Happy Days in the East Neuk and St Andrews

Here's some news about an artist that I admire for her colourful and fun paintings which do indeed invoke heart-warming memories of happy days spent in the East Neuk of Fife and St Andrews and bring a smile to your face:

Scottish artist, Jennifer Thomson is launching a new book of her paintings called "Happy Days in the East Neuk and St Andrews" at her forthcoming exhibition  in the East Neuk village of Elie, Fife. Jennifer is well known for the unmistakable style of her paintings, packed full of colourful people having fun and enjoying life, often in popular Scottish locations. The book brings together the best of her paintings from the last fifteen years of painting in the East Neuk of Fife. Included are paintings of Lower Largo, Earlsferry, Elie, St Monans, Kilconqhuar, Pittenweem, Anstruther, Crail and the neighbouring St Andrews.

Jennifer attended Edinburgh College of Art from 1987-1992 where she gained her honours then post-graduate degree along with several awards and prizes. She taught art for a few years at Madras College in St Andrews before giving up teaching to paint full time in 1998. Since then her paintings can be found in many art collections such as the Royal Bank of Scotland, Edinburgh's City Arts Centre, The BBC and Paintings in Hospitals. Her work is spreading all over the world and she has been commissioned by organisations and individuals in the USA, Canada, Australia and Japan.

Alongside each painting in the book are Jennifer's notes about each scene. You discover what inspired the artist to paint each composition and begin to see what Jennifer was thinking when she painted each scene and share in her often humorous insights. In some of the paintings you might spot the artist's faithful painting companion Brodie, a mischievous wire haired fox terrier. For admirers of Jennifer's work and East Neuk fans alike, this book will warm your hearts and make you smile. 

Jennifer will be signing copies of "Happy Days in the East Neuk and St Andrews" at her exhibition of paintings of the East Neuk and travels round Europe at The Old Post Office Gallery, Links Place, Elie, Fife, KY8 1AX from 27 July to 10 August 2014 10am-5pm. The book can also be ordered from her website www.jenniferthomson.com. 

Four easy steps to beating the January blues

Happy New Year! Apologies that I've been a little quiet on the blog recently but I thought I'd change all that in 2014, starting off with a wee blog about four easy steps to beating those pesky January blues, all with a connection to the East Neuk and St Andrews of course!

Step 1 - Enjoy your lovely Christmas presents

I was lucky enough to get this painting for Christmas, which is now brightening up my house with its gorgeous colours:

Boats in Crail Harbour by Robin Forsyth; Close-up of the blue sea

The artist is Robin Forsyth, one of the Cellardyke-based artists who opened his home studio to visitors as part of East Neuk Open Studios (ENOS) in November. 

It's a painting of two cute little fishing boats in Crail harbour, so I loved the subject matter. I was also really struck by the intensity of the blue water, in striking contrast to the pure white of the frame. It's cheering me up in the dark, damp horribleness of January by reminding me of a sunny Summer's day by the sea!

Hopefully you have some equally lovely presents you can enjoy this January. 

Step 2 - Escapism

Speaking of presents, if Santa didn't bring you any reading material to get you through the dark Winter evenings, maybe it's time to get some new books for some blues-busting escapism.

Transport yourself to the life of a musician by reading the excellent "Songs in the Key of Fife". This is DJ Vic Galloway's collection of the intertwining stories of the artists who created a musical revolution from the East Neuk including KT Tunstall, King Creosote, the Beta Band, James Yorkston and more. Listening to some of these locally-raised gems is also a great blues-buster - I particularly love King Creosote's "Diamond Mine" album. Another local up-and-coming artist who is not in the book but is also worth listening to is Lidh, who has the voice of an angel. Check them out on iTunes or, better still, see them live.

(Picture: Vic Galloway at the launch event of the book at Cambo Estate last year; The book itself)

If you're more into to immersing yourself in a gritty crime novel then check out TF Muir's books about DCI Andy Gilchrist ("Eye for an Eye", "Tooth for a Tooth" etc.), who is the Inspector Rebus of St Andrews.

