Finnish Tango

Finnish tango in USA

2012-02-10T14:29:00.000-08:00

I have just been told about Tango Pohjan Tähden, a Finnish tango quartet operating our of Minneapolis. Have a look at this. There are 4 excellent tangos you can listen to: http://www.finntango.com/ft/

Arja's Christmas Concert 2011

2011-12-27T08:37:00.000-08:00

I had not been in Finland during the Christmas period since 2007, when I went to Arja Koriseva's Christmas concert in Tampere. I had not been to Helsinki in December since 2004; so when I read of Arja's Christmas concert in Helsinki on 19th December 2011, I had to go. I phoned Eine-Liisa and she said she would be in the Vanhan Kellari as usual. I booked a direct flight from Heathrow for 15th December which would have got in at 13:25 - plenty of time to get to the hotel for a leisurely shower and change of clothes before getting to the Kellari when it opened at 16:00. The airline changed all this by cancelling the flight and compelling me to get a later one which meant a change at Copenhagen. The upside to this was I saw a bridge that seemed to go nowhere and was able to buy some Danish salmiakki.

I was hoping to see snow in Helsinki, but there wasn't any; only rain. In fact it rained all the time I was there. Eventually I got to the Kellari, finding it packed out as usual. Kari Vespä provided the music. I danced most of the time with Eine-Liisa, plus a couple of jenkkas with the same tall thin lady I had seen at Seinäjoki. Also present was an elderly man with a much younger partner who looked very much like silent movie star Louise Brooks. These two danced Argentine tango to everything, including the humppas. All in all an excellent evening, the only disappointment being that Hilkka wasn't there.

Next morning I went for a coffee in the harbour. The Hyöky lightship, now a museum, was there. Outside Stockmanns a Romanian quartet was playing Autumn Leaves as a tango. I bought some Christmas cards, Arja's new CD Rakkaudesta jouluun, and the DVD Rare Exports, which tells of the discovery of Father Christmas buried under a mountain. I had lunch in the Vanhan Kellari at a cost of 8.90 euros. Juha Metsäperä was providing the evening's entertainment in the Vanhan Kellari. Hilkka still wasn't there - Eine-Liisa said she had been in on Tuesday. After a solid 8 hours dancing, I escorted Eine-Liisa to the bus station. She said she would not be around at the weekend as she would be with her boyfriend.
"Here's a present for you" I said, and gave her a Christmas pudding. She looked a it doubtfully. Only then did I notice its resemblance to a bomb.
"It's an English Christmas dessert" I explained. "You eat it on Christmas Day."

Next day (Saturday) I went to Fennica Records in Albertinkatu, where I bought two Anneli Mattila records. Nearby is a secondhand bookshop. The proprietor is Father Christmas, or at least looks a lot like him. There were some interesting books there, including a1790 Swedish-Latin dictionary, and a Kalevala in Savo dialect. I didn’t buy either, though I might have bought the dictionary if it had been Finnish-Latin as I had lost my Latin dictionary in the fire.

I went to the VPK restaurant for lunch, but there was a private party. The Vanhan Kellari is closed for lunch on Saturdays so I bought some rye bread and cheese from the supermarket. I went to the library, which is behind the railway station. According to the Helsingin Sanomat, a daytime dance was to be held in the Puistokulma in Vantaa on Sunday. You can use the library computers free even if you aren’t a resident. I had an email about Bernard Monshin: this was in response to a question about this famous tango bandleader that I had posted on a ballroom discussion group nearly two years before. I thanked Brian Reynolds, who had sent the message, and said I would reply properly when I got back to Blighty.

The Vanhan Kellari doesn’t open till 20:00 on Saturdays. La Strada provided the music. I danced most of the evening with Maija, whose round face and frizzy hair reminded me a bit of Viivi, though that would make me Wagner.

On Sunday morning I went to the Christmas bazaar opposite the cathedral. It would have been idyllic if there had been snow on the ground, but as it was the rain and wind made it fairly miserable. Even the glögi (mulled wine) didn’t help: it was weak, non-alcoholic, and not particularly hot.

In the afternoon I went to the Puistokulma. It is round the corner from Hiekkaharju station. You can use your tourist ticket on local trains. The singer was Kari Piironen, who was Tango King in 1988. “Louise Brooks” and her partner were there, attempting argentine tango to a polka. One lady in particular was extremely popular and I found it nearly impossible to get near her to ask her to dance. She had black and white hair like Cruella de Vil. Eventually I had an ecstatic tango with her - really worth the wait. I asked her name but she didn’t say, so she has to remain Cruella. Other nice partners included Liisa, who insisted on dancing jive in close hold, and Marjukka, who was very plump and danced an energetic humppa and even more energetic jive, bouncing round like a little ball. An excellent afternoon - I hardly sat down the whole time I was there.

Next day I went to the VPK restaurant for the Christmas buffet. At last in the evening was Arja's Rakkaudesta jouluun Christmas concert at the Savoy Theatre. It was, as you might expect, absolutely wonderful. There were some unfamiliar songs from her new record, and some well-known ones, such as First Noel and Walking in the Air in Finnish and Ave Maria in Latin. At one point she exited the stage while the band completed the number. They started the next one with the pianist (who had a real grand piano, not a digital one) singing. Then Arja joined in from the back of the balcony. There scarcely seemed enough time for her to get there from the stage - and she had a different dress on as well. Then she wandered through the audience, still singing, and returned to the stage. After the show she came to the lobby to hobnob with her fans and sign autographs. She thanked me for the Christmas card I had sent and signed the CD insert of the record I had bought. A new show, Delilah, is opening in February and I said I would be there. By the time I had left the theatre it was 22:00 and I could have gone to the Vanhan Kellari, but Arja's concert was the high point of the evening (indeed the trip) and anything else would have been an anticlimax, so I returned to the hotel.

Me with Arja Koriseva

On my way to the airport next day I put a Christmas card addressed to "Hilkka, Vanhan Kellari" through the Kellari's letter box. I said I was sorry to have missed her and hoped we would be able to dance together next time. I don't know if she will get it or not: there might be lots of regulars, or employees, called Hilkka. Change of planes at Stockholm - I noticed it had been snowing there.

When I got home I had a Christmas card from Big Irja. She said she had not been to Seinäjoki because she had been ill. I rang her on Christmas Day and said I hoped she was feeling better and would be there in 2012. I also rang Eine-Liisa. She hadn't eaten the Christmas pudding. Perhaps her boyfriend had detonated it.

Viivi and Esther

2011-12-05T09:28:00.000-08:00

Beauty queen Viivi Pumpanen is the winner of this year's Tanssi tähtien kanssa. With her partner Matti Puro she got 36 for her samba, 40 for tango, and 39 for freestyle. The prize is not a glitterball (glitterballs may be unknown in Finland - I can't recall ever seeing one) but an old-fashioned sports cup, a bottle of champers, and a kiss from the head judge. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngDjy0lxmiM

I have had a letter from Esther Rantzen. She wrote an article about loneliness in old age in the Daily Mail. I replied as follows:

The ballroom has always been the place for us babyboomers to meet people, and, if we are lucky, our soulmates. But, I hear you say, that day is gone: places like the Southend Kursaal and Hammersmith Palais are closed, and the Blackpool Tower Ballroom is frequented only by couples. But there is a place where the couple-dance culture is alive and well: and that is Finland. I have been there nearly 40 times since my wife died. The biggest event is the Tangomarkkinat, attended by about 100,000 tango-crazed Finns and a few foreigners; lots of couples, but more singletons than even the most dedicated socialite can hope to meet in the 5 days the festival lasts. The next Tangomarkkinat is in July 2012, but every Finnish town has its dance halls and countryside pavilions, open most evenings and some afternoons with live music by high profile easy listening stars. Not everyone has the money or the mobility to make the journey, but for those of us who do, the effort is well worth it. The dances are always well attended with plenty of singletons. You yourself have an advantage because Anton du Beke has already taught you all you need to know. It is true that the Finnish waltz, foxtrot, and tango are somewhat different from ours, and that there is also the humppa and jenkka; but all this can be picked up easily. It is perfectly in order for women to invite men: in fact sometimes it is compulsory. At the events described as Naistentanssit (ladies’ dance) the men have to sit quietly and wait for the women to invite them. It is true the Finnish language is not easy, and that people our age rarely speak English; but you don’t need much and in any case it is well known that learning a foreign language stops the brain from deteriorating. And nothing can give the brain a better workout than Finnish. I intend to be in Helsinki in December and if I see you in the Vanhan Kellari I will take you for a twirl on the parquet.

And I got a reply! At the bottom of what is clearly a form letter is the handwritten addition:

What a wonderful thought! Though it might just Finnish me off! Very best wishes, Esther Rantzen

Tanssi tähtien kanssa begins

2011-10-04T00:53:00.000-07:00

The new series started with a bang when Viivi Pumpanen fell down the steps, fortunately without injury. Judge Helena Ahti-Hallberg wore a dress that hit the headlines next day in the Iltalehti. Oddly enough the Ilta-Sanomat ran the same story, but illustrated it with a close-up of Helena's face, showing nothing of the dress.

Dances were waltz and cha-cha, with no elimination this week. Top of the leader board were Jani Toivola and Jutta Helenius with 32 points. Three couples were joint bottom with 13. Finnish judges are not as generous with points as British and American ones, so this is not as bad as it may sound. The transmission was spoiled (at least on the internet) by loss of sound during Viivi Pumpanen's spot. Next week is tango and salsa. Can't wait!

Tanssi tähtien kanssa 2011

2011-08-31T00:29:00.000-07:00

The new series of Tanssi tähtien kanssa, the Finnish version of Strictly Come Dancing, starts on 25th September. Among the 10 competitors are veteran singer Anneli Sari (not to be confused with Anneli Saaristo). See her here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHRSvbzFGF4 singing Gypsy Caravan in the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest selection programme. Her microphone does not start working till 0:38 and the conductor knocks his music to the floor at 1:06. The final choice of the Finnish public was Pump pump by Fredi and the Friends.

Also competing is Veeti Kallio, another Eurovision hopeful in 2010, but more significantly winner of the tango composing competition in the 2011 Tangomarkkinat:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSNZCwtIql8 The tune does not start till 1:44. The only other competitor I have heard of is Viivi Pumpanen, who was Miss Finland in 2010: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61ckFACs2sA&feature=related

Kesäillan valssi

2011-07-20T14:08:00.000-07:00

According to today's on-line Ilta-Sanomat, the popular music and dance programme Kesäillan valssi (which means Summer Evening Waltz, though only some of the tunes featured are waltzes) is coming off Finnish tv after 20 years. Every week during the summer, it would visit a different rustic dance pavilion, where a well-known singer would perform and members of the public would dance. There are lots of clips on Youtube, such as this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jswTRK8uEKE (note that the synth has harmonikka buttons instead of the usual piano keys). This one is not a tango, but sounds strangely familiar: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9hUHROSITQ

It was a happy, innocent little programme, presumably cheap to make. I will miss it, and so will many Finns.

Tangomarkkinat 2011

2011-07-12T14:06:00.000-07:00

2011 is an important year for me. I have been dancing 50 years - I first enrolled in the Mimi Green School of Dancing in Westcliff in 1961, at the age of 14. I have also been visiting the Tangomarkkinat for 10 years. This year the Cumbre Mundial del Tango, an Argentine event, was held in Seinäjoki the week previous to the Tangomarkkinat. Other things were happening as well around that time: Satu Silvo was appearing in Riemurahat, or Funny Money, at the Mustan Linnan Summer Theatre in Raasepori from 20th June onwards. Mira Kunnasluoto was at the Salmenlava in Jääpilä on 25th June; Arja Koriseva was at the Kyllikinranta in Iisalmi on 3rd July; and Kaija Pohjola was at Pyhäsalmi on 5th July. I regretfully decided to give Satu Silvo a miss. I have never seen her live, but I doubted my command of Finnish was good enough to follow a fast-moving farce. I also did not want to be away from home for too long, as my cat Sophie has turned 19 and I do not want to leave the responsibility of such an old animal with anyone else. I therefore decided to attend the last Saturday of the Cumbre Mundial del Tango on 2nd July, and go to Iisalmi on the Sunday (when nothing was happening in the Cumbre Mundial) to see Arja Koriseva. I could not get a flight on Monday 11th, so I would have to miss the last Sunday of the Tangomarkkinat. Ola Vilkås, a Norwegian reporter, sent me a text to say he was writing an article on Finnish tango and the Tangomarkkinat, and would like to speak to me there. Also Lea, the lady I had met in Liperi, wrote to say she would be attending. It would certainly be nice to see her again. I had watched the Turku semifinals - some of them from last year (Tino Ahlgren, Tapani Kangas, and Maria Tyyster) were competing again. Mervi Koponen was competing for the 4th time (previously in 2006, 2007, and 2009). I was very impressed by the personable, talented and very blonde Heidi Pakarinen. This is not in fact her first attempt at the Tangomarkkinat: she reached the semifinals in 1998, the year Kirsi Ranto became Tango Queen.

So I reached Tampere airport on a blazing hot day on Saturday 2nd July. As the bus to town was not due for an hour, I decided to take a taxi. In fact I could have saved the money, as the next train to Seinäjoki was not due till 15:00. Moral: check train times on line before leaving Blighty. Still, I had two hours to enjoy some Finnish strawberries and piimä, and look round the town. The Hämeensilta is closed for refurbishment. There was no indication of when or in what form it would reopen. I very much hope that it will still be a dance place. Tampere has already lost two dance halls, and if the Hämeensilta turns into something else, only the Seurahuone will be left. I noticed that Johanna Debreczeni and Jouni Keronen would be recording Tammerkosken sillalla in Tampere tomorrow, but I will have to miss that as I will be in Iisalmi.

I got to Seinäjoki at 16:30 and stayed at Seija's as usual. Tangomarkkinat passes were still 95 euros butt didn't include admission to the Argentine events. The evening milonga was held in the Tango Street pavilion and had live Argentine artistes. It was a huge disappointment. There couldn't have been more than 20 people there: by far the worst attendance at any event I have ever been to in Finland. I danced with Tuula, a very nice refined dark-haired lady, and a blonde who refused to tell me her name. Did she think I was ticking off partners' names in the book of Finnish first names? I left at midnight, and there were still very few people.

Saturday night milonga - a real disappointment

Next day (Sunday) I was cooling off in the garden after my sauna and heard the church bells ringing. Why not? I thought. I have never been to a Finnish church. So I put some clothes on and hurried over there. The church was packed and I had to hunt round for a seat. Gluten-free bread and non-alcoholic wine was available, but I didn't take communion as I am not baptised into the Lutheran church.
The packed church

The train was due at 12:07 but the announcements kept coming - it would be 20 minutes late, then 30, then 35. I was concerned I would miss my connection at Yliveska and went to the information office. They said alternative transport would be provided if necessary. Eventually the train came in exactly 40 minutes late. After about an hour and a half there was an announcement that taxis would be provided at Yliveska to take passengers to Iisalmi and intermediate stations. I understood this, but the guard sought me out and repeated it in English. When he had inspected my ticket earlier I had spoken to him in Finnish, so he must have recognised the accent. The train arrived at Yliveska 23 minutes late (so had made up quite a lot of time) but the Iisalmi train had already left. Two big minibus-type taxis were waiting: one directly to Iisalmi and one for intermediate stations. There were 7 people going to Iisalmi, and we got there at 16:35, only 30 minutes later than the original train would have. On the way there were several interesting sights, including a log cabin under construction, a hexagonal water tower converted into a house, and what appeared to be an outdoor collection of church bells. I checked into the Sokos hotel, which is in the same street as the station. There was a minibar, which I filled with piimä from the supermarket. There is an Italian restaurant attached to the hotel, but I dined more authentically (and cheaper) at the cafe round the corner. I had makkaraperuna, which is diced potatoes fried with slices of sausage. I got a taxi to Kyllikinranta, which is an idyllic pavilion by the lake. The name means "Kyllikki's beach", named presumably after Lemminkäinen's wife. Could this be the place he met her:

Passing all the time with women,
Wandering all around at night-time,
When the maidens took their pleasure
In the dance, with locks unbraided.

There were more people waiting outside for the place to open than had attended Saturday's milonga. The Fortuna band started playing straight away: no records. I danced with Tuula (not the same one as last night), Kati (not Kati from Tampere - this one was older, blonde, very glamorous) and many others. I was standing ready by the stage when Arja came on. She recognised me at once, gave me a hug, and wished me a happy summer. She was amazing as usual - a truly wonderful entertainer. Her singing takes you to another world of perfection.

Arja Koriseva

She did two spots, and afterwards spent at least half an hour talking to her fans and signing autographs. She signed the insert of her latest CD for me, and said thank you for the Christmas card. I’m pleased she gets them, and looks at them. Afterwards I danced jive with a lady in a lacy top. My jacket button caught in the lace, was pulled off, and it pinged away, never to be seen again. The event ended at 23:30, and I got a taxi back to the hotel.

Up bright and early next day (6:45) and checked out after breakfast. According to the papers, yesterday’s train delays were caused by thunder and hail elsewhere in Finland. As nothing was happening in Seinäjoki, I was in no hurry to get back and decided to travel north via Oulu. Ticket price was the same as via Yliveska. I stayed for a while at the station and watched the goods trains. Logs were coming in and stones going out. Will there be no end to this excitement? Then I wandered round the town, visiting the lake and the market square, before returning to the station in time for the 10:54 train. I had 1½ hours exploring the delights of Oulu (which I will not describe as the are not tango-related) before catching the slow train to Seinäjoki, which arrived at 19:30. I settled down in front of the tv to watch Kesäillan valssi with Anne Mattila. I mean she was in the programme, not on the sofa beside me.

Tuesday was the last day of the Cumbre Mundial del Tango. I went to the Tango Office to get tickets for the night’s concert and milonga. Souvenirs were on sale: tango-themed t-shirts, mugs, sweets etc. Labels were in Finnish, English, and Spanish. I noticed there was no Spanish for liquorice, the description being “Caramelos Finlaneses tipicos”. Odd, because when I was at school, liquorice root was always referred to as “Spanish wood”. Then strawberries and coffee in the square while Seinäjoki high society wandered past. A woman had a Siamese cat on a lead. I said “Kaunis kissa” (“nice cat”) to her, and she smiled haughtily. There was a handbill advertising “Noche de tango y poesia” in the Alma hotel tomorrow at 20:00, but Suvi Karjula will be in the Tango Street then. I then went to the secondhand bookshop in Koulukatu. Finnish vinyl is on sale upstairs. I got a good haul: the elusive Tangomarkkinat 1, which you will remember I tried to buy through an auction website and which the seller refused to send out of Finland, Tangomarkkinat 5 (so now the only one I haven’t got is no 7), an early Kaija Pohjola, a humppa compilation, and an Argentine tango compilation. Then to Anttila, where I bought Anneli Saaristo’s Elämäni lauluja (Songs of my Life), and M.A. Numminen’s Kiusankappaleita 3 (Annoying Songs 3). The latter was a real bargain, reduced from 23 euros to 5. There was time to go back to the house to play them. At least the CD’s - the vinyl will have to wait till I get home. The Saaristo consisted of a CD of previously unreleased songs from the 1980’s, some of them in English, and a DVD of some of her hits originally broadcast on tv in 1985, including the tangos Surutyö and Viimeinen känni (Manzi’s Milonga Sentimental and Troilo’s La Ultima Curda). The Numminen was a real mixed bag. Some of the 51 numbers appeared to be readings in English from his philosophy book while the band played something weird. The tracks I enjoyed most were Jos ei Elisabethin reidet niin kauniit ois, a twenties-themed foxtrot known in English as Elizabeth, but actually German in origin; On sika kunnossa, Numminen’s own composition on the delights of being a pig; Kookospähkinä, in English Lovely Bunch of Coconuts; and Amalie geht mit’m Gummikavalier ins Bad. Many of the Finnish-language numbers are also recorded in Swedish. Annoying Songs 1 and 2 are available from German Amazon for 44 euros each but I think I will see if I can get them cheaper.

The concert was in the City Theatre at 19:00. Johanna Debreczeni was in the audience with an older couple. In the first part was an Argentine string quintet who played some avant-garde tangos and a nice jazzy version of La Cumparsita while two couples danced. After the interval last year’s Tango King Marko Maunuksela sang Finnish tangos. Armi Tanskanen and Matti Tuominen, the winners of the Lumitango, danced. The following milonga was better attended than on Saturday, but still not good. I danced a lot of times with Tuula; and also Euli, who wore a lace dress, but I didn’t lose any more buttons.

The following day, Wednesday 6th, was the start of the Tangomarkkinat proper. There was an exhibition Music-Dance-Tango at the Seinäjoki art gallery. This is in Upankatu, a short distance from the centre. What looks like the entrance isn’t, and you have to go down some nasty inartistic steps to get in. Entrance was free. There were two big Munch-inspired paintings, and one of a couple dancing in a glass, called La Cumparsita. It was on sale for 220 euros and I thought of buying it, but eventually didn’t.

The Tango Parade took place at 17:30 as usual. Kaija Lustila was in it and she recognised me and gave me a hug.

Me and Kaija Lustila

I saw Little Irja, looking very pretty in a sparkly blue dress with sparkles in her hair. She introduced me to her husband. Dancing in the evening was in the pavilion only, not in the street. Performers included Marko Maunuksela, Suvi Karjula, Jukka Hallikainen and the finallists. The finallists’ set was all tangos, and I danced with Tuula for all of them. A tune was announced as an Unto Mononen tango and neither of us recognised it. My other partners included Kati (ex biker chick from last year), Laila (short, dark, plump), a tall young girl with blonde dreadlocks, and many others. It was an excellent night, and the pavilion was packed.

Next day I had breakfast (coffee and strawberries) in the square. I saw Little Irja and her husband buying ice-cream. I wondered what had happened to Big Irja - this was the second year I hadn’t seen her. I had a text from Ola and we agreed to meet outside the theatre at 13:15. On the way to the mall to see the finallists’ performance, I came across Heidi Pakarinen. She smiled at me, though we had not met, and I stopped to chat. What a delightful and charming lady she is.

Me with Heidi Pakarinen

I went into the mall in high spirits, where she, and of course the other finallists, gave an excellent performance. Afterwards I went to meet Ola, who asked me about my experiences with Finnish tango, the differences between it and other styles of tango, and Finnish customs and attitudes to tango. He said that he would be meeting Eino Grön and Johanna Debreczeni later, and the article would appear sometime in August.

Ola Vilkås

Suvi Karjula and Johanna Pakonen performed in the pavilion. I very much admired Johanna's dress.

Johanna Pakonen

Saksa Helmikallio's spot was all tangos, including Satumaa and La Cumparsita. My partners included Salme, whom I have met at the Tangomarkkinat for a good number of years, and Anne, a nice dark-haired lady who said she was from Kotka. In a case of engaging mouth before putting brain in gear, I called her the Rose of Kotka (possibly a mistake because Kotkan ruusu, or Rose of Kotka, is an old tango about a lady who patrols Kotka harbourside offering the hand of friendship to lonely sailors far from home). She didn't seem to mind though. I then went to the Tango Street where I caught the end of Jukka Hallikainen and Marko Lämsä singing in duet. I was sorry not to have seen the whole spot, but at the same time not sorry to have missed Saksa Helmikallio's tangos. There was a gorgeously plump lady standing near the stage, wearing an extravagant bright pink dress. I asked her to dance, but she refused on the grounds she was carrying a large handbag. I have danced with ladies carrying much bigger bags, and besides she was with a friend who could have looked after it. Never mind her - I was off to the Areena to see Kaija Pohjola. On the way I saw a man playing Lapin tango on the harmonikka all by himself in the car park. Oskari and her husband passed me on bicycles and shouted a greeting. Kaija greeted me from the stage and gave her usual elegant sophisticated performance. Most of the time I stood by the stage listening, but I did dance with Leena, the nurse I met last year. There were lots of other nice potential partners but I had to leave them as I had to return to the Tango Street to see the ultra-wonderful, ultra-talented, ultra-blonde Kaija Lustila. Then, forsaking the ladies in the Tango Street, I made my way to the Tangostyle area to see Tango Primo, which is Johanna Debreczeni and Jouni Keronen singing in Argentine style. I never got there though because a familiar voice called me - little Irja. She was alone this time, still with the sparkles in her hair. She said these had been done by her daughter so she could be a tango queen. She asked what I thought of her husband and I said I was envious that he had Irja for a wife. We spent the rest of the evening together until her husband came to pick her up, and I returned to the house, only pausing on the way to watch Kaija Lustila’s second spot. Only then did I notice that Ola had sent a text several hours ago, asking where I was.

The next day Lea rang to say she had arrived and suggested we meet outside the church. We had lunch in the Sokos hotel and went to the "Under the spell of Finnish films" concert in the Seinäjoki-Sali. Matti Korkiala and a chamber group performed. All the songs were unfamiliar to me except the tango Täysikuu. Lea then wanted to go to yet another concert, "Worlds of Tango" in the Areena. Actually this looked like a good show, with Eino Grön, Jari Sillanpää, Kaija Lustila, and some Argentines I didn't know. Nevertheless as I said to Lea, I wasn't going to miss Arja Koriseva in the Tango Street. There was dancing in the Areena after the concert, so Lea and I agreed to meet there. I went to the pavilion, which was really hot. Nevertheless I enjoyed Saija Tuupanen's performance and my dance with the young lively Päivi.

Saija Tuupanen

I had a text from someone who said his name was Afu, he was making a film about Finnish tango and could he interview me. I presume he had got my number from Ola. We agreed to meet the following day at 14:00. I went to the Tango Street early to get a place at the crush barrier for Arja Koriseva’s performance. Lots of other people had the same idea. Arja's performance was as wonderful as it always is. Then to the Areena but I couldn’t find Lea. The band Taikakuu (Magic Moon) was playing a sludgy slow waltz, and an old chap who looked just like Sean Connery was dancing Argentine tango to it with a much younger partner. I thought I would return to the Tango Street to see if Irja was there. She was, but with her husband, so I drifted back to the Areena. I danced with ex biker chick Kati and a tall thin lady I remembered from last year but had forgotten her name if I ever knew it, had an energetic cha-cha with a young blonde, and a very strenuous jive with Reija, whose blonde pony tail whipped my face as she whirled round. We remembered we had had a similar dance last year. It was now 1:45 and I decided that the jive was the high point of the evening, and made my way to the house. As I passed the Tango Street I heard the familiar tones of Kaija Lustila (I had forgotten she was on, or I would have left earlier: but then I would have missed the jive with Reija) so I stayed for the remainder of her spot, and Erkki Räsänen who followed, eventually returning to the house at 2:30.

Saturday was my last day in Seinäjoki. After my sauna I went to the pavilion where the dancing competition was held. The pavilion also was very hot. Oskari and Lasse were competing, and she gave me a hug. I didn't stay to the end though, as I wanted to go to the mall to see Amadeus Lundberg. The mall was absolutely packed out. Then I went to see Afu, who asked me the same sort of questions Ola had. He said that he was researching for a film about a tango-crazed girl who wanted to compete in Buenos Aires, but lacked the funds, so went to Seinäjoki instead. He hadn't realised that the Tangomarkkinat was primarily a singing, not a dancing, competition. I mentioned the characteristic flat lace-up shoes that Finnish ladies often wear for competitions. I returned to the pavilion to find the competition had finished and there was public dancing to Varjokuva. I noticed Martin Alvarado was in the bar area, and went to speak to him. He is an Argentine tango singer who translates Finnish tangos into Spanish. You can see him here with Johanna Debreczeni: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv73v3vowO8

Me with Martin Alvarado

Tiina Räsänen and Tangozumba were in the Tango Street. I went there only to discover that Tangozumba is dancercise not a backing group as I first thought. I would have gone back to the pavilion but Lea was out there so of course I remained. She said she had been too tired to stay for the dance after the previous day’s concert. We leaped about a bit to Tiina’s instruction; then Lea suggested we go to the church concert. The church was packed out. Saksa Helmikallo sang what I know in English as Softly Rings the Little Bell but is actually a Russian folk song. I recognised Jenna Bågeberg’s number but couldn’t put a name to it, and Suvi Karjula sang Tiet, which I know as a Finnish tango but is another Russian folk song. I didn’t recognise any of the other numbers, but they were all fairly mournful. Lea cried most of the time. She then went to the Areena to see the Tangomarkkinat finals, and I went to the pavilion, where Marko Lämsä was performing. Marita Taavitsainen gave an impassioned performance in the Tango Street and ended her set with a boisterous finale when she flung grapes into the crowd. See her doing it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77x-BslGNc0 . The winner was announced: Mervi Koponen. So at last we have a Tango Queen. It was a disappointment that Heidi Pakarinen didn’t make it, but Mervi is a worthy winner.

Mervi Koponen : the new Tango Queen

Now that the competition was over, I made my way to the Areena. Lea was there, and we spent the rest of the evening together. At 1:30 we left, walked hand in hand to the bridge, and said goodbye. A nice ending to an eventful Tangomarkkinat.

Eurovision

2011-02-13T00:25:00.000-08:00

The results are in: Paradise Oskar will be representing Finland: he is prettier than Marko Maunuksela and has a lot more hair, but I still think his tune isn't so good; and he hasn't got tango queens in his backing group: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFRAVSwoDkk

Lumitango 2011

2011-02-08T00:24:00.000-08:00

The forecast was continuing snow, the webcam showed the streets covered in the white stuff - it was time to book a Ryanair flight to Tampere. The times have changed yet again and now the flight gets in at 20.30. Plenty of time to book into the Omena hotel and over the road to the Hämeensilta. There was a big male surplus, but nevertheless I got a few nice dances. I caught sight of Kati, dancing very close to a man I didn't know. I thought it more tactful not to say anything to her. Next day (Thursday) I wandered round the town. The Tanssitalo, where they held the Tango Thursdays and Daytime Fun, seems to be closed (even though its website still exists). In its place is the Loco restaurant and even that is closed Thursdays. I had a look at the records in Stockmanns. There was a reissue of Arja Saijonmaa and Mikis Theodorakis's old recordings, featuring a very young and very earnest Arja. A big rack of Kari Tapio records. He has probably sold more records in the few months since he died than in the last ten years of his life.

Then I went to the Museum of Espionage. We are wandering away from the subject of tango, but what the hell. Most of the exhibits date from the Cold War, quite a lot from WW2, and a bit earlier and later. Finland was a hotbed of espionage during the Cold War as it is on the boundary between east and west and has a border with Russia. There is no Enigma machine, but there is the Swedish equivalent, the Hagel C-38F. It looks remarkably like the Swedish mechanical calculators which used to be common in offices in the sixties. The Minox camera was designed by Walter Zapp (good name for a spy inventor, don't you think) in 1936 and was patented in Finland. More recent is the "spy rock". The Russians claimed that foreign agents had encoded stolen data in a lump of stone. This sounds like something out of Nigel Kneale, but it happened in 2006. The very lump is in the museum. It looks like any other lump of rock. Entrance to the museum is 8 euros, and a permit to take photographs is 5 euros. I don't know what happens if you try to take photos without a permit. Perhaps they give a free demonstration of their electric shock torture device. I might go back next year with my old Minox. Can you still get film for it, I wonder?

When I came out of the museum it was snowing again. I sent a text to Kati, saying that I hadn't spoken to her because of the boyfriend, and I hoped she was happy. She immediately replied that the man wasn't her boyfriend, she hadn't noticed me, and could we meet for lunch tomorrow? Naturally I said we could.

That evening I went to the Seurahuone. I was first in but it soon filled up. I had lots of nice partners including Pirtta, a bubbly blonde probably in her 60s; Helena, dark and cuddly; and Niina, who looked very much like Marita Taavitsainen. She was extremely popular and hardly sat down all night. There was a male surplus again, but I was able to dance most of the time; eventually returning to the hotel at about 1:30. I noticed that Kaija Lustila will be at the Seurahuone on 17th March.

Next morning I went for a coffee and pulla in the Stockmann's cafe, watching Tampere high society go by. According to the local paper, Eija Kantola will be in Nokia on the 6th. Blast! I will be on my way home then. I made my way through the snow to the Steam Museum. Some young girls, looking very pretty and rosy-cheeked in the snow, were giving out free pots of yoghurt in the square. I have described the steam museum before, so I won't again, but I will say that I bought a CD of Arja Saijonmaa singing patriotic and revolutionary songs. One of them is called Sodan Hinta or The Price of War, and in spite of the words it is a jolly jenkka.

The girls were still in the square when I went to meet Kati for lunch. I got another pot of yoghurt. We had lunch in the fourth-floor cafe in the Sokos department store. I mean me and Kati, not me and the yoghurt girl. Kati said she had been shopping for shoes all morning and not found anything suitable: would I like to accompany her when she continued the quest that afternoon. The truthful answer was of course "not really" but what I said was "of course dear". We went to shop behind the station - I can't say now what it was called. Kati bought some rather sexy knee length boots with lots of lacing. I approved the choice. I asked if she would be going dancing that night and she said no, she was too tired, and would have a sauna instead. She didn't invite me to come along.

So that evening I went alone to the Hämeensilta. The Finlanders were playing. The place was absolutely packed out, and I was in my element with a plethora of wonderful partners: Sari was all in red with red shoes, and very friendly; Kirsti was blonde and chatty; Euli dark and sultry; Johanna was a very enthusiastic dancer and bore a startling resemblance to Sarah Palin; and many more. Eventually, at about 1, I danced a really wonderful jive with Johanna/Sarah - we only had about 2 square feet of space, she smiled happily at me - and I thought that this was the high point of the evening. I thanked her effusively and left, bought a sausage from the late-night kiosk and returned exhausted to the Omena Hotel.

All this of course is really the preliminary to the Lumitango, the real reason I was in Tampere. On the Saturday morning I was up bright and early, had my usual coffee and pulla in Stockmanns, and made my way to the square, were preparations were being made for the Lumitango. A light snow was falling to add to the atmosphere. I introduced myself to the organiser Sari Hekkälä and said I was a devoted follower of Finnish tango. She said she had been going to the Tangomarkkinat for 20 years. I said she must have been a small child when she first started going. We had a dance in the snow before the event started. It is not too difficult to dance in snow - you have to pick your feet up slightly, as you do when dancing on tarmac at the Tangomarkkinat. Efforts had been made to level out the snow somewhat. I asked some of the ladies present if they would like to partner me for the competition, but they said they had only come to watch. I recognised quite a few of the competitors from the Tangomarkkinat. One was "Outi" whom I have mentioned before. A digression about her follows: when I first met her in 2007 and asked her name she said something that sounded like "Oskari". When I got home and talked about it, my Finnish teacher said I must have misheard, as Oskari is a boy's name. So when I wrote it up in this blog, I renamed her Outi. When I met her again in 2008, I asked her name again and it still sounded like Oskari. But now in Tampere in 2011, the MC announced her name perfectly clearly: Oskari.

To return to the Lumitango: dancing was to records, and of a very high standard. A young chap was taking pictures with an ancient Rolleicord. As is usual at competitions, there was public dancing between the rounds. Johanna Debreczeni put in an appearance during the interval and sang two tangos. See her here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzM0DI11Wp4
At this point Kati and her friend turned up. They said that the Lumitango was not well publicised in Tampere with hardly a mention in the local papers. Kati immediately suggested we dance. I noticed Johanna Debreczeni dancing with a fan. I was able to speak to Johanna, who said she remembered me from the Tangomarkkinat. Someone took a picture of us. She stayed to watch the next round, then left. During one of the breaks, a jive was played. Oskari fell on her arse, her legs in the air. She laughed and seemed unhurt. Kati preferred the twist to the jive. More stable. See the grand final here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDc5GiXOn6E&feature=related

Results:

3. Raine and Sari Ristola
2. Lasse Lindström and Oskari
1. Matti Tuominen and Armi Tanskanen

The prize for all three placings was a week's pass for the 2011 Tangomarkkinat. Kati left at this point and said see you in the evening at the Hämeensilta. I spoke to Sari again and said perhaps I will see you at the Tangomarkkinat, or the 2012 Lumitango. I then went to the nearest bar and warmed myself up with some Brooklyn Winter Ale (6.2%) before returning to the hotel.

In the evening I went to the Hämeensilta. It was packed, with a younger crowd than at the rest of the week. Kati was there, very sexy in black leather and the new boots. Suvi Teräsniska, whose name translates as Summer Steelneck, was singing. Kati and I danced for about an hour, then she said she had to dance with a friend, and rushed off. I was not left without partners though: there was Sinikka, a nice slim blonde who asked me to dance, and we had 5 dances instead of the usual 2; Euli, a sensuous plump redhead; Anna, a big dark lady; and many others. Then as I was approaching the bar, I caught sight of a beautiful woman in her early 40's. Our eyes met, and we stepped wordlessly onto the parquet into one another's arms. She was of course completely unsuitable as a partner, being over 20 years my junior, but we shared many wonderful dances together over the rest of the evening.

Eurovision/Snow Tango

2011-01-16T04:25:00.000-08:00

The world's newest tango, Synkän maan tango or Tango of the Land of Melancholy, was presented to the waiting public on 14th January. Finland's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest is being selected and this is Tango King 2010 Marko Maunuksela's offering. You can see it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8T6DPPCaZc If Marko's backing group looks familiar, it is because the lineup consists of Tango Queens Johanna Debreczeni and Hanna Talikainen; Tango Prince Esa Nummela; and Suvi Karjula, who under the old rules would have been Tango Queen 2010, but is now a mere runner-up. Two more rounds are to be held before the final decision is made. Fingers crossed. On 5th February, the Lumitango, or Tango in the Snow, will be held in Tampere. Of course Of course there is no point in going unless there is actually some snow, so I am keeping an eye on the Tampere webcam and the Finnish weather forecasts.

