Hi again from Estonia where we have had summer, but we are not sure which day it was!!Well...its not quite that bad, but this summer has been a bit disappointing for our Estonian friends who really look forward to a break from the rainy weather. I think our hottest day so far has been around 25 degrees, but we are hoping for some more warm days before autumn starts to set in.

Its been a while since I wrote, partly because my computer crashed and partly because we have been kept busy with visitors from Australia. Since the last post we have had visits from Isaac again for a week and then Rowan and Yvonne, neighbours from Newhaven who also stayed with us for a week. Once again we have enjoyed the visits of our family and friends as we learn more about this country as we share it with others. The car continues to clock up the kilometres having passed 10,000ks now all in a country that is only about 250km north to south and 350 east to west. We find that each visitor has different interests and helps us to see Estonia from different points of view. Visitors to come are Micky (our lovely granddaughter) and Nathan her boyfriend, (Aug 24 ) then we are off to Paris to meet up with Dave and Michelle, Poppy and April (Sept 6 ) and, after a few days together in Paris, we will bring them back here to Estonia for a couple of weeks. Before Dave, Mich and family leave us , Geoff and Jocelyn will arrive (Sept 22) so for just a little while we will all be together. This will be so much fun and we can't tell you how much we are looking forward to having them with us. Poppy (6) and April (4) will get plenty of cuddles that we have been missing these last 5 months.
When finally they all have to return home to Australia....the last ones leave 5Oct....we will have to settle down on our own and get ready to experience our first Estonian winter. Meantime, before the family arrives we are sneaking off to Finland to spend a week with Harry and Britta (Helve,s uncle who is younger than her!!) on their lovely Island in the Baltic Sea just of the coast of Helsinki. This will be a great relaxing time and so good to see them again as it was with them that we spent most of our time in our visit last year.

Back to writing again. Since the last sentence we have had a great week in Finland, the computer has crashed again and been resurrected again, and we have had another unplanned visitor with us for 4 days, this time our friend Kairi who is an Estonian living and working in Sweden. We have long since discovered when travelling that people are so much more important than places. The places you forget in time, the people make a lasting contribution to your life.

This being a summer post I would like to write a bit about the festival season in Estonia. As we have learnt this year, summer is short and as such is a very valuable commodity to the Estonian people. It seems, and I am sure this is an accurate observation, that not one day, and perhaps not one hour, is to be wasted of this precious resource of daylight and (hopefully) sunshine. This hyperactive season delivers a plethora of festivals, concerts, cultural days and celebrations that highlight issues of national, cultural, linguistic, artistic and historic significance to all Estonians. Everyday of these summer months serves up a program of events across this land that seriously challenges the stamina of the most ardent attendee, whilst, at the same time, by virtue of its enticing menu, makes non attendance almost unthinkable. To illustrate, we have had festivals to celebrate the town of Tartu and its history. Another to celebrate the children of Estonia. Yet another to commemorate Tartu,s place in the old trading alliance known as the Hanseatic Towns. The Food and Wine festival showcased local cuisine and the growing local wine industry. The Street Art Festival highlighted stencil art as a form of public expression. The "Glasperlenspiel Festival" introduced us to unusual and rare musical instruments and to innovative and unorthodox interpretation of music generally. For three days brass bands from Estonia and neighbouring countries descended on Tartu to give us a feast of band performances. On what was one of our beautiful summer nights, the Tartu Symphony Orchestra, along with some of Estonia,s eminent opera singers, came out to a natural amphitheater in the park and, under the summer evening sky, held us spellbound with both music and song. Then, to add to this sensual extravagance the town square was converted into a giant open air cinema, and for 6 nights we were treated to a Love Film Festival. Commencing each night at 10.00pm (starting to get a bit darker by then!) we joined up to 2500 people to watch films from around the world that emphasised peoples love and care for one another, all projected onto a giant inflatable screen (20 x 16 meters) Unfortunately our stamina did not extend to the second film each night, starting at 12 midnight but those of younger age relished the idea. With each of these festivals and events the town plazas were transformed into markets and stalls of all kinds. Buskers, amateur performers and carnivals joined in the fun and fostered atmosphere of celebration. Meantime while all this was happening Tartu hosted the World Orienteering Championships, European Car Rally, Tartu Marathon and the Tartu to Viljandi Cycle Road Race. What makes this experience even more remarkable and relevant, is that almost all, if not all, of these events were free. This was not just more entertainment for those rich enough to afford it, this was for everyone. I have lamented before, and do so again, at Australia's tendency to place art and artistic performance beyond the reach of so many of our less well off citizens. We must do better.
I don't wish to infer that everything happened in Tartu, our town. No.  Suchlike events were occurring simultaneously all over Estonia, which, I think makes it all the more remarkable. One event we travelled to attend was the "Seto Kingdom Day". The Seto's are an indigenous ethnic and linguistic minority of Estonians. They originally lived in the south east corner of Estonia where many still reside, with some also now living over the boarder in Russia (this is due to the boundary being altered in the conflicts between Russia and Estonia). The Seto people are proud of their culture and organise numerous cultural events to keep their traditions alive. On this particular day they meet to elect their monarch (king or queen) for the year ahead. This position is in no way political. Seto's are ordinary Estonian citizens with the same rights and responsibilities of all Estonians. The Monarch has responsibility to foster Seto community life and culture. It was a fun day with around 10,000 people attending, both Seto's and non Seto Estonians. Markets, traditional dance competitions, music competitions, singing and all sorts of fun make up this open air festival. Central is the election of the monarch which on this occasion was a queen.
Everyone present gets the opportunity to vote for one of the candidates. This year there were three candidates. Each one addressed the crowd and outlined what they thought they could bring to the Seto community. Then organisers run out a long piece of string, one for each candidate. To vote you go and hold onto the string belonging to your chosen candidate. Once all are attached to one of the strings a team of officials count the hands on each string. First past the post wins. Brilliant!

So summer in Estonia is rich in culture, tradition and artistic expression. It's a hectic time but it serves to fuel the community spirit for the long dark winter ahead. It's an important reminder that culture and tradition do not only belong to the past but also value add to the present and the future by declaring explicitly that a people and their community cannot be reduced to a statistic or an economic unit. People are about belonging, and that belonging has its roots in its past, its expression in its present and its vision in its future.

But for now we can hear the winds of autumn blowing in the trees.