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Brodies of Moffat

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Brodies is a restaurant, come wine bar, come gin bar, come coffee house. And, for us, a greatInternal view of Brodies of Moffat discovery. It is situated in lovely Moffat, an old spa town with a huge main street and lots of elegant Victorian buildings. We’re not here to admire the architecture however. Rather we are on a sort of pilgrimage. Much like the one we did some time ago trying to track down a Polynesian Princess in Buckhaven. Again, the catalyst was one of our favourite authors, R B Cunninghame Graham.

This time it was his short story “Beattock for Moffat”. In it he tells the tale, set around 1920, of Andra, and his attempt to get back from London to his farm in Moffat, to die. His brother, Jock, had somewhat reluctantly left tending his turnips to go and collect his brother.  Accompanied by Andra’s cockney wife Jean, the reader is treated to a trip through a moonlit sleeping England on the night train from Euston.

Conversation between the three characters is sparse. Andra is very frail, his sole aim is to reach Moffat while he still has a breath in his body. Jean, in her English way, consoles her husband. “Why yuss, in eight days at Moffat, you’ll be as ‘earty as you ever was. Yuss, you will,  you take my word.” Whereas Jock, in the typically Scottish way, tells Andra “ye ken, we’ve got a brand new hearse outby, sort of Epescopalian lookin’ we gless a’ round, so’s ye can see the kist“. The dying man takes more comfort from Jock’s attempts than his wife’s.

Beattock for Moffat

Eventually they arrive at Beattock, the nearest station to Moffat, where they carry Andra to the platform. When the train doors are banged shut the guard shouts “Beattock, Beatock for Moffat“. Andra smiled and whispered faintly in his brother’s ear “Aye, Beattock – for Moffat?” … and died. Today the trains don’t stop at Beattock but we had heard that there was a campaign underway to have it reopened so we thought we should go and have a look at where Andra spent his last mortal moments. We had not bargained on the fact that the station had long since been demolished and even the locals were unsure where it had once been located. It was a sorry sight when we eventually found it. Tucked away down a narrow lane behind an old blacksmith’s smiddy. Walking around, we did feel closer to Andra and his struggle.

Site of Beattock railway station
Where Beattock station used to be on the left and the platform now completely overgrown.
Last journey

Those of you who have spent time looking for non-existent railway stations will know that it is not long before a cuppa and a scone is required. We traced Andra’s last journey from Beattock over the couple of miles to Moffat and that’s how we ended up here at Brodies. Internal view of Brodies of Moffat

Back to the neeps

It really is a great venue for Moffat. Some of the other eateries in town can look a wee bit tired. This one, however, has a beautifully appointed  restaurant and a very comfortable lounge area. Before long we had the last two fruit scones resplendent in front of us. Complete with nice crockery and generous portions of jam and cream. The butter came in a butter dish, no prepackaged stuff here! Someone must have told them how we like our scones because they were just right. Crunchy on the outside and beautifully soft in the middle … but you all know that by now! We ate them thinking of Andra’s hurl in the new hearse and wondering if Jock went straight back to his turnips.

We are always impressed by Cunninghame Graham’s powers of observation. It was him, after all, who noted. “The enemies of Scottish Independence lie not with the English, a kind and generous people, but with those in Scotland without imagination”. Logo for Brodies of MoffatDG10 9EB     tel: 01683 222870      Brodies

ps The man who enabled Amazon to deliver parcels on time and for the world in general to make appointments and produce reliable timetables, came from Moffat. We visited his grave. Oddly enough the church yard has a beautifully smooth tarmacadam path leading through the headstones but not to the one belonging to its inventor, John MacAdam. You have to tramp through a lot of long wet grass to get to it. He died here in 1836.Gravestone of John McAdam in Moffat church yard

Scones

The Riverside Café

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In 1896 when the tall ship, Glenlee, seen here on the right of the title picture, was launched from the Bay Shipyard in Port Glasgow this part of the Clyde was buzzing with heavy industry … Glasgow was building railway engines and mighty ocean liners for the rest of the world. Hard to believe nowadays when the river banks are mostly lined with nothing more than elegant apartments. ‘Riverside living’ they call it. Canada poster at Glasgow Riverside MuseumView of cafe at Glasgow Riverside MuseumThe racket of riveters at work has given way to relative peace and quiet, and rather than the skyline being dominated by huge cranes, today it is ultra modern buildings like the Armadillo, the SEC Hydro, the Glasgow Tower and this one … the Riverside. Or to give it its full name, the Riverside Museum of Transport and Travel.

