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shopping, lifestyle, Glasgow west end, business, gift, going out, restaurant reviews, bar reviews, author interviews, artist interviews, local, what's on listing
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www.westendermagazine.com | 1<br />
jul/aug
2 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
BROOMHILL LAUNDRETTE<br />
& DRY CLEANERS
www.westendermagazine.com | 3<br />
Contents<br />
Regulars<br />
4 Editor’s Letter<br />
51 Mum’s Notebook<br />
48 Community feature:<br />
Back Garden G3 Growers<br />
Fashion, beauty & health<br />
8 Sun, Sea & Sexy<br />
Swimwear<br />
36 WIN! At Rainbow<br />
Room International<br />
52 Health Matters<br />
Going out<br />
16 West End Live<br />
with Greg Kane<br />
18 Top Things<br />
Art & culture<br />
22 Writers Reveal<br />
meets Helen McClory<br />
26 Cover to Cover<br />
38 Meet the artist:<br />
Victoria Cassidy<br />
Food & drink<br />
32 Sweet Liberty<br />
35 Restaurant review:<br />
El Perro Negro<br />
37 Bar review:<br />
The Left Bank<br />
Westender business<br />
42 Going green<br />
Westender living<br />
54 Playful Pastels<br />
59 Summer Scentsations<br />
61 Talking Texture<br />
COVER IMAGE Bikini & cover up,<br />
Silks. Trainers, Daniels Footwear
4 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
Editor’s<br />
Letter<br />
W<br />
ho needs an excuse to get outdoors<br />
when we’re only 30 minutes drive to<br />
Loch Lomond & The Trossochs<br />
National Park to the north and a short hour<br />
from the stunning Ayrshire coast to the<br />
south? We lucked out with the weather on our<br />
latest swimsuit fashion shoot (see P.8) down<br />
at Troon – or Costa Del Troon as it is now<br />
know at Westender HQ! What a great day out<br />
we had, I mean what a hard shift we all put in<br />
to make the images the very best they could<br />
be, ahem.<br />
However there’s a lot to keep us closer<br />
to home over the next couple of months –<br />
the West End’s out and about scene just<br />
keeps giving! Read Greg Kane’s round up of<br />
great gigs from The Doghouse Roses at The<br />
Doublet to Paul Simon at The Hydro (P.16),<br />
and our Tracy’s fave picks from the Pride<br />
Glasgow march in mid-July to the European<br />
Championships the first two weeks of August<br />
on pages 18 and 19. And as always with the<br />
long school summer holidays in full swing,<br />
Michele Gordon of The Language Hub, has<br />
plenty of ideas to keep your wee cherubs<br />
entertained on page 21, or just a break from<br />
killing each other and muttering the B word<br />
as it’s known in my house (yes, I do mean<br />
‘Boring’!).<br />
Above: Suzanne Martin, Westender editor.<br />
Below: On location in tropical Troon for the<br />
summer 2018 swimwear shoot with model<br />
Katie Lapping from Superior Model Management.<br />
Living in such a beautiful country with<br />
some of the best produce to be found in<br />
the world and the most dramatic scenery,<br />
it falls to us to live as lightly on this earth as<br />
is humanly possible – a theme writer Loraine<br />
Patrick picks up with this edition’s business<br />
article on Page 42. Three local companies<br />
are tackling plastic waste, congestions and<br />
pollution, and standardised business models,<br />
in light of a desire to do better for the planet<br />
today.<br />
And Mother Earth and her bounty gets a<br />
community together on Page 50 – and we’re<br />
all invited! New members are being actively<br />
sought for The Back Garden G3 Growers<br />
and you don’t need to have green fingers<br />
– yet, that will come. Help is needed to bring<br />
in the harvest and it’s all hands on deck in<br />
this wee hidden gem in Finnieston. It’s a<br />
fantastic way to get the kids outside, off the<br />
Xbox and learning where their food comes<br />
from whist making new friends. Let’s face it,<br />
the nights will be drawing in soon enough –<br />
so head out and about in our glorious West<br />
End and enjoy it, fingers crossed, in a bit of<br />
sun!<br />
Suzanne Martin
www.westendermagazine.com | 5
6 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
EDITOR<br />
SUZANNE MARTIN<br />
PHOTOGRAPHER<br />
GREGOR REID<br />
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS<br />
EMILY DONOHO,<br />
MICHELE GORDON, GREG KANE,<br />
PAMELA LEGGATE, NICOLA MAULE,<br />
TRACY MUKHERJEE,<br />
ROBERTO PARRUCCI,<br />
LORAINE PATRICK,<br />
SUSAN ROBERTSON, BRIAN TOAL,<br />
LIBERTY VITTERT,<br />
HANNAH WESTWATER<br />
HAIR & MUA<br />
TERRI CRAIG<br />
STYLIST<br />
JACKI CLARK<br />
WESTENDERMAGAZINE.COM<br />
INFO@WESTENDERMAGAZINE.COM<br />
07905 897238<br />
WESTENDER MAGAZINE IS ON<br />
FACEBOOK, TWITTER<br />
& INSTAGRAM<br />
Publisher: Westender Magazine<br />
Whilst every care has been taken to ensure that the data in this publication is accurate, neither the publisher nor its editorial<br />
contributors can accept, and hereby disclaim, any liability to any party to loss or damage caused by errors or omissions<br />
resulting from negligence, accident or any other cause.<br />
Westender Magazine does not officially endorse any advertising material included within this publication.<br />
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form – electronic,<br />
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise – without prior permission of the publisher.
www.westendermagazine.com | 7<br />
ADVERTISE YOUR BUSINESS IN WESTENDER<br />
Book advertising space in the Sep/Oct 2018<br />
Westender by Friday 3rd August.<br />
OUT IN WEST END LOCATIONS FROM MONDAY 27TH AUGUST<br />
// 10 Years in the West End<br />
// Glasgow’s brilliant FREE bi-monthly magazine<br />
// Great editorial features: fashion, dining out, health & beauty,<br />
what’s on, local authors & artists, interiors & more<br />
// Massive potential business audience<br />
// 12,000 copies per edition<br />
// Handy handbag size<br />
// FREE to pick up around the West End<br />
// Online presence with digital magazine<br />
westendermagazine.com<br />
For more info or to advertise<br />
email: suzanne@westendermagazine.com<br />
for a media flyer, or call: 07905 897238
8 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
6 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
life’s a<br />
beach<br />
sun, sea & sexy<br />
swimwear<br />
images gregor reid<br />
stylist jacki clark
www.westendermagazine.com | 97
10 8 | | www.westendermagazine.com
www.westendermagazine.com | 11 9<br />
BIKINI, Silks<br />
SUNGLASSES, IOLLA<br />
opposite page<br />
Bikini, FAT FACE<br />
SUnglasses, iolla<br />
Previous page<br />
tankini, silks
12 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
10 | www.westendermagazine.com
www.westendermagazine.com | | 13 11<br />
FRONT COVER &<br />
CONTENTS PAGE<br />
jacket – Glasgow Vintage Co<br />
sweater – Hobbs @ HOF*<br />
skirt – Miss Selfridge @ HOF<br />
shoes – Daniel Footwear<br />
earrings, multi stone ring,<br />
bracelet – Cassiopeia<br />
necklace, green ring - Owen Bisset<br />
TITLE PAGE<br />
Male Model<br />
biker jacket – Glasgow Vintage Co<br />
jacket – Minted<br />
jeans – Diesel @ HOF<br />
t-shirt – Barbour @ HOF<br />
Female Model<br />
jumpsuit, jumper – Just For You<br />
belt, bag – Mango at HOF<br />
bracelets, earrings, black ring, blue<br />
ring – Owen Bisset<br />
necklace – Cassiopeia<br />
shoes – Daniel Footwear<br />
PAGE 8<br />
jacket – Minted<br />
jeans – Diesel @ HOF<br />
PAGE 9<br />
Male Model<br />
jumper, shirt – Fat face<br />
jacket – Glasgow Vintage Co<br />
shoes – CCW<br />
Female Model<br />
shirt – Ralph Lauren @ HOF<br />
skirt – Just For You<br />
boots – CCW<br />
black ring, pink ring,<br />
earrings – Owen Bisset<br />
necklace – Cassiopeia<br />
OPPOSITE PAGE<br />
t-shirt – Mango @ HOF<br />
skirt – Fat Face<br />
socks, bracelet – Cassiopeia<br />
earring, orange ring – Owen Bisset<br />
THIS PAGE<br />
shirt – House of Fraser<br />
jacket – Minted<br />
jeans – Diesel @ HOF<br />
shoes – CCW<br />
*HOF – House Of Fraser<br />
CREDITS<br />
Photographer Gregor Reid<br />
gregorreidphotography.com Stylist<br />
Vivienne Masters viviennemasters.<br />
co.uk Hair & Make-up Terri Craig<br />
terricraig.co.uk Models Kerr<br />
Cochrane, Niamh McNamara@<br />
colours agency.com<br />
Bikini, Silks. necklace, nancy smilie<br />
opposite page - Bikini, silks
14 12 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
swimsuit, silks. shorts, primark. socks, osiris. necklace, nancy smilie
www.westendermagazine.com | 13 15<br />
COVER up, SILKS<br />
Sunglasses, cassieopia<br />
model KATIE LAPPING @ superior model management<br />
MUA terri craig, terricraig.co.uk<br />
stylist jacki clark, jackiclark-stylist.co.uk<br />
photography gregor reid, gregorreidphotography.com
16 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
LIVE<br />
July<br />
Paul Simon<br />
Wednesday 11th July 6.30pm<br />
SSE Hydro, thessehydro.com<br />
Where do you start when previewing<br />
a Paul Simon gig? His seven decade<br />
career, over 100 million albums<br />
sold, the sixteen Grammys, his 1987<br />
ground breaking album 'Graceland'?<br />
Quite a legacy to leave behind and<br />
by all accounts this is his final ever<br />
tour (He’s 77 years old now), so if<br />
he’s on your bucket list then you kind<br />
of have to go to this one.<br />
I’ve always had a soft spot for<br />
Paul Simon, his sense of melody/<br />
rhythm and guitar playing are just<br />
so compelling to me. As a 20 year<br />
old in the mid 80s I found myself<br />
working in the same recording studio<br />
in New York where they were piecing<br />
together his album 'Graceland'. Every<br />
morning I would turn up at the studio<br />
and hear all these incredible African<br />
rhythms, harmonies and melodies<br />
emanating from the other side of the<br />
door at Studio One at Sigma Sound on<br />
Broadway. Made quite an impression<br />
on me. His standards have never<br />
slipped either with his 2016 album<br />
'Stranger To Stranger' regularly<br />
playing in my kitchen. I’ll be going.<br />
Choice Tracks:<br />
Paul Simon 'Wristband'<br />
Fazerdaze<br />
Sunday 22nd July 7.30pm<br />
The Hug & Pint, thehugandpint.com<br />
If you like your Indie pop soft and<br />
dreamy then Fazerdaze is definitely<br />
for you. Cure and Pixies fans<br />
will also find something here to<br />
like. Fazerdaze is the project of<br />
Amelia Murray, a 25 year old indie<br />
songwriter from Wellington, New<br />
Zealand who mostly sings about<br />
young life’s transitional moments.<br />
She released her debut self-titled<br />
EP in October 2014, recording it<br />
entirely in her bedroom studio in<br />
Auckland for the legendary Kiwi pop<br />
label Flying Nun Records.<br />
She’s out with her four piece band<br />
on a world tour promoting her 2017<br />
album 'Morningside'. Go see her if<br />
you dare to dream.<br />
Choice track: Fazerdaze ‘Lucky Girl’<br />
Doghouse Roses<br />
Wednesday 25th July 8pm<br />
The Doublet, @thedoubletbar<br />
I really like Doghouse Roses. This<br />
alt-folk duo from Glasgow are Paul<br />
Tasker and Iona MacDonald who both<br />
sing and play guitar. They formed in<br />
2006 through a shared love of all<br />
things Gillian Welch, Pentangle &<br />
Airport Convention with smatterings<br />
of Trad and Americana thrown in for<br />
good measure too. Iona MacDonald<br />
takes on the roll of lead vocalist<br />
with Tasker singing the lower<br />
harmony when required. She really<br />
has such an engagingly beautiful<br />
voice and coupled with Tasker’s skill<br />
and dexterity on guitar they fully<br />
deserve the tag '… Glasgow’s version<br />
of Gillian Welch & David Rawlings …'<br />
(I personally think MacDonald has a<br />
much nicer voice than Welch)<br />
They’re playing upstairs at The<br />
Doublet, a little gem of a place<br />
hidden between GWR and Kelvingrove<br />
Park. You’ll need to make sure you go<br />
early though if you want a seat.<br />
Choice Track: Doghouse Roses<br />
'To Decide'
www.westendermagazine.com | 17<br />
by Greg Kane<br />
August<br />
John McCusker & Roddy Woomble<br />
Thursday 2nd August 7.30pm<br />
Milngavie Town Hall, ents24.com<br />
John McCusker is the Bellshill born,<br />
much lauded fiddler/composer/record<br />
producer and Roddy Woomble is the<br />
front man for the band Idlewild and a<br />
much respected writer and journalist.<br />
These two have worked on many<br />
projects together most notably on the<br />
collaborative studio album between<br />
Scottish writers and musicians entitled<br />
'Ballads Of The Book' in 2007.<br />
But recently they released the<br />
album 'Before The Ruin', another<br />
collaboration, but this time featuring<br />
the multi award winning singer/<br />
guitarist Kris Drever too.<br />
Choice track: John McCusker,<br />
Kris Drever, Roddy Woomble<br />
'The Poorest Company'<br />
Dean Friedman<br />
Friday 3rd August 8pm<br />
Òran Mór, oran-mor.co.uk<br />
'Do you still love me?, Yes I still<br />
love you … you mean your not just<br />
being nice?, No I’m not just being nice<br />
…' Recognise these lyrics? Are you<br />
laughing yet? … how about now?<br />
Having just gone through quite a<br />
painful break up, this song resonates<br />
more than ever with me nowadays. Dean<br />
