Why was I quiet? Feeling India at Oulu!!!

It is quite common people that email me when I am quiet on the blogs. Late last week, I got a call asking about my health. I assured the caller that I was in peak condition, despite all what the doctors are saying. My blood sugar is raging high, my cholesterol is over the top... ...... But I feel fine as a fettle.

 I did want some time to digest the event that was held last Saturday. In my short posting to the participants I expressed Annikki´s comment that this show was outstanding in that it was "from the people, by the people, for the people".

I thought to give you an insight about how this event actually developed.

Mani wrote an email to a few people asking whether they thought it was a good idea for our O-India Group to do something. Many, including myself, thought it was about time that we did.

Masterfully, Mani organised a brain-storming session. We had plenty of ideas. This was very cleverly filtered during the course of a few sessions into a "programme" which everyone thought was do-able.

Then started the hard work of writing the script, editing it (in which I contributed a very small part), and then organising a bunch of common people to bring out their hidden talent.

And talent we found in plentiful.

I am glad to say that India House was throbbing with activity. I was able to offer first the office and then an apartment which was free for a couple of days, as the practice venue. This was when Ville Victor was not available. Our special thanks to Shahnaz, Hassan and Tapsa who made it possible to enjoy those facilities to the fullest. Aruna chipped in by offering the Setlementti premises in the City Centre and Tuira when they were free.

But the over-crowded rooms of India House were humming with activity and the strains of music of all ages from all parts of India, as a group of youngsters took their own parts so seriously.

As the show developed, I was able to secure the YMCA Hall at a reasonable cost for the event and also get their powerful audio equipment for the show along with a excellent microphone input.

Mani was a gentle but hard task master. Starting with weekly practices, he then put the screws on till they were virtually every other day. Driving a group of people who have never done any professional acting in front of a huge audience certainly needs the skill of a "Slum Dog" Director - and we had that in Mani.

I know I am going to earn the wrath of both Pooja and Mani, as they shun publicity - but I feel credit has to go where credit is due - and it was this superb husband and wife team that made us be this GROUP.

Just as we thought we had it all organised, Arindam rang me and said he had a discovery, a dancer from Sri Lanka. This young and talented girl was injected into the group. It really gave the group an extra layer of gold polish.

Each participant became adept at what he or she was going to do. Nonchalance was driven away by the need to work as a team. And as a team they worked, husbands and wives, even to the point of their children being left to watch Walt Disney movies in the care of Karteek at India House.

From Fieel India

The poster created by Mani was simply superb. It had a touch and feel  of professionalism, which even amazed the creator.  I managed to blow it up and create fliers which were then strategically placed in points where we could generate an audience, especially the Findians amongst us.

The first full practice session was on the 12th morning. I saw the production through for the first time, and I was really overjoyed to see the outcome. The music had been put together masterfully. the script was full of meaning and the diction was perfect. The dances were superb and the skits were done magnificently. We had a bunch of really talented actors on stage.

With the help of the younger crew, the hall was made ready and the performance which was to start at 17:45 and run for about 45 minutes.

Then we waited with baited breath to see how many people would turn up. By 17:30 we had "HOUSE FULL"!

The show commenced and ran without a hitch. It was as if I was sitting in an Indian movie theatre as the whistling and clapping at each performance showed as that it was being appreciated. There was everything - colour, beauty, brawn, and amazing talent plus humour. The show ended on a real high of the comparison of our Bharatanatyam with Michael Jackson! Who won? The audience rocked and laughed!

From Fieel India

The cheers at the final curtain call showed the appreciation.

The event was followed by Nushrat and Arindam serving tea and coffee and some Indian food at a very affordable price. This helped people to mingle and meet and show their appreciation to the actors and all the people behind the production. 

Then the team cleaned up and left the hall the way we should. 

Thanks girls and guys for this. People are waiting for your next production!

The secret of my NORDKAPP Trip

The reason why I am pushing my Nordkapp trip is that you may witness something that no one alive may never again see in their lifetime - TWO - YES, TWO SUNS.

