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ullehaddock

Writer of sorts with a soft spot for Photo. Writes about life and what comes into my mind.

Förändringar

This is the Swedish translation of Changes. Detta är den svenska versionen av Changes.

Idag ägnade jag lite tid för att hitta lite bakgrundsfakta till en novell jag skriver på. En historisk berättelse som utspelar sig i området jag lever i, Sannäsfjorden. Jag har berört detta i några av mina tidigare bloggar så kolla gärna dem. Området häromkring är rikt på historia så det finns mycket att ösa ur.

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Innan du slutar läsa! Jag kommer inte bombardera dig med kungar och årtal. I skolan var detta det värsta med historielektionerna. Alla kungar och årtal du skulle komma ihåg, djup suck! Nej, det är bra mycket intressantare att förstå hur vanligt folk hade det. När jag går runt i området finns många spår. Husgrunder, stenbroar och stengärdesgårdar. Jag tänker på de män och kvinnor som levde här. Var livet alltid hårt eller var de lyckliga?

Efter att den senaste istiden tog slut för ungefär 10000 år sedan reste sig landet sakta ur havet när trycket från isen försvann. Till det uppstigande landet kom folk i båtar och blev kvar eftersom fisket var bra här. De många Hällristningarna i Tanumshede vittnar om att folk bott här under lång tid.

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Det som slår mig är att det genom seklerna varit många förändringar. Perioder med rikedom och perioder med fattigdom. För vanligt folk har livet vanligen varit hårt. Sedan vikingatiden har det varit perioder där fisket varit väldigt lätt. Dessa perioder kallas sillperioder. Sillen gick till i enorma mängder under tjugo till trettio år för att plötsligt försvinna under åttio till hundra år. Under de goda åren var inflyttningen stor och de små samhällena växte fort.

När sillperioderna tog slut var folket tvingade att hitta andra sätt att försörja sig och sina familjer på. Många flyttade inåt landet och bröt ny jordbruksmark eller försökte fiska andra sorters fisk. Sillen fångades i stora nät liknande trålar som kallades Vad (jag kan inte hitta en engelsk översättning, skriv gärna en kommentar om ni har en). Fiskarna gjorde detta i små roddbåtar. Från dessa vader östes fisken upp i båtar eller ibland direkt upp på stranden. Fisken saltades eller kokades till fiskolja som kallas Tran. (Också här kämpade jag med engelsk översättning).

Under den sista sillperioden mot slutet av 1800 talet började det bli efterfrågan på den speciella rödaktiga granitstenen från området. I hela Bohuslän finns lämningar från stenindustrin och stenbrotten. Många stora städer ute i världen har denna sten i byggnader och gatsten. Sten av lite sämre kvalitet användes vid väg- och kanalbyggen. Det lilla samhället Sannäs var som störst runt 1900 med cirka 350 själar, som kyrkböckerna uttrycker det.

Idag bor det endast 57 personer året runt men under några sommarveckor är de nästan 300. Många av husen som byggdes under expansionen under 1800 talet står kvar men är idag sommarhus. Av de många stenindustrierna återstår endast ett.

Det är livets kretslopp. Naturen söker efter de bästa möjligheterna för utveckling. Drar sedan vidare när förutsättningarna ändras. Som i historien kämpar människor för att finna en utkomst men med modern kommunikation har det blivit enklare. Många pendlar till större städer både i Sverige och Norge. Allt eftersom infrastrukturen för IT blir bättre ökar möjligheterna att arbeta på distans. Under denna pandemin har det blivit ljus i många sommarhus igen.

Som källor för denna text har jag använt boken “Sannäs – Ett Bohuslänskt Kustsamhälle” och mina kära svärföräldrar samt Wikipedia.

Gilla, prenumerera, dela och kommentera (ställ frågor). Läs mer från mig här.

2020-08-06 0 6

Changes

Today I spend some time doing research for a short story I started to write. It will take place in the history of the area I live in, Sannäsfjorden in Sweden. I have touched on this in some of my previous blogs so please check them out. The history of this area is quite rich so there is much inspiration to get.

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Before you stop reading. I will not shoot kings and years at you. In school this was the worst part of the history lessons. All the kings, wars and the the years you needed to remember, deep sigh! No it is far more interesting to understand how normal people lived. When I walk around in the area there are many traces. Remains of houses, bridges or stone fences. I think about the men and women living here. Was life hard all the time or were they happy?

After the last ice age ended some 10 000 years ago the land rose slowly from the sea when the pressure from the ice was gone. As the land rose people came by boat and started to live here as the fishing was very good. The many rock carvings at Tanumshede tells us that people lived here for a long time.

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What strikes me is that during the centuries there has been many changes. Periods of prosperity and periods of poverty. For the common people life has usually been hard. Since the Viking era there has been periods where the fishing has been very easy. These periods are called the herring periods. The herring came in enormous amount for twenty or thirty years just to vanish for eighty or hundred years. During the good years many moved here and the small communities grew rapidly.

