CULTURE SHOCK - FINNISH WOMEN
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- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
- This week I had the second floor of my house repainted. It was quite a tricky job, so I decided to call the experts. Guess who turned up? In this video I explore the differences in culture and expectations that exist between countries. Since I posted my video, one of my Finnish subscribers alerted me to the videos that she has made, renovating a traditional log house. If you watch her videos you'll see that everybody gets involved: men, women, kids, and even grandma - she's the one wielding the chain saw! . I'm putting a link to her channel because it is important that Brits can see the reality of Finland and the Finnish people, rather than the distorted dial a cliche nonsense pumped out by the likes of the BBC, ITV, and the Daily Mail, which implies that Finland is some sort of Big Government, socialist utopia. The reality is rather different. • JUHOLAN PURKU 9, Hirs...
You know I work in a foundry.
Across the four shifts and well over a hundred people on the shop floor involved in production there is only one female.
It's definitely cultural because when a job vacancy arises it's as open to a female as it is a male and it isn't a job that a female cannot do although it's heavy work.
No females apply.
They just don't seem to want that kind of work but in other countries they do.
Putting aside career women we seem to be a nation of dog walkers and nail technicians in the UK.
Having said that I don't think that the Soviet model where there were large teams of females doing hard physical graft was good for women, men or society.
I think that the thing I was trying to get across in the video is that we were both brought up in Britain, and Britain has a very definite culture, which seems to affect the type of expectations & decisions that men and women make. To be honest, your experiences from the foundry, Lee, don't surprise me at all - it's definitely a thing
I think the pigeon holing and social class system in Britain is suffocating and depressing. I have found each time I go back that it is more and more obvious. The people are depressed. They feel there's no future. I recognised in the 1980's when I left school that I wanted something different out of life so flew. There are problems and hurdles wherever you go in life but the constant put downs and you can't do that drove me nuts. I was always the square peg in the round hole and refused to conform.
I think of how absolutely horrified the Muslim immigrants would have been seeing topless women in the tabloids and drunken half-clad females out “on the razz” in our high streets at the weekend. No wonder they don’t want to mix and strive to keep themselves separate.
Our culture has become so very degraded.
USA pushed women into workplace in the 1920's. Idea was to double the 'tax base'. Another objective was to have more government control over the education of children.
@@cropduster8798 True, there are many depressed here in the UK, but not us. My husband of 58 years is nearly 80 and suffers multiple health issues, but we are positive people head on in life tackling major projects and enjoying our hillside garden. He is all I have left, all I have shared since I was 14 years old, and we are not dwelling on the cloudy parts of life, but using every moment to the best encouraging young locals who are building their own homes the way we did.
Finnish women showed what hey was all about already back in the winter war. They showed that we men could ABSOLUTELY count on our women in every occasion there is...even in war time and battlefields.. 🇫🇮🇫🇮🇫🇮
I'm a Finnish guy who's lived in the UK for 16 years, and I agree with all your observations. My biggest culture shock here has been the class system and how important "status" is for people. Having grown up in Finland it's really hard to wrap my head around all the intricacies of a class system, but here it's so ingrained into the culture.
Thanks for your comment. The longer you stay in England, the more you will be aware of it. The class system defines Britain.
Less so in the countryside, but it's true that my late cousins were sent for elocution lessons to rid himself of any hint of Suffolk dialect. Newcomers to Suffolk have objected to locals 'lowering the tone of the area' but thankfully Suffolk and especially Norfolk Councils recognise the need to keep our old country ways alive on their websites as part of our history. We both speak it over breakfast because we have moved away and like to feel at home!😄
I'm a Finnish guy and I really appreciate Finnish women for the reasons you've mentioned, especially the mentality of not caring too much about appearing (overly) feminine. I am much more attracted to more natural look.
Hear hear! I'm finnish. Lately I have been awakening to realize that there is no better woman than Finnish woman. If I could live thousands of lives I wouldn't choose any other than my kind. My dear finnish woman. You are in the fact the sexiest, the most beautiful, capable and smartest females I could ever want. I'm married one and I don't have thousands of lives but if I had I would marry almost all of you precious ones
Maatiaislehmiä.
@@KveeniSorry, but my husband of 58 years disagrees. I'm mostly English, but it wasn't a prerequisite for marriage.
Haha you like a man looking, non-make up wearing masculine potato shaped finnish girl. Onnea näiden rumien haahkojen kanssa. 😂
@@KveeniSuomalaiset naiset ovat enimmäkseen läskejä feministilehmiä tatuointeineen ja kissoineen, mielenterveyshäiriöisiä lesboja. Käy päiväkin thaimaassa tai muualla South-East Asiassa niin tajuat millaisia maatiaislehmiä suomalaiset ämmät on. 🙂👍
I'm Finnish but used to live in Northern Ireland in the late 80s and early 90s. I remember once mentioning at a ladies' coffee meeting that I had had some problems with my power drill. All women looked at me and asked WHAT I had needed a power drill for, couldn't my husband do that job 😂!
I'm not surprised - hilarious!
I am a Finnish woman and one of my professions is a carpenter. I did that job for over 20 years. I don't find it strange at all.
Great - it's us Brits who are weird, not you!
Born in the 40s, I was put into commerce, but I took up building and other interests. At 70 I bought my first keyboard, but I'm still building and landscaping, as well as growing my own food. 😁 Isn't life great when we make it that way. Best to you from UK
And I'm a blacksmith and don't think it's strange at all.
I found your video very interesting and insightfull. As a Finnish woman who has been working in construction for over two decades I have also given this a lot of thought.
Our society, as well as many others, has changed rapidly during the last century. Most of us used to be farmers and even if there were a separation of duties, everybody did what they needed to do and all labour was hard labour. During the last century people moved into cities and started working in factories, and work was still hard for everybody. Then the wars took out a lot of men, and women had to do men's work too, in addition to their own. There was a period of men's and women's work being clearly separated after the wars, but that was just a couple of decades.
As we get more technologically advanced, there is not much need for physical strengt anymore, even in construction or logistics. I've never been particularly strong or fit and I've managed just fine. The labour laws actually don't allow stupidly/dangerously hard labour (even though I still see some stubborn specimens insisting on lifting heavy loads without aid or sticking their heads into running machinery... But that's on them). There are still many girls who don't even think about a career in construction or other male dominated fields, just because they don't have many role models to look up to. And because schools tend to steer girls towards more academic careers.
