Lögberg-Heimskringla - 21.10.2005, Page 4

4 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • Friday 21 October 2005
Bring on the snow, and ice, and darkness...
PHOTO: KOLBRÚN GEIRSDÓTTIR
It may seem a bit early for snow, but late in September Akurey-
ri, Iceland received more than its fair share. Here Jóhann
Hauksson clears off his vehicle.
David Jón Fuller
Managing Editor
Ican tell it’s autumn when
my knuckles get cold on
the way to work. Walking
down Portage Avenue is a good
way to relax early in the morn-
ing — seeing the old buildings
being tom down, the new ones
being thrown up, breathing the
crisp cool air.
As there are a lot of trees in
Winnipeg, you do get to see the
colours change a bit, though it’s
nothing like the changes in oth-
er parts of North America. Last
fall when my wife and I vis-
ited Muskoka in Ontario, I was
stunned at the different colours
— sometimes from yellow to
orange to red in one tree.
It’s a stark contrast to the
seasoninlceland. Myfirstexpe-
rience of autumn weather there
was that it was a) too bright,
which was quickly followed by
b) a lot of rain and c) winds I
can only describe as unholy. I
kept waiting for the leaves on
the trees to turn colour, but they
just seemed to fall off in quiet
desperation.
Then, in October, I began to
notice something without really
registering it.
Around the time of my
birthday on the 20th, it seemed
there was something odd about
the sunlight, but I couldn’t quite
say what. It was no longer as
blinding as it had been in Sep-
tember, but that wasn’t it. After
thinking about it for a few days,
keeping an eye on the shadows,
I realized it was the angle and
the amount of sunlight. Itdidn’t
say “October” to my Winnipeg-
raised senses; it said “early Jan-
uary.” And of course it got even
darker after that.
Much is made of Iceland as
being a land of “ice and fire,” but
unless you go into the highlands
or climb a volcano, you don’t
see a lot of either. It’s more a
land of light and darkness.
Now I should say right here
that I loved it when it got really
dark in Iceland, around the mid-
dle of December when it was
pitch black all moming. I also
happen to like it when it’s really
cold and snowy outside.
My Canadian friends who
know this about me attribute it
to having Icelandic roots — and
in fact I did too, before I went
there. Somehow, it seemed fit-
ting that having ancestors from
the North Atlantic meant I was
predisposed to handle frostbite
and blizzards.
This is actually not so —
the average winter temperature
is lower in Manitoba than in
Iceland. But unfortunately that
country is never going to live
its name down, no matter how
much colder it is in other parts
of the world, like, say, “Green-
land.”
Anyway, by the time I had
learned enough Icelandic and
made some friends in Reykja-
vík, being a Winnipegger to the
core, naturally I ended up yak-
king about the weather.
It was while going out to
see a movie one night in Janu-
ary that my friend Helga asked,
“Well, David, don’t you find it
cold in Iceland?” We were bun-
dled up against the damp snow
that Reykjavík seems to get a lot
of after Christmas. And though
it was about -15°C and humid,
my first response was, “Not re-
ally. In Winnipeg it’s minus
thirty right now.” She couldn’t
believe it.
Of course, as prairie dwell-
ers are perversely proud of say-
ing, “it’s a dry cold,” which
means that if it ever got that
cold in the middle of an ocean,
I’d be cursing it as much as any-
one else.
So the Icelandic descen-
dants across North America
know what’s coming. Autumn
is different everywhere, I sup-
pose, but keeping in mind the
dropping temperatures and the
fading light, I think that both
here and in Iceland October is
the month that you get a taste
of the season that is to come.
Bring it on! (And excuse me
while I dodge all the volleys
from people who hate winter.)
PHOTO: DAVID JÓN FULLER
From left: Karen Emilson, Bruce Benson, Gislina MacPherson, Arne MacPherson and Gillian Johnson Shakespeare.
Tergesen’s hosts quadruple book launch
GIMLI, MB — The A-Spire Theatre was the venue for a
quadruple book launch on October 3, under the auspices of H.P.
Tergesen & Sons. The main floor of the converted church was
packed, with roughly 50 people in attendance. Loma Tergesen
was M.C. for the evening.
The four books launched were Harðfiskur and Skyr: Memo-
ries and Stories ofan Amma and Editor by the late Lillian Vilborg
MacPherson; Just a Matter ofTime by Karen Emilson; A Season
for Skufty: First of the Gimli Chronicles by Bruce Benson; and
Thora: a Half-Mermaid Tale by Gillian Johnson Shakespeare.
Each of the authors read excerpts from their books and
signed copies for audience members. Excerpts from Harðfiskur
and Skyr were read by Lillian’s son Ame and granddaughter
Gislina.
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