For years we have been saying that we should visit but you know how it is. Difficult to find the time. We wish we could say that this visit was caused by lofty cultural and educational reasons. It was actually much more prosaic, however. Our car was being serviced at a nearby garage and they offered to drop us here while we waited. The spectacular design by Iraqui born architect Zaha Hadid, is supposed to symbolize  the dynamic relationship between Glasgow and the river Clyde – whatever! When it opened in 2011 the Glenlee, which had been a training ship for the Spanish navy, was moored here and is now part of the museum experience.Internal view of Glasgow Riverside Museum

True Glasgow style

Inside the main building there is a dazzling array of transport memorabilia. Whole streets of the Victorian age have been lovingly recreated. Internal view of Launch of the Queen Mary exhibit at the Glasgow RiversideOne exhibit reminded us that the weather wasn’t any better in 1934 at the launch of the Queen Mary, not that we should  be complaining, we haven’t had a drop of rain for weeks. When the Glenlee was being launched in 1896 the Glasgow Subway was being opened. The only earlier subways at that time were in London and Budapest. Subway poster at Glasgow Riverside MuseumView of cafe at Glasgow Riverside Museum

Okay, you are getting impatient. Does the museum have scones? Well, enjoyable as all this nostalgic stuff was before long you do need a sit down and some sort of sustenance. We made our way to the Riverside Café. It’s at the front of the museum looking out onto the river and the Glenlee. It has a very high ceiling and the furnishings are pretty utilitarian. The slightly cavernous feel, however, is more than made up for by the friendliness of the staff.View of cafe at Glasgow Riverside Museum Again, in true Glasgow style … by the time we were finished the serving staff knew more about us than we knew about ourselves.

Again, we decided to have some lunch so decided to share the scone. Like the Butterchurn in our previous post, it did not look exactly mouth watering but heyho, our dedication to sconology knows no bounds. Sometimes in places like this where they say the scones are freshly baked we can tend to be a wee bit cynical. “Surely not”, we hear you gasp, “those two could never be cynical”! A scone at Glasgow Riverside MuseumView of cafe at Glasgow Riverside MuseumWell, our cynicism was confounded once again, it had been freshly baked and it was really good, no cream but a selection of prepacked jams and plenty butter. Not a topscone, but good effort!

Back to the good old days

The Riverside Museum is superb and we are not at all surprised  that many awards have come its way. It certainly gives you an insight into times gone by and makes you a bit nostalgic for the old days. It is perhaps worth remembering though. There were lots of things about that heavy industrial era that were not quite as rosy as we remember. None of the sparkling exhibits would actually have been like that in real life. They would all have been covered in a layer of soot for a start. And it probably would have been inadvisable to breathe the air in central Glasgow. Donald Trump wants to bring back the steel and coal mining industries to make America great again … really?External view of Glasgow Riverside Museum

G3 8RS          tel: 0141 287 2720              Riverside Museum

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Butterchurn Coffee House

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There are plenty of things that change as you get older but no one  ever mentioned to us that you start to run out of aunties. Between us we used to have loads of them but, sadly, now we only have two … and one of them lives here in Kirkintilloch. We are taking her out for lunch. Kirkie is a fair distance from our home town of Falkirk yet both towns are very much connected: a) the Forth & Clyde canal runs through both b) the Roman Antonine Wall runs through both and c) they both have an illustrious history in iron manufacturing.

