Bowmore - the last of my Islay distilleries - is a bit special. It is situated in the town of the same name; or at least what passes for a town on Islay. It has a tasting room with views to die for and malt whiskies to make your passing entirely painless. It is one … Continue reading Nine Distilleries : 8. Bowmore
Month: November 2018
Nine Distilleries : 7. Caol Ila
I wanted to go to the Caol Ila Distillery for two reasons. First, it would count towards my full set of Islay distilleries, and second, I was desperate to know how to pronounce it! For years, I have been going in pubs, seeing a bottle of Caol Ila behind the bar and being reluctant to … Continue reading Nine Distilleries : 7. Caol Ila
Daily Victorian : A Good Book And A Black Crepe Dress
This is a Cabinet Card which must date from the last decade of the nineteenth century and it comes from the Kingston-On-Thames studio of Fred Palmer. Written on the reverse is "Gt Grandma Hinton (Watts)". I have had a quick look to see if I can see any obvious descendants, and not been able to … Continue reading Daily Victorian : A Good Book And A Black Crepe Dress
Daily Victorian : That Look
A carte de visite from the 1880s from the Edinburgh studio of James Good Tunny. The subject of the photograph is unknown, but that look is unforgetable.
Nine Distilleries : 6, Bunnahabhain
It was the kind of day where Mother Nature decides that colour is an optional extra. The road we drove along looked as if it was heading directly to the end of the world with no option to pass Go. The distillery had the look of a half-abandoned film set; brooding in a way that … Continue reading Nine Distilleries : 6, Bunnahabhain
Nine Distilleries : 5. Lagavulin
We've all played this game: you are alone in a leaking hot air balloon above a crocodile infested lake. The only way to keep it from crashing is to progressively jettison the cargo - which comprises of twelve bottles of single malt whisky. Some are easily thrown over the side, others take more careful thought. … Continue reading Nine Distilleries : 5. Lagavulin
Sepia Saturday 443 : The Image Is The Key
The theme based nature of Sepia Saturday always encourages me to look at images as entities in themselves rather than as a portrayal of Aunty Clara, Uncle Walter or whoever. My Sepia Saturday contribution this week falls into the latter category - "whoever", for I have no idea who this particular piano player is. I … Continue reading Sepia Saturday 443 : The Image Is The Key
Daily Victorian : Halifax – Blackpool Axis
This is another studio portrait from the Halifax photographer, Edgar Gregson. Gregson had studios in both the seaside resort of Blackpool and the Yorkshire textile town of Halifax, which, on the surface, seems like a strange combination. By the later part of the Victorian period, however, mill workers were beginning to benefit from bank holidays … Continue reading Daily Victorian : Halifax – Blackpool Axis
Nine Distilleries : 4. Ardbeg
It was a bit of a black and white day when we visited the Ardbeg Distillery: the buildings were Islay white, but most other things including the clouds were black. Nevertheless the distillery complex managed to maintain the refined dignity of a maiden aunt, completely in keeping with an organisation owned by the Moët Hennessy … Continue reading Nine Distilleries : 4. Ardbeg
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