One for the Road (04/06/07)

by Kelly Amabile on

In honor of Tartan Week, a Scottish selection for our book of the day:

Over 60 years ago, George Orwell came to the Isle of Jura to write 1984. He left crowded London for the remote Scottish island, remaining there until 1950, when illness forced him to return to mainland Britain. Could a stay at this secluded place prove successful for other writers?

The Scottish Trust seems to think so. In late 2006 it launched the Isle of Jura Retreat program, a unique opportunity for three writers per year to spend a month on the idyllic island off the west coast of Scotland.

To celebrate the kickoff of this program, the Trust, along with Jura Whiskey, has produced Jura: Taste Island Life, a collection of stunning photography and works inspired by time spent on the writers haven. It includes a foreword from Alexander McCall Smith and an essay on Orwell on Jura by his biographer Sir Bernard Crick. The featured writing is all a direct response to having spent time on the island, is only available from the Scottish Book Trust or Jura Whiskey.

Travel the World with Oscar

by Willy Volk on

In years past, local tourist boards saw generous spikes in traffic after popular movies featured the locations they tout. For example, both Alberta and Wyoming enjoyed gobs of slack-jawed, cash-carrying visitors last year after Brokeback Mountain won all those accolades. If you want to travel to the locations in which this year’s Best Picture-nominated films were set, here’s where you’d have to go.

The nominees for best picture are:

  • Babel — To visit the locations in this whirling dervish of a film, you’d better make sure your passport is current. After all, you’ll be heading to Morocco, Japan, and Mexico.
  • The Departed — Set in Boston, lucky movie-set-hunters may also get to see where Good Will Hunting was filmed.
  • Letters From Iwo Jima — Next month, Military Historical Tours will visit Iwo Jima on the 62nd anniversary of the historic Battle.
  • Little Miss Sunshine — Road trip!!! Follow the dysfunctional Hoover family’s path along Route 66. Just be certain to have a more dependable vehicle.
  • The Queen — Filmed in Scotland, the movie mainly uses stand-ins for the locations on film, but persistent travelers can book cottages at Balmoral Castle.

Personally, I’d like to visit Uganda, but The Last King of Scotland didn’t get a nod for Best Picture. Nevertheless, the 79th Annual Academy Awards are this Sunday. You can book your travel any time you like.

Wistful Wishes of Whiskey-filled Weekends

by Iva Skoch on

UK’s The Independent had a good bunch of suggestions for folks who love the sweet, hot, aromatic burning sensation of the world’s greatest whiskeys. Now, distilled spirits may have originated in the Middle East, but the British Isles are the home of fine scotch. And what better for a connoisseur than to stay at or near a fine distillery?

The article lists examples of five lodges where you can stay, close to some of the world’s best distilleries. For example, you can rent small cottages at Scotland’s the Glenmorangie House for as little as 160 pounds ($313 USD) per night, full board.

“Within easy staggering distance” of the Bushmills distillery in Northern Ireland is the Drum Lodge, a 200+ year old drum-shaped, gothic-styled lodge. (Yes, yes, it’s Irish whiskey, but it sounds cool anyway.)

Or try the island distillery of Bowmore, on Islay, where you can bring up to 11 of your friends to rent a cottage for as little as 440 pounds ($860 USD) per week. And there are seven more distilleries on the 25-mile-long Scottish island. It’s a mere four-hour, car-plus-ferry trip west of Glasgow.

Scotch fanatics may recognize the names here, but I can tell you, from the pictures I’ve seen of these places, they look beautiful and worth the trip…even if whiskey’s not your bag, baby.

Word for the Travel Wise (06/19/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

Well I’ll be the first to admit that while I thought people from Scotland talked a wee-bit funny I never knew their language is as complicated as Arabic. (So it seems.) After fishing through the BBC online language programs I came across this very well-built guide for learning Scottish Gaelic. Considering I’ve probably got enough work cut out for me in learning the language of my Welsh ancestors (one of these days), I’ll be passing on the Scottish Gaelic. However, those of you wanting badly to learn, the time is now. Go for it!

Today’s phrase is a Scottish Gaelic phrase used in Scotland:

beag air bheag – little by little

Scottish Gaelic is spoken in Scotland and some parts of Canada. It falls into the Goidelic branch of Celtic language. Wikipedia can take you further if your main concern is the history of the lingo and to continue learning online your choices are many. Take a look at the links listed on the bottom of the Wiki to guide you to extra sources. I suggest starting with the BBC.

Loch Ness Monster Might Be … An Elephant?

by Karen Walrond on

When I was a kid,
I was COMPLETELY fascinated by the Loch Ness Monster.  The thought that a real-live brontosaurus might still be
swimming around in an inky Scottish lake consumed me.  And if I’m honest, there’s a part of the legend that moves
me, still.

So, talk about my bubble bursting:  National Geographic’s website is featuring a possible explanation
to what the photographer behind that famous 1934 photograph of Loch Ness might have actually seen — and it’s
disappointing, to say the least.  According to paleontologist Neil Clark, the photographer may have seen … an
elephant.

Clark, who’s also a painter, graphically shows how an elephant swimming in Loch Ness might have
reasonably been mistaken for a monster.  As for why a pachyderm might have found his way to take a dip in the
chilly waters, Clark told CBS news:  "The reason why we see elephants in Loch Ness is that circuses used to
go along the road to Inverness and have a little rest at the side of the loch and allow the animals to go and have a
little swim around." 

Whatever, man.  I still say Nessie’s down there. 
Somewhere.