Tag Archives: Sir Keir Starmer

Lamlash House

7 June 2024 billpaterson1@me.com 13 Comments

We’ve been trying to book an afternoon tea here in Lamlash House since what seems like forever. It’s always fully booked because they only do them once in a while. For example, the next one isn’t until 7th September. Anyway, we managed to get booked so here we are in the lace manufacturing town of Newmilns in deepest Ayrshire.

Although lace manufacturing has largely died out in the town MYB Textiles still carries on the tradition. Now, they are the world’s only producer still making patterned lace on their 100 year old looms.

Banking To Banqueting

The Tannahill window at Lamlash House — One of several windows dedicated to Scotlands writers and poets. This one is to Robert Tannahill.

Lamlash House was built in 1889 for the Royal Bank of Scotland. It’s opulent Victorian interiors were obviously designed to impress but they are only evident today due to the monumental renovation undertaken by its current owners, Gordon and Jonathan. To begin with they only had the upstairs but in 2014 when the bank decided to quit they acquired the downstairs as well. Years of intense restoration followed before they were able to open the doors again in 2019. And what a job they have done! The attention to detail is astonishing. It is like stepping back in time but with an air of playfulness replacing the rather stern solidity of the bank. Their years of toil have really paid off.

Today they were celebrating a five year anniversary so everyone was presented with complimentary fizz on arrival. Our tea was served in what used to be the main banking hall; now styled around Charles Rennie Macintosh. From the Leaf Tea and Infusion Menu we chose the Lamlash House Signature Blend which was billed as the perfect accompaniment to scones … just what we needed!

The afternoon tea was a cornucopia of goodies from delicious sandwiches to citrusy posset with a raspberry on top. And fabulous scones, of course. All this combined with perfect service in beautiful surroundings made it a wonderful experience. Although not quite Pat’s birthday she was suitably serenaded and presented with a cake complete with candle. This was an experience which could easily rival Fonab Castle and Schloss Roxburgh as our sconey benchmarks.

Small but perfect

Afterwards we went out to the garden to finish off our bubbles in the sunshine. And after that we went to what they think may be the smallest bar in Scotland – the Strongroom Bar. Obviously it used to be the walk-in safe for the bank and it features one which used to sit in the main banking hall where we had our afternoon tea. It’s great fun and, as expected, beautifully reimagined as a bar. However, it can only accommodate a couple of people so our cocktails were served next door in the Library. It’s not a lot bigger but is beautifully appointed and does have a couple of very comfortable easy chairs.

The Library at Lamlash House — Pat had a French Martini and mine was a Cosmo-Not. Served, of course, on £50 notes (napkins)

Lamlash house has a real family feel about it. No one seems to be in a rush. It was Jonathan’s mother that answered the door and it was her and her friends who were working in the kitchen. Long after afternoon tea was finished they still took delight in showing us around the premises and explaining the significance of some of the features and the difficulties experienced during renovations. Of course, they can only do this because they carefully manage the number of small weddings and other events they hold to keep stress levels to an absolute minimum … perfect!

Pat with Gordon and Jonathan — Gordon, Pat and Jonathan beside a vintage bicycle in the garden

Lock in

We have seldom enjoyed a visit as much as we did this one. It was an absolute pleasure. It seems a shame to sully it with political comment so we won’t.

Stained glass at Lamlash House — Flora, Roman Goddess of Flowers and the Season of Spring at the front door

Except to say that we missed the TV Leaders Debate between Sunak and Starmer which we referred to in our previous post from Stockbridge House. Of course, the media have been talking about nothing else so we almost feel as if we did actually see it. There was no mention of anything of importance like the National Debt, Brexit or Scotland. Instead they just lied to each other and to us. With leadership like this we wish we could just lock ourselves in Lamlash House until it is all over … or even longer!

KA16 9AD tel: 07912 874 600 Lamlash House

///racked.smashes.etchings

Ordinary, Scones

Stockbridge House

4 June 2024 billpaterson1@me.com 11 Comments

If you don’t want to be taken down a wee memory lane, look away now! We’re back where we started over 50 years ago.

In our previous post from The Dean we walked through Dean Village along the Water of Leith and came to Stockbridge where we used to live. If you carry on walking eventually you end up in the Port of Leith and the open sea. When we started our married life Stockbridge was relatively cheap compared to the rest of Edinburgh. However, even back then it was termed “up and coming” and now it’s well and truly “up”. With its cafés and bars it is seen as one of the trendiest locations in the city. At that time I worked along the road at the Western General hospital and Pat worked in Stockbridge House.

