WebSepOct2019

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Contents 

Regulars 

4 Editor’s Letter 

32 Charity Pages: 

Art for Heart’s Sake 

Fashion, beauty & health 

8 Pale and Interesting 

Fashion Shoot 

21 WIN! At Rainbow 

Room International 

Going out 

16 West End Live 

with Greg Kane 

19 Top Things 

23 Restaurant Review: 

Eusebi Deli 

Art & culture 

24 Writer’s Reveal: 

with Gordon Kerr 

28 Cover to Cover 

34 Home-Makers 

Women by Design 

Westender living 

41 Retro Fushion 

43 Elegant Glamour 

48 Contemporary 

Calm


Editor’s 

Letter 

This edition’s interiors articles take 

inspiration from our ‘neutrals’ fashion 

shoot for this autumn season. As we 

move back indoors in anticipation of further 

inclement weather, our interior spaces 

exercise a huge impact on our mood. 

Susan Robertson looks at designs sent to 

calm and revitalise after a busy day working 

and studying (starts on page 41). 

Design is also the theme for Pamela 

Palongue’s business article on page 

34. Pamela interviews three West End 

businesses with interior design at their heart. 

Different routes through life inspire different 

business outcomes, each one a success and 

providing that, eagerly sought, work / life 

balance. 

Our charity feature by new Westender 

writer, Mike Findlay, looks at wall art in aid 

of Marie Curie and CHAS. An annual event, 

Art for Heart’s Sake, takes place at The Store 

Interiors in Anniesland early this November. 

Arun and Ashoke Pasi are local business men 

with big hearts inspired by their mum who 

has always made time for and donated to 

charity. Head along to the preview event on 

the 7th of November for a glass of prosecco 

and a leisurely browse (P.32). 

Another new writer to Westender is Lenny 

Smith who interviewed Glaswegian author 

Gordon Kerr, prior to Gordon’s appearance 

at the Blairgowrie Bookmark Festival this 

October. Gordon’s work of fiction investigates 

an under reported movement in Italy during 

the Second World War. Read Lenny’s 

account on page 24 and prepare to be 

inspired by freedom fighters in Italy’s Alps. 

Westender regular, Brian Toal, rounds up 

the best of this autumn’s reads on page 28. 

Brian may have written his reviews solely 

based on my reading taste – honest, I didn’t 

know. Chris Brookmyre is one of my fave 

all time authors and his new novel, Fallen 

Angel, sounds like a real page turner. Author 

Pat Barker’s Regeneration Trilogy was 

a major stand out for me during my OU 

Literature degree and I’m delighted to see her 

new book, The Silence of the Girls, reviewed. 

Dealing with a difficult subject matter, I know, 

of all authors this topic is in the most capable 

of hands. 

So thanks Brian, that’s my next reads 

sorted out. And West End resident Limmy’s 

autobiography is definitely one for my other 

half – he loves his shows. I feel a trip to one of 

our West End bookshops coming on… 

Suzanne Martin


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EDITOR 

SUZANNE MARTIN 

PHOTOGRAPHER 

GREGOR REID 

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS 

MIKE FINDLAY, AMY GLASGOW, 

GREG KANE, TRACY MUKHERJEE, 

PAMELA PALONGUE, 

SUSAN ROBERTSON, LENNY SMITH, 

BRIAN TOAL 

HAIR & MUA 

TERRI CRAIG 

STYLIST 

JACKI CLARK 

WESTENDERMAGAZINE.COM 

INFO@WESTENDERMAGAZINE.COM 

07905 897238 

WESTENDER MAGAZINE IS ON 

FACEBOOK, TWITTER 

& INSTAGRAM 

Publisher: Westender Magazine 

Whilst every care has been taken to ensure that the data in this publication is accurate, neither the publisher nor its editorial 

contributors can accept, and hereby disclaim, any liability to any party to loss or damage caused by errors or omissions 

resulting from negligence, accident or any other cause. 

Westender Magazine does not officially endorse any advertising material included within this publication. 

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form – electronic, 

mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise – without prior permission of the publisher.


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SLIP INTO NEUTRAL 

photography GREGOR REID 

stylist jacki clark 

mua terri craig


Dress & Jacket, COS. SHoes, daniel footwear 

Jewellery, Nancy smillie


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COAt, ted baker. Dress, next. Shoes, daniel footwear


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photography gregor reid, gregorreidphotography.com 

stylist jacki clark, jackiclark-stylist.co.uk 

MUA terri craig, terricraig.co.uk 

model katherine lee 

model courtesy of 

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Playsuit, Topshop 

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LIVE 

September 

The S.L.P. 

Thursday 5th September 7pm 

SWG3, swg3.tv 

Sergio Lorenzo Pizzorno (aka The 

S.L.P.). See what he did there? I think 

everyone should prefix their initials 

with a 'The', I could be The G.P.K. 

sounds good to me. 

He is a founding member, guitarist 

and main songwriter for the English 

Rock band Kasabian who have enjoyed 

extensive mainstream success since 

2004. I’ve always had a soft spot 

for Kasabian’s low fi, D.I.Y. attitude 

towards making music. They convey a 

real sense of honesty in everything 

they do, which is commendable. But I 

guess that’s just not enough for Sergio 

so in a 'band gap year' he has created 

side project The S.L.P. to be a vehicle 

for his obvious Classic Chicago House 

lustings and it’s not that bad a stab 

at it either. Sparkly face paint optics 

should grab the attentions of the 

kids and the pounding jazzy piano 

chords should keep the 80s dance 

traditionalists happy. 

Choice Tracks: The S.L.P. 'Nobody Else' 

The Ninth Wave 

Saturday 21st September 7pm 

QMU, qmunion.org.uk 

The Ninth Wave are a noise pop 

duo from Glasgow, taking their 

influences from 80s new wave and goth 

pop. Formed around the long termfriendship 

of singer/bassist Millie 

Kidd and singer/guitarist Hadyn Park- 

Patterson in 2017 they have already 

played at the SSE Hydro (supporting 

Chvrches) and this year performed at 

the influential SXSW music festival in 

Austin, Texas. They released the first 

part of their debut LP, Infancy, at the 

end of April 2019 – with the second 

half coming in November. The decision 

to split up the 12 tracks was 'less a 

creative one and more informed by the 

way people consume music now' says 

Park-Patterson. 'The way the world 

is, listening to music, everyone gets 

bored, easily. We took a year to make 

it, so it should take a year to put it 

out, I guess is what we felt.' Such a 

wise head on young shoulders will 

serve them well. And this maturity 

extends to their music too, which is 

some of the best I’ve heard come out of 

Glasgow for ages. 

Choice tracks: The Ninth Wave 

‘New Kind of Ego' 

Marika Hackman 

Monday 23rd September 7pm 

Òran Mór, oran-mor.co.uk 

Marika Hackman is an English 

vocalist, multi-instrumentalist 

and songwriter raised in Devon by 

parents who's day jobs as animators 

lead to an unconventional upbringing 

encouraging creativity. Lucky girl. 

But thankfully she didn’t rebel 

against them and now her work is much 

lauded by such exulted contemporaries 

as Alt-J and Laura Marling, which 

should give you an idea of where the 

music comes from. 

There’s lots of swearing in her songs 

though and whilst studying her 

Spotify listing I thought her recent 

album was actually called EXPLICIT. 

But it’s not, her fourth album is 

called Any Human Friend, and was 

released in August this year. All 

very confident, poised, complex and 

beautifully executed alt/indie/pop. 

Choice track: Marika Hackman 

‘All Night’


by Greg Kane 

October 

Samana 

Wednesday 23rd October 7pm 

Hug and Pint, thehugandpint.com 

Samana are music duo Rebecca Rose 

and Franklin Mockett who’s music 

emanates from their all analogue 

studio in the remote valleys of Wales. 

