Tag Archives: Tony Blair

Scones, Top

Gleneagles

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Gosh, it’s a month since our last post about the Platinum Jubilee. Apologies to those who have been patiently waiting … and to those who have been enjoying the peace and quiet. We thought we should start again in style so we’ve come to Gleneagles.

View from Gleneagles Hotel
View over Glendevon from the Glendevon Room
A Highland Playground

Gleneagles is one of these places, like the Connaught and Claridges, that doesn’t need to bother putting ‘hotel’ after its name. You’re just supposed to know. It’s the playground of the rich and famous. So what on earth are you doing there, we hear you ask? Okay, did you know that Gleneagles has three Championship golf courses and one nine hole course. Surely that’s way more than enough? Did you know that it has a Shooting & Fishing School an Equestrian Centre and the British School of Falconry. Did you know that it hosted the G8 summit in 2005 with the likes of Blair, Putin, Berlusconi, Bush and Chirac? All largely forgotten, apart from one, of course. That was before G8 became G7 after Russia was suspended in 2014 for being a bad boy and invading Crimea. Goodness, that seems like a relatively minor misdemeanour now!

The Glendevon at the Gleneagles Hotel
The Glendevon Room, the scene of the G8 dinner hosted y the Queen  …. and now our scone

Of course, none of that is of any interest to us, we are only here for the scones. Having said that, we also have a very special Canadian  with us (Pat’s brother) who we are determined to introduce the genteel  refining intricacies of taking afternoon tea. You know what those Canadians are like … bit rough around the edges! What better place to do it than this? If they can’t do a decent afternoon tea here then there is precious little hope left for the world. Okay, he only wanted to be out on one of the golf courses rather than doing this but, much to his dismay, we stuck to our guns.

Friendly service

There are over 1000 staff servicing the 232 rooms so expectations were high in terms of service. We were not to be disappointed. In fact, in many ways our expectations were exceeded.

Cakes at Gleneagles Hotel
top tier of the sweet stand

The staff looking after us, of which there were many, were all great. Not only did they take the time to explain all the sandwiches and other delicacies we were getting but also took the time to answer our questions about the hotel and all the people who have stayed there. Some, even more famous than us! As you can imagine, a stay at Gleneagles is not exactly cheap, quite the reverse. So the staff were impressed to hear that my dad had been a guest here for six months. Eventually I had to divulge that it was when the hotel had been turned into a hospital during WWII. He was recuperating after a bad motorcycle accident.

The ballroom at Gleneagles Hotel
the Ballroom but no dancing today

Anyway, back to the scones. Forgive us if we go In to slightly more detail than usual. Before you get anything here they give you a little champagne glass into which they pour some iced tea … very nice. That’s followed by an amuse bouche of tomato consommé … very nice again. Then they bring the savoury three tier stand BOTTOM TIER Perthshire smoked salmon with sweet dill mayonnaise sandwich +  egg mayonnaise with mustard cress sandwich +  Tweed valley roast beef with nasturtium  butter sandwich. MIDDLE TIER vol-au-vent with red onion marmalade, goats cheese broad bean, radish, carrot and candied walnut + toasted pickelet with white crab meat and creme fraiche + Hardwick lamb sausage roll with lovage emulsion and choucroute. TOP TIER pea, cabbage and potato croquette + toasted charcoal baguette with pickled cucumber smoked trout and golden beetroot. No scones!

Peachy

Then, only then, when you have stuffed yourself with all this deliciousness do they bring out the next three tier sweet stand. Argh! Afternoon tea at GleneaglesBut at last we caught our first sight of the “soft and fluffy” buttermilk scones. Would we have room for them let alone everything else? The scones were indeed soft and fluffy as described but with a slight crunchiness as well … perfect. They came with loads of jam and clotted cream, all beautifully presented. A very easy topscone. Sitting here in our secluded little alcove gazing out across the croquet lawn to the sunlit hills of Glendevon you could easily think that everything is absolutely peachy with the world. You would be completely wrong, of course,  but just for a moment … 

Doggy bag at Gleneagles HotelNeedless to say we could not get near finishing everything that we had been presented with … even when it was washed down with copious quantities of Glendevon blend tea. And this being Gleneagles, even our ‘doggy bags’ were posh. A custom made handbag style box in which we could transport our leftovers back home. Did our Canadian feel enlightened by this experience? Of course he did … a “soft and fluffy” scone at Gleneagles … who wouldn’t be?

PH3 1NF        tel: 01764 662231         Gleneagles Hotel

///claim.facing.showcases

ps: if there is anywhere in Scotland that can rival Gleneagles for culinary expertise and originality it is the Oystercatcher restaurant in the lovely little village of Portmahomack. And guess what, our Trossachs correspondents are on the loose again and that’s exactly where they are. As well as a fabulous dinner the previous evening they sent us a picture of their breakfast … Scallops-o-Scone.

