Tag Archives: Ukraine

Powmill Milk Bar

6 March 2024 billpaterson1@me.com 4 Comments

It seems as if Powmill Milk Bar has always been there. Since time immemorial we have driven past it on our way to other places and said “we must go in there some time“. It’s always been a wooden shack style structure but it’s been there so long, the current incarnation must be third or fourth generation.

Easyriders

Anyway, It was a nice day and we had been driving on inexpicably quiet roads to get here. Then it all became clear. Everybody was already here at Powmill Milk Bar! It was mobbed and it was obviously a favoured spot for motorbikes. Leather clad blokes were standing around admiring each other’s bikes in the way that leather clad blokes do. There was also some middle aged car bound blokes admiring all the Ducatis and Kawasaki flying machines and presumably dreaming of a life that might have been.

Scooters at Powmill Milk Bar — Scooters in the car park

Preloaded!

Inside it was going like a fair. We had to join the line at the self service counter but fortunately it went very quickly. A fruit scone was all we wanted but when we asked for jam and cream it seemed to cause some confusion. They just looked at us and said “we have cream scones“! It seemed easier just to agree though normally we steer well clear of preloaded scones. We’re just pernickety and like the performance of constructing our scones according to our own personal taste. On the plus side, however, we were delighted to find that they served Henry’s coffee … our long standing favourite.

Maybe the coffee influenced our experience but we really enjoyed our visit here and wondered why we hadn’t done it years ago. With its straight forward, no airs and graces, approach, we completely understand why it’s so popular. Generally you can’t eat preloaded scones without getting in a bit of a mess. The contents squidge out in all directions. However, a fork and knife helped make this one more manageable. Mind you, the light crumbly nature of the scone even made this quite tricky. Very nice though.

Unforgivable

Politics is so incomprehensible these days we are reluctant to comment on any of it. Putin’s war in Ukraine seems incomprehensible and unforgivable. Imagine if we could just go around murdering anyone who disagreed with us with seeming impunity? Goodness, that would reduce the world’s population quite considerably.

Britain and America’s slavish support for Israel also seems unforgivable. With all the anger generated it’s little wonder that George Galloway has won the Rochdale by-election. Let’s see what his acknowledged oratory skills can do for the Palestinians. Precious little we suspect.

Starvation is now a huge problem in Gaza. Who would have thought that a Jewish state would end up guilty of genocide? Perhaps Israel is being advised by Britain. The British government has form. Its God-given sense of superiority led to them having a long, if not illustrious, history when it comes to starvation. The Irish Famine in the 1850s and the Bengal Famine in 1943 in which millions died, come to mind.

Terminal boredom

On this side of the pond, the prospect of a Sunak/Starmer General Election is boring everyone to death. On the other side a Biden/Trump rerun Presidential Election is depressing everyone to death. We’ll just stay here in Powmill looking at flying machines and dreaming of things we do understand … aah, the wind in our hair!

KY13 0QG tel: 01577 840376 Powmill Milk Bar FB

///valued.passages.tripped

Ordinary, Scones, self-service

Crieff Hydro

2 January 2024 billpaterson1@me.com 5 Comments

Let us begin 2024 by wishing all our readers a very happy and healthy year. May your troubles be few and your scones be many! Traditionally it’s a time for reflection on the past year and making ambitious resolutions for the new one. Apart from all the horrible stuff going on in the world, 2023 was good. We had over sixty scones and topscones in such diverse locations as Busta House on Shetland and Coll Hotel on the lovely Isle of Coll. Our most important New Year resolution is not to have any and just enjoy whatever comes along.

Memories

And talking of enjoying ourselves a few days back we visited Crieff Hydro Hotel and Spa with some of the family. Crieff is a Perthshire town we know quite well. We have lots of family connections and many happy memories were made here. Over the years we’ve visited Crieff Hydro several times but always just fleetingly for lunch with relatives. This time we’re staying over with family.