Here’s how they describe their sound, 

(But do it in a Welsh accent for full 

effect) '… born from the interpretation 

of dreams, the study of ancient 

rituals, philosophies of love, loss 

and death, and the quintessence of 

interior discovery that results from 

personal experience …'. Couldn’t 

have put it better myself. It’s all a 

bit crusty, road trip to Europe in 

camper vanny, new agey, Hippy Dippy 

but Rebecca Rose has one of the most 

beautiful Contralto voices I’ve heard 

since Ruth Pointer (Of The Pointer 

Sisters). The deep tones of her voice 

are supposed to put you off but in 

actual fact they do the complete 

opposite. Reminds me of a young KD 

Lang too. I can’t stop listening to it. 

Choice track: Samana 'Harvest' 

Loyle Carner 

Wednesday 30th October 7pm 

SWG3, Galvanisers Yard, swg3.tv 

Benjamin Gerard Coyle-Larner, known 

professionally as Loyle Carner, is 

a multi-award winning English hip 

hop musician. Carner's debut album, 

Yesterday's Gone, was nominated 

for the 2017 Mercury Prize and his 

sophomore album, Not Waving, but 

Drowning, was released in April 

2019 and perfectly exhibits how 

soul and jazz sensibilities can 

work with hip hop. But unlike most 

rappers he has a deep and heartfelt 

respect for all womankind which 

he puts down to being raised in an 

all female environment, mother and 

grandmother, who encouraged him 

to always communicate and show 

respect. He also professes a love of 

bands you wouldn’t expect a young hip 

hopian to have, The Cure, Bob Dylan, 

Leonard Cohen, David Bowie, and how 

he describes himself tells you a lot 

about where he’s at, 'I’m not a hero, 

I’m a weirdo'. A classy guy. 

Choice Track: Loyle Carner 

'Ottolenghi' 

Jo Jo Siwa 

Wednesday 30th October 5.30pm 

SSE Hydro, thessehydro.com 

Joelle Joanie 'JoJo' Siwa is a 16-yearold 

American dancer, singer, actress, 

and YouTube personality and if like 

me, you have a pre-teen kid then 

you’ll know every word of every 

song. My aging body and lack of hair 

prevents me from extending this to 

the dance routines and the over sized 

bows (JoJo's Bows) on my head but my 

daughter and I have enjoyed many a 

window down singing at the top of our 

voices car journey home with Jo Jo 

Siwa blaring LOUD from the stereo. 

She brings so much joy to so many 

hence the size of venue for this gig 

which will host 13,000 screaming 

pre-teen Siwanatorz in one room… the 

stuff of nightmares. So please spare a 

thought for the accompanying parents. 

Fortunately our 'always there when we 

need her' babysitter has stepped up to 

the plate. Thank you so much Tina, you 

are the best X. 

Choice track: Jo Jo Siwa 

'Kid In A Candy Store'

18 | Westender www.westendermagazine.com 

Magazine Competitions 

RRI 

I 

by John Parker 

t’s been a fantastic couple of months for 

us here at Rainbow Room International. 

Dylan, from our George Square salon, is a 

finalist at the Scottish Hairdresser of the Year. 

A fantastic achievement and we look forward 

to the award ceremony in November! 

We recently had our Assistant Show 

at the SWG3 Club in the West End. 

A fantastic event, it is a great platform for 

our assistants to show off their skills and 

work to their families and an assessor from 

our Academy. Students have to find their 

own makeup artist, styling, music and 

visuals. It was also another opportunity for 

us to celebrate our salon group’s 40-year 

anniversary. 

Our Assistants in GWR, Cari and Roxy, 

have applied for our Swedish Exchange 

opportunity, where one of our trainees will 

go to Sweden for two weeks to work and 

learn from their Scandinavian counterparts. 

The exchange programme is a great 

opportunity and we also have a Swedish 

student coming to work with us, allowing 

them to learn from our salon and take the 

experience back home with them. 

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 31st Oct ‘19. 

Rainbow Room International 

607 Great Western Road G12 8HX 

0141 337 3370 

rainbowroominternational.com 

UNITE AND BIKE 

AGAINST CANCER 

Kerala Cycle Challenge 

25 Sep - 4 Oct 2020 

Cycle 350km through the beautiful 

countryside of India and raise funds 

for people affected by cancer. 

Contact us on 0141 337 8199 or email 

fundraising@cancersupportscotland.org 

R e g i s t e r e d C h a r i t y : S C 0 1 2 8 6 7


Top Things To Do 

in the West End 

by Tracy Mukherjee 

My, how time flies! Autumn is upon us, with 

its cascade of colour and ever changing light. 

So let’s take a look at the harvest of events that 

are sure to brighten the darkening days. 

Top For Heritage Trails 

Doors Open Days are celebrated across Scotland 

each year in September. Scotland’s largest 

free festival celebrating the architecture and 

heritage of our beautiful country is now in its 

30th year. Nationwide there are over a thousand 

free venues to visit. Of course Glasgow will yet 

again be trailblazing a path through over 200 

historic buildings; what goes on behind the 

facades of some of the cities most well-know 

iconic structures? The programme once ran 

over a weekend, but such is the richness of our 

architecture that this is now an annual weeklong 

event. Love the theatre? Why not take a 

look behind the scenes and see what goes on 

when the curtain falls. Have a favourite tipple? 

Some of the city’s distilleries are opening their 

doors (not their bottles) to the general public. 

The event is organised by the Glasgow Building 

Preservation Trust and is co-ordinated nationally 

by the Scottish Civic Trust. Besides the glorious 

libraries and numerous listed buildings for adults 

to explore, there is also a children’s programme 

of activities throughout the week. With guided 

walks, talks and exhibitions, Glasgow Doors 

Open Days Festival is always a highlight in our 

city’s calendar. 

Glasgow Doors Open Days Festival, 

Mon 16th – Sun 22nd September, 

various venues citywide. Programme 

brochures are free from local libraries. 

w:glasgowdoorsopendays.org.uk 

Top for Setting Sail 

It's two years since the first Clydebuilt festival 

reached the shores of the Riverside Plaza on 

Clydeside. The river festival celebrates all things 

boaty and is diverse in its mix of land and sea 

events. On the water, there will the chance to 

try canoeing, the ever popular Castle to Crane 

Race from Dumbarton Castle to the Finnieston 

Crane and an inaugural small craft regatta. 

On the Sunday there will be a new event as six 

Dragon Boats take to the Clyde with a fabulous 

race filled with colour. Each boat comprises 

of 10 team members plus a drummer keeping 

everyone in time. With heats running throughout 

the day, the fastest fire-breathers will compete 

in the grand final. Who will be crowned Dragon 

Boat Racing Champions and receive the Dragon 

Trophy? 

After all the drama of the high seas, on land 

there will be a chance for some well deserved 

R & R. Take a stroll through the riverside 

markets, settle the kids down for some 

storytelling or grab yourself a pint and listen to 

the fiddles and sea shanties wafting over the 

waves. The Clyde has been an artery, the life line 

that runs through Glasgow; it really IS something 

to celebrate. 

Clydebuilt Festival, Sat 21st – Sun 22nd 

September, Riverside Plaza, Clydeside 

w:clydebuiltfestival.com 

Top for Fizzy Fundraising 

When we think about supporting our favourite 

charity we might consider a little bit of training 

before an ever popular 10K. Why not body 

swerve the sweat and tears (for this month 

anyway) and do your bit with a lovely glass of 

fizz and lunch with your favourite girly chums? 

Cancer Support Scotland are holding their 

Annual Ladies Lunch in October with a packed 

event filled with fun and sparkle. On arriving at 

Glasgow’s Radisson Blu Hotel, there will be a fizz 

reception followed by a sumptuous three course 

lunch. During the day, STV celebrities Emma 

Cameron and Laura Boyd will be joining in the


Top Things To Do 

in the West End 

by Tracy Mukherjee 

fun. With plenty of opportunities to raise more 

funds, the event will have entertainment galore, 

fundraising games and stalls to peruse. Last year 

the event raised over £15,000 which provided 

help with counselling and complimentary 

therapies for those affected by cancer and their 

carers. Tickets are priced at £50pp and tables of 

8 - 12 people can also be purchased. So glad rags 

on ladies, all in aid of a fantastic cause. 

