That Ilk Bearsden and Milngavie

Y O U R U L T R A _ L O C A L G U I D E T O B E A R S D E N & M I L N G A V I E 

J A N - F E B 2 0 1 9 I S S U E N O . 0 1

P A G E F O U R | J O U R N E Y

P A G E 4 

FOREWORD 

How That Ilk. started and what it is 

about. 

P A G E 6 

COORIE IN 

Keep well and cozy in the long and 

dark winter months. 

C O N T 

E N T S 

P A G E 8 

SURVIVING THE WINTER 

A local Spaniard's guide to a 

wholesome Mediterranean diet in a 

cold Scottish climate. 

P A G E 1 0 

LOCAL ART GUIDE 

Interview with Bearsden illustrator Inky 

Design. 

P A G E 1 4 

A YEAR OF SMALL CHANGES 

A new project from a team of doctors 

living locally and promoting lifestyle 

medicine 

P A G E 1 6 

BEARSDEN AND MILNGAVIE 

MEN'S SHED 

Charity highlight: a project tackling 

loneliness in men that changed the 

face of the Pagoda at King George's 

Park.

A L O C A L 

M A G A Z I N E 

L I K E A 

W A R M 

H U G 

I moved to Bearsden exactly five years ago and settling in a 

new area can be a painful process but I could not have 

wished for a warmer, friendlier community for myself and 

my family. 

I remember one morning walking down the street with my 

son who was still in a stroller and someone I kind of knew 

from school opened the door and invited us in for a cup of 

tea. It was so touching, so heart warming for someone to 

just open their home unprompted and unplanned and 

allow us, virtual strangers in! 

The kindly gesture came at the moment when I was 

contemplating a lonely walk home with not many exciting 

plans for the day and not many people to talk to. 

P A G E F O U R | T H A T I L K .

First issue's 

theme: A guide to 

keeping well 

and cozy in winter 

And this is just one of the many examples of simple, kind 

gestures of solidarity and friendship that make the larger 

community of Bearsden and Milngavie a wonderful place 

to live. 

Not only that, but I have met inspiring individuals, some of 

them I now humbly call friends, who are talented, 

inspirational, enterprising and have a wicked sense of 

humour. 

The idea of this magazine came about as a thank you. I 

wanted to facilitate an uplifting mirror for the people 

sharing this wonderful geographical space with a message 

of unity and hope, at a time of more general discord and 

uncertainty. Just a wee reminder of who we really are, all 

the people I have come to consider of the same ilk. 

A special mention to talented photographer Karené 

from Simply Pause Photography who kindly allowed me 

to use her photo of Schaw House Bearsden for That Ilk's 

First cover. 

InaP. 

PS Want to feature in the next That 

Ilk. issue? Send me your story, 

project, charity or event at 

ina@biscottidigital.co.uk. 

P A G E F I V E | T H A T I L K .

HYGGE, 

LAGOM, 

COORIE. 

N O W I S T H E T I M E F O R S E L F C A R E 

I find the dark winter months after the 

holidays the most challenging with long dark 

nights and days of bad weather. Our bodies 

crave sunshine and with all the celebrations 

behind us, the eerie quiet can be sadness 

inducing. So I have put together a few items 

on my January list to keep me upbeat and 

well. Hope they inspire you too! 

P A G E S I X | T H A T I L K .

A guide to 

keeping well 

and cozy 

Channel Marie Kondo’s spirit of gratitude and love 

for your home. The Japanese guru of tidying up has an 

inspiring method of approaching house work – so if 

you find yourself spending more time indoors, use it to 

tackle your wardrobe. The results are gratifying and 

might give you a new respect for your home and 

belongings. You can watch her reality series on Netflix 

for more details or more locally speak to professional 

organiser Katie from Better Organised in Milngavie 

(More on that on page 12). 

