Tag: book

Replica Islay and Jura road signs at the Celtic House

Islay Businesses

With Christmas just around the corner I remembered I should write about an Islay present some of you might like, available at The Celtic House in Bowmore. I came across them during my visit in June and have one hanging on my wall at home. It’s a replica Islay road sign, in my case pointing to Port Charlotte:

Picture of a replica Port Charlotte road sign
Replica Port Charlotte road sign

I think they are really well done, they even have some rust spots even though they are not made of metal. I’ve put it next to my Gaelic map of Islay and Jura:

Picture of a replica Port Charlotte road sign next to a framed Gaelic Islay and Jura map
Replica Port Charlotte road sign next to Islay and Jura map

The ones currently in stock you’ll find under Islay and Jura Road Signs in the Celtic House shop. Further signs should become available again in spring 2025.

Of course you’ll also find plenty other Islay books and gifts, browse their online shop or drop into the store in Bowmore.

A (fictional) Islay crime wave

Islay LinksIt seems Islay is becoming a hotbed of crime. Luckily only fictional, not in the real world. There are two books right now I’m aware of putting Islay on the crime fiction map. One has recently been published and is on my to read list, the other one is scheduled to be published in spring 2019.

[amazon_link asins=’0993340016′ template=’ProductAd’ store=’thearmingrewehom’ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=’57da6b79-a3aa-11e8-9275-61180387b117′]

The first book is Machir Bay by Alasdair Wham. I think I came across it via a news report, but I’m not entirely sure. Not all bookshops have it, but on Islay you can buy it from The Celtic House and online at Amazon. As I said I haven’t got round to read it yet, but I’ll report back once I have. The reviews are very positive, so I’m looking forward to reading it.

The second book I came across via a tweet by the author:

You can find more on Allan’s page for the book, including a teaser excerpt. He mentioned he’s hoping to have a launch event on Islay, so watch out for that.

Lady Whisky, French Islay whisky comic book

Islay Whisky News & LinksMy French is rather limited, so I’m not entirely sure if it’s worth for me buying it, but those of you with better French might be interested: When I was scrolling through my news and blog feeds this afternoon I came across an entry Lady Whisky on Chez Lo. It is about a comic book by Joël Alessandra and after a bit of searching I found the publisher’s page for Lady Whisky. Also here’s a review (in French, positive I think)

As I said my French is limited and Google Translate can only help so much, but as far as I can gather it’s about the death of whisky expert Helen Arthur and Joël tracing back her steps including a visit to Islay. The cover indicates a visit to at least Ardbeg is on the cards, but I think the other distilleries are also visited. Jim McEwan has written a preface and many other well known Islay whisky names seem to have given support.

Here’s an Amazon link:

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