Here's the second part of the blog. About a year ago out of the blue I got a phone call at work from an Icelandic man called Olafur Hallddrsson. He had tracked me down to talk about "Fishermen - The Rise and Fall of Deep Water Trawling". Oli, as he has come to be known, came from a little town on the North-West peninsula of Iceland called Isafjordur, a community of just 4,000 people. The town had traditionally relied on the fishing and prawn industry but because of dwindling natural resources had had to re-think itself. As Oli said it was "a resourceful little town" and so they thought. And thought. And what did they come up with? They built a university! Anyhows, Oli was doing an MA through his little town's university (apparently no matter where you study in Iceland you can tap into national lectures, talk to your professor and so on, which is very cool) and he wanted to know whether Austin and I would have any objection to the book being translated by him and possibly published in Iceland. I was amazed. The book had been published 12 years previously, had only had a very small print run at the time and I thought it had just disappeared into obscurity. It wasn't even in the pound bin at Wilkos! Of course we said 'yes' and ever since Oli and I have been corresponding about this and that to do with the book.
What brought all this in mind for the blog was an email from Oli a few days ago, asking me if I could help him with a bit of translation. He wanted to know the 'deeper meaning' for the idiom, "There's nowt as queer as folk". Now there's a favourite granny saying if ever there was one. Coincidence, fate that he should write just at the moment when I'm looking at old sayings I don't know but I thought I'd share this story with you. I've written back to Oli to say that the saying is just a northern one and there isn't any deep meaning. Rather, it's just a comment on human behaviour in any situation that strikes you as odd or strange. It struck me how odd and strange life is sometimes, how coincidental too.
Hi Anne! Thanks for your lovely comments today - denimite made me chuckle!!! Wow! how fantastic is that you wrote a book with Austin Mitchell!!! Talk about spooky too, I just posted a letter today to someone who also lives in Iceland! hugs, Jane xx
ReplyDeleteOh wow how cool that your book is successful on a international level, more importantly and something I find incredibly moving is that the subject matter transcends all cultures and nationalities, I have no doubt you and Oli have become friends through the process of translating your book, your lives have crossed and I guess their fishermen suffered just as ours have and our fishing industry has suffered a similar decline .How the country/ industry copes as a whole depends upon the people living in it and the people running it, it is amazing to think how the Icelandic people have turned a possible crisis into an opportunity to educate , move on and better their situation, I sometimes wonder whether we as a nation are pessimists and are all too eager to follow the 'woe is me' path, like you say - nowt as queer as folk !!!
ReplyDeleteanother saying: you can choose your friends but not your family, I love my friends & i've a few via the shop, cards,web etc., but I do like all the people i've met through running with scissors. Annie my dad was a deep sea man (chief engineer)so woooooooooooo hooooooooooo this is getting spookie.I kow you like your bling Annie try Tarina Tarantino think i speltit right & no she's not related to him.
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