Category Archives: Ordinary

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Ordinary, Scones

Upstairs at McEwens

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Today we are at Upstairs at McEwen’s. Don’t want you all wondering if we just shop and eat scones all day with both the last post, and this one, having a shopping theme. The excuse for this one is London Fashion Week which has just finished. We know that all you fashionistas will have been hanging on every word from the likes of Alexander McQueen and Karl Lagerfeld. However, did you realise that the people responsible for maintaining fashion at respectable levels in Perthshire and beyond were McEwens of Perth. One of our favourite shops and one you should definitely not miss if you are ever in the Fair City. This is the North of Scotland’s answer to Harrods, Liberty and Harvey Nicks. A bit more random but a lot more likeable. Rather like Grace Brothers in ‘Are You Being Served’.Old advert at Upstairs at Macewens of Perth

The Modes from Paris

Although it is much bigger now with multiple shops, it has been run by the same family from the same building since 1868. In this day and age, is well worth celebrating in itself. Now, if you think that Perthshire’s fashion consists mainly of Hunter wellies and Barbour jackets you would not be too far wrong. You might not realise, however, that even back in the 1890’s the managers from this place were visiting Europe and bringing back ‘The Modes from Paris’. Then making exquisite copies in their own workshops, exclusive to McEwens. Can you imagine the excitement of the Perthshire ladies? Nowadays it must be much harder to survive modern day commercial pressures. However, survive they do and survive with some style.

part of the Boutique at Macewens of Perth
part of the Boutique

Quotes emblazoned on the walls include. “We are all born the same, but fashion makes us unique” and, ‘we are all of us stars, we deserve to twinkle“. Great stuff! Up until recently, in the Upstairs restaurant you would have been waited on by ladies in black uniforms with little white aprons and little white hats. A bit like ‘Allo! Allo!’ Sadly they have now gone but the restaurant manages to maintain an old worldly charm where an overall sense of calm and Perthshire decency prevails. A scone at Upstairs at Macewens of PerthSadly the scones were not quite what we expected. Nice enough, but with a slightly pasty texture and taste. Don’t think they were home baked so, unfortunately, no topscone award this time.

The Duchess

On previous visits we have sampled their range of breakfast bacon rolls. ‘The Duchess’ is bacon, brie and cranberry .. fab! There .. ‘bacon’ has been mentioned and now we have to try and resist further references to the Prime Minister and his penchant for pork! Can you imagine the disappointment of the Perthshire ladies? Lots of them probably keep pigs?Interior view of Upstairs at Macewens of PerthPH1 5SN        tel: 01738 623444        Upstairs at McEwens

Useful link: things to do in Perth

Ordinary, Scones

Cranachan

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If you have ever shopped in Glasgow you will no doubt be familiar with Princes Square on Buchanan Street. An up-market emporium of shops and eating places. If you have never shopped in Glasgow, you should. It is undoubtedly one of the best places to go in Scotland and that’s from someone who is pretty allergic to the entire process. However we were not here to shop. Oh no, we were here for afternoon tea and Cranachan was our chosen spot. Balcony view of Cranachan, Princes Square, Glasgow

Fuss pots

Now this type of dining may not be to everyone’s taste. Sitting out on the balcony not sure where the boundaries are between this place and the next place. However, it certainly was not putting people off and in fact it turned out to be a quite pleasant experience all round. Afternoon tea at Cranachan, Princes Square, GlasgowWe had some bubbles to begin with and then they brought the afternoon tea. What they didn’t bring was the tea. We had to go and ask for it! Apart from that though it was not too bad at all. Good selection of sandwiches and cakes, topped off with little tubs of their own cranachan.

What about the scones I hear you cry, what about the scones? Well, this may be controversial, prepare yourself .. they came fully loaded with jam and cream?? Call us old fuss pots but we rather like the whole business of loading up our own scones. The anticipation .. the decisions; how much jam; how much cream. It’s all part of the scone experience. A pot of cranachan at Cranachan, Princes Square, GlasgowAll these dilemmas were removed and as a result our enjoyment was slightly diminished. Told you it would be controversial!

