Category Archives: Ordinary

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Ordinary, Scones

The Grove

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You never know with scones; sometimes, they turn up unexpectedly. Just when you least expect them, there they are! Our visit to the Grove was typical.

sign for the Grove

A funeral is often followed by what is commonly referred to as a “funeral tea”. In days gone by, in the Highlands, it would normally be held in the deceased’s house. Friends and neighbours would rally round to provide refreshments for attendees, many of whom had travelled long distances. More recently, however, such events tend to be held in places like the Grove, here in Lenzie.  That’s why we are here.Internal view of the Grove

It’s a purvey!

Lenzie is on the outskirts of Glasgow. In this part of the country it is slightly different. The “funeral tea” is generally referred to as “a purvey”.  At any gathering of mourners after a service, you could often hear kind words said about the deceased followed by a comment on the purvey, usually on the quality and quantity.Internal view of the Grove

A purvey can be anything from a full-blown lunch or supper to a simple selection of sandwiches and cakes. Normally there’s liquid refreshments available for those who want it. On occasion, this can lead to a rather sombre event ending up anything but.  Today’s purvey was a two-course lunch. Afterwards, tea and coffee were served, and you could help yourself from a table of cakes – and scones!

Spooning

We can’t say if scones commonly form part of such purveys – thankfully, we haven’t been to enough of them. A scone at the GroveBut since they were there, they had to be sampled. The jam and cream were supplied in large bowls. You just had to help yourself with a large spoon. Flaws in presentation are entirely down to our lack of spooning finesse. It may be churlish to criticise a ‘free’ scone but ignoring the pathetic presentation, “perfectly adequate” might best describe our scones. Not topscones but perfectly adequate.  Great purvey, though!

Rooftop terrace at the Grove
Rooftop terrace
Odder

Lenzie is a well-to-do, pretty little town where nothing of particular note ever happens. Boring? Not a bit of it! It’s a blessing when you consider the effects of the earthquake in Myanmar. How many little towns throughout the world would give their eye teeth for nothing to happen?  While  Western countries divert ‘overseas aid’ finances to the production of armaments, it does make you wonder. Because we humans seem to prefer expending our valuable and finite resources killing rather than helping each other. It’s odd! It’s even odder when you’ve just come from a funeral.

G66 5JB           tel: 0141 777 7611           The Grove

///hawks.tripled.drips

Ordinary, Scones

Rumblin’ Tum

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Nowadays, Ardrishaig, on the shores of Loch Gilp, has a population of about 1200, but before the opening of the Crinan Canal in 1809, it was just a tiny fishing village. The nine-mile-long canal joins Loch Gilp to the Sound of Jura and cuts off a long, hazardous journey around the Mull of Kintyre. Ardrishaig is at the eastern end, and Crinan is at the other.Internal view of the Rumblin' Tum in Ardrishaig

Over the years, we have sailed through the canal several times. It’s a lovely experience. However, the charms of the canal were best eulogised in the comedy TV series “The Vital Spark”. Dan McPhail, chief engineer aboard the Vital Spark puffer, famously sang:

Oh! The Crinan Canal for me,
I don’t like the wild raging sea,
It would be too terrific to cross the Pacific,
Or sail to Japan or Fiji.
A life on the Spanish Main,
I think it would drive me insane,
The big foaming breakers would give me the shakers,
The Crinan Canal for me.

Internal view of the Rumblin' Tum in ArdrishaigFrom the title picture, readers can see that when we pulled into the car park in Ardrishaig, it wasn’t the Rumbling Tum that took our attention but the Ritz. Tea at the Ritz? We were excited.External view of the Rumblin' Tum in

We were crestfallen, however, to find that the Ritz wasn’t even a café but had converted to some sort of bric-a-brac shop. Argh! All thoughts of finely cut cucumber sandwiches under extravagant chandeliers were dashed as if on the jagged rocks of the nearby loch. Our rather raw emotions were somewhat salved, however, when we realised that, almost next door, there was the Rumblin’ Tum.  “Tea at the Ritz” would have to be “Tea at the Rumblin Tum“. Not quite so splendiferous perhaps, but of course this is Ardrishaig, not Piccadilly.Logo of the Rumblin' Tum in Ardrishaig

Squidged

We got a warm, friendly welcome and were soon sitting down to our fruit scones. A scone at the Rumblin' Tum in ArdrishaigThere was no shortage of fruit, but unfortunately, a little too long in the oven had baked them hard. The jam came in a long sachet affair that we had to squidge out directly onto the scone. It didn’t do anything to improve the overall situation.  No topscone for the Rumblin’ Tum, but they do have lots of other things on offer.

