Tag Archives: Trident

Scones, Uncategorized

Cunard

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How about a break with the tradition of recycling of old island scones? Our wonderful Sydney correspondents have sent us a bit of exotica as well as a scone recipe. As keen cruisers who don’t bake they remembered the Cunard scones as being delicious on their last trip. They wrote to Cunard and asked for the recipe and Cunard wrote back. How’s that for initiative and dedication … bravo! Though, what’s the point if they don’t bake? It’s simply a highly commendable service to fellow sconeys …  bravo again!

In another break with tradition, we have decided not to make any political comments. Especially on our incompetent Tory government and its blubbering buffoon of a leader. Just think, they could easily furlough everyone until whenever necessary just by not renewing Trident. After all, what’s the point of having weapons of mass destruction if there’s no one left to kill? But it’s a waste of time and effort so we’re not commenting.

Cunard logo

Cruising is our idea of hell on earth. That’s just us, of course, we know lots of folks who think it’s the bee’s knees. Our feeling, however, has only been reinforced by recent events with COVID-19. We restrict ourselves to cruising with Caledonian MacBrayne where your chances of getting afternoon tea served by a white-gloved waiter are pretty slim. On the other hand, you can readily get pie beans and chips as long as you go and get it yourself. They do go places of interest to us, however.Cunard lounge

Nick’s Recipe

‘There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea.’ Henry James, Portrait of a Lady

A scone on a Cunard liner

We can’t judge these scones, of course, but this is Nick Oldroyd, the Executive chef’s recipe. If you are going to try it you don’t have to bother with the branding. Unless, of course, you really want to.

Cunard's scone recipe

Of course, this sort of thing is all very well for Aussie sophistocats but what about the likes of us. Has any of this persuaded us to take to luxury cruising? These floating palaces do have swimming pools, gymnasiums, fine dining restaurants and signature scones. They take you effortlessly to exotic islands like Bermuda and Seychelles. But can any of these destinations boast a decent shed? No! For the moment we will restrict our cruising to Scottish ferries. Caledonian MacBraynes have scones as well but we have never managed to try one because we’re always up on deck with our binoculars looking for shearwaters and puffins.

We are indebted to our correspondents for giving us a glimpse into their hedonistic world and also to Cunard for use of their photographs. Don’t worry shed fans, they will reappear with the next post but probably not alongside a signature scone.

tel: 0344 338 8650           Cunard Cruises

ps: I still have £5.36 in my pocket. Remember I started out in March with £10.36 but mysteriously lost a fiver along the way. Remarkably the rest is still intact.

Scones, Top

The American Colony Hotel

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Well, here we are at the American Colony Hotel in Jerusalem. Not us obviously but our ever-diligent Middle East correspondent who sent a very comprehensive communiqué on his recent encounter with a scone. As he says the hotel lies “just a scone’s throw” from the Green Line. That’s the demarcation line drawn out on the map using green ink in 1949, separating Israeli and Arab lands. Jerusalem is probably the most religious city in the world and therefore also the most divided. However, because the hotel is owned by a mixture of Americans, Brits and Swedes, it is seen as ‘neutral’. A place where Arabs, Israelis and anyone else can happily meet over afternoon tea. A little oasis of civilisation in a turbulent land!Courtyard at the American Colony Hotel, Jerusalem

History

Our correspondent reports that it was originally built in the late 1800s by a high ranking Ottoman noble man, for himself and his four wives. What a guy, four wives and still got time to build stuff!
In 1895 it was used by a Christian family from Chicago who travelled to Palestine in order to find peace in the Holy city and to offer aid to families in distress.  By 1902, however, under Baron Ustinov (grandfather of, actor, Sir Peter Ustinov), it became the American Colony Hotel we see today.

