Category Archives: Uncategorized

Lost Shore

18 November 2024 billpaterson1@me.com 9 Comments

Weird things happen. By “weird” we mean things that just seem a bit out of place, a bit incongruous! These days that takes in a lot of things. For us, surfing is normally associated with sun bleached beautiful people on beaches like Bondi and Waikiki, not Scotland! But what do we know? Here we are at Lost Shore Surfing Centre and it’s only twenty minutes away from home on the outskirts of Edinburgh. We know the area well because the Edinburgh International Climbing Arena is in a quarry right next door but “surfing?” It just opened last week so we thought we should be nosey and check it out. Maybe catch a wave or two.

External view of Lost Shore Canteen — The Canteen restaurant

From the car park you have to walk down into a large sunken area which presumably was also some sort of quarry at one time. It’s incredible! A kind of assualt on the senses. Music playing, hundreds of people milling around, some with surf boards, some just lounging in deckchairs (warm enough in a wetsuit) and others in the water actually surfing.

They are surfing in what turns out to be Europe’s largest wave pool. It’s situated in a 60 acre country park with accommodation, restaurants, bar, shops and a wellness studio. The accommodation consists of anything from small pods to more than fifty three and four bedroom lodges. It’s almost a small town and seems to have just dropped out of the sky. Miraculous, it may be but it has obviously been a long time in the making. Ten years planning and construction apparently and we didn’t know anything about it.

There are two ponds each making more than thirty different types of wave. Don’t ask how they can produce more than 1000 waves per hour but they do.

Because they seemed to have thought of everything we thought there wouldn’t be a problem getting a scone in the Canteen restaurant. It houses three well known Scottish restaurants serving a variety of food.Turns out scones probably aren’t really cool enough for the surfing fraternity. They want straight forward food and aren’t too bothered about how it’s served. No scones so just to add a bit more weirdness to our day I had what they called a “morning roll” in the middle of the afternoon.

Not like a roll, it was more reminiscent of a cinnamon bun. No idea how it got its name. It was good though and came in a polystyrene box, the coffee in a paper cup. Great vibe though! We ended up chatting to a family who had driven up from Durham and were staying for a few days. Their teenage daughter was learning to surf so they thought the whole Lost Shore facility was fabulous.

Apparently Scotland has some of the best waves in the world. We should have known that because one of our favourite islands Tiree holds the annual Tiree Wave Classic one of the oldest competitions of its kind. They’ve even written books about it. We consider ourselves educated.

Even weirder

However, Scotland doesn’t have a monopoly on weird happenings. Take the recent Presidential election in America for instance. With apologies to our American readers, here’s a little quiz.

This is how the rest of the world views Trump becoming President Elect … again! It is, however, democracy in action so we will just have to suck it up as they say. However, the prospect of four years of schoolboy economics isn’t exactly thrilling. Throwing an isolationist ring around the US in an attempt to make the wealthiest people on the planet even wealthier at the expense of the poor elsewhere is more than a little bit crazy. Of course, there will be the inevitable backlash but Trump will be gone again by then. That’s assuming he hasn’t done like Xi and Putin and made himself President for Life.

Also weird was the ancient Mike Tyson’s recent fight with a YouTuber more than thirty years his junior. Whatever happened to standards?

Perhaps not so weird was the fact that we seemed to be the oldest folk here … probably by a factor of almost forty years! Just the thought of trying to get in and out of a wet suit is exhausting. No waves and no scones were caught by us today but it was great just being in this amazing place.

EH28 8AY tel: 0131 287 4590 Lost Shore

///imposes.hazel.arise

ps: We thought we were finished with Pat’s recent Macmillan Coffee Morning but more contributions have come in. Final total now stands at £4,810.05 … amazing!

Scones, Uncategorized

Macmillan Coffee Morning

6 October 2024 billpaterson1@me.com 9 Comments

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

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

Reunions

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

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

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

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

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

Of course, with around sixty people attending there is also overspill into the garden.

Disappearing scones

For Pat it is a hectic but wonderful couple of hours. The culmination of several days of baking cakes and making sandwiches and sausage rolls. She even made scones.

scones at Pat's Macmillan Coffee Morning Morning

I can’t say what they were like because they simply vanished. Friends also brought baking and things to sell. Suffice to say, everyone’s combined efforts online and on the day raised about £3,400 … amazing!

