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ANIMAL instincts<br />
www.westendermagazine.com<br />
SEP/OCT<br />
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Contents<br />
Regulars<br />
4 Editor’s Letter<br />
23 Mum’s Notebook<br />
24 Community feature:<br />
The Movement Park<br />
Fashion, beauty & health<br />
8 Animal prints go wild<br />
28 WIN! At Rainbow<br />
Room International<br />
Going out<br />
16 West End Live<br />
with Greg Kane<br />
19 Top Things<br />
Art & culture<br />
30 Meet the artist:<br />
Helen Flockhart<br />
34 Writers Reveal<br />
meets Lin Anderson<br />
38 Cover to Cover<br />
Food & drink<br />
40 Sweet Liberty<br />
43 Restaurant review:<br />
Honu<br />
45 Bar review: Brel<br />
46 Award winning food<br />
& drink entrepreneurs<br />
Westender living<br />
54 Very vintage<br />
59 Purple palettes<br />
61 Oversized industrial
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Editor’s<br />
Letter<br />
H<br />
oliday, camping trips, open water<br />
swimming, cycle rides, hill walking<br />
– summer, you’ve been a blast.<br />
What to do though, now the skies are<br />
darkening and the weather turns towards<br />
interminable rain (hopefully that’s just the last<br />
few days and by time this edition comes out<br />
we’ll be enjoying an Indian summer – yup).<br />
Panic not Westenders, there’s loads! Greg<br />
Kane gives us a round up of the best gigs in<br />
the west on Page 16, while Tracy Mukherjee<br />
finds everything from chilli cook offs to<br />
riverside galas on offer this autumn (Page 19)<br />
– we will not be bored.<br />
This edition also sees us head along to<br />
Arta in the Merchant City for our Sep/Oct<br />
fashion shoot. I used to hang out in Arta in<br />
my younger days when my city centre job<br />
meant it was just a pop round the corner<br />
– I’d almost forgotten what a quirky space<br />
it is. And it’s huge. How did I miss the<br />
restaurant upstairs and the multitude of<br />
separate function rooms in the cellar with the<br />
old cheese presses (it used to be the city’s<br />
cheese market) – there’s even a nightclub<br />
down there. Youth and cocktails. There’s a lot<br />
I’ve done and completely forgotten. Perfect<br />
excuse to do it all over again then… Check<br />
out our take on animal prints from Page 8.<br />
Above: Suzanne Martin, Westender editor.<br />
Below: On location in Arta in the Merchant<br />
City on the Animal Instinct shoot with model<br />
Neesha Graham.<br />
As the changing weather inevitably<br />
draws us back inside it can be a great time<br />
to reassess our living spaces for the new<br />
season. Huge fashion trends straight from<br />
the catwalk also influence our interiors<br />
finds Susan Robertson, with oversized knits<br />
reinterpreted into textured soft furnishings<br />
and oversized furniture pieces. Read more on<br />
Page 62.<br />
Wall art shouldn’t be overlooked either<br />
and there are two great opportunities coming<br />
up to view the creative talents of two of<br />
our finest artists. The West End’s own Avril<br />
Paton, will be discussing her latest work<br />
The Four Graces, at Kelvingrove Art Gallery<br />
and Museum on the 18th of September<br />
(see Page 20 for more details), while Nicola<br />
Maule invites us to view the colourful world<br />
of Glasgow based artist Helen Flockhart on<br />
Page 30.<br />
Personally I subscribe to the old maxim:<br />
there’s no such thing as bad weather – only<br />
the wrong clothes. Hoping to see you around<br />
the West End this autumn, or up a Munro<br />
somewhere.<br />
Suzanne Martin
www.westendermagazine.com | 5<br />
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EDITOR<br />
SUZANNE MARTIN<br />
PHOTOGRAPHER<br />
GREGOR REID<br />
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS<br />
EMILY DONOHO,<br />
MICHELE GORDON,<br />
GREG KANE, NICOLA MAULE,<br />
TRACY MUKHERJEE,<br />
ROBERTO PARRUCCI,<br />
LORAINE PATRICK, CLAIRE PORTER,<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 />
BAR.<br />
Our Spanish Hacienda style bar encapsulates a true Mediterranean essence,<br />
serving traditional sangria and contemporary cocktails with a twist. Drop by on a<br />
Saturday and you’ll see a spectacle like no other at 11pm, a tradition from Palma,<br />
Mallorca… no spoilers though, it has to be seen to be believed!<br />
RESTAURANT.<br />
Here at Arta we love the Spanish culture of eating together with friends, sharing<br />
various dishes and our ever evolving tapas menu reflects this ethos. Our restaurant<br />
space creates an upbeat, relaxed environment that transports you to warmer<br />
climates.<br />
CLUB.<br />
Our late night space plays host to fabulous live musicians and resident DJs every<br />
week, Friday’s and Saturday’s from 11pm until 3am.<br />
EVENTS.<br />
Formerly Glasgow’s Cheese Market, Arta is the perfect space for any event with<br />
three floors ranging from our authentic Spanish private dining room to exclusive<br />
venue hire.<br />
Our events coordinators are on hand to create bespoke packages for every<br />
occasion.<br />
62 Albion Street, Merchant City G1 1PA I 0845 166 6018 I arta.co.uk
86 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
ALL THE<br />
ANIMALS<br />
COME OUT AT NIGHT<br />
Images Gregor Reid<br />
Stylist jacki clarke
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dress, biba @ Frasers<br />
necklace, Jasmine<br />
SHoes, daniel Footwear<br />
bag, topshop
jacket, frasers. dress, solo. shoes, new look<br />
jewellery, nancy smillie. bag, liquorice tree<br />
www.westendermagazine.com | 911
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dress, frasers. shoes, asos. bag, topshop. necklace, jasmine. ring, nancy smillie<br />
opposite page - dungarees, shoes, topshop<br />
necklace, cassieopia. ring, nancy smillie
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shorts, blouse, topshop<br />
shoes, asos<br />
location arta<br />
model neesha graham<br />
MUA terri craig, terricraig.co.uk<br />
stylist jacki clark, jackiclark-stylist.co.uk<br />
photography gregor reid, gregorreidphotography.com<br />
top, frasers<br />
shoes, new look<br />
necklace, cassieopia
www.westendermagazine.com | 13 15
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LIVE<br />
September<br />
Colin Macleod<br />
Sunday 2nd September 7pm<br />
SWG3, swg3.tv<br />
Colin Macleod is a singer songwriter<br />
from the Isle Of Lewis. He signed<br />
a recording contract with industry<br />
behemoth BMG a couple of years<br />
ago and recorded his latest album<br />
Bloodlines with music royalty<br />
Ethan Johns (Kings Of Leon, Ray<br />
LaMontagne, Laura Marling) in<br />
charge of production at non other<br />
than Peter Gabriel’s iconic recording<br />
studio, Real World… sounds like all<br />
the planets have aligned for oor<br />
Colin, but can he capitalised on all<br />
this good fortune? Time will tell,<br />
but his songs are heartfelt, he has a<br />
endearing voice, looks good (James<br />
MacAvoy doppelgänger) and plays<br />
well. Just a wee bit of X-Factor is<br />
missing, it’ll come though I’m sure.<br />
Choice Tracks:<br />
Colin Macleod 'Kicks In'<br />
Earl Slick<br />
Monday 3rd September 8pm<br />
Òran Mór, oran-mor.co.uk<br />
Earl Slick is a 66 year old American<br />
guitarist. Throughout his career he<br />
has played with a multitude of iconic<br />
artists including David Bowie, John<br />
Lennon and Robert Smith (The Cure).<br />
Now this guy doesn’t do modesty.<br />
His BBC4 'Rock 'n' Roll Guns For<br />
Hire: The Story Of The Sideman'<br />
documentary is compulsive viewing<br />
(in part, due to the 'ticket' Slick has<br />
on himself), but if you want to see the<br />
trials and tribulations of a jobbing<br />
musician of 40 years laid bare,<br />
then you should watch it. He must<br />
be good at what he does if all these<br />
huge stars look to him for guitar<br />
accompaniment.<br />
Even though he’s pushing 70, there’s<br />
no shrinking violet here. Earl Slick<br />
is a full on, in your face rock God of<br />
a guitarist… did I mention he doesn’t<br />
do modesty. A night of Rock’n’Roll<br />
yarns straight from the horse’s<br />
mouth.<br />
Choice track:<br />
David Bowie ‘Golden Years’<br />
Hot Dub Time Machine<br />
Friday 7th September 10pm<br />
SWG3, swg3.tv<br />
Hot Dub Time Machine is the World's<br />
First Time Travelling DJ, a global<br />
festival smash-hit and the Best<br />
Party Ever!<br />
It’s only six years ago that<br />
Australian DJ Tom Loud (aka Hot<br />
Dub Time Machine) was playing his<br />
musical roundup of the decades to<br />
around 300 folk a gig… nowadays<br />
it’s over 7,000 people a night that<br />
flock to see him all over the world.<br />
Don’t be fooled by the use of 'Dub'<br />
in the title though, there’ll be no<br />
Lee 'Scratch' Perry played here,<br />
but everything from Johnny Cash’s<br />
Jackson through Eminem’s My Name<br />
Is to Peking Duk’s High, all wrapped<br />
up in your stereotypical high energy,<br />
jump around a lot, live DJ spectacle.<br />
But crowds lap it up and in this<br />
horribly polarised world in which<br />
we all now live, it’s nice to see<br />
everyone come together, jump around<br />
and just get on. Thank you Hot Dub<br />
Time Machine, you might just be the<br />
answer to our prayers.<br />
Choice Track: Hot Dub Time Machine<br />
hotdubtimemachine.com/mixes
www.westendermagazine.com | 17<br />
by Greg Kane<br />
October<br />
Yola Carter<br />
Wednesday 3rd October 8pm<br />
Cottiers Theatre, cottiers.com<br />
If you look at images of Yola Carter<br />
you expect deep soul funk to come<br />
bursting out of your laptop speakers<br />
when you press play, but that just<br />
doesn’t happen. What does come out<br />
is pretty straight ahead Americana<br />
Country, but fronted by a proper Shaka<br />
Khan-esque soul diva. It works… The<br />
music drifts towards The Band and<br />
Little Feet when it wanders away from<br />
Old Time Country, but that’s no bad<br />
thing to these ears. Born and bred<br />
in Bristol, UK she has been on the<br />
radar down there for a few years now,<br />
already having a guest appearance<br />
with Bristol’s finest, Massive Attack<br />
under her belt.<br />
Choice track:<br />
Yola Carter 'It Ain't Easier'<br />
Dawn Landes<br />
Monday 15th October 7pm<br />
SWG3, swg3.tv<br />
Dawn Landes is an American singersongwriter<br />
and musician from<br />
Louisville Kentucky. Her guitar<br />
lead music bridges the worlds of<br />
Indie Rock, Alt Country and Folk.<br />
Interestingly she is also a time<br />
served sound engineer (a traditionally<br />
male dominated profession) which<br />
she still enjoys doing when not out<br />
performing and was married to Alt<br />
Country Icon Josh Ritter. Even though<br />
she has released four studio albums<br />
over the last ten years it can still<br />
be quite confusing when listening<br />
to her back catalogue… one minute<br />
it’s all beautifully sultry, dark and<br />
atmospheric, next it’s all Stetsons<br />
and foot stomping. Takes you by<br />
surprise, but I kind of like it.<br />
Choice Track: Dawn Landes<br />
'Try To Make A Fire Burn Again'<br />
Helena Deland<br />
Monday 22nd October 7pm<br />
SWG3, swg3.tv<br />
Helena Deland is from Montreal,<br />
Québec. She writes melodic pop songs<br />
with an extraordinary understanding<br />
of space and sound. Her music has<br />
such a calming effect, you feel<br />
yourself drifting off into a world<br />
of soft pleasantry, a world where<br />
everything is running in 1/2 time and<br />
everyone is kind and welcoming to<br />
each other. It’s a nice place to find<br />
yourself in. She’s releasing a series<br />
of four track EPs which I guess will<br />
eventually form a collection of songs<br />
known formerly as an 'album'… What<br />
are these kids like and their new<br />
fangled ways!<br />
She’s out on tour all over Europe until<br />
the end of the year.<br />
Choice track: Helena Deland<br />
'There Are A Thousand'
18 | www.westendermagazine.com
www.westendermagazine.com | 19<br />
Top Things To Do<br />
in the West End<br />
by Tracy Mukherjee<br />
Top for Terrific Tex-Mex<br />
One of the most popular events in the West End<br />
calendar, Lupe Pintos Chili Cook Off returns<br />
