Same-same, but different

So you may have noticed that I've been absent from the blog-o-sphere for a while. I've been on scholarly pursuits at the university on the hill, as mentioned in previous blogs before academia swallowed me up. 

I managed to churn out almost 80 000 words of a thesis, with a little help from family and friends and a dollop of motivation from Idris Elba, who made me feel guilty every time I opened the fridge, where my daughter had stuck the following picture: 

image courtesy of Pinterest

Normally, yoga would have kept me sane, but I developed a "tennis elbow" as a result of sitting at a computer for hours on end – first world problems, my daughter called it. So, instead of downward-facing dog and sun salutes, I put on my walking shoes and walked.

Now that my life is taking on a semblance of normality again, I've decided to revive the blog. I have held on to the lavender, travel stamps and potjie but it’s been given a fresh look (perhaps more grown-up?) by my friend and fellow-student, Stephen Symons … same-same, but different, as we heard everywhere we went in Thailand when we visited years ago.  I'm sure I even saw T-shirts with that saying.

When I emerged from behind my desk, the real world had been carrying on without me: 
My nephew, born at 34 weeks, had turned into a robust toddler after his shaky start to life. (See blog)

The little preemie soon
after birth 

A year later presumably
on a diet of gravel

The Delft Big Band has played at Starlight Classics, released a CD and made a turn at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival. 

international delegates at WEF 2015

I gave the World Economic Forum a miss this year to complete and hand in the thesis but did manage to balance the last year with a trip to Paris with my daughter.

 

Attending the 2014 WCPRC awards ceremony provided the perfect excuse to take some time out to wrap up the thesis. 

Gripsholm Castle, Mariefred

And I was in False Bay Harbour to see my son and his team mates get rescued by the National Sea Rescue Institute during the Lipton Challenge Cup.

Hard to believe the storm 3 days later

In between, my daughter graduated and is on a gap year while my son is writing matric ... more news and snippets of writing in upcoming blogs!

Castles and Inns

Most people go to Mariefred to see Gripsholms Castle. This quaint little town is about forty-five minutes drive west of Stockholm. The little wooden houses look as if they have been around for almost as long as the castle which was started in the 14^th century and completed in the 16^th. The Gripsholms Vardhus, where I have stayed, proudly displays the date 1609 above its front door. It is the oldest working inn in Sweden and the rooms are elegantly furnished. It overlooks the castle and water and in days gone by was the guesthouse for visitors to the king.

I have yet to take a guided tour around the castle – I am always there out of season – but have seen good bits of it. It is mediaeval looking; thick stone walls covered in original oil paintings and old iron railings going up well-worn stairs. In places you have to duck so that you don’t hit your head on the low roof. The Swedish pop group, ABBA, who sang the background lyrics to my high school years performed here. Apparently in 1974 the castle was used as the cover shot for their Waterloo album.

Mariefred train station

Although I came by car, there are other, more leisurely ways to get here from Stockholm. There is the steamboat S/S Mariefred which plies the waters leaving from near the king’s palace in Stockholm to the castle here. I heard that it is a three-hour journey on a hard wooden bench, though. There is also a train that comes from Stockholm to the next town and then you can take the cutest little train into Mariefred station. It really does look more like the blue train that goes round and round in Mouille Point.

Town Square

There is a town square, also called the mayor’s square, although there is no longer a mayor. Just like there is no longer any policeman, although the station is still there.

This was my third visit - the first two were very brief; all three have been for the World's Children's Prize for the Rights of the Child ceremonies. Since I was spending a bit more time, I was able to wander round the village, dipping in and out of shops displaying typical Swedish ware – simple, natural and classic. 

I took advantage of the beautiful weather to sit outside in the sunshine (like a good Swede, making the most of the sun while it is there). A wooden deck was under construction in preparation for the summer. Like everywhere in Stockholm, things were being fixed and renovated, in preparation for the warmer weather.  

I have been there in the autumn and spring so the weather has been cold and crisp with beautiful, sunny blue skies and flowers in bloom all over (this is where I have taken some of my best daffodil pictures). I can walk for ages all around the lake, through the park that surrounds the castle or just sit at the water’s edge. It's the kind of place you could take off to, to write that book you have been promising to write...

Magic in the Music, for sure!

Gripsholms Castle

The imposing red-brick turreted Gripsholm Castle rises up beside the lake where it has stood for almost five hundred years. I am sure that the thick walls have withstood much and would have many stories to tell if they could. In recent times many performers have played within these walls, including the Swedish group, ABBA.  But I doubt whether they have been rocked by music like they were last Thursday when our young band from Cape Town burst into the jazzy rhythms from home.

After a more sedate start to the proceedings of the 11^th Annual Awards Ceremony of the World Children’s Prize for the Rights of the Child, the seven teenagers took to the stage and ROCKED! They had hardly played the last note when the audience literally exploded into applause. I felt the first tears to prickle behind my eyes, I was so proud.

It is a long way from Delft on the Cape Flats to the picturesque town of Mariefred in Sweden. Golden yellow daffodils and crimson-red tulips bloom along the roadside and in pots in front of many doors. The castle stands on the edge of Lake Malaren. Beautiful parks and walks surround it. It is here that HM Queen Silvia of Sweden presides over the Awards, an award that she herself has called “a kind of Nobel Prize for Children”.

The ceremony is conducted in such a way that the very emotional stories of children’s rights activists and the experiences of the children themselves, is balanced by musical items by children. This year the children were from Brazil, Sweden and South Africa.

The Special Stars

The Cape Town band did us proud. Adelia, the pint-sized singer packed a mighty punch. Time after time they took to the stage to wow the audience. Every time they played they it seemed that they grew in confidence. They were clearly having such a good time that it was infectious.

Adelia signing autographs

Afterwards people flocked around them congratulating and hugging them. They appeared to be on such a high that I had difficulty gathering them for photographs. Everyone else wanted photographs and even a few autographs were requested.  At dinner, I was beset with questions about the group - everyone was talking about the energy with which they played, their confidence and their talent.

The next day I walked through the park to visit them in their hotel. I saw the (Portuguese-speaking) Brazilian children who had also played at the ceremony – they were humming a very familiar tune, occasionally I made out a few words. As I came closer I realised they were singing the Mafikizolo song, Hamba nawe... I think that sums up the impact our children made.

Visit World Children's Prize for more on the ceremony.