Tangomarkkinat 2011

2010-12-03T05:11:00.000-08:00

The programme for 2011 has just been issued. Among the many stars appearing are Kaija Lustila, Marko Lämsä, Kaija Pohjola, Saija Tuupanen, Erkki Räsänen, Eino Grön, Tiina Räsänen, Marita Taavitsainen, Jari Sillanpä, Eija Kantola, and Arja Koriseva. Plus of course Marko Maunuksela and Suvi Karjula, the winner and runner-up from 2010. There are also performers from Cumbre Mundial del Tango and Projecto del Jazztango. I know nothing about these but presumably they are Argentine. Also Tango Primo, which is Johanna Debreczeni and Jouni Keronen. Perhaps they will be singing Finnish tangos in the Argentine style as they did in the 25th anniversary concert in 2009: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_8gWeMw2Ao but I do not know for sure. I got a special programme from the Tango Club, but you can see it all on the Tangomarkkinat website: http://www.tangomarkkinat.fi/ohjelma.html Click on Keskiviikko for Wednesday, Torstai for Thursday and so on. I still do not know anything about the Argentine event in the week preceding the Tangomarkkinat. See you there!

The winners of Tanssi tähtien kanssa are Antti Tuisku and Ansku Bergström. Here is their winning waltz: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlB0D50vuqw

Satu Silvo

2010-10-25T08:31:00.000-07:00

Big disappointment! My particular favourite, Satu Silvo, has been ejected from Tanssi tähtien kanssa after amassing a mere 19 points for her salsa. Sunday nights just won't be the same!

Satu Silvo and her partner Sami Helenius put a brave face on it

Tanssi tähtien kanssa

2010-09-30T05:46:00.000-07:00

The Finnish Dancing with the Stars (Tanssii tähtien kanssa) has started - viewable on Sunday nights on tvkaista. As I recorded it and watched it later I don't know if you can vote from Blighty. I suspect not. First week they did waltz and cha-cha. Laura Voutilainen was top scorer and was also easily the readers' favourite on the Iltalehti newspaper's online poll (I voted for Satu Silvo). One of the judges, Jorma Uotinen, bears a startling resemblance to Dancing on Ice's Jason Gardiner and is similarly unafraid of handing out low scores. In fact all of the judges have a lack of compunction in this regard: the lowest scorer, Anna Perho, got 2 + 4 + 2 + 2; and Juha Veijonen got 3 + 5 + 2 + 2. Next week is jive and tango. Can't wait! Even though it will be ballroom, not Finnish, tango.

In fact tv dance competitons are a bit like buses: nothing all summer then three come along at once. As well as Tanssi tähtien kanssa on Sundays, we have Dancing with the Stars from the USA on the Watch channel on Thursdays, and our own Strictly Come Dancing starts on Friday: also with waltz and cha-cha. I don't know if the producers are getting instructions from Finland or not.

Jorma Uotinen

Jason Gardiner

With Arja and Mira in September

2010-09-07T06:05:00.000-07:00

Two months after going to Finland for the Tangomarkkinat, I was back. Arja Koriseva was starring in "Ava and Frank", the story of the relationship between Ava Gardner and Frank Sinatra, at the Tampere Palace Music Theatre. I had tickets for the opening night. I had missed her last show, "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" because of lack of funds, and I wasn't about to miss this one, even though I had no more money than before. Furthermore, Mira Kunnasluoto was appearing at a dance hall in Liperi. Where is that? I found it eventually on the map - right out in the sticks in the east of Finland. The nearest town is Joensuu, a five hour train journey from Tampere. I couldn't find a hotel in Liperi, but someone on Facebook suggested I try mihin.fi. I found the Lohilaavu, which I think means Salmon Shack. They have no website or email address, just a phone number. I rang it, hyping myself up for a thick rustic accent and the Finnish equivalent of "Oo-arr, this be 'otel Mangel-Wurzel". There was no answer. I tried again later, also with no result. I decided to stay in Joensuu instead, and trust to luck I would get transport.

Ryanair have change the flight times into and out of Tampere: now they come in at 12:00 and leave 13:10. So I was able to spend the afternoon revelling in the sights of Tampere before going to the Seurahuone in the evening, where Janne Laine was playing.

Of course the important event was the first night of Ava and Frank. I had already invited Kati, who had come with me to Arja’s Christmas concert in 2007. She said that the Komeetta, which we had been to on our last night in 2007, was now disco only. The theatre had tables and you could have meals served during the performance. I had never seen this before. I would have thought eating would distract you from the performance; but we did indulge in a Lonkero (gin and grapefruit). Arja Koriseva was Ava Gardner of course, and Miro Honkanen was Frank Sinatra. They sang many old Sinatra hits, all in Finnish of course: My Way, Somethin’ Stupid, and many more. Arja’s version of I’m a Fool to Want You brought tears to the eyes. Absolutely brilliant.

The train to Joensuu left at midday. Kati warned me that I would see nothing but forest for five hours. And it was true: trees, trees and yet more trees. A change of train at Pieksämäki, where there was a preserved steam locomotive; but there wasn’t time to look at it. Then yet more trees until arriving at Joensuu at 16:53. The station before Joensuu is called Viinijärvi, which means Wine Lake. I have heard of the EU’s butter mountains and wine lakes but never knew they actually existed. Though come to think of it, there is a Munkkivuori, or Doughnut Mountain, in Helsinki. Perhaps Homer Simpson goes there for his holidays. The water tower in Viinijärvi station has been converted into a house.

I was booked into the Green Star hotel. That is its name, not a translation. It is supposed to be near the station, but as time was getting on and I still didn’t know how I was going to get to Liperi, I took a taxi. I asked at the hotel if there were buses to Liperi. They looked it up and said no, not on Saturdays. I would have to get a taxi, which would be 40 or 50 euros. Blimey I thought, this jaunt is getting expensive - 104 euros train fare, 8 taxi to hotel, 65 to hotel, 50 taxi to Liperi, 13 admission . . . any more of this and it might have been cheaper to stay at home and hire Mira for the Finnish language school annual dance.

So I went by taxi to the place, which is called Liperin Lava. It cost 45 euros. I arrived before the dance proper started, and a young couple were giving a dance lesson. It was on polka and mazurka. I don’t know why, as neither featured in the evening’s programme. At 20:00 the dance started. At first the Safir orchestra played alone. I saw a blonde lady on the other side of the hall and went over to ask her for a dance. Too late, I saw that she couldn’t have been over 14. It wouldn’t have mattered so much if it was a jive or salsa, but this was a tango. But I could hardly say “I don’t want to dance with you after all” and in the end the event passed with minimum embarrassment. Fortunately there were plenty of more suitable partners.

Mira was absolutely wonderful, with outstanding numbers such as Kielletyt leikit and As Time Goes By. Here she is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC3aCh_Pn1U I stood at the edge of the stage and watched her for her first spot. She recognised me and said “thank you for coming such a long way”, which was very gratifying.

Me with Mira

I met a very nice lady whose name was Lea. She was short, blonde, very pretty, and reminded me a bit of my late wife, though of course I didn't say so. We danced two tangos, and although the usual etiquette dictated that I should escort her to her seat and find another partner, she said we should dance the following humppa set as well. Unfortunately she had to abandon it part way through. But about 20 minutes later, when another humppa was played, she came back and said I owed her this humppa; and we stayed together for the rest of the evening. We even danced through Mira's second set: Mira smiled at us as we went past. The dance ended at half past midnight. Lea asked where I was staying and I said at Joensuu. She said that she would drop me off as it was on her way.

When we left the Lava the sky was clear and bright. Lea pointed out Cassiopeia to me. She sang German songs on the way: Sag' mir wo die Blumen sind and Lilli Marlen. I said I had heard Ritva Oksanen sing them in Finnish. I noticed from a signpost we were passing that Ylämyyly, where Lea lives, is between Liperi and Joensuu, so she was going well out of her way. I didn't say anything about that, but I did mention Viinijärvi. Lea laughed and said Viini doesn't have to mean wine, it can also be "the box where a man who shoots with a bow keeps his arrows"; because the lake is shaped like a bow. Why Quiver Lake and not Bow Lake I wondered to myself; but I didn't ask as there had been enough Finnish circumlocution in the last sentence. By now we had reached Joensuu and Lea pointed out the various landmarks and attractions of the city, even though it was pitch black and nothing was visible. She dropped me off at the Green Star; we exchanged a chaste kiss and said we must meet again.

At breakfast next morning I was surprised how old the other guests were: I was easily the youngest. I walked to the station. There is a steam locomotive outside the station and inside there is an old self service ticket machine. It has a sign on it saying out of use, so presumably people have been putting half-mark coins into it trying to get tickets. The bus station is near the railway station and according to the timetable there are buses to Liperi on Saturdays, at 17:15 and 18:50. I will have to remember that if I ever come back this way. I then went to the market square, where traditional North Karelian food was sold. I had wild pig with wild garlic. One serving incorporated a handful of garlic cloves. It was absolutely delicious, but I was glad I wasn't meeting anyone for the rest of the day. Afterward I had a coffee and pulla. I left the pulla on the table while I went to get some sugar, and two sparrows started pecking at it. I hardly ever see sparrows in England now, only in Finland. Perhaps global warming is driving them north. The train left Joensuu at 12:18. This time there was nearly an hour in Pieksämäki so I was able to inspect the steam locomotive.

There is also a 1938 Bofors gun and various bits of railway paraphernalia. There is a museum, but it was shut. A sign said that there are steam railway excursions during the summer.

I arrived in Tampere at 17:53. I checked into the Omena Hotel. All the dance places are closed on Sundays, so I watched the Finnish version of So You Think You Can Dance on tv. This is simply called “Dance”, in English. There is a lot of English on Finnish television, but they don’t always get it right. There was an advert for Nestle Fitness Fruits, which the voiceover pronounced “Froyts”. Next day, back to England.

Tangomarkkinat revisited

2010-08-30T09:11:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking about this year's prizewinning tangos. The winner was Sua kaipaan, or I Miss You: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPisMfhhYv8 This is composed and performed by Mariska, best known as Finnish rap artist. The runner-up is Taas lasken tiilten päät, or I count the bricks again, performed here by Arja Sipola, the first ever Tango Queen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiRYhUNptIg&feature=related . This is possibly the most miserable tango in 130 years of tango misery:

"Now the door of my miserable cell slams shut behind me, even though only yesterday tender moments were part of my life. When my days were condemned to this miserable prison, these dreams were sentenced to suffering in eternal shackles. Now I will sleep and wake in floods of tears. I just count the bricks and wonder what our wedding would have been like. Cake,champagne, dancing and kisses? Now I will taste only bread and water . . ."

I won't go on as I don't want to ruin your entire day. But I am only now wondering if this was inspired by the last chapter of Numminen's Tango is my Passion, where Virtanen is jailed for the killing of his fiancee Anja. I should have made the connection before: perhaps it was hidden by the female singer.

I described how I bought the Tangomarkkinat 1 compilation and found it was an EP. I have now discovered that there was a Tangomarkkinat 1 LP. It was on huuto.net and I was high bidder. Unfortunately I never got it as the seller refused to send it abroad. I am aware that it is forbidden to send archaeological treasures of outstanding national interest out of Greece and Egypt: perhaps the Finnish government regards early Tangomarkkinat records in the same light.

Kaija Lustila records seem to be fetching high prices now. There is one going for 50 euros on huuto.net. I would have bought it, but the seller refuses to use Paypal or the Scandinavian equivalent Payson, insisting on bank transfer. This involves bank charges of 30 pounds on top.

There is a very low budget programme on Finnish tv at the moment. It is called Soduku and all you see is a Sudoku grid. You can text in the numbers to complete it at .95 euros a go. As far as I can see there is no prize. Soundtrack is whatever happens to be on their equivalent of Radio 2 at the time. You do hear the occasional tango.

Strictly Come Dancing

2010-08-18T00:14:00.001-07:00

The new series of Tanssii tähtien kanssa, the Finnish version of Strictly, will start on 19th September and will be presumably be viewable on tvkaista. Ten couples, so the series will not be ridiculously long. The only celebrity I have heard of is Laura Voutilainen, but I think I am going to like Satu Silvo (have a look at her pics on Google Images and you will see what I mean).

Tangomarkkinat 2010

2010-07-20T11:36:00.000-07:00

As I now have tvkaista, I was able to watch the Raisio semifinals before going to the Tangomarkkinat. I was amused to note that one of the judges was Saija (that is, Sarah) Palin. One of the competitors was Tino Ahlgren, the son of 1993 Tango King Sebastien Ahlgren. He might have been the same Tino who sang rock and roll at the 2004 Tangomarkkinat, but I am not sure of this. My favourite was Sanna Arell, who sang a beautiful haunting version of Särkyneen toiveen katu, or Boulevard of Broken Dreams. I had bought the Tangomarkkinat 1 compilation record through huuto.net. The seller lived in Seinäjoki, and I had made arrangements to pick it up when I was there.

I arrived in Helsinki on the Monday afternoon before the Tangomarkkinat. The driver of the bus from the airport looked like, but presumably wasn't, Angela Merkel (though perhaps the German economy is in a worse state than anyone thinks). I checked in to the Eurohostel and hit the record shops. I bought Arja Koriseva's and Anneli Saaristo's latest, and my first litre of Finnish strawberries. A man was playing Petite Fleur as a tango on the harmonikka outside Stockmanns. The Vanhan Kellari opens at 19:00 in the summer. On Mondays there is no band, only records, and admission is free. It was a blisteringly hot day and attendance was sparse, but I did have a number of nice partners. Heidi was small and dark, held me very close; Tuula her blonde friend; Sirpa, solemn, had a smile that lit up the place; Euli tall, excellent dancer, practised the frenela at every step. Eventually after an excellent tango with Sirpa - it was Odotin pitkän illan, or I Waited a Long Evening - I decided I had waited a long evening for such a good tango and I should leave on a high point, particularly as I was getting tired, having been up since 2 that morning. I bought a sausage from the kiosk and returned to the Eurohostel.

In the sauna next morning I met an American man who had been touring the Baltic states. He asked me if I knew any good places in Helsinki and I said the Vanhan Kellari. Breakfast was piimä and a bun with my older girlfriend Havis Amanda. I rang Eine-Liisa and we arranged to meet at the Vanhan Kellari that evening. I bought a day ticket and rode round the town on the trams. There is a new section of gauntletted track near the station and a complex junction is being built further out in the suburbs; but this is a tango, not a tram, blog and I will resist the temptation to elaborate. I went to the Music Hunter record shop, which normally deals in hard rock; but I was able to buy records by Anne Mattila and Kuunkuiskaajat (the girl duo who represented Finland at the Eurovision Song Contest). A new salmiakki is out: Malaco Must Dark Shots. Ammonium chloride content is only 2.7%, but there is a liquorice powder centre. I had a cup of coffee that appeared to have been made according to Catherine the Great's recipe. Two things are generally known about Catherine: the story about the horse is false, but it is true she used a pound of coffee to make one pot, and anyone else who tried the resulting brew got palpitations.

On the no 6 route there was a flea market, where I bought two singles - Anneli Mattila and Marita Taavitsainen. It started to rain, so I went to the nearby antiques hall. There I could have bought a Swedish pencil sharpener (240 euros), a Flit gun (remember those?), a human skull, a Swedish mechanical calculator, or a life size nude bust; but I resisted the temptation. When I came out there was a strong smell of birch leaves after all the rain and sun.

I arrived at the Vanhan Kellari 5 minutes before it opened, but there was already a queue of people waiting to get in. One was Eine-Liisa, so I had to pay for her. She said I had put on weight. I resisted the temptation to say she was looked older (this would have been a lie anyway). She said she had a new boyfriend, who had a drink problem. I said I knew this, I had met him. She said no not him, this was a new guy, but with the same problem. I think Eine-Liisa deserves better than these losers, but I didn't say anything. We had some very nice intimate dances together. After a couple of hours, Hilkka came in, looking very pretty and retro in an op-art mini-skirt. I disentangled myself from Eine-Liisa and spoke to her. She asked me for a dance (she had to ask me, not I her, as it is always a naistentanssit on Tuesdays) which was the tango/jive arrangement of Buona Sera. She asked when I was next in Finland, and I said I was coming back in September to see Arja Koriseva in Ava and Frank. She said she had recently been to a dance where Arja as singing. We had four more dances over the course of the evening, but the rest of the time I danced with Eine-Liisa. At midnight her boyfriend rang to ask where she was, so I escorted her to the bus station. We lingered over our goodnight kiss and I promised to see her the following Monday when I returned from Seinäjoki.

Next morning at 7, I locked myself out of my room at the Eurohostel. Worse, I was wearing only my underpants. I had to go down to reception to get someone to let me back in. Nobody turned a hair. I got the usual 10:06 train to Seinäjoki, and stayed at Seija's as usual. I bought a pass, which is still 95 euros. There was an opening meeting which I could attend as I am a Tango Club member. All the finallists were there and I was able to speak to Sanna Arell: I said I had seen her on tv and that she was the best. See pic of me and the lovely Sanna. Kaija Lustila was there also and she remembered me. She wasn't just being polite as she remembered that I had approached her in the parade.

While waiting for the parade I caught sight of Little Irja with a female friend. I said hello but she ignored me. I have been trying to get a good video of the parade for 9 years now. The brass band plays La Cumparsita, and I imagine it sounds the way G.H. Matos Rodriguez composed it for the student marching band in Montevideo. I did manage to get about 20 seconds which were not bad, and posted the clip on Youtube. Here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSJ-o8eaPHk I got a picture of the crowd, including Kaija Lustila, reflected in the polished bell of the sousaphone.

Where's Kaija?

The Tango Street had the street stage, pavilion, and Tangostyle tent as last year. Only the pavilion was in use this first evening and the tv programme Kesäillan tango was filmed there. Little Irja greeted me in a very friendly manner. She hadn't wanted to acknowledge me in front of the other woman. The pavilion was very hot, crowded and sweaty and I clasped Irja close as we danced. At 21:30 she said she had to go home so I escorted her to the bike stand. I returned to the pavilion, where the filming had ceased and the place a little less crowded. The finallists all sang tangos, and I danced with a number of very nice partners. Other singers included Antti Raiski, Kaija Lustila, and Maestro Lundberg. I returned exhausted to the house at 1:30.

Next morning all the finallists sang tangos in the mall. Both Sanna Arell and Suvi Karjula sang Rannalla. I had heard this number a few times the previous day as well. I refreshed myself with some strawberries and walked to Reijo Möttönen's house - the man who was selling the Tangomarkkinat 1 record. This was an EP, not an LP as I expected. Still, I now have all the Tangomarkkinat compilations except numbers 5 and 7. No afternoon dancing. In the evening there was a tango singing competition for seniors. Two successive competitors sang Rannalla. I saw Kaija Pohjola in the street on the way to the stage. In fact she spotted me before I spotted her. She said thank you for the Christmas card. She did two spots in the pavilion and I watched both, even though Marita Taavitsainen was appearing on the street stage at the same time as one of them. I did manage to get the end of it though. She asked for tango requests and in the end sang Rannalla. What is it with Rannalla this year? Then back to the pavilion for Risto Nevala. He sang Por Una Capeza and I danced Argentine tango with a very frail lady of about 90. Leena and Åke Blomqvist were there and recognised me. Åke is himself looking a little frail. Then was the Könsikkäät male voice choir on the street stage. They sang several tangos: Jealousy, Hernando's Hideaway, and Sä kuullut päivän jolkaiseen. Then back to the pavilion for Kaija's second spot. Someone took a picture of us together. By now it was half past midnight. I thought of going to the Areena but I was getting tired and returned to the house.

Big disappointment! Sanna Arell didn't make it to the finals. A real shame, as in my view she was by far the most charismatic and talented. I saw on Facebook that Marja Nyman, the author of Tango Royals, was in Seinäjoki. I resolved to look out for her. At 10:00 rehearsals for the finals were held in the Areena. As a Tango Club member I could get in free. I noticed a camerawoman who had the cable hooked over her belt, looking as if she herself was part of the equipment. A boy paid out and hauled in the cable, seemingly having no other duties. Afterwards I went to the Areena cafe for lunch, and almost literally bumped into Arja Koriseva coming out. She greeted me in a very friendly and effusive manner amd I said I was very much looking forward to her performance that night. Dancing started at 15:30 in the Tango Street. Marko Lämsä did his trademark hotted-up version of El Choclo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDGpmjaZQD0 . Some nice partners: a Chinese lady, very smart and excellent dancer; Leena, dark, friendly, plumpish; and a very young blonde girl standing on the edge of the floor, nobody asking her to dance. I asked her, even though she was over 40 years my junior; we had two nice tangos and after that other men had the courage to dance with her. I went to the Tangostyle tent and saw M.A. Numminen rehearsing. I was able to speak to him and said Tango is my Passion was the best book since the Bible. He asked if I had read it in German, and I said no, Finnish. He said not many non-Finns had read it in that language. Later in the evening was Johanna Pakonen but the highlight was of course Arja Koriseva. She was absolutely magnificent as always, giving us songs from her new record, old favourites (including Rannalla), and songs I hadn't heard her do before. The Tangomarkkinat always features the world's biggest collection of talent; but Arja always manages to top them all.

Afterwards I walked to the Areena where I had many nice partners. Auli asked about dancing in England. I was pleased to spot Outi, but never got to dance with her as she stayed with the same man all the time. Eventually I noticed she was wearing a wedding band. Finally a very nice lady wrapped her leg round mine in the final chord of a tango and I thought that was a good end to the evening. It was quarter to two, and I returned to the house.

Next morning I watched Kesäillan tango, which had been broadcast the previous day. Irja and I appear after 6 minutes 50 seconds. I went to the square and saw Leena there. We had coffee and strawberries together. She told me she was a nurse, and had been divorced 26 years, or possibly after 26 years of marriage (the Finnish grammar was a bit difficult at this point). Actually neither seemed likely, as she didn't look as old as 26. She is moving to Wolverhampton next year, and asked if I knew of any good dance places. I had to admit I had never been to the town. I asked if she was going to the Tango Street that night, and she said no as it was too crowded and "Eino Grön doesn't make me sweat". I'm not quite sure what she meant by that last remark.

Kaija Lustila was performing in the mall. There was a piece of electrical equipment on the floor; a man lead his partner up to it, and she daintily stepped over it in the Argentine manner. I was able to speak to Kaija and she gave me a signed photograph. Someone took a picture of us. Then I went to the tango street where Arja Sipola, M.A. Numminen and others were scheduled; but all that was happening was interviews for the radio. No performances or dancing of any kind. I bought a tango quiz book from the souvenir shop and returned to the house to gorge on strawberries and salmiakki. I noticed in the paper that someone in Suomenlinna had flown the US flag upside down. There was a church concert, but although Kaija Lustila was in it, I thought 15 euros was a bit steep. I went to the pavilion in the evening, where the first number was Erottomattomat, one of my favourite tangos, by the lovely Johanna Debreczeny. I danced with Salmi, one of my long-standing partners, and Kateriina, a very friendly and sexy lady. We talked about previous visits to the Tangomarkkinat. She has been coming for some years, but it seems we have not run into one another before. We saw three women dancing humppa together, as well as two women (different ones) dancing tango in an intimate embrace. Both are unusual sights in Finland. Then to the street stage to listen to the non-sweat-inducing Eino Grön. I danced with a big blonde Swedish lady. She said her name was Arja, and asked if I had heard of the name before. I said I had. Another partner was Kaija, short and plump, who didn't seem to want to progress, so we twirled round and round on the spot. The winner was announced: Marko Maunuksela, with Suvi Karjula coming second. So for the second year running we have a male winner and a female runner-up.

Then to the Areena. Singers included Amadeus (who sang Bensaa Suonissa as a humppa), Hanna Talikainen, and of course Marko Maunuksela and Suvi Karjula. The evening passed in a haze of ecstatic dances with some wonderful partners: Maija-Helena was tall and slim, and I was very aware of her thighs as we danced; Anne was cuddly and blonde; Reeta kept both thighs pressed against me; Pirkko (my 11th Pirkko) was young with dark ringlets; and many others, including the biker chick from last year and a pregnant lady in a leather dress. At one point I went outside to cool off and there was tango karaoke on the verandah. Two raucous women were singing Kotkan ruusu while two young men danced tango. Eventually after three ecstatic tangos with Wonder Woman lookalike Sirkka, with frenela at every step, I decided the high point of the evening had been reached and I left at 2 and returned exhausted to the house.

Next morning, after coffee and strawberries in the square, I stocked up on rye bread, salmiakki, and salmiakki flakes. I wanted salmiakki sauce but they didn't have any. I rang Eine-Liisa and arranged to meet her when the train arrived in Helsinki. The tango dancing competition was held in the Areena. Outi was competing. I spoke to Leena and Åke Blomqvist, who were judging, and danced with their daughter Claire and a few others, including Maija-Helena between rounds. After the competition I returned to the square and was delighted to see Little Irja in the bar, listening to tango karaoke. We went to see Marko Maunuksela and Suvi Karjula in the mall and returned to the bar for a drink. The day was blisteringly hot and Irja's pretty face was glistening with sweat. A drop rolled down her cheek. “Don't cry, Irja” I said. She laughed. We were joined by an American man who asked if I knew of any good Finnish tango records. Naturally I did and was able to recommend a few, and some suitable websites including of course this very blog. But I felt inhibited talking to him in English in front of Irja and repeated what I said to the American in Finnish so she wouldn't feel too left out. He soon left and I was able to spend some happy moments with Irja until she said she had to go home.

There was dancing in the Areena in the early evening. Marko Maunuksela and Suvi Karjula were singing and I had a number of nice partners including Maija-Helena and Leena. A young woman addressed me by name, asked me to dance, and said she had heard about me from Kirsi of Hämeenlinna. I asked if she meant Irja, as Big Irja comes from there, but she said no. I still have no idea who Kirsi might be. Kaija Lustila had the last spot. I stood by the stage and watched her. At the end I said thank you and goodbye and hope to see you next year. I returned to the house at 20:15. Seija was there. We talked about the Tangomarkkinat, watched some of the video I had recorded, and tried out the tango quiz book. It ranges from the very easy (How many times do you have to knock to get into Hernando's Hideaway?) to the difficult (What Finnish opera diva recorded Tango of Lapland?) to the sort of thing even Virtanen would think too obscure (What sort of car did Olavi Virta drive?).

My last day in Finland was blisteringly hot again. I wore my linen suit as I thought it would be smarter than shorts for the journey to Helsinki; and besides I was meeting Eine-Liisa. I managed to get some salmiakki sauce on the way to the station. Eine-Liisa was waiting for me at Helsinki station, and we had lunch at the Omenapuu, or Apple Tree. After a relaxing afternoon wandering round the town, she went home and I got the bus to the airport. The flight left from Terminal 1, which has until now always been for domestic flights only, so I had a bit of a walk. I forgot I had the salmiakki sauce in my cabin bag, and it was impounded. I should have realised that ammonium chloride is a dangerous explosive when mixed with liquorice.

I have discovered a mistake in the tango quiz book: question 23/7 is: “The French tango Notre tango d'amour was translated into Finnish as Vie meidät rakkauteen. What dark-voiced female artist recorded it in 1977?” It isn't French. Tango d'amor (no notre, no U) was written by Leo Leandros, who is Greek. In spite of its name, it had German lyrics, and was a big hit for Vicky Leandros in Germany in 1976. But I still got the answer wrong. I thought the dark-voiced diva was Arja Saijonmaa: the answer was Lea Laven.

Travel plans

2010-05-26T08:24:00.000-07:00

I have now bought my tickets to Finland. At first I thought of avoiding the volcano by travelling overland: this would have involved 5 trains and 1 boat and taken 3 days - trains from Bristol to London/Brussels/Cologne/Copenhagen/Stockholm and then boat to Turku and 1 or 2 trains to Seinäjoki. All this would have cost at least £500 and there would be plenty of opportunity for things to go wrong. There are other routes but they all take longer and are not available every day. Actually taking a week for the whole journey and stopping off at the various cities on the way would be very pleasant but of course very expensive and I could hardly expect anyone to look after my cat for that length of time.

At length I decided to travel SAS from London to Helsinki. Not from Bristol: that would mean changing at Amsterdam or Paris and doubling the chances of a flight being cancelled. Ryanair is no longer cheap - Stanstead to Tampere costs £115 (plus extras for checking in, luggage in hold etc) as compared with £160 for SAS. Furthermore by the time you have cleared immigration, collected your luggage, and got the bus into Tampere it is nearly midnight. There is just about time for a shower and change in the Omena hotel and to dash over the road for the last hour at the Hämeensilta, but the people who have to get up in the morning are leaving by then, and those who don't may very well be drunk.

Bryan Adams is giving a concert in Tampere tonight(26 May). I won't be going, but at least two celebrities will be: Mira Kunnasluoto and Saija Tuupanen. I know this because they have said so on Facebook. I have a new Facebook friend: Päivä Nieminen, Finland's last Humppa Queen. I know there was once a Humppamarkkinat on the lines of the Tangomarkkinat, but I can't find anything about it, even on Finnish Wikipedia. In fact, I can't even find my original source for thinking that the Humppamarkkinat ever existed. But I have bought Päivi Nieminen's CD, Solenzara, which is well worth seeking out, and not only for the picture of the gorgeously blonde Päivi. There are humppas of course, and waltzes, and a very different version of the classic tango Rose of Kotka. A far cry from Arja Saijonmaa's anguished heartfelt version with Rose weeping softly into her kossuvissi, this Rose struts up and down Kotka harbourside challenging the sailors. One of the humppas is called Seven Kisses. Päivi is a lot more restrained than Kaija Pohjola, who once offered us Eleven Million Red Hot Kisses.

Tangomarkkinat preview

2010-05-07T11:33:00.000-07:00

Never mind all that political stuff filling the papers - here is something important. The programme for the 2010 Tangomarkkinat has been released. It will be held from Wednesday 7th to Sunday 11th July. Highlights: Kaija Pohjola and Marita Taavistainen on Thursday; Arja Koriseva, Johanna Pakonen, and Jari Sillanpää on Friday; Eino Grön and Johanna Debreczeni on Saturday; Maestro Lundberg and Kaija Lustila most days. Plus lots of others. The only problem is: will the volcano allow flights then? Should I try to get to Finland by train?

I said last year that the Tangomarkkinat would be in two sections in 2010: one for Finnish tango and one for international. I now know that this is not quite right: The World Tango Summit will be held in Seinäjoki in July 2011. I do not know if this will be held at the same time as the Tangomarkkinat, instead of it, or at a different time. Look here and you will know as much as I do:
http://www.cumbredeltango.com/EnglishHistoria.htm

Mira and Ailamari

2010-03-24T00:27:00.000-07:00

Mira Kunnasluoto has issued a new single. You can hear it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvkKF4FSyrk

Ailamari Vehviläinen has formed a new band: Dakota. Hear her sing two songs in English here:
http://www.dakota.fi/music.html

Finnish TV

2010-01-11T07:50:00.000-08:00

I have started subscribing to tvkaista.fi, a way of watching Finnish tv programmes on the internet. A week's trial costs 5 euros; and it is 20 for a month amd 98 for a year. You can pay by Paypal.

You can watch or download old programmes (not sure how far back: might be 3 weeks) and you can set them to record a day in advance. Not any longer though: if you want a programme further in the future than that, you have to be able to log on that day.

Recorded programmes presumably remain on your list until you end your subscription. I don't know if there's a limit to the number of programmes you can have on your list. You can download them in various formats: I have downloaded mine in 1mbps .flv format and 8mbps .ts format. These files are big: an hour long programme is 500 MB in .flv and 2.27 GB in .ts. You can watch either on VLC Media Player, which I downloaded for nothing. I found the .ts difficult to play at first, but things improved once I had defragmented my hard disk.

So far I have watched a short programme about Finnish expats in America, a Christmas karaoke programme featuring Tarja Lunnas, and Tanssi jos osaat, which means Dance if you can and I presumed was a version of So you think you can dance. And that's what it is: unfortunately an old American programme, not the home-grown Finnish version I was looking for.

The best programme though was the Tangomarkkinat 25th anniversary concert (really the 24th as I have said before). This was broadcast on Boxing Day. I hadn't seen it in Seinäjoki in July and this was a chance to catch up. It featured most of the Tango Kings and Queens since 1985. In one of the Finnish tabloids Kirsi Ranto was voted the most beautiful of all the Tango Queens. I voted for Mira Kunnasluoto, but I can think of two good reasons why Kirsi topped the poll.

She sang Black Cat Tango with Tiina Räsänen; a very nice straight version with none of the childish messing about you get too often with this song.

Jari Sillanpää sang his Eurovision entry Two to Tango in English. He also did his Olavi Virta -inspired version of Sinitaivas, this time with Arja Koriseva, Marita Taavitsainen, and Eija Kantola.

Marita Taavitsainen did a lovely gentle understated version of Sä oot mun tangoystäväin.

Finally it was spot-the-celebrity time when the entire cast sang Onnemme kyynneleet and La Cumparsita. Truly excellent show.

Thoughts on Elvis's 75th birthday

2010-01-08T09:51:00.000-08:00

Today, 8th January 2010, Elvis Presley would have reached 75. Bristol's Argentine tango club was due to hold a milonga today. It would have been a good opportunity to showcase Elvis's only tango, Walls Have Ears. But it was cancelled due to the bad weather. It has snowed once in Bristol this year, three days ago. I remember when I was on my way to the Vanhan Kellari one winter. It was 4 in the afternoon, pitch black, and the snow was falling so heavily that if I had stretched my arm out I would not have been able to see my fingers. The tram tracks were completely invisible. The tram was due at 11 minutes past and sure enough, at exactly 16:11 to the second, the tram drew up, its built-in snow plough pushing the snow away. The Kellari was packed out.

Some updates since my last post: I bought an October 2008 edition of Hymy from huuto.net. In it was an article about Kaija Pohjola, saying how she was coping with the death of her husband a year earlier. I hadn't known about this. I wanted to write her a letter of sympathy, but was it too late? Would I be breaking the rules of Finnish etiquette by bringing the sad matter up after two years? I wrote to Marja Nyman, the author of Tango Royals, who is a Facebook friend, for advice. She said it was perfectly in order, so I wrote to Kaija.

I got an email from Aune Friedrich, who recognised me from seeing me at the Tangomarkkinat. She had made a film called Finnischer Tango - ein Tanz in Moll and sent me a copy. I am in it for a few seconds.

The Finnish language school held an Independence Day dance at the beginning of December. I was drafted in to give a couple of dance lessons after the language classes at the end of November. I started off by saying, in Finnish and English: "Many people ask what the meaning of life is. I know - it's tango." I then said: "You can already do this. You can step forwards, backwards, and sideways; and you can tell when somebody else is doing one of those things. More importantly, you can experience joy, passion, disappointment, misery, despair, and all the other feelings encapsulated in these little silver things" (holding up a CD). I then played Eila Pienimäki's Shattered Hopes ("I once believed in happiness, but the cold hand of Fate snatched away my most beautiful dreams and now I walk alone in utter misery") and got them to walk round the room hand in hand (if young lovers) or arm in arm (if old married couples), keeping in time with the music. I said they should join in the chorus, but none did. Then I said: "Well that's it. You've done it. All you need to do now is exactly the same thing but facing each other clasped in an intimate embrace." I then demonstrated the leading/following technique I learned from Christine Denniston, who taught me Argentine tango, and is described in her book "The Meaning of Tango." A few of my other comments:
- You haven't got Craig or Arlene looking at you. Dance only for yourself and your partner.
- Keep your legs together. Don't walk as if you were wearing nappies. Ideally you should brush your thighs, knees, and ankles together. Marina Palmer says this is like making love to yourself at every step. She recommends fishnet tights to enhance the experience.
- When this is going well, you cease to be two people and merge together into a new sort of creature with four legs and two hearts beating in perfect unison.
- Your entire attention must be on your partner. Don't look round the room to see if someone more attractive has walked in. Your partner is the most attractive and desirable human being in the entire universe. And if that isn't strictly speaking true - fake it! We all have.

The dance itself went very well. The band was Uusikuu (New Moon) from Oxford, and they had two actual Finnish members. I danced practically every dance and when I was walking back down Whiteladies Road I was joined by two young men who had attended the dance. "Every time we looked at you, you had a different woman in your arms" they remarked.

I had a Christmas card from Kati. “I expected you to come to Tampere to see Arja’s Christmas concert” she said. Perhaps odottaa is less abrupt than the English expect. In fact I would have loved to have gone, but the money just isn’t there now.

I got an excellent Christmas present from my brother: What I saw in Finland by Mrs Alec-Tweedie, published in 1918 for 1/6. This lady toured Finland with two unnamed female companions some years previously: the date unspecified but probably about 1900 as she mentioned her sons were aged 5 and 6 at the time and one had since been killed in Flanders and the other had just been posted to Afghanistan.

In some ways Finland was very different in those days. A peasant economy where most people had to get what living they could from a field and a cow; a horrendously dangerous industry involving the extraction of tar from tree-trunks. In others, not very different at all:

“Life to the Finns seems a serious matter which can be only undertaken after long thought and much deliberation. They lose much pleasure by their seriousness. They sing continually, but all their music is sad: they dance sometimes, but the native dances are seldom boiseterous as in other lands. They read much and think deeply, for both rich and poor are wonderfully well educated: but they smile seldom.”

