Tag Archives: D-Day landings

Fingal

5th June 2019 billpaterson1@me.com 5 Comments

After our visit to Titanic Belfast we have aquired the nautical bug. This time we are staying aboard the Fingal, a floating hotel moored in Port of Leith. Now before you jump to the conclusion that we just move from one luxurious hotel to another like a couple of itinerant millionaires, let us set the record straight. It’s not like that at all. Well, maybe a little bit but not that much. And we only do it with good reason. It’s a special day for Pat and, of course there’s always the potential for a scone along the way. We are doing it for you, our sconey readers … no, really! If you come on pictures that make it look as if we are enjoying ourselves it is simply to help ease your conscience.

Pat beside the Fingal — Pat about to board

Challenging scones

Now we are not going to lie and tell you this was some sort of old bathtub of a boat. It wasn’t. Probably about as far away as it’s possible to get from that description. It has a beautiful ballroom and a glass lift that automatically compensates for any movement of the ship. So, not too bathtubish! The bottle of ice cold Moet & Chandon in our room completely dispelled any lingering doubts. Tempting though a glass of champs was, duty called. We knew we could get an afternoon tea on board but neither of us felt able for such indulgence late in the afternoon and risk spoiling our appetite for the evening. A cup of tea and a scone would be just fine. Although, for the management, this was going slightly ‘off piste’, nothing was too much trouble.

Scottish stuff

Ours scones were beautifully presented and they even gave us a few finger sandwiches, just to tide us over. You all know by now that our sconological benchmark is a cream tea at Fonab Castle in Pitlochry. Perfect scones, perfectly presented in beautiful surroundings … the best scones in the world. In over 300 scones reviewed on this blog, Fonab has never really been seriously challenged … until now!

Fingal’s chef Brendan had produced scones that, at long last, could easily give Fonab a run for its money. Nicely presented, they were warm and had that delightful light crunchy exterior and the soft inner that we crave in a topscone. There was a fruit and a plain one for each of us but they were precisely the right size, so no problem. We could not fault them. They came with jam from Galloway Lodge Preserves in Gatehouse of Fleet and even the butter came from the Edinburgh Butter Company in Stockbridge. It’s so easy to present quality Scottish products like this. We are constantly amazed that so many Scottish establishments source their products from everywhere but Scotland. Well done Fingal, the easiest topscone we have awarded in a long time. You may take pride of place along side Fonab Castle … that’s quite an achievement.

To the Shore

We could have stayed on board for dinner however the ship is only a few minutes walk from the Shore area of Leith where there are loads of excellent waterside pubs and restaurants. A spot of exploring was called for! We had a quick drink at Sofi’s and then an excellent meal at The Ship on the Shore. The light had almost gone as we made our way back to the mother ship.

On the deck of the Fingal — A life on the ocean wave … ignore the buildings in the background

Man sized scones

Today is the 75th anniversary of the D-Day Landings however Fingal is far too young to remember any of that. She was built in 1963 in Glasgow and spent her whole life supplying remote lighthouses around Scotland. Each very comfortable cabin is named after a lighthouse. Ours was Lismore which coincidentally was a lighthouse with which we became very familiar when we experienced Kiki’s man-sized raspberry scones on the Isle of Lismore.

Pat with old friend at the dockside — Pat relaxes with a new friend on a late evening return to Fingal

Today is also the day that Donald Trump leaves the UK after his state visit. It’s probably also the last day that Theresa May will make a public appearance as Prime Minister. Huge sighs of relief all round.

Fingal was a great experience and Charlotte, Catriona and all the staff made it great fun as well. We would thoroughly recommend it to all itinerant millionaires.

EH6 7DX tel: 0131 357 5000 Fingal Hotel

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Scones, Top

Knockinaam Lodge Hotel

24th April 2018 billpaterson1@me.com

As you already know we are always ready to go that extra mile in the cause of sconology no matter how much discomfort and distress this may cause. This post is no exception and Knockinaam Lodge Hotel is where it’s at. Lying in its own little cove in the cliffs just south of Portpatrick, it is very private. So private in fact that we had difficulty finding it. So private that Churchill and Eisenhower planned the D-Day landings here. When you get here you kind of get the feeling that nothing has changed much in the intervening years. You can almost see Churchill sitting in the big leather fireside armchair, whisky and cigar in hand. At the reception desk we were initially concerned that our room did not appear on the communication system. However they assured us that all we had to do was pick up the phone and they would attend to our every need … phew!

