All posts by billpaterson1@me.com

Ordinary, Scones

Cronies

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There are questions and answers in this post. For example … is vandalism still vandalism if it takes the form of a poem. Or, could it then take on some other cultural significance such as  ‘art’.  What if the poem itself is seen by some to be offensive or in poor taste? Okay, okay, there may be more questions than answers in this post from Cronies bar at the Golden Lion Hotel in Stirling.

Reception area at the Golden Lon Hotel
Reception at the Golden Lion

And, while we’re asking questions, do you know the collective noun for a group of cronies. We don’t either but some think it might be “The House of Lords”.

Internal view of the Golden Lon Hotel
Cronies Bar
Inscriptions

The ‘vandal’ in question, of course, is Robert Burns, Scotland’s national bard.  How could someone who wrote a celebration of friendship and memories with friends in “Auld Lang Syne” be a vandal? Not that difficult as it happens! 1786 turned out to be an eventful year for the ploughman poet.Logo of the Golden Lon Hotel Earlier in the year, the Earl of Glencairn had gifted him a diamond pointed pen. The intention probably was that he might inscribe some suitable ditty on one of his drinking glasses during dinner. Burns may well have done that but later he used his present to inscribe poems on windows all over Scotland. He even inscribed a window at the Cross Keys Inn, just a few hundred yards from our home in Falkirk. On this occasion, however, he was visiting Stirling Castle and staying at the newly opened Golden Lion.Commemorative plaque in Cronnies bar

Power

The poem in question had no name but has since become known simply as “The Stirling Lines“. In it he displayed Jacobite leanings and his dislike of Hanoverian Royalty and George III in particular. Such was the furore that followed he was forced to return a few months later and smash the offending window to avoid prosecution. So to some, the Stirling Lines poem was ‘art’ but, obviously, to George III ( generally thought to be deranged) and his cronies it was just “libellous vandalism”. And they had the power to make things extremely difficult for the poet.

Painting of Burns with his cronies
Burns with some of his cronies at the Golden Lion

We wonder if the hotel made Burns pay for a replacement window because it has been dining out on the poem ever since. The words are inscribed all over the place.  And we are here dining out on scones in Cronies Bar as well. It’s a comfortable atmospheric space – you could almost imagine Burns and his cronies at the next table in lively discussion over the problems of the day.

A scone at the Golden Lon HotelThe staff were very friendly and soon had us equipped with some fruit scones, nicely presented with little jars of jam and cream as well as a couple of delicious Puro coffees. Both scones were lovely and warm and mine was perfect. However, we thought the jam and cream portions were a bit on the meagre side and Pat felt that a bit of her scone was slightly undercooked. What are we like? Moan, moan, moan! No topscone but pretty close.

Wood carving commemorating wee courin' timorous beastie poem
A large wood carving depicting the ploughman poet and his “Timorous Beastie” poem
Mad

So even back in the 18th century things could be a bit mad politically.  Today we have the UK government sending £millions in Humanitarian Aid to a destroyed Gaza to alleviate the disaster they helped create. We are tempted to agree with George Bernard Shaw when he said “the older I get, the more convinced I am that this planet is being used by other planets as a lunatic asylum.” Burns would have probably have agreed!

FK8 1BD          tel: 01786 475351            Cronies Bar

///charge.wires.trial

ps In our last post from Macmillan Coffee Morning we said we would update you on the final amount raised.. It was £4,040.05 … fantastic! Many many thanks to everyone for their amazing generosity and helping make it such a happy enjoyable event.

Scones, Uncategorized

Macmillan Coffee Morning

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Okay, after our post from Dumpton, this is another rather personal post. Pat has held a Macmillan Coffee Morning for the past few years in aid of Macmillan Nurses who look after people with cancer. They did a fantastic job with our son, Rory, when he was reaching the end of his life.  They made things much easier for him and us.

Macmillan nurses provide free services to people living with cancer and their families. They work closely with patients to alleviate pain, manage discomfort, and boost overall well-being – both mental and physical. Yet, as a charity they are entirely dependent on public donations, hence the coffee mornings which are held all over the UK at this time of year.

