Tag Archives: Cafe Circa

Cafe Circa revisited again

17 May 2024 billpaterson1@me.com 5 Comments

Today we became victims of the cashless society. Not here at Cafe Circa, but at a nearby Community Plant Sale in the village of Doune. We were never sure if the whole cashless thing would ever become the norm, however, when our local pub, which has barely changed in the last two hundred years, suddenly started taking cashless payments we knew it was either the end of the world as we knew it or the beginning of a slightly scary new one. The latter turned out to be the case. We should probably have guessed that an event like this wouldn’t take cards but we didn’t. They had a very long table laden with lots of sapling tomato plants … eight different varieties. Unfortunately, when they were setting up, all the labels had fallen out so nobody knew what was what. Buying would have been the tomato equivalent of Russian roulette … kind of!

We would have loved to have supported this event more but the upshot was that we were only able to buy as many plants as our rather meagre cash reserves allowed. And that didn’t include tomatoes! At the end of it all we didn’t even have enough cash left to buy a cup of tea and a scone in their makeshift cafe … disaster!

House full

Wall plaque at Cafe Circa in Doune — On the wall of the Antique Centre, the crest of Clan Stewart … a pelican feeding its young. Nearby Doune Castle was the seat of Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany. It’s the only pelican we’ve ever seen in Scotland but unfortunately doesn’t count among our birdwatching friends

Forced to retreat we ended up, just a hop skip and jump along the road at Cafe Circa in the Scottish Antique & Arts Centre. The first time we reviewed Cafe Circa was back in 2015 and then again in 2021. It was time for an update. Prior to our scone, however, we went all round the Antique Centre. They have loads and loads of stuff and even though cards weren’t a problem, we didn’t buy a thing. Don’t be fooled, rather than indicating that there was nothing worth buying it simply lets you know that our house is already full of stuff bought from here in the past.

It was a lovely day so we sat outside in the courtyard. It’s interesting to watch everyone leaving with their purchases. eager to get home and try them out in some pre-imagined spot in their houses. We soon had a scone as well as a couple of coffees. Service was good but a slight problem here was that we never saw the same person twice, It seemed to take four different servers to deal with our miniscule order … heyho! Don’t think we have ever awarded a topscone here and today was no exception, perfectly enjoyable but not quite up to the mark.

Eurovision

Society has changed in more than simply becoming cashless. We had the dubious “pleasure” of watching the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmo, Sweden. We are well aware of what Eurovision is so don’t really know why we watched it … just some sort of masochistic curiosity. The songs were almost all uniformly forgettable and often completely obscured by totally over-the-top presentation. The inclusion of Israel caused a few problems. Considering Russia wasn’t allowed to compete it’s difficult to see how the organisers managed to justify that decision. Heyho, it was pretty difficult to justify any of it really!

Apparently it was the first non-binary Eurovision. We weren’t sure what that meant but it all became clear when we looked it up. By comparison, a cashless society seemed really easy to understand. Anyway this year Switzerland won with a song by Nemo called The Code. Runner up was Croatia with Rim Tim Tagi Dim sung by Baby Lasagne.

Perhaps we are just getting old when we look back nostalgically at the likes of Pearl Carr and Teddy Johnson … and that was pretty awful. Don’t worry if you missed it!

FK16 6HG tel: 01786 841683 Cafe Circa

///tramps.cleansed.landscape

Ordinary, Scones

Cafe Circa revisited

13 December 2021 billpaterson1@me.com 5 Comments

It’s almost six years since we last reported from Cafe Circa. Have we really been doing this for that long?? Definitely confirms our state of mind?

Doune is not far from home so sometimes, if we have a few hours to spare, we come here to the Scottish Antiques & Arts Centre. It’s full of totally random stuff. This is definitely the place to come, to buy things you didn’t know you needed or even wanted. Today, for instance, we bought two coffee cans (one missing a saucer), a Venetian masquerade mask (don’t ask) and an 1893 book “The Tillyloss Scandal”. No idea what the book’s about but it sounds interesting. We’ll let you know!

Obviously, we don’t visit the cafe every time we are here. In the interests of expanding your sconological knowledge we would normally try and go somewhere else in the vicinity. At this time of year, however, the days are short and it was already starting to get dark as we entered. And, after six years, it needed to be re-reviewed anyway!

Nice and cosy in here though. It still occupies the same footprint it did six years ago but the decor has changed considerably! Instead of the usual COVID perspex space dividers they have voiles of thin translucent fabric that create quite a pleasing effect.

Recycling

There were many things we liked about the Cafe Circa scones. The service was great and the presentation with little pots of jam, cream and butter was excellent. We will never know why more restaurants don’t do this! The glass pots (probably recycled from the Tiptree jam you get everywhere) can just be washed out and refilled. A little extra work perhaps but much better for the planet. Unfortunately, the scones themselves (£3.50), although very good, didn’t quite make it as topscones … pity.

