Tag Archives: politics

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

Ordinary, Scones

Grange Manor Hotel

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The government’s announcement that it is to take in 20,000 Syrian refugee children over the next five years (on 5yr visas  after which they will have to go somewhere else) raises the question. How proud are you to be British? ‘Not very’ or ‘not at all’? There are no other options. Their attempt to show this as Britain at its most compassionate by comparing it to the Kindertransport in 1938 conveniently leaves aside the fact that the Kindertransport itself was a pretty taudry episode in British history. It was only brought about by the government of the day being sufficiently embarrassed by images of Kristallnacht. The parallels with today’s situation and the pictures of little Alan Kurdis are obvious.

At the same time the German government announces that they will take half a million every year for as long as it takes. The Germans are not more compassionate, but they have a solid economy which actually needs these people. We, on the other hand, have an economy based almost exclusively on a square mile in the centre of London. It cannot even provide quality jobs for its own citizens .. arrgghh. It’s enough to drive you to afternoon tea.

Value for money?

The Grange Manor is an old well established hotel at Earlsgate, between Falkirk and Grangemouth. It has seen many changes in its surroundings over the years and nowadays it has the misfortune to have an Asda super-warehouse across the road and an empty car showroom next door. On the plus side it must be the nearest hotel to the Kelpies and that probably generates some tourist business. We were using an £11 voucher for afternoon tea for two so it was going to be difficult to go badly wrong.Grange Manor 02 It didn’t go far wrong but even if it is cheap you still want it to be good. Everything was fine except the scones which tasted like they had been made the day before. Or maybe even the day before that! Service was so scant you had to go looking for it.

It is tempting to ask what you would expect for that sort of money but unfortunately the answer would be  … exactly what we got! Unfortunately it seemed to be priced about right with the voucher. Thank goodness for the voucher. The Grange Manor, like the government, has got to try harder.

FK3 8XJ          tel: 01324 474836        Grange Manor

Ordinary, Scones

Farmer’s Den

On a day like today, when it has been noted that all the traits that made David Cameron a successful politician have failed to make him a decent human being, it is reassuring to be here at Briarlands Farm and the Farmers Den. Children play on giant inflated pillows without a care in the world. It is a working farm doing all the usual farming stuff but has diversified into a kind of children’s adventure centre based around farm activities. Animals to feed, tractors to ride, strawberries to pick, go-carts to go and lots of other things to keep them busy and enjoying themselves.Briarlands 06 Briarlands 01

The café area is called The Farmer’s Den and it is ideal for families. A play area for toddlers and a gift shop for the adults. You have to pay to go to the outside attractions. Depending on the size of your party, it could work out quite expensive. Definitely worth it though to have your kids amused for the best part of the day.

Squeals of pleasure

Unsurprisingly it was just a scone and a coffee we were after. Perhaps equally unsurprisingly, it turned out to be a good honest hearty farm sized scone. Briarlands 05The strawberry jam was of course made with their very own strawberries. Not sure if it was their own cream, but there was plenty of that too. We had a great time going round just looking at all that was on offer. If you just want a quiet scone, however, then this probably isn’t the place to come. It must get a bit frenetic when there are loads of kids playing .. squeals of pleasure and cries of delight. Sounds that are totally absent from some areas of the world where kiddies suffer immeasurably and have no facilities like this at all.

FK9 4UP          tel: 01786 841309               Briarlands Farm

island, Ordinary, Scones

The Old Workshop Café

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External view of the Old Workshop at Colonsay HouseConsidering that many of the smaller islands have very little or no choice, for a population of around 100, Colonsay is pretty well endowed with tearooms and eating places. There is the Pantry, the Colonsay Hotel and this place, the Old Workshop at Colonsay House in the middle of the island. It was built in 1935 to do boat repairs. Many of the original tools and other paraphenalia are still evident. The baking is done every morning by Katie and Sarah (after they have made the school dinners) and most of their cakes are done as large slabs to which you just help yourself. Cut off as much as you like! Cakes at the Old Workshop at Colonsay House Tempting to overindulge but I guess it works in their favour because most folk go for fairly modest portions. Especially if others are watching .. and they are! The chocolate fudge (bottom right in the pic) was yummy.

