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Thursday, 02/Jul/2009
Old Port Askaig Islay Pictures
Regular readers quite possibly will be familiar with the name Neil F King. I've mentioned his pictures on Flickr on a number of occasions, in particular his Islay (or Islay ferry) pictures. Today I'd like to point out three more of his pictures, two of Port Askaig on the Sound of Islay and one of the ferry named after the sound:
Let me start with the Western Ferries ship from the late 1960s. Neil has dug out a great picture of the MV Sound of Islay. It shows her in a larger harbour with several cranes, I'm guessing somewhere on the Clyde may be?
Last year I wrote about Port Askaig in 1968 and 2008 with a picture by Kenneth Connell. Through Neil's scans we can go back even further. To start with we go back to Port Askaig some time between 1940 and 1960 (my guess from Neil's description). Quite interesting to see that the buildings are almost unchanged while the pier has changed quite a bit. And was that bollard once a cannon?
With the third picture we go back even further, to Port Askaig in the very early 1930s (presumably). Neil scanned the picture from a book published in 1933 describing cruises round the Hebrides in the 1930s, so I assume the picture is from just before 1933. The Paps look their usual self and the building on the pier also looks familiar...
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Wednesday, 01/Jul/2009
Noel Jenkins' 360° Islay Panoramas
It's always nice to be able to put a face and a voice to a name and in particular when I can link to something Islay related that person created. During the Education 2020 Unconference on Islay I attended a few weeks ago I had the pleasure to meet Noel Jenkins, geographer, teacher and author from Devon. Among the many things he does is photography, 360° panoramas to be precise, published on 360 Cities. During his visit to Islay he also completed three Islay 360° panoramas including this one of Port Askaig and the Sound of Islay:
The other two panoramas are both of Bruichladdich distillery: A view of the distillery from the courtyard and a fascinating look around the Still House at Bruichladdich distillery. If you can't visit the distillery in person they are almost like being there. Very well done!
On his way out to Islay Noel also took this panorama of Tarbert Harbour, Argyll and Bute, Scotland. Really nice view, brings out the fabulous location of the village very well.
For more from him you might want to take a look at his Digital Geography blog as well. I believe he's still looking for sponsors for his excellent work.
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Tuesday, 30/Jun/2009
Ali's Islay Pictures
Having just spent quite some time looking through Ali's view the decision what to blog about this evening was quite easy: Ali's pictures, in particular her Islay pictures. Alison and her family live in Northumberland, but from the looks of it travel in the UK regularly, including visits to Islay. While most of her Islay pictures are tagged with Islay not all are, so I'd like to point out a few more and some of my favourites:
One older picture is Sanaigmore pebbles, I like all the different colours and sizes in this picture. Probably from the same holiday is Islay Sea, waves snapped just at the right moment.
Much more recent, from May this year, is Walking with Dad. Anyone familiar with Islay's beaches will probably instantly recognise where it was taken. A great place for a walk.
The clouds and the ‘Opera House Rocks’ north of Saligo in the distance on Last light remind me a bit of the sunset timelapse I posted yesterday, the dark clouds coming in with the last light.
Let me finish with a question (and an appeal to the birders among my readers to may be help out?): Nest of eggs - a Tern perhaps?
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Monday, 29/Jun/2009
Saligo Bay (Islay) Sunset as Timelapse
With the current heatwave continuing on Islay (Port Ellen managed 23.4°C this afternoon from the looks of it) and the rest of the UK (I think we were in the high 20s down here today and the forecast is 30°C for Tuesday) many people look forward to the evenings when it cools down and the sun sets. Talking of sunsets, Ron posted his Islay Sunsets Video today, a collection of sunset pictures. I thought I'll add to that with a Saligo Bay sunset timelapse:
DirectSaligoBaySunset(Timelapse),IsleOfIslay
I've got the funny feeling some people will hate seeing the sunset ‘speeded up’ this way, others will like it. I think it at least partly demonstrates the fantastic changes of the colours over the 2.5 hours period the video covers (it runs from 20:15 to 22:45 hrs in mid June).
With hindsight I would have picked a slightly different spot to set up the camera, the sun didn't move as far north-west as I had thought. Unfortunately I didn't have the weather for another attempt this June, but there will be other visits.
