Saturday, August 12

 

 

We woke up in good time, thanks to the eager cat. We got up, and drove to the market. The sun had come out and people sat in Benita’s having their morning beers. We bought bread and fish, said hello to a few people, and then drove to Anne-Maj’s to pick some tomatoes. I noticed that she had the biggest raspberries that I have ever seen. I tasted one and it tasted as good (and as big) as it looked.

After a brief detour to Söderby and to Gunnel’s roadside shop for other edibles we drove home to find Naa up and waiting for action. She insisted that we all going swimming, so I dived into the sea for the first and only time this summer. I liked it enough that I dived in twice. While we got wet Juhan prepared a boat. He and Naa then sped off, prow in the air, to see the course that the boat race will use this afternoon.

After a big brunch I picked blackcurrants from the bushes in the garden until we 15:30 when we drove back to Sandholmsudden to watch the boat race. We watched it with Camilla. Juhan and Mika sat somewhere out to see in their boat watching for accidents or danger. Ann-Sofie had a role helping with the afternoon Pellinge Musikdagarconcert.

The Guarana offshore boat race has several different classes of boats that all race at once. In the z150 class Anton and Atte Kortman (Camilla’s brother’s sons) win convincingly. This causes no surprise because they currently hold the Nordic championship. A number of boats retire during the race with mechanical problems and we watch them limping into shore. At the end I stand and watch as the two remaining catamarans (the biggest and fastest class) come ashore. The red and yellow one won.

Afterwards we will drive home and have an early dinner. Irma will claim that the gathering clouds foretell the arrival of thunder.

At 18:30 we will drive to St Olaf’s church to see the evening concert in the second Pellinge Musikdagar, organised by Monica Groop. I will count the seats and notice that the church seats 96 people. Eight extra chairs means that the audience numbers 104.

The first half will consist of instrumentals performed by Kreeta-Maria Kentala solo and with the rest of the Barocca Boreale string quartet. Pauliina Fred will guest on flute on one number. During their performance the thunder will start and, as they end with Kreeta-Maria Kentala playing a violin solo as she walks slowly down the aisle and out of the building, the lights will flicker and then go out.

We will spend the interval in darkness. Naa will look on her phone and discover that most of southern Finland has lost electricity due to the extreme nature of the storm. Flow Festival in Helsinki has come to a complete stop.

The second half of the concert will take place by candlelight as Monica Groop and Mari Palo sing while holding torches. It has a cheering effect on the whole event, which starts to feel very special. By a charming and unlikely coincidence the lights will come back on at the exact moment that the performers take their final bow.

We will drive home through pouring rain and get home to find that we also have no electricity. We will find the cat hiding under the bed as thunder cracks around the cottage.

At 22:15 I will decide to run through the storm and get washed. I will discover that the frequent lightning illuminates the sauna house perfectly. Irma and Naa will sensibly wait until later when the rain suddenly lessens and the thunder moves away.