Glen Lyon Tearoom

4 May 2017 billpaterson1@me.com 1 Comment

In order to explain our whereabouts for this scone you will have to bear with us while we explain a bit about the origins of photography. It will only take a minute … honest!

In 1837 Louis Daguerre produced a photograph using a piece of silver plated copper. It needed a half hour exposure but that was much faster than anything that had gone before. Tremendously exciting at the time. Within twenty years however the process was superceeded by the Wet Plate Collodion process. It used glass plates coated in a mixture of bromide, iodide and chloride and offered exposures of just a few minutes. To take a picture you first had to coat the glass plate, expose it in the camera while still wet, then process it before it dried. About ten minutes or so for each shot and all using highly dangerous chemicals! Anyway, believe it or not, today we had our picture taken using this process, courtesy of our friends Dave and Gill Hunt at Wildgrass Studios.

© bill paterson photography — Wildgrass Studios

Guinea pigs

Dave is experimenting with the Wet Plate Collodion process and we had volunteered to be guinea pigs. I started my photography career using 5×4 large format cameras but never with wet plates. I was fascinated to see the process in action. Talk about going back in time! Electricity wasn’t around when these processes were being used but thankfully, with modern electric lighting we did not have to sit still for long. Just long enough for Dave to remove the lens cap, flash, then replace it. Unfortunately, we did not see the finished articles because they all had be carefully dried overnight.

Photography at Wildgrass Studios near Killin — Pat waits to be shot while Dave prepares the plate .. developed plates washing

Simple explanation

Wildgrass Studio is near Killin so, after our photo session, we decided to hop over the lower slopes of Ben Lawers, on a great wee road that is only open in the summer, to Bridge of Balgie and the Glen Lyon tearoom. See, simple explanation … we were having our picture taken.
Pre-loaded

For the village of Bridge of Balgie, this place is the Post Office and the supermarket. Though not quite a Tesco it has all the staples needed if you find yourself snowed in. It also has a good reputation as a tearoom and for its scones. There was one big problem though. From the photograph, those of you who are aware of our proclivities, can probably tell that they did not meet with our overwhelming approval. We tend to like to decide for ourselves how much jam and cream to put on our scones. Presumably it is done to be helpful but it would be soooo much better if everything was served separately. What made it even more annoying was that the scones themselves were excellent. Maybe even topscones if Pat had not had to scrape off most of the topping. I, on the other hand, ate the lot!

The Glen Lyon tearoom is a great spot though. They even roast their own coffee. If they could just serve the scones correctly it would be perfect. Just west of Bridge of Balgie lies the magnificent sparkling white Meggernie Castle, former home to Captain Robert Campbell who led the government troops at the Massacre of Glencoe. The castle is said to be haunted by some really horrible ghosts. With both of us being of a McDonald persuasion, all we can say is, “bloody well serves them right”!

Half a brain

We see that Theresa May has given away her EU negotiating strategy by promising to be “a bloody difficult woman” … does she not realise that anyone with half a brain can be ‘bloody difficult’ and that her counterparts in the EU now know that they are dealing with someone with only half a brain … but they probably knew that anyway.

View from the Glenlyon tearoom, Bridge of Balgie — View from the tearoom

We won’t see the finished pictures from Wildgrass for some time yet. But, by the wonders of Photoshop, we can give you sneaky peek of what we look like floating around in a dish of water. Perhaps, if there is enough in the way of popular demand, we might let you see the finished article in a later post. Many thanks Dave for your endless patience and for what was an absolutely fascinating experience. Think I will be sticking with digital though.

PH15 2PP tel: 01887-866221 Glen Lyon Tearoom TA

english, Scones, Top

St Paul’s Hotel

1 May 2017 billpaterson1@me.com 1 Comment

What is now the elegant red sandstone St Paul’s Hotel started life as St Paul’s School, founded in 1509. Since then the school has occupied numerous locations. Currently it occupies a large site on the south side of the Thames near Hammersmith Bridge. Between 1884 and 1968, however, it was housed here on the other side of the river. Like Eton and Gordonstoun, St Paul’s was designed to populate the government, civil service, diplomatic service and the armed forces with men who could maintain the Empire, They were also expected to keep their parents in the manner to which they had become accustomed. And, of course, keep the riffraff in their rightful place. Amongst its alumni are Samuel Pepys and George Osborne. Quite why they would admit to someone whose main achievement, as Chancellor of the Exchequer, was to double the national debt to £1.7 trillion, is quite beyond us.