Internal view of Crieff Hydro — a small part of the breakfast room

In 1868 it became Scotland’s first hydropathic establishment where people could go “to take the waters”. It may seem a bit odd these days, however. back then when good clean water was hard to come by, places like this flourished. A favourite for wealthy Victorians. Today it’s still run by the same family. It’s still labeled as a ‘spa’ hotel but nowadays it’s more for massages, saunas and luxury therapies rather than the waters. With over 200 rooms, 50 lodges and over 900 acres of hills and forests, it’s more like a small town than a hotel. It has a swimming pool, tennis courts, ice skating, a couple of golf courses and off-road driving experiences … oh, and don’t forget the funfair.

External view of Crieff Hydro at night — Main entrance

Family, family family

It’s a family hotel and probably not the kind of place you would book for a quiet romantic weekend away. There are kids everywhere! Not that we could complain, we had brought some of our own. We decided to try the scones in the Wintergardens … a large dining area with magnificent views over the Perthshire countryside. And this is only one of several restaurants.

The Wintergardens is all self-service. They had three different types of scone, all freshly baked. Predictably, perhaps we chose a fruit one to share … obviously we had to save ourselves for dinner later. We loaded up our tray and found a nice quiet table by a window. Surprisingly perhaps, there was no cream and the jam and butter were all prepackaged. The scone itself was very good but taking everything into account it failed to gain topscone status.

Enchanted forest at Criedff Hydro — Part of the Festive Forest

Having dabbled in hospitality ourselves we are slightly in awe of this place. With its 850 staff and multitude of facilities it must be a logistical nightmare to manage. And yet it has done so, apparently without a hitch, for over one hundred and fifty years … amazing!

Fun and games at Crieff Hydro — Funfair, skating and roller coaster experience with VR

Virtual reality

We are thankful that none of our grandchildren are having to experience anything remotely like what is happening in Ukraine and Gaza or any of the world’s other disaster areas. Their life experiences are so vastly different from some others, and here at Crieff Hydro it’s almost as if we are living on a different planet. And, of course, they do have the best grandparents in the world 😀

PH7 3LQ tel: 01764 655555 Crieff Hydro

///trainer.amicably.callers

Ordinary, Scones

Café Belgica revisited

17 October 2023 billpaterson1@me.com 7 Comments

Me on a cherrypicker — That’s me in the cherrypicker bucket

You know how sometimes your day doesn’t quite start the way you expected. That’s what happened this morning. Before I had even had breakfast I found myself dangling high in the air over Falkirk High Street. It’s a long story. But more to the point, how did I get from that situation to Café Belgica in Bo’ness? We should, perhaps, attempt an explanation.

As soon as we came down stairs a friend was waiting at the front door. He wanted to know if I would like to take some photographs from a very unusual and very temporary viewpoint. In short, he’s renovating a building at the end of the High Street and had hired a cherrypicker for an hour to do some work on the roof. Within a matter of minutes I was up there taking pictures from an angle I have never seen before and am probably never likely to see again. Fortunately I had Lee, a very experienced operator with me. For me it was an unusual but great experience! My biggest concern, however, was whether I would get back down in time to go to the cinema which had been our original plan for the morning.

Compassion

Internal view of the Hippodrome — The Hippodrome

No worries, we made it to our local Hippodrome picture palace in time to see a Ken Loach film called ‘The Old Oak‘. It’s a beautifully crafted compassionate movie about a village in northern England where the coal mine has long since closed and the people have next to nothing. The only thing left open is a very dilapidated pub, The Old Oak. It’s the only place for people to meet. When Syrian refugees arrive, however, tensions rise. There are some very ugly scenes but eventually basic human compassion for others who also have nothing wins the day. It should be compulsory viewing for all.