Cancer Support Scotland Fizz and 

Sparkle Ladies Lunch, Sun 6th October 

Radisson Blu, Glasgow 

w:cancersupportscotland.org/events, 

or email lucy.kirkland@cancersupport 

scotland. org / 0141 337 8199 

Top for Tripping the Light 

Fantastic 

When GlasGLOW launched last year at the 

Botanic Gardens, who could have known it would 

be the phenomenal success that it became? Well 

I for one, as a parking space could not be had 

outside my home! With 75,000 attendees, the 

Botanics had an ethereal glow for the duration of 

Halloween 2018. But GlasGLOW 2 is purported to 

be even bigger and better. The 2019 route around 

the gardens is longer, running to over a mile. 

Word has it that there are nine immersive worlds 

to explore, setting the sky above the West End 

alight. There will be lots of interactive stations 

as light and sound surround you in the gardens. 

The marshmallow toasting is back, with even 

the possibility of a hot toddy or some mulled 

wine (subject to licence) to settle your chills. 

And those chills may not be down to the crisp 

autumn nights… rumour has it there will be some 

rather spooky goings on; so get ready for some 

spine tingling, rib-rattling frights! 

GlasGLOW 2, Botanic Gardens 

Fri 25th October – Thurs 31st October 

w:itison.com/glasglow 

Top for Fright Night 

There can’t be an autumn Top Things round up 

without a holler for Halloween! This year there 

seems to be a huge variety of scary shenanigans 

afoot. At Websters Theatre, Fright Night sees 

four of the most famous ghouls unite to solve 

a mystery. Inside Dracula’s castle the Count 

himself, accompanied by Dr Frankenstein’s 

Monster, The Bride and The Mummy, combine 

their questionable brainpower in trying to find 

out 'who done it'. Brought to you by the Movaro 

Theatre Company this frightful comedy gives a 

nod to the great horror genres of old. 

Staying with Count Dracula but moving to the 

Stand Comedy Club, it’s now one for the kids. 

Where’s Dracula: The Mystery at Phantom 

Manor, sees Dracula’s mum getting the audience 

involved in her annual Halloween party. With 

plenty of other ghosts and ghouls in attendance, 

the show has plenty of fun, laughs and a mystery 

to solve. The kids are encouraged to wear fancy 

dress with a prize for best costume. 

For a classical Halloween, take a trip to the 

Nutty Professor’s lab as the Children’s Classic 

Concerts team in partnership with the RSNO 

present Weird Science. In participation with 

Glasgow Science Centre, artistic director of CCC 

Owen Gunnell is the mad scientist in question 

(with a little help from the Science Centre guys), 

presenting live experiments on stage and fizzing 

through electrifying music as the concert erupts 

in this explosive musical event. 

Fright Night, Websters Theatre 

Thurs 24th – Sun 27th October 

w:webstersglasgow.com 

Where’s Dracula: The Mystery at 

Phantom Manor, The Stand Comedy 

Club, Woodlands Rd, Sun 27th October 

w:thestand.co.uk/glasgow 

Weird Science, Sat 26th October, 

Glasgow Royal Concert Hall 

w:childrensclassicconcerts.co.uk

INSPIRATION 

AT 

Westender www.westendermagazine.com Magazine Promotion | 21 

Hypnotherapy 

with Gail Richardson 

Image I Gregor Reid 

Hypnotherapy can help with a 

wide range of issues including 

reducing anxiety and stress, stopping 

smoking, building confidence, sleep issues, 

weight management and overcoming a fear 

of flying or other phobias. Often people think 

they are just an anxious person or that they 

won’t ever be able to make the changes they 

feel would make them happier, but it is much 

easier than you think to change your thought 

or behaviour patterns and make those 

changes, with the right help. 

Anyone can benefit from hypnotherapy. 

It’s a brief, solution-focused therapy where 

most issues can be dealt with in around 

three sessions (even less for habit breakers 

like smoking cessation) and the sessions 

themselves are relaxing and pleasant. 

I recognise everyone as an individual with 

their own unique context and issues so 

sessions are tailored to meet a person’s 

specific goals and needs. 

I have a Hypnotherapy Practitioner 

Diploma (the only externally verified 

hypnotherapy qualification), a diploma 

in Clinical and Advanced Hypnosis and I 

am a member of the National Council for 

Hypnotherapy, the leading professional body 

for hypnotherapy, and my practice is bound 

by their ethical principles and standards. 

317-319 CROW ROAD G11 7BU 

0141 337 3307 

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Need help with feelings of stress 

or anxiety? Text or call Gail on 

07834 783935, or email change@ 

gailrichardsonhypnotherapy.com. 

Gail Richardson Hypnotherapy 

24 Sandyford Place G3 7DS 

gailrichardsonhypnotherapy.com


CRAFT BEERS & ALES 

WINE & CHAMPAGNE 

SHERRY, MADEIRA & PORT 

FINE WINE 

WHISKY, BOURBON, GIN 

VODKA, RUM, TEQUILA 

CIGARS & BRANDY 

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www.thegoodspiritsco.com 

Hyndland 

Train Station

@ Eusebi 

deli 

Reviewed by Amy Glasgow @theglasgowdiet 

You know that song from Cheers, ‘Where 

Everybody Knows Your Name’? That’s 

what it feels like every time I walk 

through the doors of Eusebi Deli on Park 

Road. It’s the kind of place that you keep 

going back to time and time again because 

it offers not only some of the best Italian 

food in Glasgow, but a warm and welcoming 

atmosphere that I imagine is not dissimilar to 

a hug from your Nonna. 

Day or night, owner Giovanna can often 

be found waiting tables, pouring drinks and, 

more often than not, stopping to catch up 

with the many regulars that frequent the 

restaurant. Her attentive nature and her love 

for every person who walks through the door, 

regular or not, is what sets Eusebi Deli apart 

– although the food plays a major role as well! 

If you are anything like me, when you think 

of Italian restaurants your mind conjures up 

images of over-populated menus, lack-lustre 

pizzas and repetitive dishes. At Eusebi Deli 

you won’t find any of that. In fact, their menu 

changes with the seasons in an attempt to 

champion seasonal produce and the true 

flavours of Italy. 

You’ll certainly find both pizza and pasta 

on the menu, but whatever you do don’t 

ignore the incredible array of small plates, 

boards and snacks on offer. Their current 

summer menu includes a number of fresh 

and vibrant dishes but the champion for 

me is the charred octopus with pickled 

cucumber, olives, capers and lime aioli. 

The octopus is slow cooked for hours to 

ensure it is incredibly tender, before being 

charred to give a delicate, smoky flavour to 

this zingy dish. 

When you do make your way to the pizza 

or pasta portion of your meal, don’t expect 


a big round pizza or mass-produced pasta. 

In their Pasta Laboratory, the chefs at 

Eusebi’s make pasta from scratch daily, while 

the Pizza Romana dough is proved for 72 

hours before being hand shaped, giving a 

unique, crispy edge but remaining soft on the 

inside. 

Unable to choose between the numerous 

dishes, I chose to order two – yes, you can 

order two smaller versions of two different 

pasta dishes if you desire, which I so often 

do. My first choice was the ravioli carne, 

classic house-made meat ravioli served with 

sugo. The ravioli were beautifully made, the 

pasta the perfect thickness with just the right 

bite. The meat inside was tender and melted 

in the mouth and the light tomato sauce was 

bright and fresh. 

My second choice, and the big hitter, 

was the gnocchi cacio pepe with foraged 

mushrooms. This classic sauce is made 

by emulsifying Pecorino Romano in water 

(traditionally the seasoned cooking water 

you boiled your pasta or gnocchi in) and 

seasoned heavily with fiery black pepper. 

The addition of foraged mushrooms was a 

welcome one and the gnocchi were plump 

little pillows of joy. 

If, after all that, you still have room for 

dessert, I highly recommend trying one. 

The menu boasts a selection of beautiful 

patisserie made by pastry chef and Bake 

Off Crème de la Crème winner, Helen Vass. 

I can confirm that the chocolate, caramel and 

praline tart is a wonder to behold. 

