The Colours of Autumn

We've had a lot of rain lately - but also awesome autumn colours.
Here are some photos from my walks around town in October.

Spring, and a Book Fair

Today felt like the first proper day of Spring here, with temperatures around +10°C or so – and some crocuses planted in sunny spots deciding it’s time to show their colours, at last!

I celebrated by walking into town to have a peek at the first ever Borås Book Fair. A bold move for a city of our size, as every autumn (since 1985) there is a Big One in Gothenburg/Göteborg (the 2nd largest city in Sweden, only an hour or so away from here), which has grown to be the largest literary festival in Scandinavia and the second largest book fair in Europe (after Frankfurt); with around 100,000 visitors and 900 exhibitors annually. (I have been to the Gothenburg book fair once; but it was back in the early years. It felt “big enough” even then but that was probably nothing to what it’s become since then.)

Anyway – today’s book fair here in Borås was of more modest proportions, and with focus on local authors and literature. It took place in a charming old wooden building (Hemgården) which is used for a variety of cultural events, exhibitions and courses etc.

Main entrance

Side entrance

I arrived about an hour after it opened, and found the place absolutely crowded. Together with several others, I was too late to be able to get a seat for a lecture/interview with a well-know local author starting at 11 o’clock. They had had to lock the door to that since the room was full. But they had put a speaker outside in the courtyard so that one could sit there and listen too. And as it was a nice sunny spring day, quite a few people did. (I did too, for a while, but not the whole hour.)

Indoors in the exhibition hall it was crowded too, and really not enough elbow room to take pictures. I managed this shot of an author whose novel I bought, though. Somehow her presentation hit home with me because she said she based the book on (or was inspired by) some mystery in her family history. We had a bit of a chat while she signed my copy. (The title would translate to The Only Thing That Matters. I’ll have to read the novel to find out what that is, though!)

I also found another book that was an immediate “must have” for me – and I’m so glad that I got this chance to discover and buy it! It’s a wonderful photo book about the nature reserve area close to the house that belonged to our family between 1930 and 2014 (sold after my parents passed away). I have blogged many  of my own photos from this area (and all seasons) in the past. * The book combines many lovely professional photos with facts about the history of the area, and its plants and wildlife. I was surprised at first that I didn’t even know this book existed; but it turned out to be quite new – printed only last year.

I had a closer look as soon as I got back  home, and I love it. As I have walked those paths so many times (ever since childhood, when visiting my grandparents), I can follow more or less “every step” described, and recall where to find the various trees and plants – especially the early spring flowers.

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* Here are a few of my own photos from April (Easter) 2014:

The old mill, lovingly restored by the local history society in the 1990’s

The meadow behind the mill, with old ash tree (April, 2014)

Wood anemones and hepaticas by the river (April 2014)

Books, Films, TV & Nature

Besides manuals for the new TV and other appliances I did not read a whole lot in the month of September…

The novels I did read, were in the form of audio books.
Earlier in the summer (I’m not sure if I mentioned it before) I read Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey by Lady Fiona Carnarvon of Highclere Castle  (=the setting for the TV series "Downton Abbey"). In September, I also listened to the sequel, Lady Catherine and the Real Downton Abbey. If you like Downton Abbey, there’s a good chance you’ll be just as fascinated by the real life stories – or even more so!

I also listened to two books by Alexander McCall Smith. One was Bertie plays the blues, which is the 7th in the 44 Scotland Street series. I’m not sure I’ve read all the previous ones, but I doubt that matters much. They’re rather like a TV soap opera in the sense that if you miss an episode (or a season), it’s not all that hard to catch up, as things are repeated a lot… 

On the whole, I think I enjoy his No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency (set in Botswana) more – even if those tend to be a bit repetitive as well by now. The Handsome Man’s De Lux Café, which I listened to last, is the 15th(!) in that series.

On TV, I’m following Poldark, a “new old” British drama broadcasted here this autumn (on Saturday nights). I missed the first episodes but was able to catch up on my new “smart” TV (once I’d got the internet etc sorted…) Breathtaking background scenery from Cornwall in HD.

I’m also looking forward to re-watching some of my favourite DVD’s on the new TV. Started with the Harry Potter films… Last night The Goblet of Fire (=No. 4).

