Eriska, Scottish Island

Golf Course prepares for the winter

As the nights draw in and the days become cooler - so the growth on the
course reduces. Its amazing that in only 2 years time all eyes will be focusing
on Gleneagles and the Ryder Cup and yet for us by the end of September most of
the golf season is over. Lets hope that 2014 brings an Indian Summer and the
extended season we all crave --and Gleneagles will need!

Over the last month the addition of top dressing and fertilisers adding
nutrients to the greens and the tees has helped encourage the last few spurts of
growth but in reality the season is coming to an end and we need to start
preparing for winter. We have always tried to play the course right through the
winter and have avoided the temptation of winter greens, the passing gulf stream
keeps the frost at bay, altthough the second green tucked away in the corner
under the trees by the heronry -out of sight of the winter sun often gets a wee
bit of cover but the warmth from the sea keeps the worst of the frost at
bay.

On the rest of the course we start by raising the cut on the mowers and this
allows a bit more protection from the elements and on the outfield and rough
areas our friendly geese come and fertilise and trim these areas back. On the
fairways along with the raising of the cut we simply try and keep them looking
managed with stripes and shape to help others find their balls.

Around the course before all the leaves start to fall its a chance to run
round with a can of paint and mark trees and limbs to be removed over the
winter. Age and experience has taught us to wait till winter when the job can be
done in half the time with half the material to be removed - as the leaves are
missing- and it means thet we can open up areas that may have been inaccessible
in the summer and it is then simply a matter of maintaining them at a lower
level when the growth returns in the spring.

Luckily we are quieter on the course in the winter as we will be busier
around the estate with a regular cycle of ball picking on the driving range as
it comes into its own over the winter on days when the course may be unplayable 
and the range can let golfers expel their frustration and expend some energy
practising the lessons they may have learnt over the summer and preparing for
the year ahead.

And its time to winterise the machines and get cutters sharpened and any
longer maintenance issues fixed ready for another year- our 40th here at Eriska!

Another game bird!

As I walked down the hill I got the fright of my life- as I suspect did the sleeping bird- when I stood on the tail feathers of one of our game birds. It is one of the attractions of autumn and especially the month of October that it brings with it another seasonal game bird - the Pheasant.  The shooting season for pheasant opens on the 1st of October and lasts until February. Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) similar to the partridge is a member of the phasianidae family, a large long tailed game bird.  Males (cock) have rich chestnut, golden brown and black markings on their body and tail, with a dark green head and red face wattling. Females (hen) are mottled with paler brown and black markings.

Although they originated from Asia, they were introduced to the U.K a long time ago however more recent introductions have brought in a variety of races and breeds for sport shooting. Pheasants can be spotted all year round across most of the U.K. main land apart from the far North West of Scotland. Their preferred habitat is in open countryside near woodland edges and hedgerows and feed mainly on seeds, grains and shoots. Pheasants are able short distance fliers, however they prefer they prefer to run and walk around.

When it comes to hanging pheasants at the beginning of the season (October) with it being warmer weather and younger birds, they should only be hung for up to three days, whereas in cold, winter days, older birds are usually hung for up to ten days. Hen pheasants are believed to have a nicer taste and are often should be preferred over males. They have a delicate mild game flavour, which is also affected by the time of the season which they are consumed in - younger and early season birds tend to be more delicate and tender.

As with any other game bird in the Eriska kitchen, pheasant are roasted as crowns (helping to maintain all the natural juices and as much flavour as possible), the thighs are usually stuffed whilst the drum sticks make it very tough and full of sinew which can be roasted off for stock and used for broths, consommés or reduced to a sauce.

