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Otago Daily Times
3 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Getting drunk in Iceland: a formal guide
The first Icelander I met worked in the duty-free shop at Reykjavik airport. "We have the highest alcohol prices in Europe," he announced gleefully to the arriving throng. But he was understating things. They have the highest alcohol prices in the world. I have drunk booze for less in countries that are officially teetotal. "Get it here or you'll regret it," he continued, and I got it there in the form of a litre of scotch. I regretted only that I didn't get more. At the supermarket round the corner from where we were staying the young man's warning initially seemed superfluous. For there on the shelves was beer. It wasn't cheap but it was readily accessible. Looks, however, were deceivers. When I unzipped a can at the apartment it tasted thin. I read the side and found that what purported to be beer was little more than flavoured water — 1.5% booze at best. It bloated you long before it kicked in. It was like drinking a bath for the soap content. We made a big dent in the scotch. The next day I learned that to get beer deserving of the name you could go to the bars in downtown Reykjavik where a slug of Heineken set you back a mortgage, or else you could go to the rarely open and unpronounceable government monopoly beginning with B. That night we delved deeper into Scotchland. Quite why this tiny country should be so puritan about booze I cannot tell you, but it is a Scandinavian habit. Perhaps it's a prophylactic against nordic gloom. Perhaps, when they descend into winter and the sun barely rises for three months, and for one month doesn't rise at all, it is only too tempting to reach for the top shelf and drink the misery away. And yet every year some purposeless agency associated with the United Nations puts out an International Happiness League Table. And it is invariably topped by the Finns, followed, at a short distance, by the Swedes, Norwegians and Danes. So much for Nordic gloom. But then it could be that they only survey the grinning Finns in summer when the fiords thaw and the edelweiss blooms, and the endless lightless winter seems a distant and barely credible ghost. Or else the fierce control of booze is a moral matter, preached from a puritan pulpit. Every hamlet in Iceland has its proud little white wooden church standing strong against the weather, with a red roof and a tiny windswept graveyard. And Reykjavik has a steepling white stone cathedral that could house half the country's population. So maybe it's all the fault of God. Whatever the truth of it, we drank our scotch and toured the country in a rental car, dutifully admiring the volcanic wonders, the fissured rocks where Vikings once held parliaments, the ancient lava flows now thick with spongy moss, the recent lava flows still black and menacing, the Rotoruan geysers and the general emptiness. The island is five times the size of Wales and has the population of Christchurch. By the last evening of four the scotch had run to next to nothing and I made a dash for the government store only to find it closed. But by asking around I discovered a store called Extra where more of the good stuff could be acquired if you were willing to jump through some verificatory hoops. I was as willing as a circus dog, but I was also incapable. The first hoop was the scanning of a QR code, using the phone that is beyond my understanding, and after a couple of minutes in this Icelandic minimart I was close to weeping with frustration. But from out behind a counter stepped a minute girl from Vietnam whose hands were like a spray of twigs, and she took pity on me in my distress and explained what I needed to do. But I was still unable, so she took my phone and sat me down and patted the old man on his head and did the whole thing for me and I got wine. I could have kissed her. We left next day for London where the first thing that I did once we had found where we were staying — well of course. The pub was the Stanhope Arms, the beer was London Pride, and it was wonderful. — Joe Bennett is a Lyttelton writer.
Sunday World
12-06-2025
- Sport
- Sunday World
Heimir Hallgrimsson targets four points from Ireland's first two World Cup games
Heimir Hallgrimsson is targeting at least four points from the Republic of Ireland's opening World Cup qualifiers against Hungary and Armenia. The Icelander spent his 58th birthday watching his team secure a laboured 0-0 friendly draw in Luxembourg, which he later admitted was 'boring' at times, in what was their final fixture before the competitive games start in September. A much-changed Ireland were far from at their best at the Stade de Luxembourg just four days after a creditable display in a 1-1 draw with Senegal, but Hallgrimsson knows the stakes will be raised significantly when the squad next meet up. Asked if they needed four points from the first two games, Hallgrimsson replied: 'Yes. Four points would be good; six points would be better.' He added: 'I give myself that you would say we get a draw against Hungary and win in Armenia – probably it would be worse if it was the opposite. 'Four points would be OK, a good start. Six is what we aim for.' Hallgrimsson will mark 12 months in his new job next month having presided over a modest improvement in Ireland's on-pitch fortunes – they have won four and drawn two of his 10 games to date, a return which had given him cause for optimism. Tuesday night's events came as something of a disappointment, as he admitted when asked where his team are compared to where he hoped they might be at this stage shortly after the final whistle in Luxembourg. Evan Ferguson of Ireland walks out for match against Luxembourg He replied: 'I would have been 100 per cent confident two hours ago, but this is also football. 'You can be a much better team and still lose a match. That's why everybody loves this game. It's because sometimes even with a good performance you can lose a game. That's why everybody loves it. 'It's the only sport in the world where a third division team can win against a first division team. You can look at all other sports, it doesn't happen. 'We didn't play well, we kept a clean sheet. If it had been a group stage, we would have had a point and OK, let's call that growth.' Ireland did hit the woodwork twice through Nathan Collins and substitute Jack Taylor either side of half-time, but were indebted to debutant goalkeeper Max O'Leary for saves from Danel Sinani and Vincent Thill, and Hallgrimsson was particularly unimpressed with the opening 45 minutes. He said: 'We were really disappointed with the first half. It was actually just boring, there was nothing happening in the first half. 'We didn't play well, but we played away and didn't concede a goal, so even though we are not playing our best, if we can get points and maybe wins, that's a good sign.'
