The last time we were here in the Potting Shed was back in August 2020. Not that long ago really but somehow it seems longer. At that time we were the beneficiaries of the government’s ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ scheme designed to get people going back to restaurants after they thought the worst of the pandemic was over. You only had to pay 50% of your food bill and the government paid the other half. Very generous we thought until we realised where the other 50% came from …. us!

Anyway, here we are again and we still have the pandemic Who would have thought? The only difference now is that there are no discounts … boo!. Still, COVID doesn’t seem as bad now as back then so we should be thankful for that.

Back in 2020 this was a brand new venture set up by the Roman Camp Hotel. As you might expect, it’s situated in what used to be the old potting shed for the hotel’s walled garden. It has its own staff and kitchen though so is run pretty much independently. It’s a very pleasant place to grab a bite to eat and have a stroll round the beautiful grounds on the banks of the river Teith.

We knew from previous experience that when you order a scone here you get two … one fruit and one plain. They’re relatively small though so after a light lunch we ordered a scone so that we could have one each. They came complete with little glass jars of butter and jam and a large dollop of cream. They had just been baked  so were delightfully fresh and at £3 great value for money and an easy topscone … yeah!

Fighting talk

The Roman Camp Hotel has always been painted pink. Not some girlie whim by the original owners but a sign to any Jacobite fleeing government forces that this was a safe house. Behind the wood panelling in the Library there’s a tiny hidden chapel where Catholics could worship away from prying eyes. And elsewhere, in a cupboard, lies the entrance to a secret tunnel from which those under attack could make good their escape.  Bet Boris wishes he had one of these in Downing Street … or maybe he has?

Whatever, he certainly made it to Kiev yesterday. The scary thing about that is the fact that, right now, nobody would like a war more than Boris. He seems unable to dig himself out of the mire surrounding  the Sue Gray Report so a war with Russia would be the perfect distraction. Prime Ministers are not usually deposed during wartime so a long war would be even better. Oh dear, is that too cynical?

FK17 8BG     tel: 01877 330003      The Potting Shed

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