Category Archives: Uncategorized

Scones, Uncategorized

Tobermory Bakery

13 Comments

This is not an ordinary post! It is an extraordinary post for extraordinary times. It’s a sad tale of bright-eyed hopes being dashed on the jagged coronavirus rocks of outrageous fortune. Perhaps that’s overstating a bit … but only a bit! Okay, okay, what we are trying to tell you is that there were no scones at the Tobermory Bakery. But let’s start at the beginning.

Duart Castle, Isle of Mull
passing Duart Castle, the 13th-century seat of Clan MacLean

In brief, I was having one of these special days you have every year and Pat thought we should spend it in Tobermory. A mini-adventure sailing to the Isle of Mull and reliving some old memories. The town itself holds many memories.

View of Tobermory
Tobermory with the bright blue Mishnish Hotel to the right
Safe haven

The last time I was here was on the return leg of a sailing trip to St Kilda. Out in the Atlantic, the weather had been a diabolical Force 10 – 12 and I was never so glad to see these brightly coloured houses, especially the Mishnish pub … a safe haven indeed!

As you know we don’t do silly things like that any more, we just make copious contributions to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and spend our free time looking for scones. For this trip, we had set our sights on the Tobermory Bakery which boasted an excellent scone reputation.

On our way to TobermoryWe love ferries because they always take us somewhere exciting. We’re easily excited! To navigate to our destination we had to use the services of a Calmac Ferry called the Isle of Mull. We were on a package that included the return ferry fare, 10% off your breakfast on the boat and a return bus from Craignure to Tobermory … £38 for the two of us. There would be four hours set aside to wander around Tobermory.

Irresponsible

It only takes 45 minutes to get from Oban to Mull and by the time we had done a bit of bird spotting from the deck we were too late to cash in on the 10% breakfast discount. Damn, disappointment number one! Disappointment number two really because there were no birds either. It was a beautiful day though and when we arrived at Craignure a double-decker bus was waiting to take us on the last leg. Somehow it never occurred to us that the bus would be a double-decker. The boat had been very quiet and the bus was too. We got seats at the very front of the top deck, like a couple of excited kids. The reason everything was quiet of course was the coronavirus outbreak. We were feeling vaguely irresponsible for being out and about but then again we feel that way all the time.

The memories started almost right away. The bus had barely started when it took us down a tiny single-track road through the forest to the Fishnish terminal. That’s where the little ferry comes in from Lochaline on Ardnamurchan, the most westerly point on the UK mainland. Last time we were here, about 50 years ago, there was only a concrete ramp and a waste paper basket but now there was a hut as well. Fishnish has been developed! This was also the scene of Pat’s first and last encounter with a wood wasp. This harmless but fearsome-looking three-inch-long insect innocently landed on her shoulder. Never seen her move so fast. One minute she was sitting beside me and the next she was about 50 yards away. Anyway, it was great being able to do the hour-long trip with such a high vantage point. The views were sensational!

The Mishnish

Pat had lured me to Mull with the promise of a bottle of Tobermory single malt. The first thing we noticed as we entered the town was that the distillery was closed … coronavirus, arrrgghh! Disappointment number three! Why had we bothered? That only left the scones to look forward to. After a very pleasant walk around the coast to the Tobermory cannon, we headed for a pre-scone drink in the legendary Mishnish bar. Many a good night has been had in here on sailing trips. It was great to be back.

External view of Tobermory Distillery
This is what a closed distillery looks like from the top deck of a bus … tragic!

Then, at last, it was scone time. The Tobermory Bakery is just along from the Mishnish so we happily ambled along in the glorious sunshine. As I went to take a picture of the bakery Pat went in to place our order.

Don’t eat the pies
Sign at the Tobermory Bakery
A sign in the window of the Tobermory Bakery

Before I had finished taking the picture Pat was coming back out … no scones! Sacre bleu! All the other cafés were shut … coronavirus. Devastation! Disappointment number four. Not really their fault, with everywhere else being closed they just hadn’t made enough to cope with the extra demand. The expectation was that this place would get a topscone award, however, it was not to be. We will return to test these scones another day though we may give the pies a miss.

