Surviving Dry January

You will have heard the joke about Dry January?   “If you are drinking a dry gin, a dry sherry or a dry white wine, you’re covered…….”  

I hadn’t but I was persuaded to buy a dry white wine four days into Dry January from the bar of the Furnace Village Hall just before the quiz started.   If there is one thing that can dispel a miserable January night, it is a quiz.  Quiz Night at Furnace Village Hall is at 7pm every first Friday of the month.  We have been a few times now and – if we say so ourselves – we have managed to hold our own against tough competition from locals and visitors alike.   It is £3 per person to take part and you play in teams, up to four people per table.  Furnace’s hospitality also includes a cup of tea or coffee, with a homemade cake at half time – a cup of tea is just the thing to relieve the stress of rivalry!  Plus, there is always the bar for refills – BUT, ONLY IF YOU AREN’T DOING DRY JANUARY! 

For a Dry January, it hasn’t been particularly dry here; just as wet as usual people will tell you.   Argyll and Bute’s winter has been quite mild.   We have even had some lovely sunny days and I have been outside on the decking doing some ‘half-hearted’ yoga to dispel the January blues – but the dogs are inclined to get in the way.

However, this week, we have had snow! 

Someone had told me that we are too coastal in Furnace to get snow, but in last year’s snowfall Campbeltown was cut off from the rest of the peninsula for ages.  And this week, we got a major snowfall and the garden was lovely, it really lifted the spirits.

Anyway, Burn’s Night is coming and that is cause for celebration and how convenient, it will fall on a Friday night!   I am convincing myself not to indulge in a dram. 

And now that I have thought about whisky – which I don’t normally drink as I am a wine person.  What is ideal for dismissing the blues, but usually eaten on holidays and high days, is a bowl of posh porridge.   I first had this, called luxury porridge, at a B&B on the Isle of Mull.  It is porridge served with single cream, heather honey and a splash of malt whisky – what is not to like?  Now, I can hear folk saying what a waste of a good malt, but it was truly delicious, and the combined taste was like rich fruit cake.  So it is now on our breakfast menu at Powdermills Bed and Breakfast Furnace, near Inveraray.

So, here’s to hoping that 1 February falls on a Saturday and make mine a posh porridge please!