A little more Tove Jansson

When I was visiting Gothenberg University (in Sweden) I was surprised to see an exhibition in their library of works by Tove Jansson. I asked about this, knowing she was Finish, and discovered that she was from Swedish speaking parents and in fact Swedish is still a substantial language in Finland. She was much admired in Sweden and I suspect many Northern European countries.

Here are some snaps from the book exhibition for your enjoyment.

Classic Moomintroll books.

And some more Moomin...

This little fellow looks familiar. A burglar by trade?

Doing the hard work for another author.

Alice I Underlandet!

Illustrations, but not a kids book.

http://www.ub.gu.se/(en)/aktuellt/detaljvy.xml?id=1947

Being global

Attending an international conference means you meet colleagues from all sorts of countries, including those that don't have English as their first language (though their ability to speak English humbles me). Occasionally I follow them on twitter to maintain the connection and to get a different perspective in my twitter stream.

Obviously they will sometimes tweet in English but often, especially as they return to their own homes, they will tweet in their preferred language. This is a problem for monolingual me, especially if something intrigues me.

I use Tweetbot as my preferred twitter client and it has a handy translate option! 

Hooray. 

Problem solved.

Here is an example.

Connections to Finland

I was at an international conference in Helsinki last week, my first ever visit to Finland and I will admit that prior to my visit I'd have been hard pressed to say where it was on the map except for a vague impression that it was in the North and rather close to Russia. 

What I hadn't realised was that I had connections to Finland, in my pocket, on my iOS and in my childhood.

The first is obvious. I have a Nokia mobile phone and Finland is the home of Nokia. 

The second wasn't obvious to me. Finland is the home of the creators of Angry Birds.

The last was tucked away in my memory and emerged when I was bombarded with Moomin trinkets and toys, fabrics and fridge magnets. Finland is the home of the creator of one of my favourite childhood book series, the Moomins. Her name was Tove Jansson (which I can now pronounce correctly thanks to my Finnish colleagues), it is a hundred years since her birth and she is an iconic figure in Finland. As luck would have it I got to visit the special exhibition at the Ateneum Art Museum and was blown away by her work as a painter, illustrator, cartoonist and author. 

However I have also discovered that I am a little unusual, in my own country, in knowing of her children's books. I borrowed these from my public library as a child and have sadly neglected to expose my own children to them. I will be correcting this oversight in the near future.

You can discover more about the remarkable Tove Jansson at http://www.tovejansson.com

The library at TU Delft

One of the libraries I visited recently, at TU Delft in the Netherlands, has notable architecture and use of space.

The library is an earth covered wedge with a cone rising up through its centre.

The grassed sloping roof provides student seating and a great view, but a bit of a climb.

Inside the entry level provides a vast space with natural lighting from the glass walls and the skylight at the top of the cone. The books on open shelves are visible on the tall rear wall.

These books on mezzanine floors give a traditional feel to a modern library. This photo also illustrates the use of concerted, steel and glass and the sense of space.

The interior of the cone provides study areas for quiter work.

Looking down through the interior of the cone is breathtaking.

And I couldn't finish without a shot of the massive bike storage just outside the library.

The Black Diamond

I'm not the first person to admire the Royal Library in Denmark, which is both the National Library of Denmark and the University Library of the University of Copenhagen. And my couple of photos will probably not match those many, many found on the web. However I had the privilege to visit and get a tour by the Director and will add my photographs to the Internet.

The building has a 'black' glass exterior.

Looking out of that glass from inside gives a view of the waters.

The view is pretty nice from other places too.

As you rise up in the interior you look down on the escalators and bridge.

Looking to one side you can see into the reading room. If you look closely you will see that these are reserved seating for scholars who are using material out of the collection and they may have that space for six months or longer. The valuable books surround them as they work.

And I can't finish without noting, again, the dominance of the bicycle, this time in Copenhagen. You also get a good view in this picture of the much older buildings at the rear onto which the modern extension has been built and which also forms part of the library.

Men at work in Helsinki

I looked out my window. Not sure what I was seeing. A truck. Some men.

It opens!

So does the top.

What could go wrong?

Phew!

Now for the brown blob, but what is it? It is looking at me.

On the top.

Now what? Ah, the poster is changing.

Ice cream.

Men are gone. Photo from the ground. Vanilja, yum.

The doors

I am fascinated by doors and I know that I am not alone. Here are a few from my recent travels in Northern Europe. I am a good tourist but a poor historian and you will have to wonder where they are.

I like the unusual design above the door, sort of two symbolic fish tail to tail.

Everything looks ancient here except the doors, presumably renewed from time to time. I also liked the tunnel and wonder if it was a later addition being so close to the door.

Again a mixture of old and new, electric night light, electric cable up the wall and letter slot.

