Ordinary, Scones

Bridge 49 Cafe Bar

You will never guess how this place got its name – Bridge 49 Cafe Bar? Okay we will tell you. It’s right beside bridge 49 on the Union Canal … imaginative, or what?

External view of Bridge 49 Café beside the Union Canal
Bridge 49 Café from Bridge 49
What’s in a name?

The instantly forgettable bridge is only a stone’s throw from the extremely impressive 26m high Avon Aqueduct. Built in 1821 to a Thomas Telford design. It could have been called Ristorante Aqueducti. Or something a bit less prosaic than Bridge 49 Cafe Bar! Not to worry, we take our hats off to the folks who have built this enterprise in the middle of nowhere and obviously taking a sizeable gamble with a big investment. So they can call it whatever they like, we just eat scones after all. The logo for Bridge 49 Café beside the Union CanalIt has a large inside restaurant but, with today being absolutely beautiful, we opted for an ‘al fresco’ fruit scone overlooking the canal while watching the boats drift by. Life can be tough, but not today. In fact, it has seldom been so toughless!

Service could best be described as ‘adequate’ and our coffee was good but the same, unfortunately, could not be said for the scones. We like them a little bit crunchy on the outside but these were just hard and dry. They were either over-baked, or, they were yesterday’s. One of the worst scones we have had in a while. A scone at Bridge 49 Café beside the Union CanalShame really because, with its outside play area for children, this is a good place for families to come and enjoy a relaxed meal without worrying too much about the kids. So don’t let us put you off. Based on our experience however the scones need a bit of a rethink.

Trump says

A rethink is exactly what’s needed after the Grenfell Tower disaster. Theresa May’s lack of empathy during her unfortunate visit to the site only served to make people angry. It reminded Conservatives that she should not be allowed out in public. Though, to give her her due, in recent times, she herself has done everything possible to avoid meeting the public. This is the third scone since the General Election and she is still desperately hanging on. It is also eleven days since the election and she is still trying to reach agreement with the ten MPs of the DUP. What chance the Brexit negotiations starting today? Perhaps she should simply restrict herself to that most wicked of pastimes – running through fields of wheat when no one is around. As Trump would say, “bad”. Or maybe his other word “sad”. The latter is probably more appropriate?

EH49 6LW        teL: 01506 846536           Bridge 49

ps Readers will distinctly remember the excruciating excitement as we reported on the highest scone in the land (1531 feet) at Wanlockhead in the Leadhills. Little did we know that we were throwing down a gauntlet. Recently we received a report from happy wanderers, our intrepid Trossachs correspondents, on a 38,000 feet high scone …eh? That’s not just a mile high scone, that’s over seven miles high! Boeing 7777

Fluffy interiors

Of course they cheated, they were on a plane heading to that Caribbean idyll, Saint Kitts & Nevis … poor dears! After several glasses of champs and having just finished watching Ken Loach’s highly poignant film “I, Daniel Blake”, about life under the Tory benefit cuts, this happened. “Flying at 38,000ft with an outside temperature of minus 56 Centigrade, and 53 minutes before Antigua the moment arrived. Afternoon tea was served – not just sandwiches and cakes but also scones! We cannot possibly formally judge the scones but they were warm, crisp on the outside with fluffy interiors and were served with Rodda’s Classic Cornish Cream and Wilkin & Sons strawberry jam. As we enjoyed them we could not but think of how fortunate we are in contrast to the next generation of Daniel Blakes”.

Intergalactic scones

Fortunate indeed! But when will our correspondents learn? If they want their scones judged formally they have to to take us with them?

Scone at 38,000 feet
A seven mile high scone

We were tempted to go one better and book a Virgin Galactic space flight. We’ve had some nice light scones but never completely weightless ones. At over 60 miles high that would have to be a new record! When we phoned them however they could not give a definitive answer on whether or not they would be serving scones. Heyho, we won’t bother! In the meantime we eagerly await further reports on Caribbean scones being filed.

Ordinary, Scones

Browns of Edinburgh

Having already reported on scones in Harvey Nichols and the Dome you might think we would be running short of alternatives on George Street In Edinburgh? Not a bit of it, there are plenty more! Browns of Edinburgh is just another one on the city’s principle shopping thoroughfare. We had actually been invited to an evening event nearby. With a couple of hours to spare, however, what else would you do but head for afternoon tea?