Friedman, who penned these immortal<br />
words is an American singer songwriter<br />
from upstate New York who hit his<br />
peak in the late 70s with the iconic<br />
hit records 'Ariel' and 'Lucky Stars'.<br />
The success of these two songs has<br />
allowed Friedman to sustain a 40 year<br />
career as a professional musician<br />
touring all over the world year after<br />
year playing to dedicated crowds.<br />
He was one of the first musicians to<br />
crowd source the funding of an album<br />
such is the affection of his fans,<br />
releasing said album 'The Treehouse<br />
Journals' in 2002.<br />
Choice Track: Dean Friedman<br />
'Lucky Stars'<br />
Stella Donnelly<br />
Wednesday 22nd August 7.30pm<br />
The Hug & Pint, thehugandpint.com<br />
I was going to preview the Britney<br />
Spears gig at the Hydro later this<br />
month but Stella Donnelly’s song 'Boys<br />
Will Be Boys' just stopped me in my<br />
tracks. Stella Donnelly is a 25 year<br />
old musician born in Wales but raised<br />
in Fremantle, Western Australia.<br />
She began popping up on people’s<br />
radar due the fact that one week before<br />
Harvey Weinstein and the #MeToo<br />
hashtag started trending, she released<br />
her slow-burning breakthrough song<br />
‘Boys Will Be Boys’. It really is such<br />
a powerful piece of music. Her recent<br />
2018 EP 'Thrush Metal' confirms that she<br />
is definitely not a one trick pony, with<br />
strong songwriting, singing and guitar<br />
playing on display. Stella Donnelly is a<br />
real find.<br />
Choice track: Stella Donnelly<br />
'Boys Will Be Boys'<br />
Want to hear more? Go to the West End Live Playlist on Spotify –<br />
open.spotify.com/user/kudzu/<br />
playlist/1cJ92QKzyxrEvJZctS8iqX?si=nSN8tMATQJW3haJ0yedTvg
18 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
Top Things To Do<br />
in the West End<br />
by Tracy Mukherjee<br />
Top for Being There For You<br />
Friendsfest was a sell out last year when<br />
it toured the UK. With 'Friends' continued<br />
popularity unwavering, the 90s comedy<br />
sensation turns Victoria Park into NYC’s Soho<br />
this coming July. With Monica, Joey and Ross’s<br />
apartments all on show as well as a Las Vegas<br />
Little White Chapel, you’ll need that coffee in<br />
Central Perk. There is an opportunity to buy<br />
memorabilia in the Friendsfest shop and pose<br />
for an 80s style High School prom photo. Could<br />
there BE a more fun event this July?<br />
Comedy Central presents Friendsfest,<br />
6-15th July, Victoria Park.<br />
friendsfest.co.uk<br />
Top for Celebrating Diversity<br />
On Saturday 14th July the annual two day Pride<br />
celebration takes place in Kelvingrove Park.<br />
Starting with the parade through the city streets<br />
to Kelvingrove where the main event is being<br />
held. The festival itself is packed with fun for<br />
young and old over the Saturday and Sunday.<br />
The music stage features the likes of Mel C and<br />
the Sundaes. With a fairground, food village and<br />
of course super popular dog show, it’s a day that<br />
celebrates diversity, inclusivity and above all,<br />
downright fun!<br />
Pride Glasgow 14-15th July,<br />
Kelvingrove Park.<br />
festival.pride.scot/tickets<br />
Top for Luvvies<br />
Can you believe that since their 1st festival,<br />
Bard in the Botanics have staged more than 50<br />
productions, entertaining more than 70,000<br />
audience members? Up until July 28th there is<br />
still a chance to brush up on your Shakespeare.<br />
The 'Star Crossed Lovers' season continues with<br />
Romeo and Juliet and Anthony and Cleopatra<br />
until July 7th. With Much Ado About Nothing<br />
and Edward II still enthralling audiences until<br />
July 28th, there is still ample time to immerse<br />
yourself into ye olde world of the Bard.<br />
Bard in the Botanics, Botanic Gardens<br />
bardinthebotanics.co.uk<br />
Top for…Summer<br />
Shenanigans<br />
With school holidays in full swing, our little<br />
munchkins needn’t be clinging to the nearest<br />
Nintendo, whining into their cereal that they<br />
are bored by July 1st. Instead why not consider<br />
some healthy outdoor fun, courtesy of the West<br />
End Adventure Group? Registered with the<br />
Adventurous Activities Licensing Service, the<br />
group enjoy activities such as kayaking, rock<br />
climbing, archery and bushcraft. The adventure<br />
weeks run throughout the summer holidays and<br />
are suitable for children of 8 years and over.<br />
West End Adventure Group<br />
westendadventure.co.uk<br />
Top for Top Dogs<br />
For further summer entertainment for the kids<br />
but more especially for your four legged friends,<br />
why not visit Pet Fete at the Riverside Museum<br />
this August? This family and dog friendly festival<br />
is a great day out. A petting zoo, wildlife rescue,<br />
birds of prey and the ever popular dancing dogs<br />
– heelwork to music – will all be there at the<br />
Riverside. There is also a fun dog show, fastest<br />
recall and 'have a go' agility. With information<br />
and advice on other pets including rabbits and<br />
cats, it’s a lovely day out for the family with an<br />
added bonus on raising awareness of animal<br />
welfare causes.<br />
Pet Fete Scotland, Saturday 11th<br />
August, Riverside Museum, Glasgow.<br />
petfete.co.uk
www.westendermagazine.com | 19<br />
Top Things To Do<br />
in the West End<br />
Top for A Stretch of the Legs<br />
As we make the most of the summer months,<br />
there is nothing better than a good old walk<br />
whilst learning a little history to boot. Glasgow<br />
Historic Walks have a great range of guided<br />
walks organised this summer. The weekend<br />
walks in particular are worth a look. Did you<br />
know for example that St Patrick was raised<br />
on the river Clyde in Old Kilpatrick? Or that<br />
the remains of Robert the Bruce are in a tiny<br />
churchyard in Dumbarton? Through a series of<br />
fascinating walks through Glasgow and beyond,<br />
Glasgow Historic Walks will guide you through<br />
the history right under our feet, whilst exposing<br />
the truly wondrous sights right on our doorstep.<br />
glasgowhistoricwalks.com<br />
Top for Sport<br />
With many a public house showing the World<br />
Cup throughout June and July, you’d be forgiven<br />
for thinking this is THE sporting event of the<br />
Summer. But, my friends, you would be wrong.<br />
For in August, Glasgow and Berlin co-host the<br />
inaugural European Championships. Given that<br />
Glasgow has hosted a number of world class<br />
sporting events in the past few years, it is no<br />
surprise that the city proudly sits in the top<br />
five cities in the world to host sporting events.<br />
A multi sports championship, Glasgow will be<br />
host to aquatic, cycling, golf, gymnastics, rowing<br />
and triathlon events. Venues include Scotstoun<br />
Sports Campus, Glasgow City Centre, Loch<br />
Lomond, Knightswood Park and the SSE, as well<br />
as the Emirates Arena, Strathclyde Park and<br />
Tollcross International Swimming Centre.<br />
European Championships Glasgow<br />
2-12th August, various venues.<br />
europeanchampionships.com<br />
To celebrate this fabulous sporting event,<br />
Festival 2018 will be running concurrently over<br />
the 11 days of the Championships. With the best<br />
in music, art, dance and theatre, Festival 2018 is<br />
a cultural festival bringing communities across<br />
Scotland together during the summer. Many of<br />
the main events will be held in George Square,<br />
with free events for all. There will also be a big<br />
screen to allow Glaswegians to catch up on the<br />
days sporting events from Glasgow and Berlin.<br />
An added bonus is that right around the corner<br />
Merchant City Festival takes off with art, design,<br />
film comedy and a carnival. After all this, you<br />
might feel just as exhausted as the athletes!<br />
glasgow2018.com/festival-2018<br />
Merchant City Festival, 2nd-12th Aug<br />
merchantcityfestival.com<br />
Top for Summer Music<br />
The Fiesta and Fold festival takes residence<br />
in Kelvingrove Park on Sat 30th – Sun 1st July<br />
with a quite spectacular line-up of iconic acts.<br />
Along with Nile Rodgers and Chic are Earth Wind<br />
and Fire who played up a storm (if you’ll pardon<br />
the pun) at Glastonbury last year, Emeli Sande<br />
and Morcheeba to name but a few. The two day<br />
festival promises a boogie wonderland in the<br />
park where the heat just might lead to a disco<br />
inferno! Ahem, sorry.<br />
And the music doesn’t stop there. All of this is<br />
a pre-cursor to the annual Summer Nights at<br />
the Bandstand in July and August. A sublime<br />
line up of new kids on the block and legendary<br />
stars will dazzle on the bandstand this summer.<br />
From Bryan Ferry to The Fratellis, OMD to Imelda<br />
May, it’s certainly an eclectic mix. This summer<br />
we really are spoiled for musical choice.<br />
Fiesta and Fold, Sat 30th June<br />
& Sun 1st July, Kelvingrove Park.<br />
westendfiesta.co.uk<br />
Summer Nights at the Bandstand,<br />
July and August, Kelvingrove<br />
Bandstand and Amphitheatre.<br />
ticketmaster.co.uk/Summer-Nightstickets
20 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
'Learning Through Play'<br />
Places available.<br />
To book your visit call Maureen on 0141 357 0231<br />
www.derbystreetnursery.co.uk<br />
maureen@derbystreetnursery.co.uk<br />
1 Parkgrove Terrace, Glasgow G3 7SD<br />
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www.pilatesglasgow.com 0787 647 3381<br />
kerrystewart07@hotmail.com<br />
Kay - 07790 331227<br />
Six Rooms, 6 Highburgh Road G12 9YD
www.westendermagazine.com | 21<br />
Endmum’s<br />
West<br />
notebook<br />
by Michele Gordon thelanguagehub.co.uk<br />
Is it just me or has summer come early this<br />
year? Whatever the weather, the summer<br />
school holidays are upon us. Yes, that<br />
time of year when you wonder how you<br />
can cover all your kids time off with your<br />
two weeks annual leave. Lock them in the<br />
wardrobe for the remaining five weeks?<br />
Call in sick and hope no one will find out?<br />
Or play the lottery and hope to win on time to<br />
afford at least part-time child care. Decisions<br />
decisions!<br />
For working parents summer holidays<br />
can create serious child care problems.<br />
We are quite lucky as I can take Ruby and<br />
Leon with me to The Hub while working.<br />
However, if you don’t have child care issues<br />
the kids will drive you up the wall within a<br />
short period of time because you’ve run<br />
out of ideas about what to do with them.<br />
But there is help at hand! Although most<br />
regular children’s activities stop over the<br />
summer, there are many providers who run<br />
special summer activities to offer plenty<br />
of entertainment. There are many camps<br />
which focus on sporty things and quite a few<br />
organisations are spread across the West<br />
End so no need to travel far.<br />
Glasgow Life run a holiday activity<br />
programme during the Easter and summer<br />
school holidays each year (glasgowlife.org.<br />
uk) for 5-11 year-olds which is a mix of play,<br />
sport and arts & crafts; places for these sell<br />
fast as they are very reasonably priced.<br />
There are other organisations like<br />
Summer-In-The-City (summer-in-the-city.<br />
co.uk) for 5-16 year olds which use Jordanhill<br />
Campus as their base in the West End. Daily<br />
rates are £25 per child or £125 per child per<br />
week, or £65 per child per week for half days.<br />
The advantage here is that your child can be<br />
cared for from 8am-6pm if need be.<br />
Another popular one is Camp Indy<br />
(campindy.co.uk) based at Kelvinside<br />
Academy which is open to ages 5-14.<br />
If you have set yourself a smaller budget<br />
and are just looking for the occasional activity<br />
then look up Glasgow Life’s website again<br />
as you will find anything from indoor bounce<br />
and rhyme sessions to story book readings,<br />
arts and crafts to outdoor sports activities in<br />
various parks, all of which are free.<br />
Or alternatively, check out one of the<br />
sessions at The Hub. We run weekday<br />
activities for children and adults. Some are<br />
language immersion classes, some are arts<br />
and crafts based and others learning about<br />
different countries and cultures.<br />
This way you still have some cash left to<br />
treat yourself and the kids along the way with<br />
some yummy food for example. We like The<br />
Big Mouth Coffee cafe on Dumbarton Road<br />
(bigmouthcoffeecompany.com), they have a<br />
very reasonably priced basic children’s menu<br />
and staff are very friendly too.<br />
If they fancy more of a ‘restaurant<br />
atmosphere’, as they call it, Ruby and Leon<br />
will chose Tony Macaroni on Byres Road<br />
(tonymacaroni.co.uk). But our personal find<br />
of the year so far, which we only discovered a<br />
few weeks ago, is definitely 1010 on Radnor<br />
Street (1010glasgow.com). They serve<br />
very tasty burgers and children aged 10 or<br />
younger eat for free! This only leaves me to<br />
wish you all a great summer and lots of fun<br />
whatever you do. Einen schönen Sommer<br />
Euch allen und bis bald!
