Tag Archives: Kim Jong Un

Clancy’s Cafe

Road sign for YeovalFor this post we are not only indebted once again to our antipodean Bathurst correspondents but also to one of their friends.  He sent us some sconological information on Clancy’s Cafe, in Yeoval, New South Wales. The friend’s name is Paterson,  the cafe is contained within the Banjo Paterson museum (see title photo by Gabriela B) and we are Patersons so this post is really a celebration of Patersons the world over. As you can see the little town of Yeoval is “still the greatest” but don’t drink the water. We don’t want to get accused of stereotyping but its our understanding is that Australians only drink beer so don’t suppose that’s any kind of real hardship.

Waltzing across the outback

Banjo Paterson was brought up in Yeoval so presumably, he went straight from mother’s milk to drinking beer at an early age. He is to Australia what Robert Burns is to Scotland. Portrait of Banjo PatersonAn author, balladeer and poet who has kind of come to symbolise the country’s identity. He wrote under the pseudonym “The Banjo”, the name of his best-loved horse.  He died in 1941 and is probably best remembered as the originator of Waltzing Matilda. Perhaps typical for Australia, the song celebrates a sheep rustling itinerant hobo who waltzes (walks) from farm to farm with his matilda (knapsack of belongings). It’s pure nostalgia for a vanished way of life!

Carved inscription of Waltzing Matilda
A sculpture inscribed with the words of Watzing Matilda

The Clancy of Clancy’s Cafe is another daredevil character who appears in several of his stories. For a review of the scones, however, we are indebted to fellow sconey, Toni of  The Devonshire Tea Guide who visited Clancy’s back in 2015: “Whatever brings visitors to Yeoval is what I say, and for me, the scones definitely would. a scone at Clancy's CafeThey are lovingly homebaked, light and fluffy with a creamy texture and taste. The cream is sensational. Real cream whipped thick with an electric beater – how hard is that? Not very, and I wish more places did it. The jam is average but nice and thick and not syrupy sweet, and the mix works brilliantly. Scone lovers are crazy not to stop for five-dollar Devonshire Teas, and maybe linger to learn a bit more about the illustrious poet”.  So now you know, next time you are in Yeoval, Clancy’s is the place.

Clans

Like Banjo Paterson, our correspondent is of Scottish descent. In fact, his grandmother was Banjo’s niece. All Patersons are part of Clan MacLaren so we are all related in one way or another. Scotland, however, currently has a problem with its clans. Clan MacLeod has given rise to President Trump and we even have Clan Johnson …. aargh!! We can only apologise to the world for those aberrations. Reassuringly, as far as we know, Putin has no Scottish connections and neither has Kim Jong Un. Boris actually visited Scotland for a few hours yesterday to encourage donors to the Tory party to keep on digging deep. The essence of his message to the rest of the people of Scotland was: “After over 300 years of Westminster rule, Scotland is too wee, too stupid and too poor to be able to do anything for itself” Talk about shooting yourself in the foot?

NSW 2868     tel: +61 427 208 913     Clancy’s

///televise.transcribe.mediocrity

PS: As you all know, our famous Trossachs correspondents are avid sconeys. However, you may not be aware that they are also keen jigsaw puzzlers. They even do scone jigsaws. Yes, they have a scone jigsaw! Goodness knows where they got that from? Ascone jigsawOne of the scones is actually repeated elsewhere in the puzzle. No prizes but well done if you can spot it.

 

Coffee Kiln Café

His great grandfather, Sir Everard, was descended from a London Prince and his other great grandfather, Knight Errant, was descended from the Prince of Wales. No, we are not going off on another rant about the aristocracy, we are talking about the pedigree of the Baron o’ Buchlyvie. Perhaps the world’s most famous and probably most expensive Clydesdale stallion.  He was sold at auction in 1911 for 9,500 guineas after a dispute over ownership that ended up in the House of Lords. That was a lot of money back then! His stud fees were astronomical. However if you want to listen to a bothy ballad on how they could be avoided just click here.

Anyway this is just a rather roundabout way of telling you that today we are in Buchlyvie. It used to be a busy wee place, being the crossroads for two railway lines. However, they were closed long ago and nowadays it is just a sleepy little village with a rather busy road running through it. Internal view of the Coffee Kiln Café, BucklyvieNormally we are part of that busy road as we drive through on our way to the west coast but today we decided to stop at the pottery/café and see what was on offer. Plenty … inside there’s a wealth of lovely pottery in all sorts of patterns and colours. All produced in the workshop at the back of the café. Some of the pottery at the Coffee Kiln Café, Bucklyvie

Drop scones?

