We took the train to Stratford-upon-Avon. Breakfast at The Fourteas meant a full English, lots of tea, and wartime propaganda in the décor. The little tea room was cozy and yummy, with especially good mushrooms and potato hash browns.

At the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Other Place, we saw Macbeth set in a 1970s/80s Glasgow. Sam Heughan—Jamie from Outlander—played Macbeth. Then we took the train back to London and had dinner at the hotel.

Part of our November 2025 London trip. Trip summary.

From the Notebook

We took a rock-and-roll walking tour of London. On Denmark Street we saw the guitar shops and the city’s old “Tin Pan Alley.” At Regent Sounds we talked about the Rolling Stones, the Kinks, and Black Sabbath. The tour took us past the former Borderline venue, McCartney’s MPL offices in Soho Square, Trident Studios, Sounds of the Universe, the old Marquee site, and the White Horse pub, where Led Zeppelin reportedly had their first beer together. On Berwick Street we stood where Oasis shot the (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? cover. Carnaby Street and the red phone box associated with Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust cover rounded out the music pilgrimage. At 3 Savile Row we stopped at the site of the Beatles’ rooftop concert and Apple Records.

Lunch at Poppies was fish and chips: haddock for Ksenia and fish cakes for me. The Hunterian Museum was really cool, with a huge collection of specimens. The comparative anatomy displays put humans and other animals side by side. I also tried several pens at Waterstones.

We ate dinner at The Pig and Butcher. Ksenia had duck, and I had pork belly. We shared bread and butter, chicken and duck-liver mousse, and desserts: apple pie for her and berry pavlova for me. Ksenia had also been through the Hunterian; she found it too creepy. She picked up three books, one at Waterstones and two at Foyles.

Part of our November 2025 London trip. Trip summary.

From the Notebook

Lunch was at Mangio near St. Paul’s. We found this little fresh Italian place last time we were here. I have no idea what I ordered, but it was good. Ksenia had focaccia and a tart.

At Tate Britain, we saw the Lee Miller exhibition. It followed her from Vogue model and photographer to avant-garde artist and war correspondent. Her work at Dachau and in Hitler’s apartment was especially powerful.

Then: afternoon tea at Brown’s Hotel. Ksenia chose Earl Grey, and I had chai. There were egg salad, prawn, chicken salad, smoked salmon, and cucumber-goat cheese sandwiches; plain and almond scones; apple cheesecake, chocolate cake, carrot cake, and something with gingerbread. I can’t remember the other two desserts, but I certainly remember that there were desserts.

We ended the day with Paddington The Musical at the Savoy Theatre. Ksenia cried a lot. 🐻

Part of our November 2025 London trip. Trip summary.

From the Notebook

Breakfast at the hotel was a full English for me and porridge for Ksenia. At The Photographers’ Gallery, we saw Zofia Rydet’s portraits of Polish people and their homes, Boris Mikhailov’s dark, anti-Soviet photography, and a show celebrating a hundred years of photo booths. The Mikhailov gallery was set to The Dark Side of the Moon. I enjoyed that bit enough that Ksenia may have had to pull me away. Ksenia did not buy film: sad panda. The café’s chai was great, and the woman making drinks was nice.

We stopped at Word on the Water, the bookstore on a barge beside the canal. Houseboats lined the rest of the water. In Covent Garden we found a French tea shop Ksenia liked; she bought tea for herself and friends. We wandered past shops and some street magic, stopped at a music shop, and had drinks at Mr Fogg’s.

Part of our November 2025 London trip. Trip summary.

From the Notebook

We landed at Heathrow, where our original plane was broken. After moving to a new gate and waiting for a replacement plane, we were told to expect a two-hour delay. We eventually made it into London, but our room at Hotel Indigo London Kensington wasn’t ready. We dropped our bags and went to the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Lunch was at the V&A café’s deli counter. I managed an hour-long nap at the hotel afterward, then we returned to explore the museum. It was a maze. We eventually found the furniture and photography exhibits—something for everyone.

