From TeemuL: Final Thursday Things of Interest

Ok, the AHPC XV is gone. Of course there are some byrocratical issues still left, some statistics and so on, but the main work is done. It doesn't prevent me to use my Minion powers to post one more post. I was requested to present a bit of The Parola Armour Museum and I couldn't resist.

Armour Museum is located in Hämeenlinna, southern part of Finland and about an hour north-west of Helsinki, quite close to the highway and railroad, so rather easy to get to. It is open round the year (couple of exceptions) and has both indoor and outdoor exhibitions. The main focus is naturally armoured vehicles, but anti-tank equipment is presented, too. And an armoured train.

Some of the vehicles are unique and most are very rare outside of Russia. BT-42 Assault Gun is the only in the world, BA-10 armoured car most likely, too, and T-50 light tank is one of two survivors. Of course there's lots of small items, uniforms, ammunitions, pieces of newspapers etc. In addition there is a WW2 anti-tank gun which can used in simulated battle to destroy Soviets tanks.

There are some events, too. For example "Kevätsawutus" on April 26th is an annual event, when some of vehicles are started up and they are driven in a reserved area. Expect to see pancakes. hotdog vendors, old cars and other activieties/presenters, too. Another annual event takes place during summer "Harrastepäivät", which includes scale model painting competion, miniature game demoes, pancakes and hot dog vendors etc. The first one translates as "Spring Smokes" and the second as "Hobby Days."

All photos on this post are taken by me, but the museum pages are in English and have quite a nice gallery.

---In other News---

Here's my Challenge output. I had a high target and after missing most of the first week because of illness I knew I couldn't reach it so I focused on Circles and nice projects instead of focusing on point mongering. The last couple of weeks were quite nice, lots of points and Circles. Thank you Curt and Sarah, my fellow Minions and all the Participants - AHPC has became my favourite part of the Hobby Year. I painted over one mini in a day, something I won't reach during outside the Challenge.

Scifi models

WW2 in 15mm

Warmaster

Fantasy

Delmonteland imaginations

Napoleonics

Lord of Rings characters

A Song of Ice and Fire minis

Old West including Bertha the Bear

All of them, over 100 of them

See you in December!

Final Fabulous Friday!

 Good morning all!

It's Friday once again, and it is the final Friday of Challenge XV. I can't fathom it's almost three months already since we started our journey through Dante's Journey through the Abyss and Paradise. It's been great thus far, and I am sure next week will bring even more fantastic contributions of all Challengers. May you all reach your targets and beyond!

For today, we have a fine final array of more great posts from the Friday Crew:

- JohnB has more violent home-build greatness;

- EdwardG drops a DBA points bomb;

- LeeH fires a parting shot;

- IanS returns with some Japanese vengeance;

- AdamW produces his usual hattrick, racing through Paradise;

- MikeW has the last of the Arthurians and still has not got enough wolfriders:

- EdwardG shows he is a man of steel;

- PeterB gives us some Bloody Angels;

- and IanS has also painted some tiny French horsemen.

It's been an honour and a pleasure to assist these gentlemen through Challenge XV. Grab a coffee and enjoy!

Martijn

The Last Thursday of AHPC XV

Time flies and this is the last Thursday of this Challenge, AHPC XV ends on the night between Wednesday and Thursday next week.

So far in these Thursday intros I have told something about the Finnish language, phrases, wars and their reasons, notable persons in wars and some holiday photos. I've been quite busy with work this week and I have not really prepared anything interesting for today, but let's see what I come up with!

I could tell something about my favourite military museum in Finland The Parola Armour Museum, but I guess it would be unfair for other Finnish museums. I haven't visited them all and I can't tell much of them, so let's be equal and not discuss of museums. Other than that we have several in Finland, please come here and visit them. Parola is quite easily reached, halfway between Helsinki and Tampere in Hämeenlinna.

