Nokia Phone to the rescue!

 I have been using the iPhone for over 15 years. 

Old trusted Nokia, where the keyboard has faded!

Before that, like every Finn,had  I was a Nokia phone user. 

There were intervals where I used Jolla and then went back to a Nokia, but came back to the iPhone. 

Part of my collection of mobile phones from 1987: 2 Mobiras, Jolla, iPhone 4, Nokia clam shell, other 2 Nokia antiques, an Häger internet phone.  (My only Samsung was lost in Helsinki and my Nokia 920 was lost at Delhi Airport.)

When my iPhone 4 gave up the ghost, my friends, The Gang of 18 from around the world (Canada, India, Israel, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, UK, USA)  made sure I got an iPhone as a present so I would keep in touch with all my classmates. 

It has been very reliable, till yesterday, when it refused to charge.

I was in a desperate situation, as I have several phones, right  from the original Nokia, when it was called Mobira, but the problem was all of them are in a safe place but I did not know where the charging cables were.

It was a desperate search as without a phone I am dead to the world. With our two daughters,  it is OK as they used FaceTime and we can call each other from my MacBook Air.

The problem was that to even call a taxi to go to the repair shop  is a problem without a phone, as we are both house-bound. 

I found some charging cables and played around till I found the one which matched one of my ancient Nokia phones. I got the phone charged. Then the problem was of getting my micro SIM from the iPhone to fit the Nokia. 

I knew I had a lot of adapters, but when you want one, it is impossible to find it. Annikki’s  grandfather had a saying that when one stops looking for something, it will just come to hand!

I found an old wireless adapter with an old SIM and in its old large holder frame. I fixed my mini SIM to that, and voilà, worked.

I called my taxi service. Annikki and I went right  across town to the K-Citymarket in Rusko, where I knew FONUM has a service centre working on Sinday.

The two youngsters were most helpful. 

While Annikki and I did our shopping they fixed  my iPhone. They found some dirt had got into  the charging port and they cleaned it out.

When we got back, it was working fine.

The charge was to be €25.

I asked them to change my Elisa home network connection to 5G from the present 4G, which was just €2 per month more than my present charge. I also bought a wireless INSMAT wireless charging station. No more dirt likely in the charging port! The boys did not charge me for cleaning the iPhone. I got the charging station for just €4. 

I bought a SIM card for my old trusted Nokia and now that is hanging next to my TV for hopefully another unlikely emergency..

The lesson learnt with this experience is that although I have everything to handle any situation, I have left everything disorganised after my health issues got to the foreground. 

Now is the time to reorganise as I have all these beautiful gadgets, all sitting there and I waste so much time when an emergency arises.

I am on 5G from tomorrow. I hope that will help get my blogs out faster. 

I have some great news for our blog readers as we shall concentrate on a new schedule to help you get to the blog you want to read in a more organised fashion.

I have two new blogs lined up for December and a couple of older focused ones will come back on line, completely refurbished. 

I will give you the calendar schedule shortly.

Here are the list of our blogs:

1. Collectibles By Annikki (Daily)

2. Jacob’s Blog (Weekly)

3. News (Weekly) Findians  Breaking News

4. Maliyakal Family Blog (New) (Weekly)

5. Kandathil Family Blog (New) (Weekly)

6. Seventh Heaven for Cathedralites (Fortnightly)

7. Oulu Best (Worst) Buy (Fortnightly)

8. JM Politics (Fortnightly)

9. Findians (Fortnighly)

10. Findians Editorial (Fortnighly)

11. Findians Briefings (Fortnightly)

12. Kooler Talk (Web Version) (Monthly)

13. Art of Kamutaza's Tembo (Monthly)

14. CHAFF (Chamber for Assistance of Finns and Foreigners) (Monthly)

15. Photographs from Finland and India(Monthly)

16. Last Will and Testament (Monthly)

17. Move The UN (Monthly)

18. Mobile Snowman (Winter)

19. Talk Show Ratings (When news is available!)

Do stay turned for this BREAKING NEWS which we have scheduled for the next Finnish Independence Day on 6th December 2023.

Wondering why?

If you are wondering why I did not update this blog or any of the others recently, it is because I am trying a new experiment. I am always trying new experiments and that is why I am at the forefront of new technologies in web communication.

There is a limit to the number of readers I can add to these blogger.com blogs.

I came across a blog host called FanBox.com which supposedly paid me for putting my posts on that blog and it had no limits to the number of readers. (I do not believe that I will get paid, but one can always try! :-) )

I started with a copy of what I had posted on this blog and have put up a few entries since then.

I do not trust the host FaxBox.com. I am not pushing anyone there to read my postings there. But if you want to take a look please do.

I heard someone was asked to join the FanBox blog, etc. Please do not do anything so radical.

I will post all that I post there here, so do not get forced in anything you are not comfortable with.

On the other hand I will certainly not post any sensitive information concerning my grandchildren on that blog.

In the meantime, Jacob's Blog will continue to be my main blogging point.

A nice surprise

I went to meet my friend Billy, who runs the best Chinese Fast Food in Oulu. I noted a young lady sitting there waiting for her food. She looked familiar, but I did not immediately place her.

I sat with my back to her and asked her whether she came from the Phillipines. Without once looking at her we conversed about generalities.

When she finished her meal, she was leaving and she asked me whether my name was Jacob and my wife's name was Annikki!

Then she told me that she was a faithful reader of all my blogs but regretted that I had not been updating the Oulu Best Buy Blog regularly. I told her that I did that only when there was a Best Buy, like writing about the very restaurant we were sitting in!