The whole world is waiting for 21st June 2010 to witness a wonderful
vision which may appear next time this close, is in 2287 only.

From 2010 Two Suns

21st June 2010 - TWO SUNS?


STAR ADEROID will be the brightest in the sky, starting 10th June.

It will look as large as the sun from naked eye.

This will culminate on 21st June 2010 when the star comes within
34.65M miles of the earth.

Be sure to watch the sky between 18th and  27th June 2010.

On 21st June at 12:30 pm it will look as if the earth has 2 suns.

NO ONE ALIVE TODAY will ever see it again. Don't miss it.

I cannot predict what it will look like at Nordkapp.

If you are one of the lucky ones to be there, you may have a set of
photographs which may be worth a small fortune.

That is why top photographers are going on my Nordkapp trip.

I will have copyright access to each of their top 10 photographs!

Don´t say I did not tell you! :-)

Most pleasantly surprised

Yesterday, I visited an Indian software engineer who has not been very long in Finland, maybe a month and a half. Along came his friend who lives next door.

I was most pleasantly surprised to hear the conversation between them.

One told the other that eggs were only € 0.49 in one shop, but that when he went there, he did not find it. Then the other responded that tomatoes were just € 0.89 in another shop.

I asked them where they had got the information. They brought out a copy of the twice a week newspaper, FORUM, and they pointed to two advertisements, both from K-Sopermarket.

The information they had had gleaned was partially correct, but the niceties of their finds were missing because of their lack of knowledge of Finnish.

The two shops were differen. The dates on which these special offers were also restricted. There was also a restriction on the number of packets of eggs that could be bought at this price.

But it was a real eye opener to me that the guys had actually bothered to go through the newspaper.

Considering how I started the "Survival" system in 1984, I was really happy to see our cost conscious Indian software engineers using this approach.

Wish I could give a copy of the "Handbook for Survival" to each person who arrives. Sadly, it is out of date, having been published in 1994. Also, one has to have the energy to go through the entire printing and publishing process again.

Who in their right senses would...

I read with great interest how billions were being promised as new investment in Bangalore and how the Chief Minister had rode rough shod on the protesters.

Those of whom have been following this blog when Annikki and I were travelling through India, and especially when we were in Bangalore, would certainly be wondering what I thought of this!

Being a Bangalorean by birth and a lover of Bangalore when it was a "Garden City", what I saw was a unplanned, unmanaged growth where only the power of money ruled the streets. A filthy, unkept Bangalore where kids and garbage were brought up side by side, as the "investors" have no time for such niceties of keeping a clean healthy city, as it would affect their bottom line if they did anything about this.

I am unlikely to visit Bangalore again, unless I have to. It is "dead" city to me.

I refer to my many posts on this blog about Rural Urbanisation.

I wish those investors planning to invest their billions would show some sense before the "oil catastrophe" symptom of the Gulf of Mexico, in its land form, hits and destroys.

As I have said a couple of times - the only salvation will be when Bangalore dies and sees rebirth!

Dandia brings alive India House

Last Sunday, India House in Oulu was throbbing with the sound of Indian Music and Dances. The cultural group planning and preparing for the programme for Saturday the 12th of June in Oulu was busy, practicing.

As one apartment was free, I was able to allow them to use it for the practice.

But the ladies found they needed more space.

From India House Garden

They moved to forecourt to practice the Dandia dance.

The sound of the the sticks and the rythym of the dance certainly had all the onlookers hearts throbbing. If it was any indication of what is to come on the 12th evening, it is going to be just great. We have so much beauty, brawn and talent in Oulu.

Yes, India house was really alive.

Thanks, ladies!

Indian Buffet in Oulu

Yesterday, I decided to try the new Indian Buffet on offer in Oulu. I had promised the owner that I would drop in on Monday, and then Tuesday, but I just could not make it.

So yesterday, I went in a little late (after 14:00 hours).

From Indian Buffet in Oulu

The restaurant was not crowded, but it was obvious that they had had several guests in the early afternoon.

The buffet was good but not outstanding. There was a salad table, but I do not normally take salads. Rice and pakoras were on offer. The pakoras were cold. I like mine piping hot. There were three wet dishes - channa dal, chicken curry and lamb curry.

