Grandpa

Joen Yö

We went to Joen Yö 2011 on Friday - it's the equivalent of Museums at Night in the UK, with the museum, art gallery, theatre etc staying open late and putting events on. There were all kinds of stalls down by the river, and lots of bands playing some interesting music on the stage in the marketplace. Here's one lot, who didn't err towards the heavy metal as much as some did:


We sat and watched them while eating some rather good bratwurst, courtesy of a German stall (the marketplace was full of stalls selling food, sweeties, heavy metal t-shirts...).


We had a lot of fun wandering around and discovering what was on - we loved the folk dancing on the marketplace stage, but the absolute highlight was a steel pan band playing Europe's The Final Countdown. Aces.

More blueberry rambles

As is traditional on Sundays, M and I headed off to the forest. We went back to Lykynlampi for a stomp around the lake (and quite a lot of blueberry eating). We followed most of the yellow trail:


We saw several huge dragonflies, lots of people with baskets full of huge mushrooms or buckets of blueberries, and many, many trees (rowan, pine and birch).

We also found a mysterious set of steps, which we had to climb (all 167 of them):


But the view from the top was worth it!

Our new house, part I

We rather like our (rented) Finnish house. It's amazingly warm and cosy, which is rather a novelty after the draughty Victorian/Edwardian terraces we've always lived in in the UK. I don't think I've ever lived in a house this new either - it's only two years' old.

Here's our living room, complete with 1960s sofa salvaged from the Red Cross shop for 40 euros:

We also have a stove, for when the weather turns cold:


We have a compact, but bijou kitchen, complete with the largest fridge/freezer combo you have ever seen (you've only got the fridge part of it here in the picture)




And then there's three bedrooms, a bathroom/sauna, a utlity room and a loo room. Plenty of space for all of us and the cat...

Blueberries, part II

These pictures were taken on Sunday, when we headed off into the woods again, this time to Lykynlampi. It's about 5k north of where we live, and has all kinds of walking/hiking trails, and some rather good blueberry spots. We might return soon for some lingonberries (and we also have plans to gather some pine cones for firelighting use in our stove, once we get a run of dry weather).


Lykynlampi is an absolutely gorgeous spot. The sunlight was dripping through the trees onto the forest floor, which was studded with blueberries. We also found the lake, with its firepit and outdoor sauna (the first is quite tempting - we might come back for a picnic - but we might give the second a miss. I think we need to try out the sauna in our own house first!).

So far we've stuffed our faces with blueberries as they are. I've also made some blueberry muffins, and filled the (massive) freezer with berries. It's all down to our magic collecting device:

New car!

It's a Mazda mumble mumble mumble, blue/green and the size of a small house. All three of us could comfortably live in the boot - I predict lots of picnics in the rain! Here we are setting off for work this morning - it's about a 10-minute car ride into Joensuu centre, which is where my office is at the moment. I cycled earlier on in the week, and it took about 25 minutes (it's very flat, much like the Fens which I grew up in).

Blueberry picking

A Finnish Sunday

While Orb went to Helsinki to fetch Rustle the cat (don't get me started on the vagaries of airlines and carrying pets or not as cargo), M and I have had a lovely day in the sunshine. We set off this morning on our bikes to explore the lakeside, stopping at every playground along the way.

We saw lots of Finns washing their rugs by the riverside, and found some top class play equipment, including a rather nifty pirate ship. No squirrels in amongst the trees today though (yesterday we saw a very tame red squirrel in EFI's back garden, collecting moss for his nest).

This afternoon we explored the car boot sale in Joensuu's marketplace, seeing how many Moomin items we could find (many!). M scored a Moomin headscarf for 20 cents, which made her day, as all little Finnish girls seem to wear headscarves rather than hats.

Greetings from Finland!

