You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
www.westendermagazine.com | 1<br />
sep/0ct
2 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
Highly insulated Garden Rooms designed and built<br />
in Glasgow. Perfect for year round use.<br />
Garden office, guest room, art/music<br />
studio or teenage space, the list of uses<br />
for our Garden Rooms is endless. Planning<br />
permission is not required and the<br />
dimensions and specification can be<br />
customised to your requirements.<br />
Contact us today to arrange a free, no<br />
obligation quotation and site visit.<br />
www.outsideingardenrooms.co.uk<br />
0141 370 6102 / info@outsideingardenrooms.co.uk<br />
outsideingardenrooms<br />
outsideingardenrooms
www.westendermagazine.com | 3<br />
Contents<br />
Regulars<br />
4 Editor’s Letter<br />
32 Charity Pages:<br />
Art for Heart’s Sake<br />
Fashion, beauty & health<br />
8 Pale and Interesting<br />
Fashion Shoot<br />
21 WIN! At Rainbow<br />
Room International<br />
Going out<br />
16 West End Live<br />
with Greg Kane<br />
19 Top Things<br />
23 Restaurant Review:<br />
Eusebi Deli<br />
Art & culture<br />
24 Writer’s Reveal:<br />
with Gordon Kerr<br />
28 Cover to Cover<br />
34 Home-Makers<br />
Women by Design<br />
Westender living<br />
41 Retro Fushion<br />
43 Elegant Glamour<br />
48 Contemporary<br />
Calm
4 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
Editor’s<br />
Letter<br />
This edition’s interiors articles take<br />
inspiration from our ‘neutrals’ fashion<br />
shoot for this autumn season. As we<br />
move back indoors in anticipation of further<br />
inclement weather, our interior spaces<br />
exercise a huge impact on our mood.<br />
Susan Robertson looks at designs sent to<br />
calm and revitalise after a busy day working<br />
and studying (starts on page 41).<br />
Design is also the theme for Pamela<br />
Palongue’s business article on page<br />
34. Pamela interviews three West End<br />
businesses with interior design at their heart.<br />
Different routes through life inspire different<br />
business outcomes, each one a success and<br />
providing that, eagerly sought, work / life<br />
balance.<br />
Our charity feature by new Westender<br />
writer, Mike Findlay, looks at wall art in aid<br />
of Marie Curie and CHAS. An annual event,<br />
Art for Heart’s Sake, takes place at The Store<br />
Interiors in Anniesland early this November.<br />
Arun and Ashoke Pasi are local business men<br />
with big hearts inspired by their mum who<br />
has always made time for and donated to<br />
charity. Head along to the preview event on<br />
the 7th of November for a glass of prosecco<br />
and a leisurely browse (P.32).<br />
Another new writer to Westender is Lenny<br />
Smith who interviewed Glaswegian author<br />
Gordon Kerr, prior to Gordon’s appearance<br />
at the Blairgowrie Bookmark Festival this<br />
October. Gordon’s work of fiction investigates<br />
an under reported movement in Italy during<br />
the Second World War. Read Lenny’s<br />
account on page 24 and prepare to be<br />
inspired by freedom fighters in Italy’s Alps.<br />
Westender regular, Brian Toal, rounds up<br />
the best of this autumn’s reads on page 28.<br />
Brian may have written his reviews solely<br />
based on my reading taste – honest, I didn’t<br />
know. Chris Brookmyre is one of my fave<br />
all time authors and his new novel, Fallen<br />
Angel, sounds like a real page turner. Author<br />
Pat Barker’s Regeneration Trilogy was<br />
a major stand out for me during my OU<br />
Literature degree and I’m delighted to see her<br />
new book, The Silence of the Girls, reviewed.<br />
Dealing with a difficult subject matter, I know,<br />
of all authors this topic is in the most capable<br />
of hands.<br />
So thanks Brian, that’s my next reads<br />
sorted out. And West End resident Limmy’s<br />
autobiography is definitely one for my other<br />
half – he loves his shows. I feel a trip to one of<br />
our West End bookshops coming on…<br />
Suzanne Martin
www.westendermagazine.com | 5<br />
ADVERTISE YOUR BUSINESS IN WESTENDER<br />
Book space in the the Christmas/New Year 2019<br />
Westender by Tuesday 29th September.<br />
OUT IN WEST END LOCATIONS FROM MONDAY 19TH OCTOBER.<br />
// 10 Years in the West End<br />
// Glasgow’s brilliant FREE bi-monthly magazine<br />
// Great editorial features: fashion, dining out, health & beauty,<br />
what’s on, local authors & artists, interiors & more<br />
// Massive potential business audience<br />
// 10,000 copies per edition<br />
// Handy handbag size<br />
// FREE to pick up around the West End<br />
// Online presence with digital magazine<br />
westendermagazine.com<br />
For more info or to advertise<br />
email: suzanne@westendermagazine.com<br />
for a media flyer, or call: 07905 897238
6 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
EDITOR<br />
SUZANNE MARTIN<br />
PHOTOGRAPHER<br />
GREGOR REID<br />
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS<br />
MIKE FINDLAY, AMY GLASGOW,<br />
GREG KANE, TRACY MUKHERJEE,<br />
PAMELA PALONGUE,<br />
SUSAN ROBERTSON, LENNY SMITH,<br />
BRIAN TOAL<br />
HAIR & MUA<br />
TERRI CRAIG<br />
STYLIST<br />
JACKI CLARK<br />
WESTENDERMAGAZINE.COM<br />
INFO@WESTENDERMAGAZINE.COM<br />
07905 897238<br />
WESTENDER MAGAZINE IS ON<br />
FACEBOOK, TWITTER<br />
& INSTAGRAM<br />
Publisher: Westender Magazine<br />
Whilst every care has been taken to ensure that the data in this publication is accurate, neither the publisher nor its editorial<br />
contributors can accept, and hereby disclaim, any liability to any party to loss or damage caused by errors or omissions<br />
resulting from negligence, accident or any other cause.<br />
Westender Magazine does not officially endorse any advertising material included within this publication.<br />
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form – electronic,<br />
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise – without prior permission of the publisher.
www.westendermagazine.com | 7<br />
Book before<br />
30th<br />
September<br />
and<br />
save 10%<br />
150 years of making<br />
Christmas<br />
Memories<br />
*<br />
We’ve been making memories for over 150<br />
years and this year we plan to make it even<br />
better! From festive feasts, winter skating,<br />
Santa’s grotto and Scotland’s largest house<br />
party – this is where Christmas begins.<br />
What’s included:<br />
• Three or five nights accommodation<br />
• All of your meals when you stay<br />
in the hotel<br />
• Endless entertainment<br />
• Free childcare for 2-12 year olds<br />
• Free leisure pool, gym and cinema<br />
3 Night<br />
Christmas Package<br />
Only £177<br />
per person, per night<br />
3 Night<br />
New Year Package<br />
Only £275<br />
per person, per night<br />
Self-catering<br />
breaks<br />
From £81<br />
per person, per night<br />
Book now crieffhydro.com/Christmas | 01764 655 555<br />
Terms: From prices are based on two adults sharing a standard double room arriving on 24th December 2019 for three nights on a flexible rate.<br />
Self-catering ‘from’ price is based on 6 people sharing a 2 bed self-catering checking in on 24th December for 3 nights. Hotel packages include all<br />
meals from lunch on the day of arrival to breakfast on the day you leave. Travel insurance recommended. Subject to availability, full terms apply.