22 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
© Sinead Grainger<br />
Writer’s Reveal<br />
meets Helen McClory<br />
WORDS LORAINE PATRICK
www.westendermagazine.com | 23<br />
It is said there is no better way to spark<br />
the creative genius than to pack up and<br />
travel. Ernest Hemingway had a bolt-hole<br />
in the Florida Keys, F. Scott Fitzgerald loved<br />
to escape to the French Riviera and Virginia<br />
Woolf spent seaside summers in Cornwall.<br />
Closer to home one of Scotland’s up and<br />
coming authors is spending her summer on a<br />
writing retreat in Portugal. Helen McClory is a<br />
name you may recognize. She won the Saltire<br />
First Book Award for her short fiction in 2015<br />
and her second collection came out earlier<br />
this year. Mayhem & Death is published by<br />
Scottish independent publishing house 404<br />
Ink who champion alternative writing. Helen<br />
took time out from her break to tell us more.<br />
Firstly thank you for interrupting your<br />
summer travels to talk to us – you are<br />
midway through your time in Portugal.<br />
What has taken you there?<br />
It is no problem at all. I am here volunteering<br />
on a small farm. I get room and board, and<br />
time to write. It’s basically a self-arranged<br />
residency for me. It’s wildflower season right<br />
now and everything’s gorgeous.<br />
What kind of writer are you – do you use<br />
trips like this to inspire and put pen to<br />
paper or are you a disciplined sit down at<br />
a desk kind of writer?<br />
I use trips all the time to inspire me, and to<br />
try to get an understanding of a new culture<br />
and landscape. I think you can only write<br />
about somewhere if you’ve really immersed<br />
yourself. But then, I also try to write little and<br />
often. Desks are a no – I write lying down on<br />
my bed. It’s surprisingly comfy.<br />
Your new book Mayhem & Death was<br />
published earlier this year, can you give<br />
our readers a flavour of what to expect?<br />
It’s short stories, flash fictions, and a novella<br />
– they are all connected (in ways I won’t<br />
spoil here – the reader can guess!) and they<br />
are all about loneliness, loss, moments of<br />
connection and strangeness in the everyday.<br />
You have won awards for your flash<br />
fiction. What is it about this style of<br />
writing that appeals?<br />
I love writing flash – it’s a disciplined thing. Sit<br />
down with an idea, a line, or even a title. Write<br />
until it’s done, until the story unpacks itself<br />
into its tiny space. Set it to rest, and edit, then<br />
understand what you have. I hope the reader<br />
sees the concentration of the language –<br />
a flash fiction isn’t just a paragraph of text<br />
but almost like making something physical. It<br />
usually has to be read a few times to let it sink<br />
in. I love reading flash too. When it’s good, it<br />
lives up to the name – bottled lightning.<br />
Can you explain the differences between<br />
Flash fiction, short stories and novellas?<br />
Are there specific word limits you need to<br />
adhere to?<br />
Flash fiction is broadly anything under 1000<br />
words, short stories anything above, right up<br />
until it becomes a novella – which is anything<br />
over 18,000 (more or less). I just write with<br />
the idea that everything I’m going to make<br />
will be short, but if it needs to be longer, I let<br />
it breathe. The form chooses itself, based on<br />
the ideas as they come.<br />
One reviewer describes Mayhem & Death<br />
as being a ‘delicious anecdote to the<br />
up-lit’ that is around. Are you looking for<br />
readers to challenge fears rather than<br />
provide escapism?<br />
I love the idea of my writing being an<br />
anecdote to something – though it doesn’t<br />
have to be against anything else. I wrote<br />
this book for the lonely – to build something<br />
that would speak to them, acknowledge<br />
them. It’s a steely kindness, I hope. No point<br />
in shying away from how difficult life is, even<br />
as we’re saying, we’re here, together, now,<br />
in it.<br />
In reviews of the book The Romantic<br />
Comedy, Automaton Town and Take Care I<br />
Love You are all singled out for particular<br />
praise, do you have a favourite tale?<br />
Can you single one story out and give us<br />
a flavour?<br />
I really enjoy Take Care, I Love You, because<br />
I got to experiment with that one a little.<br />
I used a little of the contents page from<br />
the Wikipedia page for the Fermi Paradox,<br />
which is about why, given how many planets<br />
there are in the universe, we haven’t been<br />
contacted by aliens yet, and put this together<br />
with a kind of narrative about a very lonely<br />
person. It’s a poem more than a story, but it<br />
could be either. That’s how I hope my work is,<br />
hard to classify, but still with heart.
24 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
The book finishes with a novella<br />
(Powdered Milk) revisiting characters<br />
from the opening story – do you have<br />
plans to revisit any other characters or<br />
stories at a later date in perhaps longer<br />
form?<br />
I have no plans as yet. But I won’t rule it<br />
out. It might be in a shorter form, too, if it<br />
happens.<br />
You describe yourself as a writer with a<br />
‘moor and a cold sea in your heart’ what<br />
do you mean by this?<br />
It refers to where I grew up – the landscape<br />
of Skye is still there, still coming through my<br />
work, I think.<br />
Although you spent your early years in<br />
Skye, you are now settled in Edinburgh –<br />
via Glasgow where you studied literature<br />
– where feels most like home?<br />
I love Glasgow, and would love to live there<br />
again. However, home is a moveable feast.<br />
My student days were a hard-working period.<br />
All I did was work and hang out with writers.<br />
I would like to live in Glasgow when I’m not<br />
up to my eyes in essay deadlines!<br />
I thoroughly enjoy your observations<br />
on twitter (@HelenMcClory) you really<br />
seem to engage with your followers. How<br />
important is it for you to have a social<br />
media presence?<br />
I think Twitter has helped me connect with so<br />
many cool people, and find opportunities all<br />
over the place – I love it, even though it can<br />
be stressful (and a distraction). I think it keeps<br />
my finger on the pulse and also inspires me.<br />
Once I wrote a day of flash fiction to prompts<br />
people gave me there, and it was intense but<br />
really rewarding. I can’t say how important it<br />
is, but it’s a big part of my life.<br />
Competition!<br />
We have two signed<br />
copies of Mayhem &<br />
Death to give away. Visit<br />
westendermagazine.com and<br />
click on competitions by the<br />
31st of August 2018.<br />
You are appearing at the Edinburgh Book<br />
Festival on 24 August, what can you tell us<br />
about your event?<br />
I’ll be appearing with the excellent Canadian<br />
writer Camilla Grudova, who also happens<br />
to love the weird and dark in fiction, and is a<br />
new friend of mine, so the craic’s going to be<br />
good. During festival time the city pulls on all<br />
its fancy clothes, dances about with people.<br />
Don’t listen to the moaners – it’s never better<br />
than in August.<br />
Who are you looking forward to seeing?<br />
I don’t have the catalogue yet! But I will be<br />
happy to see Camilla!<br />
We are looking forward to seeing you<br />
at the Festival; can you sum up why our<br />
readers should buy your book?<br />
I think they should buy it for two reasons<br />
– one, it’s been put out by two amazing<br />
Scottish women who are running their own<br />
publishing house out of a spare room (and<br />
wouldn’t you want to support that?) and two,<br />
because the stories in the book are written<br />
for you. They’re just waiting right there, for<br />
you to get stuck in.<br />
Check out the full programme of<br />
events and book tickets for the<br />
Edinburgh International Book festival at<br />
edbookfest.co.uk<br />
Mayhem &<br />
Death<br />
£2<br />
OFF<br />
*<br />
RRP £8.99<br />
*Exclusive offer for WESTENDER readers<br />
at Waterstones 351-355 Byres Road<br />
branch only, by 31st August 2018.
