They propose that special bars be added to electricity poles

WWF Finland on Friday told the Finnish Energy Industries that special bars should be fixed on electricity poles so that white-tailed eagles could safely rest and observe the waters and terrain below.
According to the WWF's white-tailed eagle group, the bars would prevent power cuts caused by electrocuted birds.

The bars have already been tried in the Åland Islands.
In 30 years, Finland's white-tailed eagle population has increased from 40 nesting couples to 300. Between 1994 and 2001, 57 ringed white-tailed eagles were found dead in Finland. Studies show that 11 of these were electrocuted and 16 died after flying into a power line.
Finnish experts on white-tailed eagle protection gathered in Turku on Friday.

Hunters and police tracking the bear.

A bear was sighted on the streets of the southern city of Hämeenlinna last night. 
Around 8:30 this morning, judging by its tracks, the bear was believed to have moved to the area around the Aulankojärvi Lake east of the city. 
The bear is currently being tracked down by 20 hunters and police officers plus hunting dogs. "If it enters the city again, the aim is to kill it without putting the public in danger", explains crime chief inspector Kari Suominen from the Hämeenlinna police.

     
According to the police the bear does not appear aggressive and has so far presented no danger to people. 
"But of course we do not know how the animal's behaviour may change when there are more people about and it comes into direct contact with them", Jyrki Antila of the local police told the Finnish News Agency STT. 
According to Antila, people living in the immediate area would do wisely to stay at home if possible. Walking and bicycling should be avoided at all costs. 
"Children should be taken to schools and kindergartens by car", Antila emphasises. 
By mid-morning on Thursday, police officers had been detached from the hunting party, leaving only the hunters and their dogs.
     

This is not by any means the first occasion on which a bear has "gone urban": a couple of years ago there was near-hysteria in parts of the capital area after a bear was sighted trundling down a street in suburban Espoo. On that occasion, the creature decided it really did not fancy built-up areas after all, and it went back home to the woods of the nearby Nuuksio natural park.

To see bears for yourself try some bear watching next summer, click here for details.

Lordi biography just proves they are hard working, nice guys........

If everything had gone completely according to the original plan, then the members of rock act Lordi would still be unknown to the general public - aside from in their monster roles and extravagant costumes.
Such a vacuum in their civilian profiles would have paved the way for a truly splendid work of fiction about their monstrous characters and behaviour.
     
Things did not go quite that way, however. After the sensational Eurovision victory had been snatched up by Mr. Lordi and his scaly and sharp-nailed chums, the entire five-piece outfit wound up on the tabloid flyers with their faces rudely shorn of latex.
YOU being a monster after that.
Jussi Ahlroth's lavishly illustrated 270-page Lordi volume deals with the monster rockers by their given names rather than their roles - in other words they are real people with real lives.
This is simultaneously the book's strength and its main weakness.
     
On the one hand, the approach does work. The history of the phenomenon known as Lordi, with its disappointments and lucky breaks, is dealt with in such a way that it is obvious to all readers that the band's boss and front-man, Tomi Putaansuu from Rovaniemi, has worked his ass off in order to realise the dreams he had as a little boy.
Then again, this is really just about his work, and for all the interesting details and sometimes surprising connections that are thrown up, the shaping of Putaansuu's dream into its present manifestation does not make for incredibly fascinating reading.
To boil it all down: a man who has always wanted to be a monster, is now one, and that's about all there is to it.
     
There is also a slight problem lurking in the fact that basically Putaansuu is a nice gent.
There's no getting away from it; he doesn't get trashed or throw TVs out of hotel windows, and as a result the team doesn't exactly stampede across the pages of the book, either.
Of course, opinions can vary, but in my view at least, a book about rock should be able to sling a little ordure on the walls.
The most exciting stuff in the Mie oon Lordi book (the title translates to "I am Lordi", but delivered in a thick Rovaniemi dialect - the one Putaansuu shied away from using too much for fear it might undercut the menace of his character) is on the level of who was going out with whom, and what people thought about it.
And this is not really enough.
     
Still, I suppose the official biographical tomes about Lordi's great-grand-daddy, the American band Kiss, were not themselves exactly a milestone of gonzo journalism. So the Finnish band are on the same wavelength as their idols.
The object of the book is presumably to present properly the idea of and the background to the whole Lordi creation, and to correct some widely-held false assumptions, and in this department it does its job well enough.
Ahlroth writes fluently, the book is well structured, the layout is nice, and it is not difficult to wade through the entire package.
     
A little extra scaly flesh around the bones comes in the form of an appendix that collects all sorts of trivia information from the background to the individual Lordi characters through the making of the masks and the stage pyrotechnics on, and on to merchandising matters.
In a few "Lordi Lets Rip" side-bar panels, our friendly demon expresses his opinions on various subjects that get on his wick, such as music critics, the media, and booze. It would have done no harm to have a bit more oomph in this section, too, as most of the growling is pretty predictable stuff.
     
