Elk's Street

Celebrations

2012-01-15T23:29:00.011+02:00

December is the time for various celebrations. Below are a few photos of some of December's events.

Thomas (centre) giving his scout's promise.

A certain well-known gentlemen, being ably assisted by Henry.

Lilli, eagerly viewing proceedings.

H-M, also paying close attention.

The horn is in the background because the tradition is that people have to sing to Father Christmas. The boys were keen on the idea, so Thomas played a few carols on his horn, and we sang a Christmas song, accompanied by Henry on guitar.

Christmas meal.

Lilli and Tiina tucking in.

And thanks go to H-M, who was the head chef, with Tiina the sommelier.

St. Petersburg

2012-01-08T22:15:00.012+02:00

At the beginning of December, it was time for the next trip to St. Petersburg. This time, the focus was on culture - attendance at a KHL game was on the itinerary.

The usual suspects cheerfully set off on the Allegro train. Sesse managed not to lose her ticket and the only excitement was caused by Peter being singled out for extra thorough checking at the border - the only person in the whole carriage. Yippee!

We stayed at the usual hotel, Hotel Dostoyevsky, and the trip began with shopping for art supplies for H-M. Then it was time to head off for dinner, which Tiina had decreed would be in the fine restaurant, Stroganoff Steak House. The food was excellent. I enjoyed the Baikal omul, well, at least until I found out it was a somewhat endangered species, and the local sausages, and the others enjoyed the signature stroganoff (the adults) and the less-signature burgers (children). After dinner, we met up for a quick chat with Viktoria.

The breakfast at the hotel is really nothing to write home about and the ladies decided they wanted something rather better. So, we went off on a search, ending up at the Jazz Bar 48 Chairs, where the ladies had their breakfast and the boys a cup of coffeee (Peter) and orange juice (Thomas and Henry).

Sesse with her tea, but waiting for her omelette.

Interior of the jazz bar.

Suitably fortified, we went on our way into a rainy city, with Sesse, as usual, being an excellent guide. We were in Russia at the time of the parliamentary elections, as can be seen by the hoarding promoting the United Russia party. United Russia is the ruling party and did less well than anticipated. My feeling is that the people were upset with too many manifestations of the arrogance of power, in particular the decision to change the time, meaning that in St. Petersburg it doesn't get light until nearly eleven in the morning.

Electoral poster on Nevsky Prospekt, St. Petersburg's main thoroughfare.

The weather was not too friendly, but nothing to stop intrepid tourist like us.

Rainy St. Petersburg.

Rainy St. Petersburg (Singer Building on Nevesky Prospekt).

After a bout of sightseeing, it was time for a trolley bus ride, followed by lunch at a Japanese-Italian restaurant, Yakitoriya, where Thomas was a little disappointed with his portion, but Tiina and Henry were much happier with theirs.

Thomas eyeing his rather meagre lunch.

Henry and Tiina looking much more content.

Poor Thomas needed a snack immediately after eating his meal! Henry was very helpful and used his Russian skills to get him a meat pie (pirozhki). Thomas certainly does not need to slim!

Then it was off to the ice-hockey stadium to see the KHL game, CKA Saint Peterburg vs Spartak Moscow. The place was rocking, the hockey was good, and a fun time was had by all - except maybe the supporters of Spartak, as their team took a bit of a hiding.

Henry with his fan 'tattoo'.

Tiina and Henry

Building up the atmosphere.

Changeover.

A post-game snack - blinis at a Teremok kiosk.

The next morning it was an early start and the train back to Finland.

Of course, no report of a trip to St. Petersburg is complete without the obligatory photo of a church.

St. Isaac's Cathedral at night.

Andy Warhol

2012-01-08T21:34:00.009+02:00

"In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes."

This autumn, it was Elk's Street's humble scribe's turn for ephemeral celebrity - as the photo below shows.

The award was given at a formal student dinner, which involved certain rituals, most of which come from the German university tradition, and at which I surprised everyone by holding the acceptance speech in Finnish.

Listening to some of the other speeches, I became more and more astonished at being singled out. With age, my classroom style is becoming more and more old-fashioned - I don't use electronic learning environments ('virtual learning' is just that - not quite the real thing), I don't use electronic feedback, I'm tardy with giving grades, and I hardly get round to being bothered to use the blackboard any more.

Mind you, Socrates didn't use much technology either - perhaps because he played football!

Thomas also had his moment in the spotlight. He was invited to the mayor's Independence Day reception. As with the Finnish President's Independence Day Ball, the event begins with shaking of hands - for a taste of this click here.

Thomas was maybe not quite as well-dressed as those in the video but he was still quite smart, as shown by the photos below.

How did the teaching story end? By the management in its wisdom transferring me to duties where I spend most of my time staring at a computer screen and very little time in the classroom. Hurray for managers.... not!

St Petersburg

2011-11-18T22:13:00.010+02:00

With the exception of H-M, who feels uncomfortable in Russia, Elk's Street is now in possession of multi-entry visas for the Russian Federation. Living so close to the border, it is a pretty poor do that it took so long for us to get organised, although the eye-watering cost of the visas is a reasonable excuse.

So, visas in hand, we were ready for a trip to Russia's second-largest city.

After a good breakfast a snack at Cafe Aleksandra, the happy travellers set off to Vainikkala to catch the Allegro to St. Petersburg, a journey of a couple of hours. Sesse was on this trip as our guide and interpreter.

Thomas the packhorse.

Waiting at Vainikala station.
(From left to right: Henry, Thomas, Tiina, Sesse.)

Note that Sesse has her train ticket, which she conveniently mislaid when the guard arrived for the ticket inspection. But, as the Aussies say, "no worries, mate." Somehow, Sesse managed to travel both ways without showing a valid ticket.

Three generations of Russian train at Finljandski station.
(Apologies for the poor photo quality, these photos were all taken by mobile phone.)

From the station, we set off, with Sesse in the lead, to the metro and our hotel, Hotel Dostoevsky. The hotel is very conveniently located and not ludicrously priced. Having a supermarket in the basement under the hotel certainly makes shopping for souvenirs to take home very easy, although Peter, not being the world's most enthusiastic shopper, only bought a 2.5kg jar of pears.

The entertainment for the first evening was a trip to the St Petersburg State Circus. Russia has a very long circus tradition and the performers were very talented, although there were perhaps a few too many animal acts for my taste. And I felt rather sad for the bears.

Henry tucking into his starter at the Korova Bar.

Sesse's starter was a more sensible size.
(Although I don't think anyone went to the circus hungry.)

The next day, after a hotel breakfast, it was on our feet and off; first stop - the St. Petersburg Ice Palace, to get tickets for our next trip, to see a KHL game - St. Petersburg SKA vs Spartak Moscow. Having completed the serious business of the day, we had the rest of day for sight-seeing, so it was back into the town centre and Nevsky Prospekt.

After refreshments in Cafe Singer, upstairs in the Dom Knigi shop, we decided that the weather was too wet and a change of plan was needed. So the afternoon was spent on a minibus sightseeing tour - a nice way to spend a rainy day, although the Russian commentary by the guide (non-stop for nearly 2 hours) was a bit beyond my Russian vocabulary of about five words.

View from Cafe Singer, Nevsky Prospekt

After a rest in the hotel, it was off to meet Tiina's former colleague, Viktoria for dinner, at Da Albertone, located, perhaps rather inaptly for Elk's Street, on Millionaires Street. The food was very good, and even Thomas approved.

The next morning there was time for a short walk, some shopping, a quick visit to Teremok, and then it was back to the train station and back to Finland.

No post about a trip to St. Petersburg is complete without...

... the obligatory photo of a church.

What's in a name?

2011-10-08T22:26:00.008+03:00

Finland is a country where nicknames are rife, and Elk's Street has its fair share. Depending on the situation, one might find; Mamitsu, Papitsu, Henkka, Tomppa, Tinna Tanna Topsis, Huomi, and more.

The logic behind some of the names is pretty clear but that behind others more obscure. Mr Fox? Paddington?

Below, some help with encryption.

H-M

Paddington

Or should that be the other way around?

On the subject of names, while doing some cleaning I came across a list of names; the shortlist, should the boys have been girls.

For your enjoyment, and in no particular order, it is given below.

Laura
Emma
Christina
Helena
Sandra
Sylvia
Susanna
Anne/Anna
Paula
Nina

End of Summer

2011-09-22T22:33:00.014+03:00

In the final week of the summer holiday the boys, without H-M, went for a couple of days' city living in Helsinki.

As usual, Tiina was our host and chairperson of the entertainment committee. One item on the programme was a visit to the town of Lohja to visit the limestone mines and the Tytyri mine museum. Elk's Street highly recommend this guided tour. The group is first taken down to the mine by minibus before walking through part of mine with a guide, who explains the history and workings of the limestone quarry. It was most emjoyable, and industrial history is always most interesting.

A hard-hatted group waiting to set off on the tour (Henry, Tiina, Thomas, Peter).

Thomas finding looking like an egg rather amusing.

In addition to the mines, Lohja has a coffee shop serving rather good cakes and pastries.

The next morning, Tiina took the little boys off to the amusement part, Linnanmäki, while your correspondent, who is no fan of amusement parks and fairground rides, went off to the Bank of Finland Museum. This small museum has free entry and is quite interesting, although one should probably have some knowledge of Finnish history to be able to enjoy it to the full. Having been in Finland for over 20 years now (How did that happen?) I recalled quite a few of the financial events described; the devaluation of the Finnish markka (No, I haven't forgiven Esko Aho, Iiro Viinanen, Ulf Sundqvist and company.), the old banknotes (including a huge one I only saw when there was a bank strike and we were paid in cash) and the introduction of the Euro.

The weather was very nice, so after my dose of education, and a coffee and a bun, I took a stroll around downtown Helsinki. As the photos below show, Finland is not as bleak as one might imagine. Well, at least in summer.

The dome of Helsinki Cathedral in late summer sunshine.

The Relandersgrund lightship, now a café-restaurant.

Some pleasure boats, with the ice-breakers peaceably waiting for winter in the background.

A Helsink tram passing through Katajanokka.

The dome of Uspenski Cathedral.

The President's Palace.

The trip was soon over and it was back to Elk's Street, and school, work and, all too soon, the rainy days of autumn.

Below, the summer holidays going 'up, up, and away.'

Fishing

2011-08-20T21:47:00.004+03:00

As many Elk's Street followers may know, Henry is a keen fisherman. This summer's catch was not so good but a couple of nice fish were snared. And one 'biggie' got away by breaking the line.

Below a picture of Henry with a handsome fish he caught, a pike:

(Photo courtesy of Matias)

Summer 2011 - Part 2

2011-08-06T22:37:00.018+03:00

Elk's Street spent this summer in Finland, which disappointed one member of the gang. Luckily, Finland had another warm and sunny summer.

After the trip to Morton, the next highlight was Miljazz. This annual tour by the bands of the Finnish Defence Forces included Lappeenranta this year, so we were able to attend. We were present for the more traditional big band performances but the more pop-oriented part of the concert was after our bedtime.

One of the MilJazz bands.

Then, it was Thomas's birthday.

For a quiet chap, Thomas is a bit of a party animal, so he insisted on having a birthday bash. This was a traditional children's party, arranged at our house (more precisely in our garden) with your correspondent organising the games - an orienteering/quiz game, badminton, and the like. The party went well; we only needed the ice bag twice, which is not bad considering there were nearly a dozen highly-charged little boys running around.

One end of the birthday table...

... and the other end of the birthday table.

This summer, as last summer, Thomas took part in the Pesä Ysit 'Finnish baseball school'. Thomas had a lot of fun and was very active. In the end of course games he played both in-field fielder and pitcher - the video below shows Thomas in action.

Thomas, in the red T-shirt and yellow Malaysia cap, as the pitcher (bowler).

Meanwhile, Henry had been invited to his friend Matias's family's summer cottage. The two boys had fun doing the usual summer cottage things. Both of them are keen fishermen, so fishing was the highlight. On their trips Matias caught a big pike-perch (a very tasty fish) and Henry a big pike (less tasty but more of a fighting fish).

Henry and a pike.

(Photo courtesy of Matias)

The next event was a trip to Hyvinkää to visit the 'Piglets'.

The Piglets are Chinese friends, but where does the name come from?

There is a Chinese superstition that small babies should be given 'bad' nicknames so that evil spirits are not interested in causing trouble for the newborn. As a newborn, the Piglets' son was called Piglet, until his rather sensible grandfather found out, but somehow the name has stuck, at least with Elk's Street.

Thomas and 'Piglet' playing a computer game.

Mrs Piglet and some key members of Elk's Street

The Piglets's rather fine new house.

Mr Piglet hard at work in his restaurant kitchen. .

The beginning of August marks various Elk's Street members' birthdays and the start of the blueberry season - and the second summer cottage week, this time in the cottage, Lauren. We were again quite lucky with the weather, as the photos below show.

View to the jetty.

Lauren - a rather luxurious cottage.

Thomas's armada.

Thomas and Henry rowing and fishing, respectively.

H-M looking for missing sailors.

A pebbly beach.

A 'laavu' shelter.

A 'laavu' is a shelter for people hiking or fishing. It is normally quite small, c.8-10 square metres, unheated, and the fourth side is left open.

A delicate flower.

Tiina, Hippo and Thomas on the terrace.

H-M, another delicate flower.

H-M reading.

Elk's Street has now tested three of the cottages belonging to Mikonsaaren Loma-Asunot; Mikko, Morton, and Lauren. And what is the verdict?

We would like Mikko's little sandy beach, Morton's fantastic location, and Lauren's comfort.

At the risk that others may book the cottages and stop us going there again, we'd like to say that they are fine places to stay and the owner, Marketta, has done an excellent job. Oh, and anyone thinking of booking a Finnish summer cottage, please remember that you are responsible for cleaning after your stay, ensuring that the next guests have a nice place to go to.

Good night!

Summer 2011

2011-07-31T21:44:00.012+03:00

The weather is getting cooler, the summer is nearly over, and the blog is stagnant - time for an update.

The summer break began with a week in a summer cottage, courtesy of Tiina. The cottage was called Morten and was rented from Mikonsaaren Lomamökit. Of the cottages rented so far, its location was by far the nicest, at the end of a peninsular, facing roughly south-west. Lilli was sufficiently impressed to tell Tiina to ask the owner if she could buy it!

Below, you'll find some photos so you can judge for yourself how nice it is.

The cottage.

The view to the jetty.

The beach and the rowing boat.

Thomas playing badminton...

... and his opponent, H-M.

Meanwhile, Henry is being less athletic.

Finland is the land of the midnight sun. Below, a couple of photos to prove it. For the pedantic, they were taken at around quarter past eleven in the evening.

Midnight sun 1.

Midnight sun 2.

During the day, the boys spent quite a lot of time in the lake. And the water was really quite warm - once you got used to it!

Thomas in the lake.

Thomas and Henry in the lake.

Even Lilli, aged 85, decided to take a dip. Although, getting into the water was a lot easier than getting out. The very dry autumn and spring has meant that the water level of Lake Saimaa is a lot lower than usual (c. 30-50 cm) making access to the water a little tricky.

Lilli in the lake, Henry advising how to get out.

Meanwhile, Tiina was keeping her feet dry and making sure everyone was ok.

Tiina on the jetty.

No trip to a summer cottage would be complete without some fishing. This time there were a few nibbles but nothing special, with one exception - a huge pike. The pike took the bait and Henry noticed that whatever was on the end of the line was putting up quite a struggle. He got it just to the surface, where we could see what a giant it was, when it dived and managed to break the line, disappearing with the hook and Henry's favourite lure. Well, sometimes the fisherman wins, and sometimes the fish!

Gone fishing...

