oliver survives his swim to Dragney

sorry, i meant Drangey. Where Grettir the strong was outlawed and men who swim over to it are automatically a Viking.

Arise Viking Oliver

the skagastrong synchronised swimming team

grettislaug for a soak

what a place to live

more beauty

lunch break and a foss

o what a beautiful morning, o what a beautiful day

we are a happy tribe

the november bunch

first stop the lighthouse

we set off in fine spirits

Today we all piled into the town bus for a day out. After the cloudy snowy days, it was wonderful to see a clear blue sky and sun.

ah………………………. fresh air

Up early to watch the sunrise today………10am!!! It is such a beautiful day we are off on an adventure.

some gospel in the church

i gotta stop reading the sagas

sagas are murderous

Thorborn picked up his shield and brandished it, then drew his sword and turned to face Grettir when he was sure who he was. Grettir drew his short-sword and when he swung it around he noticed the boy standing behind him, so he kept on the move. When he saw the boy was within striking distance he raised his sword aloft, then swung the back of the blade at Arnor’s head so hard that it broke his skull and killed him. Thorbjorn rushed forwards and swung a blow at Grettir, who drew his buckler with his left hand to parry it, then thrust out with his sword, splitting Thorbjorn’s sheild and striking him such a blow on the head that his brains spilled out and he fell down dead on he spot. Grettir did not deal them any more wounds. (be thankful for small mercies i say) He searched for his spear, but when he could not find it he went over to his horse and rode out to Reykir where he announced the killings. (o, by the way, i killed a couple of blokes).

The most unusual part for me is  that they announce killings and provoke killings in a poem:

38
In wether fjord Odin’s weapons
stormed the bear-huging
giant’s adversary, the ox
mustered its full force.
Now for Atli’s slaying, long
unavenged after he slumped
to the fair earth,
he is repaid in kind.

sagas can be a bit of a saga

I am reading the Saga of Grettir the Strong. I chose it because some of the action  takes place near where I am based in Skagastrond, on the next fjord to Skagafjord. Whilst there is a story involved, there seems to be a lot of “who knows what and is married to whom etc etc. I

Halldor, the son of Thorgeir and grandson of Thord from Hofdi, lived at Hof on the Hofdi coast. He was married to Thordis, the daughter of Thord and sister of Hjalti and Thorbjorn Hook. Halldor was a worthy farmer and very wealthy.
There was a man named Bjorn who lived at Haganes in Fljot. He was a friend of Halldor from Hof and they supported each other in every matter.
A man named Tungu-Stein lived at Steinsstadir. His father was Bjorn, the son of Ofeig Thin-Beard. Ofeig wsa the son of Crow-Hreidar, to whose father Eirik from Goddalir gave the tongue of land down from the marsh at Skalamyri. Stein was a man of renown.
There was a man named Eirik, the son of Starri the Dueller and the gransdon of Eirik from Goddalir, whose father was Hroald, the son of Geirmund Stiff-beard. Eirik, Starri’s son, lived at Hof in Goddalir. All these men were highly respected.
Two brothers lived at Breida in Slettahlid and they were both named Thord. They were men of great strength, yet peaceable.
All of these men owned a share in the island in Drangey. Some people say that no fewer than twenty men shared the island and that none of them would sell his share to any other . Thord’s sons owned the largest shares, because they were the wealthiest.

I rest my case.

more snow

thanks mr mayor

I was chatting to the mayor, Magnús Jónsson, and complained that I hadn´t seen any snow since my first day here 6 weeks ago, and so today he delivered, as per my request…. And I didn´t even have to fill out a form.

our front door

the studio

lunch at servo cafe is a bit nippy

i see snow

a hangover rainbow

the night ends with a gift

Fleur´s homage to iceland

the fans gather

fleur chats with signey

lindsay and haldor and oliver

ólafur and guðrún and others

Fleur Ball appears live at the Kantrybær

Shannon took this pic

more thanks to Shannon

the ad in the local daily post drop

we receive the postmen´s videos

we got the URL for the vids from the postman:

episode #2 : the cowboy from parfyme on Vimeo.

episode #5 : the next generation of postmen from parfyme on Vimeo.

a perfect ending to a fabbo day

thanks to Diane for this pic

thanks to oliver

Fleur Ball arrives in town

Australian Country and Western superstar Fleur Ball has arrived in Skagastrond and will play in the famous Kantrybær on Friday 13th November. We all hope that Friday 13th does not portend bad luck, but are excited to have an artist of this calibre play in our village.