Eusebi Deli 

152 Park Road G4 9HB 

0141 648 9999 

eusebideli.com


Writer’s Reveal 

meets Gordon Kerr 

What would you do on discovering 

that your recently deceased partner 

who you loved dearly had, in fact, 

been having an affair? This is the distressing 

situation in which journalist Michael Keats 

finds himself in Glasgow-born writer, Gordon 

Kerr’s debut fiction thriller, The Partisan 

Heart, before deciding to channel his grief 

into discovering the truth. 

This quest will take him away from the 

fast-paced London Evening Post newsroom 

in bustling High Street Kensington to 

Northern Italy, in order to track down the 

owner of an expensive jacket left in a hotel 

room his late wife, Rosa, had booked with her 

credit card. Michael’s editor, keen to keep his 

talented writer at the newspaper, hands him 

an italian kidnapping assignment that has the 

WORDS LENNY SMITH 

world media gripped and asks him to ‘dig (it) 

up’. That digging goes deeper than Michael 

imagined, as we learn of secret acts of love, 

betrayal and violence amongst the Partisans 

during the Second World War whose 

consequences permeate the present, 1999. 

Kerr’s extensive historical insight from 

penning numerous non-fiction titles enables 

him to depict a clear picture of what the 

partisan movement would have been like 

in 1944. Combined with a natural flair for 

storytelling, Kerr balances the tricky task of 

juggling grief and betrayal with adventure, 

stoicism and even occasional wit, where the 

search for truth – and where the search for 

truth needs to find a suitable conclusion – 

is at the heart of this story. I caught up with 

Gordon to ask him more.


Congratulations on your crime fiction 

debut, Gordon. How did the original 

idea for the story come about? 

Thank you very much. The story of The 

Partisan Heart grew out of many visits to the 

Valtellina, a beautiful valley in Lombardy in 

northern Italy, situated to the east of Lake 

Como. My sister-in-law married a man from 

the valley and my wife and I travel there once 

or twice a year to see them. There were older 

members of my brother-in-law’s family who 

had fought in the war as partisans or, if they 

had been particularly unlucky, had been 

transported to Germany to work. 

My brother-in-law’s father, for instance, 

was one of these – a ‘gastarbeiter’, as the 

Nazis euphemistically termed it. These men 

were generally silent, appearing like ghosts 

at family celebrations and saying little. 

Gradually, although they never spoke of the 

war, I picked up a few stories and the idea 

for the book took shape in my mind. I have to 

say, too, that the Valtellina is so beautiful I felt 

I had to write about it. 

Your crime fiction debut follows widower 

Michael Keats on a personal journey that 

takes him from London to the Italian Alps 

– via Scotland – and spans five decades. 

How do you approach structuring such an 

intricate, complex plot? 

I’ve said before – and I know it’s probably 

hard to believe – the story almost came to me 

fully formed. George Harrison, when asked 

about how he wrote songs, once said that 

he didn’t write them, the songs found him. 

I know it’s pretty fanciful, but I feel as if this 

story found me, arrived in my head almost 

complete. There were many things to work 

out, of course. As you say, the plot is pretty 

complex, and in the editing process I was still 

finessing it right up to the end. But the basics 

of it were there very early on. One of the most 

important elements was getting the timelines 

exactly right in both strands of the story. I did 

this by creating a kind of bullet-point timeline 

for each, down to hours of the day for the 

modern strand featuring Michael. I drove my 

publisher mad, but it was worth it in the end. 

And how long did it take you to complete 

the novel? 

The idea was stewing in my head for a long 

time before I actually began to commit 

words to paper. It’s hard to say how long it 

took because of that. Because of my day 

job, writing non-fiction, I stopped writing it 

for quite long periods. But even then I never 

stopped thinking about it and working out 

the twists and turns of the plot. I would say 

it probably took five years, in the end. I hope 

a follow-up can be written much faster than 

that which is why this autumn and winter the 

world of non-fiction is going to have to get 

along without me. 

Having written several historical 

non-fiction titles over the years, how 

enjoyable, or challenging, was the process 

of writing fiction? 

Writing fiction is way more enjoyable! 

And I have been very struck by the reaction of 

people on hearing I’ve had a novel published. 

I’ve written quite a lot of non-fiction books 

in a variety of genres but people seem to 

view the creation of a work of fiction as a 

much greater achievement, for some reason. 

In fact, a lot of people seem to be a little in 

awe of it. Writing about history or art, as I 

have done, is challenging because it has to 

be right. It’s facts, sometimes, of course, with 

an element of interpretation, but it happened 

as it happened and you mustn’t get that 

wrong. Fiction, on the other hand, is makebelieve. 

You create worlds, people, situations, 

some of it quite fanciful. And it’s great fun. 

I used to look forward to going to bed at night 

because that’s where I did a great deal of my 

thinking about the plot and the characters. 

Can you tell us more about the ‘ruggedly 

beautiful’’ Italian valley, Valtellina. 

The Valtellina today is like most other places, 

with supermarkets, shopping malls and 

a motorway slicing through the middle. 

But when we first visited, at the end of 

the nineteen-seventies, it was still quite 

backward. Supermarkets were rare and the 

people more or less lived as they had for 

hundreds of years, growing their own food, 

making their own wine and rarely venturing 

outside the valley. The houses in the village 

near where my family lived were ancient 

and crumbling back then. Now they have 

been bought and renovated, often used as 

weekend escapes by people from Milan. 

For a boy from East Kilbride and Glasgow, 

back then it was an exotic and atmospheric 

world and I was getting a close view of it 

through the lives of my family there.


Were there any challenges in writing 

violent war scenes between the partisans 

and the Nazis? 

As a life-long vegetarian pacifist, it was, 

of course, difficult to write such scenes. 

But this was a brutal time in Italian history. 

There was a huge amount at stake and 

there was a great deal of pent-up anger and 

hatred. Ordinary people did extraordinary 

things, as they always do in war and I felt I 

had to express that in some way. There are a 

couple of violent scenes but, although these 

events do colour everything, I hope they don’t 

overwhelm the story. 

Your sister-in-law and her family live in the 

Valtellina, with some of her family fighting 

as partisans. How was your novel received 

by them? 

Sadly, there’s not yet an Italian version of the 

book, which means that not many over there 

have read it, but they’re very proud that their 

valley features. Unfortunately, those family 

members who fought in the war are now 

no longer with us but I’m not entirely sure 

how they would have reacted to the book. 

Their brooding silence about the war when 

they were alive makes me suspect they might 

feel that some things are better left unsaid. 

Some of your story is also set in Scotland. 

Is this a hat tip to where you are from? 

I guess I could have located that part of the 

story anywhere – the north of England or 

Wales, for example – but, yes, I suspect that 

somewhere in my subconscious I wanted it to 

have a Scottish element, no matter how brief, 

because of my roots. I was also very pleased, 

however, to allow that part of the story to give 

me the opportunity to introduce a Scottish 

character in Helen Matthieson. Helen is a 

strong-willed, independent young woman 

and the fact that she is also Scottish made 

her very appealing to me as a lead character. 

Helen is decisive, loyal, kind, fearless; 

frankly she is formidable. How did that 

character form in your mind? 

I know a number of women like that. Helen 

developed with the plot and to do what 

she does in the book, those qualities were 

essential. She’s also funny and very human, 

I think. Most importantly, I feel, she grounds 

Michael who loses it and shows his frailties 

a few times, understandably, I guess, given 

what’s happening to him. She’s absolutely 

vital to the plot of the book, drives it along 

and comes up with some good ideas for 

helping Michael. 

What do you look forward to when coming 

back to Scotland? 

I come to Scotland several times a year. 

I am in a band – Elsie at the Piano – of whom 

one member lives in Dublin, one in Blantyre 

and I live in Dorset. We use the internet to 

compose but meet up in Glasgow quite 

regularly. We’ve written a song called The 

Partisan Heart that can be found on YouTube 

and Facebook. Regarding Glasgow, to be 

honest, I am astonished by the vibrant city it 

has become. The range of restaurants and 

bars is amazing and I love my visits there. 

I enjoy wandering the streets of the city 

centre and looking up at the amazing 

architecture. There’s a tip to the people of 

Glasgow – look up as you’re walking! 

