NORMAL LIFE: Stonehenge, Oxford & A Birthday (17-20 August)

Bree doesn't see my family that often, but when we get together, we have great fun. Forever the silent Finn, he spends most of the weekend listening, often with amusement as my family and I rabbit away non-stop the way on Brits (and Americans) can. After two weeks back in Finland from my business trip to Chicago, Finland has started to get darker, but not colder yet. It was nice to return from the tates, but for the first time in ages, I was looking forward to this trip to the UK.

Why were we going? And shouldn't I really be concentrating on my Masters Degree due for submission in little more than six weeks? We were going to the UK because my Mum's birthday had fallen on a weekend which made it easier for us, with very little holiday remaining with our employers, to make the journey. And, yes, I've noticed how often I have been away this year: the same thing happens every year, but there isn't an evening when I haven't been adding paragraphs here and there to strengthen my literature review or my methodology chapter.

We headed to the UK on a cheap Ryanair flight from Tampere, aka Finland's Manchester. We checked in online and got to the airport just an hour before the flight only to be told it was delayed a further hour due to the recent security alerts at UK airport (read more here). When we finally landed at midnight (2am Finnish time), we collected our hire car and were on our way to my parents an hour away. Both of my parents had stayed up for our arrival and after a round of hugs and a quick catch up, we all headed to bed. It was the first time that Bree and I had slept in the same bed at my parent's place, yet another hurdle that has been overcome this year in our quest to be recognised as a couple.

When we woke up the next morning, my Dad has prepared perhaps one of the best English breakfasts ever. It wasn't long, however, when we were on the road. We had plans for the day, you see. We took a Dodge Caliber for a test drive (just for fun, but they don't know that!), visited Stonehenge and Oxford. On our way to Stonehenge, we turned off at Ascot and drove around nearby Windsor Castle with Bree claiming that we really should return one day and do Windsor properly. No problem, I said, we can also go to nearby Legoland. He was most displeased by my childish suggestion!

Anyway, Stonehenge was marvellous. Yeah, it's just a formation of rocks, I know, but there's something about the place that conjures all these questions from the ever-inquisitive human mind. Walking around the World Heritage Site (it's much smaller than I imagined), one can't help but wonder how they built this site some 4,500 years ago. And now that we know that some of the stones can from 240 miles (385 kms) away, how the hell did they get them here? No one really knows and it is this very simple thing that plays on your mind. You can read more about Stonehenge at English Heritage here. The image above to the right is an artists impression of how Stonehenge may have looked 1000BC. And so we left, bound for Oxford via the controversial Newbury Bypass.

We arrived about 6pm and, after a nap, headed to the dogs! Yes, I was introducing Bree to Britain's second largest spectator sport at Oxford Greyhound Stadium. In short, we had £120 to play with - I kept winning, Bree kept losing. When I tallied everything up at the end of the evening, we left with £123 so I can't complain. Bree isn't really the gambling type, but it was an experience anyway.

The next day was spent in Oxford. Upon our arrival, we parked up the car and, as time was limited, jumped on one of those CitySightseeing buses. Of course, the highlight of the tour was the University, the third oldest University in the world and the oldest in the English speaking world.

There is evidence of teaching here at early as 1096 and popularity grew after King Henry II forbade English students from studying at the University of Paris in 1167. We hopped off at Christ Church house and strolled through the well-landscaped Memorial Gardens before passing well-guarded Corpus Christi. Back on the High Street, we continued with the bus tour which took us to many places, including Magdalen College and the Oxford Canal.

Before long, the tour was over and we had to do some serious shopping for my Mum's birthday. After that, we headed to the nearby Oxford Services to meet up with my fellow student, Red. Bree hadn't met this brash, hyperactive girl before and, as always, Red reeled him in with her amusing stories. We discussed how our research was going and the forthcoming Graduation ceremony in Wales in December.

Homeward-bound once again, we arrived just before 6pm, well ahead of the family get-together in time for my Mum's birthday. The evening was spent with the family in a Chinese restaurant, which was lovely as it was the first time all of us had been to a restaurant together. After many Bacardi's, we ambled home to tuck into the yummy birthday cake!

When we woke up the next morning, we gave breakfast a miss after all the feasting of the last few days. We made a quick visit to some local stores to buy some essentials before heading back to Stansted for our late afternoon flight. Having checked in already online, we arrived at Stansted about 40 minutes before the flights. As we approached security, we were told that our hand luggage (we had travelled with hand luggage only) was too big to take into the cabin. Literally shitting ourselves, we headed to the Ryanair customer service desk where some 100 or so pissed-off-looking customers were waiting in line. I looked at Bree, worried. One of the Ryanair staff passing nearby told us that the check in desk had been kept open for our flight so we rushed there, quickly checked in our bags and then made a last minute dash for the gate. We were actually the last people onboard!

The plane took off on time and, amazingly, our bags came out at the other end. How Ryanair and the airport authorities managed to get those bags on the plane in time is quite amazing whereas the UK government's limitation of hand luggage to something no bigger than a briefcase is nothing short of ridiculous.

In the air once again, it dawned on me (as it always does) how different the pace of living is between Finland and the UK. Everything takes longer in the UK: everytime you get into a car, you're confronted with some kind of traffic; if you want to buy a house you can expect to wait months before you can move in (as with my friend, Red); and if you're diagnosed with heart disease, most likely the NHS won't treat you in time (as with my own father who paid £12,000 to be treated privately).

BUT the UK wins hands-down for tourists with all that wonderful history on a very small island.