In the Viking Club, at last!

Woo Hoo! I finally got my Viking Club card in the post.

And no, it's not a membership card to become a real Viking. I won't be growing any scruffy beard any time soon. And I certainly won't be heading off on any long journeys marauding and pillaging foreign lands, unfortunately.

This precious card does however allow me certain discounts on board the Viking Line fleet of Ferryboats operating out of Finland. I can receive discounts on goods such as alcohol, sweets, beer, alcohol and meals, as well as a small discount on drinks and alcohol from their bars onboard.

It's the closest I'll ever get to becoming a Viking I suppose. And it's about time us Irish got some kind of compensation from the Vikings for all their years of plundering in little old Ireland many years ago.

Now where did I leave my axe?

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The Shamrock Experiment: Day 4

The Great Finnish Shamrock Experiment: Day 4

Well, not much to report today.

The shamrock is showing signs of life but the cold weather is causing some growing pains.

I've placed a plastic bag over the shamrocks as per instructions.

I'm not sure whether it's meant to stimulate growth or give the illusion of Irish weather.

I don't think these shamrocks will be tricked though, they're smarter than the average shamrock.

Meanwhile my little Finnish friend Matti remains on protective duty making sure no harm comes to our little buddies! He's promised to show me a photo of himself in his usual blue attire soon. Watch this space!

Keep watching this terribly exciting blog to see if the

shamrock grows in time for good old

St.Patrick's Day 2010!

Click here to read The Shamrock Experiment: Day 5

The Shamrock Experiment: Day 3

The Great Finnish Shamrock Experiment: Day 3

Well, I can safely say that the shamrock is starting to grow. My little Finnish leprechaun friend Matti will be looking after the shamrock for the next few days, watering it and making sure it has enough light. He normally wears a blue suit, but he's going green this month for St.Patrick's Day. Nice one Matti. Kiitos! Tack!

Keep watching this terribly exciting blog to see if the

shamrock grows in time for good old

St.Patrick's Day 2010!

Click here to read The Shamrock Experiment: Day 4

There's no art like snow art!

The date was the 14th of February, St.Valentine's Day.

This is a holiday I have normally associated with love, romance, cards, flowers and chocolate. A day every Irish teenager eagerly awaits at their halldoor for the postman to arrive with a Valentine card from that someone special who supposedly loves them so much, whether they like it or not. Oh yes indeed, the memories of Valentine's Day!

This holiday in Finland is slightly different however. The holiday of St.Valentine is relatively new here. In fact it first appeared in diaries here in 1987 as 'Friend's Day' or "Ystävänpäivä" in Finnish.

And to this day it is still called "Ystävänpäivä".

However, nowadays you can see cards and other items advertising 'St.Valentine's Day' in shops and on television everywhere in Finland. But it's just another word for Friendship to most Finns. And while the elements of romance which are associated with St.Valentine's Day slowly begin to creep in to Finnish culture, you are still more likely to see close friends and even relatives giving each other cards and gifts of friendship on February 14th.

As it turned out, 'Friendship' was the theme at a very 'cool' event I attended last month. The local municipality of Raseborg in Southern Finland were I live had organised a day out for the public which included some ice-swimming, bbq sausages and most importantly a Snow sculpting contest. This contest was held over a period of 3 hours on a beach in the town of Ekenäs. The sea here was frozen at the time, so I got a chance to walk on ice. This was a first for me!

A selection

of snow sculptures.

And here's the sculpture

that came first in the contest.

Well, that's what happened down my way last month on Valentine's Day. Definately something different for me and also a novelty day-out. I reckon a Friendship Valentine is always a good thing!

Here's a little clip I made of the Snow Art and more.

Thanks for reading my blog and enjoy the video!

Alan

The Shamrock Experiment: Day 2

Well here we are, it's Day 2 of the amazing shamrock experiment. Can shamrocks be grown indoors in Finland? We wait excitedly for the outcome.

So here's photo No.2 of my experiment.

My photo for Day 2 was actually photographed 3 days after my Day 1 photo. I'm very sorry but I couldn't give this experiment my full attention. However I'm still determined to show this famous green plant grow little by little here in Finland.

I purchased this small packet

of seeds while in Ireland last Christmas.

Keep watching this terribly exciting blog to see if the

shamrock grows in time for good old

St.Patrick's Day 2010!




Click here to read The Shamrock Experiment: Day 3