Pat finding a quiet corner to have some of her own baking

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

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

Scones, Uncategorized

Dumpton

26 September 2024 billpaterson1@me.com 15 Comments

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

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

Teas for parents

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

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

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

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

Going for a swim — Lifeguarding practice

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

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

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

Shocks

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

Scones, Uncategorized

Laggan a’ Bhainne

10 August 2024 billpaterson1@me.com 17 Comments

After our previous post from the Orient Express you might not be unduly surprised to hear that this post comes from Laggan a Bhainne (pronounced ‘Lagan a vanya’) in the wilds of the Scottish Highlands. It’s an indulgence on our part because it’s really about our family and its origins. The justification is that many of our readers across the world know our family to a greater or lesser degree and maybe curious to learn more. For those who don’t know the family there is a scone but one that is just a bit different. For those a bit short on the Gaelic language “laggan” means a little hollow in the hills and “bhainne”, means milk. “little dell of milk” in English.

Uncle Johnny with his fog bosun — Uncle Johnny, known locally as Johnny Kyltra spend his entire working life as a deer stalker on Culachy Estate on the side of Loch Ness. He maintained that he saw the Monster. He was also fond of a dram or two … or three.

Drovers

We (the entire family) were tracing the origins of our “Uncle Johnny” McDonald on my mother’s side. He was the last “man” born on the high Corrieyairack Pass. It rises to over 2,500 feet and Laggan a Bhainne is about half way up. Donald McDonald, lived here with his wife Catherine and their family of which Johnny was one. Donald was a shepherd and part of his duties involved ensuring that the drovers taking their cattle over the pass to the sales in Falkirk, didn’t linger too long and eat all the grass. Not an easy job.

After the Jacobite uprising in 1745, General Wade built a military road over it. It linked garrisons in an effort to quell further unrest. Around 1890 the Estate changed from sheep to the more profitable deer stalking. The family whose services were no longer required had to move down to the village of Fort Augustus.

VIPs

He lived for most of his working life at Kyltra on the outskirts of the village with Mary his housekeeper. The house had no water or electricity and it still doesn’t even today. Pat and I had the pleasure of visiting and were treated to boiled eggs … a meal reserved for VIP visitors.

Kids in a truck — A 4×4 full of excited French, English and Scottish cousins

Getting our family up to Laggan a Bhainne was no mean feat but thanks to my brother’s remarkable ability to herd cats. it worked.

Convoy of 4x4s on way to Laggan a bhainne — Convoy of 4x4s with Loch Ness in the distance

It involved a 46 seater bus from Falkirk plus a fleet of all terrain vehicles to take us six miles up the Corrieyarrick. It was exciting to be travelling a route that our ancestors must have travelled on foot on many occasions. Because Laggan a Bhainne was very fertile it was used in the summer by the villagers of Fort Augustus who would bring their cattle up here in the summer. They would live in temporary houses made of turf. Our ancestors had a stone house because they lived here all year. It would have been a happy place though in the winter it must have been tough.

Piper and family at Laggan a bhainne — Some of the family standing where the house used to be and listening to the emotive tunes of Spud the Piper

When they eventually moved out the Estate flattened the house to stop it being used by poachers. There are only a few stones left lying in the grass to mark the spot .

The sky

Johnny was a well know character and piper. A journalist once asked him how he felt about having to move down to the valley. Johnny turned towards the hills and said “as long as I can still see the sky over Laggan a Bhainne“.

Family at ancestral home — Me, my sister who came over from France with her family and my brother, wearing Johnny’s kilt standing in our ancestral home

The Somme

Johnny with his pipes outside Kyltra cottage — Johnny playing outside his home at Kyltra

Johnny’s McDonald tartan kilt has a few holes. We like to think they were caused by German bullets whizzing through while he stood there defiantly playing the pipes at the Somme. Moths, however, is another possible explanation.

What about the scones? Well for this post they are imaginary. Had we been here 150 years ago, our great grandmother would have been feeding us scones with homemade cream and jam. We imagine them to be topscones.

The bath

Aged 90 he was admitted to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness. A friend visiting him asked him how he was. He replied “they’ve given me a bath, I think it’ll be the end of me“. And so it was, he developed pneumonia and died there in 1972. I attended his funeral.

Commemorative plaque at Laggan a bhainne — We left a plaque at the site to indicate to others that people used to live here.

When you are here at Laggan a Bhainne the fact that someone beat someone else by seven thousands of a second at the Paris Olympics seems supremely unimportant.

