I had Madame LA on MSN earlier, I don't actually think she is too happy with me going away this weekend, but I do need some time off, and when I booked this weekend,I didn't know the report was due on Monday. And I slaved during the week, and will do so next week as well. I'm not going to let myself get into the whole horror scene of the Dwarf regime again, that was so much work it made me sick, I had whole weekends when I could do nothing. and I can't afford that now, when I am back in my own apartment and have to do housework, washing etc.

Today I have been on the tourist tram around Helsinki, also over to the island fortress of Suomenlinna on a little ferry. Great place, and people live there, some of them in pink houses with white trims, I am envious. It would be lovely in winter, covered in snow, the tourist office runs walks then as well. I certainly got lots of fresh sea air, in fact the air here is the best I have breathed since the mountains of Cyprus. Then I went to Stockmanns again, they have a great book department and I could have bought quite a few, I contented myself with a Scandinavian cookery book. No embroidery books that I don't already have, and nothing about Finnish embroidery or knitting. There must be some?

I have now come back and had another shrimp sandwich, and am about to eat my banana from breakfast while watching the French election. I think it will be Sarkozy, and I am a bit worried - there will likely be riots, at least, and I think Al Qaeda have been making threats as well. Goodness, I can't stand any of these people, I am well aware that some of them have horrible lives, but I don't think bombing people is the way to improve things.

They are now showing the Salle Gaveau, past which my bus takes me every day, the street is packed with Sarkozy supporters, the bus would not get through at all!