Drones

The dilemmas facing Corbyn this week have been even more controversial perhaps. As an atheist republican he has been berated for not singing a song about the monarch being rescued by God. He has been condemned as sexist for not appointing women in spite of all the women turning the jobs down. Maybe worst of all he has had to forego his bike and take to the official car to avoid being hounded by baying journalists. To top it all he has also been branded by the government, and hence all the main stream media, a major security risk. Some suspect that the car may have been forced on him because national security risks on bikes don’t provide a big enough target for drone missile attacks. No matter what your politics you have got to feel for the guy. It’s been a rough tough week!

Too lazy?

To finish on a more positive note, in spite of our, by comparison, relatively minor issues at Cranachan we had a very pleasant time and we would recommend it to you should you find yourself shopping in Princes Square. Especially if you are too lazy to butter your own scones!

If you would like to make your own cranachan here is a recipe.

G1 3JN      tel: 0141 248 6257       Cranachan Café

Ordinary, Scones

The Biscuit Café

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Internal view at the Biscuit Café in CulrossOn a nice day there are fewer nicer places to be than Culross in Fife. Maybe the only even nicer place would be The Biscuit Café in the centre of Culross. It is part of the Culross Pottery and Gallery whose resident potter Camilla Garrett-Jones makes lots of lovely stuff and runs pottery classes here and in the South of France.

A piece by Camilla Garrett-Jones at the Biscuit Café in Culross
A piece by Camilla Garrett-Jones

 

The café is upstairs above the shop and its interior is very homely and welcoming. At the back there is also a small but lovely sheltered garden area set out with tables and chairs. The Caffia coffee was the best we had had in a long time. We even got the very obliging staff to grind some beans for us to take home. The scones were also very good though PA scone at the Biscuit Café in Culrossat’s cheese scone could have done with a touch more cheese and the fruit in my fruit scone was also a wee bit sparse. So no ‘topscone’ award here but these are tiny criticisms in the overall scheme of things.

Teneu

All in all, Culross is a great wee place and well worth a visit. It was founded by St Serf in the 6th century. Legend states that when the British princess (and future saint) Teneu, daughter of the king of Lothian, became pregnant before marriage, her family threw her from a cliff. She survived the fall unharmed, and was soon met by an unmanned boat. Knowing she had no home to go to, she got into the boat which sailed her across the Firth of Forth to land at Culross. Here she was cared for by St Serf who became a kind of father of her son. He ultimately became St Mungo, patron saint of Glasgow.

Daylight

As a rank outsider, Jeremy Corbyn must have felt a bit like Teneu in the Labour party leadership race but, like her, he has triumphed beyond all expectation. Doubtful that he will ever be sainted but perhaps we will now see a more humane side to British politics. If nothing else, at least we can now see some daylight between Labour and the Conservatives, so hooray for that. A cheer also for this café with its combination of arts and crafts, shop and cafe. In fact you could say it ‘takes the biscuit’ .. sorry!

Fruit and veg are also on offer at the Biscuit Café in Culross
Fruit and veg is also on offer

 KY12 8JG            tel: 01383 882176            The Biscuit

Ordinary, Scones

Grange Manor Hotel

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The government’s announcement that it is to take in 20,000 Syrian refugee children over the next five years (on 5yr visas  after which they will have to go somewhere else) raises the question. How proud are you to be British? ‘Not very’ or ‘not at all’? There are no other options. Their attempt to show this as Britain at its most compassionate by comparing it to the Kindertransport in 1938 conveniently leaves aside the fact that the Kindertransport itself was a pretty taudry episode in British history. It was only brought about by the government of the day being sufficiently embarrassed by images of Kristallnacht. The parallels with today’s situation and the pictures of little Alan Kurdis are obvious.