The official guide

Aficianados of the world famous red telephone box know that almost all the K2 and K6 versions were made here in the Lion foundry and, of course, every single one of the limited edition K4s were made at Carron in Falkirk. For non-aficianados we have put together a handy guide which will hopefully help avoid any confusion. K2, K6 and K4 red telephone boxesAnyway, now that we have cleared that up, our aunt wanted to buy some plants for her garden so where better than Caulder’s Garden Centre right here in Kirkie. It’s also home to the Butterchurn Coffee House. Although we had been warned it was always busy we did not expect to be told that we would have to wait twenty minutes for a table .. and it’s not as if it is short of tables. It’s quite a big place. We were put on a waiting list.Internal view of the Butter Churn Coffee Shop, Kirkintilloch

True to their word, however, we went back later and within a couple of minutes we had a table. The serving staff, although rushed off their feet, were very friendly and welcoming in that uniquely Glasgow kind of way. You find yourself talking about the weather, children and the price of tea in China in the act of giving your order. We had ordered a scone but decided, since we were having other things, to share it three ways. A scone at the Butter Churn Coffee Shop, KirkintillochUnfortunately it appeared with all the other food so we had to look at it all the way through lunch. It did not look at all promising.

Lumpy bumpy cake

Well, you would think, with our intensive studies in sconology, that we would be able to spot a good scone at some distance. You would be wrong, it was excellent. What do we know? We like our scones to be a little bit crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle but this one wasn’t, it was all soft but with a lovely texture … delicious! Nice jam and whipped cream as well. They also do lumpy bumpy cake … don’t ask!

View from the Butter Churn Coffee Shop, Kirkintilloch
View with the Campsie Fells in the distance
Antis?

There have been other surprises recently! For us the biggest was how far the main stream media, including the ‘impartial’ BBC, went in distorting the facts about the local council elections. They managed to turn it, with just 20% of the vote, into a triumph for the Tories. Apparently the SNP are going to have to rethink their entire strategy and drop all thoughts of independence … eh? The clue is in the name? What actually happened was that the SNP, after 10 years in power, increased their vote and took control of all the major cities whereas the unionist vote decreased. It takes real skill to twist that into a disaster for independence but par for the course really. The Tories did increase their vote but only because Labour voters could not bring themselves to vote Labour and switched, unbelievably in Scotland, to Tory. Table decoration at the Butter Churn Coffee Shop, Kirkintilloch

In France, Emmanuel Macron has become President! Perhaps not that surprising, but surprising in that no one seemed to like either candidate, they just voted for what they saw as the lesser of two evils. What has happened to world politics. Everything is anti: anti-immigration, anti-EU, anti-globilisation, anti-this, anti-that? Our Kirkintilloch aunty is a wee treasure however. We had a great lunch and a surprise topscone. Apologies for the homophonics.Graphic for the Butter Churn Coffee Shop, KirkintillochG66 1QF                       tel: 0141 776 2304                         Butterchurn

Ordinary, Scones

Glen Lyon Tearoom

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In order to explain our whereabouts for this scone you will have to bear with us while we explain a bit about the origins of photography. It will only take a minute … honest!

In 1837 Louis Daguerre produced a photograph using a piece of silver plated copper. It needed a half hour exposure  but that was much faster than anything that had gone before. Tremendously exciting at the time. Within twenty years however the process was superceeded by the Wet Plate Collodion process. It used glass plates coated in a mixture of bromide, iodide and chloride and offered exposures of just a few minutes. To take a picture you first had to coat the glass plate, expose it in the camera while still wet, then process it before it dried. About ten minutes or so for each shot and all using highly dangerous chemicals! Anyway, believe it or not, today we had our picture taken using this process, courtesy of our friends Dave and Gill Hunt at Wildgrass Studios.

Wildgrass Studios
Guinea pigs

Dave is experimenting with the Wet Plate Collodion process and we had volunteered to be guinea pigs. I started my photography career using 5×4 large format cameras but never with wet plates. I was fascinated to see the process in action. Talk about going back in time! Electricity wasn’t around when these processes were being used but thankfully, with modern electric lighting we did not have to sit still for long. Just long enough for Dave to remove the lens cap, flash, then replace it. Unfortunately, we did not see the finished articles because they all had be carefully dried overnight.

