Author: richbedhall
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Winter Gardening
This winter in the South of Finland we have had a disappointing amount of snow. In the capital region it has only been possible to cross country ski where the city authorities have created tracks from snow blower made snow. As a result, these places are very busy with keen skiers and for me, a…
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A Warmer Spell
It’s a real nuisance when in the middle of winter, a warm spell occurs. Plus 1 or 2 above freezing leads to a small melt. The roads may be cleared of snow completely, but the walking tracks, and footpaths with compacted snow melt slightly and then refreeze solid and very slippery. Boots with studs become…
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Neighbourly Cooperation
It never ceases to puzzle me, how the Finnish people who normally value their own personal space and serenity, can live in close proximity to others in Apartments and co-operative run neighbourhoods. Out on the street it is not considered normal to say, “good day!” to passing folk or even neighbours. At the bus stop…
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The Republic of Finland – A Representative Democracy Part 4
Surprisingly this sparsely populated country has a few achievements worth noting at the forefront of citizens rights. Finland was one of the first countries to introduce Universal Suffrage and the first Parliament to have elected women members. Finland has a representative democracy but how does this all work and do people actually feel better represented?…
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At last – Spring!
This last winter has been dragging on for nearly six months. Snow in November, and on and off until surprising us all with a last blast of 20cm in mid-April. Here in Southern Finland, we thought Spring was well underway in early April with warm sunny days. The Snowdrops and Crocus were flowering and then…
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The Republic of Finland – A Representative Democracy Part 3
Surprisingly this sparsely populated country has a few achievements worth noting at the forefront of citizens rights. Finland was one of the first countries to introduce Universal Suffrage and the first Parliament to have elected women members. Finland has a representative democracy but how does this all work and do people actually feel better represented?…
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The Republic of Finland – A Representative Democracy, Part 2.
Surprisingly this sparsely populated country has a few achievements worth noting at the forefront of citizens rights. Finland was one of the first countries to introduce Universal Suffrage and the first Parliament to have elected women members. Finland has a representative democracy but how does this all work and do people actually feel better represented?…
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The Republic of Finland Representative Democracy
Surprisingly this sparsely populated country has a few achievements worth noting at the forefront of citizens rights. Finland was one of the first countries to introduce Universal Suffrage and the first Parliament to have elected women members. Finland has a representative democracy but how does this all work and do people actually feel better represented?…
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Spring in Finland
Once February has gone, the days seem to lengthen rapidly. Here in the South of Finland, the six hour days of December and January are long gone and already in early March, we have over ten hours of daylight. The signs are there too. The birds sing louder on the warmer days and some are…
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Tech
The London Olympics and the Queen’s Jubilee made 2012 a memorable year, and we got married and moved to Finland. Smart phones were becoming more common and affordable. The operating system competition between Apple’s OS, Google’s Android and Nokia’s Symbian were starting to fade. The decline for Nokia started in 2010 when manufacturers Sony Ericsson…
Happy in Finland 