Look at the state of my shoes!

This was me... or at least my shoes, earlier this evening on my return from orienteering. Lucie and I went to the Torstairastit (Thursday orienteering) with Liisa Kortelainen and her boyfriend Jukka. As usual we stuck to the easiest course which is only 2km long, but this evening it was quite hilly so it was still quite challenging.

Last week we got so badly lost that we took 24 minutes to find the first point and ended running at least four kilometres on a two kilometre course! (The quickest people had finished the entire course in less time than this).

 This week though, we were determined to do better and we took great care to make sure that we really studied the map properly to avoid getting lost. Everything was going well until the very last point when we were running to the end, and I managed to completely envelope my feet into a pile of cow dung that was at least 30 centimetres deep. Lovely.

Poor Liisa and her boyfriend had given us a lift to the event and so they had to put up with the smell of my shoes all the way home.  I doubt they will ever offer me a lift again.

Still, as usual it was good fun.  Orienteering is a completely new hobby for me, but it combines sport, nature, teamwork and having fun with friends all at the same time, so I have fallen in love with it and we now try and go every week. I am getting better at map-reading and my fitness is improving (slowly) but I am afraid my shoes are not too happy with my performance.

Next week on 9th June there will be another kind of orienteering round Somero which will not involve stepping in cow poo. It is open to people of any age and involves all sorts of activities...I'll let you know more about this in the next couple of days. Keep your eyes open for more details of the first ever Somero Seikkailu!

Thank you everyone!

The Hymnos Choir

Despite all my fears that I would be sitting on my own in an empty concert hall, in the end everything worked out really well and our concert on Sunday was a success.

A hundred and thirty people came even though there was bright sunshine outside and they could easily have chosen to spend the weekend in the garden or at their summer houses.

Every performer did a magnificent job, we sold all the raffle tickets, loads of coffee and cakes and between us we raised 900 euros for Svensson.

Pentti Koskimaa

The Viimehetken Kuoro

Kari Luoto

Huge thanks to everyone who came, all those who volunteered on the day and of course especially to the singers and musicians who made the evening such a success.

For me personally, the best thing about the event was the way everybody worked together as a team. One thing I love about living in Somero is that there is still very much a sense of "community" here which has been missing from so many places in which I have lived.
People here come together to help others, and everyone was happy to be involved in a project whose purpose was to raise money for Svensson.

Each of the artists and groups told the audience a little of their own story and why they had chosen that particular song or piece of music, which made the whole thing more personal.


Katri Salomäenpää

Thanks also go to Heidi, Maija-Liisa and Olli for helping with the posters and fliers, Lucie and Cameron for helping me deliver them around town and Elvi for being a star all day.

None of us is able to change the world alone, but together we can achieve almost anything, and this concert was proof of that. Together we did something good. Thank you all again.

Will Anyone Come?

Pentti Koskimaa

I have always been interested in doing voluntary work, and once I arrived in Somero I soon heard about a place called Svensson which is always looking for volunteers to work in the kitchens. Svensson is a fantastic place which offers support to the whole community in a variety of different ways.  You can find more information on what is on offer at this link.

http://www.svensson.fi/svensson

Ruut Saarimäki

Anyway, at the beginning of 2012 I decided that I should get involved in at least one fundraising project this year, and over a coffee with Manu one day, he suggested that Svensson would be a very worthwhile cause. I thought it would be fun to raise money by organising a concert.  The only problem was that I don't really play anything myself and at the time I didn't know anyone else in Somero who did either......

Never mind, I thought to myself. I'll just announce that there's going to be a concert, and once I've done that I'll be forced to find people to perform at it. So that's what happened. I booked the date at the Parish Hall (Seurakuntakeskus) for the 27th May and hoped that I would meet people in the next few weeks who were talented enough to perfom in public.

Kari Luoto

Saara Roto with Minttu

I kept my ears and eyes open over the next few weeks, and destiny was kind to me. Every week I stumbled across one more person who could play or sing. I found out that Ruut from the choir was part of a family band. Then I discovered that my son Cameron's teacher is a very talented artist (Kari Luoto...see the blog entry on him). I came across Pentti Koskimaa because he had a rehearsal in Kiiruun Tila the same night as our English club, Colette Roto I got to know because she is from Cameroon and her first language is French, Saara Roto I met in the choir and then at the seurakunta family club. The Hymnos Choir I met having been invited to hear them sing in Somero, and we got talking because both families had connections with South America. Linda Tyrol Jämsen was introduced to me through her niece Ella who comes to the English club, Katri Salomäenpää has been coming to the English group since it started and I found out about her talents because I ask everyone what they have been doing each week.  I met Elvi because we were both volunteers at the christmas bazaar and then later found out she was part of a reading group....and all of a sudden there they were.  My concert performers!

