Happy Independence Day Finland!

Today Finland is celebrating its 98th year of independence, and I'm a little sad, because I was supposed to be in my home town, Tampere, raising a glass or two with my sister and my father. Instead, I'm recovering from a nasty bug. Oh well, there's always next year, and in 2017 Finland will be 100 years old! The centenary celebrations are already being planned in Finland as well as by ex-pat Finns all over he world.

I did an interview with the Chairman of the Finland 100 Years Committee for a magazine a few months ago. Click here to read the whole article. (Sorry, it's in Finnish, but there's more about the celebrations on the 'Finland 100 Years' website in English here.)

Later tonight I shall be watching the annual Independence ball from the Presidential palace in Helsinki, to see who's been honoured with an invite, and more importantly what everyone is wearing. Here's hoping the YLE (Finnish Broadcasting Corporation) live streaming works this year...

I hope all you fellow Finns and friends of Finland, have a

Happy Independence Day!

Five things you should know about a Finnish sauna

Image: Visit Finland

I was three days (yes days!) old when my parents took me into a sauna. It was early spring, and we were visiting our summer cottage near Kangasala in the Häme province of Finland. By all accounts I loved the heat and gurgled away on my mother’s lap.

I’ve been an avid sauna-goer ever since, and I've even managed to covert the Englishman, and the Daughter-in-law into the practise. Before the Big Move, when we lived in the sticks, one of our priced possessions was a sauna, but alas in London we have to do without.

It's different in Finland, where most new flats come with saunas. If you are lucky to own a summer cottage (many Finns do), there'll be a sauna there by a lake, or deep in a forest. There are reputedly some 3.3 million saunas in the country; that’s more than one sauna per two inhabitants.

Historically the sauna first came into being as part of the main dwelling quarter; later it was where you cleaned yourself, where women gave birth, and the dead were washed before burial.  

Even today, the sauna is an integral part of the Finnish psyche. There’s a Finnish proverb, “Jos ei viina, terva ja sauna auta, niin tauti on kuolemaksi.” If alcohol, tar and sauna don’t make you better, you are facing death. (Tar was used as a disinfectant in the olden days)

When I lived in Finland, sauna was where business was conducted; where the long-standing Cold War President Kekkonen had his most secret and important meetings with visiting Soviet leaders. Oh, how I would have loved to be a fly on the wall in one of those powwows! (Of course flies could not survive in a hot sauna, but you know what I mean.) 

As a result of this sauna culture, nakedness in Finland is more natural. However, contrary to popular misconception, it isn’t normal for women and men to mix in a sauna (unless they’re immediate family). It’s also now far more likely that business meetings take place on a golf course. Talking of which, some of the better public saunas I’ve visited in Finland have been in golf club changing rooms. In fact most hotels, sports halls and public facilities in Finland have a sauna. The Helsinki parliament building has a sauna, as do all the Finnish embassies and consulates around the world.

There are three main types of sauna today: electric, wood-fired and smoke sauna. I really love the wood-fired one, but whatever the type, to me, there are five crucial points you should know about a Finnish sauna:

Image: Visit Finland

1. A sauna has to be hot
2. There has to be a bucket of water available to throw over the stones to create steam, or löyly
3. If there’s no lake or sea to dip yourself in after a sauna, there has to be an area for quiet contemplation afterwards
4. You have to be naked in a sauna, but the sauna has nothing to do with sex (try doing it in a sauna...)
5. Having a sauna is a tranquil process; it’s not an activity to be hurried. 

So, if a Finn asks you to have a sauna with him – fear not. He’s not trying to embarrass you. All he wants is to share something holy with you – so say yes. You might be surprised and become a convert like the Englishman!

A version of this article will appear in the CoScan magazine later this year.

Which Famous Finn from History Are You?

I know this quiz has probably done the rounds a few times already, but I'd not seen it before, so I thought I'd share it with you for a bit of Thursday morning fun.



I got Tove Jansson, the famous creator of the Moomintrolls; a perfect fit for me! Which famous person from Finland's history did you get?

Happy Independence Day Finland!

Today Finland celebrates 97 years of independence, and although my home country is in the grip of a recession, I think we still have a lot to be grateful for, and need to celebrate an independence which during our short history has at times been difficult to maintain.

