Susan's Writings

By SUSAN FOURTANÉ
HELSINKI TIMES

A brave knight in heavy armor, Highland Scots and medieval castles is what
probably comes to our mind when we first hear of The School of European
Swordsmanship in Helsinki.

A brave knight in heavy armor, Highland Scots and medieval castles is what
probably comes to our mind when we first hear of The School of European
Swordsmanship in Helsinki.

GUY WINDSOR, author of The Swordsman’s Companion and The Duellist’s
Companion, founded the school in March 2001 under the principle that the
practice of historical martial arts is good for the mind, body and soul.
The success of the school and the fast increase in the number of students
in Helsinki gave rise to the opening of five branches in Finland and
sister schools in Sweden and Singapore. The school offers training and
research, hosts seminars by visiting instructors in western martial arts,
and presents free demonstrations.

Helsinki Times: What was it like to start this non-traditional kind of
business in Finland?
Guy Windsor: Lots of paper work and red tape. It happened that I was the
right kind of foreigner- Finns are used to importing specialists, so I got
the benefit of the doubt. It was relatively easy except for finding an
accountant who speaks English.
HT: How did the idea of starting a school in Helsinki develop?
GW: I was working as an antique restorater in Edinburgh, which was making
me miserable. I thought I had two options, either move to the United
States or stay. Then it hit me: move to Helsinki and open a school. So I
did.
HT: Are there different courses or there is only one type of course?
GW: After the beginners’ course, students usually continue with basic
training in medieval foot combat, before adding other stylesm such as
rapier.
HT: How long does it take to achieve a good level of practice?
GW: It depends on the student, and how much they practice. I’ve been
training since 1986, and still have a long way to go.
HT: What kind of background has someone who wants to learn
European Swordsmanship?
GW: We have different sorts of people, from tax experts to journalists and
history students, united by a common interest in swords.

The regular 90 minute practice with the longsword includes five basic
drills, taken from an Italian Swordsmanship Treatise from 1409, Fiore
battaglia by Fiore dei Liberi. The classes are usually of mixed levels,
where the more advanced help the others through their own experience. This
helps the seniors with their understanding of the material, and boosts the
beginners.
After the practice, I had a chance to speak with the students and learn
more about this fascinating discipline. Johanna Rytkönen told me she
enjoyed reading every fantasy book she could find in the library, so it
was easy to be lured by the magic of seeing herself mastering the sword.

HT: What motivated you to come to the school?
Johanna Rytkönen: When I was sixteen I saw a demo in a Middle Ages
Festival. That was six years ago. I joined the school and since then I’ve
been practising, with some breaks. Now I want to try back word, (a
one-hand sword). The practice gives me a secure feeling, something for not
being afraid when I walk alone in the dark streets.

The School of European Swordsmanship
Luiskatie 8, 00770 Helsinki
www.swordschool.com
Beginner’s course starts on 6 October

Published first in the Helsinki Times on October 1st, 2009
www.helsinkitimes.fi

Poetical words and musical notes come along with the colourful autumn leaves in Helsinki. Theatre director, writer and poet Joel Holmberg had a word with the Helsinki Times on this autumn’s Threats of Poetry & Jazz Issued.

Helsinki Times: What’s the story behind the theme?

Joel Holmberg: At our initial meeting, everything is read aloud for the first time. I, as the director, listen very carefully and choose the best things. I also time everything to see that it fits into a one hour programme. Then I, along with everyone else, try to see if there is a common theme – or at least something which can be nudged into the major theme. We sometimes come up with several suggestions, but often at least one of us, usually Zoë Chandler, hears a common theme. This time, Lives and Deaths came up after hearing everything.

HT: Are the poets/writers performing original pieces?

JH: An invitation is sent out via FinnBritPlayers for anyone who is interested in performing should come to that initial meeting. Original material is preferred, but also acceptable is material by other people with their specific consent, or works in the public domain. The latter usually means the author has been dead for at least 70 years.

HT: Tell us about the backstage of this already classic event.

JH: I began the series in 200l with 2 performances per year – spring and autumn. It was initially in Café Engel, but we have moved over to Arkadia International Bookshop. The performer is completely alone facing the audience on floor-level with no one to fill in any mistakes or blank moments. My job includes making sure people speak clearly and not too rapidly so that everyone can understand – this is very important since many of the audience are not native English language speakers. What is wonderful is the variety of poetry, stories or dialogues.
If a writer doesn’t have the confidence to perform, but would like his/her piece to be heard, then I must determine who would be willing to perform it. This time around there is a new person who has never performed, but has some lovely poems. Because she is a bright and positive person, I spent extra time coaching her performance.

HT: How does the clarinet music fit within the performances?