The history of Finland is closely related to south-eastern parts of Finland, which were first claimed by Swedes. I happen to live in that area and Turku is the first capital of Finland, the current fishing village Helsinki is the current one. The are is officially called "Finland Proper" in English and Finnish version is quite same, this area is Finland is the "real Finland" and the rest of the current area is added later and not considered as good as the original Finland. The people in other areas don't seem to understand this, especially the people in Helsinki or Tampere. But I got distracted, I was supposed to mention that in Turku there is a nice castle called Turku Castle, they started building it in 13th century. The best castle in Finland, but then again it would be wrong to represent only one castle of many, so I don't do that.

I seem to have a problem, not that much to tell you. :( Fortunately I'm not alone, Finns are often considered as quiet and shy, very humble and not willing to speak in public. However some other people not like us, for example Joel Willans is a Brit living in Finland, who creates content to Youtube and Instagram under account @veryfinnishproblems. There are others, too so it would not be equal to promote just one. Anyway, because it is Thursday, I'll share one of his short videos on Youtube, related to Thursday and winter:

--- In Other News ---

It is spring here, season between Winter and Summer, and this morning we have couple of centimeters of snow and temperature is a bit below zero. More winter than summer, that is. And handful of nice posts from the productive Thursday crew.

Another glorious Friday!

 Goood morning all!

Yet another Friday comes around, and it is a glorious one. Not only is the weather quite nice here in Belgium, but the Challenge  draws inevitably to its close, and the Friday Crew have upped their game. For today, we have at least the following for you:

- AdamW is steaming up the Tigris, or any other river;

- LeeH has recruited more militia;

- PeterB has Faith, Hope and Love, but mostly Hope;

- JohnB puts me on the back foot and goes heretic;

- JP paints some stripes;

- AdamW tries to knock in inspire some Faith;

- and then becomes wiser;

- MikeW goes wolfriding and brings more Arthurian goodness;

- and MattT suffers from heartburn.

And who knows, there may be even more! Grab a coffee and enjoy!

Martijn

Thursday Things of Interest VIII

Larry A. Thorne, born Lauri A. Törni was a soldier and captain of three armies. He volunteered in army and got his initial training as veterinarian. His training ended shortly before Winter War started and after the training he was called in service. During the war he was keen to volunteer in missions and for example once his group went through the enemy lines and contacted another Finnish unit behind enemy lines. The commander was surprised that Törni and his men appeared inside the command tent passing even the Finnish guardsmen. Quite sneaky.

During the Continuation War on a patrol mission he was wounded, sent to hospital and from there to home for a recovery leave. He didn't return to hospital and his unit was informed, that Törni was a deserter. The HQ of Törni's unit responded laughing, that Törni has been in the front line for some time. So he "escaped" from holiday to the front line. He later lead several "sissi" or guerrilla operations and got several promotions.

At one point he was training in Germany and because of this connection he was not allowed to fight in the Lapland War, because he couldn't be trusted - at least formally. In the end he got involved with the Germans and got a special training, preparing him to work in case Russia invaded Finland and he could work as a resistant for Finland (and Germany). When this was found out he was found quilty of treason, because during that time Finland was officially in war with Germany.

After the wars he went to Sweden, South America and finally United States where he drafted to US Army and got several special trainings but starting from the bottom (rankwise). He got US citizenship and saw lots of action and got promotions for example in Iran and Vietnam. 1964 he was in a helicopter which crashed and Törni and his men were not found and were listed as MIA. 1966 he was declared dead. 1999 there was another search and remains of the helicopter and bodies were found. 2003 one of the deceased was identified as Törni based on his teeth.

Robin Moore wrote a book called "Green Beret" and the main character was based on Törni. The book was later filmed with John Wayne as a star. I think the movie was "inspired" by Törni's character, but it is not a documentary or a real story. Unsurprisingly Swedish Sabaton has created a song based on Törni, too, but it is not that good. Anyway, it is called "Soldier of 3 Armies". I don't know how long wikipedia page Törni has in English, but the Finnish was is quite long. Use online translator if you want. :)

Törni was captain in Finnish army, in Waffen SS and in US Army (promoted to Major after his dead).

