Stop to See the Rainbow

I had the most extraordinary day today. I left Somero at around midday as I had arranged to meet an old friend of mine in Nummela, Anne. On the way there, the car started playing up. It seemed as though the battery was losing power.  First the heating went off, then the radio and then the warning lights started flashing and telling me to stop the car. I rang Anne and said that I should probably drive straight to a garage to see what was wrong with the car, so we agreed to meet at a garage in Nummela town centre. Just twelve kilometres before I got there I saw something so beautiful that I had to stop.  It was one of the most stunning rainbows I have ever seen. 

      I knew that the car was not happy and that I should get to a garage, but I simply couldn't resist taking a photo.  Luckily I had my camera with me so I stopped the car and got out. Most other drivers continued on their journeys, but in front of me there was one other person who had also stopped for the same reason. He was taking a photo of the rainbow too, and I could tell that he was as amazed as I was by the picture in front of us.

We introduced ourselves to each other and I found out that my fellow rainbow enthusiast was a man named Hannu Haapa, an architect from Nummi Pusula. We only talked for around a minute, and he seemed disappointed that the only camera he had with him was his mobile.  I gave him the address of this blog and promised to post the photos on the net this evening if I got anything that was worth sharing.

We said goodbye, Hannu went on his way...I took a few more photos and went back to the car. Only to find out it was dead. Had I not stopped for the rainbow then I might have made it to the garage, but I did stop...so there I was, stranded with a car I couldn't drive, a phone that was almost out of battery, and a six-month-old baby in minus seventeen degrees!

The day became even more complicated after this, but thanks to the help of several people (Anne who came to rescue us, the man driving the tow truck who came to collect the car, Timo Kukkaro in Lohja who fit a new battery in record time and the lady at the Chinese restaurant who helped me charge my phone) I managed to collect my car again before the end of the day.

Of course the story doesn't end there. Having said goodbye to Anne, I was half way home, grateful to have the car back and still thirty kilometres from Somero, when the warning lights started flashing again and the car broke down for a second time. This time Frédéric picked us up and I had to call a tow truck for the second time in one day (thank you to Heikki Uutela from Somero who rescued us really quickly).

It was quite a complicated day, and it looks as though fixing the car will not be cheap, but despite all of that I am left with three overriding thoughts.  The first is that there is nothing as beautiful as nature itself. I know that sometimes there is so much cruelty in the world that it is difficult to believe that there is a God out there. But when I see something like this, I find it even more difficult to believe that it all just happened by accident. The second thought is that none of us can survive on our own. We all depend on other people to help us when we are in trouble, and today I was the recipient of all sorts of help. Being stuck with no car, no phone and a young baby in minus seventeen could have been a nightmare without all those people to come to our rescue. I truely appreciate that.

The third thought is this. It is always worth stopping to look at a rainbow, even if your day becomes more complicated as a result. We should all take the time to see these magical moments, and I would rather be the person who got out of the car than one of the people who just drove on by. At the end of the day it's all a matter of perspective. You can concentrate on the bad bits of the day (and today there were quite a few) or you can be glad about the rainbows that you see, and usually there are some of those as well.

I know nothing about Hannu Haapa, but can I suggest that if you are looking for an architect you give him a call? He simply must be good at what he does, after all... he is a man who stops to look at rainbows.

Eelis is a Star with the Girls

  

Minea and Merikukka with their Mums



Fanni

I have always believed that every day you have the chance to learn something new, and today I learned several new things. The first of these was that taking a good photograph of five babies at the same time is not easy!  I discovered this as I was trying to capture Minttu with her four new friends at our baby club this morning. Whilst I was trying to get the shot, the four other Mums were behind me trying to shout various things to try and get the five of them to look at the camera at the same time. It didn't work.

  

Minttu

My little one, Minttu, is now six months old.  She has no teeth yet and has somehow developed a very calm and peaceful outlook on life. I still have no idea where she gets that from.  As soon as I arrived here in Somero I registered her with the baby clinic (neuvola) and was very pleased to be invited to join the relevant baby club.  The idea is a very simple one. Every few months a new baby club is set up at the clinic, so mothers with babies of the same age can get to know each other. The group is invited to meet twice at the clinic after which meetings are held in each other's homes.



Merikukka, Minea, Minttu, Fanni and Eelis discuss the elections

 

Our group is made up of Maikku with her son Eelis, Jenni and her daughter Fanni, Taija with Merikukka and Teija who is Mum to Minea. We talk about all the obvious things such as sleepless nights, teething troubles and other baby issues...but much more than that, the club provides the chance to have a chat to another adult, which can sometimes be a real luxury when you are the parent of small children. 


