Winter is a weird word for a Finnish person to use when the weather seems to be more like an autumn without end. When you wake up, you really don't have to look out of the window to know what the weather is like - IT'S RAINING! Well there has been a couple of days so far during this "winter" with sunshine, but naturally no snow (you know - the white, fluffy stuff that the people in Finland get during winter from the sky.) Anyways it is warm outside as the temperature is about +10 C.

A extremely amusing thing is Brits on ice-skates :) They have set up an iceskating rink in Hyde Park. I went there the other day and found it extremely entertaining. Not skating myself, but watching the others moving on those blades. Majority of the "skaters" cling to the railings and walk with terrified expressions or scream a lot. And those few brave ones look more like Finnish children first time on skates: mummy has dressed the poor kid in layers and layers of clothes so that your arms and legs stick to the side; then the child is put on skates and pushed on the ice -> the first timer slides just as far as the mother's push makes possible. Well, I guess you'd have to see it yourself to be amused - I do recommend this attraction though ;-)

During the holidays I ventured to the very crowded shops of Covent Garden and what did I see - English Snow!!! Rather it was bubbles from a machine on top of Santa's Grotto (i.e. a small red hut).

We are dancing during winter as much as any other season. And it seems that the younger crowd has truly found swing as our 100 Club Mondays are filled with students! Oh yes, there is swing dancing in the movies too as "War Brides" has quite long dance scenes with dancers from the London Swing Dance Society. The film reminded me of my grandmother's stories about wartime in Finland. It was like seeing those stories come alive and I found myself thinking several times during the movie: that's what granny must have seen and felt...

Back to index