The Dead Poet's Breakfast!

The 5th of February is known as Runeberg's Day in Finland, named after Finland's national poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg who was born in the town of Jacobstad, Finland on this date 1804.

'Runeberg's most famous work is Fänrik Ståls sägner (The Tales of Ensign Stål, Vänrikki Stoolin tarinat in Finnish) written between 1848 and 1860. It is considered the greatest Finnish epic poem outside the native Kalevala tradition and contains tales of the Swedish War of 1808-09 with Russia. In the war, Sweden ignominiously lost Finland, which became a Grand Duchy in the Russian empire. The poem, which is composed episodically, emphasizes the common humanity of all sides in the conflict, while principally lauding the heroism of the Finns. The first poem "Vårt land" (Our Land, Maamme in Finnish) became the Finnish National Anthem. Runeberg is celebrated on 5 February each year.'

- taken from Wikipedia

While the National anthem of Finland is sung in the Finnish language by the majority of people over here, it is also sung in swedish with the same passion and pride by a part of the Finnish population living in the west and south of Finland. In my opinion there is something very special and respectful for the people of Finland to have their anthem in both languages.

   

And it is also on this day Feb 5th every year that a certain cake named 

Runeberg's torte (Finnish: Runebergintorttu; Swedish: Runebergstårta) is eaten all over in Finnish homes to celebrate this great national poet. The story goes that the poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg enjoyed a torte with some brandy punsch for his breakfast every morning.

And not wanting to be disrespectful, I am only too happy to carry on this good tradition in my own home today. A little too late for breakfast, I will be eating one of these two little beauties here with a nice cup of tea later on this evening.

Thanks for reading my blog and please share it with all your friends.

-Alan

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Autumn on the Nature channel!

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It's autumn on the 'real' Nature channel and here's a few photo's I wanted to share with you all on my blog. 
I took these photos while out walking in Karis, Finland. 
There are still plenty of leaves left on the trees here, but with the first of the autumn storms arriving last night these nice autumn colours will soon begin to disappear. 

There have been reports of early snow on it's way to this area of Finland, so I'm making the most of the nice autumn colours or 'Ruska' as it's called here in Finland. I haven't seen any real evidence of snow here just yet. It's certainly getting cold enough, with daily temperatures getting quite low. It's presently +1C outside my window. I reckon it's about time to dig out my winter jacket and gloves. 

Look! Even my cat is starting to feel the chill!

Thanks for reading my blog and please share with your friends.

- Alan

ps.- I'll be dreaming of Finnish summer for the next few months!!

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Down By The River - Billnäs Bruk

Down by the river

- Billnäs -

I took a visit to a photo exhibition last week in a nearby village called Billnäs.

Situated on the Svartå Mustio river in the south of Finland this area is well-known for its old ironworks founded in 1641.

This small village is not just any old industrial site full of old memories and history, it's also a wonderfully picturesque place to relax or go for a stroll, full of nature! In fact, the whole collection of old stone buildings and wooden houses in Billnäs compliment the already present natural beauty of the area.

The exhibition I went to see featured a collection of old photos from various stages of the area's history. Photos of the land, it’s buildings and many of it’s inhabitants and workers over the years. All these old photographs were blown up to a large scale especially for the exhibition and were presented in one of the many old buildings on the site of the old Ironworks. So this exhibition was a great opportunity for me to get a feel for what life was like here in days gone by. Billnäs has it’s own website with more detailed information on it’s history here.

The ironworks in Billnäs was incorporated into to the well-known Fiskars group in 1920, who kept up the manufacture of tools etc.

However with modern industry evolving over the coming years the more traditional practices at the ironworks became obsolete.

Nowadays this area is a hub for small enterprise and development. It has become a tourist hotspot with events, exhibitions, cafes and restaurants.

Only a 30 minute walk from where I live in Karis, Billnäs is a place I like to visit quite frequently, especially in the summer months. It’s also a chance for me to get out and grab some well-needed exercise. It's a pleasant place to walk around on a warm summers day, especially along the river. I always start humming this favorite song of mine by the singer Neil Young everytime I go there.

While visiting the photo exhibition last week I noticed that a new outdoor entertainment area was under construction. A nice area for a band to play and a large decking area for dancing was already in place. There was even an outdoor bar almost ready. The only things missing were a few beer taps! It wasn't a perfect day after all!

Situated next to a scenic river this place is just what the area needs. I just hope they don’t have a cover charge when it’s finally up and running. A good evening out can be expensive enough when just ordering a few drinks and a taxi.

For anyone interested in seeing the wonderful photo exhibition at Billnäs, you're too late.

Sorry but it's over, it finished on May 23.

But thank you for reading my blog.

You are welcome to look at my art at The Art Garage 

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-Alan 

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August Art Round-up 2010!!

I just found out that 'The Finnish Cat' will be on public view at this year's Konstrundan Art event in Finland.

Konstrundan is a special annual event where artists open their studio doors to the public. This large group of artists, craftsmen and designers live mainly in the Swedish speaking areas in Finland (Svenskfinland).

For this event I intend to have my 'Finnish Cat'-'Finsk Katt'-'Suomalainen Kissa' on display along with several new paintings which I hope to have ready for this event later this summer.

It all happens on 30 July-1 August 2010.

And I now have my own profile on the Konstrundan site here.

A big thank you to the people at Konstrundan!!

There's a full list of all this year's participants here.

The list represents five areas, Västra Nyland/Helsinki, Turku area, Österbotnia, Åland and Östra Nyland (areas shown in yellow on map)

This event promises to be an excellent presentation of the wide variety of artists and craftspeople in Svenskfinland and I'm very proud to be taking part!

Thanks for reading my blog.

Alan

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