Across Russia to Japan and Malaysia - Part 12/12 (Those back home)

Some Elk's Street followers might be wondering about the two who didn't go swanning off half-way around the world. Well, they are fine. H-M spent her time looking after the garden and Thomas practised his French horn, among other things.

 H-M studying the menu in a local restaurant.

Below, some photos of the fruits of H-M's labour over the summer.

 Poppy.

 Stawberries.

 

 Peonies, I think.

 Irises.

What's this?

H-M and a mammoth.

And now to Thomas.

 Enjoying a trip in a light aircraft.

A solo performance on his French horn.

Playing in the music school band with his brother.

Below is a little video from the Partaharju music camp, which Thomas attended in August. The performance was part of the 'creative music' course, hence the rapping (in Finnish) and solos.

And to finish, a little challenge. The Horn Club of Finland has made a video in which Thomas makes a fleeting appearance. Anyone who spots him earns a round of applause and, as the Finnish idiom goes, ten points and a parrot stamp ("10 pistettä ja papukaijamerkki"). The video has English subtitles.

And enjoy the Finnish humour!

THE END!

Girls' Cultural Trip

As mentioned earlier, H-M and Tiina went on a cultural trip to London at the end of April. This was the second such trip, and by all accounts they had a good time.


The themes of the trip were museums, vegan food and theatre. One museum, one play and one vegetarian meal was planned for each day. They stayed in a bed-and-breakfast in Kensington, the Vicarage Hotel. The hotel was chosen mainly for its central location and the girls would use it again, although I suspect they might prefer something like The Dorchester or Claridge's. Those considering staying at the Vicarage Hotel be warned, the stairs are very narrow and very steep, so don't bring heavy suitcases.


Unfortunately, there seem to be very few photos of the trip, so evidence of the truth of what went on is rather limited.

Tiina about to tuck into a vegan meal.

H-M, Sarah and Stephen.

The travellers met Sarah and Uncle Stephen for an evening out at the show, 'One Man, Two Guvnors'. Sarah and Stephen are soon leaving London and moving back up North, to the Harrogate area.

Not snow, but petals!

Two engineers outside the British Library (Isaac Newton and Tiina).