“A friend escorted us to see the peasant ball in full swing. This kiosk was big enough for a couple of hundred folk to dance at a time. It has a roof supported by pillars, but there are no walls .... until midnight the couples twirled and whisked round and round the wooden floor. The great national dance of the country is called the jenka. It is more like a schottische than anything else; and it really was extraoridinary to see how well these peasants danced.”

“Every one eats strawberries. The peasants themselves half live on them.”

I also got a double CD of Peggy Lee’s greatest hits. It has a lovely version of Golden Earrings, well able to stand up to Arja Koriseva’s version. It was recorded in 1947, the year I was born. It also has The Old Master Painter with Mel Torme, which I completely misheard.

Arja Koriseva - 20 years as Tango Queen

2009-10-01T11:42:00.000-07:00

Some of the dresses Arja wore in the concert

This year Arja Koriseva celebrates 20 years at the top. I would have loved to go to her 20th anniversary concert, but lack of funds made this impossible. Here is a report by lifelong Arjaphile Anna Hiltunen; translated, with her permission of course, from her blog http://oonkukaoon.blogspot.com/2009/09/arja-koriseva-20-vuotta-kuningattarena.html All photographs by Anna.

Arja Koriseva's concert last Sunday to celebrate 20 years as Tango Queen aroused all kinds of thoughts. Firstly it could be said that 20 years is an outrageously long time to be a fan - more than two-thirds of my life. I am no longer the 10 year old girl who for many years didn’t listen to any music other than Arja’s - now I still buy records and go to musicals, dances, and concerts; but I no longer have the same compulsion to see every single production or tv programme, to archive every press cutting, or sit on the front row of every concert. Fortunately. I even listen to records at home relatively seldom.

This is certainly not to obliterate the fact that during my 20 years as a fan there have been many never-to-be-forgotten moments. Important friends, touching songs, cold shivers down the spine at particularly moving interpretations. And above all Arja’s captivating dark eyes, which over and over again laugh away even the worst mishaps which may happen on the stage. Arja has managed without electricity at a dance gig in Kapakanmäki; as Maria in the Sound of Music she climbed a tree while heavily pregnant; howled as Eliza in My Fair Lady; countless times she has nearly fallen over leads on small stages; and it is said she has had mosquitos fly into her mouth during a song. These are just a few examples of laughs I have had. But it’s not just a question of laughter - I am touched much more by Arja’s serene side, which reaches a high point in concerts and church performances. The humility and gratitude which Arja has adopted towards her public all these years ... if someone asked for a particular reason for 20 years as a star, I would say it is this.

So what was the 20th anniversary concert like? I can still say proudly that in the whole of Finland today, there is no-one whose concert I would rather go to. No other singer would have such a powerful, pure, melodious voice; who would always give 110% of herself to the audience with her expression; or sparkle quite like Arja does. I would have hoped for more surprises in the programme - I don’t know if it was deliberate or not, but most of the songs were the same as in her 10th anniversary concert. There were some differences, such as Olet kastetta and Tää tunne meille jää, which Arja had said in a previous interview would be in the programme. And certainly Tuulen värit, Kun ilta saapuu kaupunkiin, Memory, and My Way are such wonderful songs, and Arja’s interpretation of them so insanely wonderful, that it was unthinkable that they should not be in this concert as well. It was a masterstroke to start off the concert with Enkelin silmin - it grabbed the audience at once and was such a wonderful version that it held them to the end. The first half was a little duller, perhaps because of those possibly too well known favourites (Rannalla, Kultaiset korvarenkaat, Kuningaskobra ...), but fortunately the second half didn't have this problem. The second half began with a song which will be coming out on record on 4th(?) November, and I can say that it will be a GREAT record!! I'm not sure of the name of it, but I'll find out. (I'll return to this matter when the record is published.) As for Arja’s more serious side, there were excellent examples such as Kun minun kosketat, Jotain jää and Kun aika on. Apart from as the new song the concert’s best offering was the musical potpourri: Singing Raindrops - My Fair Lady - Sound of Music - Dirty Rotten Scoundrels - Tight Places - in other words all the musicals in which Arja has appeared in the past. Actually it would not have bothered me at all if these songs had been performed in full and one or two of the “too familiar” ones left out. The original costumes were a wonderful bonus and photographs were taken. After this was the concert’s climax: Rakastunut nainen, Memory, and My Way. At the end there was no other option but a standing ovation and Arja scampered back onstage to make a bow many times.

If I was asked for Arja’s best song of all time, it would definitely be Aina rakkaus tiensä etsii. I have never heard Arja sing it live, but it is on the record Rakastunut nainen of 1995.

Arja and Anna (taken on a previous occasion)

The English and Swedish languages

2009-08-27T05:08:00.000-07:00

It appears I have added a new word to both English and Swedish. For a long time, if you looked up "Virtanenesque" in Google, there was just one response: this blog. When I demonstrated this mildly interesting fact recently, I found that now the word now appears in three sites - one of them Swedish. Actually the probable truth is that three people (one of them a Swede) have independently decided that when turning a Finnish surname into an adjective, the appropriate suffix is Spanish.

YouTube

2009-08-27T03:32:00.000-07:00

Followers of the Tangomarkkinat or the Eurovision Song Contest may know that in 2002 Taina Kokkonen took advantage of the new rule that ESC entries could be in any language by submitting an Italian-language entry. It wasn't chosen, but it can be seen online today at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KodatUQF9w . Many Finnish tango stars can be seen on YouTube, including Arja Koriseva, Kaija Pohjola, Saija Varjus, Mira Kunnasluoto, Ailamari Vehviläinen, Kaija Lustila, Hanna Talikainen and Jari Sillanpää.

Finnish auction site

2009-08-08T03:14:00.000-07:00

I have discovered an online auction site where you can get Finnish stuff. It is http://www.huuto.net/ - although it is entirely in Finnish it is not too difficult to get around. At the time of writing it has 168 Arja Koriseva items, including CD's, cassettes, vinyl, and magazines; 38 Taina Kokkonen; 19 Mira Kunnasluoto; and 211 Jari Sillanpää: most of them less than 10 euros. So far I have bought Eila Pienimäki's greatest hits on cassette, Tangomarkkinat 6 on cassette, Arja Koriseva's Kun ilta saapuu kaupunkiin (this completes my Arja collection), and an issue of Hymy with an article about Kaija Pohjola.

Two things to remember if you're used to ebay: the amount you bid raises the price to that amount - it does'nt go up in increments like ebay does. If something is 5 euros and you bid 10, then 10 is the price you pay. Furthermore, nobody uses Paypal. Maksutapa (method of payment) is either tilisiirto (bank transfer) or käteinen (cash). Avoid those that are tilisiirto only. My bank (Lloyds) charges a minimum of £30 for transfers and I suspect the others are the same. I put euro notes in an envelope and have had no trouble. There are rumours about dishonest postal workers using the ultraviolet stamp-scanning device to look for banknotes inside the envelope: I always print my stamps from the Royal Mail website (so there is no need for them to go into the scanner at all) and put a sheet of aluminium kitchen foil in the envelope (in the hope that it shields against UV). I can't be sure if these precautions are any use, but I do them anyway.

Another difference (I think - I'm not certain about this one): if someone puts in a very late bid, the auction is extended for a further 5 minutes.

Registration is easy, however little Finnish you know:

Olen yksityiskäyttäjä - I am an individual
Olen yrityskäyttäjä - I am a company
Käyttäjätunnus: username
Salasana: password
Salasana uudestaan: repeat password
Maa: country (Britannia=UK, Kanada=Canada, Yhdysvallat=USA, Uusi-Seelanti=NZ, Etelä-Afrikka=SA; other English-speaking countries should be fairly easy to find)
Sähköpostiosoite: email address
Etunimi: first name
Sukunimi: last name
Matkapuhelin: mobile number (note that in Nokialand, this is compulsory and the landline isn't!)
Lankapuhelin: landline number
Lähiosoite: first line of address
Postinumero ja postitoimipaikka: postcode and town
Sukupuoli - sex (mies=M, nainen=F)
Syntymäaika päivä - date of birth (D,M,Y)

Tangomarkkinat 2009

2009-07-15T03:12:00.000-07:00

Shortly before this year's Tangomarkkinat, an article appeared in the Bristol local paper. A large stone head had been found in a local warehouse. The owner of the warehouse thought it might be Stalin, but to me it looked more like Åke Blomqvist. I decided to take the paper with me to see Åke's reaction.

Åke Blomqvist and the giant stone head

Also Horisontti magazine had held an essay-writing competition for British students of Finnish, which I had won. My subject had been my experiences with Mira at the 2007 Tangomarkkinat. I armed myself with a copy of this as well. Kaija Lustila was competing at the Tangomarkkinat. This was her second attempt, her first being in 1987. I managed to get hold of a copy of her first CD from Ariman.fi and took it along in the hope that she would autograph it.

Kaija Pohjola was not appearing in the Tangomarkkinat, but she was at the Helsinki Pavilion as she was last year. Furthermore there was a Kalevala exhibition at the Ateneum, Helsinki's art gallery. So I flew Air France from Bristol to Helsinki, changing at Paris CDG. This is a huge airport and I didn't have long to find the gate for Helsinki. I was afraid I would miss the flight: but in the end I got there and my luggage didn't. The nice lady at the customer service desk gave me a sponge bag containing toothpaste, comb, razor etc; as well as clean underwear. She asked what hotel I was staying at and said my luggage would be there by 10 that evening. I checked in to the Eurohostel, which has been refurbished. The washrooms are much improved from before.

Clad in my new underwear (same old suit and shirt) I went to the Vanhan Kellari. Eine-Liisa was there and she threw herself into my arms in her usual effusive manner. She asked how long I would be in Helsinki, and I said I was going to Seinäjoki the following day. She said Hilkka would be disappointed to have missed me. All this was extremely flattering. We danced together for the whole evening; then I escorted her to the railway station and we exchanged a fond kiss before I returned to the Eurohostel about 1. I asked if my luggage had turned up: they said it hadn’t, but they had had a call from the airport saying it was on its way.

I was woken about 5 in the morning by the TV switching itself on very loud for no apparent reason. As the sun was shining brightly, I decided to get up. My luggage had arrived by now. I checked out and enjoyed a coffee and pulla in the square watching the world go by. I got the usual 10 o’clock train to Seinäjoki and made my way to Seija’s house. As usual, her family was there preparatory to going to their summer cottage. They were amused by my Tangomarkkinat essay and immediately identified the stone head as Åke Blomqvist. I went into town and got my pass, which was still 95 euros but cost more than last year in sterling terms because of the exchange rate. While watching the Tango Parade I caught sight of Little Irja but lost her in the crowd. I was able to speak to Kaija Lustila and said I had come from England just to see her win the Tangomarkkinat. She gave me a signed photo and a bystander took a picture of us.

A new single was issued to commemorate the 25th Tangomarkkinat. It is called Onnemme kyyneleet (Tears of our joy). The singers aren’t given: presumably we are expected to identify them ourselves. I bought one for 5 euros. Dancing started in the Tango Street at 19:30. This year there was a covered pavilion in the side area, possibly because of the torrential rain last year. It was packed out as the tv programme Kesäillan valssi was being filmed. I caught up with Little Irja and we danced together for the rest of the evening. At 1:30 I escorted her to the place where she had left her bicycle. She said she hoped it wasn’t stolen. I said if it was, she would have to spend the night with me. But this is Finland - of course it wasn’t stolen. I watched her ride away (without lights) and returned to the house.

Next day (Thursday) I played Onnemme kyyneleet. Part of it is sung by a chorus, part by soloists. The first soloist is Arja Koriseva. The second is, I think, Risto Nevala. It would make sense to put him there, as he and Arja were Tango King and Queen the same year, 1989. Later, Eija Kantola is clearly identifiable. I’m not sure about the others. I can see Kaija Pohjola in the rather smudgy photo on the insert, but can’t hear her distinctive cigarette-tinged voice. The finalists were singing in the mall at 12:30. I was able to speak to Kaija Lustila again and she signed my CD insert (the one from her own record I mean, not Onnemme kyyneleet). According to the papers she is the people’s favourite. I went to the Tango Office and asked if there was a list of the singers on the new single. They could only say that it was “almost all” the Tango Royals, but couldn’t say in what order.

Afterwards I went to the pavilion in the Tango Street. It was now starting to rain quite heavily. The Wähänkosket Orchestra was playing. I met Tuula (not Pirkko's friend: a different Tuula): in contrast to Irja she likes the humppas and other energetic dances best. There were tango lessons from Tii Alasima and Kalle Jalava, which I attended with Tuula. The afternoon's dancing ended at 16;00 and I returned to the house for coffee and strawberries. The semifinals were due to be held that night - not Friday as a special anniversary concert was held then - so I set the tv to record it. Then I returned to the Tango Street, where there was an excellent lineup of stars: Marko Lämsä, Johanna Debreczeni, Jouni Keronen, Saija Tuupanen, Johanna Pakonen, and Henri Stenroth. I danced with Tuula again and met two Jaanas. At 22:00 veteran singer Katri-Helena was giving her Summer Diva show from the open-air stage. I found Little Irja in the audience. I found the show a little too jazzy with not enough tango content. Irja enjoyed it though and afterwards we returned to the pavilion. Big Irja was there. It was a coldish evening and she was wearing a lot more than usual. In fact Big Irja, rather than wearing clothes in the usual sense, generally decorates her body with small scraps of very expensive cloth. Little Irja dresses soberly, like a very small VAT inspector. I introduced the two Irjas to each other and they chatted animatedly for a few minutes - about what I don't know, as it was too fast for me to follow. Big Irja asked me to dance. When we returned, there was no sign of Little Irja. Had she gone off in a huff? But she had said herself that we could only be just good friends - why couldn't I have other friends as well? It was getting late, rain was threatening, and Big Irja was back on the parquet with another partner, so I decided to make my way back to the house. As I was walking towards the gate, I heard a shout behind me. Little Irja! We stayed to dance to Tommi Soidinmäki. Johanna Debreczeni was listening to him, pressed up against the crush barrier with his other fans. I love Finnish celebrities. AT 2:30 Irja said her husband was calling for her, so I escorted her to the gate. As I walked back to the house I wondered why Irja's husband didn't attend the dancing. If I was married to Irja I would want to spend every possible moment with her.

Next day Johanna Debreczeni and Jouni Keronen were in the mall. I was keen to video them so I got there half an hour early, but the place was already packed. Big Irja was there and invited me to sit with her. Jouni and Johanna's first song was the beautiful tango Erottamattomat, or Inseparable. Irja wanted to dance, so I couldn't video it; but after all we attend the Tangomarkkinat in order to dance. After their spot I spoke to Johanna and said Erottamattomat was my favourite tango. Irja took a photo of us together. I escorted Irja back to her hotel and we sat in the lobby for a while as Irja talked about her home town Hämeenlinna and said I should see it sometime if I am in that part of Finland. Eventually she said she had to retire to her room for a shower and change in preparation for the evening's dancing so we exchanged a chaste kiss and I went to the hall were the Blomqvists' dance class was held. I handed over the newspaper and Leena immediately recognised the stone head as Åke. Quite a lot seemed to be happening on Sunday so I texted Seija to ask if I could stay at the house a little longer. She said I could, so I cancelled my reservation at the Eurohostel.

That evening the finalists were performing in the Tango Street. No sign of the Irjas but I had very many nice partners: two from previous years who spotted me before I spotted them; Sinikka (my 7th Sinikka I think) - a beautiful sexy blonde about my age; Jaana from yesterday; and lots of others. Eija Kantola made an unscheduled appearance. Arja Koriseva should have been on at 23:30 but for some reason had swapped times with the Yö band, so I had to wait till 1:15. She was of course well worth waiting for. A brilliant performance which had me mesmerised from start to finish.

The following morning Jukka Hallikainen was in the mall. Big Irja was there and we danced the tangos. I was impressed to see Jukka taking time to dance with his fans; and that after his performance Kaija Lustila queued up with his other fans to get his autograph. Irja said she would be in the Areena that evening to watch the finals. I wasn't going, though as a member of the Tango Club I was able to watch the rehearsals (free!) in the afternoon.

In the early evening Jenna Bågeberg, Risto Nevala, and Marita Taavitsainen were performing in the Tango Street. My partners included Liisa from Turku - blonde, slim, very sexy, about 60, frenela at every step, she tickled my cheek with her eyelashes ... and then said her husband was there and she had to go back to him. Also Elsa - plumpish, blonde with black tips, lovely to dance with. Best of all, Little Irja. The results of the Tangomarkkinat were announced: Maestro Lundberg the winner, Kaija Lustila runner-up. It was a pity the rules had been changed: under the old rules she would have been Tango Queen. Still, Maestro was a worthy winner young, good-looking (a bit like Eurovision winner Alexander Rybak) and talented.

Irja announced that she had to go home early so I had to go alone to the Areena. On the way I met Kaija Lustila and commiserated with her, saying if there was any justice in the world she should have won. In the Areena Maestro himself was performing, along with Hanna Talikainen and others. I was delighted to see Kukka there. She is the red-haired beauty I met last year. We danced some truly excellent sambas, jives, and other energetic dances together. Also Kaija (plump blonde), Pirjo (slim, grey-haired) and Eija. Eija is Finnish, living in Sweden, and had never heard of the Tangomarkkinat. She was on the way to a folk festival and decided to stop for an evening's dancing. She said she did Finnish dancing in Gothenberg, in an Iranian restaurant. We stayed together till the end of the evening, and she asked for my email address. I eventually returned to the house at 2:30.

The dancing competition was held the Sunday, not Saturday as usual. As I was making my way there I ran into Kaija Lustila. She said she would be onstage in the Tango Street so naturally I went there. I enjoyed her performances very much - what a talented lady she is. You can see her on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQBX1y53nG8 Afterwards I continued to the Areena where the competition was in full swing. Kukka was there - watching, not competing. There was public dancing between the rounds of the competition and I danced a few times with her. I said we should try entering the competition next year. I danced with a few other ladies, including Kristiina (dark, plump), Mari (sparkly blonde) and Satu (tall, slim, elegant). I later discovered that all three were prizewinners in the competition. Really it was very good of them to dance with a stranger between rounds of the competition. I can't imagine it happening on Strictly Come Dancing.

After the competition I went out for a snack and returned at 17;00. On the way I ran into Liisa. I hoped she would be going to the Areena, but she said she was going out with her family and hoped we would meet again next year. The Areena was well attended but there was plenty of room to dance. There were a lot of good dancers about too ... it was just like the Sunday dances when I first started coming to the Tangomarkkinat, before they started downsizing. Partners:
Kukka: we dances several tangos, including Argentine tango to Por una cabeza.
Kati: probably former biker chick -she had leather low cut top, discreet tattoos, motorcycle charm on chain round neck.
Terttu: very sexy, very low top, held me very close, frenela at every step.
Reija: about 70, thin, long blonde pony tail, lovely sensuous dancer.
and many others. The event ended at 21:30 and I had danced nearly all the time. It was a really good day - even though I had missed Kaija Pohjola.

On the following day (Monday) I watched the Tangomarkkinat semifinals and finals with Seija and recorded them by pointing my video camera at the screen. This sounds very primitive, but works OK as long as you don't get any reflections on the screen. Next day I was up at 5:45 to get the early train to Helsinki. Seija was already up geting breakfast. She said that next year the Tangomarkkinat would be over two weeks, one week for Finnish tango and one for international. I am aware that Americans call ballroom tango "international", but I think Seija meant Argentine tango. I have seen nothing in the papers about this, so can't confirm it. I arrived in Helsinki at 9:30. I left my luggage at the station (it now costs 4 euros) and went to the Ateneum for the Kalevala exhibition. I thought the painting of Ilmatar by Eemy Mytti looked a lot like Little Irja. I had seen the art nouveau car advertisement before, but never realised that it depicted Lemminkäinen abducting Kyllikki.

Ailamari!

2009-02-23T04:56:00.000-08:00

You can listen to Ailamari Vehviläinen's new releases here:
http://www.extraviihde.fi/artistit/ailamari_vehvilainen.html

Isn't she wonderful! She will be appearing at the Vanhan Kellari on 10th March. I was pretty much wiped out by the collapse of the bank shares. What can I sell on ebay to raise the money to get there?

Tangomarkkinat 2009 - revamp

2009-01-08T04:59:00.000-08:00

According to today's Iltasanomat, the rules are to be changed for the 2009 Tangomarkkinat. Only one Tango Royal, who could be a man or a woman, will be appointed. This is a reversal to the original format of 1985. The public will be allowed to vote in both the semifinals and the finals.

It will be expensive to visit the Tangomarkkinat this year. Prices are rising in Finland as they are everywhere else, and to make it worse the pound has dipped below the euro in value (at its height it was worth about 1.5 euros). I am finding the situation difficult as low interest rates have reduced my income considerably. I was hoping to see Arja Koriseva in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels last year, but just couldn't afford it. I sent her a bunch of flowers instead. She gave a Christmas concert which I wasn't able to attend either. A concert is planned for September to celebrate 20 years at the top (she became Tango Queen in 1989). Also Anneli Saaristo is 60 this year and a celebratory concert will be held in Tampere in February.

Tangomarkkinat 2008

2008-07-15T10:00:00.000-07:00

Great news for 2008! Not only were Arja Koriseva and Kaija Pohjola appearing in the Tangomarkkinat, but they were both appearing at the Helsinki Pavilion! Not as a duo (that really would be something to see), but one before and one after the event. So I decided to fly into Helsinki. I noticed that I had not been there since September 2005. How many of my partners at the Vanhan Kellari would remember me? I rang Eine-Liisa. I got an announcement in Finnish, Swedish, and even English that the number was unobtainable. I was certain the number was right - I had rung her before - so what had happened? Perhaps there was some sort of problem with ringing from England.

The Pavilion, or Pavi as it is called there, is in Vantaa, some distance out from Helsinki itself. I stayed at the Sokos Vantaa hotel, which is right opposite Tikkurila station. The Pavi isn't particularly near there either: the taxi cost 15 euros. The receptionist told me that the no 730AP bus goes from Helsinki main railway station directly to the Pavi; so it would have been better to stay at the Eurohostel as usual.

I arrived at the Pavi only 15 minutes after it opened but it was already packed. I was delighted to see champion dancer Irma, who I knew from the Tangomarkkinat. We danced several times but she said she wasn't going to Seinäjoki this year. Other partners included Tuula, Kaisa, and two Pirkkos. I now know 8 Pirkkos. Arja was absolutely wonderful as always. Included in her repertoire were the Merry Widow Waltz, Let's Twist Again, and an updated version of Sinun kansassi tähtisilmä, one of her earliest tangos. She remembered who I was and greeted me in a very friendly manner, giving me a hug and a postcard and signing a CD insert for me. The dance ended at half past midnight and I took a taxi back to the hotel.

Next day I went to Helsinki centre and checked into the much cheaper Eurohostel. I rang Big Irja - she was in Hameenlinna and said she would see me in Seinäjoki. I went to Hilve's shop but it had closed down. I had no home number for Hilve so it seems I won't be seeing her again. I tried ringing Eine-Liisa again but the number was still unobtainable. Had she moved? But why hadn't she told me? She hadn't said anything in her Christmas card. I began to fear she might be dead.

Everything is much more expensive in Finland. Prices have gone up in euro terms and the euro exchange rate has gone from 1.5 to 1.2. Strawberries up from 3.5 euros per litre to 5, or £2.30 to £4.20. Piimä up from 0.98 euros to 1.50. Nevertheless I bought some strawberries and piimä and watched the world go by. I saw a gorgeous woman coming out of Stockmanns: black low cut dress, black hair, killer heels. I felt much more cheerful. In the evening I went to the Vanhan Kellari. Hilkka was there and she greeted me very effusively. I danced with her and her friend Maija several times. I felt a tap on my shoulder, and turned round.

"Eine-Liisa!" I shouted joyfully. "I thought you'd . . . moved." Fortunately I had the presence of mind not to say "died". It appears she had had her landline taken out and now only used a mobile. I took a note of her mobile number. She insisted I spend the rest of the evening with her, although there were a number of other ladies I would have liked to dance with, particularly a very plump blonde with a deep cleavage. Nevertheless a young slim dark-haired lady asked me twice for a jive. At midnight I escorted Eine-Liisa to the station and returned to the hotel.
My Finnish girlfriend is celebrating her 100th birthday this year, so naturally I went to see her at the harbour in the place she usually hangs out; I also went to the exhibition "Havis Amanda mon amour 100 years" in the Jugendsali. The VPK restaurant was shut for the summer holidays. I went to the Popenkeli record shop and was able to get a record I had been looking for since Kati played it for me last year: Päivä jolloin rakastat, or El dia que me quieras. Described as “Greatest classics of Argentine tango” they are not all Argentine, including as they do La Cumparsita, Jealousy, I’m a Fool to Want You, and Desiré e. The words to El Choclo are not the same as most Finnish versions I have heard. I also bought Eija Kantola’s latest, Käärmetanssi. I used the internet terminal at the station. At 2 euros per hour it is much cheaper than the Eurohostel terminal, which is 2 euros for 15 minutes. I noticed that Merry Widow was on at the Opera House, starring Ritva-Liisa Korhonen. Why her and not Arja? To be fair, I can think of two good reasons.

In the evening I went to the Vanhan Kellari. I danced with Hilkka and Sinikka; soon Eine-Liisa came in, but at 22:00 she said she was tired and I escorted her to the station. She suggested we go to the park the following day. It was too early to go back to the hotel, so I returned to the Vanhan Kellari. I danced with Hilkka again; Terttu asked me for a humppa. She was a plump lady with a very low cut dress - her bust bounced very prettily. I met yet another Pirkko. Hilkka left and gave me a kiss goodnight; soon after I went back to the hotel.

In the sauna next morning I got talking with a Swedish student. He said his sister had written a dissertation on Finnish tango. I would have liked to read it, but it was written in Swedish. I met Eine-Liisa at 11:15. We bought some cider and meat pies and spent a few hours in the Kaivopuisto park. There is an old observatory there which looks derelict but is open to the public for both sun and star observations - but not in July, when it is closed for the summer holidays. After feeding the birds and doing the usual touristy things, we went our separate ways and agreed to meet in the Vanhan Kellari that evening, where a naistentanssit was held. I got a lot more invitations than I usually do, even though I was sitting with Eine-Liisa. Perhaps being the partner of the alpha female made me more attractive. I was invited by Satu (dark, young, expensively dressed, deep cleavage - danced jive so I had a good view), Maisa (older, blonde), Leena (tall, blonde, frenela at every step) and others. Leena seemed to like me and invited me several times. By the end of the evening she and Eine-Liisa were dancing with me in turns. At half past midnight it was time to escort Eine-Liisa to the station and return to the Eurohostel.

At last it was time to take the train to Seinäjoki. It was cold and threatening to rain. I stayed at Seija's as usual. Passes were 95 euros, or £80. When I first started coming to the Tangomarkkinat in 2001 they were 400 marks, or £40; and the festival was longer, with more events. There was dancing in the evening in the Tangokatu. This year the main stage was in the street itself, and the subsidiary stage off to the side, as it had been in 2001; except the stage was on the opposite side of the square and the dancing area wasn't level. Only this stage was in use. All the finallists were performing. One of them (sorry forget which one) sang Erottomattomat as a jive. Rain was threatening but I danced most dances. Tiina was tall and dark; Anita was blonde and danced a very intimate chacha; lots of others but the names have disappeared in a haze of tango music. By midnight it was starting to rain and I returned to the house.

Next morning I went to the town square for my usual coffee and strawberries. The girl in the coffee kiosk remembered me. Her name was Marjo ("almost like Super Mario" she said). No dancing in the Tangokatu in the afternoon, but Eino Grön was singing tangos in the tent: Erottomattomat, Guapita, Walls Have Ears, and many other good ones. Suddenly I saw a tiny perfect figure, waist length blonde hair - Little Irja! Her solemn little face lit up in a smile when she saw me. We watched Eino's performance, went to the karaoke tent, and had a drink in the Sokos bar. I looked at Irja as she solemnly sipped her salmiakkikossu and thought what a fortunate man her husband is. We watched Eino's second performance and then Irja went home.
Dancing started in earnest in the evening. Marko Lämsä gave an excellent performance, including his jive version of El Choclo, which seems to have become his trademark. Pity he hasn't recorded it. Kaija Pohjola recognised me and signed the insert of her Tangokuningatar DVD; Elina Vettenranta, who is one of my Facebook friends, gave me a signed postcard. I danced a number of times with Big Irja, who had dressed for the rain and cold. As it had now warmed up, I had to carry her two sweaters and umbrella. This was unfortunate, not because I minded carrying it, but because I wanted a picture taken of me with Elina and my camera was unfindable under all Irja's stuff. Later in the evening Topi Sorsakoski performed. Irja spotted one of her other admirers and dashed off to speak to him (yes, she did take her stuff). I saw Pirkko's friend Tuula in the crowd (recognising her by her bright blonde hair) but she disappeared again. I didn't spot Pirkko. Saija Varjus gave her usual heartfelt performance at 1:00, and then I returned to the house.

When enjoying my coffee and strawberries next morning, I spotted the headline in someone's paper: "Koriseva paralysed". What!!?? She seemed perfectly OK at the weekend: what had happened? I hastily bought my own copy. It appears that Arja's sister Piia, who is a TV announcer, had suffered a minor stroke (I think - Finnish medical terms are not my speciality) and was in hospital. Well, she's being looked after, I thought. I wondered if I should send her some flowers. But I didn't know what hospital she was in, and she would have no idea who I was; so I didn't. I wrote something on my Facebook page though later in the day when I was back at the house.

I saw Little Irja going into the mall and rushed to join her. We watched Kari Piironen sing to harmonikka, had a drink in the karaoke bar, danced a few times, and then she went home. It was raining by the time dancing started in the Tangokatu, but quite a few people were there. I had nice dances with Sinikka and Tuula (not Pirkko's friend, another one). The rain got worse, but a few keen couples were still dancing. Look at this:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ErvxciUHqW0
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=alKwJOMJefM&feature=channel
Arja's spot was scheduled for 21:00. I wasn't sure if she would turn up but she did. What an amazing performance. Waltzes, twists, beautiful lively humppas ("All around the scent of roses, and a hundred tongues will sing") and of course tangos. All the old favourites: Kultaiset korvarenkaat, Vie meidät rakkauteen (Tango d'Amour, Vicky Leandros's old hit), Pieni sydän, and a new earthier version of her early hit Sinun kanssasi tähtisilmä. She forgot the words to Voitko sä vain unohtaa? (which means "Can you just forget?"). I have just used four punctuation marks in succession. Is that a record? The rain poured down during the performance but I was totally oblivious to it. (The stage itself was covered over, of course.) When it ended and I came down from my ecstatic high I realised I was soaked through. I have been to Finland over 30 times, sometimes in the depths of winter, and I have never been so cold. I returned to the house for a shower and change, hung my wet clothes up in the sauna, and ventured out again.
The Atriahalli was not in use this year: indoor dancing was in the Areena. Pirkko and Tuula were there, and so was Big Irja: I also danced with Sinikka, Pirjo, Outi, who was very young and kept her right leg firmly pressed against my left, Maija who I think was pregnant - and others I can't put names to. Later in the evening there was a monster queue outside the Ladies. A woman came into the Gents, curtseyed politely to the men, and went into a cubicle. She came out, curtseyed again, and left. Not a word was said. I eventually fell exhausted into bed at 2:30.
Next day, Saturday, I woke at 9. Too late to register for Åke Blomqvist's dance competition, and in any case I had not organised a partner. It was raining heavily. I went to the mall, where Tommi Soidinmäki was singing. I looked for Little Irja, but she wasn't there. Big Irja was. She was complaining about the weather, and asked me to walk her back to her hotel. This involved visiting every dress and shoe shop in Seinäjoki. I didn't realise there were so many in what is quite a small town. She found a dress she liked - very short and skimpy, virtually transparent. At one time I would have bought it for her on condition that I could see her wear it, but money was very tight this year. Suddenly she said I had a mark on my face. I wiped it with my handkerchief but she said that made it worse. A glance in a mirror showed a black smudge. I said I couldn't possibly be seen in public in such a state, and escaped back to the house. Lads, you might like to use this next time your are on an interminable shopping trip with your better half. Keep a tin of Cherry Blossom available and besmirch yourself as necessary.

Duly cleaned up, I returned to the Tangokatu. Little Irja was there, looking very pretty in black lace and a blue jacket. We danced a number of times, and then she went home. I went to the Areena. The Tangomarkkinat finals were held in one half, and public dancing in the other half. The good thing about this was you could dance to the finallists singing their tangos; but there was a lot of chit-chat between the songs when you couldn't dance at all. I danced mainly with Ritva, who was young, cuddly, an excellent and sensual dancer. After the finals had finished, Joanna Pakonen came on. The winners, by the way, were Jukka Hallikainen and Hanna Talikainen. Jukka Hallikainen is no relation to Joel Hallikainen who introduced the Jos sais kerran music game show with Arja Koriseva. I had a number of very nice partners that Saturday night, the last night of the Tangomarkkinat: Ritva, Irja (not wearing the dress unfortunately), Pirkko, Tuula, Birgitta (Swedish, could not speak Finnish or English), Anna (plump blonde, 60's, very nice), Mari (very young, blonde - asked her for a jive but she preferred to smooch), Kukka (very slim, waist length red hair: danced some very nice jives and cha-chas with her). I eventually went to bed at 3:30.

Next day it was back to Helsinki for Kaija Pohjola's performance at the Pavi. I checked into the Cumulus hotel, which is on the no 61 bus route from Tikkurila station. It also has its own free shuttle bus to the airport. I noticed in the Helsingin Sanomat that Arja Koriseva was in Kolmilammi that day. I asked the receptionist where this was, and she said 80 kilometres away, so I stuck to my original plan. I got to the Pavi at 16:30. It was due to open at 17:00 and there were already a lot of people waiting. I met a very nice lady, whose name was Pirkko (yes, yet another one). She was short, very slim, red-haired, a lovely sensuous dancer. I danced with her quite a lot. Kaija was wonderful. She greeted me effusively and gave me a signed postcard, kissing it to leave a lipstick mark. Some nice partners: Bertta had a very quiet voice, not sure of name, she kept both thighs in contact with mine; Satu was big and jolly, about 25, clumsy, had no sense of rhythm, but we had an excellent time nontheless and danced together a lot. Enthusiasm makes up for lack of technique. The dance ended at 21:30 and I returned to the hotel.

Arja's Christmas Concert

2007-12-15T04:23:00.000-08:00

So three months after leaving Tampere, I am back. It is late on Sunday night, nothing is open, so I make straight for the Omena Hotel. Next morning I checked out the location of Arja Koriseva's Christmas concert. It is to be held in the Tampere Talo: is this another name for the Tampere City Theatre? No it isn't - it's a very grand modern concert hall near the railway station. Having satisfied myself on where to go and when to get there, I rang Kati, whom I had met on my previous visit to Tampere. Would she like to accompany me to the concert? She would. She also said she was in town, and suggested we meet for coffee. As I was waiting in Stockmann's cafe, I was struck by a terrible thought. I had only met Kati once, and then she had been dressed in a glittering beaded gown, and had elaborately styled hair and full slap. Would I recognise her in civvies? Would she recognise me? But we found each other all right. Very nice lady. She told me her son had a Russian wife and her daughter had a French husband. We arranged to meet at the Tampere Talo at 18:30 for the concert.

I returned to the hotel and tried to log on to the internet. This costs an extra 9 euros for 24 hours, to be paid in advance, but I didn't get a signal. I reported this to the office (which is not on the premises), but there was no improvement by the time I had to go out.

The concert was truly excellent. Some of the numbers were on Arja's Christmas records, but there were some, such as Ave Maria, that weren't. Afterwards there was a big crowd of fans waiting in the lobby to see Arja. She recognised me and greeted me by name. She saíd she had received my Christmas card. So she reads all the cards she gets from fans! She said she was back in Tampere in September, when she is in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. I said I knew, and had already bought tickets. I asked if she would be at the Tangomarkkinat this year, and she said she would.

Kati and I then repaired to the Paappa bar near the town square, where live piano music is played. As well as Lapin Kulta and other Finnish beers, they sell something really exotic - Guinness. This is sold not in metric measures, but by the pint.

Next morning my internet link was still not working, so I reported it again. I went to Stockmanns record department and bought the latest from Anne Mattila, Saija Varjus, and Jenna Bågeberg. In this last one she is credited simply as "Jenna" and her surname is not given anywhere, not even in the sleeve notes. I saw in the paper that someone called simply "Jenna" is performing at the Galax in Turku on 24th January. Is this Jenna Bågeberg? Why has she suppressed her surname? Yes, Bågeberg isn't a Finnish name, but Johanna Debreczeny is happy to use her full name. In fact, I saw in the library that she and Tommi Soidinmaki gave a concert in a Tampere church yesterday, at exactly the same time as Arja's concert.

A daytime dance was held at 13:00 in the Pakkahuone. This means "warehouse", and is an old brick building behind the railway station. Dancing is held there every Tuesday afternoon. Most of the clientele is over 60, but I did dance rhumba with a solemn-looking young woman in her 30's. I thought she looked a bit familiar, and later thought I might have seen her at the Tangomarkkinat.

Back at the hotel, my 24 hours internet time was exhausted and I had never got a connection. I have used the internet at the Omena before without any problems, but now I cannot recommend it and would suggest guests go to the internet cafe a few doors away.

