Snow Ghost

In May 2025 a BBC2 programme showed a venue called SantaClaus Village in Rovaneimi, Northern Finland, on the Arctic Circle, where tourists could visit Father Christmas all the year round and meet his attendant elves.  The unusual thing about this theme park – it’s built over a huge military bunker, where Finnish citizens can take shelter should war break out.  Since Finland joined NATO in 2023 there’s been an increase in Russian military activity on the Finnish border.  During the TV programme a selection of Finnish soldiers were interviewed, all of whom showed determination to defend their country if needed.

The programme stirred memories of Mr K, an elusive Finn who married my mother at a Devon registry office just before WW2.  Did she wear her special Finnish skirt, a present from Mr K?  There are no wedding photos.  My mother lived in a house overlooking a beach, next to a hotel then famous for its sprung ballroom floor.

Both of them enjoyed dancing the tango. I hope they had time to dance together before Mr K went back to Finland, where he later fought in the Winter War, in temperatures sometimes of  -40 degrees, defending the Finnish border against invading Soviets. In the spring of 1940 he became a Snow Ghost. These bare outlines are part of a slow work in progress in graphic form. Only a few (water stained) letters from Mr K to my mother still exist.