Anyway, enough of cakes, the scones were great as well … soft and light but with a slightly crunchy outer crust. A scone at the Old Workshop at Colonsay House The fabulous blackcurrant jam was made from berries picked in the gardens. The climate on Colonsay is very mild. The gardens are full of sub-tropical plants. Being able to sit outside on the little terraced area just finished off the whole experience. Later we ended up on the beach at Kiloran just a mile or so from the café. Pristine and beautiful but sad reminder that there are bodies of children washing up on other beaches in the Mediterranean. If the EU, with all its money, cannot sort this horrendous mess out what is the point of it all?

AT&T’s campaign to reach out and levitra on line sale touch someone made me reach out for a tissue – not a phone. The penile erection can be maintained by sticking to the proper advices. best price vardenafil Hypnosis is one of the most effective and safe tools that can be used to release mental blocks that can keep a woman away from enjoying intercourse. online cialis canada To be honest, there is an assumption that the search will wholesale sildenafil robertrobb.com become more close to what Bing is offering.

Kiloran beach, Isle of Colonsay
Kiloran beach, Isle of Colonsay

PA61 7YU               tel: 01951 200312                Colonsay Estate

island, Ordinary

The Pantry Scalasaig

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When you first set foot on the Isle of Colonsay one of the first things you encounter, at the end of the pier in Scalasaig, is this wee tearoom/restaurant .. the Pantry. The Pantry 01Like a lot of the architecture on the islands it has a fairly utilitarian, no nonsense look about it .. four walls, a door, a couple of windows. There tends to be little in the way of imagination when it comes to architecture in the Hebrides. However, the islands are no-frills kind of places so perhaps it is understandable.  The Pantry 05

The interior is pretty much as you would expect but is a hive of industry. It sells teas, coffees, sweets, beer, wine, spirits and all sorts of souvenirs and other stuff. They also make their own bread and cakes. Also on sale is  the beer from the local brewery as well as the unique black bee honey from nearby apiaries. And they have quiz nights every week … phew!

If you are ever going to be marooned on an island make it a self-sufficient one like Colonsay. Evening meals specialise in seafood, most of which has to come the whole 100 metres from the harbour. The Pantry 04We had a cheese and a plain scone, both of which were very good though Pat thought that the cheese on top of her scone was a bit too tough. Never mind, 10 out of 10 for sheer industry, diversity and endeavour.

 

Weapons of mass destruction

We also tried their local Colonsay Crunch. Apart from being very good it raises the question, is the crunch coming for weapons of mass destruction in the UK? Well certainly not according to the government who have pre-empted the parliamentary vote on Trident

the Colonsay Crunch
the Colonsay Crunch

renewal by announcing a massive investment in Faslane. How arrogant can they get? Presumably the poodles are coming under pressure from the US who actually own all ‘our’ missiles. We just own the submarines. The US must want to streamline their destructive capability. Apparently they never go out with the missiles ‘targeted’ because they cannot think of anyone or any place to target.  Nevertheless, it is good to know they are there 24/7 protecting our food banks? On Colonsay they must have these weapons of mass destruction slipping past their shores all the time. A sinister thought that jars horribly with all this beauty and tranquility!

PA61 7YW        tel: 01951 200325        The Pantry

Ordinary, Scones

The Crystal Cave

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If ever there was a place that could not make up its mind what it was supposed to be, this is it. The Crystal Cave Tearoom in Burntisland. It’s very confusing. On sale is everything from buckets and spades to all sorts of trinkets along with a fairly comprehensive range of agates and other lapidary items. Hence the name presumably. The people here were very friendly and work extremely hard going up and down a flight of steps to and from the kitchen. Rather them than us.

