In The Presence Of Beauty

There’s been a discussion going on lately about angels and spiritualism due to HRH Princess Märtha’s engagement in such matters. That’s not a discussion I’m going to participate in, but I would like to tell you about a recent encounter I had myself with a truly angelic creature. I’ve known her all her life, and according to her I’m her favorite cousin! She’s not the baby I used to read bedtime stories to any longer, and at 27 she’s all grown up. But still, there’s a certain childlike happiness about her that’s absolutely endearing. She’s the kind of person, who seems to be always smiling, and she radiates an undeniable goodness. And - she’s got the voice of an angel.

My son turned 19 last Saturday and I gave him a trip to Sweden, Grandma and Liseberg for his birthday. So that morning we boarded the train with destination Gothenburg, and the same evening my brother picked us up and drove us to our mom’s. You can imagine how surprised and delighted she was to see her grandson, I’d kept the trip a secret the whole time. (I love having secrets, at least the kind you intend to reveal in order to make someone happy)

One of the reasons I wanted to go to Sweden was that I didn’t want to miss (again) the traditional garden concert my mother is hosting. Again I say, since it’s always been held at a “bad” time. This is an annual thing where my angel-like cousin sings and plays various rhythm instruments, her Norwegian (!) fiancé plays the guitar (both acoustic and electric), her father plays the keyboard and the accordion and then there’s a fourth woman (not related) who plays the bass. Contemporary slightly jazzy folk music, could perhaps describe their style. With a humoristic touch. One of the funniest songs is the one about how cultural differences and racism isn’t a problem - "we’re going along just fine, but please tell me how to eat a kebab with dignity…"

First we had something to eat in mom’s garden; I think there were around 65 guests. In keeping with the tradition of twisting the 7 kinds of cake theme, she this year served 7 kinds of vegetables with dip, home baked bread and something to drink. The concert itself is held over at the neighbors actually, first time because they had to move it due to rain, but now just because it’s such a fabulous place. Very charming and very odd to sit in the sheep house (emptied and broomed for the occasion) and look out into a green field with birches, where the cows are coming close to listen to the music. Almost bizarre, but I’ll swear, the cows ran away again when Maja started to sing about the kebab…






The light conditions for taking pictures were awful, with the band standing in the dark with the bright daylight in their backs...