Dinner at Kitchen W8 was a long parade of dishes, including yellow chanterelles, deer carpaccio, partridge, pear and sage, smoky truffle mashed potatoes for the table, and clementine sorbet.

Part of our November 2025 London trip. Trip summary.

From the Notebook

Scotch Tallies

Ksenia and I spent August 13–30 in Scotland and London. Three days on Skye, a lot of Edinburgh Fringe shows, four days on Islay, and then London for Shakespeare, Totoro, and Paddington.

Also Scotch. A lot of Scotch.

The Scotch

All the Scotch tasting posts.

Four Days on Islay

Morag took us from Glasgow to Islay, with stops at Loch Lomond and Inveraray and a ferry ride with great views. We stayed at The Bowmore House. Andrew Jackson was our host, and breakfast came with a house-blend dram.

The distillery days were busy. At Bruichladdich, we drank straight from the casks. At Kilchoman, we watched barley being shoveled while drinking the whisky. Lagavulin, Ardbeg, and Laphroaig filled most of the next day.

A few that stood out:

Kilchoman was a great tour, with Cullen skink and a sandwich selection for lunch. Our Ardbeg guide enjoyed slagging us off. At Kildalton, the cross and roofless church were stupid pretty.

We also visited the Islay Whisky Vault for old, rare, and unusual whisky, and finished a long day at the Bowmore Hotel. Teresa’s verdict on the hotel: a “goddamn delight.”

“Pacing is for losers” made it into the conversation. By the end of August 23, I had crossed out my count and increased it. Twenty-one for the day.

More Scotch Around Scotland

The Talisker tour on Skye included the 10-year-old, Wild Blue, and a distillery exclusive. The 10 had pepper on the finish and sea spray. Wild Blue was salty, with a reddish tint from red-wine casks.

In Inverness I tried a flight of Caol Ila 12, Macallan 12, and Balblair 12. At a whisky shop in Dunkeld, there were drop-in drams: Glenturret 10, its peated version, Ardnamurchan, and James Eadie’s Trademark X. Trademark X was complex but well balanced; the peated Glenturret balanced smoke with chocolate and dark fruit.

Back in Edinburgh, the Fiddler’s Arms supplied Glenfiddich 12, Glen Scotia Double Cask, and more Caol Ila. The latter started smoothly and finished with strong smoke.

Every Scotch, by Distillery or Producer

Here’s every Scotch I wrote down, grouped by distillery or producer. For a few, I only recorded the distillery or age. The dates take you back to the day.

Ardnahoe

• Infinite Loch — August 22.
• Inaugural Release — August 22.

Ardbeg

• Ten Years Old — August 23.
• Wee Beastie — August 23.
• An Oa — August 23.
• Uigeadail — August 23.
• Corryvreckan — August 23.
• Eureka! — August 23.

Ardnamurchan

• Ardnamurchan — August 16.

Balblair

• 12-year-old — August 16.

Bowmore

• 15-year-old — August 22.

Bowmore House

• House breakfast blend — August 22, August 23, August 24.

Bruichladdich (including Port Charlotte and Octomore)

• Bruichladdich Maverick Luxury 18-year-old — August 21.
• Bruichladdich 2009 cask, 16 years old — August 22.
• Bruichladdich special-cask 16-year-old — August 22.
• Bruichladdich 14-year-old — August 22.
• Port Charlotte Islay Barley 2014 — August 21.
• Port Charlotte 2015 cask — August 22.
• Octomore 2011 cask — August 22.
• Octomore Polyphonic — August 22.
• Octomore 15.3 — August 23. One of my two favorites.

Bunnahabhain

• Ruby Port Finish, 58.7% — August 22.
• 2014 Canasta — August 22.
• Toiteach A Dhà — August 22.

Caol Ila

• 12-year-old — August 16, August 19.
• 2023 distillery release — August 22.

Glenfiddich

• 12-year-old — August 19.

Glen Scotia

• Double Cask — August 19.

Glenturret

• 10-year-old — August 16.
• Peated 10-year-old — August 16.

James Eadie

• Trademark X — August 16.

