WebJanFeb2019

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T h e n e w h o m e o f 

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Contents 

Image I Gregor Reid 

Regulars 

Contents 

4 Editor’s Letter 

49 Mum’s Notebook 

28 Community Pages: 

6 Sirens Fashion Netball pages 

westender 

underwear Fashion, beauty shoot & health 

13 A Jian London 

8 Fashion on the Moor 

Christmas 

20 WIN! A Month’s Pass at 

14 West End Live 

Sweat! Glasgow! 

with Greg Kane 

22 Fun Fitness 

19 A west end 

33 WIN! At Rainbow 

Christmas gift guide 

Room International 

28 Up Front 

50 Health Matters 

gypsy brewing 

30 Restaurant review 

31 Shopping WIN! A 3 course meal 

with 37 Valentine wine at Rio Gift Cafe Guide & 

WIN! A weekend 

at The Bruce Arms 

Going out 

32 Sweet Liberty recipe 

34 16 West Author’s End Bookgroup 

Live 

meets with Greg Phil Kane Differ 

39 18 Top Jingle Things Belles at 

Kennedy + Co 

40 Art WIN! & culture A style 

makeover at Rainbow 

Room 

30 Writer’s 

International 

Reveal: 

41 

Gill 

Festive 

Sims 

Offers 

at 

34 

Esteem 

Cover to 

Beauty 

Cover 

42 

38 Artist 

100 years 

Interview: 

of 

Erskine 

Pascale 

celebrated 

Steenkiste 

at The Hunterian 

44 Food Health & drink Matters 

47 

43 

Mum’s 

Restaurant 

Notebook 

Review: 

49 

Gather 

Top 

by 

Things 

Zique 

52 

44 

Interiors 

Sweet Liberty 

article: 

Christmas 

47 Bar Review: 

in colour 

Roosevelts 

55 Country comforts 

56 Hygge at home 

Westender living 

58 Atlas kitchen 

makeover 54 The Velvet Touch 

66 59 Twist Legal of Matters Tweed with 

Mitchells 61 In the Nude Roberton


Editor’s 

Letter 

Don’t write in. We know. Wily, or wiley? 

That was the big debate in the office 

this morning. Placing the fashion 

pages for each edition is a great pleasure of 

mine – a fab reminder of a fun and creative 

day out on the shoot. However, the sticking 

point this edition involved lyrics rather than 

images. With reference to Kate Bush’s 

Wuthering Heights the title to the fashion 

pages pays homage to Bush’s spelling in the 

original song. If it’s good enough for Kate… 

Our take on mixing tweeds with knits and 

thicker fabrics for those cold days ahead 

starts on Page 8. 

Start off 2019 with a drum roll by booking 

yourself in to the biggest world music festival 

at Celtic Connections. With numerous West 

End venues and a wide choice of musicians 

on offer, Greg Kane makes his choice 

selection on Page 16. 

Just maybe you fancy a new challenge 

for the new year? Pick up a new language or 

crafting skill listed in our Top Things pages 

(Page 18). Last year my family and I learned 

Spanish at The Language Hub on Keith Street 

in Partick. It was a bonding experience with a 

tangible benefit – maybe we can order dinner 

in our hosts’ language this summer? 

Or perhaps you’re thinking of fun things to 

do this winter that cunningly burn those extra 

calories left from the overindulgence that is 

December? Then read new Westender writer 

Pamela Palongue’s fun fitness article on Page 

22. Learning circus arts, or starting ballet 

class, is open to all ages, body shapes and 

genders at these two West End businesses. 

If it’s fun it’s easier to stick with, and how can 

learning the trapeze be anything but! 

Loraine Patrick is back for the Jan/Feb 

edition interviewing local West End author, 

Gill Sims. With a successful blog and now 

two bestselling books to her name, Sims 

explains how it all came about, from an 

unconventional start, on Page 30. 

This unconventional theme continues 

with artist-in-residence Pascale Steenkiste’s 

interview on Page 40. Why so? Because it’s 

in Partickhill Bowling Club and Community 

Centre. It’s a novel way to diversify and invite 

local Westenders along to see what classes 

they hold in their newly refurbished centre. 

2019 you’re about to get interesting. 

Suzanne Martin


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EDITOR 

SUZANNE MARTIN 

PHOTOGRAPHER 

GREGOR REID 

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS 

EMILY DONOHO, AMY GLASGOW, 

MICHELE GORDON, 

GREG KANE, PAMELA LEGGATE, 

NICOLA MAULE, 

TRACY MUKHERJEE, 

PAMELA PALONGUE, 

LORAINE PATRICK 

SUSAN ROBERTSON, BRIAN TOAL, 

LIBERTY VITTERT, 

HANNAH WESTWATER 

HAIR & MUA 

TERRI CRAIG 

STYLIST 

JACKI CLARK 

WESTENDERMAGAZINE.COM 

INFO@WESTENDERMAGAZINE.COM 

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gregorreidphotography.com 

PORTRAITS CORPORATE 

FASHION


out on the 

wiley 

Windy 

moors 

photography 

Gregor Reid 

stylist 

jacki clark 

MAke up 

terri craig

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coat, monsoon. snood, jasmine. boots, office. bangle, house of cashmere 

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MUA terri craig, terricraig.co.uk 

model aimee logan @colours agency 

stylist jacki clark, jackiclark-stylist.co.uk 

photography gregor reid, gregorreidphotography.com


LIVE 

January 

Wolf & Moom 

Monday 7th January 7.30pm 

The Hug and Pint, thehugandpint.com 

Stefany and Dennis are Wolf & Moon, 

a nomadic duo who met at a house 

party in the Netherlands. Shortly 

after meeting they journeyed across 

the US on a full tour with only a 

small traveling guitar and a Casio 

keyboard. The Dutch duo have set 

out to conquer the world with their 

minimalist electro folk. It’s all a 

bit Euro crusty new agey, but there’s 

definitely something here to keep an 

eye on. Enjoyed listening to them. 

Choice Tracks: 

Wolf & Moon 'Getaway' 

From the Jam 

Friday 11th January 7.30pm 

QMU, qmunion.org.uk 

A tribute band – but with a difference 

– one of its members is tributing 

himself here. 

Bruce Foxton (The original bassist 

with The Jam) leads From The Jam and 

he still has all the charisma and 

energy of his youth. We often play 

Summer festivals with them and they 

are just so amazing to watch, drawing 

from a seemingly endless pool of 

great songs (Paul Weller is a prolific 

songwriter) that made The Jam one of 

the most popular bands of their time. 

This’ll be a great Friday night out. 

Oh and if you like your Weller a bit 

more blue eyed soul’d then The Style 

Councillors are playing Oran Mor on 

the same night. Weller’s ears will be 

burnin’ that night. 

Choice track: 

The Jam ‘Eton Rifles’ 

Celtic Connections 

17th January to 3rd February 

Various venues, celticconnections.com 

Here’s my pick from the biggest world 

music festival on the planet. 

19th Jan. – The Como Mamas 

– Makintosh Church 7:30pm. 

Gospel trio from Mississippi backed 

by the Daptone guys. The real deal. 

Choice Track: The Como Mamas 

'Move Upstairs' 

23rd Jan. – CAKE – QMU 7:30pm. 

Californian alternative rock band that 

epitomised the postmodern, ironydrenched 

aesthetic of '90s geek rock. 

Choice Track: CAKE 'Sinking Ship' 

24th Jan. – Rachel Newton – Mitchell 

Theatre 7:30pm. This Scottish harpist 

and singer is building on the success 

of a SAY Award nomination last year 

for her album Here’s My Heart Come 

Take It by promoting her new 2018 

album West. 

27th Jan. – Dori Freema – Oran Mor 

7:30pm. Female singer/songwriter 

from Virginia born into a family 

of Bluegrass musicians with 

such an amazingly creamy voice. 

Her beautifully tender song You Say 

is on repeat in my car. 

Choice Track: Dori Freeman 'You Say' 

31st Jan. – JP Ruggieri – Hug & Pint 

7:30pm. JP is a young, uber talented 

singer/songwriter from Nashville 

and must also be one of the best 

guitarists around. He’s blessed with 

a beautifully soulful voice too. A 

must see every time he comes to town. 

He’s out promoting his new album 

'Waiting On You'.


by Greg Kane 

February 

The Murder Capital 

Thursday 7th January 7pm 

SWG3, swg3.tv 

Seemingly these guys are Ireland’s 

best new Rock band but with only one 

song made public to date from this 

fledgling Dublin five-piece, you could 

be forgiven for thinking it’s just hype. 

But said song More Is Less is a track 

that makes an immediate impression 

with its punk energy and intense 

delivery. 

Live, The Murder Capital’s energy is 

more palpable as the members embody 

the twists and turns of their songs 

that are indebted to 1980s new wave, 

punk and garage. It’s all pretty good. 

Choice track: 

The Murder Capital 'More Is Less' 

Post Malone 

Sunday 17th February 6.30pm 

SSE Hydro, thessehydro.com 

Billie Eilish 

Thursday 28th February 7pm 

SWG3, swg3.tv 

Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O’Connell 

is an American singer/songwriter 

and teenage superstar. Her songs 

garner over 20 million streams 

every month making her one of the 

most popular artists in the world. 

Her music is ambient Emo pop with 

slow fragmented grooves, usually 

with strings and lots of drama. Eilish 

was raised in Highland Park, L.A. 

by a family of actors and musicians 

with Scottish/Irish ancestry and she 

co-writes her songs with her 21-yearold 

brother Finneas O'Connell. 

Her concerts have been described 

as genius, bewitching and powerful, 

not only because of her talent, but of 

the devotion, love and passion of all 

the fans in the room. The O’Connell’s 

are your classic over achieving 

all-American family. 

