"This blog is not necessarily for lovers of art, it includes a variety of topics and whatever. I'm a painter who likes to know what's really going on in the world today. So you might find anything from Shamrocks to Salmiakki mentioned here on my blog. There will of course be some boring, factual and informational posts, but I'll keep them to a minimum, I promise!
The shamrock is showing signs of life but the cold weather is causing some growing pains.
I've placed a plastic bag over the shamrocks as per instructions.
I'm not sure whether it's meant to stimulate growth or give the illusion of Irish weather.
I don't think these shamrocks will be tricked though, they're smarter than the average shamrock.
Meanwhile my little Finnish friend Matti remains on protective duty making sure no harm comes to our little buddies! He's promised to show me a photo of himself in his usual blue attire soon. Watch this space!
Keep watching this terribly exciting blog to see if the
Well, I can safely say that the shamrock is starting to grow. My little Finnish leprechaun friend Matti will be looking after the shamrock for the next few days, watering it and making sure it has enough light. He normally wears a blue suit, but he's going green this month for St.Patrick's Day. Nice one Matti. Kiitos! Tack!
Keep watching this terribly exciting blog to see if the
This is a holiday I have normally associated with love, romance, cards, flowers and chocolate. A day every Irish teenager eagerly awaits at their halldoor for the postman to arrive with a Valentine card from that someone special who supposedly loves them so much, whether they like it or not. Oh yes indeed, the memories of Valentine's Day!
This holiday in Finland is slightly different however. The holiday of St.Valentine is relatively new here. In fact it first appeared in diaries here in 1987 as 'Friend's Day' or "Ystävänpäivä" in Finnish.
And to this day it is still called "Ystävänpäivä".
However, nowadays you can see cards and other items advertising 'St.Valentine's Day' in shops and on television everywhere in Finland. But it's just another word for Friendship to most Finns. And while the elements of romance which are associated with St.Valentine's Day slowly begin to creep in to Finnish culture, you are still more likely to see close friends and even relatives giving each other cards and gifts of friendship on February 14th.
As it turned out, 'Friendship' was the theme at a very 'cool' event I attended last month. The local municipality of Raseborg in Southern Finland were I live had organised a day out for the public which included some ice-swimming, bbq sausages and most importantly a Snow sculpting contest. This contest was held over a period of 3 hours on a beach in the town of Ekenäs. The sea here was frozen at the time, so I got a chance to walk on ice. This was a first for me!
A selection
of snow sculptures.
And here's the sculpture
that came first in the contest.
Well, that's what happened down my way last month on Valentine's Day. Definately something different for me and also a novelty day-out. I reckon a Friendship Valentine is always a good thing!
Here's a little clip I made of the Snow Art and more.
Well here we are, it's Day 2 of the amazing shamrock experiment. Can shamrocks be grown indoors in Finland? We wait excitedly for the outcome.
So here's photo No.2 of my experiment.
My photo for Day 2 was actually photographed 3 days after my Day 1 photo. I'm very sorry but I couldn't give this experiment my full attention. However I'm still determined to show this famous green plant grow little by little here in Finland.
I purchased this small packet
of seeds while in Ireland last Christmas.
Keep watching this terribly exciting blog to see if the
I thought I'd try and grow my own shamrock for St.Patrick's Day this year. This small green plant needs a little care and attention to be grown indoors, so don't be surprised if this goes all wrong. And there isn't a huge amount of sunshine in my part of Finland at the moment.
I didn't have any soil or fertiliser around, so I have to make do with some old mix of wood chippings and dirt. Because of this I will have to keep it well drained with water over the next few weeks.
Will I have the 'Luck of the Irish'? We shall see!
I purchased this small packet
of seeds while in Ireland last Christmas.
So here's the first photo of my experiment.
Keep watching this terribly exciting blog to see if the
