Scotts Greenock

27th July 2023 billpaterson1@me.com 11 Comments

We are about as familiar with Greenock as we are with the dark side of the moon. And that’s more than a little peculiar because it’s only an hour’s drive from home. We can only blame it on its situation on the southern shores of the Clyde hemmed in by hills. Also, Pat is from the north side of the river and generally that means you don’t go to the “south side” unless absolutely necessary! Unless you have a particular excuse to go there, you just don’t. Today we have a particular excuse.

Our Sydney correspondents let us know that they were on a cruise and today they would be docked at Greenock. By a happy coincidence we had also been informed that Buzzworks had just opened a new restaurant in the town called Scotts Greenock. We could kill two birds with one stone, so to speak.

Island Princess cruise liner — View of the Island Princess from our table

We visit Scotts at South Queensferry quite a lot and we thought it would be good to have a look at this new recently opened enterprise. Situated in Greenock, it would also mean that our friends would not have too far to travel from their ship. We booked a table for today.

Power of the kettle

For many years Greenock was the centre of shipbuilding, sugar refining and wool manufacturing but now they have all disappeared and it is bravely trying to recover from these heady days of heavy industry. James Watt, who famously discovered steam power by trying to hold down the lid of his kettle was born here in 1736, More recently, so was Judge Dredd

Imagine our surprise when we found that Scotts is actually part of the Ocean Terminal building that our friends had to go through to get on and off their ship. They beat us to it and were already at the table. It’s seven years since we last saw them so it was wonderful to see them again. There was loads to catch up on!

Cameron was our server. He got us all sorted up with a delicious lunch but when we asked for a scone he just looked very perplexed and scurried off. He returned with the devastating news that they didn’t have any. And here was us hoping to give our correspondents a in-person refresher course! It was all a bit odd, however, because every other Buzzworks place we have been to has scones displayed in their bar areas.

Can I help you?

I ventured up to the bar just to check that Cameron hadn’t misunderstood. When a lady saw me searching she asked if she could be of help.

Entrance to Scotts - Greenock — the entrance to Scotts

I explained my surprise that they didn’t have any scones when all their sister restaurants did. She explained that having only opened a couple of weeks ago, they weren’t fully operational yet. She assured me that as soon as they were they would have scones just like everywhere else. Then she added “but when you made your reservation you wrote that you were meeting friends from Australia for lunch and hopefully a scone … so we made some scones this morning, especially.” Goodness gracious, had we actually stumbled on an organisation that actually paid attention to the individual? Wow, a rare thing in this modern automated world! I resisted an almost overpowering urge to kiss this lovely lady and returned to the table to deliver the good news.

In no time at all Cameron was delivering our scones, nicely presented on large oval cobalt blue platters. No cream but perhaps that wasn’t altogether surprising given that the scones in front of us were the only ones the restaurant had ever had. The four of us thoroughly enjoyed them and although we didn’t think the scones on their own merited a topscone we decided to award one anyway. Considering the trouble they had gone to on our behalf it was totally deserved. Well done Scotts Greenock for going above and beyond!

Our friends had been in Shetland the day before and Iceland the day before that. This cruising lark is relentless and sadly, before long, it was time to say farewell. They had to get back on board and head for Southampton. Cameron kindly offered to take a final picture on the outdoor deck area and then, with hugs and kisses, we parted.

Cruising

Inspired by tales of sailing the high seas and discovering new and exotic places, we decided to give it a go. We drove a couple of miles further along the coast to Gourock and boarded the good ship Sound of Shuna for the 20 minute trip to Dunoon.

Western ferry at Gourock — Not a huge amount of luxury on the Sound of Shuna but it did have a toilet

Okay, not exactly cruising but it did enabled us to make a round trip up the shores of Loch Long across the Rest And Be Thankful and down the shores of Loch Lomond. We eventually got home very late after a great day full of happy memories!

A letter box made in Falkirk in St Catherines on the shores of Loch Long

Our Sydney correspondents thought our blog had gone rather quiet on the subject of Scottish politics … Nicola Sturgeon and all that? They’re right, of course, we have gone quiet. The reason being that we have no idea what is going on. If anyone else knows please get in touch. All we can say is that the actual case for Scottish independence remains stronger than ever.