See my local books page for more ideas.

Step 3 - Celebrate our bard

What could be more cheering than a celebration of the bard, Rabbie Burns, and all things Scottish? And where better to enjoy the fun evening that is Burns' Night (25 January 2014) than in St Andrews! You could sample some haggis or other delicious Scottish dishes at The Dolls' House or The Vine Leaf on South Street. The Vine Leaf are offering their haggis neeps and tatties as "a potato basket filled with haggis, thyme poached turnip and drambuie cream" plus an equally tasty dish with veggie haggis too. Or for something a bit more spicy the award-winning Nahm-Jim's on Market Street, which I've blogged about before, offers Scottish-Thai fusions extraordinaire such as "Thai Haggis Bombs" (haggis in crunch pastry with a spicy dip) or the "Nahm-Jim Thai Haggis" (haggis combined with chilli, basil and Thai omelette).

An after dinner drink at the new St Andrews Brewing Company pub on South Street would be an obvious next step - sample craft beer and cider (check out the Thistly Cross Ginger Cider) in cosy, chalet-like surrounds. A special Burns' Night tasting event is being held at 7.30 with tutoring (by Douglas Clement from the Kingsbarns Distillery - more on that below), tunes and tapas (£10 a ticket, available in advance at the bar).

Then burn off some of those calories you just consumed with some lively traditional ceilidh dancing in Forgan's on Market Street (Forgan's are also doing a Burn's Supper event if you wanted to eat there too).

(Picture: Sample of craft beer at The St Andrews Brewing Company pub; Robert Burns biscuits from Fisher & Donaldson confectionary and bakery, St Andrews)

(Picture: Forgan's bar, including one of their inviting bothies in top right, ceilidh band in bottom right and unusual lighting in bottom left)

If you know about other things happening in St Andrews on Burns' Night then let me know. Enjoy!

Step 4 - New year, new social calendar

January is a month of planning ahead so plan your 2014 social calendar and give yourself masses of events to look forward to! To help you do this, check out my handy East Neuk and St Andrews Events Calendar.

The brand newly opened Dreel Halls venue in Anstruther may be the location for some new events this year - I'll keep you posted. 

Something to look forward to later this year is the opening of the Kingsbarns Distillery, which I'm really excited about. I sneaked a peak at the site last year and it is already looking very promising as they convert historical buildings on the edge of the Cambo Estate. They're hoping to open the doors on St Andrew's Day (November) and I can't wait!

I'm also looking forward to more blogging for this blog, the Visit St Andrews website and the Crail Food Festival. In the meantime I hope these blues-blasters lift your spirits!

More information:

www.paintingsilove.com/artist/robinforsyth

www.eastneukopenstudios.org

www.dollshouse-restaurant.co.uk

www.vineleafstandrews.co.uk

www.nahm-jim.co.uk

www.standrewsbrewingcompany.com/thebrewpub

www.forganstandrews.co.uk

kingsbarns.wordpress.com

Copyright Sara Scott 2014

A very arty little neuk - East Neuk Open Studios 2013

After a visit to the Crail Food Festival on Saturday 15 June (see my blog post on this), we decided to check out the other event happening that weekend: East Neuk Open Studios (ENOS).

The event was happening throughout the East Neuk that weekend and the one before. We decided to head to the East Neuk village of Cellardyke (which adjoins Anstruther) to see some of the artists there who were opening their doors to let visitors see their artistic creations in the studios they were made in. 

I can see why petite Cellardyke has so many artists. Its old, narrow streets surreptitiously wind their way into your heart with their quiet, old-fashioned wind and sea-swept charms. Every so often you get an access point to the shore with its beautiful natural rock features and spectacular views out to the shimmering Isle of May. The communal washing lines at the harbour seem to belong to another age yet are still very much in use today. The pretty, well-tended flowers at the harbour speak of a community that cares about its village. So for me a wander around some of the studios was as much about the real life of the place itself as the art. I have to say I seriously envy many of the artists their studios as well as their artistic talents!