Choice track: Billie Eilish 

'Ocean Eyes' 

My partner’s 17-year-old plays Post 

Malone a lot. I’m not sure what to make 

of it. Sure it’s poppy but there’s also 

an adult contemporary attitude in his 

slick productions. Post really knows 

what he’s doing in a recording studio. 

Old garage band indie refs, soul/pop 

refs, Reggae refs, EMO refs, even Trap 

refs are all in here too – a hotch potch 

of music, but a very, very successful 

one. At only 22-years-old and judging 

by his streaming numbers he has the 

world at his feet. 

Choice Track: Post Malone 

'Better Now'


Top Things To Do 

in the West End 

by Tracy Mukherjee 

Top for Burns Night 

We are somewhat spoilt for Burns supper 

shenanigans this New Year. Over in Cottiers, the 

national day of the bard will be celebrated with 

a lavish three course meal (with dram of course) 

followed by full highland dress/black tie ceilidh. 

For a truly luxurious Burns Night supper The 

Finnieston, as one would expect of this venue, 

has put a seafood spin on the traditional haggis 

theme. With sumptuous whisky flights and 

whisky cocktails to put hairs on your chest, it’s a 

great choice for real foodies. 

Just along Argyle Street in Lebowskis, The 

Bard Abides. These guys make an effort every 

year to put their own mark on 25th of January. 

Previous years have seen Rabbie Burns themed 

White Russians and rather special burgers. 

This year there are even rumours of a food-free 

supper! Of course with the ever present spirit of 

The Dude surveying the proceedings, the final 

menu is sure to pack a punch. 

And finally, for a theatrical take on Burns, Oran 

Mor present The Ghosting of Rabbie Burns. 

This comic tale gives a supernatural spin on 

our Rab. Featuring Burns poems and songs, the 

production shows that, in matters of the heart 

little has changed in 200 years. 

Cottiers Burns Supper and Ceilidh 2019 

cottiers.com Friday 25th Jan 

The Finnieston 

gfthefinniestonbar.com 

Lebowskis Glasgow West 

lebowskis.co.uk 

The Ghosting of Rabbie Burns 

Oran Mor, Tuesday 29th January 

oran-mor.co.uk/whats-on 

Top for Music 

How lucky a city are we that in January 

each year we are privileged to host Celtic 

Connections. A music festival like no other, 

Celtic Connections embraces all forms of music. 

This year the theme is Passing Traditions 

Between Generations and one of the standout 

events is Brave in Concert. Bringing Disney’s 

flame haired Scots’ heroine to life will be the BBC 

Scottish Symphony Orchestra, in association 

with Disney Concerts. This event really will 

traverse the generations. Becoming a firm 

favourite, the National Whisky Festival will 

return to SWG3 for a day likely to, quite literally, 

warm your cockles. Staying in the west, our local 

venues of Oran Mor, The Hug and Pint and The 

Mitchell Theatre return as firm favourites for 

performances. 

Celtic Connections 

Thurs 17th January – Sun 3rd February 

celticconnections.com 

Top for Film 

The 2019 Glasgow Film Festival returns in 

February and it’s looking like a goody! With 

Hollywood classics, anniversary screenings 

and highly acclaimed Belgian cinema, there is 

bound to be a film to suit the most specific of 

tastes. One of the highlights of the festival is 

the first official 20th anniversary screening 

of 'The Matrix'. The show is being held in the 

subterranean caverns of The Arches. This 

atmospheric venue, underneath Glasgow 

Central, will also be filled with immersive 

installations to capture the mood for the 

screening and the after show party. With a black 

shades (actually black from head to toe) dress 

theme, watch out Neo and Trinity. 

Staying in the realms of Sci-Fi, this year also 

celebrates the 40th anniversary of the original 

Alien. This screening will coincide with the 

release of a 4K restoration print of the film, 

premiering in cinemas on 1st March. Along with 

the screening during the film festival, which is 

being held in an enormous warehouse, there 

will be laser tag adventures, comic books and 

themed cocktails.


Top Things To Do 

in the West End 

Rounding off the run down of this year’s film 

festival there will be a retrospective event 

entitled The Age of Innocence. The films within 

this category are all from American cinema 

in 1969. The 10 films are from an age where 

censorship laws were being relaxed and a new 

cinematic counter-culture was emerging. Among 

the classics are Easy Rider, Midnight Cowboy 

and the iconic Butch Cassidy and the Sundance 

Kid. Amazingly, the films are all FREE to view. 

Quite simply a fantastic line up and a great 

reason to leave that ever beckoning sofa on a 

cold February night. 

The Glasgow Film Festival 

20th February – 3rd March 

Full program to be announced 23rd January 

glasgowfilm.org/glasgow-film-festival 

Top for New Year Resolutions 

I’m going to lose weight, stop drinking, give up 

chocolate; the resolution war cry on the 2nd 

of January. A much more fun and achievable 

resolution? Learn something new. Learning 

a language is a great example. The Language 

Hub in Partick is a one stop shop for all your 

language needs. Teaching all age groups, you 

also needn’t learn alone. Children can learn a 

language through song, rhyme, toys, crafts and 

games. Adult classes focus on individual needs 

in a small class setting. There are even family 

sessions where you can learn alongside your 

children. With all levels of language abilities 

being catered for – beginners, post beginners, 

intermediate – find your language level and go 

for it! With German, Spanish, Italian and more to 

choose from, there is also an on-site cafe at the 

Hub to relax and practise your conversation over 

a coffee and some tasty bites. Take some time to 

visit the shop too and stock up on some learning 

aids to enhance your linguistic knowledge. 

Language learning a little too academic? Why 

not try some crafts instead? The Landsdowne 

House of Stencils offer classes on up-cycling 

furniture, distressing, using chalk and crackle 

paint techniques. Why not try eco-printing 

Scottish leaves? This fabulous craft venue 

on Landsdowne Crescent heavily focuses the 

materials used on natural flora and fauna or 

indeed on recycling old into something grand and 

'up-cycled'. Classes are added regularly so keep 

your eye on the website. 

For needlepoint lovers, Sew Confident teaches 

sewing to the absolute novice who has never 

threaded a sewing machine right through to the 

more advanced skills of lampshade making and 

machine doodle. A great way to meet new friends 

too, Sew Confident provide all equipment in their 

Hidden Lane headquarters. 

Lastly in our resolutions run down, Strictly has 

sadly come to an end for another year and yet 

the joy of watching others dance has left you 

with a warm fuzzy feeling. You know what’s next. 

Try it out for yourself! Dance with Attitude offer 

classes for young and old in every form and style 

of dance. From Ballroom to Bollywood, Tap to 

Tango, there is something for everyone in their 

Scotstoun studio. To entice you even more, after 

a fun dance class why not drop in for dinner at 

the on-site tapas bar La Bodega. This Spanish 

owned venue not only serves up fantastic 

flavours but has live music and entertainment 

throughout the week. With a weekly Salsa club, 

live jazz on Sundays and Tango Milongo, you’ll be 

lighting up the dance floor in no time. 

The Language Hub 

thelanguagehub.co.uk 

Landsdowne House of Stencils 

landsdownehouseofstencils.com 

Sew Confident 

Dance with Attitude 

dancewithattitude.net 

La Bodega Tapas Bar 

labodegaglasgow.com 

sewconfident.co.uk

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Adventure calling! 

Aerial or en-pointe? 

WORDS PAMELA PALONGUE 

At the start of every fresh year we promise ourselves the same things, lose 

weight, exercise more blah blah… How long does that last? But what if? 

What if we challenge ourselves to have fun. Simply that. Would having fun 

physically, be the glue needed to building a stronger body whilst learning a 

new skill? New Westender writer, Pamela Palongue, heads along to two West 

End based classes to find out more. 

One of the biggest reasons people give 

up an exercise regimen, is that it’s 

just not fun. It seems there’s a reason 

they call it a ‘work’-out. 

But what if there was an activity that 

combined fitness with creativity and passion? 

What if you actually looked forward to a little 

physical exertion in your week? This type of 

thinking has led to alternative fitness routines, 

that actually have people longing for more. 

One great way to get in shape and have 

fun while you’re doing it, is to practice circus 

arts. Fortunately, you won’t have to run away 

to join the circus to participate. There’s a 

school in the West End that has instruction in 

flying trapeze, aerial hoops, aerial silks and 

acrobatics. Aerial Edge offers classes in all 

of these disciplines and more for adults of all 

skill levels that range in age from uni students 

to those in their seventies! 

In case you’re wondering right about 

now…the trapeze is perfectly safe! And it just 

happens to be the only full-time, indoor flying 

trapeze in the UK. 

Students are ‘in lines’ meaning that they 

are in a type of harness and are clipped to 

cables with an instructor who ensures that 

there are no involuntary falls. Students can 

frequently be caught (swinging from one 

trapeze bar to be caught by the catcher on 

another) from the first class. It all depends 

upon individual ability and comfort level. Even 

though it’s quite safe, the perceived danger 

can help to greatly increase confidence 

levels, and the physical activity will lead to 

greater core strength, flexibility and balance. 

For those who prefer to stay a bit closer to 

the ground, the aerial hoops and aerial silks 

are much lower and can be performed while 

just a couple of metres off the floor. Aerial silk 

artists were made famous by Cirque du Soleil 

where individuals form different spins and 

poses while hanging from long pieces of silk 

fabric. It’s beautiful to watch, and it requires 

every muscle to perform. 

