Tag Archives: scones

Cross Keys Hotel

21 October 2022 billpaterson1@me.com 1 Comment

Since we are here at the Cross Keys Hotel in Kelso, we thought we should talk about keys. Have you ever wondered why so many pubs and hotels are called the Cross Keys? Well, apparently it’s all to do with the keys to the kingdom of Heaven and crossed keys were the emblem of St Peter. Doubtless, for many of the customers of these places, it would feel like the closest to heaven they would ever get. Though why Heaven should need keys in the first place raises all sorts of other questions. But one thing is for certain! Whoever receives the keys to No 10 Downing Street in the next few days will be receiving the keys to Hell. Not sure why Hell would actually need keys either but you catch our drift.

Someone let Liz out of the cupboard under the stairs and that signalled the end of her 44 day reign as Prime Minister. The shortest tenure in history for any British PM. It came as no surprise to anyone and many would say it wasn’t short enough. We know the brand new Chancellor, who has been in post for just a little more than a week has the keys to No 11 but no idea who will have them next week.

All this follows Suella Braverman’s resignation. You’ll remember Suella was the only woman on earth who could make Priti Patel seem warm and cuddly. Anyway, at 43 days she became the shortest ever serving Home Secretary. Realising that Liz’s government was in terminal decline she actually manufactured her own sacking. What a mess! “You couldn’t make it up“, is no longer merely a flippant remark. To make matters worse Boris Johnson is threatening a glorious return. Boris won’t need keys! In true Boris style he undoubtedly had copies made before he left Downing Street in the full and certain knowledge (in his own delusional head) that he would be back.

Lucky dip

We think they should just take all the keys and put them in a hat for a lucky dip. Since things couldn’t get any worse It would seem only fair that, the now famous iceberg lettuce that outlasted Liz, is allowed a go at the lucky dip as well.

Take it or leave it

Anyway we mustn’t go on about about this too much … or should we? No, let’s get on to matters of more substance …. scones. We arrived at the impressive Italianate Cross Keys Hotel quite late in the day. Guess what, they were sold out of all scones except white chocolate. Not exactly what we would have chosen however white chocolate it had to be. Kelso has survived remarkably well through the ages in spite of continuous wars with England. The hotel was the resting place for pilgrims coming to the Abbey so it suffered badly in 1545 during the “Rough Wooing” when the English blew it up. Subsequently the hotel became a coaching inn that ran services to Newcastle and Edinburgh three times a week.

Market Square, Kelso — View of The Square from the Cross Keys

The white chocolate scones were surprisingly nice, we were very pleasantly surprised. Not topscones in the style of Schloss Roxburghe but enjoyable nevertheless. By the time you get our next scone report we will have a new leader and maybe even an entirely new government team. Fingers crossed for the lettuce!

TD5 7H. tel: 01573 223303 Cross Keys

///harps.answer.nutty

english, Ordinary, Scones

The Terrace Cafe

18 October 2022 billpaterson1@me.com 3 Comments

When we booked into Schloss Roxburghe the idea was that it would allow us to explore part of Scotland that we did not know at all well. And guess where we’ve ended up … in ENGLAND!! No idea how we got here to the Terrace Cafe in Wooler but presumably, in the course of negotiating all these little picturesque country lanes, we crossed the border without realising. Imagine how difficult the border is going to be when Scotland gains its independence and there are armed guards everywhere! At least the Romans built walls to dissuade folks from coming too far north but now there isn’t even a signpost?

Tit for tat

This part of the UK, however, is well used to incursions in both directions and not all of them unintentional. Back in 1595, the Scottish Laird of Cessford, Andrew Kerr, raided Wooler and took all the parson’s sheep. The parson was in London at the time. Because the local constabulary seemed reluctant to help, he mounted his own retaliatory raids on Cessford’s sheep. It all got a little out of hand and on one raid Cessford’s men ended up murdering two Wooler men as well as a third from nearby. The parson fled but the family of the third man raided north and ended up killing Cessford’s shepherd. This sort of jolly cut and thrust pretty well sums up the relationship between England and Scotland since the beginning of time … but more of that later.

In the 12th century Wooler was described as “situated in an ill-cultivated country under the influence of vast mountains, from whence it is subject to impetuous rains.” These ‘vast mountains’ seem more like lovely rolling hills to us and the village itself is pretty with lots of cafes and antique shops. All the tables on the terrace at the Terrace Cafe were taken so we went inside. A nice warm welcome even though the lady seemed to be on her own and looking after everything.

