Reykjavík Calling

What a difference a week makes.

Last Sunday I was nightclubbing, this Sunday I am at home, and have been at home, almost all the time, all week. I did make a few “essential” trips: groceries (where it was very interesting to see what people did not panic-buy), the auto parts store (to get a new car battery) and the liquor store (to test out the new battery.) We’ve got plenty of videos and books (and toilet paper) and the Weaver has just started a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle. I’ve got my hands full with the Friday serial fiction (which has mutated into a Covid-19 novel, currently set in the summer of 2020—earlier installments have been updated to reflect the new story line.)

If you haven’t had enough of the Covid-19 virus yet a webcast from the Reykjavík Grapevine gives a look at the pandemic from a different, Icelandic perspective:



Hosted by Valur Grettisson, editor-in-chief, and Hannah Jane Cohen, listings director and culture editor at the Reykjavík Grapevine, this Monday through Friday wrap-up of the current state of affairs in Iceland is a refreshing change of pace from the usual main stream media talking heads. Valur is a quintessential Icelander-speaking-English with all the wry humor and quirky delivery one would expect. Hannah, New York-born, is the perfect foil for Valur. it is obvious that they have a deep personal rapport—a relationship that leavens but never trivializes the serious issues they discuss. I would love to see them continue to do a “daily show” when this is all over. Don’t miss Hannah’s shirt in Covid-cast #5, guaranteed to lift one’s spirit in such troubled times.

Here is a personal appeal from Hannah asking for support of the Grapevine:



If you don’t want to join the club, you can also make a one-time contribution.

I owe them big time—a lot of my Icelandic ‘inside’ information comes from The Grapevine—so I felt compelled to contribute.

Heck! I was even featured in it once!

I hope you and yours are doing well.

UPDATE: Covid-cast #7 is down to the last two Grapevine staffers: Hannah, and Poppy—the intern!

UPDATE UPDATE: Covid-cast #8 is up, Valur is back, broadcasting from home, but Hannah and Poppy are now missing. 

End of an Era?

Image: Reykjavík Grapevine

I recently came across an article in The Reykjavík Grapevine, a tourist/culture paper/website that opened with this declaration:

The Reykjavík Grapevine is broke. We need money. Yesterday we had to inform our staff journalists, Iryna, Ish (pictured holding our latest Best of Reykjavík magazine at our annual Best of Reykjavík Award ceremony) and Jói (who couldn’t attend the ceremony, and thus isn’t pictured) that we won’t be able to afford their work unless our fortunes change. This was incredibly difficult and sad to do, because we are a small, tight-knit team who do this job out of love. It has been our purpose to bring journalism and cultural coverage of Iceland to our readers for almost 24 years, and while business has always been difficult, it has become ever more so in the past few years, making it harder to fulfill our purpose. Hell, we’re one of the last — if not the last — cultural publication still in print in Iceland, a country with a single daily newspaper left.

During the Covid-19 epidemic, The Reykjavík Grapevine was a beacon, shining light on Iceland’s struggles with the pandemic, led by its intrepid editor Valur Grettisson, his dog Polly, and the capable intern Poppy Askham. Their twice-weekly forays covering a country in lockdown was both informative and entertaining—so much so that I even sent them some money! After Covid lessened its grip this publishing enterprise got new owners who wanted to take it in a new direction. They weren’t an obvious changes, but its tone changed. Instead of Poppy or Valur (and his adorable dog) we got snarky podcasts from the new editor and his cronies.

I stopped following it.

Poppy Askham

Art Bicnick, Reykjavík Grapevine

It is becoming increasingly apparent that any visits I may make to Iceland in the foreseeable future will be virtual.

With the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic severely impacting Icelandic tourism there has been a dearth of new cultural content coming from the country compared to years previous. A most notable exception to this dismal trend are the videos from The Reykjavík Grapevine, a local tabloid/website aimed at the tourist trade. Since the crisis began editor-in-chief Valur Grettisson has upped his game with the dozens of videos produced with his staff at various locations in the city and countryside. Special mention must also be made for cameraman Art Bicnick, whose work approaches fine art at times.

Out of all of this activity the presenter who made the strongest impression on me is Poppy Askham, an expat journalist from Bath, England. Her innate charm and pleasant, unhurried delivery in these reports makes for a very naturalistic and engrossing experience. No slouch as a reporter, her video presence has been getting better with each new installment and she has even featured on BBC. Most of Poppy’s video work is on YouTube, where you can follow her development as she morphs from a shy intern into a legitimate media presence. You can also read her news reports on the Grapevine’s home page or at Muck Rack.

UPDATE: Alas, Poppy’s internship is over, but not without a final farewell and a post of  “one in the can.”