June 8. Said our goodbyes to everyone and then headed for Perth and didn't get lost this time. Parked the AC in the station car park next to a space which bears the sign "Reserved for Ladies" - nice. The Station hotel has even more patina than the Alvis and is just what you'd expect from an old fashioned Victorian station hotel - it's vast and the website refers to its ability to host events for up to 1,000 people - a small shrub growing out of a chimney stack on top of the roof almost matched the hanging baskets.
Whilst the plumbing in the Alvis is thermo-syphon, the plumbing in the hotel is just LOUD!
As we were early we wandered into town; I had previously watched a Nicholas Crane programme on BBC TV so knew some of the things to look for - such as why the church of St John appears to have sunk. It hasn't, but they have raised the level outside as the skeletons in the grave yard appeared to be rather too close to the surface.
Originally it was a medieval church and John Knox preached there in the 1500s. There were a couple of elderly gentlemen there who were volunteers and were very helpful; when I mentioned that I was looking for "Sandemans" they very helpfully sent me in the direction of the archive part of the Perth library (it used to be housed at the Sandeman building which has now been turned into the sort of pub beloved by people wanting to watch football on TV - there were 9 of them - or hen parties)
Went to the library and looked up the people recommended to me and they unearthed books such as a register of Perth burials, The Sandeman Genealogy (a limited edition book which I've been trying to find for years) and several other books on religion as the Sandemans appear to have been keen proponents of the Dissenting Congregation of Perth - a break away group of the Scottish church.
Two hours well spent so we went out for what must be the best meal I've ever had; we went to Kerachers which is the Gallic name for Farquharson.
I had a 8mm slice of slow cooked belly pork served with three of the tenderest scallops ever. This was followed by roasted Argyll halibut and king prawn tails with green pesto and then I had vanilla creme brûlée, a coffee and a delightful malt whisky called Bunnahabhain from the north of the Isle of Islay. Toni had a mackerel parfait followed by a trio of monkfish, trout and seabass which was nearly as good as mine!
If I'm ever asked what my last meal would be - not that I've any intention of getting extradited to the USA on a murder charge - it's very simple, any meal at Kerachers.
http://www.kerachers-restaurant.co.uk/
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