Sampling the Ledaig in Tobermory Hotlel
Happy me with a  glass of Ledaig single malt

Instead of eating scones we bought some postcards to send to our collection of brats that masquerade as granddaughters. After sitting writing them out in the rather comfortable Tobermory Hotel we went to the Post Office … closed, coronavirus! There wasn’t even a post box! Disappointment number five! Our bus driver, however, said he would stop at Salen, about halfway back to Craignure, and Pat could get off and post them at the Post Office there. As it happened there was a post box before Salen and he pulled in so close she didn’t even have to get off. The other passengers all thought it was hilarious. Only on the islands, that’s why we love them.View of Tobermory

Normally, the islands have a markedly different way of life. They are independent and practical people who just get on with things when the mainland can be floundering. This virus thing is different, however. They can’t just carry on when the shellfish industry has completely collapsed and tourism is being strangled. There is a possibility that the ferries may be stopped in order that the islands do not become infected. That’s great for stopping infection and if anyone can cope with isolation it’s the islanders, however, cutting off their livelihoods as well would be a calamity. But what is the alternative?

A fresh look at who we are

Coronavirus has exposed so many cracks in our economy and our society. The gig economy is shown for what it is, an almighty disaster for those on short term and zero-hours contracts. With Richard Branson appealing from his private island for a taxpayer bailout of his many companies it shows us that inequality is now the norm, it is deeply embedded in our society. However, it also shows us who the really important people are … usually the lowest paid, the cleaners and the care workers. We all depend on them. It shows us that across the world we are all much the same with the same concerns and worries. We all depend on each other.

Back home now and isolating ourselves as per Boris’s garbled instructions. We are being responsible, it’s a weird feeling. There are scones in reserve however so don’t expect any immediate respite from sconology. Take care, everyone!

PA75 6NU      tel: 01688 302225      Tobermory Bakery FB

///gong.tablets.examples

Scones, Uncategorized

Costa – Virginia Water

3 Comments

You know how sometimes you just know that it’s going to be one of these days. It didn’t start off too badly because we had a free day. That meant we could go anywhere and do as we pleased … yeah! Since it was raining heavily we decided to take a train trip to Virginia Water in South West London. Why there? There are lots of possible reasons.

  • The richest town in the UK with an average home cost of over £1m?
  • Home of Wentworth Golf Club?
  • Elton John, Cliff Richard, Bruce Forsyth, Diana Dors and Nick Faldo have all had homes there?

The only reason for this place figuring in our consciences at all is that my dad used to play in the Virginia Water darts team when he was a trainee forester in the early 1930s. We thought it would be nice to have a look around … and maybe find the pub .. or even a scone.

Internal view of Costa, Virginia WaterWe’ve already said it was one of these days. London has a fabulous train system where you simply tap your bank card in at the first station and tap out when you have reached your destination. Your bank account is automatically debited. It works really well. When we got off at Virginia Water, however, there was nowhere to tap out? When we asked at the ticket office the chap informed us, with a wry smile, that we had gone beyond the Transport For London (tfl) area. We would get an automatic fine for our trouble and in addition, we would have to buy a return ticket to get back. Great!

When is a scone not a scone?

It was still raining heavily when we left the station. All the roads were flooded and even making pedestrian progress was extremely difficult. To top things off, Virginia Water also seemed to be sconeless. An almond croissant at Costa, Virginia WaterCould things get any worse? After about an hour we decided to cut our losses and head back to the station. In a last desperate bid to salvage something from our day we ended up in Costa – Virginia Water in the vain hope that they might save the day. When is a scone not a scone … when it’s an almond croissant, that’s when! Needless to say there were no scones here either. Actually the croissant was delicious, but you don’t want the hear about that. We didn’t find my dad’s pub. We suspect it was the Wheatsheaf Hotel but it was too far to walk in these conditions.

Fitting in

There’s only about five and a half thousand inhabitants in Virginia Water and they all seem to do alright for themselves. ‘Private’ notices abound and most of the houses have large wrought irons gates and gardens about the size of a small golf course. In 1998 General Pinochet was placed under house arrest in one of the houses pending his extradition back to Chile. Pity really because if he had hung around he would have fitted right into the current UK government’s cabinet.

When the Prime Minister, Dominic Cummings, sat down with the Chancellor, Dominic Cummings, and the rest of the cabinet of mini Dominic Cummingses, Pinochet might have felt very at home. Indeed, Attila the Hun would not have felt out of place! The irony is simply breathtaking. After almost four years of striving to leave the EU and its unelected bureaucrats the UK ends up being run by an unelected bureaucrat. Downing Street’s latest appointment, Andrew Sabisky, with his horrendous racist views, thankfully only lasted about twenty four hours.

Apologies for the sconelessness of Virginia Water but our day was not entirely lost. We found out that no matter how plush the mansions, we could not live in a town without scones.

