Lochside Café

26th November 2019 billpaterson1@me.com 1 Comment

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. Our 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, weird

Hideaway Cafe at Beecraigs

22nd November 2019 billpaterson1@me.com 1 Comment

There has been a lot of migration from central and eastern Europe. Thousands of people coming to the UK in what seems to be an totally uncontrolled manner. You may think we are talking about relatively recent times but we’re not. We’re talking about 4,500 years ago. There was mass migration back then when thousands of what we now know as Beaker People moved west. They were called Beakers because they were always buried with their rather elegant bell-shaped clay drinking vessels. When they reached Scotland some of them settled around Cairnpapple Hill where there is still a very well preserved Beaker burial chamber. It is only a stones throw from where we are today at the Hideaway Café at Beecraigs Country Park.

Descendants

So, although folk go on endlessly about mass migrations into Britain, it is absolutely nothing new. In fact, when it comes down to it, hardly any of us are from here originally. We are all migrants in one form or another. Judging by our fondness for using drinking vessels, Pat and I may even be direct descendants of the Beaker people. At the end of the day, as they say here in Scotland – we’re a’ Jock Tamson’s Bairns.

Photo of Beecraigs loch in late November — Beecraigs loch

We had decided to take a walk round the loch at Beecraigs. It used to be regular occurrence when the kids were small but we haven’t been back for many years. The loch is actually a reservoir built by German Prisoners of War during WW1. Apparently the German work ethic was nothing like it is nowadays. Work progressed at a snail’s pace until it had to be finished off in 1918 by conscientious objectors. It’s a beautiful walk, however, and it was really nice to relive memories from the past. The walk seemed much shorter than we recalled. Then we remembered, this time we weren’t trying to herd feral children. We didn’t have to stop and investigate every stick and toadstool along the way.

View from Beecraigs Country Park — View from Beecraigs with the Forth bridges in the distance

One of these children actually got married here several years ago and, with its expansive views, it provided a wonderful setting. No weddings today though, it has all changed. The space previously used for weddings is now filled with displays for the visitor centre explaining the local flora and fauna. However, now they have the Hideaway Café … and scones!

Buzzing

The only problem was that the Hideaway was not living up to its name. It had been found and was so busy we couldn’t get in. However, they gave us a pager and told us to go off and wander around the exhibits and when a table became available they would buzz us … brilliant. It worked! Within ten minutes we had our table and were able to order some lunch and a banana and white chocolate scone to share. They had plain and fruit scones however we always feel that we should report on the exotica we come across so that readers can continue to expand their knowledge base.

Everything was good, the service was happy and efficient, the food was fine and even the scone was pleasant enough. No topscone unfortunately. Don’t be put off by banana and white chocolate scones … but don’t deliberately seek them out either. Fruit or plain is a better bet.

Flashbacks

Memories are funny things. We have many happy memories of this place. Our family wedding event was superb but it is difficult to imagine it happening now that the venue has undergone so many changes. Yet we still got little flashbacks of that day as we looked around. Memories can play tricks! Apparently the Queen is claiming that the Duke of York is her son however he has no recollection of ever having met her. Boris doesn’t remember ever telling a lie for goodness sake! That’s how tricky it can get!

EH49 6PL tel: 01506 847111 Hideaway Beecraigs

///corrects.blushed.photocopy

Scones, topweird

Dalgetty’s Tearoom

19th November 2019 billpaterson1@me.com 5 Comments

Today we are in the Scottish Borders. Back in the 14th century this was definitely Thomas the Rhymer country. His reputation as a poet and prophet still features large in these parts because many of his predictions actually did came true. But more of him later.

First, let us ask this question, “Which Scottish town do you think has the most tarts?” We’re not talking ladies of dubious morals or anything like that we are talking tart tarts … proper tarts.

We don’t have a definitive answer, however, we feel that Melrose must be in the running. It has it’s very own Melrose Tart. A confection of pastry filled with honey, ginger and brown sugar topped off with yellow and black icing as a homage to the colours of the local rugby team. Not only that, the baker who makes the Melrose Tart also makes a sponge of coconut and almonds … the famous Border Tart. You can only get them in Melrose. That’s quite a few tarts for a wee town!

A man of parts

The town is famous for more than tarts though. It has its own very grand but ruined Cistercian Abbey founded in 1136. It does in fact get its name from the time the Abbey was built. Mell, after the stonemasone’s hammer and rose after the Virgin Mary to whom all Cistercians were dedicated. Robert the Bruce’s heart is also buried within the Abbey. The rest of him is buried in Dunfermline and Dumbarton … he was a man of many parts!Anyway, we weren’t here for tarts but for scones of course. And where better than a wee visit to the award winning bakery responsible for all these tarts – Dalgetty’s Tearoom.

Bran?

The tearoom is actually just a small addition to the bakery itself. Unfortunately, we were given Hobson’s Choice when it came to scones. They had had a serious run on scones earlier in the day and only had two left, one cheese and the other bran. Bran scones? We all need our fair share of bran but putting it in scones is maybe a step too far?