In his address to all Finns living abroad, President Niinistö also refers to the past difficulties:

Finnish independence has gone through a number of phases. The most difficult of these
occurred already some time ago. Independence has perhaps already begun to feel like
something we can take for granted. However, the events in Ukraine this year have
provided us with a disturbing reminder that, even today, we must work hard to preserve
peace and freedom. Together with other countries, Finland must contribute to calming the
situation. Trust must be built if peace is to become possible.

You you can read the whole of the President's address to Finns living abroad here.

I am already planning celebrations of the 100th Anniversary of Finnish Independence together with the other Finnish organisations (known as Finnbodies) in the UK, but in the meantime, I'm going to tune into Yle Arena, the Finnish Broadcasting Company's online service to check out the traditional Presidential Reception in Helsinki tonight. And of course I will also be lighting two blue and white candles bought especially for the day from a new Finnish online food retailer, Finndeli.

Hyvää itsenäisyyspäivää!

A New Finnish Cookbook, Kuura, plus an Exclusive Recipe

Sini signing her cookbooks at the Kuura launch at
the Finnish Ambassador's Residence

The flavours of Nordic cuisine have become ever more popular in recent years as Scandinavian design, lifestyle and drama have penetrated the public consciousness in the United Kingdom.

In spite of its apparent ease and simplicity, cooking the Nordic way with ingredients available in Britain can be tricky. To help navigate the cross-cultural gastronomy, Sini Kiialainen, Chef for the Finnish Ambassador to London, has created Kuura, a Nordic cookbook designed for the British audience.

‘I began writing the book after receiving many requests for my recipes, and I’m very proud of how it turned out,’ says Sini Kiialainen.

Born in Finland, Sini moved to London at the age of 18. She has made an impressive 12-year career on the London restaurant scene, and Kuura draws its inspiration from Sini’s extensive work for a variety of diplomatic occasions, be it intimate meetings over coffee, luncheons, formal dinners or large receptions.

For me the most inspired recipe is the ‘posh’ mini meat and rice pasties (lihapiirakka). But these lihapiirakka are million miles away from some of the worst examples of this classic street food that you just must have after a night out in Finland, when some drinks have been consumed...you know the kind of moment! Having tasted Sini's pasties at the launch of Kuura, I can vouch for their authentic and excellent flavour.

‘Every time I see that picture I want to make the meat and rice pasties again,’ Sini said when we chatted about her new book at the Finn-Guild office yesterday.

I love lihapiirakka in all their incarnations (even the greasy ones sold from a van), but the Englishman has a love/hate relationship with this Finnish version of the late-night kebab. He believes a drunk and hungry Scot, while visiting Finland, must’ve invented the deep-fried savoury pasties. (This is a reference to deep-fried Mars bars, I think). When I told him that I’d tasted a posh version, he couldn’t quite believe it.  

So to prove a point, here it is – exclusively on my blog - Sini’s Beef and Rice Pasties (to be served with Pickled Cucumber and Mustard Mayonnaise). I bet you’ll fall in love with them just as I and all the Finnish Ambassador’s guests did!

Beef and Rice Pasties

Lihapiirakka 

MAKES 12-15 LARGE PASTIES 

This is the best street food imaginable after a night out. My husband loves them. Rare treat though.

Ingredients

FILLING

500 g beef mince

1 onion

1/2 bulb of garlic

2 - 3 tablespoons of oregano

1 tablespoon of all spice

1 tablespoon of ground cumin

1 tablespoon of anchovy sauce

6 drops of Worcestershire sauce

sea salt & black pepper

250 g boiled arborio rice

BREAD DOUGH

30 g fresh yeast

500 ml warm water

750 g strong white bread flour

25 g caster sugar

1 tablespoon of salt

1 egg

50 ml olive oil

plus 2 litres of veg oil for deep frying

Method

Start with the filling. Boil the arborio rice for 10 - 15 minutes, or until al dente. Rinse with cold water to stop the cooking. Set to the side.

Brown the beef mince in a frying pan. Add finely chopped onion and garlic and fry lightly for a few minutes. Add spices, anchovy sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Add the rice to the mixture.

Then make the bread dough. Dissolve fresh yeast into warm water. Add all of the other ingredients and mix well for 3 minutes. Tip out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead well for 4 - 5 minutes.

