Several of you have been asking for recent pictures of our youngest son, Mika. Today, he is 32.
I am pleased to put up a few pictures that I took on a recent visit to the Nallikari Beach in Oulu. It shows his good health and his sense of humour!
I had to get my old car certified today. I first took it to my regular mechanic who tested it, repaired a couple of things and said that there were only very minor problems, so it would be better to get it tested so that he could repair them when the official test report was issued.
I then went to a small private testing place in Ruusko, which is located directly opposite the big Government test centre.
As I mentioned in my previous entry, we are having a really wonderful warm sunny autumn here in Oulu.
Here are some photographs taken at the Nallikari Beach of some absolutely colourful sunsets. (Wish I had a better camera!)
Last Friday, I went over to Vesaisentie, Joanna and Tony's house, to help Tony pack the car when he was on his way to Newcastle. (Not that he required much help!)
Tuesday night was quite stormy with quite a few trees around Oulu having been toppled. Some parts of Oulu lost their power supply. We were unaffected in our locality.
Day-before-yesterday was a beautiful day, sunny and windy. Annikki wanted to get to the seaside to collect some more stones for the pond.
On the way she wanted to have a look at a dilapitated house which is up for bids. The condition of the house is pathetic. The condition for bidders is that they will renovate it.
So we took a detour. Annikki was thrilled with the house and the potential it holds. If we can put together a group we will bid for it to see whether we can turn it into some form of museum cum meeting place for foreigners. It used to be the Dutch Consulte in Oulu. Here are some photographs of the place.
Last Sunday, the news of Tony moving to England to be with Joanna, as she studies medicine in Newcastle, was announced in the local newspaper.
Today, 16th September, would have been Nalini's 68th birthday if she had not been rudely taken away from us 35 years ago.
I pay tribute to my dear elder sister.
I also thank God that she was taken when she was.
The local church magazine has an item in which it says that one of the parishes in Myllyoja, in co-operation with a local school, is going to create, here in Oulu, for a period of two days, 22nd and 23rd of September 2005, an Indian Slum.
The process is, supposedly, to educate Finnish school children about how life is in an Indian Slum.
Without an Indian man, who lazily lounges on the rope cot smoking his beedi and drinking his hutch, while the women and children of the slum work like bees around him, no Indian Slum would be complete.
I am thinking of volunteering for that job so they can have a real life Indian Slum Dweller. :-)
It would also be nice if the Finns, especially this parish and the school rector, would also show the children how a REAL Finnish Oulu Slum also looks like.
We have pictures from a real Oulu Slum (not a fake one) which lies in one of the poshest areas of Oulu, in the shadow of Nokia's High Technology Building, taken at various times between March 2004 and August 2005.
Recently, the Oulu Police had to give permission for a few artists to create and live in a slum type dwelling in Oulu for just a FEW DAYS.
However, in the case of this real OULU SLUM we highlight here, the Oulu Police, the Environmental Authorities, the Health Authorities and Social Workers, the Chief Executive of the City of Oulu, and MANY local and national politicians know of the existence of this slum, and the absolutely unhygenic and horrible conditions in it, but not a single person or organisation has come forward to help or rescue these Oulu slum dwellers.
One Health Worker told us that they had been told not to enter the slum dwelling!
Even the local newspaper journalists whom we informed of this slum have remained ABSOLUTELY SILENT.
These slum dwellers just happen to be poor individuals unable to take care of their personal matters.
Their Public Guardian, who is a senior member of the Oulu City Administration, who is supposed to look after the affairs of these slum dwellers, and the Oulu Magistrate Guardianship Authority, which is supposed to supervise how the Guardians looks after those in their care and custody, have remained silent for over 5 years while these people have been made to suffer and live in these totally degrading conditions.
In fact, in a recent court case the Guardianship Authority vouched for the professionalism of the Public Guardian in whose custody and care these unfortunate slum dwellers are!
Despite our informing the Finnish Parliamentary Ombudsman of this horrific situation as far back as January 2005, absolutely nothing has been done to assist these slum dwellers by the local authorities. Only the Environmental Department and some doctors and nurses from the local medical centre have visited these slum dwellers. They have gone away, some of them seen laughing at the desperate plight of these unfortunate people.
Justice delayed is justice denied.
Another miserable winter awaits these poor people in Oulu.
The garden is a rubbish tip. The inside of the cramped slum dwelling is a disgrace.
Here is a picture of the Toilet Facility in the one-roomed pokey Slum Dwelling - the Blue Bucket:
That is not a cricket score.
When I was a kid, I was tall and skinny. My mother, as an encouragement, told me that I could start wearing long trousers, like all my heroes, the minute I hit 100 lbs (45.36kg), as we still in the British system then.
Those of us who have been very contented users of the Skype Voice Over Internet Service have reason to be very worried. Many American companies are trying to buy over this successful company. The latest which was reported in The Financial Times and Wall Street Journal today is the offer by Ebay.
Ebay appears to have made a cash offer of between US $2 and 3 billion. New York Times reported a figure of US $5 billion.
I had suggested many months ago to Google that they should be the one to integrate Skype into their Personalised Web Service. But Google chose rather to introduce a very stunted Talk Service losing a golden opportunity to score over Microsoft, Yahoo, and even Apple, who with their iChat have now entered the Mobile Phone market in conjunction with the Motorola Rokr phone and the Cingular Phone Service. Apple have integrated iTunes into this new mobile phone and it will not be long before they also integrate iPhoto into the camera phone version which must be now under intensive development.
