Tag Archives: America

Scones, Uncategorized

The Coffee Club

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Why do you think you would find yourself in Bathgate on a cold winters day? By accident, of course … why else would you be in Bathgate?

Linlithgow Palace across the loch
Linlithgow Palace and a scaupless loch

We had started off with a walk round Linlithgow loch hoping to  catch sight of a scaup . Sometimes these relatively rare ducks make an appearance here. We did the first half of the walk with snow falling quite heavily and the second half in brilliant sunshine. Scottish weather at its very best! No scaups unfortunately but a really enjoyable walk.

Instead of going into Linlithgow for a coffee we thought we would visit a place called the Vu which involved a few miles of driving round the side of Cairnpapple Hill. We had been there a couple of years back and it was nice. Nowadays, however, it has turned into a wedding venue, no coffee, no scones, nothing. They told us to go another mile to Bathgate where there were lots of cafés and bars. Hence we found ourselves, by accident, in downtown Bathgate. Its a post-industrial town which is obviously still struggling with the effects of defunct coal mining. Also British Leyland’s demise in 1986 followed by Motorola’s closure in 2001 with the loss of over 3000 jobs.

In spite of the earlier claim there seemed to be almost no sconeries. This one, The Coffee Club, seemed to have little in the way of competition. Interior view of The Coffee Club in BathgateThe surroundings could only be described as ‘basic’ however we were warmly welcomed and you got the feeling that they would happily make you anything you wanted, even if it wasn’t on the menu. The Coffee Club, however, does not do local produce. Our scone appeared, ready sliced (what’s that all about), with English jam, Irish butter and a great dollop of scooshie cream from goodness knows where. In spite of all that the scone confounded our expectations by not being too bad, fairly light if a little short on fruit. I had seven sultanas in mine … okay,okay, I need to get a life! A scone at The Coffee Club in BathgateTopscone it was not but a commendable effort nevertheless.

The town nestles in the shadow of Cairnpapple Hill which, 5000 years ago, was home to the Beaker People. So called because of the shaped pots found in their graves. You cannot help but wonder what they would make of things if they were to make a return and gaze down on the world from their lofty hilltop. Obviously they would need an iPad or two to bring them up to speed but we think there would be some serious head scratching when they saw what supposedly educated people had made of things in the intervening five millennia.

Progress?

America tearing itself apart over Trump and religion. The EU (surely mankind’s greatest achievement in the last 100 years) tearing itself apart over populism. The UK tearing itself apart over Brexit. Perplexing, or what? But perhaps most astonishing of all for these wee Beakers would be to find that Scotland was being lorded over by a parliament five hundred miles away that doesn’t care a jot about it. As Lesley Riddoch puts it “if the UK Government can completely ignore Scottish democracy on a big issue like EU membership, does anyone seriously think Scottish interests will matter in any other policy decision reserved to Westminster?” ‘Reserved to Westminster’ means just about everything meaningful for Scotland … too much for even the most hard-nosed Beaker to stomach!

If a Beaker was to go into the Coffee Club they would probably think it hadn’t changed that much … joking. Many thanks to Bathgate and The Coffee Club for making us welcome.

EH48 1PD    tel: 01506 656352    The Coffee Club FB

foreign, Scones, Uncategorized

United Scones of America

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US sconesHooray,  our North American correspondents have been in touch … a photo of some American scones. Now we have to admit that we thought scones were a measure of a civilized, cultured society. So what on earth were they doing in the USA? The photo concentrates on Wegmans products (based in Rochester NY) which seems to be the Greggs of the US.

You would imagine that American scones would be slightly vulgar. At least three times the size of a good scone but these ones look fairly normal … though it’s quite hard to tell. If they haven’t gone ‘large’ then Wegmans, in typical American, ‘land of plenty’ style, certainly make up for it in variety. Maple walnut scones; organic cranberry scones; cinnamon scones; caramel toffee scones; chocolate chip scones; pumpkin scones; lemon poppy scones; coconut mac choc dip scones; orange cranberry scones; vanilla bean scones, to name but a few … phew!

At this point we would have liked to have launched into a diatribe about what a mess the US is in  and what a mess it makes of the whole world. However, we find the moral high ground at the moment, on this side of the pond, is not as nearly as high as it used to be. The UK cannot exactly stand up as a shining example of anything at the moment .. scones excepted. We have just got a new prime minister who absolutely nobody voted for and she has just announced her cabinet. What could possible go right? This morning we hear that Nice, where a large and much loved part of our family live, is in trouble.

Unbelievably, that confection called the Hotel Negresco, where we once spent a wonderful night of pampered luxury, has been converted into a makeshift hospital. It is catering for the numerous casualties of a terrorist atrocity. Can this be laid at the door of the US? We don’t know. However, the long awaited, detailed and forensic Chilcot Report, has exposed the US, ably assisted by the UK, as the bully boys of the world. So perhaps it can. When the US describes itself as the ‘land of plenty’, it’s just a pity it’s usually somebody else’s plenty. Many thanks to R&K for the photo, keep up the good work.

NY 14603-0844      Wegmans Food Market