Wise words from the kitchen

We seem to have seen the last of the summer here at Eriska, however we are still hopeful for the odd ray of sunshine before the winter finally sets in. Having already experienced a few cold and frosty nights at Eriska, this signals the mushroom season is getting close to an end, although some types will still be found around Eriska until late autumn and early winter. Wise words from Tyron in our kitchen will shed some light on the mushroom which has featured in many of Eriska’s dishes this month… So what is a mushroom? Mushroom and any fungus is only the reproductive part of the organism, known as the fruit body (the actual mushroom which we get to see), which develops to form and distribute the spores. Fungi in their structure have some similarities to plants, but they lack chlorophyll, and are therefore unable to build up the carbon compounds essential to life, instead they draw their substances ready made from living or dead plants, or even animals as animals do. Mushrooms are composed of very thin tubes known as hyphae. The hyphae develop into a fine cob web like net known as the mycelium and grow through the material from which the fungus obtains its nutrition. In most cases the mycelium is very fine and can’t be seen without the aid of a microscope. To produce a fruiting body two mycelia of the same species have to band together, then given the right conditions of nutrition, humidity, temperature and light, a fruit body will be formed and with sufficient water, expand into a mushroom. A fruit body may only exist for a few days before rotting away but the mycelium which produces it might live for years. The larger fungi are divided into two distinct groups: The spore droppers, and The spore shooters. The spore droppers: Basidiomycetes, in these the spores are developed on the outside of a specialized, club shaped cells called Basidia. As they mature the spores fall from the basidia and are normally distributed by the wind. Boletus, puff balls and chanterelles fall under this category of spore dropping. The spore shooters: Ascomycetes, also called Ascos, form spores within clubs of flask-shaped sacs called asci. When the spores have matured they are shot out through the tip of the ascus. Morels and truffles belong to this group of fungi. Fungi are the third natural kingdom, just as important as animals and flowering plants. The world of plants is incredibly dependant on fungi. Fungi break down leaf litter and dead wood and thus ensure that the surface has a fertile soil rather than being a heap of detritus

Wise words from the kitchen

We seem to have seen the last of the summer here at Eriska, however we are still hopeful for the odd ray of sunshine before the winter finally sets in. Having already experienced a few cold and frosty nights at Eriska, this signals the mushroom season is getting close to an end, although some types will still be found around Eriska until late autumn and early winter. Wise words from Tyron in our kitchen will shed some light on the mushroom which has featured in many of Eriska’s dishes this month… So what is a mushroom? Mushroom and any fungus is only the reproductive part of the organism, known as the fruit body (the actual mushroom which we get to see), which develops to form and distribute the spores. Fungi in their structure have some similarities to plants, but they lack chlorophyll, and are therefore unable to build up the carbon compounds essential to life, instead they draw their substances ready made from living or dead plants, or even animals as animals do. Mushrooms are composed of very thin tubes known as hyphae. The hyphae develop into a fine cob web like net known as the mycelium and grow through the material from which the fungus obtains its nutrition. In most cases the mycelium is very fine and can’t be seen without the aid of a microscope. To produce a fruiting body two mycelia of the same species have to band together, then given the right conditions of nutrition, humidity, temperature and light, a fruit body will be formed and with sufficient water, expand into a mushroom. A fruit body may only exist for a few days before rotting away but the mycelium which produces it might live for years. The larger fungi are divided into two distinct groups: The spore droppers, and The spore shooters. The spore droppers: Basidiomycetes, in these the spores are developed on the outside of a specialized, club shaped cells called Basidia. As they mature the spores fall from the basidia and are normally distributed by the wind. Boletus, puff balls and chanterelles fall under this category of spore dropping. The spore shooters: Ascomycetes, also called Ascos, form spores within clubs of flask-shaped sacs called asci. When the spores have matured they are shot out through the tip of the ascus. Morels and truffles belong to this group of fungi. Fungi are the third natural kingdom, just as important as animals and flowering plants. The world of plants is incredibly dependant on fungi. Fungi break down leaf litter and dead wood and thus ensure that the surface has a fertile soil rather than being a heap of detritus

Cowal Highland Games

Once again, the last weekend in August saw one of the biggest turn outs to date, as the Cowal Highland Games took place in Dunoon.  The three day event began last Thursday and culminated in a marching of the 130 bands (over 3000 pipers) and a fireworks display over Coal Pier on Saturday which closed the event - until next year.