on Saturday the 29th of September. Taking<br />
part in the annual chilli fest are 10 of the west’s<br />
best bar restaurants. Old favourites such as<br />
Stravaigin and Left Bank return to challenge new<br />
kids on the block Bananamoon and defending<br />
champions, Crossing the Rubicon. The tagline<br />
for this year’s festival of heat is Border Town<br />
Jive, referring to the unique mixture of music,<br />
cuisine and culture which exists along the Texas/<br />
Mexican border. Each venue will of course be<br />
vying for the coveted prize of best chilli in the<br />
west and the contest is always 'hotly' fought.<br />
With the judges (all 600 of you) making their<br />
way from venue to venue, the array of sombreros<br />
and false moustaches always bring a wry smile<br />
to a September afternoon.<br />
Lupe Pintos Annual Chili Cook Off<br />
Sat 29th Sept, various venues<br />
wflupepintos.com<br />
Top for Breakout Music<br />
If you are not fortunate enough to get tickets to<br />
the Chilli Cook Off, you might want to consider<br />
an equally fabulous festival on the 29th of<br />
September. Tenement TV’s annual Tenement<br />
Trail, is an incredible day of music centred<br />
around 10 venues in the G2 postcode. There is<br />
12 hours of live music, that’s over 50 artists,<br />
from break out acts to the bigger names, with<br />
a real drive to promote our excellent Scottish<br />
talent. This year’s headliners are The Cribs.<br />
What makes the festival so unusual is that music<br />
lovers go from venue to venue, with one ticket<br />
covering the whole event. What a great way to<br />
connect with live, independent music.<br />
Tenement TV’s Annual Tenement Trail<br />
Sat 29th Sept, G2 various venues<br />
wftenementtv.com<br />
Top for Exploring the City<br />
Doors Open Days is the largest free festival in<br />
Scotland giving people access to the heritage<br />
held within architecturally and historically<br />
significant buildings. The Glasgow Doors Open<br />
Days Festival returns for its annual celebration<br />
this September. The event allows participants<br />
to have a look inside some of Glasgow's most<br />
prestigious buildings. Walk inside and hear the<br />
fascinating stories these buildings can tell. With<br />
talks, exhibitions and guided walks, this event<br />
leads to a better appreciation of the fantastic<br />
architecture and heritage on our door step.<br />
Doors Open Days Festival<br />
10–16th Sept various venues<br />
wfglasgowdoorsopendays.org.uk<br />
Top for Exploring the Clyde<br />
Following a great inaugural event last year,<br />
the Clydebuilt Festival returns to the Clyde<br />
in September. The Castle to Crane race will<br />
be on the Saturday of the two day festival.<br />
The race is the biggest open water rowing race<br />
to be held in Scotland. Competitors will set off<br />
from Dumbarton Castle on a 13 mile course to<br />
the Finnieston Crane. It’s a thrilling sight as the<br />
rowers make their way along the iconic Clyde<br />
route. As well as the race, last year’s event<br />
saw taster sailing sessions, some amazing<br />
sea and street food for the land lubbers and<br />
superb entertainment for young and old alike.<br />
Let’s hope this year’s festival can reach even<br />
higher heights. Go along and experience the<br />
maritime heritage of the Clyde.<br />
Clydebuilt Festival, Riverside Museum<br />
Sat 15th–Sun 16th Sept<br />
wfclydebuiltfestival.com
20 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
Top Things To Do<br />
in the West End<br />
Top for Film<br />
You can’t beat a film on a chilly autumn day and<br />
this season is shaping up to be a fine one for<br />
kids. For our adolescents who study all aspects<br />
of cinema, Glasgow Youth Film Festival kicks off<br />
from 14-16th September. This event is scheduled<br />
by young people. With hands on mentors all<br />
year round, the group put together a whole<br />
range of events, workshops and film screenings.<br />
As always, details are tightly guarded until mid<br />
August, however the opening gala will be Anna<br />
and the Apocalypse! This home grown zombie<br />
musical has a Q&A with cast and crew following<br />
the screening. Given it’s a zombie movie, the<br />
Q&A may turn out to be a gruesome affair…<br />
Glasgow Youth Film Festival<br />
14th-16th Sept, GFT wfglasgowfilm.org<br />
Top for Ghosties & Goulies<br />
On the subject of zombies (sentences you never<br />
thought you would write) Halloween is right<br />
around the corner – and here in our very own<br />
Cresswell Lane The Root of Magic has opened.<br />
This family run magic shop feels extra mystical…<br />
and that’s just walking over the threshold. With<br />
magical animals adorning the enchanted trees<br />
and some ethereal decor to get the kids excited,<br />
the team have done a lovely job.<br />
With an apothecary for lotions and potions,<br />
your little sorcerer’s apprentice can have a<br />
go at designing a concoction too. The store<br />
runs workshops from their onsite classroom<br />
on potion-making and science shenanigans.<br />
Each class is conducted by a fully trained<br />
witch or wizard who will have the cauldrons<br />
bubbling in no time. Sessions run for 90 minutes.<br />
Afterwards, why not peruse the many handmade<br />
wands and magical gifts, which include tons of<br />
official Harry Potter merchandise. Who needs<br />
Diagon Alley, when we have Cresswell Lane?<br />
The Root of Magic, Unit 14 Cresswell Lane<br />
wftherootofmagic.com<br />
Top for a Tipple<br />
As the days get colder, it’s easy to laze the day<br />
away on the sofa. But with the promise of a dram<br />
(or 3) to look forward to, why not consider a<br />
trip to the Clydeside Distillery? This brand new<br />
single malt scotch whisky distillery sits on the<br />
Queens Dock. The Pump House is the site of the<br />
distillery and of the tour. It’s a great opportunity<br />
to learn about the origins and production of the<br />
amber nectar. At the end of the tour there will be<br />
the chance to sample three malts from around<br />
our great nation and the opportunity to buy your<br />
favourite at the on-site specialist shop. With a<br />
gorgeous cafe serving locally sourced, seasonal<br />
produce, that lazy day on the sofa will seem a lot<br />
less enticing.<br />
Clydeside Distillery Tours<br />
The Pump House, 100 Stobcross Road<br />
wftheclydeside.com<br />
Top for Art<br />
Avril Paton is one of our most notabe and<br />
recognisable artists. There cannot be many<br />
a Glasgow home which isn’t adorned by her<br />
astonishing depictions of Glasgow tenement life.<br />
So what a treat for the city that Paton’s latest<br />
creation, The Four Graces is to be 'gracing' the<br />
walls of Kelvingrove this autumn. Capturing<br />
'a moment in time' outside the museum, this<br />
stunning watercolour, as in so many of her<br />
pieces, conveys caught moments in people’s<br />
lives: joy, sadness, love, stillness. What’s even<br />
more thrilling is that the artist herself will be<br />
giving a talk on Tuesday 18th of September in<br />
front of her latest artwork. A great chance to<br />
hear just how one captures our West End lives<br />
and immortalises them on canvas. How lucky we<br />
are to live in our Windows in the West.<br />
The Four Graces, on loan from Avril<br />
Paton until 22nd Oct, with Avril<br />
Paton presentation Tues 18th Sept,<br />
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum<br />
wfglasgowlife.org.uk/news
www.westendermagazine.com | 21<br />
Party time at SPiRiTO!<br />
Pom Pom garland £12<br />
Festoon lights £70<br />
Cake candles £5<br />
* cards * gifts * decorations *<br />
317 - 319 Crow Road, G11 7BU 0141 337 330 www.spiritogifts.com<br />
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22 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
'Learning Through Play'<br />
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To book your visit call Maureen on 0141 357 0231<br />
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maureen@derbystreetnursery.co.uk<br />
1 Parkgrove Terrace, Glasgow G3 7SD<br />
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*Flexi-Class passes available * One-to-ones<br />
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email: suzanne@westendermagazine.com<br />
for a media flyer, or call: 07905 897238<br />
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www.westendermagazine.com | 23<br />
Endmum’s<br />
West<br />
notebook<br />
by Michele Gordon thelanguagehub.co.uk<br />
Yes, it’s that time of the year again,<br />
the summer holidays are finished,<br />
the rush to have everything you need<br />
for going back to school ended and, with it,<br />
thoughts on which after school activities to<br />
book.<br />
It can be costly booking activities for your<br />
children but I do feel many of these clubs are<br />
great learning and socialising opportunities<br />
for children. They also support working<br />
parents who often have little time to entertain<br />
their children in a similar manner.<br />
Our family is no different. This year will see<br />
a big change for us as Ruby is moving on to<br />
secondary school. Different school hours,<br />
different requirements and, I am guessing,<br />
some different interests with regard to<br />
outside school activities.<br />
Leon will be going back to football,<br />
taekwondo and swimming (Kelvindale Otters),<br />
easy. Ruby on the other hand, well, she wants<br />
to do everything! Aerial yoga (ourworldyoga.<br />
com), Hip Hop dancing (theg12studio.co.uk),<br />
taekwondo (caledoniantkd.com), drama<br />
(wearehaloarts.com) possibly swimming,<br />
guides (stjohnsrenfieldchurch.org.uk) and not<br />
to forget, the recently discovered youth club<br />
for P7s+ at St. John’s Renfield Church.<br />
You see, the list seems endless. Her new<br />
school has lots of school clubs on offer, and<br />
they ‘are all so interesting, mum’. I’m sure<br />
they are – but how to fit all this into some sort<br />
of weekly routine? But I suppose, I shouldn’t<br />
complain, I’d rather there was a choice of<br />
different things than having little or no access<br />
to activities at all.<br />
Having said this, there are some types<br />
of activities I would be keen for Ruby and<br />
Leon to try but I cannot find in the West End.<br />
I recently discovered various groups that<br />
run really interesting sounding activities.<br />
However, as my day only has 24 hours,<br />
travelling longer distances is not really an<br />
option. But maybe you can?<br />
One of the things I found is ‘Artsy Classes’<br />
(artsyclasses.co.uk). Sadly, they are based<br />
in Coatbridge and Motherwell but they teach<br />
basic art skills to children; their programme<br />
sounds great. However, you can always<br />
check out the workshops run by The Glasgow<br />
Menagerie (theglasgowmenagerie.com) here<br />
in Partick.<br />
I also like the sound of the Scottish Ballet<br />
sessions for 16 year olds+ (scottishballet.<br />
co.uk) on the south side; it is never too<br />
late to start as their absolute beginners<br />
class suggests. Or to pique their interest<br />
at a younger age, Scottish Ballet are also<br />
holding two new performances of Hansel &<br />
Gretel specifically for families with children<br />
from 3 to 8-years-old on the 1st to 3rd of<br />
November. These specially adapted hourlong<br />
performance of Wee Hansel & Gretel is<br />
the perfect way for young children to discover<br />
the magic of ballet (atgtickets.com/glasgow).<br />
Or how about Diane Mitchell’s music<br />
school (dianemitchellmusicschool.com)<br />
based in Paisley and Barrhead? There are of<br />
course many private music tutors in the West<br />
End but I do like the idea of children learning<br />
together in a group.<br />
And if none of the above strikes a cord<br />
maybe learning a new language or receiving<br />
additional input for a language your young<br />
person is already learning might just do<br />
the trick. Where can you do this? At The<br />
Language Hub of course! Pop in anytime and<br />
check out our new shop and Cafe at 19 Keith<br />
Street, G11 6QQ which opened in August.<br />
We believe we offer something for everyone.<br />
Ganz bestimmt!
