Like the last helicopter out of Saigon, the departure of? Sgeir's jet symbolised the end of an era, the last act of Iceland's debt-fuelled spending spree.

By design as well as luck, much of continental Europe avoided the debt-fuelled housing bubbles that popped spectacularly in Britain and America (though Spain did not, see article).

Both these booms were fuelled by debt, another reason why Britain looks particularly vulnerable now.