Monthly Archives: August 2023

Congratulations to the Spanish soccer team who won the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023! I am so happy to have been in Spain recently seeing my friends, and that Spain won the women´s World Cup. Close to where I live, I have a Spanish supermercado (grocery store) so I can continue to enjoy Spanish food. I especially miss the olives in the evening. It is still warm in Sweden so it is a nice ending of the summer.

Everything will soon return to daily life. There are unusually many ticks this year, and the lice, which usually have a summer break, have been active. Could it be due to temperature changes in the world? I’ve been walking a lot on my holiday to keep going. I intended to go jogging, but it has been too hot. Now it is soon time to increase the pulse again.

We walked a lot in Barcelona and my friends showed me “El mundo nace en cada beso” which can be translated as “The world is born in every kiss”. The captain of the Spanish women’s national soccer team kissed one of the players, and perhaps he was thinking of this picture above. It has become a great chaos in the football world.

This image consists of 4000 photographs submitted by Barcelona residents on the theme “moments of freedom”. The work can be viewed in the square Plaza d’Isidre Nonell in Barcelona. I was so impressed. This is exactly what my little collection of poems “Time for Freedom” symbolizes. Very pleased with the photograph above. Can you see the kiss?

Hasta loego

I have been longing so much for sunshine. It is a difficult balance because too much sun is really harmful, but too little sun is also dangerous for the body. However, recently, I have been to the beach in the small village of Calella, several miles north of Barcelona.

The trip to France earlier reminded me of my Spanish friends I made while studying there. However, they live in the middle of Spain where it is far too hot for me. The sea at the Costa Brava in Catalonia, on the other hand, makes the winds cool in the summertime.

My friends and I got together on a Sunday in Barcelona. It was ten years ago that we saw each other, then in Sweden. I went by bus from Calella and it was an exciting meeting. A little older but still just as happy as we used to be. Back then we used to speak French with each other. Now, French was blown away, and English, with a few words from my small Spanish vocabulary were used. I was given strict orders that I must learn Spanish.

We were walking in Barcelona and we passed this wall with tiles that you see above. This is an enlargement and you will see more later. The tile is in different shades that reflect occasions in life. Red, Spanish shades, of course. I love photographs and this is a cool, intelligent, constellation.

There was a lot of talk about the pandemic. How did it go for you during Covid-19? Then we quickly changed the subject as a large black Russian registered car with tinted windows passed us on one of the narrower streets of Barcelona. Instead, all of a sudden, it was tapas and chocolate cake!

Back home in Sweden, it felt strange that you should be more vigilant than abroad. I feel some frustration with this as it is – what can I say – stupid. Foreign newspapers follow the situation in Sweden as you can see below. The image of Sweden is no longer open to different religions, which I believe is unfortunate.

Where is the Swedish religious freedom that SÄPO (Swedish security service) should defend?

Trench warfare in Ukraine reminds me of what was learned in history lessons about world war 1. More than a century ago. The world has developed a lot since then, but evil in the world seems to remain the same. Europe is under pressure. What was decided at the Maastricht Treaty is more important than ever. At that time, 12 countries signed the treaty. Today 27 European countries are members of what today is the European Union. Great Britain did Brexit and is no longer a member. However, they are members of NATO.

The Maastricht Treaty paved the way for the Euro. Sweden is such a small country, and perhaps we have to become members to take part in various future global trade. It would be interesting to take part of the pros and cons. When the Euro was introduced to EU members, such as Spain and Finland, I remember people saying that everything got so expensive.

Religion has more or less played a role in European wars over centuries. It still is today. We have freedom of speech in Sweden, and apparently, the burning of holy scripture is allowed. Burning, to my opinion, belongs to traditional bonfires in Sweden in May.

During summer I always listen to some interviews and one of these was with Hans Blix. He has a lot of international diplomatic negotiation experience over decades. Blix summarized the future, and he believes that we need an additional globe for human life. Two globes.

I am on holiday, but couldn´t resist writing. Actually, writing is relaxing. Today I am going for a walk and I still got the Mediterranean in my mind. What is next in my cooking, which also is a great hobby of mine, is making a Moussaka.

Stay safe  🐾