The second hand on my watch had become loose. It was moving around under the glass and every once in a while got stuck with the hour and minute hands and stopped the passage of time completely. I like to support local businesses, so I first went to a watch shop not far from here. That guy sells Expensive Designer Watches and apparently was very busy. He recommended a clocksmiths’ workshop on Hämeentie. He said I could get my watch fixed for 10-20 euros over there, best value for my money, he said.
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I finished a book last night and wondered where the closest library was. Oh yes, the old main library on Rikhardinkatu. This beautiful building was originally built as a public library in 1881, the first one in the Nordic countries in a specifically designed building, and has always been a library. In the 1920’s an extra floor and a wing were added. It’s an absolutely delightful place with old shelves and furniture and nooks and hush quiet atmosphere. Wonderful for browsing and making discoveries. They say it has been haunted; the restless souls were asked to move on about three years ago. These past two days have been glorious. A few degrees below zero (Centigrade), brilliant sunshine, just a little wind. Yesterday loads of people out walking, long queues in cafés. Many places are closed – I guess that’s only fair, they need their holidays like the rest of us. One of the buildings in Eiranranta (rather posh and terribly expensive) built about ten years ago is covered in scaffolding. Water damage. What ever happened to quality control??
Today I decided to look for artistic inspiration at the Cable Factory, a multifunctional cultural centre. There is a sales exhibition of graphic art and sculptures, an annual event. There is a similar event for painters earlier in the year. I prefer this one. Much of what is in the painters’ event disappoints me. Much of what’s in the printmakers’ and sculptors’ event delights me. It’s a nice walking distance away and I fortified myself with coffee and cake at the local gas station. The people who run the place are celebrating their eighth year here. Good chocolate cake, actually. There was some interesting stencilling on the way. That pancake pan was the most delightful sculpture. It's a old Skeppshult pan with bronze pancakes by Mika Heinonen, called Kesäilta, Summer Evening. 1300 euro, in case you're interested. Was I inspired? Yep. Ideas are churning in my head. I had some gift shopping to do so I went for a stroll. It’s cloudy, the temperature’s about +3C and you could drink that air!
I ended up in a book store, as I tend to. Well, several book stores. One of them was the much criticized Academic Bookstore. Once The Bookstore in Helsinki, one of the leading book stores in Europe, it has lost one floor of books and one floor of stationary etc. The number of languages in the selection has been cut and the magazines section is about the same as the in the kiosk around the corner. Slight exaggeration there, but the whole area taken over by Starbucks used to be for magazines. It used to be the magazine lover’s candy store. It used to be the book lover’s candy store. All these changes because it was sold to a Swedish book publisher and for a while had a director who didn’t come from the book world. However – dare I even say this – now that the layout is different, now that is a strange place, I see books and authors I didn’t pay attention to earlier. I was listening to a conversation between a client and salesperson. There’s no denying his expertise and deep knowledge of things literary. The Academic Bookstore may no longer be The Bookstore we grew up with. But it’s still a book store. |
AuthorI'm Piisa and I will be sharing with you my thoughts on this and that, maybe even on whatever. Archives
August 2023
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