PW_04_2017

Article

Iceland Honeymoon and Visit Never one to miss an opportunity, Birmingham Branch Chair Andy Gregory sought out an IPA meeting while on his honeymoon in Iceland.

Einar’s West Midlands Police hat

I n 2008, IPA Iceland President Einar Guðberg Jónsson visited the UK and spent a few weeks with West Midlands Police Operational Support Unit (OSU) and was looked after by then IPA branch secretary Martin Sewell. During that visit Einar was introduced to Andy who was at the time a uniformed Sergeant. Knowing that Andy and Joanne would be visiting Iceland on their honeymoon in 2017, Martin suggested Andy make contact with Einar prior to their visit in July. Contact was made through Facebook and Andy and Einar arranged to meet in Reykjavik the day after arriving. Andy and Joanne took the unusual step of taking their four children on their honeymoon with them. Andy said “this wasn’t just our wedding and honeymoon, but we saw it as the joining of our two families and it’s probably the only chance we’ll get to take our four children away with us, without their partners, boyfriend, girlfriends etc”. Joanne and Andy, as well as Joanne’s two children Sarah (24) and John (21) and Andy’s two sons, Louis (25) and Oliver (21) met Einar for a coffee on the Sunday afternoon and were able to quiz him about the sites they should visit during their week-long trip. Einar recommended suitable locations and marked them in the travel guide maps. Having spent a couple of hours with Einar he suggested they pay a visit to the Lebowski Bar in Reykjavik for an evening meal. The bar is a themed-pub based on the film ‘The Big Lebowski’, featuring John Goodman, Steve Buscemi and Jeff Bridges. After the meal, Einar offered to show his English guests his workplace at Reykjavik Police Headquarters and the group walked across the city with a guided tour en route to the Police building. Einar is a Detective Chief Inspector; he explained about his role, the history of the Icelandic Police Service and showed everyone around the building; Joanne and Andy’s children especially enjoyed seeing the cells and police vehicles. In Einar’s office he showed Andy his collection of IPA and Police memorabilia from across the world, including the West Midlands Police helmet he was presented with by Chief Constable Chris Sims during his visit in 2008. Andy said “The IPA in Iceland is thriving. Their section is 54 years old and they have nearly 500 members. They have a small police service for their beautiful island, but most officers are encouraged to join the IPA as soon as they join the police. Almost all their officers are also IPA members, which is really encouraging. Following the advice of Einar, Andy, Joanne & family visited the black lava sandy beach of Vik and the beautiful waterfalls of Skogafoss

Andy said “We had our own ideas and plans of where to visit during the week, but it was great meeting Einar and getting his first-hand knowledge of some other sites we hadn’t even considered. It is so beneficial having an IPA friend in a foreign country to give advice and it was fantastic seeing Einar during our stay in his wonderful country. We can’t wait to visit Iceland again as there’s so much to see’. The word Lögreglan on the front of the police vehicles translates into ‘Law and Order‘.

Andy and Einar exchanging gifts

Joanne, Andy and family checking the Cells in Reykjavik Police HQ

and Seljallandsfoss in Southern Iceland, as well as Snæfellsjökull National Park and volcano and the pretty fishing village of Hellnar about 120 miles north of Reykjavik.

POLICE WORLD Vol 62 No. 4, 2017

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