IslayBlog.com -> 2008 -> Islay Blogging Roundup #22

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Sunday, 10/Feb/2008

Islay Blogging Roundup #22

So there we are, the end to another week. Another week with Islay, Jura and Colonsay being mentioned in a variety of blogs in varying contexts. While the topics typically evolve around bird- or wildlife watching, whisky and tourism other topics also find a mention. Here's what I found this week about Islay and neighbouring islands:

To demonstrate that not everything centres on bird- or wildlife watching, whisky and tourism let me start this week with an entry from the Bruichladdich Blog showing that crime on Islay (or to be precise on the way to Islay) doesn't pay. This story reminds me a little bit of the theft on Colonsay in 2006.

Staying with Colonsay, in A bittersweet piobaireachd the author writes a bit about the Macfies of Colonsay and a related tune he was playing.

But the whisky couldn't be far away: Under the title The Pub: Single Malt Archives a blogger gives 9 out of 10 points to the Caol Ila 12yo. The same whisky is also reviewed by Discover Whisky in Caol Ila - The Hidden Islay Malt.

Slightly older but for some reason I missed this earlier, over in Germany Andreas of dekaf reports of a Whisky Dinner in Munich sponsored by Bowmore with a nice visitor from Bowmore.

Over in Japan Takeshi writes about the Bowmore to be sold exclusively at the new Heathrow Terminal 5, something Ron also picks up in Fly and Buy an Exclusive Islay Dram. I thought this looked vaguely familiar, which turned out to be right: Cask 811 from Bowmore made it into roundup #11 back in November.

The Bruichladdich Blog is looking for the furthest travelled Valinch bottling. My 400-518 miles don't get anywhere near the 3,491 miles / 6,500 miles mentioned in the entry though.

From whisky on to bird- and wildlife, where Ron continues his wildlife and birding reports with a focus on stranded whales. The whales received quite a bit of attention in the Islay Birds blog earlier in the week, first with reports of a second Cuvier's beaked whale, followed by reports about a dead Pilot Whale. While the whale finds are exceptional the birds are still the main focus though, with reports of the Bar-headed Goose still being seen and slightly worrying the Fulmars being back (regular readers will know what this means and why it is slightly worrying ;-)).

Jeremy Hastings reports of the combination of cycling and birdwatching (which apparently can be quite dangerous) and of Bunting and hazel.

For the more unusual entries the ardblog discovers an Islay in the USA (in Wyoming to be precise). I suspect there might be a few more out there, most likely founded by emigrants from Islay.

Finally something that confuses me a bit: Under Real gardening has started the Allotment blog mentions an Isle of Jura potato maincrop. There seems to be an Isle of Jura potato, something I wasn't aware of existing. Does anyknow where the name comes from?

That's this week's Islay Blogging Roundup, the standards mixed with the quirky. For the bigger picture as usual head over to the Scottish Roundup, this week with It’s all about the money, it’s all about the ding-ding dinga-ding-ding-ding.

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