It's Farmhouse Breakfast Week!

Join us by celebrating Farmhouse Breakfast Week until the 26th January

Farmhouse Breakfast Week is an annual celebration championing the importance of breakfast aiming to get the nation to Shake Up Their Wake Up! Instead of skipping breakfast the campaign aims to get the 47% who go without to enjoy a heathy breakfast more regularly.

Running a B&B we know how our guests really do relish a good farmhouse breakfast...
 and taking time out to enjoy it.

Eggs from the small Millbrae flock

The purpose of the week is to raise awareness of the benefits of eating a healthy breakfast and show-case the wonderful ingredients produced in the UK, encouraging us to eat local and shop local.

A good start to your day - our breakfast buffet

Our Scottish farmhouse breakfasts include our own eggs, Ayrshire bacon, award winning Haggis and sausages from our local butcher and locally produced preserves and yogurts... to name just a few key ingredients.

We are lucky that here in Dumfries and Galloway we have a great local larder and many artisan producers such as:
 The Earths Crust Bakery www.earthscrustbakery.co.uk

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(a family run artisan bakery based in Laurieston near Castle Douglas producing a range of hand crafted slowly fermented traditional, sourdough and speciality breads)

Barlochan Highland Beef www.bhbeef.com (whose Highland cattle graze the fields around Rockcliffe)

Loch Arthur Creamery and Farmshop www.locharthur.org.uk/creamery-and-farmshop/ (for Organic cheese, butter and vegetables).

Galloway Lodge Preserves
www.gallowaylodge.co.uk

Castle Douglas Food Town is a good starting point for sampling and buying the regions products. You can find more details at www.savourtheflavours.co.uk

You can more details on Farmhouse Breakfast Week and lots of recipes for tasty breakfasts at http://www.shakeupyourwakeup.com

Our recommendation to warm you up on a chilly Winter morning is - Cranberry Spiced Porridge

You will need;

100g  Scottish Jumbo rolled oats
50g dried cranberries
qtr tsp mixed spice
2 tbsp cranberry sauce
700ml semi skimmed milk

Putting it all together

Place all the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to the boil
Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until thickened
Serve with a tsp of cranberry sauce and a sprinkling of mixed spice

Tips

Use frozen whole cranberries with 2 tbsp sugar or Galloway honey instead of the dried cranberries and cranberry sauce

One of our guests recommends cardamon on your porridge in a morning.

Recipe from

 http://www.shakeupyourwakeup.com/breakfastrecipes

Help us support D&G canine Rescue

Dumfries and Galloway Canine Rescue do a fantastic job - please support them!

On 29th December, Centre assistants Sarah and Zoe bravely spent a chilly night in one of the kennels at the rescue centre in order to raise money to buy new toys and equipment for the dogs in their care. 

I think they deserve a huge thank you and so have just sponsored Sarah and Zoe at Virgin Money Giving, on behalf of our rescue collie.  I would like to help them reach their target of £500, so if you cold please spare a donation, however large or small, please  click here Make a donation here

This link takes you to Virgin Money Giving, where you can sponsor the girls and donations will be quickly processed and passed to Dumfries and Galloway Canine Rescue Centre.

The girls said "By sponsoring us you will be helping to provide our dogs with toys and activities which will provide mental stimulation thats helps to reduce frustration and boredom.

MANY THANKS FROM YOUR FOUR LEGGED FRIENDS!"

This is our rescued collie at his favourite place, the beach at Sandyhills. He loves living along the Colvend Coast as there are so many fabulous beach, coastal and forest walks.
A big thank you to D&G canine Rescue for helping him.
Photo: subject to creative copyright  - not to be used without permission.

The centre do an amazing job giving love, veterinary attention and a home to many dogs who really need it. You can visit their website here: www.caninerescue.co.uk

We really appreciate all your support and thank you for any donations.

Note: Virgin Money Giving is a not for profit organisation and will claim gift aid on a charity's behalf where the donor is eligible for this. 

CNN names Scotland as top travel destination for 2013.

The US broadcasting network CNN has named Scotland as its top travel destination for 2013.

