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LIDINGÖ VISIT 2008
On 11 June 2008 at 11 a.m. I again visited Lidingö Kyrka and placed articifical flowers and a card with Scottish, Swedish and American flag badges attached on Gerald's stone. Unlike last year, it was a dull, rainy day and I was glad that, this year, I had had the card laminated. The flowers I had sent for 9 November last year were still in the cup and as new, so I kept them there and added new ones as well. I also cut the vines away from the stone, as there has been some minor damage to the bottom edge of the stone because of the vines. The stone is now clear of any greenery. While doing this, the rain came on and became increasingly heavy to the extent that it was necessary to shelter under the overhanging trees for over 30 minutes. It kept me beside Gerald's stone for longer than I had anticipated and, at 12.30 p.m., I was forced to leave, as I had arranged to meet Sven Erick Alm, Gerald's step-nephew, at Lidingö Centrum at 1 p.m. Fortunately the bus came quickly and I was there before Sven Erick arrived. After lunch at the excellent Princess Konditori, I returned to Lidingö Kyrka with Sven Erick, as he had never visited Gerald's stone before. By then the weather had relented and it was an honour for me to show Sven Erick Gerald's stone. Sven Erick then drove my friends and I back to our hotel in Stockholm through the rush-hour traffic.
Earlier in the week I went to Kungsgatan, one of the main shopping streets in the centre of Stockholm, where I found the exact camera locations taken during the "Foreign Intrigue" episode "The Diplomat" (1954). I had the "Foreign Intrigue" still pictures with me and noted that the traffic, then on the left, had now changed to the right hand side of the road, which, I was informed by Sven Erick later, had occurred on 1 September 1967.
The following day I was again joined by Sven Erick at the Statens ljud-och bild arkiv at 98 Karlaplan, where we viewed "Private Entrance", the pilot TV episode that Gerald made in the Stockholm studios at Solna and on location immediately prior to his death in 1968. The film was in colour and the story entertaining, with hints of "Foreign Intrigue" in the plot. Bert Sundberg, the Director of "Private Entrance", was to have joined us to view the show, but unfortunately personal matters deterred him from coming to Stockholm that day. We also watched again "Wild West Story", as Sven Erick hadn't seen it since its premiere in Eskilstuna in February 1964. Added bonus for me was that Sven Erick was able to translate the important points of the Swedish script as the film progressed.
On Saturday morning, 14 June I returned alone to Lidingö Kyrka to pay my final respects before flying back to Glasgow later that day. The weather was dry again and I spent 45 minutes in the leafy glade before taking my leave for another year.
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