Black, White, and Pearls Gala / Fundraiser

Our friend Regine has talked us into doing a lot of things a wee bit outside of our comfort zone. And for that, we thank her as we've had a ton of fun. One of the more recent things we attended was a black-tie gala / fundraiser for brain cancer research. 

Party time, excellent! 

It was a "Black, White, and Pearls" gala, so I got some pearls for my birthday so I would be sufficiently adorned for the party. I re-used my Royal Ascot dress, and we were good to go! 

Brook and Cindy

The festivities took place at the Royal Hall, a Victorian-era theatre venue that was simply beautiful inside. The three course meal and wine were also top notch. After a few glasses of wine, some of our party got a little silly...

Brian and Regine

There was even a dry ice dessert! We bought all sorts of "chances to win" tickets and won a voucher for a free sunday meal and a gift certificate to a local green grocers. Sadly, no one at our table won one of the high-end pearl prizes. 

Dry ice dessert 

It was a hoot, but most importantly, this one night alone raised enough money to fund one year's salary for a MD research intern studying brain cancer. We left light of pocket but full of heart. 

Fancy centerpiece and ceiling 

Remember, Remember, the 5th of November!

Guy Fawkes Day. The Gunpowder Plot. Bonfire Night. Did you learn anything about this back in school? I vaguely remembered that Guy Fawkes was a bad guy (according to the royalty) a long time ago, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out why the UK celebrates him on November 5th. Now that I know, it's still a bit wonky, in my humble opinion.  

Bonfire

Instead of Cliff's Notes, I give you Jennifer's Notes: 

Henry VIII separated from the catholic church, his daughter Mary became queen upon his death and reverted the country back to catholocism. That lasted 5 years until her death, when her sister, Elizabeth I (daughter of Henry VIII & Anne Bolyn) came to power and created the Church of England. Many years of Queen Elizabeth I, and a beheaded cousin (Mary, Queen of Scots) later, QEI's cousin's only son, James I (son of Mary, Queen of Scots) became king.

Friends with sparklers

All of the Catholics were hopeful that James I would revert the country back to Catholicism, which was his mother's religion, but he did not. Because he remained true to the Church of England, many were very upset, including a small group of men in York who decided they were going to blow up the Houses of Parliament in protest on November 5th. One of the men in this group was named Guy Fawkes. The plot was foiled and Guy Fawkes (among others) was caught. 

Sparklers sparkling 

Guy Fawkes was found guilty. He was hung, drawn, and quartered as punishment. Now we celebrate the foiled gunpowder plot by lighting a huge effigy of Guy Fawkes on fire (the bonfire), eating caramel apples, playing with sparklers, and watching fireworks. 

Fireworks

Which is exactly what we did. Weird.

Pastry Pro (Wannabe) at Betty's Cookery School

I think I'm addicted to Betty's Cookery School!! This autumn I attended two more classes, both helping the home baker learn how to make pastry. 

Happy gal at Betty's Cookery School

In the first class, we made three different types of pastry and filled them with amazing-ness. The first was a sweet crust pastry filled with cherry jam and custard, named for the basque region in France in which it was made famous. 

My cherry gateau Basque

Instructor's cherry gateau Basque

Next up was a walnut short crust pastry filled with leeks, blue cheese, and a cream / egg base. 

My leek and stilton tart

Instructor's leek and stilton tart

And last, but not least (for my first pastry class), a hot water crust with pork pie filling and an apple cider glaze. I am not a fan of pork pies, so Bill happily consumed all four that I brought home. 

My apple cider and pork pies 

Instructor's apple cider and pork pies

In the second pastry course, I learned how to make a simple puff pastry (Ha! Simple is not a word I would describe this pastry, but I digress...) for a steak and ale pie. It was delicious, but all that work for two servings - I'll have to quadruple the recipe so that my time and effort are enjoyed for a few meals! 

Instructor's steak and ale pie

Next up was a savory short crust pastry for a yummy smoked salmon and dill tart. 

My smoked salmon and dill tart

And last, but not least, another sweet short crust pastry - this one so crumbly, we all had a heck of a time with it - for a yummy cardamom chocolate tart. 

My cardamom and chocolate tarts

Instructor's cardamom and chocolate tart (smoked salmon tart in background)

With all of my new skills, I was brave enough to enter a baking completion with a modified version of the cherry gateau Basque... And I won first place!! I now have a shiny new fondue pot I have no idea what to do with. Maybe there's a fondue class at Betty's... 

What the Heck is That?!? Falkirk Wheel

On our drive home from the isle of mull, we made a quick detour to the village of Fallkirk in southern Scotland to visit their modern-art inspired, new-fangled riverboat lock, called the Fallkirk Wheel. 

Fallkirk Wheel

Until my sister made me watch Distant Shores (a boating docu-series), I had never even heard of a riverboat lock. Basically, back before there were trains and trucks, all supplies travelled by sea or river. If you have to go upriver, you use these engineered locks to help move you to higher ground. As boating became less of a method of transport for goods and more a sport / leisure activity, riverboat locks around the UK went into disrepair. 