Sliding downhill

When we emerged back into the daylight it was lunchtime and after a short visit to the Bo’ness library we ended up here at Café Belgica which is housed in a huge furniture warehouse. It’s over five years since we were last here and back then we were bemoaning the Winter Olympics. They were being held in South Korea. In particular we were debating the merits of ‘skeleton’ (sliding downhill head first on a sledge) or ‘luge’ (sliding downhill feet first on a sledge). We wondered if there was much more than a handful of people in the world participating in either. The UK was still in the EU at that time and we offered a gold medal to anyone who could keep it that way. Regrettably, of course, we didn’t award any medals!

We had a delicious lunch and afterwards they offered us plain or cheese scones. Having slightly overindulged already it was a cheese scone to share. The service throughout had been cheery and efficient so we soon had our scone. It was presented with lots of butter and jam but we never feel that jam is appropriate for a cheese scone so it was just butter. All in all we thoroughly enjoyed our visit. No topscone but enjoyable nevertheless.

Making sense

Now it seems incredible that we despaired over something as trivial as the Winter Olympics. Today we look out onto a world where there is much more to despair about. Earlier we had seen an fabulous movie about the strength of human spirit and compassion. A couple of weeks ago, we experienced Pat’s McMillan Coffee Morning where people’s generosity and kindness raised £3,500. All to try and make people’s lives a little better. But here we are in 2023 and in Gaza and Ukraine all we see is people deliberately trying to kill each other. It’s bewildering and incredibly sad!

A view along Falkirk High street — Early morning view of Falkirk High street

What makes it even worse is that it’s impossible to see any kind of resolution without a lot more bloodshed. Pathetically, in our comfortable little lives, we cross our fingers!

EH51 0PU tel: 01506 243954 Café Belgica

///begun,learn,afflicted

Ordinary, Scones

Caffe Barista

1 June 2022 billpaterson1@me.com 1 Comment

I regard Angus as my home county having spent my early childhood in Glen Isla. These days, however, I am only in Angus on rare occasions. That said, here we are today in Caffe Barista in Arbroath. Many a summer holiday was spent here in the caravan park but today we are just passing through.

Declarations

The town is well known for its smoked haddock … the famous Arbroath Smokie. Wonderful on its own in much the same way as you would eat a kipper or alternatively it could be used to make that soup of all soups, Cullen Skink … yum. Arbroath, of course, is also a great place to declare things. In 1320, in Arbroath Abbey, a group of Scottish nobles did just that.

The Declaration of Arbroath — Declaration of Arbroath ritten in Latin and sent to the Pope. They knew how to declare things back then

The intention was to assert Scotland’s status as an independent, sovereign state and defend Scotland’s right to use military action when unjustly attacked. Oooo, do we hear echoes of Ukraine?

Little did they know that a few hundred years later, in 1707, Scotland’s nobles would sell the country down the river in return for English bribes. Heyho, here we are, another couple of centuries on, still struggling to reverse that ludicrous decision.

Guys and Dolls

In Caffe Barista the declarations were of a different type “Hi guys, how are you today? What are you having guys? Was everything okay guys?” Pat, more of a doll than a guy, weathered the onslaught manfully! We just wanted a cuppa and a scone to share. The choice was plain, plain or plain, so plain it was!

It came with butter and jam from somewhere that couldn’t be determined. This being Angus, it was ironic that we had just driven through mile after mile of strawberry and raspberry fields and yet the jam here came prepackaged in plastic, probably from some foreign land. The scone itself was reasonable enough but a country mile away from a topscone. We left suitable refreshed with “Bye guys” ringing in our ears.

blackboard at Caffe Barista, Arbroath — A rare opportunity to combine scones and telephone boxes

Bailing out

It is also ironic, given that in 2014 we were told there was only a dribble of oil left, that the UK government is yet again being bailed out by Scotland. It’s late conversion to a windfall tax on energy companies will raise billions, 95% of which will come from Scotland. Things have got so bad for Boris we wouldn’t be at all surprised if, one day, he simply walked away. However, he could also be developing a Putinesque inability to foresee his own inevitable downfall. The latter is perhaps the most likely.