www.westendermagazine.com | 25
26 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
1<br />
BY BRIAN TOAL<br />
WESTENDER’s<br />
COVER TO COVER<br />
Summer is approaching, so it’s time to get your<br />
beach novels packed. If you haven’t yet read ‘Eleanor<br />
Oliphant is Completely Fine’, get it in your suitcase.<br />
It has been winning awards as far back as 2014.<br />
Eleanor<br />
Oliphant is<br />
Completely Fine<br />
by Gail Honeyman<br />
If that’s not enough of an incentive<br />
to buy the book, Honeyman is<br />
based in Glasgow and much of<br />
the novel is set in our beloved<br />
West End, although there is an<br />
occasional foray to the South<br />
Side. However, you’ll be pleased to<br />
know that the protagonist is fairly<br />
disparaging of what the South<br />
Side has to offer.<br />
Eleanor Oliphant is one of<br />
the most intriguing protagonists<br />
you’ll ever meet – eating the<br />
same Tesco meal deal every day,<br />
drinking two litres of vodka every<br />
weekend and cooking pasta with<br />
pesto every night. She’s a woman<br />
of routine, lives alone, has a fairly<br />
mundane job and doesn’t have any<br />
friends. As the plot unravels and<br />
elements of her past are gradually<br />
revealed, we begin to understand<br />
how damaged she is, why she is<br />
damaged and who caused the<br />
damage. She is terribly naïve<br />
with very little experience of the<br />
everyday trivialities of our culture,<br />
so any discussions about television<br />
programmes or celebrity gossip<br />
leave her mystified.<br />
She is also a fantasist, which<br />
is not surprising given her<br />
traumatic childhood, but these<br />
fantasies eventually lead to crisis,<br />
then epiphany, then finally into<br />
the denouement of the novel,<br />
which I won’t mention here,<br />
of course.<br />
Her mother features on a regular basis, calling once a week<br />
and veering between intrusive questions and pure vitriol. Eleanor<br />
is left reeling from these sessions and often it’s only the thought<br />
of the weekend vodka which sees her through the next few days.<br />
Raymond – a scruffy IT chap from the same building – befriends<br />
her and they soon meet for lunch and coffee regularly. She begins<br />
to learn about social conventions and is introduced to more and<br />
more people, gradually finding that she can almost function as a<br />
regular member of society. It’s all starting to go so well, but don’t<br />
be fooled. This isn’t a romance, and if there is a happier ending<br />
than the bleak beginning, it’s anything but a ‘happily ever after’.<br />
We’ve got to know Eleanor so well by this point that we can’t be<br />
sure that her recent progress will be maintained or that she won’t<br />
press the self-destruct button again.<br />
This novel is hilarious and terribly sad. This novel is about how<br />
the past can damage you, how your parents can damage you,<br />
how society is largely oblivious to the damaged individuals who<br />
walk amongst us. They often seem to be completely fine.
www.westendermagazine.com | 27<br />
Ready Player<br />
One<br />
by Ernest Cline<br />
2<br />
For summer reading you<br />
can’t do much better than<br />
this. Ernest Cline has created<br />
an action-packed futuristic<br />
adventure romp which takes<br />
place in the ‘real’ world and<br />
in the virtual world of the<br />
OASIS, a world created by an<br />
eccentric multibillionaire gamer<br />
Halliday.<br />
The main protagonist,<br />
Wade, along with millions of<br />
other gamers, are captivated<br />
by Halliday’s legacy – all of<br />
his vast wealth for the one<br />
who finds his ‘Easter Egg’,<br />
a term used to describe a<br />
prize hidden deep within a<br />
game. The ranks of the ‘sixers’<br />
who work for IOI (basically<br />
the Evil Empire / Google /<br />
Amazon) are essentially the<br />
storm troopers who are out to<br />
prevent Halliday’s wealth going<br />
anywhere but into their gaping<br />
maw.<br />
Cline was a teenager in the<br />
Eighties, so the book is packed<br />
with arcade games, songs<br />
and film references which will<br />
amuse and delight anyone the<br />
wrong side of forty, like the<br />
writer (of the novel and this<br />
review).<br />
Teens and adults alike<br />
should find much to delight<br />
them in this engrossing<br />
thriller with more twists and<br />
turns than the Stockiemuir<br />
Road. It’s now a Spielberg<br />
blockbuster, but I’d recommend<br />
reading the book first as the<br />
attention to detail is breathtaking<br />
and watching the<br />
film in the summer holidays<br />
will be more rewarding.<br />
The list of acknowledgements<br />
is testament to the amount<br />
of gaming research Cline has<br />
done to ensure authenticity.<br />
And finally, one for the little<br />
‘uns. The fifth instalment in<br />
the hilarious series about a<br />
family of hyenas masquerading<br />
as humans will provide a lot<br />
of fun for the kids as well as<br />
some subtle and not so subtle<br />
double entendres for the<br />
adults to enjoy.<br />
The Bolds already have<br />
their hands – or paws – full<br />
training up their students to<br />
integrate into human society:<br />
Craig the wild boar, Snappy<br />
the goose and Miss Paulina,<br />
an otter with ambitions to<br />
become a nun. However, life<br />
is about to get much more<br />
complicated when a thieving,<br />
rude and ravenous fox begins<br />
to steal from the houses on<br />
Fairfield Road.<br />
The inevitable<br />
neighbourhood watch meeting<br />
takes place with many<br />
of the overreactions and<br />
pettiness which many of us<br />
will recognise, and the Bolds<br />
find themselves the only ones<br />
sticking up for the rights of the<br />
foxes. The hosts of the meeting<br />
– Richard and Zoe Bingham<br />
– are hilarious caricatures<br />
as we’ve all got neighbours<br />
like this.<br />
When Mossy the fox, the<br />
thief in question, is caught in a<br />
trap in the Bingham’s garden,<br />
the Bolds and their friends<br />
swing into action in a bold<br />
and ingenious rescue attempt.<br />
I’ll say no more at this point<br />
in order to maintain the high<br />
octane tension!<br />
Suitable for P4-P7, your<br />
kids will love the jokes and<br />
clever word play, as will any<br />
adult reader fortunate enough<br />
to read this to their charges.<br />
Julian Clary is a genius.<br />
The Bolds Are<br />
In Trouble<br />
by Julian Clary<br />
3
28 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
The trademarks Ovo and Cirque du Soleil are owned by Cirque du Soleil and used under license. Design: Bob King Creative Ltd.<br />
‘A SPECTACULAR SHOW<br />
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Westender www.westendermagazine.com Magazine Promotion | 29<br />
Images I Gregor Reid<br />
summer sushirrito<br />
There’s a new portable lunch craze on<br />
the scene – the fresh and tasty sushirrito<br />
at Wudon! Situated half-way between<br />
the Botanics and Kelvingrove Park, Wudon<br />
is the perfect summer lunch pick up spot for<br />
a healthy bite to eat while topping up your<br />
vitamin D levels in a West End park.<br />
With three fish and meat combos to try the<br />
Wudon sushirrito is a hand held sushi burrito<br />
to be eaten on the go. If time’s an issue<br />
simply call ahead and your made-to-order<br />
lunch will be ready to go when you are.<br />
A generous sushi maki, Wudon’s sushirrito<br />
is made with your choice of filling rolled<br />
in seaweed and rice. And the fillings? A<br />
pan Asian taste sensation of peppery beef<br />
with crispy shallots in a sweet and savoury<br />
teriyaki dressing makes up the Beefy Sumo.<br />
This option can also be made with<br />
tofu (£6.95).<br />
Or why not try the fragrant Panko Mango,<br />
or fresh Sake Salmon sushi burritos? I loved<br />
the Panko Mango for the succulent coconut<br />
coated chicken in crispy Panko breadcrumbs<br />
wrapped in fresh fruit mango salad, the<br />
tastes all so clean and fresh for a light<br />
summer’s day lunch.<br />
@<br />
WUDON<br />
The healthy Sake Salmon sushirrito option<br />
is just the choice to opt for pre-holiday. Fresh<br />
raw slices of salmon and cucumber are rolled<br />
in a kimchi dressing – taste buds tingling yet?<br />
Whether it’s a snack on the run or a quick<br />
lunch time treat en-route to the Botanics,<br />
Wudon’s sushirritos are a fresh, tasty and<br />
portable option.<br />
Sushirritos are available for a limited time<br />
only and at just £7.95 each they’re tantalising<br />
on the palate yet light on the wallet. For even<br />
more value pick up the new Sushiritto Loyalty<br />
Card and pick up every fourth sushi burrito<br />
for FREE!<br />
Collect a stamp every time you buy a Sushiritto<br />
and get your 4th one free!<br />
1 2 3 4 free<br />
on 4th<br />
visit<br />
One stamp per table or per takeaway<br />
This card must be presented at time of payment<br />
Offer expires 31/08/18<br />
Wudon<br />
535 Great Western Road<br />
0141 357 3033<br />
wudon-noodlebar.co.uk
30 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
THERE<br />
ARE SO<br />
MANY<br />
WAYS TO<br />
LOVE<br />
JOIN // HOST // SHOP<br />
For more information:<br />
www.stelladot.co.uk/lorainepatrick<br />
lorainepatrick1@me.com
Westender www.westendermagazine.com Magazine Promotion | 31<br />
Images I Gregor Reid<br />
artisan bread<br />
coffee & plants at<br />
Artisan bread from Freedom Bakery and<br />
freshly ground Oven Bird coffee, two<br />
of many great local food producers to<br />
be found on the menu, and for sale, at new<br />
Thornwood café Tulipané.<br />
Tulipané owner, Lesley, is a well kent<br />
face in these parts, ‘Thornwood is a<br />
neighbourhood I know and love. When I<br />
met Joe Molinari and saw what a lovely<br />
job he was doing with number 682 it felt<br />
like a perfect fit, I wanted to be part of the<br />
regeneration of a neighbourhood full of real<br />
characters. The inspiration for Tulipané came<br />
from café culture in Italy and it seemed a real<br />
organic pairing presenting in season plants<br />
for sale, and flowers for order too.<br />
‘We open at 7.30am as we’re at the main<br />
bus stop for the new hospital so knew coffee<br />
on the go and takeaway food would be big for<br />
us. We’re not just a café.’<br />
Lesley is passionate about using local<br />
seasonal ingredients and suppliers, ‘my<br />
suppliers are all local with a strong ethical<br />
attitude to the environment. I love their<br />
personal service and enthusiasm for what<br />
I’m doing and how proud they are to see their<br />
produce prepared and served with passion.<br />
Luckily I have great staff who are very<br />
welcoming and fantastic with our customers.’<br />
Freedom Bakery and Bavarian Bakehouse<br />
supply a range of fresh breads, rolls<br />
and ciabattas Tulipané fill with delicious<br />
combinations of ingredients. All salad, veg<br />
and dairy produce comes from Seasonal<br />
Produce ‘a supplier of old who became a<br />
friend,’ says Lesley. Tulipanes breakfast<br />
menu is served all day with eggs supplied<br />
from Corrie Mains Farm – you just can’t beat<br />
them!<br />
With an extensive breakfast and lunch<br />
menu with options for vegans, vegetarians,<br />
the gluten intolerant (gluten free and vegan<br />
cakes, bread and pastries are from Wild<br />
Flour Bakery), Lesley is bringing something<br />
fresh to the area and locals are loving their<br />
new stylish café. Helped along by the secret<br />
carrot cake recipe from Huckleberry Bakers<br />
…shhh.<br />
Tulipané<br />
682 Dumbarton Road G11 6RB<br />
0141 339 2223<br />
tulipane.co.uk
32 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
Nice, or a bit naughty?<br />
The choice is yours!<br />
Guilty Pleasures from<br />
Westender’s American<br />
in Glasgow<br />
Image I Gregor Reid
www.westendermagazine.com | 33<br />
Cherry chocolate<br />
coconut popsicles<br />
by Liberty Vittert<br />
K<br />
Shopping List<br />
350g pitted cherries<br />
480mL unsweetened<br />
almond milk<br />
400mL coconut milk<br />
200mL coconut cream<br />
1/2 tsp salt<br />
1 tsp vanilla<br />
100g shredded coconut,<br />
75g ground almonds<br />
100g chopped dark<br />
chocolate<br />
or<br />
for an adult version<br />
substitute 400ml coconut<br />
milk for 400ml Baileys!<br />
L<br />
Bikini bodies suck, but I get it (don’t have one<br />
obviously, but understand their usefulness).<br />
And of course along with bikini bodies comes the<br />
bikini diet. Oy vay.<br />
Now I make bikini diet food (sometimes) but<br />
hand to God I just can’t really get into it. Nothing<br />
ever tastes quite as good as the ‘real thing’.<br />
But a few weeks ago, my brother was visiting and<br />
he is lactose intolerant (he doesn't seem lactose<br />
intolerant when I slip a couple slabs of butter in the<br />
scrambled eggs I make for breakfast, but whatever).<br />
So, as the dutiful sister, I pulled out all the stops,<br />
and whipped up these Cherry Chocolate Coconut<br />
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I have to say, I even surprised<br />
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4. Let the moulds freeze for 20 minutes<br />
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5. Let the whole thing freeze overnight.<br />
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34 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
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53 Cresswell St. Glasgow, G12 8AE t:0141 334 4240 425 Grt. Western Rd. Glasgow, G4 9JA t:0141 334 0055
@<br />
El Perro<br />
Negro<br />
www.westendermagazine.com | 35<br />
Image I Gregor Reid<br />
Reviewed by<br />
Roberto Parrucci<br />
Its name immediately brought up memories<br />
of my time in Spain, when in Cordoba<br />
I used to eat at the ‘Rey de los perritos<br />
calientes’ (the king of hot dogs) caressed by<br />
the Andalusian sun, a fresh beer in hand.<br />
These days of incredible summer weather<br />
in Glasgow can trick the mind indeed.<br />
But, a glance at the window and a chat with<br />
