Book #18 Orkney & Shetland Islands Focus Guide 2nd Edition

Orkney & Shetland Islands Focus Guide, 2nd by Alan Murphy
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I guess that a travel guide is not intended to be read from cover to cover. But, I have and it required a lot of patience as the typeface is so small! The publishers have managed to cram each small page (18x11cm) with around 680 words. The content is certainly informative and provides most of what you need to know to enjoy a visit to these Northern Isles. This Footprint guide contains no pictures apart from a few maps, which is another disappointment.

Despite my 3 Star rating I shall carry the book with me on my visit to Shetland in May. At least it's pocket sized and lightweight!

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Book #17 The Outrun

The Outrun by Amy Liptrot
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a beautiful read, stark and unflinching as Amy Liptrot recounts the story of her alcoholism, how she faced her demons and has stayed 'dry' for more than two years. She returns to Orkney after more than a decade away, drawn back to the Outrun on the sheep farm where she grew up. Her father's mental illness was as much a part of her childhood as the wild, carefree existence on Orkney. In spite of this she moved to London and a hedonistic lifestyle that virtually destroyed her. Her move back to Orkney proves to be her redemption, trying to come to terms with what happened to her in London. She slowly makes the journey towards recovery from addiction.

Amy's writing has a prose-like quality that sings: "...when my heart soars. I see starlings flocking, hundreds of individual birds forming and re-forming shapes in liquid geometry, outwitting predators and following each other to find a place to roost for the night. The wind blows me from behind so strongly that I'm running and laughing".

Her honesty is often overwhelming and yet also exhilarating. Her descriptions of these Northern Isles and the small communities that live here draws me more and more to a visit. Captivating.

I loved it.

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Early Christmas Spirit

Well, there is only a month to go so I have started to stock up with a few choice single malts.

The Inchmurrin 12 YO is aged predominantly in bourbon casks and is light, grassy, and floral. It was a big hit at The Whisky Exchange Whisky Show 2015. The enchanting isle of Inchmurrin is the largest of Loch Lomond's islands and was once home to a chapel built by Christian monks in the 7th century. Known as the 'grassy isle' this single malt scotch whisky is soft, rounded and wonderfully wooded. It is aged in three types of cask selected by hand - bourbon, refill and re-charred. These whiskies are then brought together delivering a perfectly balanced single malt.

Scapa Skiren is a 2015 release from the Orkney distillery. Aged in first-fill American oak casks, this is creamy and sweet with notes of tropical fruit and heather. Within reach of the Arctic Circle, Scapa is part of the Orkney Isles. The Scapa distillery is perched on the tranquil shores of Scapa Flow. Inspired by summer's bright, glittering skies, described in Old Norse as skiren, this expression is exclusively matured in first-fill American oak casks, which produces a smooth creamy sweetness with that hint of tropical fruit, citrus and coastal heather.

Whether or not these bottles remain unopened for a further 30 days is however another matter....