Some celebrations in life clearly don’t need a specific occasion – the main thing is that there’s a good reason to celebrate. Our neighbour, a teacher of Swedish as a foreign language and a passionate accordion player, recently combined the two: her 75½th birthday and, belatedly, Midsummer. A wonderfully unpretentious combination – anyone who celebrates a half-birthday isn’t going to be fazed by Midsummer being a few weeks late.
The neighbourhood was invited, along with people from Dals Långed itself and friends from Gothenburg and Norrköping – and this resulted in a wonderfully colourful mix: some well-known artists from a wide variety of disciplines, people from California who are currently looking for a new place to call home, and people from England who found theirs here in Dalsland years ago. It is precisely this mix of settled residents and those still searching, of long-established locals and new arrivals, that makes afternoons like this in our area so special – along with live music, good food and, as befits a belated Midsummer celebration, the odd floral wreath to remind us of the original date.
We also picked up a bit of news on the side: the villa directly opposite Dalslands Studio is up for sale. Fabriksvägen 2 in Dals Långed is a characterful industrialist’s villa right by the water – with stately drawing rooms, herringbone parquet flooring and several fireplaces, plus a lakeside cottage complete with a jetty and an overgrown old garden. Over the years, the house has served as a B&B, hosted Airbnb guests, courses, concerts, weddings and creative gatherings – no wonder it’s also listed in the cultural heritage building register of the municipality of Steneby. You can find more details at our estate agent, Flinks Fastighetsmäkleri.