Jae and Jim Take The Family To Scotland!

Pictures of the holiday can be found here

So, my holiday began on Wednesday with a lunch trip to Needoo Grill in Whitechapel. It's shame Whitechapel is such a ghetto, as Needoo Grill is absolutely awesome. The south Asian cuisine was so very, very tasty. I recommend the peshwari naan and the pakoras. Yum, yum, yum! We spent some time in the local and lazed the day away.

Thursday, and Jim and I headed up to Luton as part of "Jae's Mission Never To Be Late For A Plane". On the way up, along the M1, spotted some sort of falcon (no, it wasn't a kestrel!) sitting on a fence. Very beautiful.

Luton, unfortunately, not so beautiful. We stayed overnight at the Leaside Gastrotel, which was nice. The room was big (we stayed in Room 101 which, as well as giving us a good laugh, suffered severely from road noise), the bar was comfy (with lovely Stella Triple Filtered on tap), and the food divine. I've been to Italy, but I had the tastiest pizza ever on Thursday night. Luton itself was a bit... dire. Another ghetto, where the only sign of a bit of class was the Polish organic food shop.

Friday, we woke up early and had a pleasant breakfast at the Gastrotel. It was pretty quiet, but the one other guy there was a God. He was MT... with a little bit of bulk. I.e. he was my perfect man. I informed Jim, and Twitter, that my life was now complete and we made our way to the airport.

Luton Airport... was actually not that bad. The security staff were less rude than Heathrow and the queue moved far more quickly despite being about ten times bigger. I still had to remove my boots but we can't have everything. Jim and I relaxed in the executive lounge until Mum, Stuart and the twins arrived, whereupon we had to rough it with the plebs at the bar.

Despite going straight to the gate when the flight was called, I was still near the back of the queue and, this being Easyjet (*shudder*), I was thus forced to take a normal seat. Proof, if needed, that I am unable to fit into a normal seat (my legs literally could not even be forced to go either side of the seat in front, instead I was squashed to one side). The pain is indescribable but thankfully the flight to Glasgow is a short one. I was soooooo pleased to pull myself out of that plane with my legs still in working order.

The trip to Lochgoilhead was easy as usual. It's nice I now recognise the journey, around Loch Lomond, up to Loch Long, then a left at the Rest and Be Thankful and down through the Argyll Forest Park to Lochgoilhead. We were staying at Drimsynie again but things would be a little different this time.

Firstly, instead of staying in one of the Toblerone chalets, we were in a much larger house (virtual tour here). It was lovely, clean and modern. We, of course, bagsied the en-suite room.

Secondly, curling was off. A week or so ago they had phoned to say the curling rink had a problem with it's ice. We decided to go anyway but even though the ice actually was fixed by the Saturday, we were no longer in the mood. The worst part of this was that most of the other people who would normally be there had cancelled their curling trips and thus the entire place seemed deserted and ghost like.

Thirdly, nothing went right. Nothing went "wrong" as such. But the usually efficient organisation and communication just wasn't there. Our breakfasts weren't booked in. Our lunches were booked in but no one told us. Our leisure passes were forgotten. They were minor niggles that were easily sorted but they have put Jim off ever going back again.

And finally... on Saturday and Sunday we decided to mix things up a little.

But firstly, Friday night. We had meals from the bar and settled in for an evening of kareoke. There were no cuties and it was almost a no go at all but two absolutely rat-arsed Scottish guys and a few out of key locals soon had us tapping our feet and trying to hold back laughter. It was great until three local teenage girls got up and forced us to leave the building as their singing was worse than bad... it was truly awful.

Saturday saw us have our first proper breakfast (think potato scones and black pudding...) and then we undertook our first adventure... a boat and fishing trip out on Loch Goil. We set out in our little boat and headed down to Carrick Castle, via the seal colony, and occasional stopped to fish (no success there, but still very fun). We had a very inquisitive seal visit the boat a couple of times but I was most taken with seeing a black-throated diver "flying" under water in an attempt to catch our spinners. Absolutely gorgeous.

The clouds had been low when we set off, but whilst we were fishing off Carrick Castle we failed to notice it had lowered even further and a very thick fog now lay between us and our dock at the north of the loch. We were on the far side of the loch and wanted to get to the other side in order to follow the shore northwards... but the fog moved over us as we reached the middle... and we were lost.



