WTAF

Every day is a learning day. Today I learned I really have no time for House of Bruar. I had long fancied a stop there, on the grounds it sells "lovely things". We had hoped to visit Winsford and T on our leisurely way back to Edinburgh, but they have other things to do. So at my instigation we stopped at House of Bruar for "coffee and a bun", and to use the facilities. Well...where do we start? Despite the fact that most of the snow has gone, they still have plenty of it in the House of Bruar car park, which mainly resembles a skating rink. It wasn't busy today, but if they get a lot of people there tomorrow, there will be multiple falls and breakages in the car park. We really struggled to find a place that was even approximately safe to get out of the car, and we only persisted because by that stage I had committed myself to the project of finding the facilities. Oh well, we thought, the coffee and a bun will revive us.... Well, maybe, but at £15.95 for two americanos, a (not very nice) muffin, and a piece of Bakewell tart, I don't really think so. Bring back Pipers, I say. Or even ANTA is nowhere near that expensive. Plus the environment was awful. We sat in "The Bakery", which is basically a covered outdoor space designed for gouging profits from tourists.

In order to use the facilities, I had to go in the food hall. Oh good, I thought, I will be impressed. Well, not exactly. Mostly overpriced and nothing particularly "artisanal" that I could see. Largely mass produced stuff made to look artisanal. I did pick up a couple of pork pies which were on their "sell by" and were going cheap, but they had nothing on the baked goods available in Leith Market (one good reason for coming back to Edinburgh). 

But here is the coup de grâce. Selling peat to burn. From Aberdeenshire. I have nothing against cutting and burning peats when it is part of a traditional cultural or heritage practice, or as part of a financial model necessary to ensure sufficient heat for remote areas. But there is absolutely no excuse for selling bags of peat, intended, I assume for people stopping off here who are looking for stuff to use in their holiday cottages with open fires or burners. The sale of peat has been banned in Ireland. Peat is more polluting than coal, and it provides an irreplaceable carbon sink. I found an article in the Courier where a local environmental campaigner was condemning House of Bruar for this, but it is a premium article behind a paywall. So you will have to take my word. But I echo the sentiment. Absolutely shocking.

So: my conclusions on House of Bruar? Price gouging, environmental disregarding, mediocre stuff for sale.

Oh, and the journey was just fine after I'd got a bit anxious about it. We were back in Edinburgh by lunch time, in time to heat up said pies, and we've spent the afternoon pretty quietly sorting out our various bits and pieces and resettling in this home space.

Update: I learned via Facebook they are also supporters of Brexit. I cannot be bothered to verify this comment, but as far as I am concerned this is th final nail in the coffin.