Still carless so we remain pretty much tethered to home. Our car is currently on Harris in the Outer Hebrides where the previous post hailed from. We are being inundated with photos of our granddaughters enjoying fabulous weather and swimming on Hebridean beaches.
our granddaughter Lola running on one of the many overcrowded beaches in the Outer Hebrides
Meanwhile, back in Falkirk, with no particular desire to use public transport just yet, we were not feeling the same degree of joyous unfettered freedom. But sensing a bit of a scone urge, we quietly made our way to our own local High Street. And when we got there Bob & Berts was the only cafe with any available outside seating. So it was to be “Bob & Berts revisited”. Last time we reviewed this place it was our very first scone of 2019.
Car doors
Back then we appraised our 2018 year of sconing. The big political news of the year had been a member of the Royal family closing her own car door. The media was full of it. Some congratulatory but others full of righteous indignation at the sheer unabashed brashness of it all. Since then, of course, the responsible person has been banished from whence she came and since then all Royal car doors have remained free of scandal. Phew!
Snagging lists
Momentarily, we also turned to religion. God, we reckoned, must have looked with dismay at the mess He had made of His snagging list over two millennia. We felt, however, that He would have taken a crumb of comfort from a whole bunch of countries banding together in a spirit of cooperation to form the EU. He would have been proud! Oh dear, what will He be thinking now?
Last time, we gave Bob and Berts a bit of a hard time for not selling us a raspberry ripple scone and importing their jam from Oregon. That’s a massive carbon footprint for a wee pot of jam. Well, this time they only had cherry scones but the jam was still the same. We have to conclude that they are either impervious to justifiable criticism or they don’t read allaboutthescones.com. Incredibly we suspect it’s the latter. Heyho, we wouldn’t really want anyone serving American jam in Scotland to be reading our blog anyway!
We wish our “Bob & Berts revisited” experience had been an improvement on the first visit but it wasn’t. Our shared cherry scone was almost inedible. It may have been fresh on a certain day last week but it certainly wasn’t now. We left half of it. Stale scones, scooshie cream and American jam … what’s to like? Well, the coffee was actually quite good and the place itself has a nice hipsterish vibe. Not enough to make us rush back though.
Poetic scones
We are spoiled when it comes to refreshments because our coffee correspondent keeps us supplied with delicious Cat’s Pyjamas coffee from Henry’s Coffee Company. Sometimes we even find the odd anonymous package of trout on our doorstep and suspect it might be the very same correspondent. Among his many talents, he is renowned for his recitals of the poems of Robert Burns. He couldn’t bear for our antipodean corespondents to be the only ones waxing lyrically about scones so he’s penned a response. As expected, his ditty has an appropriate Scottish flavour.
Great tastin scone yir so elusive. Tae find yir likes, one hikes ower Scotland’s hills and glens and islands. Thru toons and villages, some wi’ sheds, some wi’ telephone boxes. Some oft visited by wee ‘Willy Winkie’ and Pat and Billy. Yir crumblin crumbs and so soft centre cause chaos on my taste buds. Yi’ll taste much better when Scotland’s independent.
Normality?
Don’t know if this can be taken as a sign of things returning to normal after COVID? Remember the £5.36 I had in my pocket since March. Remember it mysteriously went up to £6.36. Well, now it’s gone. It’s now just 56p. No idea what’s happened but it’s definitely suffered a severe shock. It’s certainly not due to me being unduly profligate but I’ve obviously had to stick my hand in my pocket for some reason. I would, however, caution the world against taking this as conclusive proof a resumption of normality.
We know, we know, we should be out looking for new scones now that coronavirus restrictions have been relaxed. We should be endeavouring to broaden your sconological knowledge. That’s as may be, however, we don’t feel particularly adventurous just yet. There’s still a lot of COVID uncertainty. And in addition, our daughter came up from London on the train with her family then stole our car. In fact, our car may well be parked outside the Isle of Harris Distillery as we speak. We, on the other hand, are quite definitely parked in Falkirk. In other words, our scone adventuring is somewhat curtailed for the next couple of weeks.
Our grandaughter yesterday on Morar beach on her way to the Isle of Harris
Although this was originally posted only last year when Theresa May was still striving to get her Brexit Bill through parliament, it seems like ancient history now. Nevertheless, these times that seemed particularly torrid at the time now seem of little consequence compared to what is happening this year. So let’s go back to when life was much simpler.
You all know by now that scones are our main objective where ever we go. However, sometimes it’s not as easy as you might imagine. Distractions abound e.g. sheds, eagles … distilleries! If we can’t find one to live in we feel somewhat obliged to visit them … it’s the decent thing to do. Maybe it’s just a Scottish thing, who knows? Anyway, this long-winded preamble is simply trying to let you know that we are in another distillery – the Isle of Harris Distillery. Like Raasay, this is another new kid on the block. It hasn’t actually produced any whisky yet but in the meantime, it’s producing lots of gin.
