Living among the Hoi Polloi 25 10 27
Hoi Polloi, from the Greek meaning "the many" or "the masses", where it was a neutral or positive term. But in modern English just the opposite and used by those who see themselves as superior to the masses and/or rabble. Which really approximates to my situation here in this part of Finland: a commoner who has been surrounded and so treated by the more well to do. Not to confuse matters further I will just add that it is the common ppl who live in the town where I now reside and write, but on the three sides of our house here: ahead to the east sits the house of the ppl we refer to as the Grankullaläiset from a town near Helsinki, also called Kauniainen, where the host for most of his working life perhaps was a London Banker, who with his wife occasionally visit the enormous fully detached family house that is their "summer cottage". The host has from the outset appeared to be of a friendly and civil disposition whilst his wife has I would venture to suggest been more "toffee-nosed", if you'll pardon my commoner's description of to what I refer, more politely, keeping herself aloof.
To the south, likewise, a guy who made his fortune building a business to do with computers and internet activities, if my guess is correct, his wife a physician and practicing surgeon who, once the permanent residents moved out, because the upkeep of their enormous family house, together with additionally their summer cottage, with its spacious gardens lying elsewhere, became too onerous an undertaking as he grew older. The new incumbent's first words to us were "You don't live here all the time, or do you?"
And to our west, the house arguably the most well to do, again with very occasional summer visitors, who came to purchase after the permanent residents died off some 18 years after we had purchased 36 years ago. Their first interaction was the daughter's mother, who put the money up to buy the house, telephoned my wife in a peremtory manner, to say they had submitted plans to build a fence around the property, and "would be so good as to treat it as urgently requiring our attention, when we were just about to depart our house for our annual holiday, beginning each year towards the end of May beginning of April.
Then to complete this part of my story, to the north a third family which throughout our occupancy has been inhabited by the same family> first by the old lady, a retired High School Teacher, at first living alone, then being joined by her eldest child her son, an Archtect living previously with his wife in Helsinki, but deciding to move in with his infirm and aging mother, when eventually he became the new owner, after buying out his only sister when their mother died.
Of all these owners of property I shall now focuss on those that are related to various ppl it has been my good fortune to meet during my visits to Finland, beginning the 17th July 1960 when I first stepped foot on Finnish soil, and shortly thereafter began working for Osakeyhtiö Kymene Aktiabolaget, in Kuusankoski, where on one day during the 2 1/2 years I was employed there, someone pointed out the enormous gentleman, a Free Herr Von Julin, noting how as he got into a car, was the Chairman of its Board of Directors.
Then some years later during my years attending University in Northern England, together with my wife and first son, we spent the summer of 1969 living and my working at Oy Kaukas Ab in Lappeenranta, and for 2 full years post-graduation in July 1971 until July 1973 as a Researcher, when someone pointed out another gentlemen, a Casimere Erhnrooth, who at that time was our MD and CEO, the uncle of the young lady who would one day, in 2006 or 7 buy the house opposite ours, after the time of having neighbours with whom there had been no previous commerce: the old couple who at one time had owned the town's only cinema, and who had been living opposite for the 28 years of their residency, his demise coming some years before his wive's when their three sons decided to sell the property on...
Now, if they were related to the famous von Julins who came to Finland from Sweden during the nineteenth century it was Johan Jacob von Julin, 5th August 1787 - 11 March 1853 whose first wife was an Elizabeth Katarina Keckman 1790-1815, the daughter to L. H. Keckman and Helena Schulin, who died giving birth to their first child.
His second wife was Emilia Lindsay, 1795-18?5, a daughter of a Scottish clergyman, who also died of postpartum complications, after giving birth to their 5th child.
Johan Jacob von Julin's 3rd and 4th wives were siblings born to Colonel C. L. Jägerskjöld and Hedvig Gustafva Christina Taube. In 1841 he married Charlotta Johanna Ottiliana Jägerskjöld, 1814 - 1844,
During the period he became the owner of the Fiskars Ironworks.
Charotta von Julin's daughter Helene von Julin eventually became the mother of Carl Gustav Emil Mannerheim 1867 - 1951, just one of his grandchildren, through Hedvig his daughter.
Now in my humble view C.G.E. Mannerheim has to be one of the premier Swedish-speaking Finnish aristocracy when considered from any angle: the man who would as a boy enlist in the Tsar of Russia's Imperial Life Guard, serving to the level of General, before the October Revolution of 1917 when he would return to Finland to take on the role of leading the Whites in Finland's Civil War against the opposing Reds. The Reds being lead it has to be acknowledged by many who were also Swedish speaking. (I personally would learn from a Swedish speaking friend I would meet one day by virtue of sailing a sister vessel to my own Swedish built yacht from the Hallberg-Rassy boatyard: his grandfather had been one of the Red Faction's leaders, his father a Colonel in WW II).
And our neigbour Anna Fromond whose mother Elsa was born into the Ehrnrooth family, who in turn were related through her mother, Louisa to von Julin stock, just to underline the fact that through no fault of my own I came first to just this part of Finland, with my family, almost 20 years before they saw fit to follow.
For a commoner who aged 7 never once thought of becoming anything special in life with a desire he shared with his bosum friends just to "play out" in the environs of his Northern England town, with no thoughts of ending up living here among the super rich who once, in their dim and distant past, in the 19th and 20th centuaries also lived in such salubrious surroundings as I. One of these, albeit of the nouveau richevariety having the timerity to enquire as stated above, viz: "You don't live here all the time, or do you?"