A family of ducks.

As the photos show, we were very lucky with the weather, which was exceptional for the time of year. The trip was however somewhat marred by news from Malaysia of PoPo's condition deteriorating.

After a long time coping with the vicissitudes of cancer, PoPo passed away on the 11th June. In her memory, K-Ning made a collage of photos, which is given below for those Elk's Street followers who haven't yet seen it.

(N.B. Only the first 3 minutes because of some kind of restrictions.)

Growing Up

2011-06-11T22:33:00.013+03:00

Recently, it was noticed that 'little Henry' was getting rather big.

Tests had to be made to ascertain who is the taller, Henry or his mother.

Judge for yourself!

Exhibit 1

Exhibit 2

So, what happened to the little boy of not so long ago?

Renovations

2011-06-11T20:40:00.014+03:00

Recently, Elk's Street H.Q. underwent some renovation.

The idea was very simple; one room would have the walls spruced up, new flooring put in, and the sink and cupboards of what had, once upon a time, been a kitchen would be removed. A small, basic piece of decorating - nothing special. The idea was that Thomas and Henry would each get their own bedroom.

But... What happened?

"Could you just come here and have a look at this, please," said the head builder.

Yes, the builders had found some rotten wood - unfortunately, on some of the beams holding the whole house together. What started out as a minor decorating job ended up as major work costing many thousand Euros.

Where the former kitchen sink had been. Note the drain and, behind it, the grey-coloured wood.

One of the trouble-spots.

Temporary support to stop the ceiling of the living room falling in.

Some of the timbers awaiting transport to the tip. Note how little of the wood is healthy and able to support the walls and floor.

Work in progress in what is to become Thomas's room.

But all's well that ends well.

Below, some photos of the two 'new' rooms.

The 'middle room,' which was not to be touched in the original plan.

Another view of the 'middle room.'

The little bed is Thomas's former bed, which is there for the time-being and used as a sofa for the bedtime reading sessions.

View 1 of Thomas's 'new room.'

View 2 of Thomas's 'new room.'

Being a modern sort of guy, Thomas sleeps on a futon. And for those who want to know these things, the little wood-fired stove in what is now Thomas's room is from the company Morso. And yes, it is your correspondent's very own vanity project.

As regards the cost; you don't want to know.

To finish this post, a little treat for all house-owners; The Gasman Cometh by Flanders and Swann.

"Oh, it all makes work for the working man to do!

'Twas on a TUESDAY morning
The Carpenter came round;
He hammered and he chiselled and he said: 'Look what I've found!
Your joists are full of dry-rot
But I'll put it all to rights.'
Then he nailed right through a cable and out went all the lights.

Oh, it all makes work for the working man to do!

'Twas on a WEDNESDAY morning
..."

Waxwings

2011-06-05T17:18:00.007+03:00

As followers of Elk's Street know, waxwings regularly drop by on their migratory route. Below, a few photos, taken by Henry, as the birds passed by, heading north.

St. Petersburg - Part 2

2011-05-31T22:02:00.018+03:00

Tiina, who is currently working in St. P., met us at our hotel, Hotel Vasilievsky, to the delight of the boys. Part of the visa-free deal was that we had to use one of the hotels which had a contract with the St. Peter Line.

Tiina was ready to whisk us off on a first sight-seeing tour of St. Petersburg, but with the shambles on the boat and in the harbour, none of us had had breakfast so we were rather hungry, although the men in the group had managed to snaffle quite a few of the rather good sweets in the bowl at the hotel reception.

Finding somewhere for a snack proved more difficult than anticipated, although we found somewhere in the end. The food took an extraordinarily long time to arrive; maybe because we ordered different things - blinis for some, soup for others, or perhaps to give us time to admire the decor. Tempers were getting a little frayed and smiles a little jaded when something to eat finally arrived.

Hungry customers waiting.

St. Petersburg is a metropolis and full of things to see and do, although transport is a little difficult at times. The metro is very efficient but the stops are far apart (because the metro is so deep underground as a result of the city having been built on swampy ground) meaning that there are long walks to get anywhere. The city is full of churches, some of which are shown below.

St Isaac's Cathedral.

A church near our hotel.

Another church.

Tiina, of course, did her best as a guide, including introducing the little boys to Russian-style hot chocolate.

Tiina keeping her tour group focused.

Thomas discovering that in Russia hot chocolate means just that.

Day 2 in St. Petersburg started with Hotel Vasilievsky's excellent breakfast, although with so many Finns in the hotel one had to be quick if one wanted to benefit from the Russian 'champagne' available. The morning's next target was a children's circus performance. The place took a little finding but we got there in the end. Unfortunately, Thomas's stomach started acting up so Thomas and your correspondent spent a large part of the performance in the gents. It was decided that going to Tiina's flat would be the best course of action, and the day's activities were rearranged; in true Russian style, everything that has been arranged is always open to re-negotiation.

Peter and a sickly Thomas stayed in Tiina's flat to eat porridge while Henry, Tiina and H-M went to the Korova Bar with two of Tiina's colleagues. Afterwards the girls went to the Marinkskiy for a concert while the boys spent the evening in the hotel.

View from Tiina's flat.

Although our evening was not as cultured, we boys had lots of fun.

What do little boys like to do in hotels? Spend time in a bath tub with a huge amount of bubbles. The problem? No bubble bath. So Peter and Henry set off in search of bubble bath. The local supermarkets only seemed to sell sausage and alcohol, so we went to a chemists'. There were two people there, one young women in her twenties and one older lady in her sixties, who panicked completely at being confronted with non-Russian-speaking foreigners. Peter's miming skills, plus Henry's Russian knowledge, meant that we left the shop with bubble bath, although there are probably a couple of Russian ladies still shaking their heads at the antics of foreigners.

But the evening's fun was not to end there.

Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, announcement in Russian. What's that? A fire alarm! Everybody out of bed and down to the lobby, to find it was a fire drill, so back up to the room again - cursing a little, although not as much as the Norwegian guest who had been caught in the bath.

But the evening's fun was not to end there.

Ring- ring, ring-ring. Call from the other room (we had two double rooms not a family room). H-M: Is there water in your room? Peter heads off down to the reception to find out what is going on - no water because of some technical problems with a water pumping station.

We love Russia. A world superpower but, in Churchill's words,"a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma."

H-M examining a Russian fruit stall.

Our stay was all too soon over and we had to get on the boat and head back to Finland. This time everything was very well organised; check-in - 10 minutes, booking a table at the à la carte restaurant - easy, service - swift and good-humoured.

Leaving the port. Note that the sign says Leningrad.

Henry in the jazz bar.

Sunset on board.

Sunset over the icy Baltic Sea.

St. Petersburg Trip - Part 1

2011-05-26T22:27:00.010+03:00

At Easter Elk's Street went for a quick trip to St. Petersburg, Russia. Although it is only a few hundred kilometers from Elk's Street HQ, it was the first trip there for many of us. The reason: Visa requirements make crossing the border a pain in the neck, not to mention quite pricey.

To avoid the visa hassles, and because Elk's Street was too disorganised, we went on a visa-free trip with St. Peter Line from Helsinki. This is very easy - one night on the boat, two nights in a hotel, and one night on the boat on the return trip.

The little boys waiting in Helsinki harbour with St Peter Line's vessel, Princess Maria in the background.

As the sharp-eyed will notice, MS Princess Maria is a former Silja Line vessel, MS Finlandia, which used to ply the Helsinki-Stockholm route. The ship has quite a colourful history, which is described here. Elk's Street noticed that the vessel had been part of the DFDS fleet because some of the fittings were labelled DFDS and some of the signs were in Norwegian.

H-M slightly flummoxed by modern technology.

The start of the sea journey did not go smoothly, with two hours of crowds, chaos and confusion at the check-in. When we finally got on board, the passengers were fed-up, the staff rude, and the evening buffet food expensive and poor-quality. Elk's Street were of the opinion that perhaps they should have gone by Allegro train after all.

Our rather cosy cabin.

Entering the Port of St Petersburg in the early morning .

Morskoy Vokzal Ferry Terminal in the morning mist.

On embarkation the lack of organisation continued, although in a friendly manner. As the photo below shows, for some people waiting on a bus going nowhere can be quite trying.

Aaaaaarrrggh!

Finnish Elections

2011-04-20T18:34:00.009+03:00

Some Elk's Street followers have been in touch about the Finnish election result, which has received widespread international coverage following the strong showing of the nationalist True Finns party. So, here is Elk's Street's analysis of what happened.

First, some background. Finland has a proportional representation system and is traditionally led by a majority coalition. The main players are:

National Coalition Party - a centre-right party (44)
Social Democratic Pary of Finland - a centre-left party (42)
True Finns - the people causing the uproar (39)
Centre Party - a centre-right party, traditionally the party of the rural areas (35)
Left Alliance - a centre-left party, to the left of the SDP (14)
Green League - the ecologists' party (10)
Swedish People's Party of Finland - representatives of Finland's Swedish-speaking minority, generally centre-right (9 + 1 from the autonomous islands of Ahvenanmaa/Åland)
Christian Democrats - a centre-right Christian party (6)

In brackets in the list above is the number of seats each party gained in last Sunday's election.

So who are the True Finns?

In Elk's Street's view, they are a populist, anti-EU, anti-immigrant, socially-conservative, economically-socialist grouping led by an outspoken leader, Timo Soini, who is described as charismatic, although would be better described as having a good grasp of rhetoric and a colourful turn of phrase.

Since Finland is a small country in an obscure corner of Europe, why was their election success the subject of international comment?

The answer is because of the economic troubles of certain EU states, in this case Portugal, which is in need of economic help from the EU. The True Finns are anti-EU and against bailouts for 'profligate' southern Euro states. Portugal is part of the Euro zone, and if the economic troubles of Portugal are not sorted out, the effects will be felt by all the Euro nations, including economic powerhouse, Germany. The problem is that EU agreement on the bailout must be unanimous among all Euro nations, and in Finland's case, the issue must go before the Finnish parliament. The fear among scaredy-cat economists is that if the Finnish parliament votes against the bailout, the bailout package founders, Portugal defaults on its loans, and the economic world ends as we know it.

Hmmpf... says Elk's Street, who is old enough to remember the IMF bailout of the UK in 1975 and the excitement of shopping by candlelight during the Three Day Week, not to mention Grossmami and Grosspapi bringing sugar and toilet paper on their visits from Switzerland because of shortages in the UK.

Policies and values

The True Finns have a truly incoherent set of policies and values. So, how is one to work out what is going on. The Finnish broadsheet, Helsingin Sanomat, Finland's only truly national paper, has produced a nice interactive graphic of the values of the various members of the new Finnish parliament, which helps explain what is going on. (HS has some news in English here.)

The interactive graphic looks like the image below, and to use it you need to click here. Everything is in Finnish, but have no fear, an explanation is given below.

Interactive Graphic Explanation

The graphic places the views of the members of the Finnish parliament on two axes - the horizontal axis is political orientation, left to right, and the vertical axis is social orientation, conservative (top) to liberal (bottom). The parties are colour-coded, and each party's sector is bounded by the views of its most extreme member on each axis.

The colour coding is; blue - National Coalition Party, yellow - True Finns, red - Social Democratic Party, pink- Centre Party, green - Green League, orange - Christian Democrats, dark orange - Left Alliance, and pale blue - Swedish People's Party.

The easiest way to see where the MPs stand is to do the following. First go to the right column and uncheck the parties by clicking on the "Tyhjennä valinnat"button ("Clear preferences") underneath the heading "Valitse puolueet" ("Choose the parties). Then add the parties one by one by checking the relevant box.

A word of warning - the positions were decided based on answers given by candidates for parliament before the election, so the whole truth might not have been told. Also, the definitions of what is left/right and conservative/liberal are decided by Helsingin Sanomat, which describes itself as politically-independent and non-aligned but is, in Elk's Street's opinion, right of centre and Helsinki- and urban-centric.

What does the graphic show?

Firstly, the True Finns cover a large spectrum of opinions, likely to be a source of trouble in the future, and their leader is on the extreme of his party. (Hovering the mouse over a point gives the name of each MP.) The speculated coalition of SDP, True Finns, and National Coalition (dubbed the"blue-redneck coalition") has such a divergence of opinion that a stable government might be difficult to achieve, giving rise to speculation that Finland might face the unusual situation of a parliament not lasting the full term. The Swedish People's Party might be invited into the government to keep the National Coalition company on the right, but the anti-Swedish views of the True Finns (they want to remove mandatory Swedish study in schools, among other anti-minority policies) might make things difficult. All in all, the immediate future looks uncertain.

Who voted for the True Finns?

The True Finns is a protest movement that picked up votes from the disenchanted and the economically disenfranchised. In recent years, Finland has gone through a Thatcherite transformation, leading to a great increase in inequality. Finland's post-war success has stemmed from consensus that all groups in Finnish society must make sacrifices for the good of the country as a whole (a point emphasised until very recently by the close proximity of a paranoid superpower, the Soviet Union). This consensus has been broken, in the name of globalisation and economic liberalism, leading to fractures in Finnish society and the feeling that the many make sacrifices while an elite fill their boots. True Finns voters are; the losers from the above-mentioned changes, those fearful of becoming losers, and those with very conservative views feeling threatened by changes in society.

Thus the party picked up votes from the rural areas, (reasons - a feeling that the rural areas are being ignored by a metropolitan elite, and the hardships of EU-sanctioned agricultural policies and economic globalisation), votes from areas with heavy industry (reason - large companies simply shutting down factories and moving them to low cost countries, or threatening to do so as a way of driving down pay and benefits), the working class, pensioners and the poor (reason - the running down of the welfare state in favour of private companies; state healthcare provision deteriorates because the elite use private services so have no stake in maintaining standards in the state sector, and state pensions and benefits have been stagnant for years), which makes about 20% of the population.

The question people are asking is how will this effect Elk's Street?

Forecasting is difficult, particularly forecasting the future! The most immediate effect will be a change in the terms of debate in society, with intolerant, anti-minority, anti-foreigner views being much more permissible. Economically, the changes might not be very great because Finland is a small fish in a big Euro pond; if Finland still had its own currency, the Markka, it would have collapsed by now. In the longer-term it is difficult to foresee what will happen. The cracks in Finnish society might widen still further, leading to greater confrontation. The True Finns might be just a flash-in-the-pan, and their success merely the kind of thing enjoyed by Vennamo in the late1960s. Not being a True Finns fan, I would describe Soini as a small dog with a loud bark. More worrying is what might happen after Soini; what shadowy figures with truly frightening views are lurking around?

Are True Finns truly Finnish?

It should be remembered that the party polled less than 20% of the popular vote. The name of the party is interesting. In Finnish, they are called Perussuomalaiset, which translated directly means 'basic Finns'. The Swedish name of the party is Sannfinländarna. The English name is a translation of the Swedish name, not the Finnish name, ironic for a party that is so anti-Swedish. In view of their proposed policies, perhaps they should change their English title from a translation of the Swedish to a translation of the Finnish. "Basic Finns" does not have such a good ring to it, but using a synonym of basic gives a really catchy and apt title, "Primitive Finns."

U.K. Trip - Part 4

2011-04-08T23:19:00.006+03:00

All too soon, my trip was at its end - it was time to return to Elk's Street.

Andrew gave me a lift into town and I got the train to the airport. The train was quite crowded with early-morning commuters heading to Manchester, so I sat down in one of the few available seats, next to a young man with short hair, broken teeth and a slight aroma of alcohol. We exchanged a few words, and he was quite chatty, telling me about his daughters and work etc - the usual small talk. As the train approached Manchester, he gestured towards the window and said; "There's my old home, Forest Bank." I thought nothing of this, imagining that it must be the name of the village we were passing. He then continued; "But I spent the last six months in Strangeways." This meant rather more to me. "Best prison I've ever been in," he continued. He got off the train at Picadilly and I wished him well. I hope this nameless ex-con with the colourful language gets himself sorted out but somehow I'm a little pessimistic; alcohol on one's breath at eight in the morning is not a good sign.