Reunions
My sister arrived form the south of France to man the coffee machine

Pat’s coffee mornings have become something of an institution. For a couple of hours every year our house is buzzing with a happy throng of people who come to support her and raise money for Macmillan nurses. Many are neighbours and people from the surrounding area. Some haven’t seen each other since the last coffee morning so there is the sound of joyous reunions everywhere. Friends and family, of course, are roped into to help with arrangements.

Our daughters took us by surprise by flying up from London to lend a hand … fantastic

Our favourite coffee company, Henry’s, generously supplies a machine a lots of tea and coffee to ensure everyone is kept suitably refreshed.

Sandy scanning me at Pat's Macmillan Coffee Morning
My brother scanning me

Of course, with around sixty people attending there is also overspill into the garden.Overspill to garden at Pat's Macmillan Coffee Morning

Disappearing scones
For Pat it is a hectic but wonderful couple of hours. The culmination of several days of baking cakes and making sandwiches and sausage rolls. She even made scones.scones at Pat's Macmillan Coffee Morning Morning
I can’t say what they were like because they simply vanished.  Friends also brought baking and things to sell.  Suffice to say, everyone’s combined efforts online and on the day raised about £3,400  … amazing!
Pat finding a quiet corner to have some of her own baking

With the world in such turmoil it’s great to be reminded that ordinary folk are just wonderful. A huge thanks to everyone who helped and gave so generously at the coffee mornings. Donations are still coming in so we will let you know the final total in due course.

Macmillan Support Line –  free 0808 808 00 00 (7 days a week, 8am — 8pm).
Scones, Top

Frieda’s Tearoom

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Logo of Frieda's TearoomWith all the roadworks going on outside Frieda’s tearoom it can’t be easy to keep the business going. Frieda, however, is not going to let something like that hold her back. She’s an enterprising lady and quick as a flash, she had us set up with a homemade parking permit that enabled us to leave the car at a special area alongside the tearoom.In the past  we have skirted round Bournemouth but this is the first time we have been “downtown” so to speak.  Frieda’s is tucked away on a side street away from the bustle of the seafront.Internal view of Frieda's Tearoom

As we said in our previous post from Dumpton, we are currently living in Poole looking after a couple of our granddaughters while their parents are away on business. It’s an exciting area. Apparently, a few years back a strange cat-like creature was spotted by a lady in Western Avenue. That’s virtually the next street to where we are living. It was identified as a kangaroo eating Tasmanian wolf which was officially declared extinct in 1986. Obviously a lack of kangaroos must have contributed to its demise. However, we’d like some of whatever that lady was on!Geraniums at Frieda's Tearoom

It’s only a half hour walk along the beach to Bournemouth but, since we didn’t have a specific destination in mind, we decided to drive. That’s why we needed Frieda’s parking permit. The tearoom is pleasantly old fashioned with lots of knickknacks accompanied by a background of 50s and 60s music by the likes of Pat Boone and  Patsy Cline

Tea bags

There was a fabulous array of large gateaus all made by Frieda herself. Cream tea at Frieda's TearoomShe explained that a “cream tea” came with two scones and either tea or coffee. Ideal, so that was our order plus one extra tea. As you might expect the china ware was “chintsy” and, of course, the tea came with a tea strainer. No fandangled teabags here! In contrast, however, the scones, were nicely presented on a modern square plate with matching dishes for the jam and cream. The scones, dusted with icing sugar, had plenty of fruit and were delicious. An easy topscone!

Double decker afternoon teas
Frieda's tea bus
COVID claims another victim

Several certificates on the wall were awards from Bournemouth Council for Frieda’s Tea Bus. She told us she used to have a double decker bus which she drove around the town serving afternoon teas. Told you she was enterprising. However, although very succesful, COVID killed the whole thing off. After a couple of years sitting doing nothing the bus refused to start and that was the end of it.