Leave the dough in a bowl, covered with a tea towel in a warm place for 30 - 45 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

Knead the dough once more and divide into 12 - 15 balls and roll them out to approx. 1cm thick discs. Spoon in the filling to bottom half of the base, fold the top part over the filling and crimp the edges carefully shut using cold water to glue the edges together.

Deep fry at 180 °C for a few minutes per side or until golden brown.

To buy your own copy of Kuura, go to www.sinikiialainen.com

There's a limited number of copies for sale to members of Finn-Guild at the Camden office.

To Finland, Again

I am preparing to travel to Finland, again, this coming weekend. This is my third working trip to my home country in so many months, but this time the circumstances are rather sad.

A short time after I was back in the Finn-Guild office from our wonderful holiday to Spain, I received the shocking news that my predecessor had passed away very suddenly in Finland. I won't go into the details out of respect for the family, but needless to say our small office in Camden was thrown into a combination of mourning and mad efficiency, while we worked hard to let all of who had worked with my late colleague and our 6,000 members know the sad news.

So this journey back to Finland is to attend the funeral on behalf of the organisation, and to take some messages of condolence from the UK with me to the family in Finland.

It'll be so sad, but luckily I'll be staying with a good friend who has promised to give me a glass or two of wine afterwards. And I'll also be able to spend some time with my father.

I shall be packing black and warm clothes as Finland is having its coldest summer for some while. Somehow the chill and rain seem rather appropriate for this trip of mixed emotions.

 

Happy Midsummer!

Tomorrow all over the Nordic countries people will be celebrating Midsummer Eve.

In Finland this means that good food and drink will be consumed, there'll be some dancing, and fires will be lit to mark the night when the sun never sets.

In Sweden, and in Åland, people will be picking wild flowers to wear in their hair, while drinking schnapps and dancing around a maypole (or Midsummerstång).

Midsummer Eve is always a Friday closest to the summer solstice and heralds the long summer holidays which all the Nordic countries enjoy. Many people, fortunate enough to have a country cottage, leave town and start their often 4 or 5 weeks long summer hibernations.

Anyone doing business with the Nordic countries will know the Midsummer weekend as the worst time time to get hold of anyone important, and often the weeks afterwards the countries may as well have closed down.

If you are lucky to be in a Nordic country over Midsummer, you will experience the wonderful long evenings and nights, when the sun barely dips into the horizon just to rise again only moments later. If, however, you try to spend Midsummer in a city you might be disappointed; everything is closed and you may as well be holidaying in a ghost town.

Having just watched England lose their second World Cup football match, I think a Nordic city like Helsinki or Stockholm even on Midsummer Eve when everyone has left town would be preferable to tomorrow's disappointed, crowded, humid London...Oh, well.

Have a wonderful Midsummer wherever you are...and to my Finnish readers, sitting on a sauna porch somewhere by a lake (you know who you are!), I'll quote Randy Crawford, 'You lucky, lucky thing!' 

Hauskaa Juhannusta!

Oh, to be in Finland...

I was feeling a bit miserable this morning when the alarm went at 5.30 am. I was getting up early for my flight to Helsinki. This, my first trip to Finland in my role as head of Finn-Guild, would include a regional meeting on Saturday in Hämeenlinna, and some hectic visits to the many organisations we co-operate with in Finland. Including a visit to meet Her Majesty's Ambassador (I know, I keep pinching myself). There'll be just a flying visit to my father in Tampere, and a short stay with my good friend in Helsinki who is giving me a bed to lay my weary bones on after my meetings, and has promised to pour me a glass (or two) of something chilled in the evenings.

But as soon as I boarded the Finnair plane this morning and the air hostess spoke Finnish to me, I realised how lucky I was to be able to go back home on business. Even the ear trouble I usually get on landing didn't happen (although I'd taken the usual precautions of EarPlanes, ibuprofen and nasal spray).

During the flight Finnair served rye bread sandwiches and their award winning, excellent coffee, in a Marimekko paper cup and with a Marimekko serviette. Goodness knows in what lovely china dishes the people in business class got their food served in! By the by, one of them I recognised as the famous British chef Nigel Slater. I was burning up to ask him what he was doing in Finland, was there a food programme about Finnish cuisine in the making at last? But he was having none of it and I'm just not spunky enough to go up to celebrities and ask random questions. (Soho House has trained me well..)