8 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
SLIP INTO NEUTRAL<br />
photography GREGOR REID<br />
stylist jacki clark<br />
mua terri craig
www.westendermagazine.com | 9<br />
Dress & Jacket, COS. SHoes, daniel footwear<br />
Jewellery, Nancy smillie
10 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
Trousers, top & shoes, NEXT. Bracelet, liquorice tree
www.westendermagazine.com | 11<br />
COAt, ted baker. Dress, next. Shoes, daniel footwear
12 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
suit, topshop. shirt, cos. bag & jewellery, liquorice tree
www.westendermagazine.com | 13<br />
jumpsuit, french connection. necklace, monsoon. shoes,next
14 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
photography gregor reid, gregorreidphotography.com<br />
stylist jacki clark, jackiclark-stylist.co.uk<br />
MUA terri craig, terricraig.co.uk<br />
model katherine lee<br />
model courtesy of<br />
superior model management<br />
jacket, next<br />
t-shirt & trousers, Topshop
www.westendermagazine.com | 15<br />
Playsuit, Topshop<br />
SHOES, daniel footwear<br />
jewellery, nancy smillie
16 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
LIVE<br />
September<br />
The S.L.P.<br />
Thursday 5th September 7pm<br />
SWG3, swg3.tv<br />
Sergio Lorenzo Pizzorno (aka The<br />
S.L.P.). See what he did there? I think<br />
everyone should prefix their initials<br />
with a 'The', I could be The G.P.K.<br />
sounds good to me.<br />
He is a founding member, guitarist<br />
and main songwriter for the English<br />
Rock band Kasabian who have enjoyed<br />
extensive mainstream success since<br />
2004. I’ve always had a soft spot<br />
for Kasabian’s low fi, D.I.Y. attitude<br />
towards making music. They convey a<br />
real sense of honesty in everything<br />
they do, which is commendable. But I<br />
guess that’s just not enough for Sergio<br />
so in a 'band gap year' he has created<br />
side project The S.L.P. to be a vehicle<br />
for his obvious Classic Chicago House<br />
lustings and it’s not that bad a stab<br />
at it either. Sparkly face paint optics<br />
should grab the attentions of the<br />
kids and the pounding jazzy piano<br />
chords should keep the 80s dance<br />
traditionalists happy.<br />
Choice Tracks: The S.L.P. 'Nobody Else'<br />
The Ninth Wave<br />
Saturday 21st September 7pm<br />
QMU, qmunion.org.uk<br />
The Ninth Wave are a noise pop<br />
duo from Glasgow, taking their<br />
influences from 80s new wave and goth<br />
pop. Formed around the long termfriendship<br />
of singer/bassist Millie<br />
Kidd and singer/guitarist Hadyn Park-<br />
Patterson in 2017 they have already<br />
played at the SSE Hydro (supporting<br />
Chvrches) and this year performed at<br />
the influential SXSW music festival in<br />
Austin, Texas. They released the first<br />
part of their debut LP, Infancy, at the<br />
end of April 2019 – with the second<br />
half coming in November. The decision<br />
to split up the 12 tracks was 'less a<br />
creative one and more informed by the<br />
way people consume music now' says<br />
Park-Patterson. 'The way the world<br />
is, listening to music, everyone gets<br />
bored, easily. We took a year to make<br />
it, so it should take a year to put it<br />
out, I guess is what we felt.' Such a<br />
wise head on young shoulders will<br />
serve them well. And this maturity<br />
extends to their music too, which is<br />
some of the best I’ve heard come out of<br />
Glasgow for ages.<br />
Choice tracks: The Ninth Wave<br />
‘New Kind of Ego'<br />
Marika Hackman<br />
Monday 23rd September 7pm<br />
Òran Mór, oran-mor.co.uk<br />
Marika Hackman is an English<br />
vocalist, multi-instrumentalist<br />
and songwriter raised in Devon by<br />
parents who's day jobs as animators<br />
lead to an unconventional upbringing<br />
encouraging creativity. Lucky girl.<br />
But thankfully she didn’t rebel<br />
against them and now her work is much<br />
lauded by such exulted contemporaries<br />
as Alt-J and Laura Marling, which<br />
should give you an idea of where the<br />
music comes from.<br />
There’s lots of swearing in her songs<br />
though and whilst studying her<br />
Spotify listing I thought her recent<br />
album was actually called EXPLICIT.<br />
But it’s not, her fourth album is<br />
called Any Human Friend, and was<br />
released in August this year. All<br />
very confident, poised, complex and<br />
beautifully executed alt/indie/pop.<br />
Choice track: Marika Hackman<br />
‘All Night’
www.westendermagazine.com | 17<br />
by Greg Kane<br />
October<br />
Samana<br />
Wednesday 23rd October 7pm<br />
Hug and Pint, thehugandpint.com<br />
Samana are music duo Rebecca Rose<br />
and Franklin Mockett who’s music<br />
emanates from their all analogue<br />
studio in the remote valleys of Wales.<br />
Here’s how they describe their sound,<br />
(But do it in a Welsh accent for full<br />
effect) '… born from the interpretation<br />
of dreams, the study of ancient<br />
rituals, philosophies of love, loss<br />
and death, and the quintessence of<br />
interior discovery that results from<br />
personal experience …'. Couldn’t<br />
have put it better myself. It’s all a<br />
bit crusty, road trip to Europe in<br />
camper vanny, new agey, Hippy Dippy<br />
but Rebecca Rose has one of the most<br />
beautiful Contralto voices I’ve heard<br />
since Ruth Pointer (Of The Pointer<br />
Sisters). The deep tones of her voice<br />
are supposed to put you off but in<br />
actual fact they do the complete<br />
opposite. Reminds me of a young KD<br />
Lang too. I can’t stop listening to it.<br />
Choice track: Samana 'Harvest'<br />
Loyle Carner<br />
Wednesday 30th October 7pm<br />
SWG3, Galvanisers Yard, swg3.tv<br />
Benjamin Gerard Coyle-Larner, known<br />
professionally as Loyle Carner, is<br />
a multi-award winning English hip<br />
hop musician. Carner's debut album,<br />
Yesterday's Gone, was nominated<br />
for the 2017 Mercury Prize and his<br />
sophomore album, Not Waving, but<br />
Drowning, was released in April<br />
2019 and perfectly exhibits how<br />
soul and jazz sensibilities can<br />
work with hip hop. But unlike most<br />
rappers he has a deep and heartfelt<br />
respect for all womankind which<br />
he puts down to being raised in an<br />
all female environment, mother and<br />
grandmother, who encouraged him<br />
