Newtonmore – welcomes 2017!

Every year the small Highland village of Newtonmore puts on a spectacular show to welcome in the New Year.

The midnight hour!

 Cheers!

2017 – not much to cheer I fear........!

Happy New Year but will it be?

There are many who will be very happy to see the back of 2016 – frost and mildew in the Loire and other northern French vineyards, Brexit lunacy in the UK and in the US the election of a spoilt child. 

Unfortunately the arrival of 2017 will not wave a magic wand to reverse the effects and after-shocks of 2016. 2017 will see us living with the consequences of 2016. 

Those Loire producers, who were severely hit by the frosts of 2016 April, will be feeling the consequences during the coming year with low wine stocks. There is no doubt that the Loire cannot afford another serious April frost. Fingers will be firmly crossed during Springtime.

It is increasingly clear that the UK cannot afford Brexit. Unfortunately May's incompetent and arrogant government appear to be all too likely to get the worst Brexit deal going. I just hope that the prospects of a hard Brexit will dawn on enough people to force a rethink.....

With a bit of luck we will see London's ridiculous Garden Bridge cancelled.

As for Trump .......

    

 

2016 Loire – April frost damage a closer look

On a superficial glance from a distance all looks OK....

It is now well over a month since the big frost and from a distance many of the vines look OK with green shoots pushing upwards. However, close inspection shows that in the frost affected vineyards this growth is coming from the trunk with very little in the way of potential bunches, while most of the buds on the cane are shrivelled and dead.

C

On closer inspection the frost damage is clear with 
only the occasional bud surviving on a cane
(Vines in Ingrandes-de-Touraine)

•••

Fireworks as 2016 arrives in Newtonmore (3rd set of photos)

Fireworks from the Golf Course at Newtonmore organised by Colin Stewart, Andrew Mackenzie and Gavin Stewart from the local fire brigade.

This is the third of three posts on the Newtonmore celebrations – here and here.

Getting ready to see in 2016 @ #Newtonmore (2nd set of photos)

For a small village up in the Highlands the celebrations at Newtonmore to see in the New Year are admirably ambitious. Earlier today I posted the first set of photos here. This set concentrates on the revelers and the fireworks.    

The torchlight procession makes way to Golf Course 

A big crowd to see in 2016

 

Singer guitarist entertaining the crowd

Ghostly entertainer 

 A last 2015 selfie.... 

The start of 2016...