What I personally find confusing is, why we still talk about those fields being "hard" or "though", but somehow disregard nursing being unfairly demanding, physical and underpaid. None of the guys I have worked with would have swallowed the crappy pay and subbar leadership the nurses undergo. Sure, construction work is physical labour, and the weather may be harsh sometimes, but that's all it is. What I consider "though" in construction is mostly the way people there tend to treat each other sometimes, belittling newcomers and disregarding safety precautions and their own health, and the fact that you need to travel far to work and stay away from home for long periods. And as I have talked about it with my male colleagues, they find it taxing too, being away from their children, their partner and their home.
What I wish to see in the future is everybody having the opportunity to consider any career they want to. And having the opportunity to switch fields if they want to. Life is too short to waste on arbitary separation of work by gender, and we miss a lot of ideas and innovation if we don't consider everybody's thoughts. We need more women in construction and logistics and peace negotiations, we need more men in teaching, healthcare and at home. It's important to utilize everyone's strenghts. It would be also rewarding and healthy for society to enable more people to make things with their hands, and to farm and grow food, but that's a different topic.
Brits take note: this is a perfect example of a high IQ Finn writing fluently and intelligently in their 2nd or 3rd language
@@nigelwatson2750 I agree wholeheartedly with the comments raised. English is spoken so fluently worldwide these days, but not so much in the UK in my opinion. One of my many past occupations was preparing manuscripts for publication but these days I frequently find myself having to refer to modern dictionaries.
@@nigelwatson2750 I was in awe, too. The text is not only fluent, it is well structured , has a good rhythm and she describes the subject drom different angles. - Another female Finn.
Suomessa on edelleen vastustusta naisia kohtaan miesvaltaisilla aloilla, siksi niin moni nainen aloittaa oman yrityksen kommenttiketjussa mainitut ovat suurimmaksi osaksi yrittäjiä. Naisia on myös palokunnissa ja uutisiin on päätynyt infoa inhottavasta käytöksestä naisia kohtaan. Minä mietin pikkutyttönä poliisiksi ryhtymistä, totesin että olen liian lyhyt. Sittemmin mietin automekaanikkoa tai hitsaria. Perheen miesten mielestä olivat paskaisia ja huonosti palkattuja ammatteja. Nykyään olen sairaanhoitaja 😂
Yes. I live england two years 20 years a go. In chester. Many People understand me better than other english. I havent use english in 20 years but i still can do it. Like germany, sweden, russia, spain and thai, and i work in factory Basic level not high school or so... its normal now days that young children speak two, three language here
My mother's air conditioner broke.
Two women in work clothes came to fix it and they were still feminine and very efficient. 12 points 10, easily. Greetings, 58-year-old man from Finland
Yes, I can imagine: calm Finnish efficiency
Here locksmith visit and same experience.💯
My daughter loves cute 'girly' things and she hopes to become a builder one day. I'm all for it! Bring back woodwork and metal work back in the schools too!
We did metalwork and woodwork at school and all the girls loved it, me included! We made a cracking letter rack, keyring, and egg holder!
We had both woodwork and textile work in school for one year and then chose one or other for the next two. Like we made wooden forks and aprons -- before they started cooking lessons. Life skills you know.
I´m Finnish and for about 20 years we´we had these two girls doing all the interior painting. They started their business right after trade school and now both married with families ,continuing to do a exellent job.
Brilliant. Well done.
There are also husband and wife teams in the UK
" It was like Bananarama" 😂 brilliant! Love it.
I worked for an Architect in Forssa and she only employed Women and older men like me. The painters and carpenters were as good as I've ever seen. Yes it was a culture shock but a very rewarding one. We as a group always enjoyed a drink together on a Friday and I was usually the butt of the jokes and I accepted that as a male and earned their respect.
I see quite a lot of young women doing manual jobs in the UK, some of them very attractive. That aside, it is quite obvious that Finnish society is much healthier and more rational than British society.
There is no British society, that would imply that most of us can be called British, but that's not the case! The people who have chosen to exploit predominantly England can't be called British, which is a very loose term, there's even a politician whose mother came here to give birth and then went immediately back home, this politician has spent most of her life in her mother country and America, but she's allowed to call herself British, what a joke, and she is probably one of millions.
I live in a farming area in the UK, women here fearlessly drive machinery and quads, and continue to run farms and smallholdings after becoming widowed. A few youngsters are attending agricultural college, but many aspire to higher paid work in computing or law.
@@jennywren8937 I wouldn't dispute that Jenny, however the natural desire for women to want children will mean this is only a temporary thing.
As you say, there are far easier ways for a lady to make a living, thanks.
@@andrewlilley3660 Temporary? They are all past child bearing age! That's why farms are going on the market, better paying work for youngsters elsewhere.
In Britain you'd normally get Dangerous Dave arriving half an hour late, asking you for a cuppa, blocking your toilet with a big jobbie, taking two hours for lunch and leaving in the afternoon with his job unfinished.
And paint on your new wool carpet
"Big jobbie"!😂😂😂
Speaking as someone who has built an extension with their husband alone & also laid a huge block paved drive, I think it's brilliant that Finnish women can have these occupations so easily. There is something very satisfying about completing any kind of construction work & building maintenance. Many uk women love craft.....this is the same thing, just on a much bigger scale. 😊
English here. We not only built a house, but buildings for businesses as well. On retirement, I moved along with farm animals, husband on chemo, 90year old disabled mother to begin renovation of our present farmhouse. Twenty years on I'm still logging, fencing, mixing concrete in the old Parker mixer, and enjoyinying every waking hour. I rise at 5.30, same as I always did, and at nearly 77 I'm still making plans.
Forgot to say, I can also do dressmaking, crafts, and cook everything we eat.
There are many reasons why women shouldn't engage in heavy construction work, the female anatomy can be damaged irreversibly by heavy work.
@@andrewlilley3660 That also applies to fellas, my husband has hiatus hernia.
Thank you for your kind words about finnish women! I happen to be a finnish female which has worked all her life in jobs which are traditionally labeled as mens' work. I am a builder, a painter, a carpenter and a wood crafter also I have got some mechanics background. Atm I'm working at a logistics center driving a forklift and carrying heavy packages. When I first started my career path 30 years ago the attitude towards women in jobs like these were traditional just like what's happening in UK still nowadays.
