Category Archives: Nature

03 May

How To Be Broke in London

Primrose Hill

One of the best things about this diverse city is how easy it is to find something to enjoy, even when you’re broke. Here are three of my favourites.

  1. Gardens. – Over 60% of London is green. Strolling through the gorgeous gardens can make you forget about all the problems in the world.
  2. Museums. – London has some of the best museums in the world, and most of them are free to visit unless you wish to see a special exhibition. Recently I had a splendid time at the Tate Modern, enjoying the art by the amazing Rebecca Horn, a pioneer in various fields.
  3. Farmers’ Markets – Being a foodie and being broke is not the best combination. However, I know how to lessen the frustration of not being able to buy expensive ingredients for your cooking or dine in fine restaurants. Last weekend I tasted lots of lovely food and divine cheeses at one of the Farmers’ Markets. Managed to skip dinner that day and my taste buds were happy nonetheless!

Greetings from Pollyanna! 😀

Swiss Cottage Farmers' Market

 

 

11 Feb

Keen Spring

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See those gorgeous Magnolias, blooming since early February in Primrose Hill. Meteorological spring doesn’t begin until the 1st of March, but they don’t care. Those pink flowers are a sight for sore eyes and make me happy. Like the Magnolias, I can’t wait for the lovely spring to come with its pastel colours and lovely scent. It’s my favourite time of the year in London.

Late February days; and now, at last, 

Might you have thought that 

Winter’s woe was past; 

So fair the sky was and so soft the air.

–  William Morris

02 Dec

Life Will Never Be the Same

Screen Shot 2015-12-02 at 10.08.06The Australian photographer and travel blogger William Patino recently visited Iceland. Some of his photos are among the best images I’ve seen portraying my homeland. William claims after ten days in Iceland, his life will never be the same again. You can read about it and take a look at his amazing photographs on Bored Panda.

In a comment to a Aurora Borealis pic on his Instagram account someone asks; ‘Out of curiosity, of all the places you’ve been in the world, is there something special about Iceland that yields a burning daily desire to return?’

And his answer goes like this; ‘Watching the Northern Lights dance intensely across the sky for hours on end was a pretty surreal moment. That couple with hundreds of miles of vast, dramatic and unique landscapes with permanent golden light. That pretty much does it for me.’

I hope he’ll be able to visit Iceland often in the future.

 

18 Nov

A Unique Video From Iceland!

Screen Shot 2015-11-18 at 17.53.32I’ve watched a good deal of videos portraying the breathtaking beauty of my homeland, but this one is different. Vatnajökull is  the largest and most voluminous ice cap in Iceland. It’s located in the south-east of the island, covering more than 8 percent of the country.

Tim Kemple is an photographer and filmmaker in his thirties, but also a dedicated climber. In this video you see him and his team of professionals on their adventure in Iceland, climbing the stunning Vatnajökull.

If you want to read more about it, here’s his website.

07 Nov

Björk Calls to Action!

Screen Shot 2015-11-07 at 15.13.37Last week I wrote about David Cameron’s visit to Iceland and mentioned how worried I was about speculations of building a power cable from Iceland to provide the UK with energy. As much as I love living here, and wish this country all the best, I cherish the nature of my homeland more. These plans are dangerous. UK has already negotiated getting power from Norway as you can read in Guardian; ‘The UK and Norway are to build the world’s longest undersea interconnector – a method of linking up electricity and gas networks – to provide enough low-carbon energy for almost 750,000 British homes.’

The world famous musician Björk has for years been a spokesperson for keeping Icelandic nature untouched and now she has called to action. ‘Iceland has a deadline!’ she says.

Björk and Andri Snær Magnason, the prestigious writer and activist, held a press conference yesterday about ‘the latest skirmish in the war to protect Iceland’s highlands from industrialisation’. You can read more in Grapevine. They ask the world to join them against the government to help protecting the Icelandic wilderness. The deadline is in 10 days and if you want to help sign the petition HERE.