24 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
Image I Gregor Reid<br />
KEEP ON MOVIN’<br />
WORDS Hannah Westwater<br />
Glasgow has hosted its fair share<br />
of sport extravaganzas, from the 2014<br />
Commonwealth Games to this<br />
summer’s European Championships.<br />
On each occasion, between the fireworks<br />
displays and gazebo-lined pop-up venues,<br />
there is talk of how these sporting legacies<br />
will benefit Glasgow in years to come.<br />
One example of how this came to fruition<br />
can be found at Movement Park, a South<br />
Street charity which fuses sport, community<br />
and equality of opportunity.<br />
Teaching fundamental movement skills is<br />
at the core of the charity’s mission. Offering<br />
a carefully curated range of activities for a<br />
flat rate of £20 per month, the team behind<br />
the centre encourages families to bring<br />
their children to as many different sessions<br />
as they like. With a programme spanning<br />
across judo, parkour, skateboarding, dance,<br />
yoga and more, the ethos at the heart of the<br />
charity’s work is that its value is in the sum of<br />
the activities’ parts – physical literacy is their<br />
focus, with a view to building their own legacy<br />
of a healthy, active community.<br />
‘The average drop-off rate in sport<br />
is usually between ages 10 and 12, and<br />
that’s generally because kids don’t think<br />
they’re good at things,’ says Movement<br />
Park convenor Stephen Somerville, who<br />
co-founded the centre with two fellow judo<br />
players. ‘When we come to the sport-specific<br />
stuff they think oh, I can’t do that properly.<br />
So we try to build the confidence which will<br />
hopefully make them more motivated to<br />
participate on a longer term.’<br />
Stephen explains that despite the vast<br />
array of activities on offer, each is selected<br />
with all-round competency in mind. ‘It’s not<br />
about parkour or judo – it’s about them all
www.westendermagazine.com | 25<br />
coming together and creating a safe place for<br />
kids to feel like they can try. It’s building for<br />
the future.’<br />
With an understanding of how a<br />
disadvantaged background can affect ones<br />
relationship with – and access to – good<br />
quality sports training, the charity not only<br />
keeps its prices low but makes itself as<br />
accessible to the surrounding community<br />
as possible. ‘Sometimes a governing body<br />
can’t dig far enough into the social issues at<br />
play, whereas charities like us can go a wee<br />
bit deeper,’ says Stephen. The team works<br />
closely with local primary schools, providing<br />
PE lessons and encouraging free play as a<br />
form of learning.<br />
Movement Park is also an inclusion hub,<br />
having adapted to the needs of children<br />
with disabilities. There are currently 13<br />
visually impaired children enrolled in the<br />
judo club, but the charity’s accommodations<br />
for them go well beyond the walls of the<br />
converted warehouse in which it’s based.<br />
Stephen explains, ‘We put a big focus on<br />
independence training – we look at where the<br />
kids stay and how to get them here. So we<br />
have a buddy system, meaning someone will<br />
go and meet them at Central Station, bring<br />
them to Movement Park and then take them<br />
back.<br />
He adds, ‘What you see when you work<br />
with kids with visual impairment is that they<br />
think they’re independent – but only when<br />
they get here. This means that when they<br />
leave school, they drop out of their activities.<br />
We’re trying to prevent that. Being on the mat<br />
is only a small part of the programme.’<br />
The centre also offers an art room and a<br />
Lego room, which Stephen points out have<br />
proven particularly valuable when engaging<br />
children with autism. Movement Park ‘comes<br />
at the kids from all angles’, promoting<br />
creative thinking and imaginative play as part<br />
of a child’s overall wellbeing.<br />
That element of mental wellbeing was also<br />
taken into account when the charity turned<br />
their focus to urban sports like parkour and<br />
skateboarding. ‘There’s something very<br />
interesting about them,’ the charity convenor<br />
notes. ‘In traditional sports, you’re either<br />
winning or losing. You deem yourself good or<br />
bad depending on how you do against your<br />
opponent.<br />
‘In urban sports, you can take part and<br />
you can stand at the side with all the gear on<br />
and be part of the gang. It has ties to music<br />
and art, and you can be a part of it without<br />
sacrificing yourself on every turn. It’s more<br />
of a show rather than a competition. Urban<br />
sport is a lot more culture-based – at the<br />
heart of it, you’re just hanging about with<br />
your pals.’<br />
Moving forward, the charity hopes to<br />
attract volunteers and sponsors who share<br />
their core values – as well as increasing<br />
their register of 140 members, with another<br />
hundred attending on a pay-as-you-go<br />
basis. The real proof will be in years to come,<br />
however, when the charity hopes to see an<br />
uptick in healthy habits being passed on<br />
through families who otherwise may not have<br />
had the opportunity to learn the necessary<br />
skills.<br />
‘I’ll say it again – we’re all about building<br />
confidence and competence,’ Stephen<br />
concludes. ‘Movement Park is a one-stop<br />
shop for making movement matter.’<br />
movementpark.org.uk<br />
Image I Gregor Reid<br />
Image I Brodie Reid
26 | Westender www.westendermagazine.com<br />
Magazine Promotion<br />
Images I Gregor Reid<br />
Health – History – Heritage<br />
Arlington Baths Club<br />
Begin your fitness regime at the modern<br />
grand-old-gent that is the Arlington<br />
Baths Club, in the Woodlands area of<br />
the West End.<br />
The club, which is the oldest members<br />
club in Europe originating in 1871, underwent<br />
three extensions in its early years and a<br />
further refurbishment in 1996 courtesy of<br />
the Heritage Lottery Fund and was recently<br />
awarded ‘A’ listing status, is known as<br />
a sanctuary in the heart of the city and<br />
welcomes its flourishing membership to<br />
exercise and relax in classical surroundings.<br />
‘Over the past couple of years we have<br />
refurbished many member areas of the club’,<br />
says Andrew McGilp General Manager.<br />
‘The lounge has been completely modernised<br />
and the Cool Room refurbished. We made<br />
a major investment in the Turkish Rooms<br />
refurbishing both to a very high standard<br />
and introducing a more comfortable feel to<br />
promote a real sense of relaxation.<br />
‘We also installed new state of the art,<br />
WIFI enabled, cardio vascular equipment<br />
in the gymnasium as well as upgrading the<br />
floors in both the CV Gym and Weights Gym.<br />
‘The Reading Room has been completely<br />
overhauled with a new floor and painted<br />
walls. In addition we have undertaken works<br />
in the pool tank and circulation pipes, pool<br />
filter and pumps; modernised some of the<br />
member showers, and undergone a complete<br />
refurbishment of the family changing<br />
accommodation. A fresh touch of paint has<br />
also been added to a number of areas.<br />
‘All in all these works have enhanced<br />
the club experience for our members,’ says<br />
Andrew, ‘and we are particularly keen to<br />
continue with a programme of improvement<br />
which will reflect our Victorian heritage.’<br />
The club has evolved practical and<br />
inimitable customs over the last 147 years<br />
to suit members and a unique building.<br />
There are many different ways to enjoy the
Westender www.westendermagazine.com Magazine Promotion | 27<br />
facilities and plenty for members to do; with<br />
the 21 metre, 7 lane swimming pool and over<br />
pool trapeze hoops and bars, freestanding<br />
Victorian baths, original and unique Turkish<br />
room, poolside and first floor sauna boxes<br />
and steam room.<br />
Alongside staff member James Findlay,<br />
the club’s YMCA accredited gym instructor<br />
on-site and available for personal training<br />
sessions, there is pool lifeguard Anna<br />
Burakowska who offers one to one swimming<br />
lessons; Vicky Smythe who offers massage,<br />
shiatsu and reiki services; Rosina Bonsu<br />
who offers a range of Yoga classes and<br />
workshops; Tai Chi classes for beginners with<br />
Alan Skirving and Pilates classes with Jackie<br />
Anderson and Lily Pilates.<br />
In addition, the Scottish Outdoor Club<br />
hold Scotland’s weekly Skinny Swim, every<br />
Sunday evening which offers mixed naturist<br />
use of the pool, Turkish suite, steam room,<br />
sauna and relaxation areas.<br />
Regular family swimming sessions are<br />
held in the pool with group and individual<br />
swimming lessons and stroke improvement<br />
lessons available from the William Young<br />
Swim School, on a Wednesday morning,<br />
Friday late afternoon and Saturday morning.<br />
With many current members enjoying five,<br />
six or seven decades of membership, the<br />
Arlington seems to be a life-long passion, and<br />
with the drive for continuous improvement it’s<br />
easy to see why this West End institution is<br />
as popular now as it was in 1871.<br />
arlingtonbaths.co.uk<br />
To mark its<br />
involvement<br />
in the Glasgow<br />
Doors Open Day<br />
Festival the<br />
Arlington Baths Club<br />
will offer a Special<br />
Deal to all new members, who join<br />
during September, of no joining fee<br />
PLUS 12 months for the price of 10 for<br />
the first years membership… costing a<br />
little more than £10 per week.<br />
For more information please email<br />
Andrew at info@arlingtonbaths.co.uk<br />
quoting ‘Westender Offer’.