Kilchoman

• Sanaig — August 21.
• 100% Islay, 14th Edition — August 22.
• Machir Bay — August 22.
• Loch Gorm — August 22.
• 13-year-old distillery exclusive, ex-Buffalo Trace cask — August 22.
• 100% Islay, 7th Edition — August 23.

Lagavulin

• 8-year-old — August 22, August 23.
• 16-year-old — August 23.
• 12-year-old Madeira-cask fill-your-own — August 23.
• Distillers Edition — August 23.
• Fèis Ìle 2025, 15-year-old — August 23. One of my two favorites.

Laphroaig

• Oak Select — August 23.
• 10-year-old — August 23.
• Quarter Cask — August 23.
• Sherry expression — August 23.
• Lore — August 23.
• Cask — August 23.
• Càirdeas 2025 — August 23.
• Port Wood — August 23.
• PX Cask taster — August 23.

Loch Lomond

• 10-year-old — August 20.
• 12-year-old — August 24.

Macallan

• 12-year-old — August 16.

Oban

• Oban — August 14.

Isle of Raasay

• Isle of Raasay — August 14.

Talisker

• 10-year-old — August 15.
• The Wild Blue — August 15.
• Distillery Exclusive — August 15.

Tamdhu

• 15-year-old — August 13.

Where We Ate and Drank

Edinburgh

Skye and the Highlands

Inveraray and Islay

London

Where We Stayed

Places, Tours, and Shows

Scotland

• Three days touring Skye with Billy: Loch Lubnaig, Doune Castle, Stirling Bridge, the Five Sisters of Kintail, and Loch Duich on the way.
• The Fairy Glen, Castle Ewen, Portree, and Talisker on Skye, with sheep, cows, a goat, and waterfalls along the way.
• Plockton, Rogie Falls, Inverness, and Leakey’s bookshop on the return journey.
• Dunkeld Cathedral, a pretty stone building beside the river, followed by drop-in drams at a whisky shop.
• Calton Hill for the 360-degree view, then the New and Old Calton burial grounds.
• Surgeons’ Hall, for centuries of tools and the Hall of Pathology.
• Greyfriars and a wander around Edinburgh’s Old Town.
• Four days touring Islay with Morag, including the distilleries and Kildalton Cross.

The Fringe was a lot of fun. Earnest? was probably the best show we saw there: the actor playing Earnest fails to turn up, so they pull a “volunteer” out of the audience. Hilarity ensues. A Parody of the Rings skipped most of the last two films for time. Knightclub was like Fight Club meets A Knight’s Tale on Monty Python’s budget. Very silly.

We also saw our first adult panto, a rock-and-roll magician who picked me for a card trick, Anna Hale’s funny musical Control Freak, Gummy Bear War, Married Without Children, A Covert Affair, Werewolf Gameshow, How to Become a Movie Star?, and Girl Pop. That last one had nine people in the audience.

London

• Shakespeare’s Globe: The Merry Wives of Windsor in the afternoon and Twelfth Night in the evening.
• Highgate Cemetery, both East and West, with Douglas Adams, pens, and animal monuments.
• My Neighbor Totoro: amazing puppetry. Such a good show.
• Tate Modern, where the Rothko room was still overwhelming. A child called an artwork “paint”; told it was fabric, he thought for a second and said, “Cheater.”
• Paddington bears at the station, the shop, and Leicester Square, plus Mr. Bean.
• The Paddington Bear Experience. Maybe aimed at a younger crowd than us, but still a hoot. We helped save Marmalade Day. Thank god we were there.
• Portobello Road, cameras for sale, old Paddington illustrations, and Saucy Books.

The Daily Posts

• August 13: Day 1
• August 14: Day 2
• August 15: Day 3
• August 16: Day 4
• August 17: Day 5
• August 18: Day 6
• August 19: Day 7
• August 20: Day 8
• August 21: Day 9
• August 22: Day 10
• August 23: Day 11
• August 24: Day 12
• August 25: Day 13
• August 26: Day 14
• August 27: Day 15
• August 28: Day 16
• August 29: Day 17
• August 30: Day 18

About the Tallies and Ratings

The Islay counts reset each day. I counted the pours on each spread and kept the running unique count beside them; only the final daily totals are above. I didn’t tally the return day, though I wrote down the Bowmore House blend and Loch Lomond 12. Some whiskies reappear on different days, so adding daily unique counts would overstate the number of different Scotches across the trip.

