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Christine and Shannon had an exciting time visiting Arran Island， meeting motor bikers and punks，1 and are now heading back to Scotland’s west coast. They were hoping to catch up with Ian， Shannon’s love interest/fling.2 He had previously offered to collect them and drive them north to see some snow， and he was due to leave Glasgow3 that day.
We were hoping that his offer still stood， and he hadn’t left yet. I held thumbs4 while Shannon called him. Did he want to see us again？ I mean Shannon… Did he want to see Shannon again？ I was just an annoying hanger-on5， anyhow. Three’s a crowd， you know.
Great news！ He was fine about us going with him and he’d be heading north later that day. I could hear Shannon telling him that she’d never seen snow before. Great... now how would we get to him？ Shannon pretended that we had transport. He pressed her to know how we planned to get to Glasgow to meet him. He knew we had no money. Eventually she said that we’d catch a ride with someone. At that he said—he must have said， no， he’d come fetch us because the next thing Shannon did was squealing6 with delight.
She put down the phone and we high-fived7 each other！ Yay！ Victory！ He had been most annoying and rude to us when we’d lived with him and his friends in Henley-on-Thames8 in England. But without them， he was proving nicer， and more useful， by the week. We’d had a good road trip when he’d brought us from England to Scotland.
What was more， he was only a few hours away， so we just needed to pass some time. If you need to buy yourself a meal while you are travelling in Europe or any Western country， and are trying to save money， breakfast usually will give you the best value. England is famous for its cheap-priced full breakfast9. Scotland’s breakfast would surely be the same. We decided to spoil ourselves， given that we’d managed to pass the weekend without spending much， except our ferry fares10 and a few drinks. And we were hungry. Billy， who we’d stayed with on Arran Island， had fed us but it was mostly baked beans in tomato sauce from a can on a slice of toast. Another thing about buying a meal in that cold part of the world is that you get somewhere warm to sit. A full Scottish breakfast was what we’d go for！
A “full breakfast” means a “complete breakfast”. But full is what you will be. We found a workman’s eatery11 on the corner of a road. We figured if we started eating now and spread it out slowly till Ian’s arrival， we’d get value for money12. First up was a bowl of hot oats porridge13. It was smooth and creamy with a square of butter in the centre， and milk over it. We put some brown sugar on， too. It was yummy. We were pretty full already， but the meal was only starting. The waitress brought out two huge plates， hot and piled high， with a smile. “Eat up， girls，” she said. On each plate were slices of fried tomato， with some cheese on top， a pile of thin-sliced bacon rashers， sausages （known as bangers）， kippers（salty strong-tasting fish）， mushrooms， baked beans， fried potato scones （tatties） cut into quarters and eggs.14 We looked at each other. We could never eat that all！ Also on the plate was a circular black thing that looked like an ugly meat patty15. “What’s that？” We asked the waitress. “Oh，” she said， “That is the best part. Black pudding.” Pudding sounded nice but we found out that it was made of pigs’ blood， fat， oats， barley， and various spices which were squashed like a fat sausage in an intestine and then cut sideways—hence the patty shape.16 The ingredients sounded horrifying to us， and we left it well alone.
We’d barely got through a small portion of it when out came hot crispy toast with huge slabs of butter on a plate and chunky marmalade （orange preserved in sugar）.17 It had a bitter， sweet taste but we couldn’t resist some.
A full breakfast is often described a fuel for a day， but this was more like fuel for a week！ Honestly I thought that I’d NEVER need to eat again. In bygone days， people in Scotland and England usually only ate twice each day， the huge late breakfast and then an evening meal， often referred to as “tea”. Talking of which， we were then served a cup of tea （black） with milk and sugar.
We just finished breakfast when Ian arrived. We heaved18 our full bellies into his car. It was great to see him. It is incredible how comforting a familiar face is when you are in an unfamiliar country. Shannon gave him a huge hug， and a kiss！ Whoa… I didn’t realise she had missed him that much！ She cried， “Thanks to you， my dream is going to come true. Soon I’ll be playing and skiing in snow！”
To us Scotland meant cold， and up north meant mountains. So we had cold and mountains—which must mean snow right？ And snow meant skiing！ Who needs the Alps19？
Little did we know that the snow report had said， “Expect a sheet of rain， fog and icy roads” and that visitors would be “dogged by chilling winds” and that the only snow on the top slopes was “hard and icy”.20 After all it was Scotland， and not the Alps， and the conditions are usually wetter and colder. In fact， the funicular that takes people up the ski slopes only stops for winds of 75mph or more.21 Also， it was well before winter， which meant that there was unlikely to be much snow around. I think Ian didn’t want to ruin our happy excitement， especially as it meant kisses from Shannon， so， if he knew any of this， he didn’t say a word.