A teapot planter at Frieda's Tearoom
Teapot planter
Shining example

Anyway after we had finished our scone we were tempted by the gateaus and got a slice of Victoria sponge which was fabulous. Turns out that Frieda and her family moved here from Iran more than twenty years ago. The Iranians are famous for having a sweet tooth so maybe that’s why she decided to set up a tearoom. We can only speculate on the reasons for the move but modern day Iran must be a difficult place to live if you were used to the freedoms of the previous regime. The UK government currently sees immigration as a massive problem but thankfully the new government has abandoned the ridiculous and costly Rwanda scheme. We suspect  immigration is more of a convenient distraction from other problems they’d rather not talk about. In our opinion, Frieda is a shining example of the benefits of immmigration, more power to her elbow.Logo of Frieda's Tearoom

BH1 1JH         tel: 01202 291981           Frieda’s

///oath.cares.pulse

 

Scones, Uncategorized

Dumpton

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This is a slightly unusual post but bear with us, we think it’s a nice story. It’s from Dumpton school, deep in the Dorset countryside where two of our granddaughters are being educated. They will be there until they are thirteen. This week, however, they have been left parentless because their parents are away on business, one in San Francisco and the other in New York. Or, at least, that’s what we’ve been told. We suspect they’re lying on a beach somewhere on an all-inclusive! That’s why we are down here in Poole on England’s south coast.

hockey atDumpton School
A 4-0 win for Dumpton over Port Regis school. Ebba (second from the left) scoring twice.
Teas for parents

Anyway, our week seems to be getting spent travelling around to various sports venues to watch the girls play hockey and football. They are good!

Screenshot

After a match parents are invited for tea and cake in one of the sports halls. Dumpton has fantastic sports facilities and seems to have everything else as well to give kids a well rouded education.  They don’t hang about with the cakes. An amazing array of baking had us tucking in to all sorts of brownies, shortbread (branded) and a variety of sponges. No scones but imagine our surprise when Lola turned up with a dish full of ones she had made while we were watching her sister’s hockey match.  Lola with her scones

This was a complete surprise. Not only were they presented on a plate she had made herself but amazingly she had even put some raspberry jam and clotted cream into little pots to go with the scones. This girl will go places! Don’t think this would have happened at any of the schools that we went to. However, there was nothing for it but to take them home since there was no way we could eat any more sweet things.

Lola's sconesWe did, however, have them later. Understandably, readers might think that an element of bias might creep into judging these scones. As it turned out, there was no need. Truthfully, they were absolutely delicious. Jam and cream perfect as well. Topscones, however, because readers can’t access them they have to remain “uncategorised”. But well done Lola, a fantastic surprise!

Going for a swim
Lifeguarding practice

They live just a five minute walk from Poole’s Branksome Chine beach. Lifegaurd training means they are in the sea almost every day … though not this week while we are looking after them … there’s a limit!

Ebba doing an aerial on to the beach
Apparently this is an “aerial”

Gymnastic energy is never in short supply and Ebba has developed a unique way of getting onto the beach. She’s been trying to teach me but there’s another limit!

Shocks

Getting up in the dark to take them to school has been a bit of a shock to the system and standing watching hockey in monsoon like conditions is becoming quite normal now. The girls have been fantastic. We will almost be sorry to see their parents return … almost!

 

english, Ordinary, Scones

Gail’s Artisan Bakery

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If you have ambitions to live in London we would heartily recommend Barnes village on the banks of the Thames. We are visiting family here. With its delis, bookshops, small boutiques and fine restaurants it doesn’t feel as if it’s only a couple of miles away from the Houses of Parliament. It just has that pretty little village vibe. Of course, that’s until you look in the estate agent’s window and realise that unless you’re willing to part with a couple of million pounds you’re not going to get much by way of a house. Gail’s Artisan Bakery is a typical up market café for the area.

Working from home?

