I write in margins

Tate modern was one of the London's Millennium projects. Converting a huge power plant built in the 1960's to a modern art museum. Most of the general collection exhibitions are free for the visitors and for the special exhibitions you pay either £15 or £17.50 depending on whether you make a donation. That's for the adults. Kids get half price. Reserve plenty of the time to go throught the exhibitions. Men of the family chose the free exhibitions, dames the special ones. It took well over three hours from both to their parts through in a relaxed phase. Collection was impressive. Definetly worth visiting. Links: My daughter's blogpost on Tate . Tate Modern (coming up from 21st Feb: Roy Liechtenstein. Even the exhibition book (was on sale during Xmas at Tate) weighter like 2 kilos.

It happened again. Gävle bocken, a gigantic goat made from straw, was burned last night.  As I wrote couple of weeks ago, this goat has become a phenomenon in the world due to fact that it is more likely it is burned down than it survives to Christmas. Burning of the straw goats (though not so big) is an old Nordic tradition for the darkest time of the year. Burning washed away the bad spirits and bad luck away and was a promise for a good crops for next harvest. So, Gävle's citizens are saved from bad spirits also this year. Since it was raised fist time in the 1960's the goat has been burned almost 30 times. Some years ago it was burned by an American tourist who actually thought that it was the traditions people just had to do - and he thought himself lucky. So, this morning when I visited Gävle Goat's site , I saw the smoking rests of it: RIP Gävle Goat - Gävle bocken 13.12.2012 The Goat's last words in Twitter were: "The last hour is here.I'm...

Joulu tuo juhlista pakanallisin lähestyy. Monella jouluisilla perinteillä on juurensa muualla kuin länsimaisessa kristillisessä perinteessä. Asia tuli mieleeni, kun otin äsken valokuvaa kahdesta olkipukista. Pukki ei johdata meitä seimen ääreen, vaan se on vanha pohjoismaiseen perinteeseen liittyvä hedelmällisyyden symboli. Talven pimeän selkä katkesi talvipäivänseisauksen aikaan ja valo voitti pimeyden. Aurinko herättää maan ja viljan. Pukki tehtiin viljasta ja poltettiin hedelmällisyyden ja viljasadon turvaamiseksi. Toinen teoria liittää olkipukin [syntipukin] pimeän aikaan liikkuneisiin piruihin, joita Suomessa myös tontuiksi kutsuttiin. Tontut äityivät julmiksi ja pahoiksi juuri talvipäivänseisauksen aikaan ja olkipukit vetivät piruja sisäänsä magneetin tavoin - ja talossa olevat ihmiset ja huusholli säilyivät pirun metkuilta. Pimeän taituttua pukit sitten poltettiin piruineen tunkiolla.  Niin tai näin, Gävlen kaupungin asukkaat (ja muutamat turistitkin) ovat pitäneet ...