Related entry/video: Islay Ferry Time Lapse Video
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Sunday, 28/Jun/2009
Cooling Down On Islay
Apologies if you were expecting an Islay blogging roundup this evening. It's far too hot and I'm too tired to compile one today. Looks like the (first) heatwave they have been promising for this summer has arrived in the UK. At least in Aldermaston Wharf from where I'm writing this it was 25°C+. Port Ellen seems to have managed 20.6°C late this afternoon, not bad for Islay. At least there's a quick remedy:
This picture was taken during the recent Islay Beach Rugby tournament, I'm guessing they were members of one of the participating teams cooling down after their (last?) game. The temperatures were probably similar to today then.
That's all I have for tonight, I hope to pull together an Islay blogging roundup over the next few days. Good night for now!
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Saturday, 27/Jun/2009
Wild Goats on Islay Video
While I've had a Sunday Islay Goat Picture (following on from an earlier Islay goat picture) I haven't had any moving pictures of the goats on Islay yet. Thanks to Deborah (aka ceallaighgirl) this is going to change, as she put a video of the wild goats of Islay running around on to YouTube:
DirectTheWildGoatsOfIslayRunningAround.
That's about it. I can't really think of anything else about them. So all I'm going to say is ‘Good night for now’.
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Friday, 26/Jun/2009
Friday Islay Picture #108 - Try in Rugby Lassie Cup Final
The last Friday Islay Picture was on the 5th of June, time to get back into them. I've picked another picture from my most recent visit to Islay. Earlier this week I blogged about the videos of the Laddie Cup final. As I don't have the equivalent video footage of the Lassie Cup from this years Islay Beach Rugby tournament here's at least a picture instead:
As usual I'll post the larger version (larger as in more than twice as big) on the Islay Pictures photoblog tomorrow morning. The picture shows a Hillhead player on her way to one of the seven tries they were going to score in the final against Cartha Queen's Park.
With that I'll close for today, have a great weekend whereever you are, on a beach on Islay or anywhere else in the world.
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Thursday, 25/Jun/2009
Russian Minis on Islay Revisited
With the original entry The Russian Islay Job? dropping off the front page today I thought it was a good idea to quickly revisit the ‘Mini People’ Mini Club Russia's visit to Islay. I'm not sure how he found it, but one of the Mini drivers discovered the blog entry and got in contact with me. Fedor was so kind to send me this picture:
Must have been a great feeling to match the car to the sign which inspired its decoration and the long journey. Fedor asked me to pass on his Thank you to all the Islay people who were so welcoming and make it such a great place. Visiting the festival and the distilleries was an unforgettable experience.
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Wednesday, 24/Jun/2009
Traffic Lights on Islay
Looking through some other pictures I originally wanted to blog about today (they can wait a few days now) I came across a few pictures of a rare sighting on Islay I took just over a week ago. No, not any rare birds or rare animal. Traffic lights. Usually the main reasons for having to slow down or stop on Islay apart from normal stops at junctions are the moving roadblocks. There are no permanent traffic lights on Islay. But recently there were (and may be still are?) a few temporary traffic lights in Bridgend in the centre of Islay.
I'm not sure what the roadworks were for (and if they are complete now), but a fairly long stretch of road between the junction to Islay House Square and Jimmy's including the bridge over the River Sorn had been reduced to single file.
Seeing those traffic lights reminded me of a story I heard a few years ago when there were road works with temporary traffic lights on the Low Road between Bowmore and Port Ellen: I can't remember who it was, but I was told someone jumped them (as there was no other car in sight anywhere) just the moment the policeman came over the hill. The policeman duly stopped him and gave him a ticket.
I'll let you decide what the lesson in all this is.
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Tuesday, 23/Jun/2009
Islay Beach Rugby Final Videos
As promised yesterday I'm going to show you two videos from the recent Islay Beach Rugby tournament today. They are both from the last game of the day, the final of the Laddie Cup (sponsored by Bruichladdich distillery) between Black Bottle and Loch Lomond. Other than all the other games with 4 minutes each way the final was played 7 minutes each way. I therefore created two videos, one for each half:
DirectIslayBeachRugbyFinal2009-1stHalf
DirectIslayBeachRugbyFinal2009-2ndHalf
The footage should cover around 95% of the actual game, I think I only missed a few seconds here and there. It's the first time I've filmed a game, apologies I wasn't always able follow the ball/action. I didn't zoom in too much as I thought it might be better to also see the movements of the other players. All the sound is original as recorded during the game (some of the supporters standing close to me were quite vocal).