Browns of Edinburgh has some history for us. As a young couple with no money and no experience of posh restaurants this was our first foray into what is oft referred to as “fine dining”. Internal view at Browns of EdinburghIf memory serves us correctly we were all dressed up to the nines and slightly nervous about being in such auspicious surroundings. That was many years ago and this is our first return visit. It doesn’t look nearly as intimidating as it did then! Has it changed, or have we changed? Probably both? Today, it does not look like the small intimate restaurant of memory. Rather its, almost cavernous interior and perhaps slightly impersonal atmosphere are more in keeping with a mid-range establishment.

Culinary highlights

Nowadays, we don’t think that even they would class themselves as ‘fine dining’. Afternoon tea at Browns of EdinburghWhatever, what about our afternoon tea? Champagne in the afternoon always seems a little bit naughty. This was very nice champagne, however, and an excellent start to proceedings. See, it’s us that’s changed, we probably had pints on our first visit. We wouldn’t have know what else to ask for! Presented on a sort of chrome wheel contraption there was a fair assortment of cakes and sandwiches with two small scones each. Call us old fusspots if you like but we prefer to have bread sandwiches with the crusts cut off rather than the little mini rolls used here. Arrgghh, we have changed. A slice of square sausage with tomato sauce between two slices of plain bread used to be the highlight of our culinary lives.top tier of afternoon tea at Browns of Edinburgh

K2 or K6?

The scones were nice. When they first arrived we felt them and they were nice and warm but, by the time we got round to eating them, that was but a memory. A scone at Browns of EdinburghAll in all, this was very relaxing and enjoyable and a great way to kill some time but the scones, although good, did not quite make the grade and everything else, excepting the champagne, was just a little bit flat. The service, for example, was okay, but like a lot of places that automatically add a service charge to your bill, they did not have to try too hard. Picture of a telephone box at Browns of EdinburghOne of the nice things about Browns is that they have lots of interesting photographs hanging on the walls. We thought this one would enable us to test your knowledge of red telephone boxes. Remember we supplied a handy indentification guide in an earlier post at the Butterchurn. Obviously it is not a K4 but could it be a K2 or a K6? Answers on a postcard.

Scones as a measurement of time

Continuing with the quiz theme we thought it might be interesting to measure, in scones, how much time Theresa May has left as Prime Minister. You probably think we are not taking politics seriously. However, with Michael Gove, the only man who can instantly poison any environment he walks into, being appointed Environment Secretary. And the odious DUP in coalition talks with the government. Oh, and the Queen’s Speech being delayed because of the need to write it all down on goatskin paper. What is there to take seriously? This is the second post since the general election result became known and Theresa decided to carry on as if nothing had happened. How many more scones can we post before she is deposed? Answers on the same postcard as the telephone box.

Edinburgh looking dramatic in evening sunshine
Edinburgh looking dramatic in the evening sunshine

EH2 4JS         tel: 0131 225 4442         Browns Edinburgh

Ordinary, Scones, self-service

The Wee Big Shop

Well … the morning after the night before … devastation. Who is going to have to do the decent thing and get hitched? Guess it could be said that the Tories in their never ending quest to sort out their internal party politics, have led us directly towards the “coalition of chaos”. That’s they were banging on about throughout the election campaign. Here’s us thinking that they were advocating voting for them to avoid that. Silly us.  Harsh reality means that Theresa May must now seek some sort of marriage with an equally unsavoury bunch in the DUP. Itself a damaged party in a damaged parliament. It remains to be seen  what sort of dowry will be extracted by the DUP. Whatever happens it is liable to be an unholy alliance.

