Tag Archives: Tesco

Saffron

A flower wall at Saffron
A flower wall at Saffron

We are still in Poole though technically we’re in Westbourne which, to us, just seems like part of Poole. The good people of Westbourne, however, would probably disagree.It has a slightly independent air about it. With both halves being in relative agreement our new fangled granddaughter GPS system worked well on this occasion. It took us directly to Westbourne Arcade. Pat had been here shopping the day before in Rose the Store and wanted to return to thank them for being so kind and helpful. Saffron was virtually next door.

Arcade where Saffron is
Wimborne Arcade built in 1884. Lots of shops and even a small 19 seat cinema
Numerals
Lola's Roman numerals
Roman numerals 1-1000

It’s run by a couple of high fliers. One worked as cabin crew with British Airways for many years and the other with Virgin Atlantic. With their big welcoming smiles their experience in hospitality was obvious right from the start. While our granddaughters rearranged the sugar pouches so that they were all the right way up one of them was talking about Roman numerals. Along with all the other nonsense that comes out of their mouths we thought nothing of it. Later however their parents showed us this picture which had been done at school, not as part of any kind of project but just because she “felt like it”. The original must have been about ten feet long. In vain, I desperately looked for a mistake. There had to be at least one, but no, every one correct. Sometimes kids can take you totally by surprise.

A scone and a baby chino at Saffron
Our scone complete with cream and jam plus a chocolate babychinno with marshmallows for the girls
Fresh

We also got almond croissants for the girls (don’t tell the parents) and were informed that Americans don’t know how to say ‘croissant’ properly. Apparently they say ‘croiSANT’. Our American readers should feel free to confirm or deny this dastardly rumour being put about by young British girls. We could easily tell that our scone had been baked just a few hours earlier, it was so fresh! An easy topscone. Internal view of Saffron

BH4 9AY     . tel: 01202 759587         Saffron FB

///into.tinsel.decks

We came to the end of our week in Poole wondering if we had done enough to entertain our granddaughters while their parents worked.  Maybe the trip to Tesco followed by another to Homebase hadn’t been enough? Farewell poemAfter a wee poetry session at bedtime the night before we were presented with this little note the following morning. It was the best week for us too. Now we just have the long drive back to Scotland.

Of course, with a Microsoft global IT outage you might never receive this post … you should be so lucky!

Glen Lyon Tearoom

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