Season's Greetings...

My thanks to all of you who have been reading this blog. I can't believe that it is now over six months since I moved to Finland, the time has rushed by.

According to Google Analytics, 105 people have visited the blog over the past month, the majority are repeat visitors. I have enjoyed writing it and appreciate the feedback received, more is always welcome. As an aid to my Dad (and anyone else who wants to) in printing out new posts, I've added HP's blog printing widget to the pages. If you only want to print a single post, open it first by clicking the headline, otherwise it will print all the posts on the main page. I am interested to know what you think of this facility.

I'm now back in the UK after a few days with my eldest daughter in Helsinki. We visited the Christmas Market on Esplanadi (on the third attempt, as I didn't get home from work early enough the first two times), went to the Orthodox and Lutheran cathedrals and visited Porvoo, all of which have been covered in previous posts. It was good to take her to some of the sights I've visited with her Mum and little sister.

Colleagues in Helsinki were disappointed with the weather for Christmas, particularly the lack of snow. Over the last week, temperatures in Helsinki have been similar to home. In fact, walking to St Mary the Virgin parish church in Old Alresford for yesterday's carol service, I was colder than I have been for the last week. We were warmed afterwards by mulled wine (a change to the Finnish Glogi) and Mince Pies.

Now I am wrapping the last of the presents, looking forward to an evening with friends and a (hopefully) peaceful Christmas Day tomorrow. Wherever you are in the world (in any of the twenty countries from where visits to this blog originated last month), I wish you Happy Holidays.

Christmas traditions...

I was invited this week to a special event, tasting Finnish Rice Porridge, a traditional dish enjoyed before the sauna on Christmas Eve in Finland. Sadly, because of work commitments I could not go, but decided to find out more.

The Finns enjoy a wide range of porridges for breakfast; back home we tend only to see Oatmeal, a favourite of my wife in the winter. Here, you can get Buckwheat, Rye or even Semolina (which just brings back awful memories of school lunch for me). But at this time of year, Christmas Porridge is served. From the recipe, it sounds much like Rice Pudding at home. One blanched Almond is added to the pot and whoever gets it is in for good fortune in the coming year.

This reminded me of one of our Christmas traditions, involving a silver sixpence in the Christmas Pudding. Also alleged to be a harbinger of luck, I have often wondered how many of those who found it unexpectedly in their portion end up with a trip to the accident & emergency department as a result. That doesn't seem very lucky to me, unless you prefer hospital food to Christmas lunch at home. I don't fancy it.

I've been sharing Mince Pies with my colleagues this week. A slight misunderstanding with a vegetarian in the team resulted in her avoiding them as, although they say "mincemeat" on the ingredients, they are in fact stuffed with dried fruit and orange peel. I shall continue my missionary work here undeterred.

There is nothing like a dame ...

It's pantomime season in the UK (oh yes, it is) and as I was at home for the weekend, I got to see my wife playing evil Queen Fester in Snow White. She was brilliant; strong character acting and possibly her best singing yet in our village amateur dramatic group show.

Pantomime is a Christmas holiday tradition in England; some of my overseas readers know about it but for the rest, I recommend http://www.its-behind-you.com/ as a starter where you can learn some of the basics. "Principal Boy" is played by a girl and traditionally the matriarchal role, called the Dame, is played by a man. For the last few years, I have been lucky enough to have that role, last year playing the eponymous Mother Goose.

Being part of TOADS (The Old Alresford Dramatic Society) has been one of our family's pleasures over the last few years; we have made great friends and had a lot of fun. Moving to Helsinki this year meant I could not take part in person but, through the magic of digital recording, I was able to be the voice of the mirror telling the evil Queen that she was not the fairest in the land. It was probably just as well that I wasn't in the country for most of the time that Stephanie (and Helen, who she was role sharing with) was hearing it!

The BBC is reporting that even Hollywood stars such as Mickey Rooney are queuing up to play in panto. I am not surprised, it is sheer escapist fun (and for them, not us, a nice little earner).

State of Independence ...

My congratulations to my friends and colleagues in Finland, who celebrated 90 years of independence and democratic government on Thursday. According to Finland Relocation Services, the company which managed my move to Helsinki: "The national festivities of Independence Day begin by raising the flag in Tähtitorni hill, in Helsinki. This is then followed with the festive divine service at the Cathedral of Helsinki, where by tradition, the President is also present. In the evening the President receives guests for the gala occasion which is held at the President's Palace in Helsinki. Approximately 2000 people are invited to this banquet every year, and war veterans attend as the guests of honour. The event is broadcast on television, and it is a very popular happening which collects millions of Finns in front of the TV every year. Independence Day is an official flag-raising day, and in every home, candles are normally lit in the windows to honour the day. This day is also a public holiday and stores will be closed then."

I spent Independence Day in the UK with my parents and then in the evening with my former Round Table colleagues. Though I did not see the range of dresses, which I am told is the subject of considerable discussion on TV broadcasts in Finland (they must have a Terry Wogan equivalent commentating, surely), I did have a good time and enjoyed a certain feeling of independence, rudely broken when the emails summoned me back to work this morning.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow ...

How exciting. I woke this morning to a beautiful white carpet over the yard behind my apartment block, four or five centimetres of snow had fallen overnight, following a cold (-4 degrees) and clear day.

A couple of kids from the apartments built a snowman and Dad was then summoned to capture the image on his camera. Sadly, before I could get mine, the sweeper which had been clearing the road and pavements also drove into the yard and moved all the snow, including the short-lived Frosty.

The view is from my balcony after the sweeper had been. Gunther (my Audi) is the fourth car on the left. I flew this afternoon to Amsterdam for a business trip and decided to take a taxi rather than drive to the airport. Of course, I have my winter tyres on the car already, but my suitcase has wheels rather than skis!

Last night, I walked back from the city centre in the dark. In the square (Senatoori) in front of the cathedral there is now a Christmas tree. The photo shows the view from the centre of the square looking up the steps of the cathedral. It felt very cold; I even had the ear flaps of my hat down - my daughters would likely have disowned me, had they been there!

Moonlighting in Helsinki, part 2...

I've spent my first weekend in Helsinki for four weeks, having managed to escape the November weather by travelling in the US and spending three weekends at home in the UK.

Saturday was a fine day, with glorious sunshine thought it was zero degrees Celsius outside. I opened the blinds in the apartment for the first time in weeks, as it is now dark when I leave for and return from work. I had a wonderful walk around the city, doing some Christmas shopping and buying a few essentials for some DIY jobs around the apartment. On the way back to the apartment, the sky was a beautiful deep blue and the moon was visible to the side of the Lutheran cathedral, the picture doesn't quite capture how stunning the view was.