JH: The clarinettist, John Millar, has been a standby for many of the performances. He is a classically trained musician and excellent with improvisation. He creates the proper mood for each piece. His major job is to keep the flow of the program moving so that there are no blank spots. He also has a solo piece in the programme. A word about the word Jazz: It is an overall word encompassing many styles. For the most part it has not been the driving, heavily rhythmic type which is often associated with jazz. It is more like the music of one of my favourite jazz musicians, Errol Garner.

HT: How would you summarize the programme?

JH: All programmes have had a great deal of feeling, which can extend from gloomy to joyful and humorous. There are pieces which internalize and others which observe and experience that observation. The audience is always very attentive.

Threats of Poetry & Jazz Issued
17 & 24 Sept at 19:00
Arkadia International Bookshop
Pohjoinen Hesperiankatu 9, Helsinki
www.arkadiabookshop.fi
www.finnbritplayers.com
Free entry

SUSAN FOURTANÉ – HELSINKI TIMES
Image – Susan Fourtané

First published in the Helsnki Times on September 24th

ENO Environment Online started as a global virtual school for sustainable development in 2000. Based in Joensuu, Finland, it has received funding from the National Board of Education and has rapidly grown globally.

FOUNDED AND DIRECTED by Mika Vanhanen, the ENO Programme aims to plant 100 million trees by 2017. Schools in more than one hundred countries have taken part in Climate Change Campaigns. In 2009 cities were invited to join the programme. On 21 September at noon, celebrating the International Day of Peace established by the United Nations in 1981, around three thousand schools worldwide will plant trees in a call for global unity, a sustainable planet and world peace while radio stations play Imagine, by John Lennon.

Helsinki Times: What is the main goal of the ENO program?

Mika Vanhanen: To spread awareness about environment and encourage learners to work for their environment and sustainability.

HT: What is the impact of ENO Tree Planting in climate change?

MV: We have had three big campaigns; children have raised the issue locally, challenging people to do something to reduce the effect of climate change.
When planting trees they are doing some concrete deeds as trees tie carbon dioxide.

HT: Do you think the children of the world can make a difference by making leaders wake up to the reality of our planet?

MV: Yes, but not alone. Children can challenge people locally and globally. They can keep on reminding adults to prioritise environmental problems. It is said that It takes a village to raise a child, but we see it vice versa: It takes a child to raise a village when it’s about the importance of the environment.

ENO Programme
www.enoprogramme.org

SUSAN FOURTANÉ – HELSINKI TIMES
Image – Tero Koski

First published in the Helsinki Times on September 24th, 2009.

I recently interviewed Karim Azriouli, a Finn who immigrated to Canada, where he already feels at home although he says missing summer nights in Finland, spending time in the summer cottage and of course sauna.

British & Commonwealth Chamber of Commerce in Finland: Helsinki and Montreal are quite different cities, starting from size for example, with all what that implies. What makes Montreal a good place to live?

Karim Azriouli: Diversity, lots of immigrants, different cultures and different nationalities sharing one city, that’s one thing I like most from Montreal.

BCCCF: You moved to Canada only knowing your girlfriend, without a job waiting for you. You moved to build up your career by yourself. How is it to be a foreigner starting from scratch in Canada?

KA: Bureaucracy is easier in Canada than in Finland. Finding a job is not easy without speaking French apart from English, of course it depends on the job too. I believe in being proactive. In most, if not all cases we are more used to move to other countries when we have a job in a company or a business opportunity already set but if we don’t have that, the initial step is far too big for most to take. Most immigrants here didn’t come with a business opportunity to begin with. They open their own business after and continue from there on. That makes a huge difference. Diversity, as I mentioned before, makes it more appealing for me personally as I come from a multicultural background myself. Besides being a citizen, how does nationality shape and define itself nowadays? Many people have more than one nationality or share a completely different culture and customs than which their nationality would initially suggest. Montreal is more diverse than most cities in Canada with an emerging number of immigrants. In this regard Montreal is naturally much more advanced than Helsinki for example, although in Finland we are seeing more people awaking the growing number of nationalities and cultures present.

BCCCF: What were you doing in Finland before moving to Montreal?

KA: I was working in the field of web analytics and Internet marketing – providing customers with analyzed marketing results. It was an Internet Marketing Consulting company. I was responsible for the sales and marketing of the company. We became quickly the fastest growing IT-company (Deloitte, Rising Star category) in Finland. It was my first job with a decent amount of responsibility, managing a sales unit consisting of 12 people. There were no restrictions, no limitations in how much I could influence and practice my experience as long as I could meet and exceed the expectations. It was a great experience. I wanted to continue and take the investment abroad but the company was not willing. The main reason was not being able to take the risk.