Because we overindulged earlier on a somewhat abundant breakfast we decided that a coffee and a scone to share would be quite sufficient. It came with jam and the usual Rodda’s clotted cream. The accompanying Clumsy Goat Coffee was definitely a new one on us. It was all very welcome and really quite nice but some distance away from a topscone. Wooler is definitely worth a visit but don’t ask us how to get there.

Tragedy

Afterwards, we spent a very pleasant afternoon wandering round the village before making a move back to Scotland. We took a different route back and quite unexpectedly came on the site of the Battle of Flodden. It took place in 1513. Earlier we were describing light heartedly the cross border raids that have been going on for centuries however this one was pretty serious.

The Flodden monument erected in 1910 inscribed TO THE DEAD OF BOTH NATIONS

Casualties were huge. It ended with the death of 10,000 Scots including Scotland’s king and 5,000 Englishmen. Tragic from any point of view.

At the foot of the hill in Branxton village we found the smallest visitor centre in the world. It was located in a Glasgow built K6 phone box.

It was an interesting and thought provoking day. However, once we returned to be mollycoddled with local beers and cocktails at Schloss Roxburgh we completely forgot all about it. Now we know why toffs never seem to have a conscience.

NE71 6LQ tel: 07758 838250 The Terrace Cafe FB

///armrests.runners.follow

ps: Liz Truss has been released from the cupboard under the stairs. Fortified by her scone we gifted her, she is now promising to lead the Conservatives into the next General Election. Yeah, right … not on Planet Reality, Liz!

Scones, Top, totallyeffinbrilliantscone

Schloss Roxburghe

16 October 2022 billpaterson1@me.com 3 Comments

This post heralds a scone which could rival Fonab Castle for the best scone in the world award. It’s here at Schloss Roxburghe … isn’t that exciting! However, maybe not as exciting as the state of British politics at the moment. So let’s get that out of the way first.

Internal view of Schloss Roxburghe — Entrance hall

Walking the plank

A lot has happened since our previous post from Alfies. The country has been brought to its knees by the current clueless resident in No 10. Meanwhile in No 11, Kami Kwasi Kwarteng has fulfilled his destiny even earlier than expected. News of the sacking of our third Chancellor in as many months, for some reason, got us pondering about walking the plank. When you think about it, what a weird procedure that was!

View from 14th tee at Schloss Roxburghe — The 14th tee on the championship golf course with the Roxburgh viaduct and the River Teviot

A bit like Kwasi, the luckless man is not simply thrown overboard … that would be too kind.. Rather it is turned into some sort of macabre ceremony where he is specially flown back from the US to find he no longer has the keys to No 11, the home he and his family have only just moved into. Mind you, ever since he got the job of doing Liz Truss’s bidding he must have known he would run out of plank quite quickly. He has been replaced by Philip Hammond, who is actually the new de facto Prime Minister. Liz is being kept in a locked cupboard under the stairs at No 10. Two short planks are being selected for her as we speak. Actually they will require a small forest to provide enough planks for all those Conservatives who voted her into power in the first place!

Efficiency

Portrait of child with hoop — Who needs an iPhone 14 when you can have one of these?

We are constantly impressed by the way Prime Ministers and Chancellors move into and out of Downing Street. These days they must ask themselves if it is actually worthwhile sitting down. It’s almost magical the way the furniture removal business works in Downing Street. It seems to flow seamlessly … at least something in the UK still works the way it should! But that’s enough about all this nonsense, you all just want to know about Schloss scones, don’t you? By the way, it is owned by a German company these days and that’s the only explanation we can give for the name. They are currently adding another 58 rooms, an outdoor swimming pool and spa as well as building 50 rental cottages in the grounds. No shortage of business here!

The Age of Reason

If you ever fancy staying in a Schloss we can thoroughly recommend Schloss Roxburghe. Simply remortgaging your home will just about cover the costs.