World records

We cannot leave Arbroath without mentioning the world record held by the local football club, affectionately known as the Red Lichties. In the Scottish Cup of 1885 they beat Bon Accord of Aberdeen 36-0. They had a further seven goals disallowed for offside. Of course that means that Bon Accord must also hold a world record but nobody seems to mention that?

Anyway must get back home and start planning our Platinum Jubilee celebrations??

DD11 1DP tel: 01241 872664 Caffe Barista

///taken.voter.transit

Ordinary, Scones, self-service

Gee Whites

12 May 2022 billpaterson1@me.com 8 Comments

Having been in Poole for a few days now we are getting to know the place quite well. Did you know that this town has produced some of the most beautiful women in the world? Yes, not a lot of people know that! How else would you explain the fact that two of the five British Miss Worlds have hailed from here? It’s also renowned for attracting the rich and famous … we’re here after all! On Panorama Road the property price-per-square-foot has exceeded that of waterside streets in Miami and Monte Carlo.

Resisting schoolboy humour

We don’t want to start any arguments but today we are trying to circumnavigate the largest natural harbour in the world, Poole harbour. Other places have tried to claim this title e.g. Sydney harbour. But that claim is usually made by Aussies and we all know what they are like when it comes to bragging! Poole harbour has an area of fourteen square miles and a coastline that extends more than one hundred miles. It also has a single access to the sea … the very definition of a ‘harbour’. Rest assured, if you heard it on allaboutthescones, it’s correct! The harbour is fed by four rivers, the main ones being the River Frome and the River Piddle. The Piddle is actually quite a bit bigger than you might expect!

One of the main streets in Swanage — The High Street, Swanage

Fossils

Circumnavigation involves quite a long drive (not by Australian standards obviously) but it cannot be done without ending up here in Swanage. This is the first town at the eastern end of the Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site. But with no time to go scavenging for fossils we ended up here at Gee Whites scavenging for scones. It’s an odd sort of place. They have a roof terrace but it wasn’t open. In fact, there did not appear to be any inside seating at all. So outside it had to be … at the mercy of the seagulls. We ordered tea and a fruit scone at a sort of kiosk window. When we asked if the scone came with jam and cream “That’s a cream tea if you want that” was the reply “Okay, can we have a cream tea then?” We triumphantly transported our ‘cream tea’ to a table by the water’s edge.

View from Gee Whites in Swanage — View from our seat … some folks fishing for crabs

This was not at all unpleasant.

Although overcast it was warm and nice to sit and watch all the activity that typically goes on in all such seaside places. Rather oddly the jam and cream came packaged together in a little plastic tub. Perhaps that should have given us an early warning on the scone. It was a disappointment and worst of all it had a soggy bottom and we all know that soggy bottoms are never desirable. Inevitably perhaps, It became fodder for some of the man-eating seagulls that surrounded our table. One gull swallowed what was left in one gulp. We were impressed by its swallowing skills but mostly by its ability to fly off afterwards. It seemed to thoroughly enjoy it so maybe we’re just getting too fussy?

Another cruise

In spite of this scone setback we were happy to be in Swanage, a place we never ever expected to visit. It had taken us a good hour or so to drive round to here but to complete the circumnavigation we had to take the Sandbanks Chain Ferry across the 242 foot harbour entrance. Another four minute cruise for Pat, I know, I spoil her! First time on a chain ferry and it meant that we were home in no time at all … brill!

Unexpected consequences

Finland has applied for NATO membership after many years of steadfast and proud neutrality. The 830 mile border with Russia will achieve the exact opposite of what Mad Vlad intended and couldn’t have been achieved without his crazy invasion of Ukraine. Funny the way things turn out sometimes!

Our time in the soft south is coming to an end. Shortly we will be heading back to the wild and woolly north.

BH19 2LN tel: 01929 425720 Gee Whites

///requiring.paint.rated

Ordinary, Scones, weird

Not the Smiddy

7 April 2022 billpaterson1@me.com 5 Comments

Okay, this is a weird one in several ways – weird scone, weird circumstance … just weird! The other day we were visiting Doune and on the way we popped into the Smiddy to get some stuff in the farm shop. Short on time, we didn’t bother with the café and anyway we had reviewed their scones previously. When I asked Pat when she thought that was she thought that it must have been last year sometime.

