Wednesday, January 27

This morning’s adventure began about ten metres from the house when I realised exactly how slippery the ground was. I halved my speed and proceeded cautiously. My plan changed when I reached the sharply sloping path down to the bus stop on Itäväylä. I took my shoulder bag off and held it in my hand to avoid any falling resulting in my sitting on my phone or iPad.

This proved to be a useful preparation for what happened next. About ten metres down the path, just where it starts to get steep, the ground became nothing but smooth ice and I started sliding uncontrollably. As I picked up speed I leant forward and put my left hand down on the ice, forming a tripod. Sliding like this, I accelerated for maybe twenty five metres until I slid into a bank of snow in front of the big metal fence at the bottom. This slowed me slightly and spun me round before my back slammed into the fence.

In accomplishing all this I missed the bus.

I spent the morning at Arcada in two meetings. The first was a Skype meeting with the Nordic group developing the Artist as Teacher pedagogy scheme. This took an hour or so. The second was a meeting that Tore had called about developing the IT department to meet future needs. Apparently I was the official representative for the Institute of Culture & Communication.

After lunch I wrote mails trying to hurry along the various projects I am involved in. I told Pixelache that I couldn’t attend the next board meeting since it will now be on a Thursday, and that I cannot attend the next three (and possibly four) meetings because they are now on Thursdays. I began writing a paper for a conference on my latest wheeze which is learning by teaching, and which some people are positively enthusiastic about.

At 17:00 Vincent and Jenni are holding rehearsals for their radio production, in which I play the role of Father Jacobs. I am in the sound studio listening to another scene being practised and recorded. The studio is still full of the equipment of the band who were recording here earlier.

Father Jacobs has a small but significant role and I am rewriting some of the lines in my head. They are taking it very seriously and so I decide that I should too. When we rehearse the scene some of the changes will be incorporated and others added.

When the rehearsal is over I will look outside at the reconstituted ice and wonder how long it will take me to skate home.

The journey will be fine because most of the slush will not yet have refrozen; but I will realise that the bottom of my back is beginning to ache.

Quite a lot, since you ask.