The epic journey has been sucessfully navigated.  There was an initial delay at Manchester airport when the elderly lady in front of me at the frisking station was asked to remove fluids from her colostomy bag due to the clear plastic/100ml regulations (she was directed to the facilities).  I felt this was a bit extreme but I suppose they must be alive to all possible plots.   
My belief in the enlightened nature of Scandinavians was deeply shaken by the in-flight snack involving mayonnaise, but Finnair restored my faith by having logos on their sick bags, which we collectors appreciate.  The only other issue with the flight was the gentleman seated next to me thinking it was socially acceptable to order tomato juice in a confined space.
Some interesting facts I learned whilst roaming Helsinki airport throughout the night; in the last 10 years the runways have only been out of operation for a total of 30 minutes; they can clear a runway of snow in 11 minutes; after about 4 hours of extended instrumental symphonies of Phil Collins' greatest hits, featuring a large string section and saxophone riffs in the middle 8, the bleeding from your ears subsides.
Luckily we were able to escape without ending up in the throat of a giant asteroid worm.