Lauri Törni in the middle

--- In other news ---

No snow, almost 10 degrees and sun shines every now and then. Thursday crew rarely has less than 10 posts a day, let's see how this day turns out.

It's Friday once again!

 

Good morning all! Having completed our Belgian beer tour of the Circles of Hell, I think it is time to stop bothering you with the fabulous products of Belgian beer culture. Be sure to try some whenever you may find yourself in the Low Countries though! However, I am pleased to say that Spring is in the air, the sun is out, and spirits are up. The Friday Crew seem to have succesfully navigated Dry February, and we have a nice menu for you today:

- EdwardG continues his Saga;

- AdamW provides yet more junk;

- LeeH further advances his retreat from Moscow:

- AdamW plays a different tune;

- and MikeW writes another Epic Arthurian chapter.

And who knows what else may come up? Enjoy!

Martijn

Thursday

Yeah, quite an simple header this week. My vacation was good, but on Monday morning I got a flu and have been more or less ill since then. So no history lessons, I just don't have energy for that. There were some questions about snowshoes last week, so here are couple of photos.

Here's my son and his snowshoes. The trail we walked was well trodden and the snow shoes were not necessary for most of the time, but it makes it easier to climb up and down (there are some spikes at the bottom).

And these are mine. Pay attention to the camouflage pattern, something wargamers surely want to add to their models. ;) As you can see, modern snowshoes doesn't look like tennis rackets and are quite easy and comfortable to use. It is good to have ski sticks, too, gives you balance and helps if the snow is very deep and you fall.

Of course, if there is snow and it is dry enough (meaning it is cold enough), then two pairs of woollen socks are all you need. They are an excellent insulation, the coldness stays away and warmth stays inside, so the snow doesn't melt.

--- In other news ---

Here in southern Finland we don't have any snow anymore and temperature is couple of degrees above zero. The Thursday crew has quite a lot of posts, as usual.

Another fabulous Friday

We will finish our beer tour of the Circles of Hell today with Fraud and Treachery.

For fraud, I propose Brugse zot. Brugse Zot is a Belgian high fermentation beer brewed by Brewery De Halve Maan in Bruges. Brugse Zot Blond is a golden blond beer with an alcohol content of 6%.  The nickname of the Bruggelings is “(Brugse) zotten”. They got this nickname when they imprisoned Maximilian I of Austria for a time in their struggle for autonomy. As a result, he forbade the holding of an annual fair and other festivities. In an attempt to appease him, Bruges held a great feast for him and then asked permission to hold another fair, collect taxes and ... to build a new madhouse. He replied: “Close all the gates of Bruges and you have a madhouse!”. The "zot "is also the word for jester. The designation zot, nar, and the English word joker (for example, in card play) are sometimes used for the jester. The joker in card play can represent any value. This card also often depicts a jester. So, a fiting symbol for a fraud, someone pretending to someone else...

For Treachery, we turn to Kwak. The Dutch word kwak (verb kwakken) means the same as the Enqlish quack, both in resembling the sound a duck makes as in a quack, a snake oil salesman (kwakzalver), but it can also mean to chuck down or to spill. Pauwel Kwak is an amber Belgian special beer with high alcohol content (8.4%). It is brewed by Bosteels brewery in Buggenhout. Pauwel Kwak is a high fermenting beer, amber in color, with a light malty aroma and a fruity finish. It can be served in a distinctive glass in a wooden holder, a quaffing glass. There is a story about a mythical brewer Pauwel Kwak who is said to have invented the glass back “in the time of Napoleon.” As manager of coachman's inn De Hoorn in Dendermonde, he is said to have invented a way for coachmen to drink on the road. One had a clamp in the carriage, and the convex, heavy bottom of the glass ensured that it always hung upright. 

The actual origin of the coachman's glass lies in 17th- or 18th-century Britain, in drinking games where a glass passes from hand to hand. When an air bubble enters the bulb, so much beer suddenly gushes out that the drinker is overwhelmed. Very treacherous! In Britain, these types of glasses are known as yard-of-ale, or yard glasses: a reference to their exceptional length. So the quaffing glass is nothing more than a handheld version of this.

