EVENTS
4 January 2024 (10:00 - 15:00)
Elektra stage rehearsal
23 January 2024 (18:00 - 20:00)
Early Modernism in Swedish & Finnish Art
30 January 2024 (18:00 - 19:00)
A Tale of Two Giants
30 April 2024 (19:00 - 23:00)
Valborg 2024
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College of Arms
John Petrie OBE, Windsor Herald at the College of Arms, hosted a talk and supper at the College of Arms in the City of London. This is the corporation responsible for the granting of new coats of arms, genealogical research and the recording of pedigrees in England and Wales. The College is also the official...
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Carl Michael Bellman
Dr. Jennie Nell, lecturer at Stockholm University and vice-chairman of the Swedish Bellman Society, gave an online talk about Sweden’s most famous songwriter, composer, musician, poet and entertainer. Carl Michael Bellman (1740-1795) is often referred to as Sweden’s national poet. His debut work was Evangeliska Dödstankar (Evangelical Death Thoughts) which was written in 1757 and...
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CoScan Magazine
Pardaad Chamsaz writes about the Nordic Collections at the British Library; Karin Sjölin Frudd about SveaBritt 40th anniversary celebrations; Brita Green on Living with two languages and the CoScan Travel Award. The Anglo-Swedish Society is a member organisation of the Confederation of Scandinavian Societies. Read Newsletter 2022-1
Åbo Swedish Theatre
A Zoom talk and virtual tour of Åbo Svenska Theater, the Åbo Swedish Theatre, was given by the theatre’s head of Communications, Maria Olin. This outstandingly beautiful theatre is the oldest in Finland, among the oldest theatres in Northern Europe and is still primarily in its original form. The first theatre in Finland was built...
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HRH The Prince of Wales
We are delighted to announce that HRH The Prince of Wales KG KT GCB OM has agreed to become the Society’s new Patron, alongside HM The King of Sweden and HE the Swedish Ambassador. HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh was our Patron from 1954 until his death last year. Lord Alan Beith Kt...
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Valborg Dinner
The Swedish Ambassador, HE Mikaela Kumlin, attended the society’s first Valborg dinner since 2019. The London Nordic Choir led a full house in song at the Travellers Club on Pall Mall as members and guests welcomed spring in the traditional manner. The dinner followed the Annual General Meeting, chaired by our President, Lord Beith PC.
Tjolöholm Castle
Author and photographer Elisabeth Svalin Gunnarsson spoke online about this exceptional country house in the Swedish province of Halland. It was designed in the English style by Lars Israel Wahlman (1870–1952) for the shipping magnate James Fredrik Dickson (1844-1898). The house was inherited by Dickson’s daughter Blance Bonde in 1906 and became a registered historical...
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Three Men From the North
Members of the Society were invited to a performance of Three Men from the North, a collaboration between Sweden, Finland and Iceland produced by the Nordic Council. It was part of Nordic Exposure, a season of performances bringing Nordic culture to London. The Nordic Council was created in 2017 by Merri Heikkilä (Finland), Bjarni Árnason (Iceland)...
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Sweden’s Royal French Regiment
Professor Neil Kent and Captain Clement Chevalier spoke about a Swedish regiment that participated in France’s greatest military campaigns during the reign of Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI. Régiment de Royal Suédois played a part during the American War of Independence, fighting alongside Lafayette and General George Washington until the victory at Yorktown....
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Computational Design & Architecture
Dr Henrik Malm, Architect and Computational Designer at FOJAB, gave a talk on how innovation is driving sustainable design. Dr Malm gave a talk to the Anglo-Swedish Society in June 2017, while he was working at Foster + Partners in London. In 2014, he was awarded a scholarship by the Society of Swedish Engineers in...
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CoScan Magazine
Among articles of general interest this time we have an article on place-names of Scandinavian origin in Britain and an update on the state of radioactivity in Nordic reindeer caused by the Chernobyl accident. Further, as December is upon us, we look at where Christmas trees from Norway have been donated since the Second World...
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Håkan Mogren 1944-2021
The former President of our sister society, the Swedish-British Society (Stockholm), Dr Håkan Mogren, has died aged 77. After being vivaed for his DSc at Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan with a thesis entitled ”Mechanical disintegration in the processing of single-cell protein”, he devoted his career to industry. Firstly as CEO of the confectionary company Marabou AB...
