I recently stayed at the Lamb Inn with a group of girl friends for a walking weekend. The rooms were spacious, of average standard, nothing fancy but with everything you needed. The communal areas in the inn are very in keeping with the age of the pub and the restaurant and bar area are very attractive. The food was of high standard. The staff were extremely helpful and could not have be nicer. The general atmosphere was just what you would expect from an old English pub. The village is very pretty and a good base to explore this lovely part of

I stayed with my partner at The Lamb at Hindon on a cold Friday night in April 2006. Hindon itself is a pretty little village and The Lamb was warm and welcoming. The rooms are basic but clean and perfectly acceptable. Dinner was very nice too.

We had two very enjoyable evenings at the Lamb in Hindon. The

The rooms are spacious and we loved our four poster bed.

We loved our night at the Lamb – everything a traditional English country coaching inn should be, full of a gracious, relaxed charm and exuding character. We were doubly pleased to find that this did not mean it was unduly precious – the bar (yes, there still was one, despite an emphasis on food, which can be eaten in style in the restaurant or at mellow leisure in the bar) was full of locals, with a good atmosphere. The food was very good and we were allowed to bring our dog with us to bedroom and bar meal, which was greatly appreciated. The Argentinian Malbec was just the thing, and reasonably priced. Service was spot on. We can’t wait to get back for a long weekend to explore this wonderful area and soak up more of the Lamb’s atmosphere.

A Tartan, associated mostly with Scottish culture, is a woven cloth consisting of criss-crossed patterns and vertical bands in a variety of colors. Tartan is often seen in Scottish kilts, bag pipes, and other fashions.

Tartans are made up of two parts, a warp (which is vertical stripes) and a weft (horizontal stripes). It’s important that each warp and weft meet at a right angle, otherwise you’ll end up with a different, and rather crooked, design. When combining the two pieces, the different colors on the warp and weft combine to form new colors, while the original color stays in some parts. Once combined, there is a new number of colors. The more colors you start out with, the more will end up in the finished product. For example, say you started out with six base colors. When you combine the warp and the weft, you’ll produce fifteen new colors for a total amount of twenty-two colors. The sett, or the sequence of the threads, begins at the edge of the fabric or other medium and reverses on pivot points. Pivot points are usually just smaller lines separating the larger chunks of color. To count color threads (you can count both the color and the width), you would do this: If you had 4 black green threads, 24 black threads, 4 green threads, and 24 black threads, it would be represented by ‘G4 K24 G4 K24′.

There’s many colors that Tartans can be made from, and each shade has it’s own meaning. They are varied by muted, ancient, and modern colors. Modern dyes are blue, black and green chemical dyes instead of natural. Ancient is lighter shades produced by natural dyes. Muted dyes are the shades you’d find between ancient and modern. Many people think that the colors signify something. They do, but this idea has only existed in the past century. A popular misconception is that red Tartans were worn by warriors so their blood was camouflaged. Today, in countries like America and Canada, blue symbolizes water, green symbolizes forests, and yellow symbolizes crops.

Tartans have flourished since 400BC. Although the thread didn’t exist in Scotland until the 16th century, it thrives there now. Tartans were mostly associated with regions and districts, but are now associated mostly with Scottish clans. Today, tartans are made from thread, plastics, and paper.

The Most Expensive

The current record holder for the most expensive whiskey is a single malt scotch from the Bowmore Distillery on the isle of Islay. Bottled around 1850 and presented to William Mutter when he left his share in the distillery, this scotch was recently auctioned to an anonymous Russian bidder for £29,400, about the price of a new luxury car.

1850 William Mutter- £29,400
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Still Up for Grabs

While the Bowmore scotch is the most expensive whiskey ever sold, the last surviving bottle of Nun’s Island Distillery, which closed in 1913, is currently on sale for £100,000-over three times the price of the Bowmore. The 25 Year Old Pure Pot Still Irish whiskey, bottled in the late 1800’s, is currently owned by a friend of the heir to the Persse family, owners of the distillery.

1800’s Pure Pot Still Irish Whiskey- £100,000
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The Real World

Among whiskeys that an average Joe might hope to one day sample, the Macallan Fine and Rare 1926 is about as expensive as it gets. Originally selling for around $38,000, there are no bottles left on the market. A glimmer of hope remains though, as a dram can be had at the Old Homestead Steakhouse in the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City- for a mere $3,300.

