Tag Archives: Fife

Ordinary, Scones

Balbirnie House

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The other day, when we told a friend that we were going to Balbirnie House for scones and a seven course dinner, he said “You lucky bloggers” … at least, we’re pretty sure that’s what he said. Although the seven course dinner with matching wine flight was quite enticing what swung it for us was the promise of a cream tea on arrival. How could we resist?

The  hotel is only a thirty minute drive from home, in the Kingdom of Fife. “A beggar’s banquet fringed with gold“.. that’s how James VI of Scotland once described Fife. The “gold” referred to the lovely beaches all along its coastline. Balbirnie House is in the village of Markinch in central Fife … so that’ll be the begger’s banquet then! Could this be an omen for our dinner?

The Orangery at Balbirnie House
the Orangery

We did not want our cream tea to spoil our appetite for our ‘banquet’ so we arrived early in the afternoon. The spacious Orangery was where it was served. Scones at Balbirnie HouseOur scones were very good. A nice crunchy outer layer combined with a warm soft interior … just the way we like them. Plenty jam and cream so what was the problem? Just the size. Normally we expect to get two relatively small scones with a cream tea but these were just too big. Pat only managed one. I did my best with the second but was eventually beaten into submission. And there was another problem!

Size is everything?

The coffee was Nespresso which meant that it was good but served in small Nespresso cups. Even though we could get as many cups as we liked, we don’t think that these pod machines are appropriate for situations like this. It just seemed a bother to keep asking for more. A nice big pot of coffee is much better. Argh, so the scones were too big and the coffees were too small. Are we turning into grumpy old bloggers?

Internal view of Balbirnie House
after dinner drinks by the fire
Seven

Anyway, us ‘lucky bloggers’ had to report later on for dinner. If we couldn’t manage a couple of scones what would we be like with a seven course dinner. Logo of Balbirnie HouseAs we get older we no longer seem as able for huge feasts, hence we normally share everything. No need for sharing here though! Each course was ideally sized and consequently we got through all the courses without a problem. Helped, of course, by four different specially selected wines.

However, by the time we were finished we were absolutely stuffed.  We had to retire to one of the lounges for recuperation by a big log fire. This blogging game cannot be taken lying down … or maybe it should be?. No, it requires copious amounts of grit and determination, not to mention stamina! Honestly, after eight years of doing this, we are in the peak of condition … don’t scoff!Main entrance at Balbirnie House

Rishi Sunak, the latest Prime Minister through that revolving door at 10 Downing Street, made his first visit to Scotland the other day. Currently he is presiding over a disastrous situation of strikes across the entire public sector. A situation skilfully crafted over thirteen years of Tory rule by his predecessors.

To celebrate his sojourn north of the border, he and Scotland’s First Minister met for dinner in Inverness. We don’t know how many courses! Rishi has the honour of being Nicola Sturgeon’s fifth Prime Minister since she came to power. She seems to be collecting them like the Queen used to do. He seems to have survived the experience and emerged relatively unscathed but probably with several fleas in his ears. No point in going through the promises made because promises from Westminster are not worth the paper they are written on these days. Actually, not just these days, as long as we can remember!

Internal view of Balbirnie House
The bar

If you ever get the chance to experience one of Balbirnie’s dinner you should take it. Great experience and great value.

KY7 6NE    tel: 01592 610066     Balbirnie

///submitted.healers.students

Ordinary, Scones

The Village Café in Ceres

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In 1068, Scotland’s only Royal Saint, Queen Margaret was fleeing to Europe to escape England’s William the Conquerer. She didn’t reckon, however, on her ship being blown off course and landing in Scotland. She probably didn’t reckon on marrying the King of Scotland, Malcolm Canmore, as a result. Having eight children by him, three of which became Kings probably didn’t enter her head either. Not many women give birth to a King, never mind three! But she did! Funny how life can be dictated by totally random events.

