The Pierhouse Hotel is in a lovely spot on the coast of Appin between Oban and Fort William. It’s at the end of a few miles of single-track road so the only way out is the way you went in. However, there is an alternative! It’s the little ferry to the Isle of Lismore but it doesn’t take cars!
The dining room but everyone is sitting outside
On a day like today, however, it is difficult to imagine a more idyllic location to while away a few hours. Also, the Pierhouse has just been awarded Scotland’s Chef of the Year. Cloudless skies, not a breath of wind, and Chef of the Year—what’s not to like? Can you believe that we reviewed this place back in 2015? It seemed perfect then and today it’s as if nothing has changed.
An artist’s impression of the Pierhouse Hotel
In glorious Spring sunshine, we took our seats on the deck overlooking Loch Linnhe and waited for our coffee and scones to arrive. There were lots of other folk doing the same so we were fortunate to get a table. Some, like us, were just on a day out, others were hotel guests and yet others were killing time waiting for the ferry.
Accident?
Our scone soon arrived and to say that the presentation was a little surprising would be an understatement. The scone just sat on the plate but by its side, there was what looked like a very generous quenelle of clotted cream covered in a red preserve. Either that or our Chef of the Year had had a serious accident in the kitchen. Anyway, it was great! The scone was perfect. And the cream and jam presentation meant that you could scoop both up at the same time … brilliant—another easy topscone.
Halcyon days
Given that it’s been a decade since our last review of the Pierhouse it’s tempting to look back at what must have been halcyon times compared to now.
The Lismore ferry on a mirror-like Loch Linnhe, We once spent a lovely few days on the island staying with the Abbot of Lismore and his wife
In 2015 David Cameron swept to power in the UK. Obama was US President and for the first time, Trump announced he would run for the Republican nomination. Things weren’t perfect but no one had yet envisaged a global pandemic, that Russia would invade Ukraine or that Israel could so graphically demonstrate man’s inhumanity to man. In all of these ten years, this little ferry has quietly gone about its business several times a day every day. It’s always hard to leave this place.
Some folk say nothing ever changes while others famously say that change is the only constant. When it comes to Falkirk’s café scene we would tend to think the former is true but then we realise there has been a change. Today’s scone comes from Callendar Coffee House, which was called the Riggs Coffee House the last time we looked. Mind you that was about eight years ago. It raises some questions: is it just a change of name or a complete change of management? Would the scones have changed as well?
Well, yes they had because we had a cheese and bacon scone. That’s a first! It does, however, follow a kind of pattern of late. On our recent travels on the Isle of Arran, we had a “very cheesy cheese scone at the Old Pier Tearoom in Lamlash. That was followed by a cheese scone with extra cheese on the side at Janie’s café in Brodick. Now it’s cheese and bacon … what is happening with cheese scones? It has to be said that although a wee bit on the weird side it was delightful. Nice and cheesy with the bacon giving extra texture and a hint of saltiness. The combination worked very well.
Television first
Callendar Coffee House is located directly on the corner of High Street and Lint Riggs. This rather grand building used to be the Temperance Hotel and on the High Street side, you can find this very modest plaque. It is high up on the wall and seemingly placed so that no one will ever notice it. It does, however, commemorate what was probably the first public demonstration of television. Okay, the broadcast was only from one room to another but still. Why does Falkirk not make more of this momentous moment in history? After all, television went on the become quite popular,
Wimps
Popular is not a word we could associate with Elon Musk these days. But we’re fed up moaning about him so let’s celebrate the return of the astronauts stranded in space for nine months. Being stranded on Arran for one extra night was a bit testing for us so hats off to them. Maybe when they take a look around they might want to get on the next rocket back up to the space station. And now the whole of Heathrow Airport has been knocked out by a power outage. We were upset by a single cancelled ferry … okay, we are wimps!
