Tag Archives: politics

self-service, Uncategorized

Dobbies unvisited

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Hope you all had a great time over the holidays and are looking forward to another year of sconology. In fact we thought that the symptoms of scone withdrawal might be reaching fever pitch so have opted for a slightly unusual but quick fix for you. Not based on a visit to some cafe deep in the nether regions of the Scottish countryside but rather on some scones we received as a gift over the festive season. Such are the fringe benefits of being sconeys. Boyle 03

Morello cherry and Port jam

Our benefactors had purchased them at Dobbies Garden Centre in Stirling complete with a range of jams. Don’t worry, we realise that for a full and proper report we actually have to go there. And since we take our responsibilities seriously, we promise to do that before 2016 is out. In the meantime, hopefully this will suffice. I elected to try the cherry scone (family size) and Pat dutifully warmed it in the oven and whipped up some cream to go with it.

With cherry scones however there is that ever-present problem ..  a suitable jam. Strawberry just does not seem right, but, as luck would have it, we had also been gifted a pot of Morello Cherry and Port jam, the perfect accompaniment. In spite of these scones having been in the freezer for several days everything was absolutely delicious. A topscone award however will be reserved until we have actually visited Dobbies.

Awards

Ah yes, awards. We know that many of you will have been shocked, after scouring the New Year Honours lists for our names only to find them absent! This came as a bit of a shock to us as well. The last time we spoke to the Queen (not that long ago) we convinced ourselves that there was a slight nod which seemed to indicated that she was going to see uBoyle 04s alright. If you know what we mean, wink, wink, nudge, nudge! Obviously we mistook the body language. For all we know, even though we did our best to put her at her ease, it might have been a slightly clumsy attempt at a curtsy.

Anyway, as it turns out, it saved us the anguish of deciding whether or not to accept. Given that we would find an OBE or anything else with ’empire’ in it a tad difficult to take. An OGE; Order of the Glasgow Empire is more our style. We did notice that the list consisted of the usual worthy and unworthy individuals. Always good to see people who give selflessly of their own time to helping others less fortunate getting some recognition. However, it also seems slightly galling that people such as politicians and civil servants should get these awards as well. Simply for doing their jobs. Equally so for sports personalities and the usual catalogue of luvvies and thespians. Surely they get enough gongs and awards already?

At least Jon Snow, one of the few principled journalists left in the media had the good judgement to turn his OBE down saying he could not accept awards from those he was paid to investigate. At least he realises that stultifying criticism is what it is all about. Surprised though that BBC Scotland were not in line for some sort of award. They have taken on the mantle of the only effective opposition to the SNP led government at Holyrood.

Now if this all sounds a bit like sour grapes let us assure you that it is exactly that, The benefits of making, presenting and eating scones and the role scones have played in creating this wonderful country needs to be recognised sooner or later. Sooner would be good .. before we both turn into humpty dumpty lookalikes. Many thanks to the wonderful people who gifted these scones … you know who you are. We will be  back on the scone trail very soon, Happy New Year to you all.

ps for those who were unable to find the Buckhaven scone in the last post. It is 4 down and 4 across from the left on the header image.

 

Ordinary, Scones

Tea Jennys

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This is a lovely little cafe tucked away in Kings Court, just off the High Street in Falkirk. Originally called Kings Arms Court, any hostelry of that name has long since vanished into the mists of time. It is great to see establishments like Tea Jennys thriving in spite of the tax avoiding multinationals like Starbucks, Costa and Caffé Nero snapping up all the prime sites in town.  Of course, as we reported in an earlier post some places could do with taking a leaf out of the multinationals book. Because, aside from the tax stuff which isn’t really their fault, they really do know their business. You get the feeling though that Tea Jennys, has probably looked closely at what the multinationals are doing, noted it, then decided to take an alternative approach. It does everything the big boys do but just does it differently.

tea and tea cosies at Tea Jennies, falkirk
tea and tea cosies

 

The meals, cakes and scones are home made for a start, all excellent, but it is the other little touches that set it apart. The home-knitted tea cosys, a different one for each teapot. There was a santa hat and a christmas pudding on ours. No tea bags here either, the tea is proper leaf tea served in proper tea pots, in proper tea cups with a proper tea strainer. The decor is a bit chintzy .. but different. Certainly not like any multinational that we have visited. The service is warm and friendly. Unfortunately when we visited they only had cheese scones left. Equally unfortunately they forgot about the scones in our order.

