Tag Archives: Black Bitch

Ordinary, Scones, weird

The Granary Café

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Guess where we are? We’re out and about … yeah! Although we have been legally allowed to do this for a couple of weeks now we haven’t ventured very far. We thought we would just wait until all the excited crowds died down a wee bit. But today we are being super adventurous and have traveled all of six miles to the Granary Café in Linlithgow. Goodness, we were even on a motorway for all of half a mile … exciting!  After having been locked down for so long, however, it really did feel like an adventure! Finally out sconing again and acting on a  tip-off we received a couple of weeks back.

Big bad world

Our informant said that the scones at the Granary Café were worth checking out. Over the years we have visited several cafés in the town but it’s been such a long time, we couldn’t remember if the Granary was one of them. A quick search for ‘Linlithgow’ on allaboutthescones threw up seven we had already reviewed but the Granary wasn’t one. Okay, today was the day as we gently ventured forth once again into the big bad world.Exterior of the Granary Café

It was great to see everyone sitting in the sunshine at the pub next door but we were just revelling in the fact that we were able to sit inside and be served a scone by very helpful staff. Hoping for a choice of fruit or plain our waitress threw us a curved ball when she offered us a mango and coconut scone.  In the interests of scon ological research it had to be done … Pat opted for fruit.

Keeping it real

I would never normally go for hot chocolate but this offering seemed too good to miss so hot chocolate it was. Wow, as if just being out wasn’t enough!Real hot chocolate

We didn’t have long to wait before we realised our mistake.

A mango and coconut scone at the Granary Café
Mango and coconut scone

The scones looked fabulous but were of a size that meant we should have shared one between us. A topscone would have been nice to celebrate our first outing but sadly, it wasn’t to be. Although nice enough they were just too big for our liking and they didn’t actually taste as if they were freshly baked … Irish butter and no cream! A fruit scone at the Granary CaféNot to worry, the mango and coconut was good and a new experience but not one I would rush to repeat. The fruit scone was nice but Pat could only manage half.  The real hot chocolate?? Nice for a change but again not something I would make a habit of. In spite of all this carping we really enjoyed this place. It is well presented with an emphasis on healthy eating and the staff were super friendly. Many thanks to SS for the tip, we will be back.Interior of the Granary Café

Learning from history

Just a stone’s throw from the Granary lies the Cross Well. In 1650 it was badly damaged by the occupying forces of Oliver Cromwell. A tradition carried in 1746 when the Duke of Cumberland set fire to the Palace … just another stone’s throw away.

The Cross well in Linlithgow

You would think that Scots would have learned from this that, when it comes to looking after Scotland’s interests, those in the south are maybe not as good as the Scots themselves at making decisions in Scotland’s interest. In two days time Scotland goes to the polls, not to vote on independence but to hopefully start a process that will lead to Scots being able to make their own decisions. Only then we can strike up a proper relationship with our friends to the south .. one built on mutual respect and understanding. In the meantime we have to put up with another couple of days of Westminster’s Project Fear…scary!The sign for the Granary Café

People born in Linlithgow are known as Black Bitches. Alex Salmond was born in Linlithgow. Is that relevant? We’re not sure.

EH 49 7AQ            tel: 01506 253408          Granary Cafe

///riders.breeze.cooked

Ordinary, Scones

Lochside Café

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In our last post we were wandering round the loch at Beecraigs. Today we are wandering around Linlithgow loch. Now, we are aware that this may give the totally false impression that we spend our lives wandering around lochs. You will just have to take our word for it but we do wander around other things as well. That said, it is quite often lochs. They are lovely walks and we are fortunate to have them so close to home. So why not?

Novembert view of Linlithgow Palace
A late November view of Linlithgow Palace

Today it is cold and overcast, it’s late November after all! However, that doesn’t make the walk unpleasant. Quite the contrary, it’s bracing! Linlithgow has loads of pubs and cafés so one of the added attractions of this walk is the knowledge that you can always find somewhere for après-promenade refreshments. We’ve reported on many of these in the past – So Strawberry, Mason Belles, Fenwicks, the Star & Garter and more. This time it was a bit different. We finished our walk at the west end of the town near the Black Bitch pub (if you want know why it’s called the Black Bitch look at our post on Brodies Vintage Tearoom) instead of the east end. Making our way back into town we came across the, previously unknown to us, Lochside Café.

