Summer madness

It must be the heat, or the fact that the sun shines nearly twenty four hours a day, but it's true that Finns go a little bit mad in summer. Saturday morning, 9.15, having done the Runolaulumessu the night before in Hyvinkää, I was waiting with a platform full of people to catch the train home. Nice sunny morning, only a few people on the opposite platform. One of said opposite platformers decides that there's no time like the present, and proceeds to water the railway line. Luckily he had the decency to turn his back and urinate of the far side of the platform, but the sight and sound were unmistakeable to the gathered throng on this side. A mixed reaction of bemusement, horror, spluttering, and, once Percy had been returned back to his cage, his owner camly turned round and stood there as if nothing had happened. I wasn't quick enough to shout Bravo! and encore! but wish I had...



Further up the line, just after my next gig in Jyväskylä on Saturday afternoon, the train was passing by an idyllic lake vista, with the sun shining warmly over the gently rippling waters. Not so idyllic, as it turned out that the passion here for summer cottages on the lake with saunas, meant that two rather unfit examples of the male of the species were waving from a pontoon about 40 metres or so away. It seems that they had just finished their dip after a sauna, and as they were both holding in one hand a beer, and the other a half eaten burger, you could imagine what part of their unsightly anatomies they were gleefully waving with.



Half an hour later, to completely prove the point, two young boys saluted the passing of the train, by turning round, dropping their trousers, and waving their nether regions. After this I gave up enjoying the scenery, closed my eyes and nodded off, so probably utterly missed the rest of the railside goings on, whatever they were.



The wife carrying race here in Finland is a well known and international event, being an obstacle race with different named carrying techniques, such as the firemans hold, over the shoulder, and the Estonian carry. (Click here to find out how to become a master of wife carrying...) But I read in yesterdays paper that in a couple of weeks will be held the annual frying-pan throwing competition. The longest recorded throw by a man was 40 metres (!!!) and for a woman 27 metres. There are events, for men, women, Youth (Under 18), and under 12. The article went into detail about technique, training regimes, past winners, offered a form guide, and you can probably place bets down the local bookies. They may all be mad here, but they take it seriously!!!