Go outside. Fresh air is good for the brain, heart and 

soul. I sometimes struggle to find a pleasant enough 

excuse to go out, so I have built a route I love, through 

the woods that ends with the perfect cup of coffee. So 

on the days I don’t want to go out, even though I 

should, that stimulates me enough to drag myself out. 

If you lack the motivation, then follow A Year of Small 

Changes for getting inspired to a healthy lifestyle (more 

on the project on page 14). 

Coorie in and enjoy your more quiet hobbies. 

Gabriella Bennett wrote a book called The Art of 

Coorie: How to Live Happy the Scottish Way in 2018 

and finally caught up with all the other seasonal buzz 

words like hygge and lagom coming from. So embrace 

the cold when outside and coorie in for some much 

needed R&R when inside, perhaps with a book from 

local Indie Authors World - two written by Bearsden 

authors are up for grabs on page 13. 

Spend time with friends and family. Loneliness is 

one of the biggest problems in modern society and 

cause of mental health issues. So make a purpose out 

of gathering with folk over dinner or just a cup of hot 

chocolate, make plans, take the time to make a call or a 

visit. In the evening, ban mobile phones, take the board 

games out and enjoy simple human companionship 

with the family. Or visit the Bearsden and Milngavie 

Men's Shed (more on page 15). 

P A G E F O U R | J O U R N E Y 

P A G E S E V E N | T H A T I L K .

S U R V I - 

V I N G T H E 

W I N T E R 

A Spanish Guide 

to Wholesome Food 

Recent news have covered the fact that the 

Spanish diet seems to be behind the longevity 

and health so we asked a local Spaniard for 

tips and tricks on maintaining a Mediteranian 

diet in the harsh Scottish winter. 

Please introduce yourself, Gema! 

I am Spanish and came to Scotland 20 years 

ago to study at University in Edinburgh. I lived 

there for 8 years before I moved to Glasgow 

and then Bearsden. I am a Modern Language 

teacher in a private school. I’m married to a 

Scotsman and we have two girls. 

What are your main principles to feeding 

yourself and family on a daily basis? 

We strive to have 5 pieces of fruit and 

vegetables a day although we don’t always 

manage it (especially at the weekend!). We 

have 3 main meals and 2 snacks per day. 

Regarding drinks, in Spain we do not really 

have diluting juice and children tend to drink 

water or milk. 

As for me, I drink milky coffee and water 

during the week. At the weekend I have some 

white or red wine at night. 

P A G E EF IOG HU T R | TJ HO AU T RI NL K E. 

Y

It is hard to keep your intake of seasonal 

fruit and veg during winter – how do you 

do it? 

I batch cook some staples such as chilli, 

bolognaise, chicken or fish pie at the weekend 

to heat up during the week when time is more 

tight. I like to cook things from scratch as this 

is a family tradition (my parents had a 

restaurant and my mum was a cook) and 

hardly ever buy any ready meals. I always 

cook with olive oil, although in the last few 

years I’ve started using butter to cook certain 

things. 

we hardly ever 

buy any ready 

meals 

Kids are notoriously hard to please when it 

comes to eating more fruit and veg. How 

do you keep your girls excited about 

healthy eating habits? 

In the winter months we eat a lot of oranges 

and apples and in the summer we prefer 

strawberries, blueberries and melon. The 

children always have fruit as their snack and 

they are allowed one sweet per day after 

school (this is variable and difficult to 

enforce… especially during the holiday period 

but we usually get back on track during term 

times!). 

The girls always have a lot of raw vegetables 

for lunch, together with a sandwich. I cook the 

same thing for everyone at dinner and they 

eat a good helping of compulsory vegetables 

every night. Sometimes I hide a lot of 

vegetables in a lasagne or a Bolognese with 

various degrees of success! 

What are your fridge staples – food items 

that don’t miss from your household at 

this time of year? 

In our fridge there is always a lot of fresh 

vegetables such as peppers, carrots and 

mange tout. There is always fish, mainly 

salmon and prawns; lean mince beef and 

chicken. We also love pulses in all their forms 

and, as a good Spaniard, I love bread! 

