New owners, new location, Thai Sweet Chilli ....

(Cross-posted in the CHAFF Blog.)

The Thai Sweet Chili Grocery Store which started in the Oulu City Market about 4 years ago, moved to Rautatienkatu about 3 years ago and then moved to Torikatu, opposite the Labour Unemployment Centre, has now changed hands and moved to a new location on Asemakatu.

New location of Thai Sweet Chili Grocery Store

The store is situated inside a popular flea market and antique shop called Pikku Liinu run by Paula Kangas, which has been around for quite a few years.


Flea market and antique store,
Pikku Liinu owned by Paula Kangas

Before that it was the location of one of the most popular computer hardware stores in Oulu called Kommentokeskus.

My former partner in business Jari Kaitera, now the Managing Director in a major RFID company in Helsnki, started his career in that shop, so it has many good memories for me.

The Thai Sweet Chili Grocery Store is owned by a couple, Markku Miettinen (a Finn) and his wife, Pat (a Thai). They will live part of the year in Oulu and part of the year in Thailand. I have known Markku for several years, probably about 4 and was associated with him some time ago before he left for Thailand.


Thai Sweet Chilli Grocery Store

I wish this new enterprise of Markku and Pat all the very best and hope we can now get some of the good Thai grocery products at reasonable prices rather than having to depend on Stockman.

A new Oulu concept from Henna and Jarmo...

(Cross-posted in Jacob's Blog.)

A few weeks ago, our local newspaper wrote about a small bookstore in Oulu which also had a few tables where you could enjoy a hot refreshment with a "pulla" (Finnish sweet bread or pastry) and also spend some time browsing a few books from their selection.

I took a trip to the Coffee Shop, today, at the corner of Pakkahuonekatu and Aleksantarinkatu and met with the delightful owners Hanna and Jarmo Stoor.

Jarmo is an author and has published three books. Both are friendly and like to talk to their customers.

Hanna and Jarmo Stoor of Nispero Kirjakahvila

Known as Nispero Kirjakahvila (The Nispero Book Coffee Shop), it is located in quite a strategic place and will have a good number of visitors as spring, summer and autumn appear on the horizon.


Nispero Kirjakahvila location in Oulu

In winter, the warmth of the owners will not need the books to draw their customers. As as they speak English, foreigners will not have much problem blending in with the locals.

Thanks for introducing such a good idea to Oulu.

Disgust at Kaleva's "Hintavahti" column

A few weeks ago the Oulu newspaper, Kaleva, announced that it would give Euro 10 to anyone who gave "Best Buy" suggestions which were published by them in a Saturday column called "Hintavahti".

We have watched the column for three weeks and we find it is a fraud on the public.

Kaleva has no publicly published rules for deciding which is a "best buy" . It fails to even acknowledge any suggestions sent to them. There appears to be no basis for their deciding which is a "best buy" other than the "whims" of the Editor responsible.

We submitted what we knew were really best buys from our experience of over 22 years of playing the game we designed and published in 1994 in the book "Handbook for Survival in Finland".



Kaleva did not even an acknowledge our suggestions.

Kaleva appears to be ripping off unsuspecting readers who have to pay Euro 0.70 for submitting an entry.

The first winners of "hintavahti" should be those who are cost conscious and submit their entries to Kaleva using email, for which there is a ZERO cost - something which obviously does not please the "Kaleva" Editors very much!

It is our intention to start our own "Best Buy" section of the Chaff Blog. You can submit your entry, free of cost, by email to us and we will check your suggestion and publish the best buys submitted giving acknowledgement to all those who submit the valid suggestions.

We will also publish other suggestions for our readers to comment.

Further, we will take you back in history to the prices as they prevailed in 1994, as published in our book, to see what has been the impact on joining Europe and of having changed over to the Euro.

Can we offer a prize for the best suggestions?

We would very much like to so as to motivate you to do some research for other readers of the CHAFF Blog.

If anyone is willing to sponsor this - we would certainly like to offer a reward.

If you are in a position to make a sponsorship offer, do contact us by return.

FIRST SUGGESTION

The first suggestion is one which is a favourite among many of our friends as they all use a lot of FRENCH FRIES.


Euroshopper Logo

The best price for French Fries is the Euroshopper 2.5 kg packet which is available in Citymarkets at Euro 1.95 per packet. This works out at Euro 0.78 per kg.

At Cassa OU in Haukipudas you can buy a Euroshopper 1 kg pack of French Fries at 0.79 per kg. A 2.5 kg packet of French Fries at Cassa OU in Haukipudas ia Euro 1.99 per packet, which Euro 0.796 per kg. If you buy 3 packets of the Euroshopper French Fries at Cassa OU, because of the rounding off of Euro 0.02 (Euro 5.97 to Euro 5.95), you will pay 0.79333 per kg. (Brilliant Finnish maths - where larger packing sizes cost more than smaller ones - economy of scale in reverse!)

Do remember that you can buy various Euroshopper products at many shops. What we have indicated above does not mean that the product is being offered at the same price in all the shops.

Also, just because it has the Euroshopper Logo does not mean that it is the Best Buy!

In our opinion, the Citymarket price for 2.5 kg packs of FRENCH FRIES is a "BEST BUY".

Do let us have your submissions!

MONIKA Head is Ildikó

The local newspaper, Kaleva, had a news item today that the Chairman of a new organisation to help women of ethnic minorities in Oulu will be none other than Chaff participant, Ildikó Hámos.

Ildikó learning vegetable carving on a TURNIP
at the last CHAFF Meeting

Ildikó produced this carved TURNIP with a little bit of help from the Master Vegetable Carver: Unnop!



Ildikó had emailed me about 2 weeks ago:

What concerns immigrant women and problems with violence in Oulu, I have something new to say. Last week I was elected spokesperson of the newly founded Oulun Monika Naiset ry, which is a voluntary organization fighting for the rights of foreign women in the region.

Right now there is no funding available, but one of the most important tasks - and one of the reasons why the organization was created - is to apply for money in order to be able to sustain an emergency phone line for immigrant women with violent family members.

At the moment Anna Vasilieva is working for the organization with the help of the labour market service, they are paying some työllistämistuki to her and she keeps a phone line open where she gives advice to Russian women with such problems.

In the future the aim is to have more languages and to arrange trainings for immigrant women so that they can be support persons for other women.

Monika Oulu is an daughter organization of Monika-Naiset Liitto in Helsinki.

At this moment the active and professional support of victims is unfortunately impossible without resources, but at least what we can do is to help the women in orientation and linking them up with proper professional help.

I think it is a good idea to make the existence of such an organization public in immigrants´ circles, so that immigrants supporting immigrants is made visible also when trying to get funding from different state/local organizations.

I do hope all of you in CHAFF will be able to find it in your heart to extend support to our Oulu Monika organisation. Annikki and I have on several occasions had to extend our personal support to women in distress - so three cheers for Oulu MONIKA.

You think you are safe...

(Cross-posted on Jacob's Blog.)