I ironed a three week backlog of shirts to the BBC's Radio 4 Listen Again service through my Internet radio and then wrapped presents while watching episodes from season 2 of House, one of my favourite programmes at the moment - I brought the DVDs back with me from the UK.

Today was a grey, drizzly day, apparently the typical November weather hated by the Finns. To me it seemed just like the English winter, so I was happy to take a stroll out for a little more shopping (the shops are open on Sundays now until Christmas) and a couple of pints of Guinness at Molly Malone's on the way home. I finished all my DIY jobs (including moving the pictures in the bedroom to where Stephanie wants them), cleaned the apartment and then cooked some pasta. A blissful wind-down after a busy week and hopefully I'm ready for the next.

Giving thanks...

I've spent the last 23 years working for US companies. This means that there are at least two times during the year when the volume of email from across the Atlantic declines; on 4^th July for Independence Day and again around the fourth Thursday of November, their Thanksgiving holiday.

Thankfully I have many American friends, some of whom are readers of this blog and so I won't attempt to show my cultural ignorance by explaining the holiday here. Wikipedia has a good article for my non-US readers.

However, I like the idea of Thanksgiving. Whatever your religious beliefs, or lack of them, the idea of taking time to really reflect on what you have to be thankful for seems a good one. In our busy lives, it is easy to take things for granted, something that living more than 1,500 miles away from the people I love most has already taught me not to do. A weekend alone in Helsinki has given me plenty of time for reflection.

For our family it has not been an easy year. In March, my wife lost her beloved Dad and our daughters lost their unique Grandad. Both girls split up from their boyfriends and now they are having to get used to not having me around all the time. And yet, we have so much to be thankful for. We are all healthy, we have enough to eat, enough funds to buy the things we need (and many that we don't) and a safe home, with friends and family who care for us. There are millions of people around the world who can't make the same claim.

At the moment, my parents are both under the weather and it is hard to be so far away from them when they are not well. I'm hoping to see them early in December when I am home for a visit and also for some time over the Christmas holidays.

So, wherever you find yourself at this time, I encourage you also to take a check on what you have and give thanks, to whomever you feel appropriate. Happy Holidays!

Diplomatic relations...

This evening, I met my first ambassador to Finland. It was a spiritual occasion -- because Jessica O'Flynn is the Jameson Whiskey Ambassador here in Helsinki, having moved here in September.

I was intrigued by the missionary nature of her work, bringing news of the Irish distilling industry to the population of a country where all of the liquor stores are owned by the state (and called Alko, which always makes me smile).

The meeting had been arranged by the International English Speaking Association of Finland, whose website I had happened upon by accident. Around 15 of us were there, for a presentation on the history of the Irish whiskey industry and the production process.

We learned that Irish whiskey differs from Scotch in a couple of ways. First, the malt is dried over an anthracite fire rather than peat, which does not impart the smoky taste of a Scotch. Secondly, it is triple distilled (once more than most Scotches, apparently) which removes more impurities.

After the theory came the practical. We had five samples, starting with the standard Jameson. This had a light flavour, fairly smooth and quite pleasant. Next came the Powers Gold Label, which has a higher proportion of pot still Whiskey and a more spicy, aromatic flavour. The third of the Jameson family was their 12 year old, my favourite. It is matured in sherry casks and has a more nutty, sweet flavour and a smooth finish.

We then compared them to a standard Scotch and a Bourbon. The Scotch was smoky as expected and not as smooth as the Jameson standard, but as a fan of the peaty, Islay malts, I quite enjoyed it. The Bourbon, made from maize rather than barley and only single distilled, was awful. No-one in the room took more than one sip, it seemed.

So, we were left to muse on the challenge of Jessica's job. There are apparently 331 Alko stores in Finland and 329 of them sell Jameson products, so it appears that at least part of her role will be trying to find which 2 are not doing their bit for Irish exports. I wish her good luck and Sláinte!

New York state of mind...

My second visit to New York started better than my first, only 10 minutes to get through immigration and then a car ride downtown.

I had dinner with Valerie, a former boss from my last employer who is also enjoying life after the batwings and living back in her beloved NYC. We met at Cipriani Dolci on the West Balcony in Grand Central. I note from the website that Grand Central is a terminal, not a station, as all the lines terminate there, so that was my learning for the day, as everyone seems to refer to it as a station. It was great to catch up over some oh-so-healthy salad and a where-did-they-put-the-tonic G&T, not to mention some good Italian red.

After that, 3 days of meetings and training at our offices in White Plains, all very interesting. I got to the airport in plenty of time to check in for the return flight and there was space on the earlier flight, so a real bonus. On the plane, watched Grow Your Own, a charming film about a group of immigrants given allotments to help them come to terms with life. Absolutely delightful, strong performances from some solid British character actors.

Now at home, catching up with the family for my last weekend here until December. Christmas shopping and a curry, not necessarily in that order!

Into the Valley...

After 23 years in the high tech industry, this week I finally made it to Silicon Valley. It was an interesting experience from the moment I stepped out of the airport. I got in a cab and told him the name of the hotel. Through the journey, one song was running through my mind, the one by Burt Bacharach and Hal David; "Do You Know the Way to San José". The cab driver clearly didn't. After several hand-held calls on his mobile (which didn't have GPS) he resorted to winding down the window at intersections and asking adjacent drivers for Market Street.

After a motivational two day session with the new leadership team I'll be supporting, I had the chance to visit our research center in Palo Alto. I met a bunch of researchers and leaders with two things in common, a passion for what they are doing and a strong belief that they are shaping the future. A compelling demo detects phones passing by a 46 inch touchscreen on the wall (if the owner's Bluetooth signature is registered) and then automatically pulls photos from the owner's Flickr account and displays them on the screen. It makes a real conversation starter when you are having a coffee! You can just see the picture of Ellie and Sally on screen.

Outside, I saw this beautiful Mexican Lavender, a huge shrub that apparently copes well with the Californian climate. We have a bank of Lavender at the bottom of our garden at home, but the plants are nowhere near this size.

All in all, a great week. Even 10 hours flying back in economy didn't dull my enthusiasm.

Gunpowder, treason and plot ...

En route to the US for a week of meetings, I have managed to spend a weekend with the family. Though the flight from Helsinki was delayed taking off, an unprecedented combination of tailwinds, air traffic control "cutting corners off the journey", as the pilot described it, no queue into Heathrow and a stand right by baggage reclaim meant I set a new personal best time for getting home. Even the Hertz bus was waiting for me at the terminal and I was through the front door just after 8pm, having left the office at 3pm in Helsinki. What a great way to start the weekend! Stephanie, Sally and Ellie (home for the evening) had even saved me some of the takeaway curry.