I hope you enjoy the videos and they give a good impression of the pace and energy of the game as well as the game in general. I'm hoping to create another video with further impressions from the day, the atmosphere and the games by the end of this week. Fingers crossed it will work as planned.
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Monday, 22/Jun/2009
Upcoming Islay Beach Rugby Videos
While I thought I had seen quite a few video cameras at the recent Islay Beach Rugby tournament there seems to be very little of it available online. The only ones with some footage of the games I'm aware of are The Laddie Cup and The Lassie Cup from The Ileach. Having only just returned from Islay I still need a bit of time to go through all the footage I've taken, but hopefully should be able to make a few videos available over the next few days.
I've already completed two videos, of the first and second half of the men's final between Black Bottle and Loch Lomond. They are currently uploading and processing at YouTube, I should be able to present them tomorrow. They contain footage of almost the complete game, because of YouTube's 10 minute length restriction I had to split it into two videos (two halves of 7 minutes each).
That should all be available tomorrow (it's getting a bit late today). By the end of the week I hope to review the other footage I've recorded and possibly add another video with may be a few highlights and general impressions.
As they say, ‘watch this space’...
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Sunday, 21/Jun/2009
Back From Islay...
The Islay blogging break turned out longer than anticipated, just didn't get around to do any blogging over the last week since leaving for the beach rugby after the Education 2020 Unconference. I've had a great time on Islay again, despite some rather mixed weather this week. While I didn't do some of the things I had thought of doing (e.g. I decided not to go to Colonsay as the weather on Wednesday wasn't as I had hoped for) I did manage to fit in a few others instead.
As I was staying at Kilchoman House Cottages for the second week (after a few great days at The Monachs) I could go on to Kilchoman Beach for my daily run. I can't think of any better places for that. The weather only allowed for one nice sunset, but what a sunset (at Saligo Bay) it was:
While I had hoped for more in the end I only went on one long walk, from Saligo Bay past the ‘Opera House Rocks’ to Traigh Bhan with the Exmouth memorial. Some great views during this walk, including this one:
Unfortunately I didn't make it to the Commonwealth Fly Fishing Championships 2009 opening parade in Bowmore, but instead I did get to see some of the fishing on Loch Ballygrant and Loch Finlaggan. Some of it more interesting and photogenic (as well as ‘videogenic’) than I had expected:
I took many many more pictures (and some video footage), hopefully more of all that over the next few days and weeks. Many thanks to everyone I met (and apologies to those I missed), you've helped to make it a great time again!
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Saturday, 13/Jun/2009
Education 2020 Unconference on Islay
Before all the attention moves on to the Islay Beach Rugby today I would like to provide a quick report from an event I attended in Bowmore yesterday, the Education2020 Unconference. I'm not sure of the exact number (somewhere I've got 43 in my head), but more than 40 teachers, education professionals and other people just generally interested in education (like me) met on Islay yesterday to discuss the future of education and how it might look in the year 2020.
It's mostly Ian Stuart's and Andy Wallis' of Islay High School fault, who kicked off the Education 2020 wiki which ultimately led to the unconference event on Islay yesterday. After a lot of discussions through various online tools (the wiki, Twitter, flash meetings etc) it was now time further discuss the topic face to face. The day started with a presentation from various members of staff at Islay High School as well as a number of students at the school (where in particular the students did a great job, standing up in front of a group of 40+ strangers can't have been easy for them). They spoke about the curriculum changes at Islay High School, the School of Excellence program and how it impacted the way they worked and how it benefited them.
We were treated to a very nice lunch from the students in the catering course after having been given a guided tour through the school's facilities with an insight into some of the vocational courses. The early afternoon was used as ‘accommodation check in time’ for the late arrivals while others met for further discussions at the school. There was a tour of Bowmore distillery for those interested before it was time for the main event. Supported by some excellent food (local venison sausages and fresh scallops cooked in whisky) from FCINSL- Catering Islay (where several former students of the catering course now work) the main event took place in the Bowmore distillery warehouse #4 conference room.