to always communicate and show<br />
respect. He also professes a love of<br />
bands you wouldn’t expect a young hip<br />
hopian to have, The Cure, Bob Dylan,<br />
Leonard Cohen, David Bowie, and how<br />
he describes himself tells you a lot<br />
about where he’s at, 'I’m not a hero,<br />
I’m a weirdo'. A classy guy.<br />
Choice Track: Loyle Carner<br />
'Ottolenghi'<br />
Jo Jo Siwa<br />
Wednesday 30th October 5.30pm<br />
SSE Hydro, thessehydro.com<br />
Joelle Joanie 'JoJo' Siwa is a 16-yearold<br />
American dancer, singer, actress,<br />
and YouTube personality and if like<br />
me, you have a pre-teen kid then<br />
you’ll know every word of every<br />
song. My aging body and lack of hair<br />
prevents me from extending this to<br />
the dance routines and the over sized<br />
bows (JoJo's Bows) on my head but my<br />
daughter and I have enjoyed many a<br />
window down singing at the top of our<br />
voices car journey home with Jo Jo<br />
Siwa blaring LOUD from the stereo.<br />
She brings so much joy to so many<br />
hence the size of venue for this gig<br />
which will host 13,000 screaming<br />
pre-teen Siwanatorz in one room… the<br />
stuff of nightmares. So please spare a<br />
thought for the accompanying parents.<br />
Fortunately our 'always there when we<br />
need her' babysitter has stepped up to<br />
the plate. Thank you so much Tina, you<br />
are the best X.<br />
Choice track: Jo Jo Siwa<br />
'Kid In A Candy Store'
18 | Westender www.westendermagazine.com<br />
Magazine Competitions<br />
RRI<br />
I<br />
by John Parker<br />
t’s been a fantastic couple of months for<br />
us here at Rainbow Room International.<br />
Dylan, from our George Square salon, is a<br />
finalist at the Scottish Hairdresser of the Year.<br />
A fantastic achievement and we look forward<br />
to the award ceremony in November!<br />
We recently had our Assistant Show<br />
at the SWG3 Club in the West End.<br />
A fantastic event, it is a great platform for<br />
our assistants to show off their skills and<br />
work to their families and an assessor from<br />
our Academy. Students have to find their<br />
own makeup artist, styling, music and<br />
visuals. It was also another opportunity for<br />
us to celebrate our salon group’s 40-year<br />
anniversary.<br />
Our Assistants in GWR, Cari and Roxy,<br />
have applied for our Swedish Exchange<br />
opportunity, where one of our trainees will<br />
go to Sweden for two weeks to work and<br />
learn from their Scandinavian counterparts.<br />
The exchange programme is a great<br />
opportunity and we also have a Swedish<br />
student coming to work with us, allowing<br />
them to learn from our salon and take the<br />
experience back home with them.<br />
WIN! Rainbow Room International<br />
are offering one lucky reader a hair<br />
makeover in their Great Western Rd<br />
salon. For your chance to win go to<br />
westendermagazine.com and click<br />
on competitions by the 31st Oct ‘19.<br />
Rainbow Room International<br />
607 Great Western Road G12 8HX<br />
0141 337 3370<br />
rainbowroominternational.com<br />
UNITE AND BIKE<br />
AGAINST CANCER<br />
Kerala Cycle Challenge<br />
25 Sep - 4 Oct 2020<br />
Cycle 350km through the beautiful<br />
countryside of India and raise funds<br />
for people affected by cancer.<br />
Contact us on 0141 337 8199 or email<br />
fundraising@cancersupportscotland.org<br />
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
www.westendermagazine.com | 19<br />
Top Things To Do<br />
in the West End<br />
by Tracy Mukherjee<br />
My, how time flies! Autumn is upon us, with<br />
its cascade of colour and ever changing light.<br />
So let’s take a look at the harvest of events that<br />
are sure to brighten the darkening days.<br />
Top For Heritage Trails<br />
Doors Open Days are celebrated across Scotland<br />
each year in September. Scotland’s largest<br />
free festival celebrating the architecture and<br />
heritage of our beautiful country is now in its<br />
30th year. Nationwide there are over a thousand<br />
free venues to visit. Of course Glasgow will yet<br />
again be trailblazing a path through over 200<br />
historic buildings; what goes on behind the<br />
facades of some of the cities most well-know<br />
iconic structures? The programme once ran<br />
over a weekend, but such is the richness of our<br />
architecture that this is now an annual weeklong<br />
event. Love the theatre? Why not take a<br />
look behind the scenes and see what goes on<br />
when the curtain falls. Have a favourite tipple?<br />
Some of the city’s distilleries are opening their<br />
doors (not their bottles) to the general public.<br />
The event is organised by the Glasgow Building<br />
Preservation Trust and is co-ordinated nationally<br />
by the Scottish Civic Trust. Besides the glorious<br />
libraries and numerous listed buildings for adults<br />
to explore, there is also a children’s programme<br />
of activities throughout the week. With guided<br />
walks, talks and exhibitions, Glasgow Doors<br />
Open Days Festival is always a highlight in our<br />
city’s calendar.<br />
Glasgow Doors Open Days Festival,<br />
Mon 16th – Sun 22nd September,<br />
various venues citywide. Programme<br />
brochures are free from local libraries.<br />
w:glasgowdoorsopendays.org.uk<br />
Top for Setting Sail<br />
It's two years since the first Clydebuilt festival<br />
reached the shores of the Riverside Plaza on<br />
Clydeside. The river festival celebrates all things<br />
boaty and is diverse in its mix of land and sea<br />
events. On the water, there will the chance to<br />
try canoeing, the ever popular Castle to Crane<br />
Race from Dumbarton Castle to the Finnieston<br />
Crane and an inaugural small craft regatta.<br />
On the Sunday there will be a new event as six<br />
Dragon Boats take to the Clyde with a fabulous<br />
race filled with colour. Each boat comprises<br />
of 10 team members plus a drummer keeping<br />
everyone in time. With heats running throughout<br />
the day, the fastest fire-breathers will compete<br />
in the grand final. Who will be crowned Dragon<br />
Boat Racing Champions and receive the Dragon<br />
Trophy?<br />
After all the drama of the high seas, on land<br />
there will be a chance for some well deserved<br />
R & R. Take a stroll through the riverside<br />
markets, settle the kids down for some<br />
