days ago. There was a short documentary on about the history of Barbie dolls, and some women of different ages collecting them, and "remembering"...

As some followers of this blog may recall (I know at least Meike does!), some years ago I gave away most of my own old Barbie dolls, but decided to keep two - which have since been "living" on a shelf next to the TV in my sitting room, rather than tucked away in a box. And when something Barbie-related is on, of course they want to watch with me...

 

"My Barbie and Me"

Looking in my old photo albums for TV-related photos now, I also happened to find the  photo below of my first three Barbie dolls, from the summer of 1965 - and taken by me with an old black-and-white camera then rather recently "inherited" from my dad:

Barbie, Ken and Skipper

Checking up on things now, Barbie dolls were launched in Sweden for Christmas 1963. I doubt I was among the very first to get one, so more likely that I got these three for my birthday + Christmas in 1964. The Skipper doll is the same one that I still have (at some point in early history, she had a haircut); while the Barbie doll is the last one I got. She came with three different wigs, so is really kind of "three in one". But I prefer her in this one: 

(Repeating a photo from Easter)

Time Travel / Germany, 1983 / Part 7 - Trier (3)

Germany 1983 /Trier an der Mosel (3): Porta Nigra, Stadtmuseum, Dreikönigenhaus, Basilika St. Matthias, a Market Square - and a boat trip on the river.

Monday, 29th August 1983 was my 28th birthday - and I was still in Trier, Germany, touristing on my own. Alas its seems that I used up my last slide film the day before, because the rest of my photos from the trip are faded printed ones in my photo album - mixed with a few postcard images that kept the coulour better. 

Porta Nigra, Trier (postcard)

I started my birthday touristing with having a closer look at the famous Porta Nigra (also mentioned in Part 5 of my time travel series).

I asked AI for a short summary today, rather than try to create it myself...

Porta Nigra - History and Facts 
Built around 170 AD, the Porta Nigra (Black Gate) in Trier is the largest and best-preserved Roman city gate north of the Alps. It served as a massive, northern, grey sandstone fortress gate, though it was never fully finished. It survived by being converted into a church in the 11th century to honor the hermit St. Simeon, which saved it from being quarried for building materials. Napoleon ordered the removal of church additions in 1804 to restore its Roman appearance. The site was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986. 

Above is a photo of my own from inside the Porta Nigra. The dove I seem to recall was actually a live bird sitting on that gate! Weirdly fadad colouring - but I arrived at preferring the purple to turning it black-and-white or sepia...

 

My own photo - I think  a view taken from inside the Porta Nigra.

 

Nearby was the Stadtmuseum Simeonstift Trier, showing art and cultural treasures from the Middle ages and onward. The photos above are my own, but the info below I copied from the museum's current website: 

The collection is housed in the Roman building of the Collegiate of St. Simeon, which originates from the 11th century and is directly adjacent to the Porta Nigra. Also worthy of note is the building itself, which boasts one of the oldest and rarely preserved two-storey cloisters. 

 

 

 Nearby is also a building known as the Dreikönigenhaus (the House of the Three Kings). Please note the door halfway up the wall, without any stairs leading to it... The image copied from the German Wikipedia article, while AI gave me the following summary in English: 

Built around 1230 in Trier, Germany, the Dreikönigenhaus (House of the Three Magi) is a rare, fortified early Gothic residential tower on Simeonstrasse. *Originally designed for security, it lacked ground-floor access, requiring residents to use a retractable ladder to enter on the first floor.* Today, the building is known for its brightly painted, colorful facade with pointed arches and is now used as a café. 

My own photo

AI summary: St. Matthias Abbey in Trier is a historic Benedictine monastery and pilgrimage site renowned as the only abbey north of the Alps holding an apostle's grave. Founded on Roman cemetery grounds, the current Romanesque basilica was built in the 12th century after the 1127 discovery of Saint Matthias the Apostle's relics.

According to the Acts of the Apostles, St. Matthias was the disciple chosen by lot to replace Judas Iscariot as one of the Twelve Apostles following Judas's betrayal of Jesus. He was a follower of Jesus from his baptism until the Ascension,, and was chosen for his firsthand witness to the Resurrection.

My own photo from inside the St Matthias Abbey - alas another one church interior having turned very red/purple with age. (And no, I don't know what those things/decorations in the foreground are...)

 

Postcard, Trier

I also spent part of that day shopping - after all, it was also my birthday! ;) According to a receipt glued into my album, I made some purchases in a bookshop (I no longer remember what!), and I also remember buying grapes in a market square. If it was in the same square as on the postcard, I dare not say, though!

 

And in the afternoon, I went on a little boat trip on the river Mosel, to a part of town named Pfalzel and back again. 
 

My own photo from Pfalzel

I don't really remember Pfalzel now; but on request, AI comes to my help again: 

Pfalzel is a historic district of Trier, Germany, located on the Moselle River, known for its origins as a 4th-century Roman "little palace" (palatiolum). It features Germany’s oldest inhabited Roman stone house, medieval fortifications, and a former collegiate church. Today, it is a quiet, scenic village perfect for wine tasting, cycling, and exploring Roman and Baroque history, often acting as a peaceful retreat near the busy city of Trier. 

Linking this post to Sepia Saturday 820 

Slide Show from Yorkshire, 1972

Among the old slides that I recently let a photography shop digitise for me were a few from my stay with an English family in Yorkshire in 1972, from mid June and into July. 

These photos are not included in my photo album from that trip, and I don't think I took any slides myself back then. So I think these must have been sent to me afterwards, from the family I was staying with.

Back in my very first year of blogging (2009, my blog then entitled The Island of the Voices) I blogged more extensively about this trip in a post which you can read here. 

