Praiseworthy

 

Last weekend I attended Bloody Scotland in Stirling, as did Caro of course. Everything went swimmingly and most events were held to sold-out crowds that were interested and engaged. The weather was amazing, sunny and warm as if Scotland were situated in the Caribbean. I had to get that out of the way since Caro was adamant that I tell you this since no one would believe her. Not a raincloud in sight for three days running. Possibly even longer. It must be a sign.

Anyway.

 

 

Back in Iceland I am disappointed to say that we are still besieged with the endless news reports of the boring Holuhraun volcano. No one cares anymore how many earthquakes occurred while we were sleeping – which is always announced on the morning news – nor are the poisonous gas clouds of interest to us here in the south as we are out of reach. News of these clouds is possibly of interest to people that live on the east coast, who are experiencing asthma. The rest of us would much prefer a weekend round-up of current eruption statistics.

Unfortunately we are told to expect more of the same, even for months to come. Unless it develops into something much worse, which like I mentioned last time (and might do again in a fortnight) is what one suspects the reporters to secretly wish for.

 

 

Other interesting news from here include one of today’s main headlines, namely that there is an increased frequency of double rainbow sightings in Reykjavík. The most read however is that the ratio of Icelandic men that have signed up for the HeforShe – the Solidarity Movement for Gender Equality – is the highest of any country. This is great, especially considering that a recent report showed that the gender bias when it comes to wages is 8.5% for employees of one of the largest Icelandic unions. I hardly need to add against which gender the bias is. I would however like to point out that Iceland ranks no. 1 when it comes to equality of the sexes. Horrifying for the rest of the world, considering.

 

I can't leave this without heaping more praise on Icelandic men for their show of solidarity. More Icelandic men have signed up than men from most other countries. This includes China and India and I am not talking about a per capita comparison but an actual headcount. Note that the Icelandic population is 312,000 while over a billion people live in China and India. The same comparison applies to the other Nordic nations -  more men from Iceland have joined than in the other much larger Scandinavian countries. Come on Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark - pump it up please. 

To give credit where it is due I must also mention that the country with the single most men that have joined is the US - almost a third of all men signed up are American. Well done.

I end this off by urging one and all to watch Emma Watson’s powerful speech for the HeforShe movement – available on multiple internet sites near you - and a special urge to men to sign up and commit: http://www.heforshe.org/

Yrsa - Wednesday