My North Berwick target ticked, I had a range of options before returning to the warm embrace of Baa Baa Toure in a campervan parked with sight of Bass Rock.
Faced with a choice of a) Swim out to Bass Rock or b) revisit the Ship, I took the sensible option, rare for me.
The Ship impressed four years ago, and had retained its GBG place, always a good sign. And at 8pm, with food service just ending at a time to frustrate the American tourists who expect fish and chips at midnight, it was packed with groups of Old Boys, golfers and Professional Drinkers. Or possibly all three.
Always nice to see those Scottish tall fonts, and a few pints of cask being pulled. I picked the Orkney Dark Island as that hadn’t been pulled, to be contrary.
Not bad, tasty if not as crisp as the Orkney in the Auld Hoose (NBSS 3), and for a place with condiments on every (high) table pretty pubby.
Odd swing music playing to accompany the inevitable TV golf; this one is apparently “nu jazz and lounge group“, whatever that is.
No Jarl, or Greene King in a Greene King pub,, but on the specials board I failed to resist the Stewart Ukrainian collaboration beer.
Which was gorgeous, as well as worthy. Cool and foamy (NBSS 4), the perfect pre-Chinese takeaway beer.
Except I failed to get to the crispy beef, finding the lure of North Berwick Fry next door too much.
In a week when Twitter has been in meltdown over the right number of chips (h/t @BoakandBailey),
I can only say the number of chips in the battered haggis supper was more than sufficient.
Can you guess the number of chips ? I could always give the wrapper away as a prize (T & Cs apply).
And no, Pauline, I don’t know how many calories there are in that haggis. I guess seventy-three (73).
retiredmartin 
There are no calories in a haggis supper provided you eat it outdoors.
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That makes perfect sense. With the lights on or off ?
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That would be an ecumenical matter
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Are you certain that’s a haggis and not a Mars bar?
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“Scottish tall fonts” designed so that the customer could see his/her beer being poured. Some early consumer protection legislation, probably introduced to prevent unscrupulous landlords adding slops from the drip tray, to the customer’s pint!
Makes me sound like Reg Smeaton, or whatever his name is.
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I thought you WERE Reg Smeaton, Paul !
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But they sometimes do add beer from the drip tray due to the use of an economiser 😛
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Quite right too; saves the planet AND improves the quality of the beer with a 99% survival rate.
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“Bass Rock, Scotland” on the map must be to distinguish it from “Sharps Rock, Cornwall”.
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We’re all Doomed.
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And doesn’t the guano covering Bass Rock make it look freshly whitewashed and spotlessly clean ?
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