Five stars means a standout; four means I’d recommend it; three means mixed; two means disappointing. I haven’t rated every meal. These are my impressions from August 2025.

Portobello Road. Street where the riches of ages are stowed…

There were many cameras for sale. We picked up some old Paddington pictures ripped from old books, had very tasty paella from a vendor for lunch, and got a fresh “Summer” juice. We also stopped by Saucy Books.

An overheard exchange:

Man: “Do you have coffee?”
Clerk: “Yeah.”
Man: “Do you have pistachio?”
Clerk: “Pistachio… coffee??”
Man: “Yeah.”
Clerk: “No…”
Man: walks out

Dinner was at the Footman, née the Only Running Footman. It has been bought out and gone downhill. Plenty of things on the menu were unavailable because it was the end of the season and they were switching the menu over.

The steak was mediocre: an unimpressive cut, and undercooked. No off-menu cocktails either, including a martini.

Trip summary and all the daily posts

From the Notebook

The Paddington Bear Experience was mayhaps geared toward a younger age bracket than Ksenia and I represented. Still a hoot.

As luck would have it, we arrived on Marmalade Day. There were many chores and adventuring in store for us, but in the end we helped save Marmalade Day. Thank god we were there.

We went to Covent Garden via Waterloo Station. No sunset, though.

Lunch was at Palm Court. Duck confit for me, which was not good, and fish and chips for Ksenia. A “Pink Lady” that was not a Pink Lady, and Eton mess.

We mailed out our contraband and took a quick walk to the TARDIS.

Dinner at the Pig and Butcher: bread and butter, crab cake and chicken liver appetizers, and duck confit. Lavender lemonade and a strawberry daiquiri to drink.

Trip summary and all the daily posts

From the Notebook

We went to Tate Modern. The Rothko Room is still overwhelming. We saw Warhol’s Marilyn Monroe prints, and Nelson Leirner’s Homage to Fontana II, a playful riff on Fontana’s work.

Some overheard art criticism from the children of the Tate:

“This whole place is weird.”

And:

Kid, pointing at art: “Paint.”
Dad: “Actually, that one is made up of fabric.”
Kid, thinking about it for a second: “Cheater.”

Lunch was at Mangio, right by St. Paul’s. Tasty, FRESH PASTA. A small shop with friendly owners.

We took pictures with four bears and a Bean: two bears at the Paddington Store, one at Paddington Station, and one in Leicester Square. Mr. Bean was in Leicester Square too.

We wandered Piccadilly, then had dinner at Garcon. Bread and butter warmed on pine needles, and butter with stuff.

Trip summary and all the daily posts

From the Notebook

We stopped at Archie’s for breakfast on our way to Highgate Cemetery. I had a full English breakfast burrito. Ksenia had a yogurt parfait with coconut.

We visited both East and West Highgate; this was our first time in the West Cemetery. Douglas Adams had his pens. There were animal monuments: a dog named Lion, a horse’s grave, and a lion named Nero. We also visited the grave of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s bodyguard, who died in the helicopter crash.

Tea was in the Drawing Room at Brown’s Hotel. Very posh. Our waiter was Ukrainian, so he pronounced Ksenia’s full name correctly.

Then My Neighbor Totoro. The puppetry was amazing!! Such a good show.

When we got back to the Airbnb, I dropped my notebook in the bathroom. We thought it was lost and called both the tea place and the theater to see if we’d left it there. Eventually we gave up for the night. I was getting ready for bed when Ksenia found it.

Much relief.

Trip summary and all the daily posts

From the Notebook

Breakfast at Where The Pancakes Are. Pancakes, naturally.

Then a Shakespeare double feature at the Globe: a matinee of The Merry Wives of Windsor, followed by Twelfth Night.

Between shows, we had our lunch/dinner at Swan, adjoining the Globe. Bread with Marmite butter, crab, trout for me, and a duck appetizer for Ksenia.