When passing the Tanssitalo in Hallituskatu, I noticed that Eila Pienimäki would be there on Boxing Day. Blast! I will be back home then. You will remember I have been to the Tanssitalo before, when the sparsely-attended Tango Thursday was held; about time I gave it another go. There is more - I went to the record department of Sokos and saw that Eila Pienimäki has made a new record, so naturally I bought it. I returned to the hotel and wrote a note to Eila, saying that I was sorry I was going to miss her performance but would console myself by playing the record. I left it with the doorman when I went to the Tanssitalo. Attendance was better than when I had been before, but still well down on the Hämeensilta. I hope it will be better for Eila.

On my last evening in Tampere I went to the Komeetta. Kati told me she would be there with her friends Irja, Maija, and Marja-Liisa. The Komeetta is under the same ownership as the Galax in Turku and like the Galax has a separate room for disco. There is a small step down to the dance floor. It is a curious fact that the more Lapin Kulta you drink, the more likely it is you will forget that the step is there. The Komeetta seems to have more utterly gorgeous women to the square metre than any other place; but I had to satisfy myself with the four I was with. The orchestra was Sunset, who had played at the Old Fire Station last time I was in Turku. Snow was gently falling as we left in the early hours. Kati and her friends went home in a taxi: I walked back to the Omena Hotel.

Arja returns

2007-09-20T03:09:00.000-07:00

The most important event of 2007 - Arja Koriseva returns from maternity leave with a concert tour and a new record. Obviously I can't miss that. So I arrived in Tampere just before midnight, with time for a quick shower and change to catch the last hour at the Hämeensilta. Ulla-Jaana Riekkoniemi was singing, and she gave me her autograph.

Next morning I had a coffee and pulla in Stockmanns cafe and watched the world go by. I saw an attractive woman of about 30 going past, wearing a white miniskirt and killer heels. For a moment I wished I was 40 years younger; but I don't suppose I would have approached her even if I was; not in the street. I would have no hesitation in the Hämeensilta; but real life is drab and dull. Then I thought: it's on the parquet of the Hämeensilta or the Vanhan Kellari or Blackpool Tower Ballroom, or of course the asphalt of the Tangokatu, that one experiences real life - the rest of the time one is simply waiting for those places to open.

Enough morbidity. I went to Stockmanns record department and bought the Tangomarkkinat 20 CD, and the music from the Finnish version of Strictly Come Dancing. I asked the assistant if Arja's new record was out yet, or if Jenna Bågeberg had made a record: no and no. I also bought a book on Finnish names. Tiina and Tuomas look familiar: it is not so obvious that Pirkko is Brigit and Irja is Georgina. The name we are most interested in if of course Arja. This is a modern made-up Finnish name. It first appears in Eino Leino´s poem Arja and Selinä of 1916; but the Arja in the poem is a boy. The Finns soon decided that Arja was more suitable as a girl's name. The -a ending is of no significance: the Finnish language has no genders, not even for people. There is a Russian name, variously transliterated as Arija, Arja, and Ara, which is a variant of Ariadne. Arja was most popular as a girl's name between 1940 and 1965. Other famous Arjas from this period are Arja Saijonmaa (b 1944), Arja Havakka (b 1944), and Arja Sipola (b 1956, the first Tango Queen). If all this looks familiar, yes it was me who wrote the Wikipedia article on Arja Koriseva.

That evening Tiina Pitkänen was singing in the Hämeensilta. Attendance was sparse at first, with more men than women, but it soon filled up. I met two very glamorous ladies, Kati and Hilkka. Katii said she felt a bit unsteady on her feet as she had just come out of the sauna. The thought of Kati naked and thrashing herself with birch twigs made me feel a bit unsteady as well. There was a chap there selling Tiina Pitkänen's CD, so I bought one and got her to sign it. The place closed at 1. Kati, Hilkka, and a chap who had hooked up with Hilkka said they were going on to the Seurahuone, and would I like to come too? Of course I would. It was not far away, round the corner from the Omena Hotel. We stayed there till the place closed at 3. Five men danced jive together.

Next day I was off to Turku. I had arranged to meet Anja, who was at the 2006 Tangomarkkinat with her partner Richard. She spends half the year in Portland, Oregon, and was back in her native Turku for a few weeks. Richard was still in Portland, so Anja was able to accompany me to the Turku hotspots.

Anja met me at the station and we went straight to the Old Fire Station. This place is mentioned in Numminen's Tango is my Passion, and I had for a long time wanted to go there. It is only open for dancing on Thursday afternoons, so I missed it on my previous visit to Turku. It is an extremely grand place, with chandeliers and ornate stonework. Music by Sunset (Jarkko Salmi and Arja Pirttinen). Anja and I danced every dance, and the place closed at 15:30. Anja drove me to the Best Western Seaport Hotel near the docks, and suggested that we go to the Liittoinen dance pavilion in the evening. She then returned to her own apartment.

I was able to see a bit of tv before we went. Krisse Salminen had her own programme. She is, you will recall, the pink-clad beauty who was pulled from the audience during the Eurovision Song Contest and given the job of presenting it. She is of course not a hastily-selected member of the public, but an established Finnish comedienne. This was the first episode of the series, which was in the form of a European tour. She was in Belgium being blonde and annoying, and probably destroying Finland's credibility.

The Liittoinen is a wooden pavilion by a lake, rather similar to the Uittamo where I went on my previous visit to Turku. Very nice place, with the clientele rather younger than at the fire station. Anja said we should go to the T-talo next day. This was a place I had never heard of.
Next day I did the usual tourist stuff that isn't relevant to a tango blog: castle, art gallery etc. I also met Anja for lunch. The T-talo is a rather spartan place that looks as if it belongs to the local authority. The chairs are bolted to the walls, and there is no ornamentation. A big contrast to the fire station. Attendance was sparse: one man said that Jenna Bågeberg was at the Uittamo. Anja said she thought the Uittamo was shut for the winter. I was rather disappointed not to have seen Jenna. The moral is, always look at the announcements in the paper even if you do have a date. Actually the evening was very pleasant. I go to a similar place for ballroom on a regular basis here in Blighty.

So next day over breakfast I read the dance announcements in the Turun Sanomat. Heli Ruotsalainen was at the Galax and Varjokuva at the Huvilintu. I didn't know Heli Ruotsalainen, but I had seen that she had recently made a record. Perhaps I would buy it and get her to sign it. I rang Anja. She wanted to go to the Naantali Kypylä. So much for looking things up in the paper. She said the Huvilintu is a young persons' place, with the emphasis on rock and roll.
The Naantali Kypylä is a very grand spa hotel outside Turku. Admission to the ballroom is free. The band was Ruolari, and most of the announcements were in English, as were the lyrics of most of the songs. The music was nearly all of the bland international variety you hear on any cruise ship or in any upmarket hotel. The only Finnish tunes played were Kultainen nouruus, Satulinna, and Hard Rock Halleluja. I soon discovered the reason for this: Ruolari is a Bulgarian band. The only tango was Buona Sera, from Rossini's Barber of Seville. It was played in the usual continental manner, breaking into a jive towards the end. All in all it was an interesting experience, but, based purely on this one visit, I can't honestly recommend it. I expect the Finns themselves enjoy a change from tangos and humppas, but when I go to Finland I want Finnish culture. Perhaps on other nights that is provided.

Most of the people attending were in couples, though there was an Iranian lady there with her daughters, celebrating an exam pass. The mother said Anja and I looked "beautiful" together, and asked if we had been partners for a long time. We said only 3 days. Another couple said we looked "happy". If I ever meet Anja again I will have to bring my video camera and get someone to film us, so I can see what all the fuss is about.

Next day, Sunday, I caught the train to Seinäjoki. I stayed at Seija's as usual. She had collected a few magazines with articles about Arja for me. We went to the concert together. Arja’s performance at the Tangomarkkinat last year was insurpassable: Could she nevertheless surpass it? Of course she could. I have never heard anything so wonderful. There was a completely new version of her classic Enkelin silmin - quiet and contemplative rather than bold and brassy. Similarly Minun tieni, or My Way.
A girl in the audience had brought along a red rose and was disappointed that she didn’t get the opportunity to give it to Arja. Seija said that Arja would appear in the lobby after the show. While waiting I bought Arja’s new CD, which is only available at shows at the moment, though presumably it will go on general release later. When it does, note that the first track, Yksin, is not the same Yksin that is on Tango Illusion; in fact it isn’t a tango at all.

Arja signed my CD insert and a photograph. She said she knew who I was: that I was the one who came to see Sound of Music twice, and wrote about her in the Daily Mail. Does she know what all her fans are up to? Does she know that I went to see Kaija Pohjola in March, and if so does she regard that as infidelity?

A perfect end to the trip. I’m looking forward to Arja’s Christmas concert.

Tangomarkkinat 2007

2007-07-14T02:56:00.000-07:00

Why go to the Tangomarkkinat in 2007? Arja Koriseva is still on maternity leave. Mira Kunnasluoto isn't going: even Kaija Pohjola, who has been to every one since she became Tango Queen in 1991, isn't scheduled to appear. Ailamari Vehviläinen hasn't been heard of for months. So why go? Why not do something else this summer?

Because in spite of everything, nothing else is as good. I arrived in Tampere late on Monday 2nd July. Most Tampere dance places don't open on Monday, though the free paper did say that something was on at the Ikkalisten kylpylä. I didn't know where this was, and anyway it was now after midnight, so I went to bed.

Next day was blazing hot. I bought some strawberries for breakfast and ate them in the market square while the world went by and an old chap played El Choclo on the saxophone. A bookshop had a hardback edition of Tango is my Passion. As M A Numminen was scheduled to appear at the Tangomarkkinat, I bought a copy in the hope I could get him to sign it. I also bought a Finnish computer keyboard (one with dots over the A and O) and a CD of Eurovision winners translated into Finnish. I was excited to find something called piimasokolad and wondered if it might have piimä in it; but it is Estonian for milk chocolate. There was an article in the paper about Saija Varjus and her new chap. There was community singing in a tent in the market square (and yes, there were a few tangos), and a girl gave me a "Keep Tampere Tidy" badge. In the evening there was a naistentanssit at the Hämeensilta. A blonde lady of about 70 kept looking at me. Or she might have been looking at the lifts behind me. Was it a cabaceo? Or was she waiting for someone to come up in the lift? I have come across the cabaceo before in Finland, but surely it's incompatible with the naistentanssit? According to the rules, she should get off her pert little arse and come and ask me, shouldn't she? She was still looking at me (or possibly not). I decided to take no notice. Then I got a proper invitation. Her name was Helena, she was very lively and great fun to dance with, and we stayed together till the place closed at 2. We exchanged email addresses, phone numbers, and a few kisses, and she went off home with her friends and I went back to the Omena Hotel.

Next morning I checked out, sent a text to Helena to say thank you for the evening, and got the train to Seinäjoki. I stayed at Seija´s as usual. I bought a pass, which was a plastic bracelet. Better than last year's paper one, but not as good as the woven ribbons you used to get. The Vaakuna Hotel had advertised "Terrace tango" and tango records were indeed playing; but nobody was dancing and they all seemed to be couples. The official opening day was tomorrow, Thursday, but a dance was held in the Atria Hall, so naturally I went. Music provided by last year's winners, Elina Vettenranta and Marko Lämsä, and this year's finalists. I was able to speak to Elina and she gave me a signed postcard and signed my CD insert. Marko sang El Choclo as a jive. Although the attendance would have been regarded as good in Blackpool or other British venues, it was sparse by Tangomarkkinat standards. I feared it might be losing money and would not be held next year.

I noticed a very pretty young girl, aged about 20. She was blonde, with pink ribbons and flowers in her hair, a pink dress, and white ankle socks with low-heeled black lace up shoes. She sat right at the front, but nobody was asking her to dance. I didn't either, as I was three times her age. Then I thought, this is silly, she obviously wants to dance, or she wouldn't be here. She must have noticed that all the men here are old enough to be her father or grandfather, and if that doesn't bother her, why should it bother us? So I asked her to dance, and we had two wonderful tangos. After that, the other chaps had the courage to ask her to dance, and in the end the old pervs wouldn't leave her alone.

I also had a samba with a sexy blonde lady in her mid-70’s, a waltz with a very refined lady with a young face and grey hair, and a jive with a large lady with a very low neckline. I had to make sure I didn’t look down her front, and also look as if I was not looking. Another partner looked just like Amy Winehouse, except that she had no tattoos. Perhaps she covered them up with foundation. The event was supposed to go on till 3, but attendance had dropped quite a lot by 1, so I went back to town and went into a bar for a Lonkero. A drunk fellow was playing the piano. I couldn’t make out what the tune was. I had a sausage from the grill and walked back to the house, and was in bed by 2:30.

Next day I went to the market square for coffee, strawberries, and the papers. Is Spongebob Squarepants too violent? A long article about Harry Potter . . . Taina Kokkonen is getting married. I decided I would write to her - but to what address? Perhaps if I wrote care of the company that released her last record it might get to her, but she has been away from show business a long time. A brass band played tangos in the market square. The formal opening of the Tangomarkkinat was at 17:00. The brass band marched through the streets as usual, stopping at intervals for children to dance ballroom tango. The Tangokatu was rearranged again: now the two stages were at opposite ends of the street. Marko Lämsä opened the proceedings, and then we had veteran singer Katri-Helena. Born in 1945, she has had a string of hits from the 60's onwards. She also composed the well-known Finnish Christmas carol Joulumaa, or Christmasland. I had seen her before on Finnish TV, but never live. The presentation was very slick and efficient with no gaps between the numbers, and everybody seemed to know what they were doing. This is not always the case: some orchestras need a lot of discussion and passing back and forth of sheet music between numbers. There was a certain amount of banter between Katri-Helena and her female backing singers about their favourite American males. Apparently Rick Hard Gherreh is preferable to Tom Crew Issy; so we need not worry if we have any difficulty pronouncing Finnish names.

Katri-Helena's performance was scheduled to end at 20:00, when M.A. Numminen was to be in the Pop Village; but the performance overran by over half an hour and there was no sign of Numminen. I took the heavy book I had been carrying about with me back to the house and returned to the Tangokatu. There I ran into Anna, the young blonde from last night, and Pirkko, who goes to the Tangomarkkinat every year. She introduced me to her friend Tuula, who comes from Vantaa near Helsinki. I said that my friend Eine-Liisa, who is a permanent fixture in the Vanhan Kellari, also comes from Vantaa; Tuula said she knew her. By midnight Pirkko and Tuula said they were going home, so I escorted them to their car. I returned to the Tangokatu, because Johanna Pakonen was due to come on at 1. And there I met the most stunningly beautiful woman. Not Johanna Pakonen. Sorry Johanna. Your time will come.

Her name was Mira. She said she had come to the Tangokatu with her family, who had left her in front of the stage and unaccountably disappeared. I said we should have a dance while we waited for them to come back. She told me she had emigrated from Finland to the USA in 1965, and that she had two beautiful daughters of 38 and 40 who were still single. All this seemed highly unlikely, as she didn't look 38 herself. We danced to Rakkauden yö, which is probably the most sensuous of all tangos. Mira clung to me as we sang the words along with Johanna. She seemed surprised that I knew the Finnish words. I mean Mira did, not Johanna. Mira started fretting about her relatives, but I said they must know where she was and would come to fetch her. In truth I didn't want to lose such a gorgeous partner. We danced together for about half an hour, then:

Mira: I can't believe my family's abandoned me!
Me: They haven't abandoned you, they'll come back.
Mira: My husband's coming at three! I must meet him at the station! And my family's abandoned me!
Me: Let's look in the bar to see if they're there.
Mira: They're not! I've already looked! They've abandoned me! I'm all alone!
Me: Calm down, Mira. What hotel are you staying at?
Mira: The City Hotel.
Me: Right then. I'll walk you there and you can rest for a bit until it's time to meet your husband.

So we walked arm in arm to the exit. As we passed the bar, a man called to us. "My family!" shouted Mira and dragged me into the bar. A man thrust a glass into my hand. "We've been watching you dancing" he said. Mira introduced me to everybody, but I immediately forgot their names.

Mira: I wish my daughter could meet a nice man like you. She's 38, and never married.
Me: So you said before. I didn't believe you then either. You don't look 38 yourself.
Mira: I turned 60 this year.
Me: So did I. Well, your husband's a very lucky man. I hope he realises it.
Male relative: He does.
Mira: You need to meet a beautiful Finnish woman.
Me: I already have.

She kissed me on the lips. She tasted of salmiakkikossu. I took my leave, and walked back to the house. I went to bed at 2:30.

I woke up at 10:20. I think this is the latest ever. I set the video for the semifinals, which were to be broadcast that evening. I hurried to the mall. The finallists were due to perform there, but I was too late, so I ate some strawberries instead. It had started raining by the time dancing started in the Tangokatu. There was an improvement to the printed programme this year. Instead of simply listing the performers, it said at what time and on what stage they were due to appear. However, it soon went to pot and Kati Fors came on when Saksa Helmikallio was due to appear. There was no piimä bar this year and no dancing in the beer tent. I looked out for Hilve, Irma, and Irja, but didn’t see them. But I was able to dance with Ilona, Paivi, Salme, Pirkko, and Tuula. New partners included Yvonne. I commented this was not a Finnish name, and she said she was Swedish. Another was Sue from Minnesota. She was of Finnish descent, and this was her first trip to Finland.

It was still raining in the evening and I went to the Atriahalli. Tiina Räsänen was performing. She is a very attractive young woman, but she tends to adopt unflattering hairstyles. I blame her husband: I think he doesn’t want her to look prettier than him. She gave me a signed photograph, which showed her with her hair loose. She looks much better like this: she could easily be mistaken for Kate Middleton. Nice dances with Anna (very slow and sensuous version of Punatukkaiselle tyttölleni); Niina, whom I remembered from last year but didn't get her name then; a young Chinese girl (very energetic cha-cha ), and an older lady who squirmed all over me in a very sensuous rumba, then curtseyed briefly, said "thank you", and disappeared. I never got her name. Best of all was Pirkka. She was very tall and her long hair covered my face as she rested her cheek against my forehead. We danced several ecstatic dances together. The evening’s singers included Marita Taavitsainen and Antti Raiski. He had a long queue of female fans, who received a kiss and a signed photo. I said a photo would suffice. I stayed till the end, and fell into bed at 4.

I woke at 7:30 and felt like death warmed up. I could hardly walk. I wanted to go in the sauna but there was nobody else in the house and I feared I would pass out. I had three cups of strong coffee and by 9 I felt a bit better. It was too late to register for the dancing competition and anyway I had no partner. I went to the mall, where Marko Lämsä was singing. There was no cat show, so I made my way to the Tangokatu. Elina Vettenranta was performing. Irja was in the cafe. It was a cold day, and she was wearing a great deal more clothing than she usually does. As she was with a male companion, I couldn’t stop to chat. I met Sirpa, a lovely chatty dark-haired lady who held me very close. She sang along to Soi maininki hiljainen, and I joined in. She corrected my pronunciation.

In the evening it was raining quite hard, so I got a taxi to the Atriahalli. It cost 11.20 euros, which I thought quite expensive as it is not very far. Sue was there. She had watched the dancing competition but not taken part. I danced two tangos with a young partner, whose name was Maritta. When I asked "Like Marita Taavitsainen?" she was most emphatic that it was not. Her name had a double T. Completely different from Ms Taavitsainen's, absolutely nothing like it. Sirpa spotted me and asked me for a foxtrot. Other partners that evening included Pirkka, Anna, Pirkko and Tuula. The 2007 Tango King and Queen came on: they were Henri Stenroth and Jenna Bågeberg. New partners included Minna (small, dark, looks part oriental) and Outi (slim, skimpy red dress, very sensual). When a slow smoochy number (Love me Tender) started to play, I looked for a familiar partner, preferably Sirpa. Even though I've been dancing for the best part of half a century, I still prefer to dance the smoochy numbers with somebody I know. I couldn't see Sirpa, or anybody else I knew, and I could hardly walk down the rows of ladies as if they were goods on display at Stockmanns. So I approached the nearest one who looked as if she was something like my age. We had a really nice dance. My last dance at this year's Tangomarkkinat was with Outi. She asked me if I knew Argentine tango, and I said I did. The tune was Ecstasy, so I was dancing Argentine tango with a Finnish partner to a British ballroom tune. I thought that was a good high point to end the evening. I saw Pirkka on the way out, said "see you next year", and eventually retired to bed at 4.

When out buying the paper next morning I noticed there was a dance hall in Kauppakatu, open 21:00 Tuesday to Saturday. I don't know if it was open during the Tangomarkkinat, and I wouldn't have gone if it was; but it's useful to know it's there if I'm in Seinäjoki at other times of the year. According to the papers, four British journalists (from the Observer, Express, and Sun) had been covering the Tangomarkkinat. Plenty about the winners of course. Henri Stenroth's mother was Aura Stenroth, 1987's Tango Princess. Endless discussions on the line of "Is Jenna too young? Is she charismatic enough?" At 18 years 11 months she is not the youngest Tango Queen. Yes - I know who the youngest is: Kirsi Ranto. But no: according to the paper that honour goes to Tiina Räsänen. Now if I had been on Who Wants to be a Millionaire and the million pound question was "Who was the youngest Tango Queen?" I wouldn't have phoned a friend or asked the audience - I would have had no hesitation in saying Kirsi Ranto. Just goes to show. For the record: Tiina Räsänen 18 years 3 months, Jenna Bågeberg 18 years 11 months, Kirsi Ranto 19 years 10 months. Of course Mikko Kilkkinen was younger than any of them at 17 years 9 months.

I watched the finals which I had recorded. The format has been completely revised and vastly improved. Only four finallists were chosen, not six as previously. Each has to sing a classic and a modern tango, and the two men and two women sing duets. Anne Tanskanen and Jenna Bågeberg's duet was the most exciting thing I have seen on Finnish tv. They were snarling at one another and making disparaging gestures at the audience; though the papers assured us they were the best of friends really. Antti Ahopelto's modern solo was Two to Tango, which was originally written in English for the Eurovision Song Contest, and translated into Finnish for the Tangomarkkinat.

On my last evening before going home there was a swing dance in Tampere library gardens. When looking for the place in the afternoon, I found a building called the Kaupungin kirjasto lehtilukusali, or newspaper reading room. I had read about these in Tango is my Passion and assumed it was something like the newspaper areas in libraries here: a few several-day-old tatty papers (assuming nobody had nicked them); on the contrary there was today's issue of all the Finnish papers, several copies of the Helsingin sanomat and other important ones, and quite a lot of foreign papers as well. I saw that Eija Kantola is getting married again. The engagement was sealed at 07:07 hours on 07/07/07.

The dance itself was to records: unusual in Finland. Two instructors taught the Lindy Hop, but I have been doing ballroom jive for so long that I couldn't make the transition; but nobody seemed to mind. The clientele was younger than the Tangomarkkinat: they were mostly in their 20's. The jive is the least intimate of dances, so I don't mind dancing it with younger partners. On the rare occasions when I have seen two men dancing together, it has always been a jive. Having said that, it is possible to feel intimacy during a jive, and when I have, it has been with a younger partner.

Stockport 2007

2007-06-19T13:08:00.000-07:00

Finnish tango in Stockport? Yes, according to the Manchester Finnish language school. A "Finnish Friendship Day" was to include traditional sports such as Nordic walking, wife-carrying, and mobile phone throwing; but of more interest to me was live tango music in the evening, including a lesson. I rang the organiser, Jenni Viitanen, to get details of time and place.
The last Stockport-Bristol train would leave before the event finished. There was a late bus, but that would involve waiting for 7 hours at Birmingham bus station. Anyone who has been there will know why I didn't take that option. Accordingly I booked a room at the Britannia Hotel, Stockport.

A sign behind the desk said single rooms were £110 per night. As I had paid only £35 for mine, I was well pleased. Moral: always book over the internet. A large wedding party was staying at the hotel. I was asked if I was a member of it. As I was wearing a sports jacket that didn't seem very likely. Among the guests was a little boy of 2 or 3 dressed in full tails, and several attractive women displaying very impressive cleavages. Note for linguists: there is no word for cleavage (except in the geological sense) in Finnish. The concept, however, is very well known there. When I saw Kristiina Mäki a few years ago, it was a wonder she dared breathe, let alone sing.

The event was held in Vernon Park. This is allegedly within walking distance of the hotel, but I wanted to arrive fresh, so I took a taxi. Vernon Park is on the side of a hill and no doubt provided plenty of exercise for Victorian promenaders. There is a museum which has, as well as "proper" modern exhibits, a recreation of a Victorian museum in the basement. This is called "The Case of the Mummy's Hand" and shows all manner of strange objects, including the aforementioned ancient body part, crammed together without any attempt at classification. Much more interesting and entertaining than a modern museum.

There were two people there that I knew. The secretary of the Bristol language school, Carl Meyn, was there with his mother Irja, so I have now met three Irjas. Hanna Lähtevänoja of the Finn-Guild was also there. I met her in London last year, when I went to the embassy. I also made the acquaintance of Jenni Viitanen.

The tango lesson was a disappointment. A young couple from a Manchester dance school demonstrated Argentine tango, to Argentine music. They didn’t seem to be used to dancing on tarmac. They taught the 6-count basic, which is of no use at all in Finland, as Finns never step outside their partners. Anyone who tries, risks tripping his partner up. Afterwards I spoke to Jenni of my misgivings. She said she couldn’t get anyone who could teach Finnish tango. “I can” I said. “I’ve had lessons from Leena Blomqvist.” Well, if I don’t push myself forward, no-one else will.

There was now a gap in the music while another event took place. I think it was boot-flinging. I retired to the bar, where I had a Lonkero and made the acquaintance of two very attractive blonde ladies, Marjatta and Kirsti. I thought of the Marjatta in the Kalevala and asked this Marjatta if she too was a virgin. She said that she had never managed to finish the Kalevala. We talked about the Tangomarkkinat. A woman at the other end, whom I did not know, piped up and said she had heard about an English boy who went to the Tangomarkkinat every year. Either my fame is spreading, or there is another English tangofan out there.

Live music started at 19:30. Proper Finnish music at last. The band was called Ulkopaino. The members were British students at the Camberley language school. The singer, Andy Semens, had an impeccable Finnish accent and out-Finned the Finns with his mournful interpretation. Even the humppas sounded miserable. This is not intended as a criticism.

I spoke to Simon the bass player and suggested that they add Särkyneitä toiveita to their repertoire. “The cruel hand of fate snatched away my most beautiful dreams.” I think Andy could produce the definitive version.

Dancing was on the patio. The flagstones were very irregular and uneven, but that didn’t matter. Most people got up to dance, and I hardly sat down at all. At one point Hanna asked me if I liked Marjatta best. She is very observant. I had to admit it was true. The event ended at 22:00, though the band was persuaded to play several encores. The last waltz was Kultainen nuoruus, or Golden Youth. Hanna said we should return to her hotel, the Old Rectory, where the drinking and jollification could continue, although of course Lapin Kulta and Lonkero are not served there.

When I eventually returned to the Britannia, I asked if any sandwiches were available. The receptionist said the chef had gone home, but an efficient-looking young man said “just a minute”, disappeared, and came back with a large plate of sandwiches and snacks. It was left over from the wedding, and they didn’t charge.

After a leisurely breakfast and a read of the papers, I strolled back to the station. On the way I saw a car that looked just like Ugly Betty, a man on a tricycle with a dog in the trailer, a bus shelter with columns like a Greek temple, and an Art Deco fantasy of a theatre. What has this got to do with tango? Only this: if you want to wander around with your camera snapping architectural curiosities and tourist traps, you can do it anywhere, even in your own home town or the town down the road. Spending a lot of money and leaving your cat on its own to travel to another part of the world (I mean you travel, not the cat) is only worthwhile if you get to know the locals, communicate with them in their own language, and join them in whatever they do for entertainment. For me it's clasping a blonde ice-maiden in my arms to the throb of a beautiful tango - for you it might be downing litres of beer with thousands of German companions at the Oktoberfest. Or joining the Lithuanians or Slovenians in whatever it is they do on their time off.

Eurovision 2007

2007-06-19T13:05:00.001-07:00

Well, the Eurovision Song Contest has been and gone. Did you see the crowds packing the streets of Helsinki? I would have loved to have been there. As one of the commentators said, there will never be another day like it. Finland had been waiting 46 years for a win. I suppose there might be something similar when Portugal wins. Portugal has been trying since 1964. Do the Portuguese take the ESC as seriously as the Finns do? Time will tell.

There were a lot of complaints about the voting in the British press. But if it wasn't for our own coterie of Ireland and Malta we would have got nul points. It might be unpatriotic to say so, but it was a rotten entry. Scooch wasn't a proper group and the song was a copy of Slovenia's entry of 2002. Complaints about bias in the voting are nothing new. I remember the audience jeering the scoreboard in 1966 when all the Scandinavian countries voted for one another.

March 2007

2007-03-24T04:59:00.000-07:00

Last December Ryanair were running a special offer £12.71 each way to any destination in Europe. So naturally I booked a trip to Finland. It was for early March. I didn't know what was on, but I was sure something would be, and indeed there was. Kaija Pohjola was in Keuruu on the Friday and Vantaa on the Sunday (she was also at the Vanhan Kellari on Tuesday, but my trip didn't extend that long). I had never been to Keuruu, so that would be a new experience.

All Ryanair flights leave from Stansted, on the opposite side of England. The last bus leaves Bristol at 20:00 and arrives in Stansted at midnight. Then there is a 4½ hour wait before you can check in. A little unmanned train takes you from the departure lounge to the gates.

As the plane approached Tampere, I could see there was still snow on the ground. I could see the swirly tracks left by skiers. We landed at Tampere at 10:35, so there was plenty of time to look round the town and check into the hotel before the evening's dancing. I went to Stockmanns and bought Anne Mattila's and Elina Vettenranta's latest CD's and a book on the Eurovision Song Contest, which I have described in a separate post.

I went to the Hämeensilta as usual. It had been extensively refurbished since my last visit. A Naistentanssit was held, so I had to wait patiently for the ladies to approach me. I got talking to a man at the next table, who said the place was under new ownership. He asked if I was Estonian.

I didn't get many invitations, but quality made up for quantity. Best of all was Terttu, a small slim lady, a lovely dancer. I left at midnight, and enjoyed a mustamakkara (blood sausage and jam) from a kiosk before returning to the hotel.

Next day I had a look round Tampere. I went to the lookout tower. It is an art deco building dating from 1929, with an old (possibly original) rattly lift with concertina doors. There was a party of schoolchildren there and I noticed that although they skied up the hill, they put their skis over their shoulders and walked down. I then went to a museum devoted to Emil Altonen, who was a shoemaker/industrialist/patron of the arts.

A truly excellent night at the Hämeensilta. I was at my table and two beautiful elegantly-dressed ladies came in. They stood there looking round and seemed to be looking for a table near the floor. I offered them mine, and was rewarded by many ecstatic dances. The brunette's name was Sinikka.

"Didn't Toivo Kärki write a tango about you?" I asked. I always use this line when I meet a Sinikka and it usually gets a satisfactory response (Tango Sinikalle, or Tango for Sinikka, was written by Toivo Kärki and recorded by Rainer Friman, Taisto Tammi, and others). Please feel free to copy it, lads. It isn't my own invention. I pinched it from Tango is my Passion.

The blonde was Eeva-Liisa. A really lovely lady. Please note she is not the same lady I sometimes meet at the Vanhan Kellari: that one is Eine-Liisa. Eeva-Liisa pressed her forehead and hips against mine in a most exciting manner as we danced. The trip was worth it just for this.

I danced many times with both these ladies. I mean one at a time, not both at once. I also danced with various other partners, including a salsa with a slim, blonde, much younger lady. Salsa is quite rare in Finland. When I left at 1 o'clock, snow was gently falling. A perfect ending to a perfect evening.

When I got up at 7.30 the snow was starting to melt. I had a coffee and pulla bun in Stockmanns while waiting for the 10 o'clock train to Keuruu. The coffee and pulla was quite expensive at 4 euros, but I could sit in the window and watch Tampere high society walking past.

The snow looked much better in the country. I had to change trains at Haapamäki, where there was a 40 minute wait. An old steam locomotive is preserved there. There are more old locomotives in the yard, but it is not possible to get in. The Keurusselka Hotel is 9 km from Keuruu itself and the taxi costs 16 euros. I discovered later that the hotel is 14 km from Haapamäki, so it might be worth getting a taxi from there if time is more important than money.

The hotel is spread out over a large area, and you can stay in the main building or in "holiday chalets" which are much grander than the name suggests. There are tracks through the woods where you can ski, or cycle in the summer. There are buses into town, but the bus stop is quite a long way from the main hotel.

There is a sauna and swimming pool. The pool has side chambers where you hold on to handles while powerful jets of water are directed at your chest and groin. Some people stayed in the chambers for half an hour or more. Perhaps they were seeking relief for rheumatism or other condition. There is also a computer room, which is the size of a telephone kiosk. I got an email from Seija of Lappeenranta, who has been reading these ramblings.

A naistentanssit was held in the evening. It seems to be quite common for a naistentanssit to be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I wonder if it's universal? Christa Huikko and Veska Eerikäinen provided the music. I had a number of nice partners, including Anni and Riitta. After a particularly sexy tango with Riitta at 23:00 I thought about leaving but I was glad I didn’t because Heli asked me for a samba. She was tall, slim, with a fancy hairstyle and an ornate transparent blouse. Calm down lads, she had something on underneath. Then Christa and Veska played two heartrending tangos: Erottomattomat and Valoa ikkunassa. A blonde lady asked me for these. Afterwards I spoke to Christa and said I loved their version of Erottomattomat. (Arja Koriseva and Risto Nevala had included it in a “Tangopotpuri” in the Enkelin silmin concert, but it was only a 56 second fragment.) I asked if they had made any records, and she said they hadn’t. I noticed Riitta dancing with someone else and she didn’t hold him as close as she did me. She later asked me for a smoochy Elvis number. The dance ended at 00:30 and I returned to my room.

I was up at 7:30 next day for a sauna and swim. I asked at reception if skiing lessons were provided, and they said no. Apparently all Finns learn to ski in infancy, when they are close enough to the ground not to hurt themselves when they fall over. I asked if I could reserve a taxi for the following day. I have a mental block about the words varata and varastaa. One of them means reserve and the other means steal, but I can never remember which is which. Judging by the odd look the receptionist gave me, I must have used the wrong one. I saw from the notice board that in the summer a railway museum is open and a paddle steamer plies the lake. At this time of year the lake is still frozen.

At the dance that evening, music was provided by Christa and Veska, and Kaija Pohjola. I went to the cafe before the dance started and saw Kaija there enjoying a coffee and cigarette. I plucked up the courage to approach her and say how much I was looking forward to her performance. She greeted me in a very friendly manner and asked if I had enjoyed the Tangomarkkinat. I felt very flattered that she remembered me. She really is an exceptional lady. I wondered if Madonna would spend time with a fan like this.

Another excellent night, with some wonderful partners. Merja was very tiny and looked miserable dancing with other men but didn’t act miserable with me. Elli was tall, young, and had a net-like shawl that kept getting tangled with my jacket buttons. As we were disengaging ourselves for the fifth time, her friend passed by and said we would have to get married. Best of all was Anneli: red-haired, cuddly, with very tiny delicate hands.

Kaija Pohjola’s performance was wonderful. She included, as she always does, her 2001 hit Tosimies (A Real Man). When she got to the line “he forgets to give me roses” an old chap jumped up onto the stage and presented her with a huge bunch of roses. I wish I’d thought of that. After her spot I spoke to her again and asked her to sign a CD insert. But a lady who I think was a bit the worse for drink kept tugging at my sleeve and asking if I was married.
“Just a moment please, I’m talking to Miss Pohjola” I said, but she wouldn’t take the hint. Eventually I felt obliged to ask her to dance. Christa and Veska were providing the music by this time. My partner’s name was Viivi. The only Viivi I had heard of was in the Viivi and Wagner cartoon strip. I wondered if I bore any resemblance to Wagner. After the dance I took her back to her table and at that moment Kaija came past and asked if I was all right. I took the opportunity of this interruption to escape, but immediately felt guilty. It seemed dishonourable and un-British to rush away from Viivi like that, so I came back into the room. I couldn’t find Viivi anywhere. In that short space of time she seemed to have completely disappeared. I couldn’t find Anneli either. I found another partner though. She had a heavy shoulder bag which seemed to contain bricks. It swung out with the centrifugal force, throwing us off balance and endangering everybody else. I asked her name. “Viivi” she said.

I asked Christa to play Erottomattomat, and she said she would after Kaija’s second spot. I danced with Elli again, and got tangled up with her again; and with Merja; but Anneli seemed to have left. I got my Erottomattomat, and the dance ended at 01:30. I spoke to Christa and said I hoped she and Veska would make a record, and that Erottomattomat would be on it. A third band was getting ready to play rock and roll in the pavilion, but I decided it was time to go to bed. I asked the doorman if I could have the poster of Kaija in the vestibule, but he said somebody else had already asked for it. At that point Kaija herself came into the vestibule, said goodnight to me, and gave me a hug.

My room was in one of the chalets. On the way to breakfast the next morning, I was delighted to see Anneli on the same errand. We exchanged life stories over breakfast. There was an announcement that my taxi had arrived, and Anneli and I walked hand in hand to the front door.
When the taxi arrived at Keuruu station and I got my money out, I saw that I still had the hotel key. The taxi driver said he would take it back to the hotel. I rang the hotel and said the key was coming. The receptionist said she wasn't particularly bothered about the key: she was more concerned that I hadn't paid my bill. Blast! I had been so wrapped up in Anneli that I had completely forgotten this important duty. Fortunately the receptionist took my credit card number and seemed OK about it; but I was annoyed with myself for the rest of the day. Actually it shows how useful modern conveniences are: in the days before mobile phones and credit cards, I would have had to get a taxi back to the hotel to settle the bill in cash, and then return to the station. Three taxi journeys instead of one, and I would have missed the train.

