The 2014 Osacr winners will be revealed tonight and this year there are couple of (nearly) Finnish entries.Do I Have to Take Care of Everything? (Pitääkö mun kaikki hoitaa?) by Selma Vilhunen and Kirsikka Saari is up for best short film. This is the first Oscar nomination for these two Finnish … [Read more...]
The Year That Was 2013
2013 has been quite a year for me. I'm not sure I can recall a time when so much happened in a mere twelve months.First of all, I finally took the plunge and published all of my novels on Kindle. After the success of The Englishman (over 2,000 downloads as we speak and counting), I was encouraged to … [Read more...]
Only in Finland!
This is no gimmick, and I can fully believe that this reindeer does indeed think it's a dog. … [Read more...]
Andy Murray and my citizenship status
A spurious connection? Let me explain.I've mentioned on this blog a few times now that although I've lived in the UK for the best part of my adult life, I've never felt the need to apply for British citizenship. Also, when the children were young, the crazy pre-EU Finnish laws stated that my … [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 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...]
Presidential elections in Finland
I ventured all the way out to Belgravia from Northwest London this morning to carry out an important national duty: to vote in the first round of elections to select a new president for Finland. It was a beautifully sunny day and for once the Embassy on Chesham Place was teaming with my countrymen. … [Read more...]
A Finnish Breakfast
Best breakfast ever: Talkkuna with viili and black, strong coffeeTalkkuna flour is made from whole oats, barley and dried pea. It tastes pretty much like toasted rye bread and mixed with low-fat viili (soured milky product - a little like yogurt) tastes just delicious.My daughter who spent a year in … [Read more...]