Finally, to finish this tour of Belgian beers, something a little special. Those who are intolerant to gluten cannot usually enjoy a glass of beer. However, there may be a solution.  Brewery Slaapmutske (night cap) produces a traditionally brewed high fermentation beer with refermentation in the bottle. It is a dark brown ale with an alcohol content of 7.4%, and a full soft taste with a touch of caramel and color malts. In the lagering process, the gluten has been removed from the beer, making the beer gluten-free.

Well, drink responsably and enjoy todays offerings by the Friday Crew!

Interesting Thursday

I'm on holiday this week, so no history lesson today. I'm up in the north now, but it is rather nice here. There's snow (about 50cms) but temperature is quite nice (about -10 degrees Celcius) and it is mostly sunshine and mild wind. There are some exceptions, of course, but nothing dramatic. No Northern Lights (yet). But we have been snowshoeing and skiing with my son, couple of photos from our trips below.

--- In other news ---

We have plenty of posts today, too, I try to get them all published. :)

Thursday Things of Interest VII

The White Death. Let's take a look at the famous Finnish next. During the Winter War Simo Häyhä (I'm sure you love his last name) was a Finnish sniper. In his memoir he claims to have killed about 500 hundred enemy soldiers, other sources give lower numbers. It was naturally difficult to confirm the kills, when he was alone out there, no one could count them. Finnish media also made him quickly a hero and used him in propaganda, which affects the numbers as well. Winter War lasted 105 days and he was injured (and reported mistakenly been dead) a week before the war ended. That would mean several kills a day. Some of the kills were done using the Suomi submachinegun while he was a group leader, some of them were actually sniped using an old rifle, which was in production between 1928-1933.

Winter War was fought during the winter, days were short and it was cold and there were lots of snow. He used to prepare his spots in advance and take the position before sunrise and left after sunset to hide his movement. Lots of clothes, some sugar and bread in the pockets to keep him warm enough. He didn't use telescopic sight, because the lenses could freeze, the sun could make reflection, the shooter should have his head a bit higher and the old style was known to him. He had snow in his mouth, so his breath would not show him off. He used water to freeze the snow to ice in front of his position, so the snow would not "puff" when he made the shot.

Häyhä is generally considered as the most effective sniper in history. As I told, he was injured by an explosive shot a week before the war ended and he was thought to be dead and was added to the "pile of bodies." Later someone noticed the leg moving and he was noticed and sent to hospital. He regained his consciouness in hospital a week later when the war was over. He read from his death in the newspaper and then send a correction. He volunteered to join the Continuation War, but because of his injury he was not accepted to duty and stayed on his farm. He died in 2002 at the age of 96. Shortly before his death he was asked, if he had bad conscience because of what he had done. He answered "I did what was ordered, as good as I could. There would not be Finland, if others would not have done the same."

The Swedish band Sabaton has a song about Häyhä. I previously presented their Winter War song.

--- In Other News ---

The temperature is couple of degrees below zero Celcius and should stay like that for a while. Ground is white, but practically there is no snow. We have some entries.

Sixth Thursday Things of Interest

Today we take a quick look on Lapland War (Lapin sota in Finnish). This is a series of events from September 1944 to April 1945. After the Continuation War Soviets wanted German forces out of Finland. Germans and Finns were brothers in arms and this started in co-operation - Germans using their ready made plan, if this kind of scenario would happen. At the same time Soviets were fighting Germans on the Northern areas and Germans didn't want to get trapped, but wanted to get to Norway (which they still occupied).

After some time, at the end of September, Soviets discovered that there were not really fights or war, and demanded that the Germans need to be fought off and their equipment taken and delivered to Allies. Finns didn't like this, but since other option was occupation by Soviets the actual war started. It was a classic fighting retreat with scorched earth tactics by Germans. In the end Germans were fought off and the last of them left Finland in April, majority much sooner in November. There were real fights, but also some fake operations just to keep Soviets happy.

