Seasons Greetings...

So this is Christmas...

Joulukortti 2011 - jk @ arkkitehdas

Not catching up

From St.Petersburg 2011

We went to a tuparit (house warming) yesterday (unfortunately luckily no tales or photos of people misbehaving as we left by 10pm) and saw numerous people who we haven't seen in six months.  We forgot the tradition present of bread and salt, but did manage to add to the pile of candle holders and lanterns...

When asked what we'd been up to I was surprised by how much we had been doing, like trips (and lots of photos of course) to Barcelona, St. Petersburg and Gotland.  Also with my typical uselessness in social occasions I pretty much failed to find out what anyone else had been up to (well except Bore, I figured she had obviously moved house as it was her party) - I even failed to get the name of the friendly person who gave us a lift back home...

There was meant to be a clever point to this about catching up on news, people and uploading photos or something - but due to a dose of near-fatal man-flu I can't figure out how it goes now. Whatever...

Today I have the answer to the ultimate question

...you know, Life, The Universe, Everything...

or

Kakiskymmentayksi vuotias - toista

Open (House) Helsinki 2011

Apart from the fact that they can't decide if the event has the word 'house' in it or not, and there are also places in Espoo and Vantaa (well I suppose that is 'greater' Helsinki ) as you might guess this week was this year's opportunity to get into public and private buildings that you often can't. And ships.

Now we have a proper internet connection at last, I can finally upload a decent number of photographs with out waiting for Godot. Be afraid...


(Click on Picasa album links below for more pictures)

Open House Helsinki - saunalahden lastentalo

Open House Helsinki - Urho ja Sisu

Open House - Musikkitalo, WG Lofts, Stora Enso

Open House - Pyhän Laurin kappeli

This is not a blog post

We have been exceedingly lazy on the blog front this year. If you are reading this via Facebook (as it posts as a note there automatically) you may not realise there are also so my tweets (via Twitter) on this page ... well occasionally.  Luckily Sähkötonttu doesn't have a Twitter account.

You could always read 'Jees Helsinki Jees' while you are waiting, which I only recently found (when doing a search for Jonathan Glancey's critique of the new Musiikitalo in HS - 'kone ilman sielu') ... how have I missed this cool blog until now?

And now a list of things we haven't blogged about:

• Elections
• Spring
• Metalligrafiikka courses (etching)
• Keramiikka course (wobbly pots and other lumpy objects)
• Finnish indie-pop music (Rubik, Regina, LCDMF)
• Spotify
• Radio Helsinki (finally a radio station I can live with)
• Musiikitalo
• Työ

Mistä olet sinä kotoisin?

Great Eng..Brit..UK-land Isles (jne) by C.G.P. Grey via Holy Kaw and @stephenfry


One of the first things you learn in Finnish language lessons is the simple question 'Where are you from?'
What people don't always understand is that may not be as straightforward a query to answer as you might think... now all I need to do is translate the video* into Finnish. Or maybe make a t-shirt of that Venn diagram.

[suomen kielien kurssissa]

• Opiskellija 1: Hei 
• Opiskellija 2:  Moi
• Missä sinä asut?
• Asun Helsingissa. Olen asunnut suomessa noin kolme vuotta.
• Mista olet sinä kotoisin? Oletko englantilainen?
• Olen englannista, mutta myös iso-brittaniasta ja brittein saarista ja u.k:sta
• Mitä!?
• Olen britti ja englantilainen kyllä. Mutta minun passini kertoo 'United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland'
• Kirja vain sanoo 'maa: englanti, keili: englantia,  kansalaisuus: englantilainen - englannista...
• Tiedän, mutta on monimutkainen maa. 
• Sitten... oletko irlantilainen myös?
• En ole. Ihminen voi olla irlantilainen ja iso-brittanista, mutta ei aina.
• En ymmärrä sinun maa!
• Määt - monikko. OK. Sinun vuoro. Mistä sinä...
• Opettaja: Oletteko valmis seuraava harjoitus?

I wonder if there is a video to explain London, Greater London, Inner London, Central London, London Boroughs and City of London...