Portrait of the Duke of Roxburghe — Duke of Roxburghe

It used to be the home of the Duke of Roxburghe but he must have felt a bit cramped. He moved to nearby Floors Castle which has 7,000 rooms. Imagine cleaning that lot every day? This place, however, dates back to the 12th century when it was known as Sunlaws. They still have a Sunlaws restaurant. In1745, Bonnie Prince Charlie stayed the night as the guest of Lady Chatto before he set off into England with his army in a bid to regain the throne for his dad. The 18th century was known as the Enlightenment or the Age of Reason … we wonder how historians will label the present day … the Age Without Reason? Anyway, back then, for one night this place was host to one of Europe’s most romantic historical figures … and now, equally romantic, the scone hunters are here!

Relentless

This is the sort of place where your expectations are raised when you are quarter of a mile down the driveway and you still can’t see where you are to be staying. Arrival doesn’t disappoint either with a warm welcome at reception. There are open log fires in almost all the public rooms. After our long drive we were very ready for a scone. From the venues offered we chose the drawing room and settled into a lovely bay window seat. Our scones were beautifully warm and wrapped in linen napkins to keep them that way … fab!

Like we said at the beginning these scones could rival our gold standard at Fonab Castle. They were super crunchy on the outside – you almost had to crack them open like a boiled egg. The centres were wonderfully soft and fluffy. There was a plain and a fruit one for each of us and it all came complete with generous bowls of clotted cream and jam. The problem now is, we haven’t reviewed Fonab for quite a while so we will have to return to check that they are maintaining standards. Phew, this sconing business is relentless!

Suffice to say that Schloss scones are certainly on a par with Fonab scones until proven otherwise. We might even get them to slip one under the door of Liz’s cupboard, we feel a bit sorry for her … just a wee bit!

TD5 8JZ tel: ‭01573 450331 Schloss Roxburghe

///marinated.wriggled.greeting

Scones, Top

Alfie’s

12 October 2022 billpaterson1@me.com 3 Comments

Back in 2015 we spent some time at the rather isolated Ardanaiseig Hotel on the southern shores of Loch Awe. As blogging newbies we had one of our formative scone experiences there. Sitting in front of a large open log fire with toasted scones and pots of tea … heaven! Ardanaiseig is owned by Bennie Gray who also owns Alfie’s Antique Market here in Marlebone in the heart of London. It’s where we are today. He called it Alfie’s after his father. Ardanaiseig had lots of quirky features and this place is no different, in fact it’s the very essence of ‘quirky’.

Winter Hag of Death and Darkness

But first, have you ever wondered how Loch Awe came to be there? Wonder no more!

There’s a magic well high above Ardanaiseig on Ben Cruachan where a beautiful goddess called Beithir used to bathe every evening. By doing so she preserved her glorious good looks but one night it all went wrong. She forgot to replace the capstone … argh! The well overflowed down the mountainside and formed the loch we know today. As punishment she was banished by the gods, cursed with immortality and transformed into the ancient Winter Hag of Death and Darkness. Her cold hard voice still echoes around the snow filled corries of Ben Cruachan and beyond. The Winter Hag of Death and Darkness is rarely seen but oddly there have been several reported sightings recently. Actually, they’ve all turned out to be Liz Truss, however, you can understand the confusion.

Alfies is housed in an Art Deco building and is spread over four floors. If you are looking for something unusual and quirky to decorate your home, chances are you will find it here. It’s a fascinating place to walk round though a bit confusing with lots of little stairs leading off in all sorts of directions. Jewellery and lighting seem to be a speciality. There’s also an indoor pond full of carp and water lilies. You don’t get that everywhere! Soon, of course, all this perusing takes its toll and sustenance is required.

The cafe is called the Kitchen on the Roof and that’s where we ended up. Lovely to sit out on a beautiful day in October. The only problem was wasps. They were a real nuisance and eventually they drove us indoors.

Huge smiles

We are being looked after by a lady who had the biggest smile imaginable. She was so happy and seemed delighted to be working there. It makes such a difference. Our lunch was fantastic and seemed incredibly good value. Omelette and chips … £4, homebaked scone with jam and cream … £3, pot of tea … £1.60 and so on. Seven years ago we awarded Ardanaiseig Hotel a topscone and although there was no open log fire here we decided that our overall experience was good enough to do the same here. Well done Alfie’s.

Progress?

Spending a day surrounded by beautiful works of art does make you wonder in astonishment at the state of the world today. For all our supposed technological sophistication it seems that the only way to settle arguments is to destroy everything and kill lots of people. This week we discovered that, with the help of DNA sampling, Homo sapiens are indeed related to the Neanderthals. They used the same methods for disputes but surely we should have progressed a wee bit in the intervening 40,000 years. Let’s have another scone!

