Iceland Trip Account - Day 13

Day 13

• Second to last blog for this Iceland trip *crowd goes “Awwwww”*
• Today we had a lie in as we had no intentions on doing any expeditions of the grand variety for that day. I love that the French say “faire la grasse matinee” for “to lie in” which literally translates to “"to do the fat morning". Such a beautiful language.
• Despite having what the British would describe politely as “torrential rain” pouring down onto us, we did venture out of the house before lunch to walk to the nearby farm/campsite that was a couple of kilometers down the road to us called “Ulfljotsvatn”. There was a Scout camp and a quaint little church perched on the coast of the little lake that goes by the same name of Ulfljotsvatn.
• I stayed in the house after lunch whilst everyone else went shopping. I did want is known as a “coffee nap”, the idea being that you have a mug of coffee; have a twenty minute nap (in which time you have absorbed the caffeine); and you wake feeling more refreshed. Okay, I didn’t sleep, so I compensated by getting up and having another coffee.
• The remaining time of the day was, and has been, spent packing and being ready to fall out of bed, into a car then into an aeroplane. Even as I write this now, it is still raining. But it is a refreshing transition from holiday and to getting back home.
• Up at 3:00 so relaxing with a cup of tea and some reading before bed. Good stuff.

Iceland Trip Account - Day 11

Day 11

• Alex earnt us a little lie in this morning for his Birthday, so thank you for being born today when I needed some catch up sleep.
• Today was another hike. Everyone is getting a bit more tired everyday. I don’t think we’re used to being so active which is a bit embarrassing really! We started near the Reykjanes Peninsular where the walk started with a friendly reminder of some ground vents that were coughing up some nose-wrinkling sulphur smells so we were soon well on our way on the walk. The ground was bizarrely the most interesting aspect of this hike. The blends of iron deposits and dust volcanic rocks made for a unique scenery. Something out of a Sci-Fi, really, and it’s not the first time I’ve said that about Iceland.
• When it wasn’t dusty red tracks, the ground was laden with fluffy white/bluey kind of moss which was as comfortable as it was pretty. It made for a suitable lunch spot whilst we had lunch in front of a lake. I assume the colour has something to do with the volcanic deposits, but I couldn’t say for sure.
• In the evening we celebrated Alex’s 18th. Champagne, prawns and chocolate cake galore. It was great. We even fired up the garden’s barbeque to cook the fish in. Alex got some of his gifts too of course and now everyone is winding down with their own business as usual before bed. Good stuff.

Iceland Trip Account - Day 7

Day 7

• It’s 8:40 this time round. I think we are gradually accumulation tiredness. We're going to need a hybernation to catch up. But there is plenty to get through in the day. After yesterday’s escapade, my poor knees had received a bit of a battering. A bout of pain from “Patellar Tracking Syndrome” was well overdue. And I wasn’t the only one; dad and Francis both had their own knee issues. It’s like being on one of those pensioner’s escapes with everyone’s aches and pains. Bizarrely enough, I found that Alex’s tripod made for an excellent make-shift thigh massager and without it I don’t think I would have made it out the door.
• With the group being weighed down by 3 cripples and everyone being tired from the previous day's’ hike we took it easy today. A tour of the southern coastal towns was the perfect way to do so, hence first stop was Stokkseyri. Known primarily (and perhaps solely) for its former fishing port. The little village is protected by a small stone storm wall which made for a quant wonder whilst we snapped photos of old boats and... rocks.
• Eyrarbakki slightly larger than the previous Stokkseyri. It boasts the title of the best harbour in Iceland (during the early 1900s that is) though boats were not easily launched as there is a decent stretch of beach to them to sea first. Aside from sand and water, what makes this town unique is Iceland’s largest prison which is the main source of employment for those living locally. The houses built from the early 1900s still stand and were fairly picturesque.
• Lunch at 12:42.
• Grindavik was the last location before home [see map marker for location]. Just south of Keflavik (where the airport is) and 5km from the Blue Lagoon. This was a key trading centre back in the day. Enough so that it was raided on multiple occasions by pirates. Nowadays, large amounts of fish are caught and processed there. The local chippy scents waft through the town so with our pining stomachs calling for relief we headed home for spinach, omelettes and the remaining fish cakes. Good stuff.