An interesting museum in Tuusula is the artist Pekka Halonen's house. It was built in 1900 entirely out of timber baulks, except for the fireplaces and chimneys of course. Photography isn't allowed inside so I can't give a picture of the huge tree trunks holding up the roof. One sometimes reads of "log cabins" built by early American settlers and gets the impression that they were mere crude shacks; this shows what they were probably like. A lot of American settlers came from Scandinavia of course. Sibelius's house is nearby, but it was closed.

Here is an important word of warning: if you look up your favourite star on tanssi.org or elsewhere and get the place and the date but not the time, ring up the day before and ask. Even though it is even more difficult to speak Finnish on the phone than face to face. Don't do what I did and ring up on the afternoon of the performance. The Vantaa Puistokulma told me that Kaija Pohjola was indeed singing that day; but it was a päivätanssit (tea dance) and was nearly over. Fortunately Tanssi tähtien kanssa, the Finnish version of Strictly Come Dancing, was on TV in the evening.

There was time to look round Helsinki before returning to Tampere for my flight home. I went to the Popangel secondhand record shop in Fredrikinkatu and bought Ewa Kaarela's Ewa Swings Toivo Kärki. This is a collection of Kärki numbers sung in English. As the title suggests, they are all big band type numbers: no tangos. Ewa Kaarela is Polish and lives in Finland. I had seen her before on Finnish TV, in a sort of senior Pop Idol competition. She sang Making Whoopee in Finnish. Another good collection of Finnish songs in English is Songs Finland Sings (various artists). It includes Jari Sillanpää's English version of the classic tango Satumaa. Also Finnish Lesson, giving you all the vocabulary you need in the restaurants and dance halls of Finland. It was originally written in Swedish by Georg Malmsten:

Darling yes I love you: sua rakastan.
Syyskuu is September; muistan - I remember.
Ole hyvää älä itke: please don't cry.
Kaihota is yearning, palata returning,
Kiitos: that is thank you.
Näkemiin! Goodbye!

As I was coming out of the shop I almost literally bumped into Leena Blomqvist. She recognised me at once and asked if I was going to the Tangomarkkinat again this year. I said I hoped to, but family commitments might make me miss it for the first time in six years. When I said I was returning home that day, she said I must call on her and Å ke when I am next in Helsinki. Perhaps she thinks I need more tango lessons.

I called in Hilve's shop, which is also in Fredrikinkatu. She showed me all her stock as usual. I bought some flavoured chocolate. I was very impressed by the salmiakki flavour. There was a nice oil painting in an art shop nearby. It was quite small and I thought it would look good in my living room. Then I saw it was by Akseli Gallen-Kallela and cost 38,000 euros. Actually it was probably still a bargain at that price; but I didn't buy it.

I read in the Helsingin Sanomat that at 14:00 that day a senioritanssit would be held in the Kampin Palvelukeskus. This means Kamppi Service Centre, but it is not part of the new Kamppi shopping mall/bus station. It is right at the other end of Salomankatu in a rather scruffy building. It is a sort of community centre. The dancing was upstairs and although I arrived only 10 minutes after it started, it was already packed out. At 60, I was easily the youngest there. No allowance was made for the age of the clientele: the numbers followed one another as rapidly as at much younger venues, and there were plenty of humppas and jenkkas. My favourite partners were small dark Ritva and red-haired Helinä. I got some dirty looks from a chap in his early 80's - I think he fancied Helinä as well.

The dance ended at 16:00, the time when the Vanhan Kellari opens. But I had to be on the train to Tampere and home.

Eurovision Song Contest

2007-03-14T07:35:00.000-07:00

As we all know, this year Finland hosts the Eurovision Song Contest, finally winning after having competed unsuccessfully since 1961. To tell the honest truth, most of the efforts have not been particularly good. The only really good one was the very first, Valoa Ikkunassa sung by Laila Kinnunen. This excellent tango is still heard in Finland.

On my latest trip to Finland I bought a history of the Eurovsion Song Contest, entitled "Finland 12 points!". I am not actually recommending this book: for one thing it is expensive (nearly 40 euros), very heavy, and in spite of its weight I don't think it's very robust: it doesn't seem to shut properly and already one of the corners has been knocked off. Furthermore, in spite of its title, it is written entirely in Finnish. But one thing it gives, and other histories do not, is an indication of the songs that didn't make it. I know quite a lot of them; and they are mostly superior to the ones that were actually chosen. Have a look at the following list. Actual Eurovision entries are in black, the superior (in my opinion) also-rans are in red:

1962 Tipi-tii, Marion Rung: this song is about a bird twittering in a tree. Pearl Carr and Teddy Johnson had dealt with the same subject in 1959; they didn't win either / Sateinen yö, Matti Heinivaho and Vieno Kekkonen a lovely tango, still heard in Finland.
1964 Laiskotellen, Lasse Mårtenson / Tango keittiössä, Vieno Kekkonen. another tango.
1966 Playboy, Ann-Christine /the haunting waltz Muistojen bulevardi, Laila Kinnunen
1982 Nuku pommiin, Kojo / Paista päivä, Tapani Kansa. I don't actually know this tune, but it was written by Toivo Kärki, and I refuse to believe anything of his would get nul points.
1984 Hengaillaan, Kirka: Even Kirka's most dedicated fans admit that this is a weak effort. / Sä liian paljon vaadit / Elän hetkessä, both byAnneli Saaristo
1991 Hullu yö, Kaija Kärkinen / Enkelin silmin, Arja Koriseva
1992 Yamma-yamma, Pave Maijanen / Huomiseen, Arja Koriseva
1993 Tule luo, Katri-Helena / Vain taivas yksin tietää, Arja Koriseva. How could Arja be rejected even once, let alone three times in succession?

I suppose for the same reason I get left alone at naistentanssit, and Ailamari Vehviläinen isn't Tango Queen: the Finns don't know a good thing when they see it.

More Eurovision trivia:

In 1976 Fredi and the Friends (the backing group had an English name) sang Pump pump and came 11th. The Friends dumped Fredi in a most unfriendly manner and recorded Brotherhood of Man's winner Save your kisses for me in Finnish.

Cyprus's 1982 entry Mono i agapi sounded to Finns like "mono ja kaappi" (ski-boot and cupboard).

Arja's baby's name

2007-01-09T00:16:00.000-08:00

You read it here for the first time in English!

According to Finnish custom, a baby's name is not revealed until it has been christened and is under the protection of God. On 8th January 2007, the newest member of Arja and Pekka's family was given the name of Verna Luna Gunilla: all non-Finnish names. Their other children are Patrik and Karla Sol Angel - also non-Finnish.

Who wants to be a Finnish millionaire?

2006-12-28T06:21:00.000-08:00

I prepared this (in Finnish) as end-of-term entertainment for the Finnish language school. I was told it showed a Virtanenesque obsession with tango and even Finns wouldn't be able to answer it. Unfortunately I know something about tango; rather less about the Kalevala, Finland's national epic; and virtually nothing about anything else. But after all that effort I wanted it to have some sort of audience, so here it is. Original Finnish version available on request.

EUR 100
What colour is ammonium chloride?

A. Black.
B. White.
C. Brown.
D. Green.

EUR 200
Why were the Northerners annoyed with Lemminkäinen when he attended their wedding party?

A. He wasn't invited.
B. He arrived late, after everybody had eaten; and demanded food for himself and stabling for his horse.
C. He started a fight, in the course of which the host was killed.
D. All three of the above.

EUR 300
Who was the first Tango Queen?

A. Arja Saijonmaa.
B. Arja Havakka.
C. Arja Sipola.
D. Arja Koriseva.

EUR 500
Who is Tiina Räsänen's husband?

A. Erkki Räsänen.
B. Pauli Räsänen.
C. Petri Hervanto.
D. Jari Sillanpää.

EUR 1 000
Why was Rauli Somerjoki also known as Badding?

A. He was the "bad boy" of Finnish pop.
B. After Paddington Bear.
C. Badding is a Swedish holiday resort, where Rauli was conceived.
D. Badding was his real name.

EUR 2 000
Why did Lemminkäinen have to leave the island where he had been frolicking with the women?

A. His mother turned up to fetch him home.
B. He was exhausted from his efforts.
C. Ilmarinen needed his help in forging the Sampo.
D. The women's husbands came home from the war.

EUR 4 000
Why does Marjorie have such an un-Finnish name?

A. She is Australian.
B. Her real first name is Marjo-Riitta.
C. After 1950's agony aunt Marjorie Proops.
D. Her mother got pregnant through eating enchanted berries ("marjoja" in Finnish).

EUR 8 000
Why did the Tangomarkkinat organisers want Arja Koriseva to change her name to Arja Karen?

A. To avoid confusion with the classical actress Anja Koriseva.
B. Koriseva is a Japanese name, which Finns find difficult to pronounce.
C. To capitalise on the publicity surrounding the birth of Princess Karen of Denmark.
D. Koriseva means "wheezing" in Finnish.

EUR 16 000
Jasmin Mäntylä's boyfriend Tuomo Kivinen is well-known for his interest in what?

A. Ice hockey.
B. Sanskrit poetry.
C. Steam locomotive preservation.
D. Jasmin Mäntylä.

EUR 32 000
Who recently posed nude in the newspapers with a much younger dance partner?

A. Arja Saijonmaa.
B. Kaija Pohjola.
C. Eino Grön.
D. Danny.

EUR 64 000
Why did Lemminkäinen and Tiera abandon their invasion of the Northlands?

A. They were defeated by the Northern hordes.
B. Their weapons shattered in the cold.
C. The Witch of the North paid them off with Sampo-generated money.
D. They thought their mothers would be worried about them.

EUR 125 000
What was the Sampo made of?

A. Iron.
B. Gold and silver.
C. Feathers, milk, barley, and down.
D. Blood, sweat, and tears.

EUR 250 000
Who was the Helsinki engine driver with whom Lenin stayed in September 1917 when he was forced to flee Russia after the February Revolution?

A. Blomqvist.
B. Haarala.
C. Dallerup.
D. du Beke.

EUR 500 000
What device is on the Finnish Air Force's new flag?

A. A winged lion.
B. A double-headed eagle.
C. A Maltese cross.
D. A swastika.

EUR 1 000 000
In 1900 Finland's biggest steam engine was intalled in Finlayson's Tampere factory. Where was it made?

A. Germany.
B. Sweden.
C. England.
D. Switzerland.

Answers:

100 A
200 D
300 C
500 C
1 000 B
2 000 D
4 000 B
8 000 D
16 000 C
32 000 A
64 000 D
125 000 C
250 000 A
500 000 D
1 000 000 D

Christmas Miscellany

2006-12-10T12:27:00.000-08:00

Here in Blighty the warmest autumn for 250 years is starting to come to an end. In two weeks' time it will be Christmas. I sit looking out of the window, looking at the leaves lingering on the trees and the buds on my rose bush, and thinking of the Christmases I spent in Finland, when the snow was thick on the ground and the buses ran on time. Never mind, I can play my Finnish Christmas CD's. The shops in Finland will be full of seasonal CD's about now, but these are the ones to get if you are out there:

Saa joulu aikaan sen (Christmas Brings It): Arja Koriseva
Joulu joka päivä (Christmas Every Day): Arja Koriseva
Minun joululauluni (My Christmas Song): Anne Mattila and sisters

Some of Arja's offerings are familiar: Talven ihmemaa, Marian poika, and Lunta saa tuiskuttaa are recognisable as Winter Wonderland, Mary's Boy Child, and Let It Snow. Oi Beetlehem sä pienoinen (O Little Town of Bethlehem) is sheer perfection. I know I've mentioned it before; well, I'm mentioning it again. You just won't hear anything better than this. Sugary as the icing on a Christmas cake, but never cloying, is Pikkutontun joululipas (Little Elf's Christmas Box).

Anne Mattila and her similarly-named sisters Anneli, Anniina and Anitta give us 11 purely Finnish Christmas songs. Anne's powerful husky voice (and she was only 19 when she made the record) is perfect for the sometimes rather plaintive carols such as Joulun paperitähti Christmas Paper Star) "When I look at the paper star I remember my childhood and I'm not miserable" or Kuinka voisi joulu tulla (How could Christmas come?) "How could Christmas be coming when you're not?"

Joulumaa (Christmasland) is a well-known Finnish classic, written by Katri-Helena: "Christmasland isn't just snow and elves; Christmasland is peace of mind. You don't have to travel far; Christmasland is found in every heart."

For the last lesson at the Finnish language school here in Bristol before the Christmas holiday, we covered the Nativity in stadin slangi, the dialect spoken in the mean streets of Helsinki. I was charmed to see that the slangi for "swaddling clothes" is pampersit. When the shepherds decide to go to see the infant Jesus, they say, not mennään Beetlehemiin, as they would in "BBC Finnish", but lets kou to Piitlehem.

Seija, the landlady I stay with when I visit Seinäjoki, sent me a very nice Christmas present. It is an advent calendar. Behind the doors are Father Christmases, snowmen, and candles, all moulded from salmiakki. The moulding is very crisp and detailed, as you see from the picture. They taste good too.

I have discovered a flame-haired, scantily clad, scary superheroine. No, not Saija Varjus, the 1996 Tango Queen, but Red Sonja. Have a look at this:
http://www.sergiocariello.com/commissions/commissions_gallery/red%20sonja.jpg

Saija Varjus at the 2006 Tangomarkkinat

I really don't like these warm British winters. Perhaps next year I will be able to send a report from Finland. In the meantime, hyvää joulua kaikille! (Merry Christmas to all).

Arja's baby arrives

2006-11-09T06:57:00.000-08:00

This notice appeared on the official Arja Koriseva fansite today:

Arja Koriseva-Karmala and Pekka Karmala had a baby daughter on 8.11.2006. The baby was
born in the Keskussairaala hospital. Everything went according to expectations. Mother and baby are doing well.

Arja Koriseva is on maternity leave until September 2007. On her return she will make a new record and a concert tour. A Christmas concert tour next year is in the planning stage.

Arja thanks everyone warmly for their kind thoughts. She is not giving individual interviews or comments, but wishes to concentrate on spending her maternity leave in peace.

Arja Koriseva hopes for understanding from the media for her friendly request to spend this time in peace with her family and those closest to her.

Sound of Music finally ends

2006-10-19T11:59:00.000-07:00

Sound of Music was due to end its run in November, but the final evening was brought forward because of Arja Koriseva's pregnancy. I couldn't get to the very last performance, but I was able to get tickets for the penultimate show, on 29th September. The flight to Finland didn't cost anything, as I used my SAS voucher. Flight was London City airport to Tampere, via Stockholm.
I had never been to the City airport before. It isn't easy to get to from the west part of the country: you have to change twice on the Underground to get from Victoria bus station to the airport. The airport itself is small and has a genteel atmosphere. All the passengers are besuited business types reading the Financial Times or tapping at their laptops. No spaced-out backpackers sprawled across the benches, and no screaming badly-behaved kids.

When I walked into baggage reclaim at Tampere my luggage was already on the carousel. I decided I like small airports. I stayed at the Omena Hotel as before. In the evening I went to the Hämeensilta. I wondered if I would run into Seija the marathon runner. She wasn't there but I did encounter a familiar figure I had seen before at the Tangomarkkinat. Her name was Raili, we had danced together a number of times at the Tangomarkkinat, and she remembered me. Her friend Milja was a delightful blonde. I danced with both of them a number of times (I mean separately, not at the same time) and they finally left about 1 a.m. I left soon after and enjoyed a blood sausage and jam from a kiosk on the way back to the hotel. An excellent start to the trip.
Next day was much colder. I noticed that there were a number of stalls selling apples. The varieties were all completely unknown to me. I bought two of each variety and found them all crisp and delicious - not pappy and tasteless like so many English apples. Omena means apple - is Tampere an apple town? I resolved to find out.

There are many museums in Tampere. It has the world's only remaining Lenin museum. All the Russian ones are now closed. Lenin visited Finland 26 times. If I come back 4 more times, I will have beaten him. When he was forced to flee Russia after the February Revolution, he took refuge in Helsinki with an engine-driver whose name was Blomqvist. Any relation to Å ke? I must remember to ask him next time I see him. Lenin returned to Russia in triumph, firing locomotive no 293, which is still preserved in St Petersburg.

The Emil Aaltonen museum has industrial art, but it only opened weekends when I was there, and today was Thursday. The old Finlayson factory is now an industrial museum. Finland's biggest steam engine is preserved there. It was made in Switzerland, and proves the Swiss can make bigger things than cuckoo clocks. The Vapriikki museum complex contains the Ice Hockey Hall of Fame and a shoe museum. During the war they made shoes out of birch bark. They would not look out of place in the Vanhan Kellari or the Blackpool Tower Ballroom. If the shoes don't get your juices flowing, there is old shoemaking machinery that will. Also in the Vapriikki is Tampere's first trolleybus (and before you get excited lads, the trolleybus system closed in 1976) and a personal air raid shelter. This is a sort of large iron bullet, just big enough for a man to stand inside. There are tiny slots so you can see out. The thought of using it is terrifying: suppose fallen rubble made it impossible to get the door open? Suppose fire broke out and the shelter became an oven? Tangos are played as background music in the museum. I recognised Olavi Virta and the Harmony Sisters.

After doing my bit as a culture vulture, I hit the shops. There is a branch of Stockmanns in Tampere, and I bought a DVD entitled "Minä soitan sinulle illalla" or I'll call you in the evening. Starring Olavi Virta, Finland's Carlos Gardel. I also bought a CD by Danny Malando, entitled Tango klassikot. You remember Malando: he was a Dutchman named Arie Maasland whose orchestra played Argentine style tango in the 1960's and 70's. He died about 20 years ago: Danny Malando is his grandson. The music sounds exactly the same.

I had for a long time wanted to be in Tampere on a Thursday, because the Tanssitalo holds an event called Tango Thursday. What a disappointment. The place was elegant enough, but there were only 10 people there. No live music, only records, no atmosphere. The proportion of tangos was higher than at most other places, but they didn't predominate. I don't see how the place makes any money, but they have got Anniina Mattila next week so presumably they do. According to the noticeboard Päivähauska, or Daytime Fun, is held on Thursday afternoons. I can't say anything about this, or how much fun it actually is, as I wasn't there. About 21:30 people seemed to be leaving, so I gave it up as a bad job and went to the Hämeensilta. It was packed. This is much better! I met a number of nice partners, the best of the bunch being Marja. She was rather younger than me, so I didn't impose myself on her too much. At half past midnight I had a truly ecstatic tango with her and decided that that was the high point of the evening. Nothing better could possibly happen, so I collected my coat and shoes to return to the hotel. As I was waiting for the lift I noticed Marja going into the cloakroom to collect her stuff. Did she regard a tango with me as the high point of the evening? Or had she decided that if I was the best she was going to get, she might as well go home and finish her Soduku?

Next day I made my way to the station. The papers had a story that Arja Saijonmaa was the victim of robbery. "All my most precious possessions were taken" she sobs. The haul: designer dresses, 20 pairs designer shoes, pearl necklace and other jewellery. I'm not being flippant about this: this stuff represents a lifetime of memories.

In Seinäjoki I stayed with Seija as usual. Not Seija the marathon runner - Seija the landlady. Please keep up. There isn’t much to do in Seinäjoki when the Tangomarkkinat isn’t on, so in the afternoon I watched the Olavi Virta DVD with Seija. It had some nice tangos in it, including the title song. There were no subtitles, not even Finnish for the hard of hearing, but I understood the story. At least I think I did.

So what difference did Arja Koriseva’s size make to the story of Maria? Not much really. She didn’t leap about as much as on the first night; and she didn’t climb the tree and jump down. The baggy nun’s habit concealed her bump quite well; we could almost forget about it. We could suspend our disbelief, as the saying goes. The bump was more obvious in Maria’s wedding gown. Now we know why von Trapp and Maria got married in such haste: it was nothing to do with the Anschluss after all. But the quality of the acting is what it’s all about. And it was, as you would expect with Arja, unsurpassable. I laughed and cried as much as I had on the first night.

Train to Pori next day. Article in paper about Finnish Air Force's new flag. There's a swastika on it. I knew they used a swastika before the war, but I had always thought they abandoned it after Hitler adopted it. I checked into the Cumulus Hotel. The corridors are painted brick and with the heavy doors are reminiscent of a prison. Mira Kunnasluoto was appearing at the Tähtikellari that night and I thought I would locate the place so I could go straight there without getting all hot and bothered. It's a good thing I did. The Tähtikellari is in Isolinnankatu, just round the corner from the hotel. I walked up one side of the street and down the other, but could I blasted find it? In the end I went back to the hotel and asked. The receptionist, a very pleasant and helpful lady called Sonja, seemed surprised that I was asking about the Tähtikellari, as very few foreigners went there. I said I was a big fan of Mira Kunnasluoto. She seemed surprised at this as well. She told me that the Tähtikellari was opposite the Anttila department store, so I went back to Isolinnankatu and looked again. I located Anttila's all right, but I still walked past the Tähtikellari twice before I spotted it. It is in a rather derelict-looking building with a sign saying "bingo". After that I went into Anttila's and discovered that Helmut Lotti had made a new CD, which I bought.

Location of the Tähtikellari. It is accessed under the red canopy at the right of the building.

So that evening I went to the Tähtikellari. You go down some rather dirty steps to a locked door. If the doorman likes the look of you, he lets you in. In contrast to the refined Tampere venues, it has a slightly sleazy atmosphere. My sort of place. There were lots of nice dancers, I wasn't refused once, and a number of women asked me to dance although it wasn't a Naistentanssit. Best partners were Rauma (slim gypsy type) and Helinä (dark, slightly plump, very tactile).

Mira Kunnasluoto was absolutely wonderful. She was beautifully dressed (better than at the Tangomarkkinat) and her singing was out of this world. I was able to speak to her and she signed a CD insert for me. She drew two hearts on it.

When I checked out of the Cumulus next day Sonja asked if I had had a good time. I said I had. The train back to Tampere broke down in a one-horse town called Harjavalta. This is the first time I have experienced any delay relating to public transport in all my 23 visits to Finland. I had visions of being stuck in the back of beyond for hours and missing my flight home, but the guard said a new locomotive was on its way, and sure enough it turned up within the hour. Britain could learn a lot from Finnish efficiency.

The new locomotive arrives

Arja can swing it!

2006-09-25T06:55:00.000-07:00

An article about Arja Koriseva appears in today's Iltalehti:
http://www.iltalehti.fi/viihde/200609245160733_vi.shtml

The following translation is not approved by Iltalehti, but I'm hoping they don't mind:

Arja Koriseva pulls in packed houses at the Seinäjoki City Theatre even though her baby is due in a scant two months.

- Nothing much has changed, says Arja Koriseva says of her September performances as Maria in the Sound of Music at the Seinäjoki City Theatre.

Arja is expecting a baby , but that has not stopped her from singing and dancing to the full in her role.

- Certainly I don't climb to the top of the tree any more, because I have to jump down again. The shock would not be good. End I don't dance so wildly on the sofa. Normal running steps on the other hand are no difficulty, she explains.

And so Arja does. The audience at the Seinäjoki City Theatre get to see the same energetic performance that they always did. They sigh now and then: how does Arja do it?

Most changes in the show have been to Arja's costumes. The slim-waisted Maria has had to have her clothes let out a bit. But they suit her, and the audience goes along with it.

When Arja Koriseva first steps onto the stage as Maria, climbs the tree and sits on a branch, the audience is moved. And remains so for the entire performance.

Arja's voice is soft and full of drama as she sings the familiar songs of the Sound of Music.
- Although the hundredth performance is coming up, the songs move as intensively as ever, Arja says.

Golden Earrings

2006-09-13T08:25:00.000-07:00

Kultaiset korvarenkaat, or Golden Earrings, was Arja Koriseva's first big hit, which she sang in a lyrical dreamy style. She includes a more raunchy version in her repertoire today. It is the first track on Kaija Pohjola's Tangokuningatar DVD, and is frequently heard at the Tangomarkkinat. Ailamari Vehviläinen sang it in the 2004 finals.

I have now tracked down the original version. It is the theme song from the 1947 film Golden Earrings, set in Germany in the late 1930's. British spy Ray Milland escapes from the Gestapo, and he manages to complete his mission and escape with the help of gypsy wench Marlene Dietrich.

There does not appear to be any British version currently available on DVD. I got a Dutch version from Ebay. The audio is English and sleeve notes are in Dutch. There are subtitiles in a number of languages, including Fins, Hongaars, Pools, and my particular favourite, Zweeds.

Tangomarkkinat 2006

2006-07-15T03:36:00.000-07:00

I received my copy of "Tango Illusion" a few days before I was due to depart. It was much thinner than usual and was printed on poorer quality paper. Furthermore, the list of members was missing. I liked seeing my name there. It was the only Anglo-Saxon name in a long list of Finnish and Swedish names; and I appeared alongside such dignitaries as Tarja Halonen and Mira Kunnasluoto.

Although I had planned to fly Ryanair, the saving wasn't nearly as big as promised. Furthermore, I would have had to fly from Stanstead and if I was going to spend several hours and a lot of money travelling from one end of a country to the other, I would rather that country was Finland. So I booked an SAS flight, changing at Copenhagen.

The first problem arose when the flight to Copenhagen was delayed. In fact it was delayed so much that I would have missed the connection to Helsinki, so SAS put me on a flight to Stockholm. When I got there I discovered that because of this, and another unrelated cockup, there were 16 people too many on the flight to Helsinki. Volunteers were called for: would anyone be prepared to fly to Turku instead, and receive a free train transfer to Helsinki and a 300 euro travel voucher? I noticed that there was a flight to Tampere in about an hour. Could I go there instead? Yes I could, but not on that flight, which was full. I would have to wait for the next flight to Tampere, in five hours time.

The paperwork took nearly an hour to complete. Perhaps they thought that, as I had changed my itinerary twice in one day, I was a fugitive from justice trying to cover my tracks. I wondered where my luggage was, and what would happen when it was time to return home. Perhaps the SAS computer would think: "well, he never went to Helsinki, so he won't be coming back from there". But there’s no point in fretting about it.

I had time to get a train into Stockholm, mooch around for a bit, and try the Swedish beer. On the plane I sat next to a very nice lady whose name was Satu. She was a cat judge, and had been judging a cat competition in Gdansk. She had also delivered an American Curl kitten to a German couple. Satu means fairytale in Finnish; she seemed surprised that I knew this.

I stayed at the Omena Hotel. This has no receptionist and no keys. You have to punch in a code at the door to get in. You then pass through two internal doors, both needing the code, before you get to your own door. Tampere is an old industrial town with a number of factory chimneys and a barrage in the river. As this is a tango blog I will pass over the industrial archaeology, pausing only to mention that the local delicacy is blood sausage, which is served with a dab of lingonberry jam and a glass of milk. I paid 1.70 euros for mine. I was reminded of those nomadic peoples who bleed their animals, thus getting animal protein without killing their beasts, and mix the blood with milk. Perhaps this delicacy goes right back to the Lapps.

There are a number of dance places in Tampere, and I selected the Hämeensilta, purely because it was nearest to the hotel (in the same street, in fact). It is on the 7th floor, and you can look out over Tampere. It opens at 19:00 but I was the only customer and after two hours I had got fed up with drinking beer and looking at Tampere rooftops and went out. When I came back at 22:00 the place was in full swing. A Naistentanssit was held that evening and at first I didn't get many offers. One of my partners said it was because I wasn't known, and they didn't get many foreigners there. But soon the invitations came thick and fast and I hardly had the opportunity to sit down. I met Seija, whose interests were dancing and marathon running. She said that when she was at school German was compulsory, and those few who learned English only studied it for two years. Now English is taught from age 8. This would explain why very few Finns my age speak English, whereas nearly all youngsters are fluent.

Next day, 5th July, I went by train to Seinäjoki. The weather was extremely hot and sticky, so I got a taxi to Seija's house (this is Seija the landlady, the same one I stayed with last year; not the same Seija I had been smooching with the night before). The house was full of her relatives: I think there was a brother and his wife and children and a daughter with husband and baby. I was introduced to all of them, and don't remember a single one of their names. They were all going to the brother's summer cottage, so I would have the house to myself until Seija's son came home on leave from the Army. Just in time I rescued my briefcase, which the brother had put in the boot of his car along with his own luggage. It contained my passport, money, camera, and return tickets.

That evening was the show "The silver screen dances and plays". Seija had bought a ticket for me, and I was in the front row. The show involved clips from old Finnish films, which the performers (Ailamari Vehviläinen, Mira Kunnasluoto, Erkki Räsänen, and Rami Rafael) then re-enacted. One of the films was Yövartija vain (Just a Nightwatchman) of 1940, and featured La Cumparsita. For Me and My Girl is now a song for macho lumberjacks. After the show I sent a rose to Ailamari via the doorman and hung about for a bit outside, but I didn't get to see her. No dancing that day, but there was tango karaoke in one of the bars. I ran into Hilve there.

Next morning I went into the market square and bought a litre of strawberries, a cup of coffee, and a newspaper. On the letters page was a poem about strawberries by 12 year old Maiju Ojanperä. Headline news was that both Mira Kunnasluoto and Marita Taavitsainen have split from their partners, but have found new ones. Sorry lads, you appear to have missed the boat there. But you want them to be happy, don't you? Don't say that the best tangos arise from loneliness, misery, and tear-stained pillows. It is also rumoured that Ailamari Vehviläinen might compete next year. I hope she does - she has the sort of talent the world can't afford to lose. No cat show was advertised this year. I asked about it at the enquiry office, but they didn't know anything. So it seems that I won't be able to boast that I know a famous Finnish cat judge. I bought a pass, which was even crappier than last year - a sort of plasticised paper.

A tango seminar was held in the theatre. I particularly wanted to go because Eila Pienimäki, who had a string of hits in the 1960's, was taking part. On the way I noticed the name "Lemminkäinen" in brass letters in the pavement. I suppose it has always been there, but I hadn't noticed it before. Why was it there? Was it believed that the hero was buried here? Is Seinäjoki one of the villages mentioned in the Kalevala?

There was not a single village
Where he did not find ten homesteads.
There was not a single homestead
Where he did not find ten maidens.
There was not a single maiden,
None among the mothers' daughters,
By whose side he did not stretch him:
In whose arms he did not nestle.

The seminar dealt with the poetry and history of tango. I could understand it at first but the language soon got very difficult and academic. All I could do was gaze at Eila Pienimäki with a mixture of lust and admiration. I was able to speak to her afterwards and she signed a CD insert for me. She said I ought to find a "special someone".

Eila Pienimäki then and now

I thought I would check out the Treffibaari, or "dating bar". On the way I caught sight of a familiar figure from last year: tall, blonde hair piled up on top of her head, plunging neckline, skirt barely covering her buttocks - Irja! She was on her mobile but broke off to greet me and say "see you in the Tangokatu tonight". I was surprised, and very flattered, that she remembered me.

The Treffibaari was no different from any other bar. It was full of Finns drinking in silence. There was a hand-written advertisement: "Drink Jallukola and make your partner more beautiful". Another bar was advertising itself as a "tango-free zone". Non-tango entertainment provided by Anna Eriksson and some people I hadn't heard of. But why would tango-haters come to Seinäjoki during the Tangomarkkinat? And tango-hating locals already have 360 tango-free days a year.

The opening ceremony was at 17:00 hours. The Seinäjoki Railwaymen's Brass Band marched through the streets playing La Cumparsita in march time. You will recall that Geraldo Matos Rodriguez originally wrote it as a march and it was only when Roberto Firpo got hold of it that it became a tango. From time to time the band stopped (I mean stopped marching, not stopped playing), and children danced ballroom tango while Kati Fors, last year's Tango Queen, supplied the vocals. I noticed a twelve year old boy who seemed to be dancing with his mother. But when they got close to me I saw that she was pretty much the same age as him. It seemed to be an example of the "lamb dressed as mutton" effect that you often see at ballroom venues. Put a twelve year old boy in a dinner jacket and dicky bow and he looks cute: a twelve year old girl in a ballgown and full makeup immediately ages 30 years. At a children's competition in Blackpool once, I noticed a girl, 9 going on 43, wearing a sequin-studded gown and lounging in her chair, sipping something that presumably wasn't gin and tonic but she was clearly pretending it was.

Public dancing started at 18:00. The TV programme "Kesäillan valssi" was being recorded and the Tangokatu was packed. I soon found a partner, a very pretty blonde whose name was Sinikka. "Didn't Toivo Kärki write Tango for Sinikka?" I asked. She seemed pleased I knew, and held me just a bit closer. It seems to be worth boning up on the local culture. She stayed with me during the whole of the recording, and the cameraman filmed us several times. I don’t know if we ever ended up on screen, as the show was not due to be broadcast until after I had left Finland.

After the recording I renewed my acquaintance with some old partners (I mean old in the sense that I had danced with them before, not . . . oh, you know what I mean): Irja, Pirkko, and the championship dancer Irma. Irma hadn’t been at last year’s Tangomarkkinat, but she said she remembered me from 2004. The American dance teacher Richard Gimmi said he would meet me, but I would have to wait for him to approach me, because he had my mugshot and I didn’t have his. I met Ilona, a very nice lively lady. She was wearing a miniskirt and no tights, and I was wearing shorts, so I was very aware of her legs. She didn't seem to mind though, as we danced together several times.

Kati Fors gave a performance in the Pop Village round the corner from the Tangokatu. Two blonde ladies of similar appearance were watching, and I asked the older of the two to dance. She said her name was Anja, she had come with her niece, and this was their first visit to the Tangomarkkinat. The next singer was Marita Taavitsainen, who is one of my idols. I wanted to film her, but Anja wanted to dance. I was annoyed that I wasn’t able to film Marita’s version of Paradise. This is one of Rauli Badding Somerjoki’s old hits, and I had never heard it sung by a woman. But then I thought: we admire our idols because they provide the best music; so really we should dance to it and savour the moment, and not always try to preserve everything. At one point Marita dragged her boyfriend onto the stage. There was a chorus of “aahs” from the crowd, but the poor chap looked extremely embarrassed.

Mira Kunnasluoto followed. I had been looking forward to this, as she is the first Finnish star I had developed an admiration for. I was able to speak to her afterwards and say how much I had enjoyed her performance and also her new record. She signed the insert for me. I finally left the Tangokatu at 02:30, by which time the attendance was quite sparse.

Next day was Friday. I went to the market square for breakfast, which was strawberries. I had a look at the souvenir stall. A much smaller selection than usual. The t-shirts had the same design as last year, except that the 05 had been changed to 06. No tango-specific postcards, lighters, keyfobs, etc as there were in previous years. But there was a DVD called 20 years of tango royals, and I bought that. Hilve's stall was nearby and I chatted with her for a bit, and even managed to escape without buying anything.

The weather was extremely hot and a few people were dancing to records in the Tangokatu. I saw a newspaper reporter interviewing Ilona. Soon the place started to fill up and the performers, starting with Mira Kunnasluoto, came on. I rashly danced an energetic humppa with Irja and we had to retreat to the bar to cool down with Lonkero (gin and grapefruit). Irja told me she had attended every Tangomarkkinat from the beginning and had kept videos of all the televised finals. I met Richard Gimmi at last. I already knew his partner Anja, whom I had met last year (not the same Anja who had come with her niece). They said they had been to Peru and Argentina to study Latin American dancing. I asked if they intended to enter the tango dancing competition. Anja said she was up for it, but Richard didn't fancy it. I asked Anja if she would partner me, and she said she might if we could get some practice in at the Atria Hall that evening. Unfortunately I wouldn't be able to as Arja Koriseva was scheduled to appear in the Tangokatu.

I found yet another very nice partner. She was little, only 5 foot, with waist-length blonde hair. Her name was Irja. Yes, yet another duplicate name. I thought of renaming her Aino, after the maiden in the Kalevala who was similarly tressed, but that would make me Väinämöinen, the aged white-bearded bard who took a fancy to her (she had to turn herself into a fish to get away from him).

Performers that evening included Johanna Pakonen and Saija Tuupanen. Anne Mattila made her first appearance at a Tangomarkkinat, but I was only able to stay for two numbers because she inconveniently came on in the Pop Village only a short while before Arja Koriseva was due to appear in the Tangokatu.

What can I say about Arja that I haven't said before? Every time I see her I say that this is the best thing she has ever done, and every time I tell the truth. The philosophers say that you can't improve on perfection, but Arja can, every time. And yet if I look back on old recordings I have to say that these too are the best. Her performance lasted an hour, and covered old favourites such as Golden Earrings, and numbers which I have never heard her do before, including Eila Pienimäki's old hit By the Old Gate. But the highlight was Let's Twist Again - the most exciting version I have ever heard. When she finished at about 01:30, I thought that nothing on God's earth could be better than what I had just experienced. Although it was still early, I went back to the house. I didn't even stay for Jari Sillanpää. Anything or anybody coming after Arja would be an anticlimax.

I was up bright and early and went to the square for breakfast. After due consideration, and taking everything into account, I decided on strawberries. There was definitely no cat show today. The tango competition was in the Atria Hall that morning, but I had not been able to organise a partner for it and I wasn't satisfied to just watch. I ran into little Irja in the Tangokatu and we had some nice dances together. Johanna Piipponen made an unscheduled appearance. Two men with a large video camera and a microphone approached me and asked, in English, why I liked tango so much. I came out with some platitude in the same language and was most annoyed with myself when they went away. Why hadn't I insisted on replying in Finnish? If that goes out on TV, everyone will think I can't speak Finnish. Of course, some people think that anyway.