Meanwhile, Nature is putting up quite a show of its own outdoors though, this time of year – so I can’t spend all the time watching TV!

From Neighbourhood to Wonderland

Yesterday the neighbourhood was almost completely snow-free for the first time in a while, and I went for a little walk.

There is a shortcut footpath between two roads, along the foot of a rock and a copse of wood…

… and on the other side of that hill there is a Mystery Door into the rock, which I don’t think I’ve ever seen open before. But yesterday it was, so of course I had to sneak a shot… (feeling a bit like a spy…)

My guess is that this was originally built for military purposes and/or as a shelter. These days it seems to be used for something to do with electricity – but exactly what, I don’t know...

… The tunnel, however, might end up in Wonderland; because pretty much on the opposite side of the hill (I had to go round, of course, because I don’t think I’d have been allowed to go through), I found these:

White rabbits, and hedgehogs…
If we’re not in Wonderland, where are we?

If your guess was a florist’s shop, you were right.
And there I bought these tulips to take home.

2oth February was my mum’s birthday. She died in 2009; but if she had lived, she’d have been 85 today.  As tulips are the most common cut flowers to be found in the shops here in February, there was usually a bouquet or two of them for her birthday. Now I bought these for myself to enjoy; but thinking of her (and that vase they’re in was hers).

Linking to FMTSO – Neighbourhood

PS. It snowed a little again today. Winter is not over yet.

Autumnal Confusion

 

We’ve been having a mild and sunny September so far, and Nature seems a little bit confused at times.

Here in Sweden we just had an election which led to a rather confused political situation as well. When most of the votes were counted late on Sunday night, it stood clear that the previous mid/right Alliance government (consisting of four parties which have appeared as a united front during the past eight years) had lost; and the prime minister took the radical decision not only to hand in his resignation from that position, but as leader of his party as well (and thereby also the alliance).

The most likely (or really, the only) candidate as new prime minister is his main opponent, the leader of the Social Democrates (still by far the biggest party in the parliament); but at the same time, not even the support of both his closest allies (Green and Left) is enough to give these three parties majority in the parliament.

Because as Joker in the game, we also have a growing right-wing populist party which none of the other parties (neither the left wing ones nor the former alliance) want to be associated with. This party crossed the 4% threshold necessary for parliamentary representation back in 2010, but in this election got nearly 13% of the votes and thus more than doubled their representation; which means they can no longer easily be “ignored”.

If you like, read a bit more about it all in a BBC News report on the Swedish election here.

This far, no one really knows what’s going to happen. And it will be another couple of weeks of speculations at least, before a new prime minister can be officially appointed and a new government presented.

Tussilago / Coltsfoot

Tussilago farfara, also known as Coltsfoot.

The name "tussilago" means "cough suppressant". Although still coughing, I was not really tempted to pick these for medicinal use when I came upon them yesterday down by the river… I was just happy to find a sign of spring!

Took the last cortisone tablets on Friday. Although still coughing, there’s been less of it today, and the good news is that today for the first day in nearly two weeks (“touch wood”) I have not felt in need of any extra asthma inhalations. Tiredness seems now to be taking over instead – I feel I’d like to sleep for a week!

Linking to Straight Out of the Camera Sunday

Weekend Reflection: The Four Elements

… Earth, Water, Air and Fire …

Another photo from the beach at the lake near my parents’ old home the other week. (Looking in this direction it always reminds me a little of a Scottish loch.)

Find more images to reflect about:
Weekend Reflections and SkyWatch Friday

Macro Monday: Turning over a Leaf (or Two)

Frosty leaves – New Years Eve 2011 – for Macro Monday at Lisa’s Chaos

I have a busy week ahead which includes some ‘leaf-turning’ in a more literal sense. My brother will be here for a couple of days. We’ve also invited someone from a local history society to come and have a ‘glance’ at some old papers at The House. Hopefully a first step towards sorting out what should go into museums and archives for the future. (Our dad who died last summer wrote four books on railway history. His dad before him was a journalist with special interest in local countryside history. My brother and I inherited a house full of paperwork of this kind; but not the interest and knowledge and time to sort it all out ourselves.)

I won’t be around much in Blogland this week – but there will be a couple of prescheduled posts turning up. Like this one!