The old-established distilleries don’t bother with gin and probably look down their noses at those that do. However, for these new ones, cash flow is of paramount importance and ten years is a long time to wait for a return on your investment. Gin, on the other hand, you can make in a couple of days.
Sugar Kelp
Because of this, there are dedicated gin distilleries popping up all over Scotland … about 70 at the last count and they join 125 whisky distilleries. We also hadn’t realised until recently that the big well-known gins like Gordons, Hendricks and Tanquery are all produced in Scotland as well. That’s a lot of gin! They all claim to use their own unique blend of botanicals to flavour their products. On Harris, they use locally harvested sugar kelp … whatever? As long as they keep it well away from the whisky!
Mairi Mackenzie
Being only a few years old the distillery is very modern and has a large rather swanky visitor centre … and a café. We arrived back from our trip to the Butt of Lewis just as it was about to close. Enough time for a scone, however. Mairi Mackenzie does all their home-baking and it all looked delicious. As always a scone was what we had in our sights. It came accompanied with cream and jam. We have been desperate to find a topscone on this trip and so far it has eluded us. Unfortunately, Mairi’s scone didn’t change the situation. We thoroughly enjoyed it as we did everything about this place but it came up just short of the mark … pity.
They call the Isle of Harris Distillery the ‘social distillery’ because it aims to become the centre of the community. It certainly provides much-needed employment in this part of the world. Island economies are always fragile so anything that increases stability is always welcome. More power to their elbow! Their first whisky is to be called ‘Hearach’ which is what people from Harris are called in Gaelic … can’t wait!
Map of the Isle of Harris
Social places
Can’t wait for the fiasco masquerading as politics under the Westminster banner to sort itself out. Today, as Theresa May gives the Speaker a body swerve and tries for a third time to get her Brexit deal through the Commons, here, on the very edge of the EU, you feel pretty insulated from all that stuff. You feel, no matter what happens, the folks on these isolated islands where everyone knows everyone else will look after each other, come what may. It would be great if we could all have that sort of social community spirit. We are coming to the end of our time on Harris … sad!
Remember our Brisbane correspondent sent us a scone poem. Not to be outdone our Bathurst correspondent has responded with a work of his own.
“I enjoyed my Brisbane countryman’s poem in the last blog. I use the term “countryman” loosely though, because Australia is fast descending into a number of separate countries, courtesy of Covid-19….. But enough of that. I felt it incumbent upon me, however, to respond to your Brisbane correspondent’s contribution. I apologize in advance to Bill Wordsworth for pinching the structure of one of his better works.”
When it comes to poetic scones, these Aussies are certainly putting us Brits to shame. And yes, that’s a challenge!
This is another Scottish island repost from 2016. That was back when the Scottish Conservatives were feeling rejuvenated. Today, however, Jackson Carlaw resigned as their leader, after only five months in post. Hopefully, he has seen the hopelessness of their cause. Just the mention of them, however, is always liable to bring on a rant. They never have anything remotely like a policy of their own and simply resort to attacking the wicked SNP. British nationalists, of which Boris is a prime example, are an odd bunch. They refuse to acknowledge Scotland as a country in its own right, however, when it comes to debt it’s a different story. They delight in pointing out that Scotland has the biggest fiscal deficit of any country in Europe but never feel inclined to explain why.
Technically, Scotland cannot have any debt because it’s not allowed to borrow money and it’s legally obliged to balance the books every year. Only the UK government can borrow money. This is how it works. When they borrow say £100million, 10% of the debt is automatically apportioned to Scotland (on the basis of our population size) however, little if any of the money ever comes north of the border. It’s all spent in England .. and for ‘England’ you can read ‘London’. So with that accounting system, is it any wonder we have a deficit! Anyway, rant over, let’s go to the wonderful Isle of Arran.
We arrived a day early for our Scottish Wildlife Trust outing on Arran and stayed the first night at one of our favourite places, the Kilmichael Country House in Glen Cloy. There were peacocks all over the place. We thought that they would give us a sneaky head start over everyone else with our bird list. They are a pernickety lot however in the SWT. We were left in no doubt that peacocks were not allowed on the list .. verboten! The rest of our stay was to be here at the Douglas in Brodick, just a stone’s throw from the ferry terminal. It’s built from locally quarried red sandstone. In 1782 it spent some time as the doctor’s house until eventually becoming a hotel in 1852.
the MacNab
A couple of years ago it underwent complete modernisation and now terms itself ’boutique’. If ’boutique’ means having vast beds then it definitely qualifies for that sobriquet. If there’s anyone in bed with you, you certainly had to go searching in order to find them! Not sure why they have a large portrait of ‘The MacNab’ in reception. Maybe he liked the beds as well. He never married but had 35 illegitimate children.