SWALK

Luckily this rather beautiful building has found a renewed sense of purpose serving scones to the riffraff. Enter riffraff. The hotel has lots of beautiful rooms and, in what used to be the lecture theatre, General Eisenhower presented the final invasion plan to General Montgomery, King George VI and Winston Churchill just three weeks before the D-Day landings took place in 1944.

For our cream tea, however, we were ushered into the very comfortable Melody Restaurant & Bar. So called because the school provided the backdrop for the 1971 cult film about ‘puppy love’. The film is sometimes known as S.W.A.L.K (some of you will know what these letters stand for) and if you click on the poster and have an hour and forty three minutes to spare you can watch it. Though you would probably be better served just continuing to read this post.

Scone threesomes

The service in St Paul’s Hotel would best be described as ‘efficient’. Absolutely nothing wrong with it but maybe lacking a certain friendly personal touch that would make all the difference. Then again they can probably spot riffraff a mile off and are trained not to be overly effusive in their welcomes. They offer a range of teas and we elected, in true adventurous style, for Indian breakfast rather than English. Quite a good choice as it turned out. The presentation of the scones was as you would expect in such a place. Nice bowls of jam and cream, crisp linen napkins etc. The scones come in threes. Okay they’re quite small, and although some of them could never be described as ‘beautifully formed’, they were delicious … nicely warmed, crunchy on the outside with super soft centres, topped off with a light dusting of icing sugar. Fab … topscone!

Meeting in the forest

You cannot turn your back for a second! While we’ve been away Theresa May has ‘done’ Scotland on her “strong and stable – I am the one” general election tour of what she doubtless regards as ‘the provinces’. Lets face it the Tories see Scotland simply as a place to shoot grouse and store nuclear missiles. Oh, and a source of funding for all their fancy London projects. She really got down and dirty with the locals … not! Her only appearance was in a village hall in a forest near to that well known Labour stronghold of Crathes in Aberdeenshire. It had been surreptitiously booked for a children’s party. No shortage of balloons then? It is hard to imagine anything more pathetic. Okay, okay, George Osborne, but at least he has managed to get another job he knows nothing about, as editor of the Evening Standard?

W14 0QL tel: 020 8846 9119 St Paul’s

Ordinary, Scones

Callendar House Tearoom 2

15 April 2017 billpaterson1@me.com 1 Comment

In our original post, almost two years ago, we gave Callendar House a bit of a hard time. We appealed to Falkirk Community Council to pull their socks up and provide something a little better. Well … we got a tip off in the form of this photo from our Trossachs correspondents, remember them? They are mostly dormant in winter but the fresh spring air has obviously stirred them and they sent this picture from a recent visit. They also reported an improvement in the scones! So this is Callendar House Tearoom 2. Philosophically the blackboard message gets right to the heart of everything. Perhaps another visit was required.

Stolen decanters

A slight aside. Because my dad worked for Callendar Estate, when the contents of the house were been auctioned off in 1963, I, as a mere youth, was given the task of patrolling one of the floors, which included Mary Queen of Scots bedroom, to ensure that nothing was stolen. Didn’t someone pinch a full set of crystal decanters and glasses from her room … arrgghh! As far as I can remember I still got paid! The marriage agreement between Mary and the French Dauphin, Francis, which provided that Scotland and France should eventually be united as one kingdom, was signed here. Mary was fifteen and Francis fourteen when they were married in the cathedral of Notre Dame, Paris. The rest, as they say, is history. Interesting to speculate though on what things would be like now if Scotland had united with France rather than England.