NW8 8DT tel: 020 7723 6066 Alfies Antiques

///reef.fancy.sheets

ps: our Utah correspondents have been in touch. Not to report on scones in Utah (do such things exist?) but to send photos of scones encountered on the North Antrim Cliff Hike in North Ireland. They had already completed the John Muir Way in Scotland.

They said that both these scones were very good however Laragh Lodge definitely came out in first place. Congratulations go to them for completing the hike and for taking time out to send these pics.

Ordinary, Scones

Blair Castle

29 September 2022 billpaterson1@me.com 5 Comments

Everyone should have a river running through their garden, don’t you think? The Duke of Atholl has 145,000 acres so he probably has several. To join the aristocracy you need do nothing more than be in the right place at the right time, then monarchy can shower you with all sorts of gifts … like large parts of Scotland. Mind you the 1st Duke of Atholl seems to have been a sensible sort of chap. He opposed the Act of Union in 1707 and, for daring to have an opinion, was promptly placed under house arrest. However, if you are going to be placed under house arrest there are definately worse places than Blair Castle … it’s more “castle arrest’ really.

ballroom at Blair Castle — The ballroom … everyone should have at least one of these

Much has happened since our previous post from Hickety Pickety Tearoom. Most momentous was the Queen’s death. She did a great job of bring up a family and saying absolutely nothing while under the microscope of the world’s media. And it was fitting that she died at Balmoral, where she was actually happy.

Intimidation

a corridor at Blair Castle — An antler corridor

Her funeral went on interminably. Even the food banks had to close. If the principal aim of monarchy is to intimidate then this certainly worked. The greatest display of white male privilege ever witnessed by mankind. There wasn’t a single world leader there who thought that they were going to get anything remotely like this as a send off. Britain does it again with an incredible show of nonsensical pomp. But who, in this day and age are we trying to intimidate?

Will we, won’t we?

With King Charles III ascending the throne surely now is the time for countries like Canada and Australia to realise that they need one of their own to be Head of State. Okay, Canada likes monarchy to differentiate it from their rather common cousins to the south, but still, your all grown up now, Perhaps, like Denmark has just done, all Royal children should be stripped off their titles so that they can actually lead normal lives like the rest of us? However, the big question is, will Scotland give the Stone of Destiny back so that Charles can be crowned? Maybe not a BIG question but a question nevertheless.

drawing room at Blair Castle — a drawing room

Goodness, you can’t turn your back for a minute, we have a new government as well. Not so much a ‘new’ government, just a continuation of the old one but worse. Don’t think anyone thought that was even possible! Liz Truss, thrashing around, making it up as she goes along, hoping she can last to the next General Election and plunging the country into its worst economic crisis for almost fifty years. Brilliant! Bring back Boris …. joke!

Private army

painting at Blair Castle — This is how I feel after a good scone.

But enough of this nonsense, did they have scones at Blair Castle? Well, yes they did! We are actually taking part in our first ever coach trip . woohoo with the Falkirk Local History Society and this was our first stop before heading further north. Going round the castle is a bit like being in IKEA … it’s a one way system. And just as well. It would be very easy to get lost otherwise. The current Duke of Atholl got fed up getting lost so he now lives in South Africa. He still has his own private army here in Scotland … the Atholl Highlanders … isn’t it great!

Locusts

There was also the alternative of going round the rather splendiferous gardens. The Hercules Garden is lovely … everyone should have one of these as well, but we concentrated on the castle. At the end we all met up again and descends on the restaurant like the proverbial locusts. Scones were laid out on tiered plates for all …. yeah! You can probably imagine that the sudden influx of more than fifty people at one time might create a few problems … and it did. Nothing too serious though and we were all soon kitted out with everything we needed. They were very fresh and crumbly and although we did swither on topscone status, they eventually just missed the cut. A good time was had by all so what does it matter? Definitely worth a visit … especially if you want to see all the things you don’t have

entrance hall at Blair Castle — Aristocracy is also all about intimidation of lesser mortals so this entrance hall may have been a reminder to guests that they had better behave.