Prospering

A gentle reminder, however, brought profuse apologies .. and our scones, nicely toasted. scones at Tea Jennys, FalkirkNot topscones but very good, we may have to come back earlier in the day to catch a plain or a fruit scone. Something to look forward to next year. It’s not as if Tea Jennys is simply holding its own against the multinational competition it appears to be thriving. They recently opened a deli and an additional cafe further along the street. Long may they continue to prosper. Internal view of Tea Jennys, Falkirk

Here’s to 2016

This is probably our last scone of 2015. It only leaves us to wish all our readers a very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. And thank you for all the support and enthusiasm throughout the year. Here’s to 2016, may all your scones be topscones.

FK1 1PG               tel: 01324 228185             Tea Jennys TA

english, Ordinary

Muriel’s Kitchen

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The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames is one of those entities that sounds as if it has been around for centuries. However, it has only been in existence since 1965 when three smaller council areas were amalgamated. It is home to many attractions like Kew Gardens, Hampton Court Palace, Twickenham Stadium. Our favourite is the London Wetlands Centre which we visit frequently.Muriel's 02

It is probably the single most affluent area of London and perhaps unsurprisingly is deemed to have the best quality of life.  Also unsurprisingly it is almost exclusively white and conservative. You will all, of course, remember that we have been here before at the Bingham Hotel. We spent a very pleasant afternoon sipping tea in rather posh surroundings. Muriel's 07

This time we were just out for a walk along the Thames but before we got to the river we stopped off here at Muriel’s Kitchen. There  are lots of cafés and coffee shops in town but this one took our fancy. Perhaps because we once had an aunt Muriel who baked a rather mean scone.  It’s a very pleasant place with a wide range of food on offer and somewhat retro decor; copper jelly moulds and frying pans in abundance.

Representative?

Sitting here, looking around, you realise that this place, and indeed the whole borough of Richmond, kind of represents the government. Predominately white, male, well heeled, privileged backgrounds, private and Oxbridge educated. A generalisation of course, but the flip side of the coin is a bit more worrying because this borough is nothing at all like the rest of the country. Hence, by definition, the makeup of the current government does not reflect the country it is supposed to serve. Given that only 1 in 4 of the electorate voted for it we should probably not be surprised. However, that’s UK style democracy, the most undemocratic state in the EU.

a jam jar??
a jam jar, what happened to presentation?

It raises the question though; if a government is crammed full of Oxbridge alumni does it mean that they will make good politicians and govern well. Self evidently, it does not. We have the most right wing government in years introducing the Chinese Communist Party into the heart of UK infrastructure. A move, the only possible beneficiaries of which can be the bankers.

Learning from history

It’s not as if we don’t already know all this. George W Bush’s administration was made up of the cream of Yale, Princeton and Harvard graduates. We all know what happened under that leadership .. catastrophic wars and financial disaster. Whatever happened to politicians from working class backgrounds. The Nye Bevans of this world who had imagination and empathy? Perhaps,  by way of an experiment, it should be mandatory for people who run for office to be certified eejits just to see if it would make any difference.

Unfortunately the scones might have been made by some sort of elite academic because, although perfectly edible, they would not have passed aunt Muriel’s exacting standards .. a bit doughy and a tad on the solid side …  great coffee though!