As the herring period ended people was forced to find other ways to support their families. They moved inland and open up new farmland or tried to catch other kinds of fish. The herring was trapped close to the shore in large trawling like nets called “Vad” (I cannot find an English translation). The fishermen did this in small rowboats. From these entrapment’s the fish was scooped up in boats or sometimes directly to the shore. The fish was salted or boiled down to fish oil, train oil (also called whale oil even if not from whales).

During the last herring period at the end of 1800 there was a demand for the special red Granite stone in the area. The entire Bohuslän is covered with remains of the stone industry and the masonry. Many cities in the world has this stone in buildings and streets. The rock of poorer quality was also used for building roads and canals. The little village Sannäs was at its peak around 1900 with a population of 350 souls as the church book says.

Today there are only 57 full year inhabitants but a few weeks in the summer it reaches almost 300. Many of the houses built during the expansion during 1800 still remains but are now summer houses. Of the many stone industries only one remains.

It is the circle of life. Nature seeks out the best condition to grow. Moves on when conditions change. As in the past people struggle to find a way to earn a living here but with modern communication it has become easier. Many commute to larger cities both in Sweden and in Norway. As the IT infrastructure are improved it is possible to work remotely. During this pandemic many summerhouses have been lit up.

I really struggled with this article as many of the words are local and not easily translated. As sources have used the book from a local historical group and their book “Sannäs – Ett Bohuslänskt Kustsamhälle” and my father-, and mother-in-law and Wikipedia.

Please like, subscribe, share and comment (or ask questions). Check out more from me on this site.

2020-08-04 3 6

Cows

A cow died today. It was laying there in the field. In a unnatural pose. On its side. Did not move when approached. Alone. She was dead.

Was she missed this cow. She had a calf. He missed her until another cow gave him milk. Alone in the field. Lying there in her unnatural pose.

The pack left her to drink water. Lowed to let the farmer know. Something was wrong. She was missed, it was not normal. Lying there in her unnatural pose.

In some religions a holy creature. I understand why. Majestic and calm. Feeding on the grass. Reuse four times. Milk and poo a natural pose.

Walk but seldom run. The majestic cows. In tune with nature. Considered to be slow on the uptake. But take it easy her natural pose.

A cow died today. The farmer picked her up with the tractor. Why did she die? A plastic bag in her throat or a bite from a snake? Ended in her unnatural pose.

Did the farmer care? She was insured, was she not? But a tear in the farmers eye. All creatures in his care are precious to him. Lifting her up from her unnatural pose.

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Cows has been part of my life since I was a boy growing up on a farm. They are gentle creatures and brings calm to the surroundings. Was this cow I found dead in the field just a production unit in the farmers books. Or was she more than that. I think all living creatures are worth our respect and that is why I think she was worth this poem.

Check out more from me on my site. Like, subscribe, share and comment.

2020-07-31 1 15

Pontoon

This past winter was one of the mildest ever. There was very little snow and the bay where we have the boat only froze once in early December. It was like a prolonged autumn. Not uncommon in the west coast of Sweden. This is due to the Gulf Stream that brings warm water from the Gulf of Mexico to Scandinavia. This stream also brings mild and rainy weather over the British isles and then continues to Scandinavia. The winter comes from the north east. Normally we have a few weeks in January and February with temperatures below Zero degrees Celsius. Then the bays in the fjord freezes and with the wind and stream ice will press on any pontoons or bridges until they break.

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So to save our bridge pontoon we towed it across the bay and pulled it up on shore where the ice will not reach. Normally but not this year. Some heavy storms and low pressure weather systems made the water raise far over the normal level. At some point, even if we attached the pontoon well it came loose and floated away. So in the spring when we put the boat in the water we went to get the pontoon just to find it GONE! The first trip with the boat was to slowly seek out the shores in the fjord to find the pontoon. Hoping that it did no damage to something or floated out to the sea.

Salvaging

After about one hour we found it far up on a rocky beach. It was intact and not far from the anchoring point but on an island. It was too far up on the beach to be pulled into the water by boat. Me and my son started to try jerk and snitch with ropes and planks to move it into the water. We tried using planks and stones to create a lever to move the almost 200 kilo pontoon. We got it to move but some large stones stopped us and finally my back said. “Stop, you foolish old man” with a snap. We had to surrender for now. And it took more than a week for my back to heal.

Before we could try again a new storm hit, moving the pontoon back up on the shore. So now we had lost all meters we managed last attempt. Fortunately it moved sideways away from the large stones. This time we came more prepared with more planks to use as lever and with more manpower. In the future I might write a blog on all Swedish swearwords because I think we used them all before we got the pontoon into the water. But we did it, YEAH!

