In the summer of 1783, there was a volcanic eruption in the southeast of
Iceland that vomited lava into the Skafta river, which boiled and ran with
fire like a mythological Nordic curse. The volcanic gases were toxic and
poisoned animals in their byres. Seething clouds of opaque ash plumed into
the sky, blotting the sun. Everything that photosynthesised withered and
died. There was a famine that killed a fifth of the population — a fifth of
the people who had survived the smallpox epidemic that had previously seen
off a quarter of all Icelanders.
So the penury of the Icelandic banking system, the collapse of its currency,
the parlous implosion of its economy that relegated it from being, per
capita, the second or third richest nation in the world to being the
shivering Big Issue-seller of Europe, bobbing in the queue somewhere behind
Albania and Moldova, is not actually the worst thing that ever happened to
this island. That would have to be the two occasions when the plague wiped
out more than half of everybody. Iceland didn’t have any rats, but they got
Europe’s worst case of bubonic deaths without them. That’s unheard of.
That’s virtually impossible — but that’s how Iceland’s luck is. It’s said
you make your own luck; it’s never said that your luck also makes you.
Iceland and Icelanders have been forged on the anvil of hard knocks. The
unfair thing about this latest paper calamity is that it happened just when
they thought things were going so well. There were restaurants that sold
food for people who weren’t hungry, there were international bars for
international folk, there were boutique hotels with ambient music, and
candles for smell, not illumination. Iceland was chic and cool, not just in
a cold way. “This summer,” a pretty girl with a red nose and a pink scarf
told me, “everybody was here on a small patch of green in front of the
parliament” (which itself is smaller than Elton John’s guesthouse). “We came
to cheer and drink, because Iceland had won a silver medal at the Olympics
for handball,” she said. “It was huge. We’d never won a medal before.” Who
came first? “Who cares? We came second. Everything was going so well.”
Reykjavik is littered with the detritus and shells of things that were once
going so well and now aren’t going at all. Like the big four-wheel-drives,
bought on a promise and the never-never. The biggest is a Babel-ish building
site, palisaded by protective cranes, which was hoping to be a music hall,
the Sydney Opera House of the far, far north. There is still a visitors’
centre, with a girl on the phone looking for a new job. There’s a toy model
of what it is now unlikely to look like. You can peer through a telescope at
nobody working. I watched one ancient traffic warden give a ticket to a
solitary pick-up, abandoned on a patch of rutted wasteland that was going to
be a smart amenity area. This was all financed by Landsbanki, one of the
raiding banks that spent like mullered fishermen and borrowed like
agoraphobic Vikings, who leveraged the economy into the stratosphere without
a Keynesian parachute, along with every other bank in the monetarist world.
The difference here was that in every other city centre, they can run home to
Daddy Government and have their gambling debts paid off. The Icelandic
government is a dozen shepherds and a couple of grocers in Specsavers and M&S
suits. One of the reasons they say the financial risk was so precipitous was
that the entrepreneurial pool is so small. The bankers and the regulators,
the ministers and the judges are all the same people — they’ve known each
other all their lives, their wives and their children are friends, and
nobody wanted to be the one who said no. And why should they?
It was all going so well.
Down by the container port, where the derricks droop idly, is a car pound the
size of half a dozen football fields, circled by defunct iron boxes. It’s
full of hundreds, perhaps thousands of cars. Behind them, across the grey
fjord, black pumice crags are scarred with snow. The cars are going nowhere,
dumped here at the end of the world: a great, windswept, conceptual monument
to the hubris of Mammon, laughed at by black-backed gulls. These testaments
to excess are now the most tasteless things to be seen in. They call the
puttering Range Rovers “Game-Overs”.
Further down the shore is a speculation of modern flats, expensive,
insubstantial urban penthouses that may well remain empty for ever. A young
man passing by, dressed in the winter uniform of Icelandic youth — skinny
jeans, T-shirt with ironic postmodern slogan, Converses and a bit of a
useless scarf, hunched shoulders and a general air of thermometer-denial and
hungover insouciance — stops and laughs. “Who did we ever think was going to
live here? Now we look back and it seems mad. Anyone could have told them. I
could have told them.”
Outside Reykjavik, there are suburban developments for new commuter suburbs.
They put in roads and street lights but the houses have yet to be built, or
stand blankly unfinished. Outside, a little girl plays in the gloaming with
her sheepdog. It’s a strangely surreal image: the silent cul-de-sac, like a
model of the middle-American ’burbs, with just this child, a character
snatched from an Edward Hopper painting.
Further along a road called End of the World we find a self-employed
electrician. His company is called “Why Not Me”. When he has finished here,
he is going abroad to find work — “Poland, probably” — and he smiles a
crooked Icelandic smile. It’s a joke. There used to be lots of Poles here
doing the dirty bits of the economic soft times. Now they have all gone home
because the Icelandic krona has become shrapnel in the explosion of free
markets.
