April 2006

So, remember that DV debacle a few months back? This one? Seems that was the beginning of the end for the hapless tabloid, because today it was announced that it’s gone belly-up and will cease publication in its current format, effective immediately. [They will continue to put out some sort of ‘weekend paper’ though.] Apparently the public spoke in the best way possible: after that national furor when something like 20,000 people signed a petition within 24 hours to protest that awful editorial policy, sales took a nosedive. Despite the fact that the editors resigned, new editors were hired, and a new-and-improved editorial strategy was implemented. And even though they tried their damndest to stay afloat, as evidenced by yesterday’s screaming headline, plastered across a pair of silicon breasts:

Ah, bless. I guess you have to give them credit for trying. BUT, no cigar, so… byebye DV. And don’t come back now, y’hear!

AHHH… SPRING IS HERE!
… At least if today is anything to go by. It was gorgeous – no wind [which makes any weather gorgeous here in Niceland], sunny, warm. Highs in the capital around 13°C and there was a sort of humid haze over the sea and Mt. Esja across the bay [very rare, here]. Meanwhile, they were up to 19°C in the east [in April – I mean, this is Iceland, f’rcryingoutloud, just a stone’s toss from the Arctic circle]. Meanwhile it’s set to cloud over tonight and then we’re in for rain which the weatherman sez will persist for most of this long holiday weekend [May 1 is Labour Day over here]. The sun came up at 05.11 and set at 21.42.

PS. How many perverts d’you reckon I’ll get coming through on google searches with that DV headline above?
PPS. That’s not why I wrote this.
PPPS. Honest.

Since publishing the last post, I’ve learned that the man I wrote about – the one EPI and I kept running into, who I became quite fond of, and whose last words to me so preoccupied my thoughts yesterday – was actually my third cousin.

About an hour after I had posted, I received an e-mail from my mother, asking, ‘Is the man you met [our friend]?’ and ‘Did he know who your people are?’*

That was it. No explanation. So after firing back the obvious ‘Yes that was him! Did you know him?’ I did the logical thing: logged on to Íslendingabók, a web that allows every Icelander to trace their lineage back to the 1700s, and entered our late friend’s name to be traced together with mine.

Sure enough, the answer came up: we were third cousins.

I just sat there, a million thoughts going through my mind. Just like the day before yesterday, when his last words made me rewind back to our last conversation, this made me rewind all the tapes of him I had in my head. So he and I had been related the whole time. No wonder I’d felt this sense of kinship!

After a while I started to feel a bit sad that we couldn’t have figured that out before. Not that I expect it would have made much difference – we wouldn’t have started to hang out together or anything. But it would have put a whole new spin on things. It would have given a whole new dimension and depth to our interactions, which would have been… nice.

Later in the evening, another e-mail came from my mother. [Incidentally, even though he and I were third cousins, he was my mothers’ age.] Our friend had flitted through her life periodically, as well. First, when she was at the business college where she met my father; our friend had approached her in the corridor one day and asked, ‘Are you the daughter of [my grandfather]?’ When she answered in the affirmative, he said, ‘Well then, I’m your frændi,’** before flitting away down the hall again.

Several years later, when she was on a trip to Lebanon, she received greetings from our friend, through a mutual friend of theirs. He had then just been there on a visit and had left just a few hours earlier. There were a couple of further – similar – occasions when their paths crossed in this way. In her words, ‘He was one of those people who would appear in my life in the most unexpected places, and sometimes in a way that was memorable. I remember him well. And so to me it was very strange to read about how he came and went in your life, too. Even after he was gone, he was able to surprise me and touch me.’

Life can sometimes be so very strange. Like this. What sort of meaning does this have? None, probably. Except it’s done something to surprise and touch at least three people: my mother, EPI and me. And in that way it’s remarkable.

LIFE GOES ON, AND WE HAVE WEATHER

Today was quite beautiful, again – sunny spells, calm breezes, nothing dramatic, just gentle. Weatherman sez we’re in for a heatwave this weekend – Iceland-style – with temps going up to 15-18°C. Mmm, can’t wait. The great outdoors – here we come! Right now we have 5°C and at 10pm it’s still light outside. Sunrise this morning was at 05.18 and sunset at 21.39, but nightfall isn’t until 22.44, nyah.

