LONG before the war in Ukraine, I went to a place nearest to the North Pole together with my classmate Perry Pe and a few bosom friends. The North Pole as you know is the bailiwick of Santa Claus, the kingpin of Christmas mornings, even in a country as hot, as humid and as sultry as our sweltering republic.

After our arrival at Svalbard Airport, we boarded an arctic coaster which scooted us immediately to our destination. I was a bit confused about the sunlight until I remembered that we were in the land of the midnight sun where this celestial body at that time of the year is on the horizon almost 24 hours a day.