Kaupthing, Landsbanki and Glitnir sound like elf characters from The Lord of
the Rings, and there is an element of fairy-tale comeuppance to these three
backwater banks. Only when you’re shown their headquarters do you realise
how bizarre and unworldly their success was. They look like small city
shops, branches of Bradford & Bingley. One of them was run from the
floor above a fast-food restaurant. As with every great disaster the world
over, the moment after it happened, the scales fell from every eye and all
could see that it was inevitable. Where were the white-collar jobs for the
commute back from the brave new garden suburbs to come from? Where was the
black-tie audience for the opera? How could Iceland have the sharpest
cashiers in the world? How could this nation sustain just two main
industries: cod-fishing and international high finance? And, most
importantly, most damningly, how did they ever think they could buck the
Icelandic luck? Now everyone looks back at the road they’ve just travelled
and wonders why none of them mentioned it was made of marzipan and Rolexes.
The act that tipped the last Icelandic bank off the edge of the cliff was
delivered by Gordon Brown, who froze Icelandic assets in the UK using our
new, gleaming anti-terrorist legislation. The Icelanders mind that — they’re
hurt by that. You see, they always imagined they were one of us, not one of
them. But Gordon needed to do something cheap to look competent, so he beat
up a smaller kid. Not just a bit of a slap, but a vicious kicking. Showing
off to impress the girls. He would never have started it if the banks had
been German or French, or even from Liechtenstein.
The Icelanders mind about the terrorist thing. They don’t even have an army.
They barely have a jail: it’s more of a drop-in centre. The police drive you
home if you’re too drunk. This is the most liberal, reasonable,
hard-working, decent, moral, amusing and well-educated people on the
Continent; a nation who are temperamentally the furthest away from
terrorism. Remember that about Brown — the man who said he wanted to prevent
the export of terrorism. Remember it when he puts on his Save the World, Mr
International Harmony hat. He put an ally into intensive care for the sake
of a headline and three points in a weekend poll. Perhaps he didn’t notice.
Perhaps he was looking through his glass eye.
Let’s just be clear about what Iceland really is. Most people think it’s the
size of the Isle of Wight with the population of, say, Holland. It’s bigger
than Hungary, bigger than South Korea, which has a population of 50m. There
are just over 300,000 people in Iceland. So that’s a country the size of
Portugal with the population of Bradford. Those are Mr Brown’s terrorists.
Iceland imagined that Europe and America would help it out. After all, it has
always helped us out. Keflavik was a vital Nato base between the east coast
of America and the west coast of Europe in the cold war. We were all in this
together. Except, as they were to learn, we were only in it together if we
were fat enough to buy ourselves the solution. The Russians bailed Iceland
out: Reykjavik could be a very useful place to launder money and cock a
snook. And the Faroe Islands, bless them, population 48,000, lent £34m.
Everyone in Iceland signed a thank-you card. And finally the IMF came up
with a rescue package.
Oh, but Gordon Brown — or you and me, as he is known abroad — leant on that so
that fat, stupid English councils could get their greedy noses in the trough
before Icelandic children got a banana. That’s not hyperbole — because they
have so little foreign currency, imports are graded into three categories:
essential, necessary and luxury. Exotic fruit is a luxury, but then in
Iceland a tree is an oddity. If you want fruit, eat fish liver or a puffin.
Sitting in the happy, healthy organic cafes of downtown Reykjavik where the
hippie kids blog (there are more bloggers here than anywhere else) and girls
with blond babies laugh at each other, you wouldn’t know this was an
economically dead country walking. In the 101, a New York-brittle boutique
hotel built and patronised by the bankers and speculators, you couldn’t tell
that nobody here has a pension or savings. The groups of svelte and
confident girls flick their hair, neck cocktails and make blatant passes at
the men with face hair like mangy seals who are downing beer and shots.
Icelanders react to bad news the way they always have. It’s the same way
they react to good news: they get hammered. Properly Valhallaed. The bars
and clubs are full, the booze is expensive, and they toast each other with a
grim irony. There are still redundancy payments around — they’re cash-happy.
The crunch will come in the New Year when the brass handshakes run out.
People may be hurt by Brown and the British, and embarrassed by the gluttony
and ineptitude of their own businessmen, and they are angry with their
government. They want an election and someone to be Icelandic enough to
grasp the blame and responsibility. But about themselves and the future they
are remarkably, Nordically sanguine. A very direct woman in a bar said: “All
that money, all the things and the stuff, it’s very un-Icelandic. The
wanting, the conspicuous consumption, the avarice and ambition, the pathetic
jealousy, that isn’t us. A great weight has been lifted now the money and
the desires are gone. We can get back to being who we are.”