Inappropriate furnishing

The tearoom is housed in a beautiful old wood paneled room with ornate gilded cornicing. The publicity says “the newly refurbished Callendar House Tearoom offers a bright and airy café experience” … and it does. It also has nice views from the tall windows onto the expansive lawns and gardens. The refurbishment however has involved replacing all the tables and chairs we complained about last time with equally modern featureless items which, although better, are still slightly incongruous. For such a grand setting, more appropriate Victoriana could easily have been purchase from auctions at a fraction of the cost. A lost opportunity! We have got to hand it to the staff however who have to work one of the most inefficient systems known to man. The kitchen is miles away, the cakes and pastries are at the furthest away point from the kitchen and the till is half way in between. They have to walk many unnecessary miles every day. But they seem to do so happily, well done them!

What’s with all this moaning we hear you say? Exactly, let’s get on to the scones. Our correspondents turned out to be absolutely correct, they were much improved, very good even. Not quite topscone but close. Again no local produce, the jam was the ubiquitous Tiptree variety and the butter was completely anonymous. Heyho the overall experience was much better than last time … small steps. Thanks to our Trossachs correspondents for the heads-up!

Policies?

Just started getting our Council Election bumf through the door. Our sitting Tory counciller has a large fancy pamphlet completely devoid of policies except ” SNP bad” … probably all you can say if you can’t think of anything good to say about your own party! FK1 1YR tel: 01324 503770 Callendar House

Ordinary, Scones

Rankin’s Café

11 April 2017 billpaterson1@me.com 5 Comments

Today we are in North Queensferry gazing up at the world famous Forth Rail Bridge. We don’t usually start with a quiz however this is an exception. The bridge was opened in 1890 but how many rivets do you think were used in its construction: a) 6.5 million b) the same number as the number of grains in a handful of sand c) the same number as the number of currants in a Rankin’s Café fruit scone. The answer of course is (a) but if you said (c) then you would not have been too far out. More of that later!

Town planners

In 1068, King Malcolm III of Scotland’s wife Margaret, decreed that a crossing should be established here for the benefit of pilgrims traveling to St Andrews. She used it herself for the last time when her body was carried from Edinburgh to Dunfermline. Scotland’s capital at the time, for burial. Thenceforth it became known as the Queen’s Ferry. The last ferry landing here was in 1964 when the Forth Road Bridge was opened. Today North Queensferry is very much the poor relation of its more glamorous sister, South Queensferry, on the opposite side of the river. Architecturally it is a peculiar mix of quite pretty historic buildings from the 17th and 18th centuries and incredible monstrosities from the 1960s. Town planners have much to answer for here.

Hobson’s choice

This is the first time we have ever visited. The only reason we are here at all is to see the progress on the new Queensferry Crossing, due for completion later this year. There’s not a lot in the town apart from a Deep Sea World which we were keen to avoid. We never found a shop of any kind though there must be one somewhere, and Rankin’s seems to be the only café. Hobson’s choice for the weary traveler. Not a bad wee place though.

Exterior view of Rankine's Café, North Queensferry — The Rail Bridge on the left and Rankin’s on the right.

The owner, Derek Rankin, prides himself on his coffee. He even produces barista classes for the uninitiated … but what about his scones? Well, rivets come to mind again because he puts a lot of fruit in his fruit scones. Now, call us old fusspots if you like but we think that the fruit should be mixed into the scone mixture so that it is evenly distributed and held in suspension throughout the scone. Presumably Derek doesn’t bother with all that stirring business. There is so much fruit it is literally falling out of the scone onto the plate. The scones themselves were just the right size and actually pretty good …. just too much fruit. It kind of got in the way of the scone. The coffee was great though and all in all we enjoyed our visit.

False promises

This town is also home to the former Labour Prime Minister, Gordon Brown. Or Big Gordie as he is often referred to. Since hardly anyone in Scotland believes anything the Tories say, Big Gordie is usually wheeled out on their behalf as the believable side of unionism. A kind of glove puppet. With the threat of another Scottish independence referendum looming, we can reasonably expect him to stir again from his North Queensferry lair and go lumbering round the country delivering all sorts of impossible inducements to preserve the Union. Considering that everything he promised in the 2014 independence referendum came to naught it will be interesting to see if people will be taken in again by whatever he dreams up this time.