Anyway, there was no way we were going to be able to stay here for the best part of a week without sampling their scones. We thought we might as well get it over and done with. We decided to sit out on the patio area overlooking Brodick Bay while a young cheery chap from Kilmarnock buzzed to and fro bringing us tea, coffee, scones etc. The scones were good, full of fruit but hot, almost too hot to handle. Pat had a cheese scone but it had to be left to cool down as well. Not topscones but who cares when you get great service and all you have to do is sit and watch the ferries coming and going. If there is one in you wonder when it will leave. If there isn’t one in you wonder when one will arrive .. exciting!
View from our table
Election results
The dust has now settled on the elections and, in Scotland, the media have hailed the results in rather peculiar ways. They have made much of Labour’s continuing failure to recognise that Scotland has changed. They have also trumpeted the Tory’s supposed rejuvenation?? When the Scottish Tory vote collapsed to 24% in 1987 under the much-hated Margaret Thatcher, who would have thought that a trifling 30 years later it would have rebounded to 22%. What are they on about?
One thing the media has not made much of is the SNP success. Their achievement – increasing seats and votes after almost 10 years in power is truly astounding yet gets only grudging acknowledgement. If it gets any at all. Anyway, who cares when all you have to do is sit in the sunshine eating scones, watching ferries come and go. Oh, and the red-breasted mergansers swimming in the bay. Lots of them, and they’re allowed!
As you know our antipodean correspondents have been excelling themselves lately. Pumpkin scones then Waltzing Matilda scones. And no sooner had we convinced ourselves that we had run out of Aussie scones than a note drops into our inbox from our Brisbane correspondent. Not a scone as such but a scone poem, no less. We knew that this particular correspondent had difficulty getting out of bed in the morning but had no idea about his poetic inclinations.
Flour butter milk Give that all a stir Maybe add some fruit If that is what you prefer
Bung them in the oven While you whip the cream I put mine on the bottom But some say that’s obscene
Such a simple recipe folks But of variations, there are galore You could wander round for years And still not sample them all
Top scone or bottom scone Or somewhere in-between Could it be? Though scone blasphemy All about the placement of the cream
Bill and Pat, you write about the scone But you also jam in some history With a dash of current affairs Your scone blog, sure is the cream to me
This is yet another repost from 2016 at the Wineport on the Isle of Arran. Yes, even we are surprised at how many island scones we have consumed. Back in March, we were trying to narrow it down when we decided to repost island scones. But who would have thought we would still be doing it in the middle of July? Amazing but let’s get on with some serious grouching.
The 51st State
Day by day the UK is becoming more and more like the US. As the Union comes under increasing strain over COVID, no UK government official can now be seen on TV without the background being draped in Union Jacks. A desperate sign of newfound insecurities. Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon gets vilified for saying that she cannot rule out health checks on the border with England. Meanwhile, in Australia, the government has just closed the border between Victoria and New South Wales for exactly that reason. These are just two states within a country whereas Scotland and England are two different countries? Make of that what you will!
And like the US, our UK government now has a department to explain what our Prime Minister means when he speaks. Again like the US, usually, the exact opposite of what was actually said. In anticipation of the inevitable enquiry into their lamentable handling of coronavirus, Boris has attempted to offload blame. He said, “We discovered too many care homes didn’t really follow the procedures in the way that they could have.” In true Trumpian style officials then lined up to say that what he really meant was that care homes had done an absolutely brilliant and outstanding job. Unbelievable!
Back to 2016
This is a lovely spot, in Cladach on the outskirts of Brodick. Cladach actually used to be the main village before modern Brodick was built on the south side of the bay. Now, most of the former houses are used for small businesses. The Wineport is just one example. It probably derives its name from a small harbour area, now disused, a short way along the coast which at one time would have been used by all ferries and imports to the island.
Outside the front door is a large beer garden, perfect for our kind of birdwatching. It’s at the start of the path up Goatfell, maybe we would catch sight of an eagle? We sampled some of the local beer and then because we had seen some scones on the bar, we thought we should give one a try. It came with lots of jam and the coffee came with a little piece of millionaires shortbread … nice touch. The scone was fine, lots of fruit but just a tad on the heavy side.
Summary
So, by way of a recap … as we sadly prepare to leave Arran after a great trip, all the scones have been enjoyable enough but we are left with a total of one topscone -at Machrie Bay Tearoom. Well done them.
Barcelona and the Saltire
Today, of course, is football day with the English and Scottish Cup Finals both being played. Arguably of more interest, however, is the Copa Del Ray cup final in Madrid between Barcelona and Sevilla. The Catalans are just as uppity as the Scots so the Spanish government, in their infinite wisdom, banned the use of the Estelada (Catalan flag) at the game. The Barcelona supporters, however, said they would use the Scottish Saltire instead. That was enough for the government to revoke its ban … the power of the Saltire! Grey wagtail might be the last to be added to the list. But we still have a little time left on Arran, so our final bird count won’t be revealed until the next post. Will there be an eagle on it?