GU25 4AA.     Costa

///novel.hired.miles

This what happens when you decide to get your cast iron work done outwith Scotland. This old post box in London was made by Handyside Foundry in London … and London is obviously too close to Pisa.Leaning post box in Barnes, London

english, Scones, Uncategorized

Café 66

1 Comment

We are joining the swallows and migrating south. Not because we are fed up with Brexit (although you can’t get any more fed up than us) but to visit my sister in Nice. Before that, however, we have a stop over in the Big Smoke! As we have often found before, finding a scone in London can be surprisingly  difficult. There are endless cafés of European, Asian or even US origin but traditional English tea rooms can be few and far between.

On this occasion it led us to ask the question …. when is a scone not a scone? The answer can be found here in Café 66 in London’s SW13. It is a relatively new kid on the block and certainly wasn’t here the last time we were in town. Of course, it had to be investigated. It is what we would call ‘bijou’ … small but perfectly formed. It is operated by a delightful mother and daughter team from Poland. They could not have made us more welcome.

Internal view of Café 66 in BarnesA spot of lunch was called for, however, as you all know by now, we like to finish things off with a scone. “Do you have scones?” we asked.  “What are you saying?” It wasn’t the Scottish accent it was simply that the young girl didn’t know. “Scones. they are like a little cakes that you eat with jam and cream.” we persevered. “Eh?” Thankfully at this point mum came to the rescue “Oh, I know what scones are – in this country you have them in the afternoon with tea.” “Yes”, we exclaimed. No, we don’t have any scones“.

Energy balls

With our hopes dashed on the jagged rocks of false expectation, we looked around and had to admit that there were lots of other delicious looking alternatives. In the absence of scones, however, we decided to go for one of their ‘Energy Balls’. They are small balls of nuts and fruit bound together with syrup and honey. Perhaps it was because they reminded us of the Lithuanian scoAn energy ball at Café 66 in Barnesnes our Trossachs correspondents had sent from Vilnius back in 2016. They were really nice – lovely texture and sweet but not cloyingly so.  We did feel like we had had an energy boost. So the answer to the question is that a scone is not a scone when it’s a Polish energy ball. No, we wouldn’t have got it right either.

As we were leaving we asked mum and daughter how they felt about only having about a week left before having to return to Poland. Their puzzled look quickly dissolved into laughter when they realised what we meant. However, it was quickly followed by looks of alarm and panic. “We are going to have to eat all this food very quickly” they joked, pointing at the display cases. Perhaps not, though.

Embarrasing

The first Saturday sitting of Westminster since the Falklands War, resulted in another defeat for Boris at the hands of his own colleagues. He followed it up with an unsigned letter to the EU asking for an extension. When politics is reduced to this school boy prank level it is embarrassing. Especially when you are in the presence of two ladies who are working incredibly hard to better themselves and better the country they now live in.

The true irony is that the UK’s future may eventually be decided by the DUP. A handful of self serving politicians from N. Ireland who don’t even represent the views of the people of N Ireland. It just gets weirder and weirder. Another energy ball please!

As we left Café 66, mum produced a Mary Berry cookbook, so who knows … next time there may be scones? Now we must continue our migration south.

SW13 0PZ       tel: 020 8241 1590       Cafe66

///dash.belt.puns

Scones, Uncategorized

The Gathering

6 Comments

Looking at the title photograph you can probably sense that this post is going to be a little out of the ordinary. If, in 1691, a young  Rob Roy McGregor had been riding from Aberfoyle to his home at the head of Loch Katrine he would have passed this way and the view would have looked exactly like this. Green fields bordering Loch Ard and the mighty Ben Lomond in the distance. He would probably have raised an eyebrow, however, at what was going on in the middle distance … all these brightly coloured things? As he got closer he, no doubt, would have found the giant bouncy castle particularly perplexing. He would, of course, have stumbled on The Gathering at Kinlochard. Not that such an event would have happened in his day without his permission and probably without him being the guest of honour.

Bunting at the Gathering at Kinlochard
Bunting from all the Commonwealth countries

An annual event in this part of the world, we are here because we knew that our Trossachs correspondents would be officiating. This is their natural habitat after all.

The great thing about this Gathering is that it is not great. It’s small and very ordinary in almost every sense of the word. That’s what’s so great about it! Just local folk getting together for a day of eating, drinking, games and music. Temperatures in the mid twenties even had people swimming in the loch to cool off. Every where you looked there were kiddies and grown-ups tossing cabers, tug-of-warring, piping, singing, boating and generally having a wonderful time.