At the same time the German government announces that they will take half a million every year for as long as it takes. The Germans are not more compassionate, but they have a solid economy which actually needs these people. We, on the other hand, have an economy based almost exclusively on a square mile in the centre of London. It cannot even provide quality jobs for its own citizens .. arrgghh. It’s enough to drive you to afternoon tea.

Value for money?

The Grange Manor is an old well established hotel at Earlsgate, between Falkirk and Grangemouth. It has seen many changes in its surroundings over the years and nowadays it has the misfortune to have an Asda super-warehouse across the road and an empty car showroom next door. On the plus side it must be the nearest hotel to the Kelpies and that probably generates some tourist business. We were using an £11 voucher for afternoon tea for two so it was going to be difficult to go badly wrong.Grange Manor 02 It didn’t go far wrong but even if it is cheap you still want it to be good. Everything was fine except the scones which tasted like they had been made the day before. Or maybe even the day before that! Service was so scant you had to go looking for it.

It is tempting to ask what you would expect for that sort of money but unfortunately the answer would be  … exactly what we got! Unfortunately it seemed to be priced about right with the voucher. Thank goodness for the voucher. The Grange Manor, like the government, has got to try harder.

FK3 8XJ          tel: 01324 474836        Grange Manor

Ordinary, Scones

Farmer’s Den

On a day like today, when it has been noted that all the traits that made David Cameron a successful politician have failed to make him a decent human being, it is reassuring to be here at Briarlands Farm and the Farmers Den. Children play on giant inflated pillows without a care in the world. It is a working farm doing all the usual farming stuff but has diversified into a kind of children’s adventure centre based around farm activities. Animals to feed, tractors to ride, strawberries to pick, go-carts to go and lots of other things to keep them busy and enjoying themselves.Briarlands 06 Briarlands 01

The café area is called The Farmer’s Den and it is ideal for families. A play area for toddlers and a gift shop for the adults. You have to pay to go to the outside attractions. Depending on the size of your party, it could work out quite expensive. Definitely worth it though to have your kids amused for the best part of the day.

Squeals of pleasure

Unsurprisingly it was just a scone and a coffee we were after. Perhaps equally unsurprisingly, it turned out to be a good honest hearty farm sized scone. Briarlands 05The strawberry jam was of course made with their very own strawberries. Not sure if it was their own cream, but there was plenty of that too. We had a great time going round just looking at all that was on offer. If you just want a quiet scone, however, then this probably isn’t the place to come. It must get a bit frenetic when there are loads of kids playing .. squeals of pleasure and cries of delight. Sounds that are totally absent from some areas of the world where kiddies suffer immeasurably and have no facilities like this at all.

FK9 4UP          tel: 01786 841309               Briarlands Farm

island, Ordinary, Scones

The Old Workshop Café

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External view of the Old Workshop at Colonsay HouseConsidering that many of the smaller islands have very little or no choice, for a population of around 100, Colonsay is pretty well endowed with tearooms and eating places. There is the Pantry, the Colonsay Hotel and this place, the Old Workshop at Colonsay House in the middle of the island. It was built in 1935 to do boat repairs. Many of the original tools and other paraphenalia are still evident. The baking is done every morning by Katie and Sarah (after they have made the school dinners) and most of their cakes are done as large slabs to which you just help yourself. Cut off as much as you like! Cakes at the Old Workshop at Colonsay House Tempting to overindulge but I guess it works in their favour because most folk go for fairly modest portions. Especially if others are watching .. and they are! The chocolate fudge (bottom right in the pic) was yummy.

Anyway, enough of cakes, the scones were great as well … soft and light but with a slightly crunchy outer crust. A scone at the Old Workshop at Colonsay House The fabulous blackcurrant jam was made from berries picked in the gardens. The climate on Colonsay is very mild. The gardens are full of sub-tropical plants. Being able to sit outside on the little terraced area just finished off the whole experience. Later we ended up on the beach at Kiloran just a mile or so from the café. Pristine and beautiful but sad reminder that there are bodies of children washing up on other beaches in the Mediterranean. If the EU, with all its money, cannot sort this horrendous mess out what is the point of it all?