Earlier we were berating the National Trust for Scotland for not stocking Scottish produce in their cafés. Yesterday, at least they managed now got rid of their odious President, Neil Oliver over the equally odious David Starkey affair. His leaving may provide the Trust, with all its dukes, barons, earls and lords with a long-overdue and much-needed opportunity to have a long hard look at itself and how it manages its affairs.
What’s left of a shed near Balliekine on Arran’s west coast
It was back in May 2018 that we visited Felicity’s at Eden Lodge at Whiting Bay on the Isle of Arran. Not that long ago but David Cameron was at No 10 and Brexit was still a hot topic. Time really does fly! Arran, because of its scenic diversity, is sometimes called “Scotland in Miniature.” If you only had a couple of days to “do” Scotland you would be hard pushed to do better than spend them on Arran … little bits of everything Scotland has to offer. We recommend, however, that once this COVID-19 lockdown is eased you take much longer and Visit Scotland … spoil yourself “you’re worth it”. Anyway …
Kings Cross Point looking towards Brodick and Goatfell, Holy Isle on the right
We are at beautiful Kings Cross Point, just opposite the Buddhist retreat of Holy Isle. After a morning spent bird watching and exploring Viking forts, we were well and truly in need of refreshment by the time we reached Whiting Bay. We have decided that all tourists to Arran should have to go on a course. It would explain when things are open on the island. Some are closed on Mondays, some Tuesdays and others are closed on Wednesdays … confusing!
Having tried some places that were closed we ended up here at Felicity’s at Eden Lodge. in a way, we were happy because this place was probably the nicest. The couple who run it have only had it a year and don’t have the hotel side of things operational yet but when they do it should be good. They did their training at Gleneagles. We were looked after by a young chap from Rockhampton in Northern Queensland. He had been on Arran for about three months but was struggling with the heat!!
Scorchio
We got ourselves a table beside the bowling green … and, away from the sea breeze, it was scorchio! When our scones arrived, complete with jam and clotted cream, it was obvious we would have to scoff them pretty quickly before the cream melted. This we did, and they were very good, but once again not quite topscones. Would we ever get an Arran topscone before we had to leave the island? Worrying!
Pretend birdwatching
As dedicated bird watchers, we have discovered something. When you are sitting there, replete with scones and coffee, the gentle sound of waves on the shore, shades on, faces pointing to the sun, you can pretend you are earnestly looking for golden eagles. Though snoring does tend to give the game away.
Dirty tricks
Cameron has also been caught out with his back-door dealings with big businesses, like Serco, to back his ‘Remain’ campaign. We are not backing ‘Leave’ or ‘Remain’ yet but we don’t like the tactics. Just as we didn’t like them in the Scottish referendum. Oh, and joy of joys, the world’s largest oil field has been discovered off Shetland. Did you know that? Barely a word about it in the press or on TV. On the basis that nothing remotely good for Scotland can be reported it is hardly surprising. It might make us more uppity than we already are. Anyway, besides all that, is that a golden eagle or a swallow?
The COVID-19 pandemic seems to be in retreat across Europe at least. A sense of normality is beginning to take hold. It’s curious to think that it took something like coronavirus to bring the world together in a single shared experience. Not a religion, not a culture but a virus. Let’s hope that the shared experience ends up being something beneficial though even now, after George Floyd, arguments rage about race, creed and statues abound. We think Ella Wheeler Wilcox got it pretty much spot on when she said in Voice Of The Voiceless:
“So many gods, so many creeds,
So many paths that wind and wind,
While just the art of being kind
Is all the sad world needs.”
And scones, of course!
ARRAN SHED
Whiting Bay Gala Day. A shed at the putting competition … only a dog waiting.
Okay, we are back to old regurgitated scones … sorry! This one is from 2015 at the Liosbeag Café on Lismore.
With Bojo keeping Dominic Cummings in his job at least we know now for certain that Britain has joined that merry band of countries like the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, N Korea and Kazakhstan which have unelected leaders at the helm. The British are also getting a taste of what it is like to be governed by the shambolic self-interested British. Something many countries have experienced in the past and, of course, Scotland, Wales and N. Ireland still do. Anyway, enough depressing stuff, let’s go back five years.
We took the car ferry from Oban to Achnacroish in order to right a wrong. We had never before visited Lismore. Looked at it many times from Mull and Appin and various other places but had never actually set foot on it. This was to be our first time .. exciting. We were guests at Bachuil Country House but before we arrived there we came to the Liosbeag Café at the local Gaelic Heritage Centre. It was just about scone time. As it turns out there is one Kiki McColl who is the manager and responsible for all the baking here. She doesn’t scrimp! The cakes and scones all came in what might be termed ‘man-sized’ portions. Kiki’s raspberry scones looked huge, to begin with, but when they appeared complete with jam and cream they were indeed, something to behold.
All we can say is if you are ever on Lismore you must have one of these Kiki masterpieces. You won’t need much else for the rest of the day. If you fancied something else however there is a whole range of other food on offer, a shop, and a history centre. Well worth a visit. Considering it is the only café on the island it is just as well that it’s a good one. Well done to Kiki and the girls for the friendly welcome and excellent food. We would love to come back!
