The Finnish May 1st is approaching. It is the only time you will see 1000s of Finns on the street in white caps carrying half empty champagne bottles, in sight of the police. The white hat signifies you graduated from Finnish high school. Since I didn't, and my Master's hat was passed to me before I walked across the stage at the Royal College of Art to collect the degree, and retrieved by officials upon exit - I have nothing to show in the way of intellectual headgear. Thus I avoid being seen in public on that day ;-)

The traditional May Day parades with brass bands and poltiical speeches seem to be falling out of favour. Erkki Tuomioja, former Foreign Minister and fairly leftish Social Democrat, recently said that May Day parades should be forgotten.

I did march on May 1st in Prague 1968 though.

You can't be me, I'm taken