Scotland came ahead of Morocco and Amsterdam, with scenes from the latest Bond film cited as evidence of the country's appeal for tourists.

CNN highlighted the myriad of outdoor events taking place in Scotland in 2013, including the Open Championship golf tournament in July, the Scottish Food and Drink Fortnight in September and the Dumfries and Galloway Wildlife Festival, 29 march - 14 April 2013.

At last year's festival there were more than 80 events over two weeks with some new exciting additions including an exhibition about ferns at Logan Botanic Gardens, "Pteridomania", the Wild Food Forage in Langholm, Tattie bogle making at Cairnsmore of Fleet NNR. This year there will once again be exciting events across the whole of Dumfries and Galloway with something for all ages to enjoy!

CNN also noted Scotland's Great Trails, a network of long distance routes for walkers.

A feature published on the broadcaster's website said: "Scotland has seen fit to dub 2013 the "Year of Natural Scotland," and what better time to do it?

For the full article on the BBC website click here: BBC website

Note:  for information for the Wildlife Festival, contact Peter Norman Biodiversity Officer on: 01387260172 

peter.norman@dumgal.gov.uk
(Please note Peter is not the contact for individual events on the programme.)

Celebrate the New Year with a tribute to Robert Burns

Wishing all our readers and guests a very HAPPY NEW YEAR for 2013.

The time has come again to celebrate our favourite national bard, Robert Burns so we are all looking forward to the BIG BURNS SUPPER held this year in Dumfries 25 - 27th January. Dumfries is only a 20 minuite drive making Rockcliffe and Kippford an ideal base.

 Big Burns Supper 2013 is jam packed full of events for everyone - from the young, to the 
old, and the in between - we guarantee there is something you’ll enjoy.

Image from http://www.bigburnssupper.com/

Fresh for 2013 is the brand new Festival Village down at the old market on the Whitesands, including an original 1920’s style Spiegeltent which will seduce you from morning until night, with shows suitable for all the family, and a children’s tent which has non-stop free stuff to keep the little ones happy, as well as two fully licensed outdoor bars supplied by The Globe.

Music fans will love the free music stage at The Midsteeple which has been curated by 
Tenement TV - and the whole festival kicks off with the opening show - featuring a community cast of over 700 - which will bedazzle your senses in one of the biggest outdoor 
productions ever staged in Scotland.

It’s not for the faint hearted -  embrace the spirit of the festival by making sure you last the pace by dipping in and out of shows and events throughout the whole weekend. Whichever shows or events you take part in - rest assured - you will be taking part in the World’s Biggest Burns Night Celebration right here in Dumfries and Galloway!


You can download the brochure here: Big Burns Supper brochure pdf

Image from http://www.bigburnssupper.com/

This year's headline band is Deacon Blue but we will be heading for Zoe's Ukelele Celidh an informal gathering of players old and young, experienced and beginners, all playing and jamming together hosted by Dumfries and Galloways own Ukelele songstress Zoë Bestel. 

A Recipe for Christmas ....

Galloway Louche Cake - its so easy.

Following on from the success of this fridge cake at our recent Macmillan coffee morning I thought it would be nice to share it with you. Not the cheapest cake to make but a small piece with a coffee makes for special me time and don't even think about the calories! Keeps in the fridge for about five days but I guarantee it won't be around that long.

I have renamed this recipe to give it a local twist and tried to make it using mainly local ingredients as Dumfries and Galloway has such a rich larder. You can pick up all the ingredients in Castle Douglas which has been awarded status of a Food Town. Here you will find many individual retailers selling and producing quality local products.




Galloway Louche Cake

180 grams of raisins

180 grams of undead glacé cherries halved

225 grams of Irvings Shortbread or digestives in 1cm nibs

300 grams dark 70 percent chocolate from In House Chocolates in pieces

120 ml of fresh squeezed orange juice

180 grams diced Loch Arthur I salted butter

1 1/2 tablespoons golden syrup

Icing sugar to dust

23cm square tin lined with baking paper.

