What to expect from a British man

1. Breakfast will sometimes look like in the photo below. That’s not coffee but English breakfast tea, always served with milk.

2. Talking about breakfast, if he cooks you an egg, he will leave the yolk runny unless you tell him to cook it solid.

3. He will probably NOT rinse the washing up (huuhtoa tiskit). British kitchens have only one sink, so it’s a lot of hassle to rinse and they’re used to not doing it. Instead, they wipe the washing up clean and dry with a ’tea towel’.

4. He will think Finnish women (including you) are gorgeous. Nordic women are internationally known for being beautiful. British women… well… They are not, to put it nicely.

5. He may think you’re blonde even if you think you’re a brunette. Anything lighter than milk chocolate is considered blonde.

6. The Finnish language will confuse and amuse him.

7. The sports. He may not know what ice hockey is. Hockey will be field hockey to him unless he lives in Finland or you get him used to the idea of ice hockey. He is likely to be interested in football, rugby, cricket or F1.

8. He will be able to tell you why lager is not technically beer. Finnish beers are actually all lagers. Don’t ask him about it if you’re not interested because he may get excited.

9. He won’t have a coffee machine. If Brits drink coffee at home, it’s almost always instant coffee.

10. Easter isn’t very special for him, Vappu and Midsummer don’t exist and Shrove Tuesday (Laskiaistiistai) is just for making pancakes. Also, there’s no independence day, so there are just fewer special days in the year. He will think it’s exotic that you want to make special foods for each holiday.