Kamutaza Tembo, my good graphic artist friend from Zambia, is an exceptionally safe driver. He waits patiently at crossroads to make sure everything is clear. I used to get mad with him as a normal journey by car which I would do in 10 minutes, he would take 20!

At about 08:30 this morning I got a panic call from him. He declared that his car was smashed. He reassured me that he was OK. He asked me to inform his employers that he would not be in to work in the morning.

I rushed to the scene, but he was not there. The Police Van was still there and one wrecked brand new car.

I called Kamu on his cell phone, and he asked me to meet him at our friend's garage. He was checking in at his work place to inform them that they needed to make alternate arrangements.

He managed to reach the garage with the car under its own power.






Reijo took one look at the car and told him the car was a write off. No way of putting it right.

The front had been smashed in on the right hand side and the back a little to the left. the whole body was askew and the doors, etc. could only be opened by forcing them.

What had happened was that Kamu was in the correct slow lane on a main road in Oulu. The car in front of him was intending to turn right, but as there were pedestrians on a crossing, he waited for them to go through.

Kamu, just behind him, stopped behind this car, waiting to go straight on.

The car behind him also stopped, but the driver was apparently impatient. After a very short wait behind Kamu, he decided to pull out into the next lane so as to overtake Kamu and the other car.

A bus, at quite a high speed, coming in the same lane as Kamu, obviously saw the line of pedestrians which was holding up the traffic in the slow lane, and hence, not noticing the intention of the car to pull out, also pulled out of the slow lane, and at a high speed.

The bus hit the car on the tail, which sent that car smashing into the back of Kamu's car at an angle. The force propelled Kamu's car into the back of the other stationary car.

Kamu had watched the whole episode unfolding in his rear view mirror. There was nothing he could do, so he just grabbed the steering wheel tight and hung on. The back of his seat was thrown backwards out of its hinges, but as Kamu was hanging tight to the steering wheel and he had his safety belt on, he was not thrown either fowards or backwards.

The bus driver took more than 50 mteres to come to a stop. He immediately phoned the Police, who were there in a few minutes. The bus driver was trying to pin the blame on the driver who was pulling out from behind Kamu.

When Kamu asked the Police who was going to pay to have his car towed and fixed, the Police sort of indicated that it would have to be the car driver on whom the bus driver was trying to pin the blame.

Kamu put the record straight by clearly giving evidence against the bus driver.

After inspecting the car, I drove Kamu to the Insurance Office. The lady asked Kamu to phone through the details on a hotline, but as it appeared to be overloaded, she helped Kamu fill out the form which she kindly faxed to the Claims Department.

Hopefully Kamu will get a replacement car in a few days.

Thankfully, Kamu was not hurt - and for that we can thank his presence of mind to hang tight to his steering wheel as the impact took place.

CHAFF meeting on 12th March

I have located a few manuscript copies of the book "Handbook for Survival in Finland" that Annikki and I wrote in 1994.

The book is much out of date and needs a lot of revision. However, there are a few passages which are very relevant and quite interesting - such as how easy or difficult the Finnish language is, why you should not die in Finland :-) etc.

Ildikó and Ilari will be making it to this week's meeting. We can ask them to read a few of the more important passages from their book - "Culture Shock -Finland".

The time and place is the same as usual:

Time 13:00 - 14:00 hours
Location: Pailin Thai Restaurant, Kenttätie 9, Kasarmi Area

Welcome.

No Smoking Day

Cross-posted in Jacob's BLOG

This is a part of my history I tell whenever people tell me that it is difficult to give up smoking.

No, it isn't.

I took up smoking when I was just 13 years old.

After Choir practice at the St. Thomas Cathedral, on the way home, late evening (about 7:30 pm - that was late those days), as I waited for the bus at Flora Fountain in the heart of the great metropolis, Bombay, I would drag on a cigarette and follow that up with a peppermint, before I got home.

I was hooked. For the next 30 years I smoked like a chimney reaching 80 cigarettes per day - and that to the roasted ultra strong variety - CHARMINARs, the most popular brand in India.

Smoking Kills

Along with cigarettes, I also became a coffee addict as well as a heavy drinker, killing a bottle of rum and several bottles of lager beer, every day. I was never drunk and could even drive the car as alcohol apparently had no effect on my brain.

Or so I thought.

I had been blessed with a super duper memory where I could recall the date, time, place and exact details of any incident that had taken place in my life.

One day, I walked into my office in Bangalore and, for the life of me, I could not recall where I had placed a very important paper.

I sat down and thought long and hard. I was travelling to Hyderabad the same night.

I found the paper, eventually, and caught the bus.

All through that journey this incident haunted me. Why did it happen?

Then it suddenly dawned on me - I had been destroying my brain with the heavy intake of alcohol.

As I got off the bus at Hyderabad, I vowed never to touch the stuff again.

I had done that several times, but this time I knew I had to keep to this promise.

Just as I got off the bus I knew I had to have a cigarette and then a cup of coffee.

As I was about to light up the "Charm", it dawned on me that the cigarette was also connected to my alcohol intake, as a cigarette always resulted in me wanting to drink a cup of coffee or have a glass of beer, which later in the evening became a reason to have a glass of rum!

I put the cigarette away and drank only a glass of water.

I knew this break had to be absolutely clean.

Could I do it?

Now it is over 23 years since this and I have not touched a cigarette, had about a dozen cups of coffee at very very rare occasions and indulged in some very very rare intake of alcohol, after about 10 years since I gave up.

At the most I have the alcohol that Annikki may add to one of her cakes or I may partake in a glass of non-alcoholic beer if I really feel I have to join someone in a drink.

By running my web sites and my blogs, I have slowly but surely recreated much of the brain damage that was done due to my alcohol abuse. I would say that about 90% has been restored, but my fast recollection ability has been lost forever.

Did I like the cigarettes, coffee and alcohol - YES, I DID.

Do I regret having had to give them up - NO!

So, as today is NO SMOKING DAY, all I can tell you is that if I could give up these habits, so can you. You will be better for it.

Here are three great pieces of art made by my dear friend from Zambia, Kamutaza Tembo, about the danger of cigarettes as also the danger of drinking and driving.

What I suggest is that you DON'T DRINK!



I am not intending to moralise here, but it is better to give up these habits before some lasting damage takes place in your brain, your lungs or your mouth, etc.

If you think not, well enjoy your habit while you can!

Culture at Chaff this week

This week's meeting was especially interesting, not only for the range of cultures represented but also the edible art from Thailand.

Chaff meeting on 5th March 2006

Present were Ville Suomi, Pentti Paakki and Matti Moisa from Finland, Anais Grimaud from France, David Okele from Kenya, Michaela Tomasovska from Slovakia, Pailin, Unnop and Soda from Thailand, Nadir Mohammed (Tampere) from The Netherlands, Kamu Tembo and Christine from Zambia, and yours truly from India.

The attempt by Ildikó to start a discussion about Tolerance was of particular interest as this is one major problem facing foreigners in Finland. Ville wanted to discuss more about Ildikó's plans on the subject of Tolerance.