We have arrived!!
Here we are looking suitably shattered after the third flight of the day. We flew from Newcastle to Heathrow (grotty as ever) to Helsinki (clean and full of Moomin shops) to sunny Joensuu. All our luggage made it (bar the car seat, which is somewhere in transit), as did Rustle the cat, who is currently ensconced in a cattery in Helsinki. We may have also eaten our bodyweight in sandwiches...

We are now living in the staff flat at EFI for a few days, while we sort out the house. We went to take a look today - this involved picking up the hire car, trying to work out the speed limits, and trying to decide who has right of way in Finland. We didn't hit anything, so we think we got it right...

The house is in the suburb of Marjala - here's the centre, with a bridge over the canal. And two rather tired people in the foreground.

There's a little swimming beach, lots of boats, and a nice park. I think we'll enjoy living here.

Our other excitement today was heading to the Finnish supermarket, and discovering that they sell Whiskas. Rustle's going to be very happy. I've also opened a Finnish bank account to pay for all the Whiskas.

Finally, we sat in the market square in Joensuu in the sunshine, eating ice creams. It still feels like we're on holiday - it hasn't really sunk in that we're here for a year yet!

Oh, and I was forced to try on a crayfish hat for general family amusement. I'm not convinced...

Away you go!

This is what enough possessions for three people for a year in Finland look like in box form:


We have very different priorities: Orb's got his music gear, I've picked cookery books/kitchen stuff and a craft box full of knitting needles, and you can see M's dolls house perched on the front pallet. We're also taking three bicycles (in very large boxes), and a *lot* of jumpers.

All this is being shipped off tomorrow by the transport firm - and will hopefully arrive after we do in Joensuu.

Now all that we have to do is pack up the rest of the house....

I think we're going to like Finland just fine...

Any place that has Moomin biscuits can't be bad!

The packing madness continues unabated, and things are being divided into three piles: ship to Finland, store in UK or recycle/ebay/give away. It's like an enormously complicated jigsaw puzzle. Only without the picture that you can look at for help.

The other challenge is letting organisations know we are leaving the country for a year. Most places are just set up for people moving house rather than moving country, so it's proving interesting. You practically have to show a death certificate to the TV licence people, to prove you no longer want a tv licence....

Washed and brushed

After a yesterday's excitement (our flights are booked!), the troops spent this morning washing and polishing our car, so we can sell it (anyone interested in an Audi A2 with a tow bar, do drop me a line!). The plan is to buy another car in Finland when we get there...

The troops also hoovered out the Danish/Northumberland beach which had been sitting in the boot for a while, despite our best efforts. The car is now cleaner and shinier than it's ever been...so this afternoon we took it out for a spin to Belsay, to meet some friends for a picnic. It was gloriously sunny: here's the view in the quarry garden.

I can thoroughly recommend visiting on a Sunday afternoon - it was really peaceful. Everyone seemed to disappear off home at about 4pm, leaving us with the place to ourselves. And best of all, the ice cream shop at the castle does mini milks!

Heigh ho, heigh ho, it's off to work I go!

And not just any old work. On 28 July Orb, M and I are off to sunny Finland for a year, as I'm leaving freelance life and taking up a post at the European Forest Institute in Joensuu.

That's here:


View Larger Map

(yes, it's a long way north of Gateshead...and yes, we'll be packing our sledge)

We leave on 28 July - which leaves 27 days to pack up and rent our house, ship out our belongings, and arrive (via three flights) in sunny Finland. Eek.

Finland in the sunshine

Travels in Finland

0540: Newcastle airport is surprisingly busy at this time in the morning. The rest of the city looked quite sleepy as the taxi zoomed through, but the airport was jumping. There are lots of people heading out on holiday (folks, the hats and acres of skin are a bit of a giveaway), and even more business people standing around looking shifty in suits.

0755: BA’s scoring points for a very comfy aircraft for the trip down to Heathrow. Sadly it’s a bit cloudy, so you can’t see much en route – although by the time we’re coming into London you can grab a quick glimpse of the Thames.

