Blinking into the light ...

This has been my first weekend in Helsinki for five weeks and it really does feel as though the city is waking up for summer.

On Friday, I was in the tent at April Jazz (more correctly the International Jazz Festival in Tapiola). Playing live were excellent local singer Tuomo and a British group, US3, amongst whose hits in the 90's was Cantaloop. I'm not normally a fan of rap, but their fusion of jazz and hip-hop, with a stage show full of energy, was a great way to start the weekend. I caught the free jazz-bussi from the city centre, which added to the sense of adventure!

On Saturday, the cultural experience continued, with an introduction to another of Helsinki's ex-pat communities. April 25th is Anzac Day, originally to honour members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who fought at Gallipoli in Turkey during World War I but now commemorating all those who died and served in military operations for their countries.

There is (of course) a Finn-Anzac society here, who celebrate the day with a picnic on the beach in Lauttasaari and I joined them with some other friends. We (of course) took a barbeque and grilled English sausages and drank Pimms, to show solidarity with our fellow Commonwealth citizens! One of the members had even made Anzac biscuits; my Mum baked these during my childhood and it was nice to have a reminder of home. Though the weather was a little cold, the sun was out and the view over the sea from our picnic spot was glorious. I even have a little celebratory sunburn as a result.

Today was a technical workshop organised by the Finn-Brit Players, as an introduction to sound and lighting techniques. They share the challenge our TOADS group at home suffers, trying to find volunteers to help with these areas for productions. I have been persuaded to take an apprenticeship in lighting for the next show, a Harold Pinter double-bill in June. I hope that this, too, will be an illuminating experience!

Round and round the castle ...

Readers may notice that this is not a Finnish landmark. As I have only spent four days in Finland over the last three weeks, this post is about our weekend trip to Arundel in West Sussex to celebrate my wife's birthday.

Arundel has been a favourite destination for many years. I grew up not far from here and when our eldest was small, a visit was always a popular choice.

We started with a tour of the castle, seat of the Dukes of Norfolk, set in 40 acres of beautiful countryside and dating back to Norman times. After a stroll around the gardens and tea and cakes, we visited the Roman Catholic cathedral of Our Lady & St Philip Howard. Back to the Norfolk Arms to get ready for the evening and then out for dinner at Butlers. (In case anyone from the restaurant is reading, here's what a Caesar salad should be. It should have egg and anchovies. Romaine lettuce not mixed leaves. Definitely no cherry tomatoes. And no vinegar in the dressing!)

On Sunday, after the inevitable full English breakfast, we took a stroll at Swanbourne Lake, a former mill pond which is now home to a variety of wildfowl. This and the surrounding land was purchased by the Duke of Norfolk in 1787 and forms part of the Arundel Park. Our memory was that the full walk around the lake took around one and a half hours, so we nearly didn't attempt it. Of course, it used to with a young daughter, but with both of our girls now grown up, the full circuit took around half the time!

It was a wonderful spring weekend in England, with flora and fauna at their most appealing. For more pictures, see my Arundel 2009 channel on Ovi Share. Many happy returns, darling!

Easter bun-nies ...

I blogged last year about some of the Easter traditions here in Finland. This year, I decided to do just a little to share one of ours from the UK, so during my team meeting this week we had Hot Cross Buns which I imported at the weekend.

This was somewhat of a logistical challenge. As they are traditionally served hot (!), I needed to find a way of warming them and concluded that the microwave in the office kitchen would not suffice. So, I brought in my toaster from home. I did wonder whether the health & safety folk might object, but we avoided setting off the smoke detectors, so I think I got away with it!

The buns proved popular, as expected, since they are similar to some of the Finnish pulla. I hope that one of the beliefs about the buns holds true; if you share them with someone, you supposedly ensure friendship for the coming year. I am fortunate to have a great team already, but there's no harm in taking out a little insurance!