The Jordbro World Orchestra

On stage at the cultural center in Handen a couple of days ago were The Jordbro World Orchestra. Jordbro is a suburb to Stockholm. Ten thousand people live there. Most of them are immigrants. I was a student in Jordbro for three years a few eons ago. The orchestra, started by Michael Vinsa, a local musician who grew up here, won the 2011 Haninge municipality JIM award. Michael is the guy in the blue t-shirt. JIM stands for Equality, Integration and Diversity. The band have been playing a few local events and are slowly making a name for themselves. The members are both young and old, men and women, and they come from all over the world. JVO is also an Non Profit Organisation. More info in Swedish at their web site

A Future Museum

Another photo from my visit to the Tyresta national park earlier in the week. The building in the middle is called the Dubbelloftboden. It is the oldest structure in the Tyresta village. It dates back four hundred years and it was used for storing food and clothing. It is part of the Janssongården, one of the old farms in the national park. The main farm house is just to the right. The caretaker has restored the storage building and is hoping to open a museum there some time in the near future. The building to the left is the stable. The fence is the traditional roundpole fence that has been used in Sweden since the Viking Era. We call it Hankgärdsgård. The second photo gives you a better view of the beautiful storage building, I shot that photo two years ago.

The Hardcore Fan

I met Carlos at the cultural center in Handen yesterday. He stood out a bit from the rest of the people there. Carlos works as an assistant at the Berika secondary school in Handen. Originally from Örebro, but today he lives in Tensta, a Stockholm suburb. I figured him for a musician and I was half right. Carlos plays the guitar and listens to hardcore, heavy metal and blues. Another interest is photography. He told me that he shoots a lot of concert photos. He has been hooked on tattoos for around one decade now (he is 28), and he was only twelve when he got his first piercing.

Team Magnus

Magnus Palm was a young boy who loved his bicycle. Magnus died of kidney cancer when he was only five years old. That was in 1979. Many years later his siblings Daniel, Helena, Samuel, Mikael, Anna and Sofia Palm decided to honour his memory by starting Team Magnus. The team has many members today, and the charity supports the Swedish Cancer Society. I spotted this tired looking member at the Tyresta National park the other day. I guess I don't have to say that I rode my bike to the park.

Something for the garden

Do you have a runic inscription from the Viking Era in your garden? I guess not. But here is one. You will find it on a hill side called Spångaberget in the old Tyresta village. Today this is part of the national park, but as there's a working farm here, a few people live in the old farm buildings. The runic inscription reads: "far(e)biarn : lit : hagua : stain : et : haulf : sun * si- : hal(t)an : hiak : runa". In English, Farbjörn had the stone made after Håulv his son, Halvdan cut the runes. The bird at the top of the hill side inscription is a wood grouse, and if you are lucky, you might see one in the forest here at the park. The wood grouse is today used as a symbol on the Haninge coat of arms. The local historical association, where I am a member has two birds on their newish iron gate.

Who's a pretty boy then?

Say hello to Jacko. He is a very good looking White Cockatoo. I met him and his human outside the Brandbergen mall a couple of days ago. Jacko didn't say much, but he did like the attention he got. He was sitting on the shopping cart so I'm guessing that he was going shopping for seeds and fruits with his human.

Firewood

I walked up a hill yesterday. Near the old Snörom farm in Jordbro. Sometimes there will be horses in the pasture here, but I guess it's too early in the year for that. I found this fallen and cut up Silver Birch on the hill, probably a victim of the storm that we had in December of last year. I can't remember if I have shown you any photos of the little horse farm here. If not. I will do so soon.

Peace & Spring

This might be my favorite spring sign. Ever. The very positive and energetic looking Isabella was chatting away with her former class mate Affe (cameras never seem to notice him), when I spotted her in Handen yesterday. I asked her if it really was as warm as her outfit seems to say, and she told me that it definitely was. Isabella is a student at the Södertörn University where she is studying Art, Culture and Economics. She also works as a receptionist at the Carema Health Centre in Skågås. To stay as fit as she looks she spends the little free time she has at the gym and that seems to be working just fine.

That Old Tree

With the arrival of spring we have had a few stormy days followed by a few very warm days. On the news this evening the meteorologist talked about temperature records left and right. When I walked down the path to the old tree it was around 15C.

Skywatch Friday.

The Pipe Smoking Golfer

How do you like my opening line from when I met Markko. I see that you are a pipe smoker, that's a dying breed! After we laughed about that I learned that Markko is a pensioner. He lives in Handen, and is a keen golfer. He was on his way home from the indoor driving range in Jordbro when we met yesterday. When the golf season starts in a few weeks time chances are that you will find Markko at the Fors golf club in Västerhaninge, because that's where he plays most of his golf. This is only my ninth portrait of the year. Last year I took 110 street portraits for this blog. I wonder if I can beat that this year.