Muriel's 04b

TW9 1TW                  Tel: 02008 948 7011                 Muriel’s

Ordinary

Roasted and Toasted

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This place, Roasted and Toasted, came second in the Falkirk Herald’s  2015 cafe competition. Goodness knows what criterion they were using. It is one of these places we find intensely annoying. A family run business you desperately want to support but which is ignoring some business fundamentals.

Fundamentals
  • The coffee was tasteless .. like it had been watered down. Costa and Cafe Nero know their coffee and are both just a few meters away and packed out with customers. Go taste the difference.
  • Decor is what we would call ‘extreme bland’.
  • Lighting unimaginative. Not helped by the fact that about 40% of the lights had failed and not been replaced so adding to the overall slightly depressing atmosphere.
  • Lots of lifestyle messages that make you slightly nauseous e.g. “when it rains, look for rainbows” .. how about “in a coffee house look for a decent cup of coffee”!
  • Scones not homebaked.
  • Tables only seemed to be cleared when somebody needed them.
  • Not bothered to take the name of the previous occupants off their street canopy.

R&T 02

 

Now all this is a shame because the service is very friendly, hard working and generally trying  hard to please the customers. They asked if we wanted our scones heated in a microwave. Pat is firmly of the opinion that a microwave does scones no favours, so they offered to grill them .. nice touch. We previously had this done at Ardanasaig, and it was great, so we happily accepted the offer. Unfortunately it meant we had to wait ages and when they eventually came they had been heated in an oven rather than grilled .. but the thought was there and it was appreciated. R&T 03Sad though that they are putting in so much effort but ignoring some of the basics. With more attention to detail it could be transformed .. but then again it has been a pretty sad week.

EVEL
  • ‘Roasted and toasted’ could easily describe the current state of the Union after the poorly thought out EVEL (English Votes for English Laws) was successfully rushed through the Commons as a Standing Order. It hasn’t been done for constitutional reasons but rather for narrow political reasons. It means, for the first time since 1707, MPs are no longer equal. Of course, it has gone completely unreported by the BBC and most of the press.
  • One unelected head of state met another unelected head of state in a grotesque orgy of gold carriages, bearskin hats and obscene banquets in order to let all those using food banks how lucky they are. As a result of all this feting the Chinese will build a nuclear reactor for us. that is provided we pay double the going rate for electricity .. brilliant! The Chinese, of course, have a huge sovereign wealth fund second only to Norway. Just think .. if Scotland had become independent 30 years ago Cameron would be coming here with his begging bowl.
  • You may not have been worrying about this but it transpires that the Treason Felony Act 1848 has not been repealed after all. This act makes it a criminal offence, punishable by life imprisonment, to advocate abolition of the monarchy in print, even by peaceful means. The Ministry of Justice said that it had been repealed but then admitted that it hadn’t .. oops!

Roasted and Toasted can ignore all this, of course, they have more urgent matters to attend to.

FK1 1EY         tel: 01324 629117       Roasted and Toasted FB

Scones, self-service

St Mungo Museum

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This place, St Mungoi Museum of Religious Life, is very familiar. We both used to work in the adjacent Glasgow Royal Infirmary which you can see in the background on the left.

cafe area at the Museum of Religious L:ife, Glasgow
cafe area

We would sometimes come here for lunch if we wanted a change of scene. Also to look at Salvador Dali’s, Christ of St John of the Cross, bought by Glasgow in the 50s and now estimated to be worth in excess of £60m. Apparently Dali wanted £12,000 but Glasgow made him an offer he couldn’t refuse – £8,200 .. we dread to think. Didn’t see it this time though as it has been moved to the city’s Kelvingrove Gallery. The museum itself is interesting. It was built in 1989  and designed to reflect the architecture of the Bishops’ Castle which stood on this site in the 17th century. It aims to bring together differing faith systems and promote greater understanding.