When Robert Burns said “The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men gang aft agley” he was apologising to a mouse whose house he’d just destroyed with his plough. Our “scheme” was to complete a circuit of Arran, spend one night in a hotel then return to the mainland the following morning. A whistle-stop tour to give our Canadians a flavour of the island! However, on the morning of our departure, as we sat in Janie’s cafe scoffing scones we were blissfully unaware of the significance of Burns’s words.
All the Lagg whiskies are very young but having sampled them all I can verify that despite their lack of maturity they are all fine and full of promise.
The previous day we had arrived on the Isle of Arran. After visiting the Old Pier Tearoom in Lamlash we continued on our circuit of the island. At the most southerly point of the island, we came to Kilmory and the brand-spanking new Lagg distillery. At 20×9 miles Arran isn’t very big and already has a distillery in the north of the island at Lochranza. But let’s face it, you can’t have too many distilleries.
Outlander?
We continued round the coast to Machrie where we visited the Machrie stones. Part of a stone circle much older than Stonehenge, these stones have been standing here in solitary splendour for 4.500 years.
When we placed our hands on the stones hoping for an ‘Outlander’ type transportation we didn’t realise that might be the easiest and quickest way to get off the island.
Eventually, we completed our circuit of the island and were able to book into our hotel. The following morning, we ended up here at Janies while we waited for our ferry.It’s a small friendly cafe situated in Brodick’s Duchess Court – an amalgamation of small businesses.
Pat and I opted for a fruit scone but the Canadians went for cheese.
A cheese scone with extra cheese and a fruit scone with jam and cream
Arran must have a thing with cheese scones because, unusually, this one came with extra cheese on the side. It was good but not as good as the previous day’s. Our fruit scone was nice as well but disappointingly did not come with any local produce. Lots of food items are produced on Arran so this seemed slightly remiss. No topscones today.
This was as close as we got to our ferry the MV Glen Sannox
Soon it was time to go for the ferry, the latest addition to the CalMac fleet, the MV Glen Sannox. We arrived in time for boarding but half an hour later we were still sitting there. Eventually, they announced that it had been cancelled due to a technical fault. No more ferries today … argh!
Best-laid schemes
Our booking was switched to the first ferry the following morning. That meant, however, we would have to stay another night. Fortunately, our hotel was able to take us back. Not long after we settled in, however, we were notified that the morning ferry had also been cancelled. Our booking was now switched to the 4 pm sailing. Suddenly we were concerned that our fellow travellers wouldn’t make their flights back to Canada. The significance of Burns’s words about “best-laid schemes” suddenly became blindly obvious!
Lochranza Castle dates back to the 13th century
We decided that we couldn’t risk missing flights so the following morning we decided to take our chances on the early morning Lochranza ferry/Cloanaig boat to the mainland. It would mean a three-hour drive to get home but at least we would get home. The MV Catriona is a much smaller turn-up-and-go ferry. You can’t reserve a place. Considering a lot of other stranded people would have the same idea, it was a bit of a gamble. It worked! We were able to drive straight on to the Catriona and half an hour later we were back on the mainland … hurrah!
Tents
However, news that the Trump/Netanyahu combo is resuming their obliteration of Gaza by sending over F-16 and F-35 fighter jets to bomb people in tents, does make us wish we could return to the much pleasanter world of Arran.
Today, with our Canadian family in tow we have taken the ferry from Troon to the Isle of Arran. Our means of transport, the catamaran MV Alfred is on temporary loan from Pentland Ferries based in Orkney.
On a very sunny but fresh day, it took just over an hour to reach Brodick, the capital of the Isle of Arran.
View of Brodick and the almost 3,000 feet high Goatfell from the ferry
It was mid-morning and so far breakfast had eluded us. We were too early for our hotel so we drove a few miles to Lamlash where we came on the tiny Old Pier Tearoom … breakfast at last!
Natives and locals?
graphic of the Old Pier looking across Lamlash Bay towards Holy Island
Normally we wouldn’t go for scones this early but they had what they called “very cheesy, cheese scones”. Scones with extra cheese. Instinctively we knew that readers would find it unforgivable if they missed out on a very cheesy cheese scone report. So after our breakfast, duty dictated that they had to be sampled. The things we do for our readers?
