I’m at Terminal 3 at Heathrow airport, waiting for a Finnair flight to Helsinki (hope I won’t disappear into Finnair), then a train to Tampere for the IFLA information literacy conference.
I’m carrying a large tube containing a poster about 23 Things Oxford and the application of the 23 Things model in other forms of staff development/continuing professional development.
At the end of October, I will be leaving Oxford to start a new job at the University of Sunderland. Another departure, this time involving selling a house and also finding a job for ekcragg in the north-east! We moved south 6 years ago as newly-qualified librarians, and it’s exciting to be heading home at last!
To Finnish (ha!), here are some facts about Suomi:
- It’s a Nordic country, but emphatically not Scandinavian
- Joined the EU in January 1995; founder member of the Euro in 2002
- 2006 Eurovision winners (remember Lordi?)
- “Sauna” is pronounced “sah-oo-nah” not “saw-nuh”
- The Kalevala is Finland’s national epic and it was a strong influence on JRR Tolkien (don’t read too much of The Lord of the Rings, it’s hobbit-forming)
- The world Mobile Phone Throwing Championships take place in Savonlinna each year in August (shame, can’t fit it into my itinerary this visit)
Have a fabulous time in Finland, congrats on the new job, and good luck with the move!
It was nice to meet you, and congratulation with your poster and work. And I will try the facebookpage for my library