In what is called a Knowledge Cafe format we discussed topics like ‘assessment’, ‘the learning environment’ and ‘skills’. Smaller teams discussed their experiences, views and expectations before the whole group came together again for further review and discussion. The discussions were very interesting to follow, often heated and I believe brought a lot of new and different viewpoints to most of the participants.
While the main event ended after a good three hours of structured discussion this didn't mean the discussions were over: We went over to Duffies at the Lochside Hotel where the conference continued in a more informal setting. There was music by a variety of players and singers (three guitars and a mandoline were played) while people were chatting about the day and generally networked. Partly inside the bar, but mainly outside with great views of the Paps of Jura and the sunset over the Rinns of Islay we all enjoyed the evening.
A great event I think enjoyed by everyone involved. What started off as an online discussion turned into an offline face to face event (unfortunately more offline than planned, as due to server problems a planned parallel flash meeting couldn't take place) where we could meet and get to know people we had previously only known online. A lot was learned in a fun atmosphere. Many thanks to everyone involved at Islay High School, in particular Ian and Andy!
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Thursday, 11/Jun/2009
Islay Ferry Time Lapse Video
After a long journey (there's a lot of roadworks on the A83 at the moment, plan with at least 45 minutes delay time from Glasgow to Kennacraig) I have arrived safely on Islay. Having played with time lapse video at home I couldn't resist doing the same thing with the ferry crossing to Islay:
DirectIslayFerryCrossingTimeLapse
Over two hours of ferry crossing from Kennacraig on the mainland to Port Ellen on the Isle of Islay compressed into just over 20 seconds. I suspect some people would like the real crossings to be this quick, other just see them as part of their holidays.
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Monday, 08/Jun/2009
Off To Islay Again
Haven't you only just returned from Islay someone asked at work when I mentioned that I was leaving for Islay again soon. He was right, well, kind of. That was April! Feels like ages! So I'm off to Islay again tomorrow evening, arriving on Wednesday. To get into the mood (as if I need to...) I thought I recycle last year's Islay ferry crossing video again:
DirectFerryCrossingToTheIsleOfIslay,Scotland
My plans for Islay?
Some I've already mentioned in the Some Upcoming Islay Events post: On Friday the Education2020 Unconference and on Saturday the Islay Beach Rugby. I'll probably also take a look at the Grand Parade for the Commonwealth Fly Fishing Championships 2009. Apart from that a bit of (hill-)walking, a few distillery visits (definitely Laphroaig and Bruichladdich), hopefully a few nice sunsets (or if I can get up early enough sunrises?), weather and ferry permitting the crossing to Colonsay on Wednesday and with a bit of luck spot the guys mountain boarding. I'm also hoping to meet lots of people, old friends and new. Think that's enough for 1.5 weeks?
I hope there will be some blogging from Islay, although it will certainly be less frequent. You might want to keep an eye on the Islay Pictures photoblog, hopefully I can post a few pictures there as well. No promises for either blog though!
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Sunday, 07/Jun/2009
Islay Blogging Roundup #82
Running rather late today after creating my first time lapse video earlier. Something I wanted to try out before leaving for Islay next week as I'm considering making one or two from Islay. Ideas and suggestions for topics (sunsets are already on my list) are welcome. Also trying to follow the European Election 2009 coverage while writing this week's Islay Blogging roundup. That could be rather challenging. So without further ado to the roundup:
One of the reasons I'm going to Islay soon is the Education2020 Unconference. Andy Wallis, one of the organisers, has just written a blog entry about it, The Future is Almost Here. If you're using Twitter and interested in the unconference you might want to follow the edu2020 account. I suspect there will be a lot more by the end of the week.
The unconference will be closely followed by the Beach Rugby, something the Bruichladdich Blog writes about. But then they would, keeping in mind Bruichladdich is the main sponsor. There's also a nice entry about a Venerable Old Spirit.
The last roundup, the Islay Blogging Roundup #81 already contained a lot of links about blog entry for the Islay Festival. Quite a lot spilled over in to the following week as well, including caskstrength.net writing about Day Eight, Day Nine and their friends at The Whisky Exchange Blog covering Day Ten: The Aftermath. Now that's far from all!
