I thought I’d give you a slightly different diary entry today just to keep things fresh and, well you never know, hopefully interesting.
So here goes with just a few things I learned today:
1 – Finland is not the country with the world’s worst pillows. Well it can’t be because once again I slept like a baby. Until the alarm went off at 5:45am.
2 – Heikki, the once-cool cameraman, knows how to use the coffee machine. But he must have a touch of Scottish in him because he’s very stingy with the amount of ground coffee he uses.
3 – That unbelievably tasty porridge that they have on the breakfast menu in most Finnish service stations is made in a porridge machine! That is sacrilege to a true Scotsman.
4 – The aforementioned porridge machines aren’t all that reliable and when they break down no-one seems to actually know how to make proper porridge. And then you have to have a strange Finnish sandwich for breakfast.
5 – Never venture out onto rally stages without first being fully prepared and using the facilities at every opportunity. I’ll just leave that one there.
6 – The Finns call a jetty, or a pontoon, a deck. This caused considerable problems when trying to describe to Once-Cool Cameraman where I was located today. Next time I’ll just shout very loudly. I’m good at that.
7 – It is possible to have an argument about animal droppings on a stage. I swore blind it was bear droppings, but maybe moose. Once-Cool Cameraman insisted it was horse shit.
8 – Don’t ever stand behind the exhaust of a Yaris WRC as launch control is engaged. The blast of emissions is hot enough to melt your nylon t-shirt to the hairs on your chest. Difficult to explain that one to the boss when you’re asking for new team kit.
9 – Once-Cool Cameraman has a very eclectic taste in music. I’ll happily sing along to a bit of Adele with him but draw the line at Euro Techno Gangster Rap Pop.
10 – I have discovered both the best ice cream shop and the best restaurant in the Jyväskylä region. But I’m refusing to tell you where because that would mean them getting busy and standards always drop when you’re busy. Just take this diary entry as a case in point.
So there we are, as they say, every day is a learning day.
Night folks, I’m off to reacquaint myself with my pillow.
