I is for Igloo
Before now, my only frame of reference for igloos was from science books which advised that they were a very effective way of keeping warm in polar regions and other cold places. Although I’d never been inside one, I often imagined the feeling of relief and shelter from hostile weather conditions. The aforementioned science books always had appealing blue and white illustrations depicting the kinds of places one would find such a structure. The more informative ones would also show you how to build one from polystyrene or ice-cubes or paper.
In retrospect, I read about them so much as a child that I assumed they were commonplace in every country, even if they were just made out of polystyrene or lego or cardboard.
Having never seen a real one first hand, you can imagine my surprise when one materialised on Queen Street. The day was altogether torrid and yet this structure was entirely unaffected; not a sign of melting or misshapen blocks.
The newspapers called it a mystery. Others called it magic, or an elaborate Scandinavian plot to take over the Southern Hemisphere. My first assumption was that it was a marketing gimmick, something cynical and crass but I was wrong. Unfortunately, it looked like the world was having a few more hiccups than we thought.