This summer has been a little treacherous with frequent rainfalls spoiling the summer fun and sparking incredulity among Oulu residents. But lo and behold, the weather decided to have some mercy on us this Friday night and having been told that “it’s almost a crime” here to stay indoors with such lovely weather since it is truly few and far between, I hit the center to have a taste of the city.  

The center was filled with many people from all age groups. I had never seen so many people together in the city before now and I smiled and told myself that this is more like it. It didn’t need telling that the night was a night people intended to let loose and let go of any inhibitions. A common desire was obvious on everyone’s face and that was to relax and have fun. Rather unusually, the typically reserved Finnish men were talking excitedly, gesticulating wildly and, believe this, a lot of people, men and women were shouting. For me, it was a cacophony of voice I couldn’t decipher.  

I got into a discussion with Pentti, who works in one of the banks in the city and he told me “I work so hard during the week and I just need to unwind during the weekend, I go out with my friends to the pubs at night and we drink alcohol, maybe too much at times”. “We usually move from one pub to another depending on our mood and the atmosphere in the pub”.  

“Never Grow Old” was my first point of call and it happened to be a reggae night with two African DJs dishing out melodious music mostly from the Caribbean. Surprisingly, the dance floor was deserted and only two bold girls who were sure of their skills in rhythmic gyrations occupied it, were they a beauty to behold! Occasionally, some guys also tried their dancing skills but they were at best hilarious. Throwing their hands in the direction of Rovaniemi and their feet in the direction of Helsinki, they looked more like a mass of human joints under the control of an invincible remote control. Unfortunately, the invincible remote control had no sense of rhythm or the dancers just refused to follow its directions.

Unbridled generosity must be part of the Friday night package. Total strangers offered to buy me glasses of beer when they noticed that my glass contained a yellow liquid which could not have been beer. They look at me in amazement when I politely declined their offers as if to say “what are you doing here if you are not drinking beer, everyone else is”. I could almost hear “Hey man, it’s Friday night, time to get pi….” And talking about getting drunk, the night had not turned before evidence of serious drunkenness started manifesting itself.  

A visibly drunk guy went around asking people for money and most people ignored him. When it was my turn to be asked by the guy, I asked him out of curiosity what he wanted to use the money for. He didn’t talk but he answered me by clenching his hand around an imaginary bottle and lifting it to his mouth.  

This was a night people let down their airs and the usually monosyllabic became more adept at rumbling through Finnish and English in the same breath. Jarko, however proved too much for me to bear after a while. “This place is useless” He started, very drunk “I can show you another place where you will feel like you are in heaven” He must have noticed the amused look on my face when he continued “I am not talking about taking drugs or anything like that” Since I wasn’t ready to experience heaven yet, I thanked him and told him I was fine where I was but he just wouldn’t let go. When I couldn’t stand his drunken conversations and unsolicited sweaty hugs anymore, I excused myself and told him I was going to the toilet only to find him following me. Exasperated, I went to another seat only for him to come and ask me to follow him outside to smoke. My explanations that I don’t smoke seemed to fall on deaf ears as he kept insisting and was becoming a little aggressive; at that point, I had to leave the nice music in Never Grow Old behind and thankfully Jarko. 

Drunkenness pervaded the center. Outside, I saw people walking as if they were gliding and floating. The ground they were walking on seemed to have bouncers which fortunately, mine didn’t have. There was an unbelievable show of affection and emotion which are not usually displayed in public at other times. Couples were kissing on the streets as if they were in their own worlds. While some people sang loudly and uninhibited, others lay asleep on the ground in their drunken stupor. Most people were however peaceful, even if you can’t help but notice an air of aggression among some of the younger ones. I wasn’t in the least surprised when a couple who had been having a shouting match started throwing punches at themselves, more like the girl doing most of the punch throwing and trying to strangle the guy. What surprised me was the indifference the people around seemed to adopt to the unfolding scene. It wasn’t until the guy started crying that respite came his way and the girl decided she had punished him enough for whatever sin he had committed but not before reeling off expletives mostly of the S…… word. 

Around 2am when the night was ending for some, it was just beginning for others. Just as people were queuing for taxis to take them home, others joined the ever increasing queue to get inside ‘Club 45 Special’ while the queue to buy pizzas and burgers from Piccolo-Grilli Kiosk was extending beyond 30 meters. At that point, I decided my bed needed me more.  As I was heading home, I remembered an Ella Fitzgerald Jazz classic “What a little love can do” but this time around, I was thinking of “what some good weather, Friday night and alcohol can do”  and it sure seems to be a lot.

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