The name of this blog

I have been asked by people who read my sports blog how these blogs came by their name. It is a Finnish name - Finland is somewhere I have got some excellent pictures, and intend to do so again in the future.

As readers of my sports blog will know, the biggest use of my camera is to take match day photos for Prescot Cables FC. A few years ago, once I had reached a standard I felt was suitable for display, I needed a logon to post a link on the Cables forum. I had just returned from holiday in Finland, so the name suggested itself - "kaapeli", Finnish for "cable", and as I started to show more photos, I continued to use the name. Visitors may be familiar with the word, as you will see it on signs if you go near a lake or the sea - not difficult in Finland.

These yellow signs are to indicate where a cable comes ashore, so you do not run your boat into it, at risk to yourself, and at risk of cutting off the electricity supply. In some areas the signs say "Kabel" in Swedish (the second language of Finland, spoken by about 5% of the population nationally, and by a higher proportion around the south and west coasts), and I have even seen one in English in Helsinki harbour.

This example is on an island in Näsijärvi, a lake to the north of the city of Tampere.

In the winter, the island is popular with walkers, being suitable for an out and back walk across the frozen lake. As well as being a mile or so from the shore, its attraction may also lie in being one of the few islands in an otherwise open lake, which can appear somewhat bleak in some weather. This can feel more so by the best views being obtained from the Näsinpuisto park near this memorial to the SS Kuru shipping disaster of 1929, when a steamer, that had been modified without sufficient thought to its stability, capsized on the lake with the loss of 138 lives.

Tampere's southern lake, Pyhäjärvi, seems much more peaceful, with calmer water, and the wooded islands one almost expects to find in a Finnish lake. A good way to enjoy the lake is by taking a boat to the island of Viikinsaari, a popular leisure destination, but peaceful away from the landing stage.

Pyhäjärvi from Viikinsaari

The lakes have a 59' difference in water level, with water flowing from Näsijärvi to Pyhäjärvi through the Tammerkoski rapids, which provided the power that made the city one of the most important industrial centres in the Nordic countries (in Swedish, the name Tammerfors is used for both the rapids and the city). The rapids still provide power, being channelled though three power stations owned by the municipal and regional electricity companies.

Tammerkoski rapids and Satakunnansilta bridge

I stayed in the city at the Hotel Tammer, just off this picture to the right. The hotel is run by a chain now, but retains some of the elegance from its opening in the 1920s. Not that I had a view of the rapids, I suspect there is a premium for that, so I had one of the rooms on the other side overlooking the fire station. Not that I was complaining, it is probably the grandest fire station I have seen.

Tampere Fire Station

Because of the city's industrial heritage it has been called the Manchester of Finland, and there are many similarities, with the former Finlayson mills and Tampella factories being converted to leisure and residential use like the mills and warehouses of Manchester, and the main activity of the city moving from industry to commerce. The Tammerkoski is undoubtedly more spectacular than the Ship Canal, even when there has been heavy rain where the River Irwell rises in the hills above Bury, sending down a torrent of twigs and branches to be trapped by the old docks at Salford.

Oh, and Tampere is a lot handier for the lakes!