The meaning of life

The whole idea is to raise a little money for the local commumity. We were persuaded to wage some of our life savings on the duck race. Two hundred little yellow plastic ducks get thrown in the local river. We chose duck 42 because, as you know, that number is the “answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything”, however, on this occasion it wasn’t. Not sure where 42 came in or even if it finished.

The monster at the Gathering at Kinlochard
Lucky photo as the Loch Ard monster appeared momentarily. No one else even noticed.

Only one thing could make the occasion more joyous … a scone. As it happened one of our correspondents was the cashier on the cake table in the village hall which was groaning with home-baking. Among all the cupcakes, lemon drizzle cake and millionaires shortbread was heaps of scones. A scone at the Gathering at Kinlochard

The medication benefits for long terms and you don’t feel any necessity for prescriptions over and over.

Pat chose a cheese and chive one and I went for my usual fruit. Now you may think from the photograph that these scones would prove to be a tad on the unexciting side. Not a bit of it they were absolutely delicious. Pat waxed lyrically about hers. Remember, some anonymous volunteer, perhaps several, had probably been up in the wee small hours baking these little wonders. Unfortunately they have to remain ‘uncategorised’ simply because there is no way for readers to access them. Unless, of course, like us, they were here on this particular day. Otherwise they would have been topscones and testament to the good bakers of Kinlochard whoever they were.

The Loch Lomond ukelele band at the Gathering at Kinlochard
The Loch Lomond ukulele band raising funds for Strathcarron Hospice
Fundamental goodness

When you attend events like this where the local community gathers together, for no other reason but simply to be together, you remember man’s fundamental goodness. Man’s willingness to look after and care for each other. To bake cakes and scones for others to enjoy. To provide music for others to enjoy. It’s only a tiny minority of people who create all the trouble … politicians normally and arguably, scone bloggers.External view of the Gathering at KinlochardIf only the world was a bit more like Kinlochard. Every now and again it could get together to celebrate just being human and to make new friends. Not like the dreadful Olympics! Just a bit of fun, some duck racing, a few scones, you know the sort of thing. The US/Iran nuclear crisis would quickly seem like a mere trifle.

Piper on the shores of Loch Ard
A young piper plays his heart out beside the loch

Many thanks to all the many people involved in the organisation of The Gathering. You are all heros. Even our correspondent who charged us full price for our scones before reducing the cost by 50% … we didn’t mind, no really, we didn’t!

The Gathering FB

///jeering.seeing.giants

foreign, Scones, Uncategorized

The Lemon Tree – Mijas

1 Comment

Remember our Trossachs correspondents? We haven’t heard from them in a while but that does not mean a lack of discipline on their part. They have been diligent in their scone searches, however, a recent visit to Sri Lanka simply did not yield any finds. In order to understand the mess the world is in you have to realise that many countries do not benefit from the civilising effect of scones. They are scone deserts! Okay, okay, what about the the UK, we hear you cry? We know … it’s simply inexplicable that a scone rich country like the UK should find itself in such a perilous state. Perhaps it should be compulsory for all politicians to have afternoon tea every day?

Snorters

Anyway our correspondents are on their travels yet again and have sent a comprehensive report which neatly fits into our recent run of nautical scones, albeit these ones are more ‘aeronautical’. It also provides a welcome distraction from Michael Gove’s confession to being a bit of a coke snorter. Is he trying to appear normal in some way?  Although he says he finished with Class A drugs more than twenty years ago it looks, to us, as if they are still having a profound effect today.

In our correspondents own words

Street view in Mijas, SpainGreetings from Mijas (pronounced Meehas) in sunny Spain, a long time favourite of ours. We love its narrow lanes, stunning flora, evening tranquillity and unspoilt ethnic nature and views over the Med. The licensed taxis are even donkeys. No skyscaper apartment blocks, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Burger Houses or English Breakfasts here . So we thought!

Advert for scones at the Lemon Tree Café in Mijas, SpainOn previous visits to the Costa del Sol we have avoided the beach culture of the large resorts which has extremely limited our search for scones. Our only previous success when we visited Gibraltar and sampled scones of an inferior nature. Mijas has now presented us with a cultural dilemma. On our first evening we noticed The Lemon Tree – a new café type restaurant tucked into a corner of the Plaza de la Constitution and horror of all horrors it proudly advertised Full English Breakfast. However, we were partly consoled that they also offered cream tea for two at a very reasonable 6.95 Euros. Should we, shouldn’t we? This morning we yielded and after a brisk walk around the village and its old walls we headed towards the Lemon Tree to sample our first scones in Spain.