Sometimes in the past it was very hard to get recognised as a valid productive worker because of my gender. I look very feminine I'm short only 165 cm tall and have got very long golden hair and my face is childlike even this age. But I never complained about anything and I did my work the best I could with extra precision and execution. My employers soon noticed that this girl does much better job than those lazy boys and men and said damn that girl/woman is strong and very good at her job. Hey, money talks even more for entrepreneurs than musty gender roles. You have to be worthy for your salary.
I'm so very glad for younger women that they have got their career choices more open nowadays.
I am a woman and in IT. I get to do software and hardware stuff, and physical installing with powertools. I consider myself feminine. It's usually not a problem for anyone but on occasion there's the one's who doubt your skills, but luckily it's rare. I enjoy my job very much 🎉
@@lamppuu1 It's strange that women are belittled in computing history and IT technology when the very first programmer was a woman (Ada Lovelace) and the first person to design a compiler was also a woman (Grace Hopper). Operators were mostly women too. Women dominated the field of IT especially programming until second world war ending. It changed when it was realised this could make a lot of money so men took over the jobs telling women haven't got brain or logical ability for this stuff 😵
In my field physical and crafty labor it's true that you need muscles and you need to be fit. But with modern tools and auxiliary and knowledge of ergonomy makes it easier to access many women and less fit men!
Excellent 😊 I’m a painter myself and I’ve worked in Iceland Denmark Norway and USA. You see a lot of this in the last 10 - 15 years or so, lots of young females doing this kind of work. It’s actually quite a high paying job and it’s creative and fun and it keeps you in shape if you do it right. Enjoy! 😉
My dad was a perfectionist.. pattern maker by trade. He taught us all (4 children) how to do stuff in the house.. decorating repairs ..garden work all sorts.. iv renovated 2 houses transformed a few gardens..l love it..l live in Turkey now..l live in an apartment ground floor..2 years ago l painted the outside of my apartment. Up the ladder, no problem.The Turkish women were shocked 😮.. My daughter, who speaks fluent Turkey, said she could hear a few neighbour having a go at their husbands for not doing their paint work, lol 😂
Brilliant!
I went to Halfords for new windscreen wipers. The guy who served me asked if i needed them fitted i said no i would manage .30min later i gave up and went back in the shop to get help. The assistant he called was a very attractive girl about 18yrs old, she had the wipers on in 2 minutes. Of course i expected a guy would sent to do the job. My excuse is old age as well.😃
Your video was refreshingly honest in what you have noticed about culture and about yourself.
As a Finnish female i couldnt help but smile a bit when you spoke about Finnish women getting pride on doing things themselves, as I recognized myself (my mother and sisters) from that :D
Hyvää Suomi!
I lived in Italy and China. In Italy, the way women were treated was crazy - almost like another species!
In China I looked so different, that the local limitations for women didn't mostly apply to me. Less disrespect, rules, derision, violence, lucky for me.
In Switzerland there is many female painters too.
That's good to hear
You come up with the most interesting topics! Love your channel. My Daddy brought this little girl up doing anything and everything she had a mind to, with the admonition, "You can do anything you want to do." So, I trained my own horses, became a born again Christian, ran several businesses including a custom slaughter/locker plant and a weekly newspaper. Now retired living on the road 17 years as a fulltime Nomad without hindrance of the nervous Nellie fearful inner whinings of so many citified, dependent, professionally helpless females like, aren't you afraid!!!??? No, I'm not. And that translated over my 70 yr so far lifetime into going at it challenging the establishment cabal and beating them because we refused to knuckle under and be quiet. We helped defeat their attempt to license all Private, Home, and Christian schools in Nebraska back in 1983. Boy did they come roaring into town to take us down after that! But it was worth it just to beat them. Later I got smart, quit feeding the beast and enjoyably hit the road with no plans but to continue living and traveling and speaking up for God's glory.
Well done, some seriously impressive stuff here!
@@nigelwatson2750 Thanks for the kind words, brother. The glory, if there is some though, is all the Lord's. God bless you.
It looks so beautiful there.
It is
Must be rough to be a trophy husband Nigel! Funny story though, I took some car wheels to be blasted and painted a few days back. Turns out that the guy has three daughters who do work for him also and they paint houses among other things. I bet this stuff exists only in the sticks though...
Yes we treasure both months of the year when the weather is like this :D
My mates wife was Britain's first official lady plumber! Lorna Wright a Little borough Lass! From the dale!
Is The Rake still going in Littleborough?
@@nigelwatson2750 yes it is!
@@nigelwatson2750 yes it is! Did you ever go to the moor cock club further up?
Thank you very much for this video ❤
This is what women do here in Finland 🇫🇮
I’m a happy Finnish woman and I’m proud of Finnish men that they allow us the freedom to fullfill ourselves 🙏🥰
In Finland, men know that it is to everyone’s benefit when women are equal with men in society and working life 👍🏼
Hi! Swedish woman here. I have the impression that we are much more handy in the north in general. I think if you take 50 random Nordic women, gen x or older and 50 random English men (who don't work in the construction sector) to compete in driving a nail, I'd put my money on the Nordic women.
In my 20s, I spent a whole summer in Surrey cutting up and burning down an entire birch that an Englishman wanted to get rid of. He had tried himself before I got there, but couldn't get a fire going. When the neighbors came by and asked what was going on, he told them:
- This is a Swedish fire
- What is Swedish about it, the neighbors asked
- It burnes
Finally I asked if I wasn't going to let his rotten shed that had collapsed go the same way? Then he said "no, because the prices of timber are so high in England that it has value". It was one of those cheap sheds built out of thin pieces of some fast growing Asian wood that had no value when new, and I had just burned down a whole fresh birch tree!!
Great stories - I'm sure that other people will enjoy reading about your experiences
In England if a girl expressed an interest in painting and decorating their teacher would persuade them to have gender reassignment
Yes, probably.
Proof?
Really? I find that hard to believe, if its true though that makes me really fucking mad , fuckin hell
There's a vocational track in the Finnish education system. Arts and crafts, for instance, remain popular career choices. You don't have to go to university to become a respected professional in your craft.
Parents of academically gifted students sure hope that their children will go to university but they aren't going to force them. Their expectations in that sense are lower. They want their children to be happy above everything else, and if painting or welding is what makes their offspring happy, so be it.
I, for one, had full freedom making my own career choices. It just so happened that I went from having a vocational qualification to having a Master's degree in technology.
That's another thing that Finland has: Relatively high social mobility.