A fantastic day, thanks to all at Culachy Estate for facilitating our visit.

///reveal.glows.dreaming

ps; The river that runs through Laggan a Bhainne is the Allt a Bhainne … the river of milk. We have a rare bottle of Allt a Bhainne whisky. Only those who have actually been to Laggan a Bhainne qualify for a dram. Now there’s a challenge!

Scones, self-service, Uncategorized

Verdant Works

25 April 2024 billpaterson1@me.com 3 Comments

This post comes from the Verdant Works, a jute manufacturing factory in Dundee. Why, you might well ask? Well, we’re on an outing with the Falkirk Local History Society and the organisers are none other than our very own Trossachs correspondents. And, of course, where they are involved, there may very well be scones as well. Also the Verdant Works is interesting from a historical point of view. At one time jute manufacturing was a huge industry for Dundee. It was the centre of the jute world and even acquired the nickname “Juteopolis”.

Courtyard at Verdant Works — Verdant is a rare example of a “courtyard” mill

Jute, whales and ships

Thousands of tons of jute were imported from Calcutta when India and Pakistan were still British colonies. It wasn’t much use in its raw state because it was too rigid and brittle. Dundee , however, also had a whaling industry and whale oil was found to be ideal to soften it. It could then be woven into a multitude of high value goods. Dundee also built the ships used to transport the jute to this country. It had everything going for it! Eventually, however, the Indians and Pakistanis wised up and realised that they could produce these goods much cheaper themselves. Today there is no jute industry in Dundee, only these buildings preserved by the Dundee Heritage Trust, stand as testament to a bygone era.

Aerial view of Verdant Works — In 1833 the Verdant Works (centre, picture taken 1963) was so called because it was surrounded by lush green countryside. Within a few years there was 50,000 people employed in the jute industry and the green fields had gone for ever.

Tiding us over

After the bus journey from Falkirk our correspondents had wisely placed tea and scones pretty near the start of our tour. It’s a big place and not the sort that you can just skip round in half an hour. There’s a cafe at the Verdant Works but it’s relatively small and not suited to a sudden influx of around 60 people. We were taken to a suitable upstairs room where a guide was able to give us the A – Z of Verdant history while we had our tea. You just helped yourself to the scones, butter and jam. Unfortunately the scones were a bit industrial, like our surroundings. Rather heavy and solid, definitely not the best. However, after our journey to get here we were very grateful to have them and they were good enough to tide us over to lunch later at the House of Dun. Readers cannot buy these scones unless, like us, you are on an organised tour so they are “uncategorised”.

Pat at Verdant Works — Happy girl after a scone

Romantic notions

Nowadays most people don’t even know what jute is never mind that it was the basis of such a huge industry in Scotland. Anybody courting the notion that Victorian times were in some way romantic times quickly had that idea dispelled. Although a few people made vast fortunes, it was always off the backs of those exploited in India, Pakistan and here in Dundee. Poverty was rife. Women and children, some as young as six or seven, were used in the machine shops. Men, deemed not to have the necessary dexterity, were left at home to look after the children. The horrendous clatter of machines on the shop floor was deafening and these women could only communicate by lipreading. There was no Health & Safety so children were sometimes shredded when drawn into the machinery, It was about as far away from romantic as it was possible to get..

Union banner at Verdant Works — A Union banner from 1885 gives a hint of what conditions were like

Until visiting the Verdant Works we didn’t know much about the jute industry either so it was absolutely fascinating. Many thanks to our correspondents who did a first class job organising this and the rest of our outing … absolutely brilliant!

Don’t know nothin’

The cludgie — People touring the works are tempted to peek round the door of the cludge (toilet) only to be startled by a loud voice saying “oy, there’s someone in”. Hilarious, people get such a fright

Donald Trump may have been caught with his trousers down as well. The courtroom battle currently underway into his affairs is fascinating, as much for his idiotic behaviour as anything else. However, we’re pretty sure his foaming-at-the-mouth supporters will undoubtedly keep following, come what may. The inquiry into the Post Office Horizon scandal that ruined so many lives is discovering that those in top management positions seemingly knew nothing about it. In fact it would appear that none of them knew anything about anything. That would go a long way to explaining the state of the Post Office today.

