Piritta Venho and Taina Kokkonen

I have just had a message from Taina Timucin, formerly Kokkonen: "Yes - Piritta was Princess the same time as me, in the year Kirsi Ranto was crowned." I love it when a celebrity writes to me! Paljon kiitoksia Taina!

Tangomarkkinat 2014

Online voting starts today for this year's Tangomarkkinat. Log on to this for women:
http://yle.fi/aihe/tangomarkkinat/tangomarkkinakilpailijat-2014-naiset
and this for men:
http://yle.fi/aihe/tangomarkkinat/tangomarkkinakilpailijat-2014-miehet

You will see thumbnails of the contestants. Click to hear a 60-second clip. You can vote by pressing the green Äänestä. Votes are accepted from outside Finland. You can also post a comment, but you have to prove you're not a robot by answering a question. This will be of the order of "how many wheels has a bicycle?" and "what do you use to steer a car?", but will be in Finnish.

Familiar faces include the elfin Maria Tyyster and the blonde valkyrie Sari Hellsten. There is also Piritta Venho, who could be the same Piritta Venho who was Tango Princess in 1998. Varpu Virta has attracted some unkind comments, including "Is this some kind of joke?" and "Scary - I wouldn't dare go to a place where she was performing". Others love her, saying "Brilliant singer and great new-style tango." Actually she is a bit scary, but I like her.