Byggnader

Weekly Photo Challenge: Nostalgic

/ Leya / 22 kommentarer

Så många saker väcker nostalgin till liv, men när jag nu ska finna bilder till detta inlägg blir det genast svårare. Inte många foton finns från mitt barndomshem eller från min älskade mormors hus – tankar och minnen från barndomen finns mest inuti mig själv. Men, så fick jag chansen att besöka en av de riktigt gamla husen i närheten av vår sommarstuga.

Denna lilla stuga är från slutet av 1700-talet och dess interiör värker fram minnen som får ögonen att tåras. Här finns möbler, färger, mönster, prydnadssaker och tidningsställ som påminner om dem vi hade när jag var barn på 50- och 60-talet. Blandat med moderniteter förstås – helt enkelt gott och blandat. Få se om du inte kan känna igen dig lite grand, du också…och kan konstatera att vi vuxit till oss en aning de senaste tvåhundra åren…

So many things can make you nostalgic, but when I am supposed to show something of this in WordPress Nostalgic – I do not have any pictures. My childhood didn’t get much photographed, and when I grew older and bought a camera of my own, we had moved away from where it all started. My grandmother’s house though, was still there for a while.

But, last week I got the opportunity to visit a very old little house (or maybe cottage) some kilometres from our summer house. The owner told me that it was built in the late 18th century and is well kept. Even if it seems to be very low, because people were a great deal shorter in those days, I could stand upright inside.

The cottage is furnished almost the way my childhood house was. I grew up in the fifties and sixties, and recognized many things here, such as colours and patterns, the table, rag-rugs (my grandmother used to make those too), chairs,  and the special basket for newspapers… Oh, happy childhood – because I was really fortunate enough to have that. In my memories it will live on as long as I live.

Nerds

/ Leya / 13 kommentarer

Nörd kommer från engelskans slangord nerd och är en stereotypisk benämning på en person som har ett fixerat intresse eller intresseområde. Enligt Wikipedia användes ordet första gången 1950 i Dr. Seuss bok If I Ran the Zoo, men då med betydelsen av en särskild djurart. På tidigt 60-tal var slanguttrycket spritt i USA och ända bort till Skottland. Fram till slutet av 1900-talet användes ordet nörd oftast negativt, men idag används ordet minst lika ofta positivt.

Nördar kan antingen beskrivas utifrån sina hobbies och intressen, eller via sin personlighet, status, sociala kompetens eller till och med sitt utseende. En vanlig uppfattning är att nördar ofta intresserar sig mer för teknik eller naturvetenskap än socialt umgänge. Det ironiska begreppet social nörd används ibland av nördar om personer som har ett starkt fixerat intresse av socialt umgänge och mänskliga relationer. Nörd kan du eventuellt kallas om du är/har:

  • Datorintresserad
  • Intelligent
  • Enkelspårig
  • Tekniskt kunnig
  • Låg social kompetens

Nördar finns naturligtvis med i populärkulturen, bland annat i filmerna Nördarna kommer! och i dokusåpor som Beauty and the Geek och FC Z. Andra exempel på nördar är Simpsons-karaktärerna Professor Frink, Lisa Simpson och Jeff Albertson.

Den internationella nörddagen firades den 25 maj…men den glömde i alla fall vi bort! Till London hade jag sällskap av två andra nördar i familjen…så vad sägs om ett allmänt nördigt galleri…?

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A nerd is a person, typically described as being overly intellectual, obsessive, or socially impaired. They may spend inordinate amounts of time on unpopular, obscure, or non-mainstream activities, which are generally either highly technical or relating to topics of fiction or fantasy, to the exclusion of more mainstream activities. Additionally, many nerds are described as being shy, quirky, and unattractive, and may have difficulty participating in, or even following, sports. ”Nerd” is a derogatory, stereotypical term, but it has also been reclaimed and redefined by some as a term of pride and group identity. Nowadays it’s often used positively as well.

According to Wikipedia, the first documented appearance of the word ”nerd” is as the name of a creature in Dr. Seuss’s book If I Ran the Zoo (1950). The slang meaning of the term dates back to 1951, found in Newsweek magazine. By the early 1960s, usage of the term had spread throughout the United States, and even as far as Scotland. At some point, the word took on connotations of bookishness and social ineptitude.

