# Summer Job and a Police Investigation *16 June 2026 · newsletter no. 6* ([click here](https://0cd21327.sibforms.com/serve/MUIFAAH2QonpZQ48zXHF4DZlSw7tfdCh2Yn7Abw35VOpmVnB34Zll0VBz_RPJES6OxBjHbVxYLoABj0dmO98-MQk1wLlt9Bk5TyC9TB8EnwQPapmZreacsJZwcsDULHQtmFQ5XJaflCG7i81JmIVRfoseqOYRYyP-hblCaur_3aBfW7a3uGvEtblKowZYpYOICetVm_s6xxyoFN4) if you'd like to be on the mailing list and get a letter 3–6 times a year) *Íslenska: [[Fréttir/2026-06-16 Sumarvinna og Lögreglurannsókn|Sumarvinna og Lögreglurannsókn]]* ![[myndir/Fréttir/2026-06-16 Sumarvinna 0 - Boombox.jpg]] ## Gettoboys In the summer of 1988, when I was twelve, Sæi and I stole nearly a thousand copies of the newspaper DV from all over Breiðholt. Neither clever nor sensible. Boys don't become men unless they're allowed to run into walls of their own free will. Like many crime stories, this one is about addiction — cinema addiction. I grew up in Breiðholt, at Vesturberg 74, exactly halfway between Hólar and Fell. At Hólabrekkuskóli I met a bunch of wonderful, completely crazy teenagers who are still my friends today. One of them is called Sæþór, but has always been known as Sæi. We delivered papers in the mornings — Þjóðviljinn, Morgunblaðið… everything except DV. We got up at the crack of dawn and dressed half-unconscious in whatever was lying on the floor. Sæi was the hardest worker from day one. Deep down, though, I thought it was the most boring job in the world. ![[myndir/Fréttir/2026-06-16 Sumarvinna 1 - Breiðholt.jpg]] ## Pranksters In the summer of 1988 we knew nothing more fun than going to the cinema. Preferably Jackie Chan or Indiana Jones. The only problem was that the cinema cost money and we rarely had any. So we developed methods that were easier on the wallet. At Laugarásbíó, for example, we'd chip in for one ticket — whoever bought it went into the toilet and opened a window the rest of us could climb in through. The system worked for a few weeks, until one mate, slightly better fed than the rest of us, got stuck in the window. We tried to pull him out and push him in, but he panicked and started thrashing like a fish. Then the window broke. A few days later there was a new one — with bars. At Sambíóin we used forged tickets, but we got caught there too. So most routes into the city's cinemas were now blocked. One day Sæi and I sat discussing the matter and found a solution: we just needed to steal five copies of DV each and sell them downtown. DV cost a hundred krónur — five papers each meant cinema tickets, popcorn and Coke. We tried it and it all worked. For a few weeks we stole ten papers, sold them at a discount and went to the cinema. ![[myndir/Fréttir/2026-06-16 Sumarvinna 2 - Ég og Sæi.jpg]] *Sæi and me plotting* ## Entrepreneurs! As sometimes happens when things go well, the entrepreneur in us woke up. We realised we'd got pretty good at this and that it could be done on a bigger scale — more profit for less work. There and then, in our heads, we founded Gettocorp Ltd, where we were CEOs, owners and employees of the month. Why steal ten papers a hundred times when you can grab all thousand in one go? We knew exactly where the DV paper kids lived and where the bundles were left. The plan was crystal clear. We'd steal every copy of DV in Breiðholt, sell them and be so rich we could go to the cinema all summer, maybe well into the winter. We got up extra early one Saturday morning. Delivered our own papers first. Then we collected the DV bundles from steps and pavements all over the neighbourhood and moved them to a clearing between Upper and Lower Breiðholt. When we met there, bundles of papers lay everywhere. We felt like Pablo Escobar — except we were dealing in newspapers instead of cocaine. It soon became clear we could only carry about fifty papers per bag, two bags each. Of nearly a thousand papers we could therefore only take two hundred on the first trip. We went to separate entrances of the Kringlan shopping centre and sang out into the air: "DV for sale! A hundred krónur!" If people walked past we immediately dropped the price: "Fifty krónur!" And people bought. The papers flew out at a discount. ## Police investigation By noon the first batch was nearly sold