Ilari and Ildikó unfortunately could not make it to the meeting. I talked to Ildikó over the telephone. She wanted to hold an extra meeting of Chaff this Friday at their new home in Tuira, but as this is Skiing Holiday week, it was felt that many would not be here to participate. It was decided to postpone it to a more appropriate date.

Pailin and Unnop are experts in the art of carving vegetables. They not only demonstrated this to all of us, but also taught those interested.

Truly a creative couple!



Many subjects were discussed in brief. The book by Ildikó and Ilari was of great interest, although the Finns present could not find much of the "Culture Shock" part in the brief look through the pages.

The plan to start a HELP FUND is also receiving attention. I have promises of contribution from several Chaff participants and others, but I do not want anything to start till we are sure that it will be something that can be a lasting programme.

We will have to start to look at this more closely. We should decide on a younger Finn to take charge of this and work with a group of others at CHAFF who would be willing to take on this rather delicate responsibility.

The supposedly 1 hour meeting lasted for over 3 hours as so many intersting things took place, and as usual, the food was excellent. Unfortunately, I was talking to so many people that I hardly got a chance to eat the food! And the platter was licked clean, so all I got was some rice and soup to take home!

Rulla Kebab - Goreme Style

(Cross posted in the Jacob's Blog)

I was introduced to Hashim and Kasim and their Goreme Restaurant by a food connoisseur and outstanding sportsman, my colleague Janne Helttunen. Janne introduced me to their Sultana and the garlic butter.

Since then I have been hookwed on Goreme. Both Hashim and Kasim have become like my sons.

Hashim with grandchildren Asha and Samuel

Both Kasim and Hashim are great sports enthusiasts and also fine sportsmen. Hashim's favourite sport is handball, something he has not been able to play in Oulu. Kasim is a wonderful football player, as you can see from this action shot which appeared in 2000 in our local newspaper, Kaleva. They were playing in a tournament organised under my supervision, and the Goreme Team came second to the local Hercules side. It was a great performance with a thrilling last match which clinched them the second place. Other teams who played besides Hercules and the Turkish Goreme, were the sides Africa Oulu, Albania Oulu, H...PS, Slovakia Oulu, Team Finland and Vietnamese Youngsters.


Kasim in action on the football field

Hashim has been on at me that I have not posted a picture of the Rulla Kebab which is served at his Goreme Restaurant. He was also taking it as a challenge, as I had told him that the Rulla Kebab made by his younger brother, Mehmet, in the Goreme Restaurant in Oulu City Centre, was better than the one made in the Ranta Kastelli Restaurant.


Aku, Master Rulla Kebab Maker

Today, Hashim got me to the Ranta Kastelli Goreme and called his ace Rulla Kebab Maker, Aku, to make me what was, in the opinion of all, the very very best Rulla Kebab.

Here are some shots of the Rullal Kebab, as it was served to me.







Let me assure you that it is no small talk to say that the Goreme Pizzeria is the most outstanding one in Finland. The soft bread around the salad and the kebab are really delicious. The sauce, which was their own special blend is unique. Each bite was absolutely uniform in both texture as well as taste, with the right amount of spice for MY taste.

They know their customer!

The Rulla Kebab from Goreme is truly outstanding.

I know that all those who work with Hashim, not just Aku, are masters of the art.

But for the moment, Aku stands out to me as the Master of Rulla Kebabs!

May I also add that Aku is a very talented musician and a cellist. I am waiting for the day he will give me a private concert!

Meeting information from Yrjö

I had an email from Yrjö Mikkonen, husband of Shahnaz, who is charge of the International Meet5ing Place at Toppelius House (Torikatu) in the Centre of Oulu. Yrjö is also a tireless worker for the rights and benefits for all foreigners and Finns in Oulu.

I hope that Shahnaz and Yrjö will join us one day at our CHAFF meeting as they are a lovely couple, committed to the welfare of foreigners.

Dear Colleagues!

Please, find attached the poster of our next meeting with the theme. The date is 16 March. Please, also consider placing the poster in an appropriate place to invite people to participate the meeting.

Thanking you for your cooperation, see you at the meeting,

on behelf of the organizing group,

Yrjö Mikkonen

Hyvät kollegat!

Ohessa seuraavan kokouksemme, 16.3. juliste, josta näkyy teema. Olisi hyvä, jos voitte panna se johonkin näkyvälle paikalle ja jo svoisitte kutsua asiasta kiinnostuneista keskustelemaan.

Yhteistyöterveisin, nähdään kokouksessa,

työryhmän puolesta

Yrjö Mikkonen

And here is the poster. Sorry, but it was only sent to me in Finnish.



Hope some of you will find the time to attend this meeting.

Meeting on 26th February 2006

It was a small but interesting meeting last Sunday.

Two new participants Pauline (France),
Kerstin (Germany) with Anais (France)

Kerstin Schewe, from Germany, who is Microbiologist doing a research programme for her company in Germany within the walls of the University of Oulu was present. Also, we had a guest from Lahti, a French girl by the name of Pauling Fabert, a friend of Anais Grimaud, who is also a Social Volunter worker.

Kannan was here from Rauma, and we had great fun deciding who would choose a wife for this young eligible man.

Pailin decided she had just the right Thai girl for him.

Bill, Tingting and David were also present.

The food, which was a special Thai and Chinese buffet was simply superb. Tingting has been a very good teacher and has taught Pailin some really delicious Chinese dishes.

We have a guest from Tampere for our next meeting. Nadir Mohammed, originates from Pakistan, is a Dutch citizen, but is a brilliant Physicist. he has been battling against the Finnish system for many years. He will come in to Oulu on Saturday to spend an evening with me, and leave back for Tampere on Sunday afternoon after the CHAFF meeting.

Details of our next meeting are as follows:

Location: Thai Pailin Restaurant, Kenttätie 9, Kasarmi Area
Time: 13:00 - 14:00 hours
Pick up from North and South Oulu.

Let me know your plans.

Mainline: Geostrategy Feeds America's Oil Addiction

Cross-posted on all my main blogs -

Jacob's Blog;
Jacob's Politics;
Seventh Heaven for Mumbai Cathedralites;
Kooler Talk for Delhi Stephanians;
Move The UN.

My topical article "Geostrategy Feeds America's Oil Addiction", which relates to the visit of Bush to India, has appeared in a major North American online journal Raise the Hammer in their fortnightly issue dated 1st March 2006.

Editor Ryan McGreal has really tidied up the article. Thanks.

What is original in this submission?

It is my long term speculations about:

1. The rationale for the attack on and occupation of Afghanistan relating to the Enron history.
2. Who most likely perpetrated the fraud of the Iranian election.
3. Why the Indian Industrial Community desperately want Bush and his malAdministration to stay in office for another 3 years!
4. Why the nuclear attack on Iran is imminent.

Many may wrinkle their foreheads in disbelief. But that is what political analysis is all about. I theorise and later people fit the facts to my theories.

Hope you enjoy it and would love to have your feedback - even if it is abusive!!

I love getting abusive email. I thrive on it as it drives me on harder to more fantasy! :-)

Important message from Ildikó

As requested by our CHAFF participant, Ildikó Hámos, who also happens to be the Planner of the SINNI Resource and Empowerment Centre, I reproduce below her message, which she would like wide circulation, and would particularly like universal participation (not just by women).

