Gammavala

Articles

Robin Alan Bell

How Swede it is

Gammavala
Aug 10, 2003

We have spent most of the summer repairing and repainting the downstairs windows in our house – some eighteen windows in all and everyone double glazed, which effectively doubles the amount of work required. Each window has had to be removed, the old paint scraped back, sand- papered, undercoated and finally top coated before being replaced. Likewise the frames and window sills have also needed to be treated, ready for the coming winter.

Sometimes this work can get a bit too much, and then we decide to take a day off and go for a trip out instead, if only to clear our lungs from the paint fumes. Last week we had two such days, one was a trip to Rottneros Park, as I described last week, and the other was a trip back to “the olden days” when we visited Gammelvala.

Gammelvala is an old Värmland dialect word, which means “the olden world” and Gammelvala is a representation of days gone by. For nine days each summer, around July and August, we are able to take a trip back in time and see how people lived and worked before modern society caught us up in the rat race. In an impressive collection of over thirty buildings, set on the shores of Lake Värmeln, we were able to see many activities, such as paper making, weaving, charcoal burning, rope making, blacksmiths, pottery and many others.

Every day during the nine days of the exhibition there are special events – concerts, plays and so on, and on the day that we attended, there was a parade of farm workers in olden days clothing and in the evening dancing to the popular dance band Fernandoz. Other days attractions on other days included rabbit jumping, a veteran car rally, an animal mini circus and a performance of a classic Värmlands folk play. There was even a concert with Östen med Resten, the group that featured in the Swedish heats of the Eurovision song contest.

Being a bit of a tractor freak, I was impressed when we arrived to see a “little grey Fergie” - an old Ferguson TEA20 tractor from the 1950’s, sitting in the car park, complete with caravan. I suppose that in olden days people would travel the countryside with horse-drawn caravans, so why not update things a little and use a tractor? This particular Ferguson was the same model and vintage that I used to own on my farm back in Australia. I was even more pleased to see that, once inside the exhibition, there was a special place reserved for olden days tractors, complete with another Ferguson. Also prominent was a Fordson Major model, similar to that which I used to drive during school holidays in England, when I earned extra pocket money helping on the local farm. Oh yes, the nostalgia!

Of course there were other attractions in the exhibits besides the tractors. Paper making by hand was interesting, as was the rope making demonstration. It was good to see so many of the old crafts being practiced and kept alive in this day of mass production and the disposable society. As the owner of a traditional Swedish timber house, with red walls and white windows, it was interesting to see how the traditional red paint is manufactured. Falu rödfärg, as it is known, has been used on Swedish houses for more than 300 years and who knows how many postcards from Sweden have been posted featuring the traditional red house set in a green forest by the lake. The paint itself is made from all natural ingredients – water, iron sulphate and iron oxide and flour, with the particular red pigment coming from the Falu copper mine, hence the name. The paint has a lifespan of around five to fifteen years, but no extensive preparatory work is required before re-painting. Simply brush away and loose paint, wash well and apply the new coat.

Which reminds me, it will soon be time to re- paint our house. Maybe next year, now that this summer has been spent fixing the downstairs windows…

Hälsningar till nästa vecka,

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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

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