Hello lovely girls,
Today I'm showing you a postcard from Sweden, some photos of my Saturday outing and my cat Ronnie. There will also be three book reviews. I'm doing a few every blog post as I have read so much over the summer.
First off is my postcard:
It was sent to me through Postcrossing by Ann-Catrin who lives in Germany but had just come back from a holiday in Sweden (hence the card).
Smaland is a province in southern Sweden.
The name Småland literally means "small lands", referring to many small historic provinces from which it was composed. In terms of total area, Småland is similar in size to Belgium.
The Swedish tourist office writes about Smaland:
With a rich culture, pristine nature and a proud culinary tradition – also the birthplace of IKEA and famed children’s book author Astrid Lindgren – Småland is as Swedish as it gets.
A visit to Småland takes you to a region of dense old-growth forests, sparkling lakes, quaint red cottages and vibrant green meadows. It perfectly balances nature and culture, with over 5,000 lakes and rivers, 200 kilometres of coastline, 400 nature reserves and several cities offering world-class dining and cutting-edge art scenes.
Lingonberries were such a profitable export during the 19th century, they were known as ‘red gold’.
The famous saying ‘inte för allt smör i Småland’ (not for all the butter in Småland) is similar in meaning to the English phrase ‘not for all the tea in China’. It comes from Småland’s history as a lead butter exporter (a valuable commodity) during the Middle Ages.
Famed scientist Carl Linnaeus, known as the ‘father of modern taxonomy’, was born in Råshult, Småland.
It looks really pretty. I have never been to Sweden. Have anyone of you been?
The stamps on the card are German, as Ann-Catrin sent the card after she got home:
Of course I love the stamp with the cat and it is from the series of favorite pets. Deutsche Post (the German postal service) writes:
This stamp issue 02 February 2023 with value 100 ct (euro cent) from series "Popular Pets"
According to estimates, 34.7 million pets live in Germany. Or, to put it another way: almost half of all German households have at least one pet. And that doesn't even include ornamental fish and terrarium animals. This amazing number and the fact that many people maintain an intimate relationship with their four-legged, feathered, swimming or terrarium-kept housemates and often regard them as family members is taken up in the new special postage stamp series "Beloved Pets". In the future, the animals that are most commonly found in apartments, houses and gardens will be presented here.
The first stamp shows a cat - with around 16.7 million copies, the house tiger is the undisputed number one in the popularity list in this country. In fact, velvet paws have always fascinated man and as a result left numerous traces in mythology, in the visual arts, in film and in literature. Since 2002, August 8th has also been recognized as International Cat Day.
What have I been doing here in Spain this week? I've had a quiet relaxing week. The temperatures have dropped a bit and it is pleasantly warm. Really nice.
I have been watching the tv quite a bit. The famous proms concerts are always great to watch. I also watched the Marlow Murder club
On Saturday I went out with my friends. They took me to the Cascamorras monument:
Cascamorras is a festival that is celebrated in Baza (my local town) and Guadix (near where I used to live), so I know both stories. I found a website that explains the origins of this 'happening' with two videos. The second one is the best and has English subtitles.
The views from up there are spectacular:
We then drove back into town and had something to eat at the fair, which was still going on. One of the dishes was artichokes. They were rather yummy:
My friend has a bottle of beer in his hand, so this is my entry to the T-Party hosted by Elisabeth and Bluebeard.
This is how Ronnie spends his evenings. Well, that's what he would like:
Last but not least I have some book reviews for you:
I am a great fan of Robert Harris who writes excellent historical novels. I was rather disappointed with this one. It covers a time in English history (1660) I knew nothing about (I'm not English) but from the book I learnt that there was a bitter civil war between the royalists and the parliamentarians. Both parties believed that God was on their side. The parliamentarians came to power and executed the king. Later the Parliamentarians lose power again and the hunt begins for the men that signed the King's death warrant.
The book focuses on the lives in exile of two of the regicides, Goffe and Edward Whalley. In 1660, they fled to America, where many of the colonists were Puritans with no love for the king. Both men were distinguished soldiers. Whalley was Oliver Cromwell's cousin, a trusted member of the Lord Protector’s inner circle, and Goffe was Whalley’s son-in-law.
Although Harris pictures 17th century life very well and I learnt a lot about that period in history and about the Puritans in America, I found the book rather tedious. Nothing much happens. What he writes about Whalley and Goffe is pure fiction as nobody really knows what happened to these men while in America. The ending was rather fairy tale-ish. (They rode off into the sunset and lived happily ever after) No, certainly not Robert Harris' best.
3 stars
The Whisper of the Moon Moth by Lindsay Jayne Ashford.
It delves into the life of Merle Oberon at the beginning of her movie career in the 1930's as she struggled to hide her Anglo-Indian heritage. The book is largely fictional but the fact that Estelle Thompson, Merle's real name, grew up in Calcutta as a girl of mixed race is true. She is unfortunately shunned by both English and Indian society. Her dream is to be a movie actress, and she does manage to get a screen test, which she passes and she gets offered roles in films. To get to the top, she must keep her Indian heritage concealed. And that is what the rest of the book is about. Her romantic life is mostly fictionalised. At the end of the book the author writes an epilogue about what is historical and what is fiction.
I have never seen a film with Merle Oberon in it but I really enjoyed this book. I gave it 4 stars.
The Rock - Robert Daws
The Rock is the first book in a new (to me) series of murder mysteries and I probably got it for free or greatly discounted as a 'carrot' to buy the rest of the series.The author is an English TV and film actor.
This book is not very long. It's more like a novella and introduces the main characters: Tamara Sullivan, on secondment to Gibraltar from the Met in London, and CI Gus Broderick of the Gibraltar police.
Gibraltar is a city and a rock.
I found a good murder story and a promising duo trying to solve the murder. I will definitely read more of this series.
4 Stars.
If you have read any of these, please let me know what you thought of these books.
That is all from me today,
Happy T-Day to all,
Lisca
2 comments:
I have been to Sweden. It was back in 1980's, so it's been a long time. Two of my grandparents came from there so I met and saw again some of my extended family. It's a very pretty country, and reminds me in many ways of New Hampshire and Maine. Too bad you didn't like that Robert Harris book. I've seen that one and wondered about it. I enjoyed reading your book review and the mystery set in Gilbatrar sounds fascinating. And your trip out this past weekend sounds fun. What an interesting post. Have a super T day Lisca. hugs-Erika
Happy T-Day. The card is lovely. I've always wanted to venture to Sweden. I love that you share so much history and or information about different places. I have read other's watching the Marlow Murder club, I will have to give it a try. You look incredible standing next to that massive red and yellow statue in your gorgeous red outfit. The artichokes look delich. One of my favorites. You have also achieved some good reading. Have a great day.
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