Aerial Edge also offers floor acrobatics, 

flexibility classes, and conditioning classes 

where individuals can strengthen the muscles 

needed for circus arts – while reaping the 

rewards of a finely-toned circus body. Some 

individuals train in these classes exclusively, 

and do not train on the trapeze or silks. Many 

students however, come with the intention 

of attending the conditioning classes only,


Image I Richard Walker


INTERNATIONAL 

Hairstylist & Colourist 

Norman McLeod 

returns to his home town 

after running his own salon 

in Hong Kong and Italy. 

For a free consultation call 

Beti Reilly Salon at 75 Bath Street 

Tel. 0141 332 3637 or call Norman 

on Mobile 07368 265868.


Images I lottiephotography 

but soon find that with increased confidence 

levels, they want to try the different aerial 

arts, taking their instruction to the next level. 

All the classes are taught by highly 

trained instructors, and many degreeeducated 

circus instructors and professional 

performers, one of whom is a former Cirque 

du Soleil coach. 

The classes are held in historic Kelvin 

Hall, the original site of the 1920s circuses 

which came to Glasgow. Many of the 

building’s features still surround the area 

where classes are held, and it lends a 

bit of charm and nostalgia to the overall 

experience. 

Classes are designed to be inclusive, 

in a friendly, non-competitive atmosphere. 

It’s all about doing your best and improving 

your own personal skills. 

Another fun way to improve your fitness 

levels while exploring your creative side is 

dance. If you ever attended ballet classes 

as a child, or perhaps just stared at a Degas 

painting and wondered what it would be like 

– the ballet classes at Dance Glasgow may 

be for you! 

The upstairs studio on Ruthven Lane 

has been seasoned with character; 

its slightly worn, hardwood floors tell the 

tale of thousands of dancers who have left 

their mark on them in search of the perfect 

pirouette. 

The adults who come here for instruction 

are both young and mature, serious and 

playful. They eagerly line up at the barre in 

front of the mirrored wall and practice their 

positions, creating beautiful moving pictures. 

More than just creating pretty movements 

though, they’re developing their core and 

leg strength, improving their balance, and 

gaining confidence. The instructor watches 

each student carefully and makes gentle 

corrections when needed, which leads 

to better form and more amplitude in the 

movements – and a better stretch. 

The familiar practice piano provides music 

throughout the one hour and 15 minutes 

lesson, although the songs are popular 

recognisable tunes, such as Candle in the 

Wind, and the Atomic Kitten song, The Tide


is High. The instructor, Marion Baird, who 

is a dance master, keeps the atmosphere 

light-hearted with a joke now and then, 

in between giving commands in French. 

She explains that learning the commands in 

French is important, because some of her 

students will return to their hometown after 

uni, while others may move to a new area or 

country for work. By learning the commands 

in French, they can study ballet anywhere 

and easily know the universal language of the 

movements. 

After the barre work is finished, the 

barres are removed from the centre of the 

room and dancers begin the floor section 

of their training. They take the movements 

they’ve practiced on barre and begin to put 

them together into small, choreographed 

segments. 

Dance Glasgow has classes for absolute 

beginners who have never danced a step, 

and classes for adults who are more 

advanced and want to continue to learn 

more. The classes are drop-in, and can be 

joined at any time so that there’s no waiting 

for weeks for a class to begin. And I’m 

happy to report that several men attend the 

classes and find it thoroughly enjoyable. 

It also bears mentioning that many adults 

also find the belly dance and Zumba classes 

a great experience, depending upon your 

own personal preference. 

So take the ‘work’ out of your workout, 

and start having fun instead! 

aerialedge.co.uk 

danceglasgow.com 

Image I Richard Walker


Join from 

33p 

p/day* 

RESOLUTIONS 

START HERE 

students / staff / you 

glasgow.ac.uk/sport 

*UofG Sport memberships start at 33p a day.


Sirens for Success 

WORDS Hannah Westwater 

Mention netball to some and they might 

shudder as they’re hit with semitraumatic 

school PE memories. 

But the sport deserves better, with a thriving 

netball culture in swing across the UK – and 

Glasgow knows women and girls can be 

the first to be shut out of professional sport. 

That’s why the Strathclyde Sirens team was 

launched by Netball Scotland in 2016 with 

Claire Nelson at the helm as CEO.


The Sirens women – based in Glasgow 

but hailing from New Zealand, Australia 

and Jamaica, to name a few – have the 

opportunity to come up against the 

best players across England and Wales. 

It’s the only Scottish women’s sports team 

to have a Sky Sports deal, making regular 

appearances on the channel as part of the 

Vitality Netball Superleague. 

Gail Parata of Scotland’s national squad 

also coaches the Sirens, and the team sees 

support from the Scottish Institute of Sport. 

It’s also the only professional netball team in 

the entirety of Scotland. That means worldclass 

strength and conditioning training 

and physiotherapy, plus video analysis and 

lifestyle support. 

The team, based at the £113m Emirates 

Arena, consists of ten professional and 

semi-professional players plus five training 

partners, with a game each weekend. Home 

games are plentiful, giving fans the chance to 

head along and support the team (and meet 

the players post-match in the fan zone). 

Young players are supported through the 

selections process from district and national 

level, and wider outreach efforts are a core 

part of the team’s operation with engagement 

programmes run in collaboration with local 

schools. Think masterclasses, coaching 

sessions and even Sirens camps. But it’s not 

just about getting the best players on side 

for league games – the team was set up with 

the intention of using netball as a vehicle for 

greater good. 

‘Netball’s played mainly by women in 

Scotland, which gives us a unique platform 

for women to challenge gender stereotypes 

and succeed competitively,’ says Sirens 

player and part-time administrator Ella 

Gibbons. She adds, ‘to be strong, confident 

and inspire others.’ When she’s not playing or 

training for netball games with the team, Ella 

is studying a Masters degree in Equality and 

Human Rights at the University of Glasgow or 

volunteering with gender equality groups, like 

Women’s Aid in the east of the city. 

The Sirens For Success programme 

targets young girls in the first few years of 

high school who are disengaged from sport 

and physical activity. Netball is the name of 

the game, but it takes a back seat to issues 

which could be holding girls back from taking 

part, either in sport or other areas of their 

life. They help girls tackle issues affecting 

their demographic which, if gone unchecked, 

could follow them through the rest of 

adolescence – body image, confidence, 

resilience, plus physical and mental health. 

‘Women’s sport receives less 

media coverage, less sponsorship and 

endorsement. We’re trying to challenge this 

with Sirens, reaching new audiences and 

trying to inspire the local community,’ says 

Ella, a self-described advocate for a fairer, 

equal society. That being a professional 

netballer is now an option for young girls is 

exciting, she adds, which she would have 

only dreamt of when growing up. ‘Being a 

Siren for me means pushing the sport to new 

levels, to give the next generation of players 

even more opportunities for the future than 

what I’ve had. And I’ve been incredibly lucky!’ 

The people behind the Sirens hope that 

the pressures and setbacks of elite sport 

(such as injury, disappointing performances 

and non-selection for the team) will help 

develop resilience and the ability to overcome 

adversity in young women. And it works. Ella 

says, ‘Playing sport has improved my self 

confidence, my ability to approach and talk 

to new people, has helped me make many 

close friends. Exercising and being active are 

generally great ways to look after both your 

body and your mind. 

‘Sirens Netball aim to inspire other women 

and girls to be active, to feel confident 

with their bodies, and have the confidence 

to achieve their goals.’ The team is also 

partnered with leading children’s charity 

NSPCC Scotland to help deliver their 

groundbreaking campaign Speak Out Stay 

Safe, which teaches children what abuse is, 

how to identify it in all its forms and helps 

develop their confidence in speaking to a 

trusted adult who can help. 

A sports team with a cause, the Sirens 

carry the girls and young women of Glasgow 

on their shoulders through every win and 

more importantly, every loss. 

The first home game of the new season 

is Friday 11th January 2019 versus 

Team Bath, at the Emirates Arena, with 

tickets up for grabs online now. They’re 

Strathclyde Sirens – are you with them? 

sirensnetball.com


Writer’s Reveal 

meets Gill Sims 

WORDS LORAINE PATRICK 

Glasgow based writer Gill Sims is the 

best-selling author of Why Mummy 

Drinks and Why Mummy Swears, 

both Sunday Times bestsellers. The books 

are based on her hilarious (if rather sweary) 

parenting blog Peter and Jane. The mum of 

two was an engineerining consultant before 

being approached by HarperCollins to 

publish her musings on family life. She now 

writes full-time. 

Gill thanks for taking time out to catch 

up with Westender magazine. I have to 

put in a bit of a disclaimer here – I am a 

mum of three and your descriptions of 

family life have me in stitches. Take us 

back to why you started up the Facebook 

blog – was it a way of sharing your 

experiences with friends or did you think 

at the time it could be something much 

bigger?


It just really started as a joke with a friend. 

I was a chronic oversharer on Facebook 

anyway and friends kept telling me I should 

start a blog. Maybe they were just bored with 

my long rambling status updates and thought 

I should take it somewhere else! 

I was always quite sweary and one day a 

friend sent me an article, I think it was about 

why wome n shouldn’t swear, and she said 

‘You really should do that blog!’ I had a bit 

of spare time so I threw something together, 

mainly to make her laugh. I started the public 

Facebook page because friends wanted 

to share it, and posting in there saved me 

having to change my privacy settings all the 

time. 

Do you remember your first post? What 

was it about? 

I think it was about a Mummy who tries very 

hard to make everything #soblessed but 

who is constantly thwarted by her children 

– by their inability to find their shoes, by 

their illicit consumption of Haribo leading to 

them bouncing off the walls, by the eleventy 

billion letters from the school that she can’t 

keep track of, or she is only handed twenty 

minutes before leaving the house that tell 

her that her precious moppets are to go into 

school today dressed as French mimes, or 

spacemen, or trees… 

I think I am that mum! But you have 

clearly struck a chord with several 

thousand of us. There are around 400,000 

followers on your Facebook page. When 

did you realise the enormity of what you 

were doing? 