All true. England has a very rigid class system
I'm fairly certain that this has long historical roots. Matrons have traditionally been strong figures and often the head of the family in Finland. Men would undertake the majority of the hard work in the fields and forests, but because it was so time-consuming, women were often bound to do heavy labor as well. The Finnish "emäntä" would not hesitate to carry big bags of food to the animals or to paint and repair the house if necessary.
Thanks for the information; my British subscribers will not have heard any of this before
Since I woke up to reality and more especially at the onset of the BS, I so wished that I had qualified in something more practical, like my old dad who was an electrician. I trained as a massage therapist, but having the ability to wire a house, mend a car, erect a fence, build a house, etc, etc, is way more practical and 'clever' in my eyes. However, as I'm a woman of a similar age to you Nigel, with all those mobility issues and aching limbs you talk about (affecting me for a number of years now), I could definitely do with a good massage therapist in-house to have my issues tended to exactly when I need it. So my kind are not without their uses I guess...
@@jennywren8937 ???
@@angelatateclownreality869Deleting immediately! Just had my NHS appointment to get my eyes fixed. Sorry😊
Interesting. I worked with a guy from Finland, Juuso Miguel, in aviation. On the surface, he acted rather dorky but was a big guy 6’2” and some 270 lbs .. but he was so much smarter than many of my American counterparts .. I was giving him a lift to eastern Washington state for work the day “bin Laden” the hyped scary phantom from that Sept day in 2002 and we stopped at a gas station and in big bold letters on the paper “ world is safer” was there . We both started laughing our butts off as we both knew it was all bs .. he just had to get the paper as it was so ridiculous . I was glad to have Juuso with me in Mexico for work as he spoke Finnish, English and Spanish quite well however he was totally unaware how dangerous it was in Mexico City and started making a scene at a restaurant about a flimsy chair and I had to scurry him out of there before a cartel member did something to both of us
Yes, the climate selective very heavily for intelligence and self-discipline in Finland, so it is no surprise that there's lots of small people about. You didn't get to survive in the 19th Century in Finland if you were dumb enough to eat your seed potatoes in March because you were hungry. Finns live in a high trust society that is very safe, and many DO make the mistake of assuming that other countries are as civilised as their koti maa
It's amazing how you said people who come from other countries don't only bring g their bodies but also their minds and cultures. That's exactly the problem we are suffering from in relation to our new residents coming to our Western countries from you know where, it won't work out at all.
True.
I think it's the numbers which are unacceptable. So unfair for those who have worked all their lives to bear this burden.
Being from Rochdale (it was somebody from Rochdale that taught me this expression) I am sure you are familiar with the term, "Bingo blouse" to describe a shirt - a chemise, if you will, generously unbuttoned at the neck adorning a voluptuous female form.
As in, "She's wearing a bingo blouse."
EYES DOWN FOR A FULL HOUSE
Boom! BOOM! In a Basil Brush fashion.
Very good, I enjoyed that
Do Rochdale women also have 'Bingo wings' ? 🤔
Women still come up against opposition to doing "men's" work in UK, only recently accepted driving HGV's. Women did all these jobs during the war but the government and society very quickly brushed those times under the carpet. Office jobs that previously carried respect and a good wage became womens jobs and lowered paid 🤷
Ironically one of the biggest drivers of this post war regression were the unions. These so called progressive organisations wanted to keep their closed shop. The Lost Victory by Corelli Barnett is a good read on this subject
Sadly employing women in such roles helps keep wages down.
Don't shoot the messenger 😊.
One of the biggest drivers of the post war regression you mention were the unions. The so called progressive movements wanted to keep their closed shop so they were happy to put things back to pre war conditions. Corelli Barnetts book The Lost Victory deals with this.
There was one woman HGV driver in the 60's..they did a TV piece on her as it was rare..
Ironically one of the biggest contributors to the post war regression were the unions. These so called progressive organisations wanted to keep their closed shop and made sure things went back to the pre war working conditions. In his great book The Lost Victory, Corelli Barnett touches on this.
In the north, you would marry a woman that could be your partner and take care of your house, children and properties together with you. It is a partnership.
Yeah, in the north we do not have any use for female just doodling around in pretty dresses and baking cup cakes. Here the husband goes and digs a ditch, meanwhile the wife goes do something that requires less physical strength like fixing the fence.
I´m pretty sure Nigel that back in the 80`s I fantasised about Bananarama painting my house.......
And why not?
I am a Finnish female who grew up in Canada. My sisters and I would help my dad and brothers on construction sites. Never thought anything of it. To top it off , we are petite and feminine. My sister also did airplane maintenance. I think it has partly come from Finnish women having to be tough during and after the war. Our mothers and in line, we, have had that example. Sometimes we get too independent and it's too rough on our bodies. I feel it now.
UK is actually sunny 🔆😎
Still a shithole 😂👍🏻
No trails in the sky.....have you noticed?
He's actually not in the UK.
Bananarama😂
British are very conservative and old fashioned from our perspective.
Oletko sinä suomalainen?
@@nigelwatson2750 joo. Olen. Obviously 😁
I'm a Finn with history as my major, and I think the Finnish history explains, why Finnish women are usually strong and independent. There has been many wars (well, famines and epidemies, as well), which have killed large portions of the population. But the wars have killed disproportionately men. (Somebody even claimed me, that somewhere in the Northern Finland there was a place, where after a war there were only one reproductive male left to repopulate the area, but since I'm a historian and haven't seen any source for that claim, I would take it with a pinch of salt.) Anyway, repeatedly through the Finnish history there has been situations, where a large part of women were left alone to raise the children. And so independence and strength have always been traits that have been valued in women. A man had to think "will she be strong enough to raise the kids alone, if I die?" Even though there has been at some points housewives, young girls have been encouraged to learn skills that would help them survive as single parents, if their husband will die.
So I think admiration to strong, independent women is rooted deep into the Finnish culture. That kind of "princess" that just wants to be served and provided, might have a hard time to find a partner in Finland (well, unless they are prepared to kiss a frog, so to speak).
Great comments - I think you understand what has happened, and why things are the way they are in Finland
A Finn here, who's lived in Ireland, hello! I do agree on most of the things you say. I think as Finnish people appreciate the independence of women, and women as equal partners, it gives us freedom to find our own paths. It also gives the responsibility to make our own paths. And that being said, Finnish women are also feminine, focused on more of the feminine side of things, can stay at home to take care of the kids, if we want to. It can be one of the choises we make. For example I'm working in an office, wear dresses every day, but I can also cut my own grass, paint my walls at home and carry my own bags of soil to the garden. I can be feminine and still do tough stuff at the same time. And my spouse can take care of the car, I have no clue how to do anything with those. :D So you see, it's all about one's own choice, rather then society doing the choice for you. And I agree, at the British islands, young girls do dress quite different when they go out. I respect myself enough not to have everything hanging out and on the display...