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Kiloran beach, Isle of Colonsay
Kiloran beach, Isle of Colonsay

PA61 7YU               tel: 01951 200312                Colonsay Estate

island, Ordinary

The Pantry Scalasaig

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When you first set foot on the Isle of Colonsay one of the first things you encounter, at the end of the pier in Scalasaig, is this wee tearoom/restaurant .. the Pantry. The Pantry 01Like a lot of the architecture on the islands it has a fairly utilitarian, no nonsense look about it .. four walls, a door, a couple of windows. There tends to be little in the way of imagination when it comes to architecture in the Hebrides. However, the islands are no-frills kind of places so perhaps it is understandable.  The Pantry 05

The interior is pretty much as you would expect but is a hive of industry. It sells teas, coffees, sweets, beer, wine, spirits and all sorts of souvenirs and other stuff. They also make their own bread and cakes. Also on sale is  the beer from the local brewery as well as the unique black bee honey from nearby apiaries. And they have quiz nights every week … phew!

If you are ever going to be marooned on an island make it a self-sufficient one like Colonsay. Evening meals specialise in seafood, most of which has to come the whole 100 metres from the harbour. The Pantry 04We had a cheese and a plain scone, both of which were very good though Pat thought that the cheese on top of her scone was a bit too tough. Never mind, 10 out of 10 for sheer industry, diversity and endeavour.

 

Weapons of mass destruction

We also tried their local Colonsay Crunch. Apart from being very good it raises the question, is the crunch coming for weapons of mass destruction in the UK? Well certainly not according to the government who have pre-empted the parliamentary vote on Trident

the Colonsay Crunch
the Colonsay Crunch

renewal by announcing a massive investment in Faslane. How arrogant can they get? Presumably the poodles are coming under pressure from the US who actually own all ‘our’ missiles. We just own the submarines. The US must want to streamline their destructive capability. Apparently they never go out with the missiles ‘targeted’ because they cannot think of anyone or any place to target.  Nevertheless, it is good to know they are there 24/7 protecting our food banks? On Colonsay they must have these weapons of mass destruction slipping past their shores all the time. A sinister thought that jars horribly with all this beauty and tranquility!

PA61 7YW        tel: 01951 200325        The Pantry

Ordinary, Scones

The Crystal Cave

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If ever there was a place that could not make up its mind what it was supposed to be, this is it. The Crystal Cave Tearoom in Burntisland. It’s very confusing. On sale is everything from buckets and spades to all sorts of trinkets along with a fairly comprehensive range of agates and other lapidary items. Hence the name presumably. The people here were very friendly and work extremely hard going up and down a flight of steps to and from the kitchen. Rather them than us.

One of the sale items that summed the place up at the Crystal Cave
One of the sale items

 

Dreams

But someone needs to determine what the core business is, then concentrate on that. Because as a tearoom it was pretty good but could be even better if it wasn’t for all the … stuff. Decluttering would improve the overall ambience and help it look like a proper tearoom. Like the sign says we felt they were on their way to a dream alright but had got a bit lost. Internal view of the Crystal Cave, Burntisland

Anyway, enough of that, lets get on to the important things. We ordered scones and were told that if we wanted to wait a little we could have completely fresh ones straight from the oven. Otherwise we could have the ones that were done twenty minutes earlier! We were tempted to wait but, in the end, decided that a twenty minute old scone was just fine .. and so it was. Light,  good texture and lots of jam and cream. A scone at the Crystal Cave, BurntislandCoffee was presented in a rather odd choice of cup, the tall glass kind we usually associate with  gaelic coffee. Pat had to have hers reheated so it could have been better. All in all though we enjoyed everything and wish everyone at the Crystal Cave every good fortune.

