Say hello to Pigge

I was just out on the veranda when I met this little fellow. He said he was here looking for those tasty bird seeds. I call him Pigge. He is a hedgehog or as we like to call them an Igelkott.

Ferry Pennants

I was at down at the Årsta pier recently. Didn't take the ferry to Utö on that occasion, but I will soon. Instead I took a bunch of photos while walking around the pier area. Zooming in on two ferry pennants on the Utö ferry. The white&yellow represents the ferry company Utö Rederi AB. The blue&yellow the Waxholmsbolaget.

Say hello to Johan

This is Johan. I met him at the barbershop. He knew me from my flickr photos and wanted to talk. Is there a better way to find a Stranger? Turns out I had a photo of him from when he was para motoring over Tungelsta! He was able to identify his wing and that's how he learned about flickr. Since then he has been keeping an eye on my and also Kenny Lex's photos. Johan is a good friend to Mikael (the barber), and last July they were on a para motor holiday in Latvia when there was an accident. Another pilot made a mistake and Johan crash landed. On the ground he thought his life was over. He was taken to a local hospital and after a few nervous days he was flown back to Sweden in an ambulance plane, to the University hospital at Huddinge. There, he had an operation on his vertebra. After a week he was able to go home and then spent the next six months recovering, starting with learning to walk again using crutches. He told me that he would make a decision next month whether to start flying again. He also told me that the accident had helped him in his professional life. He works as a motivational coach at a company called Teamkultur. We had time to talk about a few other things and Johan told me about a cool find he had made. I don't have a GPS, but Kenny does, so I gave the GPS info from Johan to Kenny. His mission should he choose to accept it, was to locate that find and take a photo of it! Which he did within 24 hours!This is my 52th photo for the 100 Strangers project. You can see the rest of my strangers in my Set.

Uppdatering: Om du vet någonting om den här historien så går det bra att kontakta Sune på Haninge.org HÄR kan du ladda ner en pdf-fil med lite fakta.

Summer Wallpaper

Just a guess, but I don't think this photo from a field in rural Österhaninge will get as many views as the Autumn Version did. As I'm typing this the autumn photo stands at 6,374 views. There's a few interesting places in this area. If you have the time I have a few shots from Österhaninge at flickr.

Juha

At the lakes I decide to rest on a bench and that's how I met Stranger # 51. This is Juha, born and raised in Haninge. He works at Hylast, a company that customizes trucks. This was his first vacation day and he was thinking about going back home to get his fishing gear. Because that's his hobby. Although it's probably more than just a hobby, it's a way of life. Juha knows everything there is to know about fishing. Which he proved by telling me all I ever needed to know about the best technique, places and times to catch fish at Lake Rudan. He told me about a few sport fishing trips to Strömhult in Småland where a group of people pay for a few days fly fishing at one of the streams. They start early, at around five in the morning, have a few hours of rest around lunch time and then continue to late in the evening. Do you have any good fishing stories I asked. Sure, we were in Norway, at a place called Smöla. After fishing from land we decided to take a boat out and try cod trolling. After finding a good spot we started fishing. It was amazing he said, we were out for a few hours, and got hundreds of fish, so much that the boat almost sank! Any plans for a holiday this year I asked? Yes, I'm thinking about a trip to Älvkarlebyn. It's a great place to fish for salmon. I'm not into fishing myself, but I have eaten a fantastic salmon lunch at a hotel at Älvkarlebyn so that sounds like a great place for Juha to visit. This is my 51th photo for the 100 Strangers project. You can see the rest of my strangers in my Set.

Two Giraffes

Out walking in the Österhaninge jungle I stumbled upon these two giraffes. They didn't move so I guess they are used to humans...

Tunnel Vision

This is the pedestrian tunnel at the commuter station in Handen. I arrived via the funky spiral.