o dear

my resting place between kantry bær and home

i hope i don´t need to rest here today…. wet cold ice bum….. and i have just been to the doctor for a small problem the cure for which is sticking something up my own arse, so this won´t help i would think.

white, white, baby

the day is white from ice

can´t get enough of those northern lights

a lovely icelandic pedicure

the little salon under the mountain

stumpee gets a makeover

an adventure, but I have a prior engagement

Everyone is off to Saudarkrokur to see the big smoke, Iceland style, but I have been booked in to the mnail bar to have a manicure and pedicure to make myself ready for Fleur´s big gig on Friday night.

the town bus

abstract ice

all about me day

Time to spend in the studio making art. Or stuffing around with the inbuilt camera. Or making videos. Or going to the Kantry Bær for icelandic meatballs. Or posting a blog. Or checking if their will be northern lights tonight.

sometimes home is just one step too far

3.30am Skagastrond

Britartist Oliver Gardiner expertly captures the fultility of attemptimg the walk from the Kantrybær to home after too much Island cheer. .

i heart

i heart mountains

i heart the sun on the grass as we speed past in the car

i heart heart clouds

icelanders love their soaks

the swimming pool at Akuyeri is fantastic with hot pots and slides and a crazy jet stream machine.

dessert

crystal

shannon

dessert was very yummy

deja vu: an early start with a hangover

Staggered out of bed to catch a lift to Akueryi for the weekend. Got there via a hot dog at Vermilkad and promptly slept most of the day in a tiny gueasthouse room and then met the others for a delicious meal at Rub23.

i don´t know what possessed them

the snuffies

no….i have no idea what possessed me!!

it wasn´t my fault…..it was the shots

A few of us popped into teh Kantrybæar for a couple of drinks as you do on a Friday night in a town far far away. It was quiet. Just a drunk in the corner nad a few guys at a booth. And then they sent us over a tray of shots. and then they joined us, And things got messy.

They were from Stykkishólmur and their ship, the Gullhðlmi had unloaded 50 tonnes of fish but the weather had turned nasty and they couldn´t leave. They were really nice guys and lots of fun.

goodbye Maria

the new crew

Since the petrol station closed, our options for a farewell lunch have been reduced so we went off to the KantryBær to say farewell to Maria who is leaving Nes and Skagastrind and Iceland for Samoa!!

sometimes it´s hard to find the words

big red

How do you explain dry, hot, inland, isolation, Australia

men pour out of a truck

Sitting a little late in the studio, i spied the biggest car in the world drive up outside, and men just poured out of it.

they´d heard about the hot aussie chick in town

and wanted to sell her a keyring to raise maoney for the marine search and rescue. I of course obliged and now have lots of xmas presents and no money left. But nothing is too much for such tall,  beautiful and brave men.

thurs 5 nov 09; front yard Skagastrond, Iceland; 1000 hours;

litter

Skagastrond is so switched on even their litter is electronic.

the man who walks his cat like a dog

lost in translation

beanie (n) (aus) :  the name for  types of cap or hat. The name “beanie” probably comes from the early-20th century slang term “bean,” meaning “head”. Beanies are commonly worn during the winter and other colder seasons to keep one’s head warm, except if you are a bogan in which case it is worn all year around accompanied by ugg boots and miniskirts on the girls and flannies for the boys.  A very famous beanie festival is held in Alice Springs Australia each year ( see http://www.beaniefest.org/)

bogan (n) (aus):  The term bogan (pronounced /ˈboʊɡən/, rhyming with slogan) is Australian and New Zealand English slang, usually pejorative or self-deprecating, for a person who is, or is perceived to be, of a lower-class background. According to the stereotype, the speech and mannerisms of “bogans” indicate poor education, cheap clothing and uncultured upbringing. ‘Bogans’ usually reside in economically disadvantaged suburbs (often outer metropolitan) or rural areas. see http://www.bogan.com.au/

flannie (n) (aus):  Checkered shirts made out of flannelette, usually worn until old and ragged with jeans or khakis. Worn by working class people like builders, construction workers, bogans etc. example of use: “ Bugger me sideways, me ciggers cost more than the flannie I tuck them into!”
There is a rather disturbing belief that these articles of clothing may be coming into fashion  see http://mildura.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/general/flannies-back-in-fashion/1483677.aspx

 bangs (n) (USA):   A fringe (called this in all parts of the world or bangs in the United States and Canada) is a shaped cutting of the front part of the hair so that it is combed forward and hangs or curls over the forehead. A classic fringe is cut fairly straight at or above the eyebrows, but fringes can also be ragged or ruffled, spiked up with hair gel, swept to one side or the other, and sometimes they are cut longer to partially cover the eyes.

a voice whispered to me in the night.