The place was mobbed but we managed to get the last outside seat and placed our order.
Scones at the Tree Café in Mijas, SpainIn the parlance of AllAboutTheScones, the scones were well presented with an accompanying pot of tea, strawberry jam and a tub of Rodda’s Cornish Cream. They were nice and warm, crisp on the outside, fluffy in the centre and surprisingly delicious – real candidates for Paterson Top Scone if the cream had been fresh. To be fair butter was an option. We’ll be back, but may sacrifice the scones for the Lemon drizzle cake with Ice cream!

NB we give Rodda’s Cornish Cream a hard time but only when it is served in Scotland. Scotland has plenty of its own cream. However, a Cornish Cream tea in southern Spain is obviously genuine so the use of Rodda’s is perfectly acceptable.

29650 Mijas              tel: Jan 634153256           Lemon Tree FB 

///second.thick.afflict

The Mango

External view of the Mango Café in Mijas, Spain Can Mijas be the scone capital of Spain? Fresh from the pleasures of the Lemon Tree we have found another gem, The Mango Café. It is hidden away in the corner of a courtyard. We enjoyed a cream tea which will sound familiar to you two Top Sconers. Not too big, warm, crisp on the outside, soft and fluffy in the centre and served with real cream and home made strawberry jam. Absolutely delicious!!!A cream tea at the Mango Café in Mijas, Spain

Sincere thanks to our corespondents. Their admirable dedication and excellent reports have brought a ray of sunshine to the blog.

29650 Mijas      tel: +34 951 53 54 82           The Mango Café FB

///bashed.laying.flagged

island, Scones, Uncategorized

The Hungry Gull

3 Comments

Logo of the Hungry Gull Cafe in Uig, Isle of SkyeYou cannot live for ever in a distillery. Okay, you can’t live forever anywhere but for us our stay on the Isle of Raasay was over. It had been wonderful. Pat had even got a golden eagle for her bird list and I got some sheds and some drams. Inevitably however we were on the road again … or rather on the boat again back to Skye. And once again we were having to drive directly to another ferry to take us onward to the Outer Hebrides. Once again, like all well trained ferry travelers, we arrived at the ferry terminal at Uig with time to spare and, of course, we thought to continue our sconological research.

Internal view of the Hungry Gull Cafe in Uig, Isle of SkyeOne problem with traveling in the north of Scotland in March is that most things don’t open until April. And so it was with Uig. All the cafés and restaurants were closed. Eventually we had to settle on the local petrol station simply because it was actually open. It didn’t look promising from the outside and that impression wasn’t changed much inside. On the upside the chap running the place was wonderfully friendly and prepared us some very good cheese and ham toasties. He didn’t have any scones but, seeing our disappointment, he insisted we have a home-baked doughnut … a peanut butter and jam doughnut to be precise!

Alternatives

It was pretty awful. We show you a picture not so that you can add it to your knowledge of scones but simply to let you see the lengths we go to on your behalf. This doughnut will bA doughnut at the Hungry Gull Cafe in Uig, Isle of Skyee forever known as the ‘Uig scone’ and joins the Buckhaven scone and the Winkel scone in an exclusive club of enforced substitutes. And no, even though Pat has great black backed gulls, herring gulls and black headed gulls on her list, she did not add this hungry one.

Numpties

While we munched our doughnuts, however, we did manage to catch up with the news. Probably a mistake because, of course, it’s the same old same old. The media seem to be saying “the next few days will be critical for the UK” … precisely what they have been saying every day for the past six months! Surely there cannot be anyone left in Scotland of sound mind who still wants their country to be governed by this shower of numpties in Westminster. Surely not? Nicola Sturgeon seems like the only consistent voice of sanity in the whole sorry affair.

We caught the ferry and set off in the teeth of a force 7 gale into the Minch heading for Tarbert on the Isle of Harris.

