I’m back from my sojourn in Finland (and a little bit of Estonia too, country-counting enthusiasts), and what a lovely green and blue, foresty and lakey country it is – albeit one with a thoroughly over-extended fascination with the solo works of Bruce Dickinson (oh yes, and local-boys-done-good Lordi – see picture above). 

I managed to hoover up as much of the Circle back catalogue as I could find/afford while I was there, including what I thought to be the latest – until the young shop assistant in Helsinki’s Popparienkeli informed me that there had been another one since then, and he’d sold out.  “Never mind”, he added, “there will be another one out soon”.  Obviously.  

The disconnection of the automated review-generating robot will take place soon, but it has those mad-looking red eyes, and is swishing at me with a rolled up copy of The Wire, so it may get to write one or two more yet before it can be lured back into its box by use of a bottle of Finnish stout as bait…