PH18 5TL. tel: 01796 481207 Blair Castle

///oldest.tagging.magazines

Scones, topweird

Hickety Pickety Tearoom

6 September 2022 billpaterson1@me.com 7 Comments

You know how sometimes you go into a restaurant and the staff can be downright indifferent. We tend to judge places on the attitude staff have towards their customers. Who see customers as their raison d’être rather than some dastardly inconvenience. So, having said all that, when we entered the Hickety Pickety Tearoom we were immediately greeted with a huge hug and a kiss from one of the waitresses. Okay, we knew her. She’s a kind of honorary daughter. We used to worry that her car seat was too big when she came to stay with her sister during the school holidays. Then we’d worry it was too small and now she doesn’t need a car seat at all. She’s at university and driving her own car. Goodness, how did that happen?

Internal view of Hickety Pickety Tearoom — Downstairs

Head in the clouds

We had heard that she was working here so we thought we should pay a visit. Hickety Pickety is a wonderful place situated on a farm not too far from Lanark. Although not far from Falkirk it’s a strangely unknown part of the world for us. It’s about a mile from the village of Forth whose main claim to fame is that Scotland’s tallest man (7 foot 3 inches) came from there. It’s also 1000 feet above sea level so he could well have had his head in the clouds.

What’s in a name?

Why is it called Hickety Pickety, we hear you ask! Well it comes from a well known nursery rhyme.

Poem of Hickety Pickety Tearoom — Some say that the rhyme was originally about a lady of ill repute so we’ll say no more

It was busy so we were shown to a table upstairs. Not one of our ‘daughters’ table but that wasn’t a problem, all the serving staff were really nice. They have to be extremely fit because they are up and down these stairs all day like the proverbial yo-yos. We ordered some lunch and when we asked what kind of scones they had were told “plain or pear and ginger“. It had to done – a pear and ginger scone to share. Turns out that they do a lot of pretty adventurous scone baking so we may have to return to see what else they come up with.

When it arrived, however, it did not look too promising. It came with butter, jam and the ubiquitous Rodda’s clotted cream. Nothing against it per se but why get it from a Dutch owned company in Cornwall when there’s plenty of good Scottish cream. You all know by now that we like a slight crunchiness to our scones but this one was incredibly soft all over. Thankfully it was absolutely delicious. The pear flavour was quite distinct and the ginger gave it a soupçon of spiciness. So soft it was difficult to keep it together … topweirdscone, no problem. Thoroughly recommend this place but be warned, not everyone gets hugs and kisses.

In the toilets at Hickety Pickety Tearoom

Revolting

We’ve kind of lost count of the number of Tory Prime Ministers we’ve had over the past few years. Deluded as ever about his own importance, Boris failed to recognise that he won a huge majority, not because of anything he did but because there was no opposition worth voting for. He was at Balmoral today to hand in his resignation to a relieved Queen.

New girl, the ever so slightly mad, Liz Truss, was there as well to take on the mantle of government. Given that the role of most governments is simply to give the people just enough to keep them from revolting, Liz is going to have to pull some rabbits out of the hat if she wants to stop that happening. At the moment, there’s a lot of extremely unhappy people around. She says “What you see is what you get“. Well, that’s a pity! Luckily, like Boris, she has no opposition to speak of. If she wants she can wreak whatever havoc she wants on the country. It’s just our daughters and honorary daughters that will have to sort it all out.

ML11 8NZ tel: 01555 871486 Hickety Pickety FB

///streaking.retire.winters

Ordinary, Scones

The Courtyard Tea Rooms

31 August 2022 billpaterson1@me.com 1 Comment

Now you would think that the Courtyard Tea Rooms would be easy to find. They are on the High Street in Poole and that’s not all that long. How difficult could it be?

You will see from the title picture, however that it is just a door sandwiched between a convenience store and an Indian restaurant. Just a little door with a little sign above … easy to miss. Not a lot of people miss it however because it’s very busy so it must have a good reputation. It’s over 500 years old, not the tearooms but the building in which they are housed. The entrance is down a long passageway and then you emerge into a delightful little courtyard. There are several little sitting-rooms off the courtyard. But we chose the courtyard itself with its ancient stone slabs that many feet must have trod before us. In 1405, local lad come privateer Henry Paye had made such a nuisance of himself with raids up and down the French coast that a combined French/Spanish naval fleet plundered Poole in an act of revenge. If this courtyard could talk it would have a few tales to tell. Don’t think the plunderers would have had scones here but we thought we had better check them out anyway.