The channa dal was made for a Finnish palette, not for an Indian one. The chicken, which was cooked in curd, making it like a kurma, was a bit too sweet for me. The lamb was just about right.

The papadam's were freshly fried and great.

Being late, the nan's were cold and rather hard and crispy! I found a few soft ones.

I would have liked a dry vegetable, as we have so many wonderful dry dishes as accompaniments at all Indian tables. As I am allergic to cold or unwashed cooked rice, because of the starch, I did not try that. I stuck to cold hard nans!

Various sauces adorned the serving table, but I was not attracted to any of them.

The meal was followed by a small bowl of fruit salad served at the table. I had a Chai, after that.

The price at € 9.80, including the soft drink, is higher than what the Chinese restaurants charge (between € 7 and 8).

The Experience: Moderately good and a good starting efort. Probably a once a month visit will be what will be my schedule!

One man Crusade

There is an interesting article in the New York Times of 31st May 2010 about the power of the internet and the ability to publish one's personal opinions critical of a business.

Venting Online, Consumers Can Find Themselves in Court is about how a young man posted the story of his car was wrongfully towed away by a towing company from his parking slot.

“There’s no reason I should have to shut up because some guy doesn’t want his dirty laundry out,” Mr. Kurtz said. “It’s the power of the Internet, man.”  

This subject has a very personal interest for Annikki and me. We have been internet activists for over 15 years.

When our company, Findians Oy,  bought a portable computer  from AST Inc. (Finland), the 5th largest computer company in the world in 1995, and we found it to be a total and complete dud, and when our grievances were not handled by the company, we started an international internet campaign. This brought in responses from across the globe and highlighted that we were not the only ones who had been conned by this company.

The Finnish legal system we found was weighted heavily against the small individual. We knew we would never get justice in the Finnish Courts - which situation exits even today.

Our internet campaign was an enormous success resulting in the closure of AST Inc..

They sold the brand name to SAMSUNG. But the public outrage we had created was so strong, the brand name never again saw the light of day.

When we started our "Oulu Best (Worst) Buy" blog and we exposed some of the practices of some Oulu businesses, we had enormous success.

We recently published the list of worst lawyers in Finland and especially Oulu. Recently, our blog was quoted in an application to the Finnish High Court when a plaintiff tried to get out of the clutches of Finland's worst lawyer.

Of course, the legal system is a complete farce in Finland. The Finnish Lawyer's Association (Suomen Asianajajaliito) has a process which is supposed to investigate any complaints from the public against lawyers. Our recent protracted experience showed that it does nothing of the kind. This organisation exists only to "look after their brother" and it has nothing to do with law or justice.

The main problem in Finland is that the media is also subservient to the authorities and those in power, so there is simply no recourse for the general public to get any justice from this twisted legal system.

We have many sleepy Ombudsmen all over Europe. In theory, the Ombudsman is an excellent system, but it has been usurped by those in power for their own ends.

The Police, especially the Oulu Police,  are also extremely corrupt. We have seen this from our several personal experiences,. They go to great lengths to preserve their fear power base over the people. Legalities are not for them! And the rot is at the very top from where the orders come downwards!

But this corruption is different from the general corruption we have in India. That is for people to earn a wage to exist. Here, in Finland, it has nothing to do with the monetary return. It has to do with "POWER".

The local newspaper started  "Free Speech Day".

From Jacob's Blog

My platform, from where I spoke on all the subjects that I had investigated the previous year, was a great success. So, last year, the newspaper changed the format so that I could not get a chance to speak! And this year it appears that they have decided against having the event altogether.

If it is not permitted to publicise the misdeeds of an individual,  company, organisation or authority, then, by the same standards, it must also be illegal to publish "kudos" about them.

If this is so, it heralds the death of investigative journalism and also the end of democracy.

FREE SPEECH is already dead in Finland!

Customer service?

On the 4th of May, I received a letter from one of my Internet Service Providers, that a deposit of € 500 that they had taken from me a couple of years was to be returned to me. They gave several alternatives for me to get my money back.