Starting with a quote from that old blog post as introduction:

After my first year in 'senior high school', 16 going on 17, my parents apparently thought me mature enough to go off out into the world alone. They sent me on a sort of educational holiday to England, to stay for four weeks with a family in a small village [Wadworth] near Doncaster in Yorkshire.  This was not a family we knew beforehand. It was organized rather like an exchange student program, except that there was no "exchange". The family I went to stay with had a girl about my age – she was in the 5th form in a Comprehensive School. I visited her school with her, but she did not go back to Sweden with me. 

Mr A., if I memory serves me right, worked in the coal mines, or at least in some way for the coal mining company. Mrs A. worked part time at the local pub.  

This photo of me I think must be from somehwere on the outskirts of the village. 

Me and Lynne, the daughter of around my own age in the family I was staying with. Most weekdays I also went to school with her (in Edlington). 

Her little brother, Lyndon, whose room became mine for a few weeks while he had to move in with his mum and dad.

Mrs A. and "auntie Lizzie" in the living room.

A first attempt to identify this image with help of Google Image search told me that it was from some place down in Kent. As we definitely did not go to Kent, I tried again, and was then told it's Bridlington, in Yorkshire. That suggestion I'll accept, as it's a Yorkshire seaside town that we did visit. I think this must have been on a day when Lynne had exams in school - which explains both why she was not with us, and why I was not in school... 

The photo below is also from Bridlington. The elderly couple are "Uncle Jack" and "Auntie Lizzie". I had to go back to an old letter to recall details, but they were relatives visiting from Canada and staying with Mrs A's parents; and they accompanied us on more outings.

On another day, we went to York. I did not have to ask Google to identify the chathedral! This was probably a weekend visit, as Lynne was with us.

 

Here were are at an old abbey ruin. As there are several of those in Yorkshire, I consulted Google Image search again - and got a prompt answer that it's St Mary's Abbey Ruins in the York Museum Gardens. As we did go to York, that makes sense - and also helped me identify the next photo as being taken at the entrance to the Yorkshire Museum.

 

 

On another occasion, we visited the seaside town of Cleethorpes, which must be where this photo was taken. 

 

Linking to Sepia Saturday 818 

Time-Travelling with Sepia Saturday

Not a whole lot happening here at the moment. Still waiting for the last remains of snow and ice to be washed away, and for some proper signs of spring to show up. Thinking that I've already published enough photos of puddles and melting snow, today I decided to go time-travelling on my blog Greetings from the Past instead. 

Not much has been happening lately on that family history blog of mine lately either; but this week's Sepia Saturday prompt happened to inspire me to go re-visiting the Versailles Palace museum in Paris, France, together with my great-aunt Gerda. If you want to get (re)acquainted with Gerda, and see the full set of old yellowed postcards from Versailles, click on the Greetings link above.

If you're content to just take a quick peek at a few bedrooms belonging to really famous people from the past, you'll find them copied below. All of them rather more spacious than my own, I have to admit. Personally I do think I prefer a more "cosy" style, though...

Marie Antoinette's bedroom

Louis XIV's bedroom

 

 

Napoleon's bedroom 

 

PS. There's a permanent link to my Greetings from the Past blog in my sidebar, always showing the headline of the latest post. I don't usually double-post, but thought I might give Sepia Saturday a bit of a "boost" today...

Road Trip 2025 (5) - Sturefors Castle

Monday, 11 August - Part 1
Sturefors Castle (near Linköping)

From Linköping we drove south-east to Västervik on the east coast (see map at the bottom of the page); but we also made a couple of stops on the way down there. 

Not far from Linköping, and just a minor detour from the main road, there is an old castle that I wanted to visit: Sturefors. The castle itself is private and not open to the public, but part of the surrounding park (with a view of the castle) is. And the reason that I wanted to see it is that back in the 1920s, my paternal grandmother's older half-sister Gerda (born 1881) worked there for a while, as lady's maid to a Countess Bielke. The castle is still owned by the same family, Bielke (an ancient noble family). 

Back in 2022, I wrote a post about this in my family history blog Greetings from the Past. Sturefors seems have been Gerda's last place of employment before she became lady's maid to Estelle Bernadotte (born Manville; an American young woman from Pleasantville, New York) who married the Swedish count Folke Bernadotte in 1928. I have since got it confirmed from a reliable source that Gerda was kind of "headhunted" for the latter position in the autumn of 1928, before their wedding (which took place in Pleasantville). (Folke was related to the Swedish royal family; became a well-known diplomat towards the end of WWII and after; and was sadly assasinated in Jerusalem 1948. But Gerda remained with Estelle for the rest of her life; and lived to be nearly 92.)

In the 1920s, Gerda sent this postcard of Sturefors castle to her step-mother Selma (my paternal great-grandmother):

(original postdard, yellowed with age)

(edited back to b&w by me)

 ... and I was curious to see for myself how it compares to 2022!

Alas my impression was that the present-day family is probably struggling to keep the estate going at all - or at least keeping the park with the huge mirror pond free from weeds does not seem to have been their first priority of late... The maintenance of the park also seems to have deteriorated quite a bit even since the photos in the Wikipedia articles were taken! So it takes quite a bit of imagination now to try to envisage what it all looked like when my great-aunt was living and working there, a hundred years ago. (I'm still glad we took the trouble to find it, though.)

The castle itself still looks rather impressive - but alas, the public is not allowed any closer than that yellow sign.

 

Turning around, and looking in the other direction: 

 

Walking back towards the car park, and some other buildings belonging to the estate:

 

 
Even this "cultural heritage" sign looks rather old and tired by now...

 

 

 

  

 

Linking to Sepia Saturday 789