Finnish people in cool weather

Not that bloggers would ever be obsessive weirdos with excessive numbers of bees in their bonnets about completely unimportant things and a constant need to share those with innocent bystanders, but I feel I have to revisit the issue of Finns and the weather. This morning when I noticed the temperature was 10 oC when I was about to leave home on my bike I decided to wear shorts. With these, a cycle shirt and a long sleeve cycle jersey over it, I was fine - indeed a bit sweaty. I should have worn fingerless cycling gloves rather than full gloves for instance. Anyways - down in the city, near Pasila station, a ninja on a bike rode past me. I mean I presume the chap must have been a ninja because along with the black shell suit he was also wearing a black balaclava pulled up over his nose, so only the eyes were showing (if anyone hears that a bank got robbed this morning in the Pasila area by a dude on the bike, I will of course retract this and pass on the information to the authorities...).

Now I well accept that there are real difference in how much people feel the cold, but can there be that big a differences?! I was out this evening in the yard in a t-shirt standing around doing nothing beyond trying to break up the occasional toddler war, whilst the neighbour who was very busily pushing the lawn mower was wearing full goretex, a woolly cap, and gloves!?

Finns have all sorts of strange genetic conditions and diseases, indeed my friend was telling us just yesterday about her just completed PhD research into one such genetic condition, but a predisposition to feeling the cold seems an odd evolution for a Nordic nation! I blame nurture not nature, and think the modern world is sucking the sisu away from my Finnish friends. I worry for the future of the nation, I really do.

And yep, the title was an oblique reference to a certain song, but you probably have to be at least in your 30s and British to get it. I was expecting to find the song on YouTube and embed it here but surprisingly, couldn't find it. So instead, for no other reason than that it is still a kick-arse tune, is Mark E. Smith with the Inspiral Carpets doing "I want you".