Our women are pretty tough, but so are ladies around the world. I love that it's acceptable here for women to do what they want to. 😊 We literally have no concept of bringing up our daughters any different from ours sons- certain tasks need to be learned, male or female.
And you don't realise how different this makes you to the Brits - their daughters are brought up to be useless princesses.
@@nigelwatson2750 It's a shame. I'm sure British ladies are quite capable, seeing their actions during the war (even Her Majesty herself!). But yeah upbringing plays a big part in this, and we too have helpless kids who cannot even boil water. 😅
@@nigelwatson2750 No we weren't Nigel. Born in the 40s our childhood consisted of an expectation that we would all do our share. At six years old I would be given a wood chopper and told to fetch faggots for the fire. I still enjoy all my old fashioned ways. Treats during the 50s were few and far between, and we had to earn them. Everything we wore had to be serviceable like liberty bodices and lace up shoes.
@@nigelwatson2750 I think your real princesses are not useless and didn't you just have a remarkable female monarch who served in WWII?
Haha you’re lucky my old school friend isn’t watching this. Nearly 6 ft, blonde, blue eyed and gorgeous, she threw in a successful career in the City to start her own painting and decorating business in London. She’d be after you with her with a pot of creosote for calling her a lazza 😂😂😂😂
There are exceptions, and hats off to your mate, but...........is she a real blond?
@@nigelwatson2750she was indeed. A bit grey now and still knocking it out the park and beating the men at their own decorating game
@@kaycee625 More power to you!
I am of Nordic descent! I am a woman who enjoys physical labor like mowing and working on things around the house. All my neighbors are so worried about me doing manual labor. They just think its so strange. My husband works all day and commutes and it just makes sense for me to get the chores done. Other women say things like, there is no way Im going to do yard work, etc., yet they go to the gym and workout. Im getting a workout in the great outdoors. Maybe this is why Im wired like this. Im from hearty stock😂!
There's a phrase for it in Finnish - doing general maintenance work around the house is better than going to the gym.
There’s a saying in Finland ”If you need a strong man, ask a finnish woman.”
I am the one who always paints our house and the daughters have joined in over the years. I don't know of anyone else around here who does their painting. I'm the only one who looks after their garden as well.
Israeli women are also very empowered in the same way that Finnish women are. That's what I noticed when I lived there 40 years ago.
Always painted my own house. Large hillside garden, designed and landscaped by us, stone walls, everything.
@@jennywren8937 It's a job of love isn't it. So many have gardeners and cleaners. Status symbol.
@@jennywren8937 Good effort, now I feel guilty about having the 2nd floor of the house painted by the girls
@@nigelwatson2750 😊 Not at all Nigel, it's so good to hear they do it.
Totally with you Nigel! Female, diy enthusiast.
Finn here. I really don't think it's about self-respect. I think it's about the level of independence women have. The more they need men to provide for them the more tarty they dress. I can see this in many countries and in many cultural groups. Just part of the mating song and dance. Of course young women often examine their sexuality witch leads sometimes to "everything to hang out there" but that's part of the growing process. Also let's not forget fashion trends.
I'm a Finnish woman and I have professional degree in house building. In the 90's I was only woman in my class, but there where several woman in automotive industry line at the same time. So for us it's just what you want to do and you can do it.
I am a female Finn and lived in London in the 70' and 80's. I am now in my mid 50's and 100% agree. My Finnish mum showed by example in UK what a tough woman she is. It is a genes thing as I follow her example.
Great - more power to you and your mum
Assumption is the mother of presumption Change your space change your mind Equity is not equality of opportunity Sounds like I need to learn Finnish and move to Finland bud lol Ain't too flexible meself! Bless your heart Nigel
Thanks, Robert. I was thinking about doing the job myself, but when I saw them doing it, and what was involved, I knew that I had made the right decision.
@@nigelwatson2750 I'm getting my patio done I used to love workin up a sweat in the sun but lookin at what is involved The graft would have knocked me flat on me bum which would not be fun
You had me in stitches ma friend
My Wife's niece is one of those "treat me as a princess" types, so I no where you are coming from Nigel.
There are some in Finland, but they tend to be woke i*iots from the Uusimaa region
Next time I see a video of young persons being unhappy about their gender, and wanting to operate on themselves and take hormones to become the opposite sex, I will refer to this video, dear Nigel - these reflections are so great. Thank you for warmly and candidly sharing!
I have such beautiful Finnish nieces. One came sailing from Finland, taking shifts with her father (when he slept he felt totally safe with her at the rudder) - hubby and I jumped on in southern Sweden. When making a pizza-restaurant stop in Germany, the owner was mesmerized by her, and out of the blue started to make her over in his imagination, telling her how beautiful she would be in make-up, long hair, and an Armani-dress, and what not. Of course her father told him off. But you realize how crazy and rude his comments were, though meant as compliments. Speaking as if we all didn't know that she is exceptionally pretty (naturally) in our eyers, too, reminding of both her father and mother - looking healthy, athletic, though petite, like an ice-princess, like her granny. And you should see her hoisted to the top of the mast, to fix a Windex. She did the convict-training far more than the first steps, to be fit for crossing the Atlantic, also always skateboarding, skiing, and cycling as pastimes, and she dances like a queen, and loves artistic projects and green indoor plants, she has hundreds.
My other niece, taller, as beautiful, was the captain of a team of some 6-8 guys, when sailing the Atlantic back and forth, and made a very good speed, too. She is a star in the corporate world, but also is all into dogs and puppies, summer-cottage-improvements, surfing, and ecological gardening.
Both speak (and read) three languages and are so kind and sweet as can be, never bragging, thoughful, caring, outspoken, simply endearing and charming. I don't exaggerate. They are like most other Finnish girls, great and accomplished. Already their grandmothers were. And one has to say that Finnish fathers generally support their girls to be themselves and do what they are interested in. Of course the same goes for sons. I want to show you this guy, maybe you Nigel, would do a rection video about him? A healthy, naturally good-looking Finnish young man with good morals, kind of what many aspire to be: ua-cam.com/video/RoXNOXj88AE/v-deo.html - quite achievable and I'm sure he, Seve, is a heart-throb. At least in Finland.