Plaque commemorating the opening of Stockbridge House — I just happened to be standing there but the Queen Mum shook my hand … haven’t washed it since

Get it right!

In some of our flights of fancy we like to think that we played some small part in the rise of Stockbridge’s desirability. Adding a sense of style and that certain ‘je ne sais quoi’. Seriously though, we lived round the corner from the notorious Madam Dora’s establishment in Danube Street. Covered in pictures of the local Tory candidate her handsome Georgian townhouse was very easy to spot at election time. Famously she paid her fines in cash from her handbag during her almost monthly court appearances and used the witness box to publicise her service. She implored the journalists to get her address exactly right. After a spell in prison, aged 76, she died and the business died with her.

Respectability restored

Now, Danube Street with its £1-2 million houses is the epitome of respectability again, Even in our more modest little street, Leslie Place, our one bedroom flat would now cost about £300,000. A far cry from the £4,500 we paid for it. Nowadays, if we were starting over again we probably wouldn’t be able to do it here. From our flat, we could look out the back window and see Stockbridge House where Pat worked. We thought we should see if it was still there.

It was always a facility for the elderly but now it has been renamed LifeCare. Apparently something to do with going from charitable status to a public limited company.

There’s a cafe called CafeLife where they were just finishing an afternoon tea event when we arrived. We were welcomed in, however, and shown to a table where they gave us tea and a cheese scone to share.

It was nice to see it still operating for the benefit of the elderly and they obviously felt that we now qualified to receive some of these benefits. No topscone but great to explore the place again and chat to the wonderful staff.

Don’t Pisco Me Off

After that we thought we should check out what used to be our local pub, the Rag Doll. Back then we were well embedded here. On occasions we even held the keys for the owner if he was away on business elsewhere. Trusting or what?However, after we moved to Northern Ireland the pub was sold and over the years has had many many incarnations under different names. Imagine our surprise to find it called the Rag Doll again. We were delighted.

Like the area, it has gone upmarket as well and is probably more of a cocktail bar than a pub now. We arrived just as it was opening and had a great chat with the new owner. When he took it over a few months ago he wisely decided to reinstate the Rag Doll name. To celebrate, we had to have a couple of drinks.

Cocktails in the Rag Doll — In the tall glass Pat had a ‘Lothian’s Calling’ (Edinburgh gin, Fino sherry, Lemon,Sugar syrup,Orange bitters) and I had a ‘Don’t Pisco Me Off’ (Pisco, GB Peche,JerezXeres sherry, Acid, Sugar syrup, Plum bitters, White wine)

In case you’re wondering Pisco is an unaged brandy obtained from the distillation of fermented Peruvian grape musts; we didn’t know either. Great fun, we wish the Rag Doll a massive amount of luck going forward. We did warn you it was a trip down memory lane!

Washing our hair

We’re on tenterhooks waiting for the first TV Leader’s Debate later this evening … NOT! A Sunak/Starmer debacle for which we could probably write the questions and, although there won’t be any meaningful ones, we could probably write the answers as well. The only surprise is that Nigel Farage isn’t taking part. He doesn’t represent anyone but the media seem to love giving him airtime. Who knows, we might have to wash our hair when it’s on.

EH4 1JB tel: 0131 343 0940 CafeLife

///mash.found.burns

Ordinary, Scones, self-service

Klondyke Garden Centre

10 February 2022 billpaterson1@me.com 1 Comment

It’s that time of year again! Although we have reviewed Klondyke Garden Centre several times before, it has changed so much that we feel another review is justified. We’re not apologising … Boris doesn’t have to apologise for anything so why should we?

Choice

It’s our annual compost fix we’re after. If we don’t get it the rest of the year will definitely not go as well as it would have done otherwise. We try to restrict it to once a year … we’re not addicts … it’s for the garden. Actually, it’s for our rhubarb which we are in the process of transplanting from the garden into large pots. Reminds me of one of my dad’s favourite stories about a man passing a mental hospital pushing a barrowload of manure. An inmate pokes his head through the railings and asks him what he is going to do with it. “I’m going to put it on my rhubarb” he replied. “Oh” the inmate said “You should come in here we get custard on ours“. Okay, okay! It remains to be seen how well our rhubarb will do in pots … it’s a high risk strategy!