Trip summary and all the daily posts

From the Notebook

We took the train from Edinburgh to London. A broken train ahead of us held us up for an hour, but we got a full refund.

Dinner was at the Troubadour: a vegan Wellington and a burger.

Trip summary and all the daily posts

From the Notebook

The last day of the whisky tour took us off Islay and back to Edinburgh. We spotted our Ardbeg tour guide on the ferry, then stopped for lunch at the Inveraray Inn again. We were back in Edinburgh by 5:00pm.

The last whiskies included the Bowmore House blend and a Loch Lomond 12-year-old. Loch Lomond was where we’d stopped on the way to Islay on the first day. The 12 had a fruity, berry nose and tasted of cereal. The finish was oddly harsh, though I might just have been dehydrated.

Dinner was at Element. I had bouillabaisse; Ksenia had steak and ale pie. I had a Seven Crofts gin and tonic, too: nice and floral.

We squeezed in one more Fringe show, Girl Pop. Fun, with nine people in the audience.

Trip summary and all the daily posts

From the Notebook

Scotch Tallies

“Pacing is for losers.”

Another Bowmore House breakfast blend, then Kildalton Cross and the roofless church. Stupid pretty.

Lagavulin

Mark led our Lagavulin tour. We talked through malting, mashing, fermentation, and separating heads, hearts, and tails. The old stories included hiding stills in coffins when the tax collector came around. Plus bribes.

We didn’t buy anything there. The fill-your-own wasn’t great, and the distillery exclusive was too expensive.

Ardbeg

Lunch at SeaSalt in Port Ellen was creamy oysters, fish and chips, and chicken schnitzel.

Our Ardbeg guide enjoyed slagging us off. We also heard about Shorty, a dog who used to come down the road and join the tours. He’s buried on the property.

Laphroaig, Then More

At Laphroaig, they were still doing some floor malting on site. Here’s everything I wrote down from the tasting, including the PX Cask taster:

We finished up at the Bowmore Hotel, which Teresa called a “goddamn delight.” Crab, fried mushrooms, Octomore 15.3, and a Kilchoman 100% Islay 7th Edition.

The Octomore was oily and super smoky, with dried fruit from the sherry casks. It and the Lagavulin festival bottle were my favorites of the trip. The Kilchoman wasn’t that smoky on the nose. Sweet. Almost turpentine.

I crossed out my tally and increased it after drinking more. Twenty-one for the day.

Part of our August 2025 Scotland and London trip. Trip summary.

From the Notebook

Scotch Tallies

Breakfast at The Bowmore House came with a house-blend dram. A useful start to a day of distillery visits.

Bunnahabhain

We started at Bunnahabhain around ten. The 16-year-old Ruby Port Finish was spicy, fruity, and sweet up front. The nose reminded me of paint.

The 2014 Canasta was something else: caramel smell, caramel color, caramel taste. Chocolate, too. Like a candy store.

Toiteach A Dhà was lightly peated, light in color, and easy to drink.

Bruichladdich

At Bruichladdich, we tasted straight from the casks. They make unpeated Bruichladdich, heavily peated Port Charlotte, and very heavily peated Octomore. Also The Botanist gin.

Kilchoman

Kilchoman was a great tour. Lunch was Cullen skink and a selection of sandwiches, like high tea. Christie led the tasting.

We literally watched the guys shovel barley while drinking the 100% Islay release. Hard to improve on that timing.

There was a bonus taste at the end, too.

More Whisky, Then Oysters

The Islay Whisky Vault sold old, rare, and unusual whisky. Somebody’s description of the job: “I’m selling art.”

There was Ardnahoe Infinite Loch, fruity and menthol on the nose; Bowmore 15, with a little smoke and a floral finish; Lagavulin 8, salty and seaweedy; and a Caol Ila distillery release with salt, smoke, sweetness, and an oily texture. An Ardnahoe Inaugural Release and more Bruichladdich rounded out the day: a special-cask 16-year-old and a dark-caramel 14-year-old with rich, warm spices.

Dinner back at the Lochside: four oysters and the scallop special.

