A Town Called Somero

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Hello Again from Somero!

Luca and Niko receive their first athletics medals!

A big hello from Somero. I hope your summer has been a good one.

Although Somero is only a small town there is always a lot happening here, and this weekend is no exception. Yesterday evening Luca and Niko participated in an athletics competition in Oinasjärvi. they came home with their first ever medals...two golds for Luca and two bronzes for Niko. Of course we were very proud of our boys first step towards Olympic victory, but Niko doesn't quite get it yet.

He picked up his medal and said "What's this for?"

Hello also to Susanna whom I met yesterday and who reminded me that it was about time the blog was revived from its summer holiday and came back to life! I promised I would start up again this weekend, so thank you Susanna for the encouragement to do so!

Luca, Niko and me in Letku

Today was another interesting day as it was the first day of this weekend's orienteering event along the famous Ox Road of Häme. This is a very old route which stretches from Hämeenlinna to Turku and passes right through Somero.

Sharpening knives in Letkun Puoti

Beautiful view from Porras

Inside Somero museum (this croft originates from 1823)

Participants pick up a passport and visit various destinations in order to get stamps on their passports. We managed to visit seven of them today, and their was a great atmosphere everywhere we went, particularly as we enjoyed bright sunshine all day.

The event continues tomorrow, so if you haven't yet planned your weekend then pick up a passport and start collecting some stamps!

See you long the route somewhere!

Monday, June 25, 2012

Sailing, Brazil and Windows

Back in April the members of the Somero English Club all went out for a meal at Jussi's Baari, and one of the topics of conversation were things we would love to do that we had never done before. Kirsti told us that she had dreamt of going sailing all her life and hoped one day that this would be possible. I thought this was a great dream to have, and found out that it would be possible to charter a ship to take us sailing for the day in the Turku archipelago on 1st July.

The ship can hold twelve people. A few people who were going to come orginally are now unable to make it next Sunday...so is there anyone who would like to join us for the trip? Let me know if so, it should be a fun experience and would also help to make Kirsti's dream come true!

Three other things for this post.

The first is a message to anyone who has tried to get hold of me by phone over the last few days. I managed to lose my phone whilst in the UK, so I have not been reachable on my normal number. Sorry if you have tried to contact me. I now have a new sim card and can be contacted on my normal number.

The second is HELLO TO BRAZIL! This blog has had regular readers from Brazil over the last couple of weeks, and I love the idea that there is someone so far away reading about the little town of Somero in Finland. Whoever you are, hello to Brazil from Somero, we are delighted to have you with us!

And the third is this. A couple of people close to me are going through a hard time right now (believe me, I know the feeling...). I can't fix those issues, but please remember you are not alone. I was standing at a bus stop today and saw these wild flowers by the side of the road. They are humble flowers, but beautiful nevertheless....and they are for you.

When things are really tough all any of us can do is take one day at a time - and as Marja-Leena said to me the other day, some doors may close, but a new window will open soon, sometimes when you least expect it. I hope that the rest of the summer is full of new windows for all of you.

with love,

Jody

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Juhannus at Zoolandia

To celebrate Midsummer's Day we went to Zoolandia, which is an amusement park close to Turku. We had a nice day despite the fact that it wasn't very hot. There was lots for the children to do and Luca kept himself very busy going on all the rides with his big brother Charlie who is visiting us from the UK this week. Here are some pictures of our day.