Charming Cellardyke - clockwise from top left: "Cosy Neuk" doorway, harbour x 2, rock formations at the shore

We started off seeing Renate Heath's landscapes and learning about her techniques (she mostly paints landscapes from her car!). We admired her uninterrupted Isle of May view and quirky garden and bought some of her beautiful postcards.

Views of the Isle of May: real life (left) and art by Renate Heath (right)

Then we enjoyed Ken Wilkinson's land and seascapes, in an outbuilding accessed directly from the beach! We left with some more cards, in my case of his Cellardyke paintings which I really liked.

Cellardyke harbour with its washing lines: Real life (left) and art by Ken Wilkinson (right)

After that it was Kate Hajducka's beeswax creations and adorable garden with the blue gate onto the shore. Mum was very struck by her colourful, Impressionistic paintings of wild flowers. More cards were purchased - the subject of mine was her garden.

Kate Hajducka's adorable Cellardyke garden: Real life (left) and art by Kate (right)

Last but definitely not least that day was Kate Laundon's more modern prints, which I had been dying to see after she'd tweeted a photo of them earlier that week. I came away with this über cute, quite Japanese-style chaffinch print, which is now on my wall at home. Mum bought another of Kate's cute bird prints and some cards. I could easily have bought a lot more! 

Chaffinch print by Kate Laundon

By this point the boys were weary from their earlier golf match at Crail Golfing Society and were worrying that this was turning into a shopping trip. They were angling to get back to Rose Cottage for some chill out time. So off we headed with our arty goodies. More Cellardyke artists to visit next time though, not least talented illustrator Jill Calder. Even by the East Neuk's high arty standards Cellardyke really is a very arty little village!

Mum and I found time the next day, Sunday 16 June, to visit one of the Crail artists who was taking part in East Neuk Open Studios. We visited the garden studio of Elizabeth Shepherd, who was displaying a series of etchings of East Neuk buildings which she'd been commissioned to do. I was very tempted to buy a print she'd done of Cellardyke harbour (bit of a theme here, isn't there!) but having only recently bought one of Keith Brockie's Isle of May originals my art budget is currently severely depleted! Having said that, one of the great things about ENOS is that is a very affordable way to buy art.

Unfortunately time didn't allow us to check out the other studios that were open in the other villages. Good news then that ENOS is happening again on the weekends of 23-24 November and 30 November-1 December 2013. I'll definitely be back to see more, hopefully with a bigger budget this time!

Text and photos copyright Sara Scott 2013, excluding photos of art works

Crail Food Festival 2013 part 2: foraging and lunching in the Crail sunshine

Day 2 of the Crail Food Festival (Sunday 16 July) was always going to be an entirely outdoors event so I was delighted to wake up to find that that the weather had dramatically improved overnight, transforming the East Neuk into a sunny, warm, Mediterranean-esque paradise.

As it was also Father's Day for a treat my dad and R spent the morning golfing at Kingsbarns Golf Club - my dad hadn't played before and he loved it. Meanwhile the girls, i.e. mum and I, hightailed it into Crail to join the Crail Food Festival's Foraging Walk. This was a free event which was being run by Mark from Galloway Wild Foods in association with the Fife Diet team. We joined the group heading out from the smoothie bike stall at Crail Harbour and ventured out along Crail beach in the now scorching sunshine to learn all about foraging from Mark and Chef Paul Wedgwood. Foraging is getting quite trendy in the UK these days, inspired in particular by Denmark's famous Noma restaurant. Closer to home Paul uses a lot of foraged ingredients in his Edinburgh restaurant, Wedgwood.