External view of the Smiddy — The Smiddy

No, it was 2016 when we last reviewed a scone at the Smiddy … unbelievable how time passes when you are enjoying yourself! Anyway, as we approached the checkout we spotted this packet (title picture) of banana and chocolate scones. What? As ever, of course, we are willing to risk life and limb in order to further our reader’s sconological knowledge, so into the basket they went.

Pre packed

Scones in packets are usually to be avoided. We don’t think of ourselves as scone snobs but, having said that, there are limits. However, we hadn’t ever come across this particular combination of ingredients before so obviously, they could not be allowed to escape our customary rigorous testing. It would have to be done at home, however, hence the “Not the Smiddy” title.

The big test took place the following day while watching the tragic events unfold in Ukraine. Pat whipped up some cream and served them with some of her own plum jam. Dilemma, what do you serve with chocolate and banana scones? They looked deceptively like fruit scones but what appeared to be fruit was in fact chocolate chips. We like a bit of crunch to our scones but these ones were very soft all over but not unpleasant. We won’t be rushing back to buy more but overall they were surprisingly nice. All we can suggest is that, if you ever come across chocolate and banana scones yourselves, don’t be frightened! And the plum jam went fine!

The government

Today the government announced a new approach to the UK’s energy problems. North Sea oil is going to be fully developed to alleviate the economic crisis. Could this be the same North Sea oil that, according to the same government in the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum was at an end, only a dribble left? They’ve also hiked up National Insurance contributions for all employers and employees to help pay for the NHS. Could this be the same NHS that was supposed to benefit to the tune of £350 million per week as a result of Brexit? At the same time Rishi Sunak’s wife has registered for non-dom status to escape taxes.

The plight of the people in Ukraine is heart rending. We’ve volunteered to take refugees but due to the government’s opaque immigration system our chances of getting any are slim to say the least. Could it be that our UK government is devious, dishonest, sleazy, self-serving and incompetent? Perish the thought! Remember, these days everything is Putin’s fault! However, he’ll be relieved to hear that we’re not blaming him for banana and chocolate scones.

Scones, Top, topweird

The Hidden Lane Tearoom

2 April 2022 billpaterson1@me.com 3 Comments

Here we are in Glasgow, the bestest city in the whole wide world … Pat told me that! We are looking for something that’s hidden. Why? It’s like an itch, you’ve got to scratch it. If you are told something is hidden you feel an overpowering urge to find it. So it was with the Hidden Lane Tearoom.

The Hidden Lane — Looking down the Hidden Lane from Argyle Street

Argyle Street is more than two miles long and one of Glasgow’s main shopping streets. There is so much going on you could easily walk past this little lane and not even notice it. Even if you did, you might not feel particularly inclined to go down … it’s not immediately obvious that it leads to anything. It’s proper name is Argyle Court but not a lot of people know that. You would just get a blank look if you asked for it by anything other than ‘the hidden lane.’ When you reach the end of the lane, however, it suddenly opens up into a large courtyard with a veritable cornucopia of tiny little shops and eateries. It’s quite a big area but this narrow lane is the only way in or out. Who would have thought?

Exciting

Even then, the tearoom was not immediately obvious but then we spotted it tucked away in a corner. It has become a central focus amongst the brightly coloured higgledy piggledy studios which act as home to lots of musicians and other creatives. We were excited to find the Hidden Lane but we were doubly excited to try the tearoom. Apparently it’s renowned for its luxury afternoon tea, its classic Victoria sponge and its secret recipe scones. What’s not to get excited about?

The tearoom has a cosy chintzy feel about and combined with the cheery service it’s the sort of place where you immediately feel comfortable. They have an upstairs as well so it’s not as small as you might think. Of course, our primary concern was the scones. Pat went for fruit and I opted for their ‘special scone of the day,’ raspberry and white chocolate.