Internal view of the American Colony Hotel, Jerusalem

The downside of living abroad

We suspect that the scones were not the primary reason for our correspondent’s visit … the hotel also has the best English bookshop in the region. However, he did have what he referred to as “A substantial afternoon tea served with an array of fresh sandwiches and then the scones some with and some without berries. Let us not forget the real cream and strawberries.” A scone at the American Colony Hotel, JerusalemThis, “adventure into nostalgia” was to be his first scone in over a year … the downside of living abroad.  But were they any good? Yes, topscones in his book. He also thought his Irish granny would have said “Lovely scones son, but will you ever get your hair cut?” If they’re good enough for his granny that’s good enough for us. Well done the American Colony Hotel.

Meddling

The great and the good have all stayed here … from Lawrence of Arabia to Bob Dylan. And if anyone is wondering where Tony Blair, disappeared to after the disastrous Iraq War then you need have looked no further than the first floor of this hotel. In a moment of madness, someone somewhere saw fit to appoint him peace envoy to the Middle East! He took the entire floor of the hotel for five years before eventually giving up. Now he runs the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change. And, of course, that allows him to meddle pointlessly in everybody’s politics.Logo of American Colony Hotel

Many thanks to our Middle East correspondent. We are relieved and happy that he has ended his year-long scone fast.

97200, Israel        tel: +972 2-627-9777         American Colony

///vowing.fairy.burns

Ordinary, Scones

Shieldbank Coffee Shop

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Destination unknown

You know how it is … sometimes you set out with a certain destination in mind and then end up somewhere completely different. No … maybe it’s just us then. We do it quite a lot? A wrong turn meant we found ourselves in the pretty, former weaving village of Saline, in the Kingdom of Fife. Been here many times before, so we weren’t lost … just not where we thought we would be. Complete change of plan. Seeing a sign for the Shieldbank Coffee Shop, ‘third left then follow road for one mile’, we thought we would cut our losses and head for there. Shieldbank 04

The road goes from Saline to Blairingone and, were it not for that sign, we would never ever have been on it. As it turns out, however, it was the first ‘walking and cycling friendly’ road we have ever come across. A speed limit of 40mph along this lovely country road is all it takes. Can’t really see the police mounting speed traps but everyone seemed to be abiding by the rules anyway. Great idea. The good folks at Shieldbank don’t exactly go big on publicity and it certainly doesn’t jump out at you, tucked away among the trees. Shieldbank 06The weather has been hot and this morning saw some very severe thunderstorms and torrential rain. When we arrived they were still mopping out the café after their worst flash flood in over twenty years. The last thing they wanted was us arriving. They told us so! In spite of everything however we could not have been made more welcome.

Mopping scones

Shieldbank is actually a riding club where they specialise in horseback gymnastics. People like us have difficulty just sitting on a stationary horse. We view the whole concept as just plain ridiculous. However, for those who relish somersaults and handstands on the back of a galloping horse .. this is definitely the place for you. Shieldbank 03For the less adventurous (us) there is the coffee shop. Vic Beasley is the man in charge and responsible for handcrafting everything. He made the café itself three years ago and all of today’s jam, cakes and scones. There wasn’t a great selection on offer. Vic had been preoccupied with mopping duties, on his fourth change of clothing so we thought we should maybe cut him some slack. Nothing was too much trouble however, he provided a scone while we waited for him to prepare us a brand new carrot cake.

Vic is one of these guys who proclaims to hate people and would dearly love to be left alone on a mountain top. However, we don’t think he would last five minutes without a good blether. Shieldbank 01Everything he gave us was excellent, including the scones. Not quite topscones but pretty close.

A nice touch in the cafe is the ability to look through a window directly into a stable. Great for kids. Interesting place, particularly if you are the horsey type. Although hard to find, it was definitely worth it.

Vanishing warships

Talking of things ‘hard to find’ … after the botched military coup in Turkey, fourteen warships, including a frigate, have been reported ‘missing’! What is it with disappearing warships? Before the Scottish independence referendum in 2014, fourteen warships were promised to be built on the Clyde if we voted ‘no’. They have disappeared as well. No doubt they will  reappear just before Indyref2. Then disappear again along with all the other promises.