Manchester Airport was the usual airport scene; queues, more queues, removal of shoes, jackets, and belts for so-called security, wandering around duty-free shops selling stuff no-one really needs, and hanging around drinking exhorbitantly-priced coffee. The flight was announced and we all boarded. So far, so good, but then..."Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We are having some problems with a computer, which unfortunately is one that is needed for flying the plane..." Suffice to say, we did not leave on time.

Aircraft with dodgy computer.

Finnair is famous for taking safety seriously, so we didn't leave untill the equipment was working and everything was in order.

Having safely landed in Helsinki, a few hours' train journey took me back to Elk's Street and my Finland home.

U.K. Trip - Part 3

2011-04-04T12:07:00.008+03:00

On the penultimate day of my 5-day trip I went down to Liverpool, on my own.

The direct train from Preston chugged along, passing through Leyland of Leyland Trucks fame, Wigan, home of Uncle Joe's Mint Balls - a delicacy worthy of U.N. Heritage status - and Pilkington's Glass in St Helens, to Liverpool Lime Street. Liverpool city centre has undergone great changes in recent years, although the city is still rather schizophrenic, with modern concrete palaces in the centre, and boarded up houses and very poor areas just down the road. In a sense, it is very similar to most northern British cities; Manchester, Hull, Leeds etc.

My trip was a cultural one, so the Liverpool museums were the main focus. The entrance to major museums in the UK is free, or to be precise visitors make a contribution as they see fit, which means it is possible to visit a museum, look at some parts and leave, without feeling obliged to go through all the exhibits to justify paying a high entrance fee.

My museums trip started with a look round some of the rooms of the Walker Art Gallery and then a couple of floors of the World Museum. Then it was time for lunch, and what could be more British than fish'n'chips. (In the William Gladstone, North John Street. Verdict - OK, but nothing to write home about.)

After lunch I headed off down to Albert Dock, a renovated dock with a host of tourist attractions: museums, cafés, bars, boutiques etc. I went to parts of the Maritime Museum, which I enjoyed immensely. Wandering around the exhibits I remembered when I wrote, as a teenager, to Cunard's and P&O to enquire about careers at sea.

After all the museums I wandered around in the sunshine for a while and then went for some shopping in the Everton Football Club shop, Everton Two, situated in the new Liverpool 1 shopping complex. (Mailing Address: Everton 2, Liverpool 1; geddit?!)

Then it was back to Preston on the train; "Calling at Edge Hill, Huyton, St Helens Central, Wigan, and all stations to Preston."

Below a few photos of my day out.

A Lambanana in the World Museum.

Part of Albert Dock.

The Liver Building and Crown Court (?) at the rear, modern buildings in the middle, and the Great Western Railway warehouse in the foreground.

The Pumphouse and glass-fronted high-rise blocks.

The futuristic Museum of Liverpool, due to open in July 2011.

Liverpudlians are still flying the flag for non-acceptance of London-based government policies, below a photo of a small demonstration.

Anti-cuts demonstration in front of the Town Hall.

Britain has become a rather Orwellian society, with millions of CCTV cameras watching people's moves. The next photo was taken surreptiously, since certain British police forces have a poor reputation.

They are watching you!!

And so was the short-haired leather-jacketed man resting nonchalantly in a shop doorway. It reminded me of my visits to East Berlin in the former German Democratic Republic.

UK Trip - Part 2

2011-04-03T21:44:00.010+03:00

My visit being in early spring, the garden was not looking its best, but signs of the gardeners' work could still be seen, as the photos below show.

The early spring garden.

Orchids in the living room...

... and Bird of Paradise flower in the conservatory.

Catherine and Andrew, making good use of their 'flexitime', took a day off work and we had a little outing to Blackpool. Blackpool, as a typical seaside resort, is very quiet outside the season but the weather was kind to us and we had an enjoyable walk along the newly-renovated South Shore Promenade.

Part of the South Shore with some modern art in the foreground and the Big One rollercoaster in the background.

The photo doesn't do justice to the rollercoaster as it is not clear just how huge it is. Certainly nothing for me!

Hire bicycles in the foreground and the famous Blackpool Tower in the background.

The gang on the promenade (before getting the obligatory Blackpool Rock).

Everyone, with the possible exception of Paul, who voiced some discontent, enjoyed the trip and the bracing sea air.

In the evening, I was invited round to Catherine and Andrew's for a meal, followed by a trip to the local. We went to the Farmer's Arms and I was able to see at first hand the slow death of the British public house; the place was empty. There are many reasons for the demise of traditional rural pubs: the ban on smoking, very cheap beer from supermarkets, the growth of gigantic regimented pub chains, the stratification of British society so people only spend time with others of the same class, but whatever the reason, it's a bit of a shame. Mind you, the levels of drunkenness in UK cities are appalling, so a more censorious attitude to alcohol is certainly not the cause.

Catherine hard at work beading.

Jonathan sitting on the sofa with Paddington and an economics textbook.

UK Trip - Part 1

2011-04-03T20:56:00.013+03:00

As Elk's Street followers will know, Dad has been 'in the wars' a little lately, so I decided to make a brief trip to the UK to see him.

In Kouvola, my path crossed with the new Helsinki-St. Petersburg 'Allegro' train.

I set off from Elk's Street in the early afternoon and spent the night at a cheap(-ish) hotel near the airport, Hotel Pilotti. This was the same place Henry and I stayed in on our trip to Malaysia in summer 2007. It was a horrendously early start the next morning, not because the plane was leaving particularly early but rather because of having to allow for all the security checks.

The flight arrived on schedule and I got to Mum and Dad's in time for lunch. After lunch, it was off to the game - Everton vs. Sunderland!

Part of the main stand of Goodison Park .

The Blues on the attack.

The final score.

As can be seen from the final score above, a good time was had by all!

In Preston, some things had changed, and others hadn't.

Dad in his chair - the unhealthy peanuts replaced by the more healthy 'Fruit Pastilles'.

Mum - still knitting.

The following day, after a two day drive across Europe, Esther and family arrived from Switzerland.

John and Mark.

James.

Esther and Paul.

Hannah.

John had to go back to work so, having delivered everybody, he flew back to Switzerland, leaving his family and the Mercedes van in Preston.

Winter

2011-03-12T21:32:00.003+02:00

Enough of the hot, sticky tropics!

For those of you needing to cool off, a few photos of Elk's Street in February

And we've had another 20cm of snow.

Malaysia Trip - Part 7

2011-03-06T00:32:00.006+02:00

After the fun of Langkawi, there were a few days with family and friends before it was time to return back to Finland.

A celebratory dinner with all our favourites.

H-M and her mother.

H-M, Henrry, Po-Po and Leong on his favourite sofa.

H-M and Khuan-Ning.

Kwan - on the phone as usual.

Jia-Jun had a Christmas party at the Lions centre in Penang (Resource and Education for Autistic Children - REACh). Any wealthy Elks Street followers, please don't be shy about contributing to this school for children who see the world differently from most of us.

Jia-Jun playing the role of Santa and distributing gifts to the children at the centre.
(Jia-Yin, in her role of Santa's helper, can just be seen on the right.)

At Penang Airport we were met by Chen-Liang, who came to see us off.

Thomas at the airport, finally getting round to writing his postcards.

Elks Street with Chen Liang having a snack before departure for the north.

Since Elks Street had arrived in Penang at different times using different airlines, we also had to fly back on different flights. H-M changed her flights to the same day as the rest of us, but she couldn't change airline. This led to the strange situation that after passport control we separated into two groups; H-M on one side of the glass, Peter and the boys on the other.

For those interested, our routes were:

H-M; Penang - Kuala Lumpur - Amsterdam - Helsinki (Air Malaysia/KLM)
Peter and the boys; Penang - Singapore - Copenhagen - Helsinki (Silkair/Singapore Airlines/Finnair)

And despite setting off later than H-M the boys got to Finland first.

The departure board. (H-M left at 20.35; the boys at 21.15)

Our holiday was at an end.

Over the clouds to Finland.

Malaysia Trip - Part 6

2011-03-05T23:54:00.006+02:00

As mentioned in a previous post, we had a short stay in The Frangipani Beach Resort and Spa. The resort advertises itself as an eco-resort. Whatever one may think about the ecological impact of tourism, interest in the well-being of the environment is only to be encouraged. In The Frangipani's case, this means water treatment, wetlands maintainence and conservation, recycling efforts and educational programmes. For the guests of the hotel, this 'green tourism' is seen most obviously in the landscaping of the resort. Below, for your enjoyment, a few photos.

At the entrance.

At the entrance.

Bougainvillea.

An unknown flower.

The reflexology path.

The beach.

The swimming pool.

Lotus flowers.

Malaysia Trip - Part 5

2011-03-05T16:25:00.015+02:00

For Thomas the highlight of the trip was a short visit to Langkawi. H-M was in charge of organising this part of the holiday and she decided that we should be in a beach hotel. The choice fell on The Frangipani Langkawi Resort and Spa. While not exactly cheap, the price was reasonable, unlike some of H-M's other suggestions, e.g., Burau Bay, and at one point she seemed even to be eyeing up The Andaman, although not seriously. Thomas felt right at home - swimming, sunshine, reasonable temperatures and western food; all that a little boy could desire.

Below, a few photos.

The famous statue in Eagle Square, Kuah.

Thomas - beach lion.

Henry in the pool...

... and on the beach.

H-M and Thomas in the bubble pool.

Like father, like son!

Something for Thomas - although he had to wait a while as the service was at laid-back beach-resort speed.

The trip was arranged such that the Finns arrived first, and the Malaysians a day later - getting everybody in one place at one time is no mean feat.

Jia-Qi buried in the sand.

Beach belle.

Thomas, H-M, Jia-Qi and Jia-Yin in the sea.

Henry and Jia-Jun.

Unfortunately, we were unable to swim in the sea because of jellyfish. Your correspondent learned this the hard way, but luckily was only slightly stung. Jellyfish stings are not something to mess about with!

Then came the highlight for Henry - a fishing trip in the Indian Ocean. Leong had organised this and it was something of a treat for everyone, except the non-fisherfolk, Thomas and H-M, who stayed in the resort.

The fishing tour started from the Kilim River jetty and was gentle fishing rather than Extreme Fishing, one of Henry's favourite TV shows.

The Kilim river.

Jia-Yin waiting patiently for the boat to arrive.

Heading out into the Indian Ocean.

A scenic fishing spot.

Peter and Henry on the boat.

Henry with a snapper

Henry feeling contented and happy.

Our catch was one snapper, a few groupers, and a puffer fish, which was swiftly returned to the waters.

We tried to get the fish cooked at the resort but the price they offered us was ridiculous. So H-M set out to find a more helpful restaurant, which she duly did - Deng Long Seafood Restaurant. After the usual Malaysian-style negotiations about what to eat we had a most enjoyable meal.

Our catch on a platter.

For the record, the Elk's Street people on the fishing trip were: Peter, Leong, Jia-Qi, Henry, Jia-Jun, and Jia-Yin. And everyone caught at least one fish.

All too soon it was time to return to the mainland.

Ready to depart
(Peter, Leong, and in the background Henry and Jia-Yin)

Ready to depart
(Leong)

Ready to depart
(Henry, Jia-Yin, and Thomas)

Ready to depart
(Jia-Jun and Jia-Qi)

On our 4D3N trip to Langkawi a wonderful time was had by all.

Gone fishing!

Malaysia Trip - Part 4

2011-02-21T22:23:00.009+02:00

With everyone having gone to bed rather late following the Chingay performance, in the morning some people were rather slow to get going.

Khuan-Hoong - wide-eyed and bushy-tailed.

The day's trip was to Penang Butterfly Farm, below a few photos.

A butterfly.

Another butterfly.

Not a butterfly.

Thomas with a butterfly.

A feeding butterfly.

After visiting the Butterfly Farm, H-M decided that some shopping was needed, so we went down the road to the Penang Batik Factory.

Peter enjoying shopping for batik.

Then it was onwards-ever-onwards, this time to the Kek Lok Si temple.

Kek Lok Si is a regular spot for Elks Street, be it to feed the turtles or look at the statue of Kuan Yin. The temple has expanded massively in recent years and is in danger, at least in my opinion, of becoming rather 'disneyfied'. Sometimes I feel that the spirit of 'Malaysia Boleh' leads Malaysians in the wrong direction.

Snake Thomas.

Tiger Henry.

Pig Jia-Jun.

Rabbit Peter.

Rat Kwan.

Pig H-M.

Snake Khuan-Ning was also there, but her photo was not very flattering so it's not here.

There was some time for spiritual activities, as the photos below show.

Jia-Jun at prayer.

Thomas and Henry at the altar.

Incense burner for one of the shrines.

Lotus flower from Elks Street's next port-of-call.

Malaysia Trip - Part 3

2011-02-20T22:25:00.008+02:00

Waiting for us when we got to S.P. were Po-Po, Jia-Jun and Khuan-Ning, soon to be joined by Theng-Theng and the K.L. aunts.

In the S.P. house, H-M, her mother, and the K.L. aunts

Henry and his cousin, Khuan-Ning.

Henry in the kitchen giving the Cambodian maid some tips.

H-M and her two K.L. aunts.

After a short rest in S.P. it was back to Penang for a little more sight-seeing - a visit to the Penang Chingay festival. Chingay is an art form in which participants perform acrobatic tricks with impossibly long flags. (Short video - here.) Other cultures also have flag-related sports, for example the Swiss 'Fahneschwingen', although the Swiss flags are substantially smaller.

We decided to cross over to the island by ferry rather than use the 13-km long Penang Bridge.

A Penang ferry.

All the ferries are named after Malaysian islands and our ferry was Pulau Penang.

Pulau Penang, Penang.

The Chingay competition was held on the Esplanade. Here a photo of the Town Hall - note the size of the Chingay flag.

Happy-Ning taking a photo.

Thomas still feeling the tropical heat.

Group photo with Theng-Theng, Kwan and the boys.

Entry of the Chingay teams.

Drummers.

After the end of the show we went back to Khuan-Hoong's place, our residence for the night.

Night-time view from Hoong's flat.

Malaysia Trip - Part 2

2011-02-19T23:48:00.010+02:00

The next day was another Penang day. Part of Thomas's homework for the trip was to visit a temple, so it was decided that Kwan's car would go for a Hindu blessing to ensure safe travels for Elks Street and associates.

The temple gods.

A part of the ceremonies, with the Hindu holy man presiding.

Smashing the coconut.

Fixing the charm in the car.

Suitably protected, we set off for the day's activities. The first port of call was the Penang Flower Show (Pesta Bunga Penang). The day was hot and steamy, and consequently, the Finns wilted relatively quickly, especially Thomas, who is no fan of tropical temperatures.

Thomas trying to keep off the sun.

After the Pesta, it was time to look for something to eat.

As with all Penangites, Elks Street is extemely picky about food; everyone has an opinion and only the best is good enough. If you want oriental street food, the best place in the world in Penang, but whose Curry Mee, Char Kway Teow or Wantan Mee is best is always open to debate.

In the food court. Thomas still feeling the heat.

The pudding was Ais Kacang, which cooled everyone down and is an Elks Street favourite.

Making Ais Kacang.

The final product.

Later it was time to set off for Sungai Petani to see how Po-Po was doing. The journey was broken by a stop at Khuan-Hoong's workplace, GearMech, and the Snake Temple.

