October 2005

There is a Toyota Yaris parked outside our building, effectively blocking the entrance to the parking lot [you can squeeze a car in, but very slowly]. This is not an anomaly in Iceland; the Icelanders’ parking is on par with their driving, in that a large part of the population appears to think that the […] Read more

So, come this morning, YT was chomping at the bit to go back to the ÚTSALA in the decrepit old building. [I failed to mention last time that it’s only open on Fridays and Saturdays and yesterday we were very sensibly deterred due to weather.] EPI was less enthusiastic about going, preferring to spend his […] Read more

Today’s weather: … Just add howling gale-force winds [exceeding 20m/sec] and temps of -2°C. And a rabid YT, suffering from endorphin withdrawal and cabin fever. Do not piss me off.

I had the most bizarre experience the other day. There’s a street I frequently drive along called Mýrargata [where this atrocity is located] – not a pretty street by any standards, there’s a shipyard next to it and sort of old, decrepit and sooty industrial buildings and warehouses, mostly. Suddenly a couple of weeks ago, […] Read more

As regular readers will know, YT is not a meme fan. However, I found this quite irresistible – and anyway, it’s not a proper meme [much]. Plug your name plus the word ‘needs’ into google, and see what you get: Alda needs to be ready to provide a flawless—not necessarily lovable—moment of truth to those […] Read more

One of the great things about being part of a small nation is that when something is going on, you really feel part of it. The spirit of the event permeates everything, everyone gets caught up in it, and an enormous amount of energy is created. It’s sort of like the feeling you get at […] Read more

Today, 24 October, is Women’s Day Off here in Iceland. On this date 30 years ago, 25,000 Icelandic women walked off the job to call attention to the importance of their contribution to society. Many also took the day off from the household chores. No cooking, no cleaning, no laundry, no women’s work. Instead they […] Read more

The view at the end of my street yesterday, 6pm: The evening was gorgeous and the sunset stunning – sadly these pictures never manage to capture the full effect. [And yes, that is the Snæfellsnes glacier in the distance, in case you’re wondering]. Later on EPI and I were walking home in the dark and […] Read more

Dear readers. Today, October 20, marks one full year since the Iceland Weather Report started its run. [applause, whoo-hoo! release the balloons] That’s correct. Exactly one year ago on this day, our YT found herself slightly bored. It was October, a slow time of year in the freelance copy editing and translating business, and I […] Read more