Latest news is that the US Defence Department has a secret stash of UFOs. If true, it infers that these ‘nonhuman biologics’ had the intelligence and wherewithal to get somewhere but then had no idea what to do once there. A complete mystery if it wasn’t for the fact that it sounds suspiciously like Westminster!

PA15 1EG tel: 01475 602460 Scotts – Greenock

///hill.onions.union

Scones, Uncategorized

Mulberries Coffee Shop

17th July 2023 billpaterson1@me.com 7 Comments

Our previous post from the Wee Bear Café was a bit unusual because it took me back to my roots in Glenisla. This post from Mulberries Coffee Shop in Kirkcudbright (pronounced kir-coo-bree) is unusual as well but for a different reason … I don’t have my trusty sconey partner with me. Instead of Pat I have my brother and two old friends. I use ‘old’ in every sense of the word. If this post seems like an episode of Last of the Summer Wine it wouldn’t be too far off the mark.

One is the Laird a valued correspondent for many years who has a slightly different slant on sconology. The other is a mere sapling, Young enough to still dabble in stuff called work and still able to walk unaided. The rest of us were relying on him to dig us out of any holes we might very easily fall into. Between the four of us we had the makings of at least one good physical specimen. I’m in good hands although, come to think of it, I never asked about their hands!

From Mulberries Coffee Shop looking towards MacLellan's Castle — View along the street from Mulberries towards MacLellan’s Castle in the distance

Jobs?

The town’s name derives from “Chapel of St Cuthbert” that was demolished in the the early 1500s. Sir Thomas MacLellan subsequently used the stones to build MacLellan’s Castle, How did he get away with that you might ask? Well, we don’t know but in 1580 he was appointed as “gentleman in the bedchamber” to King James VI. Didn’t even know that was a job so we’ll say no more!

Internal view of Mulberries Coffee Shop — The bar at the Wee Bear

It’s a town full of creatives and is commonly known as the “The Artist’s Town”. We were on a mission to examine future potentials of a narrow strip of woodland my brother has. It runs along the west coast of Kirkcudbright Bay for about three miles. Before we got to the wood, however, we stopped in the town to get some supplies and, lo and behold, we were outside Mulberries Coffee Shop. It was beckoning!

Just as well they allow non-creatives into town because within two shakes of a lamb’s tail we were in Mulberries destroying their scones. And very nice they were too. Quite big but with a goodly amount of fruit and lots of jam and cream. The cream was presented Mr Wippy style.

Uncategorised

The Laird, who I mentioned earlier had a different slant on sconology and everything else come to that, proceeded to put jam on his cheese scone. Mon dieu! Pat and I normally regard cheese scones as ‘butter only’ affairs so I was thankful that Pat wasn’t present to witness this abomination. He seemed to thoroughly enjoy it though so maybe Pat and I should just chillax? However, having thought about it for a nanosecond … it’s an abomination! So, enjoyable as they were, considering the poor judgment of my companions and Pat’s absence these scones, for the moment, would have to remain ‘uncategorised’.

A beach in Senwick Woods — One of the beaches in Senwick Woods looking over Kirkcudbright Bay

Good news

Lawrence of Arabia spent some of his formative years in Kirkcudbright. He may even have sparked his sense of adventure in Senwick Woods. A bit of a leap perhaps but we had a definite sense of adventure heading into the woods and stumbling on ancient dry-stone moss covered walls and little deserted beaches. There are ravens, red kites and red squirrels here as well as badgers and lots of roe deer. The highpoint, however, was when we came across this little Meadow Brown butterfly. Seeing a brown butterfly represents new beginnings and a sign that you are about to get good news. It could be anything! At this moment, as far as the four of us are concerned, a cure for decrepitude would be joyous news indeed.

Not sure if anything was decided on future plans for the wood but I am sure we had a fab day. The four of us sat on a log looking over to the Lake District talking about family and the ways of the world. Amongst our wide ranging discussions one thing surprised me greatly. One of my companion’s friends, an atheist, was about to graduate with a Degree in Theology. I was astounded! It had never before occurred to me that that could … or would happen. Thinking about it now, of course, it’s perfectly logical … unlike jam on a cheese scone!