What a lovely comment - what you have described is what I've also encountered in super-Suomi!
Brilliant channel! - subscribe ua-cam.com/video/RoXNOXj88AE/v-deo.html
English here, never went to Uni, married at 18, buying first house in my 20s. Despite health problems obtained fair jobs, sold everything to buy a field, lived without services, started successful businesses, worked 18 hour days, 7 days a week, nursed all family members and together we built a house which took us twenty years. Never had a passport or iPhone, never watch tv, 77 now and still doing manual. 5ft high, 8stone, same as when I was 20😊 Still looking feminine.
Respect!
If only French painters were like that. Anyway, I am not here to talk about that.FYI-Nigel is not reading any comments for a few days as he is constantly taking out cups of tea(Not 5 sugars per cup there) and some of his secret stocks of Custard Creams and bourbon biscuits for the painters.
They left this morning - they were very efficient!
Again, nothing like French painters! Finland would be my other choice if I wasnt here in France. "Finland ,Finland,Finland it's the place to be"(A Monty Python ear worm :-)
That's completely unfair. I've lived in Finland my whole life and not once has a supermodel turned up to do any kind of work.
Just a whole bunch of 10/10 plain Jaana's
You did not have enough work to be done - lol. Maybe you should start needing new and different color from different painters on each side of the house.
Honest observations about cultural differences are always very interesting. Thanks.
And these girls did the actuacl work to "liberate" them selves. Just do your job well and it doesnt matter if its women, men or whatever. Do the work and the talkers have career opportunities too.
i wouldn't want to be in relationship where i have to "carry or drag" one other. so i look deeper. that is why i am single. and i am an asshole.
Thanks for great video and speculations Nigel. Very good thinking and revealing thoughts.
I think the main difference between Finland and UK (lived both, I am 🇫🇮) is that in Britain there is long history and they cherish traditional values. As you put it "society's unwritten rules and expectations" are really strong in UK, where we are lacking the pressure of society because we don't have one, or our society(communities) is quite weak one.
Nordic Individualism is often confused to liberalism, but as you described in your video it is just that every individual is respected here over unwritten rules. So you can choose the level of you gender roles you wish and you can form your other orientations as well .. and if they don't go alongside with the mainstream you are still respected.
Individualism probably comes from the fact that we don't have that many people here, everyone have to do their share.
Great comment - personally, I love Finnish individualism
Great video as a FINNISH WOMAN I DO EVERY JOB MEN CAN TOO I GREW WITH ME FATHERS QUIDANDE WITH EVERY JOB HE DID IN HOUSE AND REPAIRING LIKE LOTS OF OUR WOMEN IN YEARS SURELY TILL DECADE 80'S ZO WE ARE UP TO EVERYTHING LIKE OPENING SUFFED KITCHEN PIPE LAMPS CHANGING ON THE CEILING SCREWDRIVER WORKS PUTTING HOLES ON THE WALLS FOR OUR PAINTINGS AND SILICICONE
KITTING WORKS AND ZO ON ...THANKS TO OUR FATHERS AND MOM'S WHO WERE US😊 INCOURAGING HERE WHEN DONE THE JOB PRAISING US TOO.. GREAT PARENTHOOD...NO DOOR OPENING OF PRINCESS LIKE TREATMENTS TO ME WE ARE EGUAL WITH MEN HERE 😂❤AND LIKE IT
Brilliant, and maximum respect to your family!
We do have women painters in UK 😂
Is it Spray tan then! 😅
I agree lots of big girls in small clothes in the uk ! I’m envious of the blue sky something we don’t see anymore here in Devon always a grey haze 😢
In the UK they've just got the "painters in" 🤪
Not many will get that one lol 👍
@@king77703a once a month joke 😅
Painting the town red! 🤪
That's a bit pathetic and proves you haven't moved on from being 14.
@@anonniemouse8042 Oh, lighten up! No wonder so many people are fed up with misery guts like you around.
My dad is a contractor and I help him sometimes on small jobs ..the builders are always asking me what I'm doing on a building site lol I laugh and say " I'm helping my dad on the job " keep in mind my dad always checks my work he doesn't usually let me use nail guns or a miter saw but I can paint , plaster , fix or build cabinets , put in door knobs and locks , carry doors ( If they're hollow ) and distrubute materials 🙂 I would never start a company myself but I can't help but critiquing other carpenters' workmanship
Impressive!
Well, as 🇫🇮 woman I’m painting, plating, tapering at our home while earning at work the bigger portion. And still He is the Head of house (which I own alone).
In Finland our upbringing often is "do what you want", boy or girl.
Women doing crafts and manual labour is quite common and no different than them doing more "girly" jobs.
That said boys doing "girly" jobs is still a bit "wtf you doing man" 😅
Jokes aside self-reliance is respected here and that's the same regardless of gender.
That probably ties to people choosing what they want to do freely without prejudice.
This is the biggest difference between England and Finland. The English have been dumbed down. They also have been pacified. Finns are far more independent and self-reliant than Brits. This comes as a surprise for Brits who only know about Finland via the BBC and MSM, who push the narrative that Finland is a USSR-type, socialist utopia, where the government intrudes into every aspect of private life. And most Brits believe it - LOL
@@nigelwatson2750 I would have hoped mainstream media would know better than that anno 2024, lols!
@@Finnisher_DAD It's deliberate: pro-big government propaganda from the likes of the BBC and other MSM. They have an incentive to lie and deceive.
@@nigelwatson2750 Then why do so many Finns study English, dream to leave Finland and move to the UK / USA (or somewhere warmer in general)? There also probably is a reason, why Finns are such a tiny group of people, compared to the British for example...
@@Fl4ngerr Honestly, you have a lot to learn. What language is the defacto option on the Internet? What language are most songs written in? Plenty of reasons for a Finn to learn English, even if they have no desire to ever leaving Finland
In finland painting is seen as quite feminine. The butch ones are in construction
Love it.
For flexibility, try Yoga. It's Amazing! I've been practicing it for almost 17 years. It's knocked years off me as I'm not stressed or agitated 👏
I (Finnish woman) work in tech. Even if there's more men in the industry than women, it's such a non-issue that women also choose this as a career that it wont even get a reaction whenever I mention my profession. My qualifications haven't been questioned, and I've not had to prove myself any more than others. But I know that someplaces else abroad it can be met with surprise, suspicion or scrutiny if your IT support, hardware repair technician or software consultant is a woman. Whether it be by a job interviewer, a collegue or a customer.