 The babies of course have much more in-depth discussions about issues such as the quality of their respective parenting and whether they should be in a strict routine or not. Today they spoke very intensely about the forthcoming elections and which candidate would best represent the interests of babies in Somero, but I promised not to divulge how they are planning to vote.  

Eelis smiling..the only boy amidst four baby girls!



Quite seriously, this is a very simple idea but the benefits are potentially huge, both for the Mums as well as the children themselves. Certainly Eelis has got off to a great start in life...only six months old and already surrounded by girls.





Somero People - Meet Veikko Iivonen

On Sunday afternoon there is often an auction in Somero, where I sometimes enjoy spending a couple of hours. There is always a friendly atmosphere and it is fascinating to see the items on display - you never know what you will see up for sale. I also find myself trying to imagine what the person was like who once had those pictures on the wall or sat on the sofa or chairs. Today I thought I would introduce you to the auctioneer himself, Veikko Iivonen.

 Veikko Iivonen

The first thing that you notice about Veikko is that when he smiles his whole face lights up. Before we had even spoken I could tell he had a good sense of humour, and he has. Veikko has been Somero's auctioneer for over ten years, and in the winter months regularly holds auctions in Pitkäjärvi, a village 13 km from here with just 250 inhabitants. When the weather is warmer auctions are often held in people's houses, usually when relatives are selling the property of a deceased family member.  Today Veikko was taking a break from work and the auction was being held by his son, Jyrki, so I had the chance to grab him for a few minutes' chat.

Veikko grew up in Somero but lived in Vantaa for many years. He worked as a youth leader and also doing roofing work. Then one day a friend of his said that he had applied for an auctioneer's licence, but was having trouble getting the necessary permission. Veikko saw this as a challenge, and bet his friend a bottle of cognac that if he applied for a licence he would succeed in getting one. And over this bet his career as an auctioneer was born! He succeeded in getting the necessary licence, (and the bottle of cognac!) and started as an auctioneer in Vantaa in 1980 where he continued in the profession for the next twenty years before coming back to Somero. Veikko's brother, Terho, had worked as the auctioneer in Somero, and when he sadly passed away, Veikko decided to come back and take over from where his brother had left off. He says that even after all these years he still enjoys his job, and that working as an auctioneer suits him. "I always used to collect things when I was a little boy" he says. "I would always empty out the things in people's attics when I had the chance and I had collections of all sorts of things."

The biggest sum of money that was ever bid in one of his auctions was in the 1990s in Järvenpää. "There were four cadillacs on sale" he told me "and one of them went for 250,000 old Finnish marks. That was a lot of money at the time, but things have changed since then.  I don't do this for the money now, just because I enjoy doing it." Amazingly, Veikko will be 70 next year, but still has no plans to retire. "I'll think about it when I am 75..." he smiles "maybe then it will finally be time to do something else." Veikko loves travelling and often goes inter-railing with his wife, Päivi. "It's much better to travel by train because then neither of you has to drive." Last year they took the boat to Stockholm and went by train from there to Hamburg and then to Prague and Copenhagen. The next trip he plans is to Poland later this year, and the couple dream about one day taking the train from Moscow to Paris.

My son Cameron and I bought just one item today, a little copper teapot. It is not in very good condition, and is quite battered and old, but we liked it precisely because of that. This little pot has been used many hundreds of times and would probably have many stories to tell if it could talk!

Just before leaving the auction I asked Veikko what he thought of Somero. "It's a good place to live," he said, smiling. "Just be aware that everyone knows everyone else.... so be careful not to say anything bad about someone, because chances are that you'll be speaking to a member of their family!"

Robin Pays a Visit

Minus eleven here in Somero this morning, but the skies are clear and it somehow feels as though spring is on the way even though it is still January. Although the winters are dark here in Finland, this is the time of the year when you feel the days getting longer as each day passes, especially when it is bright as it is today.

We have been watching the final of the Austalian Open between Nadal and Djokovich on Eurosport, and it's odd to think that it is already evening in Melbourne and they are playing in temperatures of +33!  I was taking a break from the tennis and sitting at the kitchen table with the boys watching the birds when I had the fortune to spot a robin...the first I have seen in our garden. I managed to run and get the camera for this shot just before he flew away. 

