At the Upper Largo Hotel last night i dined well. At the end of the meal i asked the proprietor for a whisky explaining that i like Glemorangie, but thought that to be a bit of a cliche, and i asked him to select something appropriate for me. I got an Eradour which is supposedly the smallest distillery in Scotland with very limited supplies and distribution. It was sublime. You can Google for their website if you are interested, but i suspect it may be difficilt to find pubs that have it at the bar even in Scotlsnd.
Did you know that Edradour supplies the House of Commons? I think it's actually called, logically enough, 'House of Commons'. Long time since I tasted it.
ReplyDeleteCan you bring me a bottle of Edradour back in your sack?
ReplyDeleteStarting North Downs Way tomorrow.
Best of luck to you.
JohnProud
I suspect that, under the circumstances, supermarket cheapo, 37.5% Clan McClaggart or Ben McBrutish, would have tasted equally sublime. I hadn't realised you'd started and so have read your posts in one go. This one doesn't sound to have the same Homeric sweep as some of the others. Of course it's shorter but there are hints of meanness.
ReplyDeleteIn planning these jaunts I suppose there's a compulsion to have an identifiable A and Z in order to provide some sort of logic for a project which is by definition illogical. But might you be better served with a more random approach? I recall an F.S. Smythe anecdote where he was discussing his activities in the evening with another climber. The other listened and became progressively enraged: "Why, you've done the first fifth of Niggly Naggs, followed by a tenth of Boobus Wretch, then two ninths of Argy Bargy - that wasn't a real climb." Smythe's defence that he'd enjoyed himself was dismissed as irrelevant. From what I know of your other walks I suspect you are denied this approach, driven as you often are by logistics rather than aesthetics.
Afoot - I noticed on the Eradour website two of the few retailers are in Oxford and Cambridge.
ReplyDeleteJohn Proud - One of the previously mentioned "few" of the retailers happens to be Byrnes in Clitheroe not far from your abode.
BB - I think any venture must have some kind of framework however vague, and mine are always open to alteration. I do virtually no planning ahead for accommodation etc., and as for lack of aesthetic approach why would I have opted for the optional Tour of the Pic du Midi Ossau on my Pyrenees walk? Why did I plan a wandering route through The Broads on my walk last year instead of a practical straight line route? Why did I eschew the cliche West Highland Way section on my LEJOG walk, and choose various other departures, often longer in miles than the route in Andy Robinson's guide? There are many other examples I could list. The pleasure comes from chance encounters, unexpected happenings, and the sense of achievement engendered by resourcefulness - these are the ingredients I relish.