A baby arctic fox is a nice thing, cuddly and cosy. Hollowed out, a hand shoved in at either end, it would make a nice muff. Arctic fox fur is even warmer than polar bear fur, we learn in Iceland: Land of Ice and Fire (BBC2).
I like the Icelandic horses too. Smaller and hardier than most horses, they were brought from Britain by Vikings 1,000 years ago. The best way to raise animals – horses included – around here is to keep them semi-wild; it gives them the character and spirit to survive. I think I might raise my children like that: break them in late, let them roam free for the summer, then head off on horseback to round them up, try to work out which are mine and separate them from the other feral children out there. Maybe someone should do a book, Bring Up Your Child the Icelandic Horse Way, as a Gina Ford alternative. I think it might do well, a backlash to all the mollycoddling that goes on.
Best of all, I like the eider ducks, especially the ones raised by farmer Thor here. There’s something both comical and charming about a big tough man playing mother to a brood of quacky-cheeping balls of fluffy fun. Then, when it’s time for swimming lessons, Thor gets his whole (human) family involved too. I think there may be room in my new parenting manual for swimming with ducks.
This is a beautiful film to look at, and captures the northness well. But then it seems to run out of natural history to look at, so it starts to focus on other aspects of the country, all seen in a very positive light. Iceland has some of the best managed and most sustainable fisheries in the world, purrs Juliet Stevenson, narrating. It is a nation with a dynamic economy. Reykjavik’s opera house celebrates music and drama inspired by the original Icelandic sagas. Yeah, I bet they’re a laugh …
But hang on, suddenly it feels like something made by Visit Iceland, or a fluffy film they show on Icelandair on the way in to land at Keflavik International airport. I don’t want to know about the ethical fishing, the thriving economy (no mention of the recent great recession, incidentally) and lively arts scene. I want actual fluff, on little eider ducks.