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* Arguably there are still a few inaccuracies in this video. Or possibly sarcasm. See the comments on 'Holy Kaw' here.

Non-Angry Birds

Sorsa X Tööllönlahden lähellä sunnuntaina: 'En ole vihainen lintu'

If you live in Finland or read any 'tech'/games media (or own an iPhone) you probably don't need me to tell you about Angry Birds (Vihaiset Linnut) the hit game developed in Finland by Rovio (and no. 1 downloaded paid app just about everywhere).  Over Christmas Konna and I discovered the phenomenon and quickly became addicted. I even had to get the Mac version for her to play while I was away so she would let me take my iPod with me... I'm convinced that even though the birds and green pigs (don't ask) only make nonsense noises, you can tell they have Finnish accents. And just to rub it in on one level the linnut are attacking a 'tank' manned (pigged?) by said vihreät siät flying a ruotsalainen lippu (thats the blue and yellow flag of the country just to the left of us in case you were wondering).

On Sunday we went for a four hour walk around across Hakaniemenlahti and Töölönlahti (just getting used to taking winter short cuts after three years).  The sky was gloriously clear and blue, though the wind was fierce, so ideal for a few (dozen) about a hundred photos.  Stopping to look at the ducks and snow sculptures, we then headed past the Olympic stadium, where traditionally clad skaters were flocking for the first ever public access to the temporary ice rink, and then through Sibeliuksenpuisto to the my favourite, the fantastically unorthodox Cafe Regatta - only to discover we had the sum total of eight euros* between us for a lunch. We settled for freshly baked korvupuustia and a shared coffee...  and luckily coffee refills get a five cent refund making it a bottomless cup. As I said - unorthodox.

Crossing Töölönlahti

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* Not enough for two drinks and two pullaa, let alone lunch. And Regatta isn't particularly expensive.

Reverse culture shock

Konna's tea shipment

Something I noticed while back in UK was that I have now been away long enough to notice and be surprised by things which were part of my everyday life not so long ago. Some examples:

• First, an obvious one - how busy, diverse, big and loud London is compared to Helsinki (remember the population of London is bigger than the population of Finland). Especially on the Underground.
• Cold and damp - walking to a gig in Portsmouth I was shivering, even though it was +3°C and I was well dressed. The cold, damp air was penetrating; give me -7°C here in desiccated Helsinki any day.

Un-boxing days

Twinkle kept out of Heisenburg's boxes

I'm sure our boxes had been breeding - there is no way we left a whole room full last year...

Although I had two weeks to do it, seeing a room full of 34 boxes, 2 chairs, 2 glass tables, 1 rug, 2 shelves, several large framed pictures, a drawing board, several portfolio cases, and a crate and several blue Ikea bags of miscellaneous 'stuff' (1950's radio anyone?) and a cat* made me think I had my work cut out for me. I actually  wondered if I would have time to visit friends in Pompey** and Town*** as promised.

Boxing Days

These are not my shoes left in a box in England...

Okay the title sounds a few weeks late* (a bit like the updating of this blog), but anyway in a few days I am heading back to Blackwater/Hawley (whichever it is - even though GoogleMaps claims it is Frogmore!) for a few weeks of sorting through boxes.  Yes these are the boxes of 'precious' items (aka junk) that got packed up over three years ago, spent over a year in storage in London, got moved to a spare room in my mother's house and have survived various attempts at selecting useful/desired things to bring over here.

Hyvää Joulua kaikille!

Joulukortti 2010 © Arkkitehdas / Mark Davies

  

Happy Christmas, Hyvää Joulua, God Jul, Frohe Weihnachten, Joyeaux No el, Feliz Navidad, j.n.e and similar Juletide Greetings from emmdee, konna (and the tonttu) at hölypöly

Lost Posts: TdS day 6 & 7

Kirkkovene / Church boat at Sulkava - photo by konna.