At what age should we have the right to vote?

At what age should we have the right to vote?

By Sebastian Freke-Morin

Or shouldn't. This should equally be questioned.

With the explosive reaction of our nation, it has been close to impossible to escape the barrage of facts, fears and foreshadowing that have been brought about due to the “vote leave” campaign in Britain.

The result of this being that more and more people have developed an interest towards politics; most notably teenagers. Indefinitely being affected by the outcome as well as the country being in uproar, most minors (including myself) would like to get involved with discussions, debates and – most importantly – the ability to vote. So why can’t we?

UK Law states that voters must be:

·         18 or over

·         a British citizen, a qualifying Commonwealth citizen or a citizen of the Republic of Ireland

·         not be subject to any legal incapacity to vote

[Source: GOV.UK]

There are legal (and debatably cultural) restrains on us depending on our age. Examples include: age of consent, consumption of alcohol, learning to drive, some are banking limitations and the list goes on. Something that particularly stood out to me was joining the army. As my uncle put it “you can join the army and serve your country at 16 but you can’t vote for the change in your country?” – Sounds like dictatorship when you put it that way.

We are led to assume that this is due to our understanding of the world: that we understand the consequences that arise from said decision at said age. This applies to any of the laws mentioned before.

Something that frustrated me with the “vote leave” was the lack of research people had done from either side. Most people you ask would be incapable of stating at least 3 facts for both for and against leaving. Lots of people walked blindly into the polling station and ticked the box that had the most likes on Facebook.

I believe this is where the youth come in. 72% of eligible voters in Britain took a trip to the polling station on Thursday the 23^rd of June – which is more of a turn out than usual - including a greater number of youths.  Statistically [see graph 1] there were more young people between the ages of 20 – 40 that voted to remain.

[Graph 1. Source: Guardian News]

So the implicature here is that a lot of younger generations were more involved than usual. The way I viewed this was: facts > experience. Mirroring this for the older generations: experience > facts. We have grown up in a technological era where if we have a question we can turn to our trusty friend Google for some answers. Unlike older generations who are more likely to go by T.V., radio and newspapers as told by politicians and publishers.

With the vote turning out to be leaving this gives a nod the experience side of things this made me question why there is the age limit. The whole idea of democracy is that the public have a say in how the country is governed. The limitation of having to be 18 to vote contradicts that don’t you think? And if it’s a question of being well informed then where has this presumption that all under 18s are less informed than all over 18s?

The answer to that would be housing, banking and working. Post 18 we run wild in the world making our own way. However for someone like myself who is 17 years old, soon to make big decisions in my educative life, rent my first flat, start paying bills and, well, living like anyone else does, it would appear that I should have an equal say in what happens to my future as well.

But where does it end? 5 year olds at the polling station that can’t spell “Government” would be biased. But placing it 18 seems limiting to people’s rights.

Multiple people have raised the idea of a test. Hypothetically, if I were to make the decision I would say secondary school students should spend some time dedicating some of their education learning an unbiased political GCSE. This could include practical skills as well like mortgages, shopping, banking etc. All concluded in a test at the end that would give a rounded education in order to have an educated opinion on who or what to vote for.

At this point, post 16 when we start making decisions in our education we should have the right to vote.

Some claim that the elderly should not have the right to vote because "it's not their future". They have the equal rights to vote for the same reasons as we do. They still live in the country, pay taxes and everything else in between. 

There is no definitive answer so let me know what you think.

Seb

Twitter: @SebFrekeMorin #RightToVote