As we ate we got chatting to a couple of ladies who, seeing that all the other tables were taken, invited us to join them at theirs. When we asked if they were from the island the answer was a little unexpected. One was a “local” and the other was a “native”. The “local” was from Birmingham but lived on the island while the “native” was born and bred and could go back five generations of her Arran family. This was presumably a clear and important distinction for islanders. They were lovely and the chat was great!
Predictably, our very cheesy, cheese scone was indeed very cheesy. With just a little butter, probably the best cheese scone we have ever experienced. Since we don’t have a separate category for such scones we felt this one was sooooo cheesy that we could give it a topweird scone award. Well done the Old Pier Tearoom! You may be tiny but you punch above your weight.
Just to prove there is an old pier
Unexpected consequences
Arran is often referred to as “Scotland in miniature“. It has a higher life expectancy, low unemployment, and much lower rates of crime. Even with a large proportion of retired folk living here, it still has a vibrant, independent but Scottish feel about it. It’s odd being on this beautiful island alongside Canadians and seeing the pushback against Trump’s well-thought-out 51st-state/tariffs idea. He may be dividing Americans but he certainly knows how to unite Canadians.
Someone has very helpfully placed this glove to point out Ailsa Craig in the Firth of Clyde, the source of the world’s best curling stones
Back in the good old days, as aspiring young rock climbers we regarded this end of Glencoe and the Kingshouse Hotel as “a bit posh”. People up at this end had cars and things. We, as impoverished hitchhikers, hung out at the lower end near the Clachaig Inn where you could camp anywhere for free and the beer was a bit cheaper. From time to time, however, we would come up here to climb on the only hill with a guidebook all to itself, Buachaille Etive Mòr.
Buachaille Etive Mòr (the big shepherd of Etive) from the Kingshouse Hotel.
Remote
The hotel was built in the 18th century and was used as barracks by the Westminster government to keep the unruly locals in check after the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion. However, back when we used it the hotel was much smaller. It consisted mainly of the white building in the title photograph. Nowadays that’s simply the bar and the accommodation is in a large new extension. High up on the edge of Rannoch Moor, it’s very remote.
On a day like today all the outside seats were taken so we had to go indoors.
Although it remains a climber’s hotel the expansion has been caused by a couple of developments. Namely the advent of the Glencoe Ski Centre just a few hundred yards away and the introduction of the West Highland Way walking route that passes by the door.
Scones and coffee were the order. We were with family from Canada so it was great to sit at a table where we could look out onto the picture postcard views outside. It was busy inside as well but it didn’t take long for our scones to arrive. They were square! We couldn’t remember if we had ever had square scones before. Was it something to go with that other great Scottish delicacy – square sausage? Apologies, this next bit might be a tad technical. When the already slim scone was sliced in half, each half became quite delicate. This, of course, led to spreading difficulties. Scone breakup was a constant danger. Suffice to say, none of these problems were insurmountable. We could rant about all the non-Scottish produce in such a Scottish place but why spoil an otherwise enjoyable experience?
Rough and ready
After the Kingshouse we drove down to the lower end of the glen to the Clachaig Inn. This was our place! A corrugated iron shed around the back functioned as a bar back then. Rough and ready it was but ideal for clientele like us. Meeting other hitchhiking friends and exchanging tales of new routes conquered. All over a few beers, of course. Afterwards, there was dancing in the local village hall. It felt like complete freedom. Returning to work meant five days of dreaming about returning the following weekend.
View from the Clachaig Inn towards Aonach Dubh
Transactional
The world seems idyllic when viewing it from places like this on a beautifully warm Spring day. Everything is in the process of being renewed. So why is the rest of the world in such a mess? The current US administration is often reverentially referred to as ‘transactional’ Gods, by its supporters. Able to conjure up the best deals out of thin air. The world, or at least America, should be sitting pretty! But it isn’t!
