Windows

When I'm cleaning windows

You know something? I love going to visit distilleries. The sights, the sounds, the smells, the friendly people, a tour showing you all the various parts involved in making the spirit, and the warehouse, it's amazing. And of course, sometimes (always), a bottle to commemorate the occasion. These distilleries oftentimes are in remote places (when I went to Islay in 2007 for example that was quite the journey) and they are so often beautiful and picturesque. Even the somewhat industrial ones have a certain charm. There are few things in life I like doing more than going to a distillery, driving there in my hired car, of course not drinking but taking the samples after the tour, it's the most magical thing. Distilleries are cool, quite vertical in places, old buildings often, so much history in so many of them. Just really like them, very simple, I love going to them, I think that's clear. Distilleries are ace! If it wasn't for the ongoing pandemic, I would have been to many more, how I miss them, my sweet distilleries. I want to  move on, but I just wanted to say, again, how much I love distilleries, great places.

Glendronach Distillery (with windows)

Well this, and a tweet from someone (obviously) on Twitter got me thinking, I mean, about windows. Not the ones in buildings, although they are important, or the operating system on your computer (I am very sorry), but time windows, let me explain, if I may. I have a certain time window in my life to visit distilleries, I think. Certainly, I wasn't able to visit them properly by myself for the first 18 years of my life, nor was I taken there, so that's the start of the window, and then if we factor in money (it costs) and my own mobility (I won't always be so active) then I think I have probably a good 50 or so years of a 'window' in which to visit them. Given there are loads of them, and the cost and time required, it would be hard to visit them all, and there are always new ones popping up. And I can't predict the future, who knows what will happen to me, so the 50 years is probably an optimistic window viewpoint as it were. I 'hope' I have a 50 year window in which to visit distilleries. For others, this window may be bigger, but for some, it might be a much smaller window. For some even, it's a closed door.

Sven's transfer window

It's a worrying thought, but at some point this window will close for me, just as it opened all those years ago. Indeed, given the linear and chronological nature of our existence, there are windows for everything. For love, for careers, for being a professional football player being transferred between clubs and perhaps even a window for professional football player transfer windows. Everything that starts, must end by definition, if you believe in that sort of thing. And I would like to say that once a window has been opened, and windows should be opened, that window should be open for as long as possible. In terms of whisky, just as an example, the opening of the window seems to be agreed to be around the age of 18 to 21, and I've experienced the window being open to me even as early as 16, for a very small window of course, a window in a window, if you will. But maybe, given some factors I have mentioned earlier, in some aspects, certain windows are closed for some folks, and opening them up might be difficult, but, open them we should. And the reason why, is, we all want open windows, because windows are temporary, and we don't want to have closed windows, because once you close these windows, it's difficult to get them back open again.

A nice open window, yesterday

Some more window chat. There are also 'windows of opportunity' when it comes to buying whisky, again, another time window. Some whiskies are only available for a very short time, these days, it can be minutes, even seconds. That's quite different to years, in terms of windows in which you can visit a distillery, but again, for some, those windows are closed, and there are windows in windows in play again. When it comes to an online purchase, you have to be quick, and not everyone is. And here is the point, the window in window thing, those minute or second based windows are only available to some, but those same people, also, at some point, will move out of the window of being able to access that window, by definition, just as they moved into it when they turned 18, or got that job which enabled them to afford it. There are windows in windows in windows, maybe even in windows. You will not always be over 18, you will not always be as quick witted or as able as you are now, that window will close, and that will suck! So, when that happens, wouldn't it be cool if you were still able to go through that window? If something happens to you, wouldn't it be great if that didn't affect your window access? I am sorry, I have said the word window so much, I think I am getting lost here, but stay with me.

I hate these images but I am sticking with them

Really when I say window, I mean accessibility, time wise but also physically, mentally, it's all connected. We should make things more accessible because that's in our own interests, even when we think it might not be, and even when we think it might actually hinder us, we are actually helping ourselves. We should make locations more accessible because at some point it's going to affect us. We should make those moments where you have to be lightning quick to get a whisky, dare I say it, fuck right off, because we are not always going to be lightning quick. Whisky (LMAO) should be affordable because we won't always be able to afford things, I mean, you never know. We should make sure we have a few big open windows for as many as possible, not loads of small windows only available to some for a shorter time. I say this, because it's in our own interests, if you think about it. This doesn't just apply to whisky of course, it applies to many things, like, say healthcare, I think that's a good example. You simply never know. So yeah, you never know when you are going to need a ramp or a lift or a bus or some alt text for an image (something I need to work on), you never know when a queuing system or a ballot would work in your favour, and those things are already required for some of us, not just in whisky of course, but I run a 'kind of' whisky blog, so that's what I am going with here. Anyway, to open windows, for as long as possible, I say! Also I would like to apologise for swearing, and the over use of the word window. Thank you for reading.