* A common Icelandic question: … hverja manna þú ert.
** In Iceland, frændi is a general term for a male relative, no matter how closely or distantly related.

A few years ago, EPI and I were on holiday in Portugal. We were on the beach in the late afternoon, hanging out on sun loungers, talking away in Icelandic in the frequently mistaken belief that no one could understand us.

Just then, two men approached us. They were an odd pair – one was older, perhaps in his sixties, somewhat emaciated with age, with tattoos on his arms and hair dyed blonde; the other was much younger and slightly overweight, with a somewhat absent air. The older man addressed us in Icelandic and soon we found ourselves engaged in conversation – about the beach, the town, what hotel we were staying in… general, trivial - but pleasant. He was a character, to be sure – definitely gay, though not especially effeminate, and had clearly had his share of life’s trials. We liked him immediately. There was something so likeable about him – he was easy to talk to, not pushy in the least, had a gentle and refined sense of humour and seemed very kind.

We learned a few things about him in those 15-20 minutes in which we talked. He loved to travel and had been to Portugal several times before. Mostly he went to the Canary Islands, though – he’d been there earlier that winter. He’d also been at sea in his youth [like so many Icelanders] and he mentioned having a daughter. We also learned that his companion, who was also Icelandic, was deaf-mute.

After that brief conversation, we said goodbye and the two of them wandered off down the beach. We saw them a couple of times before we left for home on that particular trip and exchanged a few words, but no more.

On returning to Iceland, we would occasionally run into the two of them and have a brief chat. Each time these talks were characterized by an amiable ease – nothing forced, just very pleasant interaction. Each time, I thought what a unique human being our friend was – someone who had obviously been battered around by life, but who had not a hint of bitterness or resentment in him. Just that same gentle kindness and grace.

The last time we saw him was a few weeks ago. We were in a clothing store looking for stuff for EPI and there was our friend. He looked different. At first I thought it was because he was alone – I was not accustomed to seeing him without his friend – but it wasn’t just that. Though he smiled as usual, he seemed decidedly downcast.

At first he averted his eyes as though he wasn’t going to say hello, but when EPI greeted him he came around. We talked for a little bit and EPI asked him if he’d been travelling at all. At that his mood seemed to lift slightly; he said no, not much recently, but he was leaving in a couple of days for the Canaries. “It’s my last trip there,” he said and gave us a vague little smile.

“Oh?” I said, “the last time?”

“Yes,” he replied, “it’s time to stop. I need to go one more time – there’s just something I need to take care of.”

“Ah,” I said, knowingly, and thought to myself: ‘Some kind of closure.’

The picture staring out at me from the Morgunblaðið obituaries yesterday was vaguely familiar. I’d seen it before, a couple of times over the past few weeks, as there had been several obituaries, or minningargreinar,* about the man in the photo. However, I’d idly flipped past it – until last night when something made me read the short paragraph next to it. “… died of accidental causes in the Canary Islands.” I looked closer, and there was no mistake: It was a picture of our friend, younger and more handsome, virtually unrecognizable at first, but on closer inspection unmistakable.

Since then, I’ve replayed that last conversation we had with him over and over in my mind. “… It’s my last trip there… there something I need to take care of.” Uttered so lightly, but in hindsight with such sadness. I don’t think there was an accident. When an Icelander dies of accidental causes in another country it is always in the news. There was no such news report back then. I would have remembered.

Strange, but I feel quite sad. I barely knew him – our interactions were limited to what I just described – but somehow I feel it’s unfair. I also can’t help but feel like the world is poorer for having lost him. May he rest in peace.

* Iceland’s daily Morgunblaðið has for decades published death notices and minningargreinar free of charge. Whenever someone dies in Iceland, anyone can write about him or her, send it in to Morgunblaðið, and it will be published on the day of the funeral. In some cases there are so many memorials about someone that they have to be spread over several days [not necessarily consecutive days]. Alternatively, people write about someone after the funeral has passed, in which case it is published whenever there is free space in the paper.

