THE BRAVE reporting team preparing to endure the many hazards of getting to and from the show on Scotland’s whisky isle, Islay, were bemused this week by the news that scientists have developed a robotic whisky tasting machine which can differentiate between different whiskies.

They did so, so that fake whiskies could be sussed out and removed from the retail sector to uphold the integrity of Scotch Whisky PGI. However, why employ a robot when there might be several hundred, maybe thousands of willing ‘noses’ out there begging to help!

In any case, you can assume that the human element of all this was put to good use during the Islay Show this past week.

Texel bemusement

TEXEL enthusiasts from the Solway and Tyne Texel Club have been left bemused by the actions of YouTube’s clean up police.

The club attempted to post a video of the top priced ram going through Carlisle auction centre last year to publicise this year’s highly anticipated sale, which will be held on Thursday and Friday, September 5 and 6. However, that attempt was blocked on the grounds that a man with a stick in a ring, plus a sheep, was akin to cock or dog fighting.

Sometimes, the politically correct crowd just take things too far!

Tractor fan

KINTYRE Show wouldn’t be the same without its chief organiser, bum kicker and all round good guy, John Armour. But this year he had something special to celebrate.

He once owned a classic Massey Ferguson 135 and when it left him to be put to the tender mercies of tractor restoration expert, Jackie Morrison, it was in quite a state.

A magic wand has been waved and a painstaking restoration saw big John able to pilot his old ‘chariot’ around the ring to take the supreme tractor award at the show. Unlike the big yin, it looked like it had just driven out of the factory!