storytelling or grab yourself a pint and listen to<br />
the fiddles and sea shanties wafting over the<br />
waves. The Clyde has been an artery, the life line<br />
that runs through Glasgow; it really IS something<br />
to celebrate.<br />
Clydebuilt Festival, Sat 21st – Sun 22nd<br />
September, Riverside Plaza, Clydeside<br />
w:clydebuiltfestival.com<br />
Top for Fizzy Fundraising<br />
When we think about supporting our favourite<br />
charity we might consider a little bit of training<br />
before an ever popular 10K. Why not body<br />
swerve the sweat and tears (for this month<br />
anyway) and do your bit with a lovely glass of<br />
fizz and lunch with your favourite girly chums?<br />
Cancer Support Scotland are holding their<br />
Annual Ladies Lunch in October with a packed<br />
event filled with fun and sparkle. On arriving at<br />
Glasgow’s Radisson Blu Hotel, there will be a fizz<br />
reception followed by a sumptuous three course<br />
lunch. During the day, STV celebrities Emma<br />
Cameron and Laura Boyd will be joining in the
20 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
Top Things To Do<br />
in the West End<br />
by Tracy Mukherjee<br />
fun. With plenty of opportunities to raise more<br />
funds, the event will have entertainment galore,<br />
fundraising games and stalls to peruse. Last year<br />
the event raised over £15,000 which provided<br />
help with counselling and complimentary<br />
therapies for those affected by cancer and their<br />
carers. Tickets are priced at £50pp and tables of<br />
8 - 12 people can also be purchased. So glad rags<br />
on ladies, all in aid of a fantastic cause.<br />
Cancer Support Scotland Fizz and<br />
Sparkle Ladies Lunch, Sun 6th October<br />
Radisson Blu, Glasgow<br />
w:cancersupportscotland.org/events,<br />
or email lucy.kirkland@cancersupport<br />
scotland. org / 0141 337 8199<br />
Top for Tripping the Light<br />
Fantastic<br />
When GlasGLOW launched last year at the<br />
Botanic Gardens, who could have known it would<br />
be the phenomenal success that it became? Well<br />
I for one, as a parking space could not be had<br />
outside my home! With 75,000 attendees, the<br />
Botanics had an ethereal glow for the duration of<br />
Halloween 2018. But GlasGLOW 2 is purported to<br />
be even bigger and better. The 2019 route around<br />
the gardens is longer, running to over a mile.<br />
Word has it that there are nine immersive worlds<br />
to explore, setting the sky above the West End<br />
alight. There will be lots of interactive stations<br />
as light and sound surround you in the gardens.<br />
The marshmallow toasting is back, with even<br />
the possibility of a hot toddy or some mulled<br />
wine (subject to licence) to settle your chills.<br />
And those chills may not be down to the crisp<br />
autumn nights… rumour has it there will be some<br />
rather spooky goings on; so get ready for some<br />
spine tingling, rib-rattling frights!<br />
GlasGLOW 2, Botanic Gardens<br />
Fri 25th October – Thurs 31st October<br />
w:itison.com/glasglow<br />
Top for Fright Night<br />
There can’t be an autumn Top Things round up<br />
without a holler for Halloween! This year there<br />
seems to be a huge variety of scary shenanigans<br />
afoot. At Websters Theatre, Fright Night sees<br />
four of the most famous ghouls unite to solve<br />
a mystery. Inside Dracula’s castle the Count<br />
himself, accompanied by Dr Frankenstein’s<br />
Monster, The Bride and The Mummy, combine<br />
their questionable brainpower in trying to find<br />
out 'who done it'. Brought to you by the Movaro<br />
Theatre Company this frightful comedy gives a<br />
nod to the great horror genres of old.<br />
Staying with Count Dracula but moving to the<br />
Stand Comedy Club, it’s now one for the kids.<br />
Where’s Dracula: The Mystery at Phantom<br />
Manor, sees Dracula’s mum getting the audience<br />
involved in her annual Halloween party. With<br />
plenty of other ghosts and ghouls in attendance,<br />
the show has plenty of fun, laughs and a mystery<br />
to solve. The kids are encouraged to wear fancy<br />
dress with a prize for best costume.<br />
For a classical Halloween, take a trip to the<br />
Nutty Professor’s lab as the Children’s Classic<br />
Concerts team in partnership with the RSNO<br />
present Weird Science. In participation with<br />
Glasgow Science Centre, artistic director of CCC<br />
Owen Gunnell is the mad scientist in question<br />
(with a little help from the Science Centre guys),<br />
presenting live experiments on stage and fizzing<br />
through electrifying music as the concert erupts<br />
in this explosive musical event.<br />
Fright Night, Websters Theatre<br />
Thurs 24th – Sun 27th October<br />
w:webstersglasgow.com<br />
Where’s Dracula: The Mystery at<br />
Phantom Manor, The Stand Comedy<br />
Club, Woodlands Rd, Sun 27th October<br />
w:thestand.co.uk/glasgow<br />
Weird Science, Sat 26th October,<br />
Glasgow Royal Concert Hall<br />
w:childrensclassicconcerts.co.uk
INSPIRATION<br />
AT<br />
Westender www.westendermagazine.com Magazine Promotion | 21<br />
Hypnotherapy<br />
with Gail Richardson<br />
Image I Gregor Reid<br />
Hypnotherapy can help with a<br />
wide range of issues including<br />
reducing anxiety and stress, stopping<br />
smoking, building confidence, sleep issues,<br />
weight management and overcoming a fear<br />
of flying or other phobias. Often people think<br />
they are just an anxious person or that they<br />
won’t ever be able to make the changes they<br />
feel would make them happier, but it is much<br />
easier than you think to change your thought<br />
or behaviour patterns and make those<br />
changes, with the right help.<br />
Anyone can benefit from hypnotherapy.<br />
It’s a brief, solution-focused therapy where<br />
most issues can be dealt with in around<br />
three sessions (even less for habit breakers<br />
like smoking cessation) and the sessions<br />
themselves are relaxing and pleasant.<br />
I recognise everyone as an individual with<br />
their own unique context and issues so<br />
sessions are tailored to meet a person’s<br />
specific goals and needs.<br />
I have a Hypnotherapy Practitioner<br />
Diploma (the only externally verified<br />
hypnotherapy qualification), a diploma<br />
in Clinical and Advanced Hypnosis and I<br />
am a member of the National Council for<br />