I don’t think it really has sunk in yet. It’s a bit 

mind boggling really! I’m always amazed and 

so grateful that so many people do take the 

time to read my ramblings. 

The most popular post is still the one that first 

went viral, about a long day in the summer 

holidays when everything goes wrong despite 

Mummy’s best intentions, but when her 

husband comes home from work, because 

she hasn’t been at her actual paying job that 

day, he assumes she must have spent the 

day with her feet up enjoying her ‘day off’. 

When in reality she had spent her ‘relaxing 

day off’ doing endless loads of laundry and 

taking kids to the doctors and playdates and 

refereeing fights and trying to juggle endless 

balls and hadn’t actually sat down all day, 

and so she did not take such comments well. 

I think a lot of other people must have had 

similar experiences. 

Is everything you write based on true life 

experience? 

The books are fiction. I’m not Ellen, my 

husband isn’t Simon and my kids aren’t Peter 

and Jane, though Judgy Dog in the books 

is based very closely on my own Border 

Terrier. The blog and some of the situations 

in the book are about the general everyday 

experiences most of us go through as 

parents – lost shoes, aversions to vegetables, 

forgetting how to read. Mummy is a 

fictionalised mum to, she gets to say out loud 

what we are all shouting inside our heads. 

Your tongue-in-cheek take on family life is 

the polar opposite to the picture-perfect 

images we are often fed on social media. 

I am sure most commend you for your 

honesty but do you ever get any criticism? 

I’ve been really lucky and most people realise 

it is hugely exaggerated for comic value. 

There is the odd person who doesn’t realise it 

is meant to be humorous and takes umbrage. 

There are others who get that it is supposed 

to be funny, but don’t think that it is funny, 

which is entirely their right to do so, humour 

is very subjective. 

When you hear about the hideous things 

some people get sent, or the threats made 

to them, I’ve really been very lucky and 

the criticism is mild in the grand scheme 

of things. When everything first took off, it 

wouldn’t matter how many nice comments 

there were, if there was one negative one 

that would be what I would focus on. But you 

learn to shrug it off and grow a thicker skin. 

You have to really. 

Your writing is very sweary – would it be 

the same without the cursing? 

Personally, I am a big fan of swearing! 

I was sent a book recently called Swearing Is 

Good For You, about the therapeutic effects


of swearing which I would definitely agree 

with. Sometimes ‘Oh fudge!’ just doesn’t 

cut it. I think my writing would lose a certain 

something without the swearing, though 

others disagree. Someone did leave a one 

star review on Amazon for Why Mummy 

Swears because she felt there was too much 

swearing in it. Though I would argue that if 

you don’t like swearing, the clue is somewhat 

in the title, and I’m not entirely sure what she 

was expecting from it. 

‘Daddy’ works away a lot and thinks he is 

very important. How do you all get along 

in real life? 

‘Daddy’, like ‘Mummy’ is a fictional character, 

of course. I don’t think Daddy comes across 

terribly sympathetically because the books 

and the blogs are written from Mummy’s 

point of view. We see her frustration that 

Daddy gets to swan off being Busy and 

Important while she holds the fort at home. 

If it was written from Daddy and Simon’s side, 

it would probably look quite different, as they 

come home exhausted after a long journey 

on top of a hard week, happy to see their wife 

and kids only to be greeted with resentment 

and a refusal to make a ‘nice simple lasagne’ 

for dinner. In real life, we get along like most 

people – we have been married long enough 

that we know exactly how to annoy each 

other, but at the same time, we probably 

wouldn’t want to be annoyed by anyone else. 

Can you share a little of your background 

with us? Are you from Glasgow? What do 

you like about the West End? 

I’ve lived in Glasgow since I was 11. Before 

that we lived in Kenya and Tanzania. I went 

to school in the West End, so it has lots 

of happy memories. From hiding from our 

teachers in the old Underground Gallery, 

using dodgy fake ID to buy vodka and cokes 

in Curlers, and trips to the Grosvenor Cinema 

long before it was posh and had nice sofas 

and sold wine. I love how much is always 

going on in the West End and am a great fan 

of charity shops, so I love a good mooch 

around them. 

Your story is very much one of forging a 

successful writing career in the social 

media age – you were approached by 

HarpersCollins to publish your blog. 

Both books subsequently went on the 

best seller list and you have just published 

a Why Mummy Drinks journal. Had you 

any notion when you started out that 

you would end up becoming an internet 

celebrity and a full-time writer? 

I’m not sure I would call myself an internet 

celebrity. I am a very small fish in an 

enormous and ever expanding pond in 

internet terms. I think Celeste Barber put it 

best when she said that being famous on the 

internet is like being rich in Monopoly. I had 

no idea at all that any of this would happen, 

especially not to write a book published 

by HarperCollins, let alone more than one. 

I certainly never thought they would end up 

on the bestseller lists like they did. When 

my editor at HarperCollins called to tell me 

Competition! 

We have two copies of 

Why Mummy Drinks: 

The Journal to give away. 

Visit westendermagazine.com 

and click on competitions 

by the 28th of February 2019. 

Why Mummy 

Drinks 

£3 

OFF 

* 

RRP £9.99 

*Exclusive offer for WESTENDER readers 

at Waterstones 351-355 Byres Road 

branch only, by 28th February 2019.

Why Mummy Swears was number one on 

the Sunday Times Bestsellers list I burst 

into very loud, unattractive sobbing. Which 

was unfortunate as I hadn’t realised I was on 

speaker phone with the rest of the office and I 

was making snorting noises. 

I believe your background is in 

engineering – have you left your other job? 

I was working for an engineering consultancy 

but I’m now writing full-time. There were not 

enough hours in the day if my children were 

to ever eat anything other than frozen pizza. 

So in the interests of them not getting scurvy 

something had to give! 

What kind of demands are on you now as 

a full-time writer? 

Mainly managing my time and not wasting 

the day on procrastination. The internet is 

a great tool but it is also a black hole down 

which hours can vanish as you pretend you 

are just quickly going to google something 

and then find you have spent two hours 

watching videos about otters. I do love 

videos about otters but I can’t really claim it 

is a constructive use of my time. So I’m not 

very good at the whole structuring my day 

thing and tend to end up in a bit of a panic as 

deadlines approach – and I’m still watching 

otter videos… 

RRI 

R 

Westender www.westendermagazine.com Magazine Competitions | 33 

by John Parker 

ainbow Room International is now 

Scotland’s largest salon group and 

has an incredible academy and Artistic 

Team. From the beginning, owners Alan 

and Linda Stewart wanted to create a real 

community and that they have certainly done. 

We are thrilled to start 2019 at the Great 

Western Road Salon with a new Stylist, 

Tyler Porter, who has worked his way up 

from being an assistant/trainee. Tyler worked 

Saturday’s at the Academy whilst at school in 

fourth year to do his level 1 and is now 18 and 

a qualified Stylist. 

To celebrate Tyler’s new role, we are 

offering 100 FREE HAIRCUTS for new 

clients with Tyler starting from the end of 

February/start of March. All you have to 

do to claim your free appointment is call 

us at the salon on 0141 337 3370 and 

quote ‘Westender Magazine Tyler’* 

when booking. 

*100 Haircuts Terms & Conditions – 100 free appointments 

only valid for new clients with stylist Tyler. Appointments will 

be offered on a first come first serve basis. Appointments 

are subject to availability. Must quote ‘Westender Magazine 

Tyler’ when booking appointment. 

What next for you Gill? Do you ever think 

you will run out of material as the children 

get older? Would you like to tackle any 

other kind of writing? 

I’d love for there to be some more books, 

but all of this has been so unexpected and 

amazing, that if this is all there is, then it has 

still been an astonishing thing to happen and 

I am delighted. A few people have asked if I 

have ever considered writing children’s books 

or young adult books, which I haven’t really, 

there couldn’t be any swearing! 

I think whatever I wrote it would still have a 

humorous edge as life is short and we might 

as well laugh while we can. 

follow – Rainbow Room GWR 

Alan and Linda Stewart 

Rainbow Room International 

607 Great Western Road G12 8HX 

0141 337 3370 

rainbowroominternational.com 

WIN! Rainbow Room International 

are offering one lucky reader a hair 

makeover in their Great Western Rd 

salon. For your chance to win go to 

westendermagazine.com and click 

on competitions by the 28th Feb ‘19.


1 

The Shadow of 

the Black Earl 

by Charles E. McGarry 

BY BRIAN TOAL 

WESTENDER’s 

COVER TO COVER 

Tartan Noir with a twist. Leo Moran is a private 

investigator but not the archetypal super-sleuth, 

using his genius or his dogged determination to catch 

the killer. 

He is plagued by brief visions 

of violent crimes which come 

to him during an unconscious 

state. He has been invited to 

stay with friends in Biggnarbriggs 

Hall in the beautiful environs 

of Kirkcudbrightshire, 

and whilst there, a young local 

girl disappears. Leo tries to help 

the police but their scepticism 

and his notoriety from a previous 

case causes them to spurn his 

advances. 

Undaunted, he investigates 

anyway and gradually begins to 

uncover a tale of witchcraft and 

satanic rituals going back years. 

When he discovers that another 

girl disappeared from the same 

location on exactly the same day 

thirty years before, Leo is more 

convinced than ever that there 

is a ritualistic element to the 

disappearance. 

The plotline is rather 

complicated and keeps you 

guessing right to the end. 

It contains loads of intrigue, local 

gossip, infidelity, Wiccan rituals 

and establishment cover-ups. 