Scallops-O-Scone at the Oystercatcher, Portmahomack
Scallops-O-Scone at the Oystercatcher

They also reported on a scone they enjoyed in the company of members of the Portmahomack Salsa Drumming Band in the Carnegie Hall Cafe. The last time we reviewed this place was back in 2016 … too long ago. 

Salsa Drumming, Portmahomack 2016

Our correspondents sound like they are having a brilliant time … we need to go back.

Ordinary, Scones

Westerton Arms

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When Robert Louis Stevenson wrote “Treasure Island” he may have been thinking of the place we are in today. He certainly was when he wrote “Memoirs of an Islet” and the poem “A Good Boy”. We know this because his ill health meant he spent much of his childhood years in this small spa town. Later when he was living in Hyères in the South of France he wrote “I shall never forget the days at Bridge of Allan; they were one golden dream”. Yes, we are in Bridge of Allan, not to take the waters but rather the scones at the Westerton Arms.

Footballers

How times have changed! Seems odd nowadays to think that, in Victorian times, whole towns grew up around a spring. There was nothing particularly special about the water apart from the fact that it was clean; something we now simply take for granted. Wealthy Victorians would flock to these  towns for their health benefits. You can see echoes of this past everywhere in Bridge of Allan. Lots of green spaces and grand mansion houses that, nowadays, are largely the preserve of obscenely overpaid footballers. By the way, if you look to the left of the title picture, you can see the Paterson Memorial clock … nothing to do with us! The Paterson in question was a local doctor who served the local community for many years.Internal view of the Western Arms

The Westerton Arms began life in 1831, almost twenty years before Stevenson was born. He, like us, may well have come here for a scone? Although almost 170 years old it is surprisingly fresh and modern inside and would appear to be undergoing still more refurbishment. The staff were very welcoming and soon had us kitted out with some excellent lunch.

Reasons to go to Samoa?

Henry's Coffee Co coffee cupThey brought our coffee while we waited for our scones and lo-and-behold it was our favourite from Henry’s Coffee Company. It doesn’t get much better than this so things were looking very promising.  Unfortunately, it didn’t continue. A scone at the Western ArmsThe scones (£2.95 each) were decidedly average and served with American jam and French butter … quelle dommage! The scone itself was a fairly lifeless affair. When we expressed our disappointment we were told that all the other cakes were made in their own kitchen but they didn’t know where the scones came from?? Maybe this is why Robert Louis Stevenson left Scotland and ended up in Samoa?

Holding your breath

The Pope, on his recent visit to Greece, has scolded almost all western leaders over their treatment of immigrants. Likewise Tony Blair has been scolding the same leaders over their handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Neither Tony or Francis have the power to do anything about anything so it’s easy for them to go off on one! Will their words  effect any change? Don’t hold your breath!

FK9 4HR        tel: 01786 200545.      Westerton Arms  

///honest.tucked.boots

ps: The next day we got a lovely surprise when one of our neighbours popped in with some scones. If only the scones the day before had been as good as these they would have been topscones.Ann Style's scone

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

The Catstrand

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catstrand-06For our return trip from Kirkcudbright we thought we should try and see some red kites on the side of Loch Ken where, because of the Red Kite Trail, there is every likelihood of seeing them. As we approached the top end of the loch, however, we had almost given up hope, when just about Kenmure Castle, we had no less than eight kites wheeling about above us … marvellous sight! In the last post about The Solway Tide Tearoom, we talked of the difficulty of picking the right side and the stark ruins of Kenmure Castle are yet another reminder of precisely that. In 1716, in the Tower of London, Viscount Kenmure paid the ultimate price for his support of the Jacobites and that pretty much signalled the end of the once powerful Gordons of Lochinvar.

Integrity

These days you don’t tend to lose your head simply for supporting the wrong side. Especially if you simply pret

Piture of an art exhibit at The Catstrand in New Galloway
‘Deep Blue Sea’ by Jenny Edwards – acrylic on driftwood

end you didn’t! Mitt Romney, who picked Clinton and said that Trump was akin to the devil is now in line to be Secretary of State in Trump’s administration. What happened to integrity?

Daesh and crazy politics

Mind you, just when you thought politics could not get any more surreal on this side of the pond, Tony Blair is threatening a return to politics with his honchos, Jim Murphy and George Osborne. Apparently because he thinks today’s politicians are too weak. They may be right about today’s politicians but they also have a  very tenuous grasp on reality. Blair’s ‘strong’ politics managed to provide us with nothing less that Daesh. In the modern world of crazy politics however … who knows, they might actually do it?

Picture of café interior at The Catstrand in New Galloway

About a mile or so north of Kenmure Castle we came to the pretty little village of New Galloway. And it was sconetime! At this time of year many places are closed for the season but The Catstrand is an option we would probably have picked anyway. We have been here before and knew it to be good. Little villages like New Galloway, Moniaive and Thornhill sit prettily in their beautiful surroundings and give you the impression that they are a bit sleepy and nothing much ever happens. The Catstrand, however, proves that to be a complete myth. Piture of a scone at The Catstrand in New GallowayThere’s a shop, a cinema, a concert hall, a bar, an art gallery .. oh, and a café!