Boat waiting to be loaded

By the 1930s, the riverboat lock in the town of Fallkirk was no longer in use. As a millennium project, Scotland wanted to re-establish a boat lock in Fallkirk, but one that was architecturally pleasing and the powers-that-be accepted designs from architecture firms from all over Scotland. The approved, winning design was built, and named the Falkirk Wheel based on the rotating wheel that simultaneously lifts one boat as it lowers another, much like a Ferris wheel.

Fallkirk wheel in action

In the picture above, you can see the wheel in action. Truth be told, it was cool, but very, very slow. A thrill ride it is not, but interesting to see, nonetheless!

Isles of Iona and Mull, Scotland

Our second full day had us venturing off on a drive around the Isle of Mull. It was a grey, misty day, but that proved to be plenty atmospheric for photography. 

Photographing the photographer

We drove around to the western edge of the island and took a 10 minute ferry over to the even tinier Isle of Iona. Iona is famous for being the centre of monastic life for about 400 years in the Middle Ages. We visited the ruins of the Iona nunnery and walked around the re-built abby. We decided not to pay the entrance fee to the abbey as we have seen a ton of abbys at this point and didn't want to spend the time seeing a recreation of what was once there.  

Iona Abbey

Iona Abbey from the other side

We did, however, spend quite a while walking in and around an 11th century chapel and graveyard. Rumor has it that the man who inspired Shakespear's MacBeth is buried in this graveyard. 

11th century chapel on Iona

We hopped back on the ferry and made our way back to Mull. We were so glad we did as we spent the better part of the next 5 hours driving around the island - a drive that should only take 2 hours but we stopped to admire and photograph the beauty so many times. It was really, really breathtaking. 

Western edge of Mull

Mull

The shot above was taken by my "real" camera. I thought the loch with the boat was so pretty, I wanted to post a photo onto Facebook. So I set my camera down, picked up my phone right as the sun peaked through the clouds and four sheep sauntered into frame and looked up at me. I truly think this shot below is one of my favorite photos I've ever taken. 

Best. Shot. Ever!

We just kept driving and stopping and photographing. There really weren't a lot of people on the roads, and no one milling about, it was like we had our own little slice of heaven every way we turned. Sigh.

Mull

Sunset on Mull

Sunset on Mull

And that night we went back to Cafe Fish and had another amazing meal. We love the Isle of Mull! 

Around Tobermory, Isle of Mull, Scotland

We remembered the drive from the ferry to the small village of Tobermory from our honeymoon as quite a harrowing one. We assumed that now that we've driven in the UK for 1-1/2 years the drive would be a cake walk. Yeah, no. Single-track, two-directional twisty road with a 40mph speed limit is and will always be scary. When you turn a corner and - bam! There's another car coming straight for you until one car backs up to the last pull-out spot. It's a white-knuckle drive, for sure! But thankfully, Mull and the wee village of Tobermory is worth the stressful drive. 

Tobermory high street

Candy colored shops

More of Tobermory's high street

The village has come into a bit of popularity in the last 10 years or so as it was the setting for a children's show called Balmoraly (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0372047/) that gets played on BBC for pre-school aged children. The candy-colored shops on high street are iconic and really pretty.

Tobermory Bay

Our bed & breakfast in Tobermory was one of the nicest, friendliest, and most beautiful places we've ever stayed. Their breakfasts were so filling I was barely hungry at all until dinner each night. The first full day we spent hanging out in Tobermory itself before touring their distillery.

Whisky! 

They distill two types of whiskey at different times of the year, one without peat, and one slightly peated. I actually liked both, which is strange as I'm not typically a fan of peated whisky. We had to add two more bottles to our growing whisky library ;-) 

Tobermory high street as seen from the distillery

That evening we had reservations as a small, unsuspecting little cafe (Cafe Fish) at the end of the pier. It was the BEST fish we have eaten since moving to the UK. We enjoyed it so much, before we left we made reservations for the very next night. That's when you know you liked a place! 

Oban, Scotland

A few weeks after Bev & Barb's visit, Bill and I took to the roads for our 9th anniversary to spend a long weekend in Scotland. We spent many hours driving northwest; once we past Glasgow the countryside was dotted with lochs (lakes) and was truly spectacular. 

Oban at night

We made our way to Oban, the port town for the Hebrides islands ferry. We only spent a few hours in Oban on our honeymoon and it seemed like a place we needed to explore further, so we built in an overnight in Oban. 

Morning in Oban

We had a tour booked at the Oban distillery for late morning, so after breakfast we hiked to the top of Oban for some spectacular views of the bay. 

View from the top

Selfie from the top

The Oban distillery produces my favorite whisky so far, so we made sure to build in some tasting time after our tour and well before we had to catch our ferry. Yum! We also left the distillery with the beginnings of a nice little whisky library. 

Interesting fact: they don't call it scotch in Scotland, it's simply whisky done right :-) 

Whisky!

After our tour and a spot of lunch we made our way to the Ferry for our two-day adventure on the Isle of Mull...

Leaving Oban by ferry for the Isle of Mull