Daring-do

It’s not a place that jumps out at you … nothing to look at from the outside that’s for sure! Inside though, it’s pleasant enough though nothing much to distinguish it from many other small cafés. Service was friendly though not what we would call ‘happy’. Lunch was good and there was a choice of plain, fruit or lemon and white chocolate scones. Internal view of Lochside Café, LinlithgowOur dedication to reporting on the more exotic scone failed us on this occasion as we opted for, run of the mill, fruit. We must have lost our sense of daring-do somewhere down by the loch! And, of course, we shouldn’t allow our readers, with their insatiable appetite for exotic scones, to dictate our decisions. So there! As it happens the fruit scones were a bit like the whole place, unremarkable! We enjoyed it and there was plenty of jam and cream but no topscone unfortunately. Don’t let the external appearance of this place put you off. As cafés go it’s not at all bad.

Dictating

At the moment, the goings on in Hong Kong are fascinating. As our General Election rumbles on in a thoroughly unedifying fashion the young people of Hong Kong are risking everything so they can have what we take for granted. A skeptic might think that, if they look closely at what we have, they might think again. We feel, however, that what they achieved yesterday, when the results of their District Council elections  were announced, should remind us of how precious our democracy really is. Even if we sometimes look on it with a very jaundiced eye. Hong Kong has no democracy. It is dictated to by a much larger single party state in China. Scotland knows exactly how Hong Kong feels. The only difference is … we have democracy!

Today, the UN is calling for drastic cuts in greenhouse gases but how is the UK supposed to conform? Most of the offending emissions emanate directly from our very own Prime Minister?

EH49 7HN     tel: 01506 848599          Lochside FB

///putts.shared.household

Ordinary, Scones

Star & Garter Hotel

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Scotland’s national poet, Robert Burns, was born 1759 in the Ayrshire town of Alloway. The same year also saw the birth of this place, in the West Lothian town of Linlithgow. At that time it was the home of the wealthy Boyd family of ship owners. By the 1847, however, it had been transformed into a coaching inn, the Star & Garter, under the ownership of James Burleigh. At that time it was the Avis or Hertz of its day, hiring out horses and carriages. It’s right beside the station which is handy for us. While our car is being serviced in Bo’ness we can jump on a train and the garage picks us up from here. On some previous occasions, you may remember, they have picked us up at the Black Bitch.

Having a little time to spare, however, our attention was drawn towards the possibility of a scone. When we asked we were informed by a nice young man that tea and coffee were no problem. However, if we wanted a scone we would have to wait until he baked one. You will agree, it would have been rude and churlish to turn him down on such an offer.

Internal view of the Star & Garter Hotel, LinlithgowWhat’s in a name?

There are loads of pubs in Britain bearing the Star & Garter name. How come? As far as we can ascertain the Garter bit comes from the Order of the Garter. In 1344, Edward III decided to admit some of his knights to the Order of the Garter to make them feel a bit special among all these other common-or-garden knights. A bribe, in other words, for extra loyalty. The medals accompanying these awards usually came in the form of stars. Presumably the phrase “star and garter” began to be used to denote something a bit special. Would our scone be worthy of such an accolade?

Promising start

We were sitting by an open log fire waiting for them to be baked so  no great hardship there. Although we had our tea and coffee, waiting like this does heighten the sense of anticipation. Suffice to say, by the time they Scones at the Star & Garter Hotel, Linlithgowarrived we were ready! Having just come from the oven they were wonderfully warm, and although there was no cream there was plenty of jam and butter. First bite was very promising however as we progressed we decided that they had just been slightly over baked. We like them slightly crunchy on the outside but these were more ‘hard’. Had it not been for that they could have merited a topscone but sadly it was not to be. Fireside at the Star & Garter Hotel, Linlithgow

Honoured

However, sitting here by the fire in February with a slightly hard scone is still very enjoyable. We always feel honoured when folk offer to bake scones specially for us. Not as honoured as a knight of the realm you understand and certainly not as much as a gartered one, but honoured nevertheless.

