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Apr 28, 2003 One of the things that I noticed particularly when I first moved to Sweden, was the number of second hand shops around, at least here in Värmland. It seemed that everywhere I went there were shops that sold everything from furniture to jewelry and from books to paintings. Now that I’ve lived here for a while, I have come to know and appreciate these treasure troves of other people’s cast-offs. The Loppis, as it’s known here, is an institution that can be found in every small town and suburb and is a popular destination on wet weekends. Many people find great pleasure in spending a few hours browsing through the items on display, hoping to find a bargain. And there are many bargains to be found. Today, for example, being a rainy, cold Sunday, we visited our local loppis and after just 40 minutes came out with a pair of cross-country skis for 180 Swedish kronor, in very good condition, together with a pair of ski poles for another 80 kronor. If we had bought them new it would have cost maybe a couple of thousand kronor. We also picked up an LP by one of my great guitar heroes, Peter Green, for the princely sum of 10 kronor which I will be able to de-crackle and re-record onto CD and add to my collection, along with the super guitar sounds of Lightnin’ Red, also picked up from a loppis. On previous visits to a loppis (I wonder what the plural for loppis is - could it be loppises, or maybe loppi? No, this is a Swedish word, so it has to be loppisar) we have bought paintings, table cloths, tools and books. But perhaps my favourite purchase was the old pedal organ, in good working order, which we spotted in a loppis just outside Karlstad a few months ago. A few pumps on the foot pedals, all the stops pulled out, and we were rewarded with the wheezy sound of memories from my first school in England. It seems that there must be hundreds of these organs around the country, as we seem to be able to find at least one sample in every loppis we visit these days. Perhaps electronic organs, with sampled sounds, one hundred and one different pre-recorded rhythms and tones and single finger chord accompaniment have replaced them all. But nothing can compare to that Magic Roundabout Wurlitzer organ sound. It is sad sometimes to see what has obviously been someone’s prized possession reduced to mere fillers in a box of odds and ends. I always wonder at the history and the stories that could be told by some of the magnificent lacework, or even a simple hand made and hand painted kitchen chair. Sometimes it seems that we are the only people who actually buy things from a loppis. Could it be perhaps that the loppis is simply a retirement home for furniture, books and other things that have outlived their usefulness, and they can live out the remainder of their days in warmth and dryness and be admired by weekend visitors. We have seen loppisar in all sizes. From the large, barn sized emporiums filled with beds, furniture, even a horse drawn sleigh in one, right down to the smallest single room loppis in a private house, crammed to the ceilings with ash trays, plates, hand painted troll figures, whatever you can imagine – and more. Who knows, maybe that painted chest of drawers could be stripped of generations of paint and reveal a magnificent antique. Or just an old packing case. That’s the excitement of the loppis. Hälsningar till nästa vecka, ------------ About the author: Robin Alan Bell is an Englishman by birth, but migrated to Australia back in '72. Married and divorced there. Spent the last 3 years living by myself on a remote farm in rural New South Wales with no mains electricity, water etc. All power, heating was from natural resources (solar, wind, wood). "Met" a Swedish girl on the internet, came to Sweden for a holiday, loved the place (and the girl), moved to Sweden permanently Christmas 2001 and married the girl in Easter 2002. Living happily ever after... Email Robin Alan Bell: sosoft@ozemail.com.au Comment on this column in the forum. ------------ |
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