Lastly, in what we thought was a great idea, the town in 2000, made a Millenium Resolution. Preserved for posterity in the form of a bronze plaque looking out onto the river. It reads:

Let there be respect for the earth
Peace for its people
Love in our lives
Delight in the good
Forgiveness for past wrongs
And from now on, a new start

Nice one North Queensferry … but what are the chances?

KY11 1JG tel: 01383 616313 Rankin’s Café

Ordinary, Scones, self-service

The Beatson Cancer Centre

4 April 2017 billpaterson1@me.com 2 Comments

This scone is from the The Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre. Thankfully, it is renowned for things other than baking! If you just happen to be here however and a scone confronts you, what are you supposed to do? Obviously no one ever wants to contract this disease. If you have managed to get through life without being touched by cancer in some way, then you are a very fortunate person indeed. The Beatson used to be part of our working lives but this particular state-of-the-art building was just opening as we retired and, of course, we never expected to be back.

Bust of Sir George Beatson — Sir George Beatson

Someone near and dear to us is going to need the services of this place for the foreseeable future however, so suddenly it has become more familiar than ever. Suffice to say it is a fabulous facility which works like a well oiled machine. Belying all the scaremongering headlines about NHS Scotland. Best of all, it is a happy place. It is named in memory of Sir George Beatson who, although born in Sri Lanka in 1848, was brought up in Campbeltown. He ended up ended up specialising in the treatment of cancer in Glasgow until his death in 1933.

Cha cha cha

As well as being a highly skilled physician we think Sir George must have been an optimist. Someone once described an optimist as “someone who figures that taking a step backward after taking a step forward is not a disaster; it’s more like a cha-cha”. That sentiment pretty well sums up the feeling you get when you visit the building that now bears his name. Not the sort of place you would necessarily seek out for a scone however and we are certainly not advocating that you do … but since we are here!

Reception area at the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre — Reception area

Volunteers

There is a franchise café in the reception area but we tend to use another one on a lower floor which is run by volunteers. It is self service but no young whippersnappers here asking if you want to ‘go large’? You get the impression that the staff have either had cancer themselves or have known someone who has. Of course, they were all smiling and can’t do enough to help. There are probably more staff than would be required by a profit seeking enterprise but you just know that any profits generated here are not going very far. There is a good range of food on offer but, predictable as always, our eyes were on the scones.

We got them all wrapped up in individual cellophane packets on paper plates together with the usual little packs of butter and jam. Coffee came in paper cups and the knives and forks were plastic but who cares in a place like this? It was all good and we will certainly be supporting them on our return visits over the coming years.

Doctors in a Brexit world

What cynical carping political comment are they going to make in a place like this, we hear you ask? Only that the doctor we met was fabulous. She oozed positivity and optimism from ever pore of her being and was an absolute joy to speak to. Working at the Beatson for over four years she made us feel very happy. She was from Seville. We asked her what would happen to her in the brave new world of Brexit … “I have no idea” she replied cheerily. If only there had been some words of comfort we could have offered in return!

G12 0YN tel: 0141 301 7000 The Beatson Cancer Centre

Ordinary, Scones

Great Western Auctions

25 March 2017 billpaterson1@me.com 1 Comment

Today we are talking antiques … no, not us!! We are talking about the kind that you find in places like this! If you ever have the dubious pleasure of watching daytime television you will no doubt have come across programs like the Antiques Road Trip, Flog It, Bargain Hunt and Cash in the Attic. Indeed, you would be hard pushed to avoid them. Sometimes we wonder what the BBC would do without such programs to fill the day. One of the stars of these shows is Anita Manning and this place, Great Western Auctions in Glasgow, is where she hails from. Topically, it might be better called La La Land because she runs it together with her daughter Lala.

Bargains

We have been known to like a good rummage so we are not exactly strangers here. We are not antique experts by any stretch of the imagination. Going round these places however is good fun and lets you see all the things you never knew you wanted. Potentially a dangerous and expensive thing to do! Of course, you can also get a real bargain if you are there at the right time. Getting a bargain, of course, generally means that you were the only one bidding which, in turn, tells you a lot about the item’s desirability.