Incredibly, the last time we reviewed Gail’s was more than nine years ago. It hasn’t changed that much but we felt it had a slightly different less welcoming feel about it this time. Baking at Gail's in BarnesStill the same range of delicious looking breads and other bakery and still the same assortment of baby buggies cluttering up the place. Of course, there were also lots of people “working from home“. It must be frustrating for cafés like this to have all these laptop folk sitting for hours with a single cup of coffee.Internal view of Gail's in Barnes

Not that we were much better. It wasn’t long after breakfast so two americanos and a fruit scone to share was the order.A scone at Gail's in Barnes When it arrived at our table we were slightly perplexed to find that the scone was on its own. No butter, no jam and no cream. Did they expect us to eat the scone ‘neat’? Pat had to go and ask and came back with nice little pots of butter and jam … no cream. Maybe with this being an ‘artisan’ bakery our hopes were unreasonably high but suffice to say our scone certainly did not live up to expectations. It was decidedly average and neither of us even finished our halves. Scones at Gail's in Barnes

It wasn’t until we were leaving we noticed that they had other offerings. Sour Cherry & Chocolate as well as Maple & Pecan scones. We should have tried them!

Reward notice for stealing a lambThis is a Range Rover/Porsche kind of area where lots of celebrities live. We came across this notice which seems to indicate that it may always have been relatively affluent. Quite a generous reward for this sort of misdemeanour. Not sure what would have happened to the felon if caught. Probably hanging or even worse … transportation to Australia. That last bit is just for our Australian readers.

A tiny ray of hope

One of our Israeli readers has informed us that people are leaving the country rather than stay and watch the stupidity of the atrocities being carried out in their name. Presumably they’ve worked out how utterly pointless it all is.

Talking of felonious actions, at home we have the Conservatives outraged at members of the new government receiving gifts of clothing. Pot, kettle, black comes to mind! On the other side of the pond Trump has gone ever more extreme with his accusations. It’s a mad old world.

SW13 9HH            Tel: 020 8741 0987          Gail’s

///honest,quiet.oasis

Ordinary, Scones, self-service

John Lewis

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As department stores go John Lewis is just a little bit different. It began back in 1864 with a small drapery shop in London’s Oxford Street and has prospered ever since. Okay, but what makes it different? Its full name is the John Lewis Partnership because all of its 74,000 staff are partners in the company and share in its success. Part of their mission statement states “Driven by our ambition to make the world a happier place by leading with kindness and delivering integrity“. The cynic might say “Well they would say that, wouldn’t they“

Well we were a bit cynical as well but then we experienced it first hand. We’ve given up looking for hydrangeas and now we are on the hunt for an armchair. John Lewis has a huge furniture department hence we’re here at their Glasgow store.Entrance to the cafe at John Lewis department store in Glasgow

A slip of paper

However, In spite of an amazing range we couldn’t quite find what we were looking for. One of the staff tried very hard to help us but eventually he apologised and gave up. Asking if there was anything else he could help us with, we asked “the war in Ukraine?” He just smiled and took himself off. A bit later on, however, he caught up with us again and handed us a slip of paper. He felt bad that we hadn’t found a chair so this little piece of paper entitled us to free coffee and cakes in their cafe. How kind was that? For us, the world was indeed a happier place.Internal view of cafe at John Lewis department store in Glasgow

Baristas?

Suffice to say, this little piece of paper forced us to find their cafe and eat scones and drink coffee. Otherwise it would never have crossed our minds … honest! Previously we have reported on The Cafe by Benugo which is an independently run restaurant on the third floor. This time we were in their own self service cafe ‘The Place To Eat‘ on the first floor. Like the store the cafe is huge. There was a bit of a log jam around all three coffee serveries (it takes a long time to make a coffee these days) but eventually we had what we wanted and were able to find a table by a window.