Double awards

I tried to get a picture of both scones together but for some reason it didn’t work. Damn, just when I thought I was getting the hang of this photography lark! Anyway we shared the scones so that we could sample both. Unsurprisingly perhaps, we thought they were both excellent. Served with little glass pots of jam and cream and a sprinkling of crunchy sugar on top. We gave Pat’s a topscone and mine a top weird scone … well done the Hidden Lane Tearoom.

Who would have thought that, more than a month on, the war in Ukraine would still be going on. And in the David and Goliath struggle, David seems to at least be holding his own against the vastly superior might of the Russian army. There was a message on the wall of the Hidden Lane Tearoom. It did make us wonder what would have happened if Mad Vlad had gone for tea first.

The football World Cup is scheduled to take place in Qatar at the end of the year. Wouldn’t it be fantastic if Ukraine qualified! However, there’s a fly in the ointment … Scotland. The only thing standing between Ukraine and qualifying for the World Cup is Scotland. They have to play to decide which country goes through. Oh no, what a dilemma!

G3 8ND tel: 0141 2374391 Hidden Lane

///craft.beans.dream

Scones, Uncategorized

Tattie Bogle’s

28 March 2022 billpaterson1@me.com 1 Comment

Russia and it’s people are not exactly flavour of the month these days but, of course, that’s very unfair. Russians are just like the rest of us. They are not all evil despots like Putin, just like we in the UK, are not all bumbling idiots. Anyway, in a miniscule way, this post will try and redress the problem even though we may get accused of being diverted away from the main purpose of this blog.

It’s all about a new enterprise in Falkirk called Tattie Bogle’s. It’s a healthy eating place that tries to minimise packaging and it’s owned by a husband and wife team. She is Scottish and he’s Russian … lovely folk and passionate about what they do.

Scary stories

Some of you who are not so familiar with Scottish terminology may be wondering about the name Tattie Bogle’s. A tattie is a potato here in Scotland as in tattie scone, mince and tatties etc etc. Bogle refers to something scary, as in bogeyman. When you put the two together you end up with a human like form standing amongst crops to scare off unwanted visitors … a scarecrow! Loving parents all over Scotland would tell their children elaborate stories about tattie bogles to scare them half to death.

So Tattie Bogle’s is not a cafe or restaurant, it’s a kind of old-fashioned organic ethical grocers selling, amongst lots of other things, locally sourced fresh fruit and veg. You take along your own containers to cut down on packaging. We are definitely in favour of that … packaging seems to be a modern day curse. They even get their organic milk from Robert Burns’s Mossgiel Farm in Ayrshire. Having said it’s not a cafe it does have a couple of tiny tables where you can sit and have coffee. It was a fabulous sunny day so we thought we would see if they had any scones (we do try to stay on message).

Bavarian croissant, empire biscuits and snowballs — Freshly baked Bavarian croissants, empire biscuits and snowballs

No, no scones but they did have some other delicious looking baking. This is where we got diverted … no scones were harmed in this post. We ended up getting a Bavarian chocolate croissant to share. When we asked for a knife, however, we were told “no knives“. Gosh they really are serious about this no wastage thingy. No matter, Pat ripped it in half with her bare hands. It was delicious and if we were dishing out top-croissant awards this would definitely have qualified.

Brute strength

It was very pleasant sitting there in the sunshine so we decided to prolong our stay with an empire biscuit. Not even a plate this time, just a brown paper bag. Again, Pat just grabbed it and broke it in half. She can be absolutely ruthless when she wants. Having said that, I got the half with the cherry. don’t mistake this for altruism or generosity … she doesn’t like cherries!

Tattie Bogle’s sources its produce with consideration for people, animals and the environment We found its simple ‘back to basics ethos when it comes to health quite refreshing. Let’s have more more Scots/Russian collaborations, more power to their collective elbow!