Emboldened?
Sometimes, the ornamentation says more about the owners than anything else

Far from the west coast of Scotland, news that President Erdoğan of Turkey has just thrown his chief political rival, Ekrem İmamoğlu, into jail is disturbing. Over the past twenty years, Erdoğan has been systematically dismantling the secular legacy of the country’s founding father, Atatürk. This latest move is deeply unpopular and hopefully can be reversed. The thought occurs to us, however, that the bully boys of the world, for some reason, are feeling emboldened.

 

PA30 8DX          tel: 01546 606039             Rumblin Tum

///tribes.eagle.scooters

Ordinary, Scones

Janie’s

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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.

External view of Lagg Distillery
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.

The Machrie stones
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.Logo of Janie'sIt’s a small friendly cafe situated in Brodick’s Duchess Court – an amalgamation of small businesses. External view of Janie's

Pat and I opted for a fruit scone but the Canadians went for cheese. 

Scones at Janie's
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.

The MV Glen Sannox in Brodick
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!

View of Lochranza castle
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.

KA27 8DD             tel: 01770 302874                Janies TA

///sporting.dumpling.itself

Ordinary, Scones

Kingshouse Hotel

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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.

View from Kingshouse Hotel, Glencoe
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.

External view of the Kingshouse Hotel,
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.

Internal view of the Kingshouse Hotel, Glencoe

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. A scone at the Kingshouse Hotel, GlencoeIt 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. The Clachaig InnThis 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 Clachaig Inn, Glencoe
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 Clachaig Inn
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!

PH49 4HY            tel: 01855 851259             Kingshouse

///riding.speared.ghost

Ordinary, Scones

River House

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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.Logo of River House

 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.Internal view of River House

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? Internal view of River House

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.Internal view of River House

It’s spacious and beautifully themed in the same style as other Cawley Group restaurants. It has a nice relaxed ambience.A scone at River House 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.

Beware of crocodiles at River House
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.Garden deco at River House

FK9 4TW           tel: 01786 465577           River House

///clasps.duties.daylight

Ordinary, Scones

Seagull Trust Cruises

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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!Internal view of Seagull Trust Bookshop

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 canal boats
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. A scone at the Seagull Trust BookshopWe 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.Internal view of Seagull Trust Bookshop

Contrasts

Logo of the Seagull TrustThe 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?

FK1 1ES          tel: 01324 612777             Seagull Trust

///grain.modern,stage

Ordinary, Scones

Lochgreen House

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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.

Pat on the beach at Troon
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
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. Internal view of Lochgreen House Hotel

Lochgreen House is owned by Bill Costley, a well known and celebrated figure in these parts. Internal view of Lochgreen House HotelOwning 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. Internal view of Lochgreen House Hotel

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. A scone at Lochgreen House HotelInside, 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.

Logo of Lochgreen House Hotel

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.

Glen Sannox ferry leaving Troon
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!

KA10 7EN          tel: 01292 313343.             Lochgreen

///steady.insurers.lollipop

Ordinary, Scones

The Winnock

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You have got to be careful when it comes to dealing with MacGregors. Their reputation as being complete scoundrels even led to King James VI proscribing the name “MacGregor”, the utterance of which was punishable by death. No messing! In spite of all that, however, we have many MacGregor friends and think that they’re actually quite nice. Today we are in the village of Drymen at The Winnock Hotel in the heart of MacGregor country but we didn’t set out to come here.Logo of The Winnock in Drymen

We actually set out to look for the mysterious MacGregor Monument. Why mysterious? Well, no one seems to be quite sure exactly who built it or why. It’s falling to bits due to neglect and, in spite of it being almost seventy feet tall, it’s nigh on impossible to find.  A challenge!

