Top Ten

Ok, seems like Top Tens are going to be spring's number one trend (oh, and you heard it here first!)...So here we go: Top Ten of Finnish things I miss most.

1. Friends and family - okey, so YOU all are number one. Yes, You, You and even You! Though I have to admit it, there was a tough competition between you and chocolate ;)
2. Chocolate - everything made by Fazer: Pätkis, Geisha, Da Capo, Jim, Marianne, milk chocolate with or without whole hazelnuts...You name it, I crave it!
3. Cheese - I know most of the people would not consider Finland as top ten material for the best cheese producers in the world but maybe five months in England (where a cheese is not a cheese if not made of 40 % of fat and flat taste, yak) is enough to change your mind. It surely was enough for me.
4. Helsingin Sanomat - oh, all those lazy mornings with my daily, home delivered paper...And don't tell me I can read it from the Internet. It is not the same thing!
5. Bicycle - I still grieve for my tiny orange bike but I am willing to replace it with brand new (ok, old and borrowed - thanks Reetta:) yellow one. And yes, you can cycle in London too. If you are willing to say goodbye to your nerves...and occasionally your life.
6. Four seasons - there, I said it. I know I have hyped the warm weather a LOT and it is still great. But dunno whether that is just the novelty or would I still appreciate it after several years...
7. Sea - Thames is nothing compared to Baltic Sea. It makes most of the winter days in Helsinki terrible (except those times when you can go skating on natural ice) but it is such a treat on those light midsummer nights when the water is warmer than air.
8. Cafés - Helsinki might not be the place to go for genuine European café experience but at least you don't have to settle for yet another Starbuck's.
9. My room - all that space with high ceiling and boarded floor...I really don't understand what is going on with Englishmen and their carpet ::)
10. Food of Unicafé - it is just so easy to walk in there, have a proper lunch and then leave. It is not the quality, it is the quantity (or something...).

The Thing Called Snow

The snow has come to town. When I woke up this morning we had five centimetre of pure white snow in our yard. It's strange how it changes everything: buildings, people and feelings. I actually woke up in the middle of the night to found two girls in our courtyard. In their pyjamas taking pictures of them and snow. As excited as small children. How cute is that :)

The whole city seems to quiet down. And the same time everything carries on as normal. I can still hear the cars passing by and the train arriving to Kings Cross but the noises aren't that disturbing. Every time somebody enters the courtyard I can hear them sigh quietly...But unfortunately the snow is not here to stay. It has already turned into wet slush (in Finnish loska) and soon it will be just a memory.

The snow has quiet me down too. Or perhaps that's the flu. I feel like a bear before winter: I want to crawl into my nest to rest and wake up when the spring has arrived. And basically that's what I'm doing. Hiding under my blanket all day long, sleeping. Waiting for snow to melt and spring to arrive.

Arcade Fire!

Okey, just a quick one...I'm so excited that I might explode. You NEED to check out Arcade Fire's homepage (you need to click the title). It's fantastic! And the band is fantastic too. And so is the new album, Neon Bible, as well. Can't believe I'll miss the show. Four gigs in London and I couldn't get one lousy ticket :( They are even playing in Manchester and Dublin but apparently those are sold out too. Or like it is put on the Ticketmaster site: Currently Not on Sale. What a polite way to put it!

Well anyway, enjoy the site and the albums. Still think Funeral is the best one (Crown of Love makes me shiver every time I hear it) but that might change...

England

Okey, cos it looks like I'm uncapable writing about Africa, I'm going to write about all those wonderful (and by this I mean weird) things in this country called England I'm living. And for all those people who wants to hear the Africa stories, you just have to come here. Apparently there no other option...

So here is my Top Ten:

1. Girls who seem to left their trousers home or wear strappy sandals, flipflops or pumps/ guys in their shorts and t-shirts - it's fricken winter out there! You're not in Bahamas, heaven's sake!
2. Extra salt, sugar and other stuff like that in the food - no wonder you're the fattest nation in Europe!
3. To balance number two, healthy nutrition info on every product you buy and especially "suitable portion" part - well, I'll eat them anyway...
4. Advertising, especially in movies and I mean serious ads: 20 minutes is a short time for those before the movie - now you might wonder, why I don't choose to go a little bit later. Well, the thing is they don't have fixed seating. So the later you come, the worse the seats are.
5. People who whistle, hum or sing on the streets - and I don't mean just drunkards. But this is not a negative thing, just a bit weird.
6. Unpolite people, you know the ones who doesn't hold the door for you, take the whole road while walking, or worse, the ones who doesn't answer your sms, phone calls or e-mails - And I thought the Englishmen are the most polite people in the world...Well, that might have something to do with multicultural London, right?
7. Vinegar with whatever - Yes, I know it's weird but I love it with chips!
8. Politicians with strong opinions - I think it was just last Monday when Conservative leader David Cameron compared fundamental Islamist movements to British National Party well-known for its connections to neo-Nazism. When was the last time any Finnish politician make that kind of comment on any thing? Especially now before the election.
9. The weather - I've said this several times before but I'm saying it again: the weather in England is the weirdest one ever. For example, now we have +13 degrees and it's the first of February...
10. Gossip - We have some tabloids in Finland too (if you can call 7 paivaa that) but now we're talking about the country where Madonna's adoption was on the front page of the Sunday Times. Weird, eh?

Bubbling under: Marmite (what the heck is that stuff?), multipacked chocolate bars (look number two), Strongbow (Hobo drink?)...

Well, now I've got that out of my system, I have to confess: I love London anyway. So coming up next week: Top 100 why I love London...