We spent ages looking round and ended up buying quite a few different pieces. Of course, this was extremely taxing. We had spotted some scones on the counter so it was kind of inevitable. We decided to share one! A scone at the Coffee Kiln Café, BucklyvieSadly it was a huge disappointment. We had a slice of gingerbread as well which was nice . However, although the scone was served with lots of jam, and cream it just didn’t taste good. The worst we had had in a very long time. Not even sure if the Baron would have enjoyed them. Not sure either if he occasionally got a bit over-amorous. In 1914, after having his leg broken by a kick from a mare, he had to be put down.

Subsequent to his burial however he was dug up and his skeleton displayed at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow. Anyway, it’s a shame, but perhaps the Coffee Kiln should just drop scones (sorry) from their menu and concentrate on their lovely pottery.

View from the window of the Coffee Kiln Café, Bucklyvie
View from the window

A person of principle

Today Donald Trump shook hands with Kim Jong Un but somehow, after all the hype, the world doesn’t seem that much safer. Credit where credit is due however, it may lead to something yet. As might the resignation of Justice minister, Phillip Lee, so that he can vote against the government’s Brexit policy. A person of principle in the British government … wow!

FK8 3LP      tel: 01360 850405       Coffee Kiln Café TA

National Shooting Centre 2

We don’t often revisit places we’ve previously reviewed and, even when we do, we don’t usually write about them again, however, on this occasion we felt an exception was justified.

Back in July last year you may remember that, thanks to a friend who was competing in the European Clay Pigeon Shooting Championships, we decided to join him at the National Shooting Centre Scotland and try to reduce our almost total ignorance of the sport. Even if just by a tad. We were amazed by the sheer magnitude of the event. Hundreds of people from many countries all milling about … with shotguns! They were also serving scones hence it appeared in the blog.

A few months later and much to our surprise, we got a lovely email from the NSC saying they had come across our post by chance when revamping their own website and inviting us for a free lesson. How could we refuse? Our schedule however, meant that it wasn’t until now that we were able to take them up on the offer and, even at that, Pat couldn’t make it so it was just me. Could I do a scone on my own?? Internal view of the National Shooting Centre Scotland

A makeover

What a difference a few months make ….wow! The old somewhat drab and dreary interior of the clubhouse had been totally transformed. Clean white walls, comfy armchairs and a huge wood burning stove giving an overall warm and welcoming feel to the place.Internal view of the National Shooting Centre Scotland

Stewart and Amy also gave me a very warm welcome. Stewart insisted however, that there would be no scones until I had proved myself able to kill at least one clay pigeon.  After a brief safety chat and gun selection we were out on a stance and ready to go. It has always been a little disturbing for a non-shooter like me to enter a room which is completely lined with guns. Maybe it’s got something to do with the recent anti-gun protests in the US? Who knows, but such potential for destruction can be a little unnerving to the untutored eye. The gun room at the National Shooting Centre Scotland

I know you are all desperate to know how I did. Suffice to say I hit more clays than I missed. I was a trifle pleased with myself. I, of course, put it down to my own innate talent, however, I guess Stewart would have put it down to his expert tuition. And he would have been right.

Finger licking

There was a wonderful brief moment when any lingering thoughts I may have harboured about shooters being a blood thirsty lot were completely dispelled. Unbelievably, a kestrel came in and hovered, stock-still, right in line with all the guns. All shooting stopped until it had done what kestrels do and moved on about its business … magic! A scone at the National Shooting Centre ScotlandBack in the clubhouse it was time for a well earned scone. Amy, a shooter herself, did the needful and produced one of her own home-baked scones which was absolutely delicious.

It would have got a topscone award had it not been presented fully loaded with jam and cream. You all know our thoughts about that. Scones should come with jam and cream on the side so that individuals can load them according to taste. Although this is a founding principle of all sconology, we do recognise that shooters often have others to load their guns for them. Maybe it’s got something to do with that? Should we make exceptions … no! Just my opinion of course since I was flying solo on this one. Never mind, as the scone’s contents squished out the sides with every bite, it became yet another finger-licking good experience. Logo of the National Shooting Centre Scotland

Red Velvet

Maybe not finger-licking but a good experience anyway seemed to be had by Kim Jong-un as he watched South Korea’s Red Velvet girl band at a pop concert in Pyongyang , something which, previously, he would have pronounced illegal. Maybe there’s hope for the world after all.