One of the unexpected outcomes of moving to live in another country is that you then see your homeland through different eyes. As I drove down the M3, I saw several fireworks displays lighting up an ink black, clear sky. British readers will understand why; at this time of year we celebrate bonfire night, in memory of the foiled plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament on 5 November, 1605. The most notorious plotter (though not the leader) was Guy Fawkes, effigies of whom are burned across the land atop bonfires of all sizes, together with pyrotechnic displays to enthrall the adults and startle most of the small children and animals.

On Saturday, we were preparing for our own village fireworks. I was due to be flipping burgers with other members of our amateur dramatic group. But before that at home, I cooked six litres of Broccoli and Stilton soup. This weekend normally marks the turn in the weather towards winter, but it was unusually mild and sales of soup were down, though surprisingly the mulled wine suffered no similar reduction in popularity!

It was a great way of catching up with friends from the village. And now, I am in one of my regular blog writing spots, the BA lounge at Heathrow Terminal 1, trying to record my thoughts before my flight is called. Next weekend we're going to Bath to see Ellie's new digs and celebrate her birthday, the second of three weekends in a row in the UK. I can't wait!

Heureka...

Finland has a well deserved reputation for technology education. The universities produce well qualified, creative talent for the tech industries, in part I am sure this is because higher education is effectively free here.

But getting kids interested in technology subjects in the first place is a challenge facing many countries. Places like Heureka, where I had a team meeting today, must surely help spark their imagination.

Heureka is the Finnish Science Centre, clearly geared up for school and family visits. Rather than the dull exhibits I remember from the Science Museum in my childhood, (admittedly, a long time ago now), it is an exciting place, full of interactive displays and real life examples, all described in Finnish, Swedish and English. Each is designed to grab and hold the attention of all who visit.

After our meeting, we had a chance for a small competition, trying out some of the activities. I think the most fun to do as a team was a simple computer game, projected on a massive screen, where you work together to catch items dropping from the sky. I've not laughed as much at work for ages.

Heureka was much better than a hotel venue for stirring our own creative thinking. My only regret is that we should have done the competition before our planning meeting and driven our innovative thinking to new levels.

En famille...

The last few days have been blissful. Stephanie and Sally took advantage of the school half term holidays to fly over and spend a week in Helsinki. After spending last Sunday together, I flew North to Oulu for three days for a work event, so they got the chance to discover more of Helsinki on their own; mainly the shops, it seems.

I got back on Wednesday evening and since then we have been a family again for a few days. On Friday, I took a day off and we took the HKL ferry to the Suomenlinna fortress, a 15 minute journey to this UNESCO World Heritage site, the second most visited attraction in Helsinki, after the Linnanmäki amusement park. The photo shows the view of Helsinki from the ferry as we steamed across the harbour.

On Saturday, we took a drive out to Porvoo, a charming old town around 50 kilometres by car from my apartment. We had lunch at Cafe Helmi, including Runeberg cakes, named for a former resident who was Finland's national poet and who apparently enjoyed them for breakfast.

Sunday morning was spent packing, then I took Stephanie and Sally for a drive, to see where I work and then for lunch to Cafe Ursula, a favourite for Sundays. We had a walk down the jetty beforehand, just to work up a thirst for a hot coffee. Here are the girls shivering...

After that, it was back to the apartment to pick up the suitcases and then off to the airport. Not too sad, as I shall be seeing them for the next three weekends, between trips to the Bay area and New York.

Dans la cave...

Exploring the first level of the basement this evening, I've found another storage area. I already have a cage on the second level, where my winter tyres, packing boxes and the attractive rugs left by the previous tenant are safely behind bars. But on the first level, there is a smaller, lockable (when I buy another padlock) wooden slatted cupboard in a chilled room. I am sure it will be handy for storing the booze ahead of next Thursday, when some of my new colleagues are coming round for drinkies! I shall go down with a torch next time and see what my neighbours are storing in theirs.

Tee'd up...

My chum Chris sent me one of a limited edition of T-shirts that he has produced. The picture says it all! Taken in my hall mirror with the N95 and then flipped on the PC.

Chris used to work with me and now runs his own PR agency, XL Communications, working with clients in the mobile industry. See the link to his blog below left.

Thanks, Chris!

Feeling connected...

One of the biggest challenges for me, living away from my family and, for the first time in my life, from the UK, has been a general feeling of being disconnected.

Everything here seems different. That's not a bad thing, I am enjoying the learning process but, just occasionally, I yearn for the more familiar. Mostly my family and, thankfully, through the phone, instant messaging and the web cam, I can keep in touch and see them when I am in the apartment.

But beyond the family, it has surprised me how much feels disrupted. I used to get ready for work listening to the Today programme on Radio 4, as I've mentioned before. At home in the evening, the TV showed programmes I knew, at times I was used to.

Here, all that changed. The only English language radio I could find was the BBC World Service news at 7am on YLE, for just half an hour. Not much news of home. On TV, it was BBC World or BBC Prime, which seems to specialise in shows I never enjoyed shown at unpredictable times.

So, I find myself grateful for the products of my industry. I can listen to Radio 4 live, using my multimedia computer (which many folk still call a mobile phone) connected over the wireless network in the flat. I can even use the BBC Listen Again service to catch up on shows I have missed. I can also use the pod casting software to download content from a range of sources.

With TV, I can use the Slingbox at home over the Internet to my PC, so that I can watch some of the programmes I know. As long as the family at home don't change channel, of course. And with the client software I can even watch on my phone.

This week, I have been trying out a dedicated Internet radio, a Logik IR 100. Though supposedly a Dixons exclusive in the UK, I saved a few pounds and bought it over eBay. Setting it up was very straightforward, even though the wireless network in my apartment is hidden and uses a WEP (security) key. Now I can easily listen to live broadcasts from around the world, as well as listen again services, using the Reciva service.

Older technology has also helped me feel connected. This morning, while doing the ironing, I was watching the DVD of series 2 of Extras, a funny, if somewhat painful, comedy from Ricky Gervais.

So, I now have only one more challenge to fix. Getting rid of the two hour time difference between Helsinki and the UK. I'm not sure which would be easier, inventing time travel or persuading the various governments to agree. I'm guessing the former.

Winter draws on...

The week has ended well. Gunther the Audi is back, two weeks away having a new transmission system fitted, after the first failed less than 24 hours after he was delivered. The dealership realised that this was not good and so by way of apology the car was delivered back with a golf umbrella on the back seat and a rather "bling" key ring, which has a detachable Audi logo that doubles as a token for the supermarket trolleys. So that makes it all OK, then!