But back to the flight. As we landed, the captain said, (in Finnish), 'Welcome to Helsinki. It's 19 degrees and sunny here in your fatherland.' That sounds so jingoistic in translation, but to an Expat Finn like me it was tearjerking. I'm home, I thought, and knew that I was going to enjoy every minute of this trip!

Kate O'Mara and The Brothers (TV series)

Today we had the sad news of Kate O'Mara's passing. I remember her best from the 1972 TV series, The Brothers where she played Jane Maxwell, the tough female boss of an air freight business. 

We watched this series with my mother and sister in the mid 1970's in Finland. To me England seems very foreign in those days - it was so different from my life studying for a Baccalaureate in Helsinki. 

Little did I realise then I would not only be moving to the UK a few years later, but also be running a family business a little like the Hammond family haulage firm, with my family about ten years later...life, eh?

Don't Forget the Finnish Easter Fair!

If you are after some Nordic Easter goodies, you can't do better than visiting the Finnish Seamen's Mission in Rotherhithe., East London.

This year's Spring Fair takes place next weekend 28 - 30 March 2014.

I've written before about this excellent event here, but if you like Fazer chocolate, rye bread, Muumin goodies or the Finnish Easter dessert mämmi, this is THE PLACE to get these delicious things...

Finn-Guild AGM and Turkish soul food at Green Lanes, North London

My first six weeks as head of Finn-Guild, the Finnish British cultural association have been - to say the least - hectic. This is partly due to my desire to run before I can walk, but also due to the timing our AGM, the biggest event in the Finn-Guild members and volunteers' calendar, which took place yesterday.

The preparations for the event aside, I was quite worried about my speech to the members (I can admit this now). I was appointed to develop the organisation, and this was my first chance to tell the wider membership what my plans were. As it was, my ideas were very well received (phew) and the day itself, as well as the evening before, where I met some newly recruited and 'old' representatives of the regions in the UK and Finland, was excellent.

We had a record crowd - over 70 people gathered in the hall at the Finnish Seamen's Mission in Rotherhithe. Many people commented on the positive and enthusiastic atmosphere that prevailed during the day. Finn-Guild is lucky to be supported by the Finnish Church in various ways, and we were even graced by the presence of The Finnish Ambassador, Mr Pekka and Mrs Liisa Huhtaniemi.

Finnish Ambassdor to the UK, Pekka Huhtaniemi,
making an after-dinner speech.

There were also representatives from Guild Travel, Finnish Expatriate Parliament, many Finnish Saturday Schools in the UK, many members of our Friendship Network, as well as some of the other Scandinavian organisations, and Finland Society from Helsinki.

I had also recruited The Englishman to do a comedy routine on his views of Finland, which got an raucous reception, so all in all the day was a huge success.

Of course, this being a Finnish event, many of us carried on the discussion late into the night in the oldest pub by the River Thames, The Mayflower.

I think there might have been a few sore heads around this morning, because mine certainly was, which is why the Englishman and I decided to go and have the best hungover cure there is: Turkish food at the Green Lanes in London N4.

Son and Daughter-in-Law who know this area well, recommended a new (to us) place called Gökyuzu, and boy was it excellent. Hugely busy, we were lucky to have a table at the back. My brain being a little tired, I asked Son do the ordering. He went for a Mezze and a Charcoal Grill Platter to share. The meal was supposed to be for 2-3 people, but the four of us struggled to eat the grilled lamb and chicken in various forms with cracked wheat, rice and grilled peppers and tomatoes. The flat bread that all the Turkish restaurants excel in at Green Lanes was equally delicious here, and as usual I had too much of it with the Mezze starters, leaving little room for the main meat dish.

The staff at Gökyuzu were incredibly friendly.

Now all I want to do is lie down on the sofa and fall asleep....

Misery on Ice or How Finland Won Olympic Bronze in Ice-Hockey

I know this post is a bit like London buses, you wait for ages for one then two come along at once. Last time I wrote about ice-hockey was in 2011, and here I am writing two posts back to back in 2014!

But as you must know by now, ice-hockey is more than sport to me. It reminds me of my childhood, it's part of who I am, and it makes me proud to be Finnish.

Yesterday's bronze medal match between Finland and the US, where Finns thrashed the Americans, was dubbed by the BBC commentator as 'Misery on Ice', but to me it was just a delight to watch.