the staff bring me quickly back to Glasgow’s<br />
foodie paradise, Finnieston. Hungry after a<br />
busy day’s exertions, we decided to stop by<br />
El Perro Negro. Here, at number 966 Argyle<br />
Street the most rarefied burgers in town are<br />
rumoured to be found.<br />
The location is intentionally minimal<br />
– no frills to distract you. The focus is solely<br />
on the burger, the handsome protagonist of<br />
your meal.<br />
The selection will please both classic<br />
burger lovers and those striving for more<br />
unconventional combinations. The classic<br />
burger definitely stands out for the quality<br />
of the meat, yet it’s the more contemporary<br />
additions that make this place an absolute<br />
must go.<br />
Advised by the knowledgeable staff at<br />
the counter, I plumped for Korean gochujang<br />
chicken wings as a starter followed by a deep<br />
fried tofu burger, as I felt these would be the<br />
real standout – and I was right! My mouth<br />
was blessed by an explosion of flavour.<br />
The starter of chicken wings was simply<br />
delicious. So much so I tore them to the<br />
bone; following the primordial advice of my<br />
empty stomach. The tender and juicy chicken<br />
meat contrasted with the crispy sesame<br />
coating. All topped with fresh spring onion<br />
and battered in the now famous gochujang<br />
spice, I felt I should have ordered more.<br />
But alas, the tofu burger was waiting for me.<br />
It looked delicious and cute. The orangeshaded<br />
tofu slice was topped with the cutest<br />
strips of carrots ever seen. I’m not usually<br />
a fan of tofu but this burger really made me<br />
reconsider. All tastes were well balanced<br />
and complemented each other – the wee<br />
spicy bit deliciously beefing up the taste. But,<br />
if spice is not your thing, perhaps opt for<br />
milder choices.<br />
Last but not least, we decided to taste the<br />
buffalo and blue cheese fries. If gochujang<br />
doesn’t give you enough inner heat, add<br />
these fries and your mouth will start to swell.<br />
Dip them in truffle mayo (courtesy of the staff<br />
to us!) to add another distinctive flavour to<br />
your meal.<br />
All this burning made you thirsty?<br />
Unfortunately, El Perro has no alcohol<br />
licence, but, and here comes the kicker: the<br />
venue has partnered up with neighbour The<br />
Brass Monkey, which means you can enjoy<br />
‘the best burger in town’ while sipping a crisp<br />
pint in arguably one of the hippest bars in the<br />
West End. Isn’t that just a treat?<br />
El Perro Negro<br />
966 Argyle Street G3 8LU<br />
el-perro-negro.com
36 | Westender www.westendermagazine.com<br />
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www.westendermagazine.com | 37<br />
@<br />
The<br />
Left Bank<br />
Reviewed by<br />
Emily Donoho<br />
The Left Bank, now a Gibson Street<br />
institution, opened in 2006 to awards and<br />
shiny reviews for its luscious, innovative<br />
take on Scottish cuisine. Since then it<br />
has drawn a steady crowd of students,<br />
academics, and locals. It was a hotspot of the<br />
Glasgow University geography department,<br />
the gathering point for celebrations whenever<br />
someone completed their PhD, and during<br />
graduation, don’t expect to get in.<br />
While it’s famous and frequently reviewed<br />
for its excellent food, I visited at 9pm to<br />
have a couple of drinks. The interior hasn’t<br />
changed since it opened in 2006, or since<br />
I was last there in 2012, with its distinctive<br />
split-level architecture, tables and comfy<br />
sofas (they are incredibly comfy) hidden<br />
around corners or up the stairs on the<br />
mezzanine level. The mix of glass panels,<br />
brick, and wood is fashionable, the exposed<br />
brick combined with modern materials<br />
seemingly a thing in a lot of bars and<br />
restaurants these days aiming for that look<br />
that is both ‘retro’ and postmodern. At least<br />
the Left Bank wears it easily, like it’s not<br />
trying too hard to be cool. It just is.<br />
If you want a quiet drink midweek and<br />
don’t want to fight the crowds or overly loud<br />
music in a busy venue, I recommend it.<br />
The atmosphere is friendly and relaxed;<br />
you can have a conversation with your mates<br />
without shouting, something I always look for<br />
in a bar. It’s unsurprisingly busy at meal times<br />
but seems to clear out around 9 – at least on<br />
a Wednesday – so you can find a seat and be<br />
very chilled out about the whole experience.<br />
The bar has a small selection of beers<br />
on draught, but they have been chosen by<br />
someone who knows they don’t have many<br />
pumps and selected their beer with care:<br />
Tennent’s, Staropramen, Drygate Pilsner,<br />
Joker IPA, and a rotating craft beer, which<br />
was Fraoch the night I was there, as well<br />
as bottles from the Williams Brothers’<br />
brewery. Unfortunately, the Fraoch was off<br />
that evening, but Joker is always a reliable<br />
favourite for the microbrew enthusiast.<br />
For whisky lovers, there is a reasonable<br />
selection, about a dozen malts, some of them<br />
pretty rare like a 41 year Ardmore. It’s mainly<br />
a restaurant, so it carries the extensive wine<br />
list you’d expect from a good restaurant.<br />
But where it prides itself are its cocktails, of<br />
which there are a wide array, from classics<br />
like Martinis, Margaritas, and Manhattans,<br />
to their own concoctions with names like<br />
Highand Rose or the Symphony. I’m not a<br />
frequent cocktail drinker nor a particularly<br />
discerning one, but in James Bond style I<br />
tried a Martini and all I can really say is that it<br />
was an excellent Martini.<br />
The only real downside is that it’s relatively<br />
expensive. A pint cost nearly £5 and cocktails<br />
are more than £7. Nonetheless, for a relaxed<br />
night out or for boldly trying inventive<br />
cocktails, it’s a delightful little bar.<br />
The Left Bank<br />
33-35 Gibson Street G12 8NU<br />
0141 339 5969<br />
theleftbank.co.uk<br />
Image I Gregor Reid
38 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
Power of Paper<br />
& Victoria Cassidy<br />
WORDS NICOLA MAULE MAIN IMAGE GREGOR REID<br />
Shifting her 9 to 5 from artist to curator<br />
was for Victoria Cassidy a pretty<br />
straightforward move. ‘Running<br />
a gallery has always seemed like a very<br />
natural thing to me, having been involved<br />
in the arts since my teens.’ Encouragement<br />
was pressed earlier in life on learning ‘the<br />
more academic subjects of maths, physics<br />
and chemistry – art was frowned on and<br />
regarded as a “hobby” rather than a career,’<br />
she adds. Cassidy followed expectation until,<br />
‘I realised that I wasn’t actually happy on that<br />
path - so, in my final year of school I sat my<br />
Higher Art and was accepted to Glasgow<br />
School of Art.’<br />
Choosing Printmaking as her speciality<br />
she reflects on this way, ‘Perhaps the<br />
sciences I studied at school drew me to it?<br />
The technical processes and the chemistry of<br />
it suited my methodical approach to making<br />
images and even now this early training<br />
informs the way I paint. I always claim that I<br />
paint like a printmaker.’<br />
Mansfield Park Gallery is a permanent<br />
high street space which launched in 2006,<br />
an established fixture in Glasgow’s West End<br />
retail landscape. The gallery is traditional in<br />
name, offering and therefore expectation but<br />
it’s the artist understanding and view which<br />
I would argue enhances its value – offering<br />
a unique position among many other high<br />
street galleries. ‘I have developed a great<br />
network of artist friends who are happy to<br />
deal with someone who knows first-hand<br />
what it’s like to be an artist herself. I also<br />
hope that my experience will be useful to<br />
anyone interested in buying art for the first<br />
time, I don’t hang anything on the gallery<br />
walls that I wouldn’t hang in my own home<br />
– and I set that bar high,’ she tells me.<br />
Cassidy holds a rich collection of works<br />
on the walls and in the sleeves. ‘Scotland has
www.westendermagazine.com | 39<br />
a tradition of producing great artists and as<br />
a nation we should be proud and supportive<br />
of that – it’s not all about highland cows<br />
and wee white cottages, there is so much<br />
more interesting and challenging work being<br />
produced and that’s what excites me and<br />
makes me feel privileged to be a part of it all,’<br />
she adds.<br />
Her own work is also represented but<br />
with modest self-promotion. When browsing<br />
through the range of artists on the gallery<br />
website I was quite struck by her pieces<br />
– initially drawn to the wonderful pattern and<br />
balance of elements in her early pictures,<br />
the use of Egyptian hieroglyphics and<br />
symbolism. It was only after a little further<br />
research I understood that the artist was<br />
also the gallery owner and this made it all the<br />
more interesting.<br />
Holding a deep interest in the power of<br />
paper as a carrier of history she explains,<br />
‘I’m fascinated with the idea of ancient,<br />
foreign civilisations whose culture is revealed<br />
to us through the discovery and deciphering<br />
of fragile paper documents, scrolls, old<br />
maps and decaying texts,’ and is ‘equally<br />
fascinated by the contrast between these<br />
ancient civilisations and the new cultures<br />
that have replaced them. ‘Compare the<br />
hieroglyphs of ancient Egypt to the work of<br />
the later Muslim artists who, being forbidden<br />
to represent animal or human forms<br />
used their creativity to produce the most<br />
beautifully, decorative and mathematically<br />
precise pattern work,’ she adds.<br />
I would also extend this to a sympathy<br />
in Cassidy’s pictures not only towards the<br />
beauty of these ancient references but she<br />
evokes, through her choice of subject matter<br />
the value of these cultures – and something<br />
else – the practise of artists and makers<br />
consciously acknowledging their view of the<br />
human position within their pieces. Islamic<br />
art for example is not only beautiful in its<br />
decorative aesthetic for the reasons Cassidy<br />
Only Through Tears & Diminished<br />
© Victoria Cassidy
40 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
Navigating by the Stars © Victoria Cassidy<br />
notes but there will often be a deliberate<br />
break with precision in the logic of pattern<br />
by the artist – a sign or offering of humility,<br />
of our humanness, the premise that only God<br />
is perfect. This practice of the intentional flaw<br />
is recognised throughout the world within<br />
many cultures and religions. The Navajo<br />
Indians for example would weave rugs,<br />
offering a different colour thread through<br />
the pattern as a way for part of the spirit<br />
of the weaver to escape and to show their<br />
imperfection in contrast to the creator, again<br />
considered perfect in comparison.<br />
It also reminds me of that piece of ancient<br />
wisdom which in Japan is known as ‘wabisabi.’<br />
A difficult view to explain, but this story<br />
is often used to demonstrate the beauty of<br />
its sentiment – In the height of the Japanese<br />
autumn, in one of Kyoto’s majestic gardens,<br />
a tea master asked his disciple to prepare for<br />
tea ceremony. The young man trimmed the<br />
hedges, raked the gravel, picked the dried<br />
leaves from the stones, cleared the moss<br />
path of twigs. The garden looked immaculate:<br />
not a blade of grass out of place. The<br />
master inspected the garden quietly. Then,<br />
he reached at a branch of a maple tree and<br />
shook it, watching the auburn leaves fall with<br />
haphazard grace on tidied earth. There it was<br />
now, the magic of imperfection. There it was,<br />
the order of nature, never far from the hands<br />
of humans. There it was, wabi-sabi, thought<br />
master Rikyu – the father of Japanese tea<br />
ceremony. (1)<br />
Cassidy’s most recent work are all<br />
mixed media (acrylic/ watercolour/ ink/ gold<br />
leaf) and influenced by Japanese prints<br />
and culture, deconstructing images from<br />
Japanese masters and combining them with<br />
modern European poetry and song lyrics.<br />
Fall © Victoria Cassidy<br />
‘I have never been to Japan, but I am<br />
planning to travel there next year and hope to<br />
explore the difference between modern hightech<br />
Japan and the old culture of geishas and<br />
tea ceremony. This should form the basis of a<br />
new body of work,’ she tells me.<br />
It is the practising artists approach to<br />
running a gallery that I find wonderfully<br />
refreshing – enriching the customer<br />
experience through that empathetic<br />
connection between the artist, their work and<br />
the buyer. ‘I would hate for anyone to feel<br />
awkward about coming into my gallery, when<br />
I’m sitting behind the desk I’m here to help<br />
(even if you’re not ready to make a purchase)<br />
I will still be happy to answer your questions<br />
and chat to you about the work on display.<br />
So, don’t be shy,’ she adds.<br />
Make sure when you do visit you look<br />
out for Cassidy’s own pictures – the gallery<br />
experience will bridge the gap between<br />
artist-curator and buyer in a much more<br />
direct way. I’m very much looking forward to<br />
viewing the new body of Japanese work that<br />
her upcoming trip may inspire.<br />
(1) psychologytoday.com/us/blog/betweencultures/201701/the-beauty-imperfection<br />
mansfieldparkgallery.com
Jun/Jul 2016<br />
Free<br />
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42 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
Excess packaging,<br />
single use plastic,<br />
toxic manufacturing<br />
processes – every<br />
purchase or service we use<br />
has an environmental impact.<br />
Loraine Patrick meets three<br />
West End companies building<br />