Looking out this beautiful autumn day now October 27th I am anticipating the time maybe in another month's time when all of the leaves of the autumn have fallen to give me a clear view of the Gulf of Finland with no "Familiaris" to impede one's view of the beach and the sea! ("Familiaris" with its once own beach but now set back so we common ppl may walk the way between it and the sea. Once the summer cottage of the Von Julins before the Ehrnrooths acquired it and now, who knows but maybe in new ownership once more with its new €4Million latest refurbishment, even adding a swimming pool not 10 metres from the sea. Lit up like a Christmas tree every evening like most of these cottages so owned by the super rich: only we Hoi Polloi living in residence and making the whole business of who in reality is best off in the 2nd millenium..? lol.
To the south, likewise, a guy who made his fortune building a business to do with computers and internet activities, if my guess is correct, his wife a physician and practicing surgeon who, once the permanent residents moved out, because the upkeep of their enormous family house, together with additionally their summer cottage, with its spacious gardens lying elsewhere, became too onerous an undertaking as he grew older. The new incumbent's first words to us were "You don't live here all the time, or do you?"
And to our west, the house arguably the most well to do, again with very occasional summer visitors, who came to purchase after the permanent residents died off some 18 years after we had purchased 36 years ago. Their first interaction was the daughter's mother, who put the money up to buy the house, telephoned my wife in a peremtory manner, to say they had submitted plans to build a fence around the property, and "would be so good as to treat it as urgently requiring our attention, when we were just about to depart our house for our annual holiday, beginning each year towards the end of May beginning of April.
Then to complete this part of my story, to the north a third family which throughout our occupancy has been inhabited by the same family> first by the old lady, a retired High School Teacher, at first living alone, then being joined by her eldest child her son, an Archtect living previously with his wife in Helsinki, but deciding to move in with his infirm and aging mother, when eventually he became the new owner, after buying out his only sister when their mother died.
Of all these owners of property I shall now focuss on those that are related to various ppl it has been my good fortune to meet during my visits to Finland, beginning the 17th July 1960 when I first stepped foot on Finnish soil, and shortly thereafter began working for Osakeyhtiö Kymene Aktiabolaget, in Kuusankoski, where on one day during the 2 1/2 years I was employed there, someone pointed out the enormous gentleman, a Free Herr Von Julin, noting how as he got into a car, was the Chairman of its Board of Directors.
Then some years later during my years attending University in Northern England, together with my wife and first son, we spent the summer of 1969 living and my working at Oy Kaukas Ab in Lappeenranta, and for 2 full years post-graduation in July 1971 until July 1973 as a Researcher, when someone pointed out another gentlemen, a Casimere Erhnrooth, who at that time was our MD and CEO, the uncle of the young lady who would one day, in 2006 or 7 buy the house opposite ours, after the time of having neighbours with whom there had been no previous commerce: the old couple who at one time had owned the town's only cinema, and who had been living opposite for the 28 years of their residency, his demise coming some years before his wive's when their three sons decided to sell the property on...
Now, if they were related to the famous von Julins who came to Finland from Sweden during the nineteenth century it was Johan Jacob von Julin, 5th August 1787 - 11 March 1853 whose first wife was an Elizabeth Katarina Keckman 1790-1815, the daughter to L. H. Keckman and Helena Schulin, who died giving birth to their first child.
His second wife was Emilia Lindsay, 1795-18?5, a daughter of a Scottish clergyman, who also died of postpartum complications, after giving birth to their 5th child.
Johan Jacob von Julin's 3rd and 4th wives were siblings born to Colonel C. L. Jägerskjöld and Hedvig Gustafva Christina Taube. In 1841 he married Charlotta Johanna Ottiliana Jägerskjöld, 1814 - 1844,
During the period he became the owner of the Fiskars Ironworks.
Charotta von Julin's daughter Helene von Julin eventually became the mother of Carl Gustav Emil Mannerheim 1867 - 1951, just one of his grandchildren, through Hedvig his daughter.
Now in my humble view C.G.E. Mannerheim has to be one of the premier Swedish-speaking Finnish aristocracy when considered from any angle: the man who would as a boy enlist in the Tsar of Russia's Imperial Life Guard, serving to the level of General, before the October Revolution of 1917 when he would return to Finland to take on the role of leading the Whites in Finland's Civil War against the opposing Reds. The Reds being lead it has to be acknowledged by many who were also Swedish speaking. (I personally would learn from a Swedish speaking friend I would meet one day by virtue of sailing a sister vessel to my own Swedish built yacht from the Hallberg-Rassy boatyard: his grandfather had been one of the Red Faction's leaders, his father a Colonel in WW II).
And our neigbour Anna Fromond whose mother Elsa was born into the Ehrnrooth family, who in turn were related through her mother, Louisa to von Julin stock, just to underline the fact that through no fault of my own I came first to just this part of Finland, with my family, almost 20 years before they saw fit to follow.
For a commoner who aged 7 never once thought of becoming anything special in life with a desire he shared with his bosum friends just to "play out" in the environs of his Northern England town, with no thoughts of ending up living here among the super rich who once, in their dim and distant past, in the 19th and 20th centuaries also lived in such salubrious surroundings as I. One of these, albeit of the nouveau richevariety having the timerity to enquire as stated above, viz: "You don't live here all the time, or do you?"
Looking out this beautiful autumn day now October 27th I am anticipating the time maybe in another month's time when all of the leaves of the autumn have fallen to give me a clear view of the Gulf of Finland with no "Familiaris" to impede one's view of the beach and the sea! ("Familiaris" with its once own beach but now set back so we common ppl may walk the way between it and the sea. Once the summer cottage of the Von Julins before the Ehrnrooths acquired it and now, who knows but maybe in new ownership once more with its new €4Million latest refurbishment, even adding a swimming pool not 10 metres from the sea. Lit up like a Christmas tree every evening like most of these cottages so owned by the super rich: only we Hoi Polloi living in residence and making the whole business of who in reality is best off in the 2nd millenium..? lol.
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