The first was to fill up a form and post it back to them. The second was to visit a web page and fill in the details. (I tried this but the page was so complicated that I did not get past filling in my name and address!) The third, and simplest, was to ring a Customer Care phone number provided in the letter.

I obviously chose the third alternative.

On Friday the 7th of May, in the afternoon, I rang the number. The girl who answered did not know the existence of such a service at this number. Then she said her computer was down. She took down the required details and then told me that she would send me a text message.

I waited, and I waited.

On Monday the 24th of May, I rang again. The immediate response of the lady who answered the phone was that he computer was down. I told her that it did not matter that the computer was down but I wanted to get an answer as to why something the Customer Care person had promised was not acted upon. With great reluctance, when I told her that it was me to get some money back, she took down all the details and said she would ring me back.

Guess whether I got a call back?

On Wednesday the 26th of May, I rang again. I spoke to a gentleman who spoke excellent English. I posed my problem and when he looked at the computer, which was obviously working, he did note that my call and notes of the 7th of May were in front of him, but he could provide me with no answer as to why nothing had happened in the intervening 20 days.

I asked him some basic questions as, if I did not pay a due to their company, what would be the action? I asked him whether his company would pay the penal interest for not paying my dues on time. I also told him that the letter I had received was most interesting that there was not even a name or signature attached to the letter. I told him if anyone received such a letter purporting to be from my company without a name and signature, it would probably be thrown in the dustbin!

He was most apologetic. As a gesture, within his powers, for the trouble I had been put too, cancelled my last bill, gave me an ad hoc credit of € 50 and then said he would follow the matter through his supervisor.

I also told him that his Customer Care Division of his company had recently gone on strike to get substantial service benefits. I asked what should the Customers who they harassed by the inefficiency of their Customer Care Division should do? He told me that he was not one who had gone on strike, but acknowledged that the handling of my situation was certainly not correct.

Let us wait and see what happens before I reveal the name of this service provider! Stay tuned!

Vegetarian Halal Beef?

I noticed that of one of our tenants in our Guest House had bought himself a cup noodle packet, Beef and Tomato. I had never seen this brand before.

From Vegetarian Beef

When I looked at it carefully, I noted clearly that it was a Beef and Vegetable preparation.

From Vegetarian Beef

When I looked still a little closer, I noted a small emblem showing that this product was suitable for VEGETARIANS.

I looked even closer at the next symbol to note that it was suitable for MOSLEMS who only eat HALAL MEAT.

From Vegetarian Beef

I looked at the list of Ingredients. It read as follows (Emphasis is mine):

"INGREDIENTS: Noodle Cake: Wheat flour soft, palm oil, water, salt. Seasoning: Beef flavouring, wheat flour soft, sugar, maltodextrin, tomato powder, salt, monosodium glutamate (E621),citric acid (E330), caramel (E150c), I+G (E627, E631),silicon dioxide, (E551), onion extract, dried (chives, carrots, peas)."

'What a combination I thought -. Vegetarian Halal Beef Noodles!

You never know where technology takes us these days. :-)

The birch sap flow ends

Someone commented that the title of Lady Annikki was not just good enough - I agree! How can I make my Queen a mere "Lady"? :-)

Annikki's dramatic discovery of how to draw on the birch liquid (sap) brought her over 30 litres in a few days.

All good things must come to an end.

From New Album 16/05/2010 06:40

An overnight haul of precious birch sap from one small branch.

The sap, which was crystal clear for the first few days, slowly became cloudy and finally, as the first signs of leaves appeared on the branches, nature acted in its best interests and shut off the tap.

Strangely, the taste of this sap has a faint tinge of coconut water? I wonder what is the relationship between a coconut palm and a birch tree.

Annikki is ooking forward to the next year of tapping. I am sure she will devise some simple gadget to get the maximum flow from the broken twigs and branches! :-)

What was this?

A few weeks ago I wrote about my experience of ordering a biriyani in one of the three Indian restaurants in Oulu. I regretted that day.