Success

Now the wind had picked up and we got a strong head wind as we towed the pontoon to its anchoring point at the bridge. It is quite hard to steer a small boat alone in strong winds. So you can imagine the challenge towing a rectangular pontoon bridge. Now the challenge is to get the pontoon to the anchoring point without running into the rock or run the propeller into the seabed as the water is quite shallow. But with skill and MUCH luck we managed to steer clear and maneuver the pontoon to its anchoring point at the first attempt. Next year we will secure the pontoon better.

Do you like more stories from me Ulle Haddock? Like, subscribe and please comment!

2020-07-30 0 10

Mother

I became an orphan when I was ten years old but I was fortunate to come to a loving foster mother. This is a homage to her. Her name was Anna and she took me in as her own child and gave me that unconditional love only a mother can give. To the point where I lost my birth mother my childhood was messy to say the least. I lost my birth father to the alcohol even before my mother died. I was a broken child when I came to her but she mended me and healed the scars. Even if there are still some I struggle with.

They lived on a medium size family farm outside a small town in Halland, Sweden. Anna and her husband. They got married when they were quite old, around 45 years, so they did not have any children of their own. This fact I think was a great void in my foster mothers heart. I came to them to just stay a few weeks over the summer. As a part of a program the major cities have in Sweden for children from low income families to be able to go to the countryside. I felt so welcome I wanted to stay with them forever and so it was decided by the social welfare authorities.

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Anna had two sisters and came from a house on a cape in Laholmsbukten. She grew up in the 1930:ties and 1940:ties under simple conditions as the oldest sister. Her mother Hulda was the only remaining sibling of five. All they other four older siblings emigrated to USA. She started to work as a maid in her early teens and after a few years in Malmö she attended household school. She did not meet Mr Right so she started to work as a health visitor. Helping out in homes where the mother was sick or when giving birth. She did this until she met her husband on a dance many years later.

Missing out on having her own children she gave her love to her sisters children as they were growing up. She took them with her on her holiday trips by buss all over Europe. She really loved to show those pictures. Anna took lots of pictures and she had a very special style to do it. You know this was long before the cell phones or even digital cameras. There was actually a film that needed to be winded forward before you could take the picture. Another history lesson. She asked everybody to parade and then she carefully aimed. The aiming part could take up to a minute and then she clicked while taking a step forward. Even so all pictures were sharp.

She was a really good cook and made everything taste amazing with just peppers and salt. Her brown sauce was always very tasty. She made traditional Swedish dishes, pancakes, meatballs and brown beans. She could also bake cakes. On every birthday party or Christmas there was at least seven varieties of small cookies, two soft cakes and cinnamon buns. Then came the cake. Strawberry and whipped cream with a marzipan rose on top. Getting hungry?

She took really good care of me and made sure I was safe. Standing in the kitchen window watching as I cycled to the school buss one kilometre away. Calling in the morning when I slept over with a friend to make sure I was okay. If I felt sick I could stay in bed and she bring me breakfast and comics to read. I must admit I held that thermometer under the lamp a few times just to be taken care of like that.

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She also made sure her family took me in and they really did. I never got to meet her mother but it feels like she accepted me as Anna’s son also. At the age of 16 the authorities asked if they should help me move to my own flat but I felt so at home so I stayed on until I was 25 and moved away to another town for work.

When I got children of my own they never called her anything else but Grandmother and I think this was my way of giving back to her. Having her own grandchildren. She is forever in our hearts and will not be forgotten as long as my sons are alive. They loved her the same way I did, unconditionally, like family. I owe her so much and when she passed away some years ago in cancer I cried my eyes out. If you lost your mother you know the pain. I lost two!

In loving memory Anna Johansson, born Elofsson.

2020-07-29 2 12

Speed

Why does everything need to go so fast today?

We drive too fast on the roads causing accidents. Accidents puts everything to a full stop. Waiting for the emergency service. Lives lost, long recovery for the survivors. For what! To save a few seconds by overtaking old aunt McDonald.

Banging that keyboard in frustration waiting for that site to load. Now we talk about seconds! Chasing deadlines. It must be ready by yesterday otherwise we loose business. We must produce faster with less people. Why? To accumulate more money, to buy that second luxurious car or boat. Most money when you die win!?

Does this need for speed makes us happy? Or do we try to outrun the darkness? There are only two things that are absolute in our life. We are born and we will die. The amount of time between those certainties we do not know, fortunately.

Why do we like go fast? Is it only the need to get from point A to B as fast as possible? Do we seek the thrill in speed? So many sports has speed as the indicator for success. Not only motor sport but also sports like downhill skiing. The risk of getting seriously injured or even to die seems to attract many.

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Even a slow game like chess sometimes uses time as an indicator. Do we always need to appoint a winner? Do we bring this into our daily life where we compete to have a nicer car than our neighbor? If someone wins must there not be one or more looser?