Elvi

So I had a date and a line up.  But then I fell ill for several weeks so nothing happened at all and at one point I thought I may have no choice but to cancel the whole thing. That would have been a shame though. Svensson is desperately in need of funding, and even a few extra euros is better than none at all. I asked several people to help with the last minute arrangements and the response was fantastic. Some volunteers from Svensson promised to come and help with the coffees. A lady in the library helped me with the Finnish for the poster. Olli, Heidi and Maija Liisa helped with the production of posters and leaflets. Lucie helped me deliver more than a thousand leaflets to letterboxes around the town, Manu took some leaflets for his own neighbourhood and more than fifteen Somero businesses have donated prizes for the raffle.

Everything was back on track again...now there is just one element left. We need people to come!

So if you are anywhere near Somero and fee on Sunday...please come and support a really excellent cause.

The concert is on Sunday 27th May at 16.00 at the Seurakuntakeskus in Somero. 

The Hymnos Choir

It's free entry with voluntary dontations as you leave. There are coffee, cakes and a raffle...lots of great performers and hopefully a warm atmosphere. All we need now is the audience.  I am hoping and praying I will not be standing there on my own on Sunday afternoon... so spread the word, and I will let you know on Monday how we got on!

Goodbye Caroline

Today was a sad day. After eleven years, today we had to say goodbye to our Siamese cat, Caroline. I was lucky that my friend Liisa is a vet so I knew Caroline was in good hands right until the end...but I have to be honest, when I had to say goodbye I thought my heart was going to break.

Caroline had lived with us in England, France and Finland. She was proud and did not like other cats - because I suspect she thought they were a different species and she was better than them. She was very affectionate and only got angry when we went on holiday. By the time we got back she would miaow for two days in order to let us know how badly we had let her down by going away.

There is no love in the world like the love a pet gives you. They are loyal, they are always there for you, and they accept you no matter what faults you have. they are by your side whether you are healthy or sick and they love you unconditionally. I wish people could learn to be the same.


I know that she is in a better place now, but we will miss her very much. Thank you Caroline for being a member of our family...and thank you also for leading me to meet Liisa the vet, who is now my friend. We will never forget you.

The Blog is Back!

Hello everyone. First of all, I am sorry for the long silence. What started off as a cough in the UK three weeks ago suddenly became much worse and I am only just getting back on my feet again now. I have not been in front of the computer at all since I got back from the UK, so for the last three weeks you have been left staring at a picture of us at Stonehenge! Thank you for all your kind messages in the interim which cheered me up no end.

                                                                           Another big thank you to Marja-Leena and Kari Romu who took me to the hills in Häntälä this morning (Hantälän Notkot). We were lucky to have bright sunshine and the views were stunning. I was able to get some great photos for the Saappaat Savessa book project. If you have never visited Somero you should really put it on your list of things to do! It's beautiful!








Not only was it nice to be out in the sun today but it was especially enjoyable to be with people who appreciated every different type of bird and flower that we saw.

Saappaat Savessa!

We sometimes need reminding that in amongst all the sad and difficult things going on in the world, there are also hundreds of beautiful things surrounding us, if only we take the time to see them!

Have a happy week wherever you are and I hope you have a share of our Somero sunshine.

Hello from England!

Just a quick hello from England. The weather here is horrendous. Apparently this has been the wettest April since records began.  Excellent. We left Finland on Wednesday last week, when it was bright sunshine and 16 degrees.

Salisbury Cathedral

Stonehenge

On arrival at Gatwick Airport we were greeted by torrential rain, it was like being caught in a monsoon. Since then it has been windy and cold, not helped by the fact that I keep getting messages telling me how warm it is in Somero!

Still, we managed to visit a few places, including Stonehenge, although it was so windy that I am surprised the stones remained standing.









I had a really interesting day on Saturday talking to a group of Finnish people in Bournemouth who have all lived in the UK for some time. I'll post some pictures of them next time. Obviously I told them that they were all welcome to visit us in Somero!  They also gave me a list of British foods that I should bring back to Somero so that you can try some British Specialities.

Srping flowers are already out here

Hopefully you will be feeling brave at the next meeting of the Somero English Club. I have come down with flu for the second time this year so I have spent the last few days coughing pretty much all the time, and I have been feeling very sorry for myself. I am now looking forward to getting home. I have lots of ideas of places we can visit if we decide to come over to the UK as a group later in the year. Looking forward to seeing you all soon!

taken in a village just outside Salisbury