businesses around caring for and<br />
appreciating our environment.<br />
Caroline Thompson-Noble hopes her<br />
new venture makes environmentally<br />
friendly products more accessible.<br />
The Green Place on Dumbarton Road is a<br />
one-stop shop for green home and lifestyle<br />
items. From sustainable paint brands to<br />
locally manufactured cleaning products and<br />
natural skin care, she has an alternative to<br />
many mainstream products.<br />
Describing her carefully thought out<br />
stock selection is a real lesson on how to<br />
make informed buying choices. She explains<br />
the background to her ecologically friendly<br />
paint. It’s recycled from unwanted emulsion<br />
she says, so it reduces the amount that<br />
goes to landfill. ‘The paint goes through a<br />
reprocessing process where it is filtered,<br />
blended and then has natural pigments<br />
added to it. It has a lovely quality to work<br />
with and is slightly thicker than trade paint.’<br />
The green on the interior shop wall is one of<br />
the 28 shades in the range and reflects the<br />
beautiful depth of colour the emulsion can<br />
achieve. Caroline estimates around 55 million<br />
litres of unwanted paint is thrown out every<br />
year and many of us don’t realise how toxic it<br />
is. ‘If it gets into water courses it can pollute,’<br />
she warns.<br />
It is not just the environment that benefits<br />
from going green our health does too.<br />
Another brand of paint in store is made<br />
entirely from plant derivatives and natural<br />
minerals and is safe enough for customers<br />
with allergies or respiratory conditions.<br />
Caroline explains ‘People often tell you not<br />
to paint when you are pregnant; and there<br />
is a good reason for that. It was only when I<br />
got my own house and started doing it up I<br />
realised there are so many chemicals you can<br />
be exposed to.’<br />
Cutting down on plastic waste has<br />
become a public priority particularly since<br />
the impact on the world’s oceans was<br />
highlighted in the BBC series Blue Planet<br />
2. The Green Place offers refills on around<br />
a dozen household and beauty products.<br />
‘I had a lady in yesterday who filled up five<br />
bottles, it maybe took 10 minutes out of her<br />
day but I think the amount we are taking out<br />
of the earth is too much. It is not sustainable.<br />
Business models have to change.’
www.westendermagazine.com | 43<br />
Dear Green<br />
Place<br />
WORDS LORAINE PATRICK IMAGES GREGOR REID
44 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
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www.westendermagazine.com | 45<br />
Charlie Mulholland from Zedify the<br />
cargo bike delivery service (formerly called<br />
Outspoken Delivery) couldn’t agree more.<br />
When he started up as a bike courier<br />
in Cambridge his aim was to enjoy the<br />
outdoors, now he hopes his expanding zero<br />
emission delivery service has a positive<br />
impact on Glasgow’s congested streets.<br />
Explaining how his company works he<br />
says, ‘our aim is to do the least number of<br />
miles possible. One of our biggest clients is<br />
TNT (a worldwide shipping company) and we<br />
are helping them take vans off the road by<br />
doing many of their last mile deliveries.<br />
‘We try to do everything with a moral<br />
and ethical outlook,’ he continues. ‘We do<br />
not put fumes into the city centre and all my<br />
employees are paid a living wage. Barring<br />
the occasional horizontal hail shower our<br />
cyclists are happy. We strategically use an<br />
electric van to maximise the use of our cargo<br />
bikes, which I appreciate does not solve the<br />
congestion problem but it does mean we can<br />
deliver bigger loads.’<br />
Zedify have won funding to trial a pilot<br />
delivery scheme in Edinburgh to help<br />
independent shops. A similar scheme ran<br />
in London over Christmas. ‘10 retailers<br />
signed up to offer free delivery to customers<br />
living within half a mile and it proved hugely<br />
successful.’<br />
The aim ultimately is to replicate the<br />
scheme in the West End of Glasgow. ‘Imagine<br />
being able to buy your favourite cheese from<br />
IJ Mellis, your bread from Cottonrake Bakery<br />
and your pick of fruit and veg from Roots and<br />
Fruits and we could deliver all three for free<br />
to your home. That’s the absolute dream,’<br />
he laughs.<br />
Whist the Zedify couriers are out in all<br />
weather – come rain, sleet or driving winds<br />
(yes even in the summer months) local mum<br />
Mel Russell’s new company aims to help us<br />
enjoy the outdoors whatever the weather.<br />
The highly insulated environmentally<br />
sustainable garden rooms she is<br />
manufacturing are designed to give you the<br />
space you need – whether that’s for growing
46 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
teenagers, a place to work from home or<br />
simply a room to relax and enjoy the garden.<br />
The high spec rooms are built from Mel’s<br />
Anniesland workshop. ‘They are a step up<br />
from conservatories,’ she says, ‘cheaper than<br />
a house extension and a million times more<br />
solid in construction than a summerhouse or<br />
garden shed.’ In Scotland it has mainly been<br />
joinery firms who have built these types of<br />
rooms but by focusing solely on her flat pack<br />
design Mel is able to keep costs down and is<br />
able to design, build and install for around a<br />
third cheaper than other manufacturers.<br />
Sitting in the office-cum-spare bedroom<br />
in her back garden in Jordanhill it is easy to<br />
appreciate the appeal. The birds are singing,<br />
it is warm and cosy, and we are surrounded<br />
by greenery. You feel a million miles away<br />
from the busy residential streets of the West<br />
End but it has all the comforts of home.<br />
Surprisingly you don’t need a big garden<br />
to make these rooms work and in most<br />
cases you don’t need planning permission.<br />
There are numerous health and wellbeing<br />
advantages to being able to enjoy an<br />
outdoor space year round and Mel is<br />
putting proposals together for a wheelchair<br />
accessible room after an enquiry from a local<br />
old folks home. ‘It is such a safe and warm<br />
space,’ she says, ‘and a great way to enjoy a<br />
garden whatever the weather.’<br />
Outside In Garden Rooms marks a new<br />
direction for Mel who was formerly a director<br />
in a web design business. ‘I think businesses<br />
are becoming more and more aware of their<br />
responsibilities to the environment,’ she says.<br />
‘It is important for me to deliver a product<br />
that is as sustainable as possible within a<br />
budget range. These rooms should last for 30<br />
years. In house building people are becoming<br />
acutely aware of their moral and ethical<br />
responsibilities. Our rooms have to deliver<br />
now but also have longevity.’<br />
Caroline from The Green Place sums up<br />
the mood, ‘There are lots of great producers<br />
here who are thinking both about their<br />
livelihood and the environment. It is great not<br />
only to buy local, but to demonstrate there<br />
are alternative business models out there that<br />
aren’t just about making lots of money.’<br />
thegreenplaceshop.co.uk<br />
zedify.co.uk<br />
outsideingardenrooms.co.uk
www.westendermagazine.com | 47<br />
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Accountancy<br />
Matters<br />
by Bruce Wilson & Simon Murrison<br />
Contractors: employed or selfemployed?<br />
That is the question.<br />
This is a question currently plaguing<br />
employers and contractors within the<br />
public sector. A question connected to<br />
employment status under HMRC’s notorious<br />
IR35 rules applied to contractors.<br />
Now HMRC is looking to extend the<br />
reforms to the Private Sector as early as<br />
spring 2019. This will have ramifications for<br />
the flexible working economy that is fast<br />
becoming the back bone of UK business.<br />
What is IR35?<br />
IR35 is an ‘intermediary tax’ rule that applies<br />
to contractors providing a professional<br />
service as a partnership or limited company.<br />
Why does IR35 exist?<br />
Designed by HMRC to capture people falling<br />
between the cracks of being employed and<br />
self-employed contractors. HMRC argues<br />
contractors working through a genuine<br />
partnership or limited company are often<br />
‘disguised employees’ avoiding paying the<br />
correct tax.<br />
How to check contract status?<br />
You should determine if your status is<br />
different from the employees working<br />
beside you. Consider where you fit in with<br />
the organisation, the pay and benefits you<br />
receive, the level of risk and rights you have.<br />
Have your say<br />
HMRC launched a consultation to extend the<br />
reforms into the private sector. The deadline<br />
to have your say is 10th August 2018, you can<br />
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muwca.co.uk
50 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
aspirations for the<br />
GOOD LIFE<br />
WORDS Hannah Westwater<br />
Fennel, chive, peppermint and mangetout;<br />
lavender, oregano, borlotti beans,<br />
shallots, perpetual spinach and kale;<br />
rhubarb, gooseberries, tomatoes and<br />
cucumbers, parsnip, garlic and sorrel.<br />
You’ll find these and more nestled in the<br />
heart of Finnieston tenements tended to by<br />
members of the G3 Growers committee.<br />
The Back Garden is a community project with<br />
an unusual twist – a former dumping ground<br />
transformed into a serene haven for greenfingered<br />
locals of all abilities, where members<br />
receive ‘a share of the produce for a share of<br />
the work’.<br />
Set back from Argyle Street and found<br />
down an unassuming lane off Brechin Street,<br />
the circle of buildings around the Back<br />
Garden provides a remarkably effective shield<br />
from the noise and fumes of nearby traffic.<br />
Instead, members can enjoy respite from the<br />
city in the tranquil space lined with benches,<br />
bunting and colourful flowers planted to<br />
attract wildlife. ‘It’s good to be outside, get<br />
your hands in the soil, watch things grow and<br />
nurture things,’ says committee chairperson<br />
Anny Deery. ‘There are so many health and<br />
social benefits.’<br />
The project bloomed in 2011 when the<br />
Partick-based Annexe Communities group<br />
won a grant from the Climate Challenge<br />
Fund. The land, gifted by Glasgow West<br />
Housing Association on a 15-year lease, was<br />
transferred to the G3 Growers committee<br />
a year later. With an annual fee of just £10,
www.westendermagazine.com | 51<br />
the garden now has between 30 and 40<br />
members who are asked to spend two hours<br />
per month working in the space.<br />
The Back Garden is run entirely by<br />
volunteers, many of whom also work full-time,<br />
but gardening-focused education is always<br />
o n offe r to t h o s e w h o wa n t to t a ke p a r t .<br />
A small library of relevant literature is<br />
available for members to borrow from,<br />
and external organisations sometimes offer<br />
one-off training on all elements of horticulture<br />
– right down to the difference between<br />
compost and soil.<br />
Community and accessibility are<br />
important values to the people behind the<br />
fruit and vegetable garden, whose mission<br />
statement sets out a plan to promote healthy<br />
bodies and minds. The garden is equipped<br />
with long-handled tools and the raised plant<br />
beds – designed as such after toxins were<br />
found in the soil, left behind from when a car<br />
mechanic service occupied the site – are set<br />
far enough apart to allow wheelchair access.<br />
Further to this, the group has developed<br />
a wealth of resources which provides simple<br />
instructions for all kinds of gardening and<br />
upkeep required – all to ensure the project<br />
continues to welcome new recruits who<br />
needn’t worry about their level of experience.<br />
Put simply, you could ‘come along, not know<br />
what you’re doing and be totally fine’ – Anny<br />
emphasises that in the Back Garden, there<br />
are no skill expectations in place and that<br />
usually, members learn by doing.<br />
The committee also puts a big focus<br />
on local engagement, frequently working<br />
with nurseries and primary schools to help<br />
children understand the process their food<br />
goes through from seed to plate. The social<br />
and nutritional benefits are great, repeats<br />
Anny, but the perks extend even beyond<br />
that – a teacher recently remarked that kids<br />
spraying plants with water were developing<br />
their motor skills, too.<br />
Involving the local community’s youngest<br />
members kickstarts a chain reaction which<br />
resonates with adults, Anny adds, ‘At events<br />
we’ve had kids doing things like making<br />
coleslaw, and as a result of that the parents<br />
have signed up as members. Then at home,<br />
off the back of having seen and done that, the<br />
children wanted to help chop the vegetables<br />
and get involved in the food preparation<br />
process. There are so many little knock-on<br />
effects like that.’<br />
Ecology is another priority for the<br />
gardeners, who pride themselves on<br />
harvesting all-organic produce using simple<br />
but innovative alternatives to pesticides.<br />
Plastic tubes lined with copper, for example,<br />
act as a harmless repellent to insects which<br />
could damage the crops. The G3 team also<br />
makes their own compost and leave comfrey<br />
to decompose in water for later use as a<br />
natural fertiliser.<br />
One challenge facing the G3 Growers is<br />
the lack of visibility the project has due to<br />
its location – ‘some people might think it’s<br />
only for the people who live around here, or<br />
that it’s an allotment or private garden,’ says<br />
Anny. Another is that, as the garden grows,<br />
so too does the demand for manpower and<br />
