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Disathairne, 28/Jan/2012
Islay's Bruichladdich on YouTube: LaddieTV
Kind of a follow up to yesterday's Friday Islay Picture #226 - Filling a Bruichladdich Valinch entry. In it I mentioned I was going to take another look at the laddietv YouTube channel I came across yesterday. As a Saturday evening is a good time to enjoy a wee dram of Islay single malt I decided to pour myself a PC 9 and have another look. Starting with one of the most important releases for Bruichladdich, the first fully self distilled 10yo since the reopening:
YouTube: Jim McEwan tasting The Laddie Ten whisky from Bruichladdich
I just love listening to Jim McEwan talking about his creations, similar to the Bruichladdich Black Art I enjoyed and linked to last night. There is also a video for a whisky not released yet as of writing this:
YouTube: Jim McEwan tasting Octomore 4.2 Comus at Bruichladdich
Other videos on the channel include an older (it's from 2003, how young Mark and Jim look ;-)) video about how to enjoy Islay single malt whisky and an introduction to Bruichladdich Distillery by Crows Nest Films.
This channel certainly looks promising and I hope there will be many more interesting videos. I haven't seen anything ‘official’ from Bruichladdich about it yet, so I just have to have faith in the claim on the channel of it being the ‘official YouTube channel of Bruichladdich Distillery, Islay.’…
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28/Jan/2012: Islay's Bruichladdich on YouTube: LaddieTV
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Dihaoine, 27/Jan/2012
Friday Islay Picture #226 - Filling a Bruichladdich Valinch
So there we are, the last Friday Islay picture. No, not for ever, just for January 2012. Because next Friday will be in February already. Earlier this evening I came across the laddietv YouTube channel of Bruichladdich (more about that some other time, as it's called Friday Islay picture, not Friday Islay video), so I decided to pick a Bruichladdich related picture:
Yes, those are my hands, filling a bottle of Bruichladdich straight from the cask back in 2009. While I filled the bottle (which I still have) in June this was the festival valinch, the cask was empty soon after. It's not the one I'm drinking tonight (I'm not planning to open that bottle for a while), instead I'm having a wee dram of the Bruichladdich Black Art Jim McEwan is tasting in this video. A most enjoyable whisky!
With that I wish you a great weekend! As usual I'll post a larger version of the picture on the Islay Pictures photoblog on Saturday morning. For now all that's left is to say good night!
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27/Jan/2012: Friday Islay Picture #226 - Filling a Bruichladdich Valinch
Diardaoin, 26/Jan/2012
Islay Kite Aerial Pictures Revisited
When I wrote about the pictures of Oronsay last week I also mentioned the Islay Kite Aerial Pictures entry from 2008, as the aerial picture of Oronsay Garden was from someone I had mentioned before. As I very much like James' pictures I thought this would be a good opportunity to revisit his Islay pictures:
To start with there's of course James Gentles' Kite Aerial Photography website, for impressions of his work turn to the Gallery. The Islay and Colonsay pictures can be found in the 2008 Gallery. In addition James has uploaded many of the pictures (including some of the Islay pictures) to his gentles.info's photostream on Flickr. I found the following:
- Kildalton Church
- Kilchoman Church
- Bowmore, Islay
- mentioned last week: Oronsay Garden
- Machir Beach Wreck, Island of Islay (I think this one is my favourite)
I hope James and his family will return to Islay soon for more pictures, I think they are absolutely brilliant. Hope you'll like them as well (or enjoy another look if you've seen them before in 2008).
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26/Jan/2012: Islay Kite Aerial Pictures Revisited
Diciadain, 25/Jan/2012
Colonsay Popcorn
And now for something completely different. Not Islay related and only at a push really Colonsay related. I can't even be 100% sure it was filmed on ‘our’ Colonsay, although the landscape seems to look right. But after playing far too long with my new toy this evening I thought this quirky video I came across a while ago was just right for this evening:
I hope you've enjoyed the video, now you can either sit down (if you joined in) or start jumping up and down (if you haven't joined in yet).
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Dimàirt, 24/Jan/2012
Islay Maltings and Distillery Tour Video
OK, how about a tour of the maltings in Port Ellen as well as the distilleries on Islay this evening? Admittedly only on video, but still. Well, you don't really get a choice, as that's what I'm going to post tonight. Follow Per, Kaj, Tommy and Pär (at least that's what I think their names are from the title of the video) on their tour around Islay:
Hope you enjoyed joining the Swedes on their tour of Islay in November 2011, looks like they certainly enjoyed it.
