Roger Boyes & social life in Europe

I think it was more than two years ago, on some illuminatingly light and so very fucking wonderfully warm Adriatic winter night spent with Sangiovese in my Forlì apartment near those inspiringly muddy banks of Rubicon, when I first time discovered this pot of gold: a nicely and neatly extensive list of Eurofound's quality of life indicators - a guaranteed source of pleasure and satisfaction, for certain, given that you're a die-hard social scientist, a stats freak or an "analytical mind genuinely interested in cross-country comparisons" (aye, that's an euphemism for something, or someones), and even if you aren't it might be of your occasional interest.

Just pardon me for my secrecy and informational possessiveness - like a dog who has found a juicy bone I have sniggeringly returned to it only at nights, and always alone - but Ukko as my eternal puppeteer my behaviour and movements have been been haplessly spasmed by words of a Finnish poet who wrote and created on verge of insanity and who ever since his very birth was meant to die on a fatefully dark and cold January night, or day or afternoon - what does it matter at that time of the year? - in 1926 and in the village of Tuusula, and whose hubristically forlorn poems those hopeless hopes of Finland - for that I remember - even today read, analyse and absorb in upper secondary schools; yes, indeed, for kell' onni on se onnen kätkeköön. (S)he who has luck is strongly advised to hide it.

It's time, though. Ari has sung and sunk Roger Boyes even deeper into that endless (as well as appropriately dark and cold) swamp behind his remote farmstead, so all that is left for me to do is to wipe the case under the carpet before the crime scene investigation and foreign journalists arrive, and before any poor teenage girl adds insult to brain injury by drowning herself.

I've got numbers - they aren't exactly up to date, but they're numbers anyway. This is my truth, tell me yours or consider yourself informed:

Satisfaction with social life; percentage of the population aged 15 and over, who are very or fairly satisfied with their social life (2004)

1) Denmark, 96%
2) Netherlands, 95%
3) Finland, 93%
Luxembourg, 93%
Sweden, 93%
6) Austria, 91%
Belgium, 91%
Spain, 91%
9) France, 89%
10) Ireland, 88%

Toivoton taisto taivaan valtoja vastaan.

Use of the Internet; percentage of people aged 15 and over who use the Internet (2003)

1) Sweden, 68%
2) Denmark, 66%
3) Netherlands, 62%
4) Finland, 59%
5) Luxembourg, 53%
United Kingdom, 53%
7) Spain, 50%
8) Austria, 49%
Malta, 49%
10) Estonia, 47%

Kaikuvi kannel; lohduta laulu ei lastaan.

Contact with neighbours; percentage of people aged 16 and over who talk to their neighbours more than once a week (2000; EU15 excluding DE, FR, LU and SE)

1) Greece, 97%
2) Ireland, 91%
Spain, 91%
4) Portugal, 87%
5) Italy, 81%
6) Austria, 79%
Finland, 79%
8) United Kingdom, 77%
9) Netherlands, 72%
10) Belgium, 71%
Denmark, 71%

Hallatar haastaa, soi sävel sortuvin siivin.

Meeting friends and relatives; percentage of people aged 16 and over who meet friends or relatives not living with them more than once a week (2000; EU15 excluding DE, FR and LU)

1) Ireland, 95%
2) Spain, 94%
3) Greece, 92%
4) Sweden, 87%
5) Netherlands, 85%
United Kingdom, 85%
7) Denmark, 81%
Finland, 81%
Italy, 81%
10) Belgium, 78%

Rotkoni rauhaan kuin peto kuoleva hiivin.