Something I forgot to mention earlier (and as she hasn't even read, let alone posted to, the blog recently she didn't notice until now) all the photos during our 'Tour de Saimaa' (TdS) cycling trip were taken by Konna and not by me as I didn't take my 'big' camera - and even though they are on my Picasa album rather than hers (well if I had waited for her to do it... said the pot of the kettle). Anyway, moving on...
 

Lost Posts: TdS day 5

If you use enough sauce you can't see the fishes looking at you

Viides päivä: perjantai 5. heinäkuu, Savonlinnasta Sulkavaan (noin 44+ kilsa)

Day 5 of our summer Tour de Saimaa, in which we...

• Get immediately lost on leaving the campsite by trying to find a postbox
• Have novelty of clouds and showers (but still 27°!)
• Encounter the odd mosquito as we enter the forest... and some trickier gravel roads
• Roads and amount of bugs get worse; Konna is struggling on the short but sharp hills - I am unsure if she is flapping her arms to get up them or get rid of the insects that seem to prefer her to me

V**** jääpuikut

Jääpuikut

  
Moika perkelet! Ha-ha säkhö-tonttu on takaisin!!!

Lyön vetoa juuri ne hitto bloggaajia oli päässyt eroon minusta. No nyt ne löytää sen ole niin helppo päästä eroon nykyajan tonttu, joka voi käyttää internetiä. Höpsis-Blogi on hakkeroitu taas. Jos teidän laajakaista ei ole niin paska voisin löytänyt teitä aikaisemmin.

Niiden web-cam näen §*#%* valtava jääpuikkoja ja jopa isompi pelle katolla ilman turvaköyteen. Typerä.

Kyllä, kusihousut sähkö-tonttu on takaisin! Ihminen tottuu kaikkeen, paitsi jääpuikkoon takamuksessa (se ehtii sulaa enne kuin tottuu...)

Kallio snow globe

Kallion kirkko yesterday

   

It's a bit strange writing about summer (see lost posts - like you can miss them) when even in Kallio it is like being in a snow globe recently.

Lost Posts: TdS day 4

The view of Olavinlinna being spoilt by some cyclist: Kesä10 - Lost Postcards

  

Neljas Päivää: Savonlinnassa (vielä 16km pyöräily)

Day 4 (a so-called 'rest day') in which we:

Saimaa steamboat

• Washed some clothes and left them to dry in the blazing sun
• Freewheeled down the hill into town
• Had an icecream
• Took a tour of Olavinlinna (Olaf's Castle) where the opera festival is held (and heard singers practicing as we go)
• Almost broke my neck trying to walk up/down uneven stone spiral staircases in cycling shoes
• Had a fancy lunch on a shady terrace and another icecream
• Sat in the park while eating an icecream
• Took a steamboat cruise

Lost Posts: TdS Day 3

What is that stupid piece of plastic for anyway?

I'm guessing that reading all these overlong Lost Posts of summer / cycling tour blogs is almost as hard work as writing them, so in the interests of speeding things up (so there is a chance they are done with before next summer) I'm changing to a more abridged and less windy style. You hope...
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Kolmas päivä: keskiviiko 7. heinä: Kerimaan Camping:sta Savonlinnaan (noin 35km pyöräillä)

Eduskunta

Luckily Finland has a substantial paper industry: Winter 2010

A couple of weeks ago we did one of those touristy things you never seem to do when living in you home country/city.  In this case visiting Suomen eduskuntatalo - Finland's parliament building.

A Rare Finnish Export?

"Just before the first snow of winter falls, professional hunters begin their work. The long process of tracking, hunting and transforming this king of the forest into a finished product is a time consuming process, but the final outcome is a reason to celebrate" Rare Exports Inc. 

I first came across the Rare Exports short films about five years ago in London at a Finnish film festival at the Barbican. In amongst the subtitled darkness of Louhimies' Paha Maa ('Frozen Land' - although paha literally translates as bad or evil) and a brace of painterly and bleak yet comedic Kaurismäki's* (such as Kauas pilvet karkaavat or 'Drifting Clouds') were two short interlopers directed by Jalmari Healander revealing the 'real' story behind Finland's most famous seasonal and rare export... (which can both be seen here)