Photography at Wildgrass Studios near Killin
Pat waits to be shot while Dave prepares the plate .. developed plates washing

 

Simple explanation
Wildgrass Studio is near Killin so, after our photo session, we decided to hop over the lower slopes of Ben Lawers, on a great wee road that is only open in the summer, to Bridge of Balgie and the Glen Lyon tearoom. See, simple explanation … we were having our picture taken. Interior view of Glenlyon tearoom, Bridge of Balgie
Pre-loaded

For the village of Bridge of Balgie, this place is the Post Office and the supermarket. Though not quite a Tesco it has all the staples needed if you find yourself snowed in. It also has a good reputation as a tearoom and for its scones. A scone at Glenlyon tearoom, Bridge of BalgieThere was one big problem though. From the photograph, those of you who are aware of our proclivities, can probably tell that they did not meet with our overwhelming approval. We tend to like to decide for ourselves how much jam and cream to put on our scones. Presumably it is done to be helpful but it would be soooo much better if everything was served separately. What made it even more annoying was that the scones themselves were excellent. Maybe even topscones if Pat had not had to scrape off most of the topping. I, on the other hand, ate the lot! Glen Lyon Roasters coffee poster at the Glenlyon tearoom, Bridge of Balgie

The Glen Lyon tearoom is a great spot though. They even roast their own coffee. If they could just serve the scones correctly it would be perfect. Just west of Bridge of Balgie lies the magnificent sparkling white Meggernie Castle, former home to Captain Robert Campbell who led the government troops at the Massacre of Glencoe. The castle is said to be haunted by some really horrible ghosts. With both of us being of a McDonald persuasion, all we can say is, “bloody well serves them right”!

Half a brain

We see that Theresa May has given away her EU negotiating strategy by promising to be “a bloody difficult woman”  … does she not realise that anyone with half a brain can be ‘bloody difficult’ and that her counterparts in the EU now know that they are dealing with someone with only half a brain … but they probably knew that anyway.

View from the Glenlyon tearoom, Bridge of Balgie
View from the tearoom

We won’t see the finished pictures from Wildgrass for some time yet. But, by the wonders of Photoshop, we can give you sneaky peek of what we look like floating around in a dish of water. Wet Plate Collodion picture from Wildgrass StudiosPerhaps, if there is enough in the way of popular demand, we might let you see the finished article in a later post. Many thanks Dave for your endless patience and for what was an absolutely fascinating experience. Think I will be sticking with digital though.

PH15 2PP        tel: 01887-866221       Glen Lyon Tearoom TA

english, Scones, Top

St Paul’s Hotel

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What is now the elegant red sandstone St Paul’s Hotel started life as St Paul’s School, founded in 1509. Since then the school has occupied numerous locations. Currently it occupies a large site on the south side of the Thames near Hammersmith Bridge. Between 1884 and 1968, however, it was housed here on the other side of the river.  Like Eton and Gordonstoun, St Paul’s was designed to populate the government, civil service, diplomatic service and the armed forces with men who could maintain the Empire, They were also expected to keep their parents in the manner to which they had become accustomed. And, of course, keep the riffraff in their rightful place. Amongst its alumni are Samuel Pepys and George Osborne. Quite why they would admit to someone whose main achievement, as Chancellor of the Exchequer, was to double the national debt to £1.7 trillion, is quite beyond us.

SWALK

Luckily this rather beautiful building has found a renewed sense of purpose serving scones to the riffraff. Enter riffraff. Poster for the film 'Melody', filmed at St Paul's Hotel, HammersmithThe hotel has lots of beautiful rooms and, in what used to be the lecture theatre, General Eisenhower presented the final invasion plan to General Montgomery, King George VI and Winston Churchill just three weeks before the D-Day landings took place in 1944.

For our cream tea, however, we were ushered into the very comfortable Melody Restaurant & Bar. So called because the school provided the backdrop for the 1971 cult film about ‘puppy love’. The film is sometimes known as S.W.A.L.K (some of you will know what these letters stand for) and if you click on the poster and have an hour and forty three minutes to spare you can watch it. Though you would probably be better served just continuing to read this post.