Who the Icelandics are is one of the great enigmas of northern Europe. They
speak an ancient, pure Scandinavian. They are horrifically hard-drinking,
maudlin and prone to flights of dark nihilism and lengthy bitterness. They
are taciturn fishermen and farmers; stoical, practical and moral. They have
published more books and produced more chess grandmasters per head than
anywhere else. They read more and write more, they sing and play
instruments. Everyone here can change a tyre, strip an engine, ride a horse,
sail a boat, dress a sheep and cure a salmon. They have grown through a hard
Calvinism to a moral atheism while maintaining an open mind about elves.
Roads are moved to avoid the homes of the hidden people: elves have to be
asked permission before new buildings are built, and country folk see them
regularly, not always when drunk. The fairy folk who share this empty island
with the humans are Adam’s other children: the unwanted, cloaked by God in
invisibility.
There is also a deep handmade seam of nostalgia that links all Icelanders.
Families are going back to the old ways — to buying the autumn-culled sheep.
Traditionally you get an odd number, and the whole family comes to make
slatur, a sort of fatty haggis sausage that is boiled and tastes like warm,
meaty fat. The warming cabinets of convenience stores offer vacuum-packed,
ready-cooked, laterally sliced halves of sheep’s heads, which I’m told are
selling like boil-in-the-bag halves of sheep’s heads. The women are going
back to knitting rough, tarry wool into the mentally geometric jerseys that
feel like wearing St Francis’s wife-beater. A big second-hand shop has
become a smart and fashionable place to shop, though not for anything that
is fashionable or smart. The contents are commendably and pathetically
meagre and practical. The boxes of second-hand records hum the
contradictions of Iceland’s long winter. There are lots of romantic choral
works, home-grown folk songs from men in third-degree knitting, and heavy
metal and prog rock. On the second-hand-magazine rack are piles of practical
outdoor-activity manuals and a copy of Hello! commemorating the death of
Princess Diana.
The designer interior-decorating emporiums that sprung up in the last five
years now stand empty and sulky, like party-dressed girls with panda eyes
waiting at morning-after bus stops. There’s a large new mall on the
outskirts of Reykjavik, neon-bright and desolate. The girl who takes me
there says, “A mall — nothing could be less Icelandic than a mall. All this
will go,” and waves a mittened fist at the prefab warehouses, the new homes
and the loneliness of the long-distance car park with its flapping
flagpoles, “and we can stop pretending to be little Americans, or Danes, or
British.”
There is something invigorating about Iceland at this moment — like being with
people waking from a dream. It’s exciting and instructive. It’s a
patronising cliché to say that people have wealth beyond mere riches. Nobody
is better off for being poor. But this tight-knit, undemonstrative community
at the edge of the world has been woven together from sterner stuff than I
think we could muster. “We’ll be all right — we’re not going to starve,” a
shopkeeper told me. “We have fish and rye and mutton and barley. We can grow
the odd tomato in a polytunnel. We have skills — useful skills, practical
skills. And, you know, they’re under-heating the pavement outside my shop so
it won’t freeze in the winter. All our energy is thermal and free. So maybe
I can’t have a new mobile phone, but when I get drunk and fall over, the
pavement will keep me warm.”
From the 12th century a miraculous thing happened here: one of those eruptions
of creation that defy the laws of culture and make civilisations briefly
pyrotechnic. A series of books were written to illuminate the dark: sagas,
secular stories of life, of mystery and mythology, of lords and farmers,
politics and revenge, love affairs and voyages. Stories that were the first
to be written as narratives with parabolas of plot and evolving characters.
Nobody anywhere else had ever done that before. It is the birth of
literature. They are as inexplicably, breathlessly awe-inspiring as the
conception of the Renaissance a hundred years later. It was the Icelandic
sagas that inspired Tolkien to write The Lord of the Rings, because he
wanted Britain to retrospectively have a creation myth. Nobody knows what
inspired Iceland or what precipitated this volcano of clear, collected
genius. It was just Iceland: out there, sparse and treeless.
In the howling gale where the water boils and the volcanoes rumble, and the
earthquakes make the ground liquid, and black shores crash and smoke, it is
a landscape that fills you with either dread or stories. And it’s shared
with the hidden people and the heroic solitude, a brooding presence to
measure your height against.
Iceland has grasped this weakness, this greed, this business with money, and
turned its back to take an unsentimental look at itself.
They will be all right. This is the nation that made the first democratic
parliament — the Althing — that fought the Royal Navy to make the first
sustainable fishery in the northern hemisphere, produced three Miss Worlds
and one Nobel literature laureate — then came second at handball. You are
measured by how squarely you stand against bad luck. Not how you squander
good luck.