1. Simmer orange juice and raisins in a small pan until juice absorbed. Leave to cool.

2. Slowly melt butter, chocolate and syrup in a bowl over a saucepan with simmering water. Stir.

Add raisins biscuits and cherries and coat in the mixture.

3. Spoon the mixture over the base of the lined tin and smooth down/ flatten. Cover with cling film and pop in fridge for a few hours until hard.

4. Remove from tin and dust with icing sugar when serving.Use a sharp knife to cut in to squares or fingers.

Enjoy!

Our local suppliers.

Chocolate from In House Chocolates 128 King Street, Castle Douglas, Manufacturers of handmade chocolates. All truly made by hand in their workshop. A wide range of chocolates, truffles , bars and lot lots more.

Biscuits from Irvings producers of traditional homestyle baking based in Castle Douglas. Making a range of biscuits, tray bakes, loaves and sponges.

Butter from Loch Arthur Creamery in Beeswing a working Community which includes men and women with learning disabilities.

Credit: Original recipe from Country Living magazine some years ago.

Scoffing yummy cakes for charity - how brilliant is that?

The blog thanks two local ladies (girls?) for their enterprise and initiative in organising a Macmillan Coffee Morning last week.

Linda of Millbrae House, Rockcliffe and Lynn of Birchlea Lodge in Kippford got together and held a Macmillan "Worlds Biggest Coffee Morning" event last Thursday in Rockcliffe.

The cakes, scones, cup cakes, tray bakes and cookies all laid out... where do I start?

The Macmillan cancer charity is one close to all our hearts as there can not be many who are untouched by the distress of this indiscriminate disease. As it says on the Macmillan website 

"Cancer is the toughest fight most of us will ever face. Macmillan is here to make sure no one has to go through it alone. Whatever you raise, you will be helping to improve the lives of people affected by cancer across the UK."

A huge thank you also goes to the friends, neighbours and family who came along and donated, the people who donated items for the fabbie Raffle Prize and especially the two spouses in the kitchen who washed and dried with gusto! Well done chaps, nice one!

The cakes were made by Linda, Lynn and their Mums (aren't Mums brilliant!) and were absolutely delicious.

Around 23 people came despite the rain and enjoyed the scrummy home baking and fairtrade coffee. Our local ukulele group DUKES also supported the event by purchasing raffle tickets and Colvend Shop sold some of the cakes too. These, including the very generous donations and raffle ticket sales at the coffee morning, raised an amazing total of £300.49  for Macmillan. 

My favourite was the chocolate Louche (forground)
but I managed a slice the carrot cake on the stand too. Top marks!

The raffle, a beautifully arranged and decorated box stuffed full of locally made items and produce was drawn on Monday evening and won by Mrs. H. Congratulations!

Locally made and produced items for the Raffle were donated by friends and family. 

Lynn and Linda were like whirling dervishes, the perfect hostesses, greeting everyone personally and making sure everyone was topped up with coffee, cake and lots of chat. It was a lovely morning and all the better for being in aid of a good cause. 

If you would like to donate to Macmillan please click here www.macmillan.org.uk/. Thank you.

Spring Fling Round Up along the Colvend Coast

Memories of Spring Fling 2012

Part 1.

For those of you who were unable to do the rounds at this years Spring Fling we sent out our team of trusty local correspondents who shared their opinions with us. Here is just a taste of the 57 Spring Fling artists who opened their studios.  With the blog having a Rockcliffe and Kippford focus, these are the artists and studios easiest to access from our villages, we would love to have travelled further afield across the region but there's always next year! 


Phillipa Sinclair: Colvend Village Hall
My first visit of this years Spring Fling was to our very own Philipa Sinclair who lives in Rockcliffe. Philipa's signature colour palette was much in evidence as was the European influences on her work. Philipa's paintings, which also include many local scenes and motifs are bold and vibrant and I noticed that she had done some exciting designs on fabrics and cushions which I had not seen before. 

Philippa Sinclair's work displayed at Colvend Village Hall

Philippa, never afraid to experiment, had also achieved some wonderful effects with subtle metallic highlights in some of her work. However, the paintings which really caught my eye, and that of several other visitors, were several exquisitely simple flower studies. Confident and graphic yet conversely subtle and delicate they reminded me of Japanese flower studies and I so wished I could have taken them home with me.
Philippa's website
Philippa is currently exhibiting at Castle Douglas Library Hall until the end of the month.

