Hi Ron,

Having been to Islay this June for 20 days, I'm happy to have found this site to talk about Islay with Islay-yers and whatever else about Scotland comes to mind. We live in Kelowna BC, Canada and I am a French-Canadian by birth. I'm sure that Joan will blog here also. So what is a 68 year old frenchie doing here? Well, my wife is a McDougall and her gt-gt grandfather and gt-grandfather were farmers on Islay on a farm named Torrodale near Ardbeg. While there, we visited the old stone house they occupied in the mid 19th century. It is but a ruin now.

In June, we spent 4 days on Islay, hardly enough time to really savour what the island has to offer. So we are planning a return next year. We also spent some time in Oban, land of the McDougalls. We saw Dunollie and Dunstaffnage Castles and visited the McDougall Collection in Connell. We also paid visits to other islands, Mull, Skye, Seil. Sadly, our trip to Iona did not work out because of bus and ferry schedules. Major cities were Inverness, Perth, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow. An important aspect of the trip for me was to visit as many tea rooms as possible and savour scones with butter, cream and jam. I'd kill for one right now. Ron, please send me a scone. Even had a scone at the Scone Palace. Totally enjoyed our three days in Glasgow at the end of our tour and went to tea rooms designed by MacIntosh the architect......for more scones. We hit golf balls at the St. Andrews driving range one misty morning, couldnt see 100 yards. Didn't have scone there, too much in a hurry.

Our favourite areas are the Inner Hebrides and Islay in particular. However, mysterious Jura was beckoning and wished we had the time to visit the land of the Paps. Next time..........

Well, that's all for now. Ron, your site is fantastic and its quality tells a lot of good things about you. Maybe some day we will meet.

Henri

Hi Henri, many thanks for your introduction and welcome to my Islay forum. You might be surprised that I'm not an Ileach myself although I try to spend as much time as possible on Islay. I am based in the Netherlands, for now, and perhaps sometime I can make the move to Scotland and preferrably Islay. For me it's the most wonderful place I know and I do my best to get that message across through the website. You will find here lots of like-minded people who all have great (Islay) stories to tell

I'm sorry that I can't send you a scone but perhaps a recipe will do the trick? Here it is:

Recipe for Scones

Ingredients:
8oz/250g or two cups of self raising flower (Or "all-purpose" flour with 3 teaspoons baking powder in North America)
1 oz/25g (¼ stick) of butter or margarine.
¼ pint (140ml or half to ¾ cup) sour cream
One beaten egg
Pinch of salt

Method:
Preheat the oven to 400F/200C/Gas Mark 6.
Sift the dry ingredients together and then rub in the butter. Pour in the sour cream and then the beaten egg in the centre of the mixture and mix to obtain a soft elastic dough. Turn out onto a floured surface and roll out to about ½ inch (1.2cm) thick. Prick over with a fork and cut into small rounds with a cutter about 1½ inches (3.8cm) in diameter. Bake in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes.

Have fun baking and enjoy eating (i'm a fan of them as well and they are relatively easy to make)

@Ann,

Ooops Ann, one day too late. But anyway a very nice birthday to you of course.
I think we have a band because of we love Islay so much.
And I hope that your birthday on Islay is one of the unforgettable birthdays in your lifetime.

Theo

Hi, I am danny, and a Scotland/islay and Whisky lover. I live in Belgium with my wife and 2 kids . I was on slay 2 years ago, and next year i will visit islay again with 3 friends and one of my sons. I am looking forward to it, and hopefully I can meet some of you. Slainthe Math.