Congratulations Mr AA Gill. This article is perfect. I'm British, in Iceland for nine years and work as a tour guide. For several weeks I've been telling the tourists just this and I see that you have grasped the situation and Iceland perfectly in your short visit. Well done.
David, Reykjavik, Iceland
There needs to be an enquiry into the actions of the UK regulators, who by the way should return the money stolen from Kaupthing Singer Friedlander Isle of Man during this irresponsible and reckless action. I am disgusted at the UK governments conduct on this whole matter.
Stephen Thomas, Moscow, Russia
To each and every Icelander reading this article, please please please bear in mind that Gordon Brown does not speak for the majority of people in this Country. He will be gone at the next election then hopefully we can address this monumental atrocity brought on our Icelandic friends.
Phil Mann, Newcastle upon Tyne,
What a fantastic article! Without a doubt the best I've read on this site. Shame on Brown!
Claire, Bruxelles,
Thank you Mr. Gill for an excellent article.
The Financial Crisis in Iceland is an exaggerated version of what will be affecting millions of innocent people on both sides of the Atlantic for a very long time.
The World doesn´t need the wisdom of messrs. L. Ince and P. Taylor at this moment
Gunnar, Reykjavik , Iceland
"Is that a policy that the British want their leaders to act on?"
Kristján, Reykjavík, Iceland
Unfortunately Brown isn't doing what the British Public want but is just trying to score political points. In 18 months we'll be rid of him. Using anti-terror laws is a disgrace. He deserves jail.
Phil, Rugby, England
I would not have put it better than you even though I have lived in Iceland since 1995.
Mr Brown should pay for his responsability in the bankrupcy of Kaupthing. Shame to all the British who think that Icelanders deserved this.
Iceland will recover and laugh at them.
Elena Guijarro, Reykjavík, Iceland
There are two issues here. One is Iceland and its people. The other is to do with the three or four individuals who were involved in businesses run on the lines of a carousel leasing scam. The same money went from concern to concern. The auditors who were foreigners should have noticed this!
Stephen Pain, Odense, Denmark
Surely teh love in misses the point. For many years Iceland lived beyond its means speculating and borrowing more money than it knew what to do with. Now suddenly people have woken up but surely its rather late oin the day. No I cannot join the general love in. Gordon Brown was right for once
Paul Taylor, London, UK
I have read the article on 2 occasions and i would say its 'BRILLANT'. I am delighted to be Irish as i would not want any association with 'BROWN'. To all Icelandrers i say 'Keep the faith and i have no doubt that together you will all be ok in about one year. Will say quiet prayer for all.
john cribben, Dublin, Ireland
Dear Mr. Gill,
A lovely piece, full of insight and humour, two things very much appreciated by the Icelandic. While we apparently suffer from the same political ineptitude in both our countries we can still enjoy wit and friendship and find pleasure in good company.
Finnur Sigurdsson, Mosfellsbaer, Iceland
Your excellent article opens with some historical facts; as disasters go, the current crisis is not the worst. A local columnist, fed up with the whining in our mass media does the same, saying "...where are the body bags, where are the mass graves? Shame on you, this is mostly a Luxury Crisis!"
Halfdan Ingolfsson, Akranes, Iceland
Thank you Mr. Gill. I'm an Icelander quite far away from home right now and havn't been able to be around my fellow vikings in this situation so I was feeling quite desperate. This article reminded me about just what we are and that we can pull through this, that even if we don't, we're fine!
Bryndis Petursdottir, Chiba, Japan
Congratulations Mr. Gill for a beautifully written article that contains truths we should all heed. The most thoughful and evocative article yet to come out of the Crunch.
Philip, London, UK
Why spoil a travelogue piece with such political small-mindedness? Terrorism has nothing to do with Brown's actions which were taken to protect British savers from the collapse which the rest of the article proves was inevitable. Icelanders still have to face up to their own mess.
Laurence Ince, Devon, England
Beautiful article.
Yes, Icelanders are no strangers to muddling through tough times. But I think the main reason why we don't panic is that this is a very close-knit society, where most people have big families and a wide circle of friends. We help each other out.
Herdís, Reykjavik, Iceland
Thank you mr. Gill! You sure have your way with words!!!
I think that maybe the biggest irony for Mr. Clown (or was it Brown) is that those few SKYSKRAPERS are for the most part in the UK hiding out now!!! You're welcome - just please don't send them back home!!! WE WILL SURVIVE! As always!!!
Ella Birgisdóttir, Reykjavík, Iceland
You sure have your way with words mr. G. Thanks for those nice words. I think that maybe the biggest irony is, atleast for mr. Clown, that our corrupted guys are now in hiding in the UK. You're welcome mr. PM - just don't send the back!!!This article grasps Icelands character better than most!!!
