Just in case I was starting to feel homesick

Manchester seems quite far away. I was dreaming about bacon butties at the weekend. I haven't managed to find proper bacon here, only the thin American style crispy bacon rashers. So I guess that's the first thing to kick in that I'm missing. Because even if I could get the right bacon, I wouldn't get the right bread - medium cut Warbutons (although Rathbone's would do in an emergency).

However, one thing that I'm not missing especially is the weather. As I write this, I can see out of my window and am able to contemplate this view:



They don't call Tampere the Manchester of Finland for nothing I suppose. But it does mean that whatever I might be missing about Manchester, I still get to experience horizontal rain spitting in your face at 100 mph, rivers of rain running along the side of the street, the lunge backwards as you realise the bus is just about to plough through the puddle in front of you. And, just for one moment, I'm back at home. I desparately try to keep the hood of my coat covering my whole head, but the best I can do still leaves my forehead exposed and my face completely wet. Whilst I wrestle with my coat, a man walks by holding the last shreds of his broken umbrella keeping about 2 square inches of himself dry. I give up and let the rain just wet me to the bone. I'm starting to feel at home here.