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24/Jan/2012: Islay Maltings and Distillery Tour Video
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Diluain, 23/Jan/2012
Accordions for Islay Children Appeal
Islay is very musical island, examples include the Islay Pipe Band, The Islay Sessions and while it seems to have changed to a whisky festival for some people the original Islay Festival - Fèis Ìle or to give it its full title The Islay Festival of Music & Malt is mainly about music. This is also where this appeal is linked to, to help keeping a musical tradition on Islay alive:
I'm not sure how long we've been following each other on Twitter, but last year I briefly met Christine (or @columbastrail on Twitter) in Kennacraig. She works for fèisean nan gàidheal, which ‘supports the development of community-based Gaelic arts tuition festivals throughout Scotland.’ This includes music tuition, leading to the tweet which caught my eye on Thursday last week:
Island of Islay children asking twitters to help them find 6 #accordions for a #tradmusic project. Can the #Twitter community help!
Some background for this request: Fèis Ìle was providing accordion lessons to a group of Islay children. They were using accordions borrowed from a Dunoon group but they now need the accordions back leaving the Islay children with no accordions. Christine turned to Twitter to ask for help and has already had some success:
Twitter has yielded 3 #accordions for #Islay #tradmusic kids. A big thank you. Still need 3 more, come on tweeps fantastic work
In other words, 50% of the target has been reached, but I'm sure 100% is possible if we keep spreading the word. It's already spreading from Twitter: newsnetscotland is reporting Twitter helping Islay children with accordion plea and ForArgyll writes Any spare accordions to help musical children on Islay?
If you have a spare accordion (or two, or three) you can either donate or loan, you can get in touch with Christine via Twitter (@columbastrail) or if you're not on Twitter you can email her at christine@feisean.org. Even if you can't help directly please help by spreading the word. I'm confident by the end of the week Christine can report success with six accordions having been found for the children on Islay.
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23/Jan/2012: Accordions for Islay Children Appeal
Didòmhnaich, 22/Jan/2012
Islay Blogging Roundup #197
Over a third of the first month of 2012 already gone, time flies. Spotted some fresh shoots on bushes today, also took the first picture of some lambs born a week or two ago. Is spring coming early this year? Even did some birdwatching with a flock of Lapwings although unfortunately I only had the phone camera. But enough of that, back to the task at hand, the Islay Blogging Roundup, what did the blogs have to say about Islay this week?
Having somehow missed out James Deane Photography's entry last week I thought I better give him a belated mention after he came Online Again.
The Our Learning Blog of Port Ellen Primary is embarking on a new adventure with some Quad Blogging, there is also an introduction to PORT ELLEN PRIMARY SCHOOL now. With Robert Burns Day coming up very soon you might also be interested in their very own Address to a Haggis Poems.
For those interested in both fishing and whisky, Angling and Dramming is writing about their Fly Fish Islay Packages 2012. Kate on the other hand has been back to Islay over Christmas and New Year and writes about What a gale. Ron writes about Islay Croft Holidays - New Accommodation near Port Ellen and revisits Fiona Middleton and the Islay Seals.
A few Islay whisky related blog entries: The Scotch Cinema has some Ardbeg Spotted in "The Skin I Live In" and the Whiskyfanblog from Germany writes about The Islay Taste Map by Martine Nouet & Bowmore Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky. The Bruichladdich Blog has some interesting theories about the Vikings bringing whisky to Islay in Right Time Right Place. Mark also explain why the The Classic & The Laddie 10 have similar bottles. Diving for Pearls has a Single Malt Report: Bidding Bye-Bye to a Bowmore Bottle and Eldondo created a Fire-roasted BBQ sauce with Laphroaig QC. I don't know if it was the one Eamonn writes about in Saving the Laphroaig from the Taliban. Fredde tastes his 100th whisky with the Port Charlotte – PC8 Ar Dùthchas, 60,5%.
The Islay Birds blog brings us an extensive bird count by Bob from between Bowmore and Gartbreck, an interesting story about a Blackbird and a Sparrowhawk and a wet Friday while it's dry in Cambridge (while there's no hosepipe ban in Aldermaston Wharf as far as I know it's been quite dry here as well). The Islay Natural History Trust blog shows some Optimism and Wild snowdrops? There are also some Larus hyperboreus (I'll let you find out what they are if you don't know the Latin name).
