TEN YEARS AGO
Friday November 8, 2013
Ardshiel is the best – bar none!
They are celebrating in style – and no wonder.
The jubilant Ardshiel staff are celebrating after their hotel has been declared Scotland’s Whisky Bar of the Year.
It beat nine others, mainly big city bars, shortlisted by whisky experts for the prestigious Scottish Field Whisky Challenge, in a final decided by public vote.
Helped by the Ardshiel’s numerous fans and supporters in Campbeltown, Kintyre and around the world the hotel “won by a country mile”.
“It is amazing,” said Flora Grant, co-owner of the hotel with Marion MacKinnon.
“This is the most excited I have been in years. This is huge for Campbeltown. The award will have enormous benefits for the town.
“I feel it is the town as much as the hotel which has won and we are so grateful for the way it and the surrounding area really got behind us, along with the many individuals and whisky groups from around the world who supported us.”
Marion said: “A few years ago, Campbeltown was written off by a national newspaper as a place destined to fail. Look at it now. It is clearly on the up. So many positive things are happening and more people are coming here to visit.
“This award is another big step in the revival of Campbeltown. A lot of whisky lovers are coming to the town because of its heritage and the Springbank Distillery, but often they are making just an afternoon of it before catching a ferry to Islay or Arran.
“Now, our award-winning whisky bar is a good reason for them to stay overnight and get to really know Kintyre.”
A few days later, Flora revealed that the hotel had been inundated with phone calls and flowers congratulating it on its victory.
When Flora and Marion took over the hotel five years ago, the bar had more than 100 whiskies on display. Now it has more than 500 – and some extremely rare and valuable ones.
The pair have also completed courses and sat exams to expand their knowledge and are now designated by VisitScotland as “whisky ambassadors”.
Marion also runs a monthly whisky club attended by up to 20 locals.
Janice Johnston, Scottish Field’s whisky project manager, said: “Our competition was unique in that following a shortlist drawn up by eight whisky merchants and whisky expert Charles MacLean, it was put over to a public vote to decide the winner.
“The Ardshiel won by a country mile, making them very worthy winners.”
Mike Lord, of the Whisky Shop Dufftown, nominated the Ardshiel for the shortlist after staying at the hotel this summer.
He said: “It is a great bar with a fabulous selection of whisky and manages to maintain a friendly atmosphere.”
TWENTY FIVEYEARS AGO
Friday November 13, 1998
John helps playgroup get ‘rigged’ out
Meadows Under Fives playgroup has benefited by almost £1,500 thanks to Campbeltown’s John McLatchie.
Mr McLatchie works offshore on an oil rig for the company AMEC, which recently finished an eight-week contract.
As part of the ETAP project, John’s bosses donated £3,000 to a fund for every one of the eight weeks of the job which passed without an accident.
At the end of the job, the rig workers were asked to nominate charities and groups which they felt deserved a share of this fund. John nominated the Meadows Under Fives playgroup, but it was up against stiff competition as 30 or 40 other groups were also nominated.
However, when all the nominations were in and 20 groups were chosen to receive a grant, the kids at Meadows were among the lucky ones and received a major boost of almost £1,500.
Because the playgroup is usually completely self-funding, relying on fees and money from parents to keep going, the donation was extremely welcome and, although half of it has already been spent on much-needed new equipment, the rest is still in the bank earmarked for more new equipment at a later date.
Minke whale removed
Council workers had an unusual job to do last week, removing the huge body of a minke whale, stranded on rocks near Bellochantuy.
Environmental Service employees were despatched to carry out the unpleasant job of disposing of the decomposing mammal, which was beginning to smell.
It is not clear how the whale came to be where it ended up, but it was thought to have been caught on the rocks at Patchan for a week.
To move the body, which weighed around four tonnes, some of the shore was cleared and workers moved in with an excavator, owned by Glenbarr Construction, to haul it into a skip on the back of a truck.
It was then driven to its final resting place at Lingerton landfill site, just north of Lochgilphead, where it was buried.
Scottish Natural Heritage confirmed that it was a minke whale.
Ian Fawcett, Area Environmental Services Manager at Argyll and Bute Council, said that while this type of whale is common in the area, he has never come across one washed up such as this one.
FIFTY YEARS AGO
Thursday November 8, 1973
Glasses fly in ‘wild west punch up’
It could have been a scene from a Wild West saloon in the Kintyre Lounge on Saturday night.
For when members of the East Kilbride Rovers FC went out to drown their sorrows after a Scottish Amateur Cup defeat, trouble flared.
It began in a punch up and ended in a brawl, with glasses flying across the bar.
The trouble began about 9pm when a member of the team apparently had a difference of opinion with a local man.
Then the whole bar erupted and glasses and beer mugs went flying.
One of the barmaids had her leg cut on broken glass and she had to have it stitched.
On Monday morning, barman Stephen Girvan pointed out several holes in the wall made by the heavy beer mugs.
“One of the seats was ripped in the rumpus too,” he said.
Stephen also said that local men were standing in a corner of the bar near the emergency exit and that was why the holes were around that area.
“After it cooled down a bit, I went to phone the police,” said Stephen, “but one of the football team took a swing at me. I managed to get to the phone and inform the police. But someone shouted ‘scram lads’ and they all ran out.”
It is believed that some of the local men were injured by the glasses and at least one attended the hospital with a nose injury.
About a dozen pint glasses were smashed in the rumpus.
Amazingly, the gantry remained intact.
A senior police spokesman said: “Five men have been charged in connection with the incident and a report will be sent to the procurator fiscal.”
ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO
Saturday November 3, 1923
Armistice Day on Sunday – parade of ex-servicemen
Armistice Day falls on Sunday first, November 11, and in connection with the observance of the customary two minutes’ silence, it has been arranged that on this occasion the ‘solemn pause’ will take place in the churches.
With that end in view, services in places of public worship which normally begin eleven o’clock will begin at 10.45, so as to enable the two minutes’ silence to be included in the service.
The bells will commence ringing at 10.30am. This is the first time since the end of the Great War that this solemn parade of the ex-servicemen of Campbeltown and District to the Highland Parish Church, where the sermon will be delivered by the Rev. Donald Davidson, falls on the Sabbath.
The men are invited to muster at the Victoria Hall and march to the church.
As a similar opportunity will not occur again for six years, it is hoped that ex-servicemen will parade in large numbers to pay in a body this mark of homage to the memory of dead comrades.
The War Office announce that the King has expressed a hope that at the ceremonies on Armistice Day all ex-service officers and men will wear with civilian dress their medals and decorations.
The Army Council give notice that on this occasion uniform may be worn by ex-officers and ex-servicemen for the purpose of attending memorial services and parades.
‘Poppy Day,’ organised by the local ex-servicemen, will be held in Campbeltown on Saturday.
The collection is in aid of Earl Haig’s fund for disabled ex-servicemen.