The Church Concert was at 17:00 hours. Judita Leitaite sang, amongst other numbers, Chanson d'Amour (which was not Manhattan Transfer's hit of 1977) and Nuit d'Etoiles (not Malando's tango Noches des Estrellas). But I had really come to hear Ailamari Vehviläinen, who sang just one number: Jerusalem, which was not the unofficial English national anthem by William Blake. This was a completely new side to Ailamari, which I hadn't heard before.

I returned to the Tangokatu in time to see Saija Varjus. .She is the one who can rip your heart out by the roots with her tangos. She had me in tears with the old Presley hit You were Always on my Mind. I spoke to her afterwards and she signed a CD insert for me. She is quite scary close up: tall, muscular, wild flame-red hair, very little clothing - a bit like an Amazon queen, or perhaps Xena the Warrior Princess.

The Tango King and Queen for 2006 were Marko Lämsä and Elina Vettenranta. She was described in the papers next day as “mature” and “a veteran singer”; though at 36 she is hardly ready for her Zimmer frame just yet.

At 23:00 I made my way to the Atria Hall. In previous years it has been decorated in the traditional Finnish style with large birch branches in buckets of water. Not this year. More cost-cutting. Near the floor a long line of women waited. Opposite an equally long line of men. You had to be quick: about 30 seconds into the number, all the women had been taken.

Kaija Pohjola came on at 01:30. Her style was refined and sophisticated, not raunchy. (Though she can do raunchy as well: try the tango Polttavat huulet (Burning Lips) on her album Härmän kaipuu, for example.) I was able to speak to her afterwards, and she claimed to remember me. She signed a CD insert. She did a second set, and I eventually left at 03:00.

The next day (or rather the same day) was Sunday, and this year there was no dancing. In the afternoon a "Royal Concert" was held in the theatre. I enjoyed it, particularly Saija Varjus's spot, but it was the only event held that day apart from some tango karaoke in one of the bars. As I was coming out of the theatre, I notice a very elegantly dressed young woman. "She looks a bit like Eija Kantola" I thought to myself. That is exactly who it was. Why hadn't she been signed up for the show? More cost-cutting, I suppose.

Seija had come home, and that evening we watched some of the Tango Royals DVD. Not all of it - it is over 4 hours long. It comprises the prizewinning performances of all the Tango Royals from 1985 to 2004, and there is also a documentary on the history of the Tangomarkkinat. It is interesting to see how the stars have changed over the years: Arja Koriseva's dreamy and ethereal style at the beginning of her career; Saija Varjus looking quite refined. The biggest surprise was Marita Taavitsainen. It shows that the judges know their stuff. Who would have thought that this rather shy and timid creature would blossom into the charismatic superstar we know and love today?

On Monday morning I took the train to Helsinki. There are no live performances on Mondays at the Vanhan Kellari, only records, but I had a good time nonetheless. A Japanese party, including an older lady in a kimono, came in. It was rather reminiscent of the Japanese episode in Tango is my Passion. I managed to get a couple of dances with Hilkka, the most popular lady in the Kellari. She barely gets a chance to sit down or sip her drink. She left early, and took the trouble to say goodbye to me. She asked if I was coming again tomorrow, and expressed disappointment when I said I was returning to England. Of course this is just her way - the same friendly and ladylike way that makes her so popular - but it was flattering all the same.

The following day there was time for a quick visit to the Popenkeli record shop before going to the airport. I bought an old vinyl LP of Rauli Badding Somerjoki. My reservation on the return flight still existed, so I was able to return home.

Tangomarkkinat epilogue

Many people go to the theatre to see their idols, and some of them hang about outside the theatre hoping to meet them; but how many get emails saying “sorry I couldn’t stay to speak to you, I had to catch a train”? Truly Ailamari is one in a million!

Lemminkäinen is the name of a road maintenance firm. How disappointing.
If you are thinking of getting Eija Kantola’s new album Legendaa, beware: track 3, Sattumaa, is not the classic tango Satumaa. Notice the extra T!

If you were frustrated at not being able to download Arja Koriseva's new single and were thinking of downloading it next time you go to Finland, you will STILL be out of luck because the website doesn't like non-Finnish credit cards. You will have to get a Finnish person to do it for you. And once you've got it, don't mess about with it. I changed the file name of mine, moved it about on my computer, and now it says I haven't got a licence for it.

Seija gave me a few episodes of Tanssii tähtien kanssa, the Finnish version of Strictly Come Dancing. I didn't recognise any of the celebrities in it. Everything was very similar to the British version: the same set, the same sort of sepulchral voice announcing “The judges will now reveal their scores”; they have even found a presenter who looks a bit like Tess Daly. The style of dancing is not Finnish: it is standard international ballroom, so this is not really the place to describe it. But I will say that one of the judges said of a quickstep: “a bit too much like a humppa”. There seemed to have been a little trouble with the spelling of "quickstep", which of course is not a Finnish dance:

Tangomarkkinat Preview

2006-06-06T06:33:00.000-07:00

The definitive programme for the tangomarkkinat is now available as a pdf download from www. tangomarkkinat.fi The event is shorter than it has been in previous years: the opening parade is on Thursday, not Wednesday; which means there is no dancing on Wednesday night or during the day on Thursday. There is no dancing on Sunday either. I have always found that the most interesting and inventive dancers turned out on Sunday morning, and I have had some of my most idyllic experiences on Sunday evening. Could the event be running into financial difficulties? I only got two issues of "Tango Illusion" magazine last year instead of three; and though I have been offered, and have taken up, a renewal at reduced rate, I have heard nothing since I sent the form back with the money.

Anyway, a new event is a musical called "The silver screen dances and plays". And who is in it? Ailamari Vehviläinen! Yes, she is back in spite of everything. And if that wasn't enough, Mira Kunnasluoto is in it as well. The Friday performance is already sold out. I tried to get tickets for Wednesday, but they aren't sold outside Finland. I will just have to hope there are still some seats left whe I get there.

On Thursday is a tango seminar. One of the participants is veteran tango singer Eila Pienimäki, who had a big hit with "Shattered Hopes" in 1960. Also new is a "tango camp" which appears to be lessons in Finnish tango.

Arja Koriseva will be putting in just one appearance, on Friday night in the Tango Street. Anne Mattila, whom I have never seen live, will be in the Pop Village, also on Friday night; as will Eija Kantola in the Atria Hall. I hope they will have the decency not all to be on at the same time. Ailamari Vehviläinen will be in the church concert on Saturday afternoon, which means I will miss the results of the cat show again.

Kaija Pohjola, who has never missed a Tangomarkkinat since she became Tango Queen, will be putting in just one appearance, on Saturday night in the Atria Hall.

Other participants are Saija Varjus, Jari Sillanpää, Tiina Räsänen, Erkki Räsänen, Johanna Pakonen, Johana Debrczeni and a great many others.

I would urge anyone who has been thinking of going to the Tangomarkkinat not to put it off any longer.

Arja's baby

2006-05-16T07:05:00.000-07:00

This is becoming less of a tango blog and more of an Arja Koriseva fansite, but this is important.

On 11th May 2006 the Finnish papers were full of the news that Arja is expecting her third baby. The big day is in mid-November. In the Iltalehti newspaper of 13th May she is quoted as saying: "I have really been hoping for this baby! I will do nothing to risk the pregnancy or the health of the baby." Nevertheless her timetable has been rejigged, with dates for the coming winter being brought forward to the summer, and she is being rushed all over Finland, doing something most days. Her summer schedule can be seen at http:/// and it raises the concerns I have had before about the exploitation of entertainers. Still, I suppose she knows what she is doing and her husband will presumably step in if he suspects she is being taken advantage of.

Arja is due to appear at the Tangomarkkinat on 7th July. "Sound of Music" was due to end on 3rd November, but the final performance is now 12:00 on Saturday 14th October. I have contacted Tuija Tunderberg at the theatre to ask if Arja would still be performing, or if the part of Maria would be taken by an understudy. She confirms that Arja will still be there, though presumably this could change. An eight months pregnant Maria will add a certain something to the story.

Other celebrity news: Mira Kunnasluoto has issued a new CD. It is called "Riisuttu" (Stripped Naked). The label shows a shapely leg encased in fishnet tights. I don't know if it's Mira's own. There are no tangos on the CD. Arja Saijonmaa (aged 61) appeared in the Swedish version of "Strictly Come Dancing". She and her professional partner Tobias Karlsson, age 28, posed nude in the Swedish papers.

Arja is Walking in the Air

2005-11-30T01:10:00.000-08:00

The good news is Arja Koriseva has made a new single. It is Avaruus, known in the UK as Walking in the Air, the theme from the Snowman. The bad news is that I can't get it. It is not sold in the shops, even in Finland. It is sold only on Arja's concert tour. Naturally I would love to attend one of Arja's concerts - there is one in Turku on 14th December, and Helsinki on 18th - but after a horrendous dentist's bill (I needed two crowns) I have to remain in Blighty for the time being. The single can be downloaded from http://musiikki.iltasanomat.fi but not from outside Finland. You can however listen to a 30 second clip. I must confess that I have never liked this particular song, but Arja's wonderful rich voice has changed my mind for me. The record will allegedly go on general sale some time next year.

I have also discovered that Ryanair flies from Standstead to Tampere for about half the price that KLM charges for Bristol-Helsinki. I have never been to Tampere, though I have passed through it on the Helsinki-Seinäjoki train. It has a funfair and a good selection of dance places, and the local delicacy is blood sausage. Watch this space.

Boat Trip

2005-09-13T07:36:00.000-07:00

My next destination after Sound of Music was Finland’s ancient capital, Turku.

I read in the gossip columns that Susanna Gärdström is embarking on a new career as a pinup girl. There were pictures of her wearing nothing but a lacy white basque. She was quoted as saying: "My fans are mostly men of 60 and over. One of them was standing right in front of the stage during my entire set." Could she have meant me? That is what I did when she was at the Vanhan Kellari in December 2004! She went on: "He told me he was hoping my tits would fall out of my low-cut top." No, definitely not me. I never said that. At least not out loud. Not loud enough that she would hear, at any rate. She also spoke about Ailamari Vehviläinen, a fellow finalist at the 2004 Tangomarkkinat: "It is not right to humiliate competitors for the sake of TV drama . . . it reduces the singing competition to the level of reality TV."

In the evening I went to the Galax. This is a very swish place with elegant decor and dancing on two floors. It doesn’t open till 21:00, and even then there were very few customers and the band was still setting up downstairs. Upstairs records were playing, but nobody was dancing. I noticed a nice-looking young blonde and asked her to dance. Immediately several other people followed my example. The place filled up by 22:30 and by midnight was packed solid. Upstairs was ballroom-type music (including of course tangos) provided by Ari Klem; downstairs was headbanging. The two bands did not interfere with each other at all.

I returned to my hotel at 2 and was up at 6 in order to catch the Viking Line boat to Stockholm. I didn't actually want to go to Stockholm; I was interested in the all-day dancing on the boat. This started with records at 9:30. Later live music was provided by Ari Klem and others.
This boat trip is more interesting than most because there are thousands of little islands between Finland and Sweden, giving the passengers something more interesting to look at than a lot of water. There are large windows in the ballroom so you can see them without going up on deck.

About halfway across is a settled area called Ahvenenmaa, where the boat stops and a lot of people get on and off. Some of my favourite partners got off at this point. Everything seemed to go rather Swedish after this. All the songs seemed to be sung in Swedish. A crowd of attractive ladies got on and I immediately made a beeline for them. None of them could speak English or Finnish but we seemed to get along OK all the same. One was extremely lively and enthusiastic and had no sense of rhythm whatsoever. By ignoring the music completely and following her movements I managed to have a good dance with her.

A small dark-haired woman of distinctly non-Swedish appearance asked me to dance. She told me, in English, that she was Italian and lived in Sweden. "Never marry a Scandinavian, particularly a Swede or a Finn," she said. "They try to control everything you do. Don't put your hand there, put it in the small of my back. Don't break up the rhythm like that, keep it slow slow quick quick. An Italian woman will let you be boss in your own home. Get nearer the middle of the floor".

We remained together until she got off at Stockholm. I stayed on the boat. Records continued to be played in the ballroom while it was in harbour; then the live music started again. By 23:30 I started to feel tired. I shouldn't be tired, I thought, I've kept going till long past midnight before. But I had been at it for 14 hours and was soon forced to retire to my cabin.

I woke at 6:30 and had breakfast, which was porridge. The boat docked at Turku at 7:35. I noticed Ari Klem trundling a trolley of Duty-Frees. I checked into the hotel, which was right opposite the terminal, and set off to look round the town. I could describe the Pharmacy Museum and the castle, but I won't as they are not tango-related, and will instead go straight to the events of the evening.

It was a Sunday and I didn't think there would be any dancing. But in the Turun Sanomat there was an advertisement for a dance at the Uittamo pavilion. I asked the receptionist where this was. She said about 3 kilometres distant. This is easy walking distance but I decided to book a taxi and was glad I did, as it seemed a hell of a lot longer than that. The pavilion is a wooden building like the one in Onnen maa and Iskelmä prinssi, which I have described before. It is surrounded by birch trees, and I remembered the first chapter of "Tango is my Passion", where Virtanen has to dash out of country dance halls and grab a handful of birch twigs to curb his unruly organ before going back for another tango.

I arrived shortly after 19:00 and the band (not records!) was already playing. What's more, they were playing Satumaa. Men were lined up down one side of the room, women on the other. There was an illuminated sign saying Miesten haku or Naisten haku so nobody would be in any doubt. A second floor was outside so you could dance under the stars. A kiosk was nearby where you could buy coffee, soft drinks, and cakes. Absolutely delightful.

I danced pretty much every number and wasn't refused once. The singer was Jaana Pöllänen, whom I had seen on Jos sais kerran on tv. She was Tango Princess in 2000, coming second to Mira Kunnasluoto, but never gained the coveted title herself. She gave me a signed photograph and said "thank you for enjoying it". The dance ended at 23:30. I hadn't booked a taxi back, but the security guard ordered one on his mobile.

Next day I took the train back to Helsinki and arrived about 11:00. My flight was at 16:50 which meant I would have to get the airport bus in about 3 hours. I saw in the Helsingin Sanomat that a "senior dance" would be held in Aleksanderinkatu at 13:00. Admission free. It would be worth trying to catch the first hour of that, I thought; but first I went to Hilve's shop in Fredrikinkatu.

Hilve greeted me effusively, introduced me to the customer who was already in the shop, and offered me coffee, ice-cream, and biscuits. These were described as "Lappish biscuits" and looked like, but presumably weren't, communion wafers. The shop was crammed with decorative objects, and Hilve insisted on showing me each one. She makes all the ceramics herself. Eventually I escaped having spent only 30 euros, but it was too late to go to the senior dance. That will have to wait for my next visit.

It seems to be worth reading the Helsingin Sanomat. It's a serious broadsheet paper, like the Times, and the language is rather too difficult for me. Also it costs 3 euros. I normally read the downmarket tabloids, which have easier Finnish and plenty of celebrity gossip. And they're cheaper. But the Helsingin Sanomat and the Turun Sanomat (which might or might not be a sister publication) directed me towards some wonderful dances that I would otherwise have missed.

Sound of Music

2005-09-11T07:00:00.000-07:00

The Sound of Music contains no tangos, and is set in Austria. So why am I writing about it in a blog allegedly concerned with Finnish tango? Because Arja Koriseva is starring in it. As soon as I found out that she was taking on the role of Maria (this would have been last March), I logged on to the Seinäjoki City Theatre website. I soon discovered that tickets are not sold outside Finland. Nevertheless I contacted the theatre and a very helpful lady called Tuija Tunderberg sent me two tickets for the opening night, which was on 1st September. The theatre doesn't accept credit cards, at least not from abroad, and I had to pay by bank transfer. The bank charges came to the same as the cost of the tickets. This was Lloyds, the bank I worked for for 34 years. Retired employees don't get any perks.

I flew into Helsinki on 31st August. That evening I intended to go to my usual haunt, the Vanhan Kellari, but in the Helsingin Sanomat I noticed an advertisement, in very tiny type, for a dance in the Merimelojien Maja, Kesäkatu. This translates into Sea Canoeists' Hut, Summer Street. Clearly this needed checking out. It was quite easy to find: Summer Street is near the Opera tram stop, and it continues to the bay, where a wooden building, far to grand to be called a hut, is built over the water.

On the wall is a canoe from the 1948 Olympics. The clientele is rather older than the Vanhan Kellari: at 58 I was one of the youngest. No alcohol is sold, but you can buy coffee and home made cakes. Single men sit at one side of the room, and single women at the other. Couples sit where they like. What a brilliant idea, I thought. Sometimes one sees an attractive potential partner, but she is next to a man. Are they together, or simply occupying adjacent places? They aren’t talking, but they might be married. At the Merimelojien Maja there is no problem.

A fellow youngster was Marjatta. The only other Marjatta I had come across was the annoying virgin in the Kalevala who refused to ride in a sledge pulled by a male horse. Or a female horse which had had sex with a stallion. Only a virgin mare would do. Eventually she got pregnant through eating an enchanted cranberry. Nobody believed her.

I know nothing about this Marjatta's views on the subject. I know that she was lively, very pretty, and an excellent dancer. The music was provided by a live trio, whose combined ages probably totalled about 230. An interesting custom seems to be developing in Finland. For the first dance a lady will hold herself back a bit, but for the second will adopt a full-blooded close embrace. Sometimes she will practise a kind of foreplay: teasing her partner by breathing on his neck or brushing his cheek with her hair, but still keeping her distance until the second dance.
This was the last dance at the Merimelojien Maja. The season starts again in June next year. Apparently they get very few foreigners there. I was taken for an Italian.

The second half of the evening was naistenhaku (ladies' invitation). I was gratified that Marjatta asked me three times.

Next day I was on the train to Seinäjoki. According to the gossip column of the Ilta-Sanomat, Kati Fors, the recently-crowned Tango Queen, wants to appear on “Big Brother”. Presumably the Finnish version is more refined than ours, and the housemates sit around engaged in intellectual discussion of tango and other aspects of high culture.

Tuija Tunderberg had done me proud: my tickets were for the centre of the front row. When I bought them, I wasn’t sure who the second ticket would be for: at the last minute I asked the landlady, Seija, to come with me.

There are people who have watched the film of “Sound of Music” dozens of times and never get enough of it. I’m not one of them. I found it overlong, draggy, and unbelievable. This was a completely different experience. It was wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. I was laughing and crying by turns. I tried to wipe the tears away discreetly, so I wouldn’t appear too much of an idiot in front of Seija, and saw that she was doing the same thing.

I don’t want to be rude about Miss Andrews, but I never believed in her as Maria. Her Maria seemed an ideal nun: a little more attention to timekeeping, and she could have been the next abbess. Arja on the other hand was perfect. Oscar Hammerstein seems to have written the part for her (she was born in 1965, the year the film came out). The whole story makes perfect sense. Elsa, von Trapp’s long-term girlfriend, has to be less attractive than Maria for the story to work. In the film she is cold, stand-offish, and useless with children. It’s difficult to believe that von Trapp would ever have considered marriage with her. But Eija-Irmeli Lahti portrays Elsa as delightful, charming, an ideal wife and mother - yet it is still believable that von Trapp would prefer Arja’s Maria.

The play trots along at a good pace and never drags for a moment. Of course nothing with Arja in it could ever be too long. Also the order of the songs is different - presumably Hammerstein’s original order is used. For example in the film the “Lonely Goatherd” episode with the puppets gives the impression of being a tacked-on extra that sounds good but holds up the story: here it appears much earlier, during the scene when the children, frightened by the storm, take refuge in Maria’s bedroom. With Maria’s encouragement, they forget their fear by opening up the old toybox and acting out the Lonely Goatherd story. This scene also introduces a moment of sheer terror, at least for the people in the front row, when the boys trundle Maria’s bed, loaded with passengers, at high speed round the stage, coming dangerously close to the front.

After the show Seija announced that she intended to go and see it again. A reporter from the Ilkka newspaper interviewed me. Quite a long article, with a photograph, appeared on 3rd September.

I would wholeheartedly recommend this show. Get over there and see it. It doesn’t matter if you can’t understand Finnish - you know the story already. It’s an expensive trip - but mortgage your house or sell your grandmother on ebay. The experience of a lifetime. You will never regret it.

John Ward, international correspondent

2005-08-23T09:34:00.000-07:00

I wrote to the Tangomarkkinat organisers expressing my disgust at Ailamari's treatment. I copied it to Seinäjoki's local paper, a celebrity gossip magazine, and Ailamari herself. The local paper actually printed it in full, only correcting my Finnish grammar. Here it is:

I have attended Tangomarkkinat for five years, but now I find myself disaffected with it. In my opinion Ailamari Vehviläinen was treated extremely badly. To give her a place in the final and immediately afterwards snatch it away again was dishonourable, unjust, heartless and cruel. I thought that the purpose of the Tangomarkkinat competition was to find the best interpreter of tango. Abuse and humiliation of the competitors is not the point. It isn't "I'm a celebrity get me out of here".

I'm not disputing the result. Actually, I tell a lie. I can't understand how anyone could place Ailamari other than first. To my mind Ailamari is tango. She has the fire and the passion. But I am only a foreigner. Perhaps you Finns admire restraint and maidenly modesty more than strong feelings. [I wanted to put "naked passion" here but was afraid it wouldn't come out right in Finnish.]

Be that as it may, I believe that the viewers' favourite should be announced first, then the judges' choice.

Ailamari's treatment has upset me. If she appears next year (and in fact Taina Kokkonen succeeded at the fourth attempt) [this was Ailamari's third] I will come to Seinäjoki again. But otherwise, probably not. The event has been spoilt.

John Ward
Bristol, England

Tangomarkkinat 2005

2005-07-12T09:27:00.000-07:00

The bus from Bristol arrived at Heathrow at 3 in the morning. I didn't have to check in till 5:30 so I settled down in a chair and managed to doze off. When I woke up I discovered I was next to a very glamorous woman with immaculate makeup and very sexy shoes. She was the most elegant woman I have ever woken up next to at 5 in the morning.

When I arrived in Helsinki I checked into the Eurohostel, showered and changed, and went to the market square for a coffee and pulla bun. The weather was blisteringly hot. I rang the landlady in Seinäjoki from whom I was renting the room to confirm that I would be coming the following day. A man overheard me and said he had played in Seinäjoki. He was a guitarist and had once played in Eija Koriseva's orchestra. This lead to a debate on the Koriseva sisters. We concluded that Arja was the better singer, but Eija had a bigger bust. We had both heard of Piia, but neither of us had anything intelligent to say about her. We had been conversing in Finnish and until then I had believed that he was Finnish, and was flattered that he thought the same about me. In fact he was German. When I told him I came from Bristol, he asked about the proposed tramway system. I said it was still a pipe dream.

The Vanhan Kellari was closed. The floor was being renovated. I rang Eine-Liisa. She said that normally there was dancing at the Sokos Hotel, but today there wasn't. Furthermore she couldn't come out because her granddaughter was with her. She insisted I spoke in English with the granddaughter, which I did although we had nothing in common.

I stayed with the same landlady as last year. Her son Mikko was on leave from the Army. They still have National Service in Finland, as in all the Scandinavian countries.

I went to the Tangomarkkinat office to get my pass. In previous years it has been a discreet woven ribbon held on with a lead seal; but this year it was a rather nasty plastic band, which I thought was vulgar and uncomfortable.

The Tangomarkkinat opened with a parade, with a brass band, the mayor and other dignitaries, and the competitors. I caught sight of Ailamari and shouted "Hey, Ailamari!" hoping for a smile or a wave or something. She came over to the side of the road and greeted me effusively. The Tangomarkkinat had definitely got off to a good start.

The dancing started at 19:30. Pirkko, whom I had met last year, remembered me. The evening's singers were Saija Tuupanen and Johanna Debreczeny. The Finns have trouble with Johanna Debreczeny's name, and she has taken to calling herself "Däbä". The competitors also strutted their stuff. I was confirmed in my opinion that Ailamari was the best.

The next day was extremely hot. When I was buying my morning strawberries my sunglasses fell off and a lens came out. I found a optician's shop, where my glasses were repaired free of charge.

The dancing started at noon. I noticed a nice-looking blonde woman looking at me. She was standing near a big bloke of thug-like appearance. He was looking at the dancers. I glanced back at the woman. She was still staring at me. I wasn't sure how to interpret her stare. The cabaceo isn't common in Finland, but you do sometimes come across it. She could be saying: "why aren't you dancing with me, you gorgeous hunk of spunk?". On the other hand it might be: "if you don't go away, I'll tell my boyfriend here that you're annoying me". I decided it was the former. Fortunately I was right. She wasn't with the big chap. Her name was Anneli, she was Finnish but was now living in Sweden. She had come back specially for the Tangomarkkinat.

I also met a very lively and forceful lady who had a kiosk selling chocolates, herbal drinks, and assorted nick-nacks. She would leave an assistant in charge of the kiosk and come into the Tangokatu and dance round, sometimes with a partner, sometimes alone, and constantly twirling three or four half-litre bottles of herbal mixture. Her name was Hilve, and she told me she had a shop, called Slurps, in Fredrikinkatu in Helsinki. I said I knew it - it’s opposite the Popangel second-hand record shop where I go regularly in search of old tango records. Eija Kantola appeared in the evening, in place of Tarja Lunnas, who had been taken ill.

Next day I went into the square and bought a paper to read with my strawberries. On the front page were the previous day's tango happenings, the latest on the strawberry crop - and bombs on the London Underground. It was 8 in the morning; only 6 in England. I waited two hours, then rang home. My brother goes to London quite a lot, but yesterday he hadn't. My relations in Bristol very rarely venture as far afield as London and yesterday was no exception. So I was able to put the whole thing out of my mind and concentrate on the important things in life, i.e. tango.

I went to the office to find out who was performing when. Tiina Räsänen was in the Tangokatu at the same time as Kaija Pohjola was in the Atria Hall; but Kaija was in the Tangokatu at about 1 a.m. In all six top-class singers were appearing that evening. I wanted to get video footage of them all and was not confident that my two batteries would hold out, so I went to the photo shop and bought another at about twice the price I would have paid in England.

Also that evening were the semifinals, when the twelve hopefuls would be reduced to six. This was broadcast live on national TV, so I returned to the apartment to set the video recorder and get my new battery charged up. I then dashed back to the Tangokatu for the daytime dance, which started at 11. I met Pirjo, who was one of Hilve’s assistants. She was a very nice lady, a lovely dancer, and completely unencumbered by bottles. I also caught sight of a lady I recognised from the Vanhan Kellari. She was one of Hilkka's friends, and I always thought she looked a bit like Mira Kunnasluoto. But she had always refused to dance with me, so I didn't approach her on this occasion. At the end of the daytime dance I went to the square for lunch (which I decided would be strawberries). It seemed that Pirkko had the same idea, as I encountered her and her friend twice on the way.
"I'm not following you" I said. "I'm after strawberries."
"A likely story" she said.

The semifinals were held that evening. I would have liked to have gone, but there were so many of my idols appearing in the Tangokatu I decided to go there. The stage was at one end of the Tangokatu, rather than halfway down as in previous years. There were pots of flowers in front of the stage, with a very large one in the middle. Sometimes the soloist would disappear from view behind it.

Saija Varjus came on at 18:00. I had admired her very much the previous year, and this year she excelled herself. She is a talented and moving interpreter of tango.

Afterwards was Tiina Räsänen, who appeared with her husband Petri Hervanto. He is young, talented (he was Tango King in 1999), good-looking (and he knows it), and he has Tiina Räsänen as a wife. I found I couldn't take to him; but I am probably just jealous.

Next was Marita Taavitsainen. With her flowing blonde locks and floaty dresses, she is sometimes referred to as Finland's answer to Marilyn Monroe.

At about 22:00 the announcer came on to give the results of the semifinals. As far as I could gather, Ailamari Vehviläinen had been given a place in the finals, and it had been immediately withdrawn, her place being given to somebody else. Surely I had misunderstood this! Ailamari was the only one with true talent! The others were competent enough, but not in the same class. The announcer's words had seemed clear enough though. Suddenly all happiness drained away. Why had I come all this way anyway? Why didn't I give up tango and take up skydiving or something? I rested my forehead against the cool steel of the crush barrier and sank into self-pity.

I don't know how long I remained in this state. Eventually a voice penetrated my misery.
"So and so, so and so . . . . Arja Koriseva!" said the voice.

I opened my eyes and through my tears I saw a golden angel appearing before me. The impossibly beautiful figure had a shimmering golden gown, wild red-gold hair and of course golden earrings. Her voice raised me to heavenly ecstasy and I forgot everything else.

Jari Sillanpää, the bad boy of tango, followed. He lost patience with the big pot of flowers and dragged it to the back of the stage. He pulled flowers out of it and threw them to his screaming fans.

Then was Kaija Pohjola. She has attended every Tangomarkkinat since 1991. Her programme contained tangos and some of her old hits such as Tosimies (A Real Man).
"Sing us Tosimies!" shouted a man near the front. "We're all real men!"
"And you're a real woman!" I found the courage to shout.

Kaija's performance ended around 2 and I returned to the apartment to watch the semifinals, which I had taped. I hadn't got it wrong. From the twelve competitors, the judges chose three men and three women. The viewers rang in to elect their own favourites, who would be guaranteed a place in the final. Their male favourite was one of the judges' three, so it made no difference. But they chose a fourth woman, so one of the judges' three was dropped; and the unlucky one was Ailamari.

I was disgusted with the whole thing and Ailamari's treatment made me disaffected by the Tangomarkkinat. This is no way to treat people. The event had been spoilt for me and I resolved not to attend again. I went to bed in a foul mood at about 3.30.

I didn't wake up till 9. The weather was sunny and extremely hot but I still felt miserable. I went to the market square and breakfasted on two litres of strawberries, a packet of salmiakki and a litre of sour milk; after which I felt better.

I remembered that a tango dancing competition was being held in the Atria Hall that morning. Originally I had intended to go there and ask if anyone would like to partner me; but now it was far too late and besides I wasn't really in the mood. But I went to watch anyway.

Most of the ladies wore elegant gowns and "sensible" shoes of the type sold by Jari Norkola at Swingsters of Helsinki. One lady however had red and black killer heels. She was dancing with a powerful-looking man who had shoulder-length white hair: a bit like Samson. I engaged them in conversation and learned that Delilah had bought her shoes from Å ke Blomqvist. I spoke to the Blomqvists later and they said that I should have entered the competition. Leena Blomqvist said she remembered me, although it is a long time since I went to her for lessons. The winners of the competition were Frans Kärki and Johanna Lahtinen.

At 14:00 I returned to the mall where the annual cat show was held. I wasn't able to stay for the result, or even for Johanna Debreczeny's performance which followed, because there was a concert in the church where Arja Koriseva was appearing. Too much happens at once in Seinäjoki! She sang classical and religious songs - very different from her performance in the Tangokatu on the previous day.

After that I went to the Areena, where the finals were being held. I didn't really want to go, as Ailamari had been eliminated, but I already had a ticket and went anyway. Actually I was pleased I did, as while the judges were deliberating Jari Sillanpää sang the same vintage version of Sinitaivas that he did last year. His backing group was the "Retro Girls" comprising Johanna Pakonen, Johanna Debreczeni, Marita Taavitsainen, and Marita Tuhla. This last was described as a member of Jari Sillanpää's orchestra. I'm not sure why she was there as the others certainly didn't need voice augmentation. Perhaps it was thought that as there were two Johannas, there ought to be two Maritas. The original Metro Girls close harmony group of the 1950's had three members.

The winners of the Tangomarkkinat were Kati Fors and Saksa Helmikallio. I went to the Tangokatu, where the evening's performers included Mira Sunnari, Jari Sillanpää and Marita Taavitsainen. I left at 3, although the first ever Tango Queen, Arja Sipola, was about to start. I was just too tired to stay up any longer.

The following day, Sunday, was the last day of the Tangomarkkinat. It was extremely hot. There were some interesting dancers in the Tangokatu, including three people dancing the humppa together. They had a routine similar to the party dance known as the Teddy Bears' Picnic which was popular in Britain in the 1960's. There was also a quartet doing a very polished jenkka for 4. They had clearly been practising. I had some nice partners, including a really beautiful young blonde, whom I at first was afraid to approach, particularly when I saw her talking to a tall good-looking man and two beautiful blond children. The man and the children went away; she remained. I plucked up the courage to ask her to dance. She accepted, and I saw to my relief that she was older than I first thought. Not nearly as old as me though. She was very friendly and held me very close. She told me her name was Paula and neither the man nor the children were hers. After dancing two tangos and two humppas with her, I decided that nothing better could possibly happen that afternoon and returned to the apartment. On the way the thought occurred to me: why are we men afraid to approach the most beautiful and desirable women? Are we afraid of rejection? No, we fear something far worse: acceptance. If rejected, that is the end of the matter; but if accepted, we have to DO something; we have to think of something to talk about.

The last dance of the Tangomarkkinat was held in the Atria Hall. I arrived as soon as it opened at 19:00. During the course of the evening I wasn't rejected once. I felt a bit like the hero Lemminkäinen in the Kalevala:

Then the lively Lemminkäinen
Roamed about through every village,
For the island-maidens' pleasure:
To delight the braidless damsels.
And where'er his head was turning
There he found a mouth for kissing.
Wheresoe'er his hand was outstretched
There he found a hand to clasp it.

My partners included Hilve, Pirjo, Anneli, and best of all. Paula. I encountered a number of ladies I hadn't met before, including Niina, a respectable dignified lady from Tampere, aged I would say in her 70's. She looked a bit like a retired librarian. I have never been clasped so intimately in my life. She adopted the technique which in South America is called frenela: she brushed my thigh with hers at every step. When we turned, she gripped my leg between hers. We danced quite a few numbers together.

Johanna Debreczeny gave me a signed photograph and autographed a CD insert for me. After speaking to her I looked for Niina, who had left without saying goodbye. I was rather disappointed at this, considering we had been so intimate. I had intended asking her if she was coming next year; and if so could we enter the tango dance competition together. (I had by now forgotten that I had resolved not to go to the Tangomarkkinat again.) Never mind: there were plenty of other partners to console me until the dance closed at 2.

January 2005

2005-01-28T13:06:00.000-08:00

Although I had been in Helsinki less than a month previously, on the 26th January I was in the Vanhan Kellari as soon as it opened at 4 in the afternoon. I danced a few times with Eine-Liisa and Hilkka and returned to my seat to refresh myself with Lapin Kulta (Lappish Gold) beer, when I became aware of someone looking at me.

In the dance places of Buenos Aires, they have a peculiar custom which they call the cabaceo. Someone who wishes to dance will fix their gaze on a potential partner. The other person will accept the invitation by returning the gaze, or refuse it by looking away. The custom is unknown in Europe (so I thought) but nevertheless this attractive dark-haired woman was looking at me. I looked at her. We both got up and walked towards each other. The cabaceo comes to Helsinki.
My partner's name was Helinä. She said she came from Porvoo and had come to Helsinki on a shopping expedition. I asked what she had bought and got a long list, of which I remember precisely nothing. She was married but her husband didn't like dancing. I asked if she had been to Buenos Aires and she hadn't.

Helinä and I were getting on very well. I was feeling quite pleased with myself that I was able to conduct a fairly prolonged conversation in Finnish. We danced together a number of times. She invited me to lunch, but I pretended not to understand.
"I think you understand perfectly well" she said. "In fact, I think I've fallen in love with you."
I felt an icy hand grip my heart. I almost screamed in terror. Helinä looked at my face and laughed.
"So you do understand!" she said gaily. "Let's meet on Friday."
"I've got a date on Friday at five" I said, "and I daren't be late." This was a lie.
"That's all right" she said. "I've got to work in the afternoon. Do you know the Omenapuu?"
Omenapuu means apple tree. There is a pub called the Apple Tree in Bristol, where cider is served, but presumably that wasn't what Helinä meant.
"They serve lunches here, at the Vanhan Kellari" said Helinä. I felt compelled to agree. The situation seemed to have taken on a life of its own.

When Ailamari came on I was waiting in front of the stage. Helinä remained with me. Ailamari recognised me and greeted me in a very friendly manner. She gave a brilliant performance, including waltzes, foxtrots, humppas and tangos. Helinä clung to my arm in a proprietorial manner as if we had been married twenty years.

I was able to speak to Ailamari after her first spot and say how brilliant I thought she was. She said she was giving the entertainment on the Turku/Stockholm boat in March. I said I would love to see her then, but I don't really know if I'll be able to. Helinä announced she was getting the bus back to Porvoo. She gave me a goodbye kiss on the lips. When we came up for air, I said that as we were both in relationships, we really shouldn’t kiss like that. She said it was all right if we kept our mouths closed. I wasn't so sure, particularly as we hadn't.

I stayed on for Ailamari’s second spot and eventually crawled exhausted out of the Kellari at 1 o’clock. The doorman was taking down Ailamari's posters and he let me have one of them.
Next day I called on Kaisa. Her daughter has now been christened and it is safe to make her name public. She is Raili Caitlin Coogan. Raili is a Finnish name; Caitlin is Irish. Ian, now 3, is in his element playing in the snow. He climbed an eight-foot pile of snow (and, as Kaisa sourly observed, dogshit and cigarette ends) left by highway maintenance men when they cleared the street. He chattered away, never making a mistake with the partitives, adessives, allatives, and other cases which give me so much trouble. Garth asked me to bring some Grape-Nuts next time I came. These are an American breakfast cereal, sold in England but not Finland. I hadn't eaten them since the 1950's. I remembered them as being rather like sand.

