Saturday, April 20

The Pellinge Easter Market started at 11:00 and we got there just as it did. To our surprise hundreds of people had already arrived. It looked like the mid-summer market.

We raced in and bought fiskbiffar and several sorts of fish. Then we bought some breads from the old lady from Borgå who appears regularly at the market. Gunnel had a stall, which she has inherited from Magnus, who will not come at all this summer.

We went to Benita’s which had opened and had kaffe och öggbrod: a traditional start to a summer season.

Pellinge had numerous festivities for Easter and we stop at Skagårdshemmet to see what we can see there. We see Mona and then Ann-Sofie, selling Camilla’s woollen socks. While Irma wanders around talking to people I go outside and photograph the axe range.

We will drive home to drop the fish and bread off before we go to Borgå to buy some of the things we forgot to bring from Helsinki. I will go into the house and Sunshine will follow me in. Before I can register anything Sunshine has dived under the bed and I can hear cats fighting. Eventually I drag Sunshine out, put him outside, and leave. I will have no idea what he has fought, and no intention of finding out now.

We will drive to Porvoo and shop at the summer Lidl and the Tokmanni that used to call itself Robin Hood.

Once home we will get ready to look under the bed. Too late: Geeta’s cat has pushed open the inner door and now sits on a cupboard in the verandah hissing at us. We will leave the outer door open and eventually it will leave.

I will empty the outdoor toilet into a hole I will dig for that purpose. I will swear that we will buy a composter this summer so I never have to do this again. Then I will rake up almost all the leaves in the garden.

We will eat fishcakes and salad and my neck will suddenly hurt. I will feel unable to move it from side to side. Irma will decide to treat this by suddenly grabbing my neck and twisting it left and right, and I will almost faint with pain.

The whole of the back of my head will feel as though it has metal rods inserted in it for the rest of the evening.