IV51 9XX           tel: 07909 323848             Hungry Gull FB

ps:  Isn’t it just typical! While we were tucking into a peanut butter and jam doughnut in rain soaked windswept Uig we received this picture.   It’s of one of our Aussie friends living the life of reilly on the Queen Marry 2 in the middle of the Indian Ocean. A scone on the Queen Mary IIAll our Aussie friends seem to live the life of reilly so we should not have been surprised. No luxury liner for us, just a CalMac ferry. Apparently the service and the scone were first class. At least they seem to have got the jam on first … there’s hope yet for these Aussie types. So even though we have not tested these scones personally, all you sconeys contemplating a cruise on the QM2 can add this snippet to your sconological databases. Thanks to M&J, enjoy the rest of your holiday … don’t worry about us on our wee boat.

Scones, Uncategorized

Winkel

1 Comment

If any of you already know Reinier Sijpkens you should probably stop reading right here. For those that don’t know him let us explain. He has a little boat in which he spins round in circles while playing a horn and winding a mechanical organ thingy. He produces soft melodic sounds and he has a deal with a chap in the local church who responds with the church bells. All fabulously mad!Reinier Sijpkens Music Boat Amsterdam

When we got chatting to him we discovered he was a great fan of everything Scottish. He had recently been to the World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow and told us that his favourite musical instrument was uniquely Scottish. “Bagpipes?” we asked. Not a bit of it. “The dulcitone” he replied with a wistful smile, “It’s wonderful!”. This was news to us because we had never even heard of a dulcitone. However, having looked it up, he was, of course, absolutely right … and it is uniquely Scottish. You can listen to one here. Also if you click on Reinier’s picture above you can enjoy one of his fabulous performances.

Chance is a wonderful thing

We tell you all this because it amazes us how extraordinary snippets of information fall into our laps. Our boat was even smaller than Reinier’s but we were on the same canal in Amsterdam and just sort of bumped into him. See, there we were pedaling round a canal in Amsterdam and we meet a Dutch guy, a complete stranger, who tells us something we didn’t know about Scotland. Isn’t life fascinating!

“So what the dickens were you doing in Holland?” we hear you cry. Well, it’s a bit of a strange story but suffice to say that we were looking for scones. It was a serious expedition, not any sort of jolly … honest!

Ticking boxes
Internal view of Café Winkel in Amsterdam
Inside Winkel 43

Actually we have a couple of Dutch friends who visited us back in 2017. You may remember we took them to Monachyle Mhor in Balquidder where we had a lovely scone. Recently, they got in touch to ask if they could buy a bottle of my own whisky. They remembered cuddling the barrel and having a we taste. No problem. However, when we were trying to figure out how to get two bottles of whisky to the Netherlands it wasn’t particularly easy. Pat, to the rescue! A mini-cruise from Newcastle-upon-Tyne which gave us five hours in the Dutch capital. This ticked a lot of boxes. We would be reunited with our friends, deliver the bottles and get our first Dutch scone. What’s not to like about that?

Bon voyage

The ship left Port of Tyne at sunset. The following morning after a frantic night of dancing in one of the onboard night clubs we awoke and  knew immediately we were getting close to Holland. A sunrise full of windmills … hundreds of them! Sunrise on windmill farm approaching AmsterdamA couple of hours later we were in central Amsterdam and had managed to hook up with our friends. It was great to see them again and they were keen for us to enjoy a few of Amsterdam’s unique features. They had tried in vain to find a scone for us but had come to the conclusion that Holland did not do scones. Instead they said we should not miss the best apple pie in the world. Hence we ended up here at Winkel 43. Winkel translates as ‘store’ in English but we much prefer the Dutch

It is quite small and tucked away from the main touristy area, however, it is extremely popular with the local people. Apple pie at Café Winkel in AmsterdamThere were lots waiting patiently for a table. Fortunately, we did not have to wait long and were soon sitting in the sunshine tucking into the biggest slice of apple pie we have ever seen. It was full of chunky apple bits with a delicious crumbly pastry and loads of whipped cream … fantastic! If you ever find yourself in Amsterdam go to Winkel and have some apple pie, you won’t regret it.

Apple pie usurpers

Sabine and Charlotte at Café Winkel in Amsterdam

As a visitor to this city you do feel a certain amount of pressure to go on one of these super-long glass covered canal boats. If you don’t it’s like going to Venice and not going on a gondola. Our friends however had other ideas.Feeling lucky

They elected to take us on a canal cruise but on a tiny pedal boat. Thankfully they also elected to do the pedaling. It was just a fantastic experience! For the end of February the weather was fabulously warm, a glorious day. Although complain

Pedal boat in Amsterdam
The port and starboard engines

ing a bit and sometimes a little out of control our engines performed perfectly well. And, of course, if we had not gone by pedal boat we would never have met Reinier and never have known about the Dulcitone. We complained to Reinier that our engines were not as powerful as his. He looked and observed that we had the most beautiful engines in the world. He also said we were extremely lucky and should take extra good care of them. We promised we would and had to admit that we did feel very lucky.