One of the sale items that summed the place up at the Crystal Cave
One of the sale items

 

Dreams

But someone needs to determine what the core business is, then concentrate on that. Because as a tearoom it was pretty good but could be even better if it wasn’t for all the … stuff. Decluttering would improve the overall ambience and help it look like a proper tearoom. Like the sign says we felt they were on their way to a dream alright but had got a bit lost. Internal view of the Crystal Cave, Burntisland

Anyway, enough of that, lets get on to the important things. We ordered scones and were told that if we wanted to wait a little we could have completely fresh ones straight from the oven. Otherwise we could have the ones that were done twenty minutes earlier! We were tempted to wait but, in the end, decided that a twenty minute old scone was just fine .. and so it was. Light,  good texture and lots of jam and cream. A scone at the Crystal Cave, BurntislandCoffee was presented in a rather odd choice of cup, the tall glass kind we usually associate with  gaelic coffee. Pat had to have hers reheated so it could have been better. All in all though we enjoyed everything and wish everyone at the Crystal Cave every good fortune.

Tony’s revalation

A crystal ball is what the Labour party needs as it wrestles with Corbynmania. Perhaps if they gazed into it hard enough they might actually see Tony Blair’s revelation that he is godparent to Rupert Murdoch’s daughter  for waht it is. People don’t want the old establishment Labour party any more. They want something fresh … and Corbyn is their man!

Semi=precious stones at the Crystal Cave, Burntisland
Semi-precious stones for sale

KY3 9UW           tel: 01952 890498           Crystal Cave TripAd

topweird

Mother Murphy’s 2

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We said that if we ever figured out the treacle scone days at Mother Murphy’s Tearoom, you would be the first to hear. We are nothing if not true to our word. You will remember from the first blog, the reason treacle scone days are important is because on these days you can get a ‘thunder and lightning’ scone? You will also remember that there was something of a tricky problem. It was impossible to tell when these days would occur. It seemed to depend on some sort of divine intervention. Of course, there is no foretelling that sort of thing. However, this is Mother Murphy’s 2.

Picture worth a thousand words

Well, let me tell you about one of the perks of being scone bloggers, you sometimes get inside information. Call it divine intervention if you wish! Pat has just told me that it is the only perk. I stand corrected. Anyway, this morning on FaceBook, we got a wee message, “today is a treacle scone day!”. Mother Murphy 07And so it was that we ended up in this little tearoom for the second time in a week with a somewhat heightened sense of anticipation. After a short wait (sure they did it just to get our juices flowing) it duly appeared. There is little point in me describing a ‘thunder and lightning’ scone .. hopefully the picture says it all.

Scoffing kit

A veritable extravaganza of treacle, cream and icing sugar. Scoffing could get a bit messy if it was not for the fact that it comes complete with a dedicated ‘thunder and lightning’ scone scoffing kit – a knife and fork. The top picture hopefully describes adequately how good it was .. divine even!

The other day, in Aberfeldy, we had a ‘cheese and bacon‘ scone which was also delicious so perhaps we need to introduce a new ‘weird scone’ category. This one definitely qualifies. Ordinary mortals, however, will just have to figure out for themselves which are treacle scone days .. good luck!

FK2 9AU     tel: 07951 843512      Mother Murphy’s

Scones, Top, topweird, weird

Habitat Café

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You tend to think that every cafe/restaurant will have some sort of scone with which to provide the honest traveller a bit of sustenance. Not so, or at least not in Aberfeldy.

The search

We tried the Watermill first to no avail, then the Croft and both just shook their heads. The Croft is more of a restaurant so maybe it’s excusable there. We found it very disappointing, however, that the Watermill, which otherwise has a great café, could not cater to this simple request. Not to worry, we headed to the Habitat Café in the Square. Not only were we successful but were treated to a first time experience .. a cheese and bacon scone! Habitat03Now we have tasted a lot of scones but ‘cheese and bacon’ has never been one of them. As it turned out they do a different scone every day and it just so happened that today was the day for cheese and bacon.

It has to be said that some trepidation was involved in our approach to this scone. we were encouraged however when it turned up with just some butter .. no jam and cream ..phew! Needless to say, as cheese and bacon scones go, this was definitely the best we had tasted. More than that, however,it was one of the best scones we had tasted anywhere. It easily gets our topscone award for its light fluffy texture and sheer ludicrous inventiveness.