28 | Westender www.westendermagazine.com<br />
Magazine Promotion<br />
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ell it’s been a really fantastic<br />
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Westender www.westendermagazine.com Magazine Promotion | 29<br />
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30 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
Visions of Mary<br />
by Helen Flockhart<br />
WORDS NICOLA MAULE MAIN IMAGE GREGOR REID<br />
There are times that I am so spellbound<br />
by a painting that only when the critical<br />
mind jumps to my attention does the<br />
awareness of that moment shock me.<br />
Standing in the studio of Glasgow based<br />
artist Helen Flockhart, pictures laid out<br />
around the room, I am reminded of just how<br />
powerful the impact of art can be in evoking<br />
such a raw, deeply personal response.<br />
The space is functional, creeping<br />
postcards of images and inspiration papering<br />
one wall, a window offering natural light,<br />
a palette of oils in perfect cones of colour<br />
on a small table and a quiet that clears the<br />
way for minimal distraction. Paintings for<br />
an upcoming exhibition are placed for my<br />
viewing but given it’s a working studio and<br />
that Flockhart often works on more than one<br />
painting at a time, not unusual. Time is also<br />
pressing – she opens her solo show Linger<br />
Awhile in Arusha Gallery, Edinburgh mid-<br />
September before it tours to Linlithgow Burgh<br />
Halls. The significance of which is noted<br />
considering this new body of work is firmly<br />
rooted on the life of Mary Stuart (Mary Queen<br />
of Scots) – born in the town at Linlithgow<br />
Palace in 1542.<br />
Crooked Rib is the painting that holds<br />
my gaze yet as it moves from one picture to<br />
the next the cohesion and collective power<br />
of these works is sustaining. With such an<br />
awareness of the impact of my response I<br />
am intrigued by the process and inspiration<br />
for the collection, drawn to the thread linking<br />
one woman in history to another as an artist<br />
centuries later and a viewer – how an image<br />
can evoke such a projection.<br />
‘It was an article on Mary’s mother, Mary<br />
of Guise that first pricked my interest a few<br />
years ago and I visited Linlithgow Palace last
www.westendermagazine.com | 31<br />
summer, which had a real presence – from<br />
there I began reading books which sparked a<br />
lot of ideas for paintings,’ Flockhart tells me.<br />
A figure of legend, Mary Stuart has since<br />
become a narrative of Hollywood – one of<br />
twisted myths, romance and stereotypes.<br />
Flockhart was studious in her research,<br />
delving deep into the written words of those<br />
who show dedicated efforts in researching<br />
her life, yet observant to the limits of the<br />
stories that weave through the national<br />
conscience. ‘Legend has interwoven over<br />
time – people seem to adopt a standpoint<br />
and then research to back up their<br />
standpoint,’ she adds.<br />
In this collection the feminine strikes<br />
forth – theatre, history and beauty all<br />
pass through the image with the artist<br />
harnessing key moments in Mary’s life and<br />
transcending these details with a personal<br />
and compassionate response.<br />
Each painting is a reflection - quotes<br />
such as the widely known ‘en ma fin gît mon<br />
commencement / in my end is my beginning’<br />
embroidered by Mary during her long<br />
Crooked Rib<br />
© Helen Flockhart<br />
incarceration in England is painted onto her<br />
dress in Lachrymose Window. The symbol of<br />
The Mermaid and the Hare – a placard that<br />
was exhibited in Edinburgh (1) denouncing<br />
Mary as a tainted lustful siren and the Earl<br />
of Bothwell, whose coat of arms includes<br />
the hare, as a player in the murder of Lord<br />
Darnley is also shown in the fabric of the<br />
dress.<br />
The painting captures the dominance<br />
of Mary as a solitary figure with a sense of<br />
stillness sweeping over the picture – Mary’s<br />
hands resting on her lap, her gaze straight<br />
and steady. Scottish ferns, regarded in Gaelic<br />
culture to have protective powers (2) look<br />
static, frozen almost as they fill the world<br />
beyond the window frame. She is held tight<br />
in a world where time itself is unforgiving and<br />
constant yet the red of her lips charge the<br />
energy of the feminine and Mary’s position<br />
during that period in her life shows one of<br />
resilience, presence and danger.<br />
Every one of Flockhart’s pictures is rich<br />
in colour, dense in texture and filled with<br />
symbolism. O Elizabeth is a portrait of the<br />
Lachrymose Window<br />
© Helen Flockhart
32 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
The Mermaid and the Hare<br />
© Helen Flockhart<br />
O Elizabeth © Helen Flockhart<br />
English queen Elizabeth I, seen holding a<br />
jar in her hand – the captured butterfly a<br />
symbol of her power over her prisoner, Mary.<br />
The background to the portrait of Mary of<br />
Guise Do Not Touch Me Or I Will Prick is<br />
swathed in layer upon layer of intricately<br />
painted flowers while lush green foliage<br />
enfolds a number of portraits – the intrigue<br />
of what might reveal itself through the leaves<br />
as the tiger did for Henri Rousseau (d.1910)<br />
holds my thoughts.<br />
I can’t help but notice that Flockhart<br />
herself has long red hair and albeit Mary<br />
Stuart was of course renowned for her red<br />
locks I do question her own identity creeping<br />
into these paintings and find it interesting to<br />
see the shift in the way she has portrayed her<br />
figures over the years. In a 1988 self-portrait<br />
the person is small in stature – a large head<br />
with a smaller body. Over time there has been<br />
a definite move towards a lengthening of the<br />
body and in these works in particular I think<br />
of the stylised female in the Art Deco period<br />
of the 1920’s and reminded of a sculpture by<br />
Eric Gill (d.1940) titled The East Wind<br />
– the angular proportions of the face<br />
specifically. This is an artist with a clear<br />
knowledge of history, from observation of<br />
these works I also see 17th century Dutch<br />
influences through the use of perspective in<br />
The Mermaid and the Hare and the detail and<br />
precision of draughtsmanship applied in the<br />
arches.<br />
Flockhart is a highly skilled painter – her<br />
new paintings are original, enigmatic and<br />
provocative. They feel hugely significant and<br />
relevant, timely of the present while magically<br />
capturing the deep significance of the stories<br />
regaled from the past. The thread of history<br />
runs deep, the line of influence alive and<br />
enduring. She has the unique ability to keep<br />
the viewers look within the frame where<br />
they too are suspended between a feeling<br />
of safety, held tight within the richness and<br />
detail of the painted surface with an almost<br />
disturbed fascination. Flockhart’s voice is<br />
clear and distinctive and what a force as a<br />
painter – one of Scotland’s greats.<br />
(1) apollo-magazine.com/mary-queen-scots<br />
(2) nrscotland.gov.uk/research/archivistsgarden/index-by-plant-name/hard-fern<br />
Flockhart attended The Glasgow School<br />
of Art, graduating in 1984 with a first-class<br />
degree in painting with works held in many<br />
British and International collections.<br />
13 September to 7 October<br />
– Arusha Gallery, Edinburgh<br />
12 October to 20 January 2019<br />
– Linlithgow Burgh Halls
www.westendermagazine.com | 33<br />
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34 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
Writer’s Reveal<br />
meets Lin Anderson<br />
WORDS LORAINE PATRICK
There aren’t many things Lin Anderson<br />
doesn’t know about dead bodies.<br />
She created tartan noir heroine, forensic<br />
scientist Rhona Macleod whose cases<br />
now run to 13 books, and is cofounder of<br />
Bloody Scotland, the Crime Writing Festival<br />
which takes place in Stirling this September.<br />
The author lets Loraine Patrick into the<br />
secrets of writing a successful book series<br />
and discusses why crime writing has put<br />
Scotland on the modern literary map.<br />
You are on the list for the 2018 McIIvanney<br />
Crime Book of the Year for Follow The<br />
Dead your 12th book in the Rhona<br />
Macleod series. How does it feel to be<br />
nominated?<br />
Named after the late, great Willie McIlvanney<br />
who inspired so many of us to write Scottish<br />
crime fiction, the McIlvanney prize is dear to<br />
my heart. It’s therefore a great honour to be<br />
long-listed among such an array of talent,<br />
established and new.<br />
This book has been particularly well<br />
received, described as an outstanding<br />
thriller with shades of the Wicker Man and<br />
a touch of Agatha Christie. One critic said<br />
the pace is beautifully judged with plenty<br />
of twists and turns. Can you give our<br />
readers a flavour of what to expect?<br />
Hogmanay, in a blizzard on top of<br />
Cairngorm... what could possibly go wrong?<br />
My home village is Carrbridge in Cairngorm<br />
National Park. A couple of Christmases<br />
ago safely tucked up in front of the fire,<br />
with a blizzard raging outside, I imagined<br />
the opening of Follow the Dead. Consulting<br />
with Willie Anderson, leader of Cairngorm<br />
Mountain Rescue, I learned of a plane that<br />
had come down on a frozen Loch A’an near<br />
the Shelter Stone refuge. The plane was from<br />
Norway, and the idea of a joint investigation<br />
between Police Scotland and Stavanger<br />
police was born.<br />
For those who haven’t encountered your<br />
books featuring forensic scientist Rhona<br />
Macleod how would you describe her?<br />
Rhona was inspired by a former maths pupil<br />
of mine at Grantown Grammar School,<br />
who comes from Carrbridge. She studied<br />
forensic science at Strathclyde University<br />
and now works in London. My father was a<br />
DI in Greenock when I was a teenager, and<br />
www.westendermagazine.com | 35<br />
his constant worry was that he would arrive<br />
at a scene of crime and it might involve one<br />
of his three daughters. That provided the<br />
premise of Book 1, Driftnet, only I made the<br />
protagonist a woman and a forensic scientist<br />
instead of a male detective. Rhona arrives<br />
to find a teenager who looks so like her she<br />
thinks he might be the son she gave up for<br />
adoption 17 years before. I don’t describe<br />
her physically in the books. I like the fact<br />
that readers forge their own image of her.<br />
You learn about her by what she does in<br />
