Tag Archives: Duke of Cumberland

The Riverside

17 June 2023 billpaterson1@me.com 9 Comments

We’re at the Riverside today because we are following Forth Valley Artbeat trail which is a kind of open house for local artists. It happens for one week every year. First we went to see Archie Scott at his woodturning studio in Bannockburn.We bought this beautiful little bowl which he had made out of rotten wood. Actually, it’s not as bad as it sounds. Once the tree has died fungi colonise the wood and extract nutrients from it, leaving behind dark lined patterns. The process is called spalting and our bowl is made of spalted beech wood. Archie was a lovely guy and spent ages with us explaining everything he does, it was absolutely fascinating

Harry

After our woodturning experience we carried on to Dunblane where there were more studios to visit. Before that, of course some lunch was called for and that’s how we ended up here at the Riverside. Originally it was the Stirling Arms built in1770. Robert Burns stayed here in 1787and wrote the poem ‘My Harry Was A Gallant Gay‘, It’s about HIghland Harry’s association with the local laird’s daughter, Jeannie Gordon. Nowadays, however, with Harry, Duke of Suffolk’s ongoing legal battles, we think the title might be problematic.

Pat and I usually share almost everything. Today however we are taking it a stage further and splitting everything three ways with one of our neighbours who had come with us. To stretch the tolerance of the Riverside even further we decided to do a three way split on two scones … their last fruit scone and a plain one. The staff were very understanding … everything we got came with three plates.

It was a very hot day so we sat outside on the balcony overlooking the the river, the Allan Water. Thank goodness there was a large canopy to provide shade.

The scones were quite big and came with jam and the ubiquitous Roddas Cornish clotted cream. They were very enjoyable but half way through I decided to top up my tea from the teapot. I forgot to use the strainer which was right in front of me and ended up with lots of tealeaves in my cup. Our neighbour immediately sprang into action offering to ‘read my leaves’. Goodness, we’ve been neighbours for over forty years and we had no idea she was into tasseography. Just when you thought you knew someone!

It’s all in the detail

Apparently, I am going on a long journey over water amongst many other things. She was having difficulty, however, with detail because the tealeaves were too big. Turns out the tea supplier also provides Riverside with our favourite coffee. We have reported the matter and they have promised to get scissors and cut each leaf in half. Perhaps it was fortuitous that more detail was not forthcoming. Anyway, although our scones were lovely they weren’t topscones. But if you are looking for somewhere to chill in lovely surroundings and with good food and good service, look no further than the Riverside.

Fun guys

A few yards further up the High Street from Riverside is Balhaldie House where Bonnie Prince Charlie stayed as he led his army south in his bid to regain the throne for his dad. Six months later the Duke of Cumberland was riding past Balhaldie in hot pursuit of the retreating Prince. A pot of boiling oil was thrown from an upstairs window at Balhaldie by a serving lass who had taken a wee fancy to the bonnie Prince. The Duke fell off his horse but no one was seriously hurt. It does show, however, that you can’t be too careful when you make more than political enemies. Just ask Boris Johnson or Donald Trump. Perhaps they should consider a stay at the nearby Dunblane’s Hydro Hotel. The medicinal baths are supposed to calm the nerves of the “worried well”.

FK15 0AA. tel: 01786 823318 The Riverside

///quit.generated.comical

Ordinary, Scones, weird

The Granary Café

3 May 2021 billpaterson1@me.com 7 Comments

Guess where we are? We’re out and about … yeah! Although we have been legally allowed to do this for a couple of weeks now we haven’t ventured very far. We thought we would just wait until all the excited crowds died down a wee bit. But today we are being super adventurous and have traveled all of six miles to the Granary Café in Linlithgow. Goodness, we were even on a motorway for all of half a mile … exciting! After having been locked down for so long, however, it really did feel like an adventure! Finally out sconing again and acting on a tip-off we received a couple of weeks back.

Big bad world

Our informant said that the scones at the Granary Café were worth checking out. Over the years we have visited several cafés in the town but it’s been such a long time, we couldn’t remember if the Granary was one of them. A quick search for ‘Linlithgow’ on allaboutthescones threw up seven we had already reviewed but the Granary wasn’t one. Okay, today was the day as we gently ventured forth once again into the big bad world.

It was great to see everyone sitting in the sunshine at the pub next door but we were just revelling in the fact that we were able to sit inside and be served a scone by very helpful staff. Hoping for a choice of fruit or plain our waitress threw us a curved ball when she offered us a mango and coconut scone. In the interests of scon ological research it had to be done … Pat opted for fruit.

Keeping it real

I would never normally go for hot chocolate but this offering seemed too good to miss so hot chocolate it was. Wow, as if just being out wasn’t enough!

We didn’t have long to wait before we realised our mistake.

