Peter my friend 17 1 29 (9) 25 1 28

17 1 28 

When I met my friend Peter he had probably just retired. We met at the boat yard one autumn where I stored my 24ft Hallberg Rassy Misil ll yacht, and his boat was that year a newcomer whilst mine had spent her winters there a good 10 to 15 years earlier from the year 1993 when I bought her. It was probably in the year 2007 because my first pic I believe of his boat appears among my sailing pics for the year 2008 which I am only now getting ready for my next pic album. We were each of us more than 20 sea miles, about 25 statute miles or 37 km, away from our home ports, his maybe a further 2 or 3 miles to mine, and he was sailing with his daughter H, whilst I had my son S on board together with his two sons A and D. His yacht was identical to mine except for the colour: his painted white whilst mine the more customary mustard colour of the HR-yard that built them, and all in all his was better equipped with newer and more varied sails, and foresails he could hoist from his cockpit on a roller system whereas I had to hoist these sails whilst standing beneath them on deck. He also had a bigger more powerful four stroke engine whilst mine was probably the original 2-stroke 8 hp Yamaha.

I can't think of more auspicious circumstances for meeting anyone than at one's boat yard where there is so much to do when 2 hands never seem quite to suffice: so he was ready to help me as I was ready to help him in securing for example the boat covers to protect them from the elements over the winter when high winds blow through yard sometimes full of driving rain or snow during the 6 months of the year they are cradled on land.

I was just winding down my business affairs when we met and he was still lecturing people part-time on human rights topics he had inherited from his father, who was a colonel and the man who founded the Finnish branch of Amnesty International some now 50 + years ago.

Our meetings at the boat yard quickly developed into visits to cafés for his favourite coffee, espresso and it quickly became apparent that if a café didn't possess an espresso machine they either bought one or forewent his patronage.

Peter was one of the most decisive people you could imagine and as I got to know him better and better it transpired that within my circle he was one of a kind. For example his politics were always left of centre, probably a social democrat who exceptionally was descended from people who in Finland’s civil war were on the side of the reds as opposed to being on the side of the whites, the land-owning gentry at the time in early part of the twentieth century around the time of Finland’s Independence from Russia which came into being in 1917. But the gentlest of people and unimaginable that any of his antecedents were anything different: simply people of principle. Not surprisingly Peter made a career for himself out of Trade Union business after reading Economics at University and certainly towards the end of his career he got to represent Finland in many International meetings to do with upholding Trade Unionist principles.

Quite often with other friends a political point would arise when with my next meeting with Peter I would bounce the thing off him to see what his take on the matter was. Like for example the character of one of our Presidents during the 1990s who I heard from other sources only became a Social Democrat to get his hands on the Presidency. When I asked Peter his opinion he related how at an International Meeting held in Switzerland the guy in question A had also be present and how this guy A behaved most at home joining in all the socialist songs that attended the dinner they all partook in.

On another occasion he mentioned a meeting in the US where each of Castro Clinton and Blair spoke: Castro on the first of the two day meeting when he was given a standing ovation on his arrival and only spoke for 15 minutes when each speaker was allocated 10 minutes. Blair he said gave a very impressive speech he said but afterwards when he read the transcript of it he realised he had said nothing of any real substance.

I went to visit my friend Peter in a Rehabilitation Centre for Parkinson sufferers this past week to find him not quite as sharp as he used to be with difficulties marshalling his movements as before: very sad to see such a dear friend so incapacitated. Have a good day everyone, as we all must feel fortunate in having good friends.