Tales From Afar
As advised, I tried a second crack at Glencruitten last week. Made an enormous mistake. I only had half a dozen golf balls in my bag. After 4 holes I'd lost half of them. Luckily on the next hole I found one. I did make it round with one ball to spare. I'm still in awe of the place.
You may remember I played in the 3 club challenge at my home club on the Isle of Seil. Well we got mentioned in dispatches in the local newspaper The Oban Times. I'm at the back third on the right and you can see I got a mention for my longest drive and nearest the pin. This was the entire Saturday field !!
Here I am in downtown Oban with the ferry port behind. Notice I'm flying the flag proudly wearing my Highlanders top. It's a good spot is Oban.
More Tails From Afar
Went to Islay this week, home of the very peaty whiskies which you either really like or really dislike. Islay is a fun place and you come across this stuff.
Now I'm all for catchy titles for people who cut your hair " A Cut Above", "Hair Apparent" but I did think the one on Islay was particularly eye catching. I'd give it a go.
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Then if you want a pizza what do you think the local pizza shop is called ? It's on the island which produces all the peaty whiskies. Have you got it yet ? Of course not. It's called
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PEATZERIA
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Of course it is. Then while I'm talking about weird stuff noticed this today in downtown Oban. Was in a chemist shop and noticed the following advert behind the counter. It was for Viagara and you have to believe me when I absolutely wasn't in there for that but this advert caught my eye. It said;
"Viagara, get some, starts working in 25 minutes and lasts for up to 36 hours."
OK I get the 25 minutes but 36 hours ? How does that work ? I shall say no more.
Whisky On Islay
First the fun stuff then the rant.....
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If you want a trip to the whisky island, then Islay is the place for you. Home to Laphroig, Lagavulin, Bunnahabhain, Ardbeg, Caol Ila, and a whole load more.
We went to Bunnahabhain, the only unpeated whisky on the island and one of my favourites. I was happy to be there. We did a tour of the distillery, spent a bit of money in the shop, and had a great time. What wasn't to like?
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Well consider the following;
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Laphroig is owned by Japanese giant Suntory.
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Bunnahabhain is owned by Heineken
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Ardbeg is owned by Luis Vuitton and Moet and Chandon
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Caol Ila and Lagavulin are owned by Diageo
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Who are Diageo you may ask ? Well they own Guinness, Smirnoff, Johnnie Walker, Baileys, Bundaberg rum and 40 % of all Scotch whisky distilleries. And a whole lot more. Google them.
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There isn't a single independently owned distillery on Islay. Now ....
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Islay isn't poor and run down but it isn't exactly exuding wealth. 36 people work at Bunnahabhain. I would wager a lot of money that the Islay whisky business is extremely lucrative. Yet all the vast profits I would think land at the door of corporate entities and pay executive bonuses and shareholder returns. I don't think much of the profit gets returned to the island but I could be wrong. Which is a shame.
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Diageo's recent annual earnings before tax were US$ 6.18 billion !
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Heard the following about trickle-down economics. Trickle-down economics is all good in theory it's just that not much trickles down. The profits from Islay don't trickle down to the good people of Islay. I heard it's why rich people don't wash their feet in the shower. They assume that when they wash their hair, the soap on their head trickles down and washes their feet automatically. Think about it next time you're in the shower, I'm sure you will.
And Then There Was Friday ...
The skins was fun last Friday with 2 groups of 4 players in the field. Bolty had a great day winning six skins for a tally of 48 bucks, while the remaining three skins jackpotted to the end and a refund of 3 bucks for each of the 8 punters. Happy days, everybody went home with money in their pocket.
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We had an apology from Jamie who said that he had to help Penny with setting up for her 65th birthday party in their house on Highgate to start 7.00pm later. That was all very reasonable until we mentioned this to Penny after arrival at the party. She said that this was a bit of a stretch, as he had only done two things: blow up a birthday balloon and attach it to their mailbox, as well as order two boxes of KFC chicken wings to be delivered at 10.00pm.