Maybe one suggestion that I could make is that this should not be just addressed to IMMIGRANTS, but should be to all foreigners, students, guest workers and their other halves, refugees, as well as all ethnic minorities in northern Finland.

The intolerant attitude by a cross-section of the local population, and especially by the administration and bureaucratic machinery, is fired by a large extent by an IMMATURE MEDIA which is the primary cause for intolerance. This is furthered by a largely ethnically biased law enforcenent and judiciary system.

I hope all of you will participate to make life better for yourselves!

Subject: Regional policy plan / Maakuntasuunnitelma

(In English)

Hi everybody who is interested in changing the situation of immigrants for the better!

The Council of Oulu Region is preparing its policy plan for the region for the next three years. A new dimension in the next policy plan is the word "TOLERANCE". The council wishes to receive ideas and have an active influence on the future of the region, from activists and specialists, and, of course, one big challenge of today is the future of immigrants and foreigners in the region. So now we all have a realistic chance to make an influence on the flow of policy in the region! For this reason I am happy to invite you, on behalf of SINNI, to a Womens´ Forum, starting at the beginning of April, where we will decide which teams we can create to debate and to develop our ideas to put forward at the council. In my opinion, an "Immigration"-team is important and needed and through it we can express wishes and demands and start doing, what we really want! Womens´ forum doesn´t mean that we only talk about issues concerning women. It´s more like a forum to tackle problems of today. I will let you know the date, time and place soonn. Let me know asap, whether you are interested in joining us! Please forward this message to all immigrant-activists and as many immigrants as you know!

See you soon, regards

Ildikó

Ildikó Hámos
planner (communication, training)
SINNI resource and empowerment centre
Isokatu 30, 302
FIN-90100 Oulu
tel. +358 40 728 87 77

SINNI women empowerment centre - northern women´s power under one roof

(In Finnish)

Hei, te kaikki, jotka haluatte parannusta maahanmuuttajien asemassa!

Pohjois-Pohjanmaan Liitto on valmistelemassa maakuntasuunnitelman seuraavan kolmen vuoden ajaksi. Uusi näkökulma tulevassa suunnitelmassa on sana "suvaitsevaisuus". Pohjois-Pohjanmaan Liitossa toivotaan asiantuntijoiden ja toimijoiden kannanottoa ja vaikuttamista maakunnan tulevaisuuteen, jonka yksi ajankohtainen ja suuri haaste on maahanmuuttajien tulevaisuus. Nyt on siis meillä kaikilla ainutlaatuinen mahdollisuus vaikuttaa! Siksi kutsun teitä kaikkia SINNI voimavarakeskuksen tiimoilta huhtikuun alussa alkaavan naisfoorumiin, jossa päätetään, minkälaisia työryhmiä voidaan perustaa. Mielestäni "maahanmuutto"-työryhmä on tärkeä ja tarpeellista ja sen kautta voidaan esittä toivomuksia ja vaatimuksia, eli alkaa toteuttaa sen, mistä olemme jo aina haavelleet! Naisfoorumi ei tarkoita, että perustettavissa työryhmissä puhutaan pelkästään naisasiaa, vaan tartutaan tärkeihin ajankohtaisiin kysymyksiin. Tarkan ajankohdan ja paikan ilmoitan myöhemmin. Ilmoitelkaa minulle mahd. nopeasti, kuka haluaa olla mukana! Laittakaa viesti eteenpäin maahanmuuttaja-toimijoille ja mahd. paljon maahanmuuttajille!

Nähdään! Terveisin

Ildikó
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ildikó Hámos
sunnittelija (tiedotus, koulutus)
SINNI voimavarakeskus
Isokatu 30, 302
90100 Oulu

puh. 040-728 87 77

SINNI naisten resurssikeskus - pohjoista naisvoimaa yhden katon alla

Hope you can provide feedback to Ildikó and also take part in the deliberations in the interest of "TOLERANCE" which should not be just a BUZZWORD, but a word for ACTION.

Thai Pailin Restaurant launches another great HIT

(Cross-posted in the Jacob's Blog)

The Pailin Restaurant owners in the Kasarmi Area in Oulu are true food innovators.

Yesterday they launched a great new product.

Annikki and I were privleged to get the first public sampling. It was just great.

Annikki thought of a name - and she called it the "Pizza Flap". In Finnish it would be "Pizza Flappi".

The more traditional name for this type of product is "Calzone", but the Flap, is truly an original product from Pailin.

"Pailin Piza Flap" - "Pailin Pizza Flappi"

Another shot of the Pizza Flap



You can have any Pizza filling of your choice in the Flap. It is easy to carry and eat without the large Pizza Box. being wrapped in Aluminium Foil, it keeps the heat for a long time.

This product beautifully complements their other new hot product, the Pailin Thai Sweet Chill Kebab Wrap, which we wrote about a few weeks ago.

The Flap product developed out of an internet chat conversation between Pailin in Oulu and her good friend in Thailand.

The base mix is soft and very tasty. The normal three (or more) fillings of your choice can be put inside the Flap. You can eat it conveniently, even in the car as no messy droppings or crumbs fall out all over the car.

Here is the picture of the first Pizza Flap to leave Pailin. In the centre picture you see a very irritated Annikki's hands waiting for me to stop photographing so that she could get to eat the Flap.



Annikki's verdict - Outstanding product.

I also took a couple of Pizza Flaps to Kamutaza Tembo, who is true connoisseur of Pizza's, and he declared this to be an absolutely great product!

Finnish nationality

Every Finnish event must have a
traditional berry and cream cake

I do not know why Annikki or I were invited to "the do" of yesterday evening.

Annikki was recovering from a fever, so I attended, alone.

The reception was for foreigners who had obtained Finnish nationality.

I have not obtained Finnish nationality.

When I needed it, way back in 1994, I applied for it.

But the Department of Foreign Affairs in Helsinki sat on the application for several years. Out of the blue many years later, I had a call from the Department to submit a new language certificate as they could not trace the old one or the one I had submitted was in some way not appropriate.

However, by that time I had no need for Finnish nationality as Finland was already a member of the European Union, and I could travel freely without a visa to any country in the EU, except England and Ireland, based on my Finnish residence permit. As two of our kids are British and live in the UK, there would be no need to take Finnish nationality for a single visa!

So I informed the Department that I did not need Finnish nationality.

Not a peep from them for several years.

Then, again, I was asked the same question.

I gave the same reply. No need for Finnish nationality.

After a few more years I was asked by the Oulu Police to pick up the decision about my application for Finnish nationality - 10 years after the original application.

I informed the Police that I did not need the decision!!

So I did not get my Finnish nationality.

Many think that getting Finnish nationality is like getting a gift from the Almighty. I had no such feelings as I am a world citizen and owe no loyality to any one nation. The Passport is only a travel document to enable me to live and move freely and whether it is a permanent residence visa or a nationality it is, in my mind, no different.

Imagine this fabulous efficiency of the Foreign Affairs Department. 10 years to process an application!

