Long time no see...
Or as we like to say, hauska tappa vanha tuttu.
I've spent four months in Jolly Old England getting stressed at a dead-end job, trying to save up money for the winter. Have been rather good at it... only blew money on bus fares and juggling and snorkeling gear. Still have dancing shoes to hunt for though. You'd think that being in London one might actually find what one looks for with some ease. Fat chance it seems.
So what about the world?
Katrina came and went and the scale of governmental callousness, ineptitude and indifference being revealed by it is becoming absolutely staggering. For what I've read, if this is not an occasion for justifies public outrage then nothing is.
Though I must say I did not pay that much attention to it in the end. The scale of the whole thing is starting to hit me only now and I believe I was also fooled into thinking that the richest nation of the world surely knows how to handle a crisis brought on by a natural disaster.
For gods' sakes, when the tsunami hit Indonesia last winter several European countries -including a puny one called Finland- had relief efforts on the way in two days including an emergency hospital unit by Finnish Red Cross. So in 3 days they had disaster relief on the other side of the world, whereas it took the government of the Great United States a week (roughly) to get anything meaningful done. (And still there was criticism around here for European governments reacting too slow. Can't imagine what sort of reaction there'd be had they procrastinated like Bush & Co.)
But hey, Europe is after all one big doomed namby-pamby welfare state hellbent on molly-coddling its citizens into inactivity and helplessness.
Now for the second big news of the summer.
ENGLAND HAVE REGAINED THE ASHES!!!
And for the benefit of most people I know... It's about Cricket.
Yes, that strange English game with five-day matches punctuated by tea- and lunch breaks, where players traditionally wear white uniforms with just small crests indicating teams, where there are laws instead of rules and where humour, wit and amazing sportsmanship still have a strong foothold.
And yes again, I have become a fan thanks to probably the best Ashes test series EVER. I'm not going to recap it, anyone interested can find all they need off the Net. I'm just going to say that thanks to a cricketing flatmate who was kind enough to explain the rules I was won over by the tactics of the game, the incredible charisma of many of the players and their astonishing performances.
On the last day of the last test me and another flatmate went to the house garden, opened the tv-room's French windows and after turning the telly to face the garden spent the afternoon in the sun watching Pietersen whack the ball more or less which ever way he bloody well liked. What an amazing afternoon.
And here endeth my report from (today) rainy London. I suppose I should go and try find myself those dancing shoes.
Cheerio,
all the Best
Me
X
I've spent four months in Jolly Old England getting stressed at a dead-end job, trying to save up money for the winter. Have been rather good at it... only blew money on bus fares and juggling and snorkeling gear. Still have dancing shoes to hunt for though. You'd think that being in London one might actually find what one looks for with some ease. Fat chance it seems.
So what about the world?
Katrina came and went and the scale of governmental callousness, ineptitude and indifference being revealed by it is becoming absolutely staggering. For what I've read, if this is not an occasion for justifies public outrage then nothing is.
Though I must say I did not pay that much attention to it in the end. The scale of the whole thing is starting to hit me only now and I believe I was also fooled into thinking that the richest nation of the world surely knows how to handle a crisis brought on by a natural disaster.
For gods' sakes, when the tsunami hit Indonesia last winter several European countries -including a puny one called Finland- had relief efforts on the way in two days including an emergency hospital unit by Finnish Red Cross. So in 3 days they had disaster relief on the other side of the world, whereas it took the government of the Great United States a week (roughly) to get anything meaningful done. (And still there was criticism around here for European governments reacting too slow. Can't imagine what sort of reaction there'd be had they procrastinated like Bush & Co.)
But hey, Europe is after all one big doomed namby-pamby welfare state hellbent on molly-coddling its citizens into inactivity and helplessness.
Now for the second big news of the summer.
ENGLAND HAVE REGAINED THE ASHES!!!
And for the benefit of most people I know... It's about Cricket.
Yes, that strange English game with five-day matches punctuated by tea- and lunch breaks, where players traditionally wear white uniforms with just small crests indicating teams, where there are laws instead of rules and where humour, wit and amazing sportsmanship still have a strong foothold.
And yes again, I have become a fan thanks to probably the best Ashes test series EVER. I'm not going to recap it, anyone interested can find all they need off the Net. I'm just going to say that thanks to a cricketing flatmate who was kind enough to explain the rules I was won over by the tactics of the game, the incredible charisma of many of the players and their astonishing performances.
On the last day of the last test me and another flatmate went to the house garden, opened the tv-room's French windows and after turning the telly to face the garden spent the afternoon in the sun watching Pietersen whack the ball more or less which ever way he bloody well liked. What an amazing afternoon.
And here endeth my report from (today) rainy London. I suppose I should go and try find myself those dancing shoes.
Cheerio,
all the Best
Me
X