Maybe the answer is for Theresa and Arlene Foster to hook up here in Gretna Green and undergo an ‘unconventional’ marriage. Given the current state of British politics nothing would surprise us. When we visited Gretna we had a scone here in the Wee Big Shop. It’s a kind of tardis, hence the name. Interior view of the Wee Big Shop in Gretna GreenThe place is swarming with tourists, Chinese, American, Japanese, you name it. They are all here rushing around buying tat before getting back on their buses and heading off to buy more tat in Edinburgh.  Scones at the Wee Big Shop in Gretna Green

Runaway marriages

The café here is big as well and obviously caters for busloads all the time judging by the number of scones on display. The picture above is just a small selection. You are faced with a battery of different machines from which you know you can get tea or coffee in all its various forms but just no idea how to do it. Eventually some of the serving staff arrive to salvage the situation. Even for them it takes a while. Why not just serve the stuff in the first place? It would be so much easier and pleasanter. Scone at the Wee Big Shop in Gretna Green

It ensures hormonal balance and strengthens your body to recover from the strenuous cialis cialis uk exercises which facilitates recovery process. Medically this is levitra from canadian pharmacy known as Benzoylmethlecgonine. Apart from this, commander cialis choose a profession, which doesn’t require you to use any electronic mechanism or pumping bulb to create vacuum. It is advisable for tadalafil for sale a diabetic to consume more food of reduced quantity in lieu of few meals of great quantity. We eventually got to our table with our scone. No cream, unless you wanted the ubiquitous Rhodda’s Cornish yuk stuff. It was edible, that’s all we are saying. This whole place, which is supposed to give you the ultimate in romantic weddings, is entirely geared towards hordes of tourists. Although not a bad thing in itself, doesn’t seem particularly romantic to us.

It started because the law in England allowed parents to stop a wedding if either of the participants were under 21. Whereas in Scotland, they could get married without parental consent. Also, provided there were two witnesses anybody could conduct the ceremony. Usually the blacksmith. Gretna was the first place over the border so this where the youngsters would come for their “runaway marriages”. Wedding picture at the Wee Big Shop in Gretna Green

Strong and stable

As you can see, even though we are over 21, we tried out the blacksmith’s ceremony. Romantic or what? As far as we are concerned though this would be the last place on earth to get married unless you really, really, really had to. Oh yes, Theresa and Arlene really really really have to. It will not end well. Next week, as the promised “strong and stable” UK enters into EU Brexit negotiations looking like complete plonkers, we don’t imagine that will end well either. Interior view of the Wee Big Shop in Gretna GreenDG16 5EA          tel: 01461 339912           The Wee Big Shop

Scones, Uncategorized

Euston Station

This is not really a post. It does not contain a scone therefore it is disqualified. However, we did try to find one here at Euston station so we are writing it anyway simply on the basis that we tried. Plus it gives us a chance for a rant before the General Election tomorrow. We have spent the past five days in London visiting our grandchildren.

Normally when we are down here we try to have at least one scone for the enlightenment of our readers. Unfortunately, on day one I was struck down by the lurgy, food poisoning, Montezuma’s revenge, whatever you want to call it. All thoughts of scones, or indeed food of any kind, went straight out the window. Food intake for my entire stay consisted of nothing more than a couple of bits of toast. Some said I was even more miserable than usual. True, that’s how bad it was!

To compound matters I had five little toddler girls who seemed to think it was good fun to use my stomach as a sort of trampoline. Exactly why they thought my stomach looked bouncy I have no idea? Had they not been so utterly gorgeous it would have been unbearable.

London Bridge

Thoughts of politics went out the window as well though I did manage to tear myself away from my intense study of the minute imperfections in porcelain washhand basins when the horrific news of the London Bridge incident came through. Only a couple of miles away and more misery! For right thinking people these things are almost impossible to comprehend but we cannot help but think that the media has to get its act together when it comes to reporting these things. The perpetrators should be given as little publicity as possible. Surely the media can come up with an agreed strategy that does not feed the lunatics’ cause with 24/7 coverage.

Mind you, with a great big toddler in the White House making up policy by binge watching Fox News, that could be a bit of a stretch. We are beginning to see the world according to Rupert Murdoch … sad, very sad! Just read that a website called TrumpiLeaks has been set up for anti-Trump whistleblowers. Don’t think it is anything urological.

Thankfully, here in the UK, electioneering is drawing to a close. As usual everyone has promised the moon and the stars. Theresa May has promised to be strong and stable by being robotic, completely flaky and hiding from the public. The LibDems are probably going to do well in London because of their promise to rerun the EU referendum … but little else. At last, Labour has reared it’s head again. Although it is hardly a roar there are certain encouraging signs of life.