DD1 5BT tel: 01382 309060 Verdant Works

///feast.skills.cure

Scones, Uncategorized

Larnach Castle

18 April 2024 billpaterson1@me.com 1 Comment

It’s not often we can report on Kiwi scones. However, thanks to our Brisbane correspondent we can send this post from Larnach Castle in Dunedin where he is visiting his daughter.

The story of the castle which William Larnach built in 1871 is bitter sweet. Larnach means “man of Lorne” in Gaelic so his parents probably came from that part of Argyll on the Scottish west coast. He was a very successful business man, banker and politician who prospered through land speculation. His wealth allowed him to build New Zealand’s only castle here in Dunedin. But now the gossip.

Internal view of Larch Castle, Dunedin — European tradesmen were brought in to creat interiors from the highest quality materials

He had six children by his first wife however she died, aged 38 shortly after the birth of their youngest. He then married the children’s governess who also died aged 38. Next he married a much younger woman but she was rumoured to be having an affair with one of his sons. Eventually, having outlived all his wives, he faced financial and other seemingly unsurmountable hardships. In the Parliament building in 1898 he shot himself dead … tragic!

Since 1967 it has been owned and cared for by the Barker family who open the castle and its beautiful gardens on a daily basis.

Our correspondent was there to sample their Devonshire Tea. In his own words: “The scones were of a decent size and had nice crunchy crust but the body was not of the highest standard. Too dry and crumbly for my liking and the jam and cream that came with it looked like World War 2 ration sizes. I took a detour from the tea and had a cappuccino instead. Yes I know a serious deduction in style points and probably makes me a traitor to the true scone blog cause. In the photo I’ll let you puzzle over who had the jam on top. Tiny by true Scottish castle standards but a lovely wee piece of Scotland here in NZ.”

Don’t worry about jam on top. It was a “Devonshire” Tea after all so, although totally uncivilised, is probably more authentic! We are truly grateful to have our sconological knowledge expanded in this way. Compared to Scotland, however, it seems a pity that New Zealand has just one castle. Mind you, that’s probably what happens when you’re not trying to fend off English invaders all the time 🥴

Dunedin 9077 tel: +64 3 476 1616 Larnach Castle

///resells.pierces.thrived

Scones, Uncategorized

Coll Hotel

22 March 2024 billpaterson1@me.com 9 Comments

This is a post about boats, planes, surfing and a couple of scones. How exciting is that?

Last year Pat and I intended to celebrate our Golden Wedding at Coll Hotel. Just the two of us and a nice quite few days on an island would just be perfect. However, we had not reckoned with our children who announced that they were coming up from the south of England to celebrate with us. We had to curtail our stay on Coll and return home … but that’s another story. This year, because I had decided to have yet another birthday, Pat thought we should complete our stay at Coll Hotel. Hopefully this post illustrates some of the delights of a tiny island like Coll.

Travelling

For us, travelling by ferry is always fun, an event in itself! Looking out for dolphins, whales, birds and landmarks, passes the time very quickly. You really feel as if you are going somewhere. It was the MV Clansman that was taking us on our three hour journey from Oban. After Coll it sails on to the Isle of Tiree, returns to Coll then back to Oban. In summer it makes the round trip twice a day laden with tourists but at this time of year it’s relatively quiet.

Segn for eggas for sale on Coll — We bought some eggs at an honesty box. The box was stuffed with money … no-one had bothered to empty it.

Normally in remote hotels like this the staff change with every season so it’s testament to Coll Hotel that they can retain their staff throughout the winter. It was great to see friendly familiar faces again. After our painful, never to be repeated, experience last year on bikes, this time we had the car. The island is 13 miles long and 3 miles wide. However, the twisty single track roads with sheep lying on them, dictate that you don’t get anywhere very quickly. But who needs to get anywhere quickly on Coll? After checkin in we headed off to the east end of the island as far as the road would take us.

The beach at Sorisdale — Pat on the beach at Sorisdale. at the east of the island. Ardnamurchan on the horizon.

There are about twenty notable beaches and we didn’t meet anyone on any of the ones we visited. By the time we had explored this end of the island it was time to make our way back to the hotel for dinner.

A traditional house on Coll — One of the old traditional houses. Originally it probably had a turf roof

Twitching

Next day, the weather was lovely again and we were going to explore the rest of the island to the west, The previous day, Pat had started a bird list and was keen to add to it. The Island Café was closed so we told the hotel we would be back around 3pm for scones … got to check that standards are maintained after all!