I particularly enjoyed the way 

in which McGarry interwove 

the death of the eighth Baron 

of Biggnarbriggs in the 18th 

century with the disappearance 

in the 70s and the more recent 

disappearance. Knowing that all 

the narratives will converge is one 

thing, but it’s still enjoyable finding 

out how. The descriptions of the 

Galloway countryside are brilliant and very evocative, with the 

glorious Biggnarbriggs Hall described in fine detail. 

The crime is always at the forefront of the reader’s mind, 

but it’s also enjoyable to read of the sumptuousness of the 

food, the stunning countryside and architecture, the flora and 

fauna of Galloway, and the range of alcohol being consumed! 

The characters are skilfully drawn, avoiding the obvious clichéd 

descriptions of rural denizens which other writers rely on. The 

close-knit community is also sympathetically depicted, reeling 

from the loss of one of their own. 

This is my first encounter with Leo Moran, having missed ‘The 

Ghost of Helen Addison’. However, I shall now seek it out. Moran 

is an intriguing character: a heavy drinker, unlucky in love and 

a staunch Catholic with a moralising streak. At times he may 

get up your nose, just as he gets up the noses of most of the 

characters in the novel at one point or another. But that’s what a 

good detective does. McGarry’s first Leo Moran mystery, alluded 

to above, was praised by The Herald and The Daily Record, quite 

rightly. I consumed this one in two days and I’m not even a major 

fan of crime. Tartan Noir lover or not, you’ll enjoy this book.


Killer T 

by Robert Muchamore 

2 

Muchamore will be very 

familiar to most teenagers as 

his ‘Cherub’ series is extremely 

popular. This latest book deals 

with issues which are more 

adult in nature – killer viruses, 

death, sex, drugs both legal 

and illegal, body confidence 

and body image – which makes 

this a perfect book for those 

teenagers who have grown 

up with ‘Cherub’ and are now 

young adults. 

The setting is Las Vegas 

and the plot revolves around 

the two heroes, Harry and 

Charlie, whose lives become 

increasingly entangled through 

the machinations of big 

business and pharmaceutical 

companies ruthlessly exploiting 

vulnerabilities and fears in 

order to increase their profit 

margins. The action begins 

with an explosion in Harry’s 

high school and the science 

whizz Charlie gets the blame 

as she has been known to 

dabble with explosives and 

chemicals. However, her evil 

sister has set her up and she 

has to serve time in prison for 

a crime she didn’t commit. 

There are four sections in 

the book and each section 

skips ahead years so that 

Muchamore can covers 

more ground. The strategy 

really works because we get 

a better understanding of 

the long-term impact of the 

‘modifications’ which many 

people undergo in order to 

feel better about themselves 

and to compete physically 

and mentally. We also get a 

better understanding of how 

big corporations play the long 

game in order to maximise 

their share of the market. It’s a 

sobering, terrifying book which 

all young adults should read. 

This is a book I’ve picked up 

and put down in Waterstones 

many times because I knew 

it would be uncomfortable 

reading, and I was right. 

Nevertheless, I’m glad I’ve 

now read it, uncomfortable 

as it was at times, because 

the searing honesty and 

McGarvey’s unwillingness to 

pull any of his punches make 

this a polemic which everyone 

should read. 

The book won the Orwell 

prize in 2018 and the judges 

commented that it was the 

book which Orwell himself 

would have wanted to read. 

It’s ‘The Road To Wigan Pier’ 

for Glasgow and anyone 

who cares about poverty in 

Glasgow should feel compelled 

to read this book. 

McGarvey spends the 

earlier part of the book 

detailing his early life growing 

up in Pollok, including the 

premature death of his 

mother due to alcoholism, 

his estrangement from the rest 

of his family, and his descent 

into a life of alcohol, drugs and 

homelessness. 

However, this is not 

‘misery lit’, as McGarvey 

himself is keen to point out. 

It’s instructive and illuminating 

and demonstrates how easy 

it is for a life to spiral out of 

control, but all the more so if 

it’s a life of poverty. For those 

on the left looking for an anti- 

Tory rant, you’ll be not only 

disappointed but will be forced 

to confront the complacency 

and complicity of the left when 

it comes to dealing with the 

complex issue of poverty. 

This book is uncomfortable, 

honest and essential reading. 

Poverty Safari 

by Darren McGarvey 

3

36 | www.westendermagazine.com


valentine treats 

Shop local this 14th of February and source the best gifts from our 

amazing array of independent gift retailers. Here’s a few tempting 

ideas to get you started! 

Dansk Smykkekunst Necklace & 

Bracelet from £24.90, Cassiopeia 

Valentine Bouquets from £35, approx. £50 

as shown, Hyacinth House Floristry 

Glossy Lips Notebook by Nuuna of Germany 

£27.50, CoLab Store 

Rose & Champagne Diffuser 

£32, Spirito 

Harris Tweed Hip Flask and Cuff Links 

£29.99, Cassiopeia 

West End Suppliers 

Cassiopeia, 165 Hyndland Road 

0141 357 7374 cassiopeiaonline.co.uk 

CoLab Store, 11-13 Dowanhill Street, 

0141 570 1766 colabstore.co.uk 

Hyacinth House Floristry, 950A Crow Rd 

0141 571 3517 hyacinthhousefloristry.com 

Spirito Gifts, 317-319 Crow Road 

0141 337 3307 spiritogifts.com


Artist-In-Residence 

Pascale Steenkiste 

WORDS NICOLA MAULE MAIN IMAGE GREGOR REID


An Energetic Day at the Studio 

©Pascale Steenkiste 

Standing in the light filled clubroom of 

Partickhill Bowling and Community Club, 

the sandstone tenements of Crown 

Mansions on North Gardner Street 

overlooking the pristinely cut grass, I think of 

a bygone age – when the dress code for lawn 

activities such as tennis was white ‘slacks’ for 

the gentlemen and ankle length skirts for the 

ladies. Indeed the clubhouse and grounds 

developed in 1905 were also originally home 

to a couple of tennis courts, now the row 

of windows along the length of the building 

offers pristine viewing of the deep green lawn 

that proudly facilitates bowling as its primary 

sporting pursuit. 

While admiring the open space beyond 

the glass a bride and groom sweep past 

the gates towards the top of Gardner Street 

for photographs. ‘That happens quite a 

lot,’ I am informed by Margaret Renwick, 

a member of the club and it serves to remind 

me not only of how iconic this particular 

street is but also that this part of Glasgow 

with its grid patterned arrangement of roads 

and rising tenements, against the autumn 

colours displayed in the trees and light of 

that moment makes for a pretty and romantic 

scene. 

The purpose of my visit is to meet with 

painter Pascale Steenkiste who has taken 

up the position of artist-in-residence - 

something that is perhaps very unique in 

the wider workings of a bowling club but 

according to community convener Michael 

Hough, a natural progression from previous 

activities and relevant in their wider ambition 

to encourage the community to use and 

engage with the club facilities. ‘The idea 

of involving the club in art started with a 

collaboration with Hyndland Secondary 

School Art Department, which resulted in 

the display of over 20 drawings and painting 

by S2 pupils all depicting various aspects 

of bowling in a local setting. Soon after that 

we had the idea that others might also like to 

display their work,’ he tells me. 

Steenkiste was born in Ostend, Belgium 

but moved to Glasgow in 1986 to work as 

an au pair for two young children before 

marrying and raising her own family in the


Maelstrom ©Pascale Steenkiste 

city’s West End. She attended art classes 

at The Glasgow School of Art and became 

fascinated with texture, colour and through 

the workings of imagination uses both 

elements to create energetic pictures – not 

only through her physical working of the paint 

on the canvas and the layers of thick impasto 

often evident but there is a dynamism in the 

colours applied. 

‘It is always tortuous covering the blank 

canvas, so I begin with a colour. That first 

covering never reveals the work, it is all about 

making space to allow the emerging feelings 

and emotion that will not arrive until the 

second, third or even fourth layering of that 

original work. It seems that first work always 

is about removing the ‘noises’ inside me, 

of finding a way to quieten the voice – 

the critic, the judgement, the superficial. 

The work itself only emerges to me through 

layers of complexity in colour, and texture, 

seeking a space to reveal the authentic 

“voice” within,’ she explains. 

Art that is abstract in form is by its very 

nature a journey between the artist and 

the medium in which they are working – 

only reaching a point of completion by the 

artists own determination – the process in 

between and the resulting piece generally 

independent from any visual references to 

the world beyond. Steenkiste knows the 

point of completion to be when she has ‘an 

overwhelming sense of peace,’ although 

admits to questioning that final brushstroke in 

the light of a new day. 

The titles of the work also reveal some 

of those initial ‘noises’ – An Energetic Day 

At The Studio expresses the vigour of the 

finished piece – a mixture of warm, earthy 

colours merging and rising with cooler tones 

of blue, purple and ice white. Interestingly 

there is a definite progression and movement 

within the picture towards a settling – 

lightness moves up the canvas, which I 

see again in Maelstrom and this parallel 

between a whirling unease and turbulent 

energy of uncertainty and disruption eases 

off through a purer white tone, in ascendance 

from the chaos below. Steenkiste’s latest 

work including, Summer 2018 moves away 

from one of sharpness to a softening, 

both in colour and texture – still remaining 

abstract but slightly looser in its effect. It’s 

this, together with more of this new body of 

work that was exhibited in the clubhouse in 

October of last year – a two person show 

alongside fellow artist, Jackie Henderson. 

Traditionally it would be that the artist-inresidence 

is taken away from their ‘normal’ 

working environment to experience a different 

space for reflection and engagement. 