We were hoping that his offer still stood， and he hadn’t left yet. I held thumbs4 while Shannon called him. Did he want to see us again？ I mean Shannon… Did he want to see Shannon again？ I was just an annoying hanger-on5， anyhow. Three’s a crowd， you know.
Great news！ He was fine about us going with him and he’d be heading north later that day. I could hear Shannon telling him that she’d never seen snow before. Great... now how would we get to him？ Shannon pretended that we had transport. He pressed her to know how we planned to get to Glasgow to meet him. He knew we had no money. Eventually she said that we’d catch a ride with someone. At that he said—he must have said， no， he’d come fetch us because the next thing Shannon did was squealing6 with delight.
She put down the phone and we high-fived7 each other！ Yay！ Victory！ He had been most annoying and rude to us when we’d lived with him and his friends in Henley-on-Thames8 in England. But without them， he was proving nicer， and more useful， by the week. We’d had a good road trip when he’d brought us from England to Scotland.
What was more， he was only a few hours away， so we just needed to pass some time. If you need to buy yourself a meal while you are travelling in Europe or any Western country， and are trying to save money， breakfast usually will give you the best value. England is famous for its cheap-priced full breakfast9. Scotland’s breakfast would surely be the same. We decided to spoil ourselves， given that we’d managed to pass the weekend without spending much， except our ferry fares10 and a few drinks. And we were hungry. Billy， who we’d stayed with on Arran Island， had fed us but it was mostly baked beans in tomato sauce from a can on a slice of toast. Another thing about buying a meal in that cold part of the world is that you get somewhere warm to sit. A full Scottish breakfast was what we’d go for！
A “full breakfast” means a “complete breakfast”. But full is what you will be. We found a workman’s eatery11 on the corner of a road. We figured if we started eating now and spread it out slowly till Ian’s arrival， we’d get value for money12. First up was a bowl of hot oats porridge13. It was smooth and creamy with a square of butter in the centre， and milk over it. We put some brown sugar on， too. It was yummy. We were pretty full already， but the meal was only starting. The waitress brought out two huge plates， hot and piled high， with a smile. “Eat up， girls，” she said. On each plate were slices of fried tomato， with some cheese on top， a pile of thin-sliced bacon rashers， sausages （known as bangers）， kippers（salty strong-tasting fish）， mushrooms， baked beans， fried potato scones （tatties） cut into quarters and eggs.14 We looked at each other. We could never eat that all！ Also on the plate was a circular black thing that looked like an ugly meat patty15. “What’s that？” We asked the waitress. “Oh，” she said， “That is the best part. Black pudding.” Pudding sounded nice but we found out that it was made of pigs’ blood， fat， oats， barley， and various spices which were squashed like a fat sausage in an intestine and then cut sideways—hence the patty shape.16 The ingredients sounded horrifying to us， and we left it well alone.
We’d barely got through a small portion of it when out came hot crispy toast with huge slabs of butter on a plate and chunky marmalade （orange preserved in sugar）.17 It had a bitter， sweet taste but we couldn’t resist some.
A full breakfast is often described a fuel for a day， but this was more like fuel for a week！ Honestly I thought that I’d NEVER need to eat again. In bygone days， people in Scotland and England usually only ate twice each day， the huge late breakfast and then an evening meal， often referred to as “tea”. Talking of which， we were then served a cup of tea （black） with milk and sugar.
We just finished breakfast when Ian arrived. We heaved18 our full bellies into his car. It was great to see him. It is incredible how comforting a familiar face is when you are in an unfamiliar country. Shannon gave him a huge hug， and a kiss！ Whoa… I didn’t realise she had missed him that much！ She cried， “Thanks to you， my dream is going to come true. Soon I’ll be playing and skiing in snow！”
To us Scotland meant cold， and up north meant mountains. So we had cold and mountains—which must mean snow right？ And snow meant skiing！ Who needs the Alps19？
Little did we know that the snow report had said， “Expect a sheet of rain， fog and icy roads” and that visitors would be “dogged by chilling winds” and that the only snow on the top slopes was “hard and icy”.20 After all it was Scotland， and not the Alps， and the conditions are usually wetter and colder. In fact， the funicular that takes people up the ski slopes only stops for winds of 75mph or more.21 Also， it was well before winter， which meant that there was unlikely to be much snow around. I think Ian didn’t want to ruin our happy excitement， especially as it meant kisses from Shannon， so， if he knew any of this， he didn’t say a word.