Phil Mcmenemy: The Gallery, Lauriston
I was introduced to the work of, Twitter addict, Phil at the CatStrand earlier in the year and fell in love with his almost abstract botanic studies so I was keen to see a larger body of his work and hot footed it over to his delightful gallery. The gallery is a converted Galloway barn and with it's simple white walls, slate floor and exposed beams is an ideal gallery space in which to showcase Phil's stunning prints. I was like a kid in a sweet shop, there are so many evocative views and landscapes. Being reared on the Narnia Chronicles, The Little White Horse and Tolkien, Phil's woodland scenes take me straight back to the lands of myth and legend to a time when they were populated by faerie folk. I fell in love with a large black and white print of a close up of the muzzle of gorgeous Galloway cow but it was a bit large to smuggle out under my coat (and I am sure Phil can run faster than me!)

Phil Mcmenemy teamed up with local songwriter and musician Zoe Bestel for Spring Fling on Friday afternoon

The afternoon turned out to be a rare treat as my visit coincided with an unplugged set by local musical phenomenon 14 year old singer/songwriter Zoe Bestel. Zoe, who accompanies her haunting lyrics with a ukulele, sat surrounded by an entranced and very appreciative audience in the corner of Phil's studio and played a selection of her own work and a couple of inspirational cover versions. As I joined the queue to buy her latest single I was touched by her natural confidence and easy way with people. I am sure we will all be seeing and hearing a lot more from her. We are delighted to be told that Zoe's "Just Another Girl" has been short listed to win a Young Song Writers’ Competition. The competition is held annually and is run by an Anti-violence Against Women team here in our local region of Dumfries & Galloway, Scotland You can hear her song and vote here  Just Another Girl

As if the afternoon hadn't been memorable enough I can't fail to mention the awesome afternoon tea and cakes in the Lauriston Village Hall. A choice of three cakes selected from a whole A4 sheet list and either coffee or tea. This must surely be heaven! Thank you ladies.


Phil's website

John Threlfall: Rockcliffe Gallery
No Spring Fling is complete for us without a visit to see John's work. John, deservedly voted Bird Artist of the Year 2007, also lives in Rockcliffe so can often be seen out and about, particularly at the RSPB Mersehead Reserve where he gets lots of inspiration. 

John Threlfall at work at the Rockcliffe Gallery on Sunday morning

Two things struck me at John's show this year: first there was an interesting mix of media with some exiting new work using both oil pastels and acrylic paints. Two paintings in particular used this to great effect, Puffins and Eider Ducks, both of which John has had made into very accessible giclee prints. The second was the stronger use of colour. Influenced by the local landscape John's earlier work adopted a more muted palette but since his visit to a Tiger Sanctuary in India where he painted the local wildlife, his palette includes stronger bolder colours giving his work a new edge. His signature bird studies were much in evidence and sadly for me (but fantastic for John) my favourite painting of two Lapwings sold to his first visitor on the first day of Spring Fling. I did not go away empty handed though. Being unable to chose between the strong graphic image of a Tern in water colour or the detailed subtlety of two Rooks executed in pastel I solved the conundrum by buying them both!


John's website

Christine Smith: Barnbarroch Pottery, Barnbarroch
The creative talents of Christine Smith are showcased at this working pottery which once housed the local school. Christine's unique style and quirky humour produce some fascinating and distinctive pieces which seem to draw on local influences and medieval bestiaries in equal measure. The shop glows as the lights reflect the subtle pigments and glossy glazes of the pieces ranging from simple domestic ware to complex and monumental flights of fancy. On Monday afternoon the pottery car park was jam packed, a tribute to the wide appeal and enduring popularity of Christines work. The pottery is open all year round and has a shop where Christines work can be viewed and purchased.


The Barnbarroch Pottery website

Spring Fling is planned from the 25th to 27th May. Part two of Memories of Spring Fling will be posted soon.