Pilgrimage

Margaret, was a good soul, however and, when she wasn’t propagating Kings, was concerned about the difficulties pilgrims encountered trying to get from Edinburgh to St Andrew’s Abbey. to be close to Andrew’s saintly bones.

Message card in Ceres
Notice in Ceres on the pilgrims way

She decided that there should be ferry service established across the river Forth to short circuit an otherwise long and tortuous journey of four to five days. It wouldn’t have entered her head that ten centuries later there would be a railway bridge and two road bridges in exactly the same spot as her ferry. The only thing missing nowadays is the pilgrims but back then they would have been extremely grateful to reach Ceres. The last stopover before the final seven miles to St Andrews itself where they could see the holy relics. There seems to bits of St Andrew scattered all over the world so he must have been a big guy and had twice as many bones as anyone else.  We are here as well but at the Village Cafe in Ceres for the scones … a kind of pilgrimage!

Community in action

Actually, we just stopped off in the village because it’s rather beautiful and olde-worldy. Ceres (pronounced ‘series’) has a lovely village green and also hosts the oldest Highland games in Scotland. They’ve been held every year since 1314. When we came on the Village Cafe, of course, we had to visit. What a place! Internal view of the Village Cafe in CeresTiny and nothing fancy but run entirely by the community. There were some very cheery ladies inside who welcomed us like long lost friends. A lovely day so we sat outside and watched the tractors going to and fro. Some of them are gigantic compared to the tractors we used to know as children.

A scone at the Village Cafe in CeresAnyway we were soon sorted with a scone and some tea. All the while we could listen to the happy banter between the ladies and the locals going on inside. When we asked if one of them had baked the scones they said they hadn’t but offered to take us down the street and show us the house of the lady who had? It was that kind of place. We declined and concentrated on our scone. It would have been great if had been a topscone but sadly it just fell short. Never mind we thoroughly enjoyed our visit.

Money down the chute 

Later, we were strolling round the village when we came on a wall with plants for sale at the Parish Church. There was a sign saying “Please place money in chute opposite“. Sure enough on the other side of the road there was a chute (a 4” drainage pipe) which dropped about 15 feet into a flower pot in the garden below. We bought a nepeta plant for 50p. Not because we wanted one, we just wanted to put some money going down the chute.Plants for sale in Ceres

What’s in the news? Nothing … except vastly overpaid football pundits spouting complete nonsense about the England vs Germany game later today. All other news has been cancelled … it could make you weep!

Helpful hint

Did you know that if you place a cross in the shape of the St Andrews cross (that’s an X) on your fire surround it stops witches coming down your chimney? It’s okay, don’t mention it 

KY15 5NA.       tel: 01334 828560        Village Cafe FB

///graph.giggled.rally

ps The Pedant has been in Kineton in Warwickshire and sent this picture of a K6 telephone box. Unfortunately he couldn’t access the manufacturer’s plate on the back because of nettles. Goodness, you just can’t get correspondents prepared to go that extra mile these days! K6 telephone ox in Kineton Warwickshire

 

Ordinary, Scones, self-service

Pittenweem Pop up Café

Pittenweem Arts Festival logoThis is the week of Pittenweem Arts Festival when almost all the houses in the town open up to the public and become temporary art galleries. Not all though. This Pop Up Café is also just someone’s home converted for the duration of the festival. It raises money for charity … great idea! It’s quite extraordinary! Just when you thought the whole world was in Edinburgh for the Festival you discover that it’s not quite the whole world. The rest are here in the East Neuk of Fife. It’s busy, busy!The harbour fishing boats at Pittenweem, Fife

Venue 26

The picturesque little fishing village is transformed into one huge gallery. Over 130 artists from far and wide exhibiting. And just like the world’s biggest festival going on across the water in Edinburgh, the atmosphere is great! For those not familiar with Pittenweem, there is a downside. The village is situated on a steep hill with a web of higglety pigglety tiny lanes running down to the harbour area. And back up! You have to work quite hard if you want to see everything. It doesn’t get any easier when the weather is as sultry and windless as it is today, heyho! Little wonder then that the sight of this place, Venue 26, was very welcome indeed.

