Tallinn trip of discovery

KNOCKIN’ ABOUT: WHEN the call came for me to back my bags and head for Estonia to seek out news for my Chronicle readers, I hastily checked my trusty atlas, a gift from my friends at Innovative Technology in Derker.

Like many of you, I had heard of Estonia, but pressed on its exact whereabouts in the world I must confess that I couldn’t actually put my finger on it.

I had vague recollections of this tiny Baltic country — there are only 1.3 million inhabitants, which is roughly half that of Greater Manchester — taking part in important football competitions, but there my knowledge ended.

So after a few glances at Estonian websites, I boarded a Lufthansa flight to Munich en route to the country’s capital city, Tallinn.

The German carrier is anxious to press its claims to the British public that (a) Tallinn is a place worth visiting and (b) they can get you there on a daily basis through their Munich and Frankfurt hubs from regional airports in this country, now UK-based carriers have largely abandoned the route.

So me and a couple of guys from the North-West met media colleagues from the Midlands and London and on we went to Tallin, a city of 400,000 people on the Baltic coast.

After spending four days in the city I can justifiably list a myriad of reasons to visit. Suffice to say that, if offered the chance to return, I would jump at the opportunity.

Try as I might I couldn’t find even a tenuous link with Oldham — although the city’s water is supplied by United Utilities, which won the major shareholding in Tallinna Vesi and also supplies water through your taps.

We had a short stopover at the company’s head office and had a chat with a two chaps from Manchester and Liverpool who run the business on secondment.

They proudly told us that Tallinna Vesi has just signed a deal to supply Estonia’s seventh largest city Muuga with all its water requirements. Muuga has a population of 16,000, roughly the size of Lees and Uppermill combined, which puts into perspective the size of the country.

One guy I did meet was Old Tom, who regales in being the most popular person in Estonia. Sometime in the 15th century he won an archery competition to shoot a rooster. The Germans, who ruled the city in this period, wouldn’t allow him to claim his prize — a fair maiden from a selection of seven city lovelies. Instead they charged him with looking after the city. And to this day he does just that, dispensing mini bottles of Old Tallin, a curious but enjoyable liquor, to visitors and telling his tale of woe.