Hypnotherapy, the leading professional body<br />
for hypnotherapy, and my practice is bound<br />
by their ethical principles and standards.<br />
317-319 CROW ROAD G11 7BU<br />
0141 337 3307<br />
SPIRITOGIFTS.COM<br />
Need help with feelings of stress<br />
or anxiety? Text or call Gail on<br />
07834 783935, or email change@<br />
gailrichardsonhypnotherapy.com.<br />
Gail Richardson Hypnotherapy<br />
24 Sandyford Place G3 7DS<br />
gailrichardsonhypnotherapy.com
22 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
CRAFT BEERS & ALES<br />
WINE & CHAMPAGNE<br />
SHERRY, MADEIRA & PORT<br />
FINE WINE<br />
WHISKY, BOURBON, GIN<br />
VODKA, RUM, TEQUILA<br />
CIGARS & BRANDY<br />
21 Clarence Drive, Glasgow G12 9QN<br />
0141 334 4312<br />
thegoodspiritscoclarencedrive<br />
@GoodSpiritsCoCD<br />
goodspiritsclarencedrive<br />
clarencedrive@thegoodspiritsco.com<br />
www.thegoodspiritsco.com<br />
Hyndland<br />
Train Station
@ Eusebi<br />
deli<br />
Reviewed by Amy Glasgow @theglasgowdiet<br />
You know that song from Cheers, ‘Where<br />
Everybody Knows Your Name’? That’s<br />
what it feels like every time I walk<br />
through the doors of Eusebi Deli on Park<br />
Road. It’s the kind of place that you keep<br />
going back to time and time again because<br />
it offers not only some of the best Italian<br />
food in Glasgow, but a warm and welcoming<br />
atmosphere that I imagine is not dissimilar to<br />
a hug from your Nonna.<br />
Day or night, owner Giovanna can often<br />
be found waiting tables, pouring drinks and,<br />
more often than not, stopping to catch up<br />
with the many regulars that frequent the<br />
restaurant. Her attentive nature and her love<br />
for every person who walks through the door,<br />
regular or not, is what sets Eusebi Deli apart<br />
– although the food plays a major role as well!<br />
If you are anything like me, when you think<br />
of Italian restaurants your mind conjures up<br />
images of over-populated menus, lack-lustre<br />
pizzas and repetitive dishes. At Eusebi Deli<br />
you won’t find any of that. In fact, their menu<br />
changes with the seasons in an attempt to<br />
champion seasonal produce and the true<br />
flavours of Italy.<br />
You’ll certainly find both pizza and pasta<br />
on the menu, but whatever you do don’t<br />
ignore the incredible array of small plates,<br />
boards and snacks on offer. Their current<br />
summer menu includes a number of fresh<br />
and vibrant dishes but the champion for<br />
me is the charred octopus with pickled<br />
cucumber, olives, capers and lime aioli.<br />
The octopus is slow cooked for hours to<br />
ensure it is incredibly tender, before being<br />
charred to give a delicate, smoky flavour to<br />
this zingy dish.<br />
When you do make your way to the pizza<br />
or pasta portion of your meal, don’t expect<br />
www.westendermagazine.com | 23<br />
a big round pizza or mass-produced pasta.<br />
In their Pasta Laboratory, the chefs at<br />
Eusebi’s make pasta from scratch daily, while<br />
the Pizza Romana dough is proved for 72<br />
hours before being hand shaped, giving a<br />
unique, crispy edge but remaining soft on the<br />
inside.<br />
Unable to choose between the numerous<br />
dishes, I chose to order two – yes, you can<br />
order two smaller versions of two different<br />
pasta dishes if you desire, which I so often<br />
do. My first choice was the ravioli carne,<br />
classic house-made meat ravioli served with<br />
sugo. The ravioli were beautifully made, the<br />
pasta the perfect thickness with just the right<br />
bite. The meat inside was tender and melted<br />
in the mouth and the light tomato sauce was<br />
bright and fresh.<br />
My second choice, and the big hitter,<br />
was the gnocchi cacio pepe with foraged<br />
mushrooms. This classic sauce is made<br />
by emulsifying Pecorino Romano in water<br />
(traditionally the seasoned cooking water<br />
you boiled your pasta or gnocchi in) and<br />
seasoned heavily with fiery black pepper.<br />
The addition of foraged mushrooms was a<br />
welcome one and the gnocchi were plump<br />
little pillows of joy.<br />
If, after all that, you still have room for<br />
dessert, I highly recommend trying one.<br />
The menu boasts a selection of beautiful<br />
patisserie made by pastry chef and Bake<br />
Off Crème de la Crème winner, Helen Vass.<br />
I can confirm that the chocolate, caramel and<br />
praline tart is a wonder to behold.<br />
Eusebi Deli<br />
152 Park Road G4 9HB<br />
0141 648 9999<br />
eusebideli.com
24 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
Writer’s Reveal<br />
meets Gordon Kerr<br />
What would you do on discovering<br />
that your recently deceased partner<br />
who you loved dearly had, in fact,<br />
been having an affair? This is the distressing<br />
situation in which journalist Michael Keats<br />
finds himself in Glasgow-born writer, Gordon<br />
Kerr’s debut fiction thriller, The Partisan<br />
Heart, before deciding to channel his grief<br />
into discovering the truth.<br />
This quest will take him away from the<br />
fast-paced London Evening Post newsroom<br />
in bustling High Street Kensington to<br />
Northern Italy, in order to track down the<br />
owner of an expensive jacket left in a hotel<br />
room his late wife, Rosa, had booked with her<br />
credit card. Michael’s editor, keen to keep his<br />
talented writer at the newspaper, hands him<br />
an italian kidnapping assignment that has the<br />
WORDS LENNY SMITH<br />
world media gripped and asks him to ‘dig (it)<br />
up’. That digging goes deeper than Michael<br />
imagined, as we learn of secret acts of love,<br />
betrayal and violence amongst the Partisans<br />
during the Second World War whose<br />
consequences permeate the present, 1999.<br />
Kerr’s extensive historical insight from<br />
penning numerous non-fiction titles enables<br />
him to depict a clear picture of what the<br />
partisan movement would have been like<br />
in 1944. Combined with a natural flair for<br />
storytelling, Kerr balances the tricky task of<br />
juggling grief and betrayal with adventure,<br />
stoicism and even occasional wit, where the<br />
search for truth – and where the search for<br />
truth needs to find a suitable conclusion –<br />
is at the heart of this story. I caught up with<br />
Gordon to ask him more.
