Category Archives: Historical

Historical posts about various things. Not biographical.

North Bergen is stalking me

Posted on January 10, 2026 by Gary

Over the last seven days, this blog has been viewed 309 times by someone or, more likely, something, from a place called North Bergen. It is not in Norway. Rather, it is in New Jersey in the US. What is … Continue reading →

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Time travel to Joseon

Posted on November 28, 2025 by Gary

I was supposed to accompany my wife, KSP and Jonas to Nyköping tonight. We were going to see Crossbows and Tulips in concert. My gouty foot wouldn’t allow it so they went without me. Mirinda reported that the concert was … Continue reading →

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Swedish roots

Posted on September 7, 2025 by Gary

Back when we lived in Tyresö, one of our great pleasures was to visit the Notholmen café on a Sunday. We would pack the girls up, drive over, park and (sometimes get a parking ticket which I would contest and … Continue reading →

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Tax collection by hedge

Posted on March 18, 2025 by Gary

This morning, on the World Service, I learned about an extraordinary hedge. The programme was about artists Himali Singh Soin and David Soin Tappeser and their art installation at Somerset House in London. The exhibit highlights the hedge that once … Continue reading →

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Stats and more stats

Posted on December 12, 2024 by Gary

When World War Two came to Greece, a period of terrible human suffering followed. There was a brutal battle with Italian and then Nazi forces, followed by an occupation in which thousands were executed and, if that wasn’t enough, a … Continue reading →

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Has anybody seen our ship?

Posted on November 18, 2024 by Gary

My old friend, Mr Gout, had me immobile for the day, today, so this post will be a bit of a maritime history lesson. That’s the sort of thing I do when I am unable to do anything else. After … Continue reading →

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Old Swede Day

Posted on April 22, 2024 by Gary

It was on April 22, 2021 that our Swedish residency cards arrived. Since then, we have proclaimed it New Swede Day. Not that we do anything special, apart from feel a warm and happy glow. Though Mirinda did suggest inventing … Continue reading →

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54 High Street

Posted on February 21, 2024 by Gary

Lymington post office used to be at 54 High Street. It was housed in a pretty unremarkable 1960’s building which probably had some amazing views from the roof. The house that was originally there certainly had some great views. And … Continue reading →

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Emulating Ragnar “Lothbrok” Sigurdsson

Posted on October 1, 2023 by Gary

In 1949, a group of health fanatics decided to build a replica of the Norwegian Viking boat, the Gokstad ship. Gokstad was discovered and excavated in the late 19th century. It was similar to the Oseberg ship we saw in … Continue reading →

Posted in Fi 2023, Gary's Posts, Historical, Red House Guests | 1 Comment

The rim remains the same

Posted on May 7, 2023 by Gary

A little while ago, I wrote about the iron manhole covers from Tierp. Since then, I’ve noticed a lot of them, dotted around the ground from each place we’ve been. Clearly, the iron foundry was very popular with people that … Continue reading →

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