Scotland voting against Scotland?

In Scotland, uniquely in the world, we will probably vote to be governed by another country with mostly contrary interests to our own … heyho. Who knows why we are so utterly gutless as a nation? By the time we reached Euston station on our way home I was feeling vaguely human again. Not quite ready for scone tasting but that’s why I have a partner who can step into the breach in such emergencies. Unfortunately, in spite of its plethora of eateries and retail outlets Euston Station is completely scone free. We did try. Back home now and feeling much better. In spite of all the loving concern from others there is nothing quite like being home when you are under the weather. Apologies for the lack of scones. We promise to do better in future.

Now feeling well enough for tea and a scone. Though if mad May remains in power after tomorrow something much stronger might be called for.

Ordinary, Scones

Mabel Mackinlay Tearoom

You can probably tell that the above picture is not the outside of a tearoom. It is, however, a picture of Glasgow Royal Infirmary and inside is a tearoom which is close to our hearts. Pat used to work there on a voluntary basis. In order to explain that a little bit of background is required.

Dorcas Society

In 1862, Beatrice Clugston visited Glasgow Royal Infirmary and found some distressing scenes. It was before Florence Nightingale. Nurses had no training and little understanding of comfort, hygiene or infection. So she set up the Dorcas Society, named after Dorcas, in the Book of Acts who made clothes and did good deeds among the poor and sick. The Dorcas Society would organise three weeks holiday in Dunoon for convalescing patients and their families … those were the days! Photo of Mabel MacKinleyMabel Mackinlay joined the Society at the end of WW1 and soon saw the need for a cup of tea for the outpatients waiting to be seen at clinics.

The tearoom she set up is still going today and generates hundreds of thousands of pounds dedicated to patient welfare. Mabel ran the tearoom on a very strict basis until she retired aged 91. Every day they were on duty each volunteer, usually a doctor’s wife, had to supply a pan loaf made up into sandwiches, 20 cakes and 20 scones. And a clean pinny (apron).

Nowadays, because of the regulations around food handling, it has to be run by paid staff but it wasn’t that long ago that Pat was the Convenor of the Society and ran the clothing room. It provided clean clothing to patients being discharged. We had to be in the Infirmary anyway so we took a wee nostalgia trip to the tearoom. It was late in the day however, just as they were closing, so we were not sure if we would get anything never mind a scone. View of the Mabel MacKinley tearoom of Glasgow Royal Infirmary

Luck was with us however and we just managed to squeeze one in at closing time. To be honest, the scones were not too bad but not too great either. We would urge you though, if you ever find ya scone in the Mabel MacKinley tearoom of Glasgow Royal Infirmaryourself in Glasgow Royal to come here just to buy a scone if nothing else to support the good work of the Dorcas Society. It would make Mabel very proud.

Women of principle

With the general election only about a week away the squabbling and vitriol is not particularly edifying. The Prime Minister’s refusal to debate with other leaders, even though it would not have achieved much, is particularly cowardly. Not the sort of thing that either Beatrice or Mabel would have stood for. They were women of real principle and courage!

G31 2ES     Mabel’s

Ordinary, Scones

Museum of Lead Mining

Lochnell Mine sign at WanlockheadOkay, here’s the question – where would you go if you wanted to get your hands on some gold? You know, just you and your shovel. South Africa, Australia, North America? These are all good bets but where would you go if you wanted to get your hands on some of the purest gold in the world? None of that rubbish stuff? What about Wanlockhead, just south of Glasgow?

Inside the Lochnell Mine at Wanlockhead
inside the Lochnell mine
Old photo of miners at Wanlockhead
Hardy souls

 

Gold at 22.8 carats was mined here for years along with silver, copper and lead. In fact, people still come here to try their hand at panning for gold. If you find it, it’s yours.  The principle metal mined here was, of course, lead, and considering the village is located in the Leadhills perhaps that’s not too surprising.