so they are looking to welcome as many<br />
new members as possible in the coming<br />
months. They are also hoping to recruit a new<br />
treasurer so that they can invest time into<br />
pursuing community funding and developing<br />
the garden into a multi-purpose space.<br />
Moving forward, the Back Garden and its<br />
members hope to encourage more vulnerable<br />
people to get involved, providing a safe and<br />
enjoyable space to socialise and learn new<br />
skills. In the meantime, you’ll find them just<br />
off Brechin Street making the most of our<br />
evasive Glasgow summer.<br />
facebook.com/thebackgardeng3
52 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
Health Matters<br />
GP Dr. Pamela Leggate, of Glasgow West Medical Practice,<br />
discusses a sensitive, yet common, complaint – incontinence.<br />
Not a normal part of ageing and not to be tolerated. Pick up<br />
some top tips here, there’s no need to put up with it.<br />
It’s not something we talk about much<br />
but urinary incontinence is actually more<br />
common than you think and is no laughing<br />
matter! There are two main types – Stress<br />
incontinence (nothing to do with anxiety)<br />
where urine leaks out when you cough,<br />
sneeze or jump on a trampoline (as you do);<br />
and Urge incontinence when you need to go<br />
and you need to go right now or else…<br />
Women are more commonly affected<br />
than men and will often ignore or put up<br />
with the symptoms for years rather than<br />
suffer the embarrassment of admitting they<br />
have a problem. Incontinence can be more<br />
of an issue as you get older but should not<br />
be accepted as a normal part of the aging<br />
process.<br />
Stress incontinence is caused when the<br />
pressure from the full bladder is too great<br />
for the bladder outlet to withstand. It is more<br />
common in women after childbirth, which can<br />
weaken the pelvic floor muscles, but is not<br />
inevitable. Often small amounts of urine will<br />
leak or dribble, sometimes larger amounts<br />
will flood out. In these cases, the first<br />
treatment option is to try to strengthen pelvic<br />
floor muscles with regular exercises.<br />
You can find instructions for pelvic floor<br />
exercises on NHS Choices and there’s<br />
even an NHS app called ‘Squeezy’ which<br />
you can download from the App store<br />
(£2.99, currently only for IOS, but can be<br />
used on an apple watch – who would have<br />
thought it?!).<br />
If you’re struggling to get the hang of<br />
the exercises yourself, there are specialist<br />
physiotherapists who can help (ask your<br />
GP for a continence clinic referral) or there
www.westendermagazine.com | 53<br />
are various electronic devices (which to be<br />
honest look quite scary – I would recommend<br />
getting some advice from a physio before<br />
spending any money).<br />
As a last resort, surgery can sometimes<br />
be an option – pelvic floor repair will tighten<br />
up pelvic floor muscles and improve any<br />
associated prolapse. Surgery as always has<br />
its risks though so should not be embarked<br />
on lightly.<br />
So what about Urgency? Normally the<br />
bladder will fill up gradually and alert you<br />
to the need to empty it well before it gets<br />
totally full. In Urge incontinence that process<br />
doesn’t seem to work properly. In most<br />
cases we don’t know why. Sometimes called<br />
irritable or overactive bladder, the bladder<br />
will overreact to filling up partially and tell you<br />
that you need to pee urgently, often resulting<br />
in leakage when you can’t get to a toilet in<br />
time. Again, more common in women as you<br />
age but not to be tolerated as a normal part<br />
of growing older. Urge incontinence can be<br />
treated with medication which will calm an<br />
overactive bladder. Treatment is limited by<br />
potential side effects (dry mouth, blurred<br />
vision, confusion), but can be life changing.<br />
Some basics that can<br />
be helpful in all kinds<br />
of urinary issues:<br />
1. Make sure you are emptying<br />
your bladder properly when<br />
you go. If in doubt, stand up,<br />
sit down and pee again (double<br />
micturition). Stale urine lying<br />
in the bladder will increase<br />
inflammation and can cause urine<br />
infections.<br />
2. Reduce caffeine intake.<br />
Caffeine is in coffee, tea and fizzy<br />
drinks. It can cause irritation of<br />
the bladder making you pass<br />
urine more frequently and with<br />
more urgency.<br />
3. Improve fluid intake.<br />
People who are worried about<br />
incontinence will often try not<br />
to drink fluids but, paradoxically,<br />
this can cause more concentrated<br />
urine which will then irritate the<br />
bladder. Drink plenty during the<br />
day but maybe avoid taking large<br />
amounts of fluid later at night.<br />
4. Bladder training. If you feel<br />
the need to pee every hour,<br />
try stretching it out to an hour<br />
and ten minutes with a gradual<br />
increase in the length of time<br />
between visits to the toilet.<br />
5. Avoid constipation. A bunged<br />
up bowel can put pressure on<br />
the bladder and, especially in<br />
children, can be implicated in<br />
urinary problems.<br />
6. If all else fails, wear an<br />
incontinence pad! They can be<br />
bought in most supermarkets,<br />
ordered online, or if you’re not in a<br />
rush, ask your nurse of GP to refer<br />
you to the continence clinic.
54 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
Homes & Interiors<br />
bluebellgray<br />
Playful<br />
by Susan<br />
Robertson<br />
Pastels<br />
As we’ve been lucky this year to bask in a serious dose<br />
of summer sun, flowers are in bloom, barbecues have<br />
been trundled out of retirement, and the leafy green<br />
spaces of the West End have been bustling with activity.<br />
Susan Robertson looks at summery palettes to bring the<br />
season into our homes.
www.westendermagazine.com | 55<br />
The summer season is an inspirational one,<br />
there’s much beautiful nature to be admired<br />
around us even in our city location. Very often,<br />
nature is the perfect starting point for creative<br />
inspiration, and the journey of colours over the<br />
last few months have led us from an abundance<br />
of marshmallow pink tree blossoms of spring,<br />
to the grassy greens, bright yellows and soft<br />
lilacs of summer.<br />
As always, any look starts with selecting<br />
your perfect palette to create a space that you<br />
find inspiring or restful. Think about holiday<br />
memories, summer picnics and indulgent<br />
ice-cream colours as you pull together your<br />
inspiration for a fresh, summery look in your<br />
home.<br />
Start building up a collection of colours and<br />
ideas into one place, adding cuttings from<br />
magazines, snaps of flowers you see when out<br />
walking the dog, or statement accessories you<br />
see in a local boutique – pull it all together into a<br />
‘look’ and an ‘ambience’ and then tailor that to<br />
your individual preferences and spaces.<br />
There are many general colour ‘feels’ that you<br />
can create within a summery theme. You can go<br />
big and colourful – think sunflowers, Blackpool<br />
rock, beach hut brights. Or you can go down a<br />
softer route of the pastel palette. Within this<br />
itself, there is still a plethora of possibilities in<br />
which direction you take this to create your final<br />
look.<br />
You can choose a pale and subdued approach,<br />
balancing chalky white walls with light sky blues<br />
and pale pistachio and mint ice-cream greens,<br />
balance these with soft white muslins, light<br />
lemon cottons, intricate flowery prints and pale<br />
peachy velvets for a really elegant and airy look.<br />
Or you can go bolder, and layer up different<br />
tones of similar colours, for example a<br />
strawberry milkshake pink wall, layered<br />
with deep dusky rose furniture statements or<br />
fabrics, then use strong accent colours with blue<br />
undertones – vibrant teals, luscious lilacs and<br />
crisp cornflower blues. One of the many appeals<br />
of this palette is how easy it is to harmonise<br />
many tones from across the colour spectrum.<br />
It’s also a great excuse to get the brush out and<br />
bring a whole new look together without needing<br />
too much new furniture. A good sanding of a<br />
chunky wooden chest of drawers, then a lick<br />
of one of the stronger paint colours, can make<br />
a huge impact. Obviously you’ll be restricted<br />
by your existing furniture and budget – if you<br />
have expensive bespoke units, you will work<br />
to complement what you have already invested<br />
in. But generally, you can really transform your<br />
home by just re-jigging your furniture between<br />
rooms, changing the colour scheme, and then<br />
the only investment you need to make is in a<br />
range of fresh paint, and a bit of time and elbow<br />
grease.<br />
Farrow & Ball
56 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
Homes & Interiors<br />
I recently saw a lovely upcycle job of a chair done<br />
in this pastel palette. It was on a TV programme<br />
so may ring a bell if you also saw it but it was a<br />
simple wooden spindle back chair, with each of<br />
the spindles painted in different pastel colours.<br />
The designer added a great touch to this with a<br />
small band of gold paint around some of the leg<br />
spindles which really tied it together. It’s such<br />
a forgiving palette, it will also allow for some<br />
hand-painting in a way that other looks just<br />
wouldn’t, and everything from wooden stairs<br />
to brick walls can look fantastic in this pastel<br />
palette.<br />
Once you have the palette and the painting<br />
done, use carefully chosen accessories to add<br />
a final flourish and tie it all together. This is a<br />
great excuse to invest in a statement item, a big,<br />
chunky lamp perhaps with a colourful shade, or<br />
a sumptuous rug. Or find a colourful vase – and<br />
use your imagination about the seasonal flowers<br />
you would choose to fill it, as a good indicator to<br />
further inform your look.<br />
Having had a July wedding myself some years<br />
ago, I chose hydrangeas for the bouquets. I<br />
love the simple boldness of these flowers and<br />
they represent summer to me. I went for cobalt<br />
blue and purple in my colour scheme, but<br />
hydrangeas can be enjoyed across this whole<br />
palette, from sugary pinks to pale mints. Have<br />
a think about the types of summer seasonal<br />
flowers that appeal most to you. Some of my<br />
other seasonal favourites are the wonderful iris<br />
with its vibrant purple and yellow streaks, deep<br />
lilac freesias with their fresh summery scent,<br />
hot pink gerberas, dusky fragrant sweet peas,<br />
or sweet blue cornflowers. This list in itself can<br />
form the basis of a wonderful palette for your<br />
room, and bring it all together with a vase of<br />
your favourites as a final treat to yourself after<br />
all your hard work.<br />
And finally, complement the scent of the<br />
fresh flowers and the grass-cutting outside,<br />
with some room perfumes or scented candles.<br />
The directory page in this edition gives some<br />
great ideas for summery candle scents, but<br />
generally think citrus and verbena, coconut and<br />
cotton, basil and sea salt to transport you to your<br />
favourite summer escape.<br />
bluebellgray
www.westendermagazine.com | 57<br />
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Homes & Interiors<br />
Summer Scentsation<br />
www.westendermagazine.com | 59<br />
Whether it’s a lazy Sunday morning with coffee and<br />
newspapers, a day at the beach, or a busy family barbecue<br />
when the sun’s out we like to take every opportunity we have<br />
to grab some al fresco quality time. But when the weather’s<br />
not on our side how better to bring the sunshine in than<br />
with some summery scented candles?<br />
Sunshine Candle,<br />
£5.99, Liquorice tree<br />
Grapefruit & Neroli Candle,<br />
£12, Spirito<br />
Oudh Geranium,<br />
£30,<br />
CoLab Store<br />
Amber & Bergamot Candle,<br />
£29.99, Cassiopeia<br />
Seaside Mimosa,<br />
£18.99, Papyrus<br />
Cassiopeia, 165 Hyndland Road, 0141 357 7374, cassiopeiaonline.co.uk<br />
CoLab Store, 11-13 Downhill Street, 0141 570 1766, colabstore.co.uk<br />
Liquorice Tree, 431 Great Western Road, 0141 339 0648, liquoricetree.com<br />
Papyrus, 374 Byres Road, 0141 334 6514, papyrusgifts.co.uk<br />
Spirito, 317-319 Crow Road, 0141 337 3307, spiritogifts.com
60 | www.westendermagazine.com
www.westendermagazine.com | 61<br />
Homes & Interiors<br />
The first impression in any home<br />
space primarily comes from its colour<br />
scheme. The general look is created by<br />
a combination of the use of colour, and<br />
the capturing, reflecting and enhancing<br />
of light, Susan Robertson explains.<br />
Talking<br />
Textures<br />
Farrow & Ball<br />
by Susan Robertson<br />
Texture plays its vital<br />
part right down to the<br />
last detail!<br />
In order to add depth and ambience, you need<br />
to think of texture. This simply refers to the<br />
surface quality of any material so whether<br />
it’s smooth or bumpy, or crumbly or jaggy.<br />
Texture is separate to what can be seen, and<br />
is rather what can be felt. But it can also be<br />
perceived differently depending on how it<br />
looks next to things, how close you are, what<br />
the light is like.<br />
So there are various ways to add and<br />
manipulate the look you create using texture.<br />
Start with the colours that you use. How can<br />
you add a sense of depth or tactility to these<br />
rather than flat, one dimensional units of<br />
space? There are a range of lovely paints to<br />
help with this which are either chalky or sandy<br />
or even have a suede or leather ‘feel’ to them.<br />
You can also go down the ‘shiny’ route using<br />
reflective or high sheen colours to bounce light<br />
and create ambience.