 

 

As always there was plenty to keep the whole family entertained, attractions for the children as well as the finals of the World Highland Dancing Competition and the Cowal Pipe Band Competition – 130 pipe bands from around Scotland competing to win the title of Pipe Band Champion.  We even had local success, with our local high school - Oban High School Pipe Band - successfully beat off stiff competition to be awarded 1st prize in their class!

For the athletics amongst us there was the opportunity to enter into the “Heavies” Competitions however, as you can imagine, watching from the side lines was more preferable! 

 

Of course, no Highlands Games would be complete without a Ceilidh and we were spoiled fro choice with 4 Ceilidh tents to choose from.  The highlight had to be the band, “Skerryvore”, who have even been billed as the next Runrig and they certainly lived up to that name.  

Glorious 12th!

Sometimes others highlight that I neglect to learn from my mistakes but this day every year I like to highlight that I have. The reason is that always on the 12th August I try to escape from the hotel and island and today was no different. The reason is historical as it is the Glorious 12th and some time ago I thought it would be good to not only serve Grouse on the day that the season starts- today - and even better was that I invited the local press to join us.

However this was a great plan not thought through. Firstly the bird really needs to hang so that it begins to age before its cooked so eating on the day It is shot would not be ideal, secondly whilst the west highland grouse is possible it is also dwindling to such a level that locating and then cacthing is a huge challenge and not one which we could count on due to the pressure. So I arranged for grouse to be delivered from a different region and with time against us the van arrived in the late afternoon with dinner closing in quickly.

Having stood on the back door panicking that I was to be let down I was so thrilled to see the delivery that I confidently strode into the kitchen clutching the birds and handed them to the open mouthed kitchen staff. However they were not aghast at my success in getting birds but dumbfounded because they had never seen the birds in real life and certainly had no clue how to pluck or draw them. Not giving up I then retreated to the back door with the birds followed by a chef with a book. He sat on a stool and guided me through the plucking, I sat on a stool with a black bag and bird in hand and started the  operation.

 Feathers, fluff and fury filled the air. As I finished each bird I looked up and asked if the chef had understood how to do it and consistently he shook his head and asked for another demonstration. Two hours later with diners arriving I completed the plucking the came the instructed drawing and skinning, again a new experience and by now lots of promises never to do this again. The good news was that all was completed in the nick of time although it was touch and go, the bad news was that no one else had learnt how to do it, if they had they had hidden it,and my whole afternoon had been a simple lesson learnt. So no August 12 is get out of town day or never mention the grouse day!!

Red Squirrel Sightings

One of my fathers dreams had been to introduce Red Squirrels to Eriska and he investigated the opportunities in great depth. However he always led me to believe that the lack of progress was the fact that you needed a habitat of over 400 Acres and due to our limited size Eriska was unsuitable. However  it was later suggested that the cost of £30,000 had been more of  a hurdle a slightly more convincing argument-.

Anyway this week my mother reported the sighting of Red squirrels on the island. Allegedly she had been driving out the driveway and had been confronted by an image crossing before her, as she slowed the car it had stood up and its bushy tail and pointed ears had immediately made her identify it as a red squirrel,. Naturally this was all reported to me and unsurprisingly I was slightly dubious, mostly because I knew it was one of my fathers dreams and because there have never been any records of them on Eriska or even near Eriska but also due to the lack of photographic evidence.

So the next day I was recounting the story to a guest in the Conservatory over breakfast with a gentle request to keep their eyes open and they rather smuggly immediately told me that the squirrel had not only been spotted by a Beech tree on the lawn the day before but also by a beech tree on the far-side of the island the following afternoon. So  now the quest for photographic evidence is required before we are overrun by the new Red Squirrel Invasion!! 