Hairsbreadth

In our previous post from the Kitchen we were served very disappointing scones. Hopefully they would be better here. The young girl looking after us was fantastic. Good happy service can change a fairly mundane meal into something special but this time we had a really nice lunch which she made extra special. Unfortunately she couldn’t quite do it for the scones. Henry Paye would probably have bisected each scone with a swish of his cutlass but we just uses the knives we were presented with. Not so heroic, perhaps but we didn’t have a cutlass. They were almost topscones. Very good, with nice bowls of jam and cream but their overall consistency meant that they just missed out by a hairsbreadth. This is a really nice place, however, and we recommend that you pay it a visit next time you are in Poole.

Back in the USSR, you don’t know how lucky you are, boy

Normally, we don’t have much in the way of praise for politicians … maybe you’ve noticed? However, we feel that with the passing of Mikhail Gorbachev, the last President of the USSR, we should make an exception. When you think of Soviet Presidents the word ‘charming’ is not one that comes readily to mind … but he was! Not many people could honestly say they changed the world … but he could! Although he didn’t mean to dismantle the Soviet Empire, because of his actions, it happened anyway. Momentous, and with hardly a drop of blood being shed … contrast that with Putin’s Russia of today.

The USSR is something our children have probably only heard of through a Beatles song. Strange words such as glasnost and perestroika became part of our everyday language. The collapse of the Berlin Wall … these were heady days indeed, full of optimism and hope … contrast that with the world today. If Gorbachev had been a scone he would have been a topscone … praise indeed!

BH15 1BT tel: ???? The Courtyard Tearooms FB

///mugs.vouch.scarf

Ordinary, Scones, self-service

The Kitchen

29 August 2022 billpaterson1@me.com 1 Comment

After our previous visit to the Soup Dragon near Balfron today we are in a very different place, the Kitchen in Poole. About as far away from The Soup Dragon as you can get without leaving the UK. However, Poole is the most haunted town in Dorset … so spirits of a different kind perhaps. None of that for us today though. Poole Park which opened in 1890 is the place for us. It is over 100 acres of open parkland with lovely gardens and even a saltwater lagoon … fab!

Sharing again

The Kitchen is at its centre and provides sustenance for many of the parks users. It has a large restaurant area as well as an outdoor waterside terrace. There’s also Scoops ice cream parlour. It seems to have everything but what about scones? Yes, there was, fruit and plain! We had had lunch elsewhere so it was just a fruit scone to share and some tea. Sharing was a great idea because neither us wanted to finish even the half that we had. They were fairly obviously shop bought and probably not bought this week judging by the rather stodgy texture. Ah well, you can’t win them all! Shame though, because everything else on offer is probably very good and it’s a great facility for the park.

Hanging by a thread

One of the benefits of staying down here with family is that there is not much time for news. So no rants this time you might think. Well no, when we do get a glimpse it’s the same old, same old. The BBC interviewing innocent passers-by about the cost of living. Typically it goes like this “You’re already struggling to make ends meet and now the government says that cost increases will double over the next few months. How do you feel about that?” What? Are they really expecting someone to say “Oh, I’m absolutely delighted“. And yet they go on doing it … endlessly. And, now it appears that their ‘Director of Impartiality’ is a died in the wool Tory, surprise, surprise! Our BBC licence fee is hanging by a thread.

Incomprehensible

The current cost of living crisis is incomprehensible. Britain is, to a large extent, self sufficient in energy and the same goes for wheat, yet we are told it’s all the fault of the Ukraine war. Our energy costs are to go up 200% … in France it’s 4%. Scottish energy producers have to pay massive amounts of money to feed into the grid yet producers in the south get paid massive amounts to do exactly the same?? Could it all be caused by nothing more than systems designed and developed by the wealthy to make themselves even wealthier? Surely not?

Incomprehensibler

Meanwhile we are assuming that the lightweights vying to become the next PM are still arguing about everything. Liz Truss, still the Foreign Secretary but with ambitions to become a mini Boris, saying that she doesn’t know if the French are friend or foe while simultaneously dumping tons of raw sewage into the English Channel. And Sunak is about as far away from the man in the street as its possible to get. One of them will soon be running the country because 0.2% of the population voted for them. Fantastic!