George Wylie handbag at Great Western Auctions, Glasgow — George Wyllie handbag

Today we were in Glasgow on an errand. So we decided to pop in to Great Western Auctions just to see if there was anything we didn’t need. There are always things of interest in any auction so the trick, if you are not a dealer, is to curb your own desires. For instance, in this auction there was a handbag by the artist George Wyllie. I was tempted to buy it for Pat simply because it would have been lighter than her normal one. In the downstairs area there is a small café where weary rummagers can get a little sustenance.

It is run by a lovely retired lady who does this part time café business. As she says cheerily, “just to keep me off street corners”. When the auctions are on she gets up at 5am to bake everything for the coming day … including the scones. It’s a no-frills no-nonsense kind of place.

Stand up scones

Since we were feeling a little bit peckish we decide to have a bacon roll each and share a scone. She asked if we wanted butter and jam on the scone – we didn’t even bother asking about cream, and then she made up the scone for us. Not behaviour we would normally condone but, since there is only one small table to sit at, it probably makes sense. Most customers just have to stand. Assembling a scone, standing up with a cupful of hot coffee in the other hand is never easy.

Anyway we got a seat at the table and started on our rolls which were absolutely fantastic. For some reason we did not have high expectations for the scone but it turned out to be very good too. In fact, it would almost have made topscone were it not for some presentational issues – paper cups, no plates etc. But, hey, they are not trying to impress here, they are just trying to provide some quick bites for hungry bidders who always have one eye on the tv screens following the auction anyway.

Moorcroft plate at Great Western Auctions, Glasgow — A Moorcroft plate

We feel that an accusation of ‘presentational issues’ could be levelled at the media these days. Three days later, they are still going on incessantly about the Westminster Bridge tragedy. Elevating it to a status which it surely does not deserve. If they treated it as a crime perpetrated by someone of deranged mind rather than a ‘terrorist act’ we would not be giving actual terrorists the oxygen of publicity they crave so much.

Didn’t get the handbag, it eventually went for about £100, sorry Pat!

G14 9UY tel: 0141 954 1500 Great Western

Ordinary, Scones

Mona’s of Muckhart

23 March 2017 billpaterson1@me.com 3 Comments

We are very familiar with Westminster Bridge so our thoughts go out to all those caught up in yesterday’s tragedy. A kind of re-enactment of the horrific events in Nice which are still very fresh in our memories. In spite of our frequent moaning about Westminster we have to hand it to all the MPs who seem to have responded admirably. At the end of the day it’s virtually impossible to protect against religious zealots whose mindset is totally irrational. It is important however that the Palace of Westminster, as far as possible, remains a public place.

Anyway the village of Muckhart is about as far away from such events as it is possible to get. A sleepy little corner of Clackmannanshire in what is known as the ‘hillfoots’ of the Ochil Hills. It actually consists of two small adjacent villages – Yetts of Muckhart and Pool of Muckhart. The ‘Muckhart’ bit seems to refer to the surrounding fields being used for pig farming at some time in the past.

What happens in Muckhart? Well, not a lot. It does have a 27 hole golf course. Also a nice wee pub whose doorstep is exactly the same height above sea level as the Wallace Monument. Not a lot of people know that! Today however we are in Mona’s in Pool of Muckhart on that never ending quest for topscones.

What’s in a name?

It is difficult for someone of our age to utter the name “Mona” without getting an immediate rush of nostalgia for the Rolling Stones and their Bo Diddley track of that name. Don’t worry if you’re under sixty, it’s a generational thing. This Mona has nothing to do with the Stones but everything to do with the current owner’s grandmother. Her name was Mona Cram.

You enter into a nice little shop selling jewellery, knick knacks and lots of home baking before continuing through to the café area where we discovered a solitary plain scone with three cheese scones keeping it company. All they had left! I decided to put the plain one out of its misery leaving Pat no option but to go for cheese. The lady looking after us was a joy. You know how it is when you meet someone and you just know that nothing is going to be too much trouble. Even if it is, it will still be done cheerily and with a smile. She was one of those!