Many thanks to everyone at the National Shooting Centre for their kindness, patience and hospitality. It was a just great!

FK1 3AL     tel: 01324 851672     National Shooting Centre Scotland

Café Belgica

Admittedly, this is not the first place that comes to mind when seeking out a good scone. First of all, it’s a huge furniture warehouse. Secondly, it’s situated in a pretty uninviting industrial estate. But, like us, you might be surprised. We used to come here quite often looking for the odd quirky piece of furniture. Hallelujah, since our last visit they have reorganised everything and added Café Belgica. And it seemed like the busiest part of the store. Internal view of Café Belgica

Plonkers

It’s well set up and there is a good range of food and drinks on offer … including scones. Ours fruit scones were good and served with a generous tub of clotted cream. The friendly lady who was looking after us, however, was having to work very hard negotiating a rather odd table layout. Definitely something they need to look at in future. A scone at Café BelgicaNot topscones unfortunately but enjoyable nevertheless.

Café Belgica is providing something of an oasis in what is really a huge refreshment desert. A place to chillax away from the cares of the outside world and, perhaps more importantly, away from the Winter Olympics. Never mind the brouhaha about Kim Jong-un’s sister making Mike Pence look like a bit of a plonker. Or the fact that banned Russia is competing … but not as Russia? Even more ridiculous is the sight of commentators working themselves up into a lather over whether Team GB might beat Team Nigeria by 1/1000th of a second … at sledging! Does anyone seriously care? Maybe we just don’t understand.

Brexit Olympics

In common with 99.999% of the population we don’t know anyone involved in ‘skeleton’ (head first on a sledge) or ‘luge’ (feet first on a sledge) so are not in a position to discuss the finer points. As youths we used to take part in our own Tin Tray Championships which consisted of a group of idiots sliding down the Ochil hills on beer trays totally out of control, A bit like Brexit negotiations! Could Brexit become an Olympic event? A gold medal to anyone who can find a way to keep us in the EU.

EH51 0PU     tel: 01506 243954     Café Belgica

Dobbies

It was way back in January that we got a tip-off about the scones at Dobbies Garden Centre just outside Stirling.

January, afternoon tea with two Dobbies scones

Our ever diligent Trossachs correspondents had bought some to take home only to find that they had been given some extra ones free. This was more than they could handle on their own, so they passed on a couple to us. We ate them as part of an afternoon tea we were having with some neighbours. At the time we thought they were rather good, if a little bit oversized. We had to split them up to make them more manageable for our guests. Since then, we have been promising ourselves that we would visit Dobbies and do a proper review. Seven months later, today is the day.

Internal view of the restaurant at Dobbies Garden Centre, Stirling
Just part of Dobbies’ restaurant

Automation

The garden centre is big and they have a restaurant to match. It is a little bit surprising to come in and find so many people out shopping and then to find a large restaurant which is equally busy. The servery area is also big. Rather than wait in a long queue we opted to go to the automated self service part. There is normally some sort of problem with these vending machines … and so it was. However the problem was not so much with the machine as with the operators.

Automatic coffee vending equipment at Dobbies Garden Centre, Stirling
Coffee machine about half way through delivering and it cannot be stopped

Basically, from the large array of cups, all of which looked identical to us, we selected what turned out to be a tea cup. Of course it was far too small for the quantity of coffee being delivered. A kind of Niagara situation ensued. We were a bit bemused by this until we noticed that there were similar but slightly larger ‘coffee’ cups … trauma over.

We had opted to share a cherry and coconut scone because they were all so large. Also we hadn’t actually tasted that particular combination before. Perhaps we should have stuck to what we know because we found this combo somewhat insipid. The tiny pieces of cherry were relatively few and far between and the coconut, although there, did not feature strongly enough. The scone itself was fine though, still too big for our taste. No topscone here but maybe the prize for the biggest.

Dressing like Ruth Davidson

The problem with Westminster and Holyrood being on holiday is that there is nothing much to report. Witness the BBC’s interminable coverage of athletics. But wait a minute, apparently the end of the world has just got a whole lot nigher. We should report that in case any sconeys get caught unaware. With the great big ‘Goliath’ madman in Washington threatening unimaginable fire and brimstone against the wee ‘David’ madman in Pyongyang who likes dressing up like Ruth Davidson, there may not be much time left. The big question. Will Scotland manage to become an ordinary self respecting  country before armageddon? The man in the know, Alex Salmond is predicting 4 years for independence but that may be too late.