View down Sauchiehall Street from our table
View from our table up Sauchiehall Street on a rainy day

They have a large sign saying “Please leave everything on your table, we will clear it up“. And they did! There must have been about sixty or seventy tables but as soon as anyone left, the table was cleared and cleaned. a scone at John Lewis department store in GlasgowIt was diffucult to choose between looking out the window at everything going on outside or just watch all the comings and goings in the cafe. Dilemas, dilemas! It was all really good. Nice little pots of clotted cream and jam and the scone iteself was wonderfully textured with just the right amount of crunch. A topscone had it not been for the self-service nature of the place.Internal view of cafe at John Lewis department store in Glasgow

A happy place?

We were impressed, this place does do it’s best to make the world a happier place. Of course, there’s only so much they can do. Our young chap didn’t have any answers for Ukraine but then, no-one else does either. It’s impossible to see how either side can win. And now, with long range missiles in the mix, it seems to be in danger of escalating in to goodness knows what. In the Middle East, with the might of the US behind them, Israel cannot help but win the war … but they will never know peace. No winners, only unhappy losers. With their expertise in kindness and making things ‘happy’ perhaps a John Lewis management team  could provide a few pointers?

G1 2GF        tel: 0141 353 6677          John Lewis Partnership

///upper.clips.tides

Ordinary, Scones

The Glen Café

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In our previous post from Simply Sarah’s in Doune we mentioned that the village was famous for making pistols. The sort of weapon used by gentlemen who felt their reputation had been besmirched. Besmirching was usually done by gentlemen to one another and dueling was seen as an honourable way of resolving such situations. Common people couldn’t duel; a) they couldn’t afford a decent pistol and b) it would be unseemly for a gentleman to be shot dead by someone of lower social standing … perish the thought!Logo of the Glen Café

Quick draw

Today we are at the Glen Café in the little hamlet of Clachan of Campsie. Just a few yards from the cafe stand two ancient Spanish chestnuts, “the duelling trees”. They mark the site of a duel between a Tory and a Liberal politician in the 1600s. The Liberal chap, Malcolm Kincaid, lost the duel … and his life. The victor may have retired here (it used to be an Inn) for refreshment and to enjoy the congratulations of his admirers. When you think of the endless inconsequential arguments between politicians these days, dueling seems to take on some merit. Can you imagine the quick draw contests between our current world leaders? The problem is that self evidently all that duelling in the past didn’t actually solve anything. They’re all still arguing. A poster at the Glen Café

Do we need a dog?

This morning the weatherman said “go west if you want sunshine” so we did. Falkirk was decidedly cloudy when we left but by the time we got here we were bathed in glorious sunshine. Well done that weatherman! The café is quite big and virtually joined on to the historic St Machan’s graveyard. It’s a favourite place for people to access the paths onto the Campsie Fells and perhaps unsurprisingly is very dog friendly. In fact there were so many, at first we thought it might be a prerequisite to have a dog but luckily, it wasn’t.

Internal view of the Glen Café

It was still early so we decided on a light breakfast followed by a scone to share. Our coffees arrived first and we were delighted to find that they used our favourite coffee … Henry’s, fantastic! A scone at the Glen CaféThis is the way to start the day! Helpfully the staff had said that they would hold our scone until we had finished our breakfast. Then, when we were ready, they asked if we would like the scone warmed. Why not? No cream but they came with plenty butter and jam. Unfortunately none of it was locally produced, not even from Scotland. A bit of a black mark there. On the plus side the scone itself were really nice.

Who was St Machan?

We really enjoyed this place with its friendly service and beautiful location. We decided to visit St Machan’s graveyard next door and asked one the ladies behind the counter who he was. “Who?” was the puzzled answer. We would have to find out for ourselves.

St Machan's graveyard
St Machan’s graveyard with the remains of the chapel to the left and the Lennox Mausoleaum in  the distant right

Turns out not much is known about him. Firstly he was a Scottish 6th century bishop, educated in Ireland, ordained in Rome and spent the rest of his life as a missionary here in Campsie Glen. Secondly, how did he do all that back then without Easyjet or Ryanair? The chapel in the graveyard was built over his grave. 

Luxury mausoleums

The Lennox mausoleum was built in 1715 by the powerful family who lived at nearby Lennox Castle.