Ella Birgisdóttir, Reykjavík, Iceland
Nothing to beat, giving yourself a pat on the back, a romanticised look at a country looking into a dark hole.
I'm sure no one complained about the "good times" over the past 5 or so years, you blame the 40, brits blame the banks, not their materialistic greed, off course not!
George Ferns, Cannes, France
I had the good fortune to spend 8 months working on a farm near Akureyri,when I was young.About 5 years ago I finally had a chance to go back and visit and it was a wonderful experience.I am confident Iceland will bounce back from this.Many people around the world are pulling for you!!
Steen Rasmussen, Moreno Valley California, USA
Thank you Mr. Gill for this beautiful written article. It may take years for my country to get through this terrible cricis but it will make Icelanders stronger. We will survival!
Svava Gunnarsdóttir, Lidingö, Sweden
Your comments compelled me to read, and read again. Sublime is probably OTT, but as a travelblog this article is on a par with a love song. I was not well disposed to accept the
romantic overview, percieving sleight of hand by the tourist board. Poetic tears frozen on Icelandic cheeks! Brilliant!
Geoffrey, Algarve, Portugal
I love your article !!! I just hope that all the world will read it too as it is only a sign of what's to come to the rest of the "Free Market World", but can they get through it as icelanders no doubt will?
Gordon Brown was never elected as Prime Minister, so who is really the sheephearder?
helga bjornsdottir, sussex, uk
Fantastic articel the best I ever read on Iceland brilliantly written! Thank you mr Gill.
Ásgrímur Ragnarsson, Oslo, Norway
Thank you for a superb article.You have expressed all those feelings I have for Iceland.I am a huge fan of Iceland, and been there 10 times. My most recent visit started on the day Mr.Brown announced something I could not comprehend in October. I know Icelanders will be ok. They are tough and wise.
Yuka Ogura, Yokohama, Japan
From what little I've heard, the comparisons between that "music hall" and the Sydney Opera House are quite justified. I hope the Icelanders are able to build it in its full glory, someday.
Michael, Pueblo, CO, USA
Iceland is the test center for our development in the west.
But we Icelanders are still here, its just the question how hard is the test "they" want to give us now!?!
Nice to see some positive newsarticle about the reality!
Greetings from Niceland.
Haukur A Fridriksson, Eyrarbakki, Iceland
I love this article; it reveals, against the backdrop of Icelandic experience, just how far humanity has strayed into the wasteland of empty, soulless consumerism. Yes, the Icelanders, bless them, will be okay. They have a strong sense of community and a rich, deeply rooted culture to carry them.
Keith Rowley, Centurion, South Africa
This is a fantastic article. Icelandic people are not quitters, we always bounce back. We'll be alright, this will only make us stronger. I'm relieved we'll finally get rid of all the ostentation that came along with this small group of extremely rich businessmen, which made us bankrupt in the end.
Jon Hrafn, Reykjavik, Iceland
I have visited this beautiful country .I can say from the bottom of my heart-that I have never met a warmer,more honest,more hospitable group of people.Their ways have touched the core of my being and I will forever more consider them "TRUSTED FRIENDS" .
Nancy Phillips, Sarasota Fl., USA
thank you...Mr Gill you are best :)
Guðgeir Fannar, Stodvarfjordur, Iceland
I think our folk songs show best that Icelanders are not to mess with, even though we are few. I want to note that British people are always welcome to Iceland including Mr. Brown, if you want to be forgiven, you have to forgive yourself. Long live the British people, probably nicest people you meet
Jóhann Grétar Kröyer Gizurarson, Reykjavik, Iceland
Thank you for this article. We are now again a nation of people defined by the fact that we are all the same, on the same boat, not one person in my country is better than the next, not the president to the garbageman. We are simply one class of people, "the Icelandic Class"
Linda , Reykjavík, Iceland
Halldor Laxnes said once; This will all turn out somehow, even though you can find people who say otherwise. I think he was right. In a sense Icelandic character needed serenity as much it needed toughness. I think, and hope, in the end we have that serenity.
Gunnar Kristinn Thordarson, Reykjavik, Iceland
What an absolutely lovely article! So true. Thank you. We do need friends out there these days.
U. Einarsdottir, Mosfellsbær, Iceland
Dawes, London, UK: Actually mr. Dawes, we Icelanders are quite rich compared to many other nations. The thing we are wanting right now is temporary help to recover from the doings of a very small group of our countrymen (who have already left the country by now). And economic crises can strike.....
Katla, Reykjavik, Iceland
Thank you for a fantastic article. I agree with Unnur, I've been wondering for years what these men do with all that money and why they always need more! It could only end badly. These men and their friends in high places fooled us. Now some of them have fled the country and I say: good riddance.