The news has already reached international media like BBC, Guardian and Pitchfork.

This is not the first time Björk calls to action, in 2008 she teamed up with Sigur Rós in a concert to raise awareness for Icelandic nature. I’ll never forget that magical day.

And here’s her song Náttúra (Nature)

We can only hope the world will listen this time!

http://heartoficeland.org/

https://www.facebook.com/gaetumgardsins/?fref=ts

http://www.framtidarlandid.is/en/natureiceland

 

 

02 Nov

Autumn in London – Photo Gallery

16IN AUTUMN

by Winifred C. Marshall (1761-1839)

They’re coming down in showers,
The leaves all gold and red;
They’re covering the little flowers,
And tucking them in bed
They’ve spread a fairy carpet
All up and down the street;
And when we skip along to school,
they rustle ‘neath our feet

29 Oct

David Cameron Visiting Iceland

DavidcameronBritish Prime Minister, David Cameron, is visiting Iceland and will be attending the Northern Future Forum in Reykjavík. A British Prime Minister hasn’t made an official visit to Iceland since 1941, when Winston Churchill met with the Icelandic government.

Iceland isn’t inside the EU, but is a member of the EFTA, a grouping of four non-EU European countries. It’s also part of the European Economic Area EEA. Through the EEA, Iceland participates with a non-voting status in certain EU agencies and programmes, including enterprise, environment, education and research programs. Here you can read about the ongoing debate on if Iceland should join EU. Regarded as one of the biggest benefit of being ‘outside’ of the EU is the ownership of the fish in Icelandic waters.

Fisheries management in Icelandic waters is primarily based on catch limitation (output control) through individual transferable quotas. The reality is that only a few families in Iceland own the quota and therefore are the only ones getting rich from it. The rest of the nation scrambles to get by. So instead of other countries getting money for our fish, the Icelandic ‘quota kings’ – as we call them – get rich. Can’t see a lot of difference for the majority of Icelanders. I bet David Cameron and Iceland’s Prime Minister, Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson will not discuss this. There is another subject Cameron will be eager to discuss with the Icelandic PM, the possibility of an undersea cable between the two countries.

Iceland gets around 95% of its power from hydro and geothermal energy. An undersea cable could supply UK homes with geothermal energy from Iceland’s volcanoes within a decade, they say. So, other countries might not fish in our waters but now they will probably get our energy. That worries me.

At a press conference, held midday, Cameron will probably take the opportunity to announce that he hopes Britain will remain in the EU and talk about the cable as well.

Last year ITV’s journalist Tom Bradby was in Iceland. ‘What’s life like in an European country that’s not part of the EU?’, he asks. ‘Iceland has often been held up as one of the primary examples, so last year I travelled there to see how the country fares’. I recommend reading and watching Could Britain ever truly be free of the EU?

 

 

21 Oct

Trolls and Elves in Iceland

Photo: Hörður JónassonI just watched a very interesting piece on BBC Earth. Melissa Hogenboom travelled to Iceland to search for trolls. It did not go quite the way she expected. This is one of the best programmes I’ve seen about this subject. If you have twelve minutes to spare watching this is a time well spent. Click on the link below to watch.

We went hunting for trolls and found a deeper truth.

30 Sep

Hampstead Heath – photo gallery

12052384_10206488167297036_3093669693632837370_oOnly a few miles from central London is this magical place called Hampstead Heath. It’s an ancient and historic London Park, covering almost 800 acres of woodland, meadows, grasslands and ponds. Hampstead Heath is an important refuge for wildlife and history nuggets are everywhere to be found. The captivating sights have been an inspiration for artists and several movies have been shot in the area. Even some of London’s most infamous crimes have been committed there. The Heath is also famous for being the perfect place for lovers.  A stroll there is simply a delight and highly recommended for visitors and locals alike.