Baked by the young chap behind the counter every morning, our scones did not disappoint. Lovely jam but unfortunately, once again, the only downside was the seemingly ubiquitous Rhodda’s cornish cream. Nothing specifically wrong with that. When you are in the heart of Scotland’s dairy country, however, why go all the way to Cornwall for cream? The answer is, of course, that it keeps for ever .. but still!

The Grump

Pat thought we should stay for the cinema which was showing The Grump which, for some reason or other, she thought I would enjoy … I disagreed!

Picture of mural in the garden interior at The Catstrand in New Galloway
Mural in the garden of the Catstrand

DG7 3RN             tel: 01644 420374               The Catstrand

Scones, topweird, weird

Living Water Satisfies Café

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You are all aware of the Bermuda Triangle. That mysterious area of ocean on the other side of the Atlantic where things simply disappear without trace. Today we are in the Crystal Palace Triangle, a relatively small area enclosed by three streets. It’s famous for an eclectic range of vintage furniture and clothing stores, in south London. Like it’s Caribbean namesake things go missing here as well. Scones, for example! It’s not as if there are no cafés, there are loads of them. Venezuelan cafés, Nepalese cafés, Polish cafés, Sudanese cafés. Would any of those have scones?

View from Crystal Palace towards central London
Crystal Palace, on Sydenham Hill, is one of the highest points in London.

Just as we were about to declare the Triangle a ‘scone desert’ we came across the Living Water Satisfies or LWS Café. No idea where it gets it’s name but it is situated on the outer extremity of the Triangle where the influence is obviously weaker. Lo and behold … scones. Admittedly there was only three left and they were all the same … gruyère and chive! LWS turns out to be a charity dedicated to helping those who suffer domestic abuse so all the proceeds from the café and bookshop go towards providing shelter and comfort to abuse victims. Well done them! The café itself is pretty basic but is obviously well used for functions and meetings as well as folk just dropping in for something to eat. They also make everything, including the scones, on the premises.Interior picture of LWS cafe

Life on the Edge

As you know we occasionally like to live life on the edge, adrenalin  and all that … and besides, this place was worthy of our tiny little bit of support. Also, you readers obviously need to know about such things, so gruyère and chives it was! What a surprise, what a pleasure. Really cheesy and the chives just gave them a certain je ne sais quoi. Picture of a scone at LWS cafeFor sure, they fell into the ‘weird scone’ category but definitely one of our top weird scones! Coffee was good as well.

In the short time since our previous post there have been other disappearances. We think that David Cameron may have moved too close to the epicentre of the Crystal Palace Triangle because, having laid waste to the UK, the EU, Libya and even brought perfectly honourable pigs into disrepute, he has now vanished completely. He told us himself that he is “no quitter”, so the Triangle seems the most likely explanation. He will be remembered fondly. In much the same way as Tony Blair.

SE19 3AF          tel: 020 8653 4011            LWS Café

Ordinary, Scones

The Crystal Cave

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If ever there was a place that could not make up its mind what it was supposed to be, this is it. The Crystal Cave Tearoom in Burntisland. It’s very confusing. On sale is everything from buckets and spades to all sorts of trinkets along with a fairly comprehensive range of agates and other lapidary items. Hence the name presumably. The people here were very friendly and work extremely hard going up and down a flight of steps to and from the kitchen. Rather them than us.

One of the sale items that summed the place up at the Crystal Cave
One of the sale items

 

Dreams

But someone needs to determine what the core business is, then concentrate on that. Because as a tearoom it was pretty good but could be even better if it wasn’t for all the … stuff. Decluttering would improve the overall ambience and help it look like a proper tearoom. Like the sign says we felt they were on their way to a dream alright but had got a bit lost. Internal view of the Crystal Cave, Burntisland

Anyway, enough of that, lets get on to the important things. We ordered scones and were told that if we wanted to wait a little we could have completely fresh ones straight from the oven. Otherwise we could have the ones that were done twenty minutes earlier! We were tempted to wait but, in the end, decided that a twenty minute old scone was just fine .. and so it was. Light,  good texture and lots of jam and cream. A scone at the Crystal Cave, BurntislandCoffee was presented in a rather odd choice of cup, the tall glass kind we usually associate with  gaelic coffee. Pat had to have hers reheated so it could have been better. All in all though we enjoyed everything and wish everyone at the Crystal Cave every good fortune.

Tony’s revalation

A crystal ball is what the Labour party needs as it wrestles with Corbynmania. Perhaps if they gazed into it hard enough they might actually see Tony Blair’s revelation that he is godparent to Rupert Murdoch’s daughter  for waht it is. People don’t want the old establishment Labour party any more. They want something fresh … and Corbyn is their man!

Semi=precious stones at the Crystal Cave, Burntisland
Semi-precious stones for sale

KY3 9UW           tel: 01952 890498           Crystal Cave TripAd