Great Galloway Gastronomy
Hello! How are you tonight? It seems an age since I wrote my last blog - I'm determined not to stop though and will try to come back a little sooner next time.
As life becomes slightly more normal, I've been eating out a bit more. It's actually really nice to be socialising again, even on a limited scale, and to go somewhere that feels almost as it used to feel. I was out lunching with a friend to Gather at Laggan, near Gatehouse of Fleet. The food was delicious - especially the dessert - and the views are out of this world. I wanted to spend the whole day there, looking out over my very favourite spot in the universe!
Lunch again at The Old Schoolhouse in Ringford. Gorgeous food, really lovely owners and staff in a spacious and airy environment. We used to visit here a long time ago when the Pitcairn family ran it. It was part tearoom and part craft shop. Our favourite then was a baked potato with haggis and beans but now we opt for the wonderful club sandwich! It's sooo good - the best I've ever had!
As if that wasn't enough, we dined at the Piccola Italia in the village of Moniaive to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. A favourite of ours - lovely food served by lovely people. The scenery, from our home to Moniave, is normally stunning although we could hardly see a damned thing on our last trip there given the mist and rain! Not to worry though.
This last week, I've been finding myself missing my band a lot. For anyone who doesn't know, I am also a singer and songwriter and I front The Mary Barclay Band as well as The Fever. I'm missing all the guys big time - the wee unit that forms when we're performing and I'm missing the folk who come along to the gigs. It's my social life really - a chance to have a catch up with people and have a chat. Hmmm.........
I've been writing though, which is a good thing. Forgive me if I've mentioned this before (because I do have a habit of repeating myself) but happy songs for me are hard to come by...but lo and behold, I have created a fairly happy, easy going wee song called 'Ivy' and I'm currently working out the guitar chords *don't take me seriously face*. It's good, it's catchy and I'm loving the fact I've managed to write something again.
The garden is coming on a treat! The lemon balm has finally made an appearance; my sweet peas are just about to flower; lupins that someone gave me last year are stunning; the bees are having a ball; and the David Austin 'Strawberry Hill' roses I bought in memory of my mum are blooming and giving off their splendid perfume. My little lobelia plants are also in flower - they always remind me of my wonderful dad - we had beautiful flower tubs around the house and they always contained lobelia. I remember he once cut old tyres in half, turned them inside out, painted them white and used them as flower containers! I miss my mum and dad.
On the art side of things, I'm delighted to say that I will have a stall at Kirkcudbright Arts and Crafts Trail this year from 30th July to 2nd August. I'll be set up in one of the gazebos in the Soaperie Gardens and I'm looking forward to seeing you there. I'll have cards, prints and original art for sale including my latest couple of creations - 'Wee Bunty' and 'Little Wren' unless, of course, they are gone by then, in which case, you will have missed out big time! (Jeez, how do I do emojis on this bloomin' blog???)
I shall leave you now. I have a very sore finger - what's happened to it I do not know - but it's painful while I'm trying to type and awkward as I've got a bit sticking plaster on it. There is no cut but it does need cushioning along with great care and attention. In the meantime, if you fancy, have a look around my store....even just to make the analytics on my website improve!
Buenos noches mes amigas/amigos!