Zen

It has Britain’s first zen garden and a Clooty Tree, which we always thought was a solely Tibetan tradition. Apparently, though, it is also Scottish, dating back to pre-Christian times. We don’t know of anywhere else where you can see so many works of art and other artefacts brought together from the six big religions: Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism and Sikhism. All sitting side by side, displaying the huge diversity of belief systems. Also the extraordinary lengths believers go to in creating these amazing artefacts. Each and every one designed to appeal to hearts and minds.

Nicola Sturgeon, a well known sconey, was after hearts and minds yesterday as she delivered her keynote speech to the SNP conference. A speech that the leaders of other parties must have wished they could have delivered. One of strength and unity. A scone at the Museum of Religious Life in GlasgowSince this place is all about understanding we wonder at the lack of understanding from Westminster for Scotland’s desire to simply stand on it’s own two feet. It’s not such a big ask, surely? Okay, okay, what about the scones?

Well the café area is pleasant enough and in keeping with the architecture of the rest of the building. Their scones, however,(bought in) are best described as ‘ordinary’. Don’t let that put you off visiting the museum.

part of the zen garden
part of the zen garden

G4 0RH       tel: 0141 276 1625      Museum of Religious Life & Art

Scones, Top

Café Kisa

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If we were to ask the question, “which town has the most expensive homes in Scotland” it might be some time before you came up with the answer – Auchterarder. Perhaps it makes more sense when you realise that the main hotel in town is the Gleneagles.

It’s a nice little town, maybe more of a village. No modern buildings, so if you half close your eyes, you can almost see it as it used to be. Horses and carts, maybe some hens scratching about in the main street. Nowadays you are more likely to see a Bentley or an Aston Martin and .. dilemma of dilemmas .. quite a few tearooms and coffee shops. How do you choose? You ask! Kisa 06When we enquired in lady’s fashion emporium Bear Necessities as to what was the best place in town for tea and scones there was an immediate and enthusiastic chorus of “Cafe Kisa” from the entire staff. What better recommendation?

The Lang Toun

Expectations were therefore pretty bouyant as we skipped off down the street in eager anticipation. Would our hopes be dashed on the all too familiar rocks of preloaded scones and mediocre service? Not a bit of it, this place is great! It is located near the centre. Although it can be quite difficult to determine where the centre is,  as the town straggles along 1.5 miles of High Street. It’s not known as the ‘Lang Toun’ for nothing.  We were looked after by a lovely young girl called ‘Trainee’ who explained our options, ‘plain’, ‘berry and white chocolate’ or ‘apple and cinnamon’. All freshly baked. Kisa 02Pat went for plain and I, being utterly reckless, went for apple and cinnamon.

Pat took one little nibble at hers and said “topscone”! That’s how easy the decision was. The apple and cinnamon was fab as well and came with their homemade apple and kiwi jam which was absolutely delicious. This is just one of these places where everything comes together nicely. Although busy with a good vibe, it also has a quiet sense of calm  that you tend to get when you know everything is under control. We think they probably take their inspiration from this picture they have in the loo.Kisa 01

Wildebeest

About ten years ago Auchterarder played host to the G8 summit. At these meetings we assume that they discuss global  affairs and how to make things better for all us little citizens of the world. If they do, it’s not working! Currently the world is in a right old mess. A plethora of vicious wars and mass migrations of people reminiscent of these programmes you used to see about wildebeest.

Even in the UK we have 1 in 5 children living in poverty. It is now so bad, Vladamir Putin appears to be the world leader making the most moral and practical sense. That probably says more about the others than it does about him! Nevertheless, we are pretty sure that if all eight leaders were tasked (and we realise that this might be a bit of an ask) with finding the best scone in Auchterarder, a town of many scones, they would all end up here in Café Kisa.

PH3 1AA        tel: 01764 663 340       Café Kisa

ps: just realised that Putin’s Russia has been suspended. It is now the G7, maybe they would end up in seven different cafes.