Twice in the past 15 years I've met a biased customer, who demanded that their maintenance job was checked by another employee (aka a man) after I was done. Only twice!
Please don't take Finland for granted. It isn't perfect, but trust me, it is paradise on earth compared to the UK in 2024.
The Earth IS Flat with a glass dome. The Rainbow is its reflection. Thank you
@lauralauren6432 absolutely true
@@dainagrn7030 Well the suns and moon circles above the round disc Earth. At 21 of June the sun is at the Tropic of cancer and turns outwards again. At 21/9 and 21/ 3 its above the EquaTOR.. 21/12 its at The Tropic of Capricorn , when Australia has Summer and we winter. Always the same dates
Zodiacs=Zoo di Arch. The animals inte the glass Firmament. The Arch-tic. Ant-arch-tica. Thats why no one can explore any of them any longer. Look at the continents at the North pole on every mapmaker as Mercator, Gleasons in 1600. There is only ONE Pole. Under Polaris/ The Northern star/ Polestar. The owner of Ericsson, ABB, Nasdaq, Volvo, ABB, AstraZeneca, SAAB AERONAUTICS KNOWS. He names his companies after North/ Nord and pool. The battery car Polestar is his. Nord Pool energy market.
Who built the glass dome and why?
@@Steve-sr6zw Can any EXplosion CREATE anything?
@@lauralauren6432 Are you saying it was created by an explosion?
My fully jabbed neighbour likes to paint peas in a bird cage, he tells me he's a Trapped Peas Artist 👍
Wow, dad joke alert🚨
@@pureblood8307 What did the British captain, sailing Shakespeare to Denmark, say when his ship encountered a severe emergency, sighting Denmark but far from his final destination?
To beach or not to beach! That are the question!
@@Mike-zx1kx🤣🤣🤣🤣👍
I'm Swedish. My brother was in Scotland and he said he saw no beautiful women there, until one day there was one in a cafë, but then it turned out she was Norwegian. I was in England in 1975 and -76 and I thought they looked normal, like at home, but I was only 15 and 16 and I had no attention on such things. The daughter in the family was so nice and feminine. I stopped wearing clogs and gynastic shoes after that and I was probably the only one in school with a balcony bra. I got so well treated in England and I loved it there. I got good at English and got more self-confident.
Travel is a fantastic thing
Thank you! As a Finish woman I do see the difference. I have traveld a lot when young and seen the huge differense with many cultures.
Would you mind me asking you what you have noticed?
@@nigelwatson2750 in meny countrys and cultures women are thouhgt to be weak in some way. Uncapable of doing most of the same things as men mentally and fysically.
I saild around the world as a teen with my family and that thought me a lot. The whole thought of a trophy wife is just beyond my understanding. We have such a great power when we find it 😊
@@northengirl2884 Kyllä, olen samaa mieltä
@@nigelwatson2750 😄❤
Nigel
I am beginning to see more women in the building industry
Where I live there is a lot of new flats going up and I see few women on there
Anyway did the women make a good job painting your house?
They've been superb.
That's good to hear
I lived in Germany back in the seventies, one day when travelling by tram three attractive young women boarded. They all wore the same dungaree type overalls and were splattered by paint streaks. I remember thinking they had obviously just finished a hard days work and i was trying to remember if I had ever seen a British female doing a similar traditional male job.
German girls are also great
ok they are pretty and athletic, not a word if they did good job, On the other hand nobody should be breathing paint on daily basis, you will get old fast, lose your hair etc
When I did the video they had just arrived. They have now finished, and they did a great job. Hyvä suomalaisia naisia
One Truckster girl here but only 5 ft tall😂 but still doing well 🚛
Good job!
20 year's ago I was in Cyprus. It look like half a dozen old women doing tarmac repairs on the roads. In nun outfits?
Finland is the first country to offer the new bird flu vax..starting next week...
Yeah, it's an offer that will be taken up by some lunatics, probably in the Uusimaa region
@nigelwatson2750 Never learn..
40m doses are being brought by the EU..They are coming for my chickens..cats also have to be chipped now in UK, so them next..masks and goggles next...
Round two
I believe ALL chickens will have to be registered in the UK, even where there is just one on the premises. Meanwhile we are so pleased to have an increase in nesting swallows this year.
American who lived in the UK.
One thing I've noticed is that your men complain and gossip much like our women and gay men do.
I hope that helps add some insight.
Lol. Interesting observation!
You are so right, in some area's they do . I have often heard men gossiping like little old women in the area l live in . Luckily the men in my family behave like men 😊.
This was very interesting observation! I’m a Finnish woman with three sisters, and our dad (and mom) always has told us we can become whatever we want to be and that we are capable and strong. He has tought us to change car tires etc, everything he has tought to our brother as well. Our parents brought us up in similar way and into similar expectations. I think it has had a humongous effect on us! I never had to concider my gender while choosing occupation or hobbies. In addition my husband has very similar mindset. His masculinity is in no way threatened by me renovating our house or equally contributing into our finances.
I worked in construction in many countries. Just to give you an example: when I worked on a large infrastructure project in the UK, there were Women on the same job as me. I worked down a trench and out in the Scottish winter, the women chose jobs where they could sit in a warm dump truck all day. That's their choice, but there is no way they should earn the same money as a person who risks injury or life and has to do a much harder job.
My father taught me everything since I was a little girl. I learnt to do everything myself. I always thought if someone can do it, I can do it. And I do it all. I don't expect anyone else to do anything for me. I own my own house, car, business and I'm quite proud of it. I am loan free, I paid my loans within 5 years, because why not? It's wrong to expect others do what you can do and if you can't do it, learn it. Why complain your husband about doing anything when you can do it yourself. Oh and I live and was born in Finland.
It is an honour for me to live in your country - Finns are the best!
I don't know about the genetic stuff but I think your observations are broadly correct. I am Finnish and a woman in case you can't tell from the avatar. I've worked in construction and marine inspection.
I think that women in construction gravitate toward being architects and engineers, painters, and cleaners. Welding and concrete or asphalt laying -- that type of work -- is quite male-dominated.
