This post is a result of being asked several times, by either, readers of my popular “Interview with a Nokia Enthusiast” Series over on Nokiausers.net, saying they woud like to see me being interviewed, or messages received via pm, email, and twitter, asking me how come I’m an Englishman, living in Finland, and what brought me here, what did I do before, and how did I start my new life here, and finally but no means least, what did I leave behind? Well, hopefully after reading this post here, you should get to know me just that little bit better

As many of you will know, there is no denying, I’m a self confessed Nokia Enthusiast, and have been for many years, but have only really started getting more and more active with this passion over the last few years. So what had I been doing before starting my new life in Finland, what did I do before becoming a Moderator, and Editor of Nokiausers.net, and where did I devote all my energy prior to writing, and blogging in the Social Media scene? Well, now I will tell you. Below, an old photo of me in Asia, I’m on the left, to the right, is my late colleague Jeff. Photo taken by our then English translator Zeki, whom I’m still in touch with.

I won’t go too far back in time, as I have already covered my professional Telecommunications Career here within an Interview on NokiaMobileTalk, my NokiaDNA About Page, and on my Vox Blog,  so in this post will briefly let you into a pastime of mine which I was a strong enthusiast, and had a passion restoring cars. Not just any car though, as these were the same model 4×4 vehicles used in the BTCC (British Touring Car Championships).

The car?  They were the Vauxhall Cavalier GSi2000 4×4, which boasted a C20XE redtop engine, with a standard 150bhp. An amazing saloon car of its time, with some far advanced specifications, including independent rear suspension, fuel computer, electric windows, mirrors, sunroof, and sensors everywhere imaginable, even headlight wipers, and heated seats.  All these were cutting edge back in 1989 when these cars were first put into production.

I owned and restored a few of these GSi2000 cars over a several year period, and along the way, shared much of what I did with various online Vauxhall enthusiast forums, but didn’t share most of it, as I found I was opening myself to abuse, and an underworld of crime, which lead to several attempted break-ins of my garages where I stored my vehicles, (four garages), and parts.  This led me to rent a 20ft container to store most, if not all of my rare car parts, which were mostly brand new, discontinued body parts, engine components, and even new windscreens, and body glass. Parts that I had sourced within the United Kingdom, and even some parts of Europe, and personally travelling thousands of miles each week collecting these parts.  This container was located in a secure compound where I could finally rest, and sleep at night without the worry of someone steeling my investments, which were fast becoming impossible to get hold of in the market place.

Back to the cars I restored. As you can see from the above photo, that black GSi2000 was very special to me, and was the first of my collection to have my own private plate fitted. C3MKY. This was short for my then nickname, which was Cav3Micky, which later become GSi-R, which then stood for GSi-Register, as I had formed a Register on these fast becoming rare cars, where owners could log their details on the register, and showcase their prized possessions if they chose to. My last count, there were less than 200 of these cars registered with the DVLA in the UK, most of which were registered SORN. Apart from devoting most of my personal time restoring these cars, I did something else for a living too of course, which I got to travel up, and down the UK with, from as far North as Edinburgh, to as far South as The Isle of White. What was it you ask? I was an Ice Cream man! Working for Wall’s Ice Cream. Below are a couple of rare photos I took. Very enjoyable career, and not to be mistaken for the Ice Cream man you see on the streets, I specialised in contracts with big events, from Music festivals VIP areas, to Royal Shows, be it Horse trials, Country to Game Fairs.

Anyway, long story short, Well, I met my lovely wife online almost 3 years ago now on a website that we both shared an interest. Forensic Science, and Crime Scene Investigation processes.  Being a film critic, and having followed David Caruso the actor of the popular TV Series CSI Miami, throughout his career since the role of Deputy Mitch (see image below) in the 1982 film First Blood, it was basically David Caruso that brought me and my wife together, as it was a David Caruso fan page where my wife was a member of, and she recalled seeing my name on the Forensic Science pages, and decided to make contact.

She contacted me, I replied, we built up a very good relationship online, then calls, emails, webcam meetings, and it all went from there really She asked me if I would marry her. At the time with 4 cars, 4 garages, and a whole heap of rare classic cars spares, I had to make a very important decision, and that was to sell up, and start a new life in Finland, after I said “Yes” of course.!.  I did just that, sold everything, auctioned everything off, it hurt my heart, but I knew I was doing the right thing, most of my parts collection was shipped off to Northern Ireland,  and have been living our married life quite comfortably here in Kuopio ever since.

Oh, I forgot to mention, me and the wife are in regular contact with David Caruso, and he has even signed our wedding photos, and we plan on meeting him some day to thank him in person for bringing us together. So there you go folk’s, you now know me just that little bit better than you did before. Thanks for reading!

If your looking for a subtle, transparent protection for your Nokia N97, then you cannot go wrong with this Capdase hard shell case from Mobilefun.co.uk.

It comes in two parts, the top part basically covers the circumference of your chromed bezel, protecting it from scratches, scuffs, and dents, while the second part, snuggly clips into place onto your N97’s main body, protecting the back of the device.

It has all the relevant cutouts so you can access all side buttons, and ports perfectly, and does not hinder the opening and closing of your N97’s keyboard.

Another bonus to the Capdase case is that it does not add any bulk to your device due to it being very thin.  Its not a soft silicon casing either, its quite firm/hard.  It actually feels like the waterproof camera cases you can buy, where they feel kind of rubberized.

It simply takes seconds to fit, and leaves your N97 secure, and safe from damage. For obvious reasons, there is no lcd cover, just the circumference of the front as mentioned, but at least your chrome will now be protected.

You can get the Capdase case in either white, or black from Mobilefun.co.uk for just £13.47 for the white case, and £14.47 for the black version.

Thanks to Mobilefun.co.uk for sending me this case for review