difficult circumstances. I would say one<br />
thing though. She doesn’t openly reveal<br />
her feelings. That’s where her sidekick and<br />
forensic assistant comes in. Chrissy says<br />
exactly what she’s thinking, and through her<br />
you learn more about Rhona.<br />
Did you expect right at the beginning<br />
there would be so much scope for the<br />
character and so many books could come<br />
from her?<br />
No. I saw the dramatic premise of Driftnet<br />
where she searches for the killer and her<br />
own son in tandem, being a one off. However<br />
I loved the characters and the world of<br />
forensics, as did my readers, so I wanted to<br />
explore both through more stories.<br />
You have actually just published the next<br />
instalment, book number 13 called Sins of<br />
The Dead. What do you think the secret to<br />
creating a long running series is?<br />
Willie McIlvanney once said of Laidlaw that<br />
he was a man who just happened to be a<br />
detective. Rhona is a woman, who happens<br />
to be a forensic scientist. Any crime series<br />
is never about the crime, but always about<br />
the character. Readers come back because<br />
they want to be with those characters again<br />
and again. These characters are on the<br />
front line and the world they have to deal<br />
with is far removed from our own. We live<br />
vicariously through them. In Sins of the Dead,<br />
Rhona must face a forensically aware killer,<br />
who targets her through her knowledge.<br />
A personal and professional nightmare.<br />
How long does it take you to write a book?<br />
It takes about nine months to research and<br />
write a book. I have a very visual image of<br />
an opening which I write down. That rarely<br />
changes. I have no idea the who or the why.<br />
That’s for Rhona to find out. I investigate in
36 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
tandem with her, so I have no idea what will<br />
happen next. It’s an exciting way to write, but<br />
can get a bit fraught as we near the end, and<br />
I’ve yet to discover the whole truth.<br />
Rhona must be a huge part of your<br />
life – you did the forensic science<br />
course at Glasgow University when<br />
you quit teaching to become a writer.<br />
How much of you is in Rhona?<br />
The Diploma course in Forensic Medical<br />
Science at Glasgow University (my alma<br />
mater) was fantastic. I still use my notes<br />
from it and of course the contacts I met<br />
there. Listening to the real professionals was<br />
a privilege. I still draw on their expertise,<br />
particularly forensically, as I want the books<br />
to be as authentic as possible without being<br />
a textbook.<br />
As for myself and Rhona. Well. She’s<br />
much braver than me, although there are<br />
a few traits we share in common. I’m not a<br />
keen flyer, having been involved in a very<br />
scary incident when I lived in a remote part of<br />
Nigeria and the light plane I was in lost power<br />
in both its engines. Rhona also has a touch of<br />
vertigo as do I.<br />
Rhona is from the West End. What is it<br />
about the area that appeals to writers?<br />
I decided to place Rhona’s lab in the<br />
University, looking out over Kelvingrove<br />
Art Gallery and the park. At that time she<br />
probably should have been in Pitt Street,<br />
but hey there was no view there and it’s shut<br />
down now anyway. Professor John Clark<br />
who ran the diploma course said her lab was<br />
actually in the Principal’s study at Glasgow!<br />
I lived in Partick for many years, and love<br />
the park and the whole buzz of the place.<br />
Although Rhona’s flat is modelled on a<br />
friend’s flat in Edinburgh near the King’s<br />
Theatre with a back view on a convent<br />
garden, in reality it’s in Park Circus because<br />
I’ve always wanted to live there.<br />
Aside from writing you are the co-creator<br />
of Bloody Scotland, the annual crime<br />
writing festival held in Stirling. This year it<br />
runs from 21-23 September. Tell us what is<br />
happening behind the scenes.<br />
Bloody Scotland is a bit like a crime novel.<br />
It takes around nine months in the planning,<br />
and our aim is to inform, inspire, entertain,<br />
and surprise our audiences so they’re never<br />
quite sure what will happen next. It’s the<br />
best fun ever and very Scottish in its quirky<br />
uniqueness. We love that our readers and our<br />
writers mingle together and that you have the<br />
opportunity to see the wealth of talent both<br />
homegrown and international. Scottish crime<br />
writing is our other national export.<br />
Alexander McCall Smith was on hand<br />
to help launch the festival this year.<br />
I believe you are neighbours – are you<br />
good friends?<br />
As well as being neighbours, Sandy and<br />
I both lived and worked in Africa. When I<br />
interviewed him at the launch we talked about<br />
our shared love of baobab trees, eating flying<br />
ants (they taste like butter) and the joy and<br />
wonder of Africa’s music and people. It was<br />
a delight for us that he was able to open the<br />
festival this year. His busy schedule means<br />
that he’s usually in the States in September,<br />
so we finally worked out a way to have him<br />
with us.<br />
The Festival also celebrates the life and<br />
times of Muriel Spark with a Crimes<br />
and Misdemeanours event. What<br />
Competition!<br />
We have two signed copies<br />
of Follow The Dead<br />
to give away. Visit<br />
westendermagazine.com<br />
and click on competitions<br />
by the 31st of October 2018.<br />
Follow the<br />
Dead<br />
£2<br />
OFF<br />
*<br />
RRP £7.99<br />
*Exclusive offer for WESTENDER readers<br />
at Waterstones 351-355 Byres Road<br />
branch only, by 31st October 2018.
www.westendermagazine.com | 37<br />
impact do you think she has had on the<br />
contemporary writing scene?<br />
We felt it was very important that we<br />
celebrate Muriel Spark. She has been a<br />
powerful influence on many Scottish writers,<br />
including Ian Rankin who was writing a thesis<br />
on Muriel when he began work on Rebus.<br />
It’s also significant to note that in the recent<br />
Scottish Novel World Cup run by the Scottish<br />
Book Trust the two finalists were Ian with<br />
Knots & Crosses and Muriel Spark with The<br />
Prime of Miss Jean Brodie – and Muriel won!<br />
A couple of my favourite events are the<br />
annual Scotland v England football match<br />
and a performance by the Fun Loving<br />
Crime Writers – a group of crime writing<br />
musicians comprising of Christopher<br />
Brookmyre, Val McDermid, Doug Johnson<br />
and Mark Billingham. It is nice to see<br />
such good relationships develop between<br />
writers. Is that an important part of what<br />
the Festival is about?<br />
Definitely. You can’t stop those crime writers<br />
from showing off. On stage or the football<br />
pitch. It’s in their blood ! And, let’s face it<br />
they’re very talented. Also the crime writing<br />
fraternity are very supportive of one another,<br />
and we champion new writers at Bloody<br />
Scotland, both through our Pitch Perfect<br />
event and our Spotlighters.<br />
Irvine Welsh closes this year’s Bloody<br />
Scotland – perhaps a slightly new<br />
direction for the Festival?<br />
Crime writing is a very broad church and<br />
looking at our programme this year you’ll find<br />
even more variety. We’re featuring 14 different<br />
languages in the last Bloody Scotland before<br />
Brexit. And let’s face it there’s plenty of<br />
murder and mayhem in Irvine’s books. We’re<br />
delighted that this year he will be in Europe<br />
just when we need him.<br />
Finally Lin we have two copies of your<br />
book to give away – for those who don’t<br />
win a copy why should Westenders buy a<br />
copy?<br />
Well, if they weren’t intrigued by my earlier<br />
pitch for Follow the Dead, Sins of the Dead<br />
came out on 9th August and takes place<br />
entirely in the West End. Beware what you<br />
wish for!<br />
bloodyscotland.com
38 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
1<br />
BY BRIAN TOAL<br />
WESTENDER’s<br />
COVER TO COVER<br />
R.J. Mitchell worked as a beat cop in Glasgow’s ‘D’<br />
Division for 12 years before deciding to concentrate<br />
on writing full time. Clearly, his time on the force<br />
has furnished him with a plethora of anecdotes and<br />
stories which serve as stimuli for his crime novels.<br />
The Shadow<br />
of Fear<br />
by RJ Mitchell<br />
The Shadow of Fear is his fifth<br />
foray into crime thrillers and it’s<br />
certainly a page-turner. The first<br />
chapter had me hooked and<br />
appalled at the same time as the<br />
horrible events inside Barlinnie’s<br />
‘C’ block are revealed in all their<br />
gory glory. The introduction of<br />
the main character, Ludovic Fear,<br />
is brutal but gives the reader a<br />
keen sense of his capabilities<br />
and skill set as he challenges the<br />
ruthless brutality of jungle law in<br />
‘The Big Hoose’.<br />
Fear finds himself pulled<br />
inexorably into the vortex that is<br />
Scotland’s criminal underworld,<br />
where his skills as an ex-SAS<br />
operative are invaluable as a<br />
means of dealing with nasty stains<br />
which need to be rubbed out. Fear<br />
is clinical and proves his worth<br />
with every task, but with every<br />
task he becomes more and more<br />
mired in the tangled web of The<br />
Cyclops, the criminal kingpin of<br />
Central Scotland.<br />
The build-up to the heist –<br />
which is the main reason for<br />
Fear’s recruitment – is full of pace,<br />
twists and turns and the reader<br />
genuinely has no idea how it will<br />
turn out. Added into the mix is<br />
the sultry chanteuse, Charlie,<br />
who also happens to be the beautiful daughter of MacPherson,<br />
a.k.a. The Cyclops. Of course, Fear falls head over heels in love<br />
with her because his life wasn’t complicated enough, what<br />
with trying to rebuild his shattered reputation following his<br />
incarceration, trying to maintain a tenuous relationship with his<br />
ten-year-old son and pull off the heist of the century!<br />
If it’s action and pace you want, this is right up your street.<br />
The chapters are short, adding to the pace, the characters are<br />
complex but painted vividly, the setting is familiar to a Scottish<br />
reader and the storyline genuinely absorbing.<br />
I became really frustrated with the preponderance of basic<br />
spelling and grammar mistakes, as the novel clearly hasn’t been<br />
edited very well – a cursory glance would have caught many<br />
of these errors. However, don’t let that put you off. It’s a great<br />
diversion from real life and may introduce you to a new crime<br />
writer to rival McDermid or Mina.
