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Sunday, 09/Dec/2007

Islay Blogging Roundup #13

It has been a quite wet and windy weekend here in Swindon, what I hear from Islay is that it improved dramatically today after some extremely wet and windy days recently. The Met Office records for Port Ellen certainly show a vast improvement with the wind dying down. With the weekend drawing to a close I've got my large mug of tea and a few slices of home baked Bremer Klaben next to me (and a wee dram of Laphroaig Quarter Cask waiting for later), time for this week's Islay Blogging Roundup. What have the blogs been writing about Islay this week?

One of the bigger stories was the theft of 10,000 bottles of Bowmore. This was picked up as far away as Canada, where Robert writes about Terrible News from Scotland. The prize for the best illustration I think should go to Sweden, where Johan at the WhiskyGrotto has a quite funny illustration of the thief.

I mentioned Simon last week, who was just arriving on Islay then for some whisky distilling at Kilchoman Distillery. He has now completed the week and writes about his experiences in Islay: Smells Like New Spirit. While not impressed by the food on Islay he was certainly impressed by the whisky.

This time of year is probably not the right time for camping on Islay, but then the blog entry is about a visit during the summer (and was published in November, but I only found it this week). The Available Pitch Camping Blog writes about Islay - The Whisky Isle and their stay at Kintra Farm (they didn't have the time to visit the Port Mor Centre and Campsite). Some of the comments sound familiar, I've heard similar from other people ;-)

For the next blog you need to bring a bit of time (there's a lot to read) and be able to understand German. In nicht vor einigen Gläsern 16er Lagavulin ‘Chuck’ writes about how he discovered Single Malt Whisky (and in particular Islay malts), while the Man of Malt describes his experiences on Islay and the story of a (as yet unopened) bottle of Bunnahabhain Auld Aquaintance.

Claire & Patrick seem to travel quite a bit around the world, but the also found time for a visit to Islay and Jura in March. March for the migratory geese and because according to Patrick ‘the weather in the Hebrides is the same all year round anyway’.

What's the latest from the birds then? Well, apart from 230 Teal and 135 Tufted Duck spotted by the counters Catherine Fotheringham spotted a Golden Eagle sitting on a rocky outcrop in her garden. Over at Kilchoman there were 23 Greenfinches and 15 Goldfinches along with the House Sparrows, Blue and Great Tits spotted on the bird table. Not to forget another Golden Eagle when looking out of the kitchen window to the other side.
As mentioned earlier this week Jeremy Hastings has also joined the ranks of the bloggers under Islay Birding News. He reports from his birdwatching tours, mentioning cracking days with a Golden Eagle at Ardnave as well as horizontal rain and sleet yet spotting a Peregrine and watching it for an hour.

So what has Ron in the Netherlands been up to? He spotted that the Islay Movie "And it's Goodbye to Care" has been nominated for a movie award. He also obtained a lot information about the Isles of the Hebrides DNA Project by Linda Heron, which might be of interest for some people interested in genealogy and wanting to research their ancestry.

Last but not least the Bruichladdich Blog reports about the latest problems with the pier and oil delivery to Islay: Oil be Buggared! and Malin, Hebrides, Rockoil.

The whisky is now almost finished, as is this weeks Islay Blogging Roundup. As usual, for the bigger picture and Scotland in the blogs visit the Scottish Roundup, this week From Donorgate to Morrissey. That's all folks!

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