Hot on the heels of YT’s declaration that ‘nothing ever happens in Iceland in September’ comes the Reykjavík Literary Festival with its line-up of luminaries. This year’s festival – which started yesterday – is packed with a Whole Bunch of Famous Authors: Margaret Atwood, Graeme Gibson, Paul Auster, Siri Hustvedt, Nick Hornby, Annie Proulx, DBC Pierre, Eric-Emmanuel Schmidt, Lars Saabye Christensen, etc. etc. [full lineup here].

EPI and YT received an invite to the opening but decided to forego it in favour of more enjoyable pursuits, EPI to help his friend move and YT to scale Mt. Esja with her sister. [I find cocktail parties an excruciating bore, having endured a lifetime’s worth in the relatively short space of time I was involved in the Diplomatic Service]. However, EPI and YT did make it to a noon-time chat with Margaret Atwood today at the Nordic House, which was excellent: illuminating, engrossing and very funny. Somehow I would not have immediately associated Ms Atwood with ‘funny’ [my relatively recent wrestle with Oryx and Crake is largely to blame] but she most definitely was that – as well as charming, witty and extremely clever.

In any case, the literature festival programme looks tremendously promising, running for the next six days, with all events absolutely free! Readings, chats, live interviews… a veritable smorgasbord for literature enthusiasts. Yowsa!

WEATHER TODAY…
Storm warning in effect. Evidently we’re being sent the leftovers of a storm named Maria [never heard of her personally, but who am I to argue]. It’s not as fierce as I had expected, though so will attempt a run in due course – at this very moment the rain has stopped and the wind appears tolerable. However, it would be just my luck to have the skies open up with a downpour the moment I hit the trail in my lil’ jogging outfit. Current temps 9°C and daybreak was at 05.52, nightfall due for 20.53.