www.westendermagazine.com | 25<br />
Congratulations on your crime fiction<br />
debut, Gordon. How did the original<br />
idea for the story come about?<br />
Thank you very much. The story of The<br />
Partisan Heart grew out of many visits to the<br />
Valtellina, a beautiful valley in Lombardy in<br />
northern Italy, situated to the east of Lake<br />
Como. My sister-in-law married a man from<br />
the valley and my wife and I travel there once<br />
or twice a year to see them. There were older<br />
members of my brother-in-law’s family who<br />
had fought in the war as partisans or, if they<br />
had been particularly unlucky, had been<br />
transported to Germany to work.<br />
My brother-in-law’s father, for instance,<br />
was one of these – a ‘gastarbeiter’, as the<br />
Nazis euphemistically termed it. These men<br />
were generally silent, appearing like ghosts<br />
at family celebrations and saying little.<br />
Gradually, although they never spoke of the<br />
war, I picked up a few stories and the idea<br />
for the book took shape in my mind. I have to<br />
say, too, that the Valtellina is so beautiful I felt<br />
I had to write about it.<br />
Your crime fiction debut follows widower<br />
Michael Keats on a personal journey that<br />
takes him from London to the Italian Alps<br />
– via Scotland – and spans five decades.<br />
How do you approach structuring such an<br />
intricate, complex plot?<br />
I’ve said before – and I know it’s probably<br />
hard to believe – the story almost came to me<br />
fully formed. George Harrison, when asked<br />
about how he wrote songs, once said that<br />
he didn’t write them, the songs found him.<br />
I know it’s pretty fanciful, but I feel as if this<br />
story found me, arrived in my head almost<br />
complete. There were many things to work<br />
out, of course. As you say, the plot is pretty<br />
complex, and in the editing process I was still<br />
finessing it right up to the end. But the basics<br />
of it were there very early on. One of the most<br />
important elements was getting the timelines<br />
exactly right in both strands of the story. I did<br />
this by creating a kind of bullet-point timeline<br />
for each, down to hours of the day for the<br />
modern strand featuring Michael. I drove my<br />
publisher mad, but it was worth it in the end.<br />
And how long did it take you to complete<br />
the novel?<br />
The idea was stewing in my head for a long<br />
time before I actually began to commit<br />
words to paper. It’s hard to say how long it<br />
took because of that. Because of my day<br />
job, writing non-fiction, I stopped writing it<br />
for quite long periods. But even then I never<br />
stopped thinking about it and working out<br />
the twists and turns of the plot. I would say<br />
it probably took five years, in the end. I hope<br />
a follow-up can be written much faster than<br />
that which is why this autumn and winter the<br />
world of non-fiction is going to have to get<br />
along without me.<br />
Having written several historical<br />
non-fiction titles over the years, how<br />
enjoyable, or challenging, was the process<br />
of writing fiction?<br />
Writing fiction is way more enjoyable!<br />
And I have been very struck by the reaction of<br />
people on hearing I’ve had a novel published.<br />
I’ve written quite a lot of non-fiction books<br />
in a variety of genres but people seem to<br />
view the creation of a work of fiction as a<br />
much greater achievement, for some reason.<br />
In fact, a lot of people seem to be a little in<br />
awe of it. Writing about history or art, as I<br />
have done, is challenging because it has to<br />
be right. It’s facts, sometimes, of course, with<br />
an element of interpretation, but it happened<br />
as it happened and you mustn’t get that<br />
wrong. Fiction, on the other hand, is makebelieve.<br />
You create worlds, people, situations,<br />
some of it quite fanciful. And it’s great fun.<br />
I used to look forward to going to bed at night<br />
because that’s where I did a great deal of my<br />
thinking about the plot and the characters.<br />
Can you tell us more about the ‘ruggedly<br />
beautiful’’ Italian valley, Valtellina.<br />
The Valtellina today is like most other places,<br />
with supermarkets, shopping malls and<br />
a motorway slicing through the middle.<br />
But when we first visited, at the end of<br />
the nineteen-seventies, it was still quite<br />
backward. Supermarkets were rare and the<br />
people more or less lived as they had for<br />
hundreds of years, growing their own food,<br />
making their own wine and rarely venturing<br />
outside the valley. The houses in the village<br />
near where my family lived were ancient<br />
and crumbling back then. Now they have<br />
been bought and renovated, often used as<br />
weekend escapes by people from Milan.<br />
For a boy from East Kilbride and Glasgow,<br />
back then it was an exotic and atmospheric<br />
world and I was getting a close view of it<br />
through the lives of my family there.
26 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
Were there any challenges in writing<br />
violent war scenes between the partisans<br />
and the Nazis?<br />
As a life-long vegetarian pacifist, it was,<br />
of course, difficult to write such scenes.<br />
But this was a brutal time in Italian history.<br />
There was a huge amount at stake and<br />
there was a great deal of pent-up anger and<br />
hatred. Ordinary people did extraordinary<br />
things, as they always do in war and I felt I<br />
had to express that in some way. There are a<br />
couple of violent scenes but, although these<br />
events do colour everything, I hope they don’t<br />
overwhelm the story.<br />
Your sister-in-law and her family live in the<br />
Valtellina, with some of her family fighting<br />
as partisans. How was your novel received<br />
by them?<br />
Sadly, there’s not yet an Italian version of the<br />
book, which means that not many over there<br />
have read it, but they’re very proud that their<br />
valley features. Unfortunately, those family<br />
members who fought in the war are now<br />
no longer with us but I’m not entirely sure<br />
how they would have reacted to the book.<br />
Their brooding silence about the war when<br />
they were alive makes me suspect they might<br />
feel that some things are better left unsaid.<br />
Some of your story is also set in Scotland.<br />
Is this a hat tip to where you are from?<br />
I guess I could have located that part of the<br />
story anywhere – the north of England or<br />
Wales, for example – but, yes, I suspect that<br />
somewhere in my subconscious I wanted it to<br />
have a Scottish element, no matter how brief,<br />
because of my roots. I was also very pleased,<br />
however, to allow that part of the story to give<br />
me the opportunity to introduce a Scottish<br />
character in Helen Matthieson. Helen is a<br />
strong-willed, independent young woman<br />
and the fact that she is also Scottish made<br />
her very appealing to me as a lead character.<br />
Helen is decisive, loyal, kind, fearless;<br />
frankly she is formidable. How did that<br />
character form in your mind?<br />
I know a number of women like that. Helen<br />
developed with the plot and to do what<br />
she does in the book, those qualities were<br />
essential. She’s also funny and very human,<br />
I think. Most importantly, I feel, she grounds<br />
Michael who loses it and shows his frailties<br />
a few times, understandably, I guess, given<br />
what’s happening to him. She’s absolutely<br />
vital to the plot of the book, drives it along<br />
and comes up with some good ideas for<br />
helping Michael.<br />
What do you look forward to when coming<br />
back to Scotland?<br />
I come to Scotland several times a year.<br />
I am in a band – Elsie at the Piano – of whom<br />
one member lives in Dublin, one in Blantyre<br />
and I live in Dorset. We use the internet to<br />
compose but meet up in Glasgow quite<br />
regularly. We’ve written a song called The<br />
Partisan Heart that can be found on YouTube<br />
and Facebook. Regarding Glasgow, to be<br />
honest, I am astonished by the vibrant city it<br />
has become. The range of restaurants and<br />
bars is amazing and I love my visits there.<br />
I enjoy wandering the streets of the city<br />
centre and looking up at the amazing<br />
architecture. There’s a tip to the people of<br />
Glasgow – look up as you’re walking!<br />
What’s your next literary project?<br />
At the moment, I’m writing a Short History<br />
of the Korean War, part of a series of short<br />
histories I’ve written. When I finish that at<br />
the end of September, it’ll be time to start<br />
work on that difficult second novel which<br />
I’m almost certain will again be set in the<br />
beautiful Valtellina.<br />
The Partisan Heart is published by<br />
Muswell Press, £12.99. Gordon Kerr will<br />
be speaking at the Bookmark Festival<br />
in Blairgowrie on Sunday 6th October,<br />
bookmarkblair.com.<br />
The Partisan<br />
Heart<br />
£3<br />
OFF<br />
*<br />
RRP £12.99<br />
*Exclusive offer for WESTENDER readers<br />
at Waterstones 351-355 Byres Road<br />
branch only, by 31st October 2019.