What’s your next literary project? 

At the moment, I’m writing a Short History 

of the Korean War, part of a series of short 

histories I’ve written. When I finish that at 

the end of September, it’ll be time to start 

work on that difficult second novel which 

I’m almost certain will again be set in the 

beautiful Valtellina. 

The Partisan Heart is published by 

Muswell Press, £12.99. Gordon Kerr will 

be speaking at the Bookmark Festival 

in Blairgowrie on Sunday 6th October, 

bookmarkblair.com. 

The Partisan 

Heart 

£3 

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RRP £12.99 

*Exclusive offer for WESTENDER readers 

at Waterstones 351-355 Byres Road 

branch only, by 31st October 2019.


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1 

Fallen Angel 

by Chris Brookmyre 

BY BRIAN TOAL 

WESTENDER’s 

COVER TO COVER 

I’ve read a lot of Brookmyre, both his more frivolous 

and amusing early work as well as his grittier crime 

novels. His latest, Fallen Angel, is one of his best and 

will keep you guessing right until the end. 

The action centres around the 

Temple family, a seemingly 

successful family with an 

academic, conspiracy theorybusting 

father, an ex-actress 

turned columnist mother, as well as 

three successful grown-up children. 

However, as with any family, what 

you see on the surface or in public 

is very rarely reality, and sure 

enough, Brookmyre wastes no time 

in exposing skeleton after skeleton 

in what is a fairly extensive 

cupboard. 

The setting is the Algarve, 

a popular holiday destination 

for many Scots, and most of the 

action unfolds in the Temple family 

villas. The action lurches between 

two family holidays – one in 2002, 

which ended in tragedy, and the 

other in 2018 when all the chickens 

come home to roost. Brookmyre 

handles the changing times and 

vast range of characters with 

aplomb, and this intermingling of 

disparate narrative voices as well 

as timeframes helps to elucidate 

and obscure at the same time, 

which is no mean feat. 

Sylvie Temple is so devastated 

by the loss of her baby in 

2002 that she changes her 

name to Ivy Roan. Controversy 

and conspiracy surround the 

disappearance of baby Niamh, 

as it did with Madeleine McCann, 

and Brookmyre alludes to the 

McCann case on a few occasions, 

although with sensitivity and 

a deftness of touch. Max, the patriarch, is an academic thrust 

into the limelight through a talk show on which he famously 

debunked several conspiracy theories, earning him plaudits and 

a loyal following. Is he the straitlaced academic he purports to 

be? Celia, the matriarch, rules the family with an iron rod and is 

desperately hanging on to her glamorous past and her fantasy 

of a warm, loving close-knit family. What will she do to retain this 

control? Finally, there is Amanda, the Canadian nanny who by 

pure happenstance finds herself embroiled in all this drama? Or is 

it pure happenstance? 

The twists and turns in the plot from beginning to end leave 

the reader breathless as any Brookmyre fan has come to expect. 

This is far more than a murder mystery. It sheds a light on British 

attitudes towards appearance, reputation, family secrets and 

propriety. This will make for a highly entertaining few days – more 

so if you happen to be a Brit abroad on holiday – as the family 

dynamics, individual culpability and collective responsibility are 

reminiscent of An Inspector Calls, where the revelation of the 

crime itself is almost the coda to a very fine work of fiction.


The Silence of 

the Girls 

by Pat Barker 

2 

Pat Barker has reimagined 

the Trojan War and The 

Iliad from the perspective of 

those voiceless women, both 

Trojan and Greek, who were 

slaughtered, raped, taken and 

used callously as the spoils of 

war, often being traded back 

and forth as ‘tributes’ or in 

reparation. 

Barker’s achievement is 

stunning as the battles are 

relegated to the background 

whilst the stories of the women 

– cooking, cleaning, mending, 

weaving, waiting for the return 

of their new masters – clearly 

dominate the foreground. 

Another masterstroke 

is Barker’s use of colloquial 

language, bringing to life the 

dialogue of the soldiers and 

emphasising their brutality. 

These women are merely 

objects and are often referred 

to as ‘it’. They have no agency 

at all, and the more power and 

status they had before the fall 

of their city, the more keenly 

felt this change in status. 

The main protagonist, 

Briseis, gives voice to all these 

women. Captured when the 

city of Lyrnessus falls to the 

Greeks, this Trojan queen 

becomes the slave of Achilles, 

the most violent man in the 

world, who was given her 

as a gift by Agamemnon for 

slaughtering sixty men in 

battle. Thereafter develops 

a fascinating relationship 

between owner and slave, 

where Briseis gradually carves 

out some influence, if not 

power, over Achilles. As Briseis 

says, ‘…make no mistake, this 

was his story…and here I was, 

again, still stuck in his story, 

and yet with no real part to 

play in it.’ 

Limmy is a writer and 

comedian from Carnwadric 

who exploded into our 

consciousness with Limmy’s 

Show. He has written books 

of short stories and is now 

mainly a huge online presence 

through his Vines and Youtube 

channel. I find him hilarious, 

but his comedy is like marmite. 

However, he states himself in 

his autobiography that he’d 

rather a few people found him 

hilarious than lots of people 

found him mildly amusing. 

The autobiography is 

subtitled ‘Surprisingly Down 

to Earth, and Very Funny.’ 

I laughed out loud several 

times at his anecdotes and 

his turn of phrase, but I also 

gasped at the frankness 

and boldness of his more 

confessional passages. 

He pulls no punches at all 

when dealing with his brushes 

with the law, his relationship 

with drugs and booze, and his 

relationship with his partner 

and his son. 

The book is helpfully 

divided into his Primary 

Years, Secondary Years, 

Student Years, Work Years 

and Comedy. He didn’t have 

a terrible childhood, wasn’t 

bullied or abused, and yet 

he clearly struggles with his 

mental health. The suicidal 

thoughts, the self-harm, 

the destructive tendencies 

are who he is and there is 

no attempt to make himself 

look better by glossing over 

his mistakes or by airbrushing 

the seedier aspects of his life. 

Instead, Limmy is as brutal and 

candid as it’s possible to be. 

I’ve never seen someone so 

well known in Glasgow expose 

his vulnerabilities like this. 

It’s a rare thing for a West 

Coast male. 

Limmy 

by Brian Limond 

3

30 | Westender www.westendermagazine.com 

Magazine Promotion 

Legal Matters 

Champagne 

Charlies? 

Words from Ross Leatham, partner at Mitchells Roberton: 

If Ross can help please email him at – 

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

Some lawyers are tempted to sound 

high powered. Not me of course. 

They want to portray life in the property 

world as glamorous with many mega-deals 

necessitating the staying up all night to get a 

deal done. 

Yes, of course it happens. But the 

humdrum is as important too – someone 

needs to care about the non-paying tenant, 

the high hedges and the common tenement 

repairs. 

Currently the Scottish Government is 

considering a new regulatory approach to 

the polarising subject of short term letting 

(Airbnb being the most famous example). 

Do you side with the economic benefit that 

tourism brings to the West End through 

use of short term letting, or are you more 

concerned with the apparent uncontrolled 

increase in numbers of properties being 

made available and the impact on availability 

of accommodation for families (as opposed 

to tourists) and a seeming lack of control on 

antisocial behaviour from guests? This is a 

debate for which we have clients very clearly 

on both sides. 

For property professionals overlooking 

this dual interest in the property market, 

they do so at their peril. Mitchells Roberton 

is Glasgow’s oldest established legal firm 

and we have a committed property team 

treating our clients as people, giving them the 

same status regardless of the nature of the 

instruction. 

We do get the big deals and are 

complimented by the fact that many 

institutional clients entrust their prestigious 

work to us. But we also strive to do the 

unspectacular, spectacularly well. 

A celebratory champagne completion 

meeting at 11pm sounds fantastic, but the 

less glamorous cup of coffee (perhaps a 

biscuit) is often the fuel of choice for the 

consummate property lawyer and that combo 

has certainly seen me through the toughest 

of transactions. 

