I pulled the car up, climbed out and took this photograph.
Of course there are countless mountain passes where one could do such a thing and see rocks and more rocks. But this was not on a mountain pass. It was on a flat road through what might be, in most parts of the world, fields, meadows, houses, farmland or woodland. This is Iceland though, and this is rock, and volcanic rock at that.
That Iceland, with a population similar to a London Borough, should be at the World Cup while the world's four most populous nations are not is itself quite miraculous. That they have achieved so much not only from a small population but in such a geological and climatic background is almost incredible.
In their opening game Iceland scored and drew with the famed footballing nation of Argentina. How do they do it? Perhaps the picture holds a clue.
For looked at quickly and without local insight the sight stretching off into the distance is, somehow, green. This was deep winter and if you visit Iceland in summer the green can be overwhelming so that the rock is invisible. It is, of course, moss.
When dried it could be used for bedding or to insulate housing structures. Life is so persistent, so innovative, that a large area with no soil at all can still be very green.
The Icelandic football team, together with nature, remind us that a promising environment is not necessary for success.
It is a thought that, as a Christian in London in 2018 I find uplifting too.
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