Finland Stories # 2: Famous in Finland before arriving
On my first trip to Finland in the 1960s, I missed my direct boat but managed to make it to Stockholm, Sweden. The boat from Stockholm to Helsinki would bring me one day later than expected to the Finish family of my friend Ilari Niku-Paavoo. A small delay, in my opinion, but I was wrong.
‘Urgent! Mr. Turkenburg, make yourself known!’ I was directed to the bridge of the boat and had to sit opposite the captain, a real one with a big hat and a lot of stripes on his sleeves. ‘Interpol, the European police, is looking for you, all over Sweden and Finland. The Finish family has reported you as lost’. I told him my story about having missed the first direct boat and trying to make to Finland via Sweden. The captain shook his head, smiled and made a few phone calls. ‘In Helsinki not the police will pick you up but your Finish family. Did you have breakfast?’. During breakfast, I told the Finnish captain that my grandfather had been a captain as well. He invited me to take over the stirring wheel of the Finnish boat for just a few minutes. Everybody in Finland last night had heard my name over the radio! And now I was sailing my own boat to Helsinki.
Do you have Finland Stories that you would like to share?
Any tips, ideas, or suggestions for the 2023 IASJ Jazz Meeting, Helsinki, Finland?
Would you like to present a lecture for all participants?
Do you have a topic for the Ongoing Dialogues?
A special combo for the student participants you would like to conduct?
Please contact: Wouter Turkenburg