We don’t want to disparage good honest idiots by attaching that sobriquet to Trump and Musk but it’s almost impossible not to. There’s the idiocy of what they are doing but then on top of that, you realise what’s missing from their supposedly super-negotiations. It’s morality! In the US’s unequivocal backing for Israel and Russia, it’s morality that’s missing.
Notice at the reception in the Clachaig Inn
Hospitality?
Of course, here we are in a place that epitomises what happens when morality goes out the window. In the Massacre of Glencoe in 1692 a party of 120 soldiers under the command of Robert Campbell were billeted with the McDonalds of Glencoe for several weeks, eating their food and using their shelter. One night, however, a signal from Campbell saw the soldiers rise and murder their hosts in their beds. To this day Campbells aren’t welcome at the Clachaig. Perhaps today’s US administration should bear in mind that sometimes folks have looong memories!
Today we are at River House on the outskirts of Stirling. A lot has happened in the few days since our previous post from the Seagull Trust.
America’s reputation as the leader of the free world lies in tatters on the Oval Office floor. Oh dear, oh dear, the spectacle of Trump and his rottweiler pals trying to humiliate the defender of the Western world, was shocking and profoundly embarrassing for everyone unfortunate enough to have witnessed it. And then after a passage of Trump waxing lyrically about his many highly dubious attributes, came “Why do you not wear a suit?” Surely destined to go down in history as the most cretinous thing ever said to a world leader. It was, however, indicative of the hillbilly level of understanding in the room. It was left up to the good people of Vermont to restore some faith by letting JD Vance know he wasn’t welcome in their part of the world.
Now they want Zalensky to make a groveling apology for not sufficiently appreciating the US and the American people. Have they forgotten that unlike them, Zalensky has some semblance of intelligence and will doubtless grovel like a superhero?
At last, we made it
We feel confident the American people will eventually come to their senses and sort out this Muskesque Presidency. In the meantime, let’s get back to the serious business of scones. River House is a place we have been meaning to visit for years. We keep seeing the signs but never actually follow them. It is beautifully situated on the shores of a tiny loch with views of Stirling Castle.
It’s spacious and beautifully themed in the same style as other Cawley Group restaurants. It has a nice relaxed ambience. After a delicious light lunch, our nicely warmed scones were duly presented with a jar of jam and whipped cream in a little ladle thingy. Although not quite the consistency we normally go for they were very enjoyable nevertheless. Salutary to be able to sit in such comfortable surroundings several thousand miles away from the diabolical situation in Ukraine.
DANGER!
Guarantees?
Ukraine used to have the third biggest nuclear arsenal in the world until, in the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, it was persuaded to give it up completely in exchange for international guarantees that its borders would be respected. We don’t think they would have signed had they known that a bunch of muppets would be their guarantors in 2025.
Falkirk High Street is not what it used to be. Like many other High Streets, it has been hit hard by out-of-town and online shopping. On top of this, the High Street’s east end is currently being demolished to make way for a new town hall. Charity shops proliferate so it was no surprise to find that the premises previously occupied by Topshop had been taken over by the Seagull Trust Cruises Bookshop. What was a surprise, however, was that the bookshop had a cafe … and the cafe had scones!
Seagull Trust Cruises, a registered charity, with a dozen boats operating across Scotland providing canal cruises for the elderly and infirm. It’s run entirely by volunteers.
Two of the Seagull Trust boats on the Union canal
The Marion
A few years back Pat managed their residential boat … the Marion. It had seven berths so that wheelchair users with their carers could take it out for a week at a time. Unfortunately turning the boat around between cruises became a problem. Cleaning, changing beds and laundry just became too onerous. Reluctantly she had to give it up. Now the Marion only does day trips just like the other boats.
