Going home?

Fish'n'chips via.

That was weird. Without thinking about it I just typed the title of this post (before I added the question mark) - I wonder if that means something? So actually our 'holiday' back in UK visiting my family is ending today, and we will be back in Finland tonight. After three weeks of unusually sunny, warm weather in Blighty, with only the first autumnal tinges showing, we will be greeted by temperatures 10 degrees cooler, and touching zero at night, and autumn in full swing... the first snow has even fallen in Lapland.

But is Helsinki 'home' now, after only fifteen months? Strangely it is Stadilainen Konna who keeps saying 'If we come back in a year's time ... we'll wish we hadn't sent six more boxes of stuff over' or '... we'll want most of this stuff that is now filling your mum's spare room'.

While I've been here I've been keen to partake in several important local cultural culinary treats:

• Battered fish and chips (not fries) with salt and vinegar - from a fish'n'chip shop, in paper
• Steak and kidney pie - mmm pastry
• 'Proper' italian style, wood oven roasted, thin crust, pizza (no Finnish kebab-shop minced-meat pies thanks)
• Sunday Roast (lamb) - cooked by my Mum (who makes fantastic crispy roasties)
• Sitting and reading the weekend papers

I've also realised that I actually missed British TV and radio (particularly radio channels that play new and current music... a radical idea that doesn't seem to have reached Finland yet).

Maybe this all explains why I managed to lose 7 kilos this summer (leading to some comedy trouser issues) not having this stuff around to eat, but I dread to think how much I've regained in the last few weeks. Back on the bike for me then until the snow comes.