Civilizing scones

HMRC has admitted that Scotland’s economy is actually £15b bigger than they had reported … oops. The latest figures showing that England ran a massive trade deficit in 2014 and 2015 whereas Scotland had an even greater surplus in those years. Perhaps we can just squeeze in a wee bit of self respect before we are all blown to smithereens. How to avoid complete annihilation? We think that Trump and Kim Jong should sit down together over afternoon tea. The civilising influence of a good scone cannot be overestimated and the size of the Dobbies’ scones should almost match their egos!

FK9 4UF     tel: 01786 458860     Dobbies Garden Centre

BREAKING NEWS: Our Tyrolean correspondents have lodged a report on what could possibly be the first ever scones to be baked in Austria. You heard it here first! They were in Scotland for a few days and became so obsessed with scones that when they returned home they baked some of their own ‘Austrian scones’. First scones to be baked in AustriaThey look good and by all accounts were good. No information on whether Austrians go jam or cream first. But together, dear readers, we are taking scones to the world. And the world will be a better place! Many thanks C and M.

Cupcake Café Bar

Readers will remember from our last post regarding an unintentional visit to Bathgate and the Coffee Club that we drove around Cairnpapple Hill to get there. While we were doing that, about a mile or so out of Linlithgow, we passed a sign for the Scottish Korean War Memorial. The what? We didn’t stop but it raised our curiosity. You could probably write what we knew about the Korean War quite comfortably on the back of a postage stamp … so it made us wonder. It made us wonder so much that, in an attempt to remedy the situation, we decided to go back and actually visit the place to find out what it was all about.

Gate to the Scottish Korean War Memorial
The gate to the Scottish Korean War Memorial

 

War on communism

Apologies to folks who know all this already but it turns out that Korea was occupied  by Japan from 1910. At the end of WWII, however, when Japan was defeated, there were difficulties agreeing who was to rule thenceforth. Believe it or not, the US and the Soviet Union got involved in what the US saw as a war against communism. From 1950 to 1953 twenty one countries fought on the UN side, Britain being one of them. Five million soldiers and civilians lost their lives. Incredible, so soon after the end of a very bloody World War.

View of the Scottish Korean War Memorial
The Korean style shrine contains name boards listing all the 1,114 men who died.

 

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The Flag of South Korea
Flag of S Korea

Also a shrine surrounded by two mounds in the shape of the Ying and Yang on the Korean flag. It’s a quiet peaceful place. Judging by the fresh flowers placed beneath trees, it is still very much a place of remembrance. Exterior view of the Cupcake Café Bar near TorphichenFeeling much better informed we decided to head for home. However, we had hardly got started when, on the other side of Torphichen, we came across signs for the Cupcake Café Bar. Not somewhere we had ever heard of in spite of it being only a few miles from home. Our ignorance knows no bounds! It had to be done. Once we had negotiated the bomb-crater sized potholes in the driveway we arrived at an old converted farmhouse set in a large nicely laid out garden. Inside, it was surprisingly modern. Interior view of the Cupcake Café Bar near TorphichenInterior view of the Cupcake Café Bar near Torphichen

Predictions

When we ordered our scones from a lady with a rather mischievous look in her eye, she told us in no uncertain terms “you will enjoy them”! We felt duty bound! She was right of course, we did enjoy them. Nicely presented with plenty butter (local), jam and clotted cream. A scone at the Cupcake Café Bar near TorphichenThey were soft and light with just the right amount of fruit. The coffee was good as well. Again, not quite a topscone but yet another admirable attempt.

Back in Korea, a cease fire was eventually brokered in 1953 by dividing the country into North and South with a ‘no man’s land’ in between. Both countries are still officially at war to this very day! The communist North is now led by the 34 year old Supreme Leader, Kim Jong Un. A man who is generally regarded by the western press as more than a little ‘unhinged’. Thank goodness we don’t have anything like that in the west … oh, hold on a minute?? Kim is the only one in the country allowed to bear the surname ‘Jong Un’. All others with the name were forced to change. We suspect that no force at all should be necessary for the Trumps of this world.

EH48 4NQ      tel: 01506 654697       Cupcake Café Bar TA