My last night in Scotland, and where better to end this trip of a lifetime than in Cupar.
No, me neither.
Three things brought me to Cupar. A cheap train to Edinburgh in the morning, a GBG pub and the simple fact I wasn’t paying £109 to stay in St Andrews.
Not that my Sunday Guest House here was a bargain, £45 for the spotless Brae Cottage. Lots of golfers and Americans and American golfers stay here rather than the posh Golf hotels, apparently.
Few come for the pubs, I suspect, and that Bass signage couldn’t be prised loose.
It was quiet at 5pm on Sunday afternoon, with no takers for a Watford v Wolves semi-final here either.
Remember, though, that supermarkets can open beyond 4pm on Sundays, (thanks Nicola) so I guess that’s where the 9,000 residents all were.
Two main streets, lots of cake shops, plenty of serious architecture.
Lots of little closes (alleys) to explore.
Some inviting,
some less so.
OK. Half an hour is enough. Then you head to the pub.
Perhaps the only Boudingait in the Guide. The couple in the Brae made it sound sinister.
It shouldn’t really work. Family diner, bar flies blocking the three pumps, a dog drinking from a bowl on the bar…
But you never can tell with pubs, can you ?
“Which is your fastest seller ?” I asked the welcoming landlady.
“Oooh, Bitter & Twisted sells best“.
It’s easy, folks.
Our decisive Landlady then pointed out a spare seat, which shows a bit of awareness.
A nice seat, too.
Old Boys in cardigans, toddlers dropping their toys, “Fast Car” by Tracy Chapman. There’s space for the pleasant pub among the craft bars and edgy Embers.
A decent pint of Harviestoun, as you can see, NBSS 3+. I even saw someone go back up for a second pint of it. Should get an awards for services to Scottish cask.
I couldn’t really stretch a pint out beyond half an hour, so I popped out to Tesco for a DIY tea.
When I got back to the Brae, I underwent “torture by Brexit debate” as the owners told me what they thought. Fortunately, they thought right.
retiredmartin 
The “flowers” are of the genus Eryngium, commonly known as Sea Holly, prickly little buggers.
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To save confusion I am referring to the Thistles , no idea on the other things.
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We had some Canadian visitors to our condo today – relatives of the owners popped in off a cruise to say hello.
One said to me on hearing my English accent ” how is beeswax going ? ”
Meanwhile sightings of the full Shepherd Neame bottled range in a local supermarket,Spitfire et al.
At approx £2 a bottle it has travelled half way across the world and is still cheaper than at home.
But I still went for the Modello Superior at £3 for a six pack.
Not much call for a minimum pricing policy here – I suspect the cartels would move into the booze business pretty sharpish if there was.
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Wise to go Modello.
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P P-T,
So will your homeward bound luggage be weighed down with the full Shepherd Neame bottled range ?
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Short answer no.
Mrs PP-T and I haven’t checked in luggage for over 30 years and always travel with just a small back-pack each so space is at a premium.
But mainly because it’s crap beer.
The next jaunt in the summer will also preclude homeward-bound presents.
19 days in the wine country of the Napa Valley and legal marijuana fields of Oregon.
Or The Grapes of Hash Tour as we’ve already christened it.
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No luggage? Us neither. If you want presents go yourself.
Applauding you while surveying the remnants of my Thai lunch in the Wrestlers in Cambridge.
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Don’t see many thistles on pub tables.
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Had to show the photo to my wife of the dog’s water dish on the bar– when people in the UK put up a sign reading “dogs welcome” they really mean it!
I have memories of hearing Tracey Chapman’s “Fast Car” a month or so before it began getting airplay in the USA; it was then already in heavy rotation in England, and I thought, “This won’t be a hit over here. Not commercial enough.” How wrong I was!
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I guess it was the Nelson Mandela tribute concert that made Fast Car?
I’m seeing more and more pubs being almost aggressively dog friendly. I don’t like their presence on the bar or round the bar stools at all.
But needs must.
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Indeed Martin, and I’ll say it again.
How can you deny at least the same freedom to small humans that you grant to animals?
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Being dog friendly is essential in any pub or bar these days or else you risk your only customers being a few middle to old aged guys sat miserably nursing a pint of BBB and mumbling ‘how much’ every time they buy a pint.
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Yes indeed but try telling Tim that.
But with no cats to sort out the rats maybe he just doesn’t like animals.
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Maybe he likes rats?
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There was another one reported in Dudley today. As you say, what Timbo needs are a few proper pub cats.
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It’s Tim’s birthday on Sunday.
Could you sort him out a few proper pub cats by then ?
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The folk who expect us old codgers to be grateful we’re only having our feet licked on by dogs are no doubt the same ones who’d deny old codgers the right to a fag in a separate room far away from them.
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No. No fags it’s disgusting. Somethings that change are actually good. Even for the Old Codgers.
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