Santa looked a lot like daddy…
In the early 1960s, Santa Claus is wearing a gray coat. The world is black and white. In a small square-shaped photograph, the camera lens has […]
Avainsana: In English
The youth center called Spittoon
The reason why the youth center of the Tapiola parish, officially named Olotila, started being called Räkälä – in English, it might have been Spittoon – […]
The Age of Aquarius
Räkälä, as the church’s youth club was called, had burnt to the ground and Heikintori’s disco didn’t even have a B-license. Teenagers on the verge of […]
So mean?
It is as if playing pranks is encoded into boys’ DNA. There’s clearly a noticeable section in the code that reads: ”the condensation of stupidity”. We […]
My Sweet Lord
We, the semi-professional construction workers, celebrated the end of the renovation of the sauna section in Veli-Matti’s terraced house in traditional fashion. I learned a valuable […]
The Trenches of Vallarit
– Dad, what are those?– Where?– Over there, behind the trees.– Those are trenches. Fortifications. Do you wanna go and see? It’s quite a scary place.– […]
Silkkiniitty – Tapiola’s lungs
My friend, Hassan, taught me how to make fishing dough. The recipe was very simple: when water and wheat flour are mixed in the right proportion, […]
Mäntyviita – The Heart of Tapiola
Tapiola’s original, old town center is practically Mäntyviita; a short stretch of a road between the streets of Menninkäisentie and Kimmeltie. The first tower, Mäntytorni, completed […]
A Pool in the Middle of the Village
In the beginning, Aarne Ervi created the Central Pool. Tapiola was formless and empty. Dirt and sand covered everything, but the spirit of the Garden City […]
Kinosaur
You need to take 223 steps to get from our apartment door to Kino Tapiola’s ticket counter: I once calculated that distance. Rush down the stairs […]