The book is actually at its best in the opening pages, where Putaansuu's monstrous - in the nicest possible sense of the word - childhood is presented to the reader more in a narrative fashion than in dry reference book manner.
One witty touch is that his childhood snapshots have been systematically retouched to show Mr. Lordi's features rather than the young Tomi who smiles out from the family album pages.
This entertaining opening section again makes one ponder what could have been achieved with a fictitious bio, if only the mystery surrounding the band and its members had not been punctured along the way, or in other words without all the fuss surrounding this year's Eurovision Song Contest.
Then again, without that, would it be likely we'd have had this book at all?
     
In any event, Jussi Ahlroth's effort is unlikely to be the last word on Lordi, at least if the rumours that the legendary Kiss manager Bill Aucoin might be getting involved with the band prove to be true.
     
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 9.11.2006
     
     
Jussi Ahlroth: Mie oon Lordi publ. Johnny Kniga, 272 pages, EUR 39.00.
     
     
The writer of this review is the editor-in-chief of specialist heavy rock fanzine Inferno

Visitors to Harriniva this December will be able to meet the Husky litter.

Avalon, Aragon and Aurin and their sisters Akita and Aura are keeping their mother busy and are growing fast. Any time now they will be transfering to the kindergarten where they will have more space and greater independence.

Harriniva already has a decent covering of snow, more is forecast for the coming week and temperatures are constantly dipping below -10. This means that the puppies are looking on with interest as the older dogs at the husky farm are setting off on training runs as the first husky safaris will start by the end of the month.

If you are visiting Harriniva this December you will be able to meet the huskies in person. Please send us your favourite photos of them.

For further details on visiting Harriniva in December click here and for the remainder of the winter click here. 

Transport systems badly hit again!

Dreadful weather conditions continued in Finland on Wednesday, with a fierce blizzard complicating life in the southern and central parts of the country. In places up to 30 centimetres of snow were recorded. Traffic on the main roads was badly hit, as were rail and sea connections, but no serious accidents were reported.

The rail traffic between the cities of Lahti and Lappeenranta came to a three-hour halt at 8:30 in the evening when the gusty winds caused some trees to fall on the track. Six of the evening's departures ran late because of this. 
The snow cover is expected to stay on the ground in the coming days, for the weather forecast predicts the temperature will stay below freezing. The heavy snowfall, however, seems to be over for now.

     
The blizzard started on Tuesday, when warm moist air from the sea met with a cold continental front. 
While the coastal areas received both rain, sleet, and snow, further inland a heavy snowfall turned the landscape white. 
The municipality of Kalvola in the Province of Häme, for one, had received 29 centimetres of snow by Wednesday morning. 
"This doesn't happen every winter, that's for sure", says meteorologist Matti Heinonen from the Finnish Meteorological Institute.
     

In places the blizzard made for chaos on the roads. The Pirkanmaa Emergency Exchange was notified of no less than 130 collisions in a 24-hour period. The City of Tampere simply did not have enough vehicles equipped with snowploughs to deal with such a heavy and abrupt dump of snow. 
Trailer trucks stuck in the snow and slush were a particular nuisance on many of the highway stretches in Southern Finland. Trucks jammed up traffic for several hours on Highway 3 in Hämeenkyrö, Highway 10 in Tarvasjoki, and Highway 12 in Savitaipale. 
Some of the express ferry departures between Helsinki and Tallinn were again cancelled because of the treacherous weather conditions. 
Train timetables were affected in Tampere and Lahti. Because of the electrical switches that kept freezing up, every other departure between Helsinki and Tampere had to be cancelled. 
The faults were repaired in the afternoon and today, Thursday, all the trains should run again as normal, the state railway company VR assures users.
     

Fixing the power lines that were damaged by falling trees will take longer, however. Thousands of households in the Provinces of Finland Proper and Northern Savo may have to manage without electricity even through Thursday. 
The mail delivery services are also struggling with the snow and slippery roads. "We received half of the winter's snow in one night. What is that all about?" postman Veikko Pasanen from Lappeenranta laughs, surrounded by chest-deep piles of snow.
     

According to the Finnish Meteorological Institute the snow will not melt right away. Temperatures in the region of -5 to -10 degrees Celsius are predicted for southern and central parts of the country. 
The forecast for Lapland is 15 to 20 degrees below freezing.

The last month has seen Sweden gripped by farmer fever.

TV4's Bonde söker fru (The Farmer Wants a Wife) has proved a barnstorming success and has already overtaken Idol 2006 as TV4's most popular programme.

Over 1.5 million Swedes plonk themselves in front of the telly twice a week to watch four lucky farmers interact with a bevy of potential wives.
It all began in May when viewers were presented with eight farmers and asked to write to the one they most admired. The four farmers who got the most replies are the ones who will continue to grace our screens until late November.

Once Andreas, Marcus, Mikael and Per Martin had cast a critical eye over their fan mail they in turn selected a group of favourites. These female admirers then came to the farm to try to win the heart of their farmer of choice.

But were these single women ready for life on a farm? Would hearts melt when they encountered their favourite farmer in the flesh? Would the farmers regret the whole thing and wish they were back with their pigs and potatoes? Or would love blossom and wedding bells ring?