TODAY’S WEATHER: Started off beautiful – brilliant sunshine, calm, wonderful, if a bit cool. About an hour ago it suddenly clouded over and we had snow; at the moment half the sky is dark grey, the other half is clear blue, and predictably it is half-sunny. Temps are 3°C and the sun came up at 05.21 and will set at 21.32.

Icelandic society is going to pot… and I’m not talking merely rising inflation and escalating gas prices. Sadly I’m talking random acts of violence and destruction.

Not so long ago, Reykjavík was safe and benign. Granted, things could get a little out of hand in the city centre on a weekend night, but only in exceptional cases was it anything serious. Personally I never thought twice about walking the streets [no inappropriate jokes, thank you!] at any hour of the day or night. People didn’t even lock their doors when they went out, in the not-so distant past.

Alas, in just a few years it’s become a different picture entirely. Consider:

1. While EPI and I were away in Copenhagen the other weekend, someone torched a car right in front of our house. In front of our building there’s a little driveway that opens onto a parking lot. EPI normally parks his car at the side of that little driveway if it’s not full. The people in the next house had their VW Polo parked there and someone came along, smashed one of the windows, and [probably] threw a Molotov cocktail inside. The car caught on fire immediately and was completely destroyed – apparently it exploded and was hurled forward with the impact. Had EPI’s car been there it would either have been torched [mammamia!], or it would have been parked directly in front and would thus have been damaged with the impact of the other car lurching forward. Incidentally, our neighbours are a very calm, quiet middle-aged couple who were completely at a loss as to why anyone would do such a thing. In their own words: ‘We have no enemies.’

2. About three weeks ago, a 19-year old girl was driving in Mosfellsbær, on the outskirts of Reykjavík, when someone on the side of the road flagged her down. She stopped to see what was wrong and as she rolled down her window the man who had stopped her punched her in the face so that she passed out. She woke up in the back seat of her own car with one of the assailants trying to rape her. She kicked and screamed and fought back, at which point the car went off the road and got stuck. The attackers then fled on foot.

3. Last Wednesday evening, a 15-year old girl was walking home from sports practice at 8.20pm, in the Laugardalur area. [NB it’s bright daylight out at 8.20pm these days.] She was approached by a man with one hand behind his back, who suddenly turned and hit her with a baseball bat. He hit her repeatedly until he got hold of her sports bag, with which he then ran off. The girl escaped serious injury but needed trauma counselling.

There have been other serious cases of violence, but I’ll spare you the gory details. The point is that this is a small community with merely 200,000 people in the Greater Reykjavík Area. It’s impossible to feel safe on the streets anymore, which is really sad because Iceland used to be a haven. After that incident last week, for example, there’s no way that I’ll let AAH walk home by herself late at night. People are starting to live in fear and this is a bad bad development. Which is why I say props to Morgunblaðið, which has written pretty harsh editorial pieces at least 2-3 times now, demanding that those parties in the running for the municipal elections in a few weeks time take a clear stand and tell the population of Reykjavík what they plan to do to address this very serious problem. Sticking their heads in the sand is no longer an option. Action must be taken.

MEANWHILE, OUR WEATHER IS JUST FINE
In fact it’s a gorgeous day today. The sun shone brightly this morning when YT went out for a run; this afternoon we have big fluffy clouds that hide the sun at intervals, but it’s calm and fresh and beautiful. Temps are currently 5°C, the sun came up bright an early at 05.25 and will set at 21.29 unless someone torches it first.

See that dark dot out there in the water?

That’s a whale.

See that dark dot out there?

That’s a whale, too.

See that thing in the water there? [not the boat]

… I don’t know what that is.

Here’s one thing I had never thought about: it is extremely hard to get a proper picture of a whale.