Our hosts on Lismore were Niall and Anita Livingston, perhaps better known as the Baron and Baroness of Bachuil. Niall was also the Abbot of Lismore, Coarb (Successor) of St Moluag and Chief of Clan MacLea. Quite a guy you might think … and you would be right! They made us extremely welcome Niall regaled us with interesting tales about his various titles and this wonderful island. Perhaps most importantly Niall taught us how to eat porridge correctly. One morning however he warned us against the chocolate cake at Liosbeag Café. We thought it a bit strange but next morning on the 4th June it all became clear. Niall and Anita had bought a full chocolate gateau to help celebrate Pat’s birthday. How nice was that?
Pat and the Baron of Bachuil on her birthday
Moving on
We have taken out the contact details because since our visit. Bachuil House has closed. And as far as we can gather Kiki has moved on from the café. We need to revisit the island when all this coronavirus stuff is cleared up. Peculiar to think that it was in the middle of March that we were at Tobermory on the Isle of Mull and since then we have barely been out of the house. We are quite enjoying it now. Hope you all are as well.
A few years ago we watched a tv documentary about the Isle of Raasay. They interviewed Duncan, a crofter in his eighties, who had spent his entire life on this tiny island. You might think he was just lacking ambition however he seemed the very essence of contentment. As we sit discontented in coronavirus lockdown it is perhaps salutary to think of him and how he enjoyed his life. We visited Isle of Raasay Distillery 2 in 2019 when Brexit still made the news.
Following on from our last post from the Mission Café in Mallaig we made it across the sea to Skye but with little time to spare. As soon as we landed at Armadale we had to drive directly to Sconsor to catch another ferry to the Isle of Raasay. Phew! This sconing stuff can be frantic. Actually there were several reasons other than scones for wanting to visit the island. They involve sheds and eagles and roads and things but we won’t go into that. Suffice to say that after a relatively short crossing we set foot on Raasay for the first time .. fantastic!
Needs must
There’s not a lot of accommodation on Raasay so we were having to stay in the distillery. We know, we know, the things we have to do to keep you sconeys up to date! We reckoned we could put up with it for a few days at least.
View from the distillery towards the Cuillins of Skye with the ferry approaching
It has only been open a couple of years so it’s the first distillery on the island … or as they point out, the first legal distillery. It is very modern in design though we were staying in the old Victorian part. Even it had been modernised to within an inch of its life and had all mod cons. It was extremely comfortable. Thank goodness, this made the whole idea of staying in a distillery, bearable at least. We won’t bore you with details because whisky is not what we are about. We are all about scones! Suffice to say, at night they lock the door leading from our living quarters to the distillery?
When it came to scones, however, we actually had to make the perilous one minute walk through the daffodils to Raasay House. In the 1500s this was the seat of the all powerful MacLeods however after the Battle of Culloden the original house was burned to the ground. It was rebuilt and in 1773, MacLeod of Raasay played host to Dr Johnston and James Boswell on their epic journey through the Highlands. Johnston wrote of his welcome on Raasay “After the usual refreshments, and the usual conversation, the evening came upon us. The carpet was then rolled off the floor; the musician was called, and the whole company was invited to dance, nor did ever fairies trip with greater alacrity.”
Calum’s Road
Today it was playing host to us but earlier in the day, we had been on our own epic journey … across Calum’s Road. It is named after the man who single handedly, over a period of ten years, built the entire road.
the start of Calum’s road with his old wheelbarrow still lying there
Calum MacLeod was made a stern stuff. As the local lighthouse keeper he had been campaigning for years to have the footpath that led to his home in Arnish in the north of the island upgraded to a road. Having no luck with officialdom he just decided to do it himself. Aided by a book of DIY road building.
when we saw this sign we should have known that if this road was in Blackpool you would have to pay for the white knuckle ride
Over a ten year period he completed the two mile route to Brochel Castle where it could join the existing road. In 1974 it was eventually adopted and surfaced by the local council.
Remains of Brochel Castle. Until 1671 the MacLeods used it to command the Sound of Raasay
Four people now live in Arnish and two of them work in the distillery. What a commute they have to work! We drove for two hours, sometimes reaching an electrifying 10mph where lack of potholes and road surface permitted … and never saw another car. Besides keeping a lighthouse and building roads, Calum was also a poet and a songwriter. It would have been great to have met him at the end of his road however he died some years back.
Epic
By the time we had completed this epic and sometimes hair-raising trip it was most definitely scone o’clock! As we took our seats looking out towards the Cuillins of Skye we were ready for an epic scone. Our scones arrived very promptly and came with butter, jam and the now infamous Rodda’s Cornish Cream. What the …? Not a great start and the scones just turned out to be kind of soft and somewhat lacking in character. The coffee and everything else was great so it was a shame. No topscone but ten out of ten for location.
