Hi,

Goodness. I have become a blogger! They say that "you can't teach and old dog new tricks" and maybe that is true, but this old dog is going to try anyway. So here goes...

Firstly, some administrative details. You will have received an email from me regarding this blog and a link that will enable you to find  it. When you first log onto the site you will be given an opportunity to "register". If you select that option, you will receive  a reminder anytime that I send off a new post. In this way you can keep up with our "adventures" and also send feedback or comments (which we would love) if you desire. By the way, the name of this blog...'Neville let the truth...'   was the brain child of Michelle, our beautiful daughter-in-law (Davids wife) and it was Michelle who set this up for me and instructed me in the fine art of blogging. Thanks Michelle and I will accept all responsibility for any blunders. That's all the instructions.

Now...the reason I have decided to commence this blog is because (as some of you will already know) Helve and I have been given the opportunity to live in Estonia for a whole year commencing April 2017. This has come about through the generosity of Helve's relations in Estonia, Anti & Karin, a wonderful young couple living in Elva (Estonia) just south of Tartu the city in which we shall be living during our time there. They have made available for us an apartment they own in Tartu and it was this offer that made this whole "adventure" possible. So, seeing we were going to be missing for a whole year, and experiencing lots of different things, I thought I would become a blogger and keep you in touch, as well as encouraging you to keep in touch with us with your news also.

Firstly some information about Estonia and the places already mentioned. The Estonians refer to their country by the name 'Eesti'. This is pronounced as "airsti" and I will be using that name in the blog from here on. Eesti is a small country in the area know as the Baltic States. The Baltic States embrace Eesti, Latvia and Lithuania. Eesti is the northernmost of these three countries and is bordered on the north and west by the Baltic Sea, on the south by Latvia and on the east by Russia. While Latvians and Lithuanians are of slavic origin, the Estonians are of Finno-Ugric origin and have their own unique language which shares some familiarity with Finnish but no connection with the slavic languages of its fellow Baltic States of Latvia and Lithuania. In area, Eesti is about the size of Gippsland, or about a third the size of Tasmania. Currently it has a population of about 1.2 million and achieved its independence from Russia not long ago in 1992. Eesti had know a short period of independence from 1919 up until the Second World War, but then were reoccupied by the USSR in 1941/42. There followed a 60 year period of occupation which imposed severe restrictions and considerable hardship on all Estonian citizens, as well as complete exile for those Estonians who had escaped to live abroad. Helve's parents, Walter and Lilian,were one such family, who through circumstances were forced to leave their country and, after some years on the move through Finland, Sweden and South Africa, finally to settle in Australia. They brought with them their two little girls, Helve and her sister Edla. The family's place of origin in Eesti was Eesti's second largest city, the university town of Tartu. The capital city of Eesti is Tallinn situated on the Baltic Sea in Eesti's north. Tartu is roughly 180kms south east of Tallinn, approximately 60kms from the Russian boarder to the east and 100kms from the Latvian boarder to the south. It has population of around 100,000 and is the home of Eesti's largest and oldest university, in fact one of the oldest, if not the oldest,  university in Europe, established by King Gustav of Sweden in the 1600's.

It is in this University town of Tartu that we will be living through 2017/18. In later posts we will be able to share a bit more of Eesti's story and of life in this new emerging nation. Fortunately, Helve speaks quite fluent Estonian while I am struggling to learn this complex language. A year exposed to the language on a daily basis I hope will result in my learning to understand and speak Estonian much better than my current ability. The good news is that we have room for visitors. Some of our family have indicated that they hope to visit while we are there, and as they all (both our children and grandchildren) have been generously given Estonian citizenship by the Estonian government, it will be good for them to make their maiden visit to their "other country". We would love to welcome you as well if the opportunity arises for a visit to Europe. If you would like to come, please feel free to contact us either on email or by phone (0418563208) so we can work out mutually acceptable dates for your visit. We would be glad to have you as our guests and to show you some of the beauty and features of this great little country.

Well...this is a beginning. We will keep in touch through this blog as we prepare and close in on our travel date which is March 29 next year. Meantime, don't overdo it coming up to Christmas and have a great time with your family on that special day. 
Neville & Helve.