DG6 4DJ tel: 01557 330961. Mulberries FB

///mildest.kilowatt.dated

Scones

Wee Bear Café

13th July 2023 billpaterson1@me.com 7 Comments

Quite some time ago our Trossachs correspondents recommended the Wee Bear Café at Bridgend of Lintrathen. We thought it was an interesting name and lodged it at the back of our minds. Perhaps it was a reference to the brown bears that used to roam throughout Scotland until the 5th century, along with wolves and all sorts of other things you wouldn’t want to meet on a dark night. Or even a light night come to that. Nowadays, more people are killed by cows than any other animal and, of course, midges just make you wish you were dead.

Wandering

This morning we thought we would pop out for breakfast. We didn’t have anywhere in mind but ended up at Scotts at South Queensferry. We reviewed its scones four years ago and have been back many time s since … but never for breakfast. As expected it was excellent and we left as very happy bunnies indeed. A beautiful day so instead of heading back home directly we took the Queensferry Crossing and drove north. We thought we might visit the antique centre at Abernyte near Dundee. However, when we were almost there we saw a large roadside sign for the Alyth Show.

For almost the first decade of my life, I lived in a cottage in Kilry, a sort of tributary glen to Glenisla. Some would say it was the middle of nowhere but for me it was my entire world. A van appeared every Saturday with everything required for survival in a Scottish glen. Alyth, a market town of about 2,000 souls, as far as I was concerned, was the “big city, a veritable metropolis. When Pat and I arrived in Alyth we realised that we were only four miles from where I grew up and remembered the words of our Trossachs correspondents. Hence this very long winded explanation of how we ended up here at the the Wee Bear Café.

View across Lintrathen loch — Loch of Lintrathen

Bears?

Friends of my parents looked after the Loch of Lintrathen, the water supply for Dundee. It was only a mile or so from our house so we used to visit the village regularly. At that time there was a tiny shop but nothing like the Wee Bear. It’s quite a big place with a restaurant, bar and even accommodation if you want to stay. The owners have done a superb job and it turns out that the name has nothing to do with bears. “Bear” is simply the name of their much loved dog … a small dog, hence the name!

There were lots of tables outside but we decided to sit in the shade inside. The tables in here are made from recycled old cable drums. The café must employ all the young girls in the village because the service was very efficient and friendly. In no time we were sorted with everything we needed including a fruit scone to share. They didn’t have cream, however, it was all very nice. About as close as you can get to a topscone without actually getting it. The Wee Bear is a fantastic place and thoroughly recommended.

It all happens in Glenisla

Many people think that nothing of note ever happened in Glenisla. The truth is very different! Let us enlighten you! For example, when I was about five we got “the electric”. It was a new fandangled thing and absolutely life changing. However, when I talk of this to my grandchildren they just look at me pityingly as if I’m from some distant galaxy. To be fair, I can hardly believe it myself. However, that’s not all. Other earth-shattering things have happened here as well.

The bar at the Wee Bear Café, Lintrathen — the bar at the Wee Bear, scene of many musical evenings

John Farquharson, a local renowned poacher, invented the falling block breech loading rifle that could self cock and dispense with the spent cartridge in one smooth continuous motion. Not having any tools or a workshop, he carved out his prototype from a turnip. And another local man, James Sandy, invented the invisible hinge. We would show you a picture but for obvious reasons, that’s difficult.

My father was a forester in Glenisla. He once did a small favour for an old lady who lived nearby. In gratitude she presented him with a chicken, plucked and ready for the pot. He protested that this far out weighed the value of the work he had done but she was insistent and assured him “it was dying anyway“. Such was life in the glen, everybody knew everybody and although isolated with no transport we were never stuck for anything.

Progress?

Once when I was hired as a very small beater for a pheasant and rabbit shoot, one of my fellow beaters got shot. It wasn’t serious. He had only taken one shotgun pellet to the head but he was a bit upset. My perplexed father wondered what to do with him. In the course of the day the rather impatient landowner (whose shoot it was) had observed the urine being squeezed from the shot rabbits. He came up with the answer ” Oh, just piss him and put him in the bag!” Those were the days! Who would have thought back then that “the electric” would mean us ending up with hundreds of TV channels in full colour. And very few worth watching!

Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to go to the bird hides on the Loch of Lintrathen. It’s home to tufted ducks, shovelers, great crested grebes, mallards, coots and herons. We did pass the Incheoch farm, however, home to 1200 ewes, 220 beef cows, a few hens and a Great Spotted Woodpecker. We know about the woodpecker because it was on a tree straight in front of us … fantastic!