The good folks running it were working extremely hard. Customers had the choice of sitting in their front room or going outside onto what’s known as West Shore. A narrow lane running along the sea front. Exterior view of the Pop Up Café in Pittenweem, FifeOnly a few tables and chairs, all of them taken, so we just sat on the sea wall. It was actually quite comfortable and allowed us to enjoy the sunshine and look out over the Firth of Forth towards the Isle of May and the Bass Rock.

A scone at the Pop Up Café in Pittenweem, Fife
Tide’s out

Perhaps it was because we were more than a little peckish that these scones, together with the coffee, tasted absolutely delicious. Definitely would have been awarded topscone status had it not been for the simple fact that none of our readers can go there. Except, of course, for these few days at the beginning of August each year. And there was no cream!! They do this pop up café every year though, so make a date in your diary for 2019.

Offence

Meanwhile back in La La Land, Boris Johnstone’s article in the Telegraph defending the right to wear burkas but adding some observations about letterboxes has taken up most of the news in what can only be described as a media frenzy. Given that wearing the burka is dictated by cultural rather than religious reasons it’s hard not to feel some sympathy for gaff prone Boris.  We are more concerned, however, about whether we should be just as offended as the burka wearers since most of the letterboxes in question were probably made in Falkirk. They form part of our culture!

ps: talking of art and culture and things made in Falkirk, we came across this picture. Not in Pittenweem but on our way home in another gallery. For all our K6 enthusiasts it is entitled “Phone Box Cottage” and is by Matylda Konecka. It could be yours for £99!entitled "Phone Box Cottage" by Matylda Konecka

Ordinary, Scones

The Elgin Hotel

Today we were back at the Hippodrome picture palace to see Journey’s End,  an excellent ‘must see’ for all those who think of war as a worthwhile endeavour. We were both a bit emotional at the end. Afterwards we decided to extend our homeward journey via one of our favourite scenic routes. Also, having had a wee nostalgia trip in our previous post we thought we might as well persist with the theme . However, this time the images are coming from the gents toilet at the Elgin Hotel. Too much information??Nostalgic posters at the Elgin Hotel, Charlestown, Fife

Admittedly, even at the time, these images would have been deemed ‘romanticised’ but once again we think it would be interesting to see if the artist could portray life today with such a degree of misty eyed innocence. Talking of things not being quite what they seem, we are not actually in Elgin, that fine highland town where you might reasonably expect to find such a hotel. Our scenic route did not stretch that far!

Parthenon

We are actually in Charlestown on the northern shore of the river Forth, only a few miles from Edinburgh. The Earls of Elgin have owned everything within sight of this place for centuries so the hotel takes it’s name from them. They even had Charlestown built in the shape of the letter E. But hey, when you are an over privileged toff with more money than sense you can do that sort of thing!  The 7th Earl, Lord Elgin, was perhaps the most well known in that it was he who, in 1803, stripped the Parthenon of its marble sculptures. He wanted them to decorate Broomhall House, his home on the outskirts of the village.

Give them back

They, of course, became known as the Elgin Marbles and they continue to cause as much controversy today as they did back then. Such was the fury at the time, Lord Byron carved ‘Quod non fecerunt Gothi, fecerunt Scoti‘ in the rock at the Acropolis, meaning ‘What the Goths spared, the Scots destroyed’ … not sure who was the worst vandal though? For what it’s worth, we think that Britain should do the decent thing and return the Marbles to their rightful place. Then again, when was the last time Britain did the decent thing?

