Saturday, February 2

Snow had fallen all night and I got up and went outside to find Arto and Merja in their second hour of clearing their yard.

At midday we left to collect Naa and then drove to Kamppi to collect Irma’s mother. We then drove through an almost colourless landscape to Lohja, where Marja sat in her hospital bed looking calmer and altogether more possessed than I had expected.

We sat and chatted for a couple of hours before heading back to Helsinki. Marja herself should arrive in Helsinki tomorrow where her family can visit her more easily.

We did our journey in reverse: dropping Irma’s mother at Kamppi, dropping Naa near Itis and then, to add a little variety, stopping at Prisma for fruit and vegetables, and some wine.

When we get back I will quickly walk around the corner to photograph a car completely buried in the snow to the extent that a passer-by might not even notice it.

We will sit in the kitchen while Irma cooks and we both talk. We will have a delicious winter stew and I will apologise again for yesterday. Even with the addition of wine we will have no arguments at all. By the time we go to bed things will not feel too horrible.