Monday, September 06, 2010

Tension, share and Karelia.

1. The masseuse keeps apologising when I gasp, but it's just the tension coming out.

2. To cut a chocolate bar in two and share it with Nick.

3. Nick spots Sibelius' Karelia Suite in the line-up for last night's Prom. I don't care that it's been heard so many times that it's worn itself into a cliché -- it's still one of my favourite pieces of music ever. And it was all the more forceful on this listen, because a couple of weeks ago, I sat with Nick and watched a documentary about the Winter War (1939-40). The treaty that followed this war -- in which the vastly outnumbered Finns fought bravely and skilfully -- resulted in most of the population being relocated into other parts of Finland. The documentary interviewed some of these displaced Karelians, who were still homesick years later; and the suite made me think of them.

Coffee, right there and advent calendar.

1. The coffee this morning is very tasty. There is no particular reason that we can discern. Perhaps we were just ready for it, and our bisc...