www.westendermagazine.com | 27<br />
Complementary Medicine Centre<br />
Est. 1986<br />
Ruth Chappell Brian Fleming<br />
ACUPUNCTURE HOMEOPATHY<br />
HYPNOTHERAPY<br />
PSYCHOTHERAPY REFLEXOLOGY<br />
Complementary Medicine Centre<br />
11a Park Circus, Glasgow G3 6AX<br />
Call 0141 332 4924 Mobile 07801536530<br />
www.complementarymedicinecentre.com<br />
www.hypnotherapist-glasgow.co.uk<br />
Event Hire Service and<br />
Laser Cut Accessories for all Occasions<br />
www.laseramore.com<br />
info@laseramore.com<br />
07939226924<br />
5% off checkout with code “Westender”
28 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
1<br />
Fallen Angel<br />
by Chris Brookmyre<br />
BY BRIAN TOAL<br />
WESTENDER’s<br />
COVER TO COVER<br />
I’ve read a lot of Brookmyre, both his more frivolous<br />
and amusing early work as well as his grittier crime<br />
novels. His latest, Fallen Angel, is one of his best and<br />
will keep you guessing right until the end.<br />
The action centres around the<br />
Temple family, a seemingly<br />
successful family with an<br />
academic, conspiracy theorybusting<br />
father, an ex-actress<br />
turned columnist mother, as well as<br />
three successful grown-up children.<br />
However, as with any family, what<br />
you see on the surface or in public<br />
is very rarely reality, and sure<br />
enough, Brookmyre wastes no time<br />
in exposing skeleton after skeleton<br />
in what is a fairly extensive<br />
cupboard.<br />
The setting is the Algarve,<br />
a popular holiday destination<br />
for many Scots, and most of the<br />
action unfolds in the Temple family<br />
villas. The action lurches between<br />
two family holidays – one in 2002,<br />
which ended in tragedy, and the<br />
other in 2018 when all the chickens<br />
come home to roost. Brookmyre<br />
handles the changing times and<br />
vast range of characters with<br />
aplomb, and this intermingling of<br />
disparate narrative voices as well<br />
as timeframes helps to elucidate<br />
and obscure at the same time,<br />
which is no mean feat.<br />
Sylvie Temple is so devastated<br />
by the loss of her baby in<br />
2002 that she changes her<br />
name to Ivy Roan. Controversy<br />
and conspiracy surround the<br />
disappearance of baby Niamh,<br />
as it did with Madeleine McCann,<br />
and Brookmyre alludes to the<br />
McCann case on a few occasions,<br />
although with sensitivity and<br />
a deftness of touch. Max, the patriarch, is an academic thrust<br />
into the limelight through a talk show on which he famously<br />
debunked several conspiracy theories, earning him plaudits and<br />
a loyal following. Is he the straitlaced academic he purports to<br />
be? Celia, the matriarch, rules the family with an iron rod and is<br />
desperately hanging on to her glamorous past and her fantasy<br />
of a warm, loving close-knit family. What will she do to retain this<br />
control? Finally, there is Amanda, the Canadian nanny who by<br />
pure happenstance finds herself embroiled in all this drama? Or is<br />
it pure happenstance?<br />
The twists and turns in the plot from beginning to end leave<br />
the reader breathless as any Brookmyre fan has come to expect.<br />
This is far more than a murder mystery. It sheds a light on British<br />
attitudes towards appearance, reputation, family secrets and<br />
propriety. This will make for a highly entertaining few days – more<br />
so if you happen to be a Brit abroad on holiday – as the family<br />
dynamics, individual culpability and collective responsibility are<br />
reminiscent of An Inspector Calls, where the revelation of the<br />
crime itself is almost the coda to a very fine work of fiction.
www.westendermagazine.com | 29<br />
The Silence of<br />
the Girls<br />
by Pat Barker<br />
2<br />
Pat Barker has reimagined<br />
the Trojan War and The<br />
Iliad from the perspective of<br />
those voiceless women, both<br />
Trojan and Greek, who were<br />
slaughtered, raped, taken and<br />
used callously as the spoils of<br />
war, often being traded back<br />
and forth as ‘tributes’ or in<br />
reparation.<br />
Barker’s achievement is<br />
stunning as the battles are<br />
relegated to the background<br />
whilst the stories of the women<br />
– cooking, cleaning, mending,<br />
weaving, waiting for the return<br />
of their new masters – clearly<br />
dominate the foreground.<br />
Another masterstroke<br />
is Barker’s use of colloquial<br />
language, bringing to life the<br />
dialogue of the soldiers and<br />
emphasising their brutality.<br />
These women are merely<br />
objects and are often referred<br />
to as ‘it’. They have no agency<br />
at all, and the more power and<br />
status they had before the fall<br />
of their city, the more keenly<br />
felt this change in status.<br />
The main protagonist,<br />
Briseis, gives voice to all these<br />
women. Captured when the<br />
city of Lyrnessus falls to the<br />
Greeks, this Trojan queen<br />
becomes the slave of Achilles,<br />
the most violent man in the<br />
world, who was given her<br />
as a gift by Agamemnon for<br />
slaughtering sixty men in<br />
battle. Thereafter develops<br />
a fascinating relationship<br />
between owner and slave,<br />
where Briseis gradually carves<br />
out some influence, if not<br />
power, over Achilles. As Briseis<br />
says, ‘…make no mistake, this<br />
was his story…and here I was,<br />
again, still stuck in his story,<br />
and yet with no real part to<br />
play in it.’<br />
Limmy is a writer and<br />
comedian from Carnwadric<br />
who exploded into our<br />
consciousness with Limmy’s<br />
Show. He has written books<br />
of short stories and is now<br />
mainly a huge online presence<br />
through his Vines and Youtube<br />
channel. I find him hilarious,<br />
but his comedy is like marmite.<br />
However, he states himself in<br />
his autobiography that he’d<br />
rather a few people found him<br />
hilarious than lots of people<br />
found him mildly amusing.<br />
The autobiography is<br />
subtitled ‘Surprisingly Down<br />
to Earth, and Very Funny.’<br />
I laughed out loud several<br />
times at his anecdotes and<br />
his turn of phrase, but I also<br />
gasped at the frankness<br />
and boldness of his more<br />
confessional passages.<br />
He pulls no punches at all<br />
when dealing with his brushes<br />
with the law, his relationship<br />
with drugs and booze, and his<br />
relationship with his partner<br />
and his son.<br />
The book is helpfully<br />
divided into his Primary<br />
Years, Secondary Years,<br />
Student Years, Work Years<br />
and Comedy. He didn’t have<br />
a terrible childhood, wasn’t<br />
bullied or abused, and yet<br />
he clearly struggles with his<br />
mental health. The suicidal<br />
thoughts, the self-harm,<br />
the destructive tendencies<br />
are who he is and there is<br />
no attempt to make himself<br />
look better by glossing over<br />
his mistakes or by airbrushing<br />
the seedier aspects of his life.<br />
Instead, Limmy is as brutal and<br />
candid as it’s possible to be.<br />
I’ve never seen someone so<br />
well known in Glasgow expose<br />
his vulnerabilities like this.<br />
It’s a rare thing for a West<br />
Coast male.<br />
Limmy<br />
by Brian Limond<br />
3
30 | Westender www.westendermagazine.com<br />
Magazine Promotion<br />
Legal Matters<br />
Champagne<br />
Charlies?<br />