I don't want you to think I'm overplaying this, but the fog gave visibility was only 15m and the still waters only added to the sense we were in some grey bubble. We pottered along for a while in search of the shore but soon wiser heads run over and we stopped the engine. We had no way of knowing we weren't going around in circles. About to call for help, Jim managed to get a GPS signal on his phone and with him at the helm, Stuart navigating by GPS and the rest of us shivering, counting our supplies (2 Jaffa Cakes!!!! AH!!!) and keeping look out we were able to find shore and move north.

When we arrived at the dock, 5 minutes early!, we discovered a rather relieved looking boat owner. He was obviously pretty concerned at having a group of tourists out in one of his boats in the fog, but thankfully old seadog Jim had seen us through to safety... if with a little added adventure.

Saturday night's Dinner/Dance had been cancelled due to the fact there was no one about so instead we had dinner in the Green Room restaurant in Drimsynie House Hotel and then went down to the bar for the band "So Driven", who were quite good but we didn't stay long as my sister was "feeling ill" (for which read attempting to get between Mum and Stuart. Aww... to be a teenager and have a step dad... those were the days!).

The next day we decided to be even more adventurous and, for the first time in my four visits to Lochgoilhead, we left the confines of the village and headed out to explore Scotland!

Our first destination was Glen Coe. The scenery on route was glorious, reminding me that there really is more to this country than London and the big towns. The bitter cold was relieved at a rest stop over looking Lake Tulla with a lovely square sausage sandwich and a cup of tea. At Glen Coe I headed for the gift shop first where I spent so much money on books (one about my family's Clan Davidson history... everyone can have a Scottish Clan history, get yours soon!) and Christmas presents that the guy behind the till gave me some Scottish tablet free and informed me that my family would always be welcome at Glen Coe. Given that this was the scene of the Glencoe massacre, I have to say I've done my bit for inter-British relations!

The visitors centre was informative but wildly expensive for what it was. Thankfully the beauty of Glen Coe more than made up for it.

Then it was onwards to Fort William and Ben Nevis. Sadly... the weather didn't hold. By the time we had made it around Loch Linnhe, the clouds had come down and Ben Nevis was no where to be seen. So I've been near this country's tallest mountain but still failed to see it. Damn it.

After a quick trip to Morrison's it was back to Lochgoilhead, dinner in the Green Room and a night in watching DVDs.

And then it was Monday... breakfast, Glasgow airport and home again (50 minutes from Luton to the Sun in the Sands roundabout [i.e. about a mile and a half from home] and 1 hour from there to the house thanks to a Blackwall Tunnel disaster of some description. Grr.)

Shout out to Luton Airport Car Parkz who made the start and end of the trip so bloody relaxing and trouble free. Excellent service at a good rate.

This blogger works for nothing but the joy of writing but always appreciates things bought from his wishlist

Wo ist mein Werwolf? Part Three

Our last full day in Berlin was Sunday. I hate last days. Anyway, we started the day as we meant to go on.. with a currywurst from Curry 36!! Despite the rain, today was the day to be a proper tourist, so we made our way to the Brandenburg Gate.

As soon as we got out of the U-Bahn station we found ourselves in the middle of a tourist bedlam (and weirdly a group session of people meditating for peace). The tacky side of the tourist industry was very much on display here with Turkish men dressed as Commissars and Red Army troops, ready to have their picture taken or stamp your passport with a DDR stamp (for a price of course). It was extremely depressing, given that this place was the setting for a great deal of deeply moving history, to see the area abused in this way.

After this underwealming experience we went to the Reichstag, which several people had recommended to me. Don't get me wrong, the architecture of the new dome is astounding and the history of the building is fascinating. But was it worth an hour and half long queue? No. It wasn't. I learnt more reading the free pamphlet they give it in the queue about the current workings of the Bundestag, than I learnt in the brief time I was on the roof. Next time I would love to book to see inner workings of the Bundestag, but if you've got a limited time in Berlin I suggest you enjoy this building from outside. It'll be far more satisfying.

After finally getting away from the Reichstag, we headed to Potsdamer Platz. Very modern and nice, but our meal at Corroboree (an Australian restaurant) of crocodile, kangaroo and blackened chicken was a major disappointment.