Scone threesomes

The service in St Paul’s Hotel would best be described as ‘efficient’. Absolutely nothing wrong with it but maybe lacking a certain friendly personal touch that would make all the difference. Then again they can probably spot riffraff a mile off and are trained not to be overly effusive in their welcomes. Scones at St Paul's Hotel, HammersmithThey offer a range of teas and we elected, in true adventurous style, for Indian breakfast rather than English. Quite a good choice as it turned out. The presentation of the scones was as you would expect in such a place. Nice bowls of jam and cream, crisp linen napkins etc. The scones come in threes. Okay they’re quite small, and although some of them could never be described as ‘beautifully formed’, they were delicious … nicely warmed, crunchy on the outside with super soft centres, topped off with a light dusting of icing sugar. Fab … topscone!Interior view of St Paul's Hotel, Hammersmith

Meeting in the forest

You cannot turn your back for a second! While we’ve been away Theresa May has ‘done’ Scotland on her “strong and stable – I am the one” general election tour of what she doubtless regards as ‘the provinces’. Lets face it the Tories see Scotland simply as a place to shoot grouse and store nuclear missiles. Oh, and a source of funding for all their fancy London projects. She really got down and dirty with the locals … not! Her only appearance was in a village hall in a forest near to that well known Labour stronghold of Crathes in Aberdeenshire. It had been surreptitiously booked for a children’s party. No shortage of balloons then? It is hard to imagine anything more pathetic. Okay, okay, George Osborne, but at least he has managed to get another job he knows nothing about, as editor of the Evening Standard?

W14 0QL            tel: 020 8846 9119                 St Paul’s

Ordinary, Scones

Callendar House Tearoom 2

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A billboard at Callendar House tearoom, FalkirkIn our original post, almost two years ago, we gave Callendar House a bit of a hard time. We appealed to Falkirk Community Council to pull their socks up and provide something a little better. Well … we got a tip off in the form of this photo from our Trossachs correspondents, remember them? They are mostly dormant in winter but the fresh spring air has obviously stirred them and they sent this picture from a recent visit. They also reported an improvement in the scones! So this is Callendar House Tearoom 2. Philosophically the blackboard message gets right to the heart of everything. Perhaps another visit was required.

Stolen decanters

A slight aside. Because my dad worked for Callendar Estate, when the contents of the house were been auctioned off in 1963, I, as a mere youth, was given the task of patrolling one of the floors, which included Mary Queen of Scots bedroom, to ensure that nothing was stolen. Didn’t someone pinch a full set of crystal decanters and glasses from her room … arrgghh! As far as I can remember I still got paid! The marriage agreement between Mary and the French Dauphin, Francis, which provided that Scotland and France should eventually be united as one kingdom, was signed here. Mary was fifteen and Francis fourteen when they were married in the cathedral of Notre Dame, Paris. The rest, as they say, is history. Interesting to speculate though on what things would be like now if Scotland had united with France rather than England.Internal view of Callendar House tearoom, Falkirk

Inappropriate furnishing

The tearoom is housed in a beautiful old wood paneled room with ornate gilded cornicing. The publicity says “the newly refurbished Callendar House Tearoom offers a bright and airy café experience” … and it does. It also has nice views from the tall windows onto the expansive lawns and gardens.  The refurbishment however has involved replacing all the tables and chairs we complained about last time with equally modern featureless items which, although better, are still slightly incongruous. For such a grand setting, more appropriate Victoriana could easily have been purchase from auctions at a fraction of the cost. A lost opportunity! We have got to hand it to the staff however who have to work one of the most inefficient systems known to man. The kitchen is miles away, the cakes and pastries are at the furthest away point from the kitchen and the till is half way in between. They have to walk many unnecessary miles every day. But they seem to do so happily, well done them! A scone at Callendar House tearoom, Falkirk

What’s with all this moaning we hear you say? Exactly, let’s get on to the scones. Our correspondents turned out to be absolutely correct,  they were much improved, very good even. Not quite topscone but close. Again no local produce, the jam was the ubiquitous Tiptree variety and the butter was completely anonymous. Heyho the overall experience was much better than last time … small steps. Thanks to our Trossachs correspondents for the heads-up!