The property world needs a choice if real 

quality is to be maintained (beware the one 

that claims to subsist on champagne alone!). 

We are a bit different and worth choosing. 

We wait for your calls and shall start the 

kettle boiling (and chill the champagne) in 

anticipation. 

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 | 31 

Why you should manage your household 

finances like a business 

Whether you are running a business 

or a household, understanding the 

numbers behind your finances is key 

to a stable future (now more than ever). 

You’d be amazed how many people 

running a successful business struggle 

to manage personal finances and tax. 

If only they applied their business head to 

household accounts they’d reap the rewards. 

That’s why if you apply business principles 

at home you will manage your income 

efficiently. 

Ask yourself where do I want to be in the 

future and how do I get there? 

Here are 7 steps to manage your 

money like a smart business 

1. Start with a plan – set realistic 

objectives 

2. Think long term – map out key 

milestones 

3. Identify short term goals – day to day 

financial commitments 

4. Track – record income & expenses 

5. Reduce operating costs – breakdown 

spending and cut back outlays 

6. Create a budget – stick to it 

7. Save money – a contingency fund 

protects you from nasty surprises 

Be brutally honest, are you on track? 

If you want to be in a better position 

financially run your personal finances like 

a business. Organisations and households 

are similar – you have assets and liabilities; 

income and expenses, taxes and cash flow 

to manage. 

Understand the numbers and you are 

guaranteed to make smarter financial 

decisions. A top tip is to switch to a digital 

bank account that allows you to set a budget, 

managing spending and saving down to the 

very last penny. 

Murrison & Wilson, CA is a full service 

accountancy firm specialising in 

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fixed and competitive fees. 

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Art for Heart’s Sake 

How a West End interior design store is doing its 

bit for charity 

WORDS 

Mike Findlay 

ABOVE © M Evans, Torridon Glory 

OPPOSITE © M Evans, Morning Glory Bass Rock 

If you head along Great Western Road 

further west than Anniesland Cross and 

towards Knightswood, and take a left onto 

Munro Place, you will find a hidden oasis. 

This may not be the most likely spot to find 

one of the most exclusive furniture stores, 

but if you make the journey, you will not be 

disappointed. 

The Store Interiors is an Aladdin’s cave 

of sofas, beds, lighting, mirrors and more. 

You name it and they do it. This family run 

business has been going for 32 years and is 

co-owned and managed by brothers Arun 

and Ashoke Pasi. They moved into their 

current location in the summer of 1996, 

and this impressively sized building offers 

three floors worth of gems to get your interior 

design taste buds going. 

But that’s not all. The Store Interiors is 

more than just a ‘store’. For the last few years 

The Store has run an art exhibition over one 

weekend in November where artists from the 

local area, and a bit beyond, sell their work. 

The proceeds from this exhibition go directly 

to the charities CHAS (Children’s Hospices 

Across Scotland) and Marie Curie – hence 

why the exhibition is aptly called Art for 

Heart’s Sake. 

Comprising mainly of paintings, 

the exhibition also includes other art forms 

such as jewellery and sculptures. Argyllbased 

artist Lex McFadyn helped to set the 

project up as well as exhibiting his own work. 

Other well-known names that have exhibited 

include: Bill Blackwood, Kirsty Cameron, 

Norman Edgar, Margaret Evans, James 

Harrigan, Katie Littlefield and Mo Roxburgh. 

The exhibition has grown arms and legs 

over the years, and boasts about 80 artists. 

So far, around £14k has been raised for 

charity. It is part of a number of initiatives 

that the team at The Store has been involved 

with over the years to raise money for good 

causes. Previously the management have 

shaved their heads to raise funds for cancer, 

and have also been involved in the Moon 

Walk in Edinburgh. 

The inspiration for the project came 

partly after a visit by The Store’s owner 

Arun to Robin House in Balloch, which


is run by the charity CHAS in support of 

vulnerable children. He explains, ‘The visit 

was incredibly emotional for me and clearly 

CHAS is doing some incredible work, which 

is why we decided to support them through 

this project. Marie Curie Cancer came along 

for similar reasons. 

‘The other inspiration for me has been 

my mother, who has always given money 

to charity over the years and I’ve had this 

instilled in me from a young age.’ 

The exhibition will run again this November 

and the timing for this is intentional. 

Arun says, ‘We decided a good time for 

people to buy things would be around 

November and December time. We really 

wanted a date that was memorable so we 

thought around Guy Fawkes would be good 

timing because everyone remembers that 

date. We have made the preview night the 

first Thursday after Guy Fawkes night.’ 

Many of the artists that have exhibited so 

far have found out about the project through 

word of mouth from other artists. Art for 

Heart’s Sake is now hoping that a number 

of artists who are part of Glasgow Art Club, 

Paisley Art Club as well as Ayr Art Circle and 

Helensburgh Art Club will take part this year. 

But the exhibition is as much about 

supporting new and emerging talent as it 

is about exciting artists. And The Store has 

ambitions to grow. Arun comments, ‘I want 

us to do more. I would like to be in a position 

where we use the entirety of the building to 

exhibit artists over a longer period of time, 

maybe one full month. This will allow us to 

open up the exhibition to a greater number of 

artists and ultimately support good causes.’ 

The preview night is a great way for The 

Store to drum up interest in what is exhibited. 

I was lucky enough to stumble upon it 

by accident a couple of years ago while 

shopping in The Store – I was handed a glass 

of prosecco and a chance to browse through 

the artwork. It was a great experience in the 

ambient surroundings of a furniture store. 

The preview night has live music and a 

raffle takes place with generous prizes – last 

year’s prizes included a meal for two at the 

Ubiquitous Chip, a two-year subscription to 

Homes and Interiors Magazine, a meal for 

two at Mother India and a total of 13 different 

prizes. 

Arun says, ‘Every penny we raise is given 

to charity, we don’t take a penny out of it. In 

the future I don’t mind if there’s a 100 artists 

or 200 artists as long as more money goes to 

charity that is the main thing. All of the West 

End is invited to it and we hope to see you 

there.’ 

So if you are near Munro Place this 

November, I would highly recommend 

popping in. And you never know you may 

purchase some art, as well as some furniture. 

Art for Heart’s Sake will run at The Store 

Interiors, 26 Munro Place, Glasgow from 

Thursday 7 to Monday 11 November. The 

preview evening for the exhibition will take 

place on Thursday 7 November between 

5pm – 9pm. All Westenders welcome!


‘Home-Makers’ 

women by design 

WORDS 

PAMELA PALONGUE


The importance of our surrounding, really cannot be overstated. It can 

make us feel peaceful or chaotic, restful or energised. The light, colour, 

form and function of a space can affect our productivity, our energy 

levels, and even our happiness. When the right design elements are 

blended together in the perfect formula however, our environment can 

become a wonderful space that’s a pleasure to inhabit. We spoke with 

three women who joyfully create beautiful spaces in which to live and 

work, to find what inspires them. 

Perhaps one of the quickest – and most 

dramatic ways to alter the mood of a 

home, is with paint. The walls of our 

homes are like giant, blank canvases, 

that when painted the right shade, 

can complement the art, architectural 

features, and fabrics that punctuate the 

room. But simply because they make such a 

big statement, it can be quite daunting. 

Laonie Robertson is a calm presence 

who routinely assists clients who are 

anxious about overwhelming numbers of 

paint samples. She taps into the client’s 

introspective taste within, to find what they’re 

really seeking in their living space. If the client 

is unsure about what they want, she asks 

them to choose one thing in their home they 

truly love, and then builds the entire room 

around that particular element. Other clients 

may start by thinking they want a particular 

colour, only to learn that it’s actually 

something completely different. It’s a journey 

on which she is happy to be the wise Sherpa, 

inspiring confidence in personal choices. 

It’s not just about the colour however, 

it’s also about the wonderful, velvety 

finish, and highlighting the architectural 

elements. In her own home for example, 

she has beautiful, original cornice and ceiling 

roses which are very ornate. To enhance 

the detail she used one of Farrow & Ball’s 

Contemporary Neutrals, Strong White, to 

create soft shadows, emphasising the depth 

of the Georgian period design. In addition to 

painting, she also hangs designer wallpapers, 

custom cut murals, and even hand paints 

murals for her clients. 

