International Street Market, Kulturskolan and a painted face

The "International Street Market" visits different places in Sweden during the year and this week they have been in Halmstad in Halland on the west coast. It is a busy schedule from April to October with a new town almost every week. The main focus is on food from different countries; Thai, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Spain, Australia, France and more. Fudge and cheese from Great Britain, sausages from Germany, Salami and Biscotti from Italy, Crocodileburgers from Australia and lots more. There are so many different kinds of smells and you just want to try everything. I always buy British cheddar and some Italian biscotti. This time I tried langos for the first time and I loved it.

Langos with sour cream, cheese, red onions and caviar.

International Street Market on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/gmsltd?fref=ts

Kulturskolan is run by the municipality and today was Kulsturskolan's day. Its main purpose is to let children and teenagers learn how to play instruments or sing, theater, art/photography and dancind for a reasonable price. Many say that this is the reason why Sweden have so many good musicians. In Halmstad there were stages in one of the parks where all the children and teenagers performed but there was also a parade that went from the park to city hall.

Children with baloons in the parade.

The whole town was filled with activities of different sorts. Choirs and bands performed in the streets, politicians were trying to get people to vote for their party in tomorrow's EU-election and one of my former studens painted the faces of children for a small fee. My daughter loves to get her face painted and usually she wants to look like a tiger but today she wanted a butterfly. The former student is Isabella Kurkimäki who also has designed the logo for "Your Swedish Heritage".

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Military Memories - The Home Front; rations

Even though Sweden did not actively take part in the second world war and was not invaded it did feel the consequences. Every man who was healthy, not too old and had gone through basic military training were stationed somewhere in Sweden. Some fought with the Finns, some deserted to join the Germans and some to join the communists.

Sweden's trade with Great Britain, the USA and Latin America was greatly affected which made trade with the continent much more important. All and all trade with other countries decreased by half during the yars between 1940 and 1945.

Since many men had been called in to the military the Swedish farms could not produce as much as they had. This ment that there was a great shortage in food and Ration stamps were introduced as soon as the war broke out. Coffe, tea, sugar, cocao, flour, bread, pork, cheese, rice, food fat, candles, meats, cream, tobacco, salt, eggs, and a lot more were rationed. A visit to a restaurant needed stamps, as well as buying shoes and some textiles. Books and tips on how to make food last longer and how to reuse things became very popular.

It was, however, easier for people living on the country side than in the larger towns. They could much easier get fresh vegetables and meat without food stamps. My morfar, paternal grandfather, was stationed in Skåne, inte the south of Sweden, and his fondest memory of that time was when the matron on the farm where they were stationed invited them in for dinner one time. It was probably the only time during the war when he got well cooked food and could eat until he was full.

Ration stamps for coffe and tea.

Sources:
http://www.popularhistoria.se/lasarfragor/2012/06/ransonering-vid-krigsutbrottet/


Your Swedish Heritage http://linnlinns.wix.com/swedish-heritage
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