Another photo from my first research trip to Iceland. This is a real polar bear and I am genuinely in shock and awe at the size of the beast. The manager of gorgeous Hotel Ranga (in whose lobby the bear snarls) assures me that it is not by a long way the biggest. Paws like dinner plates! I'm five feet five inches tall and it wasn't on a plinth. Getting this close meant that I could describe the varied colours in the fur for a scene where ... Well. wait and see.