Old Amsterdam

All too soon, our fiA cheese shop in Amsterdamve hours were up and it was time to take our leave. Not before we visited one of the many cheese shops to buy some Old Amsterdam, however. Apparently they eat cheese for breakfast, lunch and sometimes dinner as well. They like their cheese in Holland. The cheese neatly replaced the lost ballast left by the whisky.

Welcome home?

Then we had to return to our slightly bigger boat and return to the UK. When we arrived in Amsterdam that morning they glanced at our passports and waved us through. On our return, however, we had to stand for an hour and a half in a queue waiting to have our passports scanned. Apparently, it’s a new system and it’s absolutely dreadful. Many in the queue would have had to wait much longer. We felt ashamed to be British but then again that wasn’t for the first time. If it’s a sign of how things are going to be after Brexit then we might have to move to Europe … or get an independent Scotland to stay in the EU. We’ll go for the latter.

Many many thanks to S & C for looking after us so well. It was fun!

1015 NA               +31 20 623 0223                Winkel 43

Scones, Uncategorized

The Angel Cafe

1 Comment

A sign at the Angel Cafe in ToowoombaReaders are aware by now that we have a global network of correspondents keeping us informed of their scone adventures in far off places. Here we have a tale of every day life in southern Queensland. An Aussie mini scone adventure which is so delightful we can do no better than quote it verbatim.

Country Women of Australia

As always we are “in a rush”, had to get across town to Spotlight to purchase new blinds. It seems like quite a journey through the back streets of Toowoomba. My husband does not like going in straight lines, liking to miss the traffic lights. By doing this I know it takes an extra twenty minutes, but me being the “submissive little wife” I don’t complain! He must have been feeling the distance too as the suggestion for a “coffee” came up. (We don’t do tea so much here in Australia, coffee more our thing!). I am not one to knock back an invitation so agreed immediately!

A scone at the Angel Cafe in Toowoomba
Scone and plastic grass

Here we were Southtown, right outside The Angel Cafe. The popularity of this little cafe wanes from time to time, however there is not much choice enroute to Spotlight. Imagine our delight when we saw ‘scones’ on the menu! We each ordered one and found a table on th

e deck, complete with synthetic grass! Our coffees and scones were duly served – now for the taste test. Naturally the first observation is visually- bet they don’t have scones the size of these in the UK!

I guarantee they would have been 5” in diameter. Very generous serving of strawberry jam (about half a jar I would suggest!), however the ‘cream’ was squirted out of a pressure pack – no clotted cream here. Nonetheless, there was that burnished golden top and on breaking, it appeared light and fluffy. These are all rules the CWA (Country Women of Australia) judges would insist on. Mouth watering visually and flavoursome on first bite. Is there anything more dignified than warm scones smeared with jam and dolloped with cream? Well done Angel Cafe! Great stopover on our shopping mission – what made it even better was the blinds were on special!Internal view of the Angel Cafe in Toowoomba

We have to admit to laughing out loud at the “submissive little wife” bit. And no, we don’t have many 5″ scones over here. Many thanks to J & P. We haven’t had a scone from Ayres Rock yet, or the Opera House … just saying!Internal view of the Angel Cafe in Toowoomba

Obligations

What our corespondents, and indeed all other Australians, may be unaware of, is their obligations on March 30th. It’s when the UK becomes a sort of ‘billy no mates’ state after leaving the EU. On that date Australia along with all the other countries the UK has used and abused over the centuries will be expected to come to its rescue.

For example, Scotland will expect Australia to take up the slack on its lost export market in live haggis. This shouldn’t be a problem provided they are contained. Don’t worry a haggis husbandry manual comes with them. We’re unsure how escapees would take to the dry and the flatness, however, should they thrive, a haggis fence maybe the only answer. You may also notice a change in your menfolk. Instead of course, XXXX swilling, foulmouthed specimens you may find exemplary rustic haggis fed men requesting cabers as birthday presents. We do realise you only have rough scrub over there but, by a stroke of good luck, Scotland exports cabers as well. It’ll all be fine! At least, that’s what they’re telling us over here.