Here was a team of players which included Teemu Selänne, the worlds most decorated ice-hockey player, and a veteran (he is 43 years old, in theory far too old to be still active in this, one of the most physically aggressive sports), and two others for whom this match was going to be their national swan song. They weren't easily going to give up on an Olympic medal.

But only a day before this same team (although without the wondrous goalie Tuukka Rask) suffered a dispiriting defeat against our bitter old adversaries, the Swedes, and thus missing out on gold or silver. According to Selänne, the team decided in the dressing room just before going out to face the Americans, that they were going to take the bronze - no messing.

History has shown that when Finns en masse decide something, they rarely fail. 

And what a match it was! I could barely watch when in an unusual sequence of events in the second half, with the score still at 0-0, the Finnish player Kimmo Timonen moved a broken stick left on the ice and it hit the puck being manoeuvred by a US player, resulting in a penalty shot against the Finns. When Patrick Kane failed to score, I had a feeling this was a crucial psychological moment for the US team. I was proved right; Finland scored two goals in quick succession and in the third period made the final score a joyous 5-0!

The Finns on ice looked the better team, but you could also tell that, unlike the Americans, they really, really wanted to win.

As if Teemu Selänne, who scored two of the five goals, wasn't a complete star in Finland already, he will be now. Here is an interview with him and some of the other team members after the match. Even if you don't speak Finnish, you'll enjoy watching these tough guys get emotional in front of the camera - except for the hero of the day, Selänne of course. He just makes the reporter weep, saying, 'I promised myself I would't cry, so I won't.'

That's Sisu for you!

New Year, New Challenge!

It's funny how life turns out sometimes.

Just over a year ago, while trying to finance my writing endeavours, I took on a new accountancy job, at a Finnish Expat charity and its commercial arm, Guild Travel. Finn-Guild was meant to be just another client, but at the end of last year I found myself applying for a job to run the Finnish-British charity. I am now delighted to tell you that as of 1st of February I will officially be the new Development Director of Finn-Guild!

It's a not as far-fetched as it seems, however. I have been a Finn-Guild member since the heady loved-up days with the Englishman over thirty years ago. In those days this meant cheap flights to and from the UK, but over the years the charity has helped me in many other ways too. 

There was the time when my grandmother died, I was pregnant, in a state, needing to get to Finland at short notice. One phone call to the Finn-Guild office sorted me out. They got me the flights at a very reasonable price, and even organised a stop-over in Stockholm (unheard of in 1986), free of charge, so that I could travel with my mother. 

When Son and Daughter were small, they both attended the Saturday schools which are supported by Finn-Guild. As we speak they both enjoy dual Finnish/British citizenship, something which the Expatriate Parliament, in which Finn-Guild is one of the influencers, was instrumental in bringing about.

As an almost professional Expatriate myself, I cannot wait to help to develop Finn-Guild and to deepen the co-operation with other Finnish-British organisations.

We have so much to look forward to: next year Finn-Guild will turn 50, and 2015 will also mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of the great Finnish composer, Jean Sibelius. The year 2017 will see Finland reach 100 years of independence, the celebrations of which we in the Finnish-British community are already planning... 

Wish me luck in this, my new challenge for the New Year!

The Year That Was 2013

2013 has been quite a year for me. I'm not sure I can recall a time when so much happened in a mere twelve months.

First of all, I finally took the plunge and published all of my novels on Kindle. After the success of The Englishman (over 2,000 downloads as we speak and counting), I was encouraged to push out into the world both my family drama, Coffee and Vodka and the spy thriller, The Red King of Helsinki.

In November this year I also published a paperback copy of The Englishman, which has been terribly well received. (Even if I say so myself).

Joey at West End Lane Books with the first signed copies.

So, from a writer with three novels languishing in her drawer, in twelve and a bit months I've become a published author with a loyal readership. Bring on more years like 2013!

The 2013 London Book Fair was another game changer in my career as an independent author. I've written about the changes in the publishing industry many times here, but to see the shifting landscape with my own eyes was something to behold.

I also gained a tremendous amount of encouragement and new ideas from the LBF this year, not least thanks to the Alliance of Independent Authors, an organisation which has worked tirelessly to promote and support indy writers and who were very much a presence at the Book Fair. Thanks must got to Orna Ross, Joanna Penn et al for all their hard work this year.

Me with Joanna Penn who gave a wonderfully
informative lecture at LBF 13
on indy publishing.