Rather grand entry statement, except for the cafe sign!

There is a decided lopsideness to these doors.

And in this last one it is very much the doors that attracted my attention. I'm a sucker for lions and engraved figures in general.

And it is of course not actually the doors but the arch and walls and the pieces that go together to make a statement about what is on the other side. These are not just convenient entrances but expressions of what some person wanted.

From large to small

I like to stop for a moment when I am in a new place and focus on the small. There is usually too much large to take in but a detail can stick in the mind and put the overwhelming large into perspective. An example is when I walked through the Binnenhof, a large historic courtyard in The Hague (http://www.denhaag.nl/en/residents/culture-and-arts/to/The-Binnenhof.htm).

This is one of the entrances.

This is the vista of the courtyard with interior chapel and lots of interesting detail.

And this is a gilt fountain that caught my eye.

And finally one detail from the fountain.

The unfortunate golden dog sticks in my mind and brings the whole scene to life.

A little more bike

As I mentioned in my previous post I was rather taken by the cycle culture in The Netherlands.

At the main train station in The Hague bikes were stacked two deep, row after row.

And they were inventive in their accessories.

Enjoy.

The cycle of life

I discovered last week, during my first visit to the Netherlands, that it is true - their streets are cycle friendly, and they cycle in huge numbers.

A few observations.

They have clearly separated cyclists from pedestrians from trams and from cars. In that order of priority. 

They reduce the barriers to cycling, not just by having cycle paths but by having lots of bike storage at your destination.

The locals don't have fancy bikes, don't dress for cycling and largely don't wear helmets. In many cases their bikes are without gears (it is very flat) and rather ratty. They have custom baskets or designs for carrying children and shopping. 

I'd be interested in their overall health statistics given the lack of helmets, but I suspect there may be fewer per capita accidents given the urban design.

In the rain they just grimace or raise a brolly (I saw this first hand!).

My anecdotal observations was of a very fit people and one in which good design facilitated good manners.

Tintin and the Picaros - Herge

This is the Hundred-and-thirty-seventh in my one-book-at-a-time bookshelf.

In this last of the published adventures of Tintin Herge is a little derivative, reminiscent of his earliest work and lacking the spark of the previous dozen or more excellent books. A nice read but not much more. For the observant, Tintin has finally modernised his trousers!

Flight 714 - Herge

This is the Hundred-and-thirty-sixth in my one-book-at-a-time bookshelf.

In this book we have some memorable moments; touching down down under, return of very familiar villains (who get their dues), a little UFOlogy and stunning images. Another master work by Herge.

The Castafiore Emerald - Herge

This is the Hundred-and-thirty-fifth in my one-book-at-a-time bookshelf.

Another adventure without a villain. However amusing and entertaining. A worthy addition to the canon.

Tintin in Tibet - Herge

This is the Hundred-and-thirty-fourth in my one-book-at-a-time bookshelf.

This is my favourite Tintin adventure. Unusually it doesn't feature a conspiracy or blaggards but does have some familiar faces including a character from a much earlier adventure. I'm not entirely sure why this story works so well, perhaps the costume and scenery, perhaps the relentless faithfulness of Tintin, but whatever I suspect I am not alone in finding it deeply satisfying. I also have to repress the odd shout of 'Chang'.

The Red Sea Sharks - Herge

This is the Hundred-and-thirty-third in my one-book-at-a-time bookshelf.

We return to old villains and old friends, but there is an engaging familiarity in their presence and once again I found myself caught up in the tension of the story (and the comedy) as I skimmed the book! Herge was really comfortable at sea and it shows.

The Calculus Affair - Herge

This is the Hundred-and-thirty-second in my one-book-at-a-time bookshelf.

We return to earth and to familiar territory, chasing the in-demand Professor Calculus in cars and planes, revisiting old friends and old enemies. There are lots of great visual gags in this delightful book (sticking plaster).

Explorers on the Moon - Herge

This is the Hundred-and-thirty-first in my one-book-at-a-time bookshelf.

The exploration of the moon has been a dream for mankind for an age, and was still a dream when Herge wrote this book. This adventure is one of exploration of the unknown which cannot be disentangled from the more mundane treachery of humanity and in this case redemptive sacrifice. Great read.

Destination Moon - Herge

This is the Hundred-and-thirtieth in my one-book-at-a-time bookshelf.

This is a pearler of a story, all the more impressive for being written nearly two decades before the first actual trip to the moon. Herge has shown a fine eye for people and places but he also shows his real interest in the detail of science. This was an inspirational book for me and the frisson from the first time I read it, when I realised that I needed to find the next book At ONCE, has stayed with me. I particularly like the way Professor Calculus dominates this story in a manner not seen in earlier books.