An hour quickly flew by as we went back to our hunter-gatherer roots to learn all about which plants are edible and which aren't, including plants which can kill you (avoid the deadly Hemlock, which looks a bit like a carrot plant and actually grows in our garden at rose cottage) and why dogs and foraging don't mix. Mark was very enthusiastic and knowledgeable about foraging, entertaining us with stories and picking lots of things for us all to taste. It was different and fun. There was a slightly surreal moment about half way through when I found myself munching rather appreciatively on some Japanese knotweed, which was trying to take over the bank of wild plants (tastes like rhubarb if you were wondering!). If you want to try foraging for yourself you'll need Mark's foraging tips.

Foraging at the Crail Food Festival including Japanese knotweed (top left), Deadly hemlock (middle left) and Mark from Galloway Wild Foods

The intrepid foragers were then treated to an open-air cookery demo back at the harbour by Paul Wedgwood, using foraged ingredients. From the little morsel I managed to get a taste of (the dish was assaulted by spoons in a matter of seconds once it was ready!), my taste buds quickly decided that foraging and flavour go hand in hand. Mark was also offering a tempting taste of his homemade Elderflower champagne.

Crail Food Festival 2013 - Clockwise from top left - Chef Paul Wedgwood (answers on a postcard about why he has that expression!), Fife Diet's foraging board, Paul's foraged meal

Mum and I then had time for a bit more art - more on this soon in my East Neuk Open Studios blog post. Then it was back to Crail harbour to meet the boys plus L and S for lunch. Wow! I have never seen the harbour so busy - the festival and sunshine had really brought the crowds to little old Crail. It was bustling, the atmosphere was great and the cooking smells were making us desperately hungry. Feed me now! After a bit of queuing between us we sampled:  seriously good venison burgers from Seriously Good Venison, superb smoked mackerel and quiche from the award-winning La Petite Epicerie deli in Anstruther, the ever-amazing Arbroath smokies, juicy, sweet strawberries and cream from Crail in Bloom and indulgent crepes and hot chocolate (yes we'd already had some the day before but we couldn't resist more!) from The Pittenweem Chocolate Company. It was all delicious and brilliant to be able to eat alfresco. Nearby benches and the beach were brimming with people sitting to enjoy their lunch, the sunshine and sea views.

Crail Food Festival 2013 - harbour and stalls

   

 

Arbroath smokies - smokin'!

Despite all that food there was still more we didn't have the space to sample e.g. the smoothies from the smoothie bike I mentioned earlier, the wood-fired pizzas or the stall for Pittenweem's Little Herb Farm, whose flavoured vinegars are already regular inhabitants of the rose cottage kitchen. We would have loved some dressed crab and lobster from the little Crail harbour shack but they'd been so popular that they'd  completely sold out. Though as the shack is there all summer there's plenty of time to go back!

Meanwhile the cookery demos continued , a second foraging walk went out and there were oodles of other activities on the beach e.g. treasure hunts for kids. Inspired by our own foraging walk earlier, mum went back to the beach for a quick forage, mainly to impress the guests at her next dinner party with some unusual, wild ingredients! She bumped into the Californian residents that we met at the Festival the previous night, who were now presumably finding Crail a bit more like home given the significantly improved weather! 

Then it was time to go home and relax after all that food. All in all a brilliant summery day out and a really enjoyable festival that lived up to my expectations!

Crail Food Festival 2013 - sandcastle on the beach, view of the harbour stalls from the beach

The Crail Food Festival blog is well worth a read to find out more about the wonderful local suppliers and distributors we have in the East Neuk and wider Fife locale, who are able to meet your foodie needs throughout the year. The 2014 festival is happening on 14 and 15 June and no doubt will be bigger and better than ever. My stomach is looking forward to it already!

Text and photos Copyright Sara Scott 2013

Crail Food Festival 2013 part 1: cookery demos, gingerbread streets and dancing

I had been looking forward to the Crail Food Festival (www.crailfoodfest.co.uk) for a long time. I'd never been before and had been helping in the preparationa and promotion by being part of the blogging team. When the weekend itself, 15-16 June, came closer I realised that in fact it co-incided with the East Neuk Open Studios (www.eastneukopenstudios.org) event as well. Brilliant combination I thought - a weekend of great food, art and even music in fantastic settings!

