Kippis ...

We had a lovely lunch in Tallin, a great Indian at Elevant. Although it took nearly two hours to finish, it was great and we experienced our first wild boar curry. Sally and Jess seemed to enjoy theirs too.

After drinks on the roof terrace at the Palace Hotel back in Helsinki, Stephanie and I went to a beer festival in the square by the railway station. Our favourite beer was the Pils from the Plevna brewery in Tampere.

Thank heaven that tomorrow is Sunday. I think a lie in is called for after a hectic few days. Let's hope that the beers were pure enough to avoid a hangover.

Space invaders ...

I'm having a great few days on holiday in Helsinki. My wife, youngest daughter and her friend are with me and we have been enjoying some of the city's leisure time attractions.

Yesterday we visited Linnanmäki amusement park. Unusually, the park is not owned by a commercial enterprise but by the Children's Day Foundation, which collects funds for child welfare work. The park was good value for money - we got onto all the rides we wanted with less than 10 minutes queueing for any of them. A highlight was the wooden roller coaster, originally completed in 1951. It was the first time I had ridden a wooden coaster and the smell of wood preservative added to the experience. The ride features a driver on each car, who appears to be responsible for engaging the cable which pulls the cars to the top of each slope and then braking them again if needed.

Today has been a shopping day; rather inevitable with three girls. Stephanie managed to buy two pairs of shoes in the first shop, so was happy.

Tomorrow we are off to Tallin, capital city of Estonia and 100 minutes away by high speed ferry, so I expect to have more to report in a couple of days.

Just one thing is concerning me. My shower is usually home to one bar of soap and one bottle of shampoo. At the moment, it has 9 visiting lotions and potions and two objects which resemble ping pong balls wrapped in net curtains. I am not asking what these alien items all are, just making sure I don't tread on any of them as I perform my ablutions. A small price to pay for such enjoyable company!

Improving cycle time...

No, don't worry, this is not an essay on business performance optimisation. I was directed to the YTV website, normally used for planning bus, tram or metro journeys in Helsinki, but which also has a cycling route planner. With its help, I was able to find a way to avoid that bl**dy hill in Lautasaari (the blue line on the map) and cycled in this morning, my last before vacation, five minutes faster than my previous best time despite the a headwind over the bridge from Ruoholahti.

Today is my last day before holidays; we start with a few days in Helsinki with my wife, youngest daughter and her friend. Then a villa in Tuscany beckons for a week, after which a few days catching up on the gardening back in the UK. Bliss! All I have to do is cycle back to the apartment and my holiday begins ... once I finishing tidying before the inspection party arrives. I think that might be my fastest cleaning cycle ever, too.

Anyone for tennis?

Saturday was Ladies' Singles Finals day at Wimbledon and I thought I would bring a taste of English culture to my colleagues in Helsinki, so I arranged a Pimms and Strawberries party. Just to be sure I had enough Strawberries (Mansikka) I bought this tray of 5 kilos of the finest Finnish fruit. They do taste as good as they look, we are at the height of the season here.

Of course, with Strawberries should go some cream. I know the word for cream (kerma), so felt confident looking for that in the K-Supermarket. A moment's challenge to work out which was whipping cream? Whipping isn't a word that has come up in my 3 Finnish lessons, in any of its meanings. So, check the can of spray cream - no, don't buy it, but look for a word that matches with one of the various cartons. That worked! A little Grand Marnier added before you whip gives a luxurious touch.

I had also decided to bake some Marmite whirls, so needed some frozen pastry. That had to be chosen by a process of elimination, using the pictures on the packets. Eliminate the filo, the pie crust and the pulla and I was left with a picture that looked like a salmon-filled strudel. That worked too (recipe below).

The game itself was OK, but not outstanding, especially since I had needed to upgrade my Welho cable TV subscription to get the channel showing Wimbledon. Still, the same channel shows the Formula 1 racing, so I was at least able to watch Lewis Hamilton win at Silverstone on Sunday.

But, when I settled down to watch the Gentlemen's Singles Finals, the channel was not broadcasting it live. Instead, they chose to show the Boys' Singles Finals? Why, you might ask, would they eschew what has since been described as the best Mens' Final in history? Simple. Finnish junior, Henry Kontinen, was a finalist in the Boys'. Sadly for Finland, he lost. Congratulations, though, to Laura Robson from the UK, who won the Girls' Singles Final. A Brit who can win at Wimbledon? There's something worth raising a glass of Pimms to.

Marmite whirls

1. Open up the sheet of thawed pastry
2. Spread with Marmite
3. Sprinkle with grated cheese
4. Roll up tightly like a swiss roll
5. Cut 10mm slices and place on baking parchment
6. Bake at 150º C for 30 minutes
7. Allow to cool, if you can, before eating.