Two K6s in Poole Park. One made in Falkirk (on the right) and the other in Kirkintilloch

Anyway, the cost of living crisis doesn’t show too much down here but, of course, it is one of the wealthiest areas outside of London. Still can’t produce a topscone though!

BH15 2SF tel: 01202 742842 The Kitchen

///notice.sleep.motor

Scones, Top

The Soup Dragon Café

20 August 2022 billpaterson1@me.com 7 Comments

For those of a delicate disposition and for those who might believe some or indeed anything on allaboutthescones, let us assure you that the dragon in the title picture isn’t real. It’s real only in the sense that it does exist. It lives round at the back after having been adopted by the owners of the Soup Dragon café. They adopted it after a festival where it had been destined for the scrap heap. The title picture is merely a confection from the writer’s rather over active imagination. So where are we?

Our kind of place

Ironically, after saying in our previous post that we had never been to Balfron we are back again. At Tír na nÓg, a holistic healing centre to be precise. In Celtic folklore it is described as an island paradise of everlasting youth, beauty, health, abundance and joy. Sounds precisely like our kind of place. All a bit weird but rather wonderful at the same time.

Courtyard at the Soup Dragon — The courtyard with the Wishing Tree on the left

Our Trossachs correspondents had brought us to Tír na nÓg but, of course it was the Soup Dragon Café that was the main attraction. There’s loads of other things here – treatment and consultation rooms, a couple of shops as well as an animal sanctuary and enchanted forest walks.

Wishing and hoping

In the courtyard they have a Wishing Tree. We all selected a ribbon to tie to it. The ribbons all meant different things according to the colour. Pat chose blue which represents ‘spirituality, tranquility and peace‘. I thought I should have green ‘prosperity, abundance, healing and luck‘ but there were no green ones left. Orange stood for ‘creativity, self-expression, joy and vitality‘ but none of them left either … argh! I was taking so long choosing, the lady behind the counter eventually leaned over and said “it doesn’t matter which colour you choose, just make up whatever you like“. Thoroughly deflated I chose blue … same as Pat.

Having tied our ribbons and made our wishes we headed for the café to wait for them to come true. It’s quite a big place and there are tables outside in the courtyard as well. The young girl looking after us was a delight. She brought water for the table without us even asking. This being the Soup Dragon, we thought some soup would be appropriate. She said they were famous for their spicy lentil so that’s what we all had. Accompanied by home baked bread it was delicious. We were really beginning to warm to this place.

Unanimous

Eventually, after some other stuff to eat, it was the turn of the scones. Pat and I were sharing one between us because the soup and lunch had been quite substantial. Our friends were doing the same. The scones came with nice little pots of jam and cream as well as a wee plastic pot of Danish butter. It would have been nice if the butter had been Scottish but heyho! When you look at all the kiddies starving in Afghanistan we should just be counting our blessings rather than moaning about trifles like butter. The scones were still warm from the oven and tasted wonderful. Just the right consistency and with that slight crunch that we like. A unanimous topscone, well done the Soup Dragon Café.

Curiosity

Meanwhile the café had filled up and the courtyard tables were also taken. Our girl turned out to be the only person there other than the chef. She was coping fantastically well. Earlier I had noticed a rather enticing cake which was labelled “snickerdoodle”. Curiosity sparked, I asked what it was. She explained that it had been made earlier by the chef but that she had completed it with the butter icing. It had to be done. We ordered one slice and four forks.

Then the problem was that two of us had almost finished our coffees but neither wanted another full cup in spite of it being Henry’s, our favourite. We asked for an Americano to share. No problem. However, rather than having us messing around trying to split a coffee she appeared with two small cups, brilliant. We have had some grim waitressing experiences recently so it really was an absolute pleasure to be served by this girl. The snickerdoodle cake was nice but although the icing was expertly done it was a little on the sweet side for our taste. Curiosity satisfied though!

Ornaments at the Soup Dragon — A shelf of things for sale

Eternal youth

Gosh, the Prime Minister of Finland may have to resign because she has been photographed dancing. They really need to try a bit of British politics if they want to know what serious partying is all about. Wouldn’t it be great if the world was a bit more Tír na nÓgish and the people were more like the girl at the Soup Dragon. Not sure how much faith we can place in all this candles and crystals stuff but suffice to say that by the time we were leaving Tír na nÓg we did feel a lot more joyous than when we went in. Not sure about the eternal youth … we’ll let you know.