In common with most charities, they are forever trying to raise funds. Hence this bookshop selling second-hand books. We didn’t buy any but thought the least we could do was buy some coffee and scones. Two very chatty women behind the counter had us sorted out in no time. They even supplied us with some delicious homemade blackcurrant jam. The scones were segment-shaped. I asked if they had been made as a large round and then cut into segments. She said “No, when I make them they all tend to run together then I have to cut them like that.” Whatever she did they were really good. Not a topscone but pretty close.
Contrasts
The fact that these ladies volunteer to run this cafe on behalf of the Seagull Trust Cruises is a testament to the willingness of people to selflessly help those less fortunate. In contrast, this week we’ve found that the US and the UK, two countries that traditionally have been pretty much joined at the hip no longer seem to share the same interests or values. Here’s us thinking that Ukraine and Volodymyr Zelenskyy were making huge sacrifices trying to stop Putin’s advance across Europe and eventually America. How wrong could we be? Turns out that Ukraine is the aggressor and it’s all their fault! Who knew?
Sometimes, as they say in Northern Ireland, we take “a fit of the head staggers” and do things for no apparent reason. Today is one such day.
A day on the beach … pity about the gale force winds
A stormy night in Troon on the Ayrshire coast was to be our “no apparent reason”. However, we weren’t actually staying here at the Lochgreen House Hotel but along the road at Piersland House. Let us explain!
Piersland House, was built as a private residence in 1899 as the home of Sir Alexander Walker, grandson of Johnnie Walker, founder of the whisky company
Piersland House is a beautiful hotel with everything you could possibly want. Beautiful architecture, lavish furnishings, open log fires, every variety of Johnnie Walker whisky … what more could you wish for? A Troon scone, that’s what! Too much for Piersland, they had everything apart from scones! Mon dieu, how could we have chosen a place that can’t produce a scone? It beggars belief! The solution, of course, in our quest was to go a few hundred yards along the road to Lochgreen House where there was a great big welcome and scones a plenty.
Lochgreen House is owned by Bill Costley, a well known and celebrated figure in these parts. Owning several other local hotels he has, over the years, raised the hospitality levels in Ayrshire significantly. He has spent a lot of money making Lochgreen House the five-star venue it is today. Not so long ago, friends of ours took over the entire place for their wedding, so we were aware of Lochgreen House through them.
Hybrid
We were taken to a table by the window were we could look out over the garden which, unfortunately, was being battered to within an inch of its life by the storm. Inside, however, all was cool, calm and collected. It wasn’t long before our fruit scones arrived. They came warm and for some reason sliced in half. There was a jar of jam and some clotted cream topped with a variety of berries. All very nice except the scones were a bit odd. Not how we would normally expect a scone to be. Kind of like a hybrid cross between a scone and a muffin … a scoffin? Although enjoyable enough, unfortunately this version of a scone didn’t hit the mark for a topscone award.
The service and surroundings were excellent, however, Scones aside, Lochgreen House is fabulous and well worthy of a visit.
Ferries and trains
On our way back to Piersland House we took a little detour to Troon harbour where ferry services run to the Isle of Arran. We arrived just as the ferry was leaving.
CalMacs newest ferry, the Glen Sannox leaving Troon on its way to Arran. The Westminster government and the media are fond of lambasting the Scottish government on the £150 million overspend on the Glen Sannox whilst conveniently forgetting the £100 billion spend on the ill fated HS2 high speed rail with still nothing to show for it.
Celebrated?
The Ayrshire coast is a golfing hotspot, Troon is home to seven courses including Royal Troon, which regularly hosts the Open Championship. As we said earlier, for good reason, Bill Costley is a well known and celebrated figure in these parts. Donald Trump, who owns nearby Turnberry golf course is also well known though probably not so celebrated. His ownership has seen the course removed from the list of potential venues for the Open. If only that was the worst of his shortcomings.
Ayrshire is a fantastic part of Scotland which sadly we don’t pay enough attention to. Our internal compasses always tend to point north. Note to self … more Ayrshire scones!