Anyway, the party was very successful with a theme to wear a birthday hat, which set up a challenge for those Wagglers who attended.
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The photo above is a gem, being that left footer Jamie from Gore. He has has a doppelganger in USA, being golfer Bubba Watson, or more commonly known as Blubba Watson when he burst into tears after winning his first Green Jacket at the masters in 2012.
The next is the group of four Lefties, being three left handers and a left footer from Gore with the Trump hat.
SmeatonGate ??
I have two versions of this story .......
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Here's Eddie's side of the story...... While at the party, I (Eddie) took it upon myself to keep Bolty topped up with his favourite beverage, being Corona extra, with a slice of lime. However, he wrongly thought he was being spiked, so that the wagglers horse (McConville Bros) would win the Smeaton Cup match against he and Brent Pownal the next day. Bolty did get home that night before 11.00 pm fully sober, so golf was decided by the better players the next day.
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Here's Bolty's side of the story ....... Whilst the evening went off with a blast, our President wanna-be, Edward Walter may have blotted his copybook. He resorted to taking the mercenary way (eliminating the Wagglers Syndicate opposition from the Smeaton Cup, by plying one of them with unwanted alcohol, rumoured to be spiked, on the day before a semi-final). The fact that one of those who was Edward's target was a fellow Waggler is of some concern.
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He has backed a monetary result over the glory of two of his fellow wagglers winning such a prestigious event.
Our other President in waiting, Fairway Phil Broughton (together with Mahmood and Murray Edgar), on the other hand, purchased the Wagglers team of Bolt and Pownall, showing faith in a team that has now made the semi-finals four of their five attempts. ( Sounds like World's Best Losers to me ?? )
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If there was ever an example of comparison between being mercenary or benevolent, betrayal or loyalty, this is it!
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Philanthropic Fairway Phil over Egoistic Eddie everytime!
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You decide who to believe !
And So Finally To Wednesday
The ATM Fires Up ..
The golf for Wednesday was played in mild, cloudy conditions which turned into a bit of wind later in the day. There was a full field of 32 players, so a purse of $160 in play. We had one visitor, being Garry Brosnan from Royal Wellington, as well as Paul Hubbard who subbed for Murray Cooper.
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John Alexander was appointed the money counter for the day, and he quickly got the first 6 hole tranche in play.
This was won by team Alcock, Caithness, Croudis and Walter with a creditable 33 points. This was their best effort for the day, with no further chocolates, although Walter did get 38 points to almost get a Blue Jacket.
Interesting that Warren Alcock divulged that he had once played senior cricket for Dunedin Cricket Club. The renowned commentator Ian Galloway was broadcasting the match and described the two new stylish opening batsmen to the club as Al Cock and Tim Dick. That didn't help Warren on the 14th hole today, when he thinned his drive, which hit a rock in the hazard and rose to a Starlink satellite level before falling short of the yellow tees. We enjoyed the whisky today, thanks Warren.
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The second six holes was won in a creditable 42 points by two teams, being Edgar/Henderson/Alexander/Marsh and the Ellis Brothers /Freeman/Hyndman. The star in this group was Phil Ellis with 37 points, while the rest were near or below The Phantom.
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The third six holes saw a strong finish with 52 points scored by team Adam/Cameron/Carvell/Keenan, where Farmer Adam scored a solid 38 points to help this result, with Carvell and Cameron also supporting.
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The Glory Boys
The Blue Jacket saw a close contest between Alastair and Eddie both on 38 points, where Alastair prevailed with a three pointer on the last hole.
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The Swingers Trophy was won by Senaka with two birdies and a best stableford score of 37 points.
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The ATM came up short in the sixes and there's no cash prize for The Swingers but the ATM didn't go home empty handed as he won the raffle with number 44.
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We did welcome a visitor today being Garry Brosnan from Royal Wellington.
And Finally ....
A very special occasion today where Kallum provided a wee tipple for his first grandchild Bobbi May Croudis. Also at the club were Duncan, Hannah and wee Bobbi. Such a memorable occasion to be celebrated by the Wagglers.
