Monday, November 20

 

 

I wake up after ten hours of deep, relaxed sleep at about 7:20. I can hear Irma wandering around and at 7:35 she bursts into the room loudly. I leap up and we hug, and then she hears the taxi and races off into the darkness, leaving Sunshine and me looking at each other.

She has a three day trip to Prague where she will do whatever experts do on foreign visits. She will talk to local dignitaries and get fed, and go shopping, and avoid the snow that has fallen overnight in Helsinki.

After breakfast I walk out into the garden and look at the weather. The snow looks interesting in the dawn light but will get duller as the day goes on. I can hear cars slithering along the road in the distance.

I will lock the cat into Naa’s old room and lock the house and head off to work.

I will spend the morning writing reports and then have a lengthy meeting with Laura and Nathalie who have agreed to do the next of Irma’s projects. Jutta will join us and we will talk about what they should do before the first meeting at the end of January.

I will spend the afternoon in a kulturmöte where we will talk about student attendance, bullying, “attitudes”, and other problems that I don’t think I actually believe in. Matteo will explain once again why he does not allow the students to call him Matteo, but insists they refer to him as Mr Stoccheti. I have long since given up rising to this bait, as has everyone else, so I will simply watch and listen with interest.

At 15:30, meeting over, I will join everyone else in leaving early before the promised rain arrives.