out. Then the police showed up. One officer walked up to me and said good morning. I politely asked whether he'd like to buy a DV at a discount. That turned out to be a mistake. They found Sæi shortly after and drove us straight to the DV printing works in Brautarholt, where a group of angry adults was waiting. We were told an extra shift had had to be called in to reprint for all of Breiðholt. One woman said: "You've ruined the weekend!" "How many papers did you take?" "About fifty," said Sæi, full of confidence. "And where are the other nearly thousand?" asked the head printer, looking me straight in the eye. Then I broke down and started crying. But then I got angry at this printer and knew a lie was the only way out. Between sobs I said: "The big boys have the rest, we only got a few papers because we wanted to try it." That lie just came out of me like a sneeze that gives no warning. Then I cried some more, and the other officer put her arm around me and comforted me. In a few minutes she'd built a whole theory about organised crime — Sæi and I were suddenly victims, two little paperboys who'd fallen into the clutches of a gang. "How does this end, up there in Breiðholt?" Then the mood calmed down. The head of the printing works counted the money found on us, took the value of a few papers and gave us the rest — maybe two or three thousand krónur. I looked at Sæi. He looked at me and I saw a tiny grin. That grin said one thing only: "You're a bloody genius." The police were driving us home when they spotted a woman who was obviously drunk at the wheel on Suðurlandsbraut. Blue lights, radios, U-turn. The woman was stopped and put in the police car. Then the officers asked if we could take the bus home — they had to take her down to the station. We said we could. No problem. When they'd gone, the two of us stood there in the sunshine with a few thousand krónur in our pockets. Only two o'clock. We saw an opportunity. Walked across Laugardalur straight to Laugarásbíó, bought popcorn and Coke and watched Jackie Chan in *Dragons Forever* beating up evil drug barons. While the police were still looking for the big boys. > [!note]- Plugs – as they were in the letter > My theme this summer is to play outdoors as much as I can. It's so brilliant being with people in a beautiful place and playing music. I love it. > > The concerts usually start at 15:00 and last about an hour. People turn up with blankets or garden chairs and bring hot cocoa. In Vopnafjörður one supermum showed up with a table and laid out pastries, cream and sweets for herself and her people. Wonderful. > > I've done nine concerts and have 21 to go: > > - **17 June** · Hvammsvík Hot Spring > - **20 June** · Þingvellir (Bergmál) – the Kaleo-Þingvellir brilliance ❤️ > - **21 June** · Eyrarbakki – the garden at the Árnesinga folk museum > - **26 June** · Vestmannaeyjar, Skansinn – Heimaklettur in view! An adventure. 19:00 > - **27 June** · Akranes, by the lighthouse – view over the town and Faxaflói > - **28 June** · Reykjavík, Lottutún – in Elliðaárdalur by Elliðaárstöð, a lovely spot > - **5 July** · Þórsmörk, Básar – Básar is in Goðaland > - **11 July** · Akureyri, the Botanical Garden – one of my favourites > - **12 July** · Húsavík, the Park – always a joy to play for the people of Húsavík > - **18 July** · Hofsós, by the museum area – there on the slope, a brilliant spot > - **25 July** · Bolafjall in Bolungarvík – On top of the world!! > - **26 July** · Ísafjörður, Austurvöllur – the heart of town. I miss Ísafjörður and you :-) > - **1 August** · Hafnarfjörður, Paradísarlaut – behind St. Joseph's church > - **2 August** · Seltjarnarnes, Valhúsarhæð > - **3 August** · Öskjuhlíð, Unaðslautin – by Perlan, the bank-holiday Monday > - **8 August** · Borgarnes, Skallagrímsgarður – 14:00 > - **15 August** · Heiðmörk, secret location > - **20 August** · Sundlaugin at Hlaðir – swimming-pool concert at 20:00 in Hvalfjörður > - **23 August** · Guðmundarlundur in Kópavogur > - **29 August** · Selfoss, the town square > - **30 August** · Mosó – somewhere in the home field %% Þýðing á Fréttir/2026-06-16 Sumarvinna og Lögreglurannsókn.md í rödd Mugison, Claude 23. okt 2026. Mugison les yfir. %%