Maybe it has improved now!!

That said, Shahnaz Mikonen of the Oulu International Centre, Toppelius, thought that as a long-standing member of the foreign community in Oulu, I should be invited, as I usually invite her for all the events we organise.

There were about 55 people who attended. Represented were 12 countries. Considering that there are over 2000 foreigners from 99 countries in Oulu, this low turnout is symptomatic of a message not getting through to the international community.

Albania, China, Finland, Ghana, Germany, India, Iran, Morocco, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Sudan, Vietnam.

Many of the bureaucrats and politcians who work with foreigners were present. I recognised several of them, although I have not seen them for many many years. Marja-Leena from the Oulu Foreigners Department of the Oulu Police and Kylliki from the Oulu Social Office dealing with Foreigners were among those present.

Some foreigners were dressed in their national costumes, such as this beautifully adorned couple, Mr. & Mrs. Pasawaly Edward from Sudan.

Sudanese couple, Mr. & Mrs. Pasawaly Edward, in their national dress.

Shahnaz (from Iran) and her husband, Yrjö, were dressed in some fine Chinese Brocade.

Master of ceromonies was Patrick Dickson and the Chief Guest was the Assistant City Manager, Päivi Laajala.



There were a few Mozart renditions with flute played by Annaleena Puhto and guitar played by Illkka Virta.

A couple of Spanish Flamenco dances by Kaija Moilanen and Heidi Porali were also part of the programme.

The speeches by the two participants, Susanna, who had just received her Finnish citizenship this year and Gizella Taurianen, one of the long-established citizens of Oulu, were both touching and added some cultural value to the event.

I am still wondering why I was invited. Anyway, thank you, Shahnaz, for having me at the wonderful evening!

Vamsi gets a great camera deal

I had a call from Vamsi Krishna from India, who is doing research in the Microelectronics Laboratory at the University of Oulu. He wanted to buy a digital camera in the price range of Euro 200-250 and of the same quality as that bought by Paneer.

I looked around and narrowed to three - a HP R717 of 6.2 megapixels (Euro 229), the HP R817, a later model with 5.1 megapixels resolution (Euro 249) and a Samsung A7 with a resolution of 7.2 megapixels (Euro 199). The last was marked down from Euro 399 and seemed to be the best buy if one could acccept the use of rechargeable NiMH batteries instead of the Li ion batteries.
Brand: Samsung Digimax A7






Resolution: 7.20 Mpixel
Maximum resolution: 3072 x 2304
Minimum resolution: 640 x 480
Sensor size: 1/1.8-inch; Sensor type: CCD
Optical zoom: Yes - Zoom wide (mm): 38mm, Zoom tele (mm): 114mm; Digital zoom: Yes
Auto focus: Yes; Manual focus: No; Macro focus range (cm): 4
Flash modes: anti red-eye, auto, fill in, off, slow flash
Storage types: MultiMedia, Secure Digital
ISO ratings: auto
Aperture priority: Yes; Shutter priority: Yes
Built-in flash: Yes External flash: Yes
Metering: Multi-pattern, spot
Exposure compensation: -2EV - +2EV with 1/3EV steps
White balance: auto, daylight, fluorescent, incandescent
Video function: Yes Video sound: Yes
Maximum video resolution: 640x480; Minimum video resolution: 160x120
Frames per second (fps): 30; Voice recording: Yes
Optical viewfinder: Yes; Electronic viewfinder: No
LCD display: Yes; LCD size: 2-inch
Self-timer: Yes
USB: USB 1.1; Video out: No; Firewire: Yes; Bluetooth: No
File format: JPEG
Energy: 1x CR-V3, 2x AA, Li-Ion

Vamsi chose the Samsung with the above specifications.

Then I took him to my friend's battery store (they only deal in batteries) and Vamsi got a great deal for four rechargeable batteries and an intelligent recharger - giving him a good digital camera to capture his time in Finland. 7.2 megapixels for Euro 199 was certainly a bargain!

May I remind you that the local newspaper, Kaleva, is offering a prize of Euro 10 to anyone who emails them telling them of best buys which they publish every week on Saturday. No flea market prices will be accepted!

Besides sending your suggestion by email to hintavahti@kaleva.fi, the signature should include your full name, your address, your personal number and your bank account number.

You can also send the info as a text message, but that would cost you Euro 0.70 for each submission.

Annikki and I are in this - so may the best people WIN!!

Meeting on 26th February

This week the meeting has no fixed agenda - we will just meet to enjoy each others company and have some good food.

We will have Kannan telling us the exciting things happening at Rauma at the Nuclear Power Plant site, Tingting will brief us on how things are going on in China.

Location: Pailin Restaurant, Kenttätie 9, Kasarmin area
Tim: 13:00 hours
Date: Sunday 26th February 2006

Hopefully we will have some good music by some great stars.

See you then.

CHAFF meeting on Sunday

With the weather becoming more skiing-type, with the sun peeping out in normal hours again, and the temperature slowly creeping up to the -5 C mark, many of our regular participants were out enjoying the new freedom. Others were travelling around Finland and the world.

Bill (China) went skiing with his Chinese friends. Ildikó (Hungary) and Ilari (Finland) were in Helsinki. Pentti (Finland) was in Masala in South Finland visiting his daughter, Isaac (India/USA) is still in the US. Tingting (China) was on a business trip in China, Kaija (Finland) was enjoying her much earned holiday. Anais (France) was enjoying a day of rest. Kamu's (Zambia) son, Matti was unwell.

David (Kenya) and I spent our time usefully concentrated on discussing the major topic - what we should add to the letter framed by Ata Bos (The Netherlands) as to how to help foreigners in Oulu.

I felt we should not just think of foreigners, as the problems that lie ahead of us foreigners also afflict many Finns. It also spreads across the entire age spectrum.

For instance, a big problem facing all age groups is the one regarding money, employment, apprenticeships, and as summer approaches, summer jobs.

14 year old Soda (Thailand), who was sitting in on this week's meeting, wants a summer job to earn a little money, which is his money.

I explained that things have changed over the years.

When our son, Mika, was a small boy (11-13 years) in Oulu he used to do the paper round. He also did shoe-shining in the central park in Oulu. These jobs, as summer jobs for children have vanished. Shoe-shining is now not even considered as being worth doing, even though in those days it was not meant as a summer job but something to help a charitable organisation. But it instilled the important trait of the dignity of labour, however menial it may have appeared.

Paper delivery has developed into a full time job for many immigrants unable to find any other type of fixed employment.

The contracts for ice cream kiosks that spring up around Oulu in summer are appropriated by various local clubs and associations who then give the responsibility to a few of their members. Daughter Joanna did it one year. Another year she worked as a helper in the Beach Cafe in Nallikari.

A whole new system has to develop so as to create summer jobs as well as jobs for Finns and foreigners.

I suggested that this is what we should put forward as our constructive suggestion from CHAFF to the City of Oulu via the letter being drafted by all the immigrant, refugees and ethnic group organisations who are co-operating to look at the problems faced by foreigners in Oulu.