Ordinary, Scones

Arrochar Tearoom

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Unless you are a climber or hill walker, Arrochar is not a destination, it is somewhere you pass through on your way to other places. For hill walkers the view from the village across the end of the loch towards the Cobbler is exciting. You come on it suddenly. Round the corner and there it is, your target for the day. Over the years the Arrochar has changed little. Still busy with traffic thundering through on its way towards the Rest And Be Thankful and beyond to places like Inverary, Lochgilphead and Campbeltown. Internal view of Arrochar Tearoom

The young couple who run the tearoom are a delight, helpful and friendly and keen to chat. Somewhat oddly though, the scones on display are all individually wrapped in cling film, presumably to keep them as fresh as possible. Does anyone else do this .. does it work, let us know?  We think it detracts from the look of the scones. They should be out breathing the fresh Loch Long air. There were some slightly perplexed looks when we askedA scone at Arrochar Tearoom if we could have our scones with separate jam and cream. Their cream scones were already made up and you all know what we think about that!

 

Its all to do with the car park

Never mind, the scones were homebaked and very good with generous proportions .. not quite topscones but not too far off either. I had the cream one and Pat had a plain one.

Pat's plain scone at Arrochar Tearoom
Pat’s plain scone

 The tearoom is hard against the road, and if it wasn’t for a small parking area opposite, it would be very difficult to stop. It has had six successful years with the current owners however all is threatened by a proposal to build on the car park on which the tearoom largely depends. It only takes eight cars and has been used by the community for as long as anyone can remember. However, Luss Estates have discovered that they own it .. and now they have plans which, if successful, could completely scupper the tearoom. We don’t know the rights and wrongs of this particular situation but it does highlight a much larger problem.

Land Ownership

Scotland has the most concentrated land ownership in the developed world. Just 432 people own half of the private land. Land prices are far too high, rents are extortionate, and hence young people are leaving when they can’t even get a scrap of land for housing. The tearoom may have some sort of chance because at least they know who owns the car park .. sometimes it can be the devil’s own job finding out who actually owns

Arrochar Tearoom from the car park
tearoom from the car park

land. Much of it is held in tax havens like the British Virgin Islands.  The Scottish government is trying to do something about it with the Scottish Land Reform Bill.  It, amongst other things, is intended to increase transparency via a land registry and help facilitate community buy outs. Needless to say they are meeting vociferous opposition. It is actually starting to look as if they have already caved in to pressure from powerful lobbyists. Land held in tax havens will not now be affected in any way by the Bill. In fact, the Bill may end up so watered down as to be next to useless.

More backbone please

C’mon Holyrood, a bit more backbone please! Find out more at SLAM. Anyway, next year if you are driving through Arrochar keep an eye out for this tearoom. If it’s still open, use the car park, go in and have a bite to eat .. you’ll get a lovely welcome.

Saltire decoration at Arrochar TearoomG83 7AA           tel: 07585 709772           Arrochar Tearoom

island, Ordinary, Scones

Cafe Zavaroni

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Opportunity Knocks

Many, of a certain age, will remember the child singing sensation, Lena Zavaroni, who made her name on Hughie Green’s, Opportunity Knocks, way back in 1974. Her biggest hit was “Ma! He’s Making Eyes at Me”.

Lena Zavaroni

Apparently she still holds the record  for the youngest person ever to have had an album in the Top 10 … at ten years of age. In spite of, or perhaps because of, her fame she led a rather tragic life dominated by anorexia and depression. As a result she sadly died in 1999, aged 35. Her grandfather had been an Italian immigrant and she grew up here in Rothesay, on the Isle of Bute, where her dad had a chip shop. The family name is still writ large above several establishments along the town’s seafront, including the chip shop and, of course, at Cafe Zavaroni.

