Europe
As arranged, the Bridgestone Finland General Manager,
Mr Tahtinen, was waiting at a terrace cafe in front of a
statue by the harbour. With Tahtinen were the Marketing
Manager, Sari, and Tahtinen’s handsome young assistant,
Toni. Tahtinen had a camera and video with him. A flag
saying ‘Formula 1 The Challenge’ fluttered on the table.
We were ushered into a splendid hotel facing the harbour,
where we celebrated my arrival in an indoor terrace restaurant. The starter was a variety of fish and shellfish,
including smoked salmon and sill (smoked herring). The
main course was grilled almond salmon and the Petit Chablis
went very nicely with our meal. The Baltic Sea stretched
away into the distance. It was absolutely heavenly.
(Was it really all right for me, in my shorts and tee shirt
and in my smelly and grubby state to be eating such a
splendid meal in a place like this?)
Aware of my accommodation situation, Tahtinen
suggested, “If you’ve nowhere to stay, why not stop over at
Toni’s tonight?”
I was surprised and grateful at this further offer of
hospitality. “And Bridgestone Finland would like to buy your
ferry ticket to Stockholm tomorrow as a present. I assume a
single room with a shower would be acceptable?” Making
the booking on his mobile, Tahtinen chuckled repeating, “In
return, make sure you fly the flag for Bridgestone in Ireland.” (from "Against the Wind" - Poolbeg Press)