Anyway, over the past year or so, much work has been done at this garden centre. The car park is now vast and the centre itself is much bigger than it used to be. As well as a huge area dedicated to plants there are gift shops, clothes shops, a shoe shop and even a car wash. All this choice can be kind of bewildering and choosing compost is no exception … ericatious, John Innes, Miracle Gro, peat free, big bag, wee bag … argh!

Internal view of Topiary restaurant Klondyke — Just part one section of the restaurant/cafe area

Technology

Unsurprisingly perhaps, it wasn’t long before the lure of the cafe became overpowering. Crikey, it’s. gone huge as well. In our previous review we tried to use their new fandangled phone ‘Order & Pay’ system. It seemed to work but after waiting for twenty minutes for our order to appear we realised something had gone wrong. When we asked a member of staff she just said “no problem, I can take your order” … argh! This time we ordered at the self service counter but they still seem to be using the same phone system at the tables. It must work sometimes so might try it again next time.

The scones were quite big so we decided to share. Expectations were not exactly high but we were pleasantly surprised. It tasted remarkably fresh and came complete with some English jam and Danish butter. The cream was whipped and nicely presented in a little glass jar. We actually swithered momentarily about a topscone but decided that the complete package just wasn’t quite right. But a bIg improvement on previous visits. Keep up the good work Klondyke Garden Centre … it’s all very impressive.

Wallpaper at restaurant Klondyke — Wallpaper in the cafe area

Also impressive is the new Falkirk Distillery which is right next door to the garden centre. It’s due to open its doors for the first time later in the year and who knows it may even serve scones in its restaurant. Exciting or what?

Trumpian?

Last time we were here in 2020 Boris Johnson was visiting Scotland. He reminded us how grateful we should be for the block grant … a gift from England!? He also said he had an “oven ready deal” for Brexit and Gove was proclaiming Brexit as the “easiest deal in history”. We all know that now, as we did then, they needn’t have bothered wasting their breath. With his administration still deep in the proverbial doodoo his latest imbecilic utterances about Keir Starmer and Jimmy Savile do not bode well for how any upcoming elections will be conducted. Looks very Trumpian to us!

All is not lost though, just as we were all about to lose faith in government of any kind, up pops ex PM and arch Tory, Sir John Major, to tell it like it is … or rather, how it should be! A Tory with a brain and a heart … whatever next?

We’ll keep you posted on the rhubarb!

FK2 0XS tel: 01324 717035 Klondyke

///staple.reap.rooms

And just when you thought the world could not get any crazier, we came across this car with a banana stuck up its exhaust. What’s that all about?

Later still, I watched as a flock of siskins fought and squabbled over a load of sunflower hearts. Totally illogical because there was more than enough for them all. Unfortunately though, when it comes to our planet’s resources, we are all just siskins. That should have been a Tweet really?

Scones

Dunimarle Castle

8 October 2021 billpaterson1@me.com 5 Comments

We are cheating a bit with this post. We’ll explain as we go along. Dunimarle Castle is something of a revelation for us. It stands on a highly elevated site overlooking the Firth of Forth just a twenty minute drive away from home. And yet we had never heard of it or even seen it until today. How on earth can that happen? Sometimes we surprise ourselves with the depth of our own ignorance.

Wellintonia avenue at Dunimarle Castle — Avenue of Wellingtonias used to from the main entrance to the castle

Don’t get on the wrong side of the king

Turns out that back in the 11th century this was the seat of the Thane of Fife, Lord MacDuff. He had upset the king, MacBeth by not attending his inauguration. Consequently, MacBeth ordered MacDuff’s wife and children to be murdered at Dunimarle in order to clear the blood line. It’s just a wild guess but we think MacBeth may have been a Tory. In 1835 Dunimarle, or Castlehill as it was known originally, was almost completely demolished and rebuilt by one Magdalene Erskine.

Magdalene was quite a woman! She got married to an Admiral Sharpe when she was in her sixties but it only lasted three days … no comment! Her brother was a soldier and she intended Dunimarle to be a museum for his extensive collection of 850 artworks ‘acquired’ on his many campaigns. Recently all these artworks were moved to Duff House near Banff but we think it’s time for them to be returned … Magdalene would have wanted that!

The Edible Wall

The thing that attracted us here however was the Edible Wall. We had seen a notice about it and imagining a wall made of scones with jam as mortar … and instead of cope stones there would be lashings of cream. It had to be done! Sadly there were no scones. The wall was impressive nevertheless.

