Remember that portrait I wasn’t going to show anybody because I looked too exhausted? (Mentioned it in my October recap.) Turned out I’ve used it many times, including in an interview about my latest book in Rivieranytt, the member magazine of Svenska Rivieraklubben.
The article was published just before the Christmas market organised by the Swedish Church in Southern France at Villa Ingeborg in Cagnes-sur-Mer. Perfect timing – many who’d read the article came to Rivieraklubben’s booth asking for the book. Some continued to the champagne bar where I was stationed and asked me to sign their new purchase.
I spent most of the market among the champagne bottles – the perfect spot in the middle of everything being part of a great team. Apart from selling enormous amounts of champagne and signing books, I chatted with readers, received praise for previous titles, and photographed the market. Multiple roles – exactly where I thrive.
It was a fabulous weekend: sunny, with everyone enjoying the music, food and atmosphere. All in all seventy-two volunteers made it happen. Some, like me, were only there during the weekend but others had worked hard for weeks.
The power of collaboration is the theme for this month’s recap, and the next example comes from Gothenburg.
Earlier in November I walked through Slottsberget – a small rocky area with traditional wooden houses surrounded by a sea of modern buildings. The older houses were built by workers when Gothenburg had a major shipbuilding industry. The shipyards disappeared, like the mine in my August recap. Ironically, this saved the houses: they’d been slated for demolition to make room for shipyard expansion. After the yards closed, the houses were left derelict. That’s when idealists stepped in, purchased them cheaply, and formed a community fighting to save them. This included both restoration work and mobilising public opinion. They succeeded and today this is a popular spot to visit in Gothenburg. There’s, by the way, an interesting book about this. Not mine, but I’ve met the author.
Another type of publication received praise this month, the official evaluation of a report I wrote a year ago. It was the deliverable 6.9 of the IRISS-project, an EU-funded project. The evaluators wrote that the report ”describes with great level of detail” and presents ”lessons learnt” for future events.
IRISS was a great project to be part of but I’m also happy with how I’ve spent this November between larger assignments. Good having time to volunteer. I’ve also conducted interviews as both expert and interviewer. Editing a book, catching up on admin, updating websites. The necessary work that doesn’t create interesting pictures for monthly recaps but builds foundation for what’s next.
Science communicator and project manager based in Sweden, working internationally. Montly recaps in English.
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