On Friday morning, we had our first snow of the season, though it didn't settle. The temperature was -1º Celsius (below freezing in Fahrenheit) and it was raining as I drove to work. To make me feel a little warmer on Friday evening I tried Rodolfo, an Italian restaurant within walking distance of my apartment. It was excellent, a great salmon pasta to start, calzone and green salad to follow, with tiramisu, a doppio espresso and grappa to finish. Even though I needed a hat, scarf and gloves to walk there and back, my mood was lifted considerably!

Crazy days...

On my way to work this morning, I noticed a big crowd waiting outside Stockmann, the department store in Helsinki (and, apparently, the largest department store in Europe).

It turns out they were waiting for the store to open for "Hullut Päivät", or "Crazy Days", a supposedly manic sale. I shall, in the interest of informing you, dear reader, pay a visit on Saturday. More later ...

Rockin' all over the world...

Another great weekend at home draws to a close and I'm back at Heathrow waiting for my flight back to Helsinki. Ellie came home too from her new digs in Bath so it was great to have the family together. Saturday evening was a pub night at the Christy Hall in Old Alresford, a short walk from home, with the added attraction of an excellent live band, "Beatz Working", who played a great range of rock, pop and soul music from the era of my sixth-form discos up to current stuff. Live music and a few pints of Godfather's in the company of family and friends, who could ask for more? Congratulations to the hall committee for organising the event, which was supported by Hampshire County Council's Hog the Limelight scheme.

I had a good chat with Mike, the lettings secretary for the hall, who met his Finnish wife Vienna when he was working in Helsinki several years ago. Apparently she has been casting her critical eye over my Helsinki restaurant reviews in the Village Voice, for which I am the roving food reporter.

Today was a mix of comforting domestic chores and a pub lunch at one of our locals, the Crown at Axford. Then a quick spot of packing and I'm off, looking forward to getting my new Internet radio, bought on eBay, up and running when I get back.

Drip dry...

Family who have visited my apartment in Helsinki have commented on the draining cupboard above the sink in the kitchen area. There was also one of these in my temporary apartment at the cable factory. Reading the latest edition of Six Degrees, the free English language paper in Helsinki, there was a piece about this innovation, which does allow you to drain your washing up without having to look at it. I never have enough on my own to justify running the dishwasher.


Back home, the sink is under the window with a view of the garden, which is why I couldn't have one there. I have to say, though, I prefer that view to this!

Art and history...

I decided to spend some of my time this weekend learning to be a better tour guide. When Mum, Dad & Jill were here last weekend they admired this building from the car, but we didn't have time to visit. So on Saturday, I walked down to have a look and discovered it is the Uspenski Orthodox Cathedral, built in 1868, so just a little after the Lutheran Cathedral we visited together.

Inside, it is religious bling. Lots of gilding, icons and the ornate style associated with Orthodox churches. Well worth a visit if you are in town.

After this I walked through the market, up Esplanadi and along Mannerheimintie to Kiasma, the museum of contemporary art. There was an exhibition of landscape inspired art, as well as a series of storytelling works from the former Soviet Union. I was struck by a series of photos by Elena Vorobyeva and Viktor Vorobyev. As they travelled all over Kazakhstan, the artists noticed that the red of revolution visible everywhere during the Soviet era had been replaced by turquoise blue, which is called "kok" in Kazakh. Their photo installation, "Kazakhstan. Blue Period, 2002-2005" is very striking.

After that I ambled home (via Mollie Malone's for a Guinness). Then into the domestic bliss of ironing and cooking an apple crumble. Not a bad day!

Eating someone's lunch...

I did a double take when I saw the lunchtime menu in the staff cafeteria today (you may have to click the picture to enlarge it to read). I know my previous employer is having a tough time at the moment, but even I didn't want to eat the fish!

However, now I've checked Wikipedia I know that Zander is the fish I've eaten several times already in Finland, but is translated to Pike-Perch in English, though it is related to neither of those two species of fish.

Former colleagues know it as a different kettle of fish altogether.

German measles...

So, Gunther got sick today. With less than 55km on the clock and less than 24 hours since he was delivered, his automatic gearbox got stuck in first gear and we limped to the Audi dealership. I now have a rental car for the weekend and no idea when he is coming back. And my iPod is in his glove box at the dealership, where it's not a lot of use to me. So much for the idea of a weekend spent driving around Southern Finland. I may just have to go to Mollie Malone's instead...

Farewell to Algy ...

It was time to say goodbye to Algy today. Not a colleague or neighbour, but my temporary car.

My new Audi A3 arrived today, a week ahead of schedule. He looks great and drives well. A couple of things made this a different experience than getting a new car in the UK. Firstly, it has a cable which I can connect in winter to a power point to heat the engine block. At least, I could if I had off street parking, which I don't. The other was that the back seat was folded down and the set of winter wheels and tyres were in the back. I'll have a couple of months before the current wheels with regular tyres get swapped for the studded ones, supposedly good for driving on ice. I'm just off down to get them out of the car and put them in my storage cage in the basement of the apartment block.

Oh, his name? Well, the registration is GHR 627. As he is a German car, I think he will be Gunther, after the coffee shop guy in Friends who is besotted with Rachel. I think the coffee-related link is appropriate now that I am living in the country with the highest per-capita consumption of that beverage!

On my own again...

Dad has just rung from the UK to say they got home safely. We had a good time, the longest we've spent together as a family for several years. In addition to watching a rather disappointing Cirque du Soleil show, Delirium, we had dinner last night at Lappi, a restaurant with a traditional Lappish menu. We started with an assortment of appetisers, including Arctic Char tartare, air dried and lightly smoked Reindeer and white cheese with Cloudberries. Mum, Dad and Jill had Reindeer fillet to follow, I opted for the Reindeer stew, all were good.

It seems amazing to think that I have now been living in Helsinki for more than three months. The city feels like home, or at least a home-from-home. And having Mum, Dad and Jill to stay reminded me how much about my new home I now take for granted, rather than finding it unusual. They were impressed by the promptness of the cabs, the friendliness of the people and the range of shopping on offer. I had prepared them for cold weather, but apart from some rain on Saturday morning, we had relatively warm and sunny days.

I shall look forward to other visitors, to give me more reason to visit some of the landmarks I pass every day. Any takers?

Tour guide...

Today I am featuring the work of a guest photographer. My parents and sister have been visiting me in Helsinki this weekend and this is a picture Dad took of the cathedral on Unionkatu, just down the street from our apartment.

It is an Evangelical Lutheran cathedral was built between 1830 and 1852, the pages on Wikipedia give more details and some other photo links.

This afternoon we are off to see Cirque Du Soleil's show, Delirium, at the Hartwall Areena. Having seen Cirque several times before, I am sure we are in for a fabulous spectacle, as long as I can find the car park!