After what felt like a rather deflating morning we headed back to the apartment for a brief rest before we headed back out again with one mission in mind... go to Prenzlauer Berg and get drunk. We headed to our newest favourite watering hole, Thüringer Stuben, and settled in for a meal. The English language menu was... amusing. But despite the unintentionally hilarious English, the real shock was the food. It looked like hearty Thuringian fare and I didn't know whether to be excited or worried.

I ordered home made tomato soup, with home made bread, a venison gulash and for dessert apfel krapfen. For an out of the way pub what followed was truly amazing. The food was absolutely divine. Helped down with ever more Thuringian beer, and eaten in the pleasant company of a rather cute barman, it was a really lovely evening and even when Jim didn't have money to pay the bill (they don't accept cards, meaning I love them even more being an old fashioned cold hard cash sort of a man myself) it was all good.

Back to Mehringdamm and another drink in the Vogt's Bier Express and yet another currywurst at Curry 36.

And then it was Monday and once more the dream of a different life in another country was brutally extinguished by something called reality. Berlin. I loved you!

This blogger works for nothing but the joy of writing but always appreciates things bought from his wishlist

Wo ist mein Werwolf? Part Two

Saturday morning was grey and dreary but that hardly matters when you're on holiday! Jim and I woke up studiously early and headed across the road from our apartment to "Curry 36", a veritible palace of dreams. We had zwei Curry-wurst mit brotchen which was absolutely the most delicious currywurst I've ever had in my life. Gorgeous.

After this we caught the U-Bahn to Zoo Berlin, which is in keeping with what is rapidly becoming a holiday tradition of visiting zoos and aquariums, and I was absolutely astounded at the quality of the exhibits there. There is no doubt it is the best zoo I've had been to. The ape house might not have been quite as good as the gorilla house at Port Lympne but it had gorillas, orangutans, chimps and bonobos. Most exhibits were open and the barriers very unobtrusive which gave the impression you were walking among the animals rather than just viewing them through cage bars. Particularly effective was the heron and pelican pond where dozens of herons flew through the sky above you and covered every tree nearby. Amazing. And of course there were the polar bears! Totally awesome.

We then headed into the Aquarium was was sadly less exciting than most aquariums I've been to. The aquatic exhibits were dull, the reptiles exhibits were far too small (for the reptiles that is) and I was astounded at the awful state of their bearded dragons.

The Amphibian exhibits were, characteristically, rubbish (mainly as amphibians are marvellous at hiding) and the insect house had displays of ants from which ants were actually escaping! It was a big let down after the zoo, but thankfully we'd got a combi ticket at a discount so only paid about 2 euros for the experience. Phew!

We took a stroll around the nearby area, seeing the  Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche which was destroyed during the Second World War and left as a memorial (there's a similar if much smaller clock tower memorial in my own home town).

We returned to Alexanderplatz so Jim could buy a belt as thanks to his weight loss he was having a hellish time with his trousers. We headed up to Eberswalder Straße, and had our second currywurst of the day (for scientific reasons of course!) at Konnopke Imbiss. Jim had been telling me this was the best currywurst in town, and the queue certainly was long. It was lovely, but I think Curry 36 just pips them at the post on quality. We headed down towards the cafes off Danziger Straße, getting a "Thai burger" on the way. Definition: heaven in a bun. We then settled in at a cafe we'd like the look of the day before; the Cafe Anna Blume for some hot chocolate and some cake (in my case carrot cake!). Very nice, and the atmosphere in there was brilliant. A great place to go for an intimate chat (in busy surroundings).

A quick beer in Thüringer Stuben, and then we were headed down to Alexanderplatz again to try to catch the 350 protest but we seem to have missed it. So instead we bought some Stollen and then went to the DDR Museum. Despite my fascination with Communist history, this was a bit of a let down focussing mainly on the social and cultural aspects of the DDR. The set up of a "typical" East German house seemed a lot like the houses I lived in in the 80s. If anything this exhibits just made the DDR seem like a normal place to live. I don't think that was the intention.