To close the pictures: hong-an tran has scanned in some old pictures from a visit to islay 1997 (I'm fairly sure I've already linked to islay back in 2010). On his Islaystudios's Blog Mark Unsworth explains Photographic Presentation (he's also framed some unusual sized panoramas for me) while on his Islay Photography Gallery we find another version of Kilchiaran Bay. Ron in the meantime brings us the Kildalton Cross and an Afternoon at Machir Bay. Alf has been Taking a Bung. Scott Jessiman has some boats in Lagavulin Bay, All tied up. From my own Islay Pictures photoblog I think I'll go for Sunshine and Waves in Machir Bay, Waves Under Dark Clouds in Saligo Bay and A Long Fence, Isle of Islay.
That's it, as usual the link to the Scottish Roundup, this week with A hearty hotchpotch. Good night!
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22/Jan/2012: Islay Blogging Roundup #197
Disathairne, 21/Jan/2012
Must Be The Islay Whisky…
This evening I felt like another music evening, together with a nice Islay single malt whisky. Now the song isn't strictly speaking of Islay whisky (not even Scottish whisky), as it is called ‘Must Be The Whiskey‘, but KildaltonPete created a quite stylish video/ slide show for it using mainly Islay (distillery) pictures:
YouTube: Chip Taylor & Carrie Rodriguez - Must be the whiskey (whisky)
While both Chip and Carrie are from America they seem to have travelled extensively and played in Europe in various locations. May be they can be persuaded to visit Islay and write a new song about Islay whisky?
I hope you've enjoyed the song and the pictures, may be with a wee dram of your choice. My choice this evening is the Laphroaig Càirdeas (Ileach Edition), enjoyed with some dark chocolate.
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21/Jan/2012: Must Be The Islay Whisky…
Dihaoine, 20/Jan/2012
Friday Islay Picture #225 - Waves and Spray in Saligo Bay
Friday evening after a very long and tiring week, struggling to stay awake. But you deserve a Friday Islay picture, so I'm going to give you one. The one I've picked could admittedly been taken in many places, but I promise it was taken on Islay, in Saligo Bay to be precise:
This was taken on a mostly cloudy Sunday afternoon on Islay in late October 2007, spent first in Machir Bay and then later in Saligo Bay. The spray from the breaking waves is blown back by the breeze.
As usual I will post a larger version of this picture (double the size) on the Islay Pictures photoblog on Saturday morning. Until then: Good night!
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20/Jan/2012: Friday Islay Picture #225 - Waves and Spray in Saligo Bay
Diardaoin, 19/Jan/2012
Islay Whisky Auction for Vanessa Riddle
Something slightly unusual this evening: Yesterday evening Kate Ross from Bowmore on Islay contacted me and asked if I was willing to help with a fundraising activity she is doing at the moment. Kate is fundraising for the Vanessa Riddle Appeal in connection with the Neuroblastoma Alliance:
Vanessa Riddle is an 11 year old girl from Ayrshire with a rare form of cancer called neuroblastoma and needs special treatment in the US to have a chance of survival. You can read more about her case and some of the reports about the appeal and some of the support received already: Family of cancer girl Vanessa Riddle overwhelmed as fund raises £80k in five days, Vanessa Riddle fund smashes through £90,000 mark as Scots dig deep in first week of cancer appeal and Celtic boss Neil Lennon backs appeal to save brave Vanessa Riddle who needs life-saving treatment in the US. You can also read further background and the latest status of the appeal (as of writing this £111,175 had been reached of the £500,000 target) on the Vanessa Riddle Appeal JustGiving page. So where does Kate come in?
Kate has decided to support the appeal by auctioning off a bottle of the Laphroaig Limited Edition Cairdeas 2008 brought out during the festival in May 2008, given to her for the charity by Vicky Stevens. Any bids should be made to kathleen.ross@btinternet.com, all proceeds from the auction shall go to the Vanessa Riddle Appeal.
If you are interested and/or have any questions please get in touch with Kate, she'll answer all your questions and happily take your bids!
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19/Jan/2012: Islay Whisky Auction for Vanessa Riddle