Web TV

This evening has been very exciting, the successful last step in getting my Slingbox working. This cunning device is connected to the Sky+ box in my living room in the UK and allows me to watch and control the box over the Internet. Though I lose some of the picture resolution, I can now watch whatever the family are watching or, even more annoying for them, change channels while Stephanie is watching Midsomer Murders.

Better down than up

This is my nephew Mike, in the pub celebrating his Dad's birthday. My first memory of Mike is when he was a baby and Stephanie and I were babysitting him for the weekend. He managed to bring back his baby formula in an impressive projectile manner all over my brand new carpet. I hope he manages to keep the beer down tonight!

Reet canny ...

I am in Newcastle for the weekend, celebrating Martin's fiftieth birthday. Getting here was fun, up at 3am UK time to drive to Vantaa airport for the first flight to Copenhagen, a two hour layover and then another flight to Newcastle. I've just arrived at the Snowy Owl in Cramlington, the inn where we are staying, and am contemplating the idea of a pint and a nap.
It is definitely autumnal in Helsinki now, the temperature went down to 2.5 degrees celsius on the drive to the airport, with a beautiful low mist hugging the trees alongside the road.
I'm also smiling at the thought of coming to Newcastle and feeling warm, as usually this is the frozen north!

Dress down Friday...?

A lot of workplaces now have a more casual dress code on Fridays. As someone who started their working life in a blue suit & white shirt, I've always found even business casual a difficult concept to deal with. For a start, it requires a lot more thought than just choosing which tie to wear. After all, if you aren't wearing a dark suit and black shoes, then what colour socks to wear? Long sleeved or short sleeved shirt? What about jumpers or pullovers? And having to make all these decisions first thing in the morning is not, as my family will testify, a strong point for me.

But today, I feel I have scored a win. Grey jeans, long sleeved sweater and new shoes. These are not just any shoes. And I should know, my wife is an acknowledged shoe collector; we stopped counting hers when we topped 100 pairs. I had never quite understood her passion for footwear, until this year. These are Robert Wayne "Rocket" loafers.

I first saw them when I visited White Plains earlier this year. I loved how different they were from my normal styles, but the store didn't have them in my size. Luckily, when we visited Nordstrom in San Francisco on holiday, I found them again. I had to have them. I suppose that if these are evidence of a mid-life crisis, they are a lot less expensive than a sports car, or an affair.

So, I have been feeling good all day and getting positive compliments from my colleagues. It's back to the contour foam slippers when I get home, though!

A fine mess....

I have been caught breaking the law. I parked outside my apartment last night, rather closer to the pedestrian crossing than I have before, as finding a space is proving difficult. This morning I had a ticket for being within 5 metres of the crossing and a bill for 40 Euros, the same as it costs me for a six month parking permit for parking on the street. The good news is that I don't have to report to the police station and have been able to pay the fine already using my Nordea netbank account.

So why did I do it? There was another car parked across the street the same distance as me from the crossing, so I assumed it was OK. He didn't have a ticket this morning. Why? He has diplomatic plates on his car! I must write a letter to my embassy...perhaps they have a spare set!

Stepping out...

After a great weekend in the UK, I boarded the flight home to Helsinki last night. After a few moments, the Finnair captain made an announcement, somewhat longer than usual, in Finnish, which was intriguingly followed by a round of applause. When he repeated the announcement in English, I understood why. On board the flight were the winners of the first ever Eurovision Dance Contest, the final of which had been televised on Saturday night. Of course, all the English speaking passengers were also polite enough to applaud Jussi Väänänen & Katja Koukkula from Finland. The UK came in 15th place, only managing to beat Switzerland.

Interestingly, my colleagues seemed unaware of their nation's sporting triumph in the Eurovision. Perhaps that word is just too tired after they hosted the eponymous Song Contest earlier this year. They were more aware of Tero Pitkämäki's gold medal in the Javelin at the IAAF World Championships in Japan on Sunday.

As the proud owner of a brand new Finnish ID card, I offer my congratulations to all of my adopted country's athletes this week, whatever their disciplines.

My clever girls....

Big celebrations in the house last night, as my eldest daughter Ellie found out that she has been accepted for an MSc course in Business Psychology at Gloucester University, starting later this month. Youngest daughter Sally also got the results of her GCSE sciences modules that she took this year, two Cs, so good news for her too. We had a celebratory curry last night at the Shapla, our favourite! Well done girls, I am so proud of you both!

Simple pleasures...

A couple of days at home are giving me the chance to catch up on some of the things I've missed in Finland, apart from the family.

... dinner in a pub - blissfully they are all smoke free since July 1. We went to the Fox Inn in Ellisfield, one of our favourites. Pete the landlord made us feel welcome and we enjoyed a couple of pints and some home cooked food.

... I got to listen to Today on BBC Radio 4 while driving to the station this morning. OK, so I can listen over the web while I'm away, but the two hour time difference makes it impractical to get my fix of news in English every morning. This morning was a bonus, with John Humphrys and Ed Stourton. For the non-UK readers, Humphrys is a bit of an institution.

... a bacon sandwich on unhealthy, white bread and a mug, not a cup, of tea in a proper London cafe - the Savoy (not the famous one) in Norton Folgate. I can't think of many foods with less nutritional value but, oh, it was good.

I don't know art, but I know what I like...

Friday night was apparently the Night of the Arts in Helsinki, but I felt too tired when I got home from shopping to go out again. Instead, I thought I might see some performers still out and about on Saturday. I was not wrong, but I suspect this artiste and her troupe were not part of the official programme.

She was in the park at Esplanadi, with a poodle and a few cats, all of which were performing for the delight of the crowd. I shall have to have words with our three cats when I get back to the UK on Tuesday night.

Another weekend in Helsinki

It seems quite strange to be spending a weekend on my own in Helsinki, as so much of my time recently has been (thankfully) with the family. Today is Sally's 15th birthday: the first in her lifetime that I have not been with her, though at her age fortunately I don't think it is too much of a worry that I am more than 3,000 miles away. I called her earlier and sang Happy Birthday, so I expect she is quite pleased that I am not in the same country.

I managed to spend the morning on chores and shopping, so by lunch time I rewarded myself with lunch at the market in the South Harbour. The early afternoon involved more shopping, including for Stephanie's wedding anniversary present, followed by a visit to Molly Malone's bar.

Alex and Terry were the bar staff on duty, they are respectively Tasmanian and Irish. There are two main reasons why you'll find non-Finnish men living in Helsinki. The first is mine; working for Nokia. The second is theirs; Finnish women. Now, I'm just coming up to my 17th wedding anniversary, so can't comment much on their reason, other than to say that if gentlemen truly prefer blondes, then their odds of finding a preferred partner are increased if they include Finnish women in their list of potential partners.