Thanks for your comment
In Finnish schools they also encourage individual talents and interests, because we feel like a motivated individual will do better in both their studies and when entering the their future career. This is also made easier with the lack of standardized testing, because it doesn't push parents and schools to focus purely on academics. We teach art and practical skills in out schools and if someone is talented, motivated and seems to thrive in those subjects we try to build that up. I also think that's why Finland, despite being such a small country has so many talented artists and athletes for our population size. Maybe that's part of our happiness factor here, freedom to choose and follow our passions, with our friends, family and teachers cheering us on.
Compared to England, Finland is an infinitely free country to live in terms of mindless rules & order following. Finns live their lives and have less social pressure to conform. I love living here, and I think Finns are the best!
Nigel, I agree with you 100% about that status-conscious mentality and “keeping up with the Jones” - all that ludicrous “I’m an important person and you need to know it” posturing. It’s absolutely repulsive.
It’s very hard to resist the temptation to prick their bubble. I know - I’ve failed often enough!
How to win friends and influence people! 😁
No! Just be decent and straight with others. No games!
The worst ones are the academic credentialists. You're chatting with a sixty year-old bloke and this first thing he asks you about is where you went to university 40 years ago. Then, quick as a flash, he'll tell you which Oxford or Cambridge college he attended.
@@nigelwatson2750 Yes! Been there!
That old joke is true. Q: How do you know if someone you’ve just met has been to Oxbridge? A: You don’t have to ask - they’ll let you know soon enough! 😁
Two of my friends “let me know” pretty much instantly on first acquaintance. But they’re decent enough fellows. If they weren’t then I imagine they would have come out with it even faster! Haha!
But yes, I know the type all right. Maybe it’s a failing on my part but I do enjoy the subsequent but ever so subtle contest. War declared. Game on. It beats sport on TV. Tee hee! 😁
@@nigelwatson2750 My dad was in a conversation at work years ago and some bloke was bragging about his fancy new car. He turned to a lady in their group and asked what car she drove. She just said, completely deadpan, “A blue one.” The braggart looked dumbfounded whilst everyone else guffawed. I have stored this in my memory for if I am ever asked by a boaster what car I drive! It’s a belter!
@@orsoncart802 Love it.
@@nigelwatson2750 Thanks. Kindred spirit! 😁
It looks beautiful in Finland. “Like Bananarama turning up.” 😂 I’ve never fitted in boxes. I was expected to have a professional job, doctor, etc and although I had a very good education my future went elsewhere. Mid 90s I was an HGV car transporter driver. Very rare to see women driving any trucks then. I have to say, I was treated VERY well. Regular main dealers would have a hot drink ready for me as I arrived. I think I helped change their minds about female drivers as many commented on my good driving and reversing skills. I totally agree with you about the UK dress code. Folk are moaning about young women being accosted in the street yet they are dressed like tarts! 🙄 Brits need to get their self respect back. Interestingly, when I drive through Iran I was shocked at the amount of professional women there! Many women doctors, dentists, lawyers etc. I didn’t see them doing manual jobs, (not like in India) but they weren’t hidden away and were VERY vocal. Folk think of Iran as keeping their women completely oppressed, but that isn’t true.
Great comment, which I'm going to pin.
😮 So as Female car mechanic, Im attractive to a Finnish man? Cool, blonde hair with blues surfer vibe, me likes! 😊
Well if you want one go for it - but you need to take the lead - as in start the conversation. They won't necessarily do, before they know you are interested. I am a Finnish woman, I was too shy and never had any attention from a Finnish guy to try to approach me. Alas I have French husband. Sure a Finnish female friend gave me the same advise as I just did. Not to await for it. I met my man online, because we both have same online hobbies - yea yea, gaming related. And even for him I had to make the first move, cause - lol - I knew we had good time together and I had to dare once in life - basically I took the advise literally. We Finns do that a lot. When someone asks how you are - they may actually want that answer - it may not be a mere hello. Or they will give the answer, even if not expected, even if they know it was a hello originally - just to troll you a bit, in good spirits though. Oh, and knowing how to be fine with being together without talking - enjoying each other's presence silently - is a great skill to develop. Many enough of us do that for it to get noted by foreigners - lol. What else - oh yea - forget about living where ever you do, if it is not Finland - you will eventually end up living in Finland, if you marry a Finn. My husband is French, we already got a small home awaiting for retirement in Finland.
I own a house building factory in Finland, and our painters and one tiler are young/youngish women two. Not in our company, but in other companies, electricians are often women too.
I know a lesbian here that is in healthcare, so it's hard to say just from your profession.
Fantastic, but please never assume that other countries are like Finland. This is not true: Finland is special.
Yeah, we're kinda equal(-ish) here in Finland. Attitudes still need a little bit of work. The fact is, that Men and women are different. And it's important. Still,.. both are needed the same way.
If only everyone would realise that we're stronger together and complete eachother, rather than fight and sneer at eachother...we might actually accomplish something.
Good point!
That's probably one reason our marriage has survived 58 years. Teamwork. 👍
Nice one Nigel! I always enjoy your honesty.The background in Finland looks beautiful, totally changed my narrow minded view of a cold unforgiving environment...was hoping for a photo shoot of these beautiful builders........
Finland is a very beautiful country. Worth visiting. Especially in the summertime.
The state is responsible for women having little or no compunction to take up these jobs in the UK, there is a much easier route to resources provided by the state, rather than oneself.
I am not being misogynistic by saying this because it is a fact, and they can garner resources not just from the state but from a string of different fathers who are forced to provide for a child they have little to no access to. So, if this was just a small percentage of women I wouldn't bother making the point, but it isn't it's massive and ever-increasing!
So, this has a two-fold effect in that many of these fathers don't bother working because they'll be hounded by the state to provide for their offspring whilst absent fathers.
I have on the other hand seen many a female telephone engineer, bus driver, truck driver, and even a young woman driving a breakdown truck, so a few women do take on these typically male-dominated roles, and to be fair the most I have seen are very competent whilst being feminine and attractive women.
It’s kind of upsetting watching this video from Balearics where we’ve been chemsprayed like crazy and it’s cloudy all day long :(
My older friend, now already gone to other side. His grandmother did those Works around The village. She was so good at them. She was born in The 19th century.
As basil fawlty said..."go and have some fun with the Finn."
Don't mention the war!
I had my brigad here last year to cut up and stack the firewood and it was my ex landlady her son and his missus and they get stuck in and they are both very feminine, I once saw a girl in stilettos and a mini skirt chopping wood here in Bulgaria what a sight amazing.