Monday, December 3

The temperature was minus ten and the metro had still not recovered from the introduction of new signals over the weekend. The trains were intermittent at best. Auo and I waited almost fifteen minutes before an almost completely full one arrived.

In the morning Irma phoned to say that her parents’ apartment had flooded. At midday I left for the centre. Now I am in the building of the Ministry of Culture, having shaken Paavo Arhinmäki’s hand, with a glass of sparkling wine in my hand. I am here with Pixelache, who have been awarded one of three state art prizes on their tenth birthday. In a few moments Nathalie will make a speech, and then we will wander around the building taking pictures of each other.

We will have a long lunch in Zucchini and then I will go to inspect the flooded apartment. The surface damage is not very noticeable but apparently there is a lot of water under the parquet floor, which means the floor will have to be removed, the concrrete dried, and a new floor laid.

In the evening Irma will attend the Kulosaari Parents’ Association pikkujoulu, and much later we will have a glass of sparkling wine to celebrate my surprise guest appearance in the pantheon of award-winning Finnish artists.