Round the Barrel evenings give us all a chance for a natter over a dram and we were delighted to see old friends and new on Tuesday. Among the new friends was a tall, lanky Canadian called Herb. Herbert A LeRoy, Insp (Retd) to give him his full Sunday name. Herb is the Private Secretary to the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, who's been touring Scotland with his wife Margy and his sister and brother in law. T
hey were invited by Treasurer Ian Black, who collects people as well as he collects our fivers. "It's a long story," he started to tell me, then the bottles were opened and we kind of missed the moment. Nonetheless Herb told Ian later he'd had a great evening with people who instantly treated him as a friend. He also met club member and fellow countryman Andrew and as the drinks flowed, the tales grew taller and taller.
Some good drams too, on the night, and thanks to Julie for doing the shopping at Oddbins - and to Mark and Matthew who suggested the supplies.
My personal favourite was the Benriach 15 year old PX - a truly stunning dram, full of sherry and sweetness. The Clynelish went down well too and Herb endeared himself to the club even more, by buying a bottle from the bar to stick on the barrel. Canadians - much nicer than the Yanks!
The pic above was taken with Herb's giant Nikon by Duncan, who struggled to even hold it. But not a bad piccy Dunc. Not bad at all.