Stuck in the ice

I took a short walk at the Rudan nature reserve yesterday. Partly because I got a flat tire on the bike. I walked out onto one of the piers at the lower lake. This is the same lake where I have photographed a bunch of ice fishers. That season is now over, and I wouldn't recommend anyone to go for a walk on the ice. These tree branches were still stuck in the ice. I had to lay down on the cold pier to get this shot bit I think it was worth it.

March equinox

We had a snow storm yesterday, and that's when I took the crocus photo. This morning it snowed again. But all the white stuff from these latest snow falls are already gone. As I'm typing this it has started to rain.

The Missing Mansion

Before 1750 this tree lined avenue led up to the Söderby mansion. That was the year that the building was destroyed in a fire. For some reason the 100 year old mansion was never rebuilt. Luckily all the other buildings at the farm survived the fire, and you can see a few of them on the second photo. The third photo shows a typical detail from another building at the farm which closed in 1979. On the property you can also see the rune-stone that I showed you last week. And a burial field with 100 graves from the Iron Age.

Meccano for grown-ups

As you probably know I enjoy documenting changes, be it in nature or places. These photos show the progress of the bridge currently being built at the Krigslida railway crossing. At the moment it is a lot of scaffolding everywhere, but come the summer this will be a concrete bridge. The length will be 170 meters. I believe that the official name in The Mulsta Bridge. But my pick would have been the Krigslida Bridge, because Krigslida is the name of the commuter station. Two other possible names would be the Håga Bridge, or my favorite, the Nödesta Bridge because the bridge stretches between those two places. Nödesta being the old name of the 700 year old farm here and I actually shot these photos from a field that used to belong to the farm, and only a year or so ago this was a blooming canola field. I have added a flickr tag to the photos of this bridge, so if you press here you can see all my bridge photos as I shoot them.

Fredrik

This is Fredrik. Or Fredde. I met him for the first time two years ago at my favorite cafe, Malmens Konditori in Handen. Since then I have met him almost on a weekly basis. He will often bring his laptop to the cafe and try to get some work done. Often he fails miserably because it is so much more fun chatting away an hour or so with one or three of the other guests. Here he is enjoying a semla. And as you can see he eats it a bit different compared to me as he uses a gaffel, that is a fork for you. Fredde has his own business. He has an idea for an energy saving device that he thinks could be worth a lot of money. When he is not eating semla's at the cafe he will probably spend some quality time with his daughter, and it is her you can see on the second photo.He stays fit by going to the gym and he also enjoys dancing.

Blue Sky Reflection

Skywatch Friday.

Apartment building in Handen in a double reflection from a street lamp.

The Firebugs are back

A sure sign of spring. The firebugs are out running again. These guys live near a tree trunk close to the cellar door at my place and I have noticed more and more of them in the last couple of weeks.

A Viking Legacy

This rune-stone from the Viking Era stood by the side of a road near the Söderby Farm in Handen for a few hundred years. In modern times it was rediscovered on a field belonging to the estate, back in 1921, when a farmer was out plowing a field. Today you will find the rune-stone next to a bulding at the old estate. The inscription reads: Hjälmvid reste stenen efte rTorgöt Hjälmvidsson , sin son, Amunde ristade runorna. Or in English,Hjälmvid had the rune-stone raised after Torgöt Hjälmvidsson , his son, Amunde was the runecarver. It is hard to see the inscription today, but if you look closely you can see two snake-like creatures.

Another sign of spring

We had a fine spring day yesterday. Around 13C. With a lot of sunshine. I have now chased down my first butterfly of the year. A Small Tortoiseshell.

Demolishing a building

Last year the new shopping mall Port 73 opened next to the Cop Forum supermarket in Handen. I think business have been slow in the new mall, at least it looks empty every time I am there. Coop Forum used to sell pretty much everything, but when all the new boutiques moved in and started selling electronics,clothing, bicycles, flowers and what have you, Coop had to focus on food. In this part of the building they used to sell major appliances, outdoor furniture, paint and other DIY stuff. But in the last week the building have been demolished. I don't know what they will do with this space, but I have a feeling there will be a few new stores here in a not too distant future.

Artwork of the day

After some coffee at my favorite cafe on Saturday, I left the mug on the table, (really I did), and took another photo promenade around Handen with my friend Jim. According to his GPS device the walk was 6300 meters long. I shocked him by guessing correctly to the meter how far we had walked after thirty minutes. That was a few minutes after I took this photo. These green tiles stood out a bit on the parking garage wall where I found them. I wonder what the deal is with that square door.

Help, I'm Stuck

I sometimes take part in different photo projects. But this time I am stuck. And I only have four days to finish this project. The idea is to take up to six photos and present those with 150 words per photo. It is supposed to be a conversation of sorts, showing that there's two sides to every story. It sounded easy when I read the announcement, but that was one month ago and I don't have a clue what I should do. If you have an idea, let me know. Could be anything. As for today's photo. I made these cinnamon buns earlier in the week, and yes, they are tasty.