The outcome of the war was mainly a unified Finland. While there was quite strong parties before the WW2, one leaning to Soviets and one leaning to Germans, the Winter War and Continuation War took off much of the interest to support Soviet Union (mainly the faked shots of Mainila and the area losses), the Lapland War left especially the people living in the burnt north bitter with Germans (whole towns were burned during the retreat). Ironically Stalin hoped to exploit the diversion of Finland to capture the land, but in the end the nation got more unified than ever, all starting to be Finns. If you see a connection to the modern day Ukraine, you are not the only one.

Other indirect result of the WW2 was the economic rise. Finnish war reparations to the Soviet Union were quite large, and required lots of factories, pretty much everyone was employed and families had lots of children. The last reparation train left Finland in 1952, and Finland is still the only country to fully pay the reparations. After the WW2 Finland remained neutral and managed to be quite good at it, only joining NATO when Russia attacked Ukraine and it was made clear, that our Eastern neighbour could not be trusted at all.

City of Rovaniemi after Lapland War

--- In Other News ---

Weather is around zero, sometimes a bit below, sometimes a bit above, meaning that there is some snow to melt every now and then and it is slippery everywhere. Our Thursday crew has lots of different entries today, as usual.

Tuesday

 Yes! Its time for another "This Tuesday in History"!!!

2004 - Facebook launched (not fact checked!)

1945 - Yalta Conference foreshadowed the coming Cold War

1826 - "Last of the Mohicans" is published, inspiring the first FIW wargamers 

1194 - the ransom for Richard I "The Lionheart" is paid to his captor the Holy Roman Emperor, Henry VI

146BC - Third Punic War came to a conclusion with the raizing of Carthage

But anyway, on with the Tuesday show!!!

Thursday Things of Interest V

Continuation War

Ok, this is too much for one post and I'm not going to split this into several posts, so what follows is a very quick and simplified description of the Continuation War. Winter War ended in March 1940 and Finland was in peace, but the threat of the Soviets didn't disappear and the whole Europe was in war. Soviet Union was part of the Allied, so the list of help was thin. There was practically one option to get support and that was Germany. A lot happened here and there, but in June 1941 Hitler said in his speech, that Finland and Germany will fight together even though there were not formal allies. That was enough for Soviets and they started a war. At the same time Germany started Barbarossa and actions of Finland were part of that.

Finland lost 10% of the area in the Winter War and people were eager to get those back. Cooperation with Germany gave a possibility for that. There was international and internal pressure, that the old border should not be crossed, but Germany was expecting Finland to help capture Leningrad (current St. Petersburg) and forces went far further than the old borders. After the initial assault things started to stall, Finnish army was not that large, but the area was. Trench war period of couple of years started, which ended in a massive Soviet attack in 1944, 9th of June - so right after Normandy. The assault was part of (or practice of) Operation Bagration and Finland was pushed back. One again the losses of Soviets were far higher than Finns, but they had more to begin with.

President of Finland was changed from Risto Ryti to C.G.E. Mannerheim in order to make a peace with Soviets. Ryti had made a personal commitment to Hitler and Germany, that Finland would continue the war in order to get more help, so he couldn't make peace. Finland lost the war again, but the independence was kept. More areas were lost, there were restrictions to army size and so on. One part of the peace treaty was that German army had to fought off and their possessions to be given to the Allied. That led to a short war called Lapland War were Finns fought Germans. More of that next week.

From a gamers point of view, the Finnish wars during WW2 offer a quite short list of "pitched battles", but if one is interested in trench wars or fighting against or for an underdog, then there is plenty to choose from. For more information regarding Continuation War please read wikipedia (or something relevant) or the novel "The Unknown Soldier" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Unknown_Soldier_(novel) or watch any of the several film adaptations of it. One version of the movies is shown by national TV on every independence day.

Soldiers practicing the river crossing

--- In other news ---

The posts seem to be the same as usual... The weather however, it is late January and it has been raining  here in Southern Finland for two days. Yes. Raining water, not snow or anything snowlike.