Tourists heading towards the Snake Temple. (From left to right, Kwan, the Cambodian maid, Henry, H-M.)

A burning joss stick in front of the temple.

There really are snakes inthe Snake Temple.

A door to...

On the way to Sungai Petani we were confronted with an all-to-familiar sight - a traffic jam.

On my first visit to Penang, I fell in love with the city (and not just one of its citizens). Yet, development has been such that visiting Georgetown is no longer so attractive: too much time is spent in traffic; there has beeb uncontrolled building of high-rises; and the humanity of the city has been sacrificed at the altar of motorisation and modernisation.

Penang traffic.

Malaysia Trip - Part 1

2011-02-19T22:48:00.010+02:00

For a variety of reasons, Elks Street has been in hibernation recently but now the days are getting longer and Elks Street has woken up.

As Elks Street followers will remember, in December we went for a short trip to Malaysia. H-M left some days before the boys, and travelled a different route, but everyone ended up in the right place, although not without some thrills and spills.

Below a few photos.

Thomas and Pingu reading on the train.

The boys smiling in Frankfurt Airport.

And why the happy demeanour?

In Helsinki Airport the computer system claimed that Henry was only booked through to Frankfurt, while Thomas and I were going to Penang. The outsourced, poorly-paid (or -trained) workers in Helsinki were unable to deal with the problem, causing some increase in Peter's already high blood pressure. Luckily, the Singapore Airlines' staff in Frankfurt made two calls and everything was sorted out. Well done, Singapore Airlines!

We arrived in Penang on time and in good humour to be met by H-M and Kwan. And then it was off for a supper in one of Penang's many food courts. Fortified by noodles and soup we went to Khuan-Hoong's flat, our residence in Penang.

View from Khuan-Hoong's 17th floor flat over towards the Kek Lok Si temple. (As the cranes indicate, the view will soon be blocked by yet another high-rise.)

View towards Rifle Range.

The series of apartment blocks in the middle of the photo are the Rifle Range flats. The now-demolished house (161-B Jalan Padang Tembak) in which H-M was brought up is just to the right of the Rifle Range flats.

The next day was a sight-seeing day. With jet lag in mind, the plan was to do something relatively easy and relaxing - a drive round the island. We headed north, dropped by the 'thin aunt' and Lai-Ping in Tanjung Bungah for lunch, before heading towards Teluk Bahang and an educational visit to a fruit farm.

'Thin Aunt'

A photo shoot at the Teluk Bahang dam.

Our guide at the Penang Fruit Farm, Ali.

The trip to the fruit farm was interesting, although a little too much of an Ali show for your correspondent's taste. We were caught in a tropical downpour, which cut short our visit; a visit that ended with a fruit buffet.

Driving back to Georgetown we dropped by 'the old house' to see what had happened.

Where the house once stood. (In the background, some of the Rifle Range flats, and on the right, SMK Padang Tembak school.)

Despite our best efforts, jet lag managed to catch out some of the party!

Thomas taking an unscheduled nap.

Concerts

2010-11-21T22:33:00.008+02:00

Regular Elk's Street followers will know that the little boys have music as one of their hobbies. Recently, there have been a couple of concerts.

For those of you who don't believe that Thomas really does play French horn, below a video as evidence.

Thomas was playing a Russian folk song (Korobeiniki) about an itinerant trader and was accompanied by Henry.

There were a couple of wobbly bits in the middle but for a first major performance Thomas did well. The boys are very different - Henry plays horribly at home but generally pulls off a good performance when under pressure; Thomas, on the other hand, plays much better at home than in public. Apologies for the lousy video quality, your correspondent is not the world's best cameraman, and the position of my seat meant the piano rather overshadowed the horn.

If you want to hear a more professional version of the song, click here for the song in Finnish, and here for the song in Russian. And the styles are very different!

For the little boys the next performance was at a concert on Fathers' Day in aid of diabetes research. The choir of the primary school's music classes, grades three to five, sang a few songs and some of the children in Henry's class had instrumental solos.

Below, a few photos.

The choir with Henry's teacher at the front. (Thomas in the front row on the far left.)

Henry standing tall in the back row.

Thomas in the front row.

Thomas one more time.

Thomas is really not keen on being in the limelight - and then they put him in the front row, poor chap!

(Close-up photos courtesy of Tuomo)

Floods

2010-11-21T21:56:00.005+02:00

Followers of world news will have noticed that a few weeks ago northern Malaysia and southern Thailand suffered rather bad flooding. Although it is the monsoon season and heavy rain is normal, this year things were particularly bad.

Below a few photos of Kwan's house.

The entrance to the house.

The garden.

The road and the neighbour's compound.

Luckily, the water didn't enter the house, as it is slightly raised, but the compound was a mess. And the snakes fleeing the water were no doubt a little scary!

(Photos stolen from Kwan's FB)

Autumn Migration

2010-11-06T22:39:00.004+02:00

Every autumn Elk's Street is a stopping-off point for waxwings (bombycilla garrulus) on their migration to warmer climes. They are very pretty with their dun colour, the yellow flashes on their wings, and their 'tufty' hair style.

Below a couple of photos of our yearly visitors.

The birds rest in our garden, snacking on any apples left in the apple trees and gobbling berries in the hawthorn hedges. After a some minutes' rest they then continue on their way. In the past they would arrive in their thousands, but recently their numbers have dwindled.

We wish all waxwings a safe journey and hope to welcome them back next year.

Mushrooms

2010-11-06T22:14:00.004+02:00

There are many styles of management, for example, seagull management. The prevailing style at the Elk's Street workplace is mushroom management - keep people in the dark, cover them with compost, and threaten to cut off their heads.

In honour of that fraudulent art, management science, a couple of mushrooms:

In case you are wondering? Yes, they are poisonous.

Camping 2

2010-10-24T22:44:00.003+03:00

Elk's Street followers might remember from the posting here that Henry found camping with the scouts rather tiring.

Thomas went on his first camp in the forests recently and the result can be seen below.

A clean but tired and cranky cub scout resting on the tiles of the Elk's Street sauna.

It's a tough business, this scouting!

Summer cottage

2010-09-27T22:43:00.011+03:00

The truth about this trip is difficult to ascertain; nobody knows exactly what happened. There are, however, rumours that Henry was involved in the persuasion process and it had something to do with fishing. Anyway, at the end of the summer, Tiina booked a summer cottage for Elk's Street.

The cottage was about 40km from Elk's Street HQ. The location, as can be seen from the photos below, was very nice.

The cottage.

The 'little house'.

The sun setting over the lake. The sunsets were very spectacular, courtesy of the massive forest fires in Russa.

The morning sun.

H-M doing her morning meditation on the jetty.

Henry chopping wood for the sauna.

Lilli and Tiina relaxing with the newspaper.

A simple meal.

Lilli enjoying her meal.

The head chef.

The head chef relaxing.

Fishing off the jetty.

H-M swimming.

Like mother, like son! Henry meditating.

You may wonder where Thomas is. Well, he's a real summer cottage person; he spent most of the time in the lake, going from sauna to water and back, and was consequently without clothes for about 3 days - hence the lack of photos.

Butterflies

2010-09-20T22:48:00.006+03:00

The summer in Finland was a so-called 'summer of the century'. It was very dry and hot - global warming according to some, normal weather fluctuations according to others. Your correspondent was not complaining much, although the dry weather did have a rather bad effect on the garden.

One positive effect was, however, that it was a wonderful summer for butterflies. For your enjoyment, a few photos.

Butterfly 1

Butterfly 1 again

Butterfly 2

Butterfly 2 again

Not having any Lepidoptera experts, Elk's Street has no idea what butterflies these are but we enjoyed all the butterflies throughout the summer.

Summer Fishing

2010-09-20T22:13:00.006+03:00

Professor Wu invited Henry fishing. Also on the trip were Hong and his mysterious 'young lover'. Needless to say, the only person who caught anything was fisherman Henry.

Below a few photos.

A small perch to get started.

Something a little more substantial, a 1.5kg pike-perch.

The fisherman preparing his catch.

The fried fillets were very tasty (cook - Daddy) although Elk's Street head chef was of the opinion that the fish should have been steamed whole.

The fisherman is getting rather ambitious and thinks that Elk's Street should get a boat, preferably a good boat for fishing like the one here. Your correspondent is somewhat sceptical of this idea, although something like the rowing boat here might be possible. The Chairman of the Board, who of course has the final say, thinks this whole boat idea is nuts and is pleased that nothing can happen until the ice melts next spring.

What do the readers of Elk's Street think?

Wedding

2010-09-20T21:38:00.005+03:00

As mentioned in the post Stockholm Trip, our return home was to a house containing three best men; this because our neighbour's daughter was getting married. I'm not sure why three best men were needed - was the groom just making triply certain that the ring would be well taken care of, or did the bride want to ensure that enough persuasive power was present should the groom change his mind at the last minute.

Anyway, everything went very well, with the ceremony held in the local Lutheran church and the reception in the Pentecostalist church hall in the town centre.

Below a few photos.

The vow - I (name) take (name) to be...

Three tenors - sorry, best men.

Outside the church.

The happy couple at the wedding reception.

Well done, Maarit and Kimmo!

Tervetuloa Lucas!

2010-08-28T22:51:00.002+03:00

I'm probably not supposed to do this but never mind.

Congratulations to Sarah and Ben. And hello to Lucas!

Stockholm Trip

2010-08-23T23:03:00.015+03:00

H-M went off to the Full Moon D ance Festival to do some dance courses and watch some modern dance. Despite the name, it does not involve baying at the moon werewolf-style, although with some choreographers this would be entirely plausible!

Since modern dance is not really the boys' thing, we decided to go on a quick 4D3N trip to Stockholm. This was relatively easy as Lappeenranta Airport now has international flights, with Air Baltic flying to Riga in Latvia and Tallinn in Estonia, and Ryanair flying to Weeze in Germany. Our route was: Lappeeranta-Riga-Stockholm-Tallinn-Lappeenranta.

Below a few photos of our most enjoyable trip.

An Air Baltic Fokker of the type we flew in. The photo is of YL-BAA at Riga Airport, whereas we flew in YL-BAZ for three of the four legs of our journey.

The little boys enjoying the flight.

Air Baltic is a so-called low-cost airline but seems to be one of the better-run ones. While on-board services had to be paid for - we celebrated the last leg of the journey with a beer (Peter), juice (little boys) and crisps - luggage goes directly to the end destination, and connections are guaranteed. (A friend going from Lappeenranta to London Gatwick had weather problems and Air Baltic paid for him to be put up in a hotel in Riga - shame on you, Ryanair, the most miserable low-cost airline, who treat travellers in an unbefitting manner.)

Touchdown

Once in Stockholm Arlanda airport we bought Stockholm Cards, cards that allow tourists to use local transport in the Stockholm area and give free entrance to a variety of museums. To save money we decided to use SL's services to the city centre rather than take the airport bus. This meant going by bus to Märsta and commuter train into central Stockholm.

Having reached T-Centralen in Stockholm, we immediately started testing the local delicacies, in our case, 'grillkorv med bröd', known elsewhere as a hot dog.

The little boys enjoying their 'grillare'.

Suitably fortified, we set off to our hotel, the Elite Palace Hotel, Stockholm. The hotel was part of the Air Baltic package, was conveniently located, a few hundred metres from the St. Eriksplan underground station, and was, for our purposes, very suitable.

Little boys relaxing after a hard day's sightseeing.

Our hat rack.

Thomas waiting by the lifts.

The first evening we went out to dinner at the Restuarant Malaysia in Luntmakargatan. Henry had his favourite, Char Kway Teow, while Thomas was content with fried rice. Somehow the food, while ok, was not really up to our standards. (Shredded lettuce instead of bean sprouts, who are you kidding!) Mind you, being Penang-influenced we have very high standards regarding Malaysian food.

Henry about to tuck into his Char Kway Teow,

Our trip, although short, was action-packed. In two days of sight-seeing we managed to see 6 museums. On Day 1 we went to the Pippi Longstocking museum, looked at the long queue at the Waasamuseum and decided not to bother, saw some boats in a couple of warehouses belonging to the Maritime Museum, went to the aquarium, and then finished our sight-seeing by going round the harbour on the hop-on-hop-off boat.

Thomas posing with the strongest girl in the world.

Tropical fish.

Henry coming up a manhole having investigated the sewers.

Swedish Royal Yacht used a few weeks earlier for the wedding of Crown Princess Victoria and Daniel.

Thomas tucking into a well-deserved meal after a tough day's sight-seeing.

After a hearty breakfast in the hotel, Day 2's tourist activities began with a visit to the Technical Museum. The little boys had great fun with the exhibits, although I'm not sure how educational the whole thing was.

We also went to the 3D theatre where there was a film about flight. The film was very interactive; as well as the seats moving, and the audience being squirted with water and various odours, there was a quiz with a little gadget to answer the questions. At the end of the quiz, there was a fanfare and the spotlight was focused on "the winner in Seat 36" - Peter. My five seconds of fame! I think I was supposed to wave and cheer but true to my northern heritage just sat there looking embarrassed. Mind you, if I win in a science quiz, the education system really needs some working on!

Astronaut Thomas

The Technical Museum was followed by visits to the Police Museum and the Swedish Sports Museum. Tired and hungry we headed off back towards the area of our hotel. On the menu this time; Italian food.

The next day we had to head off back to Finland. This time, for convenience's sake, we took the Airport Bus. A word of warning - it does not accept cash; all payments must be made by card.

Our journey included a long-ish stop in Tallinn but this was no problem as my friend, Sergei arranged to meet us for a quick sight-seeing trip. We got the bus into Tallinn centre and walked around the very nice old town. Tallinn had changed a lot since the last time I was there - just after the restoration of Estonian independence.

Looking over the rooftops of Tallinn city centre.

Looking over the rooftops of Tallinn city centre.

On the way back to the airport we popped into a supermarket to buy a load of Estonia's premier delicacy - chocolate-covered quark snacks. Our favourite being the 'Jänks' brand (but avoid the chocolate-flavoured one, it's far too sweet).

Tallinn has a nice airport, but it's very under-utilized, as the photos below show.

A deserted airport.

The same deserted airport.

Henry is a modern traveller; here seen looking at his Nokia 5230 to make sure he knows where he is.

We got home rather late, but still earlier than H-M, whose train had been severely delayed by fallen trees from one of the worst summer storms Finland has seen in recent years. Waiting for us at home, there were not three tenors but three best men, but more of that later.

Next summer activities

2010-08-16T23:19:00.004+03:00

While H-M and Tiina were in London, the boys were at home. Once the summer holidays had started and the end-of-year reports had been given, the little boys headed off to Tapiola to take part in a handicrafts 'camp' at the Espoo Museum of Modern Art. They came home with some shelves (Thomas) and a 2-metre long portable 'den' (Henry). Not quite what the Elk's Street elders had in mind when the children were packed off to a handicrafts course.

Next up was a baseball 'school'. This was run by the local Finnish baseball club, Pesä Ysit, and the children met three times a week to play 'pesäpallo', or Finnish baseball.

Finnish baseball differs from American baseball in many ways: the pitcher pitches the ball vertically over the plate - making it easier for the batter to hit the ball; the bases are set so that the distances between them differ - making it easy to get to first base but progressively more difficult to get to second, third and home; the batter is not allowed to hit the ball directly out of the playing area - making the game much more tactical as the batter must try to hit the ball between the fielders. For more about the rules, see the description here.

Of course, the game as played by the 'cracks' and as played by small children looks very different. But everyone has to start somewhere.

For your enjoyment, below some links to videos of the boys in action during the end-of-course competition.

Henry hits the ball, makes first base, and allows his team to score a run.

Henry gets home from third base.