The second issue about the CHAFF Help Fund to help people in distress has been considered novel and important by several CHAFF participants. Some have started pledging support from as low as Euro 30 to as much as Euro 1000.

We have to walk before we run.

I am glad that the idea has taken root. The next step should be to formalise CHAFF into a body, set up the articles of the organisation to ensure that it can engage in such an activity as running a HELP FUND and set up checks and balances to ensure that this is monitored in a manner which ensures there can be no hint of any financial impropriety. Only then should CHAFF go about accepting deposits and the more important task of helping people in distress. Kamu (Zambia) had strong views about the methodologies to be adopted.

Thank you to the many who have given a vote of confidence in this idea. As I replied to one person who said that she could only offer Euro 30, even Euro 1 could be a large sum of money to a person in dire distress.

I must say that even the time we give one another can be more valuable than money in many instances. A loving word to a person under mental stress can work wonders. And that is what CHAFF is about!

I will inform you about the time and place for our next meeting. Suffice to say I had a call from Kannan (India) who will be travelling in from Rauma to attend the meeting!

Tingting has been out shopping in a large department store in China and will join us next week. Hopefully a Thai lady married to a Finn, a good friend of Tingting, will also be joining us next week. A young German microbiologist, new to Oulu, may also be joining us next week.

I also have to report that due to Chinese censorship, our CHAFF blog is not readable in China. Chilli (China), who returned there last week, emailed me that she was unable to access it! She sends her very best wishes to all CHAFF participants.

See you all soon - and do not forget to look at the problem about the area-changing triangles on Jacob's Blog.

KALEVA follows us 12 years on..

(Cross-posted on Jacob's Blog)

Last weekend there appeared a little box item in our local newspaper, KALEVA, where they have started a reader forum which will award a prize of Euro 10 to any reader who identifies a best buy item available in the local market.



The book that Annikki and I wrote "Handbook for Survival in Finland" (out of print) way back in 1994 after 10 years of research was based around a game we played where we went about locating the daily best buys in Oulu.

"The question to which this book gives an answer is "How do ordinary Finns survive?" We present a method used unconciously by cost-conscious Finns of how to beat the Finnish system, live a decent life and even save some money."

Although much has changed since we wrote this book, especially since Finland joined the European Union, the game that we played, and continue to play, has been the lifeblood of our survival in Finland. We continued to beat inflation year in and year out using this system.

Now KALEVA is trying to use this system to attract its readers to a new column.

A few suggestions which may appear here, although helping a few readers, can never address the entire problem, which is exploitation of Finns by their cartels that run the Finnish retail trade.

Is it time to republish an updated version of our book?

You know which is the best buy you can make:

A copy of "Handbook for Survival in Finland" although we do not know where you can buy a copy for the love of all the money in the world!

Sweet Chilli returning to China

(Cross posted on my personal blog)

Chilli is one of the Chinese group of software engineers brought from China to work in Oulu for the American owned electronics manufacturing services (EMS) provider headquartered in Singapore.

Chilli took part in one of our Chaff meetings and all of us were endeared to her. She had already lived in Finland prior to this visit, having studied IT at Mikkeli.


Chilli, me and Bill

We were sorry to here that she is returning, prematurely, to China. Knowing her and her knowledge of Finnish Business Systems, I am reasonably sure she will be back.

As her farewell, the Chinese group who work at Flextronics Oulu had a dinner at the Pailin Restaurant.


Chinese group at Oulu Flextronics dined at the Pailin Thai Restaurant


Chilli, Pailin and Bill

Goodbye Sweet Chilli, and do come back to Oulu. You will always be welcome at our CHAFF meetings. And we hope you can start a branch of the spirit of CHAFF in China.

Culture Shock - Finland

Cross-posted at our personal blog.

A Friendship Day Special Blog Entry

Last Saturday, Ildikó and Ilari were early visitors to Kampitie to pick up our trailer. They were moving to their new home in Tuira, just north of the Oulu River.

They brought for us a copy of their book "Culture Shock - Finland" which has been published in German.


Culture Shock, Authors, Inscription, Cover

My spoken German is rusty, not having used it for several years, but my ablity to read German has not deteriorated too much. I did find several words that are new to the language, but I was able to derive the meanings.

The book was a good quick read. It contained all the salient points to introduce both a tourist and someone who is planning to be in Finland for some time to the intricacies of life in Finland.

It is not in the more confrontational style adopted by Annikki and me in our book "Hanbook for Survival in Finland". Like us, the authors provide a degree of balance as Ildikó is from Hungary and Ilari from Finland. There is a balance the views of Finns and Foreigners in what they have seen and experienced in Finland. The index is not too long, so it is easy to quickly find essential references in the book. I did a series of quick checks and I was able to get answers to many common questions that face foreigners when they arrive in Finland.

Both the authors are well travelled and they bring out their observation powers in their commentary about this lovely country.

I would have preferred the beautiful pictures included in the book to have been in colour, as Finland is such a colourful country, from the radiancy of the weathered old wooden houses, to the green of the forests, the blue of the lakes, and the fashion scene. However, being pricesd at just Euro 14.90 (in Germany) I think the publishers had to curtail the costs and stuck to black and white!

Chaff participants, Gisela Tauriainen, Kamu Tembo and me, do get a mention in the acknowledgements. I must confess I do not know why I got mentioned!! As far as I know I just enjoyed the conversations I had with two vibrant people who are so full of life and represent the youth of today.

Thank you, Ildikó and Ilari, for such a wonderful book.

P.S.: Believe it or not, I received a young German girl from Oulu Airport on Monday afternoon, Kerstin, who has arrived in Finland to do research in Microbiology at Oulu University, and she was carrying a copy of this great book!

DESERVE BEFORE YOU DESIRE

The CHAFF blog is intended not only to tell of our fun activities. It is a place where I hope we can learn from the wisdom of others.

An interesting article was just sent to me by a close friend who was Technical Director of a very large multinational company for many many years till he retired at the age of 70! He remained with the same company for all his working life till his retirement and made steady progress to be the most powerful and respected person in that company.

The article which he sent me, which I give below, is called

"DESERVE BEFORE YOU DESIRE".

It was written by the man who now heads the holding company of India's oldest, largest and most respected business conglomerates. The Group's businesses are spread over seven business sectors. It comprises 93 companies and operates in six continents. It employs over 220,000 people and the sharehlder base is over 2 million. The TATA Empire is known and respected worldwide.

The message conveyed is an important one that all you young people who take part in CHAFF activities should learn.

Many of you have heard me say at several meetings

"The grass looks greener on the other side".

Here is someone much more knowledgeable than me saying it in a more important context.

Rest assured, the message that this article conveys will affect you at some stage of your career. Ignore it at your peril!

"DESERVE BEFORE YOU DESIRE"

by Dr. R. Gopalakrishnan

Dr. Gopalakrishnan succeeded Mr. Ratan Tata as Chairman of Tata Sons Ltd., the holding company for many of the Tata blue chips like Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Tata Power, Tata Chemicals, Voltas etc. Following is an interesting article by Dr. Gopalakrishnan:

The grass isn't always greener on the other side!!