AAH and I went whale watching yesterday. It was a beautiful day, the sea shimmered steel blue and we saw loads of porpoises and minke whales [pronounced ‘minkie’ - who knew?]. That was vastly exciting for about the first few sightings, after which it became sort of ho-hum. After all, a brief glimpse of a back and fin is all well and good, but after a while, you start to crave a little more of a thrill. Plus something warm. Because there’s only so much stationery standing out at sea that one body can take before the old teeth start to rattle.

Perhaps the greatest thrill was seeing the lighthouse near my place from the other side:

… it may not seem like anything major to you, but believe me when you’ve been past it a zillion times from the other side it’s Very Cool to see it from a different angle. Particularly when that angle is out at sea.

MEANWHILE, WINTER AND SUMMER FROZE TOGETHER…
Which means a good summer [not a bad one, as I mistakenly asserted in the last post]. Phew! Today we have April showers - it’s raining and there’s a blustery wind, and temps are 5°C. Sunrise today was at 05.35 and sunset is due for 21.17.

The Icelandic economy has taken a serious nosedive over the past few weeks. After riding high on the crest of a wave for several years, apparently it’s payback time.

Seems that overheating in the economy is to blame. Foreign reports started appearing about six weeks ago warning that the situation was not stable and criticizing the government’s economic policies. The first report was pooh-poohed by the Icelandic financial sector – they didn’t know Icelandic conditions, were not aware of the special circumstances that prevail here, blahblah. Then came another report, then another. Gradually the nation began to wake up to the old adage that where there’s smoke, there’s fire.

At the beginning of the year, the US dollar was at 62 kronur. Today it’s at 79 kronur. If that doesn’t mean much to you, let me tell you: it’s a serious shift. The krona has not been lower for the past four years. Meanwhile, stock and share prices fall and fall. Remember YT the mogul? Well, I sure wish I’d sold my shares back then, because they’re worth a helluva lot less today.

A sure sign the economy is in trouble is when gas prices go up. Sure enough, just a few days ago all the oil companies raised the price of gas per litre from ISK 117 a litre to ISK 121 per litre. Today the price went up again, to ISK 123/litre. [That’s around USD 1.50/GBP .87] As it happened I had to buy gas, and I’ve never seen the pumps as busy. It’s as though doomsday is coming f’rcryingoutloud!

Actually, what is definitely coming is rising inflation. That’s a given. Personally, though, I’m not too worried. So we’ll have to tighten our belts for a while, big deal. Also, one immediate silver lining for me is that I get paid in Euros for that interpreting job I did a few weeks back. I’m still waiting on that payment, and already my remuneration has gone up by around ISK 47,000 [USD 600/GBP 333] on account of the exchange rate. Ideally the krona would continue to nosedive until I get paid, and then climb surely and steadily upwards until I leave for my vacation in Canada. But, alas, I fear that the Icelandic economy does revolve around YT’s capricious whims, strange as it may sound.

HOWEVER, THE FIRST DAY OF SUMMER WILL COME…
In about 10 minutes, in fact. Tomorrow is the official First Day of Summer [Sumardagurinn fyrsti] according to the old Icelandic calendar, and as a testament to the importance of this day to the Icelandic nation, it is still a national holiday. It’s usually freezing cold – though its moniker would indicate otherwise – and in fact there is a belief attached that if winter and summer ‘freeze together’ – i.e. if there is frost during the night – then the summer will be bad weather-wise. However if there is no frost and winter and summer do not freeze together, the summer will be favourable. Sort of like Groundhog Day.

All over the city tomorrow there will be various goings-on: parades, festivals, events to suit everyone. Plus for the last three years the travel industry has appropriated this day and invited Reykjavík residents to be ‘tourists in their own backyard’ and partake in various tourism-related events at reduced prices or even free. Which YT and Co. may very well take advantage of tomorrow. We even have our eye on something Very Cool which I am loath to speak of because I’m afraid everyone in the city will want to go do this Very Cool Thing in which case the Very Cool Thing will be all filled up and the Very Cool YT and Co. will be turned away. Either that or we’ll cop out from sheer laziness and it would be really embarrassing if I’d announced to the Blogsphere at large that I was going, and then didn’t go because I was too lazy. Current temps at midnight are 3°C [looking good for the summer already]; sunrise was at 05.42 and sunset at 21.14.