It has been a long time since I had 5 pints at lunchtime, but today I did so. Wonderful Guinness, Beamish and Spitfire were the reasons. I shall have to wait a while before I start the ironing, the next chore on my list, lest the creases down the sleeves don't come out straight.

I left my knee..in San Francisco...

Well, not really, but I did take a bit of a tumble over the unfeasibly large kerb stones on the sidewalk outside our hotel on the first night we were in that city. We had arrived late, the bar was closed, room service had ended and a couple of the 21+ members of our party fancied a glass of wine. I tripped over before I found the liquor store and had imbibed, should the more cynical amongst you suspect I had fallen foul of bacchanalian indulgence. I was tired, it was dark and I was distracted; a nasty graze and ripped shorts were the result. I got about as much sympathy from my family as I sense you are feeling, gentle reader.

More photographs will follow on the blog, but as we are now back in England, the day has consisted of feeding the washing machine with the result of two weeks of living out of suitcases...of which we acquired three more whilst in the US, brimming with the treasure gleaned from numerous malls. Surprisingly, I bought four pairs of shoes, exceeding Stephanie's normal prowess at footwear shopping.

Tomorrow I fly back to Helsinki and anticipate a week of evenings spent ironing. Such domestic bliss! I hope the exercise will help me lose some of the additional ballast gained from eating out twice a day for the last fortnight!

Escape from Alcatraz...

One of the sights you cannot avoid seeing from the shore in San Francisco is Alcatraz, the former federal penitentiary with a reputation for keeping the hardest criminals under lock and key. Ironically, the toughest jail to get out of is now the most difficult to get into. Although you can now visit the Rock by boat, the tours sell out several days in advance so we could not visit it ourselves. The nearest we got was on a seaplane tour of the San Francisco bay area - the photo shows it just off the nose of the Beaver aircraft we were flying in. After years of flying under the Golden Gate bridge on Microsoft Flight Simulator, I finally got the chance to fly over it for real. You get a great perspective on this beautiful city from 1,500 feet up!

Leaving Las Vegas ...

Yesterday we left LV and made the 9 hour drive to San Francisco. Vegas is a crazy city full of extremes and surprises. Whatever you've heard about it is probably true, but not the whole truth. We stayed at the Luxor, a pyramid with around 2,400 bedrooms and elevators that go up diagonally inside. Our best view of the hotel was from the air as we took off for a helicopter flight to the Grand Canyon and a champagne picnic inside the canyon. One of the best experiences ever. This underscored the difference between LV, indeed the whole of the US, and other holiday destinations ... scale. Here's looking forward to a little more peace in San Francisco!

Taking the Mickey...

Today we are at Disneyland. Thanks to Ellie's cunning plans, by 10:30 we had done four of the biggest rides with hardly any time standing in line.

Farewell to Helsinki...

This is the view from the lounge at Vantaa airport. I'm on the first flight to Heathrow at 7.45am and I hope Stephanie will see this post when she starts the PC to check my expected arrival time before driving to the airport to meet me! This is my first post sent by email from my Nokia N95.

Normal service will be resumed...

...in a couple of weeks. I'm off on my holidays, after seven weeks of living in Finland. I can't believe it is nearly three months since I left my last job. The time has flown by.

While I'm away, I'm going to try posting to the blog directly from my phone. We're travelling in California, so I hope to bring news from LA, Las Vegas and San Francisco. Please stay tuned for Finn-Mark's travels in the USA...

Alright now....in fact, it was a gas

I was lucky enough (thanks, boss) to see the Rolling Stones live at the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki tonight. The show was excellent, though at one stage I did wonder whether Keith would manage to stay upright through the whole performance.

They played most of their classics and got a great reception from the audience - the Finns love to rock!

As the sun went down and the evening grew darker, the light show behind the stage was spectacular, with a massive screen showing feeds from multiple TV cameras. The highlight for me, though, was when the band, on a moving section of stage, came out into the audience and played some of their old numbers.

I only hope I look as good as Mick does when I am his age. A sentiment shared, I think, by Stephanie!

Moonlighting in Helsinki...

I landed on schedule at Vantaa and managed to find my car in the car park to drive home. Living in a female dominated household means our cars have tended to get names. My Land Rover Discovery, for example, is known as Disco Dan. So, my Opel Astra, registration number ALG 142, has to be Algy. I was pleased to see him and we drove home on almost empty roads, with the full moon over Helsinki to welcome me back.

Two suitcases came back with me; one contained the Whisky and Green Ginger which I am now sipping, as well as the wireless adapter for my PC, over which I am now writing this post.

Only a week to go before we head off on holiday to do the Golden Triangle in California. I can hardly wait!

Something for the weekend...

Being back in the UK for the second weekend in a row seemed a real treat. After a day working at the office in Farnborough, I had the chance to catch up with a former colleague over a pint of Doom Bar at the Lord Derby in North Warnborough. Then on for a curry with the family at the Shapla to start another great weekend.

We met up with my parents at the Spinnaker Inn near Southampton. Mum and Dad are coming to visit me in Helsinki in September with my sister, so Stephanie and I were able to talk about some of the places to visit. Of course, Dad has already done a lot of research!

Saturday evening was due to be a barbecue with some friends, but the English weather defeated us. I still cooked outside, sheltering under the parasol intended to keep the patio shady, but we ate indoors.

Sunday morning was a surprisingly satisfying mix of chores. There is something reassuring about doing these, which had been my regular weekend routine before I moved to Helsinki. And now, I am in the British Airways lounge at Heathrow, grabbing a few minutes online before boarding my flight to Helsinki. Now it's time to head for gate 22.....

An Englishman in New York...

"In the heart of little old New York, you'll find a thoroughfare.
It's the part of little old New York that runs into Times Square."

In case you don't recognise them, these are the opening lines of the song 42^nd Street. Only a few weeks ago, I was singing these on stage in our village amateur dramatic show. Yesterday I passed 42^nd Street in a taxi on my way back to JFK airport to fly back after my New York visit and I couldn't get that song out of my head! Here I am with Times Square as a backdrop.

The previous evening, I had dinner with some of my new work colleagues at The Striped Bass in Tarrytown. We sat outside on a glorious summer evening for a couple of drinks and then had an excellent meal...too much, of course. I should not have had the Pecan Pie, but it was delicious. Thanks to Laurie for looking after me this week!

Ah well, back on the diet next week.......

Welcome to America...

I arrived into JFK airport in New York on Sunday night for my first ever trip to the Big Apple (or one of the branches of the apple tree, perhaps, as I am visiting White Plains). Apart from feeling slightly nervous that I have brought the torrential UK rain with me, I am feeling a little more tired than usual after the transatlantic flight, courtesy of US Customs & Border Protection.