She deftly combines contemporary décor 

within a period setting. In her main reception 

room, she chose a modern chandelier with 

a twist on a classic design, which allows the 

ceiling rose detail to be featured, rather than 

being obscured by a large light shade. 

Her long love affair with home décor 

began when she was still a child. Her father 

restored homes that had been ravaged by 

fire. Laonie would plead with him to go along 

when he would work, and he often relented. 

This love of design led to her study of art 

and technical graphics. But she preferred 

the hands-on approach of transforming 

spaces, rather than the world of computer 

design. And she’s built a strong business, 

1272 Decorating and Design, based upon 

repeat business and word-of-mouth 

recommendations. 

‘I never look at any project as a one-off 

job. It’s about establishing a relationship with 

your clients’, explains Laonie. She’s made 

use of Instagram for displaying her work, 

and she enjoys seeing that many women 

are now starting businesses in fields that 

wouldn’t have been considered a few years 

ago. ‘It’s very encouraging to see that’. 

Lisa Trainer’s path in design was a bit 

different, taking a few meandering turns 

before successfully establishing Red Door 

Interiors. She completed an honours degree 

in interior design at Duncan of Jordanstone 

College of Art & Design. However, with four 

children, she was quite busy with being a 

mother. About six years ago, she decided to 

take on some clients who were largely friends 

and family. They loved what she created, 

and word of mouth quickly spread to include 

both commercial and residential clients all 

over Glasgow, and then, all over Scotland. 

Working from home was perfect with growing 

children. But as they began to leave for 

university and she took on more clients, 

a proper work space was needed. 

Her studio sits in Partick, in an 

unpretentious building on the corner of 

Beith Street. Once you step inside however, 

the studio comes to life with colour! On the 

foyer ceiling, she has cleverly hung a panel of 

wallpaper that looks as though it was painted 

directly onto the surface by an artist, with 

hues of red, blue and gold. And the studio 

itself is an organic collection of interesting


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light fixtures, tiles, wall coverings and fabrics 

– most of which are created by Scottish 

designers and artisans. Although many 

people might equate Scottish fabrics with 

tweed and tartan, there is actually a plethora 

of colours and patterns being created by 

some of the most talented designers in all of 

Europe, who are Scottish. 

Bute Fabrics produces textiles made on 

the island in almost every hue and weight 

imaginable. They’ve recently collaborated 

with designer David Irwin, who has created 

collections based on the stones and mineral 

patterns of the island itself, and another 

which features the DNA patterns of the 

individuals who create the actual fabrics in 

the textile mill! 

Lisa’s daughter, Kelly Trainer, is currently 

pursuing her master degree in textiles, and 

will produce her own unique version of a 

process called ‘ice dying’ which creates 

a blended, watercolour effect on fabrics. 

Each pattern produced is a one-off blend of 

colour and shape. 

Some other Scottish designers whose 

work Lisa likes to incorporate into her 

design schemes are wall covering designers 

Iona Crawford, Mairi Helena and MYB. 

She frequently uses lighting fixtures by One 

Foot Taller, a Glasgow-based, award winning 

company. 

Another favourite is an exciting new 

Glasgow company called Mirrl, which 

manufactures and designs a solid surface 

material which can be used for work 

surfaces, food preparation and furniture. 

Made from Birch, it’s waterproof and comes 

in interesting, organic patterns in either bright 

or neutral tones. 

Her advice for creatives starting out, 

‘If there was one thing I would’ve done 

differently, it would’ve been to make a 

consolidated business plan and get more 

advice and support on setting up a new 

business’. 

Two years ago, Lisa took a leap of faith by 

investing in her studio. But the rewards have 

been amazing! ‘I feel so lucky to have found 

something that I love to do. No two jobs are 

ever the same’. Work has not stopped since 

she made this decision, as she’s transformed 

individual homes and large scale projects. 

She recently completed a bed and breakfast 

located across the street from the Glasgow 

School of Art, which features Scottish 

designers, all with great affordability. 

One local boutique Lisa collaborates with 

regularly for styling and furniture is Hoos 

Glasgow. Hoos is owned by Karen Harvey, 

a Glasgow native who has a background in 

non-profit. 

She was the director of a charity for many 

years in Great Yarmouth, which helped 

children and families, and she was honoured 

with the MBE (Most Excellent British Empire) 

for her work. 

When she returned to Glasgow’s West 

End, she decided to follow a lifelong interest 

in architecture and design by opening 

Hoos. More than just a retail shop, Hoos is


a lifestyle store with an intriguing selection 

of items carefully curated from the global 

marketplace. Offerings from local Scottish 

designers sit on the shelves next to Fair 

Trade pieces from South American artisans. 

And a contemporary Scandinavian 

watering can looks perfectly at home next 

to handmade felted bowls from Nepal. 

This eclectic mix of treasures offers a range 

of selection that’s quite unique, and many of 

the brands she carries are exclusive to Hoos 

in Glasgow, such as the wonderful Normann 

Copenhagen line, Ferm Living and Muuto. 

Karen also bases her selections on their 

sustainability and production process for 

minimal impact on the planet. 

Inside the store, there is a myriad of 

scents from candles, soaps and perfumes 

that combine for an aroma that’s light, 

lovely and not overwhelming. It’s a place 

where you can find wonderful chocolates, 

clothing, furniture and even toothpaste! 

Hoos is a reminder that shopping is not 

a task to complete, but an enjoyable 

experience that should be relished. Although 

many items are also offered online, a visit to 

the store is a sensory delight and a wonderful 

way to spend an afternoon. 

After three years, she has been quite 

successful, and part of that success may 

be the personal service she offers her 

customers. She’s quite happy to give advice 

on growing the house plants she sells, 

and sometimes even makes deliveries to 

customer’s homes – not exactly a common 

practice among businesses of today. 

She’s also launching an interior design 

service, which will offer her customers 

access to the designer lines she carries. 

Karen’s advice to women starting a 

business would be to get a good accountant 

soon after registering your company. 

Accountants can relieve a lot of the stress 

of running a business, and offer invaluable 

advice, allowing more time to focus on the 

actual business. 

Design teaches us something about 

ourselves through the choices that we make. 

Our surroundings truly are a reflection of our 

lives and what’s important to us. It’s part 

of what makes a house, an actual home. 

These Glasgow women are helping people 

create ‘home’. 

1272 Decorating & Design, 1272dec.co.uk 

Red Door Interiors, reddoorinteriors.co.uk 

Hoos Glasgow, hoosglasgow.co.uk


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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 

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

Homes & Interiors 

Retro Fusion 


We all love a meander into the storehouses of our memories to feel a 

sense of a bygone day, a childhood home, a style you love from films or 

books. We have easy access now to furniture and accessories reflecting 

any era, and a wonderful trend of retro designs to choose from. 

So, take a trip down memory lane and make a mix tape of your 

favourite oldies, bringing touches of the past into your home today. 

Apple Green Handblown 

Glass Carafe, 

£18, CoLab Store 

Large Floral Bowl, 

£49.95, Nancy Smillie 

Cushion by Tom Pigeon, 

£45, Hoos 

Dallas Retro Chair, 

£768, The Store Interiors 

Curved Coffee Table, 

£237.50, Nancy Smillie 

CoLab Store, 11-13 Dowanhill Street, 0141 570 1766, colabstore.co.uk 

Hoos, 715 Great Western Road, 07788 480421, hoosglasgow.co.uk 

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

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


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by Susan 

Robertson 

elegant glamour 

This year’s glamorous interiors trend brings us 

a sophisticated opulence, but more understated 

than iterations of the past. Think less of the 

‘shiny’ but rather just a touch of the ‘sheen’. Susan 

Robertson makes some suggestions to achieve this 

look within your West End home. 

There’s a chic confidence in the colour palettes 

being used in this look just now, and less of a 

tendency to make ‘shouty’ statements with clashing 

colours and blingy accessories. Velvet has become 

really popular over recent years and remains a 

foundational staple for this style now, but rather 

than the bold statement colours and the dark greens 

and maroons, this season opt for dusky pinks and 

soft warm greys.