Words from Ross Leatham, partner at Mitchells Roberton:<br />
If Ross can help please email him at –<br />
rjl@mitchells-roberton.co.uk, or call 0141 552 3422.<br />
Some lawyers are tempted to sound<br />
high powered. Not me of course.<br />
They want to portray life in the property<br />
world as glamorous with many mega-deals<br />
necessitating the staying up all night to get a<br />
deal done.<br />
Yes, of course it happens. But the<br />
humdrum is as important too – someone<br />
needs to care about the non-paying tenant,<br />
the high hedges and the common tenement<br />
repairs.<br />
Currently the Scottish Government is<br />
considering a new regulatory approach to<br />
the polarising subject of short term letting<br />
(Airbnb being the most famous example).<br />
Do you side with the economic benefit that<br />
tourism brings to the West End through<br />
use of short term letting, or are you more<br />
concerned with the apparent uncontrolled<br />
increase in numbers of properties being<br />
made available and the impact on availability<br />
of accommodation for families (as opposed<br />
to tourists) and a seeming lack of control on<br />
antisocial behaviour from guests? This is a<br />
debate for which we have clients very clearly<br />
on both sides.<br />
For property professionals overlooking<br />
this dual interest in the property market,<br />
they do so at their peril. Mitchells Roberton<br />
is Glasgow’s oldest established legal firm<br />
and we have a committed property team<br />
treating our clients as people, giving them the<br />
same status regardless of the nature of the<br />
instruction.<br />
We do get the big deals and are<br />
complimented by the fact that many<br />
institutional clients entrust their prestigious<br />
work to us. But we also strive to do the<br />
unspectacular, spectacularly well.<br />
A celebratory champagne completion<br />
meeting at 11pm sounds fantastic, but the<br />
less glamorous cup of coffee (perhaps a<br />
biscuit) is often the fuel of choice for the<br />
consummate property lawyer and that combo<br />
has certainly seen me through the toughest<br />
of transactions.<br />
The property world needs a choice if real<br />
quality is to be maintained (beware the one<br />
that claims to subsist on champagne alone!).<br />
We are a bit different and worth choosing.<br />
We wait for your calls and shall start the<br />
kettle boiling (and chill the champagne) in<br />
anticipation.<br />
Mitchells Roberton Solicitors<br />
& Estate Agents<br />
George House<br />
36 North Hanover Street G1 2AD<br />
0141 552 3422<br />
www.mitchells-roberton.co.uk
Accountancy<br />
Matters<br />
by Bruce Wilson & Simon Murrison<br />
Westender www.westendermagazine.com Magazine Promotion | 31<br />
Why you should manage your household<br />
finances like a business<br />
Whether you are running a business<br />
or a household, understanding the<br />
numbers behind your finances is key<br />
to a stable future (now more than ever).<br />
You’d be amazed how many people<br />
running a successful business struggle<br />
to manage personal finances and tax.<br />
If only they applied their business head to<br />
household accounts they’d reap the rewards.<br />
That’s why if you apply business principles<br />
at home you will manage your income<br />
efficiently.<br />
Ask yourself where do I want to be in the<br />
future and how do I get there?<br />
Here are 7 steps to manage your<br />
money like a smart business<br />
1. Start with a plan – set realistic<br />
objectives<br />
2. Think long term – map out key<br />
milestones<br />
3. Identify short term goals – day to day<br />
financial commitments<br />
4. Track – record income & expenses<br />
5. Reduce operating costs – breakdown<br />
spending and cut back outlays<br />
6. Create a budget – stick to it<br />
7. Save money – a contingency fund<br />
protects you from nasty surprises<br />
Be brutally honest, are you on track?<br />
If you want to be in a better position<br />
financially run your personal finances like<br />
a business. Organisations and households<br />
are similar – you have assets and liabilities;<br />
income and expenses, taxes and cash flow<br />
to manage.<br />
Understand the numbers and you are<br />
guaranteed to make smarter financial<br />
decisions. A top tip is to switch to a digital<br />
bank account that allows you to set a budget,<br />
managing spending and saving down to the<br />
very last penny.<br />
Murrison & Wilson, CA is a full service<br />
accountancy firm specialising in<br />
business and tax planning. Get in<br />
touch for a free consultation plus<br />
fixed and competitive fees.<br />
Murrison & Wilson Chartered Accountants<br />
10 Newton Terrace G3 7PJ<br />
0141 290 0262<br />
info@muwca.co.uk<br />
muwca.co.uk
32 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
Art for Heart’s Sake<br />
How a West End interior design store is doing its<br />
bit for charity<br />
WORDS<br />
Mike Findlay<br />
ABOVE © M Evans, Torridon Glory<br />
OPPOSITE © M Evans, Morning Glory Bass Rock<br />
If you head along Great Western Road<br />
further west than Anniesland Cross and<br />
towards Knightswood, and take a left onto<br />
Munro Place, you will find a hidden oasis.<br />
This may not be the most likely spot to find<br />
one of the most exclusive furniture stores,<br />
but if you make the journey, you will not be<br />
disappointed.<br />
The Store Interiors is an Aladdin’s cave<br />
of sofas, beds, lighting, mirrors and more.<br />
You name it and they do it. This family run<br />
business has been going for 32 years and is<br />
co-owned and managed by brothers Arun<br />
and Ashoke Pasi. They moved into their<br />
current location in the summer of 1996,<br />
and this impressively sized building offers<br />
three floors worth of gems to get your interior<br />
design taste buds going.<br />
But that’s not all. The Store Interiors is<br />
more than just a ‘store’. For the last few years<br />
The Store has run an art exhibition over one<br />
weekend in November where artists from the<br />
local area, and a bit beyond, sell their work.<br />
The proceeds from this exhibition go directly<br />
to the charities CHAS (Children’s Hospices<br />
Across Scotland) and Marie Curie – hence<br />
why the exhibition is aptly called Art for<br />
Heart’s Sake.<br />
Comprising mainly of paintings,<br />
the exhibition also includes other art forms<br />
such as jewellery and sculptures. Argyllbased<br />
artist Lex McFadyn helped to set the<br />
project up as well as exhibiting his own work.<br />
Other well-known names that have exhibited<br />
include: Bill Blackwood, Kirsty Cameron,<br />
Norman Edgar, Margaret Evans, James<br />
Harrigan, Katie Littlefield and Mo Roxburgh.<br />
The exhibition has grown arms and legs<br />
over the years, and boasts about 80 artists.<br />
So far, around £14k has been raised for<br />
charity. It is part of a number of initiatives<br />
that the team at The Store has been involved<br />
with over the years to raise money for good<br />
causes. Previously the management have<br />
shaved their heads to raise funds for cancer,<br />
and have also been involved in the Moon<br />
Walk in Edinburgh.<br />
The inspiration for the project came<br />
partly after a visit by The Store’s owner<br />
Arun to Robin House in Balloch, which
www.westendermagazine.com | 33<br