aran

18 December 2023 billpaterson1@me.com 19 Comments

Just over a year ago we reported from ‘Aran’ in Falkirk and it got pretty close to a topscone award. It has since closed and today’s ‘Aran’ is in Linlithgow but run by the same people. In our original Aran post we said we would report from the Linlithgow establishment at some point in the future … so here we are!

Linlithgow is a very picturesque historic town and this cafe sits not more than two hundred yards from the Palace where Mary Queen of Scots was born in 1542. Unfortunately Aran is housed in a large 60s architectural monstrosity that does no favours to the town whatsoever. A plaque on the wall, however, indicates that it won a design award from the Saltire Society. What were they thinking?

You will remember, of course, that “aran” is Gaelic for “bread”. They take great pride in their sustainability and sourcing local produce. They bake everything themselves using 100% renewable electricity as well as recycling 75% of their waste. Highly commendable but what would their scones also be highly commendable?

Topless

Over the past year we have had our fair share of scone disasters. Aside from the relatively few places that have had below average scones, there have been places with no scones and others with outlandish flavour combinations. Here, however, we had another kind of disaster … topless scones! Because I had ordered a bowl of soup Pat went ahead and chopped the top of our shared scone before I could take a photo. Not only that she had eaten it before I even noticed. This is the first time we have posted a photograph of a topless scone and I cannot tell a lie … it was her! However, she did say that the top was very good and with cream it would have been a topscone. The bottom was delicious as well … one of the best bottoms I’ve tasted! So not quite a topscone but highly commendable.

Goodwill

This is the season of merriment and goodwill to all men (for men read men, women and everything in between and beyond). However, sitting here looking at the world from Linlithgow, where the town motto is “be kind to strangers”, we’re not seeing much in the way goodwill. No-one seems to have told the Putins, Sunaks, Ali Khameneis, Bidens, Netanyahus. However, here in Scotland, in three days time we will have our shortest day at slightly less than seven hours. From then on the days start to stretch and we begin again with renewed hope that all these guys mentioned above will try to enact that motto.

Pat and I are getting ready for the usual deluge of grandkids so sconological adventures may have to be left to one side over the festive season. We thank all our readers for your continued loyal support and wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy, healthy and sconey 2024.

EH49 7EY tel: 01506 844477 aran FB

///stumpy.excusing.beaters

Scones, Uncategorized

Bakearoma

10 December 2023 billpaterson1@me.com 5 Comments

Sometimes people say things like “you fairly get around, don’t you” and we’re never quite sure whether it’s congratulatory or accusatory. We kind of know what they mean but it just doesn’t seem that way to us. As if to amplify the point, however, our previous post from Dnisi in Kirkintilloch is now followed by this one from Bakearoma – Bakery & Coffee Lounge in the Australian outback. Yes, today we are posting from the town of Roma in Western Queensland. Of course, Pat and I are not actually there but luckily our Toowoomba correspondents are.

Driving

Aussies can be pretty disparaging about us northerners – we’re talking hemispheres! They reckon we are too wimpish to bother driving almost three hundred miles for a scone. Apparently it’s no trouble to Aussies! They are forgetting, of course, that we just have more sense! For us to drive three hundred miles we would end up on the outskirts of London having negotiated intense traffic round major cities like Manchester and Birmingham. And it would take around seven or eight rainy hours.

They, on the other hand, can probably drive in a straight sunny line from Toowoomba to Roma with barely any traffic and just the odd kangaroo hopping alongside past the occasional billabong. And, with cruise control the whole way, they would be there before they could finish singing Waltzing Matilda! Okay, okay, we’ve never been to Australia and for all we know there could be a bend somewhere in the road.

What’s in a name?

We thought Roma, population 7,000 and established in 1867 (‘yesterday’ to us northerners) would have been named by a homesick Italian immigrant. Seems obvious but it’s actually commemorating the Greek wife of an Irishman. Her name was Lady Diamantina Roma Bowen, wife of Sir George Bowen.

Seriously though, we are deeply indebted to our correspondents for their sconological endeavours down under. And we don’t mean to scoff at their sense of history … not really! In their own words:

“Well, there is a lot of history out there, again, not by northern hemisphere standards, however, Roma has the distinction of being the first town gazetted in the new colony of Queensland. By 1864 it had its own court of petty sessions, a police station, doctor, chemist, and postmaster. The town was connected by telegraph to Dalby and Brisbane in 1866. So, there is history there! Nowadays Roma is known for its strong agricultural sector, including beef and crop production. It is home to the country’s largest cattle sale yards.

