Blog

I had the most bizarre experience the other day. There’s a street I frequently drive along called Mýrargata [where this atrocity is located] – not a pretty street by any standards, there’s a shipyard next to it and sort of old, decrepit and sooty industrial buildings...

As regular readers will know, YT is not a meme fan. However, I found this quite irresistible - and anyway, it's not a proper meme [much]. Plug your name plus the word 'needs' into google, and see what you get: Alda needs to be ready to provide a flawless—not...

One of the great things about being part of a small nation is that when something is going on, you really feel part of it. The spirit of the event permeates everything, everyone gets caught up in it, and an enormous amount of energy is created. It’s sort of like the...

Today, 24 October, is Women’s Day Off here in Iceland. On this date 30 years ago, 25,000 Icelandic women walked off the job to call attention to the importance of their contribution to society. Many also took the day off from the household chores. No cooking, no...

The view at the end of my street yesterday, 6pm:The evening was gorgeous and the sunset stunning - sadly these pictures never manage to capture the full effect. [And yes, that is the Snæfellsnes glacier in the distance, in case you're wondering]. Later on EPI and I...

Dear readers. Today, October 20, marks one full year since the Iceland Weather Report started its run. [applause, whoo-hoo! release the balloons] That’s correct. Exactly one year ago on this day, our YT found herself slightly bored. It was October, a slow time of year...

Remember my three Sellafield posts? Well, sometime back in the spring or early summer I copied them into a single file, gave them a quick revision, and then sent them off to the Writers Digest 74th Annual Writing Competition, which I received notice of through an...

Breaking news: Iceland tops the list of countries with the least corruption within the public sector, according to an organization called Transparency International. For a long while it has beenno. 2, right behind Finland, and last year it shared 3-4 place with...

Up until now, I have been happily exempt from the iPod craze. I mean, I’ve thought they were pretty cool and everything, but have remained completely laissez-faire about owning one. Sure, if someone had given me one for my birthday I wouldn’t have thrown it back in...

EYE CANDYThis is a typical example of an Icelandic house from the early part of the last century. These were made of wood and covered with corrugated iron siding - something that is still very common here, particularly if the houses are made of timber. This type of...

I think it’s fair to say that the Icelandic nation is profoundly shaken as a result of a book that came out a few days ago. It’s called Myndin af pabba [The Picture of my Father] and tells the true story of five sisters who as children were systematically molested by...

Iceland has two* main television stations: The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service [RÚV to us locals] and Channel 2. Both of those have newsrooms, and both have a sort of current affairs programme immediately after the news. Very recently, one of the main news...