Coll airport — Pat at the airport. No one there but you can just go in and use the facilities. Planes fly to and from the Isle of Tiree and Oban on the mainland

Approaching the west of the island you come on the extraordinary sight of the two Breachacha Castles … one old and one new.

Breachacha Castle on Coll — Built in the 15th century Breachacha Castle was a stronghold of Clan MacLean

new Breachacha Castle on Coll — Built in 1750 this is the New Breachacha Castle currently for sale £450,000

While we were here, amongst other sightings we were able to add Snow Geese and a low flying Golden Eagle to Pat’s list … fantastic! None of the beaches are particularly accessible on Coll, They all involve a bit of a hike usually over massive sand dunes. The highest point is Ben Hogh a dune reaching a lofty 341 feet. We drove round to Bally Haugh (pronounced Bally Ho) beach but even that involved a trek of about half a mile.

Bally Haugh beach on Coll — Bally Haugh beach, best for surfing but we didn’t have our boards

What are the chances?

Here, its very easy to lose track of time. It was well after 3pm when we got back and too late for a scone. Sadly, it looked like this visit was going to be sconeless. It was after 5pm so time for a drink. Amazingly, in the bar the first people we met were a couple we had befriended in a bar in Oban before we left. Turns out they live just behind the Coll hotel.

Birthday dinner at Coll Hotel — Surprise, surprise, the staff gave a rousing rendition of “happy birthday” and a cake and a candle for every year of my mental age! We also made some new friends from Switzerland.

Next morning we, very reluctantly, had to take our leave. However, as we passed reception what should be on the desk but a little cardboard box. It contained two scones and some jam and cream to eat on the ferry. How nice was that? This is definitely one of our favourite hotels. We’ve run out of excuses to come back so we will just have to come back anyway.

Things must have happened out there in the big bad world but thankfully we are blissfully unaware.

The Clansman coming from Tiree to take us back to Oban

PA78 6SZ tel: 01879 230334 Coll Hotel

///leaves.inclined.rotations

For those interested, this is Pat’s bird list compiled over one and a half days on Coll. There were geese everywhere but, of course 01, 13, 14 and 21 were particular highlights for us.

01 Great Northern Diver 02 Ringed plover 03 Fieldfare 04 Blackbird 05 Rock Dove 06 Greylag Geese 07 Starling 08 Common Gulls 09 Canada Geese 10 Hooded Crows 11 Grey Heron 12 Twite 13 Snow Geese 14 Hen Harrier 15 Oyster Catcher 16 House sparrow 17 Wren 18 Robin 19 Barnacle geese 20 Stonechat 21 Golden Eagle 22 Lapwing 23 Skylark 24 Raven 25 Curlew 26 Whopper swan 27 Mallard 28 Moorhen 29 Shag 30 Greenfinch 31 Collared dove.

Scones, Uncategorized

Woodlea Cafe

18 February 2024 billpaterson1@me.com 7 Comments

This post is about the folly of not preparing sufficiently. We came here to the Woodlea Cafe because of a recommendation from Tracy at The Bruce Arms in Limekilns. She had also recommended Ale and Pate in Dalgety Bay and that had proved very successful. Obviously Tracy had good taste in scones so we had high hopes for this place.

Sun-dried tomato scones?

The cafe is part of a farm shop on the outskirts of the small mining village of Crossgates in Fife. The local football team is Crossgates Primrose, which plays at Humbug Park. First thing in the farm shop is a butcher’s shop specialising in game. It’s run by a very friendly chap who used to be a gamekeeper in his native Hungary. Then you pass through between large wooden benches laid out with fruit and veg before coming to the bakery. Unbelievably it had sun-dried tomato, cheese and garlic, cherry and almond, blueberry, fruit and plain scones on display. They all looked great and the lady assured us that she had been up since 4am baking them specially for us. She was laughing as she told us but we absolutely believed her. I really fancied trying the sun-dried tomato scones but she said that she supplied the cafe next door so we decided to go there. As we were leaving, with a slightly perplexed look on her face, she calleded “It’s under new management“. Didn’t make much sense at the time but later on it absolutely did!

Disappointment

There were none of the sun-dried tomato scones that we had seen earlier but they did have fruit, cheese/garlic and cherry/almond. Pat went for cheese and I for cherry. We also asked for a bowl of soup and coffees to go with the scones. The girl at the counter wrote down the order meticulously then we went to find a seat.

