This week my wife and I are tourists enjoying the delights of Iceland. The name of this country has nothing to do with ice; it is simply the Icelandic word for 'Island'. In the history of language the English added an 's' to the Germanic word 'eiland' meaning 'land surrounded by water', but the 's' has never been prounced.
Islands are defined by more than just the water that surrounds them. Alcatraz and Babados have very different connotations. Robben Island became known to the world as the prison where Nelson Mandela spent 18 years being shaped into the leader he became.