On our visit they took us to the furthest extremity of the mine then switched the lights off and lit a candle to let us see what the working conditions were like back in the day. It’s dark, very dark! What’s more, the miners had to buy their own candles which, at that time, were very expensive. However, if you were holding a giant chisel all day while your colleague belted it with a sledge hammer we don’t think you would have thought twice about buying the brightest candle possible. Even if it cost a lot of money. They just placed the candle in the rim of their hats. Doesn’t bear thinking about! Railway sign at Wanlockhead

What else is Wanlockhead famous for? Well it is the highest village in Scotland and maybe even the UK. A position hotly disputed by the village of Flash in Staffordshire which also claims the title. But we think that they are just being a bit … flash! Whichever proves to be true we think the Museum of Lead Mining may well be the location of the highest scone in the land. Or at least that is what we are claiming until someone proves otherwise.

Presentational problems

The village is so high that when we were there it was completely enveloped in cloud making it seem a wee bit spooky and sombre. The approach to the tearoom didn’t do anything to lift the spirits but once inside it was a different story. It was bright with cheery welcoming staff … and scones. Interior view of the visitor centre at WanlockheadWe’ve had soft scones, hard scones, fruit scones, cheese scones, treacle scones, woeful scones and topscones but this scone was going to be the highest. Was it going to be any good though?

Perhaps they thought the altitude might have weakened us

 

As it turned out they had all been baked earlier in the day by a lovely young waitress called Leagh. It always pleases us when young folk just attempt making any kind of scone. Never mind a fine collection of plain, fruit and cheese ones. Well Leagh’s scones were very good indeed.A scone at the visitor centre at Wanlockhead We briefly considered a topscone award but reluctantly decided that some presentational problems and a lack of local butter and jam just let it down … shame! An all too common problem where the management cannot be bothered to source local produce.

Silly academics

In fact, in our opinion, the academics have had far too much say in the running of this entire museum. It has a very complicated pricing structure and the whole place seems to be held in a kind of straightjacket of rules and regulations.

Miners Library

There’s the Miner’s Library. The second oldest subscription library in the world. You can look at manikins reading books but you are not allowed to do the same. No one is allowed near the books. Exterior view of the miners library at WanlockheadAlso the museum sounds more like a spaceship with all its air conditioning and dehumidifiers. These are not particularly rare books and it has had a multifunctional past. It has survived centuries of village meetings, birthday parties and generally enlightening the minds of miner’s children. Now it has been preserved in such a way as to render it completely useless. Really stupid!

No more miners

Almost as stupid as the result of the general election in a few weeks time  which looks increasing like it will go to the Conservatives. Miners will be having to buy their own candles again! Sorry, of course that won’t be necessary, miners were done away with years ago … by the Tories.

Interior view of the miners library at Wanlockhead
The library set up in 1756 by miners to educate their children.

Don’t let our minor irritations with some aspects of this museum deter you from visiting. It is fascinating and very much worth a visit … and almost a topscone!

ML12 6UT           tel: 01659 74387         Lead Mining Museum

Ordinary, Scones

Champagne Central

“Typical” we can hear you all say “spend their lives eating scones and sipping champagne!” Now hold on a minute!! Given that we travel the country looking for good scones on your behalf it is inevitable, from time to time, that we end up in places like this. Admittedly though, when it comes to hedonism, we do it rather well. In fact we can’t get enough of it if, truth be known.

View of stairwell chandelier at Grand Central Hotel, Glasgow
Stairwell chandelier over four floors

 

To be honest though, we just happened to be in Central Station catching a train and had some time to spare. And realising that we had not been in this hotel, which forms part of the station, for quite some time we thought we would pop in and see what the scones were like. On your behalf …okay? Opened in 1883 it is very much the grand dame of Glasgow hotels. It has played host to many many stars … Jimmy Durante, Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Charlie Chaplin, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones to name but a few.

