A Song for Jenny
Last night I watched the film A Song For Jenny on BBC1. Even now my eyes water when I think about scenes from the movie. It’s heartbreaking to watch but worth it. A Song for Jenny is based on a book by Julie Nicholson, a mother who lost her daughter during the 7/7 attacks in 2005. The book was adapted for television by the Irish playwright Frank McGuinness and Brian Percival directs. It’s very well written and directed. It’s often said that storytelling is all in the details and this screenplay is a proof of that. Emily Watson gives an incredible performance as Julie, one you’ll never forget.
Julie is struggling to accept her daughter’s death in the suicide bombing at The Edgware Road tube station. As viewers, we can feel the raw emotions through Watson’s performance, the anguish, the devastating wait for the worst news possible. Then the death of hope, the anger and the hatred, but also the complicated and mixed feelings when she tries to honour her daughter by letting go of the hatred, failing at first.
In this interview with The Express, Emily Watson talks about how she met Julie ahead of filming; ‘Julie was amazingly generous. She is a natural storyteller and has a sense of the poetic, despite her own grief,’ says Emily. ‘I asked her a lot of really direct questions and she answered them completely. Although she kind of lost her faith, she came through it and chose life and love and not hatred.’
If Watson will not take home a lot of awards during next awards season, I’ll be surprised. It’s not often we see acting on this level, not even in England.
A Song for Jenny is one of the most powerful explorations of grief I’ve ever seen.
The last day of filming the very last episode of 
The internet didn’t melt away yesterday, nor did I. However, roads melted as the mercury clocked 36.7C, the highest in July since records began in the mid 1870s. The hotspot was Heathrow. Very fitting.
I had guests over for dinner the other day and decided to make a dessert dedicated to both islands, Great Britain and Iceland. The outcome was Eton Mess with an Icelandic twist, using skyr. If you want to know more about skyr I wrote about it in an earlier 
I can’t think of anything more Icelandic than soaking in a hot tub on a cold starry night.
I’m standing by the window and it’s a beautiful sunny day in Hampstead. I’m pretty sure it’s warm outside. Back home in Iceland, I would hope it was not just another day of “gluggaveður” which literally means ‘window-weather’. It’s when the weather seems great, when you’re looking through a window from inside, but is actually cold and not so great when you step out without a jacket.
I noticed this street art in my neighbourhood a while ago and I like it. There is something about the little kid that fascinates me. Can’t quite put my finger on it.