Day 1, Saturday 15 June, was all about cookery demos, Cellardyke artists, gingerbread streets and dancing.

After the boys returned from the inevitable golf match (at Craighead Links, Crail Golfing Society), we headed to Crail Community Hall for our first taste of the Crail Food Festival. We weren't alone - the hall was packed full of enthusiastic foodies, going round all of the stalls to sample and buy tasty local produce. The good people from the excellent Grill House restaurant (www.grillhouse-restaurant.co.uk) in St Andrews were having absolutely no trouble at all getting takers for their hot food samples. I however was having trouble getting to them in time before they all disappeared! A cookery demo by Craig Millar was announced. Craig is chef and owner of Crail Millar @ 16 West End restaurant (www.16westend.com), a great place right on the shore in the lovely East Neuk village of St Monans. The hall slowly emptied as the Chef's Theatre filled. We all went in except for R, who had identified this as the ideal opportunity to get the lion's share of the food samples (a cunning and very successful plan!). However he missed out on an entertaining, amusing and informative demo from Craig, as well as a taste of the finished product.



Craig Millar provides a cookery demo, Chef's Theatre, Crail Food Festival 2013

Hebridean sea salt and Israeli couscous were two recommendations I resolved to try at home. Craig also revealed he tends to go local by using Scottish rapeseed oil rather than olive oil - I'm with him on that. Some of Craig's recipes can be found in the Relish Scotland, Second Helping book, along with recipes from other great chefs based in some of Scotland's finest restaurants. I bought a (signed) copy of the book on the day for the rose cottage cookbook collection and would thoroughly recommend it.



Relish Scotland - Second Helping - book of original recipes from Scotland's finest chefs and restaurants



Back in the main hall we had the chance to purchase a great selection of foodie treats from the Fife's finest producers on the stalls all round the hall. I ended up buying raspberry jam from two of my favourite farmshops, who had stalls there: Balgove Larder (www.balgove.com), near St Andrews and Ardross Farm Shop (www.ardrossfarm.co.uk), near Elie. You can never have enough raspberry jam in my book!

 

Balgove Larder, farm shop near St Andrews - one of the stall holders at the Crail Food Festival 2013

However the icing on the cake on that chilly afternoon was the warmly comforting hot chocolate from our local chocolatiers, The Pittenweem Chocolate Co (www.pittenweemchocolate.co.uk). To die for!

Time was ticking so we departed for Cellardyke to see some of the East Neuk Open Studios (ENOS) - more to come on this in my ENOS blog soon. 



That evening we were back in Crail for more Food Festival fun - this time dinner and dancing. In just a few hours the Community Hall (an old church) had been transformed into a dinner and music venue. The hall was noisy, buzzing with chatter at this sold-out event. We shared a table with a Scottish family. The parents lived in California and were finding Crail rather cold in comparison! (More on this in Part 2!) 



A three course meal followed. Starter and main course from Hatters & Co (www.hatterscatering.com), caterers at the Edwardian tearoom in Hill of Tarvit Mansion House, were quickly scoffed. However  the highlight for me was definitely the dessert from Sucre Coeur (www.sucrecoeur.co.uk), creators of an entire gingerbread street which was displayed in the window of Crail Gallery. One of the band members (more on them in a minute) also serenaded us with a little ukulele number at our table while we ate.

 

Sweet treats. From top: East Neuk Street made from Gingerbread and Dessert, both by Sucre Coeur for Crail Food Festival 2013

Wine was provided by the St Andrews Wine Company (www.standrewswinecompany.com), who have a great wine shop in Bell Street, St Andrews. They select wines to have labelled as their "house white" and "house red". They were also manning the bar and doing a great trade in beer from the St Andrews Brewing Company (www.standrewsbrewingcompany.com), who created Crail Ale for a previous year's Crail Food Festival. It was so popular that they kept making it and it recently won a craft beer competition and will be available in Sainsbury's supermarket so more of us can get to enjoy it! Unsurprisingly that night the Crail Ale had completely sold out but R and I enjoyed the IPA instead and it went down very well indeed. 