Trigger

Surely, best of all though was Trigger, Roy Roger’s horse who spent a night in the hotel’s most expensive room, the bridal suite, in 1954. The suite had to be emptied of furniture and straw laid out on the floor. Trigger could not fit in any of the lifts and had to be walked up four flights of stairs. Now that’s celebrity! Logo for Champagne Central at Grand Central Hotel, Glasgow

Also, in 1927 the world’s first long-distance television pictures were transmitted to this hotel from London by John Logie Baird. Of course, you will all remember our report on the world’s first demonstration of the new TV technology by Baird a year earlier at Johstones Bar Bistro in Falkirk, albeit just between two rooms. We could go on but you are getting impatient for scone news.View of Champagne Central bar at Grand Central Hotel, Glasgow

Chandeliers, ionic pillars and marble floors pander to our hedonistic tendencies so when we arrived at Champagne Central we felt quite at home. View of Champagne Central lounge at Grand Central Hotel, Glasgow

All good, except…

Mind you, the lighting is such that you could have difficulty finding your scones never mind eating them. We had not long had lunch and the scones come as a brace. They had no difficulty, however, with us having one cream tea between us. View of scones at Grand Central Hotel, GlasgowPresentation was nice … crisp white napkins, generous pots of tea and two bits of shortbread protruding from the clotted cream?? Unfortunately the jam was one of the little Tiptree pots but hey, after a few glasses of champagne, who cares. Just kidding about the champagne? Everything was lovely … apart from the scones. Difficult to describe what was wrong really but the word that comes to mind is ‘flabby’. Soft but not in a particularly nice way. We ate them however and enjoyed the atmosphere looking down onto the bustling concourse of Central Station.

The rushing crowds reminding us that, only yesterday, at the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester there must have been just such a scene before that horrific bomb was detonated. Sitting in such cossetted surroundings, even with flabby scones, we do feel extremely fortunate.

G1 3SF       tel: 0141 240 3700        Grand Central Hotel

Scones, Top

Brodies of Moffat

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Brodies is a restaurant, come wine bar, come gin bar, come coffee house. And, for us, a greatInternal view of Brodies of Moffat discovery. It is situated in lovely Moffat, an old spa town with a huge main street and lots of elegant Victorian buildings. We’re not here to admire the architecture however. Rather we are on a sort of pilgrimage. Much like the one we did some time ago trying to track down a Polynesian Princess in Buckhaven. Again, the catalyst was one of our favourite authors, R B Cunninghame Graham.

This time it was his short story “Beattock for Moffat”. In it he tells the tale, set around 1920, of Andra, and his attempt to get back from London to his farm in Moffat, to die. His brother, Jock, had somewhat reluctantly left tending his turnips to go and collect his brother.  Accompanied by Andra’s cockney wife Jean, the reader is treated to a trip through a moonlit sleeping England on the night train from Euston.

Conversation between the three characters is sparse. Andra is very frail, his sole aim is to reach Moffat while he still has a breath in his body. Jean, in her English way, consoles her husband. “Why yuss, in eight days at Moffat, you’ll be as ‘earty as you ever was. Yuss, you will,  you take my word.” Whereas Jock, in the typically Scottish way, tells Andra “ye ken, we’ve got a brand new hearse outby, sort of Epescopalian lookin’ we gless a’ round, so’s ye can see the kist“. The dying man takes more comfort from Jock’s attempts than his wife’s.

Beattock for Moffat

Eventually they arrive at Beattock, the nearest station to Moffat, where they carry Andra to the platform. When the train doors are banged shut the guard shouts “Beattock, Beatock for Moffat“. Andra smiled and whispered faintly in his brother’s ear “Aye, Beattock – for Moffat?” … and died. Today the trains don’t stop at Beattock but we had heard that there was a campaign underway to have it reopened so we thought we should go and have a look at where Andra spent his last mortal moments. We had not bargained on the fact that the station had long since been demolished and even the locals were unsure where it had once been located. It was a sorry sight when we eventually found it. Tucked away down a narrow lane behind an old blacksmith’s smiddy. Walking around, we did feel closer to Andra and his struggle.