Fine features

Once we had done battle with a rather rude woman who seemed to object to our presence on planet earth, climbed several fences and negotiated some thick undergrowth … voila! Its’ a big monument so you would think it would stick out like a sore thumb but no, it’s so enveloped in trees it only appears when you are just a few feet away. Quite magnificent in its own way but sadly neglected. Covered in moss with several of its finer features having fallen to the ground. 

View of the Macgregor Monument
The MacGregor Monument. The bottom half is in the shape of an oak tree,, symbol of the MacGregor family who once owned the estate. In the photo above, devilish technology has been utilised to clear the trees so that it can be seen.

Internal view of The Winnock in Drymen

Outcasts

Mission accomplished and feeling rather pleased with ourselves we retraced our steps back to our car. It was a nice day so we decided to take the scenic route home, hence we ended up here at the Winnock Hotel. It’s an old coaching inn which has been catering to weary passersby for almost three hundred years. In the nice lounge area there were no free tables so we were ushered through to a bar area where we were entirely on our own. We felt a little bit like outcast MacGregors.Internal view of The Winnock in Drymen

Back in the day, MacGregor men were hunted ruthlessly in what was essentially state sponsored genocide. Unfortunately, something we are not unfamiliar with today. Even today the Chief of the MacGregor Clan is known rather romantically as the Chieftain of the Children of the Mist. Maybe a reference to MacGregors having to hide out on higher ground.

Great value

Somewhat confusingly, at the Winnock we were told that if we ordered “a scone” we would get two. Rather than risk ending up with four scones we ordered some coffee and “a scone”. Sure enough the scone came with a partner and plenty of butter, jam and cream. They had been warmed  which was nice but overall our experience here wasn’t great. Maybe we just got them on a bad day. The scones were nice enough but our experience as outcast MacGregors just didn’t do it for us. On the plus side, however, when we went to settle our bill it came to the grand total of £5. Great value for two coffees and two scones. WARNING: readers contemplating staying here should perhaps avoid rooms 38 and 39.  They’re haunted by ghosts of the 16th century witch trails. Don’t say you weren’t told!

G63 0BL          tel: 01360 660245       The Winnock Hotel

///freshen.opponent.fearfully

ps: Oddly enough it is MacGregors who are behind our favourite coffee company … Henry’s. Their Cat’s Pyjamas and Blow Your Socks Off brands are second to none. A scone at Henry's Global HQOn our return to Falkirk we were invited to their Global HQ for coffee … and scones! Although some might think it a typical MacGregor wheeze and brazen attempt to gain a topscone award by the back door, how could we refuse? Like their coffee, the presentation, service and hospitality were second to none. We really appreciated seeing behind the scenes at Henry’s Coffee Company but, of course, they hadn’t baked the scones themselves and it wasn’t one that our readers could access. No topscone but a huge thank you!

Ordinary, Scones

Castle View

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Logo of Castle View RestaurantToday we are more pleased than we ought to be about being here at the Castle View Restaurant in Menstrie. Why? For many years we have passed along the road at the foot of the Ochil hills and looked up at Broomhall Castle and wondered what it was all about. It never seemed to be anything that you could actually visit. But today we are visiting!The building has had a fairly colourful and chequered history.Internal view of Broomhall Castle

Rumours don’t need facts

Built in 1874 it was originally called Broom Hall, a tribute to the blaze of yellow broom on the hillside that provides a backdrop in the Spring. Entrance to Broomhall CastleAs the private home of a wealthy mill owner its demise reflected the decline of the woollen industry.. By 1906 it had became an Italian Riding School and then a boys boarding school. In 1940 it went on fire. because the headmaster was German it was rumoured  that the fire was set deliberately to act as a guide for the Luftwaffe bombing Clydebank. The fact that there was no bombing in Scotland at that time did not seem to affect the enthusiasm behind the rumours.

After the war the ruins were sold on to various owners who didn’t do anything with them. A delight for the local children who used it as a very scary playground. Following a spell as a nursing home, in 2003, approval was given for use as a hotel. Recently they’ve set up the Castle View Restaurant and that’s why we’re here. 

