People

The Streets of Paro

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At 2200 meters above sea level, Paro hosts Bhutan’s international airport and about 15000 citizens. A charming town with its most famous landmark about 10 kilometres outside town: Taktshang (Tiger’s Nest) Hermitage on the face of a sheer 1,000-metre (3,281-foot) cliff. This was our goal for the last day of our tour.

Street life is rather lively, and throughout our trip, the towns and villages were constantly expanding.

Architecture is restricted to the old ways, and no matter the material, you have to build and decorate your house according to tradition.

Roadwork everywhere too. The two, three roads connecting the villages of the valley was built by India. The workers stay for many years to keep up the road quality.

The bridge over to Rinpung Dzong. The Dzong (a fortress/monastery) was built in the beginning of the tenth century. The famous festival, Paro Tsechu, is held here every year – and we visited on our first day in Bhutan.

 

Cee’s B&W Photo Challenge: Objects or People Older than 50 years

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For Cee this week – a Bhutanese woman trekking up to the monastery, Tiger’s Nest,  3200 meters up. Thin air and tough, steep paths. But she was faster than most of us and had no difficulties whatsoever, it seemed. She offered me some nuts to keep up the pace. So sweet – they all were. I bet they all smiled to themselves seeing us westerners sweating and panting…

She was 76

Thursday Thoughts – Meeting The World’s Oldest Blogger

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Today I went to Health Sciences Centre, Lund, to attend the press invitation to the Gerontology Award of 2018.  My friend, Professor Susanne Iwarsson, introduced us to PhD students and their research in gerontology, and also to the award winning lady, Dagny Carlsson, aged 105.

Just imagine…she was born the same year Titanic went down…

Dagny is a witty and tough lady, who also is the world’s oldest blogger – or so we think… And her wit as well as her blogging are part of the reasons to why she won this prize. Dagny started blogging at the age of 99 – and today she has reached an almost iconic status in Sweden. Check out her blog here:

http://www.123minsida.se/Bojan/99578361

Only some of her achievements: On TV she has been a guest in at least ten shows, she was awarded ”Swede of the Week”, she was one of the Summer Talk guests on Radio P1 Sweden 2017, she was given a part in a movie last year and she has also written a book titled ”Life According to Dagny”. Two days ago she payed a visit to our King and Queen – and she said she liked them very much. Nothing strange with meeting them, Dagny smiles.

http://www.kristianstadsbladet.se/kristianstad/dagny-traffade-kungen-och-drottningen/

Dagny Carlsson was awarded also because she is an inspiration to us all. To elderly people she is the living evidence of a possible long and active life, as well as technology to be mastered even beyond the age of 100. Her experience from Swedish history through 105 years remains a valuable source from which we all can learn, and she continues to be a significant elderly person in Swedish culture.

I am proud to have met her. (Just a reminder…Dagny is the lady on the right side…)

Dagny, 103 years old, at the Skavlan show – but this spring she will turn 106!

 

 

 

 

 

 

CFFC: Rain or Rainbows

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For Cee this week – Rain or Rainbows – luckily I found both!

And I could not resist my pretty little Swiss girls either – surely they are little rainbows both of them?

Cee’s B&W Photo Challenge: Bikes of Any Kind

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I loved meeting this happy guy last summer – and he let me take a photo of him and his old military bike. So I guess it fits Cee’s ”bikes of any kind”.

 

 

 

WPC: A Face in the Crowd

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Erica, at WordPress, gives us the task to show anonymity, a face in the crowd – referring to the days when she was too afraid to ask people for a photo. I am still there…but on my way to overcome it. I still take photos from behind though, or with a long lens, if I am not in the mood for asking.

This series, taken some years ago on the beach( in a warmer country than mine) shows how well we can express ourselves – even in the anonymity of silhouettes.

Keep an eye on the man…

…..how he expresses himself…

 

Oh…Which one?

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I happened to overhear this couple in a store in Dublin, Ireland – about the difficulties of choosing the right cap… Somehow, this is of course a human dilemma that hits us all sometimes…which one should I buy?

In Sweden almost everyone my age is familiar with a famous humour dialogue with Gösta Ekman and a newspaper salesman, about which evening paper to buy: Aftonbladet eller Expressen.

Unfortunately Gösta Ekman passed away recently, but his legacy is that of a giant in the Swedish comedy genre.

I cannot post the dialogue, since it is only in Swedish, but chose this clip instead. Among all his movies and comedies, Ekman invented his own, middle aged,  clumsy figure called ”Papphammar”. Papphammar is the average man, who sometimes wants to try new things…with not so very great success.

Gösta Ekman did all his ”stunts” himself, and his body had to take a great deal over the years. Our greatest comedian, actor, director. We are grateful for all his unforgettable gifts to us.