Servants bells at Knockinaam Lodge Hotel, Mull of Galloway — Our room didn’t have a bell

Reminiscing

Knockinaam has that comfortable homely feel about it which makes it the perfect place to chillax. And that was exactly what we had in mind. No swimming pool but its own beach in Port of Spittal Bay more than made up for that. We could sit there looking over the North Channel toward Northern Ireland and reminisce on the many happy years we spent living there … bless!
Silver dishes

But enough of our bleating, we are here and we will just have to make the best of it. Lets get to the scones. We would have loved to have had afternoon tea however our schedule simply made that impossible. Instead we just had tea and a scone. We had been warned that the scones were big so we shared. Seated in front of a lovely log fire when the scone came it was beautifully presented with crisp linen napkins and lots of jam and cream in silver dishes. There was absolutely nothing to complain about here … a very easy topscone. If you ever visit Portpatrick there is a three mile cliff top path that takes you to Knockinaam and this, or afternoon tea, would be a perfect stop before the return journey.

Shenanigans

You have probably guessed by now that we are not exactly roughing it. However, in order to bring you the full spectrum of scone news we do feel obliged to come to places like this from time to time. Entirely on your behalf you understand! Sitting here, you can’t help but wonder what the Churchill and Eisenhower of old would have made of today’s political shenanigans between Trump, May, Putin and Assad. We think that they, like us, would have been aghast. If one has to wonder about such things, however, this is definitely the place to do it. We thoroughly recommend Knockinaam. It could have been the six course dinners every night. Perhaps the wonderful staff. It could have been the beautiful rooms. In fact it could have been just about anything, it was all good … and a great scone.DG9 9AD tel: 01776 810471 Knockinaam Lodge

english, Scones, Top

St Paul’s Hotel

1st May 2017 billpaterson1@me.com 1 Comment

What is now the elegant red sandstone St Paul’s Hotel started life as St Paul’s School, founded in 1509. Since then the school has occupied numerous locations. Currently it occupies a large site on the south side of the Thames near Hammersmith Bridge. Between 1884 and 1968, however, it was housed here on the other side of the river. Like Eton and Gordonstoun, St Paul’s was designed to populate the government, civil service, diplomatic service and the armed forces with men who could maintain the Empire, They were also expected to keep their parents in the manner to which they had become accustomed. And, of course, keep the riffraff in their rightful place. Amongst its alumni are Samuel Pepys and George Osborne. Quite why they would admit to someone whose main achievement, as Chancellor of the Exchequer, was to double the national debt to £1.7 trillion, is quite beyond us.

SWALK

Luckily this rather beautiful building has found a renewed sense of purpose serving scones to the riffraff. Enter riffraff. The hotel has lots of beautiful rooms and, in what used to be the lecture theatre, General Eisenhower presented the final invasion plan to General Montgomery, King George VI and Winston Churchill just three weeks before the D-Day landings took place in 1944.

For our cream tea, however, we were ushered into the very comfortable Melody Restaurant & Bar. So called because the school provided the backdrop for the 1971 cult film about ‘puppy love’. The film is sometimes known as S.W.A.L.K (some of you will know what these letters stand for) and if you click on the poster and have an hour and forty three minutes to spare you can watch it. Though you would probably be better served just continuing to read this post.

Scone threesomes

The service in St Paul’s Hotel would best be described as ‘efficient’. Absolutely nothing wrong with it but maybe lacking a certain friendly personal touch that would make all the difference. Then again they can probably spot riffraff a mile off and are trained not to be overly effusive in their welcomes. They offer a range of teas and we elected, in true adventurous style, for Indian breakfast rather than English. Quite a good choice as it turned out. The presentation of the scones was as you would expect in such a place. Nice bowls of jam and cream, crisp linen napkins etc. The scones come in threes. Okay they’re quite small, and although some of them could never be described as ‘beautifully formed’, they were delicious … nicely warmed, crunchy on the outside with super soft centres, topped off with a light dusting of icing sugar. Fab … topscone!

Meeting in the forest

You cannot turn your back for a second! While we’ve been away Theresa May has ‘done’ Scotland on her “strong and stable – I am the one” general election tour of what she doubtless regards as ‘the provinces’. Lets face it the Tories see Scotland simply as a place to shoot grouse and store nuclear missiles. Oh, and a source of funding for all their fancy London projects. She really got down and dirty with the locals … not! Her only appearance was in a village hall in a forest near to that well known Labour stronghold of Crathes in Aberdeenshire. It had been surreptitiously booked for a children’s party. No shortage of balloons then? It is hard to imagine anything more pathetic. Okay, okay, George Osborne, but at least he has managed to get another job he knows nothing about, as editor of the Evening Standard?

W14 0QL tel: 020 8846 9119 St Paul’s

Scones, history and a dollop of politics