Site of Beattock railway station
Where Beattock station used to be on the left and the platform now completely overgrown.
Last journey

Those of you who have spent time looking for non-existent railway stations will know that it is not long before a cuppa and a scone is required. We traced Andra’s last journey from Beattock over the couple of miles to Moffat and that’s how we ended up here at Brodies. Internal view of Brodies of Moffat

Back to the neeps

It really is a great venue for Moffat. Some of the other eateries in town can look a wee bit tired. This one, however, has a beautifully appointed  restaurant and a very comfortable lounge area. Before long we had the last two fruit scones resplendent in front of us. Complete with nice crockery and generous portions of jam and cream. The butter came in a butter dish, no prepackaged stuff here! Someone must have told them how we like our scones because they were just right. Crunchy on the outside and beautifully soft in the middle … but you all know that by now! We ate them thinking of Andra’s hurl in the new hearse and wondering if Jock went straight back to his turnips.

We are always impressed by Cunninghame Graham’s powers of observation. It was him, after all, who noted. “The enemies of Scottish Independence lie not with the English, a kind and generous people, but with those in Scotland without imagination”. Logo for Brodies of MoffatDG10 9EB     tel: 01683 222870      Brodies

ps The man who enabled Amazon to deliver parcels on time and for the world in general to make appointments and produce reliable timetables, came from Moffat. We visited his grave. Oddly enough the church yard has a beautifully smooth tarmacadam path leading through the headstones but not to the one belonging to its inventor, John MacAdam. You have to tramp through a lot of long wet grass to get to it. He died here in 1836.Gravestone of John McAdam in Moffat church yard

Scones

The Riverside Café

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In 1896 when the tall ship, Glenlee, seen here on the right of the title picture, was launched from the Bay Shipyard in Port Glasgow this part of the Clyde was buzzing with heavy industry … Glasgow was building railway engines and mighty ocean liners for the rest of the world. Hard to believe nowadays when the river banks are mostly lined with nothing more than elegant apartments. ‘Riverside living’ they call it. Canada poster at Glasgow Riverside MuseumView of cafe at Glasgow Riverside MuseumThe racket of riveters at work has given way to relative peace and quiet, and rather than the skyline being dominated by huge cranes, today it is ultra modern buildings like the Armadillo, the SEC Hydro, the Glasgow Tower and this one … the Riverside. Or to give it its full name, the Riverside Museum of Transport and Travel.

For years we have been saying that we should visit but you know how it is. Difficult to find the time. We wish we could say that this visit was caused by lofty cultural and educational reasons. It was actually much more prosaic, however. Our car was being serviced at a nearby garage and they offered to drop us here while we waited. The spectacular design by Iraqui born architect Zaha Hadid, is supposed to symbolize  the dynamic relationship between Glasgow and the river Clyde – whatever! When it opened in 2011 the Glenlee, which had been a training ship for the Spanish navy, was moored here and is now part of the museum experience.Internal view of Glasgow Riverside Museum

True Glasgow style

Inside the main building there is a dazzling array of transport memorabilia. Whole streets of the Victorian age have been lovingly recreated. Internal view of Launch of the Queen Mary exhibit at the Glasgow RiversideOne exhibit reminded us that the weather wasn’t any better in 1934 at the launch of the Queen Mary, not that we should  be complaining, we haven’t had a drop of rain for weeks. When the Glenlee was being launched in 1896 the Glasgow Subway was being opened. The only earlier subways at that time were in London and Budapest. Subway poster at Glasgow Riverside MuseumView of cafe at Glasgow Riverside Museum

Okay, you are getting impatient. Does the museum have scones? Well, enjoyable as all this nostalgic stuff was before long you do need a sit down and some sort of sustenance. We made our way to the Riverside Café. It’s at the front of the museum looking out onto the river and the Glenlee. It has a very high ceiling and the furnishings are pretty utilitarian. The slightly cavernous feel, however, is more than made up for by the friendliness of the staff.View of cafe at Glasgow Riverside Museum Again, in true Glasgow style … by the time we were finished the serving staff knew more about us than we knew about ourselves.

Again, we decided to have some lunch so decided to share the scone. Like the Butterchurn in our previous post, it did not look exactly mouth watering but heyho, our dedication to sconology knows no bounds. Sometimes in places like this where they say the scones are freshly baked we can tend to be a wee bit cynical. “Surely not”, we hear you gasp, “those two could never be cynical”! A scone at Glasgow Riverside MuseumView of cafe at Glasgow Riverside MuseumWell, our cynicism was confounded once again, it had been freshly baked and it was really good, no cream but a selection of prepacked jams and plenty butter. Not a topscone, but good effort!