Snowdrops at the Elgin Hotel, Charlestown, Fife
snowdrops … signs of spring at The Elgin Hotel

Amanda Movius

Anyway, Charlestown itself is a lovely village which kind of belies the fact that it was once a shipbuilding port and even functioned as the ship-breaking centre for the boats of the German Imperial Fleet brought down from Scapa Flow at the end of World War I. Internal view of the Elgin Hotel, Charlestown, Fife

Aristocrats

Before we move on to the important business of scones, perhaps there is just time for a teansy bit of tittle tattle. Controversy obviously follows the Elgins, because In 1990, the current Lord Elgin’s son, Lord Bruce married one Amanda Movius, a 23 year old Alaskan with reportedly ‘pop star’ looks. She had been in Scotland on holiday but, after a whirlwind romance, ended up as Lady Bruce. And a vast baronial estate and a 30,00 square foot mansion. Having embarked on several extramarital affairs however and setting up a failed clothes shop in Edinburgh she fled Scotland leaving behind a mountain of debt. Back in America she continued with a life of deceit and dishonesty. Until last year she was eventually jailed in Texas for credit card fraud, drink driving, possession of marijuana and obstructing the highway.

We tell you this simply to illustrate that, heaven forbid, aristocrats are just the same as the rest of us. Just a lot more privileged. Not to gossip you understand! Enough of all that, what about the scones? Scones at the Elgin Hotel, Charlestown, FifeUnfortunately, mid-afternoon, we seemed to be the only people around. Nevertheless we were very well looked after by a couple of ladies who soon had us sitting in front of the fire and supplying us with tea, coffee and a couple of fruit scones. ‘Disappointing’ is the word that best described them. They were presented with a basket of prepackaged jams and butter. And the cream was scooshie … arrgghh!

Hard boiled eggs

We enjoyed them however because after walking in the icy Siberian blast o

A whisky timer at the Elgin Hotel, Charlestown, Fife
whisky timer

f the Beast from the East it was nice to be sitting here in front of a nice fire with hot drinks and some scones. Even these scones! On the bar they had two whisky bottles made up like a giant egg timer. No one seems to know why it’s there or where it had came from. Apparently it has got slower over the years. Currently, the time for one bottle to empty into the other, stands at 67 minutes. Fine if you like your eggs really hard boiled!

KY11 3EE      tel: 01383 872257       The Elgin Hotel

ps: a photo has been sent in from our Emirates correspondents. It is taken from a menu in Abu Dhabi and among the items in their ‘Arabic High Tea’ is a scone. An Arab sconeWe had no idea that Arabs ate scones but you learn something every day. Many thanks to our correspondents for that.  They did not furnish any information on what it was like. We will have to have a word … though at 113 dirhams (£22) it’s not exactly cheap. Labneh, by the way, is a kind of Greek style yoghurt. Think we’ll stick with strawberry jam!

Ordinary, Scones

Sundial Café

Kidnapped by Robert Louis StevensonIn 1752 the redcoats were in hot persuit. When Robert Louis Stevenson was writing Kidnapped he chose Limekilns as the final point of escape for David Balfour and Alan Breck. An odd choice when you look at the sleepy little village today, however, it wasn’t always like this.

Publican’s daughters

Its sheltered natural harbour meant that it once had a thriving fishing industry. As its name suggests, burning lime was another. However, in the 18th century, the harbour also served as the northern terminus for a ferry service from Bo’ness on the opposite shore. Maybe that’s why Stevenson chose this place? Anyway, Alison Hastie, the local innkeeper’s daughter rowed them across and the two young fugitives successfully escaped … hurrah! Nowadays, of course, they could just have walked across the river using any one of three bridges. Okay, you are not supposed to walk on the rail bridge but if you were fleeing for your life??

The sundial at the Sundial Cafe in Limekilns
Sundial dated 1689

We got here by using the new Queensferry Crossing. Without expansion joints it’s a very smooth drive but how have they done that? Where does the expansion go? Having arrived in Fife we decided to take the more indirect but picturesque coastal route on the north side of the Forth. Limekilns is one of the first villages you come across. It’s home to the Sundial Café.

Cheese and bacon

Unsurprisingly it gets its name from the sundial high up on the corner of the building. In Scotland, these things are only of use on the rare occasions when the sun actually shines. Presumably when this one was installed there were not that many alternatives. Inside, on the ground floor, it is small and cosy with a large log burning stove. There is also a fairly large seating area upstairs. It’s pretty obvious

Internal view of the Sundial Café in Limekilns
Upstairs and downstairs in the Sundial

that the renovation of the 400 year old building has been done very sympathetically. When we arrived mid afternoon they only had two scones left, one fruit and the other cheese and bacon. We decide to have them both and share, half each. What are we like?A scone at the Sundial Café in Limekilns

They were very good – the fruit one came with plenty of jam but they didn’t have any cream … boo! No topscone but a lovely place with friendly people … highly recommended.

Liabilities

In 1362 King David II, as kings do, gave Limekilns harbour to the monks of Dunfermline Abbey  to encourage trade with Europe. Oh, with the shambles that is Brexit, for that sort of initiative these days!  Shock horror! As we sit gazing out towards the North Sea, BP has announced that it is to double its North Sea oil production. They will also keep extracting for the next forty years. In 2014 it was explained what a liability the dribble of oil that was left was for Scotland. So now that liability has just got a whole lot bigger. Thanks Westminster, what would we do without you? If Scotland ever gets its independence the maritime border with England, surreptitiously redrawn in 1999 to run just off Aberdeen will have to be extended yet again to take in all the oilfields around Shetland. What fun!

KY11 3HN     tel: 01383 873370      Sundial Café TA

ps something for all our telephone box enthusiasts, not a K2 or a K6 or even made of iron. A wooden Post Office telephone box from the 1930sOne of our wonderful correspondents has just sent this picture of a wooden telephone box taken at the National Museum of Scotland. According to the information it is dated 1930s and is from the Hope Street Post Office in Edinburgh. Apparently a lot of post offices provided these payphones for customers when few people had telephones at home. Things have changed since then. Thank goodness for social media, otherwise how else would we know that Scotland’s thirteen Tory MPs had voted to remove powers from the Scottish Parliament?

Ordinary, Scones, weird

Stuart’s of Buckhaven Café

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Buckhaven, on the East Neuk of Fife, is a town that has had a hard life .. and it shows. It was involved with the weaving industry but then, in the 19th century, became Scotland’s second biggest fishing port. It had about 200 boats operating from the harbour. The demise of the fishing industry was hastened by the advent of coal mining but now that too has gone. Because of this, the town looks a bit dilapidated. We were here because we were trying to find a Polynesian princess … ‘eh?’, I hear you say.

Sinakalula

We had been reading a short story by R. B. Cunninghame Graham called ‘The Princess’. A story written c1920 and based around a granite slab set into a church wall overlooking the harbour in Buckhaven. On it was carved “Here lies Sinakalula, Princess of Raratonga, the beloved wife of Andrew Brodie, Mariner.”

Graham’s story continues; “What were the circumstances of their meeting the stone did not declare, only that the deceased had been a princess in her native land, and had died in this obscure east-country haven, and had been “beloved.” Nothing — but all — at least all that life has to give”.

Graham said that the slab was badly weathered. We thought it would be good to find the church and photograph the slab for posterity. There was no sign of it on any internet searches. Oh, if only we had known! We scoured Buckhaven in the rain and could not even find the harbour. How can you not find a harbour in a wee town like this? Buckhaven 01

In need of sustenance we dropped into what appeared to be the only café in town, Stuart’s of Buckhaven. Guess what, no scones .. talk about a bad day! In a previous post we reported on scones becoming extinct in Galashiels and here within a few days is another town with no scones. What’s happening?