We have lit a fire to keep the house warm and I can see from the chimneys that most of our neighbours have done the same. It is very comforting to sit by a log fire when you can see the snow on the trees outside. There is still no sign of Akseli, (apart from the alleged sighting yesterday...although I think it may have been a crow that Frédéric saw).  I have cleared a path for him just in case  in the back garden leading from the trees to the bird house (the squirrel I mean, not Frédéric). There is about twenty centimetres of snow on the ground at the moment, so I am hoping (perhaps naively) that Akseli will see the path and start to visit again. There were certainly some tracks in the snow a couple of days ago starting from the bottom of the trees, so either Akseli has been around or we have rabbits living in the branches. Fingers crossed!  

The Moon

It is a crystal clear night here in Somero. Cold too. We just went to R Kioski to pick up Frédéric's newspaper, Le Figaro, and the car said it was minus twelve outside. The moon was so clear in the sky that it looked as though if you just reached up you could touch it.

This was the best I could get on my camera....and obviously it doesn't do the moon justice, but if you are here in Somero and happen to be reading this sometime this evening go outside and take a look! When I stare at the moon on a clear night like this it certainly feels as though there is something greater than us out there somewhere. Go and see what you think!

Grey Monster Catches the Birds

If you had been in our garden this morning you would have seen a significant amount of wildlife. The most obvious was a large, grey creature with long hair and green feet. In fact that was me... in Frédéric's dressing gown and a pair of neon green crocs. Not attractive...and no photographic evidence either, thank goodness. The reason I was creeping round the garden was in fact because I was trying to get a photo of the birds, which is not as easy as it may sound, especially when it is minus ten degrees and you are not yet dressed. In all honesty I had heard rumours that Akseli the squirrel may be back...which is why I rushed outside with my camera, but despite my best efforts I didn't catch him, so instead I took the opportunity to get a couple of pictures of the birds. I wish I could portray in photos what I actually saw. It seemed as though all the trees were moving. There were so many birds in the branches I could hardly count them -and occasionally one would knock some snow off a twig and it would all come drifting down in a white flurry. These are the moments when I realise how lucky we are...when I can just step outside my own front door and see the trees and the snow and the birds right there in the garden. Having experienced that I would find it very hard to go back to life in the middle of a large town. We all hope for different things in life, but for me, being surrounded by nature like this is a dream come true.
Just one other thing...despite the fact that this blog was originally set up for people in Somero wanting to read English from time to time, I have found out that somehow it's been read by people in the Ukraine, Norway and the US. I have no idea how this has happened..but if you have stumbled across this by accident and are far from Somero...hello to you from here...and if you ever choose to visit us here in Somero you would be very welcome!

Banana Bread for Two Monkeys

Am I the only person in the world who finds it's ten times harder to entertain small children in the winter? Luca (3) and Niko(2) were so full of energy today, it was as though they were in serious training for the London Olympics. For all possible events. And I mean all of them, including judo and the pole vault. They spent the morning running round in circles and climbing on anything they could find (ie each other and the furniture) and they clearly had masses of extra energy to burn. All of this would have been fine had we been in a gym...but in our living room it became a little more complicated. Take them outside! I can hear you say....but in fact I tried that too. I guess this is where our Finnish roots just aren't deep enough! Neither of them was in any way seduced by the idea of going out when the temperature was -10 degrees. They were not interested in building snowmen or anything else. We managed to get to the post box and back plus a (very) short walk down our road...but that was it. They absolutely and unequivovally wanted to come back inside....and I can't say I entirely blame them... I have said before that I think the Finnish winter is incredibly beautiful - and I still do -but I have to say that I spent most of today wishing for the snow to melt and for the sun to come back - so the boys could run outside wearing t-shirts and no shoes. I can't wait for them to be able to run outside without having to dress them up as though they were flying into outer space. Perhaps I am the only mother in Somero who thinks that life is simpler in the summer, I don't know, but today I practically counted the minutes until the sun is back with us again. In the end I took the easy option. I didn't have the energy or courage to get them dressed for a trip to the shops, so we decided just to manage with what we could find in the kitchen and ended up making banana bread. Niko took the view that tasting it before it was cooked was the secret to a good cake, as you can no doubt see from the evidence around his mouth. Still, at least it kept him occupied for a few minutes, although if I am honest I have to admit that now he is back to running again. It's only five in the afternoon and I am ready to go to bed for the night.

