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Didòmhnaich, 07/Feb/2010
Islay Blogging Roundup #110
That's the first week of February already over, time seems to fly this year. Surely can't be long until spring arrives now? The days are certainly getting noticably longer now. Now to this week's Islay blogging roundup, what have the blogs been writing about Islay and Jura this week? Where did Islay and Jura make the headlines?
To start with one of the Islay ferries, the ‘Isle of Arran’ had a bit of a mishap and hit the pier in Kennacraig. Not surprisingly (as he's very interested in the ferries) Ron picked that up quite quickly. He also engages in some wild speculation about the Overland Route: Via Jura to Islay. I haven't read the article in The Ileach but to me this seems rather strange. To make it viable I would assume the road on Jura would have to be upgraded, which won't come cheap either.
Next (and for me personally much more interesting, but that's just me) was the success of the Islay High School FilmG entry, winning two awards at the event in Inverness. Thanks to @islayian who provided regular updates from Andy Wallis through the evening I could at least mention it on Friday evening. The ForArgyll website also picked up on the awards in Islay High School wins not one but two FilmG awards. I'm sure more will be written about it once the first reports appear.
What next? How about some whisky? To start with a new word I learned (and half forgot again) this week, entelechy. Mentioned in Scotch Whiskey Society of the San Francisco Bay Area: Laphroaig Quarter Cask (and I leave you to look up entelechy). The Edinburgh Whisky Blog asks why exactly is Smokehead so dear? Interesting question keeping in mind the Islay competition seems generally cheaper. Blair to Promote Ardbeg? asks the Bruichladdich Blog in a week where John Hansell announces the Ardbeg Corryvreckan is his Single Malt of the Year.
And while Ardbeg announces a new whisky with a name happily picked up by the whisky blogs Here comes Ardbeg Rollercoaster! the other one with faible for dodgy names (of course Bruichladdich distillery) reports of Precarious work after last week's Ugly Betty.
Claire claims I am a terrible blogger but I have to disagree, after all she's writing wonderfully about a winter visit to Islay. Elliott of Islay Sea Shipping has news of the M.V Ben Ellan bringing road salt, hopefully that's mostly for next winter? The Islay Energy Trust blog has a short report from the Reid Kerr College visit to Islay.
I usually don't mention the Scottish Roundup until the very end, but this week I need to make an exception: Duncan Stephen created the Scotblogs Awards 2010 and over the last week and a half presented the winners overall and in the categories. With Ron's Islay Info Weblog and the Islay Birds by Ian and his contributors two Islay related blogs made it into the Top 100 Scottish blogs (out of 147 blogs) as well as the Top hyperlocal blogs. This was also picked up in Contently Managed, which wrote Blog awards show the healthy state of Scottish blogging, mentioning ‘What was really good to see though was that – especially in the hyperlocal category – it wasn't all about the Central Belt with Islay and the islands in particular doing well.’
Speaking of the Islay Birds blog, on Monday it reported the local Big Garden Birdwatch results as well as the January weather stats, followed on Wednesday by a nice picture of Greenland fronted geese. Later in the week 18 Fulmar were spotted, so watch the weather… John Islay Birder Armitage says Have your say!! before going to a Woodland wonderland and then taking a short break.
Pictures: Ian Besch hinted about a new blog with Islay picture in the comments to the Richard Childs' Islay Pictures and Course entry, but I don't think it's online yet, at least I haven't found it so far. So Winter Sky – Islay on The Sensual Eye to start with this week. From the same blogger (but on a different blog) come Bowmore Reflections 3 and Bowmore Reflections 4. On Jura Picture of the Day we find Caught by the sea while on Ron's photoblog we get to see Islay House and Bruichladdich.
On Mark Unsworth's Islay Photography Gallery we find a series from Ardbeg distillery, including the Washbacks, Ardbeg 3 and a Sunburst at Ardbeg. From my own Islay Pictures photoblog I think my favourites were the Buzzard in Flight and the Dramatic Clouds over Kilchoman Church, Isle of Islay.
I think that's it. Hope I haven't missed anything worthy. Of course there's still the obligatory reference to the Scottish Roundup in the last paragraph, for the bigger picture this week read The SNP’s third Scottish budget. Good night!
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