Meet Sebbe

I see this cool looking guy on a walkway in Handen and figures he is 100 Strangers material. After telling him about the project he agrees to have his photo taken.This is Sebbe. He lives in Jordbro and works as a personal assistant. Do you have any fun hobbies I ask. Sure, I'm a musician. I play the double bass, also known as the contrabass. In two bands. One of them called Zombie Space Pirates! We play Psychobilly. Then, before he can mention the other band, I say, and the other group I guess is The Horror Nipples? Yes, he says. How did you know that? I know that because I met two of your other band members back in April, and took their photo for the same project! How cool is that! It's a small world after all. This is my 50th photo for the 100 Strangers project. You can see the rest of my strangers in my Set.

Picking a fight...

Two members of the dance group Haningarna performing what I think might be the Halling dance. The guy to the left is drunk and not welcome to dance, and he picks a fight. People really seemed to enjoy this number, probably because it reminds them of previous Midsummers...

Drunken disorder plagues Midsummer

I borrowed the headline from an article in The Local. So if you want to know how a traditional Swedish Midsummer is celebrated you should read this article. Today's photo is from the midsummer dance in Tungelsta yesterday where everything was a bit calmer...

Midsummer Celebrations

Every year a Maypole, or Midsommarstång is raised on the lawn behind the church in Tungelsta on Midsummer's Day. Then there's traditional dance and folk music performed by the dance group Haningarna. After that it's time to have a cup of coffee on the grass before the dance around the Maypole begins. More photos here.

Working in Underwear

A carpenter stripped down to his underwear fixing one of the piers at the beach at Årsta Havsbad. Surprisingly as the sun was shining and all schools have closed, only four people was sitting on the beach admiring his talents. This is my favorite beach, but so far this year I have only made a few brief visits.

Urban Poetry

"I had to wait two hours for the fucking bus to arrive. Luckily some loser had left this pen in the forest. I found it as I was taking a piss. I'm telling you that so you don't think I'm some nature lover".

Love and Kisses Sinater.

P.S

"I'm fucking mad at SL, assholes. I can't figure out if the pen writes in silver or in white".

D.S
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Translated and interpretated by Steffe (who normally doesn't like vandalism, but had to give this guy some credit!)

Motor Torpedo Boat

Wanna go for a ride in a torpedo boat? You can if you want to. This Motor Torpedo Boat can take up to twelve people. It was built at Stockholms Örlogsvarv (dockyard), back in 1957, and was used in the Swedish navy until 1973. More facts about the ship here. I spotted the boat as I was sitting at the kiosk down at the Årsta pier today enjoying a cheeseburger.

Roller Skating Duo

These two guys came flying past me on the road today on their inline skates. I decided to catch up with them. Luckily for me they had to stop and repair the brakes on one of the roller blades. This is Thomas and Mikael. They are members of Stockholm Speedskaters. They had just been down to Tungelsta (I met them in Handen), and funnily enough taken the same route as I did on my bike! During the winter time they are often out skating on the ice in the archipelago. Mikael had done the Viking Run. It's a 80 km ride on Lake Mälaren between Uppsala and Stockholm. Thomas told me about a run from Västerås to Stockholm (100 km), that took him and his friends around eight hours. Mikael lives in Tyresö and Thomas comes from Spånga/Tensta. They met while skating, and have been friends ever since. Another fun winter ride on the ice was when Mikael took a ferry from Stavsnäs out to Harö, and from there skated out to Svenska Högarna, far out in the Stockholm archipelago. You can see some winter photos here . This is my 49th photo for the 100 Strangers project. You can see the rest of my strangers in my Set.

Apartment Fire

There was a fire in an apartment at Ribby in Västerhaninge today. I was in the area when the fire and rescue services arrived. They had to knock down the door to the apartment on the third floor. A little later a fire fighter opened the balcony door and you could see a lot of smoke come out. I talked to some of the concerned neighbours. It looks like the owners were staying in a camper at a local beach. They have a daughter but I don't think anyone was home. Will try to find out more later.