Tuesday

Its Tuesday again - Awesome!

"On this Tuesday" got some good feedback last week so here is this week's edition:

Vietnam War ceasefire went into effect - 1973

Founding of the US Coast Guard: Semper Peratus! - 1915

Defenders of Paris surrender to the German besiegers - 1871

King Henry VIII of England dies - 1547

Death of Charlemagne, Holy Roman Emperor - 814

All of which is broadly inconsequential compared to what the Tuesday team have in store for us: Badgers, Armoured Cars, Knights and more!

Thursday Things of Interest goes Forth

Last week I told how Finland got the independence, today we focus on the first war Finland encountered. World War 2 started in September and 30th November 1939 Soviet Union attacked Finland without declaring war and after faking the so called "shots of Mainila", which gave them an excuse for war. As you might remember, Finland was quite divided before, during and after the independence, which reflected to foreign relationships. Germany had trained lots of Finnish soldiers during WW1 and there was sympathy there, but Soviet Union was a close friend to others. Soviets were expecting an easy victory, but the coldest winter of 20th century, Soviet arrogance and Finnish tactics and spirits gave a hard response.

Winter War lasted for 105 days, "105 days of glory" as it is often called. Finland lost the war, but kept the independence. 10% of the area was lost and roughly 26 000 lives were lost in addition of resources. The Soviets had poor motivation, lack of proper equipment even for a normal winter and in general they were poorly led. Soviets lost 126 000 lives, lots more than Finns. They had about three times more soldiers than Finland, thousands of tanks and planes were Finland had 32 and 114.

Motti tactics was one of the key, where both ends of the attacking column were destroyed and the rest were trapped between them and surrounded by meter or two of snow. Thousands of soldiers were trapped by a much smaller force of Finns who constantly harassed the trapped soldiers and kept moving (with skis) giving the impression of a much larger force. Molotov's cocktail was another important factor, named after the the Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs, who claimed Soviets were not bombing Finnish cities, just dropping food supplies. In response the Finns gave Molotov's cockatails to the tanks.

Finland lost the war and it was a tragic war, but Finland kept the independence, when Soviets were forced to admit the harsh conditions of the winter and they needed to focus their war efforts to other parts of Europe. Finland and Soviets made peace, but it didn't last long. Next week we take a look at the Continuation War.

Here's the official lyric video of a Swedish band Sabaton, which specializes in "war music", here's their take on Winter War. If you are interested in Finnish production, you should consider the movie "Talvisota" https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098437/.

--- In other news ---

We have about a dozen of posts for today, there's couple of centimeters of snow here in Finland the temperature is roughly +2 degrees Celcius, so it is rather wet...

Tuesday

Its Tuesday again - Awesome!

On this Tuesday in History:

President Nixon went to China - 1972

The Battle of Verdun commenced - 1916

The Communist Manifesto was published (thanks Karl!) - 1848

British forces surrender Inverness to Jacobite forces led by Bonnie Prince Charlie - 1746

Joan of Arc's trial for Heresy began in Rouen - 1431

All of which is inconsequential compared to what the Tuesday team have in store for us: Crusading Knights, Soviets, Tall Ships, Oldhammer Regiments of Renown and more!

Third Thursday Things of Interest

Topic of today is quite an important thing, the Independece of Finland.

After the Finnish War 1808-09 (part of the Napoleonic wars) Grand Duchy of Finland was an autonomous part of Russia. Finns were not entirely happy with their situation and there were ideas of independence every now and then. The culmination was the World War 1 and Russian Revolution, which after several twists and turns lead to the declaration of independence on 6th of December 1917. First countries to recognize the independece were Russian Soviet Federation (led by Vladimir Lenin), France, Sweden and German Empire Janury 4th 1918. German Empire was involved in the independence process, mainly opposing Russia.