QLD 4350          tel: +61 7 4636 3177         The Angel FB

Scones, Uncategorized, weird

Burford House Hotel

1 Comment
A scone at Burford House Hotel
They seem to have sneeked something else in beside the scone

When our Netherlands correspondents got in touch to say they had had a great scone we thought, fantastic, our first Dutch scone! It was not to be however. They were on holiday in the Cotswolds and were writing from there. The Burford House Hotel to be precise.

No worries we were very pleased to hear from them so we thought the least we could do was share their scone with other readers. Their report said that the scone was  excellent and the surroundings very pleasant. By the looks of it we have to agree, that scone looks good and is nicely presented. Obviously, it cannot be classified without personal testing by ourselves but given their review and the photo it looks like it’s a scone with potential. Next time we are in that part of the world we will seek it out. Many thanks to C and S.

OX18 4QA       tel: 01993 823151         Burford Hotel

Bob & Bert’s revisited

We didn’t think that we would be back here so soon. However, having raised expectations over raspberry ripple scones in our last Bob & Bert’s post we felt obliged to go back, test and report. This time there was no problem. Standing in the queue we could see a raspberry ripple scone but this time there were several. They couldn’t have pre-sold all of them, surely! No worries we got one to share.What can one say about a raspberry ripple scone? Obviously they fall into the ‘weird’ category. The pink thingy on top was made of coconut and chocolate and there was a drissle of raspberry stuff over it as well. Inside was reminiscent of a jam doughnut. We quite enjoyed it but once in a lifetime is probably enough.

Bob & Bert’s is one of these places with lots of lifestyle advice. We find this simultaneously useful and annoying. Useful in the sense that sometimes you read one and think .. mmmm? Other times they just annoy because you know you cannot live up to such lofty aspirations. Here we felt we could live up to most of them. This one for instance  “this is your life, do what you want and do it often” encompasses our love of scones. We do it as often as we can! Thank you Bob & Bert’s for this advice we assure you of our best endeavours. Lifestyle advice on wall posters at Bob & Bert's in Falkirk

There were others we felt we could embrace as well. “Life is simple, open your mind, arms and heart to new things“. We’ve just had a raspberry ripple scone for goodness sake.  The last one, however, is probably the easiest of the lot. We are certainly feeling something! Yes, we’re feeling it!Lifestyle advice on wall posters at Bob & Bert's in Falkirk

Plan B

Three days ago, after the resounding rejection of her Brexit Plan A, Theresa May was given three days to come up with Brexit Plan B. Today’s the day and you will absolutely never ever guess … it’s the same as Brexit Plan A! Wow, who would have thought! When they meet on Wednesday we are relying on Nicola Sturgeon to get her telt!

Scones, Uncategorized

The Beast from the East

This is not a proper scone post. It is simply an attempt to reassure all those kind sconeys (particularly those in the southern hemisphere) who have enquired after our well-being in the face of the Beast from the East. Putin’s gift to the west. We are fine, though things in general are pretty bad e.g. pastries from Greggs have been declared legal tender!

The title picture is of our car which hasn’t moved for almost a week. We can hear readers in Canada and Norway screaming “they call that snow”? Okay, okay, don’t mock! Unlike you, when we get snow, we  just wait for it to go away the next day. But this time it has been here for days! Nothing in Britain has moved much in the last week … very few cars on the roads, no trains, no flights. But you know all that!

Let us give you an instance about how Britain is coping. Yesterday, late afternoon, we decided to venture out as far as our local pub just to get out and have a walk if nothing else. We walked along the middle of the road, standing aside every time a car came along … only two passed. There was no one else out, the whole place was eerily quiet. We fully expected the pub to be  deserted, just a few hardy regulars, but no, it was ramjammed, we could hardly get in! We asked the harassed looking barmaid why it was so busy “cos nobody’s at their efing work” was the reply. That’s how Britain copes … just go to the pub!

State of ecstasy

We don’t have any pictures of scones to share but we are sending you this one of a partial scone. It was sent by one of our correspondents who has a home office at the bottom of his garden. His wife had baked some scones and braved the snow and the icy wind to bring some, complete with apricot jam, to her beloved. He thought that he would send us a picture but, in his heightened state of ecstasy, promptly forgot until there was barely anything left.What's left of a scone and apricot jam

Normal service

We can only apologise dear readers, but good competent scone correspondents are difficult to come by these days ..  a bit like politicians. We had to admire Theresa May saying that the EU would have to compromise. Is there a thinly veiled threat in there “if you don’t compromise we won’t leave”? Once again, thanks for all your concern. Hopefully we will be out and about very soon and normal sconology will be resumed.