Janey: I have just realised that while loading this up, we are probably pretty much talking to ourselves. is anybody out there? If so, I'll begin. First off, we went snowboarding in Lillehammer. I was abit crap - Meesh taught me the basics and at first i thought i was amazing and then i deteriorated quite rapidly. i spent muchos time on my bum and then got the fear after tackling a skiier to the ground (accidentally) and had to stop with bruising on all protruding parts of my body. the scenery was absolutely spectacular however and i had an amazing day. i still ache. the ski resort was a brilliant one, it was busy but not completely overcrowded and there were plenty of slopes suitable for beginners so I was able to have a variety of runs. I think the best moment was when we were on the ski lifts and i came over the brow of the hill only to see meesh rithing around in a snow drift,having fallen off. smug little me had a good giggle and giggled so much that I fell off, in exactly the same place. we then both had to walk all the way to the top which was, quite frankly, rather treacherous.

Meesh: I think I can safely say that I am now a pro-snowboarder extra-ordinaire (apart from the afore mentioned incident on the lift). After Lillehammer we set forth northwards to the city of Trondheim, which was pretty uninspiring (no pipe players sarah!). It was however the start point of our epic 29 hour journey to Helsinki, as we decided it would be prudent to bypass the snowy wastelands of north scandinavia. Train, train, train (overnighter), bus, bus, train, train later we rocked up in Helsinki. We've decided to camp out here for a few days before hitting the stark landscapes of Russia. I think we've had our fill of trains for the time being.

Janey: its nice to be settled in one place for a bit and helsinki is as nice a place to do it as any. We are staying in a really good hostel called Erottajanpuisto and it seems to be in the coooolest part of town. In the 'design district' and its full of coooool design shops and funky bars and good coffee shops... which we have taken full advantage of. The hostel is alittle shabby but very homely, we fit right in. we have been meandering the streets of Helsinki at snails pace because we have so much time to do it in!

Meesh: For those of you interested in the adventures of sly-y you will be shocked and a little appalled at his behaviour today. For starters, he went missing for FIVE days between Oslo and here, we even had to contact the oslo hostel about his whereabouts and then he just decided to stroll back in to our lives. Yeah thanks sly-y. And then today, we took him out to our fav coffee shop and let him have a little bit of chocolate cake, and how did he repay us for this act of generosity? He just dived right in and gorged himself stupid before ending up face down in a chocolate coma. And then to top it off he launched himself headfirst into janey's latte glass (luckily empty). Took all three of us to pull him out and calm him down. Pictures soon

Janey: I've got to admit that I was thoroughly ashamed of him and have had words. 'not every porcelien cat with very sly eyes gets to see the world you know, and i expect better behaviour in the future'. Suffice to say, he apologised muchly. he's still got sly eyes though. Yes. Anyhow. I have managed to get my knickers (clean after having been to the launderette) in a right old twist about russian visas. If you don't hear from us in a week or two would someone mind coming to st petersburg and fishing us out of prison there?? i think i have it sussed... well.. meesh read about it and all my mountains are molehills... or are they?

Meesh: Yes they are. well. Pancake time. Only a day late but we can't let our standards slide. xx

Janey: this morning I learned that I cant seek god until God seeks me, and even in the underground church today, he didnt show his face. so i am going to be more greedy during lent to punish him for his neglect. Good night, god bless you if hes sought you, dont show off if he has. Rose. I love you. you are the best flower in the garden xxx