Just at this moment there are over 3.25 million people actually using the Skype service. Registered users may be double or even treble this.
I have been talk to granddaughter Asha in England for hours at no cost. I will be talking to grandson Samuel who has now moved to Newcastle. I have been speaking at no cost to friends and relatives in India, UK and USA for many many months. I have introduced Skype to many of my friends. The technology is just perfect, especially on the Macintosh Apple platform, as the sound, input and output, is even better than a normal fixed line or mobile phone.
With the Americans trying to edge in to take over Skype, the free service will probably vanish as whatever the Americans touch means death and destruction in terms of the have-nots.
UN hits back at US in report saying parts of America are as poor as Third World, by Paul Vallely, Published: 08 September 2005 in the British newspaper "The Independent" is certainly given immediate validity by those of us who have watched the New Orleans and surrounding area tragedy caused by Hurricane Katrina unfold.
Here are some key comment points contained in this latest UN Report on World Poverty:
Parts of the United States are as poor as the Third World, according to a shocking United Nations report on global inequality....
The annual Human Development Report normally concerns itself with the Third World, but the 2005 edition scrutinises inequalities in health provision inside the US as part of a survey of how inequality worldwide is retarding the eradication of poverty.
It reveals that the infant mortality rate has been rising in the US for the past five years - and is now the same as Malaysia. America's black children are twice as likely as whites to die before their first birthday.......
But the 370-page document is critical of American policies towards poverty abroad as well as at home. And, in unusually outspoken language, it accuses the US of having "an overdeveloped military strategy and an under-developed strategy for human security".
"There is an urgent need to develop a collective security framework that goes beyond military responses to terrorism," it continues. " Poverty and social breakdown are core components of the global security threat.".......
India and China, the UN says, have been very successful in wealth creation but have not enabled the poor to share in the process.....
Blacks in Washington DC have a higher infant death rate than people in the Indian state of Kerala.
It has been a long time since I have attended an English Club meeting.
Annikki and I were the first registered Life Members of this Club which we had joined way back in 1985 after the Club had asked us to give a talk about India. We still have the various paintings that Annikki made for the exhibition including a beautiful one of Mother Theresa and several of Indian birds.
For several years, Annikki taught English to little Finnish children who had lived abroad and wanted to keep their English speaking skills at par. I used to give a talk to older children at every summer school.
Annikki was Chairperson way back in 1988. At that time we started regular monthly meetings where we had speakers on different topical subjects.
We had over 200 active members in the Club at that time. Activities had included from Chinese cooking demonstration at the teacher's appartment to playing Pétanque in front of the Oulu Governor's residence, and talks on the Freedom of the Press (time of the release of Satanic Verses by Salmon Rushdie) and Social English.
After her term, this idea just went to pot. There have been very few events of significance which encompassed the interests of all the members. The active membership seems to have dropped down to a much lower value now.
Today promised to be an interesting meeting. I am an sort of expert of common written errors in scientific papers by Finnish research workers. This was a discussion on "Common errors made by Finns speaking English".
We only received the circular about the meeting in the afternoon post. I thought that maybe I should take part to get out the state of depression that I have fallen into after the departure of our grandkids for Newcastle upon Tyne.
The meeting was being held at Topelius House, which is the International Centre in Oulu. Annikki could not make it as her mother is at home.
Sally Howes, the performer for today, had a couple of games which tested our English skills. I found that my English skills have certainly degraded after living in this country for 21+ continuous years. Luckily, they are not required by me as a professional requirement any longer!
We then played Pictionary. My senility was fully exposed when I tried to convey the idea of "disk" by drawing a gramaphone!
I was saved further embarrassment when the English Club Chairperson, Anna-Maija Hirvenoja, called a Board Meeting to order. I was permitted to stay for the Board Meeting.
Here are some photographs I took at the meeting. I really must get a better digital camera!
Close to 15 years ago, when we were visiting Susanna in the UK when she was studying at Exeter University, as we walked down the High Street, Annikki felt like having a cup of coffee. We walked into a rather nice coffee parlour which also sold fresh ground coffee.
She smelt a delicious aroma and ordered a cup of coffee, which, to me, seemed to be priced at an astronomical figure.
One sip and Annikki was in heaven. She exclaimed loudly that this was the finest coffee she had ever tasted. I could not know as I had given up coffee drinking about 8 years earlier.
So I asked her to buy a kilo or two to take back to Finland.
Annikki asked the price and I was dumbstruck by the figure quoted. It was priced almost as much as a pot of GOLD!!
It was a coffee called as the "Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee".
The shopkeeper explained that they managed to get only a few kgs in a year as the Japanese usually buy up the entire crop.
A couple of days ago, when I had a friend from India visiting us, I took him to the main market and found a shop which sold tea and fresh ground coffee. I asked whether they had Blue Mountain Coffee . They had - just 150 gms and at THE price.
I went out early this morning to buy Annikki all that was available in Oulu as her birthday present!
Our grandchildren left for England yesterday, but they dropped by to say goodbye to their grandmother and me. Here are a couple of shots of Annikki with Daniel and Samuel in the Kampitie garden yesterday.