Last week I was tempted to have a biriyani in another of Oulu's Indian restaurants. This was what was served up:

From New Album 16/05/2010 06:40

What does it look like? (I won't answer that question as I dislike public use of foul language!) Where else in the world does one get a biriyani served up in this fashion? Where was the rush of colours from white to golden red? Where was the red tinge of Kashmiri saffron?

The only thing to be said about this biriyani was it had plenty of cashewnuts and well-cooked large mutton chunks, but with no smell or taste anywhere near what I consider "a biriyani"!

Look at what a typical serving, of what I think is a biriyani, should appear on a table (as I had posted on my last entry on this subject):

From Jacob's Blog

The fragrant smell of saffron, the beautiful colour layering of the rice, the burnt onions, are all a must in a biriyani - not a mish mash of a curry sauce and rice, in which are thrown large chunks of cashewnuts and meat.

Yes, I do yearn for a good biriyani in Oulu! Maybe I will have to cook it myself!

Cricket in Oulu takes a new turn

Yesterday we had a cricket tournament for local Oulu cricket lovers. For the first time we used the matting so kindly provided by Asheesh Kumar of Medipolis GMP.

There was a small problem of carting this large matting roll around and also fixing it to the ground. The use of the hammer was necessary on several occasions to keep the bowlers end firmly fixed down. Also some small adjustments will also be required to have the sides not curl up.

Three teams took part in the 10 over format. The teams were married, bachelors and University student players. The games were thrilling.

From New Album 16/05/2010 06:40

Venkat Reddy bowls while Rajesh backs up.

In the end the Bachelors walked away with a victory over the married players.

The official training session and season will start shortly. This was a good forerunner to what we can expect in the coming summer months. Some discipline as bowling less wides and no balls, etc. will have to be the outcome of the training sessions if the Oulu XI is going to make it big in Finnish National Cricket tournaments.

After the matches, we all adjourned to India House where we broke up into smaller groups, some playing carroms (on the only carrom board in Finland), others enjoying their new experience of cycling in Finland, some playing cricket, some playing shuttle, and a lot of people just gettng to know each other.

India House was in its element as we had over 40 Findians, men, women and children having a wonderful time. We ordered pizzas, kebabs and salads from Oulu's best and largest pizzeria, Goreme (owned by keen sportsmen Hasim and Kasim from Turkey) and everyone enjoyed sitting in the sunshine of 8 pm and just being friends. A few newcomers arrived to take part and generally the whole day was a rip roaring success.

Kudos to the organisers and hope we have several more just fun days this summer.

Speaking with Bill

Yesterday evening I rang to Toronto, Canada, to wish my Physics teacher of 50 years ago a very happy 85th birthday. I also spoke to Pushpa, his wife, who had also been a teacher in our Mumbai school. My classmate, 59er Hasnain Chinwala (Chinnie), who also lives in Toronto was with Bill (prearranged) when I called as we, 59ers, paid our respects to a man who firmly shaped our lives.

That Bill and Pushpa attended our 50th year reunion in Mumbai last year was itself such a joy for all us 59ers. They lent their solidarity with a class of boys who have traversed the world and sought success based on the fundamentals of life that were instilled in us by our teachers. Not just our classroom performance, but our moral values were instilled in us by these wonderful Gurus!


(Photo thanks to the 64er Rajiv Ved when we took time off for a fee minutes to attend their reunion in Mumbai.)

In the olden days, as per the Indian Civilisation, the Guru was a man to be revered. All of us 59ers have revered all our teachers during the ensuing years. But Bill and John (who was our class teacher and our English teacher in 1959) are very special as they took the time to travel a long distance at great expense, many thousands of kilometres, to be with us as we reveled in our past last November.

In our conversation we talked about many things - including the greetings from other 59ers (which Hasnain had forwarded to Bill,) the loss of another wonderful teacher, Alberto Zavala from peru, our geography teacher, the exploits of Greg, our Chemistry teacher, and the whereabouts of many past Canadian Cathedralites, as Torontian 59er Narsys, but not just our classmates, as 63er Monty Wilson and 49er Peter and 51er Sheila (née Contractor) Vaney, and Peter's brother, 57er Herbert.

