The Scottish Snippets Newsletter in its original format began in April 1997 and continued in an unbroken series for 591 issues. Although no longer produced in that style, there is now this regular update on the new and updated pages on the Rampant Scotland site including "Scottie's Photo Diary From Scotland".
To receive a text version of this newsletter as a reminder to look at these Web pages when they are published, just send an e-mail to Scottie@RampantScotland.com with "Subscribe Newsletter" in the subject line.
Caledonian Waldorf Astoria
The Caledonian Hotel at the west end of Princes Street began life in December 1903. The "Caley" as it soon became known was always an up-market establishment catering for wealthy clients in plush surroundings. Like many hotels, the Caley has had a number of new owners in recent years and its latest incarnation is as part of the Waldorf Astoria brand. It has had a £24 million restoration and design facelift and the entire building is once again provides elegant accommodation and restaurants. Travel writer Vivien Devlin had a recent opportunity to sample the delights of the upgraded building which overlooks Edinburgh Castle. Here is her review of what she sums up as " This glitzy, glamorous renaissance now shows off its grand Edwardian splendour with a touch of contemporary pizzazz, as this much beloved Grande Dame prepares to celebrate her 110th birthday." See Great Places to Stay - Caledonian Waldorf Astoria.
Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh
Over the years I have been a frequent visitor to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh. It has 70 acres of landscaped grounds, green houses, a visitor centre and three locations providing food and drink, all conveniently located just one mile from the city centre. It is thus within walking distance of Princes Street. I was surprised to find recently that I had not created a page on the botanic gardens in the "Places to Visit" section of Rampant Scotland have rectified that with a description of the history, attractive displays, glass houses and other buildings in the parkland. There is also a link to a Web based slideshow covering nearly 60 graphics (thumbnails and larger pictures on separate pages). See Places to Visit - Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh.
Fly Cemetery Recipe
There have been recent scientific reports suggesting that to solve the future needs of the ever growing world population that we will need to resort to getting protein from eating insects in those parts of the world where this is not currently common. But the recipe for "Fly Cemetery" is not an attempt to support such initiatives. Rather, it is a rather sweet bakery confection that is often given that name because of its use of raisins and currants as a major ingredient and looked to some to be akin to a "fly cemetery". Despite such an off-putting name, it is a very popular bakery item in Scotland. If you want to make it for yourself, here's the recipe: Scottish Recipes - Fruit Slice.
Next Newsletter
The next newsletter is scheduled for 14 September.The main new article will be on Loch Lomond, one of Scotland's most scenic areas, with a YouTube slide show with lots of graphics of this popular tourist area.
Yours aye
Scottie
Previous editions of this Newsletter are available in an Archive. The Index to the other pages of the Rampant Scotland site is available here.
Where else would you like to go in Scotland?
