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.

Returned to sender...

Palautetaan lähettäjälle...

And our good luck just continues re: weird things happening.
Because of a tiny nail varnish bottle the parcel sent to Emmdee's sister has been returned to us (evidence above). What do we learn from this? Never send nail varnish by post to anywhere :)

Kova - Tough (kuka? - who?)

Trans. Viivi: 'The world is a tough place'. Wagner: 'So is Mellunmäki'.

... tämä tapahtui tänään aiemmin Mellunmäessä:
... and this is what happened earlier today in Mellunmäki:

Ilman lukkoa ovi lukossa?! the door is locked without a lock!?

(inner of the two doors leading to the main corridor...

a standard solution in a Finnish apartment buildings for acoustics/fire etc)

Emmdee on our balcony in cycling gear

leaving the balcony... and you know how much he likes the heights

You may again wonder if this is one of the weird Finnish past times, to climb down from balconies dressed spandex - a new fashionable sport Emmdee has taken up as a hobby...

Just at 15:05 today it was discovered by Emmdee that there's no way out from our flat... The door had locked itself, even it does not have a lock - nice surprise for our cyclist on his way to the Finnish lessons in town (starting at 16:00). The estate maintenance chap hurried to help, but was not able to open the door from outside either... ladder was luckily found in the basement house store and the cyclist was on his way - fashionably late. I'm on the other hand stranded at home... and Hiri outside - no way in or out at the moment (which is always good especially if fire was to spread in the apartment...) The locksmith on call is lowering his boat to the sea in the harbour and could potentially make it here in 'a few' hours :)

Perhaps I'm out of here soon too?