Macallan Fine and Rare- $38,000
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Old and Rare

The Glenfiddich Rare collection 1937, laid down in the same year that the Golden Gate Bridge opened, was tapped in 2001 to produce 61 bottles. Anyone looking to sample this whiskey’s smooth palate of treacle toffee, crème brulee and toasted almond flavors will have to befriend a collector, as all bottles have been sold. In 2006, one of the last remaining bottles was auctioned off for $20,000

1937 Glenfiddich Rare- $20,000
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Not Your Average Blue Label

The Johnnie Walker Distillery is paying homage to its namesake with the limited edition Blue Label 1805 Pack. Blended from several whiskeys, all at least 45 years old, it is valued at around $20,000 per bottle. However, the distillery is not selling any bottles, instead presenting them to individuals deemed to have contributed most to modern society.

1805 Blue Label – $20,000
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A Taste of the 50’s

Balvenie Cask 191 is the distillery’s last cask from the 1950’s and their smallest release ever. Matured in a sherry cask, the whiskey has flavors of clove, honey, butterscotch and licorice. A very few of the 83 bottles produced by this cask are still for sale, with price tags of around $13,000

Balvenie Cask 191- $13,000
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For the true cigar aficionado, only the biggest in best well do. In that case, one should look no further than the Historical Pipe and Tobacco Museum in Brussels, Belgium. Within the walls of this esteemed collection, visitors can take in the truly phenomenal sight of the world’s biggest cigar. If you consider yourself a connoisseur of all things related to cigars, it is fitting to keep this piece of trivia in the back of your mind. This way, you can regale friends, family and other cigar fanatics about the pertinent details of this superlative cigar.

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The cigar housed within the Historical Pipe and Tobacco Museum in Brussels has truly monstrous proportions. Measuring more than twenty-one feet in length, it also weighs over a whopping 1,000 pounds. Who, exactly, could hope to enjoy this enormous cigar? The size is obviously strictly for novelty’s sake; there’s not a man alive who could hope to actually smoke this behemoth. Nevertheless, it is a truly memorable sight. After all, it’s not every day that one sees a cigar that outweighs many automobiles.

Additionally, the world’s largest cigar is made up of more than 10,000 tobacco leaves. Imagine how many regular-sized cigars those could make up! The thought is truly staggering. Indeed, should there ever be a shortage of tobacco in the world, this one could be broken up to manufacture a large number of regular sized cigars for those who experience major withdrawals.

It is important to note, also, that although the cigar in Brussels, Belgium is indeed the world’s largest, it is not also the world’s longest. That designation goes to one located in Puerto Rico, which measures in at an insanely long 62 feet in length. Perhaps one day, the dimensions of these two enormous cigars will be combined – the resulting 62 foot long, 1,000 pound cigar would surely trump all existing records. Either way, though – whether you are likelier to see the cigar in Brussels or the one in Puerto Rico – either will certainly make for some entertaining anecdotes to pass along to friends, family members and coworkers for years to come.

Though haggis is often thought to be a dish originally made in Scotland, findings point in other directions. The Ancient Romans were actually the first people to make haggis like dishes. Haggis was used as a cheap way to feed the Roman armies as well as the citizens.

When haggis arrived in Scotland sometime between the 10th and 13th centuries, it soon became an integral part of the Scottish culture.

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Traditional Scottish haggis is prepared using a sheep’s heart, liver and lungs, minced with onions, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally boiled in the animal’s stomach. It is also served with swede, yellow turnip or rutabaga and potatoes. It was often used by the poor in Scotland as a filling and nutritious dish.

Modern day haggis is served in artificial casings instead of the sheep’s stomach. Fast food establishments deep fry it in batter and serve it with chips. Higher class restaurants serve it stuffed in chicken breast, a dish called “The Flying Scotsman”.

There are also various Scottish shops and manufactures that sell vegetarian haggis for people that don’t eat meat. They use pulses and vegetables as a substitute for the meat.

Scottish whiskey is a common drink served with the traditional haggis, though some people drink wine with it.

There is plenty of folklore about haggis. The wives of Scottish cattle drovers were said to prepare rations for the men in preparation for the cattle drive to the market in Edinburgh. The sheep’s stomachs were supposed to allow for easy transportation of food during the trip.

Another story says that when a Chieftain or Laird had a sheep or cow killed for it’s meat, the workmen were given the offal as a way of thanking them.

There is also a rather amusing tale that haggis is actually a small animal that is native to Scotland. This animal is supposed to have one set of legs longer than the other so that it can stand on the steep hills of the Highlands without falling over. Many Americans actually believe this story and look for this mythical animal when visiting Scotland.

Though haggis may not have originated in Scotland, it is now so much a part of Scotland that has become a true a Scottish dish.