www.westendermagazine.com | 39<br />
The Hidden<br />
Ways<br />
by Alastair Moffat<br />
2<br />
As a keen walker, I found this<br />
book fascinating as it opens<br />
up a whole world of hidden or<br />
forgotten walks throughout<br />
the Scottish countryside which<br />
you won’t find in your standard<br />
tourist guides.<br />
Alistair Moffat is an awardwinning<br />
writer, historian, STV<br />
bigwig and Fringe Festival<br />
director, so when it comes to<br />
Scotland’s culture and history<br />
there are fewer writers who<br />
can speak with such authority.<br />
The book is split into<br />
ten chapters, each one<br />
dealing with a ‘hidden road’.<br />
The Romans feature in a few<br />
chapters, from their use of<br />
roads such as Dere Street<br />
to get into the heart of the<br />
Scottish borders, or their use<br />
of coastal entrepôts such as<br />
Earlsferry and Berwick upon<br />
Tweed to transfer troops<br />
quickly up the coast for incisive<br />
raids further inland.<br />
One of the most intriguing<br />
chapters deals with a series<br />
of defensive structures<br />
from Stonehaven into the<br />
Grampians, which were<br />
designed to stop a putative<br />
German invasion during WWII,<br />
as the threat of an invasion<br />
from newly conquered Norway<br />
was taken extremely seriously.<br />
Perhaps the most beautiful<br />
chapter is the envoi entitled<br />
‘The Snow Road’, where Moffat<br />
is back home near Kelso and<br />
observes the way in which a<br />
path is momentarily revealed<br />
when the snow accumulates<br />
in a certain way, a hidden<br />
road which he’d been around<br />
all his life but never noticed.<br />
How often do we fail to see<br />
what’s right in front of us?<br />
Kirsty Logan is a prize-winning<br />
writer from Glasgow and in<br />
her latest work of fiction she<br />
has created a magical island<br />
world full of stories of selkies,<br />
mermaids and people who turn<br />
to stone when it’s their time<br />
to go.<br />
However, this isn’t a<br />
fairytale or a fantasy in the<br />
traditional sense, as there are<br />
events depicted which are<br />
all too ‘real’, although ‘real’ is<br />
a relative term. Heartbreak,<br />
love, loss and tragedy are all<br />
interwoven with elements of<br />
the fantastical to make this a<br />
truly enchanting story.<br />
The Ross family move to<br />
the island to renovate an<br />
old, crumbling guest house.<br />
The father was a boxer and<br />
the mother a ballet dancer,<br />
and throughout the novel are<br />
references to these two worlds<br />
– worlds which collide and<br />
complement each other in a<br />
strange but beautiful way.<br />
The children (Islay, Mara<br />
and Barra) all suffer in their<br />
own ways, but there is always<br />
enough glimpses of potential<br />
happiness to give the reader<br />
hope. The chapters alternate<br />
between the present and<br />
the past, with the latter<br />
illuminating the former.<br />
The climax is moving and<br />
fitting and was an emotional<br />
end to a novel which moved<br />
me from the start.<br />
‘Gloaming’ is the Scottish<br />
word for that time between<br />
day and night, and with this<br />
motif running throughout<br />
the novel, Logan helps us to<br />
appreciate that beginnings<br />
and endings are not nearly as<br />
important as what we do in<br />
between.<br />
The Gloaming<br />
by Kirsty Logan<br />
3
40 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
Guilty Pleasures from<br />
Westender’s American<br />
in Glasgow<br />
Image I Gregor Reid
www.westendermagazine.com | 41<br />
Scottish berry cobbler<br />
by Liberty Vittert<br />
K<br />
Shopping List<br />
For the filling:<br />
250g of EACH blueberries,<br />
raspberries, blackberries<br />
100g granulated sugar<br />
1 tbs corn flour<br />
2 tsp lemon zest<br />
2 tbs lemon juice<br />
For the crumble:<br />
96g plain flour<br />
150g granulated sugar<br />
110g brown sugar<br />
45g oats<br />
2 tsp cinnamon<br />
1 tsp nutmeg<br />
½ tsp cloves<br />
½ tsp salt<br />
115g unsalted butter<br />
For serving:<br />
vanilla ice cream<br />
L<br />
Summer is over, and what a summer we<br />
had. It was actually sunny enough that I am<br />
looking forward to fall jackets, ankle boots,<br />
and of course, fresh Scottish berry cobbler.<br />
Some of the sweetest fruit is found in early<br />
fall. Stick those puppies in the oven with a<br />
hot bubbly spiced crumble, top with some<br />
Colpi ice cream and babycakes, I promise,<br />
you will be the most beloved person in the<br />
neighborhood.<br />
This dish takes 10 minutes, and that is when<br />
I got the man of the house to do it (when he<br />
makes toast, he calls that cooking). My favorite<br />
thing about this dish, besides its deliciousness<br />
of course, is the fact that you can bake it, cover<br />
it with cling film, pop it in the fridge<br />
for up to a week and stick it back<br />
in the oven about 20 minutes<br />
before you want to serve it!<br />
Method<br />
1. Preheat the oven to 175C. Grease<br />
a large pie pan or 8 ramekins (for<br />
individual servings).<br />
2. In a medium bowl gently mix together<br />
all the ingredients for the filling.<br />
Set aside.<br />
3. In an electric mixer with the beater<br />
attachment (or using a pastry cutter),<br />
mix all the ingredients for the crumble<br />
until it reaches a sandy texture.<br />
4. Place the filling in baking dish(es) and<br />
liberally apply the crumble on top.<br />
5. Bake for 45 minutes.<br />
6. Serve immediately with vanilla ice<br />
cream.<br />
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42 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
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JOIN // HOST // SHOP<br />
For more information:<br />
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Honu<br />
www.westendermagazine.com | 43<br />
Image I Gregor Reid<br />
Reviewed by<br />
Roberto Parrucci<br />
Walk west from the looming shadow of<br />
the Partick train bridge on Dumbarton<br />
Road, there’s a pleasant surprise to<br />
be found for the aspiring Thornwood foodie.<br />
Restaurants and cafes with a strong sense<br />
of identity and an original idea of food are<br />
making their way, finding the area open and<br />
responsive to their new and exciting ideas.<br />
Honu is one such place, an establishment<br />
full of striking surprises that could make you<br />
seriously consider shifting your nightlife that<br />
bit more west.<br />
The place boasts an atmosphere new to<br />
these parts, bright and well-appointed, a<br />
long line of small tables and quaint wooden<br />
benches welcome you, all that timber<br />
creating a warm, cosy feeling. ‘The wave’<br />
wallpaper in light blue, and the adjacent<br />
window-mirrors give the real sense that the<br />
Pacific Ocean is not so very far away at all.<br />
Honu’s concept is a delicate taste of Pan<br />
Asian/Pacific Rim cuisine with influences<br />
from Japan to Korea, from US to Canada.<br />
What brings everything together though<br />
is the combination of delicious food and a<br />
remarkable selection of homemade cocktails<br />
as a welcome counterpart to your meal<br />
– Martini house special being a personal<br />
favourite.<br />
The food is a real kick to the taste buds,<br />
with ample portions and well-seasoned<br />
produce – the presentation colourful and<br />
captivating to the eye.<br />
A starter of Korean chicken bites to share<br />
are served with sweet and sticky Gochujang<br />
sauce and sesame. The chicken was<br />
perfectly breaded, golden and crispy on the<br />
outside, tender and juicy on the inside.<br />
As a main course, we opted for two filling<br />
options and an unconventional surprise.<br />
The Poke bowl with rice, teriyaki,<br />
vegetables and tempura king prawns<br />
is a pleasure for the body and the soul.<br />
The different ingredients of this plate stand<br />
on their own but the mix of colours and<br />
the composition of the plate evokes an<br />
immediate sense of happiness.<br />
Thai Kheo curry, a fusion of Thai spices,<br />
coconut milk, pepper, kaffir lime, crispy<br />
shallot, spring onion, steamed rice and<br />
chicken is just as delicious as it might be and<br />
a perfect balance of spicy and sweet and<br />
sour.<br />
What definitely got our attention, however,<br />
was the sweet chix waffle. It comes served<br />
with fried chicken, hazelnut ice cream (yes,<br />
ice cream!), and maple syrup accompanied<br />
with skinny fries. Just the kind of oddity that<br />
you think will never work and then literally<br />
bursts with remarkable flavours for a give-ita-try<br />
foodie.<br />
With a growing number of options in the<br />
burgeoning Thornwood area, Honu is an<br />
exciting and friendly addition offering high<br />
quality handmade cocktails and exciting<br />
innovative food. What really keeps an area<br />
vibrant is its willingness to accept worthwhile<br />
change without whitewashing its past and<br />
the people who really ‘make Glasgow’, well<br />
Glasgow.<br />
Honu<br />
562 Dumbarton Road G11 6RH<br />
0141 334 9000<br />
honuglasgow.co.uk
44 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
gregorreidphotography.com<br />
PORTRAITS CORPORATE<br />
FASHION
@<br />
brel<br />
www.westendermagazine.com | 45<br />
Reviewed by<br />
Emily Donoho<br />
When you think of Ashton Lane<br />
you can’t help but think of Brel,<br />
the iconic Belgian themed gastropub<br />
that’s been a staple of the West End.<br />
Inside it has narrow wooden alcoves and<br />
hidden corners, the atmosphere of age and<br />
distinction, with winding stairs leading to<br />
a private function room, but what makes it<br />
unique is its capacious beer garden.<br />
It was refurbished in spring of 2017, with<br />
tiered seating on the grassy hill and a fiftyseat<br />
outdoor dining area. So long as you get<br />
there before outdoor licensing laws force<br />
drinkers inside at 10pm, you can enjoy your<br />
beverage of choice on the hill. I made use<br />
of one of the new benches at the top of the<br />
hill, as nice a place as any for a relaxed pint.<br />
Expect it to be busy on the first sunny days<br />
of the spring, although it was only moderately<br />
busy on a sunny Wednesday this summer.<br />
Brel has weekly events bringing people to<br />
the pub, from fondue nights to raclette nights<br />
(both involve cheese), and you can book it<br />
for a fire pit or a barbeque. They have an<br />
extensive dinner and lunch menu, and if you<br />
get there before 6pm, you can have mussels<br />
and chips for only £6. I didn’t make it before<br />
6pm this week, but I will.<br />
Their drinks menu will delight any beer<br />
aficionado, especially if Belgian beers are<br />
your thing. No surprise, given it’s a Belgian<br />
pub. There are 66 beers, including local<br />
Scottish ales and many rare ones from<br />
Belgium, the US, Germany, and elsewhere.<br />
Image I Gregor Reid<br />
On tap, they have an international<br />
collection as well, which includes Leffe<br />
and Affligem from Belgium, as well as<br />
St. Mungo’s, Joker IPA, Maltsmiths, Amstel,<br />
Birra Moretti, Guinness, and Strongbow.<br />
They have a reasonable range of whiskies,<br />
which you’d expect to see at most pubs in<br />
Scotland, a few gins, and a decent collection<br />
of wines. There is something for everyone.<br />
The real downside? It’s expensive, even<br />
for the West End. The Leffe on draught was<br />
£7 for a pint. The local ales were cheaper,<br />
but still priced high, with the Joker, for<br />
instance, at £4.90. The menu shows the<br />
bottled beers roughly within this range as<br />
well. That said, the food prices were average<br />
for quality pub food, so it is really only the<br />
drinks that cost more than you might expect.<br />
But if you want a bowl of mussels, the<br />
best beer garden in the West End, or you<br />
fancy experimenting with a Belgian beer,<br />
it’s worth the extra pound or two. Brel is at<br />
37-43 Ashton Lane and is open from 12pm<br />
to 12am Monday to Thursday and Sunday,<br />
and open from 12pm to 1am Friday and<br />
Saturday.<br />
Brel<br />
37-43 Ashton Lane G12 8SJ<br />
0141 342 4966<br />
brelbar.com
46 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
Award Winning<br />
foodies<br />
WORDS CLAIRE PORTER<br />
Glasgow’s West End has an ever-growing food scene, with innovative<br />
bakers, brewers and chefs trying new and interesting things to<br />
please discerning Glasgow diners. Three businesses in particular are<br />
leading the way for food and drink in the area, collecting an array of<br />
awards along the way. Claire Porter chats to them and finds out their<br />
perfect recipe for success.<br />
If you had walked down Argyle Street in<br />
January 2017, you would most likely not be<br />
familiar with the name Six by Nico, or if<br />
you had visited Hilton Glasgow just a couple<br />
of months ago you would probably have<br />
never heard of the Tea Lounge by Dilmah.<br />
And if I had asked you in 2015 if you had<br />
visited the Butterscotch Bakery on Hyndland<br />
Road, I suspect the answer would have been<br />
‘not yet’.<br />
In less than three years, these three<br />
businesses have come onto the scene and<br />
made a lasting impression on the foodies<br />
of Glasgow. None more so than Chef Nico<br />
Simeone of Six by Nico. Born in Glasgow, to<br />
Italian parents, Nico was raised in a family<br />
of Mediterranean food lovers. His earliest<br />
memories are of his mother’s Italian cooking,<br />
helping her prepare large family meals in<br />
the kitchen. His impressive career has seen<br />
him work at Michelin starred Number One<br />
at Balmoral, where he was awarded Young<br />
Scottish Seafood Chef of the Year award,<br />
aged just 20!<br />
Going out on his own in the summer of<br />
2015, Nico opened 111 by Nico in Kelvinside.<br />
Nico’s philosophy was to create a unique<br />
fine-dining experience for his guests, whilst<br />
also launching an apprenticeship programme<br />
for young people. This unique programme<br />
offers young people that have faced<br />
enormous challenges in life the opportunity to<br />
share Nico’s passion for cooking, giving them<br />
the drive and the tools needed to become top<br />
chefs themselves.<br />
With his first venture becoming a roaring<br />
success, it was time for Nico to embark on<br />
his next project, Six by Nico a name you will<br />
no doubt now be very familiar with. But if<br />
you’re not, the concept behind the restaurant<br />
is an evolving menu focusing on particular<br />
types of international cuisine. Think of it as a<br />
series of fine dining pop-up restaurants that<br />
change every six weeks.<br />
Their latest menu titled ‘Holy Guacamole’<br />
is a tribute to modern Mexico with its<br />
contemporary and refined take on Mexican<br />
food. Speaking on the menu, Chef Nico said,<br />
‘I think our Mexico themed tasting menu<br />
gives guests the opportunity to try different<br />
colours, textures and flavours that they may<br />
not have discovered before. Mexican food<br />
is fantastic with a lot of flair, colours and we<br />
aim to offer a diverse and delicious range of<br />
dishes that bring the culture and history of<br />
the country all together in one bite.’<br />
It is vibrant menus and flavours just<br />
like this that keeps the Finneston hot spot<br />
booked out a month in advance and their<br />
experimental efforts haven’t gone unnoticed<br />
in the culinary world either. Nico recently<br />
won ‘Innovative Chef of the Year’ at the 2018<br />
Scottish Food Awards, an amazing accolade<br />
for the chef and his team who have built the<br />
business and its glowing reputation at an<br />
accelerated speed over just a few years.