What is a go to recipe with Spanish roots 

that your family enjoys over and over 

again? 

My go to Spanish staple is chickpeas with rice 

and paprika. The girls devour them, they are 

really cheap and extremely easy to prepare. I 

also make Spanish omelette and meatballs 

regularly. 

P A G E N I N E | T H A T I L K . 


L O C A L 

An interview with 

artist Inky Design 

We still love carefully handmade artwork, despite our 

affection for technology and social media. That is why 

talented illustrators like Ingrid from Inky Designs 

flourish in our leafy neck of the woods. 

Tell us a bit about yourself, Ingrid! 

I’ve been brought up in Orkney and the North of 

Scotland but have lived in Glasgow for over 20 years 

after falling in love with the West End, the tenement 

buildings, the Glasgow people and their wonderfully 

honest sense of humour. 

A R T 

G U I D E 

I moved to Bearsden with my family 4 years ago, to be 

closer to the countryside and for the peace you get 

away from the city. 

Arts and crafts have always been a part of my life. I 

studied design at college going onto Gray’s School of 

Art in Aberdeen to complete my degree in design and 

illustration and over the years have been involved with 

illustrating, making my own range of handmade cards, 

organising art workshops in schools and coordinating 

community based arts projects. 

P APG AE G E F OT EU N R | TJH OA UT RI LN K E. 

Y

my art teacher 

called me Inky 

and it sort of 

stuck 

Have you always been interested in Art? 

Yes, as a child I was always doodling, 

colouring in and art was my favourite subject 

at school along with creative writing. My art 

teacher at school called me Inky as a 

nickname short for Ingrid and it sort of stuck. 

My business is called Inky Designs and some 

of my friends and family call me Inky. I 

especially love colour, I feel confident putting 

colours together, in my art and in my clothes 

and home. 

Tell us about your interest in creating 

illustrations of local houses! 

I’ve always loved drawing buildings for some 

reason, I came across Lowry’s work when I 

was young, which depicted urban landscapes, 

people and buildings. As I grew older I was 

really inspired by Ronald Searle who did ink 

drawings of Parisian buildings and people. I 

find Parisian style flats and buildings the most 

beautiful and when I moved to Glasgow’s 

West End I thought there was something 

similarly romantic about the Glasgow 

Tenements. 

What is your creative process like? 

I usually start with a photo, but the angle has 

to be right, not any old photo will do, I need to 

be able to see the composition in a photo so I 

can recreate that on the page. I use pencil to 

sketch on a stretched canvas onto 

watercolour paper and then start drawing 

with an old-style ink dip pen with Indian ink, 

then watercolour. 

Whose artistic work inspires you? 

I am in awe of many famous artists, but what 

really excites and inspires me is the work of 

the talented illustrators I follow on Instagram 

from around the world. I find the quality and 

talent of these artists so exciting. The subject 

matter and work is so fresh and relevant and 

modern. Many of them use their own original 

artwork and then scan and edit it on the 

computer, but there is something lovely about 

creating a traditionally made artwork in these 

days of everything being done on computer. 

If someone would like to order a bespoke 

piece of art, what should they expect? 

I usually have a 6-week lead in time for 

commissions and can be contacted at 

inkyrose@hotmail.co.uk or by mobile on 

07954577058 to discuss a commission. An A4 

commission is typically £60 and A3 is £80. 

This inspired me to start drawing them in pen 

and ink and then painting them in 

watercolour. I started illustrating houses a few 

years ago, first I did my own and then people 

started to ask me to do wedding venues and 

their own houses or their families' house as a 

gift, something to keep which had personal 

meaning. 

P A G E F O U R | J O U R N E Y P A G E E L E V E N | T H A T I L K .

