After a spectacular year of showcasing Scotland (and its not over yet) we pulled it out the bag again last week. Not only was the golf course and the scenery everything an international audience would expect of a quintessential Scottish view but the weather also came out to play. A stunning weekend all round.
My week of Ryder Cup celebrations started with the Ryder Cup Gala Concert at The Hydro in Glasgow. What a great event - not quite what I thought it was going to be. With the participation of many big name acts like Texas, Amy McDonald, Jake Bugg, Eddi Reader, Twin Atlantic etc as well as the National Opera, National Orchestra of Scotland and Scottish Ballet, I had believed that the event would be a bigger collaboration on each piece with all involved. As it was each band continued to do their own set albeit with the backing of the Orchestra which must have been quite an experience for them and sounded spectacular for us.
The stand out performance (despite the fact I will always love Texas and go and see them live whenever I can) had to be Midge Ure backed by the National Orchestra of Scotland performing Vienna. Unbelievable, booming, huge, impressive.
What was also interesting was how even this event is put on for the cameras. During the referendum there was doubt created about what we see on the BBC News after the Nick Robinson incident whereby we were shown something different from reality. At this event certain guests were asked to move seats at 'half time'. The reason? Well the great, the good and the famous had been at dinner during the first half (a shame for them as they missed some amazing acts) so to make the venue look full certain guests were asked to sit in different seats to make the place look busier for the cameras.
It does make you realise how much the media is manipulated to manipulate us.
Speaking of which I also had the delightful experience at the weekend of having a photo-shoot with Ian Docherty of Revolver Photography.
Ian has a stunning portfolio of work - well he did until the weekend!! Its funny how nervous you can be about getting your photo taken and having yourself on show like that. So it is more with hindsight that I say I enjoyed it. Outfit changes, more make up than I've worn in a long time (not that you'd know it from the photos), posing, smiling naturally, trying not to squint in the sun. Ian was very patient, knew exactly what I was after and had some good ideas of how to use my house and garden to get those shots. It was Ian himself who kept the experience relaxed and good fun rather than a painful process which it can be for those of us who don't like having our pictures taken.
The Concierge website has been updated with one of the shots he took (www.theconcierge.org.uk), the rest are for another venture yet to be revealed and my favourite one is below for you all to tell me how amazing I look.
So now I can never again complain about nor pass judgement on manipulation of media - after all Ian and a spot of phot-shop have done an amazing job on me!!
You should take the time to look at his wider portfolio which is pretty dramatic and can be found at www.revolver.photography. Or if you're 'down with the kids' then Ian often posts photographs to Instagram on revolvrphoto.
Whilst being manipulated by the media I...
...HUNG OUT AT...various locations with friends old and acquaintances new. The great thing about setting up a new business in a completely different field is that you get out there and meet amazing people you would never otherwise have stumbled across. One of my introductions this week was to Brenda Anderson who runs Tasting Scotland, a business specialising in bringing the best of Scottish food and drink to your plate and glass through a range of luxury escorted and self drive tours of Scotland. Brenda was great to spend time with and hear 'lessons learned' from. That is another thing I love about setting up your own business - likeminded people are all too keen to help in any way they can. Tasting Scotland's range of tours can be found at www.tastingscotland.com. I also had a good catch up with Lisa at Dear Green Coffee (www.deargreencoffee.com) - a lady and a business who are definitely on the up. I always enjoy catching up with Lisa - we've had similar experiences (Aus, wine, WSET, great coffee) and with her energy and drive, I always leave feeling re-energised about what I'm doing. And one of these days Lisa - I will own a La Marzocca!!...
...WINED ON...I'm loving trying wines from our 'discount supermarket' friends at the moment. This time it was Lidl's Cepa Lebrel Joven 2013. On a first tasting I didn't find it at all remarkable with no finish whatsoever. This is unusual for me so I consulted the biodynamic calendar and sure enough it was a root day - never good for wine tasting. I was never a believer in biodynamics until I started to notice the days I do and don't taste wine well and always take the time to check up on what type of day it is. Needless to say Sunday was a fruit day (ideal for wine tasting) and so on a second try I can say that the Rioja was full of great aromas of blackberries, black cherries, vanilla. And on the palette well it tasted as it smelled with the addition of some blackberry leaves and a hint of chocolate (which explains why I enjoyed the remnants of it with some Lindt chocolate!!). At £4.99 a bottle in a world where the price of wine seems to be slowly but not subtly creeping up then this is great value for a wee quaff on a weekend in the house...
...DINED ON...well I finally ate in the Alston rather than just drink in it. We had a beautiful meal from the early dining menu they have. At £12 for two courses or £15 for three it was really great value. Two of us had entrees (chicken liver pate with red onion marmalade; crayfish salad) which were both really tasty and exceptional sized portions. We both followed this up with steak frites with garlic butter (the steak was cooked to perfection and the simplicity of the presentation and the food itself was refreshing). The third in our party had chicken breast with ham and leek sauce which we were assured was full of flavour. Then there was the deconstructed pear crumble. The deconstructed nature did not go down that well at first but as soon as the spoon sunk in and the dessert hit her lips there was not a chance of either of us who were poised with spoons ready for a taste getting a look in. All of this was washed down with a beautiful (though quite pricey) Pino Noir from Burgundy. Lovely and like everyone else I know who has been, we will be back time and time again as the food, drink and service are all exceptional.
So until next time - have a good one. G
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