My scone arrived with generous pots of jam and cream and Pat’s had been nicely warmed up and came with butter. In other words, everything was just as it should be. We enjoyed them but Pat felt her cheese one was slightly doughy and try as I might I just couldn’t raise mine to topscone status either. The friendly atmosphere more than made up for any disappointment with the scones. Mona’s is definitely worth a visit. Here in Muckhart on a lovely day it is impossible to even begin to imagine what possesses someone to perpetrate the events of Westminster Bridge yesterday. Long may it remain so.

FK14 7JN tel: 01259 781322 Monas of Muckart

Ordinary, Scones

Pâtissier Maxime

20 March 2017 billpaterson1@me.com 1 Comment

Here we are in Edinburgh again and this time Pat is treating me to afternoon tea at Pâtissier Maxime … yeagh! In 1985 when Didier Meyer won “best Puff Pastry in France” it encouraged him to set up his first Pâtissier Maxime in Haguenau near Strasbourg. He probably never dreamed that one day there would be one here in the west end of the Scottish capital, but here it is! It specialises in macaroons, cakes, tarts and loads of other pastries but they also make their own ice cream and chocolate. Their window display is a glorious confection of colour and deliciousness. The burning question, of course was “what do the French know about afternoon tea” … it’s such a British institution. This very French establishment might struggle to pass muster?

Raised pinkies

Once seated it all started in a terribly civilised way with a glass of prosecco but when we saw the afternoon tea arriving we knew it was going to be a little bit different … in presentation at least. Normally afternoon tea comes with a fine china cake stand and equally fine china tea cups in order to engender the refined atmosphere necessary for genteel conversation. Raised pinkies and all that!

Not in Pâtissier Maxime. Here it comes on a huge heavy multi-tiered wooden construction covered in fake grass. Tea comes in thick coffee cups … sacrebleu, mon dieu, help ma bob!! Three girls at the next table got an even bigger one that the waitress could barely carry. At least there was a nod to British sensitivity with the savoury stuff at the bottom and the sweet delicate cakes up at the top. Once we had recovered from the initial shock we noticed that, as well as the copious amounts of food, there were several ‘fun’ items like easter eggs, bunny rabbits … and a sheep?? The sandwiches and cakes were all absolutely delicious of course but the crème de la crème for us was always going to be the scone.

Désolé monsieur!

They were big … much bigger than they should be for an afternoon tea so we were a bit nervous about tackling them. In the end we decided to share one between the two of us. If we had eaten one each we would never have got anywhere near the goodies on the top tier. They turned out to be quite good, a tad on the dry side perhaps but just toooo big. Fine on their own perhaps but not as part of a very generous afternoon tea. No topscone for Didier … désolé monsieur!

Everything else was excellent and the service we received was wonderful. So did Patissier Maxime pass muster? Well, yes and no! The food definitely did but the presentation, flamboyant and fun as it was, lacked that certain British reserve. But then they are all French in here, what did we expect? Scotland is not particularly noted for reserve, quite the opposite, but these days even Scottish reserve lies head and shoulders above the British variety.

Stiff upper lip

Can you imagine the furore if David Cameron had had to ask the EU for permission to hold a referendum on Brexit .. and then to be told “no, you can’t”! Nicola Sturgeon’s reserve is astounding in the face of the hypocrisy of Theresa May who, up until recently, was lecturing us on what a disaster Brexit would be for all nations of the UK. Margaret Thatcher, of all people, said “Scotland does not need a referendum on independence she just needs to send a majority of nationalist MPs to Westminster to have a mandate for independence”. She obviously never envisaged that happening, far less that 56 of the 59 Scottish MPs at Westminster would end up being nationalist. In these circumstances, Sturgeon’s patience, dignity and reserve could be used as a lesson to any self-respecting Englishman in stiffupperlipness.

Thanks Pat for treating me at Pâtissier Maxime. You know I’m worth it!

EH2 4PA tel: 0131 225 6066 Pâtissier Maxime

Ordinary, Scones, self-service

The Ground House

16 March 2017 billpaterson1@me.com 1 Comment

Although the City of Stirling is only about 11 miles away from our home we hardly ever go there. Edinburgh yes, Glasgow yes, Stirling no. Occasionally we might dip into one of the out-of-town retail parks but never into the city centre itself. Mostly we just drive past it on our way to somewhere else. It was recognising this sorry state of affairs that led us to purposely go from one of these retail parks into the centre, just to check it out.