Back to the good old days

The Riverside Museum is superb and we are not at all surprised  that many awards have come its way. It certainly gives you an insight into times gone by and makes you a bit nostalgic for the old days. It is perhaps worth remembering though. There were lots of things about that heavy industrial era that were not quite as rosy as we remember. None of the sparkling exhibits would actually have been like that in real life. They would all have been covered in a layer of soot for a start. And it probably would have been inadvisable to breathe the air in central Glasgow. Donald Trump wants to bring back the steel and coal mining industries to make America great again … really?External view of Glasgow Riverside Museum

G3 8RS          tel: 0141 287 2720              Riverside Museum

Scones, Top

Butterchurn Coffee House

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There are plenty of things that change as you get older but no one  ever mentioned to us that you start to run out of aunties. Between us we used to have loads of them but, sadly, now we only have two … and one of them lives here in Kirkintilloch. We are taking her out for lunch. Kirkie is a fair distance from our home town of Falkirk yet both towns are very much connected: a) the Forth & Clyde canal runs through both b) the Roman Antonine Wall runs through both and c) they both have an illustrious history in iron manufacturing.

The official guide

Aficianados of the world famous red telephone box know that almost all the K2 and K6 versions were made here in the Lion foundry and, of course, every single one of the limited edition K4s were made at Carron in Falkirk. For non-aficianados we have put together a handy guide which will hopefully help avoid any confusion. K2, K6 and K4 red telephone boxesAnyway, now that we have cleared that up, our aunt wanted to buy some plants for her garden so where better than Caulder’s Garden Centre right here in Kirkie. It’s also home to the Butterchurn Coffee House. Although we had been warned it was always busy we did not expect to be told that we would have to wait twenty minutes for a table .. and it’s not as if it is short of tables. It’s quite a big place. We were put on a waiting list.Internal view of the Butter Churn Coffee Shop, Kirkintilloch

True to their word, however, we went back later and within a couple of minutes we had a table. The serving staff, although rushed off their feet, were very friendly and welcoming in that uniquely Glasgow kind of way. You find yourself talking about the weather, children and the price of tea in China in the act of giving your order. We had ordered a scone but decided, since we were having other things, to share it three ways. A scone at the Butter Churn Coffee Shop, KirkintillochUnfortunately it appeared with all the other food so we had to look at it all the way through lunch. It did not look at all promising.

Lumpy bumpy cake

Well, you would think, with our intensive studies in sconology, that we would be able to spot a good scone at some distance. You would be wrong, it was excellent. What do we know? We like our scones to be a little bit crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle but this one wasn’t, it was all soft but with a lovely texture … delicious! Nice jam and whipped cream as well. They also do lumpy bumpy cake … don’t ask!

View from the Butter Churn Coffee Shop, Kirkintilloch
View with the Campsie Fells in the distance
Antis?

There have been other surprises recently! For us the biggest was how far the main stream media, including the ‘impartial’ BBC, went in distorting the facts about the local council elections. They managed to turn it, with just 20% of the vote, into a triumph for the Tories. Apparently the SNP are going to have to rethink their entire strategy and drop all thoughts of independence … eh? The clue is in the name? What actually happened was that the SNP, after 10 years in power, increased their vote and took control of all the major cities whereas the unionist vote decreased. It takes real skill to twist that into a disaster for independence but par for the course really. The Tories did increase their vote but only because Labour voters could not bring themselves to vote Labour and switched, unbelievably in Scotland, to Tory. Table decoration at the Butter Churn Coffee Shop, Kirkintilloch

In France, Emmanuel Macron has become President! Perhaps not that surprising, but surprising in that no one seemed to like either candidate, they just voted for what they saw as the lesser of two evils. What has happened to world politics. Everything is anti: anti-immigration, anti-EU, anti-globilisation, anti-this, anti-that? Our Kirkintilloch aunty is a wee treasure however. We had a great lunch and a surprise topscone. Apologies for the homophonics.Graphic for the Butter Churn Coffee Shop, KirkintillochG66 1QF                       tel: 0141 776 2304                         Butterchurn

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