Meet Björn Jansson

This is Björn Jansson. A retired police officer. He was in the force for 43 years. During his long career he had worked all over the police force. Everything from street work as a constable, and as a traffic police, to a job as an investigating detective.Towards the of his career, Björn worked at a police museum in Stockholm, and that's how he came to be at the car event at Torvalla today with the old Porsche police car . Now after retirement he spends as much as five months of the year up north, enjoying the nature while fishing for salmon and trout. He doesn't hunt but sometimes assists his hunting friends. This is my 47th photo for the 100 Strangers project. You can see the rest of my strangers in my Set.

Touched by an artist and a welder

Earlier in the year the bronze sculpture Touched by Flowers at the park in Tungelsta was vandalised. Now it was time for the artist Klara Kristalova and the bronze casting specialist Thomas Broman to repair the artwork. Janne Sandh from the group that sponsored the artwork asked me to come down and take some photos. Here you see Thomas and Klara, (with a print of one of my photos) discussing the repair work. Guess who forgot to bring his weld safety mask and had to drive away and buy a new one? Obviously Thomas the Welder! While he was gone Klara told us about the time she was arrested by the police in London. Late at night she took a flower from a flower bed in a park. The British police saw her, and a bobby chased her down, and put her in the back of a police truck. At the station she was booked, photographed and had her fingerprints taken. Then she spent the night locked up, only to be released the following morning without any charges. The stories you here when taking photos never seeses to amaze me. When Thomas came back everything went smooth and he finished the repair job by spraying copper nitrate on the artwork and using a burner to get the correct bronze tone.

Jalmar Jälte Jälper Järna

A bit of a word pun here. If you read this sentence to someone they will hear it as it is supposed to be spelled: Hjalmar Hjälte Hjälper Gärna. Translated to English it would mean something like Hjalmar the hero is happy to help. This very cool construction at the Art Promenade was made by Annie Forsberg.

Didgeridoo Player

There was music at the opening of the Art Promenade. As I walked around a DJ was playing and a group of people were dancing on the lawn in front of the gallery. Then when I sat down and talked to some of the artists this guy started to play on his didgeridoo.

Stranger #48

After looking at all the cars at the classic car meet, I decided to pick the coolest car and ask the owner to participate in the 100 Strangers Project. This is Björn Virving from Västerås. His car is unique. It's the worlds only Volvo Vera. He built it himself some ten years ago. Originally it was a Volvo 162. Over a period of 18 months he figured the work took him around 1200 hours! This was actually his first classic car meet. He told me that his wife picked the name Vera. Björn has a summerhouse at Dalarö in Haninge and as the meet ended all the cars drove down to Dalarö. A few years ago Björn and his wife drove down to Spain with the Vera. From Barcelona they took the ferry over to Mallorca, which to me sounds like a great holiday. Talk about travelling in style! This is my 48th photo for the 100 Strangers project. You can see the rest of my strangers in my Set.

Another Coincidence

Do you like coincidences? I do. At the classic car event in Handen yesterday I'm walking towards an empty bench. Just as I sit down, a woman joins me on the bench. We start to talk. She asks if I'm from around here, and I say yes, from Tungelsta 10 kilometres from here. She smiles and says that's funny, my husband and I are from Småland (in the south of Sweden), and we have been looking for some information about Tungelsta! So I tell her what she wants to know. Then I tell her about a photo for the 100 Strangers project that I had just taken the minute before we met. Of a police officer and a Porsche Police Car. Now she looks at me a little funny and says, my husband has written an article about that car and have probably some information that you could use. It turns out that Monica is married to the well known Bosse Bildoktorn (The Car Doctor),who is the announcer at this venue. We decide to walk over and talk to Bosse as he is just finishing his work for the day. Then Monica says, you really should read this book we bought last year, it's about strange coincidences and is written by Jan Cederquist, and she goes on to tell me that just after they got the book they ran into the author by chance. So smilingly I tell her that I'm actually reading that same book at the moment! It was recommended to me by one of the my strangers Rikard Lundin. Then we tell Bosse about all this, and he says that he will send me all the necessary information that he has. We then chat about this and that for a while, and I take a photo of them and another photographer that was there gets a few shots of us and a few of the Andersson couple. And that was that.