On the face of it, of course, Stirling has a lot to offer – a castle, a big pointy monument on a hill that can be seen from miles around and lots of other historic attractions full of guides dressed in period costume just in case you happen to be totally devoid of imagination. When you get to the centre however it is pretty obvious that Stirling, like most other towns, has not escaped the effects of all these retail parks on the outskirts. It looks a wee bit sorry for itself. Finding a tearoom was surprisingly difficult. We ended up having to ask but were soon directed towards this place The Ground House Coffee Company on King Street.

It has a pretty relaxed vibe with lots of students sitting tapping away on laptops and checking their phones but .. hey, so were we! The system is that you are given a menu, you take a seat and decide what you want then you go to the counter and tell them what you want, then you go back to your seat and wait for them to bring it to you. Is this self service or not?

Jam dilemmas

We bucked the system and ordered before we sat down because they had a selection of plain, cherry, fruit and apple and cinnamon scones right there in front of us at the counter. No point in wasting time looking at menus. Pat opted for fruit and I thought I would try the apple and cinnamon for a bit of a change. They didn’t have cream (not even scooshie) and they didn’t tell us the scones were going to be toasted but when they arrived they had almost been char grilled. We are never sure if this is scone abuse or not? In a way it seems a bit unnecessary but in another way it can sometimes work out quite well. Maybe you should just be given the choice.

Turned out that The Ground House was a place of dilemmas. The ordering system; the toasted scones; the lack of cream; the question – do you have jam with an apple and cinnamon scone or do you treat it more like a savoury cheese scone?

Scones at the Ground House, Stirling — Toasted apple and cinammon to the left and fruit to the right … is this scone abuse?

If you know the answer to this last point please get in touch. I decided to try and answer it myself by having one half without jam and the other half with. The result was that I enjoyed both! If I had to stake my life on it I would probably plump for jam. However, it’s a very close run thing? We are constantly wrestling with such problems … stressful! At the end of the day we enjoyed the scones and the coffee was excellent. We would recommend The Ground House Coffee Company to anyone – their pizzas look great by the way!

Wee Wallace and Big Wallace

Just across the road from this café, on top of the entrance to the Atheneum building, there is a statue of William Wallace … known as the Wee Wallace, presumably to differentiate it from the somewhat larger one on top of the hill about a mile away. You can make out the Wee Wallace left of centre in our title photograph above. We wonder what he would have made of Theresa May’s announcement today that Scotland cannot have a second referendum. Because it would not be fair for the people to have to vote before they know the outcome of the Brexit negotiations.

These weasel words try to ignore the fact that Scotland voted to stay in the EU … end of! Hence the need for another referendum before the UK leaves. Or is she saying that the UK might not be leaving after all?? We don’t think so … Wee Wallace doesn’t think so either and the Big Wallace certainly doesn’t think so!

FK8 1AY tel: 01786 357606 The Ground House FB

Ordinary, Scones

The Park Bistro

14 March 2017 billpaterson1@me.com 1 Comment

In the year 1818 a man stood in a field somewhere between Edinburgh and Falkirk and drove his spade into the soil. He was starting to excavate a massive thirty one mile long ditch between the two towns which would eventually be filled with water. The Union Canal, as we know it today. Nowadays we have huge automated earth moving machines. It is quite extraordinary to think that this canal with all its tunnels and aqueducts had to be constructed entirely by hand. Millions of spadefuls mostly at the hands of hundreds of Highlanders and Irishmen.

The intention was to feed Edinburgh’s insatiable appetite for coal but today our own personal needs are much simpler because just a few yards from the canal’s towpath at Philpstoun is a converted cattle shed, the Park Bistro. We hoped it would satisfy our appetite for scones. For the many hundreds of people using the canal and the towpath The Park provides welcome respite from their exertions. Today, however, our exertions were pretty feeble since we arrived by car on our way home from Edinburgh.