Our flight landed ahead of schedule around 9pm. At 9.30pm, a Boeing 777 full of passengers were standing in line for the US immigration process, always a somewhat slow but understandably thorough process. However, at 10pm, virtually all of the officers packed up and left their booths at the end of their shift. According to the American Airlines ground staff, the US Federal government is declining to pay overtime to the staff and there was no-one due on after 10pm. I was roughly in the middle of the visitors queue and it took me almost two hours to clear immigration. At least I didn't have to wait for my luggage! My thanks to the few officers who decided to stay on, apparently unpaid, to get us through.

Catching up...

It has been a day for meeting new colleagues and catching up with some old ones. On the train up to London to meet with my new PR agency, I bumped into Georgina Heaume, who was one of my old team's PR placement students a couple of years ago. She has just graduated from Bournemouth University and is looking for a PR job; she was on her way up to town for an interview. If you know anyone who is looking for an enthusiastic and capable PR recruit, let me know.

I arrived a little late for the agency meeting due to dreadful weather and slow trains; the new team were very welcoming. I shall say nothing more about them yet, as they told me they were already reading this blog!

Afterwards, I met with a former boss for lunch. Valerie Di Maria is now SVP & group marketing and communications director for Willis. It was great to catch up with her; we both seem to be enjoying our new roles!

I also caught up with Mike Daniels and Sarah Potter from Report International. I've worked with them for several years now and in my view, their company is one of the best in providing insightful media analysis. They are also great people to work with.

It's been a great day, despite the weather. Now for some R&R and a curry at my favourite Indian restaurant, the Shapla in Alresford. Yum!

The magic of the movies

My thanks to Mark and the UK comms team for inviting Stephanie and me to a screening of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix last night at BAFTA in London. It was a great chance to catch up with some UK media contacts and see the new movie (which was good).

There was a competition to find the best Harry and Dumbledore lookalikes from amongst the journalists and their guests. We dressed up and posed in front of a blue screen, our images were then superimposed onto a moving sky background. The photo shows me attempting to be Harry. I was aptly described by one of the UK PR agency team as resembling "a newsreader on a stick".

Before the movie we were treated to some great close-quarters magic by Mark Williams. I love to see live magic and he was very impressive. My dad would have loved it too!

Afterwards, Stephanie and I sat through the credits, waiting for the name of the actor playing the young James Potter, Harry's father, in one of the flashback scenes. Watch out for Robert Jarvis, a star in the making. He's also the younger brother of Rebecca, our daughter Ellie's oldest friend. Nice job, Robbie!

Back home again

So, I'm finally home, after nearly four weeks out of the UK. After the efficiency of most things in Finland (except for the traffic lights, more on that another time), Heathrow brought me down to earth with a bump. No offence to Finnair, their captain landed the plane smoothly, as ever.

No, it was after I got off the plane that I got the welcome to the UK normally reserved for citizens of other countries. I know I live in Finland now, but I still have a British passport. This was part of the problem and it is, of course, all my own fault. I registered back in June for the Iris recognition scheme, with the intent of speeding up my regular trips into the UK.

The first time I used it, all went well. At that time, the regular queue for passport control was shorter than the Iris queue, but I wanted to try it. Today, feeling smug, I joined the much shorter Iris queue and, after two failed attempts, had to go and join the end of the regular line. "You have to open your eyes really wide", said the ever-so-helpful immigration officer. I can do that. I spent nearly an hour doing so yesterday, having some photos done for my new employer's press website. (I'll post some when the photographer manages to find one or two decent ones from the hundred or so he took).

Add to this that the baggage handlers loaded the luggage on the wrong belt and that I had to chase after the Hertz rental bus as it tantalisingly pulled away as I approached, and you get the idea of how irritated I was by the time I picked up my rental car and drove on the left hand side of the road in a manual car for the first time in a few years. If you were not on the M3 around 10pm this evening, you made a wise decision.

Still, I am home. As I opened the car door on my driveway, I got a waft of the warm summer night air and heard the chimes from a distant church clock striking the hour. Although the family are fast asleep, it is good to be home. And I have sorted the first job on my "honey-do" list; fixing the broadband connection! Looking forward to my first business trip to the UK and a weekend with the family. I'm picking eldest daughter Ellie up from Gatwick on Saturday after her holidays, I haven't seen her for a month.

Domestic bliss?

The weekend visit from my wife and youngest daughter went by far too quickly. I hadn't seen Sally for three weeks; the longest we've been apart since she was born. Though we've been speaking by phone and chatting via the PC, it was lovely to have her and Stephanie here with me. We made a trip to Ikea on Saturday so that she could choose bedding and curtains for her room and then had some good family time, walking around the city, eating out and catching the tram home. Sunday was spent hanging curtains, after which Stephanie declared the apartment a proper home from home. Waving goodbye to them at the airport on Sunday was tough, but I'm flying back to the UK on Wednesday evening. I'll have a couple of days working there and then on Sunday I fly to the US for my first ever visit to New York to meet the team there. I'm flying back via the UK so I'll have two weekends there in a row, which will be great.

The arrival of my new washing machine and dryer, delayed until this evening, meant that I have had the fun of washing and ironing until now. Thank goodness for the boxed set of House DVDs, they have helped me deal with all this domesticity! If you've not seen it yet, it's a US series featuring British actor Hugh Laurie. Well worth a try.

The cable guy...

The arrival of my TV on Wednesday meant it was only a matter of time before I got cable TV hooked up. Was it difficult? Not at all. I walked into the Welho shop at 6.30pm last night (they don't close until 7pm) and a very enthusiastic (English speaking, of course) assistant sorted everything out for me.

I bought a hard disk twin tuner cable box (my former Motorola colleagues will be sad to hear I could not buy one of theirs) for €369 and then €20.50 a month for their Forte channel package. Because all the apartments are pre-wired for cable, the service to my apartment was live before I got home and plugged it all in. So, I was able to do my ironing last night watching My Family and The Hairy Bikers. What bliss! It made ordering Sky+ in the UK seem like torture.

On four wheels...

I am now mobile.  I have ordered a new company car, which should be here in October, but until then I have a nice silver Opel Astra to get me around.  Shopping at Ikea will be so much easier without having to order a taxi to take us there and back when my family visit at the weekend.

Found a local

So, I've moved in to the new apartment. Yesterday was spent unpacking and tidying (don't laugh) and today I've continued. With some pictures on the wall and the PC set up, it is feeling more like home and ready for visitors.

I went for a walk yesterday and discovered Tervasaari, s small promontory from where you can get great views of Helsinki. As it was a warm evening, several residents had been washing their rugs, a traditional activity for summer.