He scores a run for his team, but does not seem to be too excited about this. Somehow, he just doesn't have the sportsman's drive and killer instinct (except when fishing, of course).

Thomas hits the ball, and makes first, second, and then third base. He later goes on to score a run, allowing his team to win.

The little boys had a lot of fun. Thomas did very well as an all-rounder, and Henry was a surprisingly good batsman. Pesäpallo is a fine game, but is nowhere near as good as "the gentleman's game" - cricket!

Resumption of Normal Service

2010-08-10T23:04:00.009+03:00

Elk's Street followers will have noticed that the blog has been in 'suspended animation' recently.

The reasons were: the World Cup; unusually hot weather; the boys going to bed later, leaving no time for playing with the computer; work-related disenchantenment; and laziness.

Now, normal service is back.

The summer began with H-M and Tiina heading off for a trip to London. The reason was H-M's project to teach modern dance to a group of 'seniors'. The visit to London was ostensibly a research trip, since H-M, not being a lady to indulge in half-measures, decided to see how it was done at one of the world's best dance theatres, Sadler's Wells.

Despite the educational nature of the trip, there was time for some tourism-related activities, as witnessed by the photos below.

H-M in front of the 'Gerkhin'.

Tiina in the doorway of the ladies' residence in Mayfair...

... which doesn't look quite so grand any more.

Tiina trying to work out where they are and where they are going.

A clue - the guards in front of Horse Guards Parade.

While the ladies spent a lot of time on very cultured activies, each evening was dedicated to a dance or theatre performance, one of the highlights was a visit to Kew Gardens.

Kew is a fantastic place, and there are many photos. For your pleasure, a few are given below.

A fountain at Kew.

H-M in a rhododendron bush.

The pagoda at Kew.

The trip to London had many other highlights; lots of food, a meeting with Uncle Stephen (who kindly paid for what must be the world's most expensive vegetables), elephants, Greenwich, and more.

To finish, a couple of random photos.

No girls' trip to London would be complete without shopping. Here, the 'Ladies' Powder Room' (also known as toilets) of the rather upmarket store, Fortnum & Mason.

The car that they didn't use during their stay. (For the technical, it's a Maybach Zeppelin. Oh, and if you want one, the list price is around 500,000 Euros.)

H-M in front of the hotel where they were not staying.

The ladies on either side of the Greenwich time line.

I think the conclusion can be drawn that the ladies had a good time.

Dogs and Shopping

2010-06-17T22:49:00.008+03:00

Below, a photo of your correspondent's latest purchase...

... a bicycle cargo trailer.

It was reasonably priced and was bought from the Swedish company Biltema. As befits a shop from the home of Ikea, it came as a cardboard flat-pack and had to be assembled by the purchaser.

The sharp-eyed will notice there are bars around the outside of the wheels. This design feature somewhat surprised me since they add weight to the trailer but don't seem to bring any benefits. Returning from my maiden trip, taking old newspapers to the recycling centre, I discovered what they are for. They are 'dog bars'.

Near to Thomas's school I overtook a couple walking a dog. To my surprise, their Rottweiler attacked my trailer. The animal managed to overturn the trailer, but I righted it quickly and went on my way. I didn't stop to discuss the incident with the dog's owners.

Why are people allowed to keep such violent animals? Espcially, since the type of person attracted to owning dogs like Rottweilers and Pit Bulls tends to be unsuited to the rigours of training and caring for dogs of such a temperament.

Anyway, let's hear it for the trailer 'dog bars', they probably saved my right calf from serious damage.

To finish, and maybe a little off-topic, a video for you all to enjoy.

Concluding comments about the Southeast Asia course

2010-05-31T23:16:00.004+03:00

The comments below were addressed to the organiser of the course.

---***---***---

To end this learning diary, a few comments on the course.

My initial motivation in following the course was to learn more about SEA and to work in a slightly more structured manner. However, while following the lectures and doing the learning diary exercise my motivation changed somewhat in that seeing things from a student’s perspective I learnt a lot about this kind of virtual learning platform based course that might be useful in my work as a teacher.

Firstly, the issue of why I did the learning diary exercise (and became annoyed that I will be unable to write the essay paper). My decision to write the diary was based on my view of study; I feel it is the responsibility of students to contribute courses and not just take notes from a lecturer and then leave. All students, regardless of how inexperienced they might be in the field, can contribute to discussion, can help their fellow students’ learning, and can provide the teacher with insights.

Next a few comments on the form of the course and some ideas that might help in its development.

Tasks
The fact that the course is done without much contact with the teacher means there is little opportunity for negotiation of the tasks to be done. Consequently, the instructions need to be more detailed than in a classroom situation. I was, and to a certain extent still am, unsure of what precisely a learning diary is. Future students could be helped by having access to teacher-annotated examples, perhaps taken from this year’s course, to see what a learning diary should look like.

Format of tasks
To help students I would suggest that it be made explicit that the parts of the learning diary should be one file only and not one file per lecture. My experience is that it also helps if students are given a clear format for how they should name their files. Something like; “contempsea_Part_1_(Family Name)” so if a student is called Timo Virtanen, he would name the first part of his learning diary “contempsea_Part_1_Virtanen”. The question of whether students are allowed to use fields (header/footer) in the file should be made clear. These are small matters but help reduce student angst.

Timing
Doing the course as a student made me realise how important timing of tasks is. The small technical problems with the server meant that I fell behind the work and was left with a feeling of always trying to catch up. This may be because I am not a full-time student and have lots of other commitments, but I suspect others might have encountered similar feelings. Another thing I noticed is the need for time to think before writing the learning diary entry, especially since I did not want to merely repeat what the lecturer had said.

Lectures
It was evident from the lectures that the lecturers were knowledgeable in their field. My criticism would be that the lectures were sometimes too PowerPoint based. This meant that the lecture became too information-dense for spoken discourse.

The lectures in Helsinki were delivered from a sitting position to allow the speaker to remain on camera. From a teacher’s point of view this is a problem as it removes an important element of presentation technique; the use of space.

I would be interested to know how the fact that the lectures were available electronically affected attendance in Helsinki. Also of interest would be to know how many students were physically present in the classroom, how many students started the course, how many dropped out, and what reasons were given for not completing the course.

The discussion and questions at the end of the lectures were not on the film, which was unfortunate as they might have been quite interesting. Lecturers should also be reminded that any questions from the audience cannot be picked up by the microphone and they should thus paraphrase the question for the non-Helsinki students before answering.

Community
The greatest weakness of the course was the lack of a learning community. A course should include teacher-to-student, student-to-student, and student-to-teacher information transfer and feedback. The course participants seemed to have a variety of backgrounds, based on the profiles some of them provided, and might have had interesting and contrasting viewpoints. Students generally feel it is important to know where they stand relative to other students – feedback, be it other students’ comments or comments from the teacher, answers the vital questions; what seems right about my ideas, what seems wrong about my ideas, and what should I do next?

Building such interaction into a course like this is not easy. Virtual learning platforms have message board functions but message boards only really work if there is a small group of people who already know each other well. Otherwise they tend to be dominated by a very small number of users and others just ignore them. Individual feedback from the teacher on each lecture entry would be nice but in view of the group sizes in Finnish universities is not very practical as it is likely to overload the teacher. (For which reason, many thanks for taking the time to comment on my proposal for an essay likely to remain unwritten.)

A possibility might be to arrange some kind of discussion group in universities where there are more than a handful of students following the course. There are, I believe, coordinators in many universities who could possibly take the role of discussion facilitator. This idea might seem a little alien to the Finnish university system where a lot of the learning appears to be of the listen, take notes, and then answer the questions style.

I don’t know how a sense of learning community could be fostered, but the effect of group dynamics on learning and motivation should not be overlooked.

To conclude, I enjoyed the course and thank you for the opportunity to take part.

Lecture 12 - Gender discourses on migration and trafficking

2010-05-31T23:10:00.003+03:00

Lecture: Gender discourses on migration and trafficking in the Mekong Region
Bernadette Resurreccion
Asian Institute of Technology

Article: Migration in the Greater Mekong Subregion: A Background Paper for the 4th Greater Mekong Subregion Development Dialogue, Beijing, 5th May 2009
Federico Soda, Regional Programme Officer, International Organization for Migration (IOM)

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The topic of the lecture and article was migration; a complex, multi-faceted issue. The article gave a clear and logical overview of the topic as it relates to the Mekong Region. Areas discussed included:

the causes of migration – both ‘push’ and ‘pull’ effects
the benefits and costs to sender and destination communities
key migration flows – rural-rural and rural-urban, and transnational
types of migrant – regular and irregular
the distinction between smuggled and trafficked migrants
and the various threats faced by migrants.

The key issues are broadly the same throughout the world:

migrants do jobs the locals are not particularly interested in
irregular migrants are at great risk of abuse and exploitation by unscrupulous employers (passports are routinely confiscated, safety regulations ignored, e.g. the Morecambe Bay cockling tragedy with the death of 23 Chinese migrants - this is near where I grew up and all locals know of the dangers of the sands)
harassment by locals (which may be semi-official, e.g., the RELA corps volunteers in Malaysia)
and problems with access to health and education services for migrants and their children.

While some generalizations can be made regarding the different experiences of regular and irregular migrants, and male and female migrants, I feel generalizations are somewhat problematic. The reality of migration is different for each individual.

It might also be worth asking why the stay-at-homes are seen as ‘doing the right thing’ and migrants as somehow suspect; people have been moving since the days of human life as hunters and gatherers.

A part of the lecture addressed the question of trafficking and women sex workers; to what extent sex workers are trafficked.

Definition of trafficking: “The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of… … the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability … … for the purpose of exploitation.” UN Convention, quoted in Soda p4.

As prostitution is per se an exploitative relationship, it meets the definition of trafficking given above. The issue should not be whether sex workers - be they $10 a trick ‘working girls’, temporary wives, women looking after Finnish male tourists on their annual sunshine holiday, or rent boys - are trafficked or not (either in a defined legal sense or with a broader interpretation) but whether they are exploited.

The claim that viewing prostitution as exploitative denies women agency is, in my opinion, wrong. Working as a whore, be it howsoever euphemistically described, is not a free choice; it is a choice borne out of a lack of choices. Freedom of choice is constrained by poverty, drug addiction, social exclusion including attitudes to divorcees and single mothers, workplace power structures (sleeping your way to promotion, as seen in the fashion and film industries), and objectification of women. Young girls and boys do not aspire to be prostitutes; nor are there vocational qualifications for prostitutes; nor are positions for prostitutes openly advertised as such in ‘situations vacant’ columns.

The nature of prostitution is such that it has close links to criminality – money laundering and tax evasion, corruption (of police and other authorities), failure to meet health and safety regulations, amongst others.

The claim in the lecture that mass media imagery of the ideal woman is responsible for female sex workers being seen as trafficked victims I found questionable. Mass media imagery of men as macho hunks does not make a male nurse be viewed as a victim. But maybe I misunderstood something.

The lecturer stated that anti-trafficking policies, inspired by concerns about sex workers, have had the effect of reducing women’s migration possibilities. This is understandable because the policies target irregular migration, which is the main form of female (and male) migration in the region. It should be noted that anti-terrorism security initiatives have probably had the same effect on irregular male migration.

To conclude, migration has great benefits for both sender and destination communities; exploitation is wrong, be it of locals or migrants.

Lecture 11 - Water and development in Southeast Asia

2010-05-31T23:04:00.004+03:00

Lecture: The interlinkages of water and development in Southeast Asia: The Mekong River case
Olli Varis
Helsinki University of Technology

Article: Water Resources Development and Impact Assessment in the Mekong Basin: Which Way to Go?
Marko Keskinen, Ambio, Vol 37, No 3, 193-198

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The lecture presented key issues of water management as they relate to development generally and the Mekong region in particular. The lecture was delivered in the old-fashioned professorial style; lots of information but somehow the thread of the talk was difficult to follow, particularly how the last section on modern Lao and Cambodia related to water issues. But I liked the photos.

Globally, water management faces challenges related to:

food supply and agriculture (especially in view of rapid urbanization)
health (water-borne diseases a key cause of mortality and morbidity)
energy (bio-energy and hydropower)
environmental management (global – climate change; local/regional – biodiversity, wetland degradation)and natural catastrophes (floods and droughts).

The Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) model neatly encapsulated the combination of environmental, economic and social concerns within a framework of good governance and stakeholder participation.

Water management of the Mekong river area is made complicated by the monsoon rainfall pattern and the fact that the river flows through six countries; overlapping jurisdictions both between nations and within nations make management difficult. This point is stressed by Koskinen, who notes that various impact assessments suffer from a lack of co-ordination – no one body has a clear overview of all the water-related projects in the Mekong region and how they relate one to another.

An interesting question posed by the lecturer was why the upper reaches of the Mekong are so sparsely populated compared with other similar water basins. The region is on the border between the Indian and Chinese cultural spheres, and regions on the periphery tend to be less heavily populated (cf. Finnish population densities, where a third of the population lives in or around the Helsinki-Espoo-Vantaa metropolitan area) but I would agree with the lecturer that in view of the fertility of the land it is a surprising situation. I have no answer except to speculate that maybe the local culture did not value business and consequently no urban areas grew up that could act as magnets for population growth. Economic activity would then move downstream, with the upper areas acting as a source of raw materials.

My experience of urban areas of peninsular Malaysia leads me to think that the biggest problems with water management are flooding (because of unbridled construction connected with rapid urbanization) and waste management and waste-water treatment. Waterways are treated as sewers and the attitude of manufacturing industries to environmental issues is rather cavalier, with an ‘out of sight, out of mind’ approach. I am, however, optimistic since waterways recover, for example water quality in western Europe is much better than it was in the past and the Rhine river, for instance, recovered from the Schweizerhalle catastrophe (1986) quite quickly, and Asians are becoming increasingly aware of environmental issues.

Scientific knowledge in the field is also progressing – I recently heard about bioprecipitation, rain-making plant bacteria, which since different crops seem to harbour different quantities of such bacteria might suggest that cropping patterns could affect rainfall patterns; an important finding in view of the monoculture farming in many parts of the world.

Water is fundamental to mankind, and I enjoyed the lecture.

Lecture 10 - ASEAN regional economic integration

2010-05-31T22:59:00.004+03:00

Lecture: ASEAN regional economic integration: Southeast Asia as a business environment
Erja Kettunen-Matilainen
Helsinki School of Economics

Article: The regional economy: Looking forward by looking back
Malcolm Cook, In: Southeast Asian Affairs 2008, Singh D and Than T M M (Eds), Singapore, 2008

---***---***---

The lecture presented an overview of regional integration via ASEAN and the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), with some comments on foreign direct investment (FDI) and its role in the economies of SEA countries. The lecture was clearly structured and easy to follow. The main conclusions were:

Despite the diversity – culturally, historically and as regards trade and economic policies – regional economic cooperation and a considerable degree of integration has been achieved.
FDI has been a driver for growth, although since the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997 competition for FDI from China has remarkably increased.

The lecture avoided tricky issues such as whether FDI (in which control resides with the foreign company) and the major role of multinational enterprises (MNEs) is a form of neo-colonialism; or to what extent the inflows of FDI lead to concentrations of power and are detrimental to democracy. The question of working conditions, particularly of sub-contractors to MNEs, was also not discussed. Neither was the role of the Chinese communities in SEA business.

Implicit in the lecture was the idea that liberalization is always a good thing (for trade presumably based on Ricardo’s theory of comparative advantage) yet the immediate negative social impact of the Asian Financial Crisis was less disastrous in Malaysia, which under Mahathir ignored IMF advice, than in Thailand and Indonesia, which followed IMF instructions for greater liberalization, privatization, and a reduction of government intervention in the economy. It seems that economic intervention might reduce economic efficiency yet be better for equality and society as a whole. Interestingly, US policy in the current global financial crisis, triggered by irresponsible lending leveraged by incomprehensible innovative financial instruments, echoes that of Mahathir in 1997 – support for ailing industries, support of financial institutions in difficulties (recapitalization with government money), running a massive public debt etc. Dr M., true to his combative style, has not been reticent in enjoying a bit of schadenfreude.