 

Dinner over and bellies full, it was now time for the music to begin. If, like me, you loved the soundtrack of quirky George Clooney film "O brother where art thou?" you would have loved the first local Fife band who took to the stage: Black Cat Jook Band. They transported us from Crail to the Deep South with their madcap bluesy sounds, even making what seemed to be a box with a stick and a piece of string into a quivering, deep bass. It was utterly impossible not to tap your feet along. 



From left: Black Cat Jook Band, King Creosote's Band and Crail Ale

  

Then it was time for a second local band with a bigger reputation: King Creosote (www.kingcreosote.com). With one of the band members hailing from Crail it was definitely a home crowd for them. They masterfully entertained us with a more mainstream sound, including a song about Crail which had the dance floor packed. The atmosphere was great.

When King Creosote's band finished their set on a climatic high the party was over. Off we went, weary but happy, to get some rest ready for Festival Day 2! My Part 2 blog is coming soon with all the details! .

Text and photos copyright Sara Scott 2013

Valentine's Day in the East Neuk & St Andrews

Here are my tips for how to spend a truly romantic Valentine's day with your loved one in the East Neuk of Fife and St Andrews. All you need to do is follow these four fail-safe steps:

STEP 1: GET SOME FRESH SEA AIR - Take a romantic stroll, walking hand in hand along the beautiful Kingsbarns beach. Perhaps you'll see the twinkle of the Bell Rock lighthouse way out to sea or even a dolphin or two. Or if you are a sporty couple you could up the pace and go for an invigorating jog, running side by side along St Andrews' iconic West Sands beach, humming the theme to "Chariots of Fire" as you go. Ahh that fresh Scottish air!

STEP 2: SWEETS FOR MY SWEET - Have coffee, homemade tablet and cake with two spoons alfresco at the Crail Harbour Gallery. As you hold hands, pause from gazing dreamily into each others' eyes for just long enough to look over to the Isle of May. It's a view which has inspired countless artists. Or if rain is threatening to extinguish those fires of passion (well we are in Scotland after all), take shelter in The Cocoa Tree, a French-style chocolate shop and cafe in the nearby village of Pittenweem. With chocolate being an aphrodisiac you can't really go wrong in here. Magnifique!

STEP 3: REELLLLLLAAAX - Warm up and ease those tense muscles from your earlier exertions by basking together in the outdoor, rooftop pool of The Old Course hotel spa in St Andrews. Maybe throw a little back massage in for good measure. Then ease yourselves out of this bliss and get changed into something alluring, ready for pre-dinner cocktails overlooking golf courses and town at the hotel's elegant, classy Road Hole bar. Bag yourselves the seats by the open fire. Mine's a Flirtini!

STEP 4: DINNER DATE - Hail a trusty taxi and whisk your loved one off for an intimate, candlelit dinner for two at The Peat Inn. Hopefully you've saved your pennies (and booked ahead) for an indulgent, magnificent dinner at this five star, fine dining restaurant in the country. It's dimly lit, suitably expensive and a sensuous feast for the taste buds. If you haven't done it yet, now's an ideal time to pop that question! (Or if there's no room at the Inn / on your credit card check out Hazel of www.thegrumblingtummy.org 's blog on the Visit St Andrews site for more valentine's dining options.)

However you choose to spend it, have a very happy Valentine's.

xxx

p.s. Do you have a favourite romantic place in the East Neuk and St Andrews that I haven't mentioned? If so, why not share it by leaving a comment.

Top left is the Isle of May; Bottom right is The Swilken Bridge, famous St Andrews landmark

Text and photos copyright Sara Scott 2013.