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...]
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...]
How I came to be in England – Part 7
The Finnair flight to Heathrow in August 1981 was almost empty. There were two air hostesses and one steward, who kept me topped up with orange juice and water. I was nervous. I’d never been to England before. I was used to travelling on my own, but London was a big city to get lost in.As the plane … [Read more...]
How I came to be in England – Part 5
By March 1981 I'd been exchanging letters with the handsome Englishman for five months. At times I doubted his sincerity. Showing affection seemed to come easily to him. Yet we hardly knew each other and had only met twice the previous October.At least the fights and recriminations with my ex-fiance … [Read more...]
How I came to be in England – Part 4
My university lectures restarted the last week of October 1980. But my mind was not on Macro Economics. All I could think about was my handsome Englishman. The words of the first letter were engraved onto my brain. He told me he lived in a house in Portsmouth, which he shared with three friends, all … [Read more...]
Michael Jackson
I wasn't really a fan, and hadn't realised how much his music played in the background of my life until, this morning, I heard the many tracks he'd written. I fell in love while 'Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough' was played in a Helsinki bar. In one of the happiest times of my life I remember dancing … [Read more...]
How I came to be in England – Part 3
The first letter was a wonderful surprise. It arrived ten days after I’d said goodbye to the Englishman and twelve days after I’d met him at the Embassy cocktail party. When I found the blue oblong air mail envelope on my doormat, I nearly screamed. I held it in my hand for just a moment. It was … [Read more...]
How I came to be in England – Part 2
On a Thursday in mid October in 1980, I was baking bread in the small kitchenette of my Helsinki flat. It was two days after the Embassy Party where I'd met the Englishman. Who'd promised to phone and hadn't. I knew sooner or later I'd have to come clean to my boyfriend. But not tonight. I started … [Read more...]
How I came to be in England – Part one
'Englishmen are boring,' I told my then boyfriend. It was his third phone call. He didn't like that I was getting ready for a British Embassy cocktail party in honour of a Royal Naval visit to Helsinki. I was going as a favour to a friend from work, Maria. She'd been unlucky in love. It was October … [Read more...]