Reykjavík Grapevine - 14.07.2017, Page 6

Granted, these may be
increasingly fewer in
number everywhere in
the world, but jukebox-
es are conspicuously
absent in Iceland.
Which is a real shame:
one of the best parts
of going out to dinner
or visiting your neigh-
bourhood bar is being
able to put money in a
machine that will make
everyone listen to one
of your favorite songs.
Instead, your din-
ing and drinking ex-
perience in Iceland
will either be entirely
devoid of background
music, or else you’ll
wish it will be, when
you consider how
many places are go-
ing to be pumping out
one of three catego-
ries of background
music: touristcore
(e.g. Of Monsters and
Men or Kaleo), “clas-
sic” rock, or corporate
ambient techno ad in-
finitum, whether you
like or not.
A jukebox, by con-
trast, will broadcast a
music selection as di-
verse as an establish-
ment’s clientele. It can
also provide a chance
to make friends—you
put on one of your
favorite songs and
hear a cheer of rec-
ognition from across
the crowded bar, your
eyes meet, you smile
and nod knowingly at
one another, and a new
connection is born.
And if you’re in the
mood for a fight, walk
up to any given juke-
box, dump a bunch of
money in it, program
it to play “No Limit”
by 2 Unlimited fifteen
times, face the crowd,
and await challengers.
Jukeboxes are, in
other words, a form
of democratic control
of the environment of
any given restaurant
or pub. As fond as
Icelanders are of de-
mocracy, you’d think
jukeboxes would be
a mainstay around
here. Unfortunately,
jukeboxes are, and
will likely remain, yet
another thing missing
in Iceland.
MISSING IN ICELAND
Jukeboxes
Words: Paul Fontaine

Last week, passersby discovered that
raw sewage was pouring into Faxas-
kjól, in western Reykjavík, at a rate of
about 750 litres per second. Worse still,
it later came to light that this had been
going on for ten days, due to malfunc-
tioning sewage treatment machinery.
Hólmfríður Sigurðardóttir, the en-
vironmental manager at Reykjavík En-
ergy, explained to reporters that this
was happening because sewage treat-
ment workers had to repair the system,
and this left them with two choices:
either shut off the system completely,
which could have led to raw sewage
backing up into peoples’ homes, or
letting untreated sewage pour forth.
Not even the mayor knew
It was bad enough that the general pub-
lic wasn’t informed ahead of time that
this was going to happen. Reykjavík
Mayor Dagur B. Eggertsson told report-
ers that he learned about the incident
for the first time from the news itself.
People were understandably upset,
and members of the City Council’s op-
position parties wasted no time in taking
advantage of it. Arch-conservative and
current Morgunblaðið co-editor, Davíð
Oddsson, wasted no time in slamming the
mayor in a column in his own newspaper.
“I mean, 750 litres per second for
ten days,” Independence Party coun-
cilperson Kjartan Magnússon blus-
tered for reporters. “There isn’t
even a sign or a fence or anything.”
What about the beach?
In fairness, Kjartan’s concern isn’t ex-
actly misplaced. The seaside is a popu-
lar spot for children to play, especially
in the warm summer months. Of par-
ticular concern was whether or not
Reykjavík’s one and only warm water
beach, Nauthólsvík, had been polluted.
Such a turn of events would completely
ruin what little summer we have here.
However, Óttar Hrafnkelsson, who
oversees Nauthólsvík, told listeners of
radio station Rás 2 that they have been
monitoring the situation closely. Wa-
ter purity is being tested, and thus far
nothing untowards has been discov-
ered. Not that this has stopped peo-
ple from calling and asking about the
situation, which he believes is easy to
understand. In his own words: “No
one wants to swim in raw sewage.”
Can’t flush this
It turns out, though, that no one is in-
nocent. One of the more damning takea-
ways from this story is that Reykjavík
residents are flushing things down the
toilet that they really shouldn’t be, which
might have contributed to the sewage
treatment facility needing repairs in the
first place. These items include tampons,
ear swabs, and even diapers. These are
all items which are supposed to go in
the general garbage, not down the toilet.
As this is being written, city work-
ers are working as fast as they can to
get the matter under control. For the
time being, it might be advisable to
avoid swimming in the water around
Reykjavík. And in the name of all that
is holy, stop flushing things down the
toilet that are meant for your trash can.
Raw Sewage Pours
Into Reykjavík Waters,
Shitstorm Ensues
Tourists are not to blame
Words: Johanna Eriksson
Stefán Pálsson, Icelandic historian,
explains:
“As a NATO member Iceland have
participated in wars and conflicts
that NATO has engaged in. For exam-
ple in Iraq and the NATO programme
in Afghanistan there’s been Icelan-
dic personnel, but none of them
have been soldiers, but working
in public relations for example.
So there’s been some indirect ac-
tivities lately as part of the NATO
membership, but when it comes
to something closer to full-scale
war we’ve luckily not been involved.
Many Icelanders like to talk about
the Cod Wars, and brag about being
the only nation in the world that has
defeated the British navy in war-
fare. That’s really stretching it be-
cause that was a series of fishing
disputes, and even though there
were some minor clashes between
the Icelandic Coast Guard and Brit-
ish ships, they were mostly solved
through negotiation. I would almost
say that calling it a war would be
insulting towards people who really
have suffered from wars.
“In the Middle Ages, Icelanders
were more unruly and there were
civil wars between families and
chieftains who had large armies
which resulted in big battles, and
eventually led to Iceland falling
under the Norwegian throne, and
being demilitarised.
“Our best survival strategy in
dangerous wars has been to be
neutral and try keep good contact
with our neighbours. We’ve always
taken pride in that we’re a country
without an army and that there’s no
intention to form one.”
ASK A
Historian
Q: “Have Iceland Ever
Been Involved In Any War
Or Conflicts?”
Words:
Paul Fontaine
Photo:
Art Bicnick
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WHAT'S MISSING IN ICELAND
6The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 12 — 2017
Stefán Pálsson
Photo: Archive
First
Lækjargata 8, tel: 5460006
Nowhere to be found
Reykjavík's mayor in happier times