Friday lunchtime it was snowing hard and I was waiting for Helinä outside the Vanhan Kellari. It crossed my mind to sneak away, but that would have been dishonourable and unBritish. Helinä turned up at exactly the time she said and greeted me with a kiss (on the cheek this time).
I needn't have worried. We talked chastely about tango, our relationships, and Ailamari Vehviläinen.

Christmas 2004

2005-01-05T00:18:00.000-08:00

I couldn't get a direct flight to Helsinki. I had to change at Copenhagen on the way there and Oslo on the way back. Denmark is not in the Eurozone and though you can spend euros in the airport shops and bars, you get your change in Danish crowns, which of course are no use anywhere else. I stocked up on Danish salmiakki. On one of the packets was the slogan "Välj Haribo för Gött!" Could this mean "Choose Haribo for God's sake"? A young woman approached me and asked what I was doing in Copenhagen. I said I was on my way to Helsinki, and she said she was conducting a balance of payments survey and asked if I had spent any money. I showed her my salmiakki purchases and said that salmiakki was unobtainable in England and these were brands I had not seen in Finland. She informed me the Danish for salmiakki is salmiak, and asked if I intended to spend any more money. I said I would try some Danish beer.

The bar sold a beer called Carl Jul. The barmaid told me that it was a special Christmas beer brewed by Carlsberg. She was a very attractive young woman, named Lilia, and I noticed that the more Carl Jul I drank the more attractive Lilia became. I asked how strong Carl Jul was, and she said 5.6% alcohol.

When I eventually arrived in Helsinki I booked into the Eurohostel, showered and changed and got to the Vanhan Kellari by 18:00. It had already been open two hours. Eine-Liisa was there as usual. She had two companions: one was the buxom lady who had crushed my right arm the previous May; the other I had danced with at the Kellari before but hasn't been mentioned in these ramblings. All were dressed in fetching red and black. They went off en masse in search of partners. Clearly they didn't find anyone of satisfactory standard because they were soon back; but Eine-Liisa asked me for a dance so presumably I was the best of a rather poor lot.

The singer that night was Susanna Gärdström, who had reached the finals at the Tangomarkkinat in July. She looked younger than she had then: in place of the old-fashioned ball gown, she was wearing a black trouser suit showing a nice bit of cleavage; and her hair was wild and loose, rather than tied back in a tight bun in the style sometimes referred to as a council-house facelift. I asked if she was going to try for the title again in 2005 and she said she hadn't made up her mind.

There is an internet terminal at the Eurohostel and when I got back there in the early hours I checked my email. There was a message from none other than Ailamari Vehviläinen: "Christmas greetings from the Playa del Inglesia in the Gran Canaries, where I am on holiday and also singing. See you at the Vanhan!" There aren't many pop stars who send individual greetings emails to their fans.

Next day I went to Stockmanns to see if there was anything new in the record department. There was: Anneli Saaristo, Saija Tuupanen, Johanna Pakonen and Anne Mattila had all released new solo albums. There was also an album of Christmas songs by Anne Mattila and her three sisters. I was reminded of the poem by Dr Seuss:

Did you ever hear
About Mrs McCave
Who had twenty-three sons
And she called them all Dave?

I knew about Anneli and Anitta Mattila, but here was another similarly-named sister: Anniina.
I bought all these records, and also some giant 70-cm sparklers. I wondered if I would be allowed to take these on the plane home but bought them anyway.

When I went to the men's room I thought at first I might have gone through the wrong door as an attractive young woman was in there. She was replenishing the roller towels. There isn't anything in the etiquette books about what to say in such a situation. I settled for "Hyvää joulua" (Merry Christmas) which seemed to be satisfactory.

Eine-Liisa wasn't at the Vanhan Kellari that night (22nd December), but I did get a few dances with Hilkka. I also danced with Sirpa, whom I had not seen before. We clasped one another close in an idyllic tango. Seated at the bar afterwards with my glass of Lapin Kulta and watching the dancers, I noticed that Sirpa kept her distance when dancing with other chaps.

Three Lapin Kultas later, I had worked it out. The dancers are instruments of the orchestra and the conductor plays on them in the same way as the other instruments. And if you are a Stradivarius, you will respond. You will fall in love with your partner and achieve a heavenly consummation. Afterwards you will return to your seat, weep over what might have been, and wait for the next tune so that you can return to the parquet and the same thing will happen again.

Bumtsibum is a music game show where the competitors (all well-known Finnish singers) identify popular songs from a few words extracted from the lyric: for example
Come * * listen * is from "Lullaby of Broadway". Most of the songs are Finnish, but there are a few English-language ones as well. In the Christmas edition all the songs were appropriate to the season. Arja is as good a comedienne as she is a singer. She struggled gallantly with "Mary's Boy Child", laughing at her mistakes, in spite of her fellow team members urging "sing it in Finnish".

I had discovered from the fansite that Arja Koriseva had played Eliza Doolittle in "My Fair Lady" at the Turku Civic Theatre opposite Ismo Kallio as Henry Higgins in 2000. I would have loved to have seen it. I wonder how they would have dealt with Eliza's cockney accent in Finnish? Arja will be playing Maria in "Sound of Music" in Seinäjoki in August this year. Pity it doesn't coincide with the Tangomarkkinat; but I might be able to make it all the same.

There were two cat stories in the newspapers. One concerned Mingo, a Maine Coon from Helsinki, who held the world record for whisker length: 17.4 centimetres. The other concerned a Seinäjoki couple who bought a cat. When they split up, the man retained visiting rights to the cat. The woman acquired a new boyfriend and suggested to her ex that he get his own cat. He refused, and continued to come to the woman’s house to visit the cat. Violence broke out between the two men and the case ended up in court.

As I feared, I was not allowed to take my sparklers onto the aircraft, even in the hold; so I had to abandon them. I suppose they thought I might invade the cockpit and say: “Fly me to Cuba or I’ll sparkle you”. I had to change at Oslo on the flight home. Security was very strict there. A disabled woman had to get out of her wheelchair and walk through the gate. They even took her walking stick away and put it through the the X-ray machine.

Book Reviews

2004-12-27T09:44:00.000-08:00

A few tango books. Firstly Tango and the Political Economy of Passion, by Marta E. Savigliano (Westview Press, 1995, ISBN 0-8133-1638-3, paperback). Ms Savigliano is assistant professor of dance history at the University of California-Riverside and describes herself as a Latina feminist intellectual and boy does it show. This is definitely not lightweight reading. Here is a sample passage:

Among exotics, exoticism is a way of representing not only cultural uniqueness but also respective exotic conditions. In addition, in marketing the tango, argentinos and Japanese situated each other within the “community of exotics” - in full awareness of the grotesque results. A parody of exoticism? Some drawings from early tango sheet music display the exotic Orient, Africa, and Japan in the figure of the Odalisk, the Tribal King, and the Geisha.

The book deals with the exploitation of South Americans, women, and other have-nots, and their classification as exotic, and therefore harmless - I think. I must confess most of it goes right over my head. There are plenty of pictures, all very muddy and badly reproduced. For intellectuals only.

Tango Nostalgia: the Language of Love and Longing, by Pirjo Kukkonen (Helsinki University Press, 1996, ISBN 951-570-286-0, paperback) deals with the themes of tango lyrics, not the music or the dance itself. The first third of the book deals with Argentine lyrics and the themes of love, death, sadness, woman as madonna/whore, male inadequacy etc. Then follows a brief round-up of British, German, Swedish and other European tangos. Never do a Tango with an Eskimo, as sung by Alma Cogan, gets a mention.The rest of the book deals with Finnish lyrics. The longing for home, the countryside, or for a past which never existed, features strongly, hence the book’s title. Nearly all the lyrics are given in the original language and an English prose translation, though one is translated into Italian and Swedish but not English, and another (the classic Satumaa) is given metrical Swedish and English translations that fit the music so the reader can sing along. A very scholarly book, but I found it easier to get along with than the Savigliano. No illustrations.

The Tango and how to Dance it, by Gladys Beattie Crozier (Andrew Melrose, London, 1913) is a very difficult book to get. After many months, Bristol Library managed to get the British Library’s own copy which I was allowed to take home. I fully expected to have to read it in the library, under the eagle eye of the chief librarian.

A great many figures are described, including the Promenade and the Eight. These do not correspond to the promenade or ocho that we know. 32 photographs illustrate the figures.
There is a chapter on tango music. There didn’t seem to be very much available in Europe at the time. 16 tunes are described, of which the only one I know is El Choclo. I have heard of La Rumba, but never heard it played. The biggest hit of the time seems to have been Chispa, by Maria Gutierrez-Ponce. An extract of the sheet music is reproduced. La Cumparsita was of course four years in the future. Crozier recommends a record with La Rumba on one side and Amampa on the other (orchestra not named) and says one can dance to them in turn for a whole evening. I must say the idea doesn’t appeal to me. The record cost 5/6 - about half a week’s wages for a lot of people. 12 piano rolls were available, of which the most expensive was Myosotis (sounds like a disease, doesn’t it) at 10/6.

A chapter is devoted to places to dance the tango. All of them very aristocratic - if there was anywhere ordinary peasants could go, there is no mention of it. Prices are frighteningly expensive - the 400 Club charged 5 guineas membership, 10/- joining fee, and 6/- at the door. You had to pass a rigorous vetting by the committee as well. I will never complain about modern prices again.

There is a long chapter on what to wear for the tango. Madam Lucile’s seemed to be the place to go for fancy frocks. Prices are not given. Presumably if you had to ask, you couldn’t afford them. Black was the in colour.

Other chapters deal with the tango and fancy dress, children’s tango parties, and tango on roller skates. A very interesting look at the start of the tango craze.

Modern Dancing, by Mr and Mrs Vernon Castle (World Syndicate Co, New York, 1914) is a very elegantly produced volume in blue cloth with gold titling and a tinted photograph of Vernon and Irene on the front cover. The book deals with all ballroom dances fashionable at the time, including the one-step (“the most popular of all dances”) and maxixe (which we know as the samba) The waltz appears in the form of the hesitation waltz, with its frequent pauses. The old-fashioned version with its constant 1-2-3 timing was very passé. The Castles are at pains to point out that one should pause when the music pauses, and not to a strict sequence. The foxtrot doesn’t get a mention. According to PJS Richardson, this first appeared in New York in the summer of 1914 (though I suspect it was known in negro haunts before that), and the Castles’ book would have gone to press by then.

A curious item is the half and half, danced to music in 5/4 time. I thought I knew something of the history of popular music but I had never heard of this. Richardson doesn’t mention it at all.
The tango dominates the Castles’ book. They claim it originated in Spain rather than Argentina, and never mention brothels. They liken it in its elegance and complexity to the minuet. “The only drawback” they say, “is that all teachers teach it differently.” A number of figures are described, including the promenade, which is now recognisable as the one taught in ballroom classes today. There is also a tango variant, called the innovation. The partners stand close together but do not touch. Otherwise the steps are the same as the ordinary tango. I had heard of a tune called Castle Innovation Tango (recorded by the Tango Project in the 1980s) but never knew it as a dance in its own right, although London teacher Christine Denniston used to make her pupils an exercise which was very similar.

Other chapters deal with etiquette, ladies’ fashion, how to organise a tea dance, and a riposte to those clergymen and others who disapprove of the whole idea of ballroom dancing. Plenty of pictures, all full-page and of the rather muddy quality usual at the time. Some of them show the delectable Irene in a diaphonous skimpy little number. A charming glimpse into a world about to be shattered forever.

The History of English Ballroom Dancing by PJS Richardson (Wyman & Sons,London, 1946) is the standard history of ballroom dancing from 1910 to 1945,written by the man who made ballroom what it is today. Plenty of detail onthe various committees and conferences devoted to standardising andformalising the dances (including the tango). Here is an extract:

M. Maurice then addressed the meeting . . . . . .he protested against theadmission of jazz music and dubious steps into decent places, emphaticallyinsisting that they originated in low negro haunts and had au fond aprurient significance.

Can't have that, old boy, what? Essential reading for the ballroom fanaticand not too difficult to get.

I have heard of but not read Masculinities: Football, Polo and the Tango in Argentina by Eduardo P. Archetti which is available from Amazon and to judge from the reviews posted by readers is as impenetrable as the Savigliano. Rather expensive too at 55 dollars.

Now for a novel. Tango is my Passion by the Finnish bandleader M.A. Numminen is the story of Virtanen, who loves tango more than anything. He has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the subject, which he shares with all and sundry, whether they really want to know or not. He goes dancing every day, but only dances the tangos.

But Virtanen has principles, derived from a reading of Plato’s philosophy when he was 15. These principles demand that Virtanen preserve his virginity until he reaches the age of 36. He is beset by difficulties. Unwanted erections spoil the dance. He has to flee to the men’s room and lash the recalcitrant organ into flabbiness with a handful of birch twigs.

Women cause problems. Once he walked Irja home from the dance and, against his better judgement, accepted her invitation for coffee. She disappeared into the bathroom, came out naked, and made a grab for Virtanen, who barely escaped. But at last Virtanen falls in love with Anja, but he still holds on to his principles.

The dancer’s world is perfectly described: the joy, the passion, the awkwardness, the embarrassment, the humiliation.

Entwined with the story is a history of the tango, sometimes given by Virtanen, sometimes by a third-person voice (identified by a different typeface). Sometimes a whole chapter is devoted to the subject. This can be a bit wearing, particularly when the same ground is gone over more than once. But it illustrates Virtanen’s obsessiveness.

Sometimes I feel desperately sorry for Virtanen: sometimes I find him intensely annoying. Mostly I am horrified to see how much like Virtanen I am myself.

The relationship between Virtanen and Anja goes fairly well in spite of many difficulties, all created by Virtanen himself. But a scant six pages before the end, this pretty little comedy of manners becomes very Scandinavian. It was like a slap round the face. The penultimate chapter is the most harrowing thing I have ever read. I wiped the tears from my eyes, furious with myself. Why am I crying for Virtanen? He’s a figment of someone else’s imagination, for goodness’ sake! Something must be softening my brain: perhaps tango, perhaps Fennophilia, perhaps salmiakki. I wanted to talk to somebody, but what would they have said? “Pull yourself together! It’s only a story!”

In the final chapter the self-pitying and obsessive Virtanen destroys the reader’s sympathy as he has destroyed everything else.

Definitely a different sort of book. If you love tango as much as Virtanen and I do, you will probably enjoy it. Or perhaps not.

There is no official English translation of this book, but I can send a copy of my own translation if anybody is interested.

.

Ailamari

2004-10-29T11:29:00.000-07:00

We all know what fan mail is, don't we - it's something sent from the fan to the idol, isn't it? Not necessarily! I recently saw the name "Ailamari Vehviläinen" in my inbox. I assumed it was from a fellow fan; but closer examination revealed that the name was in the "sender" column, not the "subject", and the message was from the super-wonderful Ailamari herself. The message was "thank you for admiring my singing so much", and she will be appearing in the Vanhan Kellari in January. Naturally I'll be there!

Arja's high-priced single

2004-10-27T11:27:00.000-07:00

I have all of Arja Koriseva's records except one - Kun ilta saapuu kaupunkiin. I was looking for this, and any other Arja-related goodies, on ebay. There was one item on offer: a single called "All my Life", sung by Arja Koriseva and Helmut Lotti. I had never heard of this title, or, come to that, Helmut Lotti. The price? 75 euros! I wrote to the Arja fansite www.panuworld.net/arjaworld/index-en.htm The organiser said that this was a promo record which was sold for 5 euros (considered rather expensive at the time) to publicise the album "Helmut Lotti Goes Classic III" and perhaps Arja's fans bought up most of the supply, leaving Helmut's fans without.

I didn't bid for the single, but I did get the album. The duet with Arja is sung in English and Finnish, and according to the sleeve notes the tune is Concerto de Aranjuez by Joaquin Rodrigo. The other numbers are classical and operatic numbers in a variety of languages, those in English being written by Helmut Lotti himself. It would be wandering from the subject of Finnish tango to go very far into the subject of Helmut Lotti. He is a very talented Belgian singer whose repertoire includes opera, Latin music (including tangos), African, Russian and other folk songs, Elvis hits and Belgian pop. It is worth checking out his official website: www.helmutlotti.be/index2.htm

Anyone who is interested in the Arja duet please note: it only appears on the Finnish edition of "Helmut Lotti Goes Classic III". Editions sold in other countries do not have it. It is worth going to a Finnish supplier such as Ariman at www.ariman.fi and even then checking that it has the Arja duet.

Tango movies

2004-08-29T11:31:00.000-07:00

Here are two tango-related movies, both directed by Aki Kaurismäki:Tulitikkutehtaan tyttö (Match Factory Girl), 1990, stars Kati Outinen as a young girl who has a rotten job in a match factory, supporting her useless parents. She goes to a dance where Reijo Taipale sings the classic Finnish tango Satumaa. The words are on the lines of "there's a beautiful fantasy land far away, and I can't get to it." Nobody asks her to dance. Later she meets a chap, who gets her pregnant, then doesn't want to know. Everything goes downhill from there. At the end, when her world, such as it is, is completely destroyed, Olavi Virta, generally regarded as Finland's Carlos Gardel, sings Kuinka saatoitkaan? (How could you?). "You've destoyed the flower of love with your hard eyes and chilly smile." A depressing film. Industrial archaeology buffs will enjoy the shots of old matchmaking machinery. You can see I'm struggling to be positive here.

Mies vailla menneisyyttä (Man without a Past), 2002, is much more uplifting. Markku Peltola stars as a man who loses his memory after a vicious mugging. He is befriended by a poor family who live in what appears to be an abandoned container. But with no name, and worse still no social security number, he cannot find a job. Fortunately the Salvation Army helps him, and he even finds love, with Kati Outinen. Their awkward, almost silent courtship (they are Finns after all) is a delight. The tango comes in when he decides the Salvation Army band needs to update its repertoire with something more modern - such as tango. They play Pieni sydän (Little Heart). Veteran tango star Annikki Tähti sings that the human heart is a small object, but it can hold huge quantities of love, passion, etc.

Tangos appear as background music in some of Kaurismäki's other films, such as Varjoja paratiisissa (Colours of Paradise), a romance between a dustman and a checkout girl (Matti Pellonpää and Kati Outinen).

Two films by Aku Louhimies have tango episodes. Levottomat (Restless) has the shortest ever at about 28 seconds (1 hr 36 min 43 sec into the film), with a tango played at a wedding party. This is rudely interrupted when it is discovered that the hero, played by Mikko Nousiainen, has been bonking not only the bride but also the vicar (who is a woman, in case you were wondering). The director's wife, Laura Malmivaara, also stars as the hero's long-suffering girlfriend.

Laura Malmivaara also stars in Kuutamolla (By Moonlight) as a married woman who still carries a torch for a tango dancer she once met in Buenos Aires. Deleted scene 16 "Rome and Buenos Aires" is longer, better, and has more tango content than the sequence actually used in the film.

I once said that I had seen a non-subtitled version of Tango Kabaree and that I found it utterly incomprehensible. It is now available on DVD with English subtitles.

It has been described as Finland's answer to "Moulin Rouge". Both are set in theatres, and both have tall, slim, beautiful, red-haired heroines. Both are surreal, one more so than the other.
Directed by Pekka Lehto in 2001, the film tells of an impresario, played by Martti Suosalo, who wishes to produce a show "Tango Kabaree" on the life of dancer and model Aira Samulin, still at the top at the age of 73. Aira is successful and well-loved, but there have been much sadness in her life as well. Her father was killed during the war, her little sister died in infancy, the family home was overrun by Russians, her daughter (played by the real-life Pirjo Samulin) has a mental illness - but the impresario wants to cut all this out and concentrate on the happy stuff. Naturally Aira is not pleased at the sanitisation of her life.There is plenty I don't understand. Why is there an antique steam train in modern Helsinki? Who's the scruffy guy in the stovepipe hat? What's the significance of the giant fibreglass seahorses? Not an awful lot of tango music - there is probably just as much 1970's disco. Recommended for those who like things a bit weird.

All these films are Finnish language with English subtitles.

Tangomarkkinat 2004

2004-07-28T13:19:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday 6th July I got the 6.30 a.m. flight to Helsinki. I had to be up at 3.30 to get a taxi to the airport in time to check in so I went to bed early but my brain, in its usual perverse way, would not let me go to sleep .
Wednesday 7th was the first day of the Tangomarkkinat. The train from Helsinki arrived mid-afternoon. The landlady, whose name was Seija Smedlund, met me at the station. The accommodation was very grand, with its own bathroom and kitchen. Seija invited me into her own apartment for coffee and rhubarb cakes.
Dancing started at 19:30 that evening. Amongst my partners were Pirkko, who had attended every Tangomarkkinat since the beginning in 1985, and a lady who I recognised from the dancing competitions in previous years. I didn't ask her name, as I felt I ought to know it. It would be a bit like asking Monica Romero who she was. But it was very nice to be dancing with a real Finnish champion. She gave me a fright at the end of one tango when she bent her back right over in a picture figure. I don't know if I inadvertently lead it or she decided to do it by herself. Fortunately I didn't drop her.
I danced many times with both these ladies over the next few days. Three other ladies attracted my attention because of the deely boppers they were wearing. I think they were mother and daughters, but I didn't ask in case they weren't.
I found my Argentine tango experience very helpful in responding to my partners' wishes. Sometimes they want to jive to foxtrot tunes, sometimes they prefer walking steps in close embrace. How to tell? You need to follow the subtle signals. As somebody once said, the leader suggests, the follower leads, the leader follows.
On Thursday 8th Jari Sillanpää was at a bookshop publicising his biography. A fat lady did all the talking. When Jari managed to say anything she interrupted or talked over him and I thought she was being very pushy for a bookshop employee. In fact I was doing her an injustice - she was Aino Suhola, the author of the biography. I bought a copy and the two of them signed it.
Mikko Kilkkinen, who must be all of 19 by now, sang tangos and Elvis numbers in the shopping mall. After his performance his fans rushed up to meet him and he disappeared in a crowd of eager older ladies. Every boy's dream, or possibly nightmare.
At 18:00 there was Arja Koriseva's "Golden Earrings" concert to celebrate her 15 years at the top. In 1989 she won the Tango Queen title, establishing herself as a star and turning the Tangomarkkinat from a local festival into an event of national importance.
I was worried about dozing off as I had had about 6 hours' sleep in the last 4 days. Returning to my room for a nap was of course not an option as so much was happening. I drank heroic quantities of strong Finnish coffee. I thought I ought to eat something to raise my blood sugar level but didn't want a full meal in case it made me sleepy. So I ate two litres of strawberries and half a packet of salmiakki. There's nothing like a balanced diet for making you feel better.
In the end I needn't have worried. Seat numbers were not allocated, so I got to the venue an hour early and got a seat near the front. The concert opened with Piazzolla and young dancers. Arja won the Tango Queen title in 1989 with a rendition of Kultaiset korvarenkaat, or Golden Earrings. I have this on LP, together with Vie meidät rakkauteen, which is Tango d'Amour. In spite of its French name, this was composed in German by a Greek, Leo Leandros. It was a big hit for his daughter Vicki. Both tangos are lush, dreamy and romantic and I enjoyed them very much. But when Arja sang them again on Thursday evening it was a different experience altogether. Her voice has depth, maturity and confidence and I thought they were the best tangos she has done. Mind you, I thought that when she recorded Voitko vain unohtaa (Can you just forget). She seems to excel herself every time.
After the performance I was able to speak to Arja. This is the second time I have spoken to her this year. Life can't get any better. I asked if she intended to re-record Kultaiset korvarenkaat and Vie meidät rakkauteen but she said she had done it 15 years ago and had no intention of doing it again.
On Friday 9th Mira Kunnasluoto was singing at the morning dance. I watched the band setting up. A nice-looking, very slim, young woman, holding a sheaf of papers, seemed to be directing operations. I thought she was a bit too well-dressed to be head techie; perhaps she was the announcer. It was only when she stepped up to the microphone and began to sing that I realised who she was. Mira has changed her image several times since she became Tango Queen in 2000 and this is the best yet. She had lost weight, was not excessively thin, had waist-length straight hair and was wearing a skimpy top and white leather trousers decorated in dark red. Very nice. Her singing was, as usual, brilliant.
After her spot I went to the backstage area. The gates were protected by a female security guard who looked as if she wished she was packing a machine gun.
"Is Miss Kunnasluoto coming out?" I asked politely in my best Finnish.
"No" she said.
I returned to the Tangokatu. I could see Mira behind the stage. I waved to her. She waved back. That was something, I suppose.
That evening the semifinals were held in the Seinäjoki Areena. Pirkko told me she would be going there, but I didn't go because I would rather be dancing; and besides both Kaija Pohjola and Arja Koriseva were in the Tangokatu that night.
A very beautiful woman, about my age, dressed in an expensive-looking linen suit, asked me to dance. Her name was Aili.
Sometimes, in Argentine and Finnish dancing, you get a certain "connection" with your partner. This never happens in ballroom. I have been dancing ballroom for 43 years and I can do it with anybody, and the experience is always pretty much the same whether my partner is a near-beginner or a national champion. With the improvised dances it is different. Sometimes it just doesn't work and you never do get on the same wavelength. The experience is awkward and embarrassing and you can't wait for the tune to end. The three minutes seems to stretch into hours. But sometimes it is perfect. Everything comes together - the music, the ambiance, the embrace - and you really feel at one with your partner. Afterwards you both feel obliged to burst out laughing at the ridiculousness of it all, and also to remind each other, and more importantly yourselves, that you are just two strangers enjoying a dance, and what you felt is just a construct of the tango, or foxtrot or whatever it was. It can happen in any dance, but most often in those two.
Aili and I didn't laugh. We danced together a few times, and I offered to buy her a drink. This was a mistake. She had had one or two already and the pear cider I bought her seemed to make it just one too many.
"You're a lovely boy" she said, and gently bit me on the shoulder. It's a long time since anyone has called me that.
"You're a lovely girl" I said. It seemed only polite.
I bought coffee. Aili promptly spilt hers over herself, and me; but mostly herself. I borrowed a cloth from the waitress and wiped her down (Aili I mean, not the waitress). She said she would go home to change and we made our unsteady way to the end of the Tangokatu.
Aili flung her arms round my neck.
"Lovely boy" she said. "I love you". Nobody says that to me either. Neither of my wives, nor my mother, ever said it.
I disentangled myself from her regretfully. Regretfully, because I enjoyed having Aili draped all over me, and also because I doubted her ability to stand up by herself.
I watched her taxi drive away. I never saw her again.
Kaija Pohjola appeared at 21:30. She has recently issued an all-tango CD, Tangokuningatar (Tango Queen) which was described in the papers as the world's only gold tango record. Does this really mean it sold a million copies? There are only 5 million people in Finland. There are a lot of expatriates of course, and Kaija has some foreign fans (me, for one), but all the same it seems that every Finnish household must have a copy of this record. Possible, I suppose. They're very keen on tango out here.
I was able to speak to Kaija after her spot.
"You aren't Finnish, are you?" she said. I had to admit I wasn't.
"Where are you from?" she asked.
"Bristol, England" I said.
"I know who you are!" she said. "You wrote to me about my mother."
That was two years ago. I had read in the paper that her mother had died suddenly at the age of 77 and I wrote a letter of sympathy, as my own mother had died at the same age under similar circumstances. Kaija is a big star and must get a lot of letters from fans, and it is very flattering that she remembered me. She gave me a signed photo and also signed a CD insert of Tangokuningatar that I had brought with me.
Tangokuningatar is also available on DVD. It has exactly the same numbers as the CD, and the visuals consist of Kaija singing in a brick-lined room while two children dance ballroom tango round her.
It was getting late and I was feeling hungry. I went to the snack bar for reindeer and mashed potato. A young woman sat down opposite me, though there was plenty of room elsewhere, and I thought I seem to be in luck tonight. Without looking at me, she packed away her meal as if she had not been fed for week.
Arja Koriseva appeared at midnight. Her selection of songs was largely different from her concert but I was pleased that she sang Golden Earrings and Vie meidät rakkauteen again, as I was able to get them on video (filming wasn't allowed at the concert). After an hour of sublime Arja experience I rushed round the corner to catch the end of Kaija Pohjola's second spot, which had started half an hour previously. As I passed the gate I saw Arja come out to greet a crowd of eager fans. Decisions, decisions! Do I stay to speak to Arja (twice in two days!) or get to see the end of Kaija's spot? I decided on the latter, and was glad I did because it was all tangos.
On Saturday morning Tino, the 13 year old son of Tango King Sebastian Ahlgren, was singing rock and roll. He is extremely lively, energetic, and talented. After him was Fuego, an all-female band playing Argentine tango. Argentine tango usually puts in an appearance somewhere every Tangomarkkinat, and you do see a few people dancing it, but it is normally confined to the smaller venues and is fairly conventional and mainstream. This was in the Tangokatu itself and was very avant-garde. It didn't seem to be going down very well. A good-looking young chap and his attractive red-haired partner were dancing Argentine tango to it but a lot of people were leaving in search of alternative entertainment, or perhaps drink. I heard a man say "Ei ole tango" (It isn't tango) as he walked past. This is what Hanibal Troilo said about Piazzolla, but I don't know if the man was quoting him. The next tune I recognised. It was the Finnish classic Satumaa. This attracted three more couples onto the floor, or rather tarmac. Two attempted Finnish tango, though one abandoned it, and the third thought jive was the most appropriate interpretation of the music. After that I wandered off to the bar for a piimä. I saw Eija Kantola with her young daughter. I spoke to her, saying I was looking forward to her performance that night, and she allowed me to take a photo.
Tiina Räsänen was the singer in the mall that afternoon. She had been one of the entrants in the preliminaries for the Eurovision Song Contest, singing a duet with a young American. They appeared under the names of Iina and Gary. This afternoon she returned to tango, and her full name.
Four other tango stars had taken part in the Eurovision, though most didn't sing tangos. . The others were Heidi Kyrö, Kirsi Ranto, Arja Koriseva, and the eventual winner Jari Sillanpää. He sang Two to Tango, the words of which he wrote himself. It is not the song of the same name which Louis Armstrong recorded in 1953. I would have liked Arja Koriseva to win, but I had to admit that Jari Sillanpää's song was better.
As happens every year at the Tangomarkkinat, there was a cat show in the mall. The winning cat was a big ginger Maine Coon called Escape's Matrix. That is the cat's actual name, not a translation. At the presentation of the awards Katariina Mäkinen (who I must admit I had never heard of) sang Mustan kissan tango (Black Cat Tango), as is usual at this event. The difference was she sang it straight.
According to M.A. Numminen in Tango is my Passion, this was originally an Italian tune called Voleveo un gatto negro. In 1971 it was a big hit in both Japan and Finland, where it was sung by two little girls, as was the Italian original. Now it is usually sung by an adult duet, putting on silly childish voices. This is the first time I have heard it straight, and it is actually a very nice tango.
When I came out of the mall I saw Tiina Räsänen waiting patiently in the cashpoint queue. Somehow I can't imagine Victoria Beckham doing that. I spoke to her and said how much I admired her singing earlier.
There was time to refresh myself with coffee and strawberries before going back to my room for a shower and change before the evening's dancing started at 18:30.
In the Tangokatu that evening I met a dazzlingly beautiful young blonde, dressed all in white, aged about 20 (the same age as my granddaughter), with a really radiant smile. Normally I would avoid approaching someone so young, for fear of being thought a disgusting old perve, but I couldn't resist this one. She granted me one tango, Siks oon mä suruinen (That's why I'm Sad) and a handclasp, then disappeared.
There are two stages side by side on the Tangokatu, so that one band can get ready while another is still playing and there is no break in the entertainment. At 21:30 I was waiting by stage 1 for Eija Kantola, along with hundreds of other fans.
After her spot, the finalists appeared on stage 2. Because of the crowds I couldn't move from my place, but that was just as well as I would be near the front when Jari Sillanpää appeared an hour later.
My particular favourite, Ailamari Vehviläinen, was runner-up. I had to strain to get a glimpse of her, though because of the excellent sound system I was able to hear her very well. The winners were Tommi Soidinmäki and Johanna Debreczeni. This is a Hungarian name (though she is not Hungarian) and is pronounced something like "Debra Chaney".
At last, at 23:30, it was time for the ultimate alpha male. The young blonde woman beside me was squeaking with excitement before Jari Sillanpää even came on. She was positively orgasmic by the time he was halfway through his first number, which was Two to Tango. A woman fainted and had to be taken away by ambulance men. Jari kept the crowd in a constant state of excitement all through his hour long spot.
Could anyone follow that? Saija Varjus can. I have some of her records and they are fine, but seeing her live is far more exciting. It isn't just because of her good looks, though I can't deny she has those. There is something about her live performances that just doesn't come across on records. She treated us to various tangos and foxtrots, and a headbanging number that I didn't understand at all, but I think had something to do with tango because I detected a few shattered fragments of La Cumparsita in the introduction. I don't normally like this sort of music - I think it's a racket - but I enjoyed this one. Probably because Saija was creating the racket.
Then all the band members apart from the keyboard player disappeared and Saija started on Tuhon tietä kuljen, or I'm a Fool to Want You. This is very popular in Finland and I have heard it performed by a number of artists, including Arja Koriseva. Usually they use the same suave arrangement as Sinatra did, but this was much more raw and impassioned. This was followed by what Saija described as "another American tango" (though it is really Danish), Jealousy. Her face crumpled in misery as the accompanist pounded the hell out of his digital piano. Afterwards she whispered "thank you" and fled the stage in floods of tears. The MC came on and said seriously "that was from the heart", before returning to manic mode and whipping the crowd up into a frenzy. Saija returned, having composed herself, and treated us to two more headbanging numbers by way of encore.
Was this all a big act? Probably. It's what we pay for, after all. But suppose it was real? Suppose she had worked herself up into such a state that she was really feeling it? I wondered, are we selecting the most beautiful and talented of our young citizens as sacrificial victims, compelling them to suffer and weep and bleed for us, because we can no longer feel anything ourselves?
Enough of such morbid musings. Johanna Pakonen was coming on stage. Her light bubbly style was a complete contrast. Suddenly the same beautiful young blonde I had danced with hours earlier appeared, still immaculate, shot me a really dazzling smile, and disappeared into the crowd. I thought, nothing better than that is going to happen tonight and I might as well get back to my apartment.
It was 2:30, the sky was starting to lighten, and the streets of Seinäjoki were packed with revellers.
In the afternoon of Sunday 11th was the Royal Concert. This was to celebrate 20 years of the Tangomarkkinat and was broadcast on national radio. A total of 34 past and present tango royals were taking part, and the programme consisted entirely of tangos. It was scheduled to last 3 hours, and went on for 4. Members of the audience were given a free CD - the best of Sauli Lehtonen, who was Tango King in 1994 and was killed in 1995, when his car collided with an elk.
An important member of the audience was the President of Finland, Tarja Halonen. She has red hair, so naturally the first tango was Punatukkaiselle tytölleni (To my red-haired girl), sung by Erkki Räsänen, Antti Raiski, and Jouni Keronen.
Jari Sillanpää continued with a boisterous version of Two to Tango, Finland's Eurovision entry this year. Together with a rather over-qualified backing group consisting of Marita Taavitsainen, Johanna Pakonen and Eija Kantola, he sang an old arrangement, used by Olavi Virta and the Harmony Sisters in 1955, of Sinitaivas (Blue Heaven). The President later said that this, and Jealousy, were her favourite tangos. It is said that Bill Clinton's favourite is Monika, Monika, Monika.
Saija Varjus and Jouni Keronen sang a really heartrending duet, accompanied by piano with a harmonikka wailing quietly in the background.
At the end of the evening Jari Sillanpää pulled the president from her seat and danced tango with her.
I saw the president wandering about chatting to people during the intervals. If there were any bodyguards about, I didn't see them. I wondered whether to approach her, but I don't know anything about Finnish politics and couldn't think of anything to say, so I didn't.
That evening the last dance of the Tangomarkkinat, the Royal Dance, was held in the Atria Hall. It was nice to dance on parquet for a change. The finalists came on to do a spot, as did Marita Taavitsainen. I was able to speak to her afterwards and she gave me a signed photo. She said I spoke very good Finnish, which was nice to hear, even if it wasn't true.
Back in my room at 3 next morning after the dance finished I made pot of Presidentti coffee. This brand is strong even by Finnish standards. I realised I could have said something to Tarja Halonen: "Madam President, I love your coffee."
I had recorded five hours of video. Furthermore, there had been a number of tango programmes on national TV during the Tangomarkkinat, but I hadn't seen any of them. I had spent all my time at the Tangokatu so had recorded them. There was a programme on the life of Unto Mononen, the composer of Satumaa and many other classic Finnish tangos and other dance music. This was introduced by M.A. Numminen, the author of Tango is my Passion. We also watched the semifinals and finals of the tango singing competition. Jari Sillanpää and Arja Koriseva presented both.
Sometimes I think it is more frustrating to know a bit of the language than none at all. At least if you know nothing you can let it all wash over you and just listen to the music. I understood most of Arja Koriseva's chat with competitor Marko Lämsä. I grasped that he was an Elvis impersonator. Did he know Elvis's only tango? Yes he did - Walls Have Ears. But why did he ask Arja to crawl between his legs, and why did she do it?
The following day, before returning home, I went to Swingsters, specialist supplier of tango shoes. It is in a rather dilapidated art nouveau building, looking more suited to old Barcelona than modern Helsinki. There is no sign of a shoe shop; all that is visible is a travel agent and an antique shop. You have to look for the tiny brass plate beside the door, ring the bell, and if the proprietor Jari Norkola is within earshot, he will let you in and conduct you to the basement. I bought three pairs - black and dark red, black and electric blue, and black and purple. Just call me Imelda. Matching ladies' shoes, or rather matching shoes for ladies, are available; but these are what my mother would have called "sensible" - lace-ups and low heels. Look at
www.swingsters.fi but the selection is much bigger than the website suggests.
Looking back at what I've written, I see I've mentioned a lot of funny Finnish names. Don't let that put you off. It isn't necessary to have heard of any of these people to enjoy the Tangomarkkinat. The next one is 6 - 10 July 2005. It doesn't matter if you don't speak Finnish. Arrange accommodation through www.tangomarkkinat.fi - they speak excellent English. Just enjoy the music and the dancing. You might even find the partner of your dreams. You'll certainly have fun looking. I intend to be there. I hope to see Ailamari Vehviläinen become Tango Queen. Nähdään sitten! (See you there!)