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In the Shadow of a Saint
The renowned author Eivor Martinus talked (in English) about her recent book I Skuggan av ett Helgon which explores the role Swedish Saint Birgitta’s (c 1303 – 1373) daughter Katarina (c. 1332 – 1381) played in her life and how she was instrumental in the foundation of the Bridgettine convent. Without her, St. Birgitta would...
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Sara Stridsberg
The Swedish Embassy and the MacLehose Press invited members of the Anglo-Swedish Society to the UK digital launch of The Antarctica of Love by Sara Stridsberg, translated by Deborah Bragan-Turner. The event was held via Zoom. Sara and Deborah were interviewed by editor Rose Green to discuss the book and translation process. At the end...
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Dealing with the Dead in the Viking Age
Professor Neil Price of Uppsala University, arguably the global doyen of matters Viking, and the author of a superb book on Viking history and culture, The Children of Ash and Elm (2020) gave a fascinating talk to our members. Neil shared with us his scholarship and learning around a very interesting facet of that remarkable...
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Ami-Louise Johnsson in Prague
The Anglo-Swedish Society's music scholar Ami-Louise Johnsson shared Second Prize at the prestigious Oskar Nedbal Viola Competition in Prague. The jury could not decide who would be given 1st prize so they decided for us to split the shares of both prizes, although Officially no one received the 1st. Ami-Louise also won the prize for the best interpretation of Oskar Nedbal Romantic Piece op.18.
Secret Stockholm
Dr Claire Thomson spoke to the Society about the use of short films by the Swedish Government following the end of World War II. The title was Screening Mid-Century Sweden. In the wake of WWII, governments, businesses, and international organisations used short films to instruct and persuade their populations about matters ranging from public health to...
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CoScan Magazine
Over the last year it has however become clearer that Britain has moved significantly away from its former partners in the European Union. Deals are still made, quarrels flare up but are apparently resolved, we are all still talking to each other; but we in the UK are clearly now outsiders, and shall remain so...
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Frank Heller and England
Professor Wilhelm Engström, editor and co-author of the recently published book “Frank Heller och England” gave an online talk on the author's adventurous life and relationship with England. We were most grateful to our sister society, the Anglo-Swedish Society in Gothenburg, for arranging this joint event.
Sir Roger Gifford 1955-2021
Sir Roger Gifford, the respected London banker and great supporter of the Anglo-Swedish Society, has died aged 65. On being sworn in as the 685th Lord Mayor of London in November 2012, Roger invited the Anglo-Swedish Society to enter a float in the Lord Mayor's Show to represent the Kingdom of Sweden. Lady Gifford and he generously hosted an Anglo-Swedish Society ball at the Mansion House in October 2013. Although grand events at Mansion House usually end at 11pm sharp, they allowed members and distinguished guests to dance until the small hours.
River Kings
The Anglo-Norse Society generously invited members of sister societies within the Confederation of Scandinavian Societies (CoScan) to join this exciting talk by Dr Cat Jarman about her book, River Kings. Dr Jarman is a bioarchaeologist and field archaeologist specialising in the Viking Age and Viking Age women. The book is a riveting piece of historical detective...
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Josefin Roos
Author Josefin Roos gave a fascinating talk about her latest critically acclaimed book Black Swallow (‘Svartsvala’) and about her earlier books. In Black Swallow, Lucía recovers consciousness after a stroke. She has no short-term memory and has to re-learn everything from scratch. Her doctor tells her that she is liable to have another stroke any...
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Swedish-British-Indian cooking
The Swedish-British Society (Stockholm) hosted its first ever cook-along, led by culinary diplomat Sanjoo Malhotra. Sanjoo has lived in Sweden for the past 25 years, giving Indian cooking classes and conducting culinary tours to India. Download recipes with a list of ingredients to see what was prepared. There was also a discussion of the historical...
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Sweden’s Contribution to the 2021 International Booker
Translator Nichola Smalley (Anglo-Swedish Society Scholar 2007-08) and author Andrzej Tichý are on the longlist for the International Booker Prize 2021 for the English translation of the novel Wretchedness (‘Eländet’). To celebrate this, the Swedish Embassy in collaboration with SELTA (Swedish English Literary Translators’ Association) hosted a live streamed event on Thursday 15th April featuring the duo in conversation. The talk was moderated by Dr Anja Tröger, Teaching Fellow in Scandinavian Studies at the University of Edinburgh.