Gudrun, Kopavogur, Iceland
I agree, the Icelanders will bounce back. I still think a large part of the population is saying to itself, What, do I suddenly (along with every single other Icelander) owe 62,800 pounds to "someone"? I think every European would feel as if he had been hit by a train, would he receive such news.
Hinrik, Reykjavik, Iceland
I had the great pleasure of spending a few days in Iceland back in the 1960s. In all of my travels, never before or since have I met people who were more kindly, hospitable and seemingly well adjusted. There is an inner strength one senses when encountering Icelanders. This too shall pass.
Clement R Knorr, Tucson, Arizona
Tank you for this article, I live in 101 Reykjavik, but go to the highlands every yeare to pick up Icelandic Moss and I know what is happening , we are changing the karma of the nation now.
Helga Nina Heimisdottir, 101 Reykjavik, Iceland
Many thanks, Mr Gill for wanting to understand and for sharing your views with the world.
We will come through this stronger than ever.
To Mr Brown I say "Shame on you" for using the terrorist act on the Icelandic people.
Rosa Eggertsdottir, Akureyri, Iceland
Spare a thought for all the depositorsof Kaupthing in the Isle of Man. Icelandic savers are protected by Iceland, English by Gordon Brown. But Brown's snatch of our 550 million of individual retail savings held in KSF UK means we all face ruin and the loss of our life's efforts.
steve servaes, dougklas, isle of man
Actually, belief in elves is not common in Iceland, we drink less alcohol than most European nations and supermarkets carry everthing we need, including fruit. Makes me wonder what sort of crowd mr Gill was associating with and what information they were feeding him. Overall excellent article though
Jon Harry Oskarsson, Mosfellsbær, Iceland
Thank you for your kind words Mr Gill. You manage to capture the emotion of the catastrophe that we are going through. We will return to the basics and we will rise from this steep fall with a richer understanding of what really matters and what doesn´t. Iceland will emerge stronger and even better.
Baldvin Johnsen, Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland
Thank you Mr. Gill
This beautifully written article brought tears to my eyes.
Halla, Selfoss, Iceland
Good luck Iceland.
Lyn, Chester, UK,
Very elegantly written, as one would expect from Mr Gill. On a point of fact, Little Icelandic children need not be deprived of bananas as they are grown in geo-thermally heated greenhouses in Hveragerdi. As to the the Icelanders, they are lions led by donkeys.
Nita, Milton Keynes, Bucks
Mr. Gill, thank you for writing this fine article - obviously you have spent some time here, you capture our spirit accurately. We will be OK - though it will take some time.
The majority of us is furious with the selected few who got us into this mess and their friends in high places.
Árný Guðmundsdóttir, Reykjavík, Iceland
A nice article but a tad romantic, perhaps. I for one do not know to change a tyre, strip an engine,sail a boat, dress a sheep or cure a salmon, and neither do most of my friends. My grandfather may have been a farmer, but I barely know one end of a sheep from another.
Anna, Akureyri, Iceland
thank you very much for your fair assesment .hope you will have your say on more things in the same problems.thanks again regards.
Thorir Gíslason, Hafnarfjörður, iceland
Thank you, you are good.
Björg Jóna, Hafnarfjörður, Iceland
Great article. Thank you for that. Yes, we will get around. We will learn from this and bounce back. It is said that the self-realization happens in the calm after the storm. Now it is our to grab the opportunity and move to the next level. We will be back stronger than before.
Marino, Kopavogur, Iceland
Wonderfully written.
For what little it is worth I'm deeply ashamed at what the goverment of the UK (my goverment) did.
Brown should hang his head in shame as should every member of parliament for allowing him to despoil the name of Iceland and its people, he is without honour.
Chris Wills, Glasgow, United Kingdom
Thanks for seeing things the right way. Me and my dad have been saying that this collapse was kind of a blessing, we can fainally go back to what we were and always will be, Icelanders. Ive been saying it for years now how I hate it that the big guys are trying to make Iceland something that its not
Unnur Jónsdóttir, Garðabær, Iceland
Thank you so much for this article, so true and amazing how you can put this bizard situation in words... you just got yourself one more fan...one of many I suppose....
I know we will be ok, this has been a good and hard reality check.
Iris, Hafnarfjordur, Iceland
If this would have been done to an American company there would have been serious consequences, perhaps military. Is it really ok to "bully" a small state, with no defenses to reach political success at home? Is that a policy that the British want their leaders to act on?
Thank you for the article
Kristján, Reykjavík, Iceland
I'd just like to recommend Halldor Laxness' "Independent People"- the Nobel Prize winner. An incredible book which bears out Gill's impressions.
Oh, & then listen to some Bjork.
Andy, Saffron Walden,
Thank U Adrian. But Mr. Brown is not the only one to blame in the matter. We have our culprits too. None the less what Brown did was uncalled for and will have consequences for the british people for which I fear. Icelanders have backbone to bounce back but can you weather the storm coming your way?