One side-effect of the travails of US-style economics is that economic policy norms are being questioned. An area that is of interest is Islamic finance, in which Malaysia is a world leader. Worldwide, the Islamic banking sector has grown considerably, for reasons unrelated to the current crisis, and its more vociferous proponents claim that the world economy would not be in such a mess if the financial system had followed Islamic banking principles. In view of the large number of Muslims in the world, Malaysia might be positioning itself to challenge Singapore for the position as leader in finance in SEA.

A noteworthy aspect of Islamic finance is, in my opinion, that economic and finance policy is being re-connected to moral and political values. In recent years it has been fashionable for finance and economics to be taught as ‘scientific’ and somehow amoral. Although South Asians and not Southeast Asians, Nobel Prize winners, Amartya Sen (Nobel Prize in Economics) and Muhammad Yunus (an economist who received the Nobel Prize in Peace) show how Asian approaches can help redirect economics.

Lecture 9 - Burma-Myanmar: Beyond paradoxes and parameters

2010-05-31T22:54:00.004+03:00

Lecture: Burma-Myanmar: Beyond Paradoxes and Parameters
Ko Ko Thett
Co-ordinator, Asia Europe People’s Forum
Article: Expanding military, shrinking citizenry and the new constitution in Burma
Susanne Prager Nyein., Journal of Contemporary Asia, Vol 39, No. 4, Nov 2009, pp 638-648

---***---***---

Burma-Myanmar is a country I know very little about, having only followed western media debate about the advisability of economic sanctions and the selection of Aung San Suu Kyi as a Nobel prize winner, and recently having seen the film documentary Burma VJ. I remember also having enjoyed reading the historical novel The Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh, which describes an Indian-Burmese family history.

The lecture presented recent Burmese-Myanmarese political history, factors influencing the current political situation, and possible outcomes.

The article re-stated the main ideas of the lecture, although the tone of the article’s conclusion was maybe more pessimistic than that of the lecturer; “the structural conditions of military rule and the civil-military relations makes the prospects for a real shift in the power relations in Burma look dismal” (p646). This conclusion can be considered relatively straightforward, since no military dictatorship willingly gives up power, and the debate around the Burmese New Constitution thus becomes of little relevance. A very nice observation in the article was the change in the description of the common populace from “working people” (lok tha pyi thu) during the time of Ne Win to “the class on the bottom” (a kye khan luh than; sa:) used by the current military regime (p644).

The beginning of the lecture presented horrendous human development statistics and an overview of Burma’s post-WW2 constitutional history. The lecturer then presented a series of parameters defining Burma’s political situation: the military (Tatmadaw), the people, geopolitical conditions, the political culture, and inter-ethnic conflict.

The key elements defining Burma-Myanmar’s fate are: Tatmadaw; the people including the Burmese political opposition; and the aspirations of the minority ethnic groups.

As with all military groups, Tatmadaw has its own mythology. It views itself as superior to civilians and the sole guardian of national unity. Its three main national causes are all nationalistic; non-disintegration of the nation, unification of the multi-ethnic nation, and preservation of national sovereignty. The ideas are very similar to those of the Indonesian military of Suharto’s era.

The people and the political opposition are in what the lecturer called “a double bind” – if they take part in political debate, following the rules of the regime, they legitimize the system; if they remain outside the system, they have little influence. The situation is common to all groups agitating for change in a non-democratic system, for example, during the Soviet era, or during various independence struggles (cf. Lai Kek and Chin Peng factions in the Malayan Communist Party during the late 1940s). A further factor affecting the Burmese-Myanmarese people’s attitude to politics are the scars of the brutality of the military - forced labour, poverty etc - and the scars of complicity - in a dictatorship everyone makes compromises (Note the large number of military, 500,000, relative to the size of the population). I briefly worked in Romania shortly after the fall of Ceausescu, and the legacy of mistrust and disillusion lingers long after the fall of a dictator.

The many minority ethnic groups of Burma have suffered greatly and there has been almost constant strife: the Karen uprisings, conflict with the Sha, discrimination against the Muslim Rohingya minority, expulsion of the Indian-Burmese, repression of the Anglo-Burmese community, etc. For positive change and development to occur, any democratic Burmese-Myanmarese government must be able to meet, even minimally, the aspirations of the minority ethnic groups for guarantees of cultural freedom.

To conclude, I would like to comment on the differing fates of Burma and Malaysia. They were both British colonies, they were both run by the British on relatively similar lines, they were both, for the standards of the time, relatively well-developed, they were (and are) both multi-ethnic, and they both gained independence as a consequence of Japanese occupation and British imperial fatigue. Yet, they have taken different paths: Burma a via dolorosa, and Malaysia, while not a path of sunny uplands, relatively steady political and economic progress. The reason is probably merely the chance of history. In Malaya, the Malayan Emergency of 1947 to 1959 was handled such that although British and Anzac soldiers fought against Malayan Communist Party insurgents (primarily ethnically Chinese) it was deemed an ‘emergency’ not a war, i.e. a police operation not a military operation. The Malayan army and police force were composed of Malays, but the Special Branch, who aided the British and Anzac military, were Chinese and able to provide excellent intelligence. The outcome was that when the country gained full independence the supremacy of civilian rule over the military had been cemented such that neither Malaysia nor Singapore, which was then part of Malaya, has political systems in which the military play a dominant role, unlike the other Southeast Asian nations.

Lecture 8 - Political situation in Thailand

2010-05-31T22:49:00.003+03:00

Lecture: The political situation in Thailand: Contested democracy, the democratisation process, the roles of civil society organizations
Naruemon Thabchumpon
Chulalongkorn University, Thailand

Article: Thailand in 2008: Democracy and street politics
Ockey J., Southeast Asian Affairs (Singapore) 2009 315-333

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The lecture had two main parts; a more theoretical description of the political situation in Thailand, and practical examples of case studies involving civil society organizations (CSO).

The first part included a discussion of substantive versus procedural democracy. Procedural democracy is in effect the delegation of power to an elite (cf. average income of MPs with national average income) with intermittent opportunities for the rulers to be selected by election. Substantive or participatory democracy is where democratic decision-making occurs at all levels and individuals can substantively affect outcomes. Problems associated with these interpretations are not unique to Southeast Asia, they can also be found elsewhere, the EU, for example, suffers a serious democratic deficit. In Finland the statutory co-operation agreement negotiations (YT-neuvotellut) are negotiations in name only. A further example is the new Finnish University law – I was invited to a meeting with Finnish MPs from south-western Finland to discuss the topic, which was done very politely, the only problem being that after the meeting, and off-the-record, one MP admitted that all substantive parts of the law had already been decided since it was a prestige project of one of the parties of the Finnish coalition. Substantive democracy is problematic for the ruling group as it implies the removal of hierarchical structures and a loss of power. On a lighter note, I can say that I have problems with notions of participatory democracy in my family; my children often do not understand that in certain matters Daddy decides!

In the lecture, the claim was made that the procedural democracy definition adopted in ASEAN countries means that the populace has limited rights. A very nice distinction was presented of “rule of law” versus “rule by law”, and likewise the presentation of various competing discourses of democracy in Thailand was very good. The discourse of “good governance” to overrule democratic principles is one that I personally dislike. It is commonly used and belittles people; rulers imply that the populace is too dim-witted to understand complicated issues. Interestingly, one of the world’s more successful states, Switzerland, defines the people as the sovereign and through the right to call a referendum if sufficient numbers wish allows direct influence on decision-making at all political levels.

The lecture dealt with the situation in Thailand at two levels; the national political level, and from the point of view of a study of civil society organizations. At a national level the struggle between the Red and Yellow groups seems to be a power play between two elites with little interest in issues interesting the majority of the population. Based on Ockey’s article, it seems that PAD’s actions are merely old-fashioned 'ends justify the means' thinking. The Sondhi quote in Ockey; “… same objective which are to protect the country [nation], religion and monarchy [king]” (p 326) shows the common approach of finding an enemy, real or imagined, against which exceptional actions are required. Ockey concludes that “Thailand will become very difficult to govern” (p 331). I would say that this is because the ruling elite wish to rule for the people rather than with the people.

The part of the lecture dealing with CSOs presented nine case studies. Most involved major infrastructural projects, which regularly have problems (cf. Botnia’s Fray Bentos mill in Uruguay (now to be transferred to UPM) and debate over energy projects such as nuclear power plants). The problem is essentially a question of benefits and externalities; who benefits and who bears the externalities.

One question raised in the lecture is how CSOs should safeguard the interests of the groups they represent – within or without the current political system, i.e. evolution or revolution. The debate has been around for a long time; compare the ideas of Antonio Gramsci.

Lecture 7 - Heritage, nationalism and identity in Southeast Asia

2010-05-31T22:43:00.003+03:00

Lecture: Heritage, nationalism and identity in Southeast Asia
Michael Hitchcock
University of Chichester

Article: Asia fights to stem loss of cultural treasures, Thomas Kean, Myanmar Times, Dec 22, 2008. (http://www.globalheritagefund.org/news/conservation_news/asia_fights_to_stem_loss_of_cultural_treasures.asp, Accessed 15 Oct. 09)
‘Cannot find server’ message, read from Google Cache

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The lecture had two main strands; a discussion of the concept of ‘heritage,’ and the relationship between heritage and identity.

‘Heritage’ was presented as an originally western concept and differences in its interpretation in the Asian context commented on. The lecture stated that the Indonesian word for heritage, ‘warisan’ means ‘inheritance,’ which has different connotations than the English word ‘heritage.’ I did a quick search with Google Translate and came up with the following translations:

Malay to English: heritage
Indonesian to English: (nouns) 1. inheritance, 2. heritage, 3. legacy, 4. bequest, 5. heirdom, 6. patrimony, 7. settlement, (adjectives) 1. inheritable, 2. hereditary, 3. patrimonial.

The various translations throw some light on the difficulty of translating the word ‘heritage’. The etymology of the English word was given by Online Etymology Dictionary as:
‘c.1225, "that which may be inherited," from O.Fr. eritage, from heriter "inherit," from L.L. hereditare, ult. from L. heres (gen. heredis) "heir." ’

My own personal definition of ‘heritage’ would be ‘collective memory.’

The World Heritage Convention (http://whc.unesco.org/en/conventiontext) divides heritage into cultural and natural heritage. Cultural heritage is sub-divided into monuments, groups of buildings, and sites. Natural heritage is sub-divided into natural features, geological and physiographical formations, and natural sites. In my opinion, this focus on the tangible overlooks the intangible elements of culture; skills, crafts, lifestyles etc.

The relationship between heritage and identity was central to the lecture. Historical perspectives are fundamental to the portrayal of heritage, and history is always seen through the prism of the present, hence, that which is chosen to be stressed reflects the elements that the prevailing ruling class want to be emphasized. The lecturer noted that the contribution of the Chinese community to Indonesian development is not shown in the heritage museum Taman Mini. An example from Malaysia is that recently the grave of the founder of the British colony of Penang, Francis Light, could not be found (http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2009/10/6/north/4842890&sec=North). The corollary to what it is decided is to be forgotten is the decision of what is to be remembered.

The politicisation of history and heritage leads to some contradictions, for example, the traditional heritage of ‘wayang kulit’ (shadow play) has had to be changed. The ruling Islamic PAS party of Kelantan deemed that the Javanese and Hindi elements made the tradition un-Islamic and consequently banned this heritage. The stories (or should that be histories?) have had to be re-written (http://allmalaysia.info/msiaknow/arts/dance_wayang_kulit.asp?s=culture). A second Malaysian example are the archaeological findings from the Bujang valley in Kedah; they provide evidence of a Hindu-Indian civilisation that pre-dates anything that has been found for a Malay civilisation in peninsular Malaysia, which contradicts the prevailing myth of nationhood.

The coda of the lecture, in which the lecturer presented a couple of his current projects, gave a further instance of the politicisation of heritage. Jemaayah Islamiah by emphasizing Arab-Islamic heritage and downplaying the Malay-Indonesian heritage is in effect trying to re-write history to its own ends. To my mind, the basic problem is the claim of exclusivity of heritage – “my version of history and heritage is the only right one” – be it a nationalistic perspective, an ethnic perspective or a religious perspective. It should be remembered that the heritage and history of Southeast Asia are multi-religious, multi-ethnic, and multi-national; Southeast Asia has multiple heritages.

Lecture 6 - Tourism in Southeast Asia

2010-05-31T22:38:00.003+03:00

Lecture: Tourism in Southeast Asia: Challenges and New Directions
Michael Hitchcock
University of Chichester

Article: Understanding the ‘new tourist’ of Asia: Developing a global and local perspective
Norman Hassan, Perspectives in Asian Leisure and Tourism, Vol 1, Iss 1, 2008

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The lecture and article presented a brief overview of tourism in Southeast Asia with a focus on; the effects of tourism, in particular the economic, environmental and cultural effects; changes in the structure of Southeast Asian tourism, with the introduction of the concept of the ‘new tourist’; and the effects of various crises and catastrophes on Southeast Asian tourism.

The economic importance of tourism is well-documented, although in my opinion some of the claims made for its importance, nearly 20% of global GDP, seem a little exaggerated and probably reflect problems in definitions and measurement, for example accurate evaluation of the effect of various multipliers. The OECD has published guidelines to assist in standardization of tourism statistics, although I believe they may be more useful for comparative purposes than establishing absolute values. Nevertheless, tourism is undoubtedly an important economic area, as a source of FDI and foreign currency, as an employer, and as a business area with low barriers to entry, allowing small entrepreneurs, particularly women and minorities, to gain a foothold on the development ladder. One vexing issue is, however, the question of who benefits from the flows of tourism, i.e., to what extent do the tourists’ dollars trickle down.

The environmental effects of tourism cause some concern. Major historical attractions suffer damage from the shear volume of people visiting them, and the surrounding areas often undergo uncontrolled development as many people try to benefit from the visitors. Tourism in sensitive natural environments is also problematic; banning access is no answer and tourism management difficult. An example from personal experience is a family visit to Geopark Langkawi. We used a local tourist entrepreneur, traveled light, and did everything the enlightened eco-tourist should do, even insisting on collecting our own litter in a plastic bag. But on leaving the mangrove and entering open water the boatsman pushed the levers to full throttle, the plastic rubbish bag was caught by the breeze, flew overboard and was last seen floating in the sea. Despite our efforts, we had left a mark on the environment. Multiplied by hundreds of such accidents it is easy to see how natural areas get degraded by tourism. Further negative environmental effects of tourism can be found in the way beautiful areas get covered with concrete as one hotel or resort after another is built. The resorts also prevent access by local residents as previously public space is privatized.

The cultural effects of tourism are two-way; tourist to local, and local to tourist. Ideally tourism leads to greater understanding of others, less fear of the unknown, and greater tolerance. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. While young people in SEA are generally accepting of tourists, the older generations are often more critical, feeling that cultural norms are not being respected and new ‘bad’ ideas and behaviours imported. A further negative cultural effect is ‘disneyfication’ of local cultures. Local traditions become part of an international tourism industry and no longer reflect the culture from which they came. The show dancers at tourist events, for example in big hotels, each one in ‘traditional’ dress, have little in common with the reality of the various ethnic groups they purport to represent.