On the Edinburgh Whisky Blog we have guest blogger Paula with Paula on Islay: Day 2, Paula on Islay: Day 3 and Last Day on Islay - Boo! On the other hands the Whisky Boys have only just arrived (at least on their blog) with Islay Malt and Music Festival May 2009 - Day 1 | Whisky Boys. On the OOR ALBA BLOG we find Videos of events during 2009 Feis Ile. Even though the entry is titled Oban, Mull, Iona & Staffa we find quite a few pictures of Port Ellen and Islay on Rainer's last entry about Islay.
Quite a few people just wrote about their visits to Islay in general, some with references to the festival: On The Stodge Blog we find Wave, you are on Islay! Colin & Patti on their World Tour discover WHISKEY, chasing sheep and driving on the wrong side of the road! Cyclops Photoblog asks A Lama? On Islay? and shows the Stills of Laphroaig (among others, there are more Islay pictures on the blog). Notes from Samo just states: On Islay!
The OOR ALBA BLOG praises Iain Shaw after their Tour of Bunnahabhain while the Whisky Party writes about On becoming a Friend of Laphroaig. I believe he's not on Islay just now, but the Whisky Guy says Caol Ila Is Islay’s Big Little Secret.
The Whiskyscape Society reviews the Laphroaig 18 Years Old (OB-48%). Single Malt Islay Scotch Whisky. Kind of via JOURNEY’S BLEND on The Scotch Blog I've found Journey's Blend, I hope there will be more about their visit to Kilchoman at some point.
Then the birdwatching: Let me start with a visiting birder, Reg the Birder writes The Boys Are Back In Town [Part 1 of 3] and The Boys Are Back In Town [Part 2 of 3]. Part 3 of 3 still to follow. Gordon Yates, a regular Islay visitor, writes about the Trials Of Photography (on Islay in this case). Closer to home the Islay Birds blog has news of a Corncrake tally of 55 and various interesting bird of prey sightings. Also news of the wildflowers coming out. Have You Spotted The Painted Lady? asks Teresa Morris on Ron's Islay Weblog.
On Elliott's Islay Shipping blog we find a few more nice pictures of the P.S Waverley during her visit to Port Ellen. The M.V Saga Ruby passes through the Sound of Islay. That's where the good news end, as there are problems with the M.V Eilean Dhiura who has been towed to the Clyde after suffering engine problems. As The Herald reports Jura could now be cut off for a week, something Ron picks up in his Jura blog.
That leaves the pictures.
It looks like it's time to say good bye to Mirko Herzner, his visit to Islay is really coming to an end now: Long way home (9): Last view seems to be the last picture he's going to post from it. So enjoy the view of the Spray and the fishermen in Port Ellen.
On Mark's Islay Photography Gallery my favourites were the Bridge over the Sorn and the Reflections on Texa. Ron has a picture of The Ard Port Ellen while on my own Islay Pictures photoblog my favourites this week were Laphroaig Distillery in 1999 and Dunyvaig Castle, Texa and Lagavulin Bay in 1999.
With that I'll finish for today, as usual the reference to the Scottish Roundup, this week with “I wasted time and now doth time waste me…” Please note the roundup will probably take a break for a week or two now, as it's unlikely I'll write one during my upcoming holidays. Rest assured it will be back upon my return though.
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Saturday, 06/Jun/2009
Islay on Google Squared
One of the latest tools available from Google is Google Squared. Inspired by an entry Funky search result on Google Squared I tried the new tool to see how it copes with a search for Islay. Not too surprisingly a plain search for Islay on Google Squared churns out a list of the whiskies and the distilleries on Islay:
Biggerise the screenshot of Islay on Google Squared
The list of the distilleries and whiskies is fairly complete, although there are a few strange things in the list. While it will be a distillery again at some point I'm not sure why Port Charlotte is listed. More importantly one of the entries actually points to Port Charlotte in Florida, United States. To its credit this entry is ‘greyed out’, as if Google knows it shouldn't really be there. Some of the descriptions also are a bit odd, e.g. Ardbeg picks up a list of countries.