RTÉ News
11-06-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Heimir Hallgrimsson wants quick start to fuel World Cup dream
Heimir Hallgrimsson is targeting at least four points from the Republic of Ireland's opening World Cup qualifiers against Hungary and Armenia. The Icelander spent his 58th birthday watching his team secure a laboured 0-0 friendly draw in Luxembourg, which he later admitted was "boring" at times, in what was their final fixture before the competitive games start in September. A much-changed Ireland were far from at their best at the Stade de Luxembourg just four days after a creditable display in a 1-1 draw with Senegal, but Hallgrimsson knows the stakes will be raised significantly when the squad next meet up. Asked if they needed four points from the first two games, Hallgrimsson replied: "Yes. Four points would be good; six points would be better." He added: "I give myself that you would say we get a draw against Hungary and win in Armenia - probably it would be worse if it was the opposite. "Four points would be OK, a good start. Six is what we aim for." "It's the only sport in the world where a third division team can win against a first division team." Hallgrimsson will mark 12 months in his new job next month having presided over a modest improvement in Ireland's on-pitch fortunes - they have won four and drawn two of his 10 games to date, a return which had given him cause for optimism. Tuesday night's events came as something of a disappointment, as he admitted when asked where his team are compared to where he hoped they might be at this stage shortly after the final whistle in Luxembourg. He replied: "I would have been 100% confident two hours ago, but this is also football. "You can be a much better team and still lose a match. That's why everybody loves this game. It's because sometimes even with a good performance you can lose a game. That's why everybody loves it. "It's the only sport in the world where a third division team can win against a first division team. You can look at all other sports, it doesn't happen. "We didn't play well, we kept a clean sheet. If it had been a group stage, we would have had a point and OK, let's call that growth." Ireland did hit the woodwork twice through Nathan Collins and substitute Jack Taylor either side of half-time, but were indebted to debutant goalkeeper Max O'Leary for saves from Danel Sinani and Vincent Thill, and Hallgrimsson was particularly unimpressed with the opening 45 minutes. He said: "We were really disappointed with the first half. It was actually just boring, there was nothing happening in the first half. "We didn't play well, but we played away and didn't concede a goal, so even though we are not playing our best, if we can get points and maybe wins, that's a good sign."
Irish Examiner
11-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Heimir Hallgrimsson: 'I'm not going to hang or execute anyone for that performance'
After some spurned the opportunity in Luxembourg of being on Ireland's ticket towards the Land of Opportunity, the manager deemed it a minor hiccup rather than reality check. 'I'm not going to hang or execute anyone for this performance,' stressed Heimir Hallgrimsson about a stalemate that eroded progress from wins over Bulgaria and drawing with a superior Senegal side last Friday. 'We're not too shy to say it but if we are going to qualify for the World Cup, we must do better than that.' An evening that began sluggishly was almost rescued at the death when a thunderous drive by substitute Jack Taylor rattled the underside of the crossbar and bounced out. Still, in the overall context of what the Icelander views as his imprint for a qualifying group containing Portugal, Armenia and a Hungarian side they welcome for the opener on September 6, this wasn't the note to sign off the summer on. 'Let's say we wanted the same performance as against Senegal,' Hallgrimsson outlined. 'There was a lot of energy in that game — plenty of quick actions, forward thinking and counter pressing. It was totally missing here. 'Whatever it is, we need to analyse us. Did we prepare them correctly for this game? Do we need to change? That's a negative, or disappointing. That we didn't continue with the same momentum we got in the earlier games.' Nathan Collins has a header on goal under pressure from Seid Korac of Luxembourg. Picture: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile Notwithstanding the mitigation of missing five regulars, the absence of building blocks in a first half he branded 'boring' concerned the manager so soon to the competitive action. 'We talked at half-time that it wasn't about tactics or formations,' he began. 'It was more about attitude. Are you willing to do the work that's necessary? The basics that are necessary in a football game? No matter who you play, no matter whether it's a competitive or a friendly game, you need to do the basics. 'You need to deliver all the work that's necessary. That was just missing; the basics. 'Credit to the players for changing in the second half. There was more momentum, power and energy yet we were not happy. 