There's a lot going on at the Islay Energy Trust (IET), which is excellent news for our environment. Earlier I published an article which appeared in the Ileach about the giant underwater turbines which are currently being built and tested in Orkney. Andy MacDonald, Tidal Energy Project Officer, wrote to me in an email "if the testing in Orkney goes well then we would manufacture the ten for Islay in 2012/2013 and install in the Sound of Islay late 2013." Andy also sent me another image, included in this post, which shows the sheer size of these turbines.

Islay energy Trust is organising Renewables Day 2012, which will build on the success of previous years with a range of micro-renewables experts and suppliers giving presentations and available for consultations. Mark Bowmore Hall on the 28th of January (that's tomorrow!) in your diary. You can find more information on the IET Website

Finally, as some of the other renewable projects are developing well (wind at Castlehill and hydro at Dunlossit) the IET are looking at setting up a cooperative that people could invest in to help raise capital. They have recently launched a survey to see what interest there is.

For more info on all of the above visit http://www.islayenergytrust.org.uk.

Tag: islay energy turbines

Islay benefits from very little light pollution so when the clouds are gone the skies at night can be incredibly interesting, and the island can be extremely dark too. From a photographic point of view you might think that it's not possible to take images during this total darkness, but if you have a wee source of light and leave the camera's shutter open long enough you might be able to take some very special pictures although it does require training.

James Deane has undertaken quite a few of these nightly expeditions on Islay and he returned home with some remarkable results. A few nights ago, during one of these sparse clear spells of lately, James headed to Loch Finlaggan, the ancient seat of the Lords of the Isles, where he took a few amazing night pictures. As always James was quite happy to share them here on my Islay Blog for which I'm very grateful. Make sure to read his latest blog post about his recent night time escapades or visit his Facebook Page for more beautiful Islay pictures.

Continue reading.....

The plans for the 10MW Tidal Energy Project in the Sound of Islay took a significant step forward in December with the successful deployment of the Hammerfest Strøm HS1000 tidal turbine at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney.

The 1 megawatt (MW) Hammerfest Strøm HS1000 device, which can power the annual electricity needs of approximately 500 homes, is the same design as will be used by ScottishPower Renewables (SPR) as part of the world’s first tidal turbine array in the Sound of Islay. The device measures over 20 metres from the seabed to the hub with the blades reaching a further 10 metres. With the substructure alone weighing several hundred tonnes, a specialist heavy lift vessel that is twice as long as the Finlaggan ferry was used to install the device.

The HS1000 tidal turbine has been developed by Hammerfest Strøm, a company partly-owned by Iberdrola (SPR’s parent company), Andritz Hydro and Statoil New Energy. Seen as one of the world’s most advanced tidal turbine designs, a prototype device has been generating electricity in Norway for over six years. The device substructure was constructed in Scotland by BiFab at Arnish on Lewis and it is hoped that this is the start of a much larger marine renewables industry in Scotland. Continue reading....

In 2008 I shared a video of Fiona Middleton for the first time, the one where she played the violin to seals on Islay. Earlier in 2006 I wrote about Fiona's website. Unfortunately the video and website are no longer active so I'm pleased that I've found a new video of Fiona with an interview and violin music. Enjoy!

Tag: fiona seals

Home-start is the UK’s leading child and family charity. We recruit and train volunteers to help families with young children under the age of five. We support many types of families who are in need of support and friendship. Our volunteers spend time with the family and the children and can often offer a respite for a few hours a week. We tailor the support offered to suit the needs of the family.

On Islay we have a group of dedicated volunteers who have completed our volunteer preparation course and are actively volunteering for us. Our volunteers visit families within their own home for a few hours every week and the support can last for a few months or a few years.

We are always looking for new volunteers, so if anyone is keen to join us please get in touch, all volunteers will undergo an enhanced disclosure check and all expenses will be covered. All we ask is that you have had some parenting experience.

The families that we support come from all walks of life and some need more support than others, we like to think that we offer friendship as well as support and many of our volunteers and families become firm friends. Families who think that they would like a volunteer should get in touch with me and I will talk them through how we can help.

We are always looking for trustees, if this interests you please get in touch - Eleanor Sloan, Home-Start MAJIK, 01586 551140, 07917285154 or send an email

Tag: charity family support

Islay has wildlife in abundance, no matter where you look there is always something to discover, Buzzards in the sky, song birds in the trees, Oystercatchers on the shore, Hares and Geese on the fields, Red Deer on the hills, Choughs on the rocks, Otters and Seals in the seas etc. etc. I could go on and fill up a lengthy blog page with all the wildlife you can see on the island. An alternative is to show you a nice video featuring some of Islay's most famous wildlife: thousands of Barnacle Geese with some beautiful close-up shots. Besides Geese you can see other wildlife as well. This is one of the better Islay wildlife video's I've seen so enjoy!

Tag: wildlife geese

Mark Reynier posted a very interesting, and different view, on the origins of our "Water of Life". Mark says that you can read in every whisky book that Irish missionaries brought whisky distillation to Scotland. In his blog post today, however, he comes up with a surpring alternative and says that it is not impossible that the Vikings brough the art of whisky distillation to Scotland.

Mark Reynier: The first distillation of Scotch whisky may have been around six hundred and fifty years earlier than Friar Cor’s record, around 845 AD, courtesy of the Vikings. The Vikings not only summer-travelled westwards. The Varangians, "sworn people", with their oaths of fighting loyalty, voyaged eastwards.

In Syria, around the year 800, Gerber the Arab became the first person to record the process of alcoholic distillation, the production of the water of life. The grain used was Bere, the precursor cereal to modern barley, which originated in the region 7,000 years ago. It spread around Europe with the earliest farmers that resettled after the last period of glaciation. It is an intriguing possibility that the Varangians uncovered Gerber’s new secret potion - the wonderful, magical, Water of Life. Pretty useful stuff for a warrior. The Vikings, it seems, were at the right place at the right time.

And if they came down the Dneiper, Dniester, Danube and the Volga rivers they could have gone back to Scandinavia the same way. Silk, found in Viking York, came from this part of the world - so why not the knowledge (Gerber) and the wherewithal (Bere) to distil a warrior’s best friend, the water of life?

Make sure to read more about Mark's theory at www.bruichladdich.com

Tag: bruichladdich vikings water of life whisky

Islay is a very popular holiday destination and the demand for accommodation is still growing. I don't have exact numbers for the whole of Islay but from my own Islay Accommodation website I can estimate that there are around 170 to 200 properties for rent, this number includes self catering homes, bed and breakfasts, guesthouses and hotels. More and more second home owners decide to rent out their holiday home when they aren't on the island and more owners of farms and crofts decide to step into the tourists business as an extra source of, sometimes very necessary, income.

Recently Gill and Robert Johnstone, the owners of Balaclava Croft near Port Ellen, undertook their biggest ever project. With financial grant assistance from the Scottish Rural Development Programme they rebuilt the original Croft House with a brilliant team of local builders to produce a stunning, luxury & comfortable self catering Holiday House. Continue reading.....