I found an Ampelmannchen shop and bought myself a wonderfully kitsch mug before we moved on (yet again, this was a busy day!) to our next destination: north, via S-Bahn, to AugustStraße. Here, Jim assured me, we were to find a restaurant he had booked for us, called Rodeo Berlin. It was at number 5, number 4 was there and so was number 6. All that seemed to be between them, where number 5 should be, was a graffiti and poster covered industrial fence with a small gate in it. On the other side was a just a dark courtyard surrounded by old warehouses. Jim suspected this was the place, so we bravely entered the large courtyard and walked across to the light from a door. Through the door was a stairwell, again graffiti covered as is everything in Berlin, which looked a lot like the sort of stairwell you get in run down student halls. We decided this was obviously the wrong place, and turned around to go when we encountered a middle age couple making there way over to us "Wo ist Rodeo Berlin?" they asked. We made it plain we were wondering the same thing and we continued off back towards the gate but stood and watched where they went in case they could enlighten us further.


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They disappeared up the stairwell and didn't come back... which got us wondering so we returned and headed upwards. There was a large locked door with some credit card stickers on the glass, and a doorbell next to it on the second floor. Jim bravely pressed the buzzer and after some interrogation from the cute guy who opened it (what is your name? Do you have a reservation??) he revealed this was indeed Rodeo Berlin but they weren't open yet (we were booked for the first sitting and were there half an hour before that)

To ponder our next step we withdrew to a nearby bar Keyser Soze, where Jim discovered his love of Berliner Pilsner. After a brief discussion we decided that despite Rodeo's very weird set up we would be adventurous and give it a go. Nothing ventured nothing gained. Well weren't we glad we went through with it? Despite it's location, the inside is more than just sumptuous. It was pushing towards worrying levels of luxury. The large dome of the dining hall almost made it impossible to drag your gaze down to room level. But I was glad I did as the eye candy among the waiter's was high. And finally, the food. It was expensive but not horrendously so, and it was one of the nicest meals I've ever had. I know, I say this after my previous day's decision that I'd already had the nicest meal ever but the fact it was surpassed so soon just show's how good Berlin's restaurants are. I had:

Starter: Feines von Étoufée – Täubchen: Praline, Terrine, Räucherbrust

Main: Wirsingcrépinette vom Frischlingsrücken, Ragout von Wildschweinbacken mit Backpflaumen an Pastinakenpürree und Rosenkohlblättern

Dessert: Orientalischer Quittenstrudel an Kaffeeparfait

Afterwards we headed back to Mehringdamm and had a late night session in Vogt's Bier-Express and an early morning currywurst before we fell back into the apartment absolutely exhausted.

This blogger works for nothing but the joy of writing but always appreciates things bought from his wishlist

Wo ist mein Werwolf? Part One

Or, more appropriately, Berlin: The City Of Graffiti. So we are back from our Berlin trip, and I personally am totally depressed by this return to reality. It's a shame fantasies can't go on forever.

Setting out on Friday we arrived at Heathrow Terminal 5 terrifyingly late (i.e. on time in normal persons "speak") and after checking in had a rushed breakfast at Gordon Ramsay's Plane Food. It was lovely, but not exactly stunning.

The plane journey was as pleasant as can be expected given my love/hate relationship with flying. Thankfully the journey to Berlin is only an hour and a half, so my nails were not bitten into nothingness.

We landed at Berlin Tegel Airport at about 11.30, and I was immediately struck by two things: 1) Berlin appeared to be stuck in the 1980s (not a bad thing) and 2) the German efficiency was in full swing here with passport control, customs and baggage collection all being down within 10 metres of the gate. We were out of the airport in mere minutes.

We got ourselves a 72 hour Berlin Welcome card which gives discounts on places to visit whilst doubling as a travelcard for the local transport. The place we were staying at was down in West Kreuzberg so we took the X9 bus and U-7 straight there. Berlin underground trains are so bloody fast! Gotta love it, none of that slowing down when coming to a stop either which makes for an exciting journey.

We arrived at Mehringdamm station, and it was just a short hop, skip and a jump to our place of slumber for the weekend. Which turned out to be an apartment belonging to two cats and their two gay pets. Andreas and Gall, Andreas being taller than me and Gall being a stereotypical bitchy queen. Our room, Hong Kong was nice but sadly was not en-suite. Good point in it's favour was that it was next door to a comic shop. We headed out after dropping our bags off and took a walk around the block before catching the U-6 and U-2 to Alexanderplatz. On the way there was a couple of goths on the train (I haven't seen a goth for years!), Jim tells me the guy had a collar and lead on and was lead off the train by his girlfriend. Berlin = mega cool.

