When we arrived back from Provence there was still snow on the ground, much to our horror (at least mine!) since we still had summer tyres on both cars and needed to change. But to get to the winter tyres we had to drive 15 kms through snow and ice! Finallyit succeeded, and wasn’t as scary as I had feared.
Two days later the snow was gone, and since then we have had snow on the ground, but not enough for skiing. And one single skating tour – it has been cold and the lakes and the rivers are frozen – is all we have managed until now, a few days before Christmas, when it is +3 degrees and all the snow is gone. Dark, wet and miserable! Not what we wanted.
The political climate in Finland is equally miserable. Our government is under heavy pressure from the opposition because of their reluctance to honour the constitution. There’s muchto be said about the situation in Finland today – more about that later.
Another discussion is ongoing about YLE .My former employer, one of the bastions of freedom of speech in Finland, has suddenly found itself in the middle of a scandal, involving the prime minister and the editor in chief of News and Current Affairs at Yle. Some of the journalists have resigned in protest,claiming their freedom of speech has been restricted inapproprietly, word stands against word, and, what is worst, the credibility and trustworthiness of Yle has suffered a heavy blow. Most disturbing.
In the middle of all this Itry to calm down by talking long walks with Africa. And collecting pictures of tracks in the snow.
Cats, deer, mice, hares, birds, dogs, cats and humans.
Most days are dark and gloomy, and the snow comes out blue in pictures. But some days have been sunny, and the light can be quite magical.
O S M A F Frankenhaeuser 