It seems that with further exhibitions planned 

and a series of continuing art classes 

facilitated by Steenkiste within the clubhouse, 

the role of the resident artist is playing out 

very well in this setting. A positive move in 

attempting to engage the wider community 

in the practice of artistic endeavor while also 

introducing them to an environment that may 

spark an interest in the pursuit of playing the 

sport to which the club was intended. 

pascalesteenkisteart.com 

partickhillbowls.co.uk 

Summer 2018 

©Pascale 

Steenkiste


Poachers Hut 

— a cosy, private, luxurious Shepherds Hut 

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If you enjoy beautiful countryside, quietness, big skies, 

starry moonlit nights and wildlife – you'll love it here. 

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outside there is a private south facing patio with table, 

chairs, Kadai fire pit/BBQ and your own hot tub! Several 

wonderful country pubs and hotels close by for delicious 

food and drinks. Perfect for a weekend or midweek break 

and an hour’s drive from the West End. 

We look forward to welcoming you. 

Photographs, information, reviews, enquiries, book: 

www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/30150425 

Life 

Matters 

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@ Gather 

by Zique 

Reviewed by Amy Glasgow 

The Partick food scene has come on 

leaps and bounds in recent years, but 

there are some spaces that have 

become an institution. One of those places is 

CafeZique, straddling that fuzzy border with 

Hyndland and known for providing one of the 

best brunches in the west end. So, when it 

was announced that they were turning their 

deli next door into an upscale restaurant, it 

was bound to cause a stir. 

And cause a stir it did. When Gather 

by Zique first opened earlier this year the 

positive reviews flooded in, so when I made 

my way there one dreary Friday evening, my 

hopes were high. 

The interior is immediately inviting, with 

soft grey tones, plush cushions and cosy 

window seats. The staff were welcoming and 

attentive, quickly showing us to our seats and 

explaining their modern European menu. 

The food at Gather is designed to be 

shared, as the name suggests, the ethos 

of the restaurant is about creating a space 

where friends, family or colleagues can 

‘gather’ to enjoy each others company while 

dining on a range of seasonal dishes. 

Guided by the staff, we decided to start 

with a platter of canapés, following this with 

four small plates between two. The menus 

change regularly, but expect offerings 

like crispy pigs head with potato terrine, 

langoustine broth with razor clams, burrata 

with grilled plums and venison ravioli with 

Jerusalem artichoke puree and chicken jus. 

Highlights included butternut squash and 

almond cappelletti (‘little hat’ shaped stuffed 

pasta), with cider and apple brown butter and 

parmesan. It was beautifully nutty and heavy 

with the distinct flavour of parmesan. 


One thing I did notice though was that 

every dish we ordered came adorned with 

crispy sage leaves, which is not exactly a 

problem, but it did become a tad repetitive. 

Every dish we tried was delicately plated 

and it was abundantly clear that this was an 

autumn/winter menu, filled with seasonal 

produce and rich, warming flavours. The real 

magic came though with our final course. 

Based on recommendations from our 

knowledgeable server, we ordered the 

chocolate fondant tart with peanut butter ice 

cream and the doughnuts with coffee cream 

and chocolate sauce for dessert and they 

were by far the stand out dishes of the night. 

To put a chocolate fondant inside a 

buttery tart case is surely a stroke of genius, 

and no small feat considering how perfectly 

gooey the centre of this dessert hybrid was. 

The doughnuts too were beautifully soft on 

the outside and coated in cinnamon sugar. 

Dipped in the accompanying chocolate sauce 

and coffee cream, they were nothing short of 

heavenly. 

Despite the growing competition in the 

promising Partick area, Gather by Zique is 

surely here to stay. An ever-changing menu 

means you’ll never eat the same meal twice 

(although I’d happily eat that chocolate tart 

all over again) and the relaxed, low-key 

atmosphere is a recipe for a lasting legacy. 

Gather by Zique 

70-72 Hyndland Street G11 5PT 

0141 339 2000 

gatherbyzique.com 

Image I Brodie Reid


Image I Gregor Reid 

Guilty Pleasures from 

Westender’s American 

Guilty in Glasgow 

Pleasures from Westender’s American in Glasgow

y Liberty Vittert 

K 

Shopping List 


morning glory 

muffins 

Ooooooooft. That has been a lot of eatin’. Parties, 

holidays, more holidays, booze, more booze. 

My body is ready for a bit of a break. But I’m 

a picky eater and I like what I like, so all that 

green juice and chia seed palaver is not for me. 

But I do need to stop eating cake for breakfast, 

lunch, and dinner. But I like cake. This is a serious 

conundrum. But no fear! Momma Vittert is here! 

My mother makes these muffins all the time and 

they are THE BEST. They taste like cake but have 

carrots in them. For real. So if you want to fit into 

your pants, but still want to eat cake, these babies 

are for you. Packed full of oats, spices, carrots, 

and nuts, they are your five-a-day 

all rolled into one delicious muffin. 

Just maybe skip the butter that I 

usually spread all over them… 

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200 g plain flour 

75g rolled oats 

200g brown sugar 

2 tsp baking soda 

3 tsp cinnamon 

½ tsp nutmeg 

½ tsp ginger 

pinch of salt 

180g carrots, 

peeled and grated 

80g shredded coconut 

35 g chopped pecans 

50g walnuts, chopped 

3 eg gs 

50g cream cheese 

100mL vegetable oil 

80g apple sauce 

2 tsp vanilla bean 

L 

Method 

1. Preheat the oven to 175C Fan and line 

a 12 cup muffin tin. 

2. In a large bowl mix flour, sugar, 

baking soda, salt and spices. 

3. Stir in the carrots, coconut, and nuts. 

4. In a medium bowl, beat together eggs, 

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6. Best eaten warm with a tab of butter! 

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@ 

Roosevelts 

bar & kitchen 

Reviewed by 

Emily Donoho 

Roosevelts Bar & Kitchen is a new 

Woodlands gastropub on Park Road, 

occupying the space that used to be 

Tribeca. It opened in October, and it’s pretty 

much the same sort of place Tribeca was – a 

New York City themed bar and restaurant 

offering a mix of Scottish and American style 

food and drink. 

You can eat hot dogs or black pudding 

and haggis. It has a light, modern ambience, 

with the bar in the middle of the restaurant 

and a few sections of bare stone wall 

showing, perhaps as a nod towards the 

famous Bitter End of Greenwich Village. 

The walls are covered in New York City 

paraphernalia, artsy photos of NYC streets 

and yellow taxi cabs, shelves with little 

sculptures and toys, and the occasional 

license plate. Roosevelts has named dishes 

after presidents, like The Clinton, The Lincoln, 

or The McKinley, or presidential scandals, 

like, The Watergate, or The Lewinsky 

(please, can they name a burger after Paul 

Manafort?). The place feels a little like a 

cross between a cocktail bar and an IHOP, a 

24-hour American diner chain known for its 

pancakes. 

Roosevelts does in fact sell fat, fluffy 

pancakes, and while this isn’t a food review, 

I have to say that the pancakes are decent, 

American style ones. They got that right. 

While having alcohol with pancakes is a bit 

strange, they have burgers, hot dogs, and 

salads as well, for more traditional ways to 

accompany your drink. Or it would be great 

for brunch. 

If you like cocktails, Roosevelts is the bar 

for you. They have an extensive selection, 

and the bar staff seem to know what they 

are doing. I tried a margarita, and I was 

happy with it, but I’m the first to admit I am 

not a cocktail connoisseur. They also have 

an extensive range of American bourbons 

and wine. However, their beer selection was 

limited. 

On tap, they had Pabst Blue Ribbon, 

an American lager that I would not describe 

as good, and they had bottles from several 

breweries, including the Brooklyn Brewery 

and Bru Dog. While I’m happy to drink Bru 

Dog, I would have liked a greater choice. 

Every state in the US (and very much New 

York) is full of fantastic microbrews, and 

it would be brilliant to see some of them 

appearing in American-themed bars in 

the UK. 

Roosevelts Bar & Kitchen 

144 Park Road G4 9HB 

0141 339 9124 

rooseveltsbarandkitchen.co.uk 

Image I Brodie Reid


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Endmum’s 

West 

notebook 

by Michele Gordon thelanguagehub.co.uk 

Another year has passed, almost in a 

flash. Time to think about the new 

year. I don’t know about you, but I 

have never been one for making New Year’s 

resolutions. There are always the obvious 

ones like living more healthily, giving up bad 

habits or taking on new challenges. However, 

I always thought that you should make 

changes right away and not wait if you really 

feel like a change. 

This is probably why I have never really 

made any, or is it? I know a few people who 

make resolutions every year, some stick with 

them and some give up on them along the 

way, sometimes sooner than later. Personally, 

I have tried to make some but never quite 

succeeded. Each year, I merely wait until 

December to see if my current state of affairs 

needs any adjustments which never really 

seems to be the case. 

Maybe I deliberately don’t look for any in 

case they seem impossible to achieve? Why 

head for a massive disappointment. There is 

also the aspect of admitting to yourself that 

some things really should change. 

And why do we feel the need to make 

changes? Why is it we want to improve what 

we have or who we are? Apparently, the 

tradition dates all the way back to 153 B.C. 

and is by no means a modern invention. This 

would explain why New Year’s resolutions are 

on so many minds every year. 

January is named after Janus, a mythical 

god of early Rome. As you know, Janus 

had two faces — one looking forward and 

one looking backward, looking at the past 

and the future at the same time. The 31st 

of December became a symbolic time for 

Romans to make resolutions for the new 

year and forgive enemies for troubles in the 

past. The Romans would give gifts and make 

promises, believing Janus would see this and 

bless them in the year ahead. 

It is easy to see that the start of a new year 

feels like the start of something new, thinking 

about all the possibilities and changes you 

could and should make. Improving lifestyles, 

changing habits and striving to do better for 

yourself and others. I guess it is a bit like a 12 

months plan of where you want to be at the 

end of those 12 months. And once you have 

achieved your goals you can possibly make 

new resolutions for another year. 

