Finland
A rebellious childhood: Lowest Common Denominator, by Pirkko Saisio, reviewed
In droll, sardonic, dialogue-driven scenes, Saisio transports us to her youth in Cold War Finland and her longing to become a writer
A tale of impossible love: The End of Drum Time, by Hanna Pylväinen, reviewed
A 19th-century missionary’s daughter falls for a Sami herdsman and flees with him to the tundra – only to find that, as an incomer, she will always be cold-shouldered
The good old ways: nature’s best chance of recovery
Traditional agricultural methods still operating in pockets of Europe maintain an enviable balance of ecology and economy and an extraordinary diversity of wildlife
Europe turns right
On her recent visit to Washington, shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves presented herself as the perfect candidate to be the next…
A fight to the Finnish
When I went into the Sisu screening I knew only that it was a Finnish film, so was expecting an…
Barometer
Finnish lines Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said she had taken a test for illegal drugs after being filmed at…
Sanna Marin and the rise of fake controversy
With an honourable exception for the Beastie Boys, I can’t stand the use of ‘party’ as a verb. It immediately…
Nato is no longer ‘brain dead’
Finland and Sweden will be formally invited to join Nato today. Them joining the alliance will bolster Nato’s presence in the…
Is this the birth of a Nordic Nato?
In the past six weeks, Finland and Sweden’s security policies have changed more than they have over the past six…
Strangers on a train
Compartment No. 6 is set aboard a long train journey across Russia, a country we don’t hear much of these…
By Tove!
Tove is a biopic of the Finnish artist Tove Jansson who, most famously, created the Moomins, that gentle family of…
Life in the fast lane
DeLorean: Back from the Future was one of those documentaries — for me at least — that takes a story…
Finland is rebooting its politics – and its new centrism is defined by youth
Helsinki Sanna Marin is the world’s new feminist political icon. At the age of 34, she’s just been appointed the…
Robert Redford turns his hand to radio
Much ado is being made of the latest listening figures, which have suggested that the percentage of those aged between…
Horatio Clare breaks the ice with the taciturn Finns
In this slim travel book Horatio Clare voyages as a guest on the Finnish icebreaker Otso (Bear), ‘mostly in darkness,…
A chance to see the Moomins’ creator for the genius she really was: Tove Janssons reviewed
Tove Jansson, according to her niece’s husband, was a squirt in size and could rarely be persuaded to eat, preferring…
Our big fat problem
The good news is that Theresa May has dropped the threat to withdraw universal free school meals. Thank God (and…
Long life
I have rather a poor record for speeding over the years. I have been caught by cameras quite often, sometimes…
Escape into Moomin world
Tove Jansson’s father was a sculptor specialising in war memorials to the heroes of the White Guard of the Finnish…
Diary
Like many inward-looking children, I always doodled stories and poems. Knowing one wanted to be a writer is a different…
Let the elves do the work
As I sit here in my Sarah Lund Fair Isle sweater, polishing my boxed sets of Borgen and nibbling on…
