The Spirit of Moray

Last night I had the great pleasure of attending the opening of the annual Moray Book Festival in Elgin Library. It was a nice to be at an event like this on my home turf, in the public library that perhaps I know better than any other. This year's festival is called "Spirit of Moray" and the opening session last night was very special indeed.

After the welcome from Alistair Campbell and the official opening by the Convener of Moray Council, Councillor Stuart Cree, the opening session was David Urquhart in conversation with Andy Simpson on Malt Whisky as an investment. The event was packed as you might expect. David Urquhart is the joint Managing Director of Gordon and MacPhail, the famous whisky merchants based in Elgin and is a great authority on the subject. He is also one of the most entertaining, erudite and community-minded people it is possible to meet and Gordon and MacPhail regularly sponsor events such as this (and, indeed, many others). David retires from the role of managing director later this year. Andy is an expert in all things whisky, he writes widely on the subject and his knowledge has led him to create a valuation tool for malts.

Inevitably, we got a few samples to partake of; including a 60 year Glen Grant. This is a very special malt because it was placed in cask on 2 February 1952, four days before the King died, some has been bottled this year to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. Grenville Johnston, the Lord Lieutenant, informed us that the commemorative decanter containing the precious nectar is being delivered to Buckingham Palace today. According to David, each of the nip of it was worth, approximately, £400. I'll never taste the like again.

So, once again, Moray Libraries brought together fantastic speakers to open the Book Festival which is such a crucial part of the library calendar. Everytime I visit Moray Libraries (and here I'm speaking as a library professional as well as a local resident), I am struck with how central they are to the local community, they are at the heart of delivering a wealth of services and facilities that the local authority needs to provide. They are engaged, enlightened, fun, informative and meeting every possible user need. Actually, the libraries could be said to be the Spirit of Moray.