Part of our August 2025 Scotland and London trip. Trip summary.

From the Notebook

Scotch Tallies

The four-day Islay tour started in Glasgow at nine, with Morag as our guide. By ten we were at Loch Lomond; at 11:40, Inveraray.

Lunch at the Inveraray Inn was a chicken burger for me and a filet for Ksenia. Then the ferry. Fun! Lots of great views.

We checked into The Bowmore House, run by Andrew Jackson. Not the same place as the Bowmore Hotel.

Dinner at the Lochside had an enticing menu of specials. Really nice oysters, then venison steaks for both of us. And whisky.

Three drams to start. We were going to get considerably busier.

Part of our August 2025 Scotland and London trip. Trip summary.

From the Notebook

Scotch

We spent time watching street performers on the Royal Mile: a flute looper, a fire juggler, a knife juggler, and a magician doing cups and balls.

Lunch was at Filling Station: a chicken burger, fish and chips, and strawberry lemonade.

Knightclub was like Fight Club with monks and knights. Think Fight Club meets A Knight’s Tale on Monty Python and the Holy Grail’s budget. Very silly.

We also saw How to Become a Movie Star. We just grabbed tickets at the box office. It was OK.

Back outside, there were more street performers, including a blues guitarist and a basketball man.

Dinner was at Element. I had Chicken Balmoral, and we also had mushroom stroganoff and a Scotch egg. The drinks were Loch Lomond 10 and Inch’s cider.

Part of our August 2025 Scotland trip. Trip summary.

From the Notebook

Scotch

We visited Surgeons’ Hall for centuries of surgical tools and preparations, including the Hall of Pathology.

Thomas J. Walls was packed. We had tea and sandwiches, a scone with clotted cream, and more tea.

At Greyfriars Kirkyard, we saw Tom Riddle’s grave and remembered the story of Greyfriars Bobby. The dog stood by his master’s grave for twelve years, then got buried outside the cemetery because he was a dog. And they patted themselves on the back like they weren’t all arses.

We walked around Old Town and stopped at Fiddler’s Arms for Scotch before dinner at Mussel Inn. We’d been here with D on our first trip. Ksenia had a half pot of mussels in white wine. I had a smoked salmon appetizer and a half pot of the applewood-smoked special.

Then Werewolf: The Gameshow. The title was a lie. Two werewolves, plural, and no gameshow. Ksenia liked it more than I did.

Part of our August 2025 Scotland trip. Trip summary.

From the Notebook

A quick stop at the post office, then another day of the Fringe.

First up was A Parody of the Rings, at Gilded Balloon Patter House. It was a funny, “impromptu” retelling of the three movies. Most of The Two Towers and The Return of the King got skipped for time.

Then Earnest?. The premise: the actor playing Earnest in The Importance of Being Earnest doesn’t show up, so the company grabs a “volunteer” from the audience to fill in. Hilarity ensues. Likely the best show we’ve seen here.

We followed that with A Covert Affair, about two spies in Budapest.

Part of our August 2025 Scotland trip. Trip summary.

From the Notebook

We walked up Calton Hill for the 360-degree view of Edinburgh, then headed to New Calton Cemetery to see Robert Stevenson’s grave—the grandfather of the writer. From there we went over to Old Calton Cemetery and its Lincoln statue and American Civil War memorial.

Sunday roast was at Hawksmoor: prime rib with all the fixings. Roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, boiled carrots and cabbage, roast garlic, marrow gravy, and sausage stuffing. I also had a Hepple gin and tonic, which reminded me of Bombay Sapphire.

Then back to the Fringe. Gummy Bear War was in Italian with subtitles. Fun, although we think we missed some cultural reference that would have explained the gummy bears’ assault on the dinosaurs.

Anna Hale: Control Freak was a funny one-person comedic musical about therapy for her anxiety.

Dinner was at The Botanist. Ksenia had the Forager’s Feast mushroom burger; I had the chicken kebab. We finished with Married Without Children, a mix of sketches and improv.

Part of our August 2025 Scotland trip. Trip summary.

From the Notebook