62 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
Think about the<br />
materials in the rest of<br />
the room<br />
Most recently, there’s a growing trend for<br />
the ‘ombre’ look. This is basically a blended<br />
graduation of colour from light to dark. It looks<br />
great on long hair and is a popular choice<br />
available in salons now. But it’s also becoming a<br />
more popular concept in interior design. If you<br />
can imagine a loose watercolour background<br />
landscape, where a pale colour starts at the top<br />
and merges naturally down to a dark finish at<br />
the bottom, this can be a great effect on any wall<br />
and, if you have that artistic flair, it can be really<br />
effectively achieved with painting directly, and it<br />
looks great on a slightly textured wall to give the<br />
feel of a canvas.<br />
You can also use wallpaper to create texture.<br />
My memories of textured wallpaper probably<br />
aren’t the best. This harks back to the days of<br />
the woodchip effect which covered our entire<br />
family home when I was a child. Then, when<br />
that was eventually, and painstakingly stripped<br />
off by hand in the days before steam wallpaper<br />
strippers, it was replaced by other textured<br />
wallpaper that had little bobbles and bubbles in<br />
it that were pressed and poked by kids over the<br />
years creating a truly deflated effect. And I also<br />
remember the floral textured options that were<br />
popular then.<br />
Thankfully, products have evolved<br />
significantly since my childhood and there is a<br />
great range to choose from to give a different feel<br />
to the wall and you can add a subtle softness to a<br />
flat wall. You can also make a flat wall look and<br />
feel like a brick wall, or other creative illusions<br />
to enhance and create depth to any room. Large<br />
prints and patterns can also enhance the overall<br />
look and you can find these with mixed finishes<br />
within the same pattern.<br />
Then you need to think about the materials<br />
in the rest of the room. What furniture will<br />
you choose? Will you go for bumpy old wooden<br />
chairs, or smooth plastic? Will you use a cool,<br />
rough stone for your kitchen worktop, or a shiny<br />
polished stainless steel option? Will you use<br />
more metal or wood, natural or synthetic, cold or<br />
warm to the touch?<br />
And another key consideration when thinking<br />
about texture, is the type of effect you want from<br />
the fabrics in the room. How do you want to feel<br />
when you touch the materials of your room, this<br />
is a key consideration when you’re planning any<br />
space. A big comfy sofa will create a different<br />
response and feel depending on the fabric it’s<br />
covered in. If you can imagine the enveloping<br />
softness and resulting ambience of velvet or cord,<br />
as opposed to the more rigid canvas or linen<br />
fi b r e s .<br />
Then think of layering these to add further<br />
depth and interest. Big scatter cushions work<br />
well in sturdy hessians or thick velvet, then soft,<br />
downy cushions are lovely in light cotton or wool,<br />
topped off perhaps by some faux fur touches to<br />
add an opulent feel. Does it feel cold, or need<br />
softened? Immediately change the ambience<br />
with a cosy throw or a fluffy rug. Will you choose<br />
heavy woollen curtains or opt for smooth roller<br />
blinds? Texture plays its vital part right down<br />
to the last detail. For example the material you<br />
choose for the lampshades, whether you opt for<br />
stripped wooden doors, or go for gloss paint.<br />
Even the artwork on a wall can be flat, shiny<br />
framed prints, lumpy open oil paintings on<br />
canvas, or even hanging tapestries.<br />
All can look visually beautiful, but only with<br />
the complementary value of their texture, do all<br />
elements fully engage in perfecting your room.<br />
The Store Interiors
www.westendermagazine.com | 63<br />
The Store Interiors, 26 Munro Place, Anniesland, Glasgow, G13 2UP<br />
0141 950 1333 | www.thestoreinteriors.co.uk<br />
Email: sales@thestoreinteriors.co.uk<br />
TheStore - HIS - Emma.indd 2 07/12/2017 09:48<br />
QUOTE WESTENDER AND RECEIVE 15% DISCOUNT<br />
The Store Interiors, 26 Munro Place, Anniesland, Glasgow, G13 2UP<br />
0141 950 1333 | www.thestoreinteriors.co.uk<br />
Email: sales@thestoreinteriors.co.uk<br />
ROOFING, SLATING, STONEWORK, LEADWORK<br />
0141 404 6242 • GLASGOWSLATERS.CO.UK<br />
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64 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
Westender Magazine<br />
Interiors & All Trades<br />
Keeping your home working for you. Whatever you need whenever<br />
you need it – find reliable local tradespeople here.<br />
We’re your local experts in all<br />
aspects of painting and decorating,<br />
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for a Free No Obligation Quote<br />
call Kevin on 07984 880199<br />
or Derek on 07525 202102<br />
or email us at<br />
bespokedecor@yahoo.co.uk<br />
T: 0141 321 1012<br />
2/2 1758 Great Western Road,<br />
Glasgow G13 2TL<br />
Painter & Decorator » Plaster Skimming<br />
Ames Taping & Coving » Period Windows<br />
Hand-painted Kitchens<br />
Call Frank – 07906 395341 / 0141 945 3975<br />
francisscullion@yahoo.co.uk
www.westendermagazine.com | 65<br />
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66 | Westender www.westendermagazine.com<br />
Magazine Promotion<br />
Legal Matters<br />
Who is my neighbour?<br />
by Donald Reid, chairman at Mitchells Roberton<br />
The Smiths and the Browns live next door<br />
to each other. Their back gardens are<br />
divided by a hedge. One day wee Jason<br />
Brown’s ball flies over the hedge and hits the<br />
Smiths’ wee dog Prince in the eye. He yelps.<br />
Mrs Smith happens to be relaxing in her<br />
garden in the canopied swing she purchased<br />
last week at B&Q. She is distressed by the<br />
injury to Prince. She confiscates Jason’s ball.<br />
That evening Mr Brown appears at the<br />
door and demands Jason’s ball back.<br />
The Smiths don’t like his tone and refuse.<br />
The volume of dialogue rises. The Smiths see<br />
fit to criticise Jason’s general behaviour and<br />
the disciplinary failings of his parents.<br />
The conversation widens (as it does)<br />
to discussion of the hedge. The Smiths<br />
say they have measured and the hedge is<br />
on the wrong line depriving them of a foot<br />
of ground. Mr Brown furiously goes and<br />
fetches a copy of his land certificate and<br />
with stabbing gestures asserts that what he<br />
has title to is his and they should back off.<br />
Unfortunately, while not counter-challenging<br />
the Smiths’ parenting skills he does see fit to<br />
question the legitimacy of their parentage.<br />
The conversation ends unhappily.<br />
The next week the Browns go on holiday.<br />
When they return they find the hedge has<br />
gone and a six foot lap fence has been<br />
installed on a line about a foot more to their<br />
side than the hedge had been. The shadow<br />
cast by the fence is greater and the Browns’<br />
garden is as gloomy as the Browns feel by<br />
this turn of events. Another acrimonious<br />
doorstep conversation ends with Mr Brown<br />
promising to ‘get my lawyer onto this.’<br />
3. If when the Smiths go on holiday the<br />
Browns see fit to remove or move the fence<br />
they do so at their own peril and not on the<br />
solicitor’s advice.<br />
4. The last time the solicitor had a case like<br />
this it went to court. Her clients won the case<br />
but were so out of pocket and stressed by it<br />
that they wished they had never started.<br />
5. If the Browns can’t live with it they should<br />
seriously think of moving.<br />
The Browns mulled this over and decided<br />
their solicitor was a spineless wimp. They<br />
phoned and told her this and said they would<br />
go elsewhere. The solicitor said she was<br />
sorry to hear that. She concluded the call<br />
and went next door and high fived with her<br />
colleagues. The Browns looked elsewhere,<br />
and found a lot more wimps.<br />
The moral of this tale? Try not to fall out<br />
with your neighbours. If you must, make sure<br />
it’s for a bigger reason than 1/1250.<br />
If Donald can help please<br />
contact him on 0141<br />
552 3422, or email dbr@<br />
mitchells-roberton.co.uk.<br />
The Browns consult their solicitor who listens<br />
to their tale then offers the following advice:<br />
1. This dispute is more about wee Jason and<br />
wee Prince than the fence.<br />
2. The land register title plan scale is 1/1250.<br />
It is not precise enough to resolve a dispute<br />
over a foot of ground.<br />
Mitchells Roberton Solicitors<br />
& Estate Agents<br />
George House<br />
36 North Hanover Street G1 2AD<br />
0141 552 3422<br />
www.mitchells-roberton.co.uk
www.westendermagazine.com | 67<br />
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West End<br />
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