We would, however, like less power for Putin’s elbow You could say that he’s a bit of a tattie bogle, he has managed to successfully keep the West at bay after all. From his point of view nuclear weapons are actually a very successful deterrent. They’ve certainly paralysed the West militarily and allowed him to do pretty much as he pleases.

FK1 1JQ tel: 01324 227718. Tattie Bogle

///jaws.jungle.calculating

Ordinary, Scones

Royal Station Hotel

18 March 2022 billpaterson1@me.com 4 Comments

All good things must come to an end … why oh why does that have to be true? But they do and after a wonderful few days here in Newcastle, we are heading for home. We arrived back in the city centre having been pampered for a few days in Jesmond Dene House. Our train wasn’t due for another hour so time to squeeze in another scone maybe? We ended up here at the Royal Station Hotel but it wasn’t our first choice.

Sound advice

You know how lots of pubs are called “something and something” e.g. the Hare and Hounds, the Rose and Crown etc etc. Well we were aware of a place called the Dog and Scone which was not far from the station. We ended up getting a bit lost, however, and had to ask a chap manning a fruitstall. “Dog and Scone“, he said, shaking his head “nae man, never heard of it“. He consulted with a couple of colleagues and that resulted in a kind of mass synchronised head shaking. We told him the street name “ wey aye man, that’s just doon there and alang yon lane on the right but ye don’t want to be gaein’ there man, it’s rubbish! There’s dogs everywhere on the floor on the tables, ye really don’t want to be gaein’ there, ye definitely won’t like it, there’ll be hairs in the scones!“

Limits

That’s the second ‘rubbish’ thing we’ve been told about in Newcastle. The first ‘rubbish’ thing was the Metro which turned out to be great so we thought we should still go and investigate. The friendly fruit man was spot on! We looked in the window of the Dog and Scone and true enough, there were people lying on the floor with their dogs, people sitting with dogs on their tables, dogs everywhere. Presumably they had scones but we decided there was limits to our dedication after all. We don’t even know if we would have been allowed in without a dog! We moved on and the next place we came to was the Royal Station Hotel. It’s a huge Victorian pile that forms part of the station.

No dogs here but not much joy either. There were signs for afternoon tea all over the place but they said they didn’t do scones, eh? When we asked how they did an afternoon tea without doing scones our waiter looked at us quizzically “ well I suppose I could ask the kitchen for a scone“, he said. The temptation to give a round of applause was almost overwhelming.

Is this cream?

They probably thought we had a bit of a nerve because we only wanted one scone to share. To give them their due they did come quite smartly with our order. It was all quite acceptable except the cream which was just a bowl of runny stuff … completely unfit for purpose. No topscone here unfortunately but it did allow us to kill some time in more comfortable surroundings than we would have had at the Dog and Scone.

There were some interesting quotes painted onto the walls; “Whisky is by far the most popular remedy that won’t cure a cold” was one by Jerry Vale. It does make it much more bearable though … I can vouch for that! Sometimes I drink it even if I don’t have a cold.

Judgement?

Another quote by Ukranian philosopher, Dagobert D Runes was perhaps more topical. “Dictators long ago found that it is easier to unite people in common hatred than in common love.” Putin has certainly managed to do that. Now, however, he may be slowly beginning to realise that he has bitten off more than he can chew. Hugely overestimating the capabilities of his own forces and underestimating the bravery and resolve of the Ukrainian people. Hopefully, before long, someone will put him out of his misery.

Soon we were back on our LUMO train and heading back north with very fond memories. Newcastle itself was great but its people were fantastic. Without fail we were welcomed by the Geordies who proved to be unstintingly helpful and friendly. Apologies for our attempts at imitating the accent.