Policies?

Just started getting our Council Election bumf through the door. Our sitting Tory counciller has a large fancy pamphlet completely devoid of policies except ” SNP bad” … probably all you can say if you can’t think of anything good to say about your own party! Logo of Callendar House tearoom, FalkirkFK1 1YR               tel: 01324 503770              Callendar House

Ordinary, Scones

Rankin’s Café

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Today we are in North Queensferry gazing up at the world famous Forth Rail Bridge. We don’t usually start with a quiz however this is an exception. The bridge was opened in 1890 but how many rivets do you think were used in its construction: a) 6.5 million b) the same number as the number of grains in a handful of sand c) the same number as the number of currants in a Rankin’s Café fruit scone. Forth Rail BridgeThe answer of course is (a) but if you said (c) then you would not have been too far out. More of that later!

Town planners

In 1068, King Malcolm III of Scotland’s wife Margaret, decreed that a crossing should be established here for the benefit of pilgrims traveling to St Andrews. She used it herself for the last time when her body was carried from Edinburgh to Dunfermline. Scotland’s capital at the time, for burial. Thenceforth it became known as the Queen’s Ferry. The last ferry landing here was in 1964 when the Forth Road Bridge was opened. Today North Queensferry is very much the poor relation of its more glamorous sister, South Queensferry, on the opposite side of the river. Architecturally it is a peculiar mix of quite pretty historic buildings from the 17th and 18th centuries and incredible monstrosities from the 1960s. Town planners have much to answer for here.

Hobson’s choice

This is the first time we have ever visited. The only reason we are here at all is to see the progress on the new Queensferry Crossing,  due for completion later this year. There’s not a lot in the town apart from a Deep Sea World which we were keen to avoid. We never found a shop of any kind though there must be one somewhere, and Rankin’s seems to be the only café. Hobson’s choice for the weary traveler. Not a bad wee place though.

Exterior view of Rankine's Café, North Queensferry
The Rail Bridge on the left and Rankin’s on the right.

The owner, Derek Rankin, prides himself on his coffee. He even produces barista classes for the uninitiated … but what about his scones? Well, rivets come to mind again because he puts a lot of fruit in his fruit scones. A scone at Rankine's Café, North QueensferryNow, call us old fusspots if you like but we think that the fruit should be mixed into the scone mixture so that it is evenly distributed and held in suspension throughout the scone. Presumably Derek doesn’t bother with all that stirring business. There is so much fruit it is literally falling out of the scone onto the plate. The scones themselves were justA scone at Rankine's Café, North Queensferry the right size and actually pretty good …. just too much fruit. It kind of got in the way of the scone. The coffee was great though and all in all we enjoyed our visit.

False promises

This town is also home to the former Labour Prime Minister, Gordon Brown. Or Big Gordie as he is often referred to.  Since hardly anyone in Scotland believes anything the Tories say, Big Gordie is usually wheeled out on their behalf as the believable side of unionism. A kind of glove puppet. With the threat of another Scottish independence referendum looming, we can reasonably expect him to stir again from his North Queensferry lair and go lumbering round the country delivering all sorts of impossible inducements to preserve the Union. Considering that everything he promised in the 2014 independence referendum came to naught it will be interesting to see if people will be taken in again by whatever he dreams up this time.Interior view of Rankine's Café, North Queensferry

Lastly, in what we thought was a great idea, the town in 2000, made a Millenium Resolution. Preserved for posterity in the form of a bronze plaque looking out onto the river. It reads: Millennium Resolution plaque at North Queensferry

Let there be respect for the earth
Peace for its people
Love in our lives
Delight in the good
Forgiveness for past wrongs
And from now on, a new start

Nice one North Queensferry … but what are the chances?

KY11 1JG         tel: 01383 616313          Rankin’s Café

Ordinary, Scones, self-service

The Beatson Cancer Centre

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This scone is from the The Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre. Thankfully, it is renowned for things other than baking! If you just happen to be here however and a scone confronts you, what are you supposed to do? Obviously no one ever wants to contract this disease. If you have managed to get through life without being touched by cancer in some way, then you are a very fortunate person indeed. The Beatson used to be part of our working lives but this particular state-of-the-art building was just opening as we retired and, of course, we never expected to be back.

