Long time no blog! I’ve just got back from a three-day trip to Helsinki. Finland in January is an experience not to be missed: temperatures were nudging at -15°C but somebody clearly forgot to tell the taxi drivers, who plummet recklessly along the snow-packed roads, cheerily oblivious to wheel-spin, and take the corners like a kid playing a rally game (with the added attraction of having fully-loaded buses to dodge). Last night we ate out at a Russian restaurant where the house speciality was Delicacy of the Czar: bear paw braised in goose fat en croûte with game sauce at only €145.00. They had a range of other bear dishes (bear soup, bear sausage) but I couldn’t quite bring myself to do it. I had the reindeer instead.