What makes a good Whisky? Is it prancing about in a kilt?

Ask one hundred people and you will get one hundred answers. It has been said that there are at least 500 brands of whisky in the world – so there seems plenty to have a go at.

There’s certainly plenty here at this local specialist, T B Watson in Dumfries. Click and drag on the image below.

We’ve tried the elusive Glenmorangie Cellar 13, now going up and up in price. And by experts I am told this is (or was) one of the best, being influenced by it’s being aged in barrels close to the sea shore. So the ‘terroir’ and casking is a major part of the magic.

Theories and myths abound, particularly The Angel’s Share, which is the small proportion of the whisky which is lost through evaporation from the barrels. A film was made with this title, and directed by Ken Loach in 2012 and is worth a look.

Apart from the famous 1949 Whisky Galore film, there is also a 1897 Dewars Scotch Whisky film, reputed to be the first filmed advertisement. In advance of their time, some have suggested that the dancers in Scottish kilts are rather the worse for wear whilst they dance in front of a Dewars Whisky sign. Which seems rather harsh!

Colour Psychology in Restaurants

As a restaurant owner, one of the most important factors for your success (after the provision of good food) is often the decor and ambience. But what to choose?

Each restaurant is different and individual, and it has been shown that the colour red, attracts people, stimulates people to talk, stimulates blood pressure and heart rate and most importantly stimulates the appetite. You just need to Google ‘the use of the colour red in restaurants’ to find more about this.

It’s not exactly known why this should be. We’ve got an example below of one that works, The Granite Kitchen, Dalbeattie, Scotland. We had a business meeting here, and talk was free flowing and exciting and we observed a great turn over of clientele. The ambience that is created is good.

Click and drag on the image below. It all tastes as good as it looks.

If you Google ‘The Granite Kitchen Dalbeattie’ then this is what you see on a pc (other devices give similar results), with appropriate imagery. It looks good.

The Nail Factory, Dalbeattie, another fab Google tour

Here we have a very lovely gallery, in Dalbeattie. It provides studio space and workshops for artists and hosts exhibitions. Try clicking and dragging on the image below. This is their Google Tour.

Now for some of my favourite shots from the shoot

Totem at The Nail Factory, Dalbeattie

At The Nail Factory, Dalbeattie

At The Nail Factory, Dalbeattie

At The Nail Factory, Dalbeattie

It’s always important to show you how things appeared before and after the Google Tour. Here’s before the tour when searching on an iPad (you get similar results on other devices). You would not even know it was a gallery and in fact the image is pointing at a different building!

The Nail Factory, Dalbeattie, before the Google Tour

Below we have The Nail Factory AFTER the Google Tour. Now there is much more appropriate and inviting imagery. What a difference for prospective visitors!

The Nail Factory, Dalbeattie AFTER the Google Tour

A great place for artists and collectors. Go seek it out.

We will be visiting another place in Dalbeattie, and it will be hot…

Gadding about with Google, on your Treks

It comes to something when you can race around the world in a few minutes on-line.

It’s surprising what you can find on Street View or perhaps rather it’s surprising what is NOT on Street View.

I found the world famous Petra on Maps. Just go to Google Maps and search for Petra.

Petra on Google Maps

Then drop the little man on the map as close to the pin as possible and spin around to see this.

If it’s cold and wet outside you can go to Petra, climb El Capitan in Yosemite, visit Venice and many other amazing places at Google Treks

Treks has a wealth of information, audio and visual to keep you interested. Google have so far covered Petra, Samburu, El CApitan Yosemite (AMAZING), Nepal, Gombe National Park, Pyramids of Giza, Angkor Wat, Colorado River, Churchill, Taj Mahal, Venice, Galapagos Islands, Eiffel Tower, Mt Fuji, Burj Khalifa, Iqaluit, Everest base camp, Grand Canyon, Great Barrier Reef, Amazon Basin, Kennedy Space Centre.

Here’s Petra, and you can go right inside. I leave you to explore…click on the image.