Lennox mausoleum
The Lennox mausoleum

In 1819 Miss Lennox had it restored and added another storey with a fireplace. She used it as a “sitting room” to receive guests between services. She, in turn, was buried here in 1832 and in 1884 it was sealed up permanently using ancient Kincaid tombstones from the graveyard. And we thought one of them might have belonged to our old duelling loser, Malcolm, but apparently not.  It is fascinating to read the inscriptions on some of these graves. They shed light on what life was like centuries ago. However, some were unashamedly looking for an easy passage into heaven. Quite blatantly bragging  about how saintly they had been during their time in Campsie Glen.

Other mysteries

Sadly, besmirching seems be a thing of the past. Perhaps there aren’t enough honourable gentlemen around these days? Vulgar insults and “see you in court” seems to have replaced it.

This was a beautiful day. We returned home via the Carron Valley, which supplies all the water to Falkirk. Seldom do we think, when turning on the tap or taking a bath, that this is where it all comes from.  How does that work? It’s almost as mysterious as St Machan’s travels all those centuries ago.Carron reservoir

G66 7AB         tel: 01360 238258            The Glen Café FB

///year.earmarked.piglet

Ordinary, Scones

Simply Sarah’s

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Today we are in Doune at Simply Sarah’s tiny café. Usually when we are here we go to the Buttercup Café on the other side of the road. HydrangeaHowever, we didn’t come to Doune intent on visiting Simply Sarah’s, no no no, we came in search of a hydrangea. We need one to match another we already have in the garden. Pat suggested that we look for one here because there’s a teeny wee place that sells plants behind the Buttercup café. Coincidentally there just happens to be two of her favourite clothes shops here as well. The fact that we had to drive past several mega garden centres to get here didn’t make me in the least suspicious!?Main Street in Doune

Trevor Davis

Although you might not think so this little village is famous for making guns, pistols to be exact. The demise of highway robbery and gentlemen throwing down the gauntlet,  of course, led to a drastic drop in demand. Now the village is just a nice place to live … and it has a couple of nice clothes shops. Wall plaque in DouneDoune Castle is a big attraction but in spite of the fact that many famous people have stayed there you would never know. They don’t do blue plaques here. That’s not to say that they don’t do any plaques. This one just outside Sarah’s is to Trevor Davis. A local hero and fount of all knowledge by the sounds of it! 

Anyway, surprise surprise, there weren’t any hydrangeas for sale at the little plant stall. Did I mention that two of Pat’s favourite clothes shops are here? There was nothing else for it but to visit one of them, Doune Chic.  They didn’t have any hydrangeas either but the did have lots of clothes. Suffice to say they don’t have as many as they had before we arrived. It was when we were on our way to second clothes shop (to see if they had any hydrangeas) that we visited Simply Sarah’s.Internal view of Simply Sarah's in Doune

It’s very small, only two tables. Everything is home made by Sarah so we were keen to try their scones. A scone at Simply Sarah's in DouneNo cream but we were asked if we would like butter and jam with the scone. However, we hadn’t expected them to preload them … argh! As you know, we like to do that ourselves. There was certainly no skimping on the jam. It would have to be a fork and knife job to avoid very sticky fingers. The scone was delicious and in other circumstances could have been a topscone.

This is a great wee place and very busy. Lots of chat so, in the absence of Trevor Davis, probably the place to find out what’s happening in the village. We left to go to the clothes shop next door, Woodlane of Doune. No hydrangeas but lots of other stuff.

It’s interesting to speculate on what pearls of wisdom Trevor would be dispensing these days while helping folks cross the road. We suspect that he would be so disgusted with the state of the world that he might mutter nothing more than “look left, look right”. Trevor would have known where to get a hydrangea. We miss you Trevor!