With regard to children, I dare say this is 

what parents and families do rather naturally 

all the time anyway. We want to try our best 

for our children, be better at parenting, 

improve their opportunities and hope they 

forgive us all the things we got wrong. These 

are nice resolutions to have. And who would 

have thought? I seemingly HAVE been 

making New Year’s resolutions for the last 

12 years all along! They just so happen more 

subconsciously, at various times and are not 

necessarily only made in January. 

And the more conscious ones? I do 

have them too. My resolutions last year, 

however, were made in March when deciding 

we wanted to move The Hub into bigger 

premises for example and in October when 

deciding to open a new café two doors up 

from it two months later. Achieving both 

in such a short time is great and…very 

tiring. So, I thought I’d go for it and make a 

conscious New Year’s resolution for 2019: 

work less and free up more time for doing, 

well, absolutely NOTHING. At least every so 

often. It will be a hard battle to stick to this 

resolution and if I fail, well, there is always 

next year or somewhere in between. Guten 

start ins neue Jahr!


Health Matters 

GP Dr. Pamela Leggate, of Glasgow West Medical Practice, 

looks at heart health in young people. Normally associated 

with ageing, heart problems can be devastating for the 

young and raise all sorts of important questions. 

‘The trouble is we think we have time,’ 

Buddha may have said… 

As doctors, we are always encouraging 

people to improve their lifestyles – eat less 

fat, do more exercise, drink less alcohol, 

don’t smoke. All very true, for our future 

health we should do all these things. 

My problem is, I’ve never quite got to the age 

where I feel old. I always think, tomorrow I’m 

going on that diet; tomorrow I’m going to get 

fitter. Plenty time to sort myself out. 

So it’s quite scary when someone who 

seems relatively fit, reasonably healthy and 

younger than I am has a heart attack. Heart 

disease is commonest in older people. 

In men the average age for a heart attack 

is 66 and in women it’s 70. Often there are 

lifestyle factors, but in younger people there 

may not be anything obvious. You can be 

doing all the right things and genetics can let 

you down. So how can we prevent this type 

of premature heart disease? 

Well, if you have a strong family history 

of heart disease, ask about cholesterol 

and blood pressure checks. If we can pick 

up on these risk factors early on we can 

improve them with lifestyle changes and/or 

medication. It goes without saying that you 

should never even contemplate smoking! 

Sticking to a low fat diet and exercising that 

bit more could make all the difference. 

On the positive side, recovery can be 

quicker in a younger, fitter person. Surgery 

(bypass or stenting) might be an option. 

There is often a chance to change lifestyle 

early on and live a long and healthy life. 

There are, however, all sorts of questions a 

younger person might have after suffering 

any serious cardiac event. Why me? What did 

I do wrong? There is often a lot of associated


guilt and anxiety, as well as questions about 

what to do next, which might not be so 

relevant for an older person. When can I 

go back to work? When can I drive again? 

What if I get chest pains? Can I ever have sex 

again?! 

With modern treatments and preventative 

medicines, all these things are possible! 

When you return to work will very much 

depend on the type of work you do. Discuss 

with your employer or with occupational 

health. DVLA rules state you can return to 

driving a week after successful treatment of 

a heart attack. Further chest pains should of 

course ring alarm bells and urgent medical 

attention should be sought. Sex is fine 

whenever you feel ready. 

What is even more scary is when children 

are affected by heart disease. Don’t panic, 

childhood heart disease is rare, but there 

are some conditions that babies can be born 

with that affect the heart valves and/or blood 

vessels. Sometimes an abnormality will be 

picked up in the womb when the mum has 

a scan, sometimes a problem will be picked 

up when the baby is born, if they are unwell, 

failing to thrive or 

struggling to 

breathe. In 

many cases 

where the problem is mild, it may not be 

noticed till teenage years or adulthood. Most 

congenital heart disease can be treated with 

medication or surgery. Mild cases may need 

no treatment at all. 

And what about the footballers I hear you 

ask? No? Well occasionally we hear about 

a super fit individual, usually a footballer in 

my experience, who collapses on the playing 

field and needs a defibrillator to get going 

again. This is usually due to Cardiomyopathy. 

Basically the heart muscle is thickened and 

doesn’t function as well. It is an inherited 

condition which rarely causes serious heart 

rhythm abnormalities during exercise. 

Most people with cardiomyopathy can 

lead a normal active life but you might be 

advised not to take part in competitive sport. 

In high risk individuals a small automatic 

defibrillator can be implanted to ‘reboot’ 

the heart if the affected person collapses. 

As there is a definite genetic component, 

family members should be tested. 

So, although heart disease mostly affects 

older people, there are some conditions that 

can affect younger people like myself (ahem). 

Healthy diet starts 

tomorrow!

52 | Westender www.westendermagazine.com 

Magazine Promotion 

Legal Matters 

I’m so sorry 

Words from Donald Reid, chairman at Mitchells Roberton: 

If Donald can help please email him at – 

dbr@mitchells-roberton.co.uk, or call 0141 552 3422. 

Some years back I had a wee shunt in 

my car. I was turning left into Byres 

Road. I looked right and saw it was clear, 

turned left and went into the rear of the car in 

front of me thinking it had moved on when it 

hadn’t. Just a tap but a visible scrape on both 

bumpers. 

The other driver emerged and as I got out 

of my own car I was thinking that insurers 

always tell you never to admit liability on the 

spot as it could spoil your insurance claim. 

‘I’m very sorry,’ I said. ‘My fault entirely.’ She 

smiled, looked at the bumpers and said: 

‘Och it’s nothing, just forget it.’ 

Being the outstanding lawyer that I am, 

I insisted we exchange addresses and phone 

numbers and said I would call her later that 

day just to check that after thinking about it 

she didn’t want to take it further. So I called 

her, apologised again, she assured me she 

had no wish to pursue the matter and we 

parted with friendly banter. I sent her some 

roses. 

Now suppose I hadn’t apologised. 

Suppose, stony faced, I had said we would 

need to exchange particulars and call our 

insurers. I expect she would have chewed 

me up for carelessness, maybe called the 

police to the scene, got her insurers involved, 

sent her car to the Mayfair Rip-off Repair 

Company, trashed my no-claims discount, 

and generally fried me. I took a risk in saying 

sorry, but it paid off. 

Well here’s some legal advice that might 

interest you. It’s the Apologies (Scotland) 

Act 2016. It says that if you apologise that 

can’t be used against you later if court 

proceedings are started. It’s the first piece 

of legislation I’ve come across in a long time 

which actually encourages people to be nice 

to each other. Try it. 

It might surprise you to know that 

solicitors sometimes make mistakes. If it’s 

a serious enough thing a complaint can 

be taken to the Scottish Legal Complaints 

Commission. I have spoken with senior 

officials of the SLCC. They say that in a lot of 

cases all the client was wanting was for the 

solicitors to admit their error and apologise, 

but they never did. If only they’d said sorry, 

the client would have been satisfied and 

might even have been happy enough to stay 

with the same solicitor. 

But instead of an apology they got 

the brush off, leading to the whole thing 

escalating, a formal complaint being pursued, 

months of hassle as the SLCC deal with the 

matter, and general misery. So the advice I 

give to my fellow lawyers has to be to think 

about apologising if it is right to do so. 

It can’t hurt and it might even heal. Speaking 

for myself of course I am perfect. I just don’t 

make mistakes. 

Mitchells Roberton Solicitors 

& Estate Agents 

George House 

36 North Hanover Street G1 2AD 

0141 552 3422 

www.mitchells-roberton.co.uk

Accountancy 

Matters 

by Bruce Wilson & Simon Murrison 

Westender www.westendermagazine.com Magazine Promotion | 53 

2019 is the beginning of the end 

of the tax return as we know it 

From April 2019 VAT registered businesses 

turning over more than £85,000 pa will 

be required to submit their first quarterly 

return using software and keep their records 

digitally. This leaves very little time to make 

changes to accounting processes. 

Surprisingly not everyone is digital 

ready. 

Make it your new year’s resolution to get 

your financial affairs in order. With the right 

digital software you can resolve to fulfil your 

financial promise to HMRC and keep your 

business on track all year round. 

How will quarterly tax returns work in 

practice? 

Instead of filling in your quarterly totals using 

HMRC’s online portal your software must 

talk to HMRC systems and upload your 

quar terly records to HMRC automatically. 

The accuracy of your submission still 

depends on you inputting all information 

correctly. The advantage gained by updating 

quarterly is you effectively manage cash flow 

throughout the year and accurately calculate 

your next VAT bill. 

Will quarterly tax returns affect SMEs 

and the self-employed? 

Quarterly VAT reporting is phase one. Over 

time HMRC will roll out Making Tax Digital 

to all taxes (currently scheduled for April 

2020). Companies, certain landlords and the 

self-employed will be required to submit tax 

returns quarterly. 

Here are 7 reasons to go digital now: 

• Smoother transition, less stressful 

• Automation saves time 

• Increase accuracy, no mistakes 

• Manage cash flow all year round 

• Know tax bill in advance 

• Avoid HMRC penalties 

• More time reduces fees 

Murrison & Wilson, CA is a full service 

accountancy firm specialising in 

business and tax planning. Get in 

touch for a free consultation plus 

fixed and competitive fees. 

Murrison & Wilson Chartered Accountants 

10 Newton Terrace G3 7PJ 

0141 290 0262 

info@muwca.co.uk 

muwca.co.uk


Homes & Interiors 

Farrow & Ball 

by Susan 

Robertson 

the 

Velvet Touch 

A very current interior trend just now is using velvet 

across various complementary themes. The sumptuous 

fabric has become one of the most sought-after textiles 

of the season and has the power to change the ambience 

of any room with just a touch.