Bust of Sir George Beatson
Sir George Beatson

 

Someone near and dear to us is going to need the services of this place for the foreseeable future however, so suddenly it has become more familiar than ever. Suffice to say it is a fabulous facility  which works like a well oiled machine. Belying all the scaremongering headlines about NHS Scotland. Best of all, it is a happy place. It is named in memory of Sir George Beatson who, although born in Sri Lanka in 1848, was brought up in Campbeltown. He ended up ended up specialising in the treatment of cancer in Glasgow until his death in 1933.

Cha cha cha

As well as being a highly skilled physician we think Sir George must have been an optimist. Someone once described an optimist as “someone who figures that taking a step backward after taking a step forward is not a disaster; it’s more like a cha-cha”. That sentiment pretty well sums up the feeling you get when you visit the building that now bears his name. Not the sort of place you would necessarily seek out for a scone however and we are certainly not advocating that you do … but since we are here!

Reception area at the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre
Reception area
Volunteers

There is a franchise café in the reception area but we tend to use another one on a lower floor which is run by volunteers. It is self service but no young whippersnappers here asking if you want to ‘go large’? You get the impression that the staff have either had cancer themselves or have known someone who has. Of course, they were all smiling and can’t do enough to help. A scone at the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer CentreThere are probably more staff than would be required by a profit seeking enterprise but you just know that any profits generated here are not going very far. There is a good range of food on offer but, predictable as always, our eyes were on the scones.

We got them all wrapped up in individual cellophane packets on paper plates together with the usual little packs of butter and jam. Coffee came in paper cups and the knives and forks were plastic but who cares in a place like this? It was all good and we will certainly be supporting them on our return visits over the coming years.Café area at the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre

Doctors in a Brexit world

What cynical carping political comment are they going to make in a place like this, we hear you ask? Only that the doctor we met was fabulous. She oozed positivity and optimism from ever pore of her being and was an absolute joy to speak to. Working at the Beatson for over four years she made us feel very happy. She was from Seville. We asked her what would happen to her in the brave new world of Brexit … “I have no idea” she replied cheerily. If only there had been some words of comfort we could have offered in return!

G12 0YN      tel: 0141 301 7000           The Beatson Cancer Centre

Ordinary, Scones

Great Western Auctions

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Today we are talking antiques … no, not us!! We are talking about the kind that you find in places like this! If you ever have the dubious pleasure of watching daytime television you will no doubt have come across programs like the Antiques Road Trip, Flog It, Bargain Hunt and Cash in the Attic. Indeed, you would be hard pushed to avoid them. Sometimes we wonder what the BBC would do without such programs to fill the day. One of the stars of these shows is Anita Manning and this place, Great Western Auctions in Glasgow, is where she hails from. Topically, it might be better called La La Land because she runs it together with her daughter Lala. Anita Manning at Great Western Auctions, Glasgow

Bargains

We have been known to like a good rummage so we are not exactly strangers here. We are not antique experts by any stretch of the imagination. Going round these places however is good fun and lets you see all the things you never knew you wanted. Potentially a dangerous and expensive thing to do! Of course, you can also get a real bargain if you are there at the right time. Getting a bargain, of course, generally means that you were the only one bidding which, in turn, tells you a lot about the item’s desirability.

George Wylie handbag at Great Western Auctions, Glasgow
George Wyllie handbag

 

Today we were in Glasgow on an errand. So we decided to pop in to Great Western Auctions just to see if there was anything we didn’t need. There are always things of interest in any auction so the trick, if you are not a dealer, is to curb your own desires. For instance, in this auction there was a handbag by the artist George Wyllie. I was tempted to buy it for Pat simply because it would have been lighter than her normal one. In the downstairs area there is a small café where weary rummagers can get a little sustenance.