The Fair was also a wonderful opportunity to make new writer friends: I got to meet the Triskele Books girls through Catriona Troth, other notable indy writers such as Roz Morris, Rohan Quine, Dan Holloway and Grisha Ryzhakov to name but a few. I cannot wait for LBF 2014, wild horses wouldn't keep me away!

The year 2013 has also been eventful in the life of my family: in May, Son asked his long-time girlfriend to marry him  and she said yes! The young couple will marry in 2014, an event that has been a red letter day in my calendar for many months already. I just cannot wait!

Aren't they cute?
Son with his fiancé in Provence this summer.

Not in the least less important, Daughter finished her History of Art degree at University of Birmingham this year and graduated in June. It was such a proud moment for me, and I spent almost the whole of the day holding back tears, only losing the battle when Daughter stepped onto the stage at the Great Hall to receive her degree certificate. Oh well, I'm sure I wasn't the only parent to dab a tissue at the corner of her eye at that point.

Daughter looks pretty happy?

As if all of the above wasn't enough, something equally thrilling happened in my working life in 2013. In late 2012 I took on a part time role at a Finnish charity called Finn-Guild. I've been a member of this ex-pat organisation since the early 1980's, but going to work there to look after the finances of the charity and its commercial arm, Guild Travel, has been a huge trip down memory lane. I'd not worked with Finns since I left Finland some thirty years ago, and just being able to speak your mother tongue in an office in London's Camden has been quite life-changing. I hadn't realised how much of myself I'd hidden away while adapting to life in the UK. Spending time with fellow countrymen has made me feel as if I'd come back home. It's made me a more complete person.

To top it all, in the New Year, I'm going to move to a much more important and challenging role with the Finns. From February 1st, I will be taking over as Development Manager/General Secretary of Finn-Guild. So watch this space, there will be many more posts about Finnish and Nordic culture on this blog in 2014.

So there it is, my short - very personal -  review of 2013. All that remains is to wish you all:

Hauskaa Uutta Vuotta - Happy New Year

2 0 1 4 !

 

Merry Christmas - Hauskaa Joulua!

Today is Christmas Eve, which is when we Finns (and all the other Nordics) celebrate Christmas. In our household we've been doing two Christmases (Finnish and British) pretty much since I moved to the UK some 30 years ago. This year, Daughter has been cooking most of the Finnish foods. Her meatballs, swede bake and carrot bake look absolutely delicious, and her piparkakut (gingerbread men) are lovely!

A couple of days ago, I made my Gravad Lax two ways - one with the traditional dill, and one with fresh ginger. And yesterday The Englishman and I stayed up late to cook and glaze the ham. Today all I'd need to prepare is the traditional Russian herring with beetroot, carrot, pickled cucumber and red onion salad.

Sadly, however, our family will not be sitting down to our Finnish Christmas feast tonight.

No, it's not the power cuts. The storms have hit UK badly, people have lost their lives and today many parts of the UK are without power. We had a short period last night when  the whole of our North London street went black. My thoughts are with those who have suffered a loss and I feel sorry for anyone who has to travel today - from what I've seen in the news this morning, it's veritable chaos on the trains, planes and on the roads.

But for us, the reason for a swift change to traditional Christmas celebrations is that three of our family have taken ill with food positioning. Last night while waiting for the ham to cook, we decided to get some pizzas. This morning at about four am Son, Son's Fiancé and Daughter all started vomiting. Almost simultaneously. As I write, the flat is quiet, with all three sleeping...so I think it'll just be The Englishman and me for the Joulupöytä tonight.

This year's Swedish Blossa mulled wine is flavoured
with raspberries.
Thanks to a dear friend, we have a few bottles to enjoy!

Our ham, best ever from Morley's in Crouch End

Lunch a deux with the Englishman -
Finnish rice porridge and mulled wine.

Oh well, let's hope all will be better by tomorrow so that at least the British part of our Christmas celebrations goes without any major hiccups.

I'll leave you with a link to a broadcast of the traditional proclamation of Christmas Peace from Turku in Finland this morning.

Hauskaa Joulua kaikille!

Merry Christmas to you all!

Exclusive Interview with Santa!

Even thought he must be incredibly busy right now, Father Christmas still manages to take time out for an exclusive interview!

Ho, ho, ho…!



I must thank the staff at Guild Travel for finding this fab YouTube clip!

Only in Finland!

