THURSDAY 28TH SEPTEMBER - solidarity

I have just received a message from Sweden to say wear RED tomorrow to show support for the brave people of Burma.

WEDNESDAY 26TH SEPTEMBER - dream on

I woke in the night and while I was waiting for sleep to return I thought of sitting outside and drinking a beer. Lapin Kulta of course and fell asleep happy.

TUESDAY 25TH SEPTEMBER - happy new year!

Ethiopia celebrated the new year yesterday.

HAPPY 2000!

The coming into the 21st century 7 1/2 + years late by our calendar but right by theirs .

MONDAY 24TH SEPTEMBER - freedom

We have enjoyed nearly 20 years of freedom while the people of Burma have been hidden from the world by an opressive regime.
Now it seems as if the people of that country are speaking in a very powerful way.

Peacefully.

Some 100 nuns joined the budddhist monks along with 20,000 members of the public to march for freedom on Saturday in Rangoon.

A leader of the march said, "We want national reconconciliation, we want dialogue with the military, we want freedom for Aung San Sun Kyi and other political prisoners." What a brave lady she is, how much she has given up in the pursuit of freedom.

Tentatively human rights activists have started to refer to this movement as "The Saffron Revolution."

We can only hope that there is not a bloody crackdown by the dictatorship.

Should make us think about how fortunate it is to have been born in a democracy. I shall try to think of this when I get irritated by something trivial today.

THURSDAY 20TH SEPTEMBER - theatre

Went to the theatre yesterday to see The History Boys by Allan Bennett.

He is a great contemporary writer here in the UK such a talented wordsmith.

This was thought provoking and very entertaining.

I just love live entertainment can't be beaten.

TUESDAY 19TH SEPTMEBER - good news

In amongst the doom and gloom in the newspapers I found this little gem.



BLACK-THROATED AND RED- THOATED DIVER NUMBERS ARE ON THE INCREASE.

Two rare diving birds are on the increase in Britain - despite being on the decline across Europe, a survey has revealed.

Both black-throated and red-throated diver numbers have increased
Man-made rafts planted with turf and heather to look like natural islands, anchored in remote Scottish lochs to protect the nesting birds from flooding and predators, have contributed to a rise in the number of breeding pairs from 187 to 217 since 1994.
The red-throated diver has increased its numbers from 935 breeding pairs to 1,255 over the same period, a boost of 34 per cent, despite fears that warming of the North Sea could reduce stocks of the fish it feeds on.

These birds featured significantly on my Finnish trip. Love the sight and sound of them evocative of the wild so very glad that they are thriving here.

MONDAY 17TH SEPTEMBER - cheese

In this little bag are purchases from my very favourite shop in town.

Brie de meaux

Emmental

Gruyere

Gjetost

Sharpham Rustic locally made in Devon.

I love a slice/piece of cheese for lunch on an oatcake with a small side salad of leaves,tomato and cucumber. I am but a simple soul.

FRIDAY 14TH SEPTEMBER - ancient menu

ROAST hedgehog was once as popular a dish in Britain as roast beef is now, research by Welsh academics suggests today.
Researchers from Uwic have found that roasting hedgehogs was very common in Neolithic Britain (about 6,000BC).

Heard this item on the news this a.m. They look sweet but are covered in fleas.

Could they be tastier than cows or pigs? I reckon they won't catch on because supermarkets just won't be adventurous enough.

THURSDAY 13TH SEPTEMBER - wood

While on my last trip to Finland I came across this extraordinary museum at Paateri to a wonderfully talented wood sculptress by the name of Eva Ryynanen. She was so in tune with her suroundings that this was a wonderful atmospheric place to feel privileged to visit.

This bear was 1.5 metres high and has a gorgeous expression.

TUESDAY 11TH SEPTEMBER - PEA SHOOTS!?!

Pea shoots?
What does Pea shoot?
Read on.
'Pea shoots' amongst the salad leaves in the shop.
What an idea........... so had to buy some.
Imaginative marketing there.
Great idea to eat as much of the plant as possible.
They are really quite good.

MONDAY 10TH SEPTEMBER - music

On Saturday night we went to The Sterts Theatre.

Great venue - outdoor canopied amphitheatre set among the granite walled fields high up on the edge of Bodmin Moor.

Music - Show of Hands Folk music from a Devonian Duo.

A good evening but the musicians were lacklustre maybe they had worked hard with a summer of festivals. The evening was fun but then live music is so much better than staying in without a doubt I think.

FRIDAY 7TH SEPTEMBER

I am reading The Spirit Wrestlers by Philip Marsden.

Incredible people discovered and talked to in the old Russia. These people I am reading about are the Molokans in who live in the Caucasus mountains. They are known as the "old believers."
This is a closed society who can be considered as the Russian equvalent of the Armish in America. www.armeniapedia.com

I am very interested in minority peoples and I had never heard of Molokans and can't wait to find out more.

I read lots but although fiction has its place a book with "meat" is far more satisfying.

Have you got any suggestions?

WEDNESDAY 5TH SEPTEMBER - delicacy

I managed to bring home some food from Finland, bread and chocolate but on the last evening after a wonderful meal my friend went to her freezer to get some cloudberries :lakka: squashed them into a jar with some sugar.

I transported them through all the baggage handlers safely and to Cornwall.

I ate a few teaspoonfuls last night with ice-cream.

They are a wonderful food.

We can only buy them as very sugary jam in IKEA here in the UK which just isn't good enough.

Oh well the excuses to return to gather them in the wild.................

SUNDAY 2ND SEPTEMBER - home

It is so difficult to wind down after a fabulous holiday don't you find?

The last fifteen days in Finland has been so fantastic that coming back to the real world makes it feel that I have had the best dream ever but it was REAL.

The need to return is very strong which is why I do just that. The log cottage by a lake, the rowing boat, solitiude and peace but best of all sauna and swims daily, combine to make this wonderful experience almost perfect. Oh and the loads of friends we have there too. We even heard wolves nightly when we sat out drinking beer, by candlelight, in the dark.

No photos yet as I have to just look at them today.

Kiitos!