We know this flies in the face of logic but today we are In Perth with some whisky we are taking to auction. “Why don’t you just drink it?” we hear you cry. Well, if it was ours, that’s exactly what would happen, but it’s not. We’re delivering it to Perth’s Whisky Auctioneer on behalf of a friend. To make things more exciting our satnav proudly announced “you have arrived at your destination” when we clearly hadn’t. We were still on the A9 Perth bypass but our destination was actually in the Inveralmond Industrial Estate. With the satnav switched off we entered what turned out to be a vast network of roads and industrial units. After several unsuccessful attempts, eventually we did actually reach our destination. Mission accomplished we headed for home but, lo and behold, before we had even left the estate we spotted the Compass Café. As you can see from the title photograph, the Compass Café is part of the Tiso Outdoor Experience.
Big news
On display, an eiderdown suit used by Dougal Haston on the 1972 attempt on Everest. The overboots belonged to Hamish MacInness
Tiso is a name that featured prominently in my youth. Every weekend involved hitch hiking to Glencoe so that me and my companions could do precarious things on vertical rock faces. It was amazing and the sense of freedom it gave us was unbelievable. Back then in the 60s we knew everyone in the glen as well as our weekender friends who would hitch hike up from Glasgow. You could bump into your mountaineering heroes like Hamish MacInness, Dougal Haston almost every day. However, while we had ambitions on some tricky local routes they had bigger fish to fry. Notably a direttissima on the north face of the Eiger in 1966 and, of course, Everest itself. On the 1972 assault on the SW ascent of Everest, Graham Tiso got trapped in a storm and spent four days alone, cut off from the rest of his party, Climbing was a tiny activity in those days but all these “risky” adventures were controversial and consequently became big news stories. The media couldn’t get enough of them.
Tiso original
Tiso’s original shop was in Edinburgh. It was tiny but back then there wasn’t that much available to buy. In his shop I spent what seemed like an absolute fortune on my boots (La Sportiva, Himalayas) and a Tiso designed rucksack that you could sleep in.
Just part of the Tiso shop. Amazing how much stuff you need to go outside these days
Most of our climbing gear was collected from rock faces where other, presumably more affluent climbers, either couldn’t be bothered or were unable to retrieve. Those were the days!
Unfortunately, many of our climbing heroes died pursuing their passion. Ironically, Haston died, aged 33, in a skiing accident but is still a legend in Scottish climbing circles.
For some reason this sign caught my attention
As you all know, I have little use for climbing gear nowadays. And that’s just as well because it appears I still can barely afford it. Some mountain bikes in the store cost £5000 and looked ferociously complicated. The Compass Café involved an ascent to the upper floor and was as much climbing as I could manage today.
Enthusiasm
The café is big and has a wide range of produce on offer. We were attended to by a wonderfully happy girl who was probably Polish. She said she only had five “cheese” and one “wild berry” scone left. Covered in icing, the wild berry one looked like a bit of an extravagant concoction. However, our girl told us with great delight that they were absolutely scrumptious. “when they come out of the oven in the morning … ooo, they are warm and “. her voice drifted off as she gave a little ecstatic wiggle. Seldom have we been sold a scone with such irrepressible passion.
When she brought it to our table she also brought two plates so we could share. We could tell she was genuinely excited for us to try her wild berry scone. She wasn’t wrong! Readers know how we like our scones … not too big with a crunchy exterior and a soft middle. Well this was the complete opposite but it was delicious. It was quite big and had loads of fruit which made it moist and unctuous. The icing covering made it sticky and messy to eat. The butter and jam were probably superfluous but we did use the jam. A fruit overload! Not a traditional topscone but definitely a top weird scone.
Things change
The climbing world has changed drastically since we were hanging out in Glencoe every weekend. The glen that we regarded as “our own” is now a huge tourist attraction due to its scenic beauty and, of course, the site of the famous Massacre of 1692. The National Trust for Scotland does its best to maintain the glen as near as possible to its original state in spite of the pressure from tourism.
