External view of the Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh

Balcony Café

What with wall to wall coverage of the coronavirus and its possible development into a pandemic, we get the feeling that we should not really be travelling anywhere. In fact, we get the feeling that we should maybe go into self-quarantine behind boarded-up doors and windows. Given that ordinary flu kills thousands in the UK each year we can’t help feeling that the current hysteria is becoming a tad overhyped. However, after careful consideration we thought the short hop from Falkirk to Edinburgh would not breach any major international guidelines or regulations. We are so glad that we don’t have any coughs of sniffles at the moment, otherwise, I’m sure we would get an entire carriage to ourselves on the train. Anyway, happily, we made it to Edinburgh, the National Museum of Scotland and eventually to the Balcony Café.

The main atrium at the Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh

All sorts

We have been here before on several occasions but it’s always full of surprises. Just when you think you have seen it all you turn a corner there is another cavernous hall packed with everything from elephants, totem poles, tyrannosaurs and lighthouses. But you’ve all been to museums like this before. What you really want to know about is the scone exhibits … right?

The Balcony Café at the Royal Scottish Museum, EdinburghThere are three restaurants that we know of here, there may be more. The Balcony Café is on the 3rd floor and the seating area is strung out along the length of the balcony in the grand hall. In common with lots of places like this, it’s self-service.

A gallery at the Nation Museum of Scotland
Another hall crammed with animals of every kind.

We got a couple of sandwiches and a scone to share. It was great to see that everything here, the butter, the jam, the cream were all from Scotland, See, it’s not difficult! We can never understand why big public institutions like the National Trust for Scotland don’t sell any Scottish stuff in their cafés. It’s always disappointing for visitors who come from far and wide to this wonderful country only to be served Irish, English, French or American products. Nothing wrong with the products per se … just not here where we have lots of our own top quality scone accompaniments.

A scone at the Royal Scottish Museum, EdinburghWe liked all the Scottish stuff but when we looked at the scone we had doubts. It appeared quite solid and slightly strange in colour. Once again, however, we had to eat our words as well as the scone. It was delicious! A little bit unusual in texture and with maybe a slight hint of ginger but none the worse for it. Had it not been for the rather surly self-service, this may well have been another topscone.

Globalisation

Visiting places like this museum does heighten your awareness of what a rich and varied world we live in. The rapid spread of the coronavirus outbreak also makes you aware of how small it is. Without the ease of travel, we have all come to enjoy over the past fifty or so years, the spread of viruses like this would be much easier to control. Greta Thunberg, leading a school strike in Brighton the other day, also makes you very aware of how delicate our tiny world is. When Pat and I were at school, large parts of the world were still unexplored. Now if someone sneezes in China we may all expect to be sneezing within days … that’s globalisation.The Balcony Café at the Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh

Assuming, for a moment that the world does survive, it’s still debatable if the UK is going to survive Brexit far less Megxit. On top of that, we now have the unprecedented exit of the previously unknown, Sir Philip Rutnam as boss of the Home Office to further complicate things. It was always on the cards when the odious Priti Patel was made Home Secretary, that this would happen. When we look around for someone to blame, of course, we need to look no further than ourselves … the voters. Not us, of course, we always vote correctly. Given the current state of play in the UK, moving around the museum gazing at all the past sophisticated, complex civilisations that have become extinct,  it’s not exactly encouraging. Maybe if we buy a face mask everything will be fine?

EH1 1JF                   tel: 0131 247 4084               NMS

///ankle,drama.dine

5 thoughts on “Balcony Café”

  1. Hello Bill

    This is your antipodean slightly poetic late for breakfast because I have to read your blogs first, Duncan. Maybe a new idea for a museum can be the things that were going to end the world? You know bad scones, Corona Virus, Mad Cow, Swine, Bird Flu, Aids, Ebola and the list goes on. I could add all the exit things too but being from down under they are yet to effect us but I do wish someone would quarantine those two people formerly known as royals. They can exit stage right as Snagglepuss used to say. Another great blog, keep them coming please and yes that sure is one unusual looking scone.

    1. Your tardiness has long since been forgiven Duncan. We thought we would set breakfast for 10 for Australian guests but, damn it, they keep turning up at 8 … you’re the only one.
      Nice idea on the End OF The World Museum though I suspect that it won’t be anything like as benign as a pandemic. More likely some nuclear holocaust. Our MPs recently found out that all our nuclear warheads are to be upgraded at a humungous expense. They found out from the Pentagon, no one in our own Parliament had thought to ask them or tell them. Even the Conservative MPs hadn’t been told. Anyway, we like to think that our new warheads will be ‘green’, more eco-friendly?
      I actually wish the former Royals well. I just wish that the Yorks would follow suit.
      Great to hear from you.

  2. We had a lovely day here with two of our granddaughters, who loved all the exhibits and trying out different things, which say “please touch”, instead of “don’t touch”.

  3. Thanks for your latest blog Bill….enjoyable and interesting as always xx

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