Tag Archives: Volodymyr Zelenskyy

River House

7 March 2025 billpaterson1@me.com 7 Comments

Today we are at River House on the outskirts of Stirling. A lot has happened in the few days since our previous post from the Seagull Trust.

America’s reputation as the leader of the free world lies in tatters on the Oval Office floor. Oh dear, oh dear, the spectacle of Trump and his rottweiler pals trying to humiliate the defender of the Western world, was shocking and profoundly embarrassing for everyone unfortunate enough to have witnessed it. And then after a passage of Trump waxing lyrically about his many highly dubious attributes, came “Why do you not wear a suit?” Surely destined to go down in history as the most cretinous thing ever said to a world leader. It was, however, indicative of the hillbilly level of understanding in the room. It was left up to the good people of Vermont to restore some faith by letting JD Vance know he wasn’t welcome in their part of the world.

Now they want Zalensky to make a groveling apology for not sufficiently appreciating the US and the American people. Have they forgotten that unlike them, Zalensky has some semblance of intelligence and will doubtless grovel like a superhero?

At last, we made it

We feel confident the American people will eventually come to their senses and sort out this Muskesque Presidency. In the meantime, let’s get back to the serious business of scones. River House is a place we have been meaning to visit for years. We keep seeing the signs but never actually follow them. It is beautifully situated on the shores of a tiny loch with views of Stirling Castle.

It’s spacious and beautifully themed in the same style as other Cawley Group restaurants. It has a nice relaxed ambience. After a delicious light lunch, our nicely warmed scones were duly presented with a jar of jam and whipped cream in a little ladle thingy. Although not quite the consistency we normally go for they were very enjoyable nevertheless. Salutary to be able to sit in such comfortable surroundings several thousand miles away from the diabolical situation in Ukraine.

Beware of crocodiles at River House — DANGER!

Guarantees?

Ukraine used to have the third biggest nuclear arsenal in the world until, in the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, it was persuaded to give it up completely in exchange for international guarantees that its borders would be respected. We don’t think they would have signed had they known that a bunch of muppets would be their guarantors in 2025.

FK9 4TW tel: 01786 465577 River House

///clasps.duties.daylight

Ordinary, Scones

Seagull Trust Cruises

1 March 2025 billpaterson1@me.com 6 Comments

Falkirk High Street is not what it used to be. Like many other High Streets, it has been hit hard by out-of-town and online shopping. On top of this, the High Street’s east end is currently being demolished to make way for a new town hall. Charity shops proliferate so it was no surprise to find that the premises previously occupied by Topshop had been taken over by the Seagull Trust Cruises Bookshop. What was a surprise, however, was that the bookshop had a cafe … and the cafe had scones!

Seagull Trust Cruises, a registered charity, with a dozen boats operating across Scotland providing canal cruises for the elderly and infirm. It’s run entirely by volunteers.

Two of the Seagull Trust canal boats — Two of the Seagull Trust boats on the Union canal

The Marion

A few years back Pat managed their residential boat … the Marion. It had seven berths so that wheelchair users with their carers could take it out for a week at a time. Unfortunately turning the boat around between cruises became a problem. Cleaning, changing beds and laundry just became too onerous. Reluctantly she had to give it up. Now the Marion only does day trips just like the other boats.

In common with most charities, they are forever trying to raise funds. Hence this bookshop selling second-hand books. We didn’t buy any but thought the least we could do was buy some coffee and scones. Two very chatty women behind the counter had us sorted out in no time. They even supplied us with some delicious homemade blackcurrant jam. The scones were segment-shaped. I asked if they had been made as a large round and then cut into segments. She said “No, when I make them they all tend to run together then I have to cut them like that.” Whatever she did they were really good. Not a topscone but pretty close.

Contrasts

The fact that these ladies volunteer to run this cafe on behalf of the Seagull Trust Cruises is a testament to the willingness of people to selflessly help those less fortunate. In contrast, this week we’ve found that the US and the UK, two countries that traditionally have been pretty much joined at the hip no longer seem to share the same interests or values. Here’s us thinking that Ukraine and Volodymyr Zelenskyy were making huge sacrifices trying to stop Putin’s advance across Europe and eventually America. How wrong could we be? Turns out that Ukraine is the aggressor and it’s all their fault! Who knew?

FK1 1ES tel: 01324 612777 Seagull Trust

///grain.modern,stage

Scones, Top

Victoria’s

30 November 2024 billpaterson1@me.com 1 Comment

In our previous post from Fonab Castle we were bemoaning the fact that it was no longer family run. It’s difficult to put your finger on exactly what happens when an establishment goes from “family run” to a more corporate style … it’s just different, less personal. Today, however, we are still in beautiful Pitlochry but at Victoria’s restaurant. It proudly proclaims, loud and clear that it has been “family run” since 1996. Would we notice a difference?