Move from one job to another, but only for the right reasons.

It's yet another day at office. As I logged on to the marketing and advertising sites for the latest updates, as usual, I found the headlines dominated by 'who's' moving from one company to another after a short stint', and I wondered, why are so many people leaving one job for another? Is it passé now to work with just one company for a sufficiently long period?

Whenever I ask this question to people who leave a company, the answers I get are:

"Oh, I am getting a 200% hike in salary"
"Well I am jumping three levels in my designation"
"Well they are going to send me abroad in six months".

Then, I look around at all the people who are considered successful today and who have reached the top - be it a media agency, an advertising agency or a company. I find that most of these people are the ones who stuck to the company, ground their heels and worked their way to the top. And, as I look around for people who change their jobs constantly, I find they have stagnated at some level, in obscurity.

In this absolute ruthless, dynamic and competitive environment, there are still no - short cuts to success or to making money. The only thing that continues to pay, as earlier is loyalty and hard work.

Yes, it pays! Sometimes, immediately, sometimes after a lot of time.

But, it does pay.

Does this mean that one should stick to an organization and wait for the golden moment? Of course not. After, a long stint, there always comes a time for moving in most organizations, but it is important to move for the right reasons, rather than the superficial ones, like money, designation or overseas trip.

Remember, no company recruits for charity. More often than not, when you are offered an unseemly hike in salary or designation that is disproportionate to what the company offers it current employees, there is always an unseemly bait attached.

The result?

You will, in the long term have reached the same level or may be lower levels than what you would have in your current company.

A lot of people leave their organizations because they are 'unhappy'. What is this so called unhappiness? I have been working for donkey years and there has never been a day when I am not unhappy about something in my work environment - boss, rude colleagues, fussy clients etc.

Unhappiness in a work place, to a large extent, is transient. If you look hard enough, there is always something to be unhappy about. But, more importantly, do I come to work to be "happy" in the truest sense?

If I think hard, the answer is "No".

Happiness is something you find with family, friends, may be a close circle of colleagues who have become friends. What you come to work for is to earn, build a reputation, satisfy your ambitions, be appreciated for your work ethics, face challenges and get the job done.

So, the next time you are tempered to move on, as yourself why are you moving and what are you moving into?

Some questions are:

* Am I ready and capable of handling the new responsibility? If yes, what could be the possible reasons my current company has not offered me the same responsibility?

* Who are the people who currently handle this responsibility in the current and new company? Am I good as the best among them?

* As the new job offer has a different profile, why have I not given the current company the option to offer me this profile?

* Why is the new company offering the new job? Do they want me for my skills, or is that ulterior motive?

An honest answer to these will eventually decide where you go in your career - to the top of the pile in the long term (or to become another average employee who gets lost with the time in wilderness?

"DESERVE BEFORE YOU DESIRE"

Hope you found this interesting.

Tingting teaches Pornpailin

Another interesting day.

Ilari and Ildi came in the morning to collect the trailer so that they could move home. We had to dig out the trailer from under snow.

Unnop rang to say that their car was not starting. My ever failthful jallopy went on another mercy mission to help them start their car.

Tingting made arrangements with Pornpailin to teach her Chinese cooking, so I helped them get started.

After that I did some shopping.

After a visit home to see everything was OK, I visited Walda and gave Ilmi and Mousa Annikki's calendars. I showed Ilmi the book and the photograph from the book. Ilmi was thrilled as he said it was better to see them now rather than 5 years ago!

I also introduced Ilmi to the CHAFF and my personal blog site.

He has promised to attend one of our CHAFF meetings in the near future.

Finally, we got the first take away Chinese food prepared at the Pailin Restaurant.

As usual a lot of squabbling, as Unnop and Pornpailin think they are running a charity center rather than a for-profit restaurant!

Thanks Tingting, Unnop and Pornpailin for a great dinner!

Ilmi and Mousa: KOSOVOK Soul & Rock Music Group!

Yesterday evening I visited Walda, the main centre for young people in the city of Oulu.

I tried my hand at Table Tennis against Soda, but my age was telling as I was gasping for breath after a few shots. I must obviously wait till summer to regain a level of fitness to play a game against my younger friends.

I was pleasantly surprised to meet two of the young people who take care of the Walda Centre along with our Chaff friend, Anais Guimard from France. I remember them from many years ago.

A group, in which Mousa and Ilmi played, KOSOVOK, gave a music performance of soul and rock for the first football match Janne Helttunen and I organised between the Djati Sports Club (Albanian Youth Football Team) and the Tervarit side, on Friendship Day in 1999.

I had promised to put up their picture on the web, which I did. But the site was closed in 2001 when I stopped working for the City of Oulu in 2000.

However, their performance is preserved for posterity in the book I published in 1999 called: "Sports as an Effective Tool for Integration of Ethnic Minorities in Oulu".

Sports as an Effective Tool for Integration
Minorities in Oulu. Book written by me in 1999 recording the
achievements of the Alakko nää mua? (Will You Play With me?) Project.

This is Plate 4 from the book:


Plate 4 from the book

In this picture, in the bottom right is a picture of Mousa (right) and Ilmi (left) playing to the appreciative crowd at the Oulu Sports Dome.

I always try to keep my promises! :-)

First ad on CHAFF

As a thanks to the wonderful couple who have hosted our CHAFF Sunday Club meetings and given us some great Thai food and who have been as much a part of the meetings as all of us, while quietly working their fingers to the bone, I decided to give them a space on our CHAFF blog page as our way of saying thanks.



Thanks, Pornpailin and Unnop, and also their two beautiful children, Soda and Sodium. You have understood the spirit of CHAFF.

4 new countries represented at Chaff meeting

It is truly remarkable how new people are turning up at our Chaff meetings.

This week we welcomed several new participants.

Chilli, a delightful lady software engineer from China working at Flextronics, Jeevan, an engineer from Malaysia working at Nokia, Thiery, a student of International Business from Rwanda and Josephine, a visitor from Zambia who is studying Finnish culture.

Click on images to see larger photographs.





Old timers present were Isaac (India/USA), Tingting (China), Pentti (Finland), Kamu (Zambia), Kiran (India), David (Kenya), Ilari (Finland), Ildiko (Hungary) and myself (World Citizen), plus our wonderful host and hostess, Pailin and Unnop with their younger son, Sodium, all from Thailand.

The food was delicious. As I had not expected such a large crowd today, I had told Pailin not to make her popular buffet. My apologies to all. My bad.

I would be grateful if people did ring me and tell me if they are ABLE to come, so that I can tell Pailin how many to cater for.






No complaints, however, about the food, which was consumed with great relish and an even more dash of humour.





We discussed especially about the internship jobs that foreign students do not seem to obtain from local companies.

Isaac advised me to contact the Human Resources Departments of all the major companies so as to alert them as to the problems being faced by foreign students, especially as many have been led to Finland with the bait and hook of "free education".

We also discussed the purchasing of houses in Finland as a way to save on taxes.