Bucking the trend

Like many towns on the Clyde, Rothesay has many very grand Victorian buildings. A reminder of its illustrious past as the destination of choice for thousands of Glasgow working folk on their holidays. Lately, west coast islands, especially the ones that have become community owned, have experienced a healthy increase in population but unfortunately the Isle of Bute is bucking the trend. Probably not helped by the fact that the Marquess of Bute’s family own most of it but, of course, none of them live here. More rantings on land reform in the next post, bet you can’t wait! Nowadays, everyone flies off to Benidorm and the good times for Rothesay are but a distant memory. Zavaroni 02

Scrape it off

Cafe Zavaroni belongs to  Lena’s cousin Margaret who is also a singer but it’s pictures of Lena that adorn the walls. A typical seaside establishment it offers ice cream and all the other tasty bites associated with seaside cafes. Margaret is charming, keen to introduce herself and give you a very warm welcome … nice, but maybe slightly OTT? Zavaroni 04When our scones arrived the jam and cream had already been added “to save you the bother”. We must have looked slightly askance because it was quickly followed by “you can scrape it off if you want!” This presentation was undoubtedly done with the best of intentions and Margaret would be sore affronted if she knew we were being critical, so don’t tell her! However, you sconeys know how we feel and this particular example was again … a bit OTT. The scones themselves were actually not too bad. Had they not been smothered in ‘stuff’, the story might have been different. Unfortunately Cafe Zavaroni has not made it into our Top 10.

Britnats

The news beyond Bute’s shores is interesting as much for what is out as what is in.  In, is the EU referendum. Now those of you with keen memories will remember that before the Scottish referendum the word ‘ScotNat’ became a dirty word with almost traitorous connotations. Spat from the trembling lips of disapproving broadcasters. Now, somewhat oddly for those of us in Scotland, the folks arguing to leave the EU are arguing for … guess what? More control over their own affairs. Exactly the same as those pesky ScotsNats .. but, don’t call BritNats, BritNats – as it upsets them! Shall we just call them ‘separatists’?

Out of the news, certainly out of BBC Scotland’s news where it has not even been given a mention is the fact that the former LibDem Secretary of State for Scotland is in Court for lying during the General Election. Had it been an SNP MP it would have been given minute by minute coverage.

Jailed bankers

Also out of the news is Iceland, the country (basket case) with which Scotland was threatened with ending up like if it became independent. It has just paid off all its obligations to the IMF much earlier than expected. Mind you, most of its bankers are in jail. The ones who escaped are working .. guess where .. London. Slightly different approach maybe but well done the beautiful isle of Iceland.

Back on the beautiful Isle of Bute where none of this seemingly matters, we wish Margaret and Cafe Zavaroni  well. It’s nice to get such an effusive welcome and it’s good to see Lena’s memory being maintained in this tiny, if slightly forgotten, corner of the UK.

PA20 0AU       tel: 01700 502928       Café Zavaroni TA

Ordinary, Scones, weird

Stuart’s of Buckhaven Café

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Buckhaven, on the East Neuk of Fife, is a town that has had a hard life .. and it shows. It was involved with the weaving industry but then, in the 19th century, became Scotland’s second biggest fishing port. It had about 200 boats operating from the harbour. The demise of the fishing industry was hastened by the advent of coal mining but now that too has gone. Because of this, the town looks a bit dilapidated. We were here because we were trying to find a Polynesian princess … ‘eh?’, I hear you say.

Sinakalula

We had been reading a short story by R. B. Cunninghame Graham called ‘The Princess’. A story written c1920 and based around a granite slab set into a church wall overlooking the harbour in Buckhaven. On it was carved “Here lies Sinakalula, Princess of Raratonga, the beloved wife of Andrew Brodie, Mariner.”

Graham’s story continues; “What were the circumstances of their meeting the stone did not declare, only that the deceased had been a princess in her native land, and had died in this obscure east-country haven, and had been “beloved.” Nothing — but all — at least all that life has to give”.