Established on the town’s Main Street and named after the family’s new born daughter you can work out how old she is now. In the low winter sun it’s not too impressive from the outside but in the summer its large al fresco dining area will be buzzing. Inside it has a warm homely feel with lots of Christmas decorations.

According to Victoria’s website Luciano Pavarotti, once said “One of the very nice things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating“. How true! We had just walked from Fonab Castle into town and now we felt the need to do exactly that.

Christmas recipes

We were looked after by a young girl who was full of the joys. Turned out she was from South Africa. She and her husband had come to work here in Scotland for the next few years. They wanted some adventure before settling down to start a family. She informed us that her husband was responsible for making the scones. When they arrived they were accompanied by the usual little pots of jam and the biggest bowl of cream we have ever seen. Not clotted cream but pretty spectacular. Everything was delicious. She asked us if we noticed anything different about the scones? We had but couldn’t quite identify what it was. Apparently her husband had added star anise to the recipe to make them taste more Christmasy. It worked, “Christmasy” was exactly how they tasted.

Although busy attending to other customers our girl always came back to us for more chat. She even produced a map of Pitlochry and, with a felt tipped pen, marked places we should visit as well as the most picturesque route for us to take back to Fonab. This was service above and beyond which eventually persuaded us to award a topscone. Well done Victoria’s, “family run” is definitely better!

View over Loch Faskally — View across Loch Faskally

A flicker of light

At Fonab, we talked with a young Ukrainian girl who was working there. She didn’t think her family were in immediate danger but the concern in her eyes was plain to see. With President Zelenskyy hinting at talks with Russia there appears to be a glimmer of hope for an end to the fighting. However, if Zelenskyy requires a cast iron guarantee that Putin can never return it is extremely difficult to see how that can be achieved. But for the sake of our girl and her family, at least there may be a tiny flicker of light at the end of the tunnel. Fingers crossed!

Today there is also a memorial service in Edinburgh for Alex Salmond. Ten years ago he led Scotland to within a whisker of independence. Needless to say, none of the promises made to the people of Scotland at that time by the UK government have been delivered … not a single one! At least Salmond knew that independence had only been delayed.

Whisky messsges in Pitlochry — In a grocery store across from Victoria’s

PH16 5BX tel: 01796 472 670 Victoria’s

///divides.disbelief.thanks

Scones, Top, topweird

Clootie McToot

7 March 2022 billpaterson1@me.com 7 Comments

Clootie McToot, in the little village of Abernethy, makes clootie dumplings and exports them all over the world. One of its dumplings has even made it to Everest basecamp. They could never be described as ‘light’ so don’t think anyone would actually want to carry one to the summit. Great sustenance though! Essentially, you can have anything you want in Clootie McTooties as long as it’s dumpling … correction, they also make scones.

Rhyming dumplings

If you are not from Scotland and are wondering what a clootie dumpling is then let us explain. Nowadays, making them is something of a lost art but Pat’s mother and my mother along with many other mothers used to make them regularly. You take the ingredients, a bit like those for Christmas cake, wrap them in a ‘cloot’ (cloth) and boil them forever. They were immortalised in this children’s poem:

Obviously, pouring a dumpling out of the spout of a kettle is impossible but that didn’t matter back in those days, we used to recite it with great joy.

Magic dumplings

Sometimes the cloot would be a pillow case because many dumplings were the size of a football and were so heavy only your mother was capable of lifting them. Dumplings also had magical properties. When children got a portion they would, after a bit of rummaging, inevitably find a coin wrapped up in grease proof paper … so exciting! For some reason, my father always got a button? A big dumpling would last our family a week … hot, cold, sliced, fried … or hot with custard, cold with custard, fried with custard. No, not that last one but you get my drift. Suffice to say that Michelle, who runs Clootie McToot, has taken it upon herself to resurrect clootie dumplings and introduce them to a brand new audience … well done her.

We were looked after by young lass, Daisy, who was forever polite and attentive. After some soup for lunch she offered us cheese scones or chocolate orange scones. You guessed it, Pat went for cheese whereas the chocolate orange just had to be done … living on the edge! When they arrived on our table the only way to describe them was “impressive”.

Finger licking

Mine had a dollop of chocolate sauce on top and Pat’s cheese scone was simply “huge”. The chef actually came out and apologised. He had left someone else in charge of portioning the scones that morning and they had ended up a bit bigger than they should have been. On the basis that they shouldn’t really be a meal in themselves we normally don’t like big scones but these were sooo good. The chocolate orange one tasted really chocolatey and orangey with a lovely texture and crunchy exterior. The chocolate splodge on top meant it all got a bit messy but absolutely ‘finger licking’ good. Pat said her scone was one of the best she had ever tasted even though she couldn’t eat it all. Topscones all round, yeah!

If ever we needed a Treaty?

