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
Author: Alan Burnett
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
Daily Victorian : Dressed Up In Ludlow
These days certain activities have become everyday events. We can take endless photographs with our smart phones without a second thought. We can walk into a supermarket and buy a change of clothes for little more than the cost of a packed lunch. For a Victorian Lady, however, a new dress would mark a milestone … Continue reading Daily Victorian : Dressed Up In Ludlow
Nine Distilleries. 3. Kilchoman
If Distillery No. 2 - opened in 1881 - was a young Islay distillery, the third in my series is positively neonatal. Kilchoman Farm Distillery only began production in 2005 and its first single malt whisky didn't go on sale until September 2009. New it may be, but it is a bit of a gem: … Continue reading Nine Distilleries. 3. Kilchoman
Daily Victorian : A Working Man From Brighouse
Today, our Daily Victorian has the look of a working man about him. Class can be an important aid in dating early photographs : in the 1850s the subjects tended to be the famous, in the 1860s and 1870s it was the rich and then the middle classes, and by the 1880s and 1890s prices … Continue reading Daily Victorian : A Working Man From Brighouse
Nine Distilleries : 2. Bruichladdich
The second of the nine distilleries was Bruichladdich on the Rhinns of Islay. Built in 1881 - comparatively recently in Islay terms - it was the creation of the Harvey Brothers of Glasgow. It was designed by brother John, engineered by brother Robert, and financed by brother William. Despite its "modern" design, the fortunes of … Continue reading Nine Distilleries : 2. Bruichladdich
Daily Victorian : Under Distinguished Patronage In Sheffield
If you take a man away from his desk for a week and isolate him in the Scottish wilderness with nothing to do other than sample rare malt whisky, he gets to thinking up new projects he can embark on when he returns to the safety of his study. For some reason, I decided to … Continue reading Daily Victorian : Under Distinguished Patronage In Sheffield
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