Thursday morning I went by train to Stockholm to spend the day visiting bookshops and enjoying a holiday together with Mr. Karl-Erik Edris. He is the author of several books on
philosophy and history, lecturer and also chairman of the board of
Stiftelsen Tibetanens bokfond, publishing Swedish editions of the books by Alice Bailey. I was met by Karl-Erik at the Stockholm Central Station and we strolled to our first destination, the new age bookshop
Vattumannen. From a ufological viewpoint this shop was a real disappointment. Very few and not very noteworthy titles on the shelves. UFOs are obviously not a very popular subject these days.
The weather was excellent, varm and sunny, presenting Stockholm at it´s best. Before lunch we visited Rönnells antikvariat, one of the largest antiquarian bookshops in Stockholm. But their shelves on Esoterica was a disappointment. Surprisingly few titles. We enjoyed a nice stroll in Humlegården, formerly the Royal Fruit Garden but now the home of the National Library of Sweden. Our next stop was the classic restaurant
Konstnärsbaren (artist bar). We were served a magnificent lunch and I can really recommend this place to all visitors.
Two authors at Humlegården. Karl-Erik Edris and in the background a statue of Swedish author Hjalmar Söderberg
Karl-Erik in front of the National Library of Sweden
One of the main reasons for this journey was a visit to the Theosophical bookshop at Karlaplan 5. A well-stocked bookshop and this time I was not disappointed. I found several new titles for my Theosophical collection. Of special interest was a small volume by British Theosophist E. L. Gardner,
The Wider View, a collection of articles published between 1944-1959. In several of these articles Gardner tries to understand the UFO enigma from a Theosophical viewpoint. His theory is that they represent either etheric Venusians or deva materializations. There is also a reference to Meade Layne and
The Borderland Sciences Research Association (BSRA).
Finally I also found an English pocket edition of Heinrich Harrer´s classic
Seven Years in Tibet. I have the Swedish translation but couldn´t resist this pocket in mint condition. On my journey home there was the usual technical problems with Swedish trains and with a one hour delay I had ample time to read the three last chapters of Harrer´s fascinating book. After a day in the large, bustling city with all the temples of commercialism and capitalism I imagine myself coming home to a peaceful library in a hidden monastery in Tibet. Far away from the brutal Chinese invaders. After all his experiences I can well understand Harrer´s last words in his book: "Wherever I live, I shall feel homesick for Tibet. I often think I can still hear the wild cries of geese and cranes and the beatings of their wings as they fly over Lhasa in the clear cold moonlight."
But the second best in coming home to
Archives for the Unexplained (AFU) in Norrköping. Especially when we this Tuesday recieved the entire archive of the Spanish group
Centro de Estudios Interplanetarios (CEI). This enormous donation consisted of 8 pallets with 93 boxes of books, magazines, UFO reports, artwork and much more. We haven´t had time to unpack much of this collection yet and are looking forward to find many new rare items. AFU is more and more becoming a World Heritage for material on UFO, Fortean and paranormal phenomena.
Part of the CEI collection
Finally my heartfelt congratulations to my friend and AFU collegue Anders Liljegren on his 63rd birthday. He has probably no time to celebrate today as he and his lady Barbro are moving to a new apartment.
Anders Liljegren