FK16 6BY       tel:  01786 842304          Simply Sarah’s

///desktop.ironic.shadows

Scones, Top

Kirkhouse Inn

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After our previous post from Coffista in Leven we’ve gone west to Strathblane in the foothills of the Campsie Fells. However, if we had wanted to be here when the Kirkhouse Inn first opened its doors to guests we’d have been over four hundred years too late. Yes, this place opened in 1601 as a “tavern with stables” and has been welcoming people like us ever since. Back then, Elizabeth I was on the English throne and James VI was King of Scotland. As far as we know neither ever stayed here, however, this Inn was the scene of secret correspondence between the two monarchs which eventually led to the Union of the Crowns in 1603. So it’s all their fault.

View from the Campsie Fells
From high on the Campsie Fells, Strahblane’s Kirkhouse Inn is down there somewhere.

Just north of Glasgow, as a “tavern with stables” the Kirkhouse Inn was presumably a place for travellers to stop overnight and rest their horses. We were doing the same though for us it would be more of a “tavern with car park”. Nowadays it’s a hub for walkers doing the West Highland Way and the John Muir Way. They both pass nearby. The Campsie Fells form an impressive background to the hotel and on a gorgeous day, we had a beautiful drive through them to get here.  An overnight stay and an afternoon tea was what we were looking for!Internal view of the Kirkhouse Inn

It was good to see that the service seemed to be provided by mostly young local lads.  Afternoon tea at the Kirkhouse InnIn our experience, usually due to poor training, this can sometimes be problematic.  But not here, it was excellent. First they brought a plate of delicious savoury sandwiches. When they were finished three tiers of sweet things appeared and everything explained in detail. Lemon possets and macaroons on top. Meringues and chocolate dipped strawberries in the middle with scones and French fancies on the bottom. Unusually there was only one scone each. A good thing in our opinion. Normally you get two but inevitably, because you’ve just had a feast of sandwiches, you end up leaving one of them. The scones came with perfect little dishes of jam and cream and were just the way we like them. The right size, crunchy exterior with a soft fluffy centre … topscone.

Monarch of the glen at the Kirkhouse Inn
Another monarch, this one of the Glen

In 1601 the British East India Company was just starting its   plunder of India leading to almost a century of disastrous British rule. Regrettable perhaps but where would we be without curry? It doesn’t bear thinking about! Ironically perhaps, the young Sagar Massey, raised in Delhi, has launched his fine dining restaurant “Sanja” at the Kirkhouse Inn.

Picture in our room at the Kirkhouse Inn
The Chief Returning From Deer Stalking … another picture at the Kirkhouse Inn

It would be nice to think that we have progressed a wee bit since 1601, however, we have our doubts. As usual, land seems be the problem. Ukraine’s incursion into Russia is welcome but guaranteed to get right up mad Vlad’s nose. Israel’s murder of 40,000 people because a couple of thousand years ago some guy in the sky said the land belonged to them is beyond reason. In 1601 the area around the Kirkhouse Inn had to deal with MacGregor bandits  running off with their cattle under cover of darkness, In comparison with today’s problems it sounds positively romantic!Logo of the Kirkhouse Inn

G63 9AA           tel: 01360 771711              Kirkhouse Inn

///snail.uttering.kiosk

Ordinary, Scones

Coffista

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Today is a day of firsts. Certainly the first time we have been in this place, Coffista in the Fife seaside town of Leven.  We got here by travelling on the brand spam=nking new,  Levenmouth railway. Closed in 1969 but reopened just two months ago. It was a miserable wet day so what else would we do but take a train trip? And if we made it to Leven by train that would be another first. Logo of Coffista in Leven

Good advice

Actually the day started with yet another first. It happened when  the two of us went to our local station and asked for  return tickets to Leven. The girl said a Falkirk/Leven return ticket would be a few pence short of £40. However, she said she could give us Falkirk/Edinburgh tickets then separate Edinburgh/Leven tickets for a total of £33.  We don’t understand either but it was the first time we had been offered this sort of advice … great! You end up with a bundle of tickets but a saving of £7 could pay for our scones.Leven carved in stone

And here’s another first. Although  the Forth Rail Bridge has been there all our lives, we had never actually been over it. Sailed under it, flown over it  but never over it on a train. The Edinburgh/Leven part of our journey would sort that.