Kristján Örn Friðjónsson, Reykjavík, Iceland
Like Kári I smiled it was so nice to read this,
think you for seeing us like we are but not a bunch of terrorist and welcome back to our litle island in the north. Merry Christmas !
Diana Sigurdardóttir, Reykjavik, Iceland
Thank you. It is of no surprise that Yoko Ono placed the Imagine Peace Tower in Iceland in memory of John Lennon. All the more ironic that the tower now lights up the skies in a country, listed by Mr. Brown as a terrorists nation. Thank you AA Gill for capturing the spirit of my people.
Eygló Ingólfsdóttir, Stockholm, Sweden
I thank you with all my heart.
Logi Unnarson Jónsson, Reykjavik, Iceland
Thank you so much for this excellent article.
I say we got us into this mess our selves, WITH A BIG HELP from Mr. Brown though.
It brought us down to earth again and maybe to our knees but "what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger" so we will rise up again like we have always done before.
Gunnar, Reykjavík, Iceland
I loved this article. Very well written and oh so true:)
Thank you for kind words.
We wont let this get us down, we'll just drink a bit more so the world will make more sence;)But we can not be held responsible for our feelings to Gordon Brown, probably the most hated man in Iceland right now.
Nina, Reykjavik, Iceland
The Icelanders were never rich. They simply borrowed the largest amount of money and refused to pay it back. The EU has backed the UK, NL and Germany in getting tough with Iceland. Iceland refused to listen to warnings, refused to ask the IMF or the ECB for help. Iceland is responsible for its fate.
dawes, London, UK
As someone who has worked frequently in Reykjavik for the last two years I found this article perfectly captures so much about this wonderful unique country and its people. I feel sure they will survive and recover despite what our unelected leader did to them.
Simon , Ash Vale, England
You realy know Icelanders and how we think.
Live goes on and we have to use this situation to make new and better Iceland.
Vilmundur Sigurdsson, Selfoss, Iceland
Thank you for this great article. Even though Brown´s childish act pushed us over the egde, the main responsibility of this crisis lies with only 30-40 greedy businessmen. These men are not welcome here anymore, but you British people sertainly are. We do not need gifts, but your visits do help us.
Saevarsson, Reykjavik, Iceland
Thank you Mr. AA Gill.
I think most Brithis agree with you if they know anything about Iceland - Gordon Brown - I think that this is his way of saying thank you for all the lives Iceland lost during the war bringing fish to starving England - So to Mr. Brown - you are welcome.
Ólafur I. Hrólfsson, Reykjavík, Iceland
I have spent decades reading peoples views on Iceland, those who have visited, those who have studied our country, and those who call Iceland their home. But this was quite the best analysis ever. Thank you Mr Gill for your insight, for your clear writing and for reminding us of what we are capable.
Mikael Magnusson, Pruna, Spain
I never thought I would find the woman of my dreams, but when in Iceland 7 years ago, I did. I still can´t believe my luck. Icelandic woman are the best, I tell you. Difficult, yes but worth it. Strong, smart and inhibited. Give them slack and a bit of adventure and they love you unconditionally.
David C. Tornell, Reykjavik, Iceland
An excelent artical about my Loved Country on top of the world.
Straight to the point and informing about the present and past and most of The Icelandic Psyche , actually gave me goosebumps while reading.
"Glöggt Er Gests Augað"
You just made my week Mr. Gill.
Thanx From The Land Of Fire And Ice
Heiðar Þórhallsson, Keflavik, Iceland
Dear Mr. AA Gill.
I read the article outloud to my family. Your story took us all for a journey through time and our own history and culture. What a great magical way you have of writing.
Ps. Give my best to Mr. Brown when you see him. He will be in our semi christian pagan preyer this Xmas.
Svavar Benediktsson, Reykjavík, Iceland
It felt so vvery good to read this so well written article on the
situation. One of the 310 000 inhabitants of Iceland
none remotely connected to terrorism . Will never forget
mr Brown. We have hade storms earthqaeks but Brown was the worst.
Björg Ingvarsdóttir , Reykjavik, Iceland
One of the best holidays of my life was spent touring this beautiful island and meeting its people, I would (and have) recommend it to anyone. Browns actions were shameful but sadly typical of this government.
Good luck Iceland - you'll get through this adversity as you have others in the past
Bill, Ramsey,
Reading this article this morning was a good way to start my day. I read it again just now to make sure it really was that good. Needless to say, I smiled and emailed it to my closest family to make sure they read it as well. It is nice to see that not everyone thinks we're a bunch of terrorists!
Kári Sighvatsson, Hafnarfjörður, Iceland
AA Gill´s astute observation and sharp pen capture the ambivalence, pride and humiliation, of a nation still in shock.