Out of touch
When we are away like this we tend to not keep up with the news. Sometimes it’s because we don’t have time and sometimes it’s because there’s no internet or telephone services. Hopefully at some point we will be informed that Brexit’s Article 50 has been revoked and it was all just a bad dream. Or should we just stay here in blissful ignorance?
ps: these two K6s were in Inverarish the capital of Raasay. The village was built in 1914 to house miners for the iron mines used to fuel the war effort. It was abandoned in 1918 when the war ended but it now houses most of the 180 inhabitants of the island. These K6s were in perfect working order … made in Falkirk, of course. Would they have been made from iron ore mined on Raasay?
parking nightmare in Inverarish
Miracles
We fully understand old Duncan not wishing to leave this island, we didn’t. When we were there, Pat bought me a bottle of “While We Wait” the whisky the distillery is selling until they can produce their own. I still have it … as yet unopened, it’s a miracle!
So far BoJo has fronted 4 coronavirus briefings, Nicola Sturgeon has fronted 59. As we learn from the First Minister of Scotland that we are to gain greater coronavirus freedoms as of next week we should perhaps bear in mind that in the very near future, with Brexit, we will be losing lots of other freedoms. We will be the only citizens of Europe unable to travel, study, work or retire freely across our own continent. England voted for this so we hope the Prime Minister of England can sort it out for England. Scotland emphatically did not, so we hope the First Minister of Scotland can sort that out as well. Another miracle required.
A SHED ON CALUM’s ROAD
This tumbledown shed is in an almost inaccessible sheep fank, Maybe they took the sheep out by boat before Calum built the road which you can see above?
This visit to Brodick Castle was back in 2016 in cahoots with the Scottish Wildlife Trust. Things were better then. For one thing, I was four years younger and my arthritic hands had not deteriorated to the extent they have today. I mention this because it raises an important question.
Pat and I are muddling through this COVID-19 isolation business as best we can. The other day, however, while trying to extract a cork from a bottle of prosecco I noticed I was having some difficulty. So what is the question? Well, women have babies; they have to contend with everything mother nature throws at them; wear high heels; look beautiful; put up with men all while being sensible. So, if a man can’t even pop a cork … what’s left? It’s okay I’m not un dergoing some sort of crisis … I don’t think? Anyway back to the wonderful Isle of Arran.
On the opposite side of Brodick Bay from our hotel stands the imposing Brodick Castle. We have been here before but having looked across the water at it for the past few days we thought another visit might be worthwhile. But first, so that you can get this scone in context, a little history.
King Hakon and all that
Some sort of fortification has been on this site since at least the fifth century. By the tenth century, Norse influence had grown, and Arran was controlled by King Hakon of Norway. However, when some Scottish upstarts began to question his authority, he sent a large fighting fleet to sort things out. That resulted in the Battle of Largs in 1263 … which he lost. He retreated to Brodick and then to Orkney where he died the following year. The ensuing Treaty of Perth in 1266 ceded Arran and other islands to the Kingdom of Scotland. Oliver Cromwell occupied the castle for a while and then it fell to the Hamilton family who occupied it for several centuries. In 1957 it was gifted to the nation by the Duchess of Montrose to avoid death duties. The National Trust for Scotland eventually took it over.. and now we are here!
Scottish produce
The grounds are immaculately kept and there is a tearoom for visitors but of course today we’re sitting outside in the spring sunshine. Like most NTS places, it is self-service so we duly selected a mixture of cheese and fruit scones. Sometimes, if we are feeling particularly daring, we mix things up and have half each. Everything was fine though we can sometimes get a little irritated by the presence of the ubiquitous tubs of Rodda’s cornish cream. The Arran Creamery is just down the road, do we really have to bring it all the way from Cornwall? The jam was from Manchester … c’mon NTS! Do you know what the ‘S’ in your name stands for? What must tourists think?
The scones were very nice but not quite nice enough for a topscone. We got plenty exercise chasing fly away napkins but, all in all, it was a lovely scone-break in a beautiful setting.
MacBraynes
We have probably travelled on a couple of dozen ferries over the past year or so and, as a consequence, have become quite familiar with Caledonian MacBrayne. It was once said that “God gave us the earth and MacBraynes the Western Isles”. A slight, inferring that the ferry company held the islands to ransom. There may have been an element of truth in that at one time but, with the introduction of RET (Road Equivalent Tariff), not any more. Our trip to Arran, involving four ferries, cost a grand total of just over £50 for a car and four passengers. Not too bad at all!
Building ships in Scotland again
So, we are delighted with the news that the Scottish government, in the face of all the EU regulations, have managed to award the ongoing £900m contract to publicly owned CalMac over privately owned Serco. And build their ships on the Clyde. Even King Hakon would have been proud.