Now that Pushpa and Bill live right in the centre of Toronto, a stone's throw from Lake Ontario, I will make it a point to visit them soon as my grandson, Samu, an Ice Hockey fan, wants to visit that great city, with his Grandpa, to see one of his favourite teams play.

Happy birthday Bill - we love you!

Gravity and Annikki

Sorry to have been of blogging for a time. I was recovering from my non-stop 4500 round trip drive to Amsterdam to drop Joanna and the grandkids at amsterdam so that they could catch the Eurostar train to London!

I have recovered, but am overworked as I am handling my Furnished Accommodation Service I run in Finland, without too much outside assistance.

I hope to be back at blogging regularly again, soon.

Today's question is what AWARD we should give to my better half?

Sir Isaac Newton got recognised because an apple dropped on his head.

How should we recognise this wonder "girl" because "birch syrup" dropped on her toe?

A look on the internet will find literally hundreds of entries on the best way to tap a birch tree to get the syrup, which is considered very healthy. Most of the methods require the tree is tapped by drilling a hole in the bark and then plugging the hole so that the flow is stopped.

There is possibility of considerable damage to the tree if this is not done properly.

The other day, Annikki was tidying up the garden. It was getting late. So she thought she would have a lie down as it was hot and the sun was still streaming through the branches of the birch trees at the end of the garden.

There were a few irritating birch twigs hanging around, so she snapped off one and lay down on her easy chair. A few minutes later, she felt a drop of something fall on her toe.

It was a sunny day, and no sign of any raindrops around.

This was followed by another drop.

Being a very curious cat,  she saw that the liquid was dropping from where she had broken the twig on the birch tree.

She tasted the liquid and found it to be water like but slightly sweet.

She rushed inside, and using her creative genius, she got a plastic bag and tied it to the end of the twig.

From Blogger Pictures

As she lay down, she saw the plastic bag gradually fill up with a water-like liquid. She observed that flies were greatly tempted to this liquid.

From Blogger Pictures

Soon she was up and about breaking twigs on birch trees that annoyed her, and promptly attaching a plastic bag at that point.

She had a steady flow of birch syrup collecting in the plastic bags.

The important point of this method of collection is that no damage is done to the tree. Secondly, as the collection is at the end of a branch, this is the excess liquid, as the tree has already used its requirements. This liquid would probably be lost by evaporation.

The process of collection could be increased substantially with some scientific experiments as to which were the best twigs to break off.

From Blogger Pictures

That the value of the liquid was no worse than that collected by traditional means of tapping into the bark is proven by the great attraction flies had to the plastic bags containing the liquid, although there was no unusual or strong smell coming from the bags.

And this collection was being made in the first week of May!!!

Sir Isaac Newton discovered gravity because of an apple.

Tan Sri Dr. B. C. Sekhar became called the Father of the natural rubber industry when he discovered that application of ammonia to the bark of of a rubber tree allowed continuous flow of latex, making life of the tapper so much more easier.

Should Annikki be Lady Annikki or the Mother of Birch Syrup Industry?

The debate has commenced! I bask in reflected glory! :-)

Solution for volcanic ash in airline engines

Although I am retired, and I do not indulge in designing solutions for technical problems, there is a simple solution to  prevent the intake of harmful particulates from the volcanic ash into airline engines.

The solution revolves around a technique we use in plastics extrusion.

To ensure that large particulates do not get to the extrusion die, when the molten plastic is passing from the extrusion chamber into the die manifold, it passes through a screen filtering device. Most screen changers are static. The screen has to be changed periodically when the extrusion quality deteriorates.

There are continuous screen changers. With a slight modification in design, these could be designed to fit to airline engines!

The solution is the design of a continuous screen changer which will filter the ash as it is sucked into the airline engine. As the screen changer moves it could be designed to shows its reverse face at the back of the engine where the ash collected during the intake is blown clean and collected.

Any competent engine designer can rig one of these up in a few days.

It is obvious that the airline industry has to come up with a solution to this problem.