Dear friend,

I have to thank God this moment for his direction as regards this mission. God wants me to complete this mission hence, I got your contact, but I know you may be wondering how I got your contact email.

Actually you were introduced to me by a trusted contact in U.K. I was informed by the doctor that my condition has become so bad, so I had to reach out for a christian friend, that will utilize this money the way I am going to instruct here in, which is the way my husband has always wanted the money to be utilized. I want to beleive that you are a God fearing person which willenable us conclude this deal on a good note.

My husband earned this funds(17.8million dollars) from his ministry but he died and left everything behind and I will join him soon in Jesus name. I want you to claim this funds which has already been transferred to a private finance company abroad.

My lawyer will prepare the paperwork and fax them to you in your name as the beneficiary, you will receive it like a gift from God and you will use it to bless other less fortunate christian believers and in assisting the less privilegded children in the society, and also to build a temple for Gods people to come and worship his majesty.

So this funds you will receive on my behalf as gift from a dying family cos due to my infertility resulting from medical problems I became barren and as a result have no children, God has a reason for everything.

Furthermore, you will never have any problem with the law as you will only pay some amount to the government as tax and a minor percentage to settle the charges of the bank and the most major part you will use to bless God’s Children all over the world.Kindly forward me your full name, address telephone & fax numbers. And write my lawyer (Barrister Lucky Chukwuka) for more details,barristerluckychukwuka@sify.com

Remainblessed in christ.
Mrs. Juliet Okafor

See this jolly bunch? They graced the tops of our chocolate Easter eggs this morning.

As per every Easter Sunday chez YT, the day began with the annual Easter egg hunt. Traditionally EPI’s youngest has always stayed overnight and taken part in the hunt with us; however as she has now reached the ripe old age of 16 and is moreover spending Easter in Florence with her sister Barbie, it was just the three of us today [until this evening at least, when EPI’s eldest comes over for Easter dinner].

Since AAH is mercifully past the age of insisting on having chocolate for Easter breakfast, we first had brunch and then set off on the search. House rules have it that the egg must be at least partially visible from at least one angle and AAH sniffed out YT’s crafty hiding place relatively quickly – in my bag, which was casually slung across the chair in the front hall.

Next up were EPI and I. As usual, it took me no more than 10 minutes to find mine. [Poor EPI, he never manages to stump me, no matter how amazing he considers his hiding place to be.] It was hidden inside the printer, in my office. EPI meanwhile searched and searched and searched, and asked for a clue, and then searched some more, then asked for another clue, and searched some more, and then finally found his. I’d hidden it atop a mattress that is leaned up against the wall in the spare bedroom [to make room for EPI’s easel] and which is covered with a sheet. The egg was partially [ok, almost entirely] underneath the sheet. Tough, I know. [Although not as tough as last year’s hiding place.]

The other fun part of finding the Easter eggs is that they each have a fortune inside [along with a bunch of candy – how much depends on the size of your egg] and here are the fortunes we got. Incidentally, they lose their charm in the translation, so you’ll just have to imagine them as being somewhat more eloquent:

AAH: Aumur er agalaus maður.
[Pathetic is the undisciplined man]
EPI: Ekki eru allir viðhlægjendur vinir.
[Not everyone who laughs with you is your friend]
YT: Fleira er gleði en fébætur einar.
[Material things are not the only ones to give joy]

How true, how true.

AND THE WEATHER ON THIS EASTER SUNDAY…
Still cold and blustery, winds from the north-northwest, 8-13m a second. We’re going to head out for a walk soon, though, because that’s what you do on lazy Easter Sundays like this when nothing is open – eat lots of chocolate and then go out and ‘weather yourself’. We shall then come back home and throw a leg of lamb on the barbecue, and proceed to cook up a feast with Rösti potatoes and other delectables – in particular EPI’s amazing sauce made with copious amounts of red wine and port. With this we shall open a bottle of red wine and imbibe the lot, finishing off with an Anton Berg ice cream cake. And while enjoying all these luxuries we shall be grateful for them all, and not forget that this day belongs to Jesus from Nazareth, who was incontestably one of the most amazing human beings ever to walk this earth and whose example we would all do well to follow. The beautiful sun came up at 05.53 and will set this evening at 21.04.