Sisyphus

This years Art Promenade started in Österhaninge yesterday. It was a great summer day and I took the bike down to the gallery. The theme this year in Movement. I will probably go back for more photos later this summer, but here is one piece I liked. His work is meaningless but he will never give up! Sisyphus rolling that boulder up a hill again and again and again. Made by Leonard Riem-Vis.

Summertime...

...and the living is easy...

Happy students celebrating that school's out for summer. Or for good. I was in Handen the other day and as it was graduation day I decided to stay around for some photos. From the back of this car I could read, honk for Chrille, Andreas and Thérese. I didn't because I was on the bike, but I waved to them and that got them going!

Beatrice

This is Beatrice, or Bea. I met her yesterday at the Fredrika Bremer School in Handen. She had been busy shooting graduating students. I came around the corner, and noticed three women and a camera, and figured I should be able to find a stranger here. I did, but it took me a while. I first asked one of her friends, who turned me down. I then spent some five minutes explaining about the project. Bea first said that she was more comfortable behind the camera (typical photographer excuse!), but in the end she agreed to have her photo taken and I'm very happy with the result. Bea lives in Småland, outside Vimmerby, in a village called Gullringen, so she had to travel quite a bit for this gig. She aims to become a professional photographer. Beatrice enjoys all sorts of photography. You can see some of her work at Fotosidan. Macro Album. Nature Album. This is my 44th photo for the 100 Strangers project. You can see the rest of my strangers in my Set.

School Barbecue

Sitting at my desk last night I could see and smell the charcoal smoke from a barbecue at the Tungelsta school. Took this shot by just standing up and aiming the camera out the window. Later there was a football game at the gravel pitch, probably the teachers against the students. Not sure who won.

The Toothache Tree

There are a few places that I enjoy returning to with my camera. This is one of them and I have probably blogged about it here before, but anyway here it goes. In the local folklore this tree was known as the Toothache Tree. A more modern name is the Umbrella Pine. To cure a bad toothache you walked up to the lonely tree on this field in Österhaninge, and as you stood there the magic happened. There are many trees like this all around the country and the way you cured the toothache differs from place to place. This tree is protected as a naturminne. There are a total of five protected naturminnen in Haninge. In total 14 oak trees and this pine.

Same tree 13 months earlier.

Bigger photo.

Tree Lined Avenue

A photo from the weekend. On my way to the folk music festival at Ekeby Loge in Tungelsta I had to stop here and take a photo. It's downhill all the way through this tree lined avenue. If you look real hard you can see a car coming towards me.

Bigger photo.

Folk Music Festival

This is Anders Nordström, also known as Spik-Anders. I met him over the weekend at Ekeby Loge in Tungelsta. He was attending the accordion festival, and after I had enjoyed a beer, while he was playing a few songs with some of the other musicians, I walked over and asked if I could take his photo for the 100 Strangers project. He gladly agreed. Anders is originally from Värmland where he lived on an island called Hammarö. These days he lives in Falun. He started playing the Durspel (smaller accordion), at the age of 10. When he was 18 he began playing the accordion, that was 10 years ago. He often tours Sweden and Norway. He has released one CD and is currently planning his second album. I made a short video and you can hear Anders and his fellow musicians play a song here. This is my 43th photo for the 100 Strangers project. You can see the rest of my strangers in my Set

