Tuesday, August 22

 

 

The weather forecast promised increasingly heavy rain followed by thunder. The view from the window suggested something altogether milder. I took an umbrella as a precaution.

Standing waiting for the tram I look across the road and notice a junction box painted gaily. Helsinki has filled with these this year and I no longer know where they come from. Originally, if I understand correctly, these boxes got painted as part of a City cultural scheme. However they continue to appear, so either the scheme has grown and grown, or the original paintings have attracted a score of imitators.

Jutta will arrive in Arcada in the morning and we will begin long conversations about the content and techniques in our teaching this year. We will go for lunch at Dylan and on the way we will pass four more painted boxes. I will begin to feel suspicious.

In the afternoon we will have our first team meeting of the academic year and Leila, the new production lecturer, will provide us all with buns.

On the way home I will go to see Irma’s mother in Kamppi. We will have coffee and cakes and discuss literature. I will spend an hour and a half with her having an interesting conversation that ranges from erotic poetry to the cultural politics of Finnish independence. I will take out her garbage, and then come home to find Sunshine repeating yesterday’s script. He will roll around on the grass to indicate his pleasure at seeing me and then trot off while I put the bicycle away.

Late in the evening the promised rain will finally start. It will consist of six minutes of light drizzle followed by a sudden blue sky.

Thunder? I don’t think so.