Weird
To go with our “weird scone” award we should probably give another “weird” award for the Leader of the Free World. In his new role as spokesman for President Putin he has announced that the war is all Ukraine’s fault. Ukraine must be thinking “with friends like this who needs enemies?“
We are a little late with this post. You should have got it on Wednesday because that’s when we were last at the Lion and Unicorn Inn in the village of Thornhill near Stirling. But thereby hangs a tale … a sconological tale.
The lion is the national animal of England, and the unicorn is Scotland’s. It is a well known fact that a unicorn is a symbol of innocence and the only creature that can defeat a lion.
We had been here several weeks before and were delighted to note “scones” on the menu. When we asked for them, however, we were told they didn’t have any. Apparently, they were that rare breed, only available on Wednesdays and Thursdays. The next time we were here was when we posted from The Winnock when trying to find the MacGregor Monument. It was a Thursday, so thought we would try our luck. Still no scones but we did glean a little more information. They did a coffee morning “for the village” on Wednesday mornings. This was becoming a challenge!
So it was that on this Wednesday morning we thought we should phone ahead to check if the scones were only for “the village” or whether outsider riff riff such as ourselves could also partake. “Of course, no problem“, we were told.
Once there were eight pubs in the village but this is the only one left … a sign of the times. The Lion and Unicorn has been serving fine food, ales and presumably scones since 1635 … all we had to do was engage with one! We set off on the thirty minute drive to Thornhill with steely determination and a keen sense of anticipation. Would it be third time lucky?
Things I don’t know
A grandson of John Napier, inventor of logarithms, owned land here at one time. I mention this simply because I must have been off school the day they explained their importance. I never “got it”! In spite of years spent carrying a little book of sines, cosines and tangents around in my school bag, my entire career passed without the need for any of them. I’ve also discovered something else to further demonstrate the depth of my ignorance … Shetland cows. A farm at Thornhill breeds Shetland cows. Shetland ponies are famous but Shetland cows? Apparently, they are small, hardy and ideally suited to living in the special environment of Flanders Moss on the edge of the village. Anyway I could write a very hefty tome on things I don’t know so let’s return to more familiar territory … scones!
When we arrived we were shown to a table for two. We could easily see what they meant by a “coffee morning for the village“. From the babble of excited chatter emanating from a long table across from us it was pretty obvious what was going on. The large plate of scones was also a give away.Our host, the wonderful Fiona, remembered us. Presumably as the weird folk who were always asking about scones. We obviously made and impression! She asked if we would like to join the others at the long table. Initially we felt we would be intruding but suffice to say another couple of chairs were found and we were warmly welcomed. It was almost as if we were “villagers”! What a super friendly and interesting bunch of sconeys.
Coincidence
Unbelievably, one of the group, Janet, used to work alongside my late uncle in nearby Aberfoyle many years ago. She knew my cousins very well. Apart from ourselves, Janet was the only “outsider” there. To say that we thoroughly enjoyed meeting these people and joining their coffee morning would be a mighty understatement. They made our day! A hundred years ago a local newspaper wrote that Thornhill was “the pleasantest of pleasant villages“. We can vouch for that still being the case. The self-effacing Fiona had made the scones earlier that morning. When she discovered that her scones were to be “judged” she explained that the batteries on her scales had given up. She had had to guess at the quantities for the recipe.
She needn’t have worried, they were beautifully presented and easy topscones. Later, we discovered from our new found friends that her batteries had packed up months ago. Well done Fiona for making these delicious scones by pure force of habit and for being so welcoming. For us it was third time very lucky
Victorian photo of the Lion and Unicorn. Folks arriving for a village coffee morning?
As complete strangers it was heartwarming to be welcomed into what seems like a village tradition. When we returned home and saw Musk prancing around the Oval Office with his son Lil X on his shoulders it truly looked like the inmates had taken over the asylum. Take us back to the sanity of the Lion and Unicorn where the cares of the world were being discussed in a much more civilised fashion.