After walking around Alexanderplatz, staring boggle-eyed at the ginormous TV Tower and searching for a donkey postcard (don't ask, don't tell) we decided to take a walk to Prenzlauer Berg, which was where Jim hung out on his previous trip to Berlin. It was also where Nettie, Greenwich's resident German, had given us some tips on some lovely little cafes to hang out in.

On the way I spotted my first Ampelmännchen, and got very excited. Following Nettie's marks on our map, we headed down Kollwitzstraße, where we discovered a Philately shop (that was two comic book shops and a Philately shop in one day, Berlin is like the land of Jae's dreams!) and several cafes. After criss-crossing the intersection at Sredzkistraße several times we decided to have a look in Zum dritten Mann, which turned out to be an Austrian restaurant.

It was, and I kid you not here, one of the best meals I've ever had in my life. My main was Wiener Schnitzel (absolutely divine with a gorgeous potato salad side) and dessert was Kaiserschmarrn, washed down with Radeberger, Absolutely amazing.

From there we headed even further east in search of a bar Jim had been to. We found it had been closed and replaced so went exploring. At the intersection of Dunckerstraße and Stargarder Straße, we found a little pub and decided to go in for a quick beer. As we entered I spotted the rainbow flag on the door and knew we'd made the right choice.

Thüringer Stuben is a very surreal place. A large cactus in one corner, a long line of bunny rabbits on one windowsill, toy vans on one wall, maps and pictures of the Free State of Thuringia on another. In the back there are animal skins and a large stags head hanging on the wall. In other places wooden flowers, mushroom ornaments and strange baby statues with apples for hats adorn the surfaces. All in all, it's an absolute delight place.

After a quick drink (a Thuringian lager "Wernesgruner") we returned to the apartment, pretty tired given that we'd been down our local until the early hours of the morning before heading for our flight, and a quick snooze quickly turned into an early night.

This blogger works for nothing but the joy of writing but always appreciates things bought from his wishlist

Jae Kay Is Away

I haven't done one of these posts in far too long! I'll be back from Berlin on Monday... until then I leave you in the obviously capable hands of Fabian Elsner, a rather attractive German. Play nice!

This blogger works for nothing but the joy of writing but always appreciates things bought from his wishlist

Where Next?

Jim and I have been wondering where to take our holiday this year and I was wondering if you, Dear Constant Reader, had any ideas?

We don't want to go too far afield and our current ideas include Iceland, Germany and Greece... anyone got any input on those destinations?

And on a related matter I've created a map of everywhere I can remember having been! Wooooo...

• View my profile


• Visit TripAdvisor.com

One More Sleep

I know that in my head my holiday doesn't begin to my normal work starting time on Monday (that's when I realise I'm on holiday anyway!) but today wasn't as bad as I thought.

I headed into town this morning and bought some clothes at High and Mighty (Edgware Road) and got myself some Euros. Sadly the trips to and from were on bloody packed DLR and tube trains. :(

Got home, got some personal insurance before Jim and I headed out to the Local. Mum, Debbie Debs and Leigh soon turned up to join us. They were leaving their car with us while they went off to see Scissor Sisters at the Dome.

Had a lovely day in the beer garden there drinking and chatting and telling silly stories. Saw them off on the DLR and after finishing our wine at the local settled down with Jim at home (via a crazy destructive dash round the bedroom trying to find my passport... )

Holiday has now been brought forward to tomorrow so that's one extra day with out me I'm afraid!

France In Less Than A Week!

Today was not at all pleasant at work and I'm glad to be home. I have such a massive headache, and am feeling very sorry for myself...

But... Jim, Ian and I are heading off to Brittany on Monday for a well deserved holiday! We are catching the ferry from Dover and driving down. Honestly, I feel happier with each passing second counting down to that blessed day. And we aren't flying so my normal pre flight worries are not annoying me. :)

I love the French...



I am only going for a week but I've got two weeks off work. Mmm... the very thought... So relax Dear Constant Reader, you'll only be sans Jae for 1 weeks.

1 week of pain au chocolat eating, 1 week of attempting bad French and 1 week of hearing hilarious "Ros Bof!" jokes. Oh the French do make me laugh...