My father, who had two daughters, called me 'My Best Girl.' As I grew up his obvious favouritism became a burden to me, rather than a source of pride. So when my parents finally split up after years of fighting, it was a relief to both of their two daughters.Our parents gave us a choice of which … [Read more...]
Lights, Camera, Action
There’s now concern that young girls send photos of themselves via their mobiles (disrobed as it were) to their boyfriends. So called sexting. When the relationship breaks up, the boyfriend shares these pictures with all and sundry. The consequences can be tragic and the dangers are obvious.But this … [Read more...]
How I came to be in England – Part 12
The smart new ferry smelled of carpet freshener and paint. A large bellied man in uniform greeted the passengers with a smile at the end of a long ramp. ‘Welcome on board, Miss.’ My arm ached from carrying the suitcase and I barely managed a grimace in return. To my relief the luggage store was … [Read more...]
The Kindness of Strangers
Perhaps I’m going through some kind of early middle age crisis but I seem to be very forgetful of late. The grown up children put this down to ‘just being you, mum’, but I don’t think I’ve always been such a scatter brain. Even if I am blonde.This week I went to London just to meet up with a friend … [Read more...]
How I came to be in England – Part 11
The lectures at the School of Economics restarted a few days after I came back from my holiday in England. It was September and the afternoons were already turning dark in Helsinki.On the first day of term I got up early, gathered all my bills, including the overdue rent for my flat and headed into … [Read more...]
Finland in a bun
I was greeted with a lovely smell of baking when I came home tonight. As evidence that daughter is truly on the mend, she's been making cinnamon buns. This is what they looked like. If I could transport the scent through the ether I would. Divine. They serve these in the Nordic Bakery in Golden … [Read more...]
How I came to be in England – Part 10
I had never felt as numb as I did waiting for my flight at Heathrow on 31st of August 1981. There were just a handful of us sitting outside the gate for the Finnair flight to Helsinki. No-one wanted to travel from London to ‘Hel’ as the label on my luggage read. It felt like Hell was just what I was … [Read more...]
A productive day?
This is the sum total of my achievements today.It is true, I am officially on holiday. It is true the family are home and daughter is still recovering from operation. It is true that I spent most of the day pottering in the garden and also made chicken stock. It is true that I spent a lot of time … [Read more...]
Men about the house
It's a very exciting day in the middle of nowhere in deepest darkest Blogshire today. Man and son are erecting a scaffold. In face of forecast gale force winds and torrential rain, they're optimistic a paint job which has been planned for months will go ahead today. The object of their DIY:ing is … [Read more...]
How I came to be in England – Part 9
Now and then during my last week in the UK, the words of the Englishman’s mother about ‘all of my son’s girlfriends’ rang in my ears. But as soon as the Englishman took me into his arms, or even just touched me, I convinced myself there was nothing in what she’d said to me. After all, I’d been … [Read more...]
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