May 2004

2004-05-28T13:08:00.000-07:00

May 2004 - Mayday in Finland
I always like a window seat when I fly to Finland. I like to see the ground drop away, and later get a sight of my beloved Finland from the air. But this time I got a seat by the emergency exit. There was no window, and I could see nothing. There were two seats on my side of the aisle, and three on the other.
The young man next to me said: “Would you mind changing places with my wife?” He gestured to a young woman on the other side of the aisle. “We’re on our honeymoon.”
I thought it rather charming that in 2004 somebody still thinks a honeymoon is significant. Naturally I agreed.
I was now next to two middle-aged Englishwomen. They kissed and touched one another all the way to Helsinki. It was most embarrassing. The only book I had with me was my Finnish dictionary, so I read it intently for the duration of the flight.
My old friend Eine-Liisa was in the Vanhan Kellari. She told me she had spent the weekend in Kotka with her boyfriend. “Have you heard of Kotka?” she asked.
“Yes,” I said. “Arja Saijonmaa sang about the Rose of Kotka. It’s the first Finnish tango I ever heard.”
I danced with a young woman who reminded me of the poem by T.S. Eliot:
Grishkin is nice: her Russian eye
Is underlined for emphasis.
Uncorseted, her friendly bust
Gives promise of pneumatic bliss.
She wasn’t Russian, but she had elegant eye makeup and a very nice figure. She was short - about five feet. She held me very close, which was nice. What was not so nice, was she crushed my right arm in her left armpit hard enough to cut off the circulation. After two tangos and two waltzes I thought I would never feel my fingers again. I would have liked to have asked her to put her left arm round my shoulders, as Eine-Liisa, who is also short, does; but I was afraid of seeming forward and didn’t. After I took her back to her table, I rubbed my arm surreptitiously, so she wouldn’t see.
The following day’s singer was Kristiina Mäki. I had never heard of her, but when I was a teenager I went out with a girl called Christine Hill. (Mäki is Finnish for hill). I don't suppose she was the same person.
Next day I hit the shops. I bought Kaija Pohjola’s new tango CD from Stockmanns. I saw a Kristiina Mäki CD, and bought that as well. I went to the Popangel second hand record shop in Fredrikinkatu. The salesman remembered me. As I entered the shop, he proudly held up two LP’s I had enquired about on my previous visit - Malando Plays Toivo Kärki from 1973 and Tangomarkkinat 4 from 1991. In the first Malando, who is a Dutchman named Arie Maasland, plays the tangos of Finnish composer Toivo Kärki in an Argentine style. The second has a track by Kaija Pohjola in the year she became Tango Queen at the age of 40. The salesman was so pleased, that I didn’t venture to say that I had already found a copy of the Malando on the Internet; so now I have two.
My stock of salmiakki and Presidentti coffee had been destroyed in the fire, so I bought more. But when I was chewing a Fazer Super Salmiakki, one of my crowns came off. I picked the crown out of the chewed-up salmiakki and put it away carefully.
That evening I went to the Vanhan Kellari. Kristiina Mäki wasn’t my old girlfriend, but she did have a rather 60’s appearance. She had an old-fashioned hairstyle with little curls at the back of the neck, as sported by Susan Maughan. She wore a black and white op-art mini-skirt. She sang Sano hänelle niin, which is the old Ronettes hit Tell Him. I admired her a lot.
On the following day I found a dentist in Aleksanterinkatu, opposite Stockmanns. I went in, and they said the dentist would see me at once. The dentist’s name was Anne Marie Munck.
She told me she had studied in Bristol. She was only the second Finnish student there, and they were a bit unwilling to take her on, because the previous Finnish student had been expelled for constant drunkenness. They thought that because she was a girl, she might be better behaved.
“You speak Finnish very well,” she said, which is untrue, though flattering.
“I find it a very difficult language” I said.
“So do I!” she said. “My first language is Swedish.”
The charge for replacing the crown was 80 euros - about 50 pounds. This is more than I would pay in England, but I was seen at once rather than after a fortnight's delay, which happened last time a crown came off. My own dentist is retiring soon, and I am seriously thinking of registering with Ms Munck.
In the afternoon I went to the money museum, which is behind the cathedral. I discovered that the Finnish word raha (money) originally meant "squirrel skin", the medium of exchange of the earliest Finns. There was a seventeenth-century Swedish copper coin, which weighed 4 kilos. There is no silver or gold in Sweden (or Finland, which was part of Sweden at that time), but plenty of copper. The government didn't want to be beholden to foreigners for bullion, so they adopted the copper standard. It was one of those good ideas which just doesn't work. If you wanted to buy a horse and cart, you needed another horse and cart to carry the money to pay for it.
There was also paper money designed in 1922 by the architect Eliel Saarinen, who designed the railway station amongst other important public buildings. The notes featured tasteful artistic nudes.
I found the money museum very interesting. But them I am an old bank man.
The singer at the Vanhan Kellari that night was Marion. Her full name is Marion Rung, but she never uses her surname. The Finns find it too barbaric. I have the same problem.
Next day was May Day Eve. I got up at 7 and went to the harbour to pay a visit to my other Finnish lady friend. She doesn't say much, but then she is Finnish. As a matter of fact, she is French, but she has lived in Helsinki for nearly 100 years. Her name is Havis Amanda. At the base of her fountain two young women were getting into the May Day spirit with a bottle of champagne. They offered me a swig and wished me hyvää vappua (Happy May Day).
May Day was hot and sunny, and all Helsinki was out merrymaking. It is the one day of the year when ex-students may wear their jaunty white academic caps (much more stylish than the ridiculous mortar boards we have); but only after Havis Amanda has put on hers. A new one is made for her every year.
When I arrived back in Bristol, it was 1 in the morning. My mind went back to what had happened last time. I fully expected my sons-in-law to meet me with the words "John, you'll never believe this but . . . "; but they didn't.

January 2004 - Arja . . . and fire!!

2004-01-28T13:04:00.000-08:00

I hadn't intended to return to Finland so soon after Christmas, but Arja Koriseva was appearing at the Vanhan Kellari. I had seen her four times at the Seinäjoki Tangomarkkinat, and many times on Finnish TV, but I wanted to see her in the more intimate surroundings of the Vanhan Kellari. Furthermore I had read in the gossip papers that she was hoping for another baby. If this is true, then at 39 she would need to make serious moves in that direction quite soon.
The Kellari was packed. Eine-Liisa was there and we danced together a few times. I asked if she would like a drink. She said cognac and a glass of water. I went to the bar to get them, and when I was waiting to be served a woman asked me to dance. This was embarrassing. It was impossible to turn down the woman's invitation, but I didn't want Eine-Liisa to die of thirst. But there was nothing for it - I had to go on the parquet with this new woman.
She was wearing a thick woollen sweater, much to thick for the Kellari, which is always warm. Her perfume appeared to be 50% Chanel, 50% armpit sweat. After the dance, when I belatedly went back to Eine-Liisa with the drinks, I surreptitiously sniffed myself to see if I smelled the same.
By 23:30, when Miss Koriseva was due to appear, there was no room to dance. Everybody was packed shoulder to shoulder in front of the stage to get a glimpse of their idol. I was in front. I was only three feet from her and could have reached out and touched her, but of course I didn't. She started with some songs from her latest CD, Nauran ja rakastan (I Laugh and Love), including Uudet tähdet (New Stars):
Kun kaapejani eilen siivosin When cleaning out my cupboard yesterday
niin löysein sieltä vanhan vinyylin . . . I came across an old vinyl LP . . . .
probably the only pop song about housework. She sang two waltzes and two humppas I had never heard before, and of course tangos. It was a wonderful, uplifting experience. I thought life couldn't get any better.
Afterwards I was able to speak to her. I admired her dress and asked if Eija had made it. I said I had all of her records except one, which I was diligently searching for. She gave me a signed photograph and also autographed the CD insert of Nauran ja rakastan which I had brought with me. I asked for another photo for Liisa. I think she assumed that Liisa was English, as she spelled her name with only one I. I didn't say anything.
I crawled exhausted out of the Kellari when Arja's spot finished at one in the morning. I had been there since five. People were still streaming in. I bought a Megadog from a street kiosk, ate it, and returned to my hotel.
I arrived back in Bristol at 1 in the morning on 2nd February. As I came out of the bus station I saw my two sons-in-law waving to me from their old Land Rover. I thought they had been out drinking all night and didn't really want to get into their car. But they said there had been a fire at my house.
This is a tango blog, so I'll be brief about the fire. There was no serious structural damage, but everything was severely smoke-damaged, the electricity and gas was burned out, and it was completely uninhabitable. For the first time, I was glad that my wife had died. It would have broken her heart to see what had happened to her beloved home. One of my cats was killed, the other had disappeared. The neighbour who was looking after the cats had suffered an angina attack (the same thing that carried off my wife) and was taken to hospital.
My neighbour was discharged from hospital with a clean bill of health. The missing cat turned up; hungry, black with smoke, and extremely frightened, but unharmed. I had to move into temporary accommodation.

Christmas 2003

2004-01-03T13:21:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2003
I checked into the Eurohostel, and there was just time to shower and change to get to the Vanhan Kellari when it opened at four o'clock. Hilkka was there. She is tall, blonde, and very popular with all the men at the Kellari, including me. I like to dance with tall women. I am very much aware of their thighs.
I had often seen Eija Kantola on Finnish TV, and I have most of her records. She was appearing at the Vanhan Kellari and this was the first time I had seen her live. I was able to speak to her after her spot, and she gave me a signed photograph.
But who was booked to appear on 20th January? Arja Koriseva! Could I afford to come back to Finland to see her? No. Would I do it anyway? Probably.
Next day it snowed, and Helsinki was beautiful and white. I see why Finns cheer up in the winter. I met Garth and Ian in the Stockmanns department store. Ian is now 2½ . He speaks Finnish and can understand English, but doesn't say much in it.
There was an article in the paper about Anne Mattila, who has just released a new record. She has two sisters, Anneli and Anita. It seems that her parents have a lack of imagination, or perhaps a rich aunt Anna. Two important ladies celebrate their 60th birthdays about now: Finnish president Tarja Halonen and Queen Silvia of Sweden.
I went to the beach. The sea was frozen and people were ice-yachting. A chimney was giving out pink smoke (presumably due to the low sun rather than anything they were burning). I wondered if it was a Barbie factory.

Tangomarkkinat 2003

2003-07-28T13:13:00.000-07:00

First I must apologise for a serious error of fact in a recent report. I said that Eija Koriseva is Arja’s younger sister. In fact Eija is the oldest of three Koriseva sisters. The youngest, Piia, was a TV announcer but she has now become a full-time mother. I got this from Tango Royals, along with a few other interesting titbits:

When Arja Koriseva was a student in the USA, she worked on a farm harvesting corncobs - an appropriate job for a future tango star.
The Tangomarkkinat organisers tried to get her to adopt the stage name of Arja Karen, saying that no great singer could have the name Koriseva, which means “wheezing” in Finnish.
Taina Kokkonen appeared in Argentina and Uruguay as part of the Tango 2000 educational tour. A Finn teaching the South Americans about tango.

Jos sais kerran is coming off. The TV company says it is lack of public interest; Liisa says that Finnish wives are complaining that the men spend all their time leering at Arja. I think that there should have been a more macho male presenter than the distinctly camp Joel Hallikainen. Anyway, in spite of top-notch guests such as Kaija Pohjola, Taina Kokkonen, Janne Tulkki and Katri-Helena; and the memorable episode when Hallikainen was thrashed with birch whisks by girl band CatCat, the programme finished in May 2003, the final guest being Jari Sillanpää.
The weather forecast for Seinäjoki was not good: cold for the time of year, frequent showers. At the station bookstall was a paperback edition of Tango on intohimoni. I bought it at 8 euros. I quote: “Many ask what the meaning of life is. I know: it is the tango.” Nothing to disagree with there, and the language doesn’t appear to be too difficult. I will start on it when I have finished Tango Royals.
I went to the health food shop. My two ladies had left, thought the manageress thought she remembered me. Disappointed, I went to a kahvila and had a coffee and pulla bun while I had a look at the local paper. The lead story was the strawberry crop but there were many pages devoted to tango. There was a page devoted to the semifinallists in the singing competition. I had seen the programme from the town of Raisio where the twelve semifinallists were chosen. They included last year’s runners up, Johanna Piipponen and Rami Rafael, and Ailamari Vehviläinen, dark, sensuous and sultry, and my particular favourite. The others I thought bland and uninteresting. But what is this? Ailamari Vehviläinen was not there! She had been eliminated by the TV viewers! How could this be? Apart from Johanna Piipponen, she was the only one who had any personality! There was more. Taina Kokkonen is quitting showbusiness. She has only been Tango Queen since 1999 and has made a mere two records. I was distraught. Surely things couldn’t get any worse? They could. It started to rain again. There was only one thing for it - I bought a litre of strawberries and pigged the lot.
I saw Johanna Pakonen, last year’s Tango Queen, singing in the shopping mall to harmonikka accompaniment. By then the rain had stopped, and I went to the Tangokatu, where Mira Sunnari was appearing. She was Tango Queen in 2001, the year Erkki Räsänen was King. I was unimpressed at the time and thought Katri Aapalahti should have won. Since then she has not been in the public eye at all, until now. What a difference. She was barely recognisable. The tight blonde curls had gone, replaced by straight black shoulder length hair set off with blue-tinted glasses. More importantly, her singing style had matured and she wrung every ounce of passion out of tangos like Vie meidat rakkauteen (Tango d'amore). In a particularly sad one, I am sure I saw a tear glistening on her cheek.
In the evening was last year’s Tango King, Mikko Kilkkinen. He was cheered by his hundreds of fans, most of them women and some of them four times his age. He could have the pick of any woman over 50 in Finland. What a lucky lad he is.
Friday evening was when the big stars came out in the Tangokatu. The ultra-wonderful Arja Koriseva appeared at 11. The Tangokatu was packed solid. There was room to dance, in the sense that there was a few inches of space between you and the next couple, at the ends of the street but if you wanted to see Arja as well as hear her (the sound system was very good) you were crammed shoulder to shoulder with hundreds of other fans in front of the stage. Her rich sensuous voice poured over me and all disappointments were forgotten. I was lifted out of myself and I felt that there was nobody in the Tangokatu but me and Arja and she was singing for me alone. This is what I had come for: this is what tango is all about.
Jari Sillanpää’s testosterone-fuelled performance followed. He appeared immediately after Arja and more people crammed themselves into the non-existent space. The big guy bounded on to the accompaniment of huge cheers. By the end of his first number he was running in sweat. He kept it up for an hour, giving us Elvis numbers, sentimental waltzes and of course tangos, flirting with the audience between numbers. He had as many male fans as female, showing that he is not merely sex on legs.
After that I had a quick dash round the corner to see Kaija Pohjola. She sang only tangos for her entire spot - the only singer who did so. Her spot started at 00:30 in the morning - the same time as Marita Taavitsainen, though after Kaija had finished I dashed back to the Tangokatu and caught Marita’s last song - the classic André.
Other people I could have seen at the same time were Eija Kantola in the Atria Hall, Erkki Räsänen in the Sports Hall, Sebastien Ahlgren at the race track, and the semifinals of the singing competition at the Areena. Not to mention all the minor events in hotels and bars. One of the hotels even had Argentine tango.
Shock horror at the finals! Saija Tuupanen and Kari Hirvonen were the winners! Johanna Piipponen and Rami Rafael nowhere! Piipponen and Rafael were confidently predicted by all and sundry to win. There had been a two page spread in the paper predicting their victory, but the judges disagreed, one of them, Arja Koriseva herself, giving Tuupanen and Hirvonen the maximum 10 points each. “Tango finals end in tears!” screamed the headlines the next day, pushing everything else off the front pages. “Winner Saija weeps for joy, favourite Johanna for disappointment”, with pictures of both ladies in floods of tears. Does any of this actually matter? I think it does. We can vicariously experience Saija’s joy and Johanna’s misery, and powerful passions can be dissipated in the throb of beautiful tango music, rather than the flash of Lappish hunting knives (available from Stockmanns, 219 euros for a particularly vicious-looking one).
On the last day the weather improved and there were some interesting dancers in the Tangokatu, including a man dancing tango with two young girls stacked one behind the other, two men dancing rock and roll together (the only all-male couple I have ever seen in Finland), and two teenage girls who turned the jenkka into something stylish and elegant.

March 2003

2003-03-28T13:07:00.000-08:00

At the tail end of winter, Finland does not look its best. The piles of snow by the sides of the roads are dirty grey or even black. Residue from the gritting still covers the pavements. You need to really love Finland to go there this time of year.
The war in Iraq dominated the TV of course. But there was a good music programme on - Jos sais kerran - introduced by Joel Hallikainen and Arja Koriseva. The programme is in the format of a game show, but really it is an opportunity for the two presenters and their two guest stars to plug their latest singles. A member of the public also has an opportunity to strut their stuff. Hallikainen introduced a guest as “Finland’s Tina Turner”. Sonja Lumme (who I had not heard of before) went on to sing The Best in English. The interesting thing is that Hallikainen pronounced the name as “Taina” (rhyming with miner) Turner, suggesting that he had never heard the name said out loud, and also that he did not associate it with the very similar and very common Finnish name Tiina.
Another tango-related commercial is on TV at the moment. A housewife takes some delicious meat pasties, hot and steaming, from the microwave. The smoke alarm bursts into a spirited rendition of Jealousy.
Tuesday at the Vanhan Kellari was another naistentanssit. The ladies guard their privileges jealously. On previous occasions I have approached them, only to be told very firmly to go back to my place and wait until asked. Naturally such a serious breach of good manners has scuppered my chances of getting any invitations afterwards. I noticed that some women seem to go to the naistentanssit and just sit there without ever inviting any men to dance. Perhaps they just want to listen to the music and have a quiet drink without constantly being pestered by men as they would be at an ordinary dance.
“Marjorie Proops” was there again. I must stop calling her that as she now wears different, non-lethal, glasses. Her real name is Hilkka. She remembered me, which is very flattering as she goes there nearly every night and must meet hundreds of people. Another partner was a slim, very elegant and refined lady who wore an expensive-looking black sequin dress and even more expensive-looking shoes made up of very tiny straps. She had shoulder-length blonde ringlets, and was aged I suppose about 75. We were dancing in a restrained and dignified manner, when the record changed and she sighed “Janne Tulkki!” and melted all over me. Thanks Janne. I’ll do the same for you one day.
On Wednesday the singer was Finland’s own Dannii Minogue. Now here is a woman who has everything: beauty, talent, charisma, star quality - and a big sister who has more of the same. But Eija Koriseva is not just a pale shadow of her sister - she is a wonderful performer in her own right. She isn’t content with singing the words and standing there beaming at the audience during the instrumental bits - she flings herself all over the stage acting out the song and it is possible to understand it without knowing a word of Finnish. I particularly enjoyed the humppa set, where her delicious bust bounced very prettily under her low-cut dress. I was first in the queue to speak to her after her spot. I said I had always admired her. What a despicable liar I am. Three months ago I hadn’t heard of her. I asked when her next CD was coming out. Hopefully a single later this year, an album in the offing. She signed a CD insert I had brought with me, and also gave me a photograph and a kiss.
La Cumparsita by Arja Saijonmaa (4509-98124-2) is an all-tango CD. Most of them are on the two Saijonmaa records I have mentioned before, but it also has the Finnish classic Pieni sydän, and Kyyhkynen, which we know better as La Paloma.
Arja Saijonmaa is a truly cosmopolitan artist. She has issued a CD of French classics sung in Finnish, an LP of Chilean folk songs, again in Finnish, and another of Finnish classics (including Satumaa) sung in Swedish.
I bought a book - Tango-kunninkaalliset ja heidän tarinansa (Tango royals and their stories) by Marja Nyman. I quote from the blurb:
Why did the first tango king Kauko Simonen spend a night in jail? And why was Eija Kantola forbidden to sing? Do you know who Jari Sillanpää’s first love was? Who did Tomi Karkkola hit with a lavatory brush? What makes Arja Koriseva cry? . . . Every story is full of the large and small joys of life, the disappointments and the tears. Every story transports us through the trials and errors, hard work and sacrifice necessary to achieve victory. This book tells what sort of person becomes a star in one night. And how it is done.
Obviously essential reading for every tango fanatic. Yes one may scoff at this tabloid- journalism stuff. But it is a healthy antidote to the attitude one often finds of the tango being a “thing” completely independent of the human beings who create it. The Finnish is not too difficult, and I am trying to read at least a page a day.

Christmas 2002

2003-01-05T13:20:00.000-08:00

I checked in at Bristol Airport on 23rd December 2002. The clerk asked me if I had any guns, knives, explosives or Christmas crackers in my hand luggage. I thought it was a joke, but it wasn’t. How many Christmas crackers do you need to make a bomb big enough to blow a hole in the side of an aircraft?
On Christmas Eve morning it was cold in Helsinki - 20 below. Snow was falling gently, as it did nearly all the time I was there. In the streets several harmonikka players braved the cold to entertain the public, playing Christmas carols and a few tangos. How they did it in that cold I can’t think, particularly as they weren’t wearing gloves. One was a woman, and a little girl of about 10 was dancing.
After Christmas dinner, which was traditional Finnish ham and salmon, I went for a walk by the beach. The sea was frozen, and a hole had been made in the ice for those brave enough to swim. There was a jetty with a heated mat, and a fence to stop skaters from falling into the hole. All sponsored by Nokia. Of course, none of it was vandalised or defaced with graffiti. I saw a woman go for a swim. She was only in for about 20 seconds, but it was 20 seconds more than I would have done.
On TV there was a Christmas service from Helsinki cathedral, the Pope delivering his greetings in every language - i waited impatiently for the Finnish and discovered his accent is even worse than mine - and a programme which seemed to consist of nothing but a man and a woman reading out viewers’ messages which were all of the nature of “Happy Christmas from Tuomas and Liisa to Uncle Pekka and Auntie Virkko in Lappeenranta”.
There is a good soap opera running at the moment. It is called Iskelmä prinssi and is set in the same sort of rustic 60’s dance hall as the film Onnen maa which I have mentioned before. It has the lot - unfeasibly beautiful actors of both sexes, old cars, nurses in old-fashioned uniforms, - and every week a different tango star makes a guest appearance. Kirsi Ranto and Eino Grön had already appeared, but that week it was none other than the ultra-wonderful Arja Koriseva. She was a delight in her summer frock and little white gloves as she sang a lovely version of Kellä kulta sillä onni, which we know better as Everybody loves a lover. Charming and sweetly innocent. Not a tango I know, but you can’t have everything.
There is also a commercial for Kevytlevi, a spread which is a mixture of butter and margarine. It is set in a dance hall and a tango is playing. A woman cannot make up her mind between two equally attractive toyboys, so she dances with both of them at once.
My Christmas present to myself was Arja Koriseva’s new CD Joulu joka päivä (AK-001). This means Christmas every day, but the title track isn’t the song we know by that name. No tangos on it, so really I shouldn’t be mentioning it, but there is a really wonderful unaccompanied version of Oi Beetlehem sä pienoinen (O little town of Bethlehem). Beautiful, haunting, like nothing else I have ever heard her do.
There was an article in the paper about Kaija Pohjola. The headline was “I sang, though my heart wept.” She had had a miserable year as her mother had died suddenly, and she herself had broken her leg badly. But she is happy now, as she has fulfilled a ten-year dream and moved from Kouvola to Tampere. Moving from one provincial Finnish town to another one 130 miles away seems a very modest ambition for so big a star. Why hadn’t she done it years ago if that is what she wanted? The article didn’t say. What is of more interest is that she intends to work another 5 or 6 years (she is now 51) and produce a new tango CD. I will look forward to that.
On the 30th December I made my way to the airport. There was time for a bit of last minute shopping first. I went to the Popangel second-hand record shop. A couple of Kaija Pohjola CDs, got them . . . quite a lot of Arja Koriseva, got them all . . . . three singles by Eija Koriseva . . . . Eija Koriseva? Who’s she then? I bought the singles at 5 euros the lot.
Back home a trawl of the Internet revealed that Arja Koriseva has a sister Eija. Eija Koriseva is professor of mathematics at Helsinki University. And there was the Eija Koriseva who had made those three records. Could they all be the same person? Further research revealed that Eija Koriseva the singer is indeed Arja’s sister, but she isn’t a professor of mathematics. She is a dressmaker and makes all Arja’s show dresses.
In Bristol the weather was warm and damp. But I knew I was really back in Merrie England when the airport bus arrived. It was filthy, and the driver watched me struggle up the steps with my heavy luggage. The driver of the Helsinki airport bus, a middle-aged woman, had jumped down into the snow to open up the luggage compartment.

September 2002

2002-09-28T13:09:00.000-07:00

Thursday at the Vanhan Kellari was a naistentanssit (ladies’ dance). Women ask men to dance and the men are expected to sit quietly and wait until asked.
The lady with the Marjorie Proops glasses was there again. I asked if she went every night as she always seemed to be there when I went. She said something that might have meant that she had just dumped her boyfriend because he was too old - or possibly that her son was now old enough to be left. Neither interpretation actually answered the question.
I was asked to dance by an energetic young woman who liked the fast jives. When she discovered I was English, she insisted I teach her ballroom tango.
Johanna Pakonen, this year’s tango queen, was the singer. A member of her backing group had an electronic keyboard, but instead of the usual piano keys it had harmonikka buttons.
I bought 3 CD's. With these and the 18 from my previous trip, I now have 22 which I have not reviewed. Do I need to write them all up, particularly as they are so difficult to get over here? All right, you twisted my arm, here are two to be getting on with.

Ystävän laulu, by Arja Saijonmaa (4509-99227-2).
Arja Saijonmaa was on the first Finnish CD I reviewed. I said I didn’t know what Kotkan ruusu was all about. I do now. It means “rose of Kotka”. Kotka is a port not far from Helsinki and the Rose was a lady who extended the hand of friendship to lonely sailors far from home. Kotkan ruusu appears on this CD, with one other tango, Mustasukkaisuuttaa, perhaps better known as Jalousie, Denmark’s biggest contribution to tango culture. Of the other 18 tracks, 4 are Greek songs, sung in Finnish. One of them, Tuska (pain), is a nice quasi-tango. All the recordings are old, made between 1978 and 1983. I have said before that I like my music to be up to date, but I like old stuff if it is good, and this is.

Satumaa, by Arja Saijonmaa (8573-86454-2).
As well as the title track, recorded in 1981 and the only version I have ever heard sung by a woman, there are 10 other tangos, including La Cumparsita. This is known in Finland, and is used as the signature tune for the Tangomarkkinat singing competition, but apart from that the only time I have heard it was when it was sung by a drunken reveller at 2 in the morning in a bar in Seinäjoki. Arja Saijonmaa has a rich sensuous operatic voice which she uses to great effect . Another really good one is Rakkautta ei se ollut, which is the German classic Liebe war es nie. It is as rich, creamy and old-fashioned as a Black Forest gateau.

Here is a book I will be looking out for: MA Numminen’s Tango on intohimoni (tango is my passion). So far it has been translated into Swedish and German. I have written to the publishers asking if there are any plans to put it into English, but I have had no reply. I definitely don’t fancy tackling a whole book in Finnish (or Swedish or German come to that).
My Finnish teacher lent me a VHS copy of Tango kabaree, saying it was “a bit surreal”. It has no subtitles and I couldn’t make any sense of it at all.

I had better luck with the DVD of Onnen maa (happy land). Set in and around a rustic dance hall where nothing but tangos are played, it is described as a nostalgic comedy; although with vicious duffing-up scene (fortunately off-screen) and the death of the grandfather it is hardly Carry On Tangoing. But it is a pleasant, and allegedly accurate, picture of the rural tango scene in the 60’s.
It is the supporting programme of a two-film DVD. The main feature is Badding, which is about the adventures of reluctant rock star Rauli “Badding” Somerjoki. All he wants is to be left alone to read comics, but he is chased across the idyllic Finnish countryside by detectives and others and manhandled onto the stage by heavies. Although the music is described as rock, I would call it middle of the road. I liked it. No tango content though. Both films have English subitles.

Tangomarkkinat 2002

2002-07-28T13:12:00.000-07:00

It is summer, time to return to Finland. Time to overdose on tango and strawberries. A summer spent anywhere else is simply wasted. Where else would you see a young woman curtsey to a tram driver? Or a bar selling nothing but sour milk? Or 120,000 tango-crazed party animals descend on one small town?
I arrived in Helsinki on the evening of Thursday 4th July. I wasn’t due to travel till next day and was going to have an early night, but I decided to go to the Vanhan Kellari. I’m glad I did, because the singer was Miss Cuteness Personified herself, Taina Kokkonen. They often have big stars at the Vanhan, but usually I seem to miss them and see only unknowns. She is utterly adorable in person and I have decided she is the daughter I never had. I spoke to her in my best Finnish, saying I admired her and asking when she was making another CD. She said she just had.
I encountered two ladies I had danced with before. One was wearing fifties-style glasses of the type once sported by Marjorie Proops. She insisted on dancing cheek to cheek, and I got seriously spiked. The other was Eine-Liisa, the one who thinks any foreigner will understand Finnish if it is shouted loud enough. She told me about her lapsilapset (grandchildren). I didn’t get much, except that there were three of them, so I said sinä olet liian nuori olla isoäiti (you’re too young to be a grandmother) and she simpered prettily. Am I a smooth operator, or what? She kissed me on the cheek and wished me hyvää kesää (happy summer).
Next morning I went to the market square to have a coffee and cake and watch the world go by. The old chap next to me looked friendly, so I thought I would try out my Finnish on him. Unfortunately he wanted to try his English on me. His name was Eero, he too was a retired bank manager, and he gave me a quick guided tour round Helsinki in his old van. I had seen the sights before, but I made the appropriate appreciative noises. He returned me to the market square, and, encouraged by my ability to make new Finnish friends, approached someone else. A woman, with a young unlined face and grey hair, a combination I have always found exciting. I beamed at her and said hyvää päivää (good day). She glared furiously at me and strode away. Oh well. I consoled myself with a salmiakki ice cream. Salmiakki is a sort of strong salty liquorice, containing sal-ammoniac, or chloride of ammonia, the stuff used in dry batteries, and used for flavouring sweets, vodka, and other things. It is very popular in Finland, and definitely an acquired taste. Once you have acquired it, you can’t get enough of the stuff.
Although the Tangomarkkinat was 6 days and 200 miles away, Helsinki was getting into tango mood. Street entertainers were playing tangos, there were even more on local radio than there usually are, and I heard Satumaa as a ring tone on several mobiles. I went to my favourite restaurant, the VPK, and the waiter remembered me.
I called on Kaisa. Her son is quite a big boy now - ten months. His name is Ian Christopher Coogan. I said he ought to have been given a Finnish name also, as he is as much Finnish as he is American. What about Pekka, a good Finnish name and one which might amuse the folks back in Arizona? Kaisa said she had never liked that name. She did say they were bringing up Ian to be bilingual. We took Ian to the beach, and Kaisa was a bit embarrassed that people might think an old codger such as myself might be the father of her baby. I said I was more likely to be taken for his grandfather, which mollified her somewhat. Ian liked the texture of the sand, and kept patting it and running it through his fingers. He also found it adds a nice crunchy texture to your strawberry if you dip it in. Kaisa had some Swedish crispbread, labelled MED SMAK AV MAJS. I said that looked as if it ought to mean “with taste of mouse”. Kaisa assured me that it did, and it was a Swedish delicacy usually served with rat pee jam.
I bought the train tickets for Seinäjoki, scoffed some strawberries and went for a ride on a tram. I found a car boot sale. I could have bought a statue of Lenin, a bible (Finnish language, old German typeface) or a milk churn; but I resisted the temptations of all these and bought an Arja Koriseva CD, and another CD by Lea Laven, who I had never heard of. I only bought it because one of the tracks was Kuin kissa (like a cat).
My first port of call in Seinäjoki was the health food shop. My two beautiful ladies were still there, and what is more they remembered me and said I had lost weight. They said I spoke very good Finnish, which proves they are as big liars and flannellers as I am. In the market square a trader was selling superglue and religious tracts. I couldn’t follow his sales patter. I suppose it was on the lines of “stick with Jesus”.
The frustrating thing about the Tangomarkkinat is that it is impossible to be in six places at once. As well as all the official events there are bands and dancing in every bar and restaurant, street musicians, karaoke (I have never heard tango karaoke before) and much else. A boy of about 11 or 12 was playing tangos on a harmonikka nearly as big as himself. I would have liked to join in the tango karaoke, but I have a vile singing voice. I inherited this raucous screech from my mother, along with her dark colouring, her over-emotional nature and of course her good looks. Plus her lack of false modesty.
Mira Kunnasluoto has completely shaken off her Miss Seinäjoki 1951 image. Her hair is cropped very short, with a blonde streak. At the opening dance she was wearing a bright pink dress tastefully embellished with broad blue bra straps. Her singing style has lost its saccharine sweetness. She put in many appearances during the festival, including one in the shopping mall, where I was able to speak to her. She signed a photo for me, and said she was glad to have English admirers.
Other artists appearing included Jari Sillanpää, who gave a concert at the Areena; the delectable Taina Kokkonen; Kaija Pohjola, she of the matronly figure and deliciously husky voice; Tiina Räsänen, who that week was marrying fellow tango star Petri Hervanto; and the unsurpassable Arja Koriseva. I have spoken highly of other ladies; but without any disrespect to any of them, Arja is at a completely different level of sheer wonderfulness. The fire of her personality leaps from the stage. In the huge Atria hall I felt she was singing just for me. It didn’t matter that I recognised barely one word in twenty - the emotions went straight sydämestä sydämeen: from heart to heart, in the words of the song. Then it was over. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.
And Arja is hardly known in this country. Presumably there are other stars of Arja’s quality in Portugal, Latvia, Hungary, etc that we don’t know of either. We are very parochial really.
A band that was not there last year was Trio Corazon, who played Argentine style tango. The trio consists of singer, guitar and harmonikka. The songs had mostly been translated into Finnish, though Mi Buenos Aires Querido was left in Spanish. There were five couples dancing Argentine tango, valiantly attempting ochos and giros on the tarmac, watched by a handful of bemused spectators. It was here I heard the only milonga I have ever heard in Finland. It was introduced as “a fast Argentine rhythm, similar to the humppa”. I enjoyed it, and so did Liisa, but what a contrast when we went round the corner to the main part of the Tangokatu. There Erkki Räsänen (no relation to Tiina Räsänen) was regaling a huge crowd with Satumaa. The dancers were packed shoulder to shoulder and there must have been hundreds of spectators (including teenagers) joining in the chorus. I don’t think this South American thing will ever supplant the original.
I noticed a young couple, clasped in a close embrace while Rakkauden yö (night of love) throbbed about them. Each had a mobile phone to their ear. Could they be talking to their spouses saying they were working late and weren’t anywhere near the Tangomarkkinat? Were they fixing up partners for the next dance? Were they even talking to each other? Did they find it easier to talk on the phone than face to face? Who can say?
I had taken 740 euros with me, and after 9 days this had evaporated to a mere 80. So I had to pay a visit to the bank. Inside was a live band, playing tangos. I told the cashier that I had worked in a bank for 34 years without ever hearing a tango played there.
All too soon it was time for the last dance on Sunday evening.The finalists of the singing competition came on stage to sing two tangos each for the cameras. The winners were announced: Mikko Kilkkinen and Johanna Pakonen. Mikko is 17 years old. In the papers next day there were headlines like “Is he too young to be Tango King?” Well if he’s old enough to belt out a good tango - and he is - then of course he’s not too young. Cliff Richard was 17 when he had his first hit, and Lulu 14. Deanna Durbin was about 12.
Janne Tulkki put in his only appearance on the Sunday night. With his dark brooding good looks and sexy voice and demeanour he attracted many fans who clustered round the foot of the stage. Two girls, who seemed to be aged about 12, were holding out small red plastic hearts to him, their faces gleaming with lust. An elegantly dressed lady of about 75 screamed out something of which the only bit I understood was me rakastamme sua, Janne! (we love you, Janne).
Now I am back in Blighty. I have brought with me 7 packets of ultra-strong Presidentti coffee, 20 packets of salmiakki sweets, a bottle of salmiakki vodka, 18 CDs, and some very happy memories.