Sam’s the man

He introduced himself and explained that the Castle View venture is very much his baby. For the duration of our visit Sam seemed to single handedly run the place, like a butterfly flitting round the tables talking to everyone at the same time. A scone at Broomhall CastleHe was busy busy but amazingly he was successful, everyone was happy. A maestro of hospitality! Our scones were delicious and nicely presented with jam and a little bowl of cream. This was very near to a topscone but not quite.  The place needs a bit more investment but maybe that will come in time.

Size matters

Some readers might think we are “picky” but the chandeliers were a little on the small side. In our opinion chandeliers should be the same size or bigger than the ceiling rose above them.  Okay you all think we are “picky”! Suffice to say there is room for improvement with the decor.

A lounge at Broomhall Castle
one of the lounges
Unbelievable

But there is much more room for improvement elsewhere. Trump’s comments that the Reagan airport plane crash was caused by misfits  in air traffic control was moronic even by his standards. To be even more outlandish he claimed to know this because he had “common sense”? Maybe we should send Sam over to help him with his interpersonal skills?

FK11 7EA         tel: 01259 928292          Castle View Restaurant

///meant.processes.sting

Ordinary, Scones

food@34a

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We’ve been to food@34a before. Many of you will be aware that from time to time we go to the Hippodrome cinema in Bo’ness. Although it’s the oldest cinema in Scotland that’s not what takes us there. Rather it’s its proximity to our garage. Whenever we have a problem we

External view of the Hippodrome Cinema
The Hippodrome cinema

drop the car off and they take us to the cinema and pick us up when the film has finished and the car is fixed. It’s a great arrangement which has been going a few years now. Today’s film was “Went The Day Well” an old black and white film from 1942.

Problems
A picture at food@34a in Bo'ness
A picture at food@34a

We’d love to tell you how good it was. However, as we sat there with everyone else wondering why the movie was so late in starting a young lass appeared in front of the screen to inform us there was a technical problem. No showing today! Aargh! Our flabber was well and truly gasted! What to do now? The car wouldn’t be ready for at least a couple of hours

It was a nice day so we went for a walk round the old Bo’ness harbour. Bo’ness used to be called Barrowstouness but in the Great Letter Shortage of 1652 they were forced to shorten it. We’re pretty sure  if Donald Trump came away with that sort of nonsense at least half of America would believe it. Anyway, these days the harbour is a mere shadow of its former self. Gone are the days when this was a great trading port. It even had its own Customs House. Logo of food@34a in Bo'nessEventually we headed back into town past the Steam Railway Museum. You may remember our post in 2019 from one of their steam trains when the Einsteinian like Theory of Sconativity was developed. Internal view of food@34a in Bo'ness

When we arrived at food@34a it was very busy and we were fortunate to get the last available table. By this time it was almost lunchtime but we decided on their small breakfast. A scone at food@34a in Bo'nessGoodness knows what their big breakfast is like because the small one with bacon, egg, link suasage, square sausage, tattie scone, beans and two slices of toast was more than enough for us. After all that, did we need a scone? Definitely not, but we had one anyway, to share. They didn’t have cream but when it arrived the butter looked more like cream than butter. The service was great and without asking they brought two plates and two knives so that we could share. Unfortunately the scone was too big and although nice enough there was no way we could finish it. A sign at food@34a in Bo'ness

The Donald has now been installed as the 47th President of the USA in a Disneyesque ceremony. His inaugural speech was notable for being completely devoid of anything approaching grace. He sees his task for the next four years as making the richest country in the world even richer and to hell with everyone else. The fact that inequality is at the root of most of the world’s and the US’s problems seems to have escaped him. If. on the other hand, by the time you receive this post he has resolved the problems of the Middle East and Ukraine, like he said he would, then we take it all back.

When we last posted from food@34a in 2023 our then PM, Rishi Sunak, had just appointed an ethics adviser to help him differentiate between right and wrong. Might be an idea for the new US administration? 

Even though we didn’t see our movie “Well The Day Went” our day went well. The walk was really enjoyable and when we finished at food@34a the garage delivered us our car … fab! 

EH51 0EA           tel: 07380 600235             food@34aFB

///reservoir.skill.gobbles