Saturday, July 22

 

 

We got to the market at about 10:15 to find that the woman from Loviisa had not found a babysitter and therefore not come to the market to sell her cheap and delicious bread and cookies.

We bought fish from Jorre and Johanna instead, and one of her very nice fish-on-saaristoleippa sandwiches for breakfast. I chatted with a few people while Irma bought vegetables from Ann-Sofie, who seemed to have survived last night’s late-night partying unscathed.

The sun blazes down in the first genuine hot summer market of the year. I walk down to the harbour and watch a boat come in. The sun cuts through the few clouds to leave marks in the water.

We baulk at the size of the queue at Benita’s and drive home for coffee instead.

After brunch we will set to in the garden. Today we will cut down tree branches and little trees and feed them to the sheep in the nearest field. We will spend about three hours doing this and then sit briefly in the garden chairs in the sun.

At about 15:30 the sky will suddenly disappear behind solid gray clouds and we will hear huge claps of thunder on the mainland. Then the rain will start.

We will briefly contemplate going to Tirmo Blues to see Paula Koivuniemi, this year’s living legend, but it will continue raining heavily and we will turn to reading instead.

At about 20:00 the sun will come out again and the rain will stop. We will hear the students getting ready to party and later we will hear Melrose finish the festival by reliving their greatest years.

They will stop at exactly midnight and we will fall asleep seconds later.