0930: I’d forgotten how much I hate Heathrow. Terminal 3 is awful – far too many people, far too few places to sit, dirty and hideously expensive. Welcome to Britain, everyone. It does get better.

1045: I’m sat on a Finnair plane, en route to Helsinki. Or I would be had we not missed our slot for takeoff – we sit on the tarmac for a good 40 minutes. I manage to fall asleep and miss the safety briefing, so I’m hoping we don’t crash.

1130: Top marks to Finnair for their sandwiches. They’re edible – although that may be because I’m starving.

1522: We land in Helsinki. A top class landing (unlike the bumpy BA one at Heathrow, which woke the passengers up a bit). Helsinki is warm. Very warm. I’d even go so far as to suggest a national stereotype, and say it’s like a sauna.

1645: Not enjoying the packed bus from the airport to downtown Helsinki. It’s far too hot, there’s too much luggage stacked everywhere, and I’m desperate for a cup of coffee.

1800: Helsinki central station. The train bound for Moscow looks suitably knackered and Russian, and there’s a huge stall in the middle of the platform selling fresh peas, cherries and strawberries. You don’t get that kind of thing at King’s Cross.


1920 I’m in the middle of the Finnish countryside, doing 160km/h. More trees than you could ever believe possible are flashing past, making Kielder Forest look like a bit of a copse. I’ve just seen a ski jump (they look quite surprisingly concretey in summer when you’re used to seeing them on the telly covered in snow), lots of lakes, and more trees.


Finnish trains are pretty impressive – double decker, air conditioned and amazingly clean if you’re used to East Coast and Virgin. I’m sat in a ‘work cabin’ – a two-seater compartment with seats, electric sockets and tables.


2030: Ok, I might be a bit blasé about the tree thing now. Ooh look: lakes!


2200: Not dark

2245: Arrived in Joensuu! Hurrah!


2345: Still not dark…

Chopwell Woods

We did the blue (Outside Line) mountain bike trail at Chopwell Woods today, which was hard work - too many hills for little legs, which meant we had to help push. It wasn't helped by the usual pathetic Forestry Commission signage - Chopwell's generally pretty good, in comparison to some other FC places we've been to, but there were some areas closed off due to logging, and no clue given as to which way to go.

But the ride through the pine trees was lovely (especially the downhill bits). Bizarrely, you could smell strawberries...

Cherries!

To be jammed tomorrow...

Bandas!

What do you do when you've got up at 5.45am, flown a couple of thousand miles and spent all day swimming in the pool in the sunshine? You go out for moules frites for tea, of course.

So we did. With added souzaphones...

This was the Nuit des Bandas, in Pineuilh (nope, still no idea how you say it) not far from Sainte Foy la Grande. It's quite a festival...beer tents, moules/poulet and frites, and more souzaphones than you've ever seen in one place before, as five bands roamed around competing for an audience. This lot above were Les Pourquoi Pas - who were (a) very loud but (b) rather good fun!

Finchdale Priory

Miraculously, it was warm on Friday too, so on the way to the airport we stopped at Finchdale Priory. It's hidden by a river in what feels like the middle of nowhere in County Durham (actually, it's only a couple of miles outside Durham). Bizarrely, the site is next to what looks like a deserted MoD camp (lots of bunkers and tangled barbed wire). Must look it up and see what exactly it was.


But back to Finchdale. It's an English Heritage site, but it's free to go in and stomp about over the ruins - as long as you don't mind paying the £3 parking charge (a bit steep). There's virtually no explanation of what's what - but it's certainly an atmospheric spot.

The first day of summer

It was incredibly hot and sunny up at Druridge Bay today - it looked like the middle of the Caribbean. Even the sand was warm on your toes, which I don't think I've ever experienced on a Northumberland beach before.

So we played the obligatory beach games, dug some *massive* holes and paddled in the freezing cold sea. That bit wasn't so Caribbean.

If only the north east would look like this every summer's day...