We all felt the lack of the presence of both Kannan and Paneer. We were all happy to hear from David that the University of Oulu have confirmed the offer to Kannan to his Doctor of Technology in Industrial Engineering and Management. We will see Kannan regularly in Oulu when he comes to take part in his monthly seminars.

He spoke to me on Saturday and is settling down in his new job.

Chilli, a very talented engineer from China, will be here in Oulu for a month. She has done her studies from Mikkeli, but now works in China.

Josephine is studying at the Institute of Home Science but hopes to transfer to the Polytechnic to do further studies.

Jeevan has been at Nokia for several years but does a lot of travelling.

Thiery is studying at the local Polytechnic.

This was a truly interesting crowd from avriety of backgrounds and hopefully we will see more new faces at subsequent meetings.

Chaff is continuing to grow, thanks to the support of all those who have found something constructive to do on a Sunday afternoon.

Meeting at Walda

Kaija Välimaa hosted a meeting at the Walda premises in Oulu this afternoon to try and draw up an integrated programme to help foreigners in Oulu to handle day to day issues and problems. There are many organisations doing work, all of them individually, and Kaija's ambition is to focus the work to make it more effective. A noble cause,

It was interesting that our new informal organisation CHAFF was actually the best represented. Amongst the 11 people taking part, besides Kaija, who has been taking part in our Sunday Club meetings, Ildiko, Anais, Pentti, David and myself are regular CHAFF participants - more than 50% of those present. For an unknown unheard of group - we certainly dominated this meeting by sheer presence!

The discussions were interesting. It is obvious that the free form of meetings that we follow in CHAFF is far more effective than the structured and official organisations who are limited in their flexibility because of the very fact that they are finance dependent.

It was decided that an approach should be made to the City of Oulu to try to make them aware of the issues facing foreigners in Oulu, if the City of Oulu was truly intent on being developed as a multicultural international city. All present were certain that it certainly was not one presently!

Ata Bos, who works within the Business Centre of Oulu City, was given the task of preparing a short but pertinent letter about what could be done to make this vision a reality. Each of the participants could submit a paragraph. Ata would make this into a diplomatically worded document to try and get a face to face meeting with the power hierarchy of the City of Oulu.

It is obvious that our CHAFF meetings continue to be the most exciting of all the active groups.

As we are having fun, I propose that we continue our path and while giving support to others, we keep doing what we are doing till we become large enough to garner the support from all sections of society in Oulu.

See you on Sunday.

A bit annoying...

(Cross-posted from http://jmatthan.blogspot.com)

I must thank an Indian, Abhay Bulsari from South West Finland, living in the city of Turku, who runs a company called AB Nonlinear Solutions Oy, for pointing out this news item from BBC World 'lukewarm to India's role'.

This is a study of how different countries view other countries.



What drew Abhay's attention was the views of Finns about India. Only 27% of Finns view India positively and 44% view the country negatively.

Luckily, the business community in Finalnd today does not hold this view as there is rapid expansion now of Finnish companies starting to use Indian expertiese and also use it as an outsourcing point. Two recruitment centres are expected to be opened in India to bring competent Indian scientific and engineering staff to Finland.

14 years ago this would have been unthinkable. When I first pointed out in the first issue of Findians Briefings, way back in 1992, that Texas Instruments had opened a centre in Bangalore with a direct satellite link to Houstan, Texas, in 1984, not many Finns thought this was a good idea!

But the history of this bad image goes back much further. In 1975, I had identified Finnish technologies ideally suited for India. I approached a company and also explained to them, as engineering costs in Finland were high, maybe they could work with one of the larger and well established Indian Engineering Consulting companies, to capture the huge Indian market.

I was laughed out of the room - competent Indian Engineering skill?

India got the same technology from a French company.

Another example was when I asked the largest Finnish Sauna manufacturer to quote for the large volume of saunas required by the expanding 5-star hotels opening all over India. I got a negative reponse. I alerted a Swedish company. For the next 10 years almost every sauna sold in India was from a Swedish manufacturer.

A short while after this happened the Finnish company came running after me as to whether it would be possible to reopen the opportunity as their Brazilian market had suddenly dried up.

Prof. Ajeet Mathur, in his treatise "Finland - India Economic Relations - A Twinning Study of Trade and Investment Potential" published in 1998, pointed out the enormous potential. But again, the Finns have been slow to act and have missed most of the action, thereby not getting much of the deal as other countries capitalised on.

With Amma, Deepak Chopra and a few other leading Indians making waves in Finland, a few films and songs getting shown on Finnish television, the huge advertising campaign of "Incredible India" of BBC World, some inroads of a better perception of India is very slowly taking root amongst the general public.

But the business community realised that they have been losing out. They are desperately trying to expand opportunities in India, as otherwise their international shareholders may start asking uncomfortable questions.

Abhay was of the view that we should alert the Indian Embassy about this.

In my opinion, Finns are the losers if they do not wake up.

So let us not rock the boat.

News about Oulu Rotary Team from India

The Rotary Team from the Oulu District met up with a cousin of mine when they were hosted by the Rotary Club of Kottayam.

Here are some great pictures sent to me by my cousin, Satish. Satish is the one standing on the left in the first picture.

Satish Abraham, Heino Holappa, Katja Kalamäki,
Sini Peltokorpi, Ville Suomi and Kaisu Lehtomaa being hosted
by the Rotary Club of Kottayam at the Sailing Club on the
banks of the Vembanad Lake, Kumarakom

His family owns one of the largest producers of Rubber Latex in India which is used to make thousands of things from rubber balloons, to condoms, footwear, gloves, mattresses, etc. Their company, which carries his family name, Padinjarekara, is a household name all over India.

His late grandmother, Annammakochamma, a wonderful dear lady, was the youngest sister of my grandfather. I loved her dearly. Everytime we arrived in our hometown, Kottayam, for a holiday, she would be over in a jiffy to greet all of us. She would invite us over to have a great spread at her home during our stay.


The Oulu Rotary Team boating on the
Vembanad Lake, Kumarakom

Satish has been close with our family for many years. He used to visit our home in Madras when we lived there. His wife, Vimla, is a perfect lady. They make a wonderful couple.

It is wonderful that Vimla's cousin's wife, Smitha, will be coming to Oulu as part of the return visit team. I am sure we at CHAFF would love to have them spend a Sunday with us!

CHAFF Meeting 5th February 2006

As we are still negotiating for a central place to hold our Sunday Club CHAFF meeting, we will continue to hold the meetings at the Pailin Thai Restaurant at Kenttätie 9, Kasarmin Area in Oulu.

The meeting this week will look into some issues of family matters and their impact on all members of a family. We hope some experts on this subject will be able to join us to try to see what stand we can take to help some cases that have come to our notice.

We will also look at some banking and legal issues as they play out in Finland - so that all of you can be well prepared should you ever need to unravel a mess!

Date: Sunday 5th February 2006
Location: pailin Thai Rstarant, Kenttätie 9, Kasarmin Area
Time: 13:00 hours
Pick up: One car will be available this week to pick up from the University area and Toppila. Contact Jacob at 041 7067788.

And a final reminder of the Walda Meeting at 13:00 hours on Friday 3rd February 2006. see Announcements for details.