A nation that´s been taken for a ride by unscrupulous ´city boys´, overlooked by a dozing government and fascilitated by an ideal of a free market.
Giving up is not an option.
Bjorg Sveinsdottir, London,
Well written article about my country, thank you mister Gill. Greetings from Iceland.
Jóna, Seltjarnarnes , Iceland
Brilliant article Mr Gill. I just wish I had planned to spend Christmas there this year.
Eddie Lucas, Gibraltar, Gibraltar
Brilliant article on a country I have known intimately since 1974! Iceland has grown rich too fast in an inorganic way and the "hero worshipped" gamblers have slipped away to leave the innocents to suffer. Whats new? Oddson will not explain why Brown acted like he did but we make good scapegoats!!
paul, cambridge, UK
I agree with Erling, all British people are velcome in Iceland excluding Mr.Brown!.
Guðni Þorvaldsson, Reyðarfjörður, Iceland
Thank you for this article A.A. Gill, it is refreshing to read something other than Icesave and how 'Icelanders' have squandered the savings of the British. A good articles that captures what we as Icelanders are all about.
D. Thor, Reykjavik, Iceland
You article brought tears to my eyes. I guess you wrote what I have been feeling lately, but have been unable to put my finger on it. But you're right. We'll be all right.
Omar, Reykjavik, Iceland
For an outsider to capture our Icelandic spirit so well is brilliant. One of the best articles I've read in a long time! I can't wait to go home now!
Diana Olafsdottir, London,
Thank you for your kind words.
Elin Laxdal, Reykjavik, Iceland
Congratulions Mr Gill, a splendid article.
Robert, Madrid, Spain
an excellent article. i hope that we are able to emulate the Icelanders 'bouncebackability' when the pigeons finally come back to roost over here.
jim, london,
We have a saying "it's not the same being John or father John". We have not until recently had a division between classes here. We have all been just John. The classes Super rich and the Follower's are gone now and that's good. You are right we don't love Brown and his darling but we'll survive.
Anna, Reykjavík, Iceland
A very fine article. Icelanders feel betrayed by a Scot named Gordon Brown, not the British people: we sent loaded fishing vessles to Britain after WW2 to feed the needy and would do it again. We will get through, wiser. But Gordon Brown´s place in our minds and history is secured forever.
G Arnason, Reykjavik, Iceland
I just returned from spending a week in this amazing country. This article is spot on regarding the great irony occurring there right now.
Jay Liou, Fremont, California, USA
Great article! When arriving to Hull in 1982 on a fishing boat I was worried that the people there would greet us with animosity as the town was in a slump after the cod wars but instead we were met with nothing but friendliness. The same will apply to the British coming here (excluding Mr.Brown!).
Erling Ingvason, Akureyri, Iceland
We have a saying in Iceland: Life is tough, but we are tougher!
Hildur Hardardottir, Keflavik, Iceland
Brilliantly written. Could Iceland become like Bhutan - largely shut off from the rest of the world, following their own measure of Gross National Happiness?
Nigel Grimshaw, Cambridge, UK
Your best ever Adrian. It's a pity it is about such tragedy. But as they say..."We'll be Ok" I'm sure they will.
Geoff, birmingham, uk
Another superb article from one of my favourite writers.
miko, Singapore,
A superb article, written on two levels. It starts off rough, almost on purpose, and ends as one of the best written articles I've read in recent years. I've never been to Iceland, but surely I want to go now, if only to meet some of the folks who have survived more than most nations ever could.
Stephen Churchill, Brockton, USA
I have never read a more elegantly written article in my life.
Michael Fernandes, Chapel Hill, USA
A gifted scribe indeed, writing about a place in need of gifts. Yet which also evidences the consequences of seeking easy wealth.
Prov 11:28) "He that trusteth in his riches shall fall: but the righteous shall flourish as a branch."
daniel hamilton, Chelsea, United States
Exceptionally good. And true to life of all the Icelanders I have met in several countries.
Austin Scott, Chicago,
I've been to Iceland many times over the years, organizing tourist trips centering on the Medieval sagas. But best of all I have made friends there, and the integrity and the courage of Icelanders will take them through this. A. A. Gill did a fantastic job on capturing the spirit of Iceland.
Bob Wilhelm, Hagerstown, USA
This is definitely one of the best articles I have ever read on this website.
Kunal Chakraborty, Cambridge, UK
This article is staggeringly well written. Iceland is a fascinating place, made all the more intriguing by A.A. Gill's evocative writing. The Icelandic attitude is apt: while nobody enjoys being poor, adversity can be a reinvigorating test of character - e.g. late 70s Britain, early 90s Australia.
Luke Critchley, Toowoomba, Australia