www.westendermagazine.com | 47
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The next upcoming thematic menu, titled<br />
‘Cooking the 70s’ promises to transport<br />
diners through the decade of disco with<br />
each dish. So if you want to try some far-out<br />
delights including old classics such as prawn<br />
cocktail or even a contemporary take on<br />
Spam be sure to secure your spot soon.<br />
Another West End entrepreneur that<br />
knows a thing or two about building a<br />
business from the ground up is Rachel<br />
Nelson, Director of The Butterscotch Bakery.<br />
Growing her business from a dream and a<br />
deep passion for baking, the team’s sweet<br />
treats have become a West End favourite.<br />
If you haven’t visited the bakery on<br />
Hyndland Road yet to give you a better<br />
idea what to expect, their beautiful cakey<br />
creations would make any Great British Bake-<br />
Off contestant green with envy. Visitors to the<br />
bakery also have the option to sit in and enjoy<br />
a selection of drinks along with their cake and<br />
take in the fittingly kitsch decor, the perfect<br />
setting for afternoon tea.<br />
The bakers of Butterscotch Bakery<br />
have picked up several awards in the past<br />
few years but most recently won multiple<br />
awards at the Scottish Bakers Awards 2018<br />
including National Gold for their Jammy<br />
Dodger and the Best Biscuit in Scotland<br />
for their scrumptious shortbread. When<br />
speaking about the award, Rachel said, ‘The<br />
Butterscotch Bakery has been in business for<br />
less than three years and each year we have<br />
improved our success rate at their prestigious<br />
awards. To win the Best Biscuit in Scotland<br />
with our shortbread is a great reward for the<br />
efforts of the staff and everyone associated<br />
with Butterscotch’.<br />
With a focus on using only high quality,<br />
free-range, local, fair-trade ingredients it’s<br />
no surprise that their cakes and biscuits<br />
received the industry seal of approval. But it’s<br />
not just the fantastic flavours that make the<br />
bakery’s customers come back time and time<br />
again; it’s the imagination and creativity that<br />
goes into the cake designs. The team behind<br />
Butterscotch pride themselves upon being<br />
able to take every customer brief and turn it<br />
into a cake form; their speciality is Scottish<br />
themes with a portfolio including Highland<br />
Coos, Bagpipes and Scotty Dogs.<br />
Unlike the previous two businesses, the<br />
Tea Lounge by Dilmah is a real newbie to the<br />
Glasgow food and drink scene, opening its<br />
doors in June 2018. The beautiful lounge in<br />
Hilton Glasgow offers an elegant experience<br />
with a wide range of fine hand-picked teas,<br />
cocktails and mocktails, all paired with
50 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
delicious sandwiches, tasty fresh scones and<br />
a selection of cakes you won’t be able to take<br />
your eyes (or hands) off.<br />
Glasgow has been chosen to join<br />
Sri Lanka, Dubai, Jakarta and others around<br />
the world in hosting one of Dilmha’s luxury<br />
lounges. Interestingly, the opening also<br />
represents a homecoming for Sri Lankan tea.<br />
The tea industry in Sri Lanka was founded by<br />
pioneering Scot, James Taylor who is often<br />
viewed as the ‘father’ of Ceylon tea as he<br />
first established tea plantations in Sri Lanka<br />
in 1852.<br />
Merrill J. Fernando, the Founder of Dilmah<br />
(one of the three largest tea brands in the<br />
world) has an unmistakable devotion to his<br />
product and with the tea lounge he hopes to<br />
bring a truly unique and artisanal experience<br />
to the city. Dilmah tea is handpicked, made<br />
in the traditional style, packed fresh to retain<br />
richer flavour, purity and natural goodness.<br />
The company itself belongs to tea farmers,<br />
who care for their workers, their children and<br />
customers equally, in their endeavour to bring<br />
relief to workers in Sri Lanka.<br />
Along with the companies ethical values<br />
Fernando also brings with him an impressive<br />
reputation that includes the Global<br />
Businessman Award at the Ada Derana<br />
Sri Lankan of the Year Awards. On the<br />
opening of the tea lounge, Fernando said,<br />
‘The relationship between Sri Lanka,<br />
Scotland and tea is more than 150 years<br />
old and we are very proud to have the<br />
opportunity to bring our countries closer<br />
together.’<br />
These may be three very different<br />
businesses but what links them is their love<br />
for what they do and their drive to bring a<br />
unique dining experience to the people of<br />
Glasgow. Awards are great it’s true, but it’s<br />
baked in passion that will keep us coming<br />
back for more.<br />
sixbynico.co.uk<br />
thebutterscotchbakery.co.uk<br />
Tea Lounge by Dilmah at The Hilton<br />
Glasgow, 1 William Street G3 8HT
www.westendermagazine.com | 51<br />
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52 | Westender www.westendermagazine.com<br />
Magazine Promotion<br />
Legal Matters<br />
Don’t bank on it!<br />
by Donald Reid, chairman at Mitchells Roberton<br />
There are lots of small businesses in the<br />
West End. They need working capital<br />
and bank support to operate<br />
successfully.<br />
Banks, as we all know, are happy to lend<br />
money to anyone who can show they don’t<br />
need it. For the rest of us they want the shirt<br />
off our backs.<br />
Last week I was asked to provide<br />
independent advice to the director of a<br />
small company running a shop. The shop<br />
had traded well for some years and was<br />
increasing its bank facility to fund expansion.<br />
But the Bank wasn’t happy just to lend<br />
to the company. It required the trader to<br />
provide her personal guarantee as well.<br />
Now the whole point of having a limited<br />
company is to protect yourself from personal<br />
exposure in the event of the company failing<br />
and going into liquidation.<br />
Conscientious traders, which my client<br />
is, work very hard to prevent that happening<br />
but sometimes trading conditions can<br />
deteriorate overnight. Say like when the big<br />
banks all collapse at once. It is therefore<br />
prudent management to limit liability.<br />
What this Bank was doing was demanding<br />
of this careful trader that she abandon her<br />
limited liability so far as the Bank’s lending<br />
was concerned, and undertake to go into<br />
her own pocket to pay off the Bank if the<br />
company should default.<br />
My job was to advise her as to the risks<br />
she was taking in giving the guarantee.<br />
We met to discuss it. I said to her that a<br />
guarantee is a bottomless pit: did she want<br />
to jump down it? She told me the bank<br />
had assured her this was very unlikely to<br />
happen but their internal procedures require<br />
them to insist on a guarantee. I asked if she<br />
could afford to pay up on the guarantee<br />
if things did go wrong despite all her hard<br />
work and careful management. She said she<br />
wasn’t sure, but felt she had no choice as<br />
the intended expansion of her business is<br />
essential to its ongoing success.<br />
In discussion with the Bank I was able<br />
to get a cap on the maximum she would be<br />
obliged to pay up if the worst happened.<br />
This was still a frightening figure but better<br />
than no limit at all. I warned her that no matter<br />
how pleasant and re-assuring the Bank might<br />
be when setting a facility up, they will be<br />
utterly heartless when it comes to enforcing<br />
a default.<br />
If Donald can help<br />
please contact him<br />
on 0141 552 3422,<br />
or email dbr@mitchells-roberton.co.uk.<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
Westender www.westendermagazine.com Magazine Promotion | 53<br />
Accountancy<br />
Matters<br />
by Bruce Wilson & Simon Murrison<br />
How to survive in a<br />
post GDPR world<br />
Businesses are reeling from the GDPR<br />
panic that spread like wildfire last May.<br />
Overnight businesses around the world<br />
blocked sites, shut down activity, and flooded<br />
inboxes with mixed messages: ‘please stay’;<br />
‘don’t go’.<br />
Most businesses misunderstood<br />
GDPR which was about improving overall<br />
management, storage and usage of data<br />
not simply about e-marketing and customer<br />
databases.<br />
Tinged with regret business leaders<br />
believe they may have over reacted and<br />
are feeling the pinch now lucrative revenue<br />
streams are shut off.<br />
You may have had a similar experience<br />
and are unsure how to re-engage customers<br />
and improve overall business strategy. To<br />
run a resilient and successful business you<br />
should review the company strategy every six<br />
months not dust it off every five years.<br />
Regular reviews enable you to forecast,<br />
plan and adapt at a manageable pace.<br />
You remain confident you are staying on track<br />
to meet the organisation’s five year plan.<br />
Even more importantly you won’t be making<br />
last minute decisions.<br />
How can a business expert help?<br />
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With a free consultation, fixed and<br />
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touch on 0141 290 0262 or email<br />
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10 Newton Terrace G3 7PJ<br />
0141 290 0262<br />
info@muwca.co.uk<br />
muwca.co.uk
54 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
Homes & Interiors<br />
Up-Shop<br />
by Susan<br />
Robertson<br />
Very Vintage<br />
Buying vintage for our homes has gone through various<br />
seasons as a trend. It’s been everywhere then over<br />
and out again, but it feels like now – there’s a balance<br />
available that brings a creative freedom and wide<br />
range of options, and Susan Robertson looks at how we<br />
harness that to bring the old together with the new in<br />
our West End homes.