Velvet has really had a revival recently. 

My memories of the fabric are normally in dusty 

maroon or burgundy, often in the form of an old 

tasselled armchair or dark, heavy curtains, and 

somehow tinged with a smell of pipe tobacco, but 

now it’s so much more. The colours and prints 

available make it a great choice for adding a 

touch of luxury to any part of your home, and the 

wonderful sift texture adds a depth and a warmth 

to any look. 

In particular, you will see velvet used in bed 

heads, indented with soft covered buttons. This 

looks lovely in a pale warm grey, coupled with 

dark, floral printed wallpaper and crisp white 

linen. Top it off with a couple of contrasting, 

small print cushions, and a silky throw to make 

a simple bedroom into a sumptuous boudoir. 

Or bring that into your living room in the 

form of a muted soft, cosy velvet sofa. Punctuate 

this with some bright contrasting cushions to 

create a comfortable and inviting warmth that 

impresses, as well as envelopes its guests. 

This is the key area we see lots of velvet 

just now as it works really well for sofas and 

armchairs. It has an approachability to it, 

and that wonderful tactility that just makes you 

want to kick off the shoes and snuggle in. At the 

same time – it has an elegance and a glamour 

that can create a truly stunning effect. These 

statement sofas look amazing in deep, dark tones 

and beautiful in inky navy or rich teal. Not only 

are these super-soft to lounge on, but they add 

a striking touch of wow factor to the simplest of 

rooms. This effect works really well as a contrast 

against natural woods and crisp whites. 

Alternatively – there are some fabulous bold 

tones available too. You can access all the colours 

of the rainbow in furniture now. I recently saw 

a lovely combination of rosy pink velvet, with 

sage green wood – this was quite unusual and, 

accessorised with creamy marble side tables and 

light, floral prints created a lovely fresh look. 

Firm colour favourites for me though are 

rusty vibrant orange, and bright bottle green. 

Use these as bold statement pieces in a minimal 

room. Add a touch of metallic sheen to pull out 

small features, like using warm copper lamp 

details in accessories throughout the room. 

Pick this out in a lamp, or a candle holder for 

example, and this just sets off the luxury of the 

velvet beautifully. 

This velvet look is so versatile and impactful, 

it’s really prevalent in several key trends this 

season. Its luscious statement quality means that 

you can merge it boldly into various seasonal 

trends. One of these is an ‘Under the Sea’ theme. 

This circles around scalloped shapes which work 

particularly well in velvet furniture, again bed 

heads and chairs in particular. Then, reflecting 

this wavy, sea theme are the curves of shiny



scales and shells which can be brought through 

subtly in fabrics and prints on cushions and 

curtains. Scalloped tub chairs in blues and 

turquoises work beautifully as a starting point 

to hang the entire theme together and have a 

classic touch of ‘art deco’ to them. 

This looks lovely accessorised with little 

golden seashells and mixtures of blues and 

greens, or pale rose and warm coppers. Look 

out for the new fan-shaped tiles available to 

use in bathrooms or halls for a real mermaid 

touch. Think about the pearlescent radiance of 

the inside of a seashell, and pull that into the 

accents of your room, to add a touch of mermaid 

shimmer to your living room. 

Another look of the season reflects this 

through a theme of ‘stars and constellations’. 

Touches of gold, suggestions of planetary 

activity in your accessories come together to 

complement your white backdrop, and subtle 

starry symbols bring a sense of fun and interest 

into your fabrics. 

All of these have a sense of a common theme 

running through them of bold, art deco 

influences, velvet statements and shiny accents. 

You can have great fun picking and choosing 

bits from all of these looks to create an opulent 

retreat, or focus on a starry or a seashell theme 

and make sure everything travels together 

down this route. 

Nancy Smillie 

Farrow & Ball


The Store Interiors, 26 Munro Place, Anniesland, Glasgow, G13 2UP 

0141 950 1333 | www.thestoreinteriors.co.uk 

Email: sales@thestoreinteriors.co.uk 

READERS 

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The Store Interiors, 26 Munro Place, Anniesland, Glasgow, G13 2UP 

0141 950 1333 | www.thestoreinteriors.co.uk 

Email: sales@thestoreinteriors.co.uk 

“ Problem Solved” 

Call or email for a free market appraisal 

TheStore - HIS - Emma.indd 2 07/12/2017 09:48 

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Twist of Tweed 

In the colder months, it’s natural to warm towards thicker fabrics, 

and in Scotland – heavy tartans and dense tweeds are part of our 

heritage and there are many ways to marry this with modern style, and 

intersperse them into our homes and handbags. 

Thistle Cushion, 

£75, Cassiopeia 

Stag Head Doorstop, 

£15, 

The Store Interiors 

Harris Tweed Chair, 

£235 each, The Store Interiors 

Tweed Footstool, 

£178, Nancy Smillie 

Harris Tweed Notebook, 

£16.99, Spirito 

Cassiopeia, 165 Hyndland Road, 0141 357 7374, cassiopeiaonline.co.uk 

Nancy Smillie, 53 Cresswell Street, 0141 334 4240, nancysmillieshop.com 

Spirito, 317-319 Crow Road, 0141 337 3307, spiritogifts.com 

The Store Interiors, 26 Munro Place, 0141 950 1333, thestoreinteriors.co.uk


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Seasonal trends in the home, like those 

on the catwalk, touch on all aspects of 

the time of year and the societal psyche 

finds Susan Robertson. 

In the 

Farrow 

& Ball 

by Susan Robertson 

Mirrors are another 

great option, pick 

frameless battered 

mirrors from charity 

shops and make a shape 

on the wall with them! 

If we’re feeling bold and daring, this will 

show through in our sense of style in our 

homes, lifestyles and our wardrobe. 

The same also goes if we feel in need of a rest, 

a bit of a detox perhaps. That’s why often, we 

can have totally different trends ongoing at 

the same time, reflecting different elements of 

ourselves and the season we’re in. 

At the same time as the bold and vivacious 

velvets and golds are welcome in our homes, 

there is also room for the complete opposite, 

the blank canvas of rooms, the nude palette. 

This look is like a breath of fresh air to those 

easily worn our by the chaos of the Christmas 

season, and – depending on your home, it can 

always be a good option to always have just a 

touch of this, at least in one room, or a hall or 

entrance area, as a respite from the busyness 

of life. 

The nude palette is exactly what it says, 

think of nakedness as colours and textiles, 

layered and draped in an appealing manner


and there you have the starting point. 

The colours should not be cold, they should 

have warm undertones of milky white, peachy 

cream and creamy grey. This creates a sense of 

calm that is also cosy, and makes a wonderful 

look for a bedroom retreat or a soothing 

bathroom. 

The way that you move from bland to 

beautiful in this type of look, is to think in 

layers, zones and textures. Use a few varying 

tones of creams and warm greys on different 

walls for example as a starting point. In 

alcoves, and behind shelves – add extra interest 

and depth with some patterned wallpaper, 

go for something that is still very understated 

in colour but just adds an interest to the eye 

in a space. This means that the design of the 

wallpaper, serves to add extra texture, without 

detracting from the sense of understated calm 

that you are creating. 

Another option for wallcoverings, if you 

choose an accent of any type, along with your 

layers of nude, consider an old faded map. 

Something that just has the faintest sense of 

what it used to be, merged with that lovely 

pale tea-stained edging and this looks great in 

behind a shelf or in a desk alcove or under the 

stairs. Make sure it’s of somewhere relevant 

and dear to your family, it’s your home after all. 

Create pieces of art, simply by layering 

painted shapes on the wall and hanging some 

appealing objects, use kitchen gadgets or old 

wooden tools to create an interest for the eye 

that’s a little bit different. 

Mirrors are another great option, pick 

frameless battered mirrors from charity shops 

and make a shape on the wall with them. It 

adds depth, space and light to any room, and 

looks great in this context. 

Then start to think about the tactile elements 

of the room. Use rugged materials as near to 

their natural state as possible, such as pale 

wooden furniture or chunky light concrete 

structured tables. Think carefully about the 

textiles that you choose. Go for natural hessians 

and warm linens in your fabrics, you can even 

top off with a light touch of fake fur in a pale 

warm grey or milky white. 

Layer these up on natural wooden floors 

to create a room with depth and warmth. If 

you’re using this in a bedroom, it’s lovely with 

soft washed cotton bedding in pale mocha or 

warm grey, which I love with just a small touch 

of denim or pale blue as a token accent colour. 

Heavy knitted cushions and chunky pillar 

candles top this off beautifully, balanced by 

the odd touch of green plant or woody flower 

arrangement. 

To add extra interest and depth to such a 

natural palette, it works really well to think in 

zones, or areas that can be marked out slightly 

differently. One thing I love to see in a room is 

books. I’m not entirely sure of the root of this 

appeal for me personally but I feel they denote 

a sense of available time, of enrichment, and 

escapism, so when they are on show, these 

auras infiltrate the room. They also add an 

element of colour, and of interest – talking and 

browsing points for idle chit chat and breaking 

up the room a bit. So I like to have the shelves 

on show. And, there’s also no real need for 

the shelves. Old well-loved paperbacks look 

great piled up in rows along a wall, or in little 

stacks neatly placed up the stairs. Or – as we 

have them – piled up in a geometric structure 

on a lovely battered little trolley that well has 

outlived its usefulness but not its prettiness or 

quirkiness. 

So there’s a lot you can do with very little, 

and clever layers of warm beiges and creams, 

topped off with some careful thought around 

texture and accessories, means that you can 

create a creamy calm haven that’s still warm, 

cosy and inviting. 

Farrow & Ball

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Images I Gregor Reid

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