Bribes

It is incredible that the government was defeated yet again last night and it doesn’t seem to make the slightest bit of difference. Why do they bother with all that palaver? Theresa May, never mind she cannot even command her own government, sets off to Brussels in another futile attempt to browbeat the EU into some sort of submission. It really takes some believing. Perhaps she is going with a bundle of stars and garters in her handbag. She has bribed everyone else so it may be worth a try.

A Parcel of Rogues

When Robert Burns wrote ‘Such A Parcel Of Rogues In A Nation’ he could easily have been referring to Brexit and the secretive ERG group of MPs.  He wrote: “Is wrought now by a coward few, For hireling traitor’s wages”.Though he could just as easily aimed it at MPs in the Labour party who will go with anything just to keep their jobs.

EH49 7AB          tel: 01506 845647           Star & Garter

ps. Honours should really go to our N.Ireland correspondents who, on a wee trip to Venice, diligently set about searching for a scone. Not easy in such an uncultured place however they did manage to find scone approximations. A Carnavle scone in VeniceApparently these items are only made at Carnavale time. This year that runs from 16th Feb to 5th March so we are doubly honoured to be seeing such rare Italian sconey things. They didn’t say how they tasted however .. more training required!

As always, many thanks to all our correspondents.

topweird

Brodies Vintage Tearoom

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Blackboard message at Brodies, Linlithgow Today we are back in Linlithgow having had all our cobwebs removed by storms Gertrude and Henry .. thankfully it has now calmed down a bit.  This time, on the recommendation of several friends, we’re looking for Brodies tearoom. Not as simple as you might think. Decoration at Brodies, LinlithgowIt turns out they are in the process of revamping the tearoom and currently don’t have a name outside their premises. So instead of putting up our usual external header view we have given you a view of some the items in the loo. Apparently the plan is to take over another cafe further along the road. It will be ‘modern’ and this one will be their ‘vintage’ tearoom. From the decor you can see that it is already fairly vintage.

Less is more

Pat decided to have a fruit scone and I opted for a walk on the wild side with the white chocolate and pear. A new one on me. Both were very good but, yet again, not quite topscone material! Brodies 09Mine, however, was good enough to get a ‘top weird scone’ so at least we have been able to make an award. For those wondering,  a weird scone is usually one that is not plain, fruit or cheese .. okay! Sometimes when you go into to a cafe like this you just know it is going to be good. So it was with Brodies. The food, the service were everything it should be. We hope though that when they finish their refurb the end result is not quite so cluttered. Or if it is that is more thoughtfully cluttered .. less is more kind of thing.Brodies 08

What’s in a name?

Just along the road from Brodies is a 13th century pub called The Black Bitch .. a name which is a trifle unusual in our modern, politically correct world. There is a perfectly logical reason, however, for the name. And indeed why anyone born in Linlithgow, man or woman, is referred to by the same name.

Fidelity

In times gone by, the King sentenced a thief to be tied to a tree on an island in the middle of the loch .. to starve to death. It would, of course, only have been a matter of time had it not been for the intervention of the thief’s big black greyhound dog (not the one made famous by Billy Connelly). It took it upon itself to swim out and keep him supplied with food. Maybe even the odd scone or two?  When the King discovered what was going on the dog was tethered to a tree on another island until they both perished. Happy days! Linlithgow

The town’s folk felt the dog’s fidelity and generosity of spirit pretty well summed up their own character so they adopted for the town’s coat of arms. Henceforth anyone born in the town was referred to as a black bitch. Told you it was logical!

We think that George Gideon Osborne may have been born in Linlithgow. He certainly deserves the title but perhaps for different reasons! His eleven personal meetings with Google resulted in a 3% tax burden being levied against the corporation. Of course it would have been embarrassing to charge them more. His own family business doesn’t pay any tax on their property deals after all? This week he also managed to provide Aberdeen with a ‘super generous’ rescue package. Coincidentally, it exactly equals one month’s rental of the Crossrail tunnel boring machine. Like everything else, it is being built on the proceeds of Aberdeen’s oil .. collapsed or not!

Is that island in the loch still available? We’ll make sure no animals are endangered this time! In the meantime we look forward to Brodie’s expansion. Another report may be required?

EH49 7EJ           tel: 01506 843036        Brodies