Finland's Heroes

I believe there are only a very few situations in my life where I really need a strong man. One of these situations is when you really need to be taller to take photos at a rock concert. In this case, girlfriends just don't cut it!
Yes, I was a part of Finnish history last night. I was there, amongst the tens of thousands, to "see" Lordi play in Helsinki for their adoring fans. Of course all I could see were people's heads!


However, the atmosphere was pretty awesome and I've got to say there is something pretty special about a whole city of people chanting in unison... almost spiritual in fact. Even if they were chanting "Lordi, Lordi, Lordi".



This was my best picture using the biggest zoom in I could manage and a lot of guess work. The camera saw a hell of a lot more than I did.

But the most exciting part of my night was yet to happen.
Trains in Helsinki are not usually very crowded and when three times as many people as usual try to fit onto one, people freak out. I managed to almost get into an argument with an old lady who was blocking the door into one carriage by standing outside the window and suggesting (very politely) with hand actions that she move down a bit so the rest of the people suffocating at the door could have some room. She refused to respond to me so the rest of the carriage took up my cause and in the end I was on the train with some new friends and a seat! The seat of course I offered to the grumpy old lady... but she apparently didn't want it. Unfortunately, one of my new found friends was an old drunk guy who couldn't speak English except to say that "everything's ok" and "I love you". Kind of scary. He kept asking people to translate for him. Thank God no-one seemed to speak English on the train that night. My Finnish has improved enough now to understand that he though that because I was a young English girl on my own, people should look after me. And that he thought the girls in the carriage next to us should brush their teeth.
So my night ended with a drunken man kissing my forehead and me giggling all the way home!
I know I asked for more romance but that was not quite what I was thinking!