G63 0NF tel: 01360 440756. Dragon Cafe

///darkens.retail.banquets

Scones, Top

The Courtyard Café revisited

18 August 2022 billpaterson1@me.com 5 Comments

The last time we were here at the Courtyard Café in Fintry was in 2016. Back then we said we liked everything about the place and that we would love to come back … so we have. This is ‘the Courtyard Cafe revisited’, would it still be as good?

Quite often we just get in the car and see where it takes us. Today is one these days. We took the road to Carron Valley which as well as being a lovely drive is also Falkirk’s water supply. In spite of the dire warns of impending disaster down south due to drought, the reservoir looked pretty full to us. We were reassured.

Not far beyond the end of the reservoir you come to Fintry a lovely little village nestling in the Campsie Fells.

Waterloo and all that

Remarkably, the village has a connection to Napoleon and the Battle of Waterloo. Over 200 years ago, Peter McNee, a local teacher, was concerned about the living conditions of the local mill workers. He protested so loudly, he was eventually obliged to leave Britain and settle in France. There he changed his name, joined the army and quickly rose through the ranks. As Marshall Ney he became Napoleon’s right hand man. After Waterloo he was executed by firing squad in spite of Wellington pleading for clemency. Rumour has it, though, that his death may have been faked. Gosh, he might be in the café?

Internal view of the Courtyard Café, Fintry — The shop area where they sell their own milk, ice cream and other farm produce

Once you have parked and walked past the neat orchard and the beautiful chicken enclosure you just get the feeling that this is a well run place.

Wallpaper at the Courtyard Café, Fintry — Wallpaper at the Courtyard

Our window at the Courtyard Café, Fintry — The window at out table … the walls must be a metre thick!

It was going like a fair but they managed to find a table for us quite quickly. We had noticed on the way in that the scones were quite big so we decided to share … but only after a delicious light lunch. When our scone arrived I was a bit disappointed. It looked a little bit on the solid side. What do I know? It was fab! The texture was great and the whole thing was incredibly light. Along with plenty jam and cream it was an easy topscone. We will be back!

Questions

We left Fintry and decided to go home via Kippen where we visited the Rhubarb & Lime Coffee Shop. We reviewed it in 2016 as well. It was just the same, friendly people, and after buying a couple of bottles of Italian wine we were on the road again. On the way I thought it would be a good idea to get off the main road and go through some of the local villages. We turned off the A811 into what was signposted as Glinnes Road. Almost immediately it turned into single track with passing places. Undeterred we kept on going even though it was obvious we were heading in the wrong direction for home. Then there was grass in the middle of the road. Pat asked “where exactly are we going?” Always difficult when you have no idea. She’s asked the question many times before and is still waiting on a satisfactory answer.

Pat opening gate on Glinne's Road — My trusty helper opens the first of several gates

Eventually, many bumpy miles later, we emerged into Balfron, a village we’ve never visited before. Needless to say, there are much easier ways to get there. Just before we reached the village we came across Lou’s Bake Stop. Lots of fresh baking, coffee and cold drinks … just leave the money in the basket … fab! We like these honesty places.

Honesty

Scotland has just had the pleasure of a visit from Liz Truss, one of the contenders to become PM of the UK. She promised to work flat out for Scotland. This, in spite of saying a week before that the best thing to do with Scotland’s elected representatives was to ignore them. Maybe she should spend some time in Lou’s Honesty Hut.

We got home. We always get home … eventually!

G63 0LN tel: 01360 860132 The Courtyard

///ballots.plump.exists

Lucky dip

Take it or leave it

Tit for tat

Tragedy

Walking the plank

Efficiency

The Age of Reason

Relentless

Winter Hag of Death and Darkness

Huge smiles

Progress?

Intimidation

Will we, won’t we?

Private army

Locusts

Head in the clouds

What’s in a name?

Revolting

Hairsbreadth

Back in the USSR, you don’t know how lucky you are, boy

Sharing again

Hanging by a thread

Incomprehensible

Incomprehensibler

Our kind of place

Wishing and hoping

Unanimous

Curiosity

Eternal youth

Waterloo and all that

Questions

Honesty

by Bill and Pat Paterson and is about finding good scones throughout the world, with a little bit of politics