Without doubt, mine is the best possible solution. This will not in any way hamper engine performance but ensure safety from particulates.

Hope that someone takes up this idea and works on it!

It gives me confidence that my days as an innovator have not quite vanished.

How has the volcanic eruption affected you?

In a way I am glad as I am getting more quality time with Joanna and the grandkids who are stranded here. They were supposed to take off tomorrow at 6 am, but Blue 1 has cancelled all flights. Blue 1 advised passengers that they must wait till they decide what to do.

Talks with the insurance companies revealed that travel insurance from anywhere is absolutely useless. The English insurance company told Joanna that, as it was a weather disturbance, they would pay a few Euro for the first 8 hours and then another few Euros for the subsequent 12 hours! That will not even cover the cost of a decent meal in Finland for a family of 4.

The Finnish insurance company said it did not know what was covered,. Knowing them, they will try to wrangle out of any financial commitment!

Not only is Joanna affected. I have one Indian engineer leaving Saturday for Banglaore and one Indian engineer family leaving Saturday for Delhi. The Residence Permit in Finland of the family expires on Monday! So we have another problem on our hands.

No way to get from Oulu to Helsinki by train, as a tree fell on the rail track at a crucial moment disrupting train services as well. In addition, Finnish airspace has been closed till further notice.

Another engineer is supposed to leave on Sunday. Maybe one friend is driving to Helsinki on Sunday in the hope of picking up his relatives due to arrive from Delhi. If so, he would be happy to give the engineer a ride.  But what happens if they both go to Helsinki on a futile mission? Better to remain somewhere where you have a roof over your head!

Joanna has to get back to Newcastle. She is contemplating driving to England, but it is going to be tough with three kids of 2, 6 and 13 in tow.

Without a word from Blue 1, any solution contemplated is pie in the sky.

I am overjoyed at having my grandkids here for a few more hours or days, but certainly feel for Joanna and her desire to get back to Newcastle to normalise her life and her studies.

Let us hope the volcano stops spewing out ash and the air services normalise rapidly!!!

Great buy at the Flea Market

This entry is posted on 2 blogs - my main Jacob's Blog and my Oulu Best (Worst) Buy Blog.

Annikki and I are Flea Market addicts. We have picked up some really great buys at the Flea Markets. Usually we find exactly what we need when we set out to find the item. Coincidence?

Last Sunday, as Joanna, who is visiting Oulu, had approritated my last adaptor for her English hair drier, I was desperate to get hold of an adaptor to use my Indian bought LG Computer screen.

When I said I was going to a Flea Market, Annikki, who has not been out for weeks, was ready to tag along.

We went to the closest Flea Market to our residenece.

We were shocked to see the number of cars parked around. It was as if all of Oulu had descended on this Flea Market.

From Oulu Best (Worst) Buy

From Oulu Best (Worst) Buy

From Oulu Best (Worst) Buy

From Oulu Best (Worst) Buy

As I wandered around, I saw this a really beautiful designed multipurpose adaptor set.

It was just the one I wanted.

And the cost, an unbeliveable, € 1.50!

I have bought less attractively designed adaptors for Euro 3 and 4 each!

This adaptor remain in my travel kit as it is suitable for most countries, even if I do not travel very often these days!

Certainly worth making a visit to a Flea Market near you if you want to get what you really need at a price that you can afford! (P.S. Annikki also got some good buys on this trip, including a flaming red coat!)

Success at last

After my return from India, where I saw my cousin, Bina, happily enjoying a morning with the newspaper doing Sudoku, I started attempting the three levels in my local newspaper, the KALEVA.

I started about the middle of January 2010.

I first took about 45 minutes to complete the EASY level. Slowly, this time reduced to about 15 minutes. The MIDDLE level was then achieved, again in about 20 minutes. I was never able to complete the DIFFICULT level, usually getting to about 30% and then giving up.

From Sudoku

Today, after 3 months, I completed all three levels in one sitting. The total time taken was 75 minutes.

Now that my primary objective has been achieved, I realised that my brain cells were actually not functioning as they should. The confidence this has given me is so immense that I feel am not quite a doddering old man.

