Nice buns ...

Yesterday was Shrove Tuesday, celebrated in the UK and many other countries as Pancake Day, when by tradition the store cupboards are emptied in preparation for Lent.

In Finland, the tradition is different; the Lenten seasons starts 50 days before Easter on laskiasunnuntai (nearest English translation is Quinquagesima Sunday). This starts the three day feast called laskiainen (Shrovetide) that ends on laskiaistiistai (Shrove Tuesday). The Finnish traditon is to eat pea soup (normally served on Thursdays) and laskiaspulla, a special type of buns filled with jam or marzipan and topped with whipped cream. The picture of these pulla comes from the Helsinki Times website.

Sadly, I missed both traditions this year, tying to stick to my existing abstinence programme. But the pulla do look good.

Love is the key ...

I have had two unpleasant incidents with my keys over the last couple of weeks. The first came last weekend, when in a rush to get out for an evening of games playing and movie watching across town. I have lived here for more than eighteen months and for the first time, leaving in a rush to catch a bus, forgot to take my apartment key. Of course, I realised just as the door clicked shut and had that sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. Luckily, I had not left the building, so was able to check the notice board in the hallway and, by a process of elimination, identify the service which could help. One phone call and twenty minutes later my rescuer appeared. The door was opened in exchange for a 2o Euro fee and I was on my way, thinking how this compared with UK experiences. When eldest daughter locked herself out on her 21st birthday, a rather expensive locksmith visit was added to the costs for the evening. I wonder whether there is a business opportunity for a low cost "keyholder" service back home?

The second incident was today (Sunday), when driving back to the airport after my first weekend home in three weeks. We'd had a great time, despite my coming down with a cold, which has left me feeling somewhat slugged. As I got to Heathrow and returned my rental car, I realised I had left my Finnish keys - car, apartment, desk etc. - hanging on the hook in the hallway at home. The same sinking feeling ensued, but I phoned home and my darling wife, without hesitation, got in her car and drove to Heathrow, almost in my tyre tracks. Together with youngest daughter, they got the keys to me in the nick of time; I managed to make the flight with a few minutes to spare.

So, despite missing Valentine's weekend at home, for the perennial reason of Mobile World Congress, I can say that love is key for a happy marriage. I suspect, though, that this second incident may end up costing me a little more than 20 Euros!!

Building memories ...

This week, the builders took down the plastic sheeting and scaffolding and unveiled the construction opposite my apartment this week. It was not quite as exciting as unwrapping a present, but it does look marginally more attractive now than it has done during construction.

It is a new building for the University of Helsinki, which has a lot of property in this area. I am not sure whether it is going to be student accommodation, or teaching rooms, or something else, but I am sure I will find out later this year.

Construction started last October, just after my parents had been over to visit. According to my landlady's agent, construction should be finished on August 14 this year. I love the idea that they are confident enough not just to state the month, but go right down to the day, I don't thinky you would get that from British builders! As well as causing some disruption with reduced parking in the street, the footpath which went down the side of the building has been temporarily diverted, though through a charming group of university buildings with an old cobbled yard.

The second photo shows how the space looked before, my Dad took this shot when he was here. At least some of the large trees have been preserved, so that once the building is finished, it will look like it has been part of the cityscape for a while. But it doesn't give me quite the same view from the balcony.

If the shoe fits ...

Friends and family will know that I am rather fond of shoes. I believe that owning more than 40 pairs is unusual for an Englishman, even one with two homes. However, until now, all my purchases have been from the stores, ready made, even if some have been particularly splendid.

This weekend, I took the next step (sorry) in my journey of discover in footwear. I was measured in Helsinki by the left foot company, for a pair of individually made shoes.

This company is a Finnish success story. In 1998, they began developing "a system that enabled detailed measurements of the customer's feet using 3D technology. Three years of in-depth development work led to the creation of the CMS system, which forms basis for the left foot company's activity.

The CMS system makes it possible to manufacture individual shoes with an efficiency almost matching that of mass production. Using computer aided design, 3D foot scanning, computer guided cutting systems and an automated production control system, tailored shoes can be manufactured industrially."

The process involves wearing socks printed with grids, then standing on a scanner bed with a camerate that travels 360 degrees around the foot, creating a 3D image. With one fluorescent yellow sock and one fluorescent green, each with a pattern like graph paper, I did feel somewhat like a mathematically obsessed Teddy Boy. The details are checked and stored and you then receive a unique username and password to use on their website.

After that, the challenge is to choose what style and colour of shoes you wanr. They have hundreds of variants to choose from. I eventually opted for their Via Nomentana style in Coffee / Cognac. You can find them on this page, they are also shown in the image above.

Now I have to wait for delivery, by post, in week 10. Apparently, if I am not happy with them then we retry until I am. Once I am certain we have a good fit, then I can order further pairs from the website without needing to go back for another fitting.

I look forward to reporting to you on the results. I hope I shall be head over heels!

Compact and bijoux ...

I've been back in the UK for the weekend and, as I do frequently, hired a car to drive home and then back to the airport.

Normally I book the car separately, but for this journey, into London Gatwick, I got a deal from Easyjet to include car rental through Europcar, a company I have had good service from when renting at Heathrow.

To keep the costs down, I booked a 2 or 4 door compact car, expecting a small Ford or similar. However, when I collected the keys, they were for a Citroen. I've not had great experience with that marque before, so was not expecting to enjoy the drive, but hey, it's only for a few hours. I was even more surprised when I went out to the parking bay and found that my ride was one of these pictured, a C4 Grand Picasso, 7 seat MPV. Compact it is not, but it was all that was left and time was pressing, so I set off.

I've joked with my wife before that with the number of cars I am renting, perhaps I should start reviewing some of them for the blog. I think, though, that might cause several readers to go and check out something more interesting. In short, this was a surprisingly good drive, the car handled very well, the diesel engine was lively and responsive, delivering around 44mpg for the weekend and, should I ever be looking for a seven seat vehicle, I would consider it. Of course, as I already have a seven seater, my Land Rover Discovery, I don't think it will be an immediate purchase.

When I returned the car, I was pleased that I had paid the few pounds extra to reduce the insurance excess to zero. Pulling into the filling station, I managed to scrape the rear nearside wing on one of the metal poles designed to avoid people driving into the pumps. Perhaps if I had been given a compact as ordered, that wouldn't have happened!