Virpi and Elizabeth Wang (from Phillipines)

Then I recognised her.

She had attended a party hosted by my dear friend, Kannan, for his classmates where he had feted his lecturer, Hannu, and me. Elizaebth Wang was one of those who was there that evening.

You can read about it at this web blog page: Kannan Fetes Hannu and me

Thank you, Beth, for saying so many nice thngs about me and my blogs. It is something I really enjoy and to get such kind words instlls a great deal of satisfaction in doing it more regularly than I already do.

Guess what? I am not the only one who has been skiving!

I took a look around a few of my regular blog bookmarks - after a long recess.

What did I find?

I am not the only one who has been skiving. The last entry by Susanna was on April 10th - a good 14 days ago!

But my most favourite blogger, someone I inspired into blogging, Abe Tharakan, has been going strong.

Today he has some absolutely superb photographs of wildlife by KO Isaac from the Kanha National Park, Madhya Pradesh, India.

It revived fond memories of the trip Annikki and I made in 1989 to the Park where we had some glorious experiences.

On our very first day in the Park we had two experiences with the wild tiger. The first was unique as a huge specimen came wandering down the centre of the road towards our car. Our driver stopped the car and we waited till the tiger approached us, growled at the obstruction, walked around the car with its face not more that a metre from mine, passed us by, came back onto the road and strode off. As we got out after it had passed by and gone a safe distance (safe for us), it turned to look at us and then went on its way.

The second encounter was more forced as we took an elephant ride to a lair where a tiger and its cubs were quietly enjoying themselves.

I wish I could lay my hands on the superb photographs that Annikki took during that visit.

We also visited Jabalpur on that trip and discovered the marble canyon, something I had never heard of during my history or geography lessons in an Indian School. Truly marvelous.

I promise to bring you some of these photographs in my next spate of blogging.

After this period where I suffered writer's block, I have been greatly inspired by Abe to get back to blogging.

Thank you Abe.

Never heard of the NOROVIRUS before Wednesday!

(Cross-posted on all my major blogs.)

I have been missing on the Blogosphere and in my Google Groups for a few weeks. It has been because of the sheer workload and also as I have found the Facebook experience quite fascinating. I found many relatives, even quite distant ones, many many friends, Cathedralites, Stephanians, CHAFF and many other groups, including my School House Group, SAVAGE, on Facebook, that I have been familarising myself to all what could be done by me on Facebook.

Although I am achieving quite a lot in creating my corner in Facebook, it is no match for the direct Blog or a Google group - and that is why I am back at blogging!

In my 24+ years in Finland I had never missed a days work or events because of any form of serious illness. I have been ill (including a bout of painful herpes inside the mouth), but it was always possible to get to work and work without having to take time off.

But this last week was different.



While at the funeral of a dear friend, Willie, Michelle's husband, I felt claustrophobic in the Small Chapel, which meant I had to go outside for some fresh air. Annikki and I went back inside to place the wreath from the whole MATTHAN Family on the coffin, but I continued to feel very weak.

Michelle (with Willie) owns the best Chinese / Indian Restaurant in town - the Royal Garden.

Michelle is from Calcutta and is a close friend of our daughter, Joanna, and consequently, a close family friend of ours. Any visitor to Oulu usually gets a treat at one of her restaurants. So Michelle is known by our family and friends around the world. (Cousins Chacko and Ammu, niece Nirupa, niece Preminda with husband Chris and Malayika, Cathedralites Sunil (and Kamal) Sahni, Sadhana Madhusadan (née Shah) Viney Sethi, Stephanians Ajay Verma, Prof. Ajeet Mathur, are just a few who have enjoyed the hospitality of Michelle and Willie.)

I suggested to Annikki that we go home and rest before attending the farewell reception for Willie at the Royal Garden Restaurant.

After getting home and resting for about half an hour I was violently ill and unable to lift my head. I did not know what had hit me. Annikki treated me all the best remedies that she has up her sleeve, Silica to line the stomach, magnesium tablets, and one pain-killer. I managed to retain a bit of everything to help me sleep off the next four to six hours, but the vomiting and diarrhoea did not abate. It was absolutely miserable.

Next morning Annikki read in the local newspaper about something known as the NOROVIRUS and the symptoms were exactly what I had been through.

A quick Google Search yielded all the important data and I was sure that absolute fasting with only liquids was the right answer.

By evening I was able to consume some of Annikki's great Fish Soup and it stayed in.

By the next morning the main symptoms had vanished, but at 5 am the Norovirus hit Annikki.



Despite her agony she took quick action to ensure that her mother, Hilja, who was supposed to be brought home that afternoon, was looked after while Annikki recovered from this virus. According to Jonana, who sent us a text message from Newcastle, it can be fatal for the elderly.

I had a good friend from Tampere, a town 500 km south of Oulu, coming to visit me on Friday evening / Saturday morning.



I did not want to disappoint Nadir or miss meeting him as his visits to Oulu are only once every two years. Rather than ask him to cancel, I booked Nadir in at a hotel across from the Railway Station, as the Norovirus is extremely contagious. I was clean but the house would have been disturbingly filled the virus.

We spent a few wonderful hours together and he was on his way on Saturday afternoon.

I would like to know which of my efforts you appreciate more - my blogs, my Facebook entries, my direct posts to you - or maybe I should just SHUT UP....

(OK Ubi, I know what you will say, but believe me you are not too old for Facebook. However, although it seems easy, it is quite complicated to work out all the ins and outs and it is not intuitive as it should be.)