A scone at Dalgetty's Tearoom in Melrose — Pat’s cheese scone

Pat opted for the cheese one and, of course, that left me with the bran. It certainly looked interesting, if a bit unscone like. Sometimes when expectations aren’t high you are pleasantly surprised and so it was in this instance. Not crusty at all but wonderfully soft with a distinctive texture throughout. I had expected a bran scone to be much more solid and heavy but this one was very light. Loads of jam and cream as well, so overall, although not a topscone, it was very enjoyable. Pat’s cheese scone was nice as well with a good dollop of melted cheese on top. It was a pity we weren’t able to sample their more ‘normal’ scones. Dalgetty’s Tearoom is pretty obviously a place that takes great pride in everything it does so we are sure they would have been excellent … and probably top.

No lies

Returning to Thomas the Rhymer. His real name was Thomas of Ercildoune and one day while out on the E ildon Hill, just south of the town, he met the queen of Elfland. He fell under her spell and went with her into the the hollow hill to the fairy underworld. There, certain gifts were bestowed upon him. When he returned to the mortal world he had not only acquired immortality and could foretell the future but he was also completely unable to tell a lie. Thenceforth he was also known as True Thomas.

His immortality means that he is still alive and well and living in the area. It does make you wonder, however, with his inability to tell lies, what he does for a living? Obviously modern day politics is completely out of the question. Becoming a stand-in Duke of York would also be extremely tricky.One of Thomas the Rhymer’s predictions was that one day Scotland would rule the whole of Britain. Scoff if you like but these days you just never know. Remember he couldn’t tell a lie!

TD1 1NZ tel: 01896 752508 Dalgetty’s

///guesswork.polices.adjuster

Scones, Top

Singl-end Café & Bakehouse

13th November 2019 billpaterson1@me.com 4 Comments

Duke of Wellington statue at Singl-end Café, Glasgow — Glasgow Council, after years of removing the traffic cone from the Duke of Wellington’s statue only for it to reappear the next day eventually gave up. Now a major tourist attraction and emblazoned on memorabilia like this tea towel

For those not familiar with Scottish vernacular, or, to be more precise, Glasgow vernacular, a “singl-end,” or single-end was the name for a tiny tenement room into which large families were packed back in the good old days. Toilets were on the landings and could be shared with up to ten other families. This was a dreadful way of life which thankfully no longer exists. The term “singl-end”, however, is still sometimes used today to remember with misty eyed fondness those times. Times of close community when everyone knew everyone else and looked after each other. As a way of life the singl-end probably gave rise to Glasgow’s unique friendliness. A sense of humour was the minimum required to survive in such conditions and combined with a down to earth irreverence and an ability to laugh at themselves, Glasgow is like no other city.

Posh?

Pat, a proud Weegie, wasn’t brought up in a singl-end, rather a “room and kitchen”. Having a separate kitchen didn’t exactly make you posh but it was definitely one up from a singl-end!

When we came across the Singl-end Café & Bakehouse it just had to be done. And what a find! It’s in a basement so is virtually invisible from the street. Not that that is holding it back, when we arrived it was busy busy … and it’s nothing like a singl-end at all, it’s huge! It has what we would describe as a kind of hip feel about it so naturally, being pretty hip ourselves, we felt at home straight away. It’s veggie and vegan friendly without being at all shoutie about it … brill!

Creme de la creme

The staff were an absolute delight and they soon had us set up with some absolutely delicious lunch. The problem was that there was so much delicious lunch that we feared we might not manage the scones we had spotted earlier. Undeterred, however, we let our tummies settle down for a while then ordered our scones. When we asked for cream with our scones a funny thing happened. But first let us ask a question. “What cheese would you use to hide a horse?” Don’t think about it too long … it’s mascarpone, obviously! When we asked for cream our waitress said “It’s mascarpone cream” followed by “Its nice” when she saw our consternation. It’s veggie so it fits with their ethos. So the final order was a fruit scone for Pat and a blueberry and pistachio scone with blackcurrant jam and mascarpone cream for me. Life on the edge.

One very noticeable thing about this place is that the service is almost instantaneous. lightening quick! So, almost immediately, our scones were in front of us served up on wooden chopping boards. They were really good and the mascarpone cream was really good as well. We loved everything about Singl-end Café & Bakehouse. There is another Singl-end nearer the city centre but we wish they would venture out to the provinces and open one nearer us.

Mickey Mouse

Each table in Singl-end has a glass top and underneath the glass is an array of odd and totally unrelated items – postcards, bits of hand written letters, drawings and sketches … a really fascinating miscellany of stuff. At my seat a stamp from Grenada caught my eye. Can you ever see the UK issuing a stamp featuring Donald Duck? We can’t imagine anything ever inducing the ‘stiff upper lip’ British government to do such a thing. One featuring Mickey Mouse might be appropriate though considering the present state of our politics. The other Donald seems to be pulling all the strings in our upcoming election. Acting on The Donald’s instructions, Nigel Farage has suddenly gone from all principled and powerful back to his usual sniveling self.

Another question “What cheese would you use to coax a bear out of a tree?” The answer – camembert! We know, the jokes are even worse than the politics!

G3 6TT tel: 0141 353 1277 Singl-end Café and Bakehouse

///pans.slows.simply

ps It is with great sadness that we report the passing of one of our correspondents who hailed from Stenhousemuir … the SteniBrainFart. He contributed to several posts like Brians Café and The Loft. We named him thus because of his uncanny knack of instantly coming up with oodles of useless information on just about any subject under the sun. He was proud of the name and signed his emails with it. He will be greatly missed.

Scones, history and a dollop of politics

Monthly Archives: November 2019