My Corner Shop

This is my corner shop in Tungelsta. Today a Coop Konsum franchise run by Helen Andersson. It's only a few hundred meters from where I live. And it's the only grocery store in Tungelsta. Back in 1909 the first cooperative store in Tungelsta was opened by my great grandfather Johan Fredrik Jansson and seven of his colleagues (local gardeners), and the store was built in a shed at Bergdalen next to his greenhouses! In 1913, a new store was built across the road. Back then there was no car parking but there was a place where you could leave your horse while shopping! The first reported burglary took place in 1919, and you could read about it in the national morning paper. No money was stolen, but the burglars got away with clothing and coupons. In 1929 a bigger store was built close to the railway station. That building is today a restaurant and was also the post office for many years, after the current grocery store was built next to it. I shop here a few times every week. In front of the store there's a statue of famous local writer Ivar-LO Johansson, and also a relief showing some of his work. Today is theme day, below are links to the other participants:
Click here to view thumbnails for all participants
Adelaide, Australia by Gordon, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey by afyonblog, Albuquerque (NM), USA by Helen, American Fork (UT), USA by Annie, Anderson (SC), USA by Lessie, Ararat, Australia by Digger, Arradon, France by Alice, Ashton under Lyne, UK by Pennine, Aspen (CO), USA by IamMBB, Athens, Greece by Debbie, Auckland, New Zealand by Lachezar, Austin (TX), USA by LB, Avignon, France by Nathalie, Barrow-in-Furness, UK by Enitharmon, Barton (VT), USA by Andree, Belgrade, Serbia by Bibi, Belgrade, Serbia by BgdPic, Bellefonte (PA), USA by Barb-n-PA, Bicheno, Australia by Greg, Bogor, Indonesia by Gagah, Boston (MA), USA by Sarah, Whit, & Leyre, Brookville (OH), USA by Abraham, Bucharest, Romania by Malpraxis, Budapest, Hungary by Zannnie and Zsolt, Budapest, Hungary by agrajag, Buenos Aires, Argentina by Karine, Canterbury, UK by Rose, Cape Town, South Africa by Kerry-Anne, Cavite, Philippines by Steven Que, Chandler (AZ), USA by Melindaduff, Château-Gontier, France by Laurent, Chateaubriant, France by Bergson, Cheltenham, UK by Marley, Chennai, India by Shantaram, Chennai, India by Ram N, Chicago (IL), USA by U R us, Cleveland (OH), USA by iBlowfish, Coral Gables (FL), USA by Jnstropic, Corsicana (TX), USA by Lake Lady, Durban, South Africa by CrazyCow, Edinburgh, UK by Dido, Evry, France by Olivier, Folkestone, UK by Clare Unsworth, Forks (WA), USA by Corinne, Fort Lauderdale (FL), USA by Gigi, Gainesville (FL), USA by Leah, Geneva (IL), USA by Kelly, Glasgow, Scotland by Jackie, Greenville (SC), USA by Denton, Gun Barrel City (TX), USA by Lake Lady, Hamilton, New Zealand by Sakiwi, Hangzhou, China by Chanin, Haninge, Sweden by Steffe, Helsinki, Finland by Kaa, Hobart, Australia by Greg, Hyde, UK by Old Hyde, Hyde, UK by Gerald, Jackson (MS), USA by Halcyon, Jefferson City (MO), USA by Chinamom2005, Jogjakarta, Indonesia by Jogja Portrait, Katonah (NY), USA by Inkster1, Knoxville (TN), USA by Knoxville Girl, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia by Edwin, Kyoto, Japan by Tadamine, Larchmont (NY), USA by Marie-Noyale, Las Vegas (NV), USA by Mo, Le Guilvinec, France