Inspired Sunday - Vallkärra Church

Vallkärra Church
Diocese of Lund - Skåne, Sweden

Some old tombstones and memorial crosses of cultural-historical interest

Vallkärra Church (near Lund, Skåne, Sweden) dates back to the 12th century; but the only part that remains from those days is the rounded choir. The pulpit is from the 16th century. The whole church went through a major reconstruction in the 1840s, and its size was then tripled. In 1906-07 some further changes were made, and the pews, baptismal font and altar table are from that time. The organ is from 1963. Some older items and paintings from the church have been moved to museums.

 
Inspired Sunday #328

Sepia Saturday 482 - A Hundred Years Ago

Another mystery photo from my great-aunt Gerda's photo album. As usual there are no written clues to reveal who, where or when. I'm choosing this photo for this week's Sepia Saturday, because it shows three women from around the same time period as the prompt photo of Emmeline Pankhurst & co (see below).

When guessing the time period of my photo, my only clues are the fashion and hair styles. I know Gerda is the woman in the middle  (concluded from comparison with other photos).  But I'm not sure whether the photo was taken in America, Sweden or France - or even somewhere else.

I also don't know Gerda's opinions about the suffragette movement. Working her way up as a maid, lady's maid, travel companion and housekeeper, I can imagine that she perhaps learned to keep her thoughts on politics to herself. What I know is that when she emigrated to America in 1902 (at age 21), women in Sweden were not allowed to vote - and only about a fourth of the men. When she returned around 1911, most men were allowed to vote, but not the women. When WWI broke out, Gerda was in France; and it seems she was unable to go back to Sweden for the duration of the war. In 1919, the right to vote in Sweden was finally extended to women (over the age of 23); but the first elections where they could actually take part were held in 1921. I do have some evidence indicating that Gerda was living in Sweden in 1921; so she may have been able to vote in that election. (Both my grandmothers, born in 1900 and 1902, would still have been too young, though - as the age limit back then was 23!)

Sepia Saturday 482

Båstad: Boats and Beach (Skywatch Friday)

From a walk along the harbour and beach at Båstad, the first evening of our road trip a month ago (July 8).

Båstad is a rather typical Swedish seaside resort in that it more than doubles its population in the summer holiday season.

Book Review: St Kilda Fever

St Kilda Fever
by FMT Macdonald (2019)


An intriguing mystery thriller set on the Outer Hebrides in the 1970's, with the Cold War as backdrop. 

It is 1975. Dr Helen MacAllister has recently moved to the Isle of Lewis to work as the first female GP on the island; and is temporarily living alone in a croft house belonging to her cousin.

One day in the village, she hears the news of a body having been found in the sea. However, it is not she who gets called out to certify the death, but some doctor from the mainland; which suggests that there is something extra suspicious about it. 

Helen gets involved in another way, though, when shortly afterwards, in the midst of a storm and a power cut, she finds a wounded man lying unconscious in her own barn...

"St Kilda" is a small island (or group of islands) off the west coast of Lewis/Harris. It was inhabited from the Bronze age into the early 20th century, but then deserted from around 1930 until 1955 - when the British government decided to use it for certain military defense purposes (playing a part in this fictional story). 

I enjoyed the novel both for the story "as such" and for the general Outer Hebrides atmosphere, as I have also come to know it from other sources in recent years - like Peter May's Lewis trilogy (The Blackhouse, The Lewis Man and The Chessmen) + a certain blog that I've been following for almost exactly ten years now... (I know that many of my readers here follow that, too - I am of course referring to Eagleton Notes.)  Sometimes I almost feel like I've been to these islands myself, although I haven't...  (I did visit Scotland in the early 1970's, but not the islands. Loch Ness  and Inverness was as far north as we got.)

I got a printed copy of this book sent to me straight from the island, which of course makes it all the more precious to me. But I just checked, and I see that it is also available as e-book for Kindle at a fair price. 

A little teaser:

'Right, Helen, let's get a grip. What do we do now?' Speaking to yourself is usually frowned upon by my profession. In fact, it sometimes results in sectioning or removal to a mental hospital if the patient persists. But I'd always found a one to one conversation with myself useful when I'd a problem. No confidences were ever breached, there was no waiting list and you didn't have to explain your problem to a nosey receptionist. (page 58)

Chasing Butterflies

I was happy to see butterflies in my Butterfly Park again this past weekend. (The park has another boring name really, but I've been calling it Butterfly Park since I first started blogging.) I love chasing butterflies around the flowerbeds there with my camera - I find it strangely meditative. (At least when I'm the only human there - which on this occasion I was!)

Predominant this year are the Painted Ladies, or thistle butterflies. We are having quite an invasion of those in Sweden this year (and so does Britain, I've gathered from friends over there). They come here from the Mediterranean area and North Africa in the spring, but I don't think we've ever seen as many of them before as this year (well not in modern times anyway). Enough to be News in all the media, especially back in May when they first arrived. (I'm guessing that many of those we see now are the offspring of the migrants.)

 And they seem to really love the Echinacea flowers in the park...

 

However, I also spotted two colourful ones of different kind... One of them (Peacock) I noticed while I was there in the park; the other one (Small Tortoiseshell) not until I got the photos up on my screen at home!

Peacock butterfly

Small Tortoiseshell butterfly

There were also several white ones.

And some busy bumblebees as well.