For sure there are things that need speed. Saving that harvest before the rain, catching that train running on a timetable or emergency services responding to a call. But take some time to relax have a coffee or tea and just feel the world spinning, read a blog or a book. If your team does not meet that deadline the result might be even better!

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2020-07-29 0 9

Lagom

This very special Swedish word does not have a translation in any other language. Google Translate suggests “Moderate” or “just right” and I think “just right” comes the closest. Not to hot and not to cold, just right. The portion of food is not to much, not to little, just right amount. His point of views are not to much right neither to left, somewhere in the middle.

If there is one word that defines Sweden as a nation this is it.

In Sweden it is very important to reach consensus when making decisions. All angles must be heard and preferably satisfied. Compromise is King! Not really the king, his name is Carl XIV Gustaf. But there is a compromise right there. We are a democracy so the king does not have any formal authority. This lays with the parliament, Riksdagen, and the government, Regeringen. It is written in to the constitution that “all power emanates from the people”. So basically the King is just a well paid PR guy. Both republicans and monarchists are equally happy and dissatisfied.

I have had many managers from the US going blue in their faces when they realize they cannot take a decision or fire someone without a negotiation with the Trade Unions. So these laws are created to have a balance of power (lagom) in business. We build high rise buildings but not skyscrapers. We have the largest middle class in the world.

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There are three fat levels for milk, 0,5, 1,5 and 3%. Can you guess what the best selling level is? Yes you are correct, 1,5% Mellanmjölk, semi-skimmed milk. The highest selling coffee is Mellanrost, medium roasted. There was even a Mellanöl, medium alcoholic beer that was so popular they banned it and renamed it Folköl, Peoples beer.

Even if this has changed over the last ten or so years it still defines out way of life. Has this strategy been good or bad? I cannot tell but it has been well over 200 years since Sweden were at war. It is top fifteen richest countries in the world 2020, GNP per Capita. We have one of the largest middle class in the world. For sure there are problems and things we struggle with. Some will frown at this text and say we are to naive in many cases. But who is perfect?

Welcome to Sweden, the country of Lagom! We put a smile on your face, but not to big. Like, subscribe and please comment.

2020-07-27 3 4

Nightmare

They come crawling at night. Piercing your brain. Waking up in a flood of sweat, gasping for breath.

Bad dreams, bad dreams. Thoughts that bring you down. Black dreams, black dreams. Nightmare after midnight.

Go back to sleep, counting sheep. Just before dawn. Black dreams behind your eyelids. Gasping for breath.

Bad dreams, bad dreams. Thoughts that bring you down. Black dreams, black dreams. Nightmare after midnight.

Stumbling to bed. Crying for sleep to come. But you fear the dark, fear your thoughts. Let it come, count the sheep.

No dreams, no dreams. Oblivion of sleep. Breathe hard, breathe hard. You will come out strong. Don’t be a loser, you are not a loser. Beat the dark, shine the light!

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This was originally written as a song text but so I dared to call it poetry. If you like it please share, like and subscribe. Check out more on my site.

2020-07-23 0 6

Painting

Today I painted a house. My sons house. Taking down the wood around the windows. Making sure it is well done. Well done to sustain the windy autumn and winters. Autumn and winter when rain comes down almost horizontally. Hammering against the windows and the trim boards.

The soothing strikes of the paint brush against the wood. Before and after are clear, simple. Protecting the wood against the forces of nature. Forces to reclaim, reclaim the wood. For now, and many years to come a shelter for my son. I cannot save him from his inner demons. But I can shelter him from the forces of nature.

Nature that we love so much. Offers recreation and keeps the demons away for a while. Walking the forest to pick mushrooms and watching the wild life. The birds, nightingale singing its lovely tune. The hawk screaming and fighting with the seagull trying to steal its eggs. Go out with the boat, just sitting there.

Painting, gently back and forth. Like I stroke my sons hair when he was a child trying to sleep, soothing. A layer of protection against everything that wears down. Around the windows always white. White as the gentle snow. Snow that muffles the noise. Painting a house, my sons house.

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If you like this text check out my site for more material. Like, subscribe and please comment.

2020-07-22 0 11

Photos before Rain

Share with you some photos taken on walk in the forest before the rain. I think the light was perfect and I am pleased with the result.

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Nursery for fish. We need to preserve our oceans.

I hope you like these pictures. Sadly I had to add the last picture. It was found in a inaccessible part of the forest. How did it get there? Like, subscribe comment and there will be more from Mother Nature, please be gentle to her.

2020-07-20 3 6

Salvaging

Success

UlleHaddock

The thinkings of a sheep man

Author Archives

ullehaddock

Förändringar

Changes

Cows

Pontoon

Mother

Speed

Lagom

Nightmare

Painting

Photos before Rain