by ds2944, Lisbon, Portugal by Maria João, Lisbon, Portugal by Sailor Girl, Lodz, Poland by ritalounge, London, UK by Ham, London, UK by Mo, Los Angeles (CA), USA by Martha Perez, Mainz, Germany by JB, Manila, Philippines by Heyokity, Melbourne, Australia by John, Memphis (TN), USA by SouthernHeart, Menton, France by Jilly, Mexico City, Mexico by Poly, Mexico City, Mexico by Carraol, Minneapolis (MN), USA by Greg, Minneapolis (MN), USA by Mitch, Misawa, Japan by misawa mama, Monroe (GA), USA by Tanya, Monte Carlo, Monaco by Jilly, Montego Bay, Jamaica by Ann, Monterrey, Mexico by rafa, Moscow, Russia by Irina, Mumbai, India by MumbaiiteAnu, Mumbai, India by Magiceye, Nancy, France by yoshi, Nashville (TN), USA by Chris, Nelson, New Zealand by Meg and Ben, New Delhi, India by Delhi Photo Diary, New Orleans (LA), USA by steve buser, New York City (NY), USA by Ming the Merciless, New York City (NY), USA by • Eliane •, Norwich, UK by Goddess888, Oklahoma City (OK), USA by ananda.tashie, Orlando (FL), USA by OrlFla, Oslo, Norway by Lothiane, Owasso (OK), USA by Jennifer, Paderborn, Germany by Soemchen, Paris, France by Eric, Pasadena (CA), USA by Can8ianben, Pasadena (CA), USA by Petrea, Perth, Australia by Elevation7, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia by Murphy_jay, Petoskey (MI), USA by Christie, Pilisvörösvár, Hungary by Elise, Port Angeles (WA), USA by Jelvistar, Port Elizabeth, South Africa by Sam, Port Townsend (WA), USA by raf, Portland (ME), USA by Corey, Posadas, Argentina by Lega, Prague, Czech Republic by Honza03, Rabaul, Papua New Guinea by Jules, Ramsey, Isle of Man by babooshka, Reykjavik, Iceland by Vírgíll, Riga, Latvia by Fotos. Riga Photos, Rotterdam, Netherlands by Ineke, Rouen, France by Bbsato, Saarbrücken, Germany by LadyDemeter, Saigon, Vietnam by Simon, Saint Louis (MO), USA by Strangetastes, Saint Paul (MN), USA by Kate, Salt Lake City (UT), USA by Eric, San Antonio (TX), USA by Kramer, San Diego (CA), USA by Zentmrs, San Francisco (CA), USA by PFranson, San Francisco (CA), USA by Louis la Vache, Seattle (WA), USA by Kim, Seattle (WA), USA by Chuck, Selma (AL), USA by RamblingRound, Seoul, South Korea by Phil, Sequim (WA), USA by Norma, Sesimbra, Portugal by Aldeia, Setúbal, Portugal by Maria Elisa, Singapore, Singapore by Keropok, Sofia, Bulgaria by Antonia, Springfield (IL), USA by Aubrey, Stavanger, Norway by Tanty, Stayton (OR), USA by Celine, Stockholm, Sweden by Stromsjo, Stouffville, Canada by Ken, Subang Jaya, Malaysia by JC, Sunshine Coast, Australia by bitingmidge, Sydney, Australia by Ann, Sydney, Australia by Julie, Sydney, Australia by Sally, Székesfehérvár, Hungary by Teomo, Tacloban City, Philippines by agnesdv, Tel-Aviv, Israel by Olga, Terrell (TX), USA by Jim K, Terrell (TX), USA by Bstexas, The Hague, Netherlands by Lezard, Tokyo, Japan by Tadamine, Torino, Italy by Fabrizio, Torun, Poland by Torun Observer, Torun, Poland by Glenn, Toulouse, France by Julia, Turin, Italy by Livio, Twin Cities (MN), USA by Slinger, Urayasu, Japan by Zono, Victoria, Canada by Benjamin Madison, Vienna, Austria by G_mirage2, Wailea (HI), USA by Kuanyin, Wassenaar, Netherlands by Rich, Wellington, New Zealand by Jeremyb, West Paris (ME), USA by crittoria, West Sacramento (CA), USA by Barbara, Weston (FL), USA by WestonDailyPhoto, Willits (CA), USA by Elaine, Yardley (PA), USA by Mrlynn