It is run by a lovely retired lady who does this part time café business. As she says cheerily, “just to keep me off street corners”. When the auctions are on she gets up at 5am to bake everything for the coming day … including the scones. It’s a no-frills no-nonsense kind of place.

Stand up scones

Since we were feeling a little bit peckish we decide to have a bacon roll each and share a scone. A scone at Great Western Auctions, GlasgowShe asked if we wanted butter and jam on the scone – we didn’t even bother asking about cream, and then she made up the scone for us. Not behaviour we would normally condone but, since there is only one small table to sit at,  it probably makes sense. Most customers just have to stand. Assembling a scone, standing up with a cupful of hot coffee in the other hand is never easy.

Anyway we got a seat at the table and started on our rolls which were absolutely fantastic. For some reason we did not have high expectations for the scone but it turned out to be very good too. In fact, it would almost have made topscone were it not for some presentational issues – paper cups, no plates etc. But, hey, they are not trying to impress here, they are just trying to provide some quick bites for hungry bidders who always have one eye on the tv screens following the auction anyway.

Moorcroft plate at Great Western Auctions, Glasgow
A Moorcroft plate

 

We feel that an accusation of ‘presentational issues’ could be levelled at the media these days. Three days later, they are still going on incessantly about the Westminster Bridge tragedy. Elevating it to a status which it surely does not deserve. If they treated it as a crime perpetrated by someone of deranged mind rather than a ‘terrorist act’ we would not be giving actual terrorists the oxygen of publicity they crave so much.

Didn’t get the handbag, it eventually went for about £100, sorry Pat!

G14 9UY     tel: 0141 954 1500    Great Western

Ordinary, Scones

Mona’s of Muckhart

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We are very familiar with Westminster Bridge so our thoughts go out to all those caught up in yesterday’s tragedy. A kind of re-enactment of the horrific events in Nice which are still very fresh in our memories. In spite of our frequent moaning about Westminster we have to hand it to all the MPs who seem to have responded admirably. At the end of the day it’s virtually impossible to protect against religious zealots whose mindset is totally irrational. It is important however that the Palace of Westminster, as far as possible, remains a public place.

Anyway the village of Muckhart is about as far away from such events as it is possible to get. A sleepy little corner of Clackmannanshire in what is known as the ‘hillfoots’ of the Ochil Hills. It actually consists of two small adjacent villages – Yetts of Muckhart and Pool of Muckhart. The ‘Muckhart’ bit seems to refer to the surrounding fields being used for pig farming at some time in the past.

What happens in Muckhart? Well, not a lot. It does have a 27 hole golf course. Also a nice wee pub whose doorstep is exactly the same height above sea level as the Wallace Monument. Not a lot of people know that! Today however we are in Mona’s in Pool of Muckhart on that never ending quest for topscones. Interior view of Monas of Muckhart

What’s in a name?

It is difficult for someone of our age to utter the name “Mona” without getting an immediate rush of nostalgia for the Rolling Stones and their Bo Diddley track of that name. Don’t worry if you’re under sixty, it’s a generational thing. This Mona has nothing to do with the Stones but everything to do with the current owner’s grandmother. Her name was Mona Cram.

You enter into a nice little shop selling jewellery, knick knacks and lots of home baking before continuing through to the café area where we discovered a solitary plain scone with three cheese scones keeping it company. All they had left! I decided to put the plain one out of its misery leaving Pat no option but to go for cheese. A scone at Monas of MuckhartThe lady looking after us was a joy. You know how it is when you meet someone and you just know that nothing is going to be too much trouble. Even if it is, it will still be done cheerily and with a smile. She was one of those!

My scone arrived with generous pots of jam and cream and Pat’s had been nicely warmed up and came with butter. In other words, everything was just as it should be. We enjoyed them but Pat felt her cheese one was slightly doughy and try as I might I just couldn’t raise mine to topscone status either.  The friendly atmosphere more than made up for any disappointment with the scones. Mona’s is definitely worth a visit. Here in Muckhart on a lovely day it is impossible to even begin to imagine what possesses someone to perpetrate the events of Westminster Bridge yesterday. Long may it remain so.

FK14 7JN     tel: 01259 781322      Monas of Muckart