As I wrote, there were no war for independence, but it was a long process and political parties were not in consensus how to proceed. The nation was divided in two parties, especially after the independence usually called Whites and Reds. Whites were the official representativies of Finland, usually richer, upper class and more or less supported by Germans, while the Reds were the common folk, poorer, lower class and supported by Soviet Russia. Shortly after the declaration the government was not strong enough and a civil war was started, brother fighting brother. The war has many names, Red Rebellion, Civil War, Freedom War, Events of 1918 and so on, depending how objective or subjective you are/were and on which side you were.

The sides were quite equal, 80 000 to 90 000 on each side, but German support was stronger than Russian and after four bloody months the Whites won. Roughly 36 000 died or went missing in total, over 13 000 died on prison camps and almost 10 000 were executed. Both sides were quilty on many crimes and the nation was strongly divided for a long time, several decades in fact. Only recently (100 years later) there has been more open and objective discussion and research on this very sensitive subject. Future president C.G.E. Mannerheim was the commander of White army, having gained experience in Imperial Russian Army in Russo-Japanese War and on Eastern Front of WW1.

How all this affected World War 2 and Winter War, please return next week!

The Maiden of Finland and the blue and white flag (1906)

--- In Other News ---

Again there are some posts from terrific Thursday group and again most of the snow has melted. And my nine year old son made a monthly visit to the local library yesterday and got himself of children's storybook (perfectly suitable for his age) and a book titled "World War I" (I translated the title for you). I hope I have some meaningful discussions in the near future... :)

Another Tuesday

The Tuesday Crew have been hard at it again this week. 

Thus I have more submissions to present and souls to torment - Let's get at it!

Is it Friday already?

 

Good morning, and welcome to an another Friday in Challenge XV!

As I mentioned earlier, Belgian beer is justly famous.  I am not an expert, but I enjoy having a beer now and then and for the beer lover this is a fantastic country. So let’s see if we can find a beer for every Circle in our Divine Comedy.

For the first Circle, I propose Duvel: 

Duvel is a Belgian blond, actually derived from a Victory Ale developed after the Great War.  With an alcohol percentage of 8,5 it is a rather strong beer, and it was called Duvel (Devil, you guessed it) because of this. Also, this placed it opposite to the famous Belgian abbey beers. So, fitting, perhaps, for Limbo.

For Lust, Immediately thought of Verboden Vrucht, Forbidden Fruit. This is a dark beer, also 8.5%, with a fruitier taste. Just a little sweet, I like it.

So there you have it. Today, we have a buckload of contributions some visiting Limbo and Lust, and it seems that we are truly up and away now. So please drink responsibly, and enjoy the many contributions of the Friday Crew!

Thursday Things of Interest II

 Let's continue our investigation on Finnish wars. In Finland we have a phrase "Ennen sotia", which means "Before the wars." And what does it actually, what are "the wars" the phrase refers to? I'm here to help you.

Finland declared independence on December 6th 1917, being an autonomic area of Russia before that. Finland didn't fight in the first world war. World War 1 is somewhat ignored in Finland. Of course we got our independence because of what happened during the war, but we were not part of it and our independence didn't need any battles or wars.

"The wars" in the phrase thus means the World War 2, which in Finland consists of three different wars (more of them in the later posts, I believe). These wars were Winter War, Continuation War and Lapland War which took time between 1939 and 1945. These are the wars Finland has fought in the history and these are the wars which are often referred in Finland. World War 2 had a siginificant effect on the whole world and how it works, lots of changes happened in Finland, too. Lots of things were different before the wars. For example the area Finland controlled was much larger and Finns were almost unbeaten in the long distance running (Paavo Nurmi, Ville Ritola, Hannes Kolehmainen and others).

I guess that in many (European) countries this "ennen sotia" period is called "interwar period", but in Finnish it is before the wars. This might cause some confusions, some one might think "before the wars" means time before the World War 1 & 2, but the Finnish expression refers to time perion 1917-1939.

Of course there were wars before the "before the wars", but the area Finland was then part of Sweden or Russia and they are different stories.

Before the wars Finland was allowed to have submarines, here is Vetehinen or "Merman."

--- In Other News ---

We have at least a handful of entries today. I'm taking my scout group to a sledding hill in the afternoon.