Just in case you're wondering what he is wearing around his neck, it's a scarf I bought in France and which he immediately stole. It looks better on him than it does on me actually. To all the exhausted mothers out there...I am with you in spirit!

It's a Small World

It never ceases to amaze me how small the world is. I remember once, many years ago when I was at University in St Andrews in Scotland. I was in my second year there, and as I looked at the lists of new students, I saw that one person had a name that was clearly Finnish, so I decided to go and introduce myself. In fact in turned out that despite his name, he had been brought up in the US and had never even visited Finland. He mentioned though that he had once met a Finnish girl who was on an exchange programme in the States and had got on well with her. I asked out of curiosity if he remembered where she came from... and he did, from a town near Oulu in the north of the country. I was intrigued by this as my family come from this region too, and it only took a couple more questions until I discovered that the girl he was talking about was actually my own cousin!

Last week I was with two of my daughters, Saskia and Lucie, buying them winter jackets in Forssa (just under 30km from here). I got talking to the lady working in the shop and she told me that she was just closing and was quite keen to shut the shop so she could start her weekend. She said she had a bit of a drive to get home, so I asked where she lived. She told me that she lived in Somero, and as we came from the same town I asked whereabouts she lived. I could not believe it when I eventually discovered that she not only came from the same street as me...but that she was in fact my next door neighbour! Although I have got to know several of our neighbours, my path had never crossed Minna's before, and I had only ever seen her from a distance when one or both of us was mowing the lawn, so you can imagine how surprised I was to meet her for the first time while buying a jacket in Forssa.

And then today a similar thing happened yet again. There is an organisation called the Finn-Guild Association which exists for people with Anglo-Finnish connections. They have many valuable programmes designed at promoting Anglo-Finnish relations http://www.finn-guild.org/ In addition, four times a year they publish a magazine called the Horisontti. Many years ago I wrote an article for this magazine and I have long thought that I would like to write another, so this morning I gave them a call. I spoke to the editor, a man called Ossi Laurila, and explained my idea. I also told him that I had just started writing this blog. Only at this point did it emerge that in fact he came from Somero himself. Not only that, but it then turned out that we appeared on the same radio programme twenty years ago in the days when I was working as a disc jockey in Helsinki. I hope we have the chance to meet this summer when he visits and so we can catch up properly over a coffee. I am sure we all have stories like these, but it certainly feels as though the world is getting smaller all the time! So just in case any Somerolaiset stumble across this posting by chance...here are some photos of the town to remind you how pretty it is here!

Bird Morning

Once again, it's beautiful outside this morning. The snow is falling and everything just seems peaceful somehow. I have said before that I am quite sure that the birds have a way of telling each other where to find food, because they all seem to suddenly appear at the same time.

I went outside to see them this morning and there were so many birds singing that if you shut your eyes it sounded as though it was the beginning of spring. Without exaggerating, I could see at least fifty of them in the trees close to our front door.

This winter I have not managed to get any really good bird photos yet (I will keep trying), but I thought I would share an "almost" photo with you. The blurred silhouette on the right-hand side is evidence that I was a split second too late, but I kind of like this photo anyway. It feels quite artistic even though it was a pure accident on my part!

Happy Birthday...

...to Kaisa, who is one today!

Kaisa, as you can see from the photo, is a gorgeous little girl who today is celebrating her first birthday. We hope you have a lovely day and enjoy your party at the weekend!

Mums, Babies and Gratitude lists

There is never any shortage of things to do for children in Somero - but one of the real strong points of the town is that there are plenty of ways for parents to meet each other and socialise. On Tuesday mornings you will see a long procession of mothers and children arriving at the Parish Hall (seurakuntatalo) for the weekly family club. The environment is a very friendly and welcoming one - even if you arrive knowing no-one, you can be sure that someone will strike up a conversation. The mothers are able to get to know each other and chat while the older children go off to do arts and crafts and the babies keep us amused on laps and on the floor.

Each week there is a different theme. The club is run by Kirsi- who is one of those people who always has a smile on her face and makes you feel that even if you are going through a hard time things will turn out ok in the end. She just has an aura of positivity about her. Today she gave us some "homework" which was to spend some time this evening thinking about five things about today we should be grateful for. I have always been a big fan of "gratitude lists" because they force you to focus on the positive, instead of the things that are getting you down...and most of us have at least some of those! Frédéric and I discussed our lists over lunch and came up with a whole pile of suggestions so it proved to be a very useful exercise. The club is a great place to meet new people, to discuss things relating to children and things that have nothing to do with children at all. We talked today about books and music and travel and it was nice to found out a little about the other mothers, none of whom I know well. I found out several things this morning. Pretty much all of us wish there were more hours in the day.... I need to remember how lucky I am that Minttu (now six months old) sleeps through the night... that my house is probably messier than many of the others but that I am not the only mother in town who has more important things to do than ironing. At least that's one thing to be grateful for...

