Deli delicious

Scottish cuisine enthusiasts will be happy to know that the most culinary city out of London is, in fact, the Scottish capital. Edinburgh was consistently rated as "very good" or "exceptional" by regular diners in the city according to 90,000 independent reviews compiled to make the Harden's 2007 UK Restaurant Guide.

In a nutshell, the real reason why I've moved to Scotland. I'm no particular lover of Scottish cuisine, but the first time we visited Edinburgh I couldn't help but notice the assortment of really excellent eateries. And unassuming-looking deli, Valvonna & Crolla is the bee's knees.



We'll find any excuse to scratch the itch that is Valvonna £ Corlla. The shop itself is filled to the brim (walls included) with mostly Italian delicacies - tins of authentic pomodoro tomatoes, an assortment of pastas to die for, Amaretti biscuits, whole hams and salamis, rows of bottles of pristine olive oil (always with a bit in a small container to have a taste), freshly baked wonderbreads, and the award-winning wine collection. And this is only the deli! They also have a shop with kitchen utensils and other gems which is turned into a theatre during the Edinburgh Art Festival. Next to the Caffè Bar is an enviable collection of cookery books - causing uncontrollable oozings of saliva.



We make a point of taking friends to the place, with great results. The menu is impeccably stylish, the food fresh and just enough to satisfy. They graciously suggest wine to go with each meal, including dessert. I took my sister in law who loves good food and the whole dining experience to the point of getting tears in her eyes. And that is exactly what happened: over an antipasto of gently pickled olives, superb bread and genuine, GENUINE mozzarella di bufala, we had a weepy moment. They are also now living here.

This kingdom

Fife continues to be fascinating. It is a peculiar place, to say the least, and I decided to do some digging into its history.

This is where Fife is situated


Fife is old, real old. It is at once close to Edinburgh but the Firth of Forth, or big river mouth, has kept it isolated from the influences of the capital. Fife is also a peninsula, creating further distance between Fifers and the rest of Scotland, and consequently Fifers developed a reputation for being obstinate and keeping their distance. In 1964 the majestic Fourth Road Bridge opened, replacing the ferry system that has been in place since the 11th century. There are still some inhabitants grumbling about the bl**** brêdgie!



As the word spread of this beautiful region so close to Edinburgh, Glasgow and Perth, property has become highly sought after and it's been filling up with ootsiders like never before. An old woman, who's been living here for 25 years, tells me she is still considered a stranger!

In 1975, when all the Scottish counties were abolished for administrative purposes. Fifers, in their straightforward yet determined way, insisted on staying a kingdom. We have no king, but kingdom it is.

Snow starved

'SNOW!! SNOOOOOOWWWWWW! Wow! WOAAAAAAOOOOUUUHHHW!'
Rang out the voices of two families of snow-deprived South Africans, on the magical day that the white stuff finally descended on our town. Our neighbours thought we were crazy. There was not even one cm worth of snow lying on the ground, and the flakes falling intermittently melted before one could say 'Rudolph the red nosed, drunken piece of animal,' but we were jumping up and down inside the house before rushing outside to engage in delirious snow fights.





A sure way of identifying South Africans in Scotland.

I was disturbed the other day, however, by how much we've acclimatised to our environment. My husband and I went on a trip to London, and in the process lost our quite expensive digital camera. Disturbed not because we lost it, but because we're not really that bothered about the loss: we'll just get another one. Have we, with our valuable pounds, become careless consumers?

Familiar animals

My brother, his wife and my adorable two nieces, Emma and Anja, have arrived in Scotland. They form part of an apparent tsunami of South Africans with young kids who've come to see whether the grass is in fact greener on this side of the ocean. So far, they have not been disappointed.

The first week was spent in shell shock due to the cold climate and being squeezed into our humble Kelty abode. Another shock is how little their South African rands are worth, sjym, we look at something costing £7 and say 'That's cheap!' and their internal calculators go whizzz...brrrr...times14...THAT'S BLOODY EXPENSIVE! Maybe Christmas is not the best time of year to emigrate, but I think they've noticed and will never do it again.

The kids adore the parks. In Aberdour, which has a state-of-the-art kid's playpark, Emma declared it to be the best park ever, and they did not want to leave. Until we walked around the stunning Loch Ore and they discovered the playpark there, with a foefie slide! Anja declared that Scottish parks are much better than South Africa's - hear-hear!

No snow yet, but a round trip through the Cairngorm Mountains and Speyside made up for the disappointment. I love watching their reactions when seeing the fantastic scenery for the first time: the view of the bridges over the Firth of Forth; the sight of Edinburgh from the tiny road above Burntisland; the achingly green fields of Fife and, of course, the mountains.
Returning from our trip, my brother said: Do you realise we've seen half of Scotland in one day? Yep, so much to see in such a small space.

BEFORE

AFTER

Friends in Fife

I have been living in Fife now since March 2007, and I am still bowled over by the incredible friendliness of our neighbours and fellow Fifers. The first thing I noticed when we arrived here is that people actually greet you: in the shops, on your way to work, the postman as he delivers letters. In England I got used to being greeted by a middle finger on the road, or the most you got from fellow travellers on the trains/tube was an angry scowl or shove if you did something out of the ordinary. Initially I was a bit suspicious of this general goodwill - what's wrong with these people? Are they trying to sell me something or convert me to something? - but I've since come to accept this as just another good reason for living in Scotland.

As this news will bring a warm glow to the hearts and minds of my dear readers, I've decided to add just two more stories to remind of you of the extreme niceness of this place:

Story 1:
I arrived home on Monday to find two Christmas cards from different sets of neighbours, both welcoming us into the neighbourhood, and to have a happy Christmas.

Story 2:
The guy who sold us our new car phoned this morning to tell us he will drop off the extra set of keys at our place this afternoon.

A warm welcome, indeed.

The weather

How you experience the weather here in Scotland depends on your point of view.

This time of year, the sun (the wha'??!!!) rises at 8am and it looks like this:


It sets at 4pm, and looks like this:



So yes, all ye who warned of the darkness and bad BAD Scottish weather, it is dark, often. And wet, and cold. Seriously cold. I rush from the heat of our house straight into the car, which needs a few minutes' worth of idling in order to warm up. This time is used to scrape the frost from the windscreen. At work I rush into the warm classroom, where I'll stay most of the day.
If it is a sunny day (ha-ha!), the air is crisp and stark with cold. If it's raining, there isn't much to see and the day is wrapped in a gloomy blanket.
Therefore, if my preference had been for hot, endless days filled to the brim with sunshine and salad, then no, this weather would suck.

Luckily I love stew and soup. And snuggling, lots of it, under a tartan blankie next to a cosy fire with a book.

New beginnings

We are now inhabitants of Kelty. What an interesting place.

Heh-heh, sniggered the guitarist. Locals look down on Kelty and you do the smart thing and buy a house there. One day you'll have the last laugh.

The pub has a nasty reputation, my hairdresser adds politely. But it's a big mix of people living there now.

Kelty? exclaims the secretary. My husband refuses to live there. What's wrong with an old mining village? I grew up in one meself!

So what if we live in the black sheep of villages? We like it, and we have a great new hoose. Kelty is situated right next to the highway and with rising prices in Edinburgh, it's become a popular commuter town.

It's right in the middle of beautiful rural Fife:


The last say goes to Marge, our neighbour.
Kelty used to be lovely little place, she snorts, except for all these ootsiders comin in, yoos ken.
Sorry, says my husband politely.
Not yoos, she adds disgustingly, ootsiders from Dunfermline!
Which is the big town 5 minutes away.