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Didòmhnaich, 28/Nov/2010
Islay Blogging Roundup #145
The end of November has arrived and with it the winter. While it hasn't really snowed yet in the south of England from where I'm writing this (it is rather cold for the end of November though) it certainly has caused a few problems further up north. I hear from various mentions on Twitter that there are significant problems travelling between Glasgow and Kennacraig, i.e. to and from the Islay ferry. With the weather forecasters promising more of the same I suspect we will hear more like it over the coming days. But now over to the blogs mentioning Islay:
The first mention of snow on Islay came courtesy of the Muasdale Holidays Reports, who in Bitterly Cold Day mention a dusting of snow on the hills of Islay. The Islay Natural History Trust blog followed with Snow shower over Loch Indaal and Snow reaches the Inner Hebrides... Gruinart also looks rather cold, as Gruinart scrape abandoned by avifauna shows. Ron has pulled together Winter and Snow on Islay - A Picture Slideshow.
After all that cold and snow you might want something warming, how about some Islay single malt whisky? Whisky Story continues their journey with Lagavulin Distillery, Islay while Electronic Moon tasted the An Turas Mor (which rapidly is becoming one of my favourites as well). Now imagine you are in China and would like to enjoy a few Islay single malts, in that case Amilal – another great whisky hangout in Gulou might be the right place for you.
To help you with the various Bruichladdich expressions released over the years WHISKYFANBLOG.DE points out Einer behält den Überblick: Der Laddiecollector (that's laddiecollector.com if you don't speak German). Also in German Eye for Spirits tastes the Ardbeg Corryvreckan. The ardblog points out a Port Ellen Feis Ile 2008 zum Schnäppchenpreis, real bargain. The Bruichladdich Blog debates The Relevance of Water and points out Bunna - Not Chilled Out.
Finally there's a slightly unusual recommendation for Laphroaig to be found in The Complete Lunatic's Guide to the 5 Best Sipping Whiskeys on Cracked.com (go to #3 if you don't want to read the whole thing). Mattias from Sweden cooks with Laphroaig, in Whiskyflamberad Renskav you can find out what (you might need help to translate it though, I did).
A few travelogues: The Geologist Abroad has visited Islay and tire-bouchon is dreaming to return to Islay...
For the bird- and wildlife watching let me start with John Islay Birder Armitage, who on his Islay Wildlife blog has a fantastic picture of two otters in It ain't half ottery, Mum! (click on the picture for full size). He also wonders How many rare birds do we miss? On the Islay Birds blog we find lots of Barnacle Geese feeding at night and three Jackdaws on a wall. More importantly Wednesday saw the 1000th entry since the blog was launched in May 2007, congratulations to Ian and all his contributors! In addition to snow mentions the Islay Natural History Trust blog also has Wildfowl Weather and is Feeding the Birds. Carl also posts some interesting thoughts on An empty landscape and provides an update on the Shorefield Project - Fixing up the dry-stane wall.
In other news the Islay Energy Trust has a Questionnaire on Argyll Offshore Wind Projects and in Kids paint a picture for St Andrew’s Day Engage for Education reveals the winners of a poster competition (James Adams, Scott Kinloch, Ruby Miller and Danni Barker of Port Ellen Primary School were runners up, their picture is the second to last in the gallery). Ron points out there are Awards for Scottish Ferry Company Calmac, which of course serves Islay.
Finally the pictures: Islay Beach at Dusk by Long Exposure Techniques looks very nice. On Big Sky Photos we find Across Kilnaughton Bay towards Port Ellen and Early Morning Kilnaughton Bay. On the INHT blog is a nice picture of a Sunrise in Port Charlotte this morning (which was Thursday). Ron has Heatherhouse on Islay seen from the Bunnahabhain Road and Shower Arriving on Islay. On Mark's Islay Photography Gallery I love The Big Strand, the colours and reflections are amazing. From my own Islay Pictures photoblog I think I'll go for the Traigh Baile Aonghais Beach and Dune Panorama and the Bunnahabhain Distillery Panorama, Isle of Islay.
I think that's it for today, I hope I haven't missed anything important. As usual the reference to the Scottish Roundup, today with Clinging to November… Good night for now!
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