This is no gimmick, and I can fully believe that this reindeer does indeed think it's a dog.

Happy Independence Day!

Today Finland celebrates its independence. I have written before about the history of my country of birth, and about what being in independent means to a Finn, here. But this year, today is even more special for me, because the main celebrations are being held in my home town of Tampere.

Finnish flags flying at Tampere Hall. Photo: Jukka Kuusinen/Yle

The highlight of the day, the Presidential Ball is taking place in Tampere Hall, a concert centre, because the Presidential Palace in Helsinki is undergoing major renovations. Big Sis who's in Tampere at the moment, tells me there's been a lot of hoo-ha in Finland about the lack of any dancing during the ball. It's a bit of a tradition in Finland to see how well the President, or the ministers, or various celebrities who've been honoured with an invite to the televised Ball fare on the crowded dance floor. 'This year it's going to be a different kind of Independence Day - a celebration the Tampere way,' my sister said to me over Skype and threw her head back and laughed.

Our home town is indeed a bit different - dubbed the Manchester of Finland, it has its roots in heavy industry and the working classes. Although nowadays the industry, instead of being heavy metal and cotton  mills, is information and communication technology and skilled engineering, so the town is more white collar than blue collar. To me, Tampere still feels different, more old-fashioned and traditional than, say Helsinki or Turku.

In any case, even if there's a departure from important traditions, such as dancing, I still hope the celebrations in Tampere go well and the organisers do the city proud. If you want to see what really goes on during the Independence Day in Finland, you can follow the celebrations from my home town on YLE (Finnish Broadcasting Corporation) here.

Hyvää Itsenäisyyspäivää kaikille suomalaiseille!

Feeling Homesick

I've recently come back from Tampere in Finland, from a surprise trip arranged at the last minute due to a family crisis. I won't go into what that was, but I ended up being in my hometown for a week, visiting areas of the city which I just haven't had the reason to go to for a long time. Each day of my visit I drove past my old primary school, the woods where we cross country skied in the winter, and the area where our family home was, before we moved to Stockholm. 

During this time in Tampere I also once again marveled at how the city has changed. The two main factories, Finlayson and Tampella no longer produce cotton or machinery, instead the areas have been developed into cultural centres and high quality residential areas. Many old apartment blocks are receiving facelifts; even the train station now has a set of escalators and some lifts. (I know, they've probably been there for a years, but it was the first time I'd noticed them).

When I got back London, after all was OK with family, I found myself thinking how I could arrange my life so that I could live in Tampere. This, from the girl who swore she'd never go back there, or who has for months now been considering applying for British passport (I'm coming clean - I haven't done it yet!).

It helped that the weather in Tampere was glorious. The sun was shining every day, transforming the colour of the lakes into the brightest blue. Each way I looked there was water. One morning I went for a jog and ran past beautiful houses, into the woods along the shores of Lake Näsijärvi, and thought how wonderful it would be to be able to do this every day. The place was so peaceful, so calm, yet it only took a few minutes to reach the city centre by (a regular and not crowded) bus service. To think that I’d be able to have a sauna every day, or that no-one would ask me if I was in bad mood if I didn’t smile all the time!

When I came back to London, on the first morning the tube was hot and packed. On my way home the very same day, our local station was closed due to overcrowding, so I ended up, together with hundreds (perhaps thousands?) of other people, taking the long way round, adding an extra hour to my journey home. Why do I live in a sardine tin of a city like London, I wondered, as I tried to keep my nose out of a particular smelly armpit in another full-to-bursting tube carriage.

At the weekend I went to Harris and Hoole in Crouch End for a coffee and the girl behind the desk asked, after mishearing my name as Elena, if I was Italian. ‘No,’ I said, ‘Are you?’ ‘Yes,’ the girl answered, adding with sad look in her eyes, ‘I’ve just come back.’ I looked at her and replied, ‘I’ve just come back from my home town in Finland and keep wondering what an earth I’m doing living in London.’ She laughed and nodded.

So many of us displaced people feel the same homesickness. Yet, here we stay.

Finnish Music Video

Daughter showed me this when I was talking about a Finnish singer called Danny this morning. (Like you do). I laughed so hard that I very nearly peed my pants.



'See what I saved you from,' said the Englishman.

To be fair this video is from a 1970's TV show (I think and hope!) and Danny was never my favourite…sorry my fellow Finns, but this is truly funny.