I woke from my fractured sleep with a fright. Someone had called my name. A woman’s voice, softish but with a little urgency. Di…………………….Di…………………There was a light on under the door, and after my heart had stopped beating enough for me to move, i checked but we had just left the kitchen light on. There was no human in sight.

I went back to bed still with a beating heart, but i didn’t feel afraid. The glow from the street lights alwas casts a shadow of my treasures on the window sill, and i feel safe and warm. I drift back to sleep and sleep as if dead. I awake more fresh than I have been in days. ALIVE!! ALERT!! And this morning Þordis has a new hat.

þordis has a new beanie

No, doubters, it wasn´t the sugar from last night.

an open letter to Maurice

before

Dear Maurice,

I think of you often. Not only when there is no coffee brewing in  the morning, or no-one hogging the communal computer writing letters to the wife, or no-one not knowing and not caring, or when the garlic bread is not as crunchy or when oliver and i ate the rest of the pav and i had a sugar hit for 3 days or when i need to be told how wonderful i am or ………………….  But i thought of you last night and we spoke of you fondly. Me and the girls and Oliver.

YOU WOULD HAVE LOVED THIS CAKE!!!!!!!! Warm and apply and cinnamony and caramelly and chocolate covered raisiny and big portions with cream.

And I started on my next magnus opus knittingus, snow.     xxxxxxx love Di et Fleur et Sno et Glo et Wool et al

kaffi latte

the american invasion

the new artists except for one

The first knitting club for the newbies and Ólafía outdoes herself with an apple crumbly fabulousness. The artists could care less about having their photos taken.

getting reflective

home

the built environment

elvish is in the building

the sun shines on skagastrond

a crazy and welcome interruption

Parfyme (perfume) is a four-person art collective that consists of Laurids Scone, Ebbe Dam Meinild, Pelle Brage and Douglas Paulson. They have developed and carried out several projects in the public space for the last eight years. http://www.parfyme.dk/

we get a postcard delivery for oliver

Oliver is a little confused for a moment

There was a knock on the door and some crazy faces were peering in the window. I opened it and  they asked for Oliver. They had a postcard for him. A really really big postcard. All the way from Reykavik.

The postmen from Parfyme  arrived with a postcard for Oliver. Their postal delivery was one stop on their  ‘”THE ONE LETTER DELIVERY SHOW”  which is part od the Sequences Real Time Art Festival in Reykavik..

crystal me and oliver by shannon

Script for the show: A new post office opens. The postmen get their first job: deliver a giant letter to someone at the very top of Iceland. They put the postcard on top of their car and step on the gas. Over the next few days, the letter is delivered. When the hard working Postmen return to the post office, the first delivery is celebrated with the postmen’s tales of adventure in: THE ONE LETTER DELIVERY SHOW!

me and postman pelle

me and postman laurids

me and postman douglas

the night after the day after the night before

After coipous quantities of beer, vodka and funky llama shiraz, i am not sure  that snuff that smelt like fish was such a great idea. But after sneezing my nose off, i laughed until I cried.

I wish I could remember why Ciara shocked us so.

NO MORE BLACK DEATH!!!!!!!!!

the day after the night before

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

people come from far and wide

the local men are captivated

the local men are captivating

i knit me a mountain

Knitting club is on every day at the Cafe from 8.00pm till late. I love the idea of knitting club. People gatherd around in the warm and the klik klak of the needles. Knitting is such an artform here. And also a necessity. They knit beanies and jumpers and mittens and scarves and really wonderful things to wear and give as gifts.

I haven´t knitted for a squillion years, but I borrowed a car, drove into Blonduos, bought some wool and went to knitting club. I announced “I am going to knit me a mountain”.

so I did

losing weight

I have been walking everywhere. I walk from the house to the studio, from the studio to the shop, from the shop to the house, from the house to the Kantrybar, from the Kantrybar to the petrol station, from the petrol station to the studio, from the studio to the kntting club. I walk up volcanos and then back down again. I walk up mountains, river beds, stairs, boulders, bar steps.

My clothes are getting really loose and I am extremely excited about the fact I must be losing weight.

And then I washed them.

i am repeating myself, but this place is soooooo beautiful