Tag Archives: John Logie Baird

Scones

Forth & Co

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Well here we are in 2023. We hope that all our readers had a great time over the festive season. Here’s to you all having a happy, and above all, healthy year. The first scone of 2023 comes to you courtesy of Forth & Co in our home town of Falkirk. Perhaps, at this point we should just mention that it’s quite a sinful one! 

We came into town early and decided to have breakfast out. Forth & Co has recently opened having replaced Johnstone’s Bar & Bistro which we reviewed back in 2016. We thought we should give this new place a whirl. In my teenage years this was the Temperance Cafe, a place to hang out with all the other cool cats. The coolest cats (such as myself) met upstairs on the balcony where we could look down on ordinary folk and talk about girls, politics and the price of milk. Okay, mostly girls … certainly don’t remember any in-depth discussions on scones! Six decades later there are some pretty obvious changes but in essence it’s amazingly the same.Internal view of Forth & Co

Sinful

What we are trying to explain is that we came here for breakfast and did not expect scones to be present so early in the day. But there they were and after coffee and a lovely breakfast roll we found ourselves tucking into a scone … can’t help ourselves! And it was still early morning! Not absolutely sure what the correct time for scone scoffing is but we do know it’s not this early. Hopefully, we’ve not upset any of our more delicate and genteel readers!

A scone at Forth & CoHalf expecting to be struck down by a thunderbolt we cut our scone in half and proceeded to spread the Irish butter and the French jam … argh! There was also a generous bowl of whipped cream. It was all rather nice though fairly obviously not freshly baked on the premises. Service was very efficient and friendly but there’s some work to be done if they want a topscone award.

Forth & Co is part of the Bow Hospitality chain of about ten similar restaurants around Scotland. It was quiet when we arrived but thankfully it was busy by the time we were leaving at 11am. We’re sure it will be just as successful as its predecessor.Internal view of Forth & Co

The Falkirk Televisor

No need to remind avid readers but this building was the scene for the world’s first ever TV broadcast. It was conducted by local boy John Logie Baird as he broadcast an image of a dummy named Snooky Bill (no comments please) from one room to another using his ‘televisor’ invention. It did work, though the pictures were extremely fuzzy! The equipment is now in the local museum.

Extremely fuzzy could well describe the political picture for 2023. Both here in the UK and in the US, politicians seem to be held to ransom by far right extremists. Fortunately we have Harry and Meghan to take our minds off all of that.

Harry’s book ‘Spare’ has occupied the news for the past week. Our own family seem like paragons of virtue compared to the Royals so it is perfectly understandable that Harry wants to put some distance between them. Considering what we the public subject the Royals to, it is hardly surprising that they are dysfunctional. Amidst all the people struggling with utility bills and food banks the tone deaf Charles is busy with the Queen Somesort organising his coronation. A brand new eatery like Forth & Co is definitely more worthy of celebration.Logo of Forth & Co

FK1 1DG       tel: 01324 646758       Forth & Co

///pretty.sketch.single

Scones, Top

Sugar Boat – Helensburgh

For some time now Pat has been dropping hints about visiting Helensburgh. As a wee lass she and her mum used to go there by train from their home in Drumchapel. They would play on the beach and swim in the outdoor pool. On the other hand, I didn’t know the town at all. However, recently I have become increasingly aware of it as the start-point of the 134 mile long John Muir Way. It begins in Helensburgh before passing very close to our house in Falkirk then finishing on the east coast at Muir’s birthplace in Dunbar. It’s very popular with walkers and cyclists.

View from Helensburgh beach over Clyde to Greenock
A rather sombre view across the ‘beach’ towards Greenock, three miles away

So on this rather wet and humid day it was a kind of nostalgia trip for Pat and, for me, an introductory visit to this west coast town.

Memories

Memories are funny things and sometimes they can play tricks on you. The beach that Pat remembered so well is actually a rather dismal strip of sand about four or five feet wide and about thirty feet long. When the tide’s out, it consists, almost entirely, of a vast area of dark slippery seaweed over rough rocks. The swimming pool is now closed though apparently it is due to be completely rebuilt in the next year or so.