Roma is also known as the birthplace of Australia’s Oil and Gas industry. All this and more! The meat pies at the local bakery can’t be bettered, however….the scones.. afraid they would not pass the Pat and Bill Paterson’s high standards, despite the fact they come accompanied by a generous slice of carrot cake!
Had our scones and drove the four hours home.
Will do it again without hesitation!!

Maintaining sylph-like figures

Thank goodness every scone doesn’t come with a slice of carrot cake. Our waistlines would be even more under threat! We should finish off with some comment on Australian politics. However, apart from knowing that it has to be better than here in the UK, where we are currently being lectured on illegality and human rights by Rwanda,, we don’t know enough about it. Mind you that’s never stopped us commenting on things before!

Our only wish is that the next time our correspondents set off looking for a scone they don’t stop at Roma and just carry on to Falkirk! Can’t promise carrot cake though.

QLD 4455. tel: +61 7 4622 4399 Bakearoma FB

///cave.crusted.mocking

Scones

Dnisi

8 December 2023 billpaterson1@me.com 6 Comments

We’re in Kirkintilloch today to see one of Pat’s aunties. She’s in her nineties and of the nine aunts and uncles on her mum’s side this aunt is the last man standing. However, we haven’t seen her since she went into a care home and we had been warned that she probably wouldn’t know who we were. Consequently we were approaching with a degree of dread, it could be a very short visit. Unfortunately we arrived just as the home was sitting down to lunch so they asked us to come back in an hour. Hence we find ourselves here in Dnisi killing time.

In spite of Pat having had several relatives in the Kirkie (as it’s known locally) this is the first time we have ventured downtown. Parking’s a nightmare! Dnisi is part of a chain which sports seven outlets across Scotland. It originated here in Kirkintilloch in 2004. Their unique selling point is “roasted in-store coffee”. Having invested in small coffee roasting machines, they actually roast their coffee on site in each venue. You can also buy the D’nisi blend to take away. On a large hessian sign pinned to the wall they also proclaim to have award winning handbaked scones . All very promising!

Overindulging

We decided to share a toasted cheese andwich and a fruit scone along with some of their special coffee. Imagine our surprise when the huge toasted sandwiched arrived on two plates with half the sandwich on each accompanied with a salad and french fries. Each plate was lunch on its own! We had just wanted a snack but it was all so delicious that it disappeared quite quickly. Then the scone! It was huge as well! Unfortunately, it too was delicious with a lovely crunchy exterior so it went the same way as the sandwich.

Together with the friendly service it might well have been a topscone had it not been quite so big and the jam and cream hadn’t been prepackaged. They are trying very hard in Dnisi, however, we would thoroughly recommend it. By the way, the coffee was good as well, Not as good as our favourite Cat’s Pyjamas, but good.

It was time to return to the nursing home so we waddled out past the grey granite drinking fountain which you can see in the title picture. At the top there is the motto of Kirkintilloch which says ‘Ca’canny but ca’awa‘. It’s in Scots but an English translation might be ‘Carry on carefully, but keep carrying on’. We might adopt that as our own motto!

Back at the nursing home, we needn’t have worried. Pat’s aunt knew us straight away. She was absolutely delighted to see us and insisted on introducing us to all her friends. It was a joyful visit!

Time?

No joy, however, elsewhere. The war in Gaza makes us feel positively sick. The situation is absolutely desperate. When we think about the causes, however, one thing seems to stand out … God! It may not be PC these days to think of Him as a Him but for the purposes of this blog He’s a bloke. The puzzling thing is that He is on both sides. Apparently about 2000 years ago He told the Jews that the land of Israel was theirs. A bit unGodlike to show favouritism but let’s accept that He did.

That would be fine it wasn’t for Him also promising the same land to the Palestinians who had been living there for thousands of years before. Isn’t it a crying shame that they didn’t have iPhones back then to record all these conversations with God! The Holy Land has always been a mess but there were people happily living there when it was just Land. God is always blessing America and that in itself should demonstrate what a deeply flawed individual He is! And three or four thousand years is but a blink of an eye in terms of time so perhaps it might help if both sides just left God out of it … He’s not helping!

Luckily we still have joyful old aunties and places like Dnisi to see us through!

G66 1JD tel: 0141 578 0135 Dnisi

///signed.mammals.spun

Scones, history and a dollop of politics

Monthly Archives: December 2023