Enough people were interested in finding out to make the whole endeavour more than worthwhile for TV4. Nor did the channel walk blindly into the project. The Farmer Wants a Wife has already achieved a top rating for channels in Norway, Belgium and the Netherlands.

The series has now passed the half-way mark and the farmers have managed to separate the wheat from the chaff. They are each left with four potential wives.

Lars Höök from the Federation of Swedish Farmers has long understood the lure of the farmer. In 2001 his organisation launched a farmers’ calendar, which went down so well with punters that it needed to be reprinted three times in its first year.

He is planning to watch The Farmer Wants a Wife for the first time today.

"I have heard it is quite good. It is not like your average reality show. It is more serious and the intention seems to be to make a good quality programme," Höök told the Local.

"The impression I've got is that they portray farming as it really is. They do not try to make a fool of the farmers, who are just ordinary guys who would like to find a wife"

Höök has some theories regarding the concept's popularity.

"The farmer has a cult status in society. In a globalised world, where everything is moving so fast, people look for things that are stable and mature. And it doesn't get much more stable and mature than a farmer."

The growth in farmers' popularity is not all that new, according to Höök. He points to the success of the Swedish film The Guy in the Grave Next Door, a sort of farmer-meets-librarian romantic comedy, which is still doing well on the rental charts four years after its release.

"Then I think that after 9/11, when there was so much focus on terrorism and fear, a lot of people went back to basics. In a complex world farming is understandable to people."

Finally, Höök reminds us that Swedish urban development came quite late.

"There is a little farmer in all of us," he said.

"Sometimes that farmer gets bigger in our hearts. It comforts us."

The big freeze at Harriniva!

Lapland is already enjoying temperatures at night as low as -25 and is looking amazing.

River Muonio that flows past Harriniva is just starting to freeze and the hotel is planning to build its igloo in the coming days.

You learn something new everyday.......

In Finland, especially as you head north towards Lapland hunting is a way of life. Not the pointless shooting at anything for fun hunting but the lets stock up the freezer for the winter variaty. At this time of year it is mainly elk and bird hunting. 

Each hunting club is allocated a set number of elk each year that they are allowed to hunt. This varies dramatically year to year with the powers that be using a formula and doing counts in sample areas to estimate the elk population. The hunters then get together usually at weekend during the season keeping strictly to their allocation. For many it is the socialising rather than the hunting that appeals.

So now for the new part. It was only yesterday that I discovered that to gain a hunting licence each hunter must take a test every 3 years to ensure that they are skilled enough to carry a gun. The test involves shooting 3 moving targets. Many hunters take the test annually, I can only assume this is to reassure themselves and their hunting companions. 

At this point I am usually asked if they hunt reindeer and just to clear that up the answer no. The reindeer are semi domesticated animals that roam through northern Finland and Lapland grazing freely.  

Iso-Syote, amazing weather and stunning views!

After a flight via Helsinki we arrived in Rovaniemi in Finnish Lapland. It was then a gentle two hour drive south to the amazing fell area of Syote.

Unfortunataly pictures will have to follow so you will have to take my word as to how amazing Syote looks. At breakfast in the hotels panoramic restaurant we just watched in awe as the sun rose over the opposite fell and sat on top of the blanket of mist in the valley, truely breathtaking.

The trees, hotel and cottages are already covered in a pretty layer of frost and snow. The temperature waivered between -8 and -10 all day with bright sunshine and crystal clear skies. The safari guides were already out preparing the snowmobile roots for the coming season and the snow cannons were on the slopes.

If Juha and Katarina at the hotel Iso Syote have their way you will soon be able to admire the views for yourself from their webcam. It will be worth getting up early to see those sunrises.

The locals mentioned that they had already seen Santa out doing some pre-season training with his reindeer. It appears that the amazing summer has left them a little lazy and above their prefered flying weight. Nice to know that it isn't just humans that have to get in shape for the festive season! I will let you know if we see him or the northern lights.

The Times of India reports.

Finland is wooing Bollywood producers. Finnish Tourism Board is arranging for familiarisation trips for our film-makers to igloos, Santa country, Lapland, Northern Lights and the Midnight Sun. More importantly, the board plans to facilitate Bollywood units there so that the experience is hassle-free.

Similar initiatives by Singapore, New Zealand, Australia, Switzerland and Poland have transported these countries to our cinemas and into our homes. Expectedly, the number of Indian visitors to these countries has been steadily going up.

So have shop sales. Great Britain has gone a step further. UK's Bollywood trail invites visitors to retrace their favourite movie sequences. Pan to India. Forget marketing Incredible India as a moviemaker's destination.

Even the few foreign film-makers who come to this country at their own initiative mostly because the film theme or storyline demands an Indian backdrop have had to retreat hastily after hitting roadblocks in the form of red tape, erratic schedules, lack of technical support, and overcharging.

Faced with poor service and non-availability of efficient facilitators, foreign crew tend to turn their sights to less problematic Asian or south-east destinations like Thailand and Korea.

It is quite possible that things have improved since Richard Attenborough made Gandhi here nearly 25 years ago, but clearly not enough to attract more Hollywood film-makers to shoot in India.