Because they are trying to fill the bottomless Trident pit and keep the US in the manner to which it has become accustomed, perhaps the government cannot afford anything other than weapons of mass destruction? Apparently, HSBC, Barclays and RBS (the bank that we own) all help fund both the British and Russian nuclear deterrents. What’s that all about? With only one Scottish MP voting to renew Trident … Scotland really really really wishes it is one thing that would disappear.Shieldbank 02Anyway, we wish Vic and his venture every good fortune and now that we have found it we might even go back. Hopefully when it is not flooded.
KY12 9LN       tel: 01383 852621        Shieldbank Coffee Shop

english, topweird

Le Pain Quotidien

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This place is just round the corner from Victoria station and was the chosen spot for a rendezvous with a group of Lithuanians. Don’t ask, it’s a long story. Le Pain Quotidian ( the daily bread) originated in Belgium but now has outlets in nineteen countries stretching from Brazil to India. This is the first we have come across. Le Pain 02

The emphasis is on providing a place for people to meet and do business or just have a good gossip. To that end, they provide some long tables where people or families can gather round and do just that. It prides itself on it’s artisan bread made the traditional way. ‘Bakers blend organic stone-ground flour, kneaded patiently by hand and baked in stone lined hearths’ .. whatever! Can they make a scone?

In the interests of diversity, we thought we should try the ‘organic spelt & quinoa scone’. If nothing else it was definitely different and, from that point of view, difficult to compare with other scones. Le Pain 03A heavy mix as you might expect with a spelt flour but the added quinoa seeds, currants and almonds gave it a, not unpleasant, crunchy texture. It came with a pot of mixed strawberry/rhubarb  jam and a dish of what we thought was cream but turned out to be ricotta – an Italian whey cheese made from sheep milk.

Now once we had got over the surprise of it being nothing like the cream we had been expecting, it was not that bad. In fact, with the scone itself being so completely different, the ricotta complemented the scone quite well. Probably better than cream would have done. Le Pain 04This is the first  time we have come across quinoa (pronounced: kinwa) in a scone. It probably demonstrates Le Pain Quotidien holding true to its basic philosophy of using good honest healthy ingredients. Apparently it originated from the shores of Lake Titicaca which is quite exotic in itself. At £5 per scone however, they are not cheap. Never had a hope of being a topscone but just for being sooooo different we think it qualifies for a top weird scone award. Won’t be rushing back for another but well done for broadening our scone horizons.

Weapons of mass destruction

Not far away there was a Stop Trident rally in Trafalgar Square. Isn’t it odd that we give so much attention to making nuclear power stations absolutely safe. Then spend vastly more money planning for the creation of even bigger nuclear disasters .. bizarre. Of course, things have moved on. The big question now is not whether we should get rid of them but whether we can get rid of them fast enough. Before The Donald and BoJo are ruling the world. The BBC‘s report on the rally just prattled on about how disappointing the turnout had been in spite of their own pictures showing umpteen thousands present.

BREAKING NEWS:

In best BBC style, keeping you up to date with scone news, we have breaking news from our Trossachs correspondent. The same one who, you will remember, gifted us some Dobbies scones at Christmas. Dobbies 01Apparently, when he went to pay for his cream scone the other day at Dobbies in Stirling he discovered that cream scones were subject to a BOGOF deal so he went home with another scone in a box which fed  four people the following day. All for £1.45 .. remarkable. Many thanks to our reporter. Obviously they were not spelt and quinoa scones. In spite of the London prices, however, Le Pain Quotidien is worth a visit. A little bit quirky, good food, great service and nice atmosphere. It also has a good website with plenty of information and recipe suggestions.

SW1V 1JZ     tel: 020 3657 6945     Le Pain Quotidien