BCCCF: How do you see the opportunity of Finnish companies investing abroad and foreign capital coming to Finland? Let’s say, Canada and Finland working in cooperation?

KA: I see great potential in Finnish expertise. Finland has a high standard of know-how, even more so if you compare it on a global scale. Small companies usually stay small mainly because of their reluctance to grow into the international market, or rather, their reluctance to meet the challenges and demands when exploiting their investment to the fullest. Too often companies prefer to stay in their comfort zone. The Finnish way of doing business is repeatedly restricted by this mentality, often missing the opportunity or underestimating the potential of their investment. Because of this, when outside the boarders, the most commonly accepted answer and way of growing is by using solely local expertise instead of their own. This, on the other hand, makes Finland a great opportunity for foreign investors and partners. Ultimately, I see more opportunity of foreign capital coming to Finland than Finnish companies investing abroad. I am certain that the know-how and potential of the Finnish companies is competitive enough within the global market. Yet, I feel Finnish entrepreneurs should recognize even more the potential they have in their hands and be more aware and proactive in seeking opportunities. “We don’t want to grow too fast, we want to grow slow.” is a phrase used too often and inappropriate in the context whether international or local business in general.

BCCCF: Do you think Finnish companies are ready and willing to have a representation in Canada?

KA: Perhaps not acknowledged enough, there still is a huge demand for foreign expertise when it comes to taking Finnish companies abroad. There lies the mutual interest. I can’t see any reason why Canada would differ in this respect. Nokia is an often used example of a successful venture, a small company from a small country growing into a giant player and a global icon. Nokia is just one example and shouldn’t be left as the only one. Even if not the same kind of giant, there are constant opportunities for many other “Nokias” as long as we are able to grasp them.

Karim Azriouli can be contacted at karimazriouli@hotmail.com

Interview by Susan Fourtané for the British & Commonwealth Chamber of Commerce in Finland -
susan.fourtane@bcccf.fi
www.bcccf.fi

The interview was published first on July 14th, 2009 as part of the British & Commonwealth Chamber of Commerce in Finland’s Newsletter: http://www.bcccf.fi/newsletter/karim_azriouli.html

The Finn-Brit Players’ spring production is a Harold Pinter double-bill. A Slight Ache and Moonlight, directed by Bruce Marsland and Joan Nordlund respectively, are performed on Q-Teatteri’s Puoli-Q stage.

Harold pinter was one of the most influential British playwrights of modern times. At the time of his death in 2008, he had achieved fame also as a screenwriter, actor, director, poet, author and political activist. He was the 2005 Nobel Laureate in Literature.

Involving strong conflicts among ambivalent characters, Pinter’s dramas are stylistically marked by theatrical pauses and silences, comedic timing, irony and menace. The ambiguity in his themes raises complex issues of individual identity oppressed by social forces, language and the vicissitudes of memory.

Why did you choose these Pinter’s plays?

Joan Nordlund: We chose Moonlight because it is one of Pinter’s later plays, because of the excellent dialogue and because of the mixture of emotions that it arouses. We also thought it would go well with A Slight Ache.

Bruce Marsland: A Slight Ache is an early work by Pinter and, as such, it is interesting to view it in relation to how we know Pinter’s work developed later, as in plays like Moonlight. The double-bill provides a rare opportunity to compare Pinter’s early and late work, and see how his approach to topics and theatricality may or may not have changed over the years.

How would you define the plays?

JN: Moonlight is a play about death and life and the space between, about relationships and families, memories and fantasies.

BM: A Slight Ache is largely about identity. It’s about how we define ourselves and what we use to define our view of others. It’s about an exploration of self through the exploration of the other – and it recognises all the potential trauma that lies on that path.

What can the audience expect from the performances?

JN: I think they will find the play moving, absurd and funny at times, disturbing and puzzling. Above all, I hope that they will be entertained.

BM: As often with The Finn-Brit Players, this is an opportunity to see English-language theatre performed with the original text. Pinter is not about comfort but I hope we can provide committed and challenging performances, and even topics to debate in the pub afterwards.

What are your directors’ statements?

JN: Directing Pinter is a joy and a challenge. Most of his plays, in my opinion, are best performed in small theatre spaces, in which the dividing line between the audience and the action is not necessarily clear cut.

BM: For me, theatre is about direct emotional and intellectual contact between the performers and the audience. Theatre should stir new ideas and challenge established concepts. I hope we can achieve that, at least in part, with this double-bill.

Q-Teatteri’s Puoli-Q stage
Tunturikatu 16, Helsinki
Showtimes
5 to 13 June at 19:00
Tickets €10 for both plays
Booking: www.finnbritplayers.com/tickets_pinter
www.finnbritplayers.com

Susan Fourtané – HT
Fabien Rapin -Image