30 Nov

Snowblind

snowblindINDEPENDENT talks about the finest books of 2015 ‘to to fire the imagination, engage the grey matter and invigorate the spirit over the festive period’. I was happy to notice that amongst the 8 best crime books is the Icelandic novel Snowblind by Ragnar Jónasson.

‘Icelander Ragnar Jónasson’s first novel in the UK is Snowblind (Orenda, £8.99, trans. Quentin Bates), drawing inspiration from both the Scandinavian tradition and the classic English crime novel. His subject is the corruption that stretches to the upper echelons of Icelandic politics.’

Snowblind is the first book in a series called Dark Iceland. It’s set in Northern-Iceland, mainly in and around the small town of Siglufjörður. HERE you can read an interesting interview with the author and here’s Ragnar’s Twitter account, where you can get to know him even better and find out how to get hold of his book.

 

 

19 Nov

Dear Girls!

Screen Shot 2015-11-19 at 10.16.38A group of strong, courageous feminists won this year’s Skrekkur, which is an annual talent contest, held by the secondary schools in Reykjavik.

Hagaskoli, a school in the West Side District of Reykjavik, won the prize with their feminist poetry and dance. The piece was written and choreographed entirely by the teenage girls themselves, with Una Torfadóttir, Erna Sóley Ásgrímsdóttir og María Einarsdóttir leading the team.

Icelandic women are a force of nature, fighting for equal rights with all means. The winning piece sort of embodied the recent revolutionary campaigns, like #freeTheNipple and #outload. HERE you can read more about what’s been happening this year.

As I’ve said it before; the fight for equality is far from over, but at least the future is bright when young people are as strong and courageous as this!

 

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.

10 Nov

Kissing in the Tunnel

Screen Shot 2015-11-10 at 12.06.32The British Film Institute National Archive is brilliant and it’s possible to watch quite a lot of old films online. I’ve watched many precious clips from British film history, like this kiss from 1899. It’s the earliest film kiss held by the BFI National Archive.

‘This story derives from a popular magic lantern slide show and shows a couple in a railway carriage, going into a dark, Freudian tunnel, taking the opportunity to steal a kiss. As the train emerges into the light the couple move apart in a guilty fashion, and although scarcely enough to make your Victorian grandmother blush, it gives the scene its slight frisson of naughtiness. (Bryony Dixon)’

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?

 

 

27 Oct

An Icelandic Play in London

Moments+(17+of+30)MOMENTS is an Icelandic play, originally written for radio by Starri Hauksson. It was aired on RUV’s Channel 1 in 2008, to critical acclaim. I listened to it back then and the characters played around in my head for a while afterwards, which is always a good sign.

Now MOMENTS has found its way to London, put on stage by a company made up of young Nordic theatre professionals who have combined their skills and ambitions to create this fantastic piece of authentic Icelandic theatre, performed by an all Icelandic cast, in both English and in Icelandic (with subtitles).

The story follows a young man named Andri who, after a tragic loss, has withdrawn from society and seemingly given up on life. We watch as Andri struggles with the ghosts from the past, as well as his own existence and relationships in the present. The play, set in modern day Reykjavík, addresses the subject of family, loss and forgiveness with brutal honesty, revealing the imperfections and raw vulnerability of the human mind and being.

Directed by Maya Lindh

Andri – Aron Trausti
Torfi – Siggi Holm
Edda – Vala Fannell
Illugi – Bragi Arnason

Performances are at the Drayton Arms Theatre in South Kensington until October 31st, at 8pm and 3pm for Saturday matinees, excluding Sundays and Mondays.

Reviews have been positive so far, you can read it here and here.

Moments+(1+of+30)

23 Oct

Your Heart Just Beats!

Screen Shot 2015-10-22 at 16.11.40At the moment I’m incredibly proud of being Icelandic. The reason is the same as often before, that matters regarding LGBTQI+ rights are quite progressive in Iceland. I’ve written about it before, here and here.

Last Sunday the longest running TV program for children, ‘Stundin okkar’, (Our hour) aired an episode in the afternoon, just like most Sundays during the wintertime for more than three decades. However, this episode was different. It featured the Pop artist Paul Oscar as the main guest, touching  on the topic of being gay. The conversation was open, very natural and heartfelt. The fact that this was aired on RUV, The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service, makes me very happy.

‘Some guys like other guys, some guys like girls. Some girls like guys, some girls like other girls. – You don’t decide what makes your heart beat, it just beats.’

We’re one step closer to equality. Well done!

Gay Pride last August, Paul Oscar singing.

 

 

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.