Listen to the Silence...

Yesterday evening, after the children had all gone to bed, I needed to get something from the car. As I was just coming back into the house I realised that there was not a single sound anywhere. Not one. It was one of those rare moments when I was surrounded by total silence. In fact it was so impressive that I asked Frédéric to come outside and listen to it with me, and we both stood for a few moments just to listen to the quiet. It made me think of a book I read once (I wish I could remember the name, but it escapes me) written by a monk. He lived in a monastery somewhere remote up in the hills, and it was also a place that people could come to in order to reflect on life and get away from their normal daily routines. The monk said that he was surprised sometimes when people made the comment to him that they did not like being there, because they were not used to the sound of silence. They were so used to living amidst noise that suddenly hearing silence became troubling to them. What sort of world is it, the monk asked, when people can no longer stand the sound of silence? I read that book many years ago now, but I thought that was a very good question and I have remembered it ever since.

In Somero we have the luxury of complete silence sometimes and I really value that, as in most places nowadays this is no longer the case.

When I met those of you who are interested in coming to English conversation classes, I said that we would have no homework...but that I would ask questions designed to make you think about things and then express yourselves in English. So here is one for you to think about....What do you wish you had known when you were younger? If you find the inspiration to write your ideas in the comment box, then I would love to hear from you. We can discuss your ideas further when we meet. And please remember that it doesn't matter how many mistakes you make...our group is about having the confidence to communicate...and it has to start somewhere!

For me, I wish I had understood when I was a teenager that the real pleasures in life come from those small moments which cannot be bought with money. Like sitting next to a fireplace when it is cold outside, or feeding the squirrels (still no sign of Akseli, but I keep waiting), seeing how beautiful the trees are when the snow has just fallen, or simply standing outside and listening to one of those rare moments of silence as I did yesterday. To me, those moments are worth more than any money can buy, and I regret the fact that it took me so long to realise that. What about you? what would you have liked to know when you were younger? If you can't think of an answer immediately, then wait until everyone has gone to bed tonight and go outside for a while. Maybe the sound of silence will inspire you!

Election Day

Today the Finns go to the polls for the first round of voting in the presidential election. It is almost inevitable that there will be a second round in two weeks' time. I cast my vote this afternoon at the Town Hall in Somero, and there was a steady flow of people arriving to vote as I left. I am fairly sure that the turnout for today's election will be a high one.

As someone who has lived much of my life abroad I am always interested to see how the foreign press portray Finland. Of course Finland is famous for its saunas, beautiful (but cold) winters and Father Christmas, but over the last year Finland has started to be portrayed in a different light. Reputable newspapers such as The Times in the UK and le Figaro in France have run several articles about the sudden rise in popularity of the far right in Finland and the growth in nationalism here. This has done little to promote Finland's reputation in Europe and elsewhere. The Finnish election results were heavily analysed last year following the strong results acheived by the far right and we are being watched this time too by political commentators worldwide.

Let's hope the eventual winner of this election is someone who will give a strong and credible voice to Finland on the world stage and someone we as a nation can be proud of.

A Visit from Peppi Pitkätossu

One of the things which has most surprised me since moving to Somero is the amount of events and activities in the town. It seems to me that there is always something to do or somewhere to go. This morning there was a special children's event held in Kiruu School. There were pony rides and a visiting fire engine outside and various activities inside the school.

The 4H association had organised pirate hat-making out of pieces of newspaper, and the children could also make and decorate paper dolls. It is inspirational to see such simple and inexpensive activities keeping children amused for hours. There was face painting and dancing -but the highlight of the morning appeared just after twelve when Pippi Pitkätossu arrived on stage. This was much to the delight of both the little ones and their parents, most of whom used their children as an excuse to join in with the action songs!

Even Somero's vicar Matias Roto was there with his two children, Elvira and Hilary, and they all seemed to be enjoying dancing along to the Birdie Song!

I have to say that Peppi Pitkätossu (the Finnish name for Pippi Longstocking) was sensational. and managed to keep a hall full of children transfixed. I will have to give her a call and ask what her secret is... I could do with some tips!