Finnish lines

Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said she had taken a test for illegal drugs after being filmed at a party at which some people were shouting ‘flour’ – Finnish slang for cocaine. What’s Helsinki’s nightlife like?

— The Hostelworld website identifies a Helsinki venue, Kaiku, as one of its 20 top clubs in the world.

— Insider.com names Helsinki as the second best city in the world for socialising.

— However, Finder.com rated Helsinki as the 16th most expensive city in the world in which to buy a pint, although it did come out cheaper than Oslo and Stockholm.

Screen out

Cineworld was reported to be on the verge of filing for bankruptcy, following Covid and what it said was a lack of blockbusters this year. How have cinema audiences fared over the years? Attendances in Britain peaked in 1946 at 1.635m and bottomed out in 1984 at 54m (until Covid-19, that is).

Millions of attendances

19461,635

1956 1,101

1966289

1976 104

198676

1996 124

2006157

2016 168

202044

Source: UK Cinema Association

Causing a splash

Which water companies are best/worst for losing water through leaks? In litres per property per day:

Worst

Thames Water161

Hafren Dyfrdwy (N.E./mid-Wales) 134

United Utilities (Yorkshire)

130Affinity (Home Counties) 120

Best

Bristol 69

Essex and Suffolk (Portsmouth) 79

SES (Surrey/Sussex)82

Anglian 86

Source: www.discoverwater.co.uk

Sale away

Retail sales rose by 0.3 per cent last month. Have they recovered from the pandemic? Rise/fall in value of sales (at current prices) since the middle of 2019:

All retail+16%

Predominantly food stores +12%

Non-food stores +10%

Clothing and footwear +7%

Household goods +9%

Online +48%

Petrol stations +27%

Source: ONS

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