For a living room, select your key pieces of seating 

and keep it minimal and matching. Resist the urge 

to go eclectic and select a velvet sofa and armchairs 

in the same style and colour where possible. 

Your room will then build up around these. If 

you opt for the dusky rose colour for this, try a 

pale mocha on the walls and light cream for wood 

features such as window frames and skirting boards. 

Be careful to choose the correct warm and pale tones 

so that you are keeping it all in balance, otherwise 

overdoing the colour in each could run the risk of 

you starting to feel like you’re sitting in a box of 

Neapolitan ice-cream! 

If you’re doing this style in a bedroom, you can 

probably risk a bit more chocolate in the mocha and 

just centre everything around a beautiful big bed. 

Make sure you keep it looking and feeling restful 

and warm. Go for bold on a large dusky pink velvet 

bedhead and layer up the bedding in creamy cottons, 

soft rose velvets and warm grey fine woollens. 

Resist the urge to splurge on the decadence, it can 

be easy to see similarities in this to previous trends 

and go off on a glamorous tangent but be restrained. 

This look is elegant and minimal so stick to fewer 

elements but choose high-end fabrics and a quality 

finish at the same time, avoid the faux fur. 

Keep furniture simple and functional and avoid 

clutter and big chunky items. Small coffee tables, 

and marble-topped trolleys work well. Don’t be 

afraid to upcycle wooden furniture with a lick of 

paint. If you make sure it’s well prepared and use 

a quality matt paint, you can create a functional 

piece that blends in beautifully with the overall look. 

One solid colour looks good and if you’re brave 

enough – top off the ends of the furniture legs with 

some matt silver paint or just a tiny touch of flat gold. 

Get an expert to do it if you don’t trust your 

handiwork, or treat yourself to some new or preloved 

special picks from the plethora of shops and 

boutiques we have on our doorstep. 

Lose the high gloss bling and stick to matt 

metallics for that touch of understated elegance. 

Brass works better in this look than polished gold, 

and pewter is preferable to shiny chrome. If you 

want to add a bit of a flourish, go for a tassel or 

a fringe. It’s not to everyone’s taste but it’s right 

on trend and done thoughtfully it can look great. 

You can get them incorporated into accessories such 

as lampshades or tie-backs and they help to create a 

unique extra touch of glam. 

If this isn’t for you, you can always try a metallic 

touch in a lamp. Perhaps a brass standalone lamp or 

a rose gold shade. One statement accessory like this 

works well and then keep your other bits and bobs 

minimal and plain in soft greys and creams. Try to 

match the accessories to each other, and allow them 

to recede into the background rather than coming to 

the fore, as the velvet opulence will hold its own in 

the room. 

Dark glass or art deco touches can work well as 

finishing touches and for me, this style cries out 

for fresh cut flowers. Choosing this look gives a 

wonderful excuse to buy regular fresh flowers as it is 

really pulled together beautifully with chunky pink 

peonies or deep purple hydrangeas. 

Image on previous page is from items available at 

Hoos Glasgow, hoosglasgow.co.uk 

Images on this page are of products available from 

The Store Interiors, thestoreinteriors.co.uk

www.westendermagazine.com | 45


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by Susan 

Robertson 

Contemporary 

Our homes are our havens, where we can zone out from 

the busyness of modern life and find our safe place to 

unwind. Susan Robertson looks at how we can merge 

calming influences from Nordic design to Mother 

Nature without leaving the comfort of the West End.


Calm 

What springs to mind when you think of a calm 

environment? It tends to start with the colours 

for me. Nothing too vibrant or loud, warm layers 

of tones and textures with a smooth transition 

between. When we are creating a relaxing 

environment to unwind in, we want our eyes to 

be able to rest a little as well as our bodies and 

minds. So, when you choose a palette for this 

type of look, think of varying shades and layers 

of similar pale colours. Keep the palette simple 

and clean with their initial roots in nature and 

warm undertones. Slate grey in different tones, 

balanced with warm beiges and soft whites 

merge beautifully with deep khakis and pale 

pink for this look. 

The Nordic style of interior design lends itself 

well to the feeling of calmness. It’s characterised 

by simplicity and minimalism so start with 

thinking of the basic functionality of the room 

you’re designing. Make sure you are fulfilling 

the needs of the space in the first instance – 

how many will you need to seat comfortably 

at a time; will the lighting need to function for 

reading as well as relaxing; will the room be 

sociable and set up for chatting, or is it mainly 

for films and reading? Stopping to think about 

what you actually use the room for before you 

start, will help you to keep the design focused 

and functional, which in turn helps to keep that 

minimalist feel. If you begin with this basic core 

purpose it will automatically inspire your choice 

of sofa shapes, seating design and direction, 

as well as the lighting moods. 

Once you have these underpinning elements 

identified, you can visualise the structure of the 

space. Think carefully here about storage too 

– a minimal look means clutter-free life but that 

requires discipline and planning. Use the old 

adage to only keep what is useful or beautiful, 

and then think through what you want to have 

out on display, and what should be hidden away. 

This thought process will help to identify if you 

need to consider a couple of shelves or a bespoke 

storage unit within the room. Be thoughtful 

about what you actually need to have there to 

hand in that room, and what could be stored 

elsewhere in the house. Perhaps you have more 

space in a spare room for a new storage unit for 

example – keeping everything around you to an 

absolute minimum. 

The days of fad trends are behind us 

– people are looking for practical ways to 

create sustainable long-term environments 

that enhance their lives and positively affect 

their wellbeing. We are keen to find ways to



incorporate sustainable and eco-friendly 

alternatives to the chemical-based products 

we’ve become accustomed to, and we’re much 

more aware of the tactility and sourcing of our 

products. 

This look is an opportunity to be thoughtful 

and selective in its contents. It’s contemporary 

but also timeless so it’s a great way to start 

in a new home and living in a sense of calm 

simplicity allows you to get a feeling for the 

space as you live in it over time. This means 

you have the freedom to then build different 

looks, add dramatic wall colours or statement 

furniture pieces if you fancy it in the future. 

Start with soft white or pale beige walls, take 

some inspiration from our fashion shoot pages 

for different tones. Be careful to make sure 

you opt for warm undertones, it’s very easy to 

accidentally fall into making this look cold and 

clinical so you need to avoid blue undertones 

and think in tactile layers. Use lots of natural 

materials and textures – go for pale white wood 

wherever you can, wooden floors are ideal, 

and hessians and wools work well for chunky 

rugs and soft furnishings. 

Aim for keeping everything to a clean, honest 

and simple effect. Adding different shades of the 

same colour onto furniture items adds depth 

and interest to modest shapes and ensure that 

you keep the patterns you choose quite basic 

to minimise clashing. Cushions with small 

geometric shapes layer well against light cottons 

and beige linens and help to keep it tied in to the 

current trends. Matte white clay pots and slate 

coasters look great as finishing touches, you can 

also use little splashes of colour in accessories 

– but keep it minimal and consistent, so perhaps 

a touch of rose gold or a splash of pale pink 

to add a touch of interest to a dark corner. 

The minimal, low maintenance look lends itself 

to some simple cactus plants or silvery ivy to 

bring a fresh flourish here and there. 

There are always great ways to add a unique 

and personal touch to any look. Lamp bases 

made from wicker shapes or tree stumps with 

big beige shades, create wonderful statements 

without being invasive. Simple pebbles collected 

from the beach add a depth to the top of plant 

pots, or – you can use some matte acrylics to 

paint or print a simple geometric design onto 

them – or use them as book ends or paper 

weights to help to tie everything together. 

A bit of creativity goes a long way in 

personalising your own contemporary calm, 

but you don’t need to go very far to achieve it. 

Images 

Main: B&Q Bohemian Range, diy.com 

Grey painted Nordic style media unit: 

Nancy Smillie, nancysmillieshop.com 

Zellij Cushion by Niki Jones: Hoos Glasgow, 

hoosglasgow.co.uk


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52 | www.westendermagazine.com

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