NE1 5DH tel: 0191 232 0781 Royal Station

///went.list.mile

Scones, Top

Tilly Tearoom

3 March 2022 billpaterson1@me.com 1 Comment

It’s a week since our last post at Another Tilly Tearoom and here we are now at the original Tilly Tearoom in Tillicoultry. It’s also been a week since the start of the war in Ukraine. What a week of absolute horror but it has also showcased the best and worst of humanity! It’s embarrassing that we seem to be so helpless in the face of such unprovoked Russian aggression and the UK’s mean spirited attitude to refugees is even more embarrassing. The Little Englanders seem to think that these people actually want to come here? They don’t, and the few that do will undoubtedly return to their homeland just as soon as they safely can. Poland and the rest of the EU are putting the UK to shame! But honestly, what can we expect when so many of our MPs are funded with Russian money?

Size doesn’t matter

Anyway, we also experienced the best of humanity in another area completely. Yes, in this place, Tilly Tearoom. If we had decided to do both of these tearooms we should probably have started with this one , however, given that we didn’t know that either existed you will just have to put up with them in the wrong order. This place is obviously similar to Another Tilly Tearoom but is even smaller. There’s nothing fancy, just simple food served by friendly, enthusiastic staff.

A delight

Laura was looking after us and she represented humanity at its best … young, pretty, enthusiastic and oozing kindness. I had to ask her what colour her hair was because I couldn’t quite place it. Pointing at her head, she said “my original colour, or this?” I said ‘this“, to which she replied “well, I’m actually blonde but I had too much time on my hands during Covid so this is Flamingo Pink“. Of course it was. Her eyelashes were so long, one careless flutter could have blown the froth off our coffees! She was a delight!

After some lunch she offered us a plain scone but “there’s one banoffee (banana and toffee) scone left if you would like that?” We were sharing … I wanted the banoffee but Pat wanted plain. So plain it was … it’s good to know your place! It came with generous portions of jam and cream. Once again Pat had the top half and I had the bottom. It was lovely and we didn’t hesitate to award a topscone. In 2019, the Tilly Tearoom won an award as the Most Welcoming Café of the Year and we can easily understand why. When we were leaving we told Laura that the scone was the best we had had since we were at Another Tilly tearoom. She promptly asked “which was best?“, oh gosh, talk about being put on the spot?

Daring do

External view of Tilly Tearoom, Tillicoultry — Tilly tearoom with the Ochil hills in the distance

Every time I’m in Tillycoultry I think back to the the Great Tin Tray Championships of 1967. A small group of us climbed the grassy slopes of the Ochil hills that provide a backdrop to the town. We were all carrying tin beer trays. Mine was a black and gold Guinness tray, built for speed. The idea was to see who would be fastest to the bottom while sitting on the tray. Suffice to say that this side of the Ochil hills is entirely friction free. We were back at the bottom in seconds having experienced a completely uncontrolled hair raising ride. No idea who won but we all survived. Those were the days!

Make tae not war sign at Tilly Tearoom, Tillicoultry — This sign in the Tilly Tearoom makes perfect sense

The pictures of Mad Vlad sitting at one end of a table with his generals sitting about half a mile away at the the other end, speaks volumes. He is unhinged to put it politely. But, with a fair wind, this should be the end for Putin!

It’s easy to feel pessimistic with everything going on in Ukraine so it seems slightly absurd to be talking about scones in such circumstances. However, as long as we have people like Volodymyr Zelenskyy and she of the Flamingo Pink hair in Tilly tearoom, there’s hope.

FK13 6DP tel: 01259 752642. Tilly Tearoom

///weary.evidently.cocoons

ps: as we were leaving a small boy was tucking into the one and only banoffee scone. Annoyingly, he looked as if he was really enjoying it!

Easyriders

Preloaded!

Unforgivable

Terminal boredom

Memories

Family, family family

Virtual reality

Compassion

Sliding downhill

Making sense

Declarations

Guys and Dolls

Bailing out

World records

Resisting schoolboy humour

Fossils

Another cruise

Unexpected consequences

Pre packed

The government

Exciting

Double awards

Scary stories

Brute strength

Sound advice

Limits

Is this cream?

Judgement?

Size doesn’t matter

A delight

Daring do

by Bill and Pat Paterson and is about finding good scones throughout the world, with a little bit of politics