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Didòmhnaich, 14/Feb/2010

Islay Blogging Roundup #111

Islay Blogging Roundup in stencil

Should I put any significance into the fact that this is the 111th Islay Blogging Roundup, or number one one one? Probably not. I hear the weather has been fantastic all week on Islay, unlike down in the south of England from where I'm writing this, where is has mainly been grey and damp. Before I forget it: Happy New Year to any of my readers celebrating the Chinese New Year! But now back to the roundup, what have the blogs been saying about Islay and Jura in the last week or so?

Being single I don't really care about Valentine's Day, but there are many people on Islay and around the world who do. Mark Unsworth provided a fitting picture: Be My Valentine.

I suspect the odd wee dram of Islay single malt will be consumed today and possibly a few bottles be given as present. Smokes and Booze like the Friends of Laphroaig programme while Whisky Rating compares Laphroaig and Lagavulin: One Mile of Distance but Worlds Apart. Ron picks up on Ardbeg, Ardbeg and Islay Festival, three videos put up by the guys behind the Ardbeg Project.

The Bruichladdich Blog in the meantime spots Dan Brown’s Lost Symbol and comments on a Terminal Issue (for pictures go to the ileachnewspaper Flickr account and Damage to passenger walkway at Kennacraig as well as Damage to linkspan at Kennacraig). On the bristling badger I found an interesting analysis about the carbon footprint of whisky, several Islay mentions in there.

A Swiss group from the Smallest Whisky Bar on Earth visited Scotland this week and documented their stay in a series of entries: 07-02-2010, Islay-Bowmore-Bruichladdich, 9-2-2010 and again 9-2-2010 cover their time on Islay.

Speaking of visitors, several birders also visited Islay: Dave Bickerton from Lancashire started with En-route to Islay and continued with Goose-tastic, Eagle spectacular and The great Great Tit hunt. James Spencer from York went on a week of surveying and wrote about it in No Canadians here and Islay/Kintyre.

Of course the local birding blogs were busy as well, the Islay Birds blog bringing a picture of a Greenland Whitefront with a neck collar and a follow up with some background about the bird. There are also news from current and former RSPB site managers and wardens. John Islay Birder Armitage provides an update on the Gyr Falcon mystery as at 9.2.2010. He also explains and thanks The S.N.H. Sisterhood Rules, O.K.!! before pointing out some Passerine roosting behaviour.

In other news Ron provides an Islay Accommodation Update and the Islay Energy Trust writes about the ARC Socio-Economic Impact Assessment. Robert Fuller is a wildlife artist and writes about a Red Stag on Islay painting he has just finished (I wonder if I've mentioned him before, a quick search on his blog also brings up A good hare day from last year and he seems to visit Islay regularly). Andy Wallis writes about the FilmG Success! of Islay High School.

OK, on to the pictures: Port Ellen is this week's Islay picture on Photogenic Scotland while there's Machir Bay on Big Sky Photos. On Jura Picture of the Day I quite liked on shore closely followed by The palm trees are real.

We already had the Valentine's Day picture on Mark Unsworth's Islay Photography Gallery, I also quite liked Lower Killeyan and Frosted Peats. From my own Islay Pictures photoblog I think I'll go for April Morning at Machir Bay, Evening Sky over Gruinart and Walkers approach Sound of Islay near Rhuvaal.

I think that's it for this week. I've finished the Laphroaig Quarter Cask I was drinking while writing this roundup. The only thing left to do is the reference to the Scottish Roundup, this week with Grilled Sturgeon. Good night!

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