Cafe Circa, like everywhere else at this time of year, has their Christmas tree up and the place bedecked in an attempt to engender festive cheer. It’s usually full of people like us trying to figure out why they bought the stuff they’ve acquired a few minutes earlier. Elsewhere, however, Christmas cheer is in short supply. Omicron is on the rampage and has thrown Christmas into doubt yet again. England, at last, has followed the more sensible countries of the UK and reintroduced face masks, social distancing and may even go as far as vaccine pasports. Downing Street frowns on Christmas parties though they see to be okay with it all as long as they are termed “gatherings” or “business meetings”. Look out for mistletoe at future business meetings!!

FK16 6HG tel: 01786 841683 Cafe Circa FB

///anthems.ourselves.ordering

Ordinary, Scones

Café Circa Abernyte

3 May 2016 billpaterson1@me.com 3 Comments

It’s quite a while since we have been here. The lovely hamlet of Abernyte lies in the Sidlaw Hills just west of Dundee. According to its own historical society, Abernyte has never been visited by anyone famous and nothing of interest has ever happened here … quite an achievement for a village that’s been around for at least 800 years! Just along the road however there is Dunsinane Hill made famous by Shakespeare; “Macbeth shall never vanquished be, until Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill shall come against him.” At a tad over 1000ft many might think that the bard was prone to a bit of exaggeration but it does mean that Dunsinane Hill qualifies as a Marilyn (hill over 150m). You probably are more aware of the hills over 3000 feet which are called Munros. See the connection?

Something is happening

Anyway some things happen in Abernyte, the Scottish Antique & Arts Centre was established a few years back on the outskirts of the village and 2016 sees the opening of Abernyte Brewery .. so, actually it’s all happening here. We used to be regular visitors to this SAAC and it’s sister establishment in Doune. Whilst we still like rummaging around amongst antiques, other things have taken up our time lately. Rummaging time has been sorely limited … but not today. We never know what we are looking for but when we see it we will want it and it will probably be something we absolutely don’t need. That’s how these places work.

After some serious rummaging though you are slowly but surely drawn towards Cafe Circa, the restaurant at the centre of the Centre .. the smell of coffee becomes overpowering. The restaurant is a French/Scottish concern and has a reputation for good food. When we arrived however it was late in the day and there didn’t seem to be any staff around. I ended up having to go to the counter to find someone. After that we were looked after very well. Their head baker, Michelle Stewart, won an award last year for her efforts but would her scones survive critical examination? No problem, nicely presented and excellent texture. The only slight blot on their copy book was the fact that we were not offered cream … like some other people who came after us .. boo! These scones were teetering on the brink of a topscone award but eventually just fell short .. shame.

Anaesthetic for the masses

If nothing has ever happened in Abernyte it would appear that nothing happens anywhere else either, at least according to the Auntie Beeb. With huge anti-austerity marches, taking place across Europe and now the Nuit Debout (Up All Night) movement coming to the UK, you wonder why there is no mention from our public broadcaster. Maybe no time left after endless reporting of Wills and Kate’s jollies in former colonies. Maybe it does not suit the government’s Remain stance on the EU. The BBC is akin to an anaesthetic for the masses. Don’t be surprised if you get a fifteen minute news bulletin informing you that nothing has happened in Abernyte. They probably have a correspondent there just in case something does happen!

PH14 9SJ tel: 01828 686044 Cafe Circa

Useful link: things to do in Dundee

Ordinary

Café Circa Doune

17 May 2015 billpaterson1@me.com 1 Comment

Wondering what to do when the rain is thrashing it down outside but you just want to ‘get out’? You could do a lot worse than a visit to the Scottish Antique and Arts Centre on the outskirts of Doune. If you like a good rummage it will take quite a few hours to do the whole place justice. There are lots of different stands offering literally everything from a needle to an anchor. Thirsty work of course so it is just as well that there is a nice cafe area called Café Circa.

We ordered the obligatory scone and when it arrived our appetites were whetted by the presentation. Nice cups, cream in a fine china teacup, jam and butter in little pots, everything sprinkled with icing sugar. What’s not to like? Well, the scones actually. They were home baked but for some reason they just tasted like something was missing. Maybe it was salt because they seemed more like bread than scones. The baking had also been a bit overdone with the base especially being very hard and crunchy. The cream was scooshie, which is never a great option. Whatever the missing ingredient is, we hope they find it soon because otherwise this is a good place to visit.

There seems to be something missing in the North of England as well with over 12,000 (73%) people surveyed in the Liverpool Echo wanting to join Scotland in the event of it ever becoming independent. Can it be that what they are missing is a voice? The times just get stranger and stranger!