Finland

The organization originally preserved his own artwork, but its mission eventually expanded to preserving all erotic artwork, and it lists promoting 'more tolerant attitudes about sexuality' as one of its main goals.  … [Read more...] about Luann de Lesseps cuts an elegant figure in a white tuxedo as she supports her daughter at the Tom of Finland Foundation’s Art Benefit

Imagine a country where children do nothing but play until they start compulsory schooling at age seven. Then, without exception, they attend comprehensives until the age of 16. Charging school fees is illegal, and so is sorting pupils into ability groups by streaming or setting. There are no inspectors, no exams until the age of 18, no school league tables, no private tuition industry, no school uniforms. Children address teachers by their first names. Even 15-year-olds do no more than 30 minutes' homework a night. … [Read more...] about Finland’s education ambassador spreads the word

'I wish it could talk,' she said. 'I would love to hear the story of how it got from here to there, and if anyone ever knows what it is, I would love to hear what it is. No judgment, just interest.'  … [Read more...] about Maine widow is reunited with a cherished ring she lost 47 years ago after it was unearthed 3,700 miles away in a forest in FINLAND

Where to eat Whether it’s prosciutto, pasta or parmesan cheese, this city is defined by its food. Even the United Nations says so – last year Unesco declared Parma a Creative City of Gastronomy. Yes, you can find gourmet burgers, sushi bars and street food – but Parma is not really cut out for food fads. The best way to see how food is celebrated here is to visit one of the sagre (festivals) that take place all year round. Gola! Gola!, a slickly organised event with TV chefs and celebrity authors, launched in June this year on the back of the Unesco stamp, and is likely to become an annual fixture. In autumn the action moves beyond the city to the prosciutto festival, the mushroom festivals in the nearby Val di Taro, black truffle month in Calestano and November Porc, four weekends of pigging out in the culatello towns along the river Po. Most can be reached easily by bus or train for a handful of euros. If you don’t have time for an excursion, join the queue of … [Read more...] about Move over Barcelona: four great alternative city breaks

“Hello!” An all-male chorus. Hulmes thumps his briefcase on the table, gets out his notes, rearranges a hunk of propeller sitting on his desk. CAE trains cadets from all over the world – France, Denmark, Italy, Turkey, the Emirates, Singapore, Finland, Montenegro – a new set of 20 or so, from up to 26 nationalities, coming through every three weeks. This class has a strong contingent from Air Algérie: when Hulmes turns his back, the whispering is in Arabic. But there isn’t much whispering: ground school is, as Field puts it, where “you sort the men from the boys” – he glances at me – “and the women from the girls”. If anyone is going to drop out, it will be during these six months, when cadets study everything from meteorology to human performance, radio navigation to air law, with two sets of seven exams, at three months and at six. The courses aren’t that difficult, says Hulmes, who used to be a flight … [Read more...] about Sky high: who’d be an airline pilot today?