Two important messages are behind this column today:
- The first is that I suppose most of us are now really fed up with instructions on how to wash our hands and how to avoid contact with other people.
- The second is that after three years of watching Trump, I think most of us understand that he would be doing a great service for mankind by not trying to be re-elected for second term.
This morning in Helsinki we had a reasonably warm just minus 1 Centigrade outside with a strong biting wind and some thin ice on the sea outside our window. Up until now the weather has been much warmer than any other winter during the last hundred years. That’s Climate Change for You, Mr. Trump…
Today’s cold spell will not last very long because we are expecting to get a warmer front coming from the west with more rain and clouds.
It’s Saturday morning here in Helsinki and as you can see from the photograph above there is no traffic when normally Saturday mornings fill the roads with cars, buses, trams and shoppers.
Yesterday they did empty the toilet paper shelves but new supplies came in this morning – the paper factories are having a ball of a time, just like the Chemists!
The market place next to where I live only had one man selling some ceramics and inside the market Hall Iris and Sylvia at Tokyo Street told me that business has been reduced because to so many people are working from home.
The young lady at Roberts Coffee said business is down at least 20%.
In the centre of town, outside Stockmann’s, there was no traffic and there were very few shoppers. Stockmann’s was like a ghost town. I did see two Chinese couples walking in the sunshine enjoying the bracing weather. They have got stuck here with all flights to China being cancelled.
Helsinki’s main market square was also pretty empty, with just a few stray shoppers walking around enjoying the bright sunshine.
This glorious picture shows the sun, the sea and the ship right next to the marketplace.
So in spite of all the negative news about climate change there is at least one redeeming feature, the leaves on this bush and now poking out for the first time in living memory in mid-March.
Now it’s time to go home on the bike because my fingers are almost frozen from holding the camera.
Have a good weekend, and enjoy life with home comforts.