L O C A L 

B U S I N E S S 

S P O T L I G H T 

I’m Kate Galbally, a Milngavie-based 

professional organiser & PA. Whatever your 

organisational challenge – from hands-on 

decluttering to paperwork management, ad 

hoc admin support or assistance with a house 

move or change of business premises. I can 

help you to simplify your space, manage your 

time and replace chaos with clarity! 

I am a proud member of the Association of 

Professional Declutterers & Organisers 

(APDO) and am proactive and resourceful with 

a positive, friendly manner. I’d love to work 

with you to help you make the most of your 

precious time and space, so that you’re free to 

focus on the things that really matter to you. 


B O O K C L U B 

W I T H I N D I E 

A U T H O R S 

W O R L D 

Are you a writer and ready to publish your book? Do 

you want to produce a top quality professional book 

but don’t know where to start? 

Indie Authors World, a local business with international 

reach is the right place to start. They know just what it 

takes to publish great books. If your book is fiction, 

non-fiction, for children, business or personal 

development or anything else we can help you. 

WIN two books 

by Bearsden 

authors! 

Indie Authors World can take the headache out of selfpublishing 

by producing your book for you or teaching 

you all the tools and techniques you need to do it by 

yourself. When you join us, you become friends and 

part of a supportive and encouraging Indie Authors 

community. 

Most importantly, you will always keep 100% of the 

royalties generated by your work. 

Survival skills are techniques that a person may use in 

order to sustain life in any type of environment. These 

techniques are meant to provide basic necessities for 

human life which include water, food, and shelter. The 

skills also support proper knowledge and interactions 

with animals and plants to promote the sustaining of 

life over a period of time. 

Survival skills are often basic ideas and abilities that 

ancients invented and used themselves for thousands 

of years. 

Outdoor activities such as hiking, backpacking, 

horseback riding, fishing, and hunting all require basic 

wilderness survival skills, especially in handling 

emergency situations. Bushcraft and primitive living are 

most often self-implemented, but require many of the 

same skills. 


A Y E A R O F 

S M A L L 

C H A N G E S 

keep active and 

healthy during 

the cold months 

It’s winter again. It’s cold, damp, occasionally icy. If 

last year is anything to go by there’s a possibility 

you’ll wake up one morning and have to dig your way 

out of the front door. The journey to work is in 

darkness. The journey home from work is in 

darkness. Christmas is over – you’ve eaten and drunk 

to the best of your ability. At this time of year all you 

want to do after a day at work is have dinner, get into 

your pyjamas and snuggle up in front of the TV inside 

your cosy house. There’s no doubt it’s more difficult 

to stay physically active over the winter. But at the 

same time, it’s still so important. 

P A GP E A GF E OF UO R U| R TJE OE N U R| NT EH YA T I L K .

Perhaps we can help motivate you by 

reminding you of the health benefits of 

physical activity. There are so many of them. 

If you are physically active your overall risk of 

dying goes down, your risk of heart disease 

and type 2 diabetes reduces. Your risk of 

various cancers including breast and bowel 

cancer goes down. For the elderly population 

there is less chance of breaking a hip or of 

developing dementia. In terms of mental 

health, you are less likely to develop 

depression. 

find a friend to 

work out with for 

motivation 

And if despite knowing all the benefits of 

being physically active you are still struggling 

to get going, consider other strategies that 

might help. 

Find a friend who also wants to increase their 

activity level and agree to encourage and be 

accountable to each other. Even better, do an 

activity together. 

Alternatively, there’s good evidence that 

writing down your intention increases the 

chance that you’ll do it – so work out when’s a 

good time for you to be active and put it on 

your calendar or in your diary. Leave 

whatever kit you need lying out in 

preparation, so there’s less risk of changing 

your mind while you search for it. 

You don’t even need to leave the house – 

there’s an infinite number of potential activity 

ideas available to you for free on Youtube – 

everything from yoga to HIIT, much of it 

requiring little in the way of equipment. So 

start 2019 the way you mean to continue. Get 

yourself moving towards a healthier you. Take 

a look at our website for more ideas about 

small, manageable changes you can make to 

improve your health, or follow us on 

Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. 