Elysian paradise

Bet the migrants waiting to cross the Channel have never tasted a cheese and bacon scone either. Do you think that is why they are trying so desperately? The media would have us believe that they all want to come to the UK because the UK is such a fantastic, wonderful, elysian paradise. Nothing could be further from the truth! Only a tiny minority thinks the UK is worth a try. Usually because they already speak English or have family here. The vast majority want to settle elsewhere in Europe. That’s because they have never heard of Aberfeldy, The Habitat Café and its scones .. sad!

PH15 2DD     tel:01887 822944     Habitat TripAd

Useful link: things to do in Aberfeldy

Scones, Top

Mother Murphy’s Tearoom

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We know that loads of you have been wondering whatever happened to Jim Murphy. Wonder no more he is alive and well and working in this tearoom in Falkirk. Okay, okay, it’s not that Jim Murphy. This Jim Murphy owns the place with his wife Debra and this one has much more honesty and vision. The vision to make this little tearoom a roaring success. Mother Murphy 01Only open a couple of months, it is still early days but all the signs are good. Clean, tidy, homely, home-produced food. Gleneagles it is not, but it is not trying to be anything other than what it is .. a great wee tearoom. Located at Ladysmill on the main road between Falkirk and Grangemouth we were lucky enough to be able to park right outside the door. Once inside we had the choice of Debra’s home-baked blueberry or plain scones … dilemma!

The Murphy blueberry
The Murphy blueberry
The Murphy plain
The Murphy plain

Unable to make such a momentous decision, we had one of each. Pat’s plain scone was accompanied by strawberry jam and my blueberry one with bramble and apple jam. Both jams handcrafted by Jim .. there is no end to this duo’s talent!  There was one major problem however … the ‘thunder and lightning’ scone on the menu is only available on treacle scone days. Would they tell us what days were treacle scone days? No! Apparently it is an inspirational, spontaneous sort of thing that happens very unpredictably. Presumably, we will just have to keep going back time and time again.

Chilcot

Talking of time .. do you know what comes next in this time measurement scale .. decade, century, millennium, aeon, ??? Yes, you guessed it… it’s a Chilcot. The best thing about Mother Murphy’s Tearoom is Jim and Debra. They are very friendly and seem really enthusiastic and genuinely happy with what they are doing .. and so they should be! We wish them every success and one day .. one day, we might get to sample that elusive thunder and lighting scone. If we do, you will be the first to hear about it. In the meantime, we think all that talent and ingenuity deserves a topscone award. So it is like Gleneagles after all!

FK2 9AU     tel: 07951 843512      Mother Murphy’s

Ordinary, Scones

Inchyra Grange Hotel

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On the outskirts Grangemouth this is part of the MacDonald Hotel group and as such you have probably been in one not too far removed from this one. It has a Spa and swimming pool but was obviously a much smaller place at one time. All the external walls of the original building are now inside. The crisply carved sandstone lends a certain quality ambience to the dining room at least. Many places refuse to take afternoon tea bookings on the day “because it does not give chef enough time”? Inchyra 04We arrived at the Inchyra Grange Hotel mob handed having phoned ahead to ask for afternoon tea for eight adults and two children .. no problem. What a delightful change to some of the other places we tried.

Still no problem when we upset their seating plan by actually turning up with three children instead of two, great! We each got a couple of scones as well as loads of sandwiches and cakes. The scones were very good and almost made the topscone award.

Shocking election result

Awards are not exactly being thrown at Jeremy Corbyn who, although being extremely popular with the voters, is vilified by the  rest of his party. He actually thinks that the Labour party should be slightly socialist .. perish the thought! All, except Corbyn, seem to have forgotten that at the last General Election there was virtually nothing to differentiate the two main parties. Voters thought they might as well vote Tory  .. or not at all. 30% chose ‘not at all’. Perhaps that 30% is stirring because they now see the possibility of a viable alternative. One of the biggest criticisms of Corbyn seems to be that he does not ‘look’ like a prime minister. So we will just elect the prettiest one then, never mind the policies? He has certainly enlivened the debate and the other three (who are they?) should take note.

Anyway, Labour party machinations aside, the Inchyra Grange coped extremely well with everything we threw at them. They even boxed up all the leftovers for us to take home … well done.

FK2 0YB        tel: 01324 711911         MacDonald Hotels