Autumn Blues for Skywatch Friday

Photos from a walk on Thursday afternoon this week.

 

 

 

Check-up

 

(copied from Facebook)

Very Swedish Version:

Background: I go for regular health check-ups of this & that every year. Recently, it's been a different doctor every time, and no major changes in treatments or medication. This time, it had been over a year, and when the summon for a check-up finally came, the usual physical appointment with a doctor to go through test results and prescriptions etc had been replaced with a phone appointment (with a new doctor I've never met before, a week after having been to the lab for tests). (I assume it's the pandemic that has made them reduce the number of physical visits.)

"Hello, this is Dr Who* from your health care centre, I'm calling 3 minutes early, is that okay?" [*so nicknamed by me ;)]

"Er... Yes..." (I was expecting the call, but not meticulous punctuality!)

"About your prescriptions..."

"Well, I already got all those renewed a month ago, over the phone, because..."

"Starting tomorrow, you should start changing your blood pressure medication, taking away 1/2 a pill of X, and taking two of Y instead. Then, next week... and on the 15th..."  [further changes] "... "you'll get a letter with the details... and book an appointment with a nurse for blood pressure ... and I think we'll do an ECG as well ... And" [moving on down the list] "a new lab test for allergy, and have you ever done a spirometry?"

"Yes, er, in the past..."

"Better book an appointment with [another] nurse for that as well." 

... and after bit more this and that...

"Anything you're wondering about?"

"[Everything!!] - The results of my blood tests last week??" 

"Oh, they were all fine!"

...

Not having expected any of the above, I was left with my head spinning. It was an odd experience, trying to take all that in over the phone from a doctor I've never met (and  foreign accent not helping). (Made me realize how much we do usually also weigh in face expressions, eye contact and gestures etc - especially with strangers.) However, as I felt I had understood at least the first step on the to-do list (including why), I did start the next day. And, not feeling any disturbing side-effects, I continued.

No letter came in the post, but three days later Dr Who did call me back (unannounced this time), to ask how I was doing. As I do have a wrist blood pressure monitor at home (and have been using it), I was able give him figures rather than just vague feelings. He seemed also to perhaps have had some second thoughts; or at least he slowed down the plan a bit. There will be another phone appointment before further changes; and the BP+ECG is now also booked to a specific date. 

So far, so good.

Skywatch / No Limit 2020 (6)

Monday this week was another sunny autumn day, and I decided to go back once again to the Norrby district and try to find a mural that I missed on my previous walks. On my way, I also snapped photos of the railway station and other views that happened to catch my eye.

The railway station

Someone commented on a previous post that I should walk this way more often - so I did!

The tower sticking up belongs to the oldest church in town (17th century)

Having passed under the railway to the other side:
Here is a graffiti wall where anyone is allowed to be creative.
(I'll take you back there in a separate post.)

Artist: Elina Metso

This is the mural that I managed to miss on my previous walks. Not really surprised that I did not find it earlier, because there is no sidewalk on the other side of the road from it (and a road with very heavy traffic). The only way I could take a photo was from the sidewalk just underneath, and bending my neck backwards... 

The photo below is copied from the official No Limit Facebook page. I still don't understand where they took that photo from. The skylift used to paint it, perhaps? (There are no buildings on the other side of the road - only a steep narrow strip of woodland, as in the background of the photo with the graffiti wall.)

 

Artist: Delicious Brains

 

The 'tower' in the background is a district heating plant.

A mural from a previous art festival, some years ago.
I think maybe its colours have faded a bit.

On my way back home - "skywatching" from a bridge over the railway

No Limit 2020 (5)

 My walk among the finished murals from the No Limit 2020 street art festival continued:

Artists: Korallpionen & Rickman

The artists Korallpionen & Rickman contributed two murals that they painted together.  Both of those were nearly finished already when I first saw them (on the 3rd day of the festival), so you may recognize them.

This one, found close to the Family Centre for the district,  seems to kind of incorporate the existing pedestrian crossing nearby.

Artists: Korallpionen & Rickman

And this one, entitled "Mother Earth", makes use of the green grass next to it.

Artist: Appear37 (Adam Algotsson)

 

"A graffiti artist from Borås who now gets to paint on a large scale on home turf. Adam found graffiti in his teens and got his first paid commission from the same police officer who had once arrested him for painting illegally. He has since created over 100 commissioned murals for both businesses and individuals."

Artist: Amara por Dios

 "Amara Por Dios is an artist born and raised in Stockholm, who has spent several years living and working in London. --- In 2014, she was named by The Guardian as one of Britain's top female street artists."

Somewhere I read that this mural was given the title "The Journey to Earth". I like that - it sets my imagination spinning with wider interpretations of the theme.

 

Artist: Vickan

"Vickan is a tattoo and street artist. With her imaginative and characteristic style, she has quickly established herself as a name in the Swedish street art scene. Vickan is originally from Boden and is today based in Stockholm."

... And her mural somehow grew on me when I took a few steps back and looked at it from the nearby playground...

Artist: Huge

And this is what became of "the blue gable" that can be seen from the main street nearby: A sun-wind-and-water theme, painted in a way that makes it look almost three-dimensional.

 

 

No Limit 2020 (4)

Picking up where I left off in the previous post, on my walk to look at the finished new murals, created in mid September. As I had forgotten to bring my map (acquired during the weekend they were being painted), I had to rely on memory to find them - so of course I again missed two or three. But with the ones I found, I tried to remember to also take photos including a bit of their surroundings or "context".

Artist: Etile

"Etile uses a style called Calligrafitti, which is a mix between calligraphy and grafitti."

(Nature's own artwork)

Artist: Q

"Q is a versatile artist who can be found in a wide range of mediums, such as murals, photography, film and sculpture."

---

More murals to come... (For some reason I'm finding it a very time-consuming "trial and error" kind of challenge these days to create posts with many images in the same post.)