My theme: writing and the business of writing"Karelia: a region of NE Europe, formerly Finland but annexed in several stages by the former Soviet Union."Picture from ParadoxIn Finnish history, Karelia is a contentious issue. It's not mentioned in the above quote, (from Collins dictionary 2003) … [Read more...]
Finnish Easter shopping
Last weekend, during a Finn Guild friendship network event, I joined a group of Finnish ladies in Brighton to discuss multicultural marriage and the bringing up of bilingual (or in some cases trilingual) children. Whilst listening to an excellent talk by Maria Onuigbo on multicultural … [Read more...]
Finnish comfort food for a chilly night in London
I know I wasn't going to blog, but due to popular demand…. ;-)Last night when the weather in the UK became decidedly Nordic, I fancied a traditional Finnish comfort food dish, Kaalilaatikko. This is a stew with mince and cabbage baked for a long time in the oven, which I've been craving since Big … [Read more...]
Merry Christmas!
Just a little snipped from my childhood…a school Christmas end of term concert from Finland in 1979. Look at those haircuts!Happy Christmas to you all! … [Read more...]
Finnish Independence Day Celebrations
My invite to the Ambassador's reception.I was delighted to be invited to the Finnish Ambassador's residence in London's South Kensington last night to celebrate 95 years of Finnish Independence. (I've written a little about our history here.)And what an evening it was! I'm still buzzing … [Read more...]
Happy ‘Little Christmas’!
In the Nordic countries we celebrate something called 'Little Christmas' on 1st of December. It's basically First Advent, but a less religious version. People have parties, children get presents from the elves, and the first advent candle is lit at breakfast (there's a huge FAIL in our household on … [Read more...]
Feeling poorly…
For weeks now I've been battling against a cold. I've tried everything; various nasal sprays, copious amounts of vitamin C and other potions, but last weekend my body finally caved in and I ended up in bed, having to cancel going to all sorts of lovely events, like the Finnish and Danish Christmas … [Read more...]
Christmas preparations
It's strange how the little things make all the difference to Christmas. Even though I put a few decorations up for Pikkujoulu on the 1st of December, and I've visited the various seasonal ex-pat fairs, as well as been to the Swedish Lucia carols, to me, it hasn't really felt like Christmas yet.But … [Read more...]
Finnish Christmas Fair
It never ceases to amaze me how two countries who are geographically so close can be so different. Take the two ex-pat Christmas Fairs I've just been to. Yesterday's Swedish Church was stylish, flash and showy. Set in the genteel part of town in Marylebone, it was where the well-heeled Swedes come … [Read more...]
Swedish Church Christmas Fair in London
Most the Nordic Churches in London seem to have picked this weekend to open their annual Christmas Fairs. The Swedes were first off the mark, with the opening day today, whereas Finnish and Norwegian expats can enjoy buying their own festive wares from tomorrow. The Danish Christmas market … [Read more...]