13:46 p.m

If you need to know the time and there's no one around to ask, and if the sun is shining this might be the place for you. Back in the 1960s, the architect Gunther von Lienen, created this sundial. The gnomon is a work of art, made of profiled copper. If you look closely at it you will find his name in there somewhere. The sundial is surrounded by an apartment complex that has taken it's name after the sundial. Gunther von Lienen is best known as one of the architects behind Brandbergen, which is a high rise areain Haninge, a few kilometres from the sundial that works as long as we are not on Daylight saving time!

*$#%!

Had this been my bike I would have been very angry. All that is left is the front wheel. Parked outside the mall in Handen. The police station is around the corner, where the Lamborghini was parked a while back, so the owner didn't have a long walk to report the theft. Speaking of my bike. I have got a few flat tires lately. Mostly because of all the sand (crushed stone), that cover the bike paths during winter and early spring. Never any fun to fix a flat tire outside in winter time.

Murder-suicide

Another visit to the cemetery next to the Medieval church in Västerhaninge. Tragedy struck during the Easter celebrations 1914 in the Fors village near Västerhaninge. Twenty-one year old Ida Olsson lived with her family in a little house by the stream. Her fiancée, the 27-year old peasant August Karlsson from Skarplöt (I visited the farm last year), arrived to Fors to pick up Ida as they were going out to a dance. But he was too drunk, and fell asleep on the kitchen sofa. Later that same evening he wakes up, and still drunk, he decides to find Ida. When he does, she's with a female friend. The very jealous Karlsson hits his girlfriend so that she falls over. But she is soon up on her feet, and runs away. A couple of hours later he finds her again, and continues the physical abuse, but yet again, she manages to get away from him, according to several witnesses. The next morning her grandmother discovers her dead body outside of their home at Fors. A little later the body of her boyfriend, August Karlsson is found dead, hanging from a tree nearby.

Facts from my friend Sune Nilsson.

Taphophile Tragics.

That Old Tree

One week ago we suddenly had a spring day with 12C. That was nice. Since then it's been a bit colder. I shot this photo of the old tree yesterday and the temperature was maybe 1C . All the snow is gone from this area, but the broken tree branch is still there. I think I have seen this horseback rider here before.

Mystery Stone

This standing stone is a bit of a mystery. Located on top of a hill in Handen. At a first glance you might be a bit upset about the graffiti. A second, closer look will get you curious and a bit confused. If you look closely you will see the Olympic rings. My friend Jim who has translated all rune-stones in Haninge did have a go at this stone a few years ago. His translation shortened here reads something like this:This stone was raised by Oskar and his wife. It dates back to 1960. I wonder if Oskar and his wife are still around? Fifty years ago when they raised the stone the hill was surrounded by a forest. Today modern life has closed in a bit and there are apartment buildings on two sides.

Three Snaps

Met my friend Jim at the cafe. After enjoying some coffee from the famous mugs we decided to go for a short photo promenade in central Handen. It was the warmest day of the winter, with 12C from a clear blue sky. One place we visited was the industrial park and that's where I shot these photos. The Volvo wheel marks the address for a car rust prevention company. I figured the pink and yellow on the wheel would look good against the blue sky. The fence was casting it's shadow on the yellow Hertz sign, and that was good enough for me. The two fenced-in dogs where enjoying the sunshine near a Toyota car dealership.

A Hidden Message

Last year I uncovered a secret society. They have their headquarters hidden away at a property in Handen. They leave messages by changing the shape of this pyramid. Earlier this week I was back and realised that the shape of the pyramid had changed. So while hiding on the other side of the fence, I shot the first photo. But just as I was ready to leave, one of the members came out from the building. He was wearing the society's white overall. He had a quick look around, but I am convinced that he didn't spot me. After some hesitation he walked over to the pyramid and changed it's shape as you can see on my second photo. I think he heard the sound from the camera, but luckily for me I managed to get home unharmed. All I have to do now is to figure out what it all means...

Mr. Yamamoto

This is Hisanori Yamamoto from Yokohama in Japan. I spotted him in Västerhaninge yesterday when he was out walking his dog. It was his pink bandanna, and long hair that made me approach him and ask for a portrait. He had an interesting story. Back in 1966 he met a Swedish woman. They fell in love and got married. Their now grown up daughter moved to Sweden a few years ago, and after Hisanori retired from his work as an economic consultant, he and his wife did the same. They have lived in Krokom, Jämtland where his wife's family comes from. In Stockholm, and ten days ago, they moved to Haninge, and Tungelsta, where all the cool people live. Hisanori's big hobby is antiques. He collects antique Japanese bowls and furniture. Another interest is gardening.

How many men...

...does it take to change a lightbulb? In this case only two. Spotted them in Handen yesterday before going on a photo shoot with my friend Jim.

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