Very soon we realised that all was not well. People were leaving and calling to the staff “Just cancel our order“. After half an hour we were preparing to do the same when a lady appeared and asked us what we would like …. argh!

We reordered and after another wait the scones arrived. Just scones on a plate, no jam, no butter, no napkins and obviously no cream. When one of the servers asked if everything was okay we said that we would rather have the soup before the scones. She said “of course” and after yet another wait the soup arrived but without spoons. We said we needed spoons for the soup and were told “of course” and they duly arrived … along with some forks?? The soup was quite good but it needed seasoning. However, the thought of asking for salt and pepper or even butter for the bread was too much for us to handle.

More disappointment

By this time we were settling in for what was obviously a farcical pantomime happening before our very eyes. People were still leaving. Some having not received any food and others because they had received some but had given up waiting for the rest. Having to ask for butter and jam for the scones topped it all off. Eventually we received two lots of butter from two different servers but in spite of asking three times for jam we never ever got any. The scones turned out to have been kept in the freezer overnight and were pretty much inedible. All in all this was a complete disaster. If we didn’t know differently we would have sworn that the UK government was running this place.

Systemless

Actually, it was a shame. The manageress kept going around telling people that this was only their second day as if to excuse the utter shambles. However, the staff were trying really hard and some may have even been close to tears. They wanted to do well but simply hadn’t a clue how to do it. The problem was that there was no system and obviously no meaningful training. The stuff that actually emerged from the kitchen looked fine so it all seemed just a dreadful waste.

The manageress, who, along with her husband, turned to be the ‘new management’ was desperately trying to placate everyone. However, we know all too well just how difficult hospitality can be so we try not to criticise negatively. We had a chat with the manageress who was like a rabbit caught in the headlights. We advised her that the best thing she could do was close and open up again once they had themselves sorted out. Hopefully she does because it could be a great place. She didn’t charge for the scones.

Rise and Fall

If you thought our comment earlier regarding the UK government was harsh, it really wasn’t. Can’t remember the last time they got anything right. Unfortunately, although there is to be a General Election this year, none of the alternatives inspire any confidence either. Britain’s problems are deep seated … we seem to be witnessing the Fall bit of the Rise and Fall of the British Empire.

KY11 7ER Woodlea Cafe

///grin.buggy.disengage

Scones, Uncategorized

Day Dream Mine

9 February 2024 billpaterson1@me.com 3 Comments

When we started this blog all these years ago we never dreamt that we would be reporting on scones from a defunct silver mine called the Day Dream Mine. Obviously we’re not dreaming. Yes, of course, our itinerant Toowoomba correspondents are on the road again just wandering from scone to scone across the Australian outback. Here the scones can be quite far apart so are all the more welcome when they appear.

Australian outback — On this road from Broken Hill to Silverton they came across a rare cap tree

At Day Dream they seem to have decided that some people may not want to venture down a mineshaft but they sure as hell won’t miss a scone.

In their own words:

“We have driven 4000kms for these scones! We have had a couple of nights in Broken Hill, Western NSW. Broken Hill is an inland mining city, mainly of silver ore. It was always referred to as “The Silver City”. It is pretty much surrounded by desert. The colours of the area are very muted, red soil and grey foliage.
We drove about 20 kms north of BH towards Silverton to a derelict mine called “Day Dream Mine “ – where that name comes from I would not hazard a guess! However, the sign in the gate tempted us to go through. To be honest the experience was pretty underwhelming! The fact that we paid over $70 to walk around rocks and dust looking down a few holes was not terribly exciting. I did venture down the mine shaft, narrow, dark, steep and at last, cool!

A miner at Day Dream Mine — Miners worked by candlelight

It did make me think of the years gone by when men were men and very tough at that. Their lives must have been hell. The bonus after all that was when you reached the top – waiting was a mug of tea and freshly baked scone and “real” cream. Not sure that we would hurry back for that experience again, but you always meet interesting people in these places. On to Silverton from there – the frontier setting for such movies as Mad Max, Priscilla – Queen of the Desert, Razorback and the list goes on!”

The list may well go on but none of these movies can be described as “homely” or even “normal”. Just as well our correspondents have scones to keep them on the straight and narrow!

It would appear that it’s called the Day Dream Mine because the miners used to grow poppies … nuff said! Anything to make the working conditions slightly more bearable.

