The Kindness of Strangers

I’m writing from the Port Mor community center just south of Port Charlotte, Islay. The sun is cutting through low clouds to deepen the blue color of Loch Indaal, the grass is green, and the center is filled with local families taking a late afternoon lunch break from the center’s playground — school is out for Easter break.

I’ve been in Port Charlotte for a few days, taking a break away from the cottage to enjoy some time socializing with locals I haven’t seen for awhile and with the influx of tourists that suddenly appeared this month. A couple of days ago, I befriended a group of college students who are with a foreign exchange program at Glasgow University. The group included Germans, Dutch and an American, and they were thankful that this stranger who has been on Islay for a few months could give them some tips about the island.

I joined the group on their last day here for a visit to Bruichladdich Distillery, which is just up the road, and a journey to Bowmore. Mary and Caran in the Bruichladdich shop were kind enough to give us a special tour outside of their normal schedule, as we all had a bus to catch to Bowmore an hour later. As always, the tour gave the students the chance to interact with the men and women of Bruichladdich in a very personal way. In all my distillery visits to places like Laphroiag, Ardbeg, etc., the people involved in whisky making are friendly without exception and eager to answer questions they’re asked hundreds of times each year. Even though visitors may lack whisky knowledge, and perhaps lack a grasp of English, people here treat these strangers with kindness and respect.

Jim McEwan gives an impromptu whisky lesson.

Our little international group stopped in a warehouse where Jim McEwan and some of the warehouse boys were hard at work selecting casks for bottling. Jim, who’s never met a crowd he didn’t want to entertain, dropped what he was doing and led the group on an eloquent journey through Bruichladdich’s philosophy and a tasting of one of the distillery’s many experimental spirits. The college students – Florian, Irene, Erin, Jelle and another Florian – were unaware they were getting to experience for free what thousands of whisky enthusiasts around the world pay preciously for at whisky festivals: a chance to talk about whisky with Jim McEwan. Irene, who had no interest in whisky before the tour, had developed both an interest in and a taste for whisky by the end. Such is the magic of what happens when someone like Jim takes the time to interact with strangers.

We left the distillery to catch our bus in hopes of doing another tour at Bowmore Distillery. The bus arrived – the small postal bus – and it didn’t have room for six biscuits, let alone six backpackers. The students were worried, as they needed to be in Bowmore to catch the bus to the afternoon ferry back to the mainland. We called a taxi, but they were all booked. The weather was rapidly deteriorating, with strong wind and snappy rain, and it was a LONG walk to Bowmore.

Two local women, who’d stopped at Bruichladdich mini-mart graciously offered to give a ride to three of us, as that’s all the room the car had. We sent along the two girls and one of the guys, while the remaining three guys stayed behind, trying to hitch another ride. We had zero luck, as the few cars that passed us were filled with passengers or items. A rescuer finally appeared in the form of the same two women who had helped our friends. They’d returned several miles out of their way, as they couldn’t bear to have us suffering in the rain.

If there is anything I’ve learned in my years of travel and thousands of interviews I’ve conducted as a journalist, it’s that most of the problems in the world are caused by a few scared people. The majority of folks are just trying to enjoy life and get along as best they can. One morning in Islay made a difference in the lives of strangers from several countries. Pretty impressive for a hunk of land peeking above the wild waves of the North Sea.

There is a wonderful piece about the people of Islay at Islay Info http://www.islayinfo.com/islay_people_ileach.html. If you can’t make it here one day, at least check this out to see what you’re missing. As always, thanks for the comments and the emails (rob.gard@whiskyguyrob.com). I’m glad you are enjoying my whisky musings!

One Response to “The Kindness of Strangers”

Florian (the Dutch one)