After a disappointing run of ‘poor’ or ‘no-show’ baking encounters at the Brenachoile then at Coffee on Wooer, we felt we had to do something to lift the air of despondency on planet scone. What better, to turn our fortunes around, than a visit to the offices of East Dunbartonshire Council. That’s what it was until it was recently transformed into the Boclair House Hotel. The red sandstone mansion was built in 1890 by the three sisters, Misses Buchanan, Margaret, Jane and Elizabeth. It was originallly known as the Buchanan Retreat for the exclusive use of the less well off members of the Buchanan clan.

Nowadays, it is definitely for the more well to do Buchanans .. and everybody else of course! So called because it sits on Boclair hill, it was a very familiar architectural sight for Pat and I, in our courting days, when we used to whiz to and fro on the back road between Falkirk and Drumchapel.

We can do swank!

After all these years we were fascinated to, at long last, see inside. Here with one of Pat’s aunts, afternoon tea was what we were aiming for and the rather sumptuous surrounds in Annabel’s Bar, scene of the action, only served to heighten our expectations even further. Surely we wouldn’t get a duff scone here?

Of course, we had to have a glass of champs to kick things off because if you are going to do swank then you have to do it properly. We can do swank with the best of them! Normally on such occasions the scones appear on the lower or middle tier of the cake stand. This time however they arrived majestically, in pride of place. Elevated above the sandwiches and cakes. It all looked scrummy … and it was! The scones were warm and slightly crunchy on the outside with a delightful soft interior. Together with the jam and cream … topscone, no doubt!

Trump and Farage

If you have ever harboured any lingering doubts about Nigel Farage maybe being one of the good guys, though we cannot imagine why you would, his recent appearance as one of Trump’s henchmen must surely clinch it for you. He’s an idiot! Probably a much richer idiot than he was before the event … but still an idiot! Having fled from the Brexit battlefield he now turns up in the US. Can we stop him returning to the UK? Apparently his wife is a foreigner so under our new regime that should be grounds enough?

G61 2TQ     tel: 0141 942 4278      Boclair House Hotel