Back from the weekend trip

Just two days of travelling and I'm beat! What am I, an old man, huh?

Left on Friday to Tampere and Nokia, first to visit my dad and his wife at Nokia (which is very near Tampere). Drank wine and whiskey (not mixed)* with my friend Markku who lives just two or three houses from my dad. I had an old movie quiz book with me (from 1946) and I entertained Markku with questions like: "What is the favourite food of [Finnish female actor] Lea Joutseno?" If the question was about Soviet film, the answer was always "Pudovkin".

Slept badly on the floor and then spent the morning with Kauto and Ottilia. Dad and Airi were gone on their daily business and Elina rushed off to the Tampere flea markets. When she came back, I sped to Tampere to take part in the great Tex Willer discussion with my good fellows Janne Viitala, Asko Alanen and Anssi Hynynen and graphic artist Jii Roikonen. We talked about all things western for an hour.

Later, at the Tampere book fair the discussion was part of, I met some old and dear friends, all for too short a time. Then we headed to Plevna and ate a mediocre, but huge curry sausage meal with my buddies, combined with Tapani who was there to talk about his newest children's book, Markku Ojanen who had a panel discussion on child raising and Pekka who just happened to be there.** I also met Vesa, who had bought me some delightful new wave flip books from France - thanks a bunch, buddy! We had a nice time, but then in the bus back on my way to Nokia to spend time with my family I fell asleep.

When I woke up, I didn't know where I was and thought I was already past the Nokia centre. The bus was roaming somewhere deep in the forests of Nokia and I got to fear I'll never see my kids and wife and dad again, but then there was light and I was saved. I fell asleep right by Ottilia's side when she was watching some Moomins on the video. Even then I didn't have the energy to travel back to Tampere to take part in the book fair's evening party. Next time!

Then on Sunday we stopped by my old friend Arttu's place in Lempäälä which is also near Tampere. They - he and Marketta, his wife - had this wonderfully and bravely boyish Veetu, 10 months, who played nicely with Kauto's side. Ottilia had her own stuff about a fat lady who was a businessman and a fox who guards the businessmen. You never know what your children really are up to.

Then back to Turku. And I'm pretty fucking tired. Must go to sleep pretty soon.

* Isn't red wine and whiskey mixed called wine spody-ody? I talked about this with Asko who remembered shandy, which is beer and Sprite. It's the only way I can drink beer. People are already joking about my snobbery. "Juri drinks only South African cider which he imports himself."

** It's nice that Markku and my dad share a history: my dad was the director of the cinema club in the sixties in Forssa in which Markku was also a member. He said that he was even a vice-director. Markku said that the watched all the new French films, up to Last Year in Marienbad, and then he couldn't take it anymore. Now he watches mainly old western flicks, preferably pre-1960.