NORMAL LIFE: Winter Is Coming!

In Finland, there are three distinct signs that winter is coming. Firstly, people start to pile on the clothes, even well before the temperatures plummet; on my way to work this morning, I had on four layers, a t-shirt, a long-sleeved smart shirt, a cardigan and a waterproof jacket and it was between 5-10°C. A bit over the top, perhaps!

Secondly, the temperatures start to waver - some days strive to give one last burst of heat before giving way to the wind that comes from across the Baltic Sea to strike the city of Helsinki with a vengence. In the course of a day, minimum and maximum temperatures can vary by 10-15°C.

And then there's the darkness, that wonderful thing that increases the fortunes of Fazer, the Finnish equivalent to the UK's Cadbury's, who claims that eating their chocolate eases the depressing effects of darkness.

In my view, you know winter is well and truly on it's way when it's still somewhat dark when you arrive at work and you can already observe the sun's descent by the time you leave. The picture accompanying this entry shows the view from my office window at 8.15am this morning!