Life is full of " unpredictables". A chance meeting in Glasgow in the spring of '66 led to my marriage to Bengt and my new life in Sweden. Rather exotic back then, considering that everybody else was going to either Canada or Australia. And yes, I'm still here enjoying nearly every minute of it. Our home has always been in the village of Svedala, five minutes to the golf club, fifteen minutes to Malmö and thanks to the new bridge, half an hour to Copenhagen. Get your maps and check it out!
Throughout the years we have enjoyed visits from various friends and relatives and even from the "next generation". Malcolm's niece Lindsey has been here a couple of times in connection with golf competitions and last month we had a visit from June's daughter Anna.
After leaving TRA and before Sweden I had what can only be termed as a few wild years in Glasgow. Firstly at Jordanhill and then teaching in various Glasgow schools. I even did a year of rural teaching back up north before getting married and preparing for the Nordic experience.
On arriving in Sweden I started working at a further education college talk about being thrown in at the deep end! The head of that particular establishment believed in teaching English by singing folksongs at morning assembly. Instead of hymn sheets we had song sheets with Swedish/English vocabulary lists. Learning Swedish was not a problem but getting to grips with The Swede was rather more difficult. Strange people with strange customs and thirty five years on I still find no delight in eating masses of raw herring swilled down by vast amounts of aquavit as is required of me on Midsummer's Eve.
Having said that I have enjoyed life here and have brought up two sons the Swedish way but with a few highland values thrown in for good measure! Håkan, the elder of the two, is married with two sons and for the past three years has been living and working in West Africa. In August they move on to South Africa which is much better for my golf!! While visiting them in Ghana last year I came upon The Little Tain River, a tributary of the Volta. Named by a missionary from Tain perhaps?
Our second son, Olof, has recently returned to Sweden after two years as executive chef at a hotel in the south of Scotland. He really enjoyed the Scottish experience and returned with a broad Scottish accent!
All too often I am the only member of this family to be in Sweden. Bengt has always travelled the world in his work and if the destination's right I tag along too. Although I must say the older I get the pickier I am about the destination! In the 60's and 70's the destination was always "home" and I enjoyed a good few watery coffees with David in the back shop and caught up on "the news"
I'm really looking forward to meeting you all again and I'll be easy recognise as I'm the big blonde Swede!!
Contact Details
Helenor and Bengt Karlsson
Klövergatan 10
23338 Svedala
Sweden
Tel.004640402326
email: helenor@telia.com