NSW 2880 tel: +61 427 885 682 Day Dream Mine

///connected.coats.mayhem

Scones, Uncategorized

Appleseed Cafe

3 February 2024 billpaterson1@me.com 3 Comments

Although Strathalbyn where the Appleseed Cafe is situated sounds very Scottish, it’s not. It’s about 50 miles east of Adelaide in South Australia. It was only last December that our Toowoomba correspondents reported from Bakearoma in the Australian outback. They were making light of the fact that they had made a one day round trip of over 600 miles for a scone. Something they thought us lily livered northern hemisphere folks wouldn’t do. Of course, they were absolutely right. Now they’ve gone even further to the Appleseed Cafe in Strathalbyn.

Australian cattle transporter trucks — Our correspondents are always bragging about something. They sent this photo of Australian double decker cattle trucks going to market. Luckily Scotland is smaller and we can just walk our cattle over the lovely heather clad hills singing as we go!

Vagabonds

They seem to have taken up a sort of Aussie vagabond existence, just wandering around from billabong to billabong or, in their case, vineyard to vineyard in Southern Australia. We last heard from them in Melbourne when they were ate the tennis Open. We suggested that they should visit the cast iron Corio Villa in Geelong just down the coast from Melbourne. And they did!

Corio Villa, cast iron house in Geelong — Manufactured in Scotland in 1851 and shipped as a flat pack to Geelong for William Nairn Grey who died before it arrived. It was erected in 1855 and is still a private residence.

Don’t really know why our correspondents are now in Strathalbyn except it is the unofficial antique centre of South Australia. It all seems very Scottish. Obviously, during the Highland Clearances lots of Scots were displaced off their land in favour of more profitable sheep … and they had to go somewhere. Around the same time Australia was a penal colony and many British criminals were sent there as punishment although we can’t imagine that any of them were Scots!

In our correspondents own words:

St Andrews church Strathalbyn — St Andrew’s church

“You may have considered our recent 350 kms to Roma for tea and scones rather excessive – we have gone one better this time. 1500 kms to Strathalbyn in South Australia seemed a good idea at the time. Long straight roads, a reliable car and me being co-driver had to be an asset! Strathalbyn where we found the Appleseed cafe, was founded in 1839; the first landholders being Dr Rankine, followed my Don McLean (unsure if it is the “American Pie” Don McLean….). The community was the centre for farming and pastoral families, many of Scottish origin. We were told that the church, St Andrew’s Uniting Church, was completed in 1844 by Scottish Presbyterians and that it is a focal point of the town.

Scottish is best

We were happy for a stopover here – a scone seemed a good accompaniment to the much needed coffee. I must say I can’t wait to have another scone in Scotland. No one seems to be able to cook them quite like Mum or the Scottish! It was a nice change to have real cream rather than that aerated fluff that comes from a spray can! The strawberry jam was up to scratch though.

I would not dare to comment on anything political in this country at present – would be no stopping me once I got started. Must say though, there is something to be said about the crowds reaction to our PM at the Australian Open tennis recently. Did it give him some indication as to where he is going (or not going) ???

Boo

For those who were unaware … when the Aussie PM attended the Open tennis he was loudly booed by the crowd. We actually thought booing politicians was just one of the national sports down under. Imagine if we were all to do that? We would be truly spoiled for choice. In fact it’s quite difficult to think of any we wouldn’t boo!

With their wandering habits and sense of fun we have no difficulty identifying with our Toowoomba correspondents. We are indebted, as always, to them for keeping us informed of events at the Earth’s bottom.

SA 5255 tel: +61 8 8536 8195 Appleseed Cafe

///dawn.decks.faithless

Scones, history and a dollop of politics

Category Archives: Uncategorized

Lost Shore

Even weirder

Macmillan Coffee Morning

Reunions

Disappearing scones

Dumpton

Teas for parents

Shocks

Laggan a’ Bhainne

Drovers

VIPs

The sky

The Somme

The bath

Verdant Works

Jute, whales and ships

Tiding us over

Romantic notions

Don’t know nothin’

Larnach Castle

Coll Hotel

Travelling

Twitching

What are the chances?

Woodlea Cafe

Sun-dried tomato scones?

Disappointment

More disappointment

Systemless

Rise and Fall

Day Dream Mine

In their own words:

Appleseed Cafe

Vagabonds

In our correspondents own words:

Scottish is best

Boo

by Bill and Pat Paterson and is about finding good scones throughout the world, with a little bit of politics