Nerds can either be described by their hobbies and interests, or by abstract qualities such as personality, status, social skills, and physical appearance. Some interests and activities that are likely to be described as nerdy are:

  • Intellectual, academic, or technical hobbies, activities, and pursuits, especially topics related to science, mathematics, engineering, linguistics, history and technology.
  • Hobbies, games, and activities that are described as obsessive and ”immature”, such as trading cards, comic books, fantasy and science fiction novels, role-playing games, tabletop games.
  • Interest in the fine arts, non-mainstream music, hobbies (i.e., collecting), or other ”obscure” interests.
  • Heavy obsession with a topic that would otherwise be mainstream (such as a popular TV show or a sport).

Well, in London I was accompanied by two other nerds in my family, and what about a short trip through some nerdiness?

Covent Garden

/ Leya / 18 kommentarer

Ett kort besök i Covent Garden är ett måste på varje Londonresa. Den här gången uppträdde en mycket säker Charlie Chaplinkopia som drog ned en del skratt. Inte minst på grund av att han enrollerade en charmerande liten flicka ur publiken och gjorde henne till sin assistent. Alltid publikfriande!

Lite kockskoj och till sist en ung man med mycket vacker röst som underhöll med några av operavärldens absoluta glansnummer. Avkopplande!

No London visit is a London visit without visiting Covent Garden. This time a Charlie Chaplin copy was very entertaining, much because of his charming little assistant from the audience. Then some fun made of chefs… and others in the kitchen, and last but not least – a voice! A young man singing the most beautiful opera. He was so good that he might win ”Britain’s got Talent” , had he entered the competition. (Maybe he had already?)

According to Wikipedia, the first record of a ”new market in Covent Garden” is in 1654 when market traders set up stalls against the garden wall of Bedford House.The Earl of Bedford acquired a private charter from Charles II in 1670 for a fruit and vegetable market, permitting him and his heirs to hold a market every day except Sundays and Christmas Day.The original market, consisting of wooden stalls and sheds, became disorganised and disorderly, and in 1830 Charles Fowler designed the neo-classical market building that is the heart of Covent Garden today. Further buildings were added—the Floral hall, Charter Market, and in 1904 the Jubilee Market for foreign flowers was built.

By the end of the 1960s, traffic congestion was causing problems for the market,  The following year the market relocated to its new site, New Covent Garden Market, about three miles (5 km) south-west at Nine Elms. The central building re-opened as a shopping centre in 1980, with cafes, pubs, small shops and a craft market called the Apple Market. The beautiful hall where the opera singer entertained us (the last picture) is the former vegetable market.

Another market, the Jubilee Market, is held in the Jubilee Hall on the south side of the square.The market halls and several other buildings in Covent Garden have been owned by the property company Capital & Counties Properties (CapCo) since 2006.

Weekly Travel theme: Sculpture

/ Leya / 5 kommentarer

I London finns naturligtvis många fina skulpturer, men en som jag aldrig tidigare sett fann jag nära Victoria Palace Theatre där vi avnjöt musicalen Billy Elliot (rekommenderas verkligen – lysande!).

In London, a couple of days ago when visiting the Victoria Palace Theatre for the brilliant musical Billy Elliot (Go see it! And thank you for telling me about it…though I have forgotten which of you, my blogging friends, who gave me a hint? ), I came across this sculpture of considerable size, and in vibrant colours. So, sorry British Museum, but this is my choice for Ailsa’s theme: Sculpture!

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Tidig morgonvandring längs Ronnebyån – Early morning walk: Ronnebyån

/ Leya / 31 kommentarer

Sista vandringen i Ronneby för den här gången går längs den vackra Ronnebyån med dess fantastiska trävillor. Vi går längs vattnet upp mot Ronneby centrum. Tyvärr (för fotografering alltså) genomgår min favoritvilla just nu en totalrenovering och är täckt av byggnadsställningar. Men Villa Haga är en dröm i rosa med burspråk och en glasveranda som jag knappt sett maken till någonstans. Du kan nog se hur vacker villan egentligen är.

Sedan går vi tillbaka och tittar även en bit upp från vattnet mot rosor och matchande bilar…eller kanske tvärtom?

The last Ronneby walk will take us to Ronnebyån and its fantastic villas. They are all beauties in their own way, but to my disappointment (concerning photography of course), my favourite villa, Haga, is now being restored and is covered in scaffoldings. I hope you are still able to see its splendour with bay and glass veranda, all settled in a dream of pink and white.

On returning towards Ronneby Brunnspark, we will pass magnificent roses and matching cars – or maybe vice versa?