'It felt like steps had been taken. I think we took, maybe not a step backwards, but we didn't take the next step. 'It would have been nice to have a good performance. I don't mind if we would not have won but I would have liked a better performance.' His captain Nathan Collins concurred, albeit adding the asterix about the rigours of a long season. He'd played every Premier League minute for Brentford but didn't use it as an excuse. 'A lot of things weren't right,' he acknowledged. 'Beforehand, we said we needed to avoid that end-of-season friendly feel. We didn't want to be as passive, to get after them more but we weren't at that. 'I'm physically tired, but I'm more mentally tired. I doubt I'm the only one in that boat but I know this team has so much more to give.' From passive to massive characterises the stakes looming at the end of a three-month international hiatus. Hungary will have two components of the defending Premier League champions Liverpool when Milos Kerkez's €60m move from Bournemouth finalises this week. Ireland will face off against left-back Milos Kerkez and Dominic Szoboszlai next. File picture: Adam Davy/PA Wire His new clubmate Dominik Szoboszlai scored the Magyars' winner in their friendly in Azerbaijan to halt a slump of five defeats in six games. Hallgrimsson should have his full deck to pick from when that double-header, which concludes away to Armenia, comes around. 'These are clever boys so there's no need to shout,' the manager said about channelling his disappointment. 'Whatever I would shout now would probably be gone by the next time we meet up. 'I would have been 100% confident two hours before full-time but this is also football. 'You can be a much better team and still lose a match. 'I'm not going to take too much from this because we have had a steady growth and there are so many factors that could have produced a little bit lower quality performance than we did.' Within his broader scope, embracing the structural improvements over his 10 games at the helm since last September, he's reason to be optimistic. Ireland were out of the competitive running early in their last four campaigns, World Cup, Nations League and Euros under Stephen Kenny and the incumbent's Nations League tilt. They can't afford to be left chasing come September 10. 'People might say we can get a draw against Hungary and win in Armenia but probably it would be worse if it was the opposite,' he contended. 'Four points would be okay for a good start. Yet six is what we'll aim for.' Read More Nathan Collins happy to see Ireland carry momentum into World Cup qualifying
Irish Daily Mirror
11-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Stephen Bradley says he left Ireland interview after FAI bosses turned up late
Stephen Bradley has revealed that he left an interview for the Republic of Ireland manager's job after FAI bosses were late for the 40-year-old, who has led Shamrock Rovers to four League of Ireland titles, interviewed for the vacant national team role after the departure of Stephen Kenny. Bradley told Off The Ball: "I was approached through back channels at the start, asking if this was something that I would be interested in, and having that conversation."Obviously the answer was yes. So a meeting was set up between myself and Mark Canham and Jonathan Hill, and unfortunately both Mark and Jonathan were late for the meeting, 15 minutes late, so I left." He added: "That probably summed up how serious the interest was for me to have the job, which I found disrespectful and not good enough, to be honest with you. "If I was someone who they were really serious about having that job, they would not have been late for that meeting." Bradley's long-time assistant manager Glenn Cronin offered his own perspective on the incident. Cronin said: "When he [Bradley] spoke to me about it, initially he said, 'You're going to kill me.' And I said, what? He said, 'I came off the call.' "I asked him why. He said, 'They left me waiting, whatever amount of time it was'. And I thought, good, that's how I felt really. "It's not an arrogance, it's respect. They wouldn't leave Jose Mourinho waiting 10 minutes. He was there on merit, and deserved to be respected the same as everyone else, but he wasn't. "He's no less valuable than anyone else, so I think it was the right thing to do." Despite ultimately seeing Icelander Heimir Hallgrimsson be given the Ireland job, Bradley has not been deterred from his ambition to manage at the highest level. Although his biggest priority remains the health of his son, Josh, who was diagnosed with leukaemia at the age of eight in 2022. "I've made no secret of the fact that I want to manage at the highest level. I want to manage at the highest level possible, and that's my ambition, that's my hunger, that's my desire. "Has there been opportunities in the last few years? Yeah, there have been opportunities, but the personal circumstances don't allow for that. "Please God, in the future we get good news and the whole picture becomes clearer. In the last two and a half years, there's no job in the world that would have taken me away from my family situation." Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email.
