Photo & © Maria Nehro
Last Sunday I met Kristina at Stockholm Central Station for departure to Falköping, where the Missionary Church organized a concert with Helen & Martin Östergren, where the entire surplus would go to the school project Zimlat for Life in Kenya. The train stopped at numerous places before we arrived in Falköping at just before at 1pm.
Even though we looked at a map, we chose the wrong side of the train station and walked for a moment in the wrong direction before we discovered our mistake. In return we found a flower shop where we took the opportunity to purchase flowers for the afternoon concert. At last, with some effort, we managed to find the youth hostel. After installing ourselves, we soon went out again.
I was hungry and needed to eat something before the concert, but the food turned out to be a recurring problem for us during the stay. We went up one street and down another, but didn´t see anything else than villas. Finally I found a sandwich at a public bath cafeteria, which was enjoyed in the sunshine outside the theater.
At 4pm, we entered the City Theatre, where mingling was promised an hour before the concert start. Local sponsors had made sure that we got snacks of various kinds, and orange juice to drink. We didn´t see a box office, and turned to a concert hosted to ask where we could pick up our tickets. We were nicely and friendly treated by the real enthusiast behind this concert; Stig Olof Andersson.
After having tasted the snacks, it was time to take place in the auditorium, and here is the program we enjoyed during 1,5 hours:
Här är gudagott att vara
Horgalåten
Ögon känsliga för grönt
I can´t help loving that man of mine
Duvemåla Hage
Hemma
Sverige
Jag är det fulaste som finns (Martin Östergren)
Money Money
PAUS
Sommarkort
Vid vassen av den krökta ström
Man borde inte sova
I Could Have Danced All Night
Hanna flyger (instrumentalt av Martin Östergren ur Stockholm Stadsteaters föreställning Peter Pan)
Kvinnan för dig
Du är min man
Gabriellas sång
Vår sista dans (extranummer)
Helen wore her black and gold patterned dress that we knew well from previous concerts. Judging from the applause during the initial tunes “Du är min man” (You are my man) was appreciated by most of the audience. This evening the song was dedicated to Stig-Olof Andersson. But personally, I appreciated the two songs from Kristina från Duvemåla best, two of the musical’s most beautiful songs! I also liked “Kvinnan för dig” a lot, together with Sommarkort and the songs from Helen’s first solo CD; Visor. To mention a few examples. It was also nice to hear Martin Östergren in two solo numbers.
Martin and Helen’s bickering was friendly and funny between the songs, and Helen shared with us memories of her early career, from vocal exercises in her father’s sheet metal work shop in Sundsvall, to her first television appearances with Kjell Lönnå, Enskedespelen with Benny Andersson in the audience and Kristina från Duvemåla. Of course there was a standing ovation and encore. Kristina personally brought, at the organizer’s request, our flowers to Helen at the stage edge.
When we satisfied and happy left the City Theatre our intention was to end the evening with dinner at a nice restaurant. But that was easier said than done. We followed the signs that pointed towards the center of the city, we passed block after block of residences and industries, but never seemed to get there! At last we saw a Sibylla fast food place. Maybe not exactly what we had hoped for, but it was OK. This morning it was time for us to catch the train back home, after a hearty breakfast buffet at Mössebergs Health Resort. Already next weekend, it’s time for the next adventure, but then at a considerably closer place; Helen and Stockholm Student Singers at Musikaliska in Stockholm.