Scooshie or whipped

Quite a while back we tried to get a scone here but they had just sold the last one so it was not to be. Today, however, there was no such problem … scones aplenty! When they arrived with our coffee we asked if there was any cream. The lady screwed her face up and said “only scooshie”. We screwed our faces up and said “no thanks”. However, just as we were about to cut into our first scone she suddenly reappeared placing a lovely bowl of whipped cream on our table … “stole it from the chef making a pavlova”! And, with a sly wink, she was off just as suddenly. Service, or what?

The coffee was good but the scones themselves were quite tricky to eat. They were so crumbly … much wiping and licking of fingers. Despite this we enjoyed our time at The Park … but not what we would describe as a topscone experience.

War of Devolution

Ajoining the café area is a wee room imaginatively called ‘The Wee Room’, which can be hired for private parties and in it hangs a tapestry showing Louis XIV defeating the Spanish near a canal in Bruges in the 1667 War of Devolution. Can’t think why it should be hanging here other than canals … oh, and devolution. A concept which seems in mortal danger these days given the Prime Minister’s attitude to Scotland and Brexit.

a tapestry at the Park Bistro, Linlithgow — Must have taken them ages to get ready for battle!

It’s a bit rich, when the Parliament in Edinburgh wants independence and almost every single Scottish MP at Westminster wants independence, for May to tell Sturgeon to ignore these ‘details’ and get on with the day job. Especially when May’s own domestic politics are in a much worse state than Scotland’s. Anyway, with the announcement yesterday of IndyRef2 we cannot expect the battle over the next few years to be conducted with anything like the aplomb of Louis XIV. It is going to be messy!

On a slightly different tack. These days most people would pay a premium to have a canal view but not so William Forbes of Callendar. When the Union Canal was being built he petitioned every MP at Westminster. He thought the canal might spoil the distant view from his mansion. The route was subsequently diverted through a half mile tunnel under Prospect Hill. It had to be hewn by hand from solid rock. Not a problem in those days when men were disposable. The great and the good will always look after each other. Looking at that tapestry again you kind of get the feeling they might take a break from battle for afternoon tea … and a scone!

EH49 6QY tel: 01506 846666 The Park

Scones, history and a dollop of politics

Glen Lyon Tearoom

Guinea pigs

Simple explanation

Wildgrass Studio is near Killin so, after our photo session, we decided to hop over the lower slopes of Ben Lawers, on a great wee road that is only open in the summer, to Bridge of Balgie and the Glen Lyon tearoom. See, simple explanation … we were having our picture taken.
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Half a brain

St Paul’s Hotel

SWALK

Scone threesomes

Meeting in the forest

Callendar House Tearoom 2

Stolen decanters

Inappropriate furnishing

Policies?

Rankin’s Café

Town planners

Hobson’s choice

False promises

The Beatson Cancer Centre

Cha cha cha

Volunteers

Doctors in a Brexit world

Great Western Auctions

Bargains

Stand up scones

Mona’s of Muckhart

What’s in a name?

Pâtissier Maxime

Raised pinkies

Désolé monsieur!

Stiff upper lip

The Ground House

Jam dilemmas

Wee Wallace and Big Wallace

The Park Bistro

Scooshie or whipped

War of Devolution

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

Guinea pigs

Simple explanation

Wildgrass Studio is near Killin so, after our photo session, we decided to hop over the lower slopes of Ben Lawers, on a great wee road that is only open in the summer, to Bridge of Balgie and the Glen Lyon tearoom. See, simple explanation … we were having our picture taken. Pre-loaded

Half a brain

SWALK

Scone threesomes

Meeting in the forest

Stolen decanters

Inappropriate furnishing

Policies?

Town planners

Hobson’s choice

False promises

Cha cha cha

Volunteers

Doctors in a Brexit world

Bargains

Stand up scones

What’s in a name?

Raised pinkies

Désolé monsieur!

Stiff upper lip

Jam dilemmas

Wee Wallace and Big Wallace

Scooshie or whipped

War of Devolution

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

Wildgrass Studio is near Killin so, after our photo session, we decided to hop over the lower slopes of Ben Lawers, on a great wee road that is only open in the summer, to Bridge of Balgie and the Glen Lyon tearoom. See, simple explanation … we were having our picture taken.
Pre-loaded