I will now try to achieve the higher level by trying to complete all three levels in 15 minutes. It may take me a year to get to this level - so stay tuned! I will shout it from the blogtops when I get there!

Thank you Bina!

Well done Sudoku, and whoever invented this!

Last bout with winter snow

The snow in the Vesaisentie garden, especially at the front gate, was far greater than I imagined.

From New Caravelle in Snow

I brought Kamu's Volkswagen Caravelle Van home one day. But it did not make it past the front gate. The front wheels got so deeply immersed in the snow, that they stopped turning.

Annikki and I had suspicions that the drive shaft was broken.

From New Caravelle in Snow

The following morning, I called the car removal service to take the van directly to the garage as I did not fancy having to tow it.

When we reached the garage, I tried the van and found that there was no damage whatsoever. What a relief as I got away with a bill of just € 80!

This winter has been expensive on several counts, especially the car and the impact of snow bound roads.

Hopefully we will not have a similar winter for the next 26 years!

Old Cottonians act

I have mentioned on my many blogs the unfortunate media publicity attached to some of my alma maters.

I am heartened to see how the Bangalore Old Cottonians Association (OCA) have acted swiftly to ensure to show that they are actively concerned about their alma mater. Past Old Cottonians, as both my late father and uncle, who served as Chairmen of the OCA, would be proud of the stand taken by the present OCA.

I reproduce here the letter that was sent by the present Chairman of the OCA to the Moderator of the Church of South India as per the resolution passed at an Extraordindary General Meeting of the Old Cottonians in Bangalore. Sitting here in Finland, I was kept abreast of the developments and I too fully support the actions of the OCA.:

PLEASE CIRCULATE THIS EMAIL TO OTHER OC's YOU ARE IN TOUCH WITH AND ON YOUR SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES.

5th April, 2010

The Most Reverend Vasantha Kumar
Moderator,
Church of South India
Mission Road
Bangalore


Dear Sir,

We, as the Old Cottonians' Association, have a considerable stake in the upkeep of the fair name of Bishop Cotton's Boys' School and all that this entails. Principals and members of the Board of management may come and go, but once a student passes out of the school, and leaves its gates, he becomes an Old Cottonian and this status remains throughout his life and no force on earth can take it away from him.

We earnestly hope that other stake holders in the school should realise this and act accordingly.
Recent happenings in the school have caused us great concern. Old Cottonians from all over the world have expressed their deep worry.  As a consequence, the OCA held an Extraordinary General Body meeting at the Rotary House of Friendship, Bangalore on the 3rd of April, 2010 and the under mentioned resolution was passed and the same is being communicated to the various persons connected with the management of  the school.

Accordingly I quote below:

"The Old Cottonians' Association (OCA) noted with anguish that the matters concerning the administration of Bishop Cotton Boys' School, Bangalore had recently become the subject matter of various media reports, which had tarnished the good name of the Institution.

The OCA further noted that under Article 2.2 of its Constitution containing the "Aims and Objects", the OCA was entitled and obligated ".... to be in constant interaction with the Management of the School in the matter of maintaining the standards, traditions and conventions of the School."

It was therefore unanimously RESOLVED that the Board of Management of Bishop Cotton Boys' School, Bangalore be called upon to take immediate corrective measures to ensure that the incumbent issues be fully resolved, so as to restore the smooth functioning of the School in keeping with its rich traditions and standards, and to keep the OCA informed of the said measures.

It was further RESOLVED to offer the assistance and support of the OCA to all concerned to enable the resolution of all outstanding issues.

The Chairman and Management Committee of the OCA were accordingly requested to communicate the aforesaid resolution to the Principal, Bishop and Board of Management of Bishop Cotton Boys' School, Bangalore, and to await a positive reaction to the same before undertaking any further course of action."

Yours faithfully


MICHAEL WATSA
CHAIRMAN
OLD COTTONIANS' ASSOCIATION

I wish my other alma mater alumni, The Stephanians, would also act with the dignity and purpose shown by Old Cottonians.