A Year of Small Changes is a project founded 

by a local group of medical doctors, a 

dietician and a personal trainer who each 

have a keen interest in promoting lifestyle 

medicine as an evidence based means of 

preventing, improving, managing and 

treating lifestyle related diseases. 

P A G E F O U R | J O U R N E Y P A G E F I F T E E N | T H A T I L K .

M I L N G A V I E 

A N D 

B E A R S D E N 

M E N ' S 

S H E D 

tackling men’s 

mental health 

issues 

Society’s expectations can be harmful for men 

and boys. The rigid requirements of masculinity 

present a narrow view of being a man, and it can 

be hard for men to be seen to express their 

emotions. This is one factor driving the mental 

health issues that affect many men, and suicide 

is still sadly the biggest killer of men under 45. 


Jo Swinson visited the Milngavie and Bearsden Men’s Shed in October 2018

The old eye sore of the Pagoda in King 

George's Park is no longer. Having gone 

through a fantastic refurbishment project, 

visiting the building shows the incredible 

community behind it. The now refurbished 

space has been fully equipped with donations 

from the local community and the work of 

volunteers. 

The Men’s Shed is housed in the formerly 

disused Pagoda at King George V Park in 

Bearsden and is run by volunteers. 

Membership is free to men, over 18-years-old, 

with a connection to Milngavie, Bearsden or 

East Dunbartonshire. 

Its aim is to create a workshop and generalpurpose 

recreation space where members 

can meet and complete personal projects. 

Members also undertake projects for the 

benefit of the community and any profits go 

towards the running costs of the building. 

The Men’s Shed provides a community space 

for men to connect, converse and create, for 

the benefit of men’s mental health and 

wellbeing. 

just pop in and 

say hello! 

Hamish Livingstone, Secretary for the 

Milngavie and Bearsden Men’s Shed, said: 

“This is a place for men to meet, chat, have a 

cuppa with like-minded people while gaining a 

renewed sense of purpose and belonging. 

“Shedders” share skills to work on individual 

or group projects. It has been proven that 

membership contributes considerably to 

members’ physical health and mental 

wellbeing. 

“We would like to encourage any interested 

men to visit and find out the benefits of the 

Men’s Shed.” 

The Men's Shed is open weekdays from 10am 

to 4pm. Find out more about the project on 

Facebook - simply search for Milngavie and 

Bearsden Men's Shed. 


P A G E S E V E N T E E N | T H A T I L K .

J O I N 

T H A T 

That Ilk. Issue 1 has been a work of love and it 

would be wonderful to see it taken through 

following issues with the help of the 

community it was created for. 

I L K . 

So please get involved in the project! Here is 

how: 

Tell us your story! If you live locally and 

would like to share your experience, project 

or business idea, please 

Contribute with local news, opinions or 

events 

Nominate a charity or local cause that you 

would like to see featured! 

More importantly, share this magazine with 

your friends and family to give more reach 

to the special projects and people featured. 

Get in touch: ina@biscottidigital.co.uk. 

P A G E E I G H T E E N | T H A T I L K . 


P H O T O - 

G R A P H I C 

F L A I R 

Hi, I’m Karené, a professional photographer 

based in Bearsden. With 18 years of 

photography experience and a passion for 

small independent businesses and artisans, I 

am here to help you look more professional 

and stand out. I create a collection of images 

that capture your story - your product, your 

people, your spaces 

- and are versatile enough to use on websites, 

social media and print media. 

I create beautiful images that freshen up 

established businesses & get new businesses 

noticed. I believe that when your images are of a 

high quality, people know your business is valuable 

too. Have a look at my website and then let’s chat 

about how I can help you. 


A D V E R T I S E 

W I T H U S 

Get in touch ina@biscottidigital.co.uk

That Ilk Bearsden and Milngavie

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