A shackle in Abernethy — A shackle attached to the round tower … it actually fitted Pat’s neck

Events in Ukraine are disastrous for all concerned. Unimaginable for us quietly sitting here in Clootie McToot in a sleepy little village like Abernethy. Having said that, Abernethy was not always like this … once it was the “capital” of the kingdom of the Picts. The round tower you see in the picture, just outside Clootie McToot’s door, is only one of two in Scotland. It dates from the 11th century. The Treaty of Abernethy, signed here in 1072, between Malcolm III, King of Scotland and William the Conqueror, actually secured an uneasy peace between England and Scotland that lasted more than a week! If we could get Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy to come to Abernethy maybe they would sign another treaty? Dumpling incentives could be involved?

Aqua vitae

Decorative pillar at Clootie McToot, Abernethy — decorated metal pillar

They have quite a range of dumplings for sale so we are now the proud owners of a Clootie McToot cherry, date & Lindores aqua vitae dumpling. It’s delicious! The aqua vitae comes from the local Lindores distillery which opened its modern facility in 2017 but whisky has been distilled on the site since 1494. Clootie McToot also have dumpling kits and dumpling classes. So you, dear reader, have no excuse.

PH2 9JB. tel: 01738 850795 Clootie

///aims.essential.unto

Scones, Top

Tilly Tearoom

3 March 2022 billpaterson1@me.com 1 Comment

It’s a week since our last post at Another Tilly Tearoom and here we are now at the original Tilly Tearoom in Tillicoultry. It’s also been a week since the start of the war in Ukraine. What a week of absolute horror but it has also showcased the best and worst of humanity! It’s embarrassing that we seem to be so helpless in the face of such unprovoked Russian aggression and the UK’s mean spirited attitude to refugees is even more embarrassing. The Little Englanders seem to think that these people actually want to come here? They don’t, and the few that do will undoubtedly return to their homeland just as soon as they safely can. Poland and the rest of the EU are putting the UK to shame! But honestly, what can we expect when so many of our MPs are funded with Russian money?

Size doesn’t matter

Anyway, we also experienced the best of humanity in another area completely. Yes, in this place, Tilly Tearoom. If we had decided to do both of these tearooms we should probably have started with this one , however, given that we didn’t know that either existed you will just have to put up with them in the wrong order. This place is obviously similar to Another Tilly Tearoom but is even smaller. There’s nothing fancy, just simple food served by friendly, enthusiastic staff.

A delight

Laura was looking after us and she represented humanity at its best … young, pretty, enthusiastic and oozing kindness. I had to ask her what colour her hair was because I couldn’t quite place it. Pointing at her head, she said “my original colour, or this?” I said ‘this“, to which she replied “well, I’m actually blonde but I had too much time on my hands during Covid so this is Flamingo Pink“. Of course it was. Her eyelashes were so long, one careless flutter could have blown the froth off our coffees! She was a delight!

After some lunch she offered us a plain scone but “there’s one banoffee (banana and toffee) scone left if you would like that?” We were sharing … I wanted the banoffee but Pat wanted plain. So plain it was … it’s good to know your place! It came with generous portions of jam and cream. Once again Pat had the top half and I had the bottom. It was lovely and we didn’t hesitate to award a topscone. In 2019, the Tilly Tearoom won an award as the Most Welcoming Café of the Year and we can easily understand why. When we were leaving we told Laura that the scone was the best we had had since we were at Another Tilly tearoom. She promptly asked “which was best?“, oh gosh, talk about being put on the spot?

Daring do

External view of Tilly Tearoom, Tillicoultry — Tilly tearoom with the Ochil hills in the distance

Every time I’m in Tillycoultry I think back to the the Great Tin Tray Championships of 1967. A small group of us climbed the grassy slopes of the Ochil hills that provide a backdrop to the town. We were all carrying tin beer trays. Mine was a black and gold Guinness tray, built for speed. The idea was to see who would be fastest to the bottom while sitting on the tray. Suffice to say that this side of the Ochil hills is entirely friction free. We were back at the bottom in seconds having experienced a completely uncontrolled hair raising ride. No idea who won but we all survived. Those were the days!

Make tae not war sign at Tilly Tearoom, Tillicoultry — This sign in the Tilly Tearoom makes perfect sense

The pictures of Mad Vlad sitting at one end of a table with his generals sitting about half a mile away at the the other end, speaks volumes. He is unhinged to put it politely. But, with a fair wind, this should be the end for Putin!

It’s easy to feel pessimistic with everything going on in Ukraine so it seems slightly absurd to be talking about scones in such circumstances. However, as long as we have people like Volodymyr Zelenskyy and she of the Flamingo Pink hair in Tilly tearoom, there’s hope.

FK13 6DP tel: 01259 752642. Tilly Tearoom

///weary.evidently.cocoons

ps: as we were leaving a small boy was tucking into the one and only banoffee scone. Annoyingly, he looked as if he was really enjoying it!

Scones, history and a dollop of politics