On Saturday morning we went to the St Andrews Farmers' Market. There is a local Farmers' Market on every Saturday, but the first Saturday in the month is the turn of St Andrews. We walked down to it and immediately became aware of the presence of one of the delicacies Judi intended to sample - Arbroath Smokies. We had been made aware of this dish from a couple of television programs we had watched back in Melbourne. Arbroath smokies are a type of smoked haddock – a speciality of the town of Arbroath which is just beyond Dundee (about 45 minutes away).
The fish are gutted and salted before a smokie pit is prepared. A hole is dug in the ground, and a half whisky barrel is set into it. The base of the barrel is lined with slates to protect it, and a hardwood fire of beech and oak is lit inside. The sticks of fish are then placed over the pit and the hessian cover allows the fire to breathe and maintain the required heat. The number of layers and dampening of the ‘cloots’ depends on the weather, and may be adjusted throughout the smoking to prevent the fish either smoking too quickly and burning, or smoking too slowly and drying out. More details and some pictures can be found at: http://www.arbroathsmokies.net/
Judi bought one of the Arbroath Smokies and some home-baked bread to enjoy for lunch a little later. It was truly delicious and lived up to all expectations.
On Sunday Judi decided to see if she could locate the place that St Andrews Baptist Church meets for their Sunday morning services. The church itself is in South Street, but there is a notice outside to say that the 10.30am Sunday service meets at Madras College. There is a rather complicated map that had deterred Judi in the past, but this week, she decided to investigate. Google maps were particularly helpful, and showed a walking route that took about 15 minutes to complete.
Judi left the house at 10.00am, map in hand, and successfully negotiated the route to the meeting place. It turns out that the church needs to meet at this hall because the congregation no longer fits into the church building in south street. It is rather gratifying in this day and age that there are still churches as active as this one, especially as the Church of England congregations are aging and shrinking.
The service was somewhere between St Jude's and Syndal in style. For example, there were hymns and songs like both St Jude's and Syndal, but we also joined together in the Confession of Sins, the Lord's Prayer and the Grace at the conclusion of the service. None of these more formal parts of Sunday services are included at Syndal, although I am aware that they form part of morning worship at St Jude's.
Judi very much enjoyed the service, which included familiar hymns and songs. There was a pianist, saxophonist and singer providing the music, and there was an advert in the newsletter for people to join the music team. If Judi had been staying longer, she would have offered her services. Also like St Jude's and Syndal, Judi was made very welcome and several people approached her - one even suggesting a coffee catch-up in the week. This was in stark contrast to Judi's experience of the local Episcopalian church on Palm Sunday. She will definitely making the journey to return for next week's service.
In the afternoon, we both went walking to the Botanical Gardens. These are quite extensive and very beautiful. Lloyd had visited them while Judi was back in Melbourne, but the weather had been cold and rather unpleasant. Today in contrast it was bright and sunny.
One interesting aspect of St Andrews Botanical Gardens is that there are a number of greenhouses, each of which has a different climate and vegetation. It is possible to walk between them without going outside at all. The Alpine one for example was cool and arid, but the tropical ones were exceptionally hot and humid. One of the hothouses caused Lloyd's glasses to completely mist over, and he could not see anything!
On the way to the gardens, we passed a street party for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee which is being celebrated this weekend. Unlike London where it poured with rain for the celebrations, St Andrews had lovely weather for their festivities.
The fish are gutted and salted before a smokie pit is prepared. A hole is dug in the ground, and a half whisky barrel is set into it. The base of the barrel is lined with slates to protect it, and a hardwood fire of beech and oak is lit inside. The sticks of fish are then placed over the pit and the hessian cover allows the fire to breathe and maintain the required heat. The number of layers and dampening of the ‘cloots’ depends on the weather, and may be adjusted throughout the smoking to prevent the fish either smoking too quickly and burning, or smoking too slowly and drying out. More details and some pictures can be found at: http://www.arbroathsmokies.net/
Judi bought one of the Arbroath Smokies and some home-baked bread to enjoy for lunch a little later. It was truly delicious and lived up to all expectations.
On Sunday Judi decided to see if she could locate the place that St Andrews Baptist Church meets for their Sunday morning services. The church itself is in South Street, but there is a notice outside to say that the 10.30am Sunday service meets at Madras College. There is a rather complicated map that had deterred Judi in the past, but this week, she decided to investigate. Google maps were particularly helpful, and showed a walking route that took about 15 minutes to complete.
Judi left the house at 10.00am, map in hand, and successfully negotiated the route to the meeting place. It turns out that the church needs to meet at this hall because the congregation no longer fits into the church building in south street. It is rather gratifying in this day and age that there are still churches as active as this one, especially as the Church of England congregations are aging and shrinking.
The service was somewhere between St Jude's and Syndal in style. For example, there were hymns and songs like both St Jude's and Syndal, but we also joined together in the Confession of Sins, the Lord's Prayer and the Grace at the conclusion of the service. None of these more formal parts of Sunday services are included at Syndal, although I am aware that they form part of morning worship at St Jude's.
Judi very much enjoyed the service, which included familiar hymns and songs. There was a pianist, saxophonist and singer providing the music, and there was an advert in the newsletter for people to join the music team. If Judi had been staying longer, she would have offered her services. Also like St Jude's and Syndal, Judi was made very welcome and several people approached her - one even suggesting a coffee catch-up in the week. This was in stark contrast to Judi's experience of the local Episcopalian church on Palm Sunday. She will definitely making the journey to return for next week's service.
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| Botanical Gardens |
In the afternoon, we both went walking to the Botanical Gardens. These are quite extensive and very beautiful. Lloyd had visited them while Judi was back in Melbourne, but the weather had been cold and rather unpleasant. Today in contrast it was bright and sunny.
 |
| Botanical Gardens |
On the way to the gardens, we passed a street party for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee which is being celebrated this weekend. Unlike London where it poured with rain for the celebrations, St Andrews had lovely weather for their festivities.
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