A mango and coconut scone at the Granary Café — Mango and coconut scone

The scones looked fabulous but were of a size that meant we should have shared one between us. A topscone would have been nice to celebrate our first outing but sadly, it wasn’t to be. Although nice enough they were just too big for our liking and they didn’t actually taste as if they were freshly baked … Irish butter and no cream! Not to worry, the mango and coconut was good and a new experience but not one I would rush to repeat. The fruit scone was nice but Pat could only manage half. The real hot chocolate?? Nice for a change but again not something I would make a habit of. In spite of all this carping we really enjoyed this place. It is well presented with an emphasis on healthy eating and the staff were super friendly. Many thanks to SS for the tip, we will be back.

Learning from history

Just a stone’s throw from the Granary lies the Cross Well. In 1650 it was badly damaged by the occupying forces of Oliver Cromwell. A tradition carried in 1746 when the Duke of Cumberland set fire to the Palace … just another stone’s throw away.

You would think that Scots would have learned from this that, when it comes to looking after Scotland’s interests, those in the south are maybe not as good as the Scots themselves at making decisions in Scotland’s interest. In two days time Scotland goes to the polls, not to vote on independence but to hopefully start a process that will lead to Scots being able to make their own decisions. Only then we can strike up a proper relationship with our friends to the south .. one built on mutual respect and understanding. In the meantime we have to put up with another couple of days of Westminster’s Project Fear…scary!

People born in Linlithgow are known as Black Bitches. Alex Salmond was born in Linlithgow. Is that relevant? We’re not sure.

EH 49 7AQ tel: 01506 253408 Granary Cafe

///riders.breeze.cooked

Ordinary, Scones

Café Ecosse

2 April 2019 billpaterson1@me.com 3 Comments

“Hands up anyone who has the slightest inkling of what is going on in British politics.” After yet another farce in the House of Commons last night that would be a perfectly valid question to ask. “No, Theresa, put your hand down”.

Let us have a go at defining ‘farce’. The British people, voted to leave the EU. We disagree fundamentally but recognise it as a simple straight forward instruction – ‘leave, no deal’! The fact that they did so on the basis of fairy tales and lies is beside the point. However, almost all our politicians, including the PM, are promising to “deliver on that instruction from the British people” while, simultaneously, ruling out ‘no deal’. That’s the farce … all ‘deals’ are contrary to what the people voted for. And just when you thought it couldn’t get any more farcical Theresa May announces, after all this time, that she is willing to speak to the opposition? Whatever next?

What’s in a name?

Today we are in the town of Invernevis .. or at least, that’s what it will most likely be called once Scotland gets its independence from ‘the farce’. Currently it’s called Fort William. Originally it got its name from William of Orange who built it in order to control the locals. It was then renamed Gordonsburgh, then Duncansburgh before eventually reverting to Fort William. However, this time the ‘William’ bit was after Prince William, Duke of Cumberland otherwise known fondly by Scots as “Butcher Cumberland”. Hopefully, when Scotland becomes independent it will rid itself of the name along with all other remnants of colonialism. Invernevis sounds good to us.

The second largest town in the Highlands after Inverness it sits at the foot of Ben Nevis, the UK’s highest hill. It therefore has it’s own weather system as the rain clouds sweep in from the Atlantic. Annual rainfall is three times that of Edinburgh. It rains a lot and today is no exception. It also sits at the northern end of the West Highland Way and the southern end of the Great Glen Way so there are always a lot of wet walkers around. This place, Café Ecosse, is just the sort of place you might find them … it’s pretty basic. Nothing wrong with that as long as the scones are good!

Rescued hat

We were served by a young lady of indeterminate eastern european origin who seemed to be running the place single handedly. They have a very elaborate customer service notice on every table which we felt was a bit OTT. We didn’t bother using it because the list of things in need of improvement would have been too long. We had a couple of sandwiches which were okay then we shared a scone. No cream but with plenty of fruit, it was okay … no topscone but okay. At least we were in out of the rain. When we left Café Ecosse the rain had gone off and the young lady who had provide our scone came running after us with my hat. I think Pat wished she hadn’t bothered. There’s nothing wrong with my hat so at least I was grateful!

Beira

Let us tell you about Beira, mother of all gods and goddesses. She was a giantess who had blue skin, rust coloured teeth and one eye. Hand down Theresa!! Beira built Scotland’s mountains with a magic hammer and when her maid Nessa was naughty she transformed her into a river which eventually formed Loch Ness. Ben Nevis was Beira’s mountain throne. Now, if you think this might be a little far fetched, can we refer you back to ‘the farce’ at the beginning of this post. Beira, suddenly seems quite plausible.

PH33 6AT tel: 01397 705751 EcosseFB

///obeyed.spurring.revised

Scones, history and a dollop of politics