December 2006

A big part of New Year’s in Iceland is the bonfire tradition, in which huge fires are lit throughout the country on New Year’s Eve. These inevitably draw a big crowd and for many it’s an indispensable part of the evening – going out to the bonfire after a big festive dinner and meeting up […] Read more

I cannot tell you how appalled I was to learn today that evil corporate giant Alcan sent each and every resident of Hafnarfjörður [municipality in the Greater Reykjavík Area] a CD/DVD wrapped in tin foil as a Christmas present. How blatant – and tasteless – can their bribery get? Alcan owns and operates the aluminium […] Read more

Ah, Christmas. Those few special days of glorious tradition and creature comforts: eating, sleeping, eating, lazing in bed, snoozing, eating, sleeping. And rising on the third day for a walkabout and some photo-snapping in a city all dressed up for Yule. Our putrid skate party went off without a hitch; the photos weren’t terribly exciting […] Read more

To all our readers, friends, commenters, lurkers, accidental visitors, Icelandophiles and innocent bystanders: Happy holidays to you and yours! May love, joy and happiness prevail. from all of us here at The Iceland Weather Report

… You know which day I mean. It’s… EAT-PUTRID-SKATE-DAY!! Yes, dear readers, this is the day when homes and neighbourhoods throughout the country are filled with the, ahem, pungent aroma of putrid skate, which to the uninitiated may best be described as a cross between urine and ammonia. Sound horrific? Yes, but according to the […] Read more

EPI and I were really really good… so look what we got in our shoe:* Ms Magnifica DeLonghi, if you please. Quite the stunner, wouldn’t you agree? HEY! WHAT’S WITH THE STORM? IT’S CHRISTMAS, YOU KNOW!Oh, what a day it’s been! Started out benignly enough… until I went out for a walk to the bakery, […] Read more

When AAH was little, she totally bought into the whole Yule Lad thing. When her little friends, aged nine or so, started whispering that maybe there was no such thing as the Yule Lads, AAH vehemently opposed them. She had proof. Not only did the Yule Lads leave presents [or occasionally a potato – very […] Read more

I got my insurance against the Yule Cat today. It was a close call, but I shall be saved from its treacherous belly once again this year. Phew. THE WEATHER IS NOT YULE-LIKE ANYMOREIn fact, for the last two days it’s been unseasonably warm and rainy. Coupled with strong winds – from the south, which […] Read more

… you may well be asking. [Or not.] The answer, of course, is a resounding NO – all is not quiet; in fact I have been Yuling my little buns off for the last several days. This includes obligatory stuff like braving crowds at the Kringlan mall; making the single most scrumptious cookies ever invented […] Read more