In fact there were no scones anywhere at Dunimarle, not even a cafe. We had to go a few hundred yards to the east to get a scone at the Biscuit Cafe in Culross. Technically this post should have been entitled “The Biscuit Revisited” but then, so far as we are aware, MacBeth never ordered anyone to be put to death at the Biscuit, nor does it have an edible wall. Not as good a story so hopefully you’ll forgive us for cheating just a wee bit.

The Biscuit Café

Our last post from the Biscuit was back in 2015 and although we have been back to Culross many times since then, scones have never been on the agenda. Culross is steeped in history. You get a real feel for what a 17th century village must have looked like. Names like ‘Stinking Wynd’ however may have given some of our delicate 21st century senses a bit of a shock! It’s looks also belie the fact that it was once the centre for the export of coal with the first mine in the world able to extract from beneath the sea. It also has a Palace built around 1600, though it was really more of a rather grand house for a wealthy merchant.

Enough, what about the scones, we hear you cry. It’s always a treat to visit this café. It’s part of the Culross Pottery and Gallery so there are lots of things made on the premises that you can admire and buy. It also has a conservatory and a lovely sheltered garden area for sitting out.

They only had plain scones left so after a bite of lunch we shared one between us. It was nicely presented and came with plenty jam and cream. Back in 2015 we didn’t think their scones merited a topscone award and unfortunately it was the same this time. Just didn’t quite make it. The Biscuit is always worth a visit though so don’t let that verdict put you off in any way.

Street view in Culross — typical Culross street

Comedians

Last time we wrote about this place Jeremy Corbyn had just unexpectedly triumphed in the Labour leadership elections. At last there was some clear blue water between Labour and the Conservatives. Now, of course, Corbyn is history but in spite of now being led by a knight of the realm that clear blue water now looks ever more brown and murky. So with no opposition whatsoever over the past decade we now have a stand up comedian in charge of the country. To observe the sunny uplands that Boris keeps seeing we know that we would have to have many more pints of whatever he is on! We’re not that ignorant.

Great day at Dunimarle and the Biscuit.

DUNIMARLE CASTLE: KY12 8JN tel: 07713 629040 Dunimarle

///stunts.relief.snitch

THE BISCUIT CAFE: KY12 8JG The Biscuit

///spoons.depending.encroach

Scones, Uncategorized

COVID-19

4 April 2020 billpaterson1@me.com 9 Comments

This is not a government public service announcement about COVID-19! It’s just us! In these extraordinary times where we cannot access new scones, we thought we should try and reassure readers. Especially those concerned about the onset of scone withdrawal symptoms being mistaken for those of coronavirus. Have no fear! Coronavirus symptoms are a high temperature and a dry cough whereas those for scone withdrawal consist mainly of an intense, almost debilitating, sense of longing..

Because, of course, commercial scone baking has crashed we are left with little choice but to do it ourselves … provided you can get the ingredients. That’s not for everyone, so in these difficult times, we have decided that we can probably keep sconology going by simply digging into the archives. There won’t be any “fresh” scones but it may be interesting to look back and see if the rants were in any way justified. We may theme them. The first will probably be “island scones”. Not because there are better scones on the islands, more because we just like islands and, if nothing else, we will enjoy a little bit of nostalgia. Maybe one repost every week! Of course, that’s if we can figure out how to do it! If anyone would rather not receive them, please just let us know.

Texas and all that

We hope the UK is heading towards some sort of peak in the current pandemic but how will we know for definite when this pandemic is over? How will we know when normality has returned? Well, first of all, we need to go back in time to 1827. That’s when Beethoven died, Texas was still part of Mexico, Hussein Duval slapped the French consul’s face leading to the invasion of Algeria in 1830 and the term “socialist” was first used by Robert Owen. That last one is particularly apt since today the Labour Party elected Sir Keir Starmer as its new leader. He has a tough job making Labour electable again however we wish him well in providing some sort of opposition to the current hapless government.

Most importantly though, 1827 was the year our local pub, the Woodside Inn, first opened. It’s been serving the local community ever since. That is until two weeks ago when it closed its doors for the first time. Mon Dieu! Is this really the end of the world as we know it? I have been going there for well over fifty five years. So there you have it! We will recognise the return to normality when these doors open again. Hopefully, that won’t be too long!
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Stay safe

In the meantime, we thought we should toast you, our readers and all our wonderful worldwide correspondents for sticking by us through all the trials and tribulations of sconology. Together we will triumph but in the meantime, stay safe!

Scones, history and a dollop of politics