A K6 telephone box in Lintrathen — This telephone box was opposite the Wee Bear Café. Sadly no longer functional

Reminiscing

Here in the county of Angus, kelpies and fairies lurk just out of sight on riverbanks and hillsides, waiting to draw unsuspecting travellers into another world. Given that, it seems shameful to introduce something as sordid as politics. So we won’t!

Just a great day in a great place and a great scone. Apologies for all the personal reminiscing … couldn’t help it!

DD8 5JH tel: 01575 560427 Wee Bear Café

///copper.gong,fights

Scones, Top

The Dome

5th July 2023 billpaterson1@me.com 11 Comments

This post from the Dome in Edinburgh may be shocking for many readers! We apologise in advance if that is the case. Everyone knows what afternoon tea is … goodness, we’ve reviewed quite a few on this blog.

Internal view of the Dome — It used to be the Royal Bank of Scotland, famous for its glass dome

In 1840 the 7th Duchess of Bedford got into the habit of having tea, sandwiches and cake in the afternoon to tide her over to the evening meal which wasn’t served until 8pm. She started to invite friends who would change into long gowns and hats to take tea in the drawing room at Woburn Abbey. It became a social occasion for polite discourse and tea sipped from fine china with one’s little finger delicately raised! Henry James said “There are few hours more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea“. All well and good, however, this post is not about ‘afternoon tea’, it’s about ‘morning tea’ here at the Dome in Edinburgh. “Sacré bleu, what sort of abomination is that?” we hear you cry!

How it all began

Back in 2016 we had afternoon tea upstairs in the Georgian Tea Room … and very nice it was! Recently, however, we became aware that, against all the laws of nature, they were now offering morning tea. Has to be the work of the Devil. We felt that it would have to be checked out on our reader’s behalf so in the spirit of Marco Polo and Ernest Shackleton we set out to investigate. Turns out that morning tea is served downstairs in the Club Room.

Caledonian Heritable Limited own the Dome along with more than 300 other pubs and restaurants. By a happy coincidence they also own the Woodside, our local and our weekly haunt at 5pm every Friday. If you think the Dome is a bit fancy you should see the Woodside! No morning tea or even afternoon tea but it does have a range of potato crisps.

So here we are in the Club Room drinking champagne and it’s not even midday! Told you it was the Devil’s work. Surely you don’t get lots cakes with a morning tea? No, what you get is two mini breakfast rolls with link sausage and bacon. There’s also lemon and blueberry muffins and an oatmeal thingy with berries. Oh, and scones … obviously! We hadn’t had any breakfast so it was all very welcome. The mini breakfast rolls were nicely toasted and the sausage and the bacon cooked to perfection. I asked for some tomato sauce so they brought brown … heyho! The service was typically efficient if a little cavalier about sauce. The oats and berries thingy was also nice though maybe a little on the heavy side.

The scones were unusually uniform in shape but with a lovely sprinkling of crystallised sugar on top. Crisp on the outside and soft in the middle, it couldn’t be anything else but a topscone.

The Club Room at the Dome — Part of the Club Room

Verdict

As if things weren’t confusing enough they serve morning tea until 2pm … so it’s perfectly possible to have morning tea in the afternoon … but not, we hasten to add, the other way round. So what’s with this morning tea thing? Is it really such an abomination? Well, we should probably apologise to the Dome for casting aspersions. It was all rather nice and we would recommend it to those of an adventurous disposition who are willing to get out of bed a little earlier.

George Street, Edinburgh — George Street from the Dome

Apart from morning tea what other miracles are there today? Wimbledon has started heralding the start of that miracle of television abuse by respectable old ladies. My mother had never held a racket in her life, however, during Wimbledon she was transmogrified into a tennis expert who would scream abuse at the tv when her favourite players missed a ‘simple’ shot. King Charles is in Scotland today continuing that age old tradition of plundering Scotland’s Crown Jewells. The miracle is that he is able to do it in broad daylight aided and abetted by the police. Today is also the 75th anniversary of the NHS. Given successive government’s attempts to privatise it, it’s a miracle that it’s still around, albeit in need of some TLC.

This was a lovely day out in Old Reekie and our morning breakfast at the Dome will probably last us the rest of the day … another miracle?

EH2 2PF tel: 0131 624 8624 The Dome

///incomes.noble.dream

Scones, history and a dollop of politics

Monthly Archives: July 2023