www.westendermagazine.com | 55<br />
There is often a blurring of lines in what is<br />
described as vintage, and what is antique but in<br />
general, vintage items often loosely represent an<br />
era, at least 20 years old – so yes – that’s actually<br />
the 1980s now! Antiques however need to be 100<br />
years old to merit the term. But the swathes of<br />
programmes and articles on the subjects over<br />
the years have really helped to familiarise us<br />
with the terms and bring a confidence to using<br />
mixtures of old and new in our homes.<br />
There’s a softness and an approachability that<br />
comes from solid, older items in our homes,<br />
maybe it depends on your age but for me, there’s<br />
a real appeal about a piece with a story to tell<br />
and a statement to make, and I think most<br />
people now find the idea of flatpack furniture<br />
a little bit depressing. Everyone has their own<br />
preferences but you can buy some great, quality<br />
pieces that are beautifully crafted and sourced<br />
from artisans all over the world now, in the<br />
time it would take me to battle with a flatpack<br />
instruction manual.<br />
You can go for a genuine antique and source<br />
something that really stands up in its own right<br />
to make a statement in your room without doing<br />
anything to it. Or – you can source a new item<br />
that fits the bill well. Alternatively – you can<br />
find something you like and try your hand at<br />
adapting it a bit yourself. Add a bit of creative<br />
flair to something that you find in a charity shop<br />
for example, or revisit some of your existing bits<br />
and bobs and see if anything can be given a new<br />
lease of life.<br />
For a while the concept of upcycling became a<br />
bit confused as a dodgy DIY trend that everyone<br />
thought they could do, regardless of skillset<br />
– so often the idea conjured up images of rickety<br />
dressing tables that had been poorly sponged<br />
by hand in chalky white paint. Thankfully this<br />
is no longer the case and there is an array of<br />
information available to help with your own<br />
projects, or you can really get the best of both<br />
worlds simply by identifying the best designers<br />
and stockists working in the area.<br />
So we’re lucky to have some great experts<br />
and inspiring shops right here on our doorstep<br />
– a favourite browse of mine since my days living<br />
in Partick is UP, on Dumbarton Road. Owner<br />
Stephen Higgins can turn any old bric-a-brac<br />
into cutting edge design statements so if you’re<br />
thinking of something a little bit different, nip<br />
in here first. There’s an eye-popping range of<br />
impeccably upcycled furniture, homeware<br />
touches and vintage quirky bits that you can<br />
choose from, or if you’re on the hunt for a project<br />
– get some great design inspiration from what<br />
he’s already done and some expert tips on your<br />
own creative ideas. He even stocks the paints for<br />
you to try your hand yourself.<br />
The Store Interiors
56 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
Homes & Interiors<br />
I asked Stephen for some tips. He said:<br />
'Look for the fun pieces. Focus on just adding<br />
a single piece of colour or quirky item to any<br />
room. It’s important that you don’t overdo it,<br />
or it can look contrived. Concentrate on one<br />
standout piece to really bring your character<br />
into your room.'<br />
Stephen also suggests, 'Look at things in a<br />
slightly different way considering how they can<br />
possibly be adapted. For example, could the legs<br />
be changed to create a different look, or could<br />
you add legs to raise the height and change<br />
the function? Could a splash of paint hide any<br />
defects and tie the piece into the room’s colour?'<br />
And my favourite piece of advice from<br />
Stephen, 'Forget about what rooms you would<br />
normally find pieces in – there are no rules –<br />
change it up.'<br />
Whatever you do, try to be realistic about<br />
your skills and available time. You may end<br />
up botching an item that you’ve previously<br />
loved by just being a bit over-confident about<br />
it – or using the wrong materials. I spent ages<br />
sourcing a perfect shaped old writing bureau<br />
then spoilt it a bit by impatiently not preparing<br />
it properly and, with hindsight, I should have<br />
used different paint. So, if you decide to change<br />
an existing piece yourself or add a creative<br />
touch – double-check you’re doing it right and<br />
you have the time, space, and tools you need,<br />
and plan your approach carefully and enjoy it.<br />
Otherwise – commission Stephen to do it for<br />
you so you get the best of both worlds – a one-off<br />
design statement tailored to your own space and<br />
character.<br />
We often get constrained by conforming to<br />
what things were originally built for, by trying<br />
too hard to ‘match’ or ‘scheme’ either with<br />
colours or styles and we find ourselves caught<br />
into the ways that previous trends created their<br />
looks or effects and this takes away from the fun<br />
and creativity of creating something new so,<br />
keep your eye on what you think looks good, and<br />
what works for you practically in your home,<br />
rather than expected ‘norms’ and that’s when<br />
you’ll really make something unique.<br />
Alternatively – have a good rummage about<br />
the West End, there are great new places<br />
opening up every day, and it’s worth your while<br />
to step off your usual routes and have a wander<br />
around other corners. I recently dropped into<br />
CoLab on Dowanhill Street. It stocks carefully<br />
chosen lifestyle brands in a contemporary<br />
environment, and you can sit down for<br />
coffee while you’re in there. You’ll often find<br />
something unique and edgy here, and at the<br />
time of writing, they had upcycled, industrial<br />
cubes featuring reclaimed film posters which<br />
could be used as stools or side tables, and cool<br />
industrial mirrors made from upcycled oil<br />
drums.<br />
CoLab Store<br />
CoLab Store, 11-13 Dowanhill St<br />
0141 570 1766<br />
The Store, 26 Munro Place<br />
0141 950 1333<br />
Up-shop.uk, 557a Dumbarton Rd<br />
0141 357 2579
www.westendermagazine.com | 57<br />
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Homes & Interiors<br />
Purple Palettes<br />
www.westendermagazine.com | 59<br />
With a new season, comes a new palette for our homes and wardrobes,<br />
and as we move away from the fresh citrussy colours of summer, the<br />
trend colour of prominence is deep purple. Think dark plums and<br />
burgundy tones, and deep navy blues with warm undertones. Just a<br />
few touches around your home, can give a whole new depth and help<br />
to ease us into the cooler months.<br />
Blamire Tapas Dish,<br />
£8.99, Cassiopeia<br />
Birthstone Ball,<br />
£11.99, Liquorice Tree<br />
My Happy Soap,<br />
£8.50,<br />
CoLab Store<br />
Elie Pacific Cushion,<br />
£62, Bluebellgray<br />
Effie Desk Lamp,<br />
£32.95, Nancy Smillie<br />
Bluebellgray, 162 Hyndland Road, 0808 164 1030, bluebellgray.com<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 />
Nancy Smillie, 53 Cresswell Street, 0141 334 4240, nancysmillieshop.com
60 | www.westendermagazine.com
www.westendermagazine.com | 61<br />
Homes & Interiors<br />
Well no-one can complain that we<br />
didn’t see some sun this year, and as we<br />
move into a new cooler season, Susan<br />
Robertson looks at how we bring this<br />
transition into our homes.<br />
Farrow & Ball<br />
Oversized<br />
Industrial<br />
CoLab Store<br />
by Susan Robertson<br />
An oversized clock looks<br />
great as a statement on<br />
the wall!<br />
One of the key trends this year is for<br />
everything oversized. Catwalks are being<br />
strutted in baggy jumpers and long soft jersey<br />
dresses, and our homes always tend to reflect<br />
the styles being worn.<br />
I remember the first time I saw a video on<br />
social media of someone knitting a huge<br />
blanket with mammoth stitches working up<br />
their arms. I thought it was a joke at first, then<br />
quite simply wonderful – and it’s now added<br />
to my list of things that look quite cool to do<br />
but I’ll likely never attempt. With these viral<br />
videos however, a trend was born. And now we<br />
have these brilliant chunky big knits adding<br />
comfort to our autumn evenings.<br />
What often works well in a room, is contrast.<br />
Not only of colour, but of texture so, taking<br />
these warm soft knits as a starting point, we<br />
can develop a theme around them – they work<br />
remarkably well against cool, hard surfaces<br />
and look brilliant against an industrial feel<br />
room. Think of natural brick or concrete<br />
walls, or opt for matt black, deepest navy or<br />
cool palest grey paint as a backdrop and then<br />
layer in the different elements from there. The<br />
furniture should be big and oversized too.
62 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
Keep to a couple of key items and make them<br />
the largest the space can take, without making<br />
it impractical. Think bold size choice, in a way<br />
that still allows loads of space, but let a few<br />
items breathe and ‘own’ the room. Select them<br />
carefully to contrast with the walls in dusky<br />
burnished metals and chunky dark wood.<br />
Add soft leather seats and dark metal stools.<br />
Once you have the palette and the core<br />
furniture pieces, that’s the framework from<br />
which you can then create – and this is where<br />
the additional flourishes really start to come<br />
into their own to pull the room together.<br />
Add texture and softness with the knits in<br />
throws and cushions in pale creams and deep<br />
blues. Break up large, cold concrete or dark<br />
polished floors with soft chunky rag rugs and<br />
faux fur. Use large floor cushions in sturdy<br />
denims and linens to complement huge sofas<br />
and armchairs you can disappear into. Just a<br />
few confident touches of the chunky softness is<br />
lovely against the roughness of the industrial<br />
look.<br />
Add to that some additional big features to<br />
add interest and depth. An oversized clock<br />
looks great as a statement on the wall – go for<br />
an antique station clock or a huge mirror is also<br />
great as this bounces the light and alters the<br />
atmosphere of the room. Choose a big metal<br />
mirror frame with no airs and graces and let it<br />
dominate a section of the room. Choose bright<br />
abstract art that can be allowed to roam freely<br />
over a whole wall section.<br />
A huge modern sculpture or a cheeky neon<br />
sign can take over a full corner and create a<br />
talking point, and a dark metal pendant light<br />
or vintage chrome spotlight floor lamp finishes<br />
it all off well.<br />
Make sure that you have the space to do<br />
this and keep it balanced. It should be bold<br />
and oversized but still kept purposeful and<br />
deliberate – think loft living and minimal,<br />
adding the large touches in a way that makes a<br />
confident statement but doesn’t make you feel<br />
like a borrower sitting diminutively at your<br />
own dining table!<br />
Then lastly – add some huge candle sticks<br />
to add extra natural light sources, pewter<br />
and metal look great. If there’s an option for it<br />
– a wood burner is a great option with this look,<br />
or a solid fireplace and grate. Add finishing<br />
touches in glass, metal and concrete. Pale grey<br />
concrete plant holders with simple green plants<br />
look great on surfaces, complemented by mixed<br />
hanging glass terrariums or huge smoked glass<br />
vase bowls with big white lilies finish off the<br />
theme really nicely. Then once you’ve pulled<br />
it all together, it’s the perfect room to melt<br />
into – enjoying the different textures and the<br />
calming simplicity of this timeless look as you<br />
adjust to the new season in your comfortable<br />
home.<br />
The Store Interiors
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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 />
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The Store Interiors, 26 Munro Place, Anniesland, Glasgow, G13 2UP<br />
0141 950 1333 | www.thestoreinteriors.co.uk<br />
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