Breakfast fit for a toddler

Leah doesn’t go to nursery on Fridays, and though David and I usually split the day and take turns with her, we decided to venture out this morning as a team for breakfast. I had done a bit of research about where to go for a breakfast with a toddler in tow in St. Andrews, and came upon a suggestion to try a bizarre spot called Clayton’s. It’s a caravan park about 10 minutes outside of St. Andrews in a tiny little village called Guardbridge. A “caravan” here is what we would perhaps refer to as a “park model RV”, and there are a number of caravan parks dotted throughout the area for holiday-makers and for those who possibly can’t or don’t want to live right in St. Andrews. This caravan park features a restaurant at the entrance, and the restaurant features a room in the back that has a large “soft play” area set up. It’s kind of a Scottish version of a McDonald’s play place, really. Here, though, alongside the brightly-colored, padded and netted play structures is a lovely little set of café tables stacked with leather placemats. No squeaky Styrofoam containers or fast-food breakfast sandwiches here!

When we entered with a toddler in tow, the guy at the bar sort of motioned towards a set of double doors and handed us a menu, instructing us to set ourselves up in the play room and come back with our order. Though it was only about 10:15 am the place had just opened at 10, about half the tables were already taken by mums in small groups, talking over elegant pots of tea while their toddlers were climbing among the nets and ball pits. We removed Leah’s shoes and walked her over to the play structure to help her settle in, then David went back to the bar to order breakfast. There was a Scottish breakfast on offer, and one could choose to order five, six, seven or eight pieces to breakfast. Options included the predictable (bacon and eggs), the predictably Scottish (black pudding and haggis), the predictably British (baked beans and cooked tomato), and a few oddball options (potato scone anyone?). David ordered the five-piece with eggs, black pudding, and a square piece of Lorne sausage, which is another kind of meat product known and loved only by the Scots. I took a miss on the Scottish breakfast and instead opted for a poached egg served over a huge piece of smoked haddock that seemed to have been cooked in turmeric. It was strange, certainly, but delicious. David had his usual tea, while I took yet another flat white (which is quickly becoming the usual for me here).

I still find it a bit confusing that most cafes that serve breakfast here don’t open until 10 am, but I really do love how serious folks here are about their tea. I have never, ever seen tea served with fewer that four separate dishes: the single-size tea pot, the tea cup, the small pitcher of milk, and a wee tray to hold it all together. Sometimes, there’s also a tiny saucer of sugar on the tray as well (much to Leah’s delight…). And, if you happen to order a scone with your tea, then you get another three or four small dishes on your table…one for jam, one for butter, one for set honey and one for the scone itself. Who on earth is washing all of these dishes?

Leah had a grand time on this “soft play set” and set herself up with a little blonde boy who I imagine was named Fergus, or possibly Furgus, or Furgas, or maybe Forgus (there’s one of each in Leah’s nursery, I noticed…). The mums were content to let the kids have a go at the playset on their own. I saw no hovering whatsoever, and the only time a mum entered the play set was when one of them noticed their son was whacking a small girl over the head repeatedly with a stuffed bat. Neither the mother of the victim nor the perpetrator overreacted to this, and the mother whisked her son away for a quick rest on a café chair, while the father of the victim gave his girl a quick peck on the cheek and sent her back off to play. He was back to his newspaper, and the entire transaction took about 11 seconds in all. Again, something you wouldn’t see at a “soft play place” in the U.S!

Leah and her new friend streaking down the slide!