Today I ventured forth for some shopping. I stopped for sustenance at Molly Malone's, an Irish bar near to the apartment and had half a litre of Guinness (a little less than an Imperial pint, a little more than a US pint). I had another for my Irish-American buddy Mike, who would have loved the bar. I got chatting to a Scotsman who met a Finnish girl in Helsinki, married her. moved to Sweden and now makes a living playing music in pubs around the continent. He took the photo of me and thought it would be better if the shot was at a jaunty angle, to simulate his hangover from the previous evening.

Under the name of Sanders...well, almost

One of my favourite bits of the Winnie-the-Pooh books is where we are introduced to Pooh, who “lived in a forest all by himself under the name of Sanders.”

“What does “under the name” mean? asked Christopher Robin.”

“It means he had the name over the door in gold letters and lived under it.”

Well, I don't have my name over the door in gold letters, but it is now printed in black on the door bell buttons of the new apartment block.

My 19 boxes from home arrived today, so I have a few more items to make my life a little more comfortable as well as some photos of the family. I have been missing them all dreadfully this week. Ellie is off on holiday next week, but Stephanie and Sally will be here next weekend. I can't wait to see them.

Here is what my new apartment block looks like. The door is just behind the car, my apartment is on the second floor (the ground floor is called the first floor, as in the US, just to confuse us Brits). You can see my balcony just above the back end of the car. It will seat two people and their drinks!

More unpacking over the weekend and I hope I will be able to move in by Sunday. The washing machine arrives on Wednesday and hopefully the broadband connection won't be long after that.

Making the bed...

My new apartment is starting to look more like an Ikea showroom and less like a warehouse! Tonight I built the bed, together with the slide out shelves behind and connected the ceiling light. Rental apartments here typically come without light fittings, so your correspondent has been fiddling with electrics! When I tried that a few years ago, I managed to electrocute myself, but no dramas today. All that is missing from the picture now is Stephanie!

The final delivery from Ikea arrived this evening while I was at the apartment, so I have dining table, chairs and armchair to assemble tomorrow. More pictures to follow when the living room looks tidier. My boxes from home should be here on Friday, so the weekend looks to be set for unpacking.

Médecins Sans Frontières

I've been suffering with a sore throat since I arrived in Finland, but initially put it down to taking several flights in a short space of time. By last Friday, though, I had tried unsuccessfully to get rid of it with two of my three favourite remedies; medicated lozenges and gargling with soluble Aspirin. (My real favourite is a Whisky Mac - whisky and green ginger wine - before bedtime, but I haven't got the booze to hand).

So, I tried the on-site occupational health service at the office. Former colleagues will know that we had an excellent occupational health advisor at the Basingstoke office, but my new workplace offers a full clinic, with physicians and nursing staff. The doctor referred me for a Streptococcus A test, carried out immediately, which suggested this was not the cause of my symptoms. She then prescribed Burana (800mg Ibuprofen tablets) and a Betadine mouthwash and asked me to visit again this morning.

Though I had a great weekend with Stephanie, my throat was not improved by this morning, so I was referred to a laboratory in the city centre for blood tests. I got there around 11am, was seen without waiting, had my samples taken and away I went. The results were faxed to the doctor at 1pm, she called me to advise I had no other infections to contradict her original diagnosis of an Adenovirus infection. Definitely not man flu! I am signed off work until Thursday on strict instructions to rest. I'll try, but I am itching to get back to the office before the rest of my team disappear for their holidays.

So, my first experience of the Finnish medical system has left me as impressed as I am by the other public services in this country. And yes, my throat is feeling a little better. Remedy number four? Fresh Finnish strawberries and ice cream.

What a weekend!

Well, it's the end of the weekend and Stephanie has flown home. Saying goodbye at the airport was hard, but it won't be long until we see each other again. I think it has surprised both of us just how much closer we have become since I started this new role.

We have fitted in a lot of things since she arrived at 23:45 on Friday evening. Quickest is to list the major highlights:

• Visited the new apartment and measured up.
• Spent 5 hours at Ikea in Vantaa, buying the major furniture and furnishing items.
• Lost my new Nokia N95 at Ikea (the first time I have ever lost a phone; I'm devastated) and so no pictures on the blog for a while.
• Arranged the delivery of our Ikea purchases. We chose to carry around 5Kg of goods, which got the total under 500Kg and so reduced the delivery charge to 79 Euros. For nearly half a metric tonne of shopping!
• Had a romantic dinner, eating (and drinking!) the Helsinki Menu at Nokka, overlooking the harbour, a short walk from our new apartment.
• Walked from Nokka to Esplanadi, where we had an Irish coffee at Kappeli, then ice creams from the kiosk. Stephanie had lemon and licorice, which she loved, I had my favourite, rum and raisin.
• Caught a cab home, had a walk around the area and then a sauna
• Got up this morning, caught the 65A bus from the company apartment to the new one
• Walked into town, had coffee, went to Stockmann, bought glasses and mugs, which we took back to the apartment.

After that, I took Stephanie for her flight and then returned to the apartment to wait in for the delivery. It arrived around 21:00 and then I caught the Metro back, my first trip on the underground in Helsinki and, as with all the public transport here, I'm really impressed.

It was a great weekend, but I can't wait to see Stephanie and the girls again. I'm next due back in England in mid-July.

I've found the bins......!

I went for a walk tonight, partly because after a drizzly day, the evening turned sunny and I was back at my apartment in reasonable time. The other reason was to try to find where in this block the bins (= trash cans) were stored. I thought I had looked everywhere. I've found storage rooms, the garage, the elevator switchgear (I couldn't actually open that door) but until now, not the bins. Tonight, behind a fairly anonymous door, (it says JÄTEHUONE on it, but I don't read Finnish...yet) there they were. I can hardly contain my excitement!

I also got the chance to look around the area. Out of my window I can see some sea, but from the waterfront it looks lovely. I took this photo around an hour ago. It is the bridge between the area I am living in and the next island, Lauttasaari.

As I've mentioned before, the apartment I am living in temporarily is owned by my employer and is in one of their former cable factories. This photo shows how it looks from outside. If you click the photo you can see it full size; my apartment is shown in the red box and I am typing this at my desk behind the window on the right as you look at it.

My first visitors

Our long standing friends (we don't use the word old any more) Graham and Barbara are on a Baltic cruise this week and after being soaked in Copenhagen and scorched in Stockholm, they arrived in Helsinki this morning amid the drizzle.

We met at Karl Fazer café on Kluuvikatu for a quick cup of coffee. Despite the gloomy weather, they had managed to see the cathedral and Stockmann and were off afterwards to the old market hall.

It sounds as though they are having a more exhausting week than me!