The case of the missing puffin

THERE were quite a few mutterings of discontent in Torshavn late on Wednesday night when it became clear that we were not going to get off the Faroe Islands until the next morning at the earliest.

“Nightmare” was one of the softer words that recurred, as the wind howled, the rain teemed down and the hotels did their best to provide another night’s shelter from the storm. I think some of my fellow travellers had a cheek. There are many reasons why the islanders of Ireland have no right to complain about the islands of Faroe, and here are just six of them:

1. The weather. Since we come from a land where, as somebody once said, his two favourite days are Christmas and summer, we hardly have any right to start giving out about a place in which four seasons can be experienced in one day. Or, to be fair, one hour.