Regal Princess at the Forth Bridge
As we rumbled over the Forth Rail Bridge the Regal Princess cruise liner was on its way from Orkney to Le Havre. The other two Forth road bridges are reflected in the window

It has to be said that this new Levenmouth railway only adds a further two stations after Kirkaldy –  Cameron Bridge and Leven itself. Not much you might think but it’s almost unheard of for any new stations to be added to the network so we regard it as fairly momentous. Also momentous for this part of Fife which was regarded as a deprived area. People can now live in Leven and easily commute in and out of Edinburgh. Even after just two months of its existence, there  are new housing developments  being built as a result of the railway. 

Spirits

We should mention the village of Cameron Bridge,   home to the biggest disillery in Europe.  It makes  Archers, Pimms,, Gordon’s and Tanquery gin as well as Smirnoff vodka. It also helps make Johnnie Walker, J&B, Bell’s, Black & White, VAT69 and White Horse whiskies. It’s on an industrial scale. and looks more like an oil refinery than a traditional distillery.

Internal view of Coffista in Leven

Leven, a town once famous for weaving, is in the Parish of Scoonie, Might this be an omen for our scone at Coffista? Considering “scoonie” means in Pictish,  “place of the lump-like hill” perhaps not. The cafe has only been going for a few months and is run by a very enthusiastic lady who bakes everything in-house. She even makes all the  jams! It had been raining but as soon as we entered the heavens opened. It was biblical!  We were extremely lucky to have just stepped inside. A warm welcome and then promptly being asked if we would like cream and jam with our scones looked like the good Parish of Scoonie might actually deliver. By the time we took our seats however, we were informed that there wasn’t any cream. Would we like butter instead?

Entertaining

 it was entertaining just being here … there was lots of chat. One old chap, obviously a regular,  insisted on telling jokes to anyone prepared to listen. Slightly obscure jokes seemed to be a speciality but thankfully, at least  he found them funny. Another elderly group were debating the life of batteries and how they don’t last as long as they used to. Maybe batteries become more important as you get older?A scone at Coffista in Leven

The owner was very proud of her steam oven and insisted on telling us all about it. Fairly technical stuff so we didn’t understand much of what she said. However, the scones did taste a little bit like they had been baked in such a device. Perfectly acceptable  but maybe just a little bit “damp”?  The £7 we saved on our rail tickets didn’t quite cover everything but it wasn’t far off. An enjoyable visit for all sorts of reasons but eventually it was time to brave the elements again.

Shelter

Because of the weather we decided against going to the beach. We would just take the next train back home, however, we arrivaed at the station just in time to see it leave without us … aargh! . Expresso martini and a large black labelAn hour to wait for the next one so, considering the weather  we made a dash for the nearest pub. Turned out to be  one of these trendy steakhouse cocktail bars that specialises in BBQs. In spite of being just a few miles from the biggest distillery in Europe they only had only one British whisky and no British beers. Presumably it mustn’t be’ trendy’ to drink British? It was Expresso Martini for Pat and ‘the’ whisky for me. What is the world coming to?

Seashell decorated wall in Leven
A seashell decorated wall in Leven

In our recent post from the Orient Express we travelled on the Edinburgh tram system for the first time.  We’re getting good at these travel firsts. Just build a railway or a tram system and, if there’s a scone at the end of it, we’ll be there!

painting of a Highland cow
A picture in the pub
Bollards

What with Gaza, Ukraine, India, UK, Sudan, and the US  world politics is just too depressing  so here’s something a little different. Recently we had a visitor who announced he was going to Edinburgh to find “the bollard”. We had no idea what was talking about but he said he only knew about it through allaboutthe scones.com. Turned out it was the Edinburgh Press Club post to which he was referring.  The bollard in question marks the centre of the city from which everything is measured. As bollards go it might even be termed a topbollard? Extraordinary, some people are interested in things other than scones!

KY8 4FG         tel: 07415 759832          Coffista

///stencil.drawn.coaching