Welcome to the SilverWood Books Blog Hop!
A few of our authors have come together to share a variety of articles and items of interest on their blogs for your enjoyment. There are some lovely giveaway prizes, and – to stay in keeping with the Spring and rebirth theme at this time of year – some colourful Easter eggs. Feel free to collect the eggs, and use them where you like. They were drawn by SilverWood author Peter St John who writes the ‘Gang’ series about a boy who was evacuated to a village near Ipswich during WWII. Meet Peter and his characters on the Blog Hop, along with a host of eggcellent SilverWood authors. 😉
Have fun!
Helen Hart
Publishing Director
SilverWood Books
http://www.silverwoodbooks.co.uk

Here is mine!

I’m writing this whilst drinking a bottle of Páskabjór – a beer brewed in Iceland especially for Easter. Unusually, it’s Cocoa & Seaweed beer. And it got me thinking about Easter in Iceland.

Easter in Iceland is less about the Easter Bunny (who doesn’t travel this far north, and if you think about it, what do rabbits have to do with Easter anyway?), and more about beer and eggs.

Let’s talk about the eggs first. A big deal in Iceland, these are not your usual supermarket eggs as found in the UK and US. They come in a range of sizes, and are decorated with Easter chicks and flowers. They even have fortune/proverb messages inside.

Drinking then. Easter is a five day holiday for Icelanders – Maundy Thursday until Easter Monday. Pubs and clubs close for twenty four hours on Good Friday and Easter Sunday, but don’t worry, there is a remedy for this. Either stock up for the weekend and disappear into the country, preferably to somewhere with a hot-tub and a BBQ, or get yourself to the ‘I Never Went South’ festival up in Ísafjordur, in the West Fjords. This free festival of music is the brainchild of Icelandic star Mugison, and this year is it’s ten years old. Another reason to have a drink or two.

In addition, First Day of Summer (Sumardagurinn fyrsti) is celebrated in Iceland on the third Thursday in April. I think I’m right in saying that this coincides with Easter this year.

Páska, is you haven’t already guessed, means Easter in Icelandic. Hence, Páskabjór (Easter beer), the celebratory páskalambið (Easter lamb) and Páskaliljur (Easter lily, otherwise know as a daffodil but rarely seen in Iceland at this time of year!). Beware though, Paska in Swedish has an entirely different meaning!

Back to the beer. Steðji Easter beer (Þari páskabjór) is brewed with cocoa and seaweed. I know. This shouldn’t work, but it absolutely does. Steðji say that ‘the he seaweed is from Breiðarfjörður and is very salty, the cocoa makes it milder and this combination gives the beer very nice sea taste’. They are right. It has a slightly peculiar aroma, but otherwise it is a pleasant drink – it’s a dark coloured beer with plenty of depth and intrigue. Perfect for drinking whilst browsing the internet for flights to Iceland.

And there are a host of other exciting and interesting articles – hop forward to the next SilverWood Author for more interesting articles, some colourful Easter eggs to collect, and a few Giveaway Prizes!

1. Helen Hollick : Let us Talk of Many Things – Fictional Reality.
2. Alison Morton : Roma Nova – How the Romans Celebrated Spring
3. Anna Belfrage : Step inside… – Is freezing in a garret a prerequisite?
4. Edward Hancox : Iceland Defrosted – Seaweed and cocoa
5. Lucienne Boyce : Lucienne Boyce’ Blog – The Female Writer’s Apology
6. Matlock the Hare : Matlock the Hare Blog – Pid-padding the self-published Pathway…
7. Michael Wills : Michael Wills – A Doomed Army
8. Isabel Burt : Friday Fruitfulness – Flees for the Easter Hop…
9. John Rigg : An Ordinary Spectator – Television Lines
10. Debbie Young : Young By Name – The Alchemy of Chocolate
11. Peter St John : Jenno’s Blog – My Village
12. Caz Greenham: Caz’s Devon Blog Diary – Springtime and hanging baskets!
13. Helen Hart : SilverWood Books

Also, as an Easter gift, please click here for a free, bonus chapter from Iceland, Defrosted!