One topic of the lecture was changes in SEA tourism, with the concept of the ‘new tourist’. Here, the major change seems to be that western tourists - backpackers and package holiday tourists - are being joined by Asian and domestic tourists. This change is driving the increase in tourism in SEA. The two groups of tourists have slightly different consumption habits, which is a challenge. My feeling is that the habits of the two tourist groups will converge. Whereas hitherto Asian tourists have tended to buy package holidays, they are now following the path of western tourists with an increase in independent travel. This, in Asia as in Europe, has been aided by the establishment of low-cost airlines, e.g. Air Asia.

The final key aspect of the lecture was analysis of the effect on SEA tourism of various crises. From the data presented in the lecture I could ascertain no clear pattern of to what extent and over what time span, tourism is likely to be affected by health scares, government crises, terrorism, and natural catastrophes. My feeling is that tourists are to a large degree isolated from local events, so major societal changes can occur without affecting tourism. Perceptions of an acceptable level of risk play a role, with some nationalities more timid than others, and finally cost factors should not be overlooked.

To conclude, and hors d’oeuvre, my personal advice for SEA tourism development bosses:

Ensure a functioning and efficient transport infrastructure.
Ensure good personal security, i.e., low crime levels.
As the idiom goes; “Cleanliness is next to godliness.”
Do not kill the goose that laid the golden egg, i.e. do not destroy that which brought the tourists in the first place.
Ensure that the tourism industry can cater to all market segments; today’s impoverished backpacker is tomorrow’s wealthy middle-aged businessman.

Lecture 5 - Islam in Southeast Asia

2010-05-31T22:33:00.005+03:00

Lecture: Islam in Southeast Asia: Islam and the Challenges of Freedom of Religion or Belief
Knut Asplund
Norwegian Centre for Human Rights, University of Oslo

Article: Incense, silk and jihad; Islam in South-East Asia
The Economist, May 31, 2003

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Unfortunately, because of technical problems I was only able to hear the first half of the lecture, but based on that which I heard, and my knowledge of the subject, below a few comments.

Firstly, an observation that is slightly off-topic. Knut Asplund said: “Malaysia is a country where there is a huge population of immigrants, Chinese and Indians in particular.” In the Malaysian context great care must be taken with the use of the word ‘immigrant’ to describe the Chinese and Indian communities. Pendatang in Malaysian politics is used as a term of abuse and goes to the heart of Malaysia’s political dilemma; the intertwining of race, religion and identity.

The part of the lecture that I heard drew attention to the division in Indonesian Islam between various interpretations of the Muslim faith; modernist (more orthodox interpretations) and traditionalists (whose belief contains more folk beliefs). As the lecturer pointed out, the distinction is very blurred. In extremis a modernist might turn to a bomoh for help, or if he does not his mother-in-law might very well, and a traditionalist might be outwardly very devout in his actions. Or a traditionalist family might send their children to a modernist Islamic primary school simply because the teaching is better. And a girl might wear the tudung not for reasons of piety but, as I was told, because it was the fashion. I feel that Knut Asplund’s division between rural and urban Islam is a valid one, and the rural-urban divide can be seen in many other aspects of Indonesian life.

The Islam of Malaysia is stricter, partly as a result of changes in the 1970s and partly because it has been used for political ends for many years. In recent years UMNO has faced constant attacks, mainly from PAS, for not being sufficiently Muslim and has responded by favouring Muslims and promoting Muslim issues as a way of trying to tempt voters away from PAS. The Pakatan Rakyat coalition, an unlikely grouping of PAS, DAP and PKR, are in power in four states; Kedah, Kelantan, Penang, and Selangor (the situation in Perak is unclear pending judicial review). The dual system of civil courts and Syariah courts leads to tensions and in PR states the Islamic Affairs Departments (at state level) appear to be trying to gain greater powers, e.g. the banning of sales of beer in Muslim-majority (non clearly defined) areas. The Black Eyed Peas concert difficulties were also a result of decisions made at state level. Other controversies include the sentence to caning of the part-time model Kartika (offence: drinking beer) and problems with deceased people being claimed by the Islamic authorities for Muslim burial when their family feel the deceased person was of non-Muslim faith (e.g. Maniam Moorthy, the first Malaysian to climb Mt Everest).

Non-Muslims in Malaysia often feel under threat and claim they face discrimination in religious matters. Indian Malaysians, for example, contrast the police reaction to the Hindraf demonstrations with reactions to the cow’s head protest, in which a severed cow’s head (cows being sacred to Hindus) was dragged through the streets in protest at proposals to build a Hindu temple.

Islam, as interpreted by many, has difficulties being reconciled with human rights, such as the freedom to choose religion, or equality between men and women. The issue is often one of interpretation: ‘Unto you your religion, and unto me my religion,' [Qur'an, 109:6] or the idea that apostates should be stoned to death.

The image is presented that somehow Indonesian Islam is less restrictive but when a friend married a Sundanese she had to first convert to Islam, or otherwise she could not be married. Of course, Islam is not alone in such coercive behaviour; for my protestant brother to marry his Catholic wife he had to first promise to raise any children as Catholics. Somehow I feel that monotheist religions sit uneasily with the diverse, multi-identity SEA society; a polytheist belief such as Buddhism sidesteps the problem by saying that person A is a Christian Buddhist, person B an atheist Buddhist, and person C a Chinese Buddhist etc.

Lecture 4 - Military reform in Indonesia

2010-05-31T22:29:00.003+03:00

Lecture: Military reform in Indonesia
Knut Asplund
Norwegian Centre for Human Rights, University of Oslo

Article: Finalising the nation: The Indonesian military as the guarantor of national unity
John Roosa
Asia Pacific Viewpoint, Vol 48, No 1, April 2007

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Despite the technical difficulties, the lecture was the most enjoyable one of the four lectures thus far.

The lecture broadly covered three areas; the historical background from the end of World War Two to the present, the structure and socio-political position of the Indonesian armed forces, and military reform since the end of Suharto’s New Order.

Post-1945 history of Indonesia is marked by the central role of the military. Sukarno and Hatta, making use of the power vacuum following the Japanese defeat, declared Indonesian independence on 17 August 1945. It could be hypothesized that this declaration was premature and set Indonesia off on an unfortunate path, since it precluded a structured transfer of political power, as happened in neighbouring Malaysia. The Dutch reacted, to protect their citizens and economic interests, and military conflict became more or less inevitable. For example, the Battle of Surabaya, involving British forces, was wholly avoidable; Europeans could have been evacuated without bloodshed. Once blood had flown, military escalation was unavoidable. While the Republicans suffered military defeat, it was the start of the myth of the Indonesian military as heroes of the nation; a self-image that they were only too happy to promote. It is a self-image that Roosa claims still exists, even though the military’s actions to promote national unity have been counter-productive, and a self-image that puts the military at the heart of Indonesian life.

Since independence the Indonesian military have constantly been involved in action; anti-separatist wars and campaigns, Konfrontasi with Malaysia, and political crackdowns. Indonesia is not seen as having a central role in the Cold War, unlike say Vietnam or Korea, but Cold War tensions were certainly important. Sukarno’s ‘guided democracy’ Nasakom was an effort to balance the elements of nationalism (i.e. the military), religion (i.e. Islam) and communism, and western support for Suharto (e.g. provision of military hardware and military advice) was because he was seen as anti-Communist, unlike his predecessor. The scale of the violence and brutality following the coup of 30 September 1965 (500,000 estimated deaths) was something I had been unaware of. While the violence was directed at P.K.I members and sympathizers, it was also used to settle old scores. During Suharto’s regime Chinese Indonesians suffered badly: mass killings; forced resettlement to urban areas; anti-Chinese legislation such as the banning of Chinese-language newspapers, closing of Chinese-language schools, prohibition of Chinese religious expression, restrictions on permitted occupations; the forced adoption of Indonesian names; and harassment demanding bribes and pay-offs. The effects are still seen as a loss of cultural identity; younger generations of Chinese Indonesians do not speak the southern Chinese dialects, Hakka, Hokkien, Cantonese etc, of their grandparents.

The 1998 Jakarta Riots, which led to the fall of Suharto, were basically another anti-Chinese pogrom. It is worth speculating why the tactic of stoking hatred of a minority as a means of maintaining political power failed in 1998 when it had been so effective in the past; the wind of change had maybe reached Indonesia.

Notable features of the Indonesian military include its territorial structure and the way it was embedded throughout Indonesian society as part of the dwifungsi policy, with military personnel at all levels of civilian society from the village N.C.O. to the president. A hierarchical structure and lack of autonomous decision-making powers at lower levels (maybe reflecting military thinking in the past) is still a feature of Indonesian society. Local disputes, for example the electrical utility building a wall blocking access to a group of houses and a school, are approached such that the matter is first discussed by the men in the mosque, then the village committee is contacted, and the matter goes up the chain for a decision.

One issue that the lecture did not address is the ethnic make-up of the Indonesian army. To what extent are Indonesia’s various ethnic groups represented in T.N.I.? Or can the military be seen as simply a tool of Javanese domination?

The political changes brought on by reformasi promoted an identity crisis in the Indonesian military – they were forced to seek a new role and image. Military reform in Indonesia involves: demilitarization of the Indonesian political system (no automatic parliamentary seats and positions at the levers of power, reduction in support for the Golkar party, rules on involvement of military personnel and their spouses in the political process), separation of internal security (police) and external security (military), normalization of military finance (clear budgets, nationalization of military-run businesses), subordination of military personnel to the civilian justice system for non-military actions, and most importantly, acceptance of civilian supremacy and the human rights of all groups of Indonesian society.

Military reform cannot be considered as having been completed; on a practical level there still seem to be many problems. For example, civilian politicians still seem to be keen to involve military figures. Until the Indonesian military has a realistic centrally-funded budget they will be obliged to find money from elsewhere, be it through business or corruption. (And as the English saying goes: “He who pays the piper calls the tune.”) Low pay must also be addressed – if soldiers are poorly paid they have to find other sources of income. (I couldn’t find precise information about army pay scales.) Assessing T.N.I.’s position based on Maslow’s Hiearchy of Needs might provide some insight into what remains to be done.

Some progress in military reform seems to have been made, with Indonesia contributing to UNIFIL, making them feel part of the worldwide military community and where they, hopefully, can learn good habits and greater professionalism. Nevertheless, having a former general as president, Bambang Susilo Yudhoyono, albeit elected democratically, is rarely a good sign, although maybe it is the price that needs to be paid to make the army feel loved and inclined to stay in their barracks.

Lecture 3 - Climate change adaptation in Southeast Asia

2010-05-31T22:25:00.004+03:00

Lecture: Climate change adaptation in Southeast Asia
Bernadette Resurreccion
Asian Institute of Technology

Article: Climate adaptation in Asia: Knowledge gaps and research issues in South East Asia
Bernadette Resurreccion, Edsel E. Sajor, Elizabeth Fajber

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The lecture was a report about research for the article, in effect a report about research about what to research. To the über-critical it might be considered as reflecting one of the major shortcomings of the world response to climate change; many meetings (e.g. Rio de Janeiro, Kyoto Bali, Copenhagen), much talk, but limited concrete action.

Key concepts presented in the lecture were adaptation and vulnerability. The former describes how communities react, or adapt, to climate changes, and the latter the degree to which communities are exposed to climate changes to which they are unable to, or find it difficult to, adapt.

The lecturer’s key thesis was that vulnerability should be the focus and starting point in climate change debate, and consequently it is a development issue rather than purely an environment issue. I would agree with this standpoint. However, the social, political and economic implications then become enormous – vulnerability is a result of being socially and economically disadvantaged, implying that the whole current economic and political system needs changing; hardly a position likely to endear people to the current political elite. The research ascertained ‘hotspots of vulnerability,’ which broadly matched economic and social development. On a national level, the SEA nations least vulnerable are the wealthiest on the UN Human Development Index. At a local level, it is the poorest who suffer most – a rich man can move to a house on a hill to avoid flooding, a rich woman can ensure that her home is constructed properly and able to withstand hurricane-force winds.

When considering the response to climate change, attention was drawn to the question of at what level planning for climate change should occur; local, meso, or national. It was claimed that the hierarchical, paternalistic, and patronage-based political systems of many SEA nations hindered concrete actions and local responses. The political system certainly affects climate change response in SEA – expensive technical fixes, e.g. dams and seawalls, allow opportunities for lucrative kickbacks, and make for good photo opportunities. NGO-based activities can easily be seen as a threat to political elites; someone else is taking charge. An aspect of NGO work not mentioned is that many NGOs in the field are western-based or western-inspired, consequently open to being criticized as neo-colonialism through the back door, or white-men telling brown-men what to do. If NGOs want to help they need to work through the current political system not in competition with it. In Malaysia and Indonesia the mutual aid concept of gotong royong could be used for concrete actions, allowing local political leaders to feel that climate change responses are a natural part of their culture and allowing them to be seen publicly as men/women of action and close to the people. To some extent this is already happening with clean-up actions in urban areas, or canal and river-cleaning programmes.

It was stated in the lecture that there was broad consensus on the likely effects of climate change, i.e. changing rainfall patterns, salt-water intrusion, storm surges, and stronger cyclones. Adaptation strategies to such changes can be divided into a number of areas; technical, societal-community, and individual. The technical strategies basically encompass infrastructural changes and increased knowledge. When considering infrastructural changes, one important question is who will pay. In view of the massive investment needed, some way of harnessing the profit-motive needs to be found. SEA governments cannot afford all the necessary infrastructural changes (reinforcing bridges, seawalls and flood barriers, moving vulnerable communities to different areas, building improved irrigation systems, developing effective sewage- and waste-management etc) and western development aid budgets are not even in the same league. Investment in research, i.e. increased knowledge, is one important area. In my opinion development of salt-tolerant rice strains should be a priority. In the area of societal-community adaptation strategies, knowledge dissemination and concrete, small-scale actions are key. At the individual adaptation strategies scale many strategies were noted, varying from late sowing of crops to temporary migration to urban areas, from diversification of livelihood sources to buying insurance. Poverty is a great incentive for creativity; Nobel-prize winner Muhammad Yunus’s insight leading to the micro-credit movement was that the poor do not lack the ability to adapt and develop, they merely lack the means.

In both the article and lecture there was one element that in my opinion was under-emphasized, namely that the majority of environmental problems are caused not by climate change but what may be termed environment abuse. This takes many forms: uncontrolled logging, illegal sand dredging, building on unstable slopes (often with terrible consequences like the Bukit Antarabangsa tragedy in December 2008), fly dumping of industrial waste, failure to meet pollution norms (a problem easily solved with duit kopi – ‘coffee money’), embezzlement of road and infrastructure monies (leading to substandard construction), uncontrolled urban expansion (leading to a greater risk of flash floods), mono-cropping (e.g. gigantic oil palm plantations), and many more. In the light of such localized, current and concrete problems, the risks of anthropogenic climate change take on a much lower priority.

Lecture 2 - Peace and war in Southeast Asia

2010-05-31T22:20:00.005+03:00

Lecture: Peace and War in Southeast Asia: Trends and challenges
Timo Kivimäki
Nordic Institute of Asian Studies

Article: The Nature of Southeast Asian Security Challenges
Jürgen Rüland
University of Freiburg

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The article and the lecture complemented each other in that both presented a similar view of the security situation in SEA. The key points were:

SEA has conflict patterns and reactions to conflict that are typical for the region.
ASEAN has significantly reduced conflict, particularly inter-state conflict.
Intra-state conflicts currently pose the greatest challenges.
Changes in SEA society (e.g. democratization, more free and vociferous media) mean that SEA nations will have to adopt different approaches to handling conflict. Rüland wants greater recognition of the interdependency of conflicts, while Kivimäki proposes solutions based on customary law, national reconciliation and international assistance.

