The Festival Spirit.

Yesterday my niece and I spent the morning baking, the sun was shining and we got several deliveries of the most beautiful bouquets of flowers, balloons and chocolates. The house is filled with flowers just now, it smells beautiful and I am feeling incredibly loved and spoilt. Youngest daughter was wanting to go outside and play kites with the helium filled balloons, the happy farmer said not as he is wanting them for the party, to ‘sook’ the helium out of them, and ‘play’ squeaky voices. The happy farmer’s wife just wants them to stay looking pretty beside the fireplace, although with the big 40 facing the wall!

We had a lovely day, enjoying the sunshine as friends arrived, and in the evening we went off to Bunahabhain distillery for another night of music and malt. The road to Bunahabhain is quite magical. It runs through the farm and is a twisting winding single track road which eventually leads to the tiny distillery village. When the happy farmer was a child it boasted a school and a village stores, now it has just a few families living there, and many deserted homes, lying sadly empty on the hillside.

Last night as the sun was setting every bend in the road unveiled more stunning scenery, with views out across the sea to the isles of Colonsay and Mull, and the unspoilt and remote north west coast of Jura. On the way home the fields were filled with a herd of meandering deer, dazzled in the twilight by the car headlamps.

My sister in law and friend were a little worried as we entered the old warehouse, the pungent smell of barley and malt in the air, as they realised wine would not be on the menu. We each took our complimentary drams and headed in, where pipers were playing, and a ceilidh was commencing. The warehouse was filled with music and people. As they finished their first Islay malt, they were hooked, several drams later and they were still going back for more. We stood outside for a while and watched the purple glow fade across the hillside, the sea was as calm as a mill pond, and with the music in the background and the many visitors and locals mingling in the cool night air you could see how the whisky tasted particularly good.

Today the rain clouds have gathered and a cool breeze is blowing, but undeterred the happy farmer has set up the horse box in the garden and put his barbecue inside it, so much for it being a bed for the night then! There is a buzz about the place, and lots of friends have arrived on the island already. The boys are back from their ‘bivvy’ bag experience, and we are ready to party.

Have a good weekend, until next time….