Tony’s revalation

A crystal ball is what the Labour party needs as it wrestles with Corbynmania. Perhaps if they gazed into it hard enough they might actually see Tony Blair’s revelation that he is godparent to Rupert Murdoch’s daughter  for waht it is. People don’t want the old establishment Labour party any more. They want something fresh … and Corbyn is their man!

Semi=precious stones at the Crystal Cave, Burntisland
Semi-precious stones for sale

KY3 9UW           tel: 01952 890498           Crystal Cave TripAd

Ordinary, Scones

Inchyra Grange Hotel

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On the outskirts Grangemouth this is part of the MacDonald Hotel group and as such you have probably been in one not too far removed from this one. It has a Spa and swimming pool but was obviously a much smaller place at one time. All the external walls of the original building are now inside. The crisply carved sandstone lends a certain quality ambience to the dining room at least. Many places refuse to take afternoon tea bookings on the day “because it does not give chef enough time”? Inchyra 04We arrived at the Inchyra Grange Hotel mob handed having phoned ahead to ask for afternoon tea for eight adults and two children .. no problem. What a delightful change to some of the other places we tried.

Still no problem when we upset their seating plan by actually turning up with three children instead of two, great! We each got a couple of scones as well as loads of sandwiches and cakes. The scones were very good and almost made the topscone award.

Shocking election result

Awards are not exactly being thrown at Jeremy Corbyn who, although being extremely popular with the voters, is vilified by the  rest of his party. He actually thinks that the Labour party should be slightly socialist .. perish the thought! All, except Corbyn, seem to have forgotten that at the last General Election there was virtually nothing to differentiate the two main parties. Voters thought they might as well vote Tory  .. or not at all. 30% chose ‘not at all’. Perhaps that 30% is stirring because they now see the possibility of a viable alternative. One of the biggest criticisms of Corbyn seems to be that he does not ‘look’ like a prime minister. So we will just elect the prettiest one then, never mind the policies? He has certainly enlivened the debate and the other three (who are they?) should take note.

Anyway, Labour party machinations aside, the Inchyra Grange coped extremely well with everything we threw at them. They even boxed up all the leftovers for us to take home … well done.

FK2 0YB        tel: 01324 711911         MacDonald Hotels

Ordinary, Scones, self-service

The Sands Café/Bistro

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It was an absolutely glorious day when we arrived at the Silver Sands beach at Aberdour. There were eight of us in total and having done the required paddling with the kids it was not long before hunger pangs were setting in. We headed en-mass towards the Sands Café/Bistro a little further along the beach. External view of the Sands Café in Aberdour

With the weather being so wonderful it was very busy but the service we received was second to none. Nothing was too much trouble. One of the staff kindly extended the awning to protect us and the kids from the sun. We sampled everything from burgers to ice cream but of course the rather large scones were very tempting too. A cherry scone at the Sands Café in AberdourWe chose the cherry ones though there were also plain and fruit available. All home baked and very good. No cream, so not quite topscone but pretty close and definitely head of our self service category.

Failures promoted to Lords

With the sun beating down, looking out over the beach towards Edinburgh, Arthur’s Seat and Berwick Law it seems like a different world. A sort of dream world. In the actual world however there are sinister goings on. Two senior politicians who lost their seats in the General Election are to be made knights of the realm!! They lost their seats because the people did not want them but now are to sit in the Upper House, against the wishes of the people. They will legislate on behalf of the people who unelected them in the first place?? Did I just make that up? I wish I had. In this day and age it seems unbelievable that such things can happen in the name of democracy! We desperately need a new system where unelected lackeys and party donors are not allowed to lord over us.

Meanwhile in Aberdour, no such troublesome thoughts are disturbing those intent on building sand castles, digging holes and swimming in the sea … nor should it!

View from the Sands Café in Aberdour looking towards Edinburgh
Looking towards Edinburgh,  Arthur’s Seat and Salisbury Crags


KY3 0RQ        tel:01383 861473           Silver Sands