We had walked along the beach to Brodick Castle from our hotel but decided to get the bus back. The bus stop on the main road opposite the castle entrance makes waiting for the bus a real pleasure. There were seals sunning themselves on a rock and an oystercatcher’s nest on the seaward side of the wall. You are almost annoyed when the bus comes.
Amongst other things, today we saw siskins, sedge warblers, guillemots and red-legged partridges. Alas, still no eagles.
We may owe Boris an apology. He has singlehandedly broken the UK up into its constituent parts. Bravo! It has always been thus, of course, but before now Westminster and the media have always thought of the UK as ‘a country’ rather than a ‘state’ made up of four equal countries. Okay, two countries, a Principality and a province to be precise but you know what we mean. Boris has unwittingly downgraded himself, to Prime Minister of England, the selfless wee soul that he is.
Apologies for the randomness of these scone reposts. It’s just the way we pick them … randomly! The Callanish Stones post is from just over a year ago when we were visiting the Outer Isles. In this time of coronavirus doom and gloom, these stones should remind us that 5000 years ago these technological marvels were, like they still are today, wondrous. Their purpose and why they are there is the subject of pure guesswork, again a bit like the current pandemic. Things don’t change that much.
Apologies for the plethora of scones winging your way of late. It’s what happens when we are in virgin territory. A new scone opportunity at every turn. Bear with us, normal service will be resumed as soon as possible.
Today we are venturing further afield onto the Isle of Lewis … another first for us. There is always something exciting about being somewhere for the first time, especially when it’s in your own country. Having spent much of our lives exploring Scotland, sometimes we feel we have barely scratched the surface.
Attractions
To get to Lewis you have to drive through some spectacular scenery on North Harris. Lots of big hills and some massive white-tailed eagles. Pat’s a happy bunny. Once beyond the hills, however, you emerge into a great flatness which is characteristic of Lewis. Vast vistas of open moorland and lochs with sprinklings of houses. We passed Uig Bay where the 12th century Lewis chessmen were dug up on the beach in 1831. Just why these artefacts are displayed in London and Edinburgh is beyond us. Both cities need additional attractions like a hole in the head but the Chessmen would be a fantastic draw, here where they were actually discovered.
Attempts at time travel
Anyway, before long we arrived here at the world-famous Callanish Stones. We think these would be displayed in London as well if they weren’t so damned awkward to transport. There are stone circles all over the place in this locality but Callanish is the biggest and best known. Dating from around 5000BC and sometimes known as the “Stonehenge of the North” they predate Stonehenge by 2000years. Pat tried to imitate Outlander’s Claire Fraser by gently leaning against the largest stone … she’s still here.
Callanish Visitor Centre
The stones used to be much smaller, or rather their true height wasn’t discovered until 1857 when 1.5 metres of peat was cleared away. Some think that they formed a lunar observatory but we prefer the story about them being petrified giants who refused to convert to Christianity. Another story is that, on midsummer morning, when the cuckoo calls, the “Shining One” walks the length of the avenue leading to the circle. Petrified giants and Shining Ones … the temptation to find analogies with modern-day politics is almost overwhelming. However, we will leave that to your own imaginations. Pat didn’t see any cuckoos!
The quest continues
Thankfully they have a Visitor Centre to provide scones and shelter from the wind. The Centre tells the story of the stones even though no one actually knows anything about them. It is all just guesswork. Arrgghh, the temptation to find analogies with Brexit! The cafe is nicely set up and must be a huge boon for the locals of Callanish and the surrounding area. There was no cream however our scones were very good indeed. In the end, however, we decided they were not quite topscones. Our quest for a Hebridean topscone continues.
Ridiculous strictures
When we left Callanish we continued on to Port of Ness, the most northerly point on Lewis. We knew we had reached the end of the road when we came on this sign. This is strict Free Church of Scotland territory … nothing but nothing happens here on a Sunday. We met a chap on Harris who told us that if you hang out a washing on the Sabbath you get a visit from men in black hats and black suits who will order you to take the washing in. They are members of the Lord’s Day Observance Society. He added, with a telling glint in his eye “I can’t wait for them to come to my door”. We wondered how much more advanced this whole island would be without these ridiculous strictures.
A fantastic part of the world and one that won’t be greatly affected by the shenanigans at Westminster. Theresa’s attempt to take on the Shining One’s mantle by promising the petrified that she will take herself off to a field of wheat somewhere if they let her have her way on Brexit, won’t cause a stir up here. As long as she doesn’t do it on a Sunday. All this because as she says “that is what the country wants!” No, it isn’t Theresa but don’t let that stop you going.
ps: we also came across this K6 in Port of Ness which must rank as the most north-westerly in the UK. It wasn’t operational … someone might use it on a Sunday for goodness sake. It was however made in Falkirk.
Port of Ness was always far away but now with COVID-19, it seems even further … strange! Not as strange though as Bojo experiencing a surge in popularity. The UK, like the US, seems to just love incompetents.