Graham said that the slab was badly weathered. We thought it would be good to find the church and photograph the slab for posterity. There was no sign of it on any internet searches. Oh, if only we had known! We scoured Buckhaven in the rain and could not even find the harbour. How can you not find a harbour in a wee town like this? Buckhaven 01

In need of sustenance we dropped into what appeared to be the only café in town, Stuart’s of Buckhaven. Guess what, no scones .. talk about a bad day! In a previous post we reported on scones becoming extinct in Galashiels and here within a few days is another town with no scones. What’s happening?

Apple pie

We know that you would worry about us in such dire circumstance, so to ease your troubled minds we are showing you a picture of my apple tart, which was very good, as was Pat’s meringue.

a Buckhaven scone
a Buckhaven scone

However, they were definitely not scones. Stuart’s of Buckhaven has been around since 1857 and must have witnessed a lot of changes. It’s a baker and butcher combined and all the produce looked excellent but the café area was pretty soulless. Could do better, and could certainly do some scones .. you’re a bakery for goodness sake!

Entire town demolished

We asked a passerby if they could point us in the direction of the harbour .. “there’s nae harbour here son” . However, they did tell us where it used to be. How can a town just lose a harbour? What we found was just a large patch of grass with a vestige of harbour wall running down one side. Turns out, it had been filled in in the 1960s. Worst of all, the entire old town had been demolished and used as infill .. church and all. Perhaps, as we gazed around at the council houses, we were standing on top of our princess’s granite headstone .. lost forever!

the harbour as Sinakalula would have known it
the harbour as Sinakalula would have known it
Elysian fields

This was a miserable wet day in Buckhaven and it made you wonder what a young polynesian woman would have made of it. The story goes: “dressed in a coloured and diaphanous sacque, a wreath of red hibiscus round her head, her jet black hair loose on her shoulders, bare arms and feet, and redolent of oil of cocoa-nut, she must have seemed a being from another world to the rough mariner.” in 1857, was she disappointed by the lack of scones in Stuart’s of Buckhaven?

The story speculates that ” the mariner brought home his island bride, perhaps to droop in the cold north, and he laid her in the drear churchyard to wait the time when they should be united again in some Elysian field, not unlike Polynesia, with the Tree of Life for palms, the self same opal-tinted sea, angels for tropic birds, and the same air of calm pervading all the air”. Let’s hope they are together again, just like that!

KY15 4BY    tel: 01592 260831      Stuart’s of Buckhaven FB

Scones, Top

Turnbull’s Coffee House

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We thought it would be nice to try out the new Borders Railway and visit Gal

the downstairs deli at Turnbull's Coffee Shop, Galashiels
the downstairs deli

ashiels. A town in which neither of us had previously spent any time. What we were totally unprepared for was the scale of the railway’s success and the effect it has had on the town.

The last scone

There are not that many tearooms here but having tried several that had completely run out of scones, in desperation, we ended up here at Turnbull’s. It’s a long established coffee house and probably the best. The girl in the ground floor deli said  she thought there was a cheese scone available upstairs, so up we went and there it was … we could see it across the room, in splendid isolation under a glass dome. The last scone. We ate it, so as of that moment, scones became an extinct species in Galashiels.

Day trippers

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They also make a range of their own unique blended whisky but unfortunately we did not get to sample any. However you can order it and other stuff online. Wonderful to be in place where good old fashioned principles of quality and service still seem to count for something.

Forgotten principles

Jeremy Corbyn, visited Scotland this week but seemed to have forgotten to pack his principles. Maybe, after the party conference, he just didn’t have any left! Great toilets; always a good sign, and although there is no wifi at the moment, we have been promised that it’s coming very soon. In case you are wondering, the last scone in Galashiels was excellent; topscone award. Log of Turnbull's Coffe House, GalashielsDid not see any scenery on the way home because we fell in with a couple of mad women who just talked incessantly about scones. Just joking, whoever you were, we thoroughly enjoyed the craik!

TD1 1SD          tel: 01896 750577     Turnbull’s FB