Kivimäki stressed the fact that ASEAN membership correlated with a significant drop in violence and conflict but from the lecture it was not clear to what extent this was a cause or an effect.

While the list of conflicts was long: Philippines – migrants and locals (Mindanao); Burma – state and ethnic groups, ethnic groups and sub-ethnic groups, state and democratic forces; Thailand – separatist groups in Southern Thailand, state and opposition (urban and rural, wealthy and poor); Indonesia – separatist (Papua, Aceh), migrants and locals (Kalimantan), the causes are broadly similar to those found throughout the world, as Rüland (p558) puts it:
“The conflicts are usually shaped by previous interactions, socio-economic disparities, experiences of political and cultural discrimination, and single traumatic incidents that are revitalized by the collective memory whenever inter-ethnic relations deteriorate.”

An interesting point was the distinction between conflict resolution and conflict management. The claim was made that SEA states conducted conflict management not conflict resolution, thus not bringing conflicts to a conclusion. The SEA approach can be found in most other conflicts, for example, the Good Friday agreement in Northern Ireland has not finally and irrevocably resolved the status of the province; it manages the status and sets rules for actions. Likewise, my opinion is that the agreement in Aceh is not a final resolution to the Aceh conflict. Indeed, signs of stress are already being seen with the arguments over the implementation of Sharia law. (“Aceh passes adultery stoning law”, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8254631.stm, accessed Sept 2009)

Conflict management becomes easier with economic development; it is no coincidence that the worst conflicts occur in the relatively poorer regions of a country – Aceh, Papua, Southern Thailand, Mindanao in SEA, Northern Ireland, the Basque region in Western Europe. Good conflict management allows economic development to occur such that antipathies gradually fade and both sides feel sufficiently strong to be able to make compromises, which can lead finally to resolution of the conflict.

A further interesting point from Kivimäki was that increased democratization and media freedom may make conflict handling more difficult than in the past when Asian media were under strict control, allowing “quiet diplomacy” through personal contacts. A recent example is the spat between Malaysia and Indonesia resulting in the “sweeping” of Malaysians, harking back to the time of Sukarno and the konfrontasi. (“Activists conduct sweep on Malaysians”, Jakarta Post, http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/09/08/activists-conduct-sweep-against-malaysians-street.html) The trigger for this activism was a Discovery Channel programme mistakenly using the Balinese Pendet dance to promote Malaysia as a tourist destination. The real context is Malaysian-Indonesian rivalry and the use of this rivalry for political gain. Manufactured outrage regarding the mistreatment of Indonesian migrant workers, particularly maids, or the use of the traditional song Rasa Sayang in Malaysian Tourism advertisements are examples of “fiery nationalistic demagoguery reviving or keeping alive primordial stereotypes” (Rütland, p547) but the demagoguery coming via free media rather than tightly-controlled government media.

I enjoyed Kivimäki’s example of the riot at Papua University as it was a concrete example. I was struck by the fact that the story could have been found from all over the world; a street confrontation, poor policing leading to a situation where there is no clear way for the crowd to disperse, a consequent rise in pressure (as in a boiler), and an explosion as the most volatile elements boil over into violence. The policing here was military in nature, i.e. entrapment of the enemy, rather than civilian, i.e. encouraging dispersal. The example, in my opinion, demonstrates the need for better police training, including a change in the mindset of police officers. To some extent this is already happening in Indonesia with the formal separation of the police and military. It should be noted that poor policing of protest is not a monopoly of developing SEA nations, as seen by the use/abuse of ‘kettling’ and unnecessary aggression at the G20 demonstration in London in April 2009.

To conclude, I would like to comment on the issue of national sovereignty. The SEA nations are in their current form relatively young nations (e.g. independence dates; Indonesia – 1949, Malaysia -1957, Philippines – 1946, Cambodia – 1953, Vietnam – 1945) and not defined ethnically or geographically. Thus, each nation is a unitary nation because of will – because they want to. Hopefully they will be able to emulate the success of a European “Willensnation” – Switzerland.

Finally, since over half of the population of the SEA nations follow Islam, maybe the Muslim greeting should be taken more literally: Salaam alaikum – Peace be with you.

Issues in Southeast Asia - Introduction

2010-05-31T22:16:00.003+03:00

Issues in Southeast Asia

While tidying up my computer I came across some material from a course I followed last autumn, Contemporary Issues in Southeast Asia.

The course was taught through the internet as a distance-learning course, and I took the course just for fun. I didn’t formally complete the course, I don’t need university credits, but I did do one of the exercises, a so-called learning diary.

I’m not quite sure what a learning diary is and what form it should take. The instructions stated that its aim is “to summarize, analyse and comment on the course and lectures.” I wrote my little essays and opinion pieces about the lectures and uploaded them to the course website, expecting that other students might read them and in return I could read others’ opinions on the topics. This turned out not to be how the course was organised and my work, simplistic and from a layman’s perspective, just seemed to disappear into cyberspace.

Since time has passed, I feel free to post my learning diary texts for people to enjoy or ignore as they see fit. They are posted as they were written and the thoughts are those of the moment when they were written; I might very well have changed my mind.

The topics:

Lecture 1 – Introduction (no learning diary)
Lecture 2 – Peace and war in Southeast Asia: Trends and challenges
Lecture 3 – Climate change adaptation in Southeast Asia
Lecture 4 – Military reform in Indonesia
Lecture 5 – Islam in Southeast Asia: Islam and the challenges of freedom of religion or belief
Lecture 6 – Tourism in Southeast Asia: Challenges and new directions
Lecture 7 – Heritage, nationalism and identity in Southeast Asia
Lecture 8 – The political situation in Thailand: Contested democracy, the democratisation process, and the roles of civil society organizations
Lecture 9 – Burma-Myanmar: Beyond paradoxes and parameters
Lecture 10 – ASEAN regional economic integration: Southeast Asia as a business environment
Lecture 11 – Interlinkages of water and development in Southeast Asia: The Mekong River case
Lecture 12 – Gender discourses on migration and trafficking in the Mekong Region
Concluding comments about the course

World Cup

2010-05-26T18:25:00.006+03:00

With the football World Cup imminent, I was recently interviewed by the newspaper Suomenmaa, the organ of the Finnish Centre Party, on my thoughts about the English national team's chances.

To read the full article you'll have to get hold of the newspaper, but a trailer, complete with photo, can be found here. Since the article is in Finnish, it might not help many of you, but for a laugh you can use Google Translate to get a flavour of what was said. Click here and then use 'copy and paste' to paste the URL address of the Finnish article into the translation box. Use your imagination to guess what I said.

I was also asked who I'd have as my starting eleven - a question which caught me out somewhat. So to entertain the real football experts, here is my (spontaneous) answer:

Goalkeeper: David James
Defenders: Ashley Cole, Ledley King, John Terry, Leighton Baines
Midfielders: James Milner, Gareth Barry, Michael Carrick, Frank Lampard
Forwards: Wayne Rooney, Peter Crouch

As my starting line-up is a little short on pace, Aaron Lennon can come on after a while. And Rio Ferdinand gets to play in the first game of the tournament so the team can benefit from his experience. The sharp-eyed will note that there is no room for Steven Gerrard. He plays for Liverpool F.C. so he gets to sit on the bench and chew his fingernails.

Who is going to be the 'star' of the World Cup? It has to be Vuvuzela!

On the buses

2010-05-22T23:11:00.010+03:00

Last weekend Henry went on a day trip to Helsinki with the church choir. He doesn't sing in the choir but his friend invited him along.

The bus left early and the trip included a visit to Kaisaniemi Botanical Garden followed by a guided tour of Suomenlinna fortress.

While the plants were of interest, particularly the tropical plants, the most important part of the trip was the bus.

Below, a few photos.

The bus.

The back of the bus.

The bus from the front.

The driver's cab.

Bus and running friend.

Spring 2

2010-05-20T10:58:00.004+03:00

Finland has done its usual trick of moving from winter - boots, thick jackets, and gloves - to summer in the space of a week or so.

Everything blooms in one go, which is a problem for hay fever sufferers. (Birch and ash pollen generally causing the most problems.) The good news is that flowers blossom, bringing brighter colours into the natural world.

For your enjoyment, a couple of photos.

Daffodils

Tulips

Spring

2010-05-08T21:31:00.005+03:00

One glass of...

... birch sap.

When the snow melts and spring arrives, the sap rises. This is the time for one of Finland's delicacies - birch sap.

A hole is drilled into the trunk of a birch tree, and a short piece of pipe fitted. As the sap rises, it is collected in a bucket. The fluid is slightly cloudy and has a very delicate taste. Unfortunately, the season is very short indeed, and the birch sap spoils very quickly - it must be drunk within a couple of days.

Thanks are due to Terttu, our source of birch sap (and 'pulla' and Karelian pies).

Pselling

2010-04-27T22:08:00.006+03:00

Recently, the university has been spending vast amounts of its scarce resources on marketing. We have a propaganda department (sorry, I mean communications department). We have a new logo (something resembling a wheelchair).We have a slogan ('Open your mind.' Whatever that may mean). And we have a new image (meaning lots of new stationery). There has been a vigorous advertising campaign, including adverts during 'The Simpsons' and a whole host of gimmicks.

One piece of marketing is a hire car with the university's name on the side.

Look carefully!

Somehow there is just no substitute for old-fashioned learning and attention to detail!

(Credit to Jörg for spotting this.)

Scout Parade

2010-04-25T22:02:00.006+03:00

Today, Henry took part in the traditional spring Scout Parade. The event was more important than usual, since this year the Finnish Scout Movement is celebrating its 100th anniversary.

It was a bright, chilly day, so the scouts and guides had to wear warm clothes under their uniforms. Particularly since there was quite a bit of hanging around waiting for things to get underway.

Waiting in front of the town hall.

The Finnish uniform is blue, although some troops use brown, as can be seen on the photo. The individual troops are identified by the symbol on their neckerchiefs. The neckerchief is worn at all scout events but the uniform itself is reserved for more formal occasions.

Henry chatting with a friend from his troop.

Naturally, each troop has its own standard; in Henry's case, it is blue.

The end of the march.

Thomas was also present to watch and he took the video below of the troop saluting the stand. Can you spot Henry?

Young Musician 2

2010-04-21T22:32:00.004+03:00

Here, for your enjoyment, young musician Thomas playing 'Morning has Broken'.

It was his first public performance and after a bit of a false start things went fine. Hear for yourself!

Elk's Street followers may be wondering what has happened to the French horn. Well, it is fine and well. As yet, however, there are no videos of Thomas on the horn since he's a little shy.

Young Musician

2010-04-13T21:19:00.008+03:00

Below, for the enjoyment of Elk's Street followers, a brief extract of Henry's latest piano performace.

The start is missing because of technical problems, coupled with Henry's style - up to the piano, sit down, play. None of this getting focussed stuff!

As our American friends say, enjoy!

And in case you liked that, here is a link to another video, this time of a slightly older and more accomplished musician.

We're gonna have a supper,
We'll eat some food that's rare,
And at the head of the table,
We'll place brother Henry's chair.
Invite all the local big dogs,
We'll laugh and talk and eat,
But we'll save the bones for Henry Jones,
'Cause Henry don't eat no meat.

etc etc.

End of the road...

2010-03-20T21:11:00.005+02:00

... for SaiPa this season.

Having, as tradition demands, been tipped to be clearly last in the SM-League, and having, as tradition also demands, confounded the pundits, SaiPa were in the last play-off position with one game to play; SaiPa-Ilves. Two points behind SaiPa were the millionaires of Jokerit Helsinki.

There was a full house of 4825 in Lappeenranta Kisapuisto, and the Willimies fan club made a big effort to arrange a suitable setting (see the photo below).

The Saipa-Ilves 'tifo'.

And what happened?

The home side couldn't cope with the pressure; the wheels fell off the wagon; and the season ended with a 1:5 defeat.

Never mind! The boys did well to hang on in the fight for a play-off place for as a long as they did. And anyway, it's only 5 months to the start of the next season!

H-M's Malaysia Trip

2010-03-20T13:18:00.011+02:00

As some Elk's Street followers will know, Po-Po has recently been diagnosed with a serious illness.

H-M decided to make a quick trip to visit her. During her visit, a family gathering was arranged at Alice's place in Penang. Below, a couple of photos of those present.

The whole gang.

One side of the family.

H-M's trip also included a visit to Kwan's new 'Penang Pad'. Below, a couple of photos.

View towards Kek Lok Si (which unfortunately will be somewhat restricted when the new developments are completed).

View towards Penang Hill (over a number of very quiet neighbours).

While in S.P. H-M took the opportunity to paint Po-Po's portrait. Below, the result.

Po-Po (H-M's mother)

H-M and her mother.

The time went very quickly and H-M was soon back in Elk's Street, where she found that the boys had managed fine, and their diet had been more healthy than just pizza, burgers, and ice-cream. (But don't mention the Mixed Grill!)

Spring Report

2010-02-27T23:16:00.007+02:00

It is the time of year when Finnish schoolchildren get their interim spring school report. Henry, somewhat reluctantly, produced his yesterday.

For children in the fourth class the grades are not given as numbers but categories. The system is such that first the child evaluates him- or herself and then he or she is given the teacher's evaluation, which is followed by some discussion.

The categories are as follows:

needs considerable support
needs support
knows the key elements
good
excellent

Below Henry's results:

(Click on the photo to get a bigger version.)

There is a space for parents' comments. So what do I say?

Pancake Tuesday

2010-02-21T16:29:00.004+02:00

Pancake Tuesday is celebrated in Finland not with pancakes but with cream buns.

Henry decided that it would be a nice surprise if the adults came home to a tray full of cream buns. He had almost finished before I got back from work.

Putting the finishing touches.

The completed article.

Cleaning up the kitchen is not his talent, and judging by the amount of cream and jam used, economic use of ingredients is not his strength either, but he's a good cook.

Well done, Henry!

By special request

2010-02-21T16:23:00.003+02:00

Just for Janet, evidence that Henry really does knit.

Update 3 - Wintry Weather

2010-02-21T16:07:00.004+02:00

Europe has been having a 'proper winter' this year - nothing too extreme but colder than in recent years. Below a few pictures.

Wintry view from our balcony.

Thomas trying out an old fur hat.

Boys playing in the snow.

Update 3 - Henry's Birthday

2010-02-21T15:52:00.008+02:00

Henry has his birthday in January. And a small party was duly arranged.

Henry opening the welcoming drink for the guests (Spruce-Tip Champagne).

The traditional games were played; spining the bottle, blindfolded search, pass the parcel, and water-land.

(One step forward if the item shouted out is related to the sea, e.g. jellyfish; one step back if it related to the land, e.g. worm; one mistake and you are out.)

Thomas ready for his turn at the blindfold search.

The next person's turn.

The birthday meal.

Birthday snacks (with bassist).

A birthday boy somewhat awed by the 'candle'.

Update 2 - Trip to Helsinki

2010-02-21T14:52:00.008+02:00

After the Christmas celebrations, some of the Elk's Street team made a quick trip to Helsinki.

Entertainment included a meeting of the Tapiola Cocoa Club, so named because dinner always ends with cocoa.

The January meeting of the Cocoa Club; Tarja, Pentti, Lulu, Tiina, Thomas, and Henry

Cocoa Club cooks.

By coincidence, SaiPa were playing in Espoo during our stay so Thomas and I got to take in one of SaiPa's away games.

Entry of the gladiators.

Thomas, not too impressed by the performance of the first period.

The boys upped their game in the last two periods, so all is well that ends well. Except if you are a home side supporter.

During our trip I got to meet with Roger, who pointed out that we had been in Finland over 20 years.

Roger, looking as youthful as ever.

The weather was quite cold, so to finish, Helsinki city centre seen from a very cold Suomenlinna.