Eriska "Vuvuzelas"

As I walked round on my evening inspection last night I could hear  faint buzz as I passed the spa suites. Initially I thought it was simply the sound of a guest watching the world cup in side and the din of the now synonymous Vuvuzelas or what has now become the sound of the South African world cup. However Isoon remembered that this was all over and it was unlikely that one of our guests was watching any more football or even worse highlights of the event as I think most of the country- and in this I count the whole of the United Kingdom- has probably had enough football for the time being.

Closer inspection then revealed that the bush I was passing was not only full of wonderful red buds but that half of it was moving and on even closer viewing I noticed that it all seemed to be moving. The complete bush was full of bees and wasps and was a hum of activity as they were transferring from one plant to another. The still evening and dim light just magnified the effect and indeed it left an eerie noise and one I thought wisest to move on from as I realised whilst they were all busy and intent on collecting food I was safe but should they decide that I was interfering with the harvest I could be pursued.

Its always amazing how each day if we pay attention we notice the wonders of nature and that it can be right on our doorstep. I have never heard such a noise or seen a bush so infested with Bees and wasps and it must be down to a combination of the warmer weather and more severe winter as we do seem to have far more blossom in the garden and the flowers a seem to be budding and growing faster than ever. However for now I will not be investigating too close for fear of disturbing them. 

Eriska Goes Green- Its official

We have over the last few years been working towards a greener more environmentally efficient and acceptable policy and have worked closely with several outside authorities to help us achieve this end goal. initially it was simply enough just to try and persuade all those at Eriska that our target was achievable and most importantly worthwhile and then we simply had to begin on the road with a commitment to a target.

At the start of this year we appointed an Envirmental Ambassador or as she became known "Green Katrine" and she became our concisions keeping us on the correct track and working with us to develop ideas and policies. Her hard work and understanding of the subject allowed us to develop quickly and every step she monitored progress and documented decisions and evidence. The next stage was to prepare for a full environmental audit and for this we asked the Green Business Tourism Scheme to become involved and benchmark our efforts with others in the industry. Clearly at first sight luxury and five star hotels are not expected to follow the envorment and green plans  however it soon became clear to us that not only could following such policies help our achievement of a certification but they too could be beneficial for business and therefore the more we investigated the more we learnt and then the more we adopted.

Last month we underwent a full audit and the assessor left without giving too much away so we had to await the result and I was delighted today to hear that Eriska has achieved the top award of a GOld Standard. It not only rewards us and especially Katerine for her perseverance but it also spurs us on to further developments and puts our environment high on our agenda whenever we change policies or products. So now armed with our Gold Award we must not rest but continue to achieve!

weather wc 6th June

One of our guests commented  The bluebells and how they seemed a wee bit late this year. I can certainly confirm this having looked at the entries of the blog over the years and we are over 4 weeks behind schedule with the natural surrounding however the weather seems to have returned to normal with warmer days, although the nights are cool, and slight rain to keep the grass green, Anyway as we race to wards midsummer what has the weather got in store for us?

Today: Most places will be dry with some sunshine. Patches of mist will persist over the  Coast. A few showers will develop over high ground in the afternoon. It'll be another warm day with light winds.

Monday:Any showers at first will quickly die away then dry for a time with some clear spells. Showers will break out later.

Tuesday:It will be mostly cloudy with showers developing in many places during the morning, becoming heavy and possibly thundery in the afternoon, especially across Argyll Hills.

Wednesday:Mainly dry and warm with sunny spells. Isolated showers this afternoon. Light winds.

Thursday: Cloudy with more persistent rain later in the day along with fresh easterly winds.

 

Friday:Becoming drier, brighter  and still quite windy.

Saturday: Generally unsettled with many areas seeing showers or longer spells of rain, some of which maybe heavy and thundery but later in the day sunnier interludes are expected.