LEWIS SHED
A shed and a ruined croft on the great flat moorlands of the Isle of Lewis
This repost from the Atlantic Islands Centre is from way back in 2015. We spent almost a week on this tiny island (6×1.5miles) which now makes us wonder what we did for all that time? Can’t remember but we do remember having a great time. For example, one evening we set off walking round the coast to the town of Port Mary in the NW of the island. We searched and searched but, apart from lots of slate workings there was no trace of the town we thought we had seen on the map. Apparently, it’s just the name of a bay! Took a whole evening to find that out though so you get the idea of how we can easily fritter away a week.
The Isle of Luing (pronounced Ling) is not one we have ever been on before. We were not only excited to be visiting but also to find that in the capital, Cullipool, there was the Atlantic Islands Centre .. with a café. When we got there it had only been open a couple of weeks but was already proving to be a major hit with both islanders and visitors. Having been many years in the planning and construction it now provides a community based cultural centre for the island with loads of local history and genealogy information. Most importantly, of course, it has the only café/ restaurant on the island. Prior to this, going out for a coffee would have involved a ferry trip so it is not difficult to understand why it is popular.
Out of the way
There are two main population centres on the island, Cullipool and Toberonochy. Together they account for 90% of the population of about 200. There are no street names the houses are just numbered e.g. 17 Cullipool, and so on. As always in these ‘out of the way’ places the staff were extremely helpful and friendly. On our first visit we were served by a lovely girl on a two week holiday from Poland visiting relatives.
The village green, Toberonochy
Hardy beasts
We were impressed that she could come over to somewhere like Luing and end up with a job. Especially when everyone on the island seems to have at least three or four jobs. Okay, like most of the jobs in the restaurant, it was on a voluntary basis, but admirable nevertheless. Unfortunately, our scones were not so admirable .. seemed like they had been deep-frozen or something. Despite this, it is a great place. We have no doubt that it will develop into a fantastic resource for the island.
The island is probably best known for its now-defunct slate mining industry. However, it is also the place where Luing cattle were first developed by the Cadzow family in 1947. A cross between Beef Shorthorn and Highland cattle. These hardy beasts and are now found all over the world in areas where the climate, like Scotland’s, can be less than balmy.
EVEL
The climate in Parliament today may be less than balmy as MPs discuss EVEL (English Votes for English Laws). Earlier this week the Scotland Bill was agreed by 58 of Scotland’s 59 MPs but failed. It was voted down by English MPs .. almost enough to make you choke on your scone.
As Boris congratulates his government over its handling of the coronavirus crisis it is perhaps worth remembering that the two wealthy western countries with the worst problems of social inequality and deprivation – the US and the UK, have accounted for more than half the global COVID-19 deaths to date. Just saying!
Mask or not?
The debate around the wearing of face masks rages on. It’s a bit of nostalgia for us because it takes us back to the days when we used to rob banks. How else did you think we could afford all those scones? No more, of course, we’re not even allowed out of the house for goodness sake!
Stick ’em up!
We thought we might be able to recycle our old rather dashing black bank robbing masks but of course, they were more in the style of the Lone Ranger. They went around the eyes rather than the mouth. Useless! No worries though, we are indebted to our Côte d’Azur correspondents for sending us these beautiful homemade gender-sensitive masks. Bring it on, COVID-19!
ISLE OF LUING SHED
A boat shed in Cullipool looking towards the Fladda lighthouse in the far distance
by Bill and Pat Paterson and is about finding good scones throughout the world, with a little bit of politics
Well, this time they only had cherry scones but the jam was still the same. We have to conclude that they are either impervious to justifiable criticism or they don’t read allaboutthescones.com. Incredibly we suspect it’s the latter. Heyho, we wouldn’t really want anyone serving American jam in Scotland to be reading our blog anyway!
We wish our “Bob & Berts revisited” experience had been an improvement on the first visit but it wasn’t. Our shared cherry scone was almost inedible. It may have been fresh on a certain day last week but it certainly wasn’t now. We left half of it. Stale scones, scooshie cream and American jam … what’s to like? Well, the coffee was actually quite good and the place itself has a nice hipsterish vibe. Not enough to make us rush back though.
Great tastin scone yir so elusive.
Tae find yir likes, one hikes ower Scotland’s hills and glens and islands.
Thru toons and villages, some wi’ sheds, some wi’ telephone boxes.
Some oft visited by wee ‘Willy Winkie’ and Pat and Billy.
Yir crumblin crumbs and so soft centre cause chaos on my taste buds.
Yi’ll taste much better when Scotland’s independent.
Normality?
Don’t know if this can be taken as a sign of things returning to normal after COVID? Remember the £5.36 I had in my pocket since March. Remember it mysteriously went up to £6.36. Well, now it’s gone. It’s now just 56p. No idea what’s happened but it’s definitely suffered a severe shock. It’s certainly not due to me being unduly profligate but I’ve obviously had to stick my hand in my pocket for some reason. I would, however, caution the world against taking this as conclusive proof a resumption of normality.