AAH got up this morning, took one look out of the window and asked, “Who died?”

YT: Jesus Christ.
AAH: Oh.

[Heathen child.]

Icelanders fly flags at half-mast on Good Friday. They also believe that you shouldn’t have any fun. As a rule, everything is closed – although in the last couple of years that law has been relaxed ever-so-slightly to accommodate the poor tourists that were typically found wandering around the city, thirsty and starving, on the verge of gnawing on tree bark or drinking from the Tjörnin pond [yech!] on account of not having been told to stock up on food and liquids in advance.

So today EPI and I wandered downtown with some stale bread in a bag to see if we would encounter any tourists begging for food on street corners. We didn’t. Instead we fed our bread to the ducks on Tjörnin that used to be overfed by zealous parents-with-children on holidays like this, but are now victims of bird flu hysteria and are therefore starving. While there we were approached by two tourists wielding a map, asking how they could get to the Kringlan Mall. We sent them in the right direction, and were even kind enough to tell them that they could go there, but would find nothing open.

There were, however, a total of three cafés open in the city centre, plus the 10-11 store in Austurstræti. All were packed. Pasted on a wall was a poster from some organisation that espouses extreme atheism and which was going to show The Last Temptation of Christ at noon, in violent protest of the law that bans any cinema showings before 2pm.

This in itself is a relaxation of a law that was in effect until a couple of years ago, in which there were no cinema showings on Good Friday. Also, pubs must stay closed all day, but they open on the stroke of midnight and stay open until whenever people feel like going home, although not for longer than 24 hours because at midnight on Saturday night they must close again and stay closed for all of Easter Sunday. Until midnight, at which time they open again and stay open until the wee hours of Easter Monday.

Now YT, being pious in the extreme, decided to observe decorum and not have any fun today. Which made this the perfect day to sort out my tax return. While doing that I listened to the complete Jesus Christ Superstar and sang along to all of it [although that probably violates something or other – I don’t think you’re supposed to sing, or dance, on this day either]. It was the original Broadway version, too, with Ian Gillian as Jesus, which in my humble opinion is far far superior to the nauseatingly maudlin versions they’ve come out with since.

This evening there was even more song-and-dance, as AAH and I had a girls’ night in and watched West Side Story on video at her request [yep, someone’s having serious withdrawal symptoms]. Meanwhile, EPI went to see Ray Davies in concert at Háskólabíó [University Cinema]. EPI’s an original Kinks fan and got all fired up when he heard RD was coming back [for the second time in a couple of years] to give a concert. His enthusiasm was rather deflated, though, on learning what the tickets cost – the worst seats were ISK 6,500 a pop [USD 90/GBP 50] whereas the ones a few rows closer to the stage cost ISK 14,000 [USD 190/GBP 110]. [Yeah, that’s 180-380 bucks US for a couple if you do the math.] For that very reason EPI had decided to give Mr Davies’ company a wide berth; however, his brother called up unexpectedly a few days ago and invited him to go, his treat. Turns out EPI had introduced his brother [who is a few years younger] to The Kinks when they were boys and they’d spent long hours listening to them together. So off they went this evening – and had the best seats, too, fifth row from the stage. Sweet.

Anyway, our weather on this Long Good Friday was chequered. It started off overcast and blustery, then turned to rain and sleet, then the wind died down and all the flags hung perpendicular down the flag poles, then the sun came out and the wind picked up again. It was kind of cold – damp cold, in-yer-bones cold. Brrr. Temps were just above freezing and are now 1°C. The sun keeps coming up earlier and earlier – today at 6am sharp, although it was already light at 05.06am. The sun went down at 20.58 whereas nightfall was at 21.53.