Nevertheless, keeping in mind this is a brand new tool still in the Google Labs section it's quite impressive. So I played on and started to create my own squares:
The first one I called Islands comparison, listing several islands including Islay, Jura and Colonsay. That seems to work quite well, only the description for Jura being a bit off.
The second I called Islay Bays, listing some of the beautiful beaches and bays on Islay. That worked reasonably well, it picked up pictures and descriptions. It struggles with the location though and I couldn't find any other useful fields with usable values.
Third and last (for now) I tried Islay villages. I had to trick it a bit (adding ‘village’ to some of the names) to avoid returning the distilleries instead of the villages. But then it works surprisingly well.
What can you come up with? Have you created any Islay related squares? Feel free to share them in the comments if you have.
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Friday, 05/Jun/2009
Friday Islay Picture #107 - Port Charlotte in 1999
The weather is turning, at least down here in the south of England, it must be almost weekend. It still seems to be holding on Islay though. Having played a bit with Google Squared earlier this evening (probably more about that tomorrow) it's now time for this week's Friday Islay picture.
This is a view of Port Charlotte in 1999. There's a reason I've picked this picture: In case you don't visit the Islay Pictures photoblog, I've been running a series of Islay pictures from 1999 on it this week. The larger version (larger as in more than twice as big) will be added to the series tomorrow morning as usual.
It was quite interesting to go through those almost 10 years old pictures. The ‘nature’ views are basically unchanged (apart from normal natural changes like erosion), more interesting were the subtle changes in some of the buildings. An example: Looking at the large Laphroaig lettering at the Laphroaig distillery warehouse I noticed that there was a ® painted on the wall in 1999, at some point this disappeared, it's not there any more now.
I'll leave you to spot any other differences, have a great weekend whatever the weather and whereever you are!
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04/Jun/2009
Some Upcoming Islay Events
If you thought the Feis Ile, the Islay Festival of Malt and Music was the only big event on Islay then you are likely to miss out on a quite a lot. It might be the biggest, but by far not the only one. There are a number of very interesting events coming up on Islay over the next few weeks I thought worth mentioning. Some I'll be lucky enough to attend myself during my upcoming Islay visit, some I'll just miss:
Unfortunately I'll miss the first event, as it will take place this Friday 05/Jun/2009: From 10:30 hrs to 16:30 Islay's first ‘Producers Market’ will take place at Islay House Square. The products and producers will include Craigens Oysters, An Gleann Tablet, Chutneys & Jams, Andrew MacEachern’s Crab, Justin Ruthven Tyers garden furniture, Islay Estates Venison Baquettes, Home Baking, Neil Campbell Butchers, Fresh Hen & Guinea Fowl Eggs & Community Garden Produce.
I will be at the next event I'm going to write about though, the Education2020 Unconference on 12/Jun/2009. I've already written about the unconference in more detail a few weeks ago, it's one of the main reasons I'm going next week. Around 40 participants are expected, really looking forward to it. Expect quite a lot of discussion under the #education2020 tag on Twitter over the next few days...
The next day will see the Islay Beach Rugby tournament 2009, an event I've wanted to visit for quite some time. This year I'll be there. There's quite a bit on the web about it already, the Bruichladdich Blog writes about Beach Rugby (Bruichladdich is a sponsor of the event), for argyll even has two entries: Islay Beach Rugby - you’d better believe it, you’d better see it and Update on Islay Beach Rugby tournament - 13th June. Fingers crossed we'll get some fine weather again for what promises to be a great event.
Now I don't know anything about fly fishing and must admit I'm not particularly interested in it, but the following week the Commonwealth Fly Fishing Championships 2009 will take place on Islay. I assume it's not exactly a spectator sport, but on Monday 15/Jun there will be a Grand parade through Bowmore Village to Bowmore Distillery (the main sponsor).
Last but by no means least the 17th Islay Triathlon will take place on Saturday 20/Jun/2009, starting at 14:00hrs (check with the Mactaggart Leisure Centre for the entry form and details). Unfortunately I won't be able to see much (if anything) of it, as I'm leaving with the afternoon boat that day.
I think that's enough events for now. Apart from getting back to where we started and a heads up that the 2010 Islay whisky festival is scheduled for 22/May - 30/May/2010.
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