Apple pie

We know that you would worry about us in such dire circumstance, so to ease your troubled minds we are showing you a picture of my apple tart, which was very good, as was Pat’s meringue.

a Buckhaven scone
a Buckhaven scone

However, they were definitely not scones. Stuart’s of Buckhaven has been around since 1857 and must have witnessed a lot of changes. It’s a baker and butcher combined and all the produce looked excellent but the café area was pretty soulless. Could do better, and could certainly do some scones .. you’re a bakery for goodness sake!

Entire town demolished

We asked a passerby if they could point us in the direction of the harbour .. “there’s nae harbour here son” . However, they did tell us where it used to be. How can a town just lose a harbour? What we found was just a large patch of grass with a vestige of harbour wall running down one side. Turns out, it had been filled in in the 1960s. Worst of all, the entire old town had been demolished and used as infill .. church and all. Perhaps, as we gazed around at the council houses, we were standing on top of our princess’s granite headstone .. lost forever!

the harbour as Sinakalula would have known it
the harbour as Sinakalula would have known it

Elysian fields

This was a miserable wet day in Buckhaven and it made you wonder what a young polynesian woman would have made of it. The story goes: “dressed in a coloured and diaphanous sacque, a wreath of red hibiscus round her head, her jet black hair loose on her shoulders, bare arms and feet, and redolent of oil of cocoa-nut, she must have seemed a being from another world to the rough mariner.” in 1857, was she disappointed by the lack of scones in Stuart’s of Buckhaven?

The story speculates that ” the mariner brought home his island bride, perhaps to droop in the cold north, and he laid her in the drear churchyard to wait the time when they should be united again in some Elysian field, not unlike Polynesia, with the Tree of Life for palms, the self same opal-tinted sea, angels for tropic birds, and the same air of calm pervading all the air”. Let’s hope they are together again, just like that!

KY15 4BY    tel: 01592 260831      Stuart’s of Buckhaven FB

Ordinary, Scones

The Biscuit Café

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Internal view at the Biscuit Café in CulrossOn a nice day there are fewer nicer places to be than Culross in Fife. Maybe the only even nicer place would be The Biscuit Café in the centre of Culross. It is part of the Culross Pottery and Gallery whose resident potter Camilla Garrett-Jones makes lots of lovely stuff and runs pottery classes here and in the South of France.

A piece by Camilla Garrett-Jones at the Biscuit Café in Culross
A piece by Camilla Garrett-Jones

 

The café is upstairs above the shop and its interior is very homely and welcoming. At the back there is also a small but lovely sheltered garden area set out with tables and chairs. The Caffia coffee was the best we had had in a long time. We even got the very obliging staff to grind some beans for us to take home. The scones were also very good though PA scone at the Biscuit Café in Culrossat’s cheese scone could have done with a touch more cheese and the fruit in my fruit scone was also a wee bit sparse. So no ‘topscone’ award here but these are tiny criticisms in the overall scheme of things.

Teneu

All in all, Culross is a great wee place and well worth a visit. It was founded by St Serf in the 6th century. Legend states that when the British princess (and future saint) Teneu, daughter of the king of Lothian, became pregnant before marriage, her family threw her from a cliff. She survived the fall unharmed, and was soon met by an unmanned boat. Knowing she had no home to go to, she got into the boat which sailed her across the Firth of Forth to land at Culross. Here she was cared for by St Serf who became a kind of father of her son. He ultimately became St Mungo, patron saint of Glasgow.

Daylight

As a rank outsider, Jeremy Corbyn must have felt a bit like Teneu in the Labour party leadership race but, like her, he has triumphed beyond all expectation. Doubtful that he will ever be sainted but perhaps we will now see a more humane side to British politics. If nothing else, at least we can now see some daylight between Labour and the Conservatives, so hooray for that. A cheer also for this café with its combination of arts and crafts, shop and cafe. In fact you could say it ‘takes the biscuit’ .. sorry!

Fruit and veg are also on offer at the Biscuit Café in Culross
Fruit and veg is also on offer

 KY12 8JG            tel: 01383 882176            The Biscuit