TV and all that

The town’s sea front consists mainly of fairly dilapidated ice cream parlours, the usual charity shops and the odd rather sorry looking pub. Statue of John Logie Baird, HelensburghIn the 2014 Scottish independence referendum one of the claims from the union side was that this town would be devastated by independence and the withdrawal of the nearby Royal Naval Base. Well today it was looking pretty devastated even with all the phantasmagorical benefits that the UK supposedly brings. Most of the workers on the base live in the south of England so the town derives little benefit.

As we walked along the front we came across a memorial to John Logie Baird, inventor of television and a native of the town. He gave the first ever demonstration of the new fandangled technology in what used to be Falkirk’s Temperance Hotel. It all happens in Falkirk! By the time we reached the west end we were feeling pretty depressed by the general state of decay so we decided to go one street back from the sea for our return journey. What a good idea that was. Otherwise we would not have come across the lovely Colquhoun Square and this delightful little bistro/café, the Sugar Boat.

Dog biscuits

We were welcomed with open arms into a beautifully appointed restaurant, come wine bar, come coffee house … fab! Interior view of Sugar Boat, HelensburghWe did think about sitting outside since the rain had stopped and it was still very warm but there was a nice little café area just inside the door so we sat there instead. Interior view of Sugar Boat, HelensburghThere was a really nice restaurant area at the back but we were not in the business of a full meal … just a ‘you know what’. The ones on display looked promising. Scones at Sugar Boat, HelensburghThe service was great and we were soon kitted out with our drinks and scones complete with jam and clotted cream. We enjoyed everything about this place. Lots of nice touches. Beer from one of our favourite islands, Colonsay, and even a glass jar with complimentary dog biscuits. Apparently we didn’t qualify due to our lack of dog.

Jamon Serrajo Zaragoza at Sugar Boat, Helensburgh
Jamon Serrano Zaragoza

An overall lovely experience and no problem awarding a topscone.

In case you are wondering who Helen of Helensburgh was, it was Lady Helen Sutherland, wife of Sir James Colquhoun who owned everything around these parts in 1785 … his descendants probably still do! Before that it was known as Millig. Interior view of Sugar Boat, Helensburgh

Thanks largely to the Sugar Boat we left Helensburgh feeling in a much more positive mood than when we first arrived. Even the weather had improved. Our route took us through the lovely village of Rhu with its marina and beautiful Victorian country houses to the Faslane Naval Submarine Base. Home to the famous Faslane Peace Camp,  first established in 1982 and still going today.

We’re doomed

From there we drove over Glen Douglas to Inverbeg on Loch Lomondside with an ever increasing sense of impending doom. Cattle on road in Glen DouglasOur progress was halted by a herd of cattle standing on the single track road. None of them looked very happy and certainly didn’t seem inclined to move. Perhaps it was due to the fact that the hill on the right behind the white cow. It is actually hollow and filled with enough nuclear warheads to blow the entire world to kingdom come.

The cows are not the only ones that feel dismayed about these useless weapons of mass destruction. Scotland overwhelmingly would like them all moved to a warehouse next to Westminster. Even better, since all the warheads actually belong to the USA, to a warehouse near the Whitehouse.  Scotland, of course, has no voice in such matters. Eventually, the cows wandered off and we were able to continue. It has to be said though that Glen Douglas has a decidedly spooky feel about it.

G84 8AQ      tel: 01436 647522        Sugar Boat

Fully functioning K6 telephone box Ely, Cambridgeshireps. Speaking of the USA. The Pedant has just returned from adventures in the New England and sent this photo of a K6 in Ely, Cambridgeshire, Old England. He sent it because it is still a fully functioning call box. Not a book swap library, not a CD exchange, not a defibrillator point, not for growing geraniums … a call box! And why is this wonderful thing still functioning after all these years … because it was made in Falkirk of course! Told you it all happens in Falkirk.

Ordinary, Scones

Champagne Central

“Typical” we can hear you all say “spend their lives eating scones and sipping champagne!” Now hold on a minute!! Given that we travel the country looking for good scones on your behalf it is inevitable, from time to time, that we end up in places like this. Admittedly though, when it comes to hedonism, we do it rather well. In fact we can’t get enough of it if, truth be known.

View of stairwell chandelier at Grand Central Hotel, Glasgow
Stairwell chandelier over four floors

 

To be honest though, we just happened to be in Central Station catching a train and had some time to spare. And realising that we had not been in this hotel, which forms part of the station, for quite some time we thought we would pop in and see what the scones were like. On your behalf …okay? Opened in 1883 it is very much the grand dame of Glasgow hotels. It has played host to many many stars … Jimmy Durante, Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Charlie Chaplin, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones to name but a few.

Trigger

Surely, best of all though was Trigger, Roy Roger’s horse who spent a night in the hotel’s most expensive room, the bridal suite, in 1954. The suite had to be emptied of furniture and straw laid out on the floor. Trigger could not fit in any of the lifts and had to be walked up four flights of stairs. Now that’s celebrity! Logo for Champagne Central at Grand Central Hotel, Glasgow

Also, in 1927 the world’s first long-distance television pictures were transmitted to this hotel from London by John Logie Baird. Of course, you will all remember our report on the world’s first demonstration of the new TV technology by Baird a year earlier at Johstones Bar Bistro in Falkirk, albeit just between two rooms. We could go on but you are getting impatient for scone news.View of Champagne Central bar at Grand Central Hotel, Glasgow

Chandeliers, ionic pillars and marble floors pander to our hedonistic tendencies so when we arrived at Champagne Central we felt quite at home. View of Champagne Central lounge at Grand Central Hotel, Glasgow

All good, except…

Mind you, the lighting is such that you could have difficulty finding your scones never mind eating them. We had not long had lunch and the scones come as a brace. They had no difficulty, however, with us having one cream tea between us. View of scones at Grand Central Hotel, GlasgowPresentation was nice … crisp white napkins, generous pots of tea and two bits of shortbread protruding from the clotted cream?? Unfortunately the jam was one of the little Tiptree pots but hey, after a few glasses of champagne, who cares. Just kidding about the champagne? Everything was lovely … apart from the scones. Difficult to describe what was wrong really but the word that comes to mind is ‘flabby’. Soft but not in a particularly nice way. We ate them however and enjoyed the atmosphere looking down onto the bustling concourse of Central Station.

The rushing crowds reminding us that, only yesterday, at the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester there must have been just such a scene before that horrific bomb was detonated. Sitting in such cossetted surroundings, even with flabby scones, we do feel extremely fortunate.

G1 3SF       tel: 0141 240 3700        Grand Central Hotel

english, Ordinary, Scones

Roasted Bean Café

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Triangles and all that

Okay, okay, the Crystal Palace Triangle is not so much a ‘scone desert’ as we first thought. We found another one! picture of garden area of Roasted Bean café in Crystal PalaceThis time it’s at the Roasted Bean café. Like the LWS café in our previous post, it is situated on the outer extremity of the Triangle where the influence is weakest. The Roasted Bean Café had plain and fruit scones. Some sort of normality after our gruyère and chive experience.

Normality at the Roasted Bean Cafe

Normality, however, is sometimes not all that it is cracked up to be. The girl who brought our fruit scone, semi-apologetically explained that the scraping of jam on offer was all they had left. Not a great start. On the plus side, we were able to sit outside in the ‘garden’ on what was a very hot day. picture of a Roasted Bean café sconeThe scone itself, although nicely toasted and tasted okay, the meagre jam and the strange synthetic butter missed the topscone marker by quite a long way. We have concluded that the Crystal Palace Triangle, though not a complete scone desert, is not the sort of place that sconeys should be frequenting. Unless, of course, they have a peripheral interest in broadcasting??

The BBC and Scotland

Picture of the Crystal Palace TV transmitter

Crystal Palace may not cut the mustard for scones but it does have the famous Crystal Palace TV transmitter. With a coverage of more than 12 million people, it is the most important in the UK . Broadcasting aficionados will know that the first ever TV broadcast took place in our own home town of Falkirk. John Logie Baird demonstrated the new fandangled thing in what is now Johnston’s bistro in the Lint Riggs.
 
You are probably also aware that the whole ‘TV thingy’ caught on in quite a big way when the BBC was formed. The rest, as they say, is history. The BBC is about to get it’s new charter and whereas this transmitter probably does a good job for London it remains to be seen whether the BBC can adapt to the new politics of the UK. Can it reflect a Scotland where all but three MPs support independence? So far it has failed miserably. For instance, reporting a big independence rally in Catalonia whilst completely ignoring a similar rally in Glasgow on the same day. That is not a service, it is a disservice.

With Scotland raising more than £300m in BBC licence fees and only getting £83m back, an urgent revision is required. RTE, the Irish broadcaster, buys all BBC channels for £21m a year. It doesn’t need a brain surgeon to work it out. An independent Scotland would be much better off simply paying for the BBC in the same way as RTE. If it wants to.

Do you think this transmitter could have anything to do with the mysterious lack of scones in the Crystal Palace Triangle?

SE19 3RY     tel: 07515 126190     Roasted Bean FB

Ordinary, Scones

Johnston’s Bar Bistro

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The menu at Johnston's Bar BistroWhen I was a mere sapling. Long before I met Pat and long before I realised that not all the scones in the world were baked by my mother, this place was a favourite hangout for us cool dudes. At that time, however, it was called the Temperance Cafe.

In about 1920, as was prevalent at the time, the proceeds of a will had been used to buy the Crown Hotel in the Lint Riggs. The intention was to turn it into a temperance public house as an alternative to the plethora of licensed premises all through the town. A couple of years later it famously became the scene for the first ever television broadcast by John Logie Baird.

Politics and girls

Baird was born in Helensburgh but his family were local  farmers at Sunnybrae in Camelon. Little did he know that that single brief event would change the world forever. The equipment Baird used to broadcast a live image of a colleague from one part of the building to another, became known as ‘the Falkirk televisor‘. As an impressionable youth, however, my personal abiding memory of the Temperance was when four of us were sitting round an upstairs table, talking about girls, politics and the price of milk. Maybe not the last two. Internal view of Johnston's Bar Bistro

Memories

We watched a man walk to the top of the stairs. He stopped, then to our astonishment, fell, like a felled tree, face first down the steps. Shocked, we jumped over the banister (these were the days) and caught him just as he reached the bottom. The management ask us to carry him to the kitchen until help arrived. However we could not get him through the door because his arm was sticking out rigidly to the side. It turned out that he had had an epileptic fit, something none of us had heard of at the time, so it made quite an impression. Especially the intense deliberations over what to do about the arm that refused to bend. We had to turn him on his side so that it pointed straight up. No mean feat for four puny wastrels.

Anyway, the whole temperance thing never really took off. After several other incarnations, it has been Johnston’s Bar & Bistro since 2012. One of the town’s favourite meeting places. A scone at Johnston's Bar BistroWe decided to share a fruit scone because they were quite large. When it arrived it was accompanied by the biggest pot of cream we have ever come across. Probably enough to do twenty scones. Needless to say, almost all of it was left, but the scone itself was very good. Their strap line is ‘Food, Drink & Service as it should be‘. A strap line delivered, because we thoroughly enjoyed our visit.

Taking things for granted

When you think about it it’s really quite amazing. We sit watching pictures beamed directly into our living rooms. Strictly Come Dancing. Johanna Lumley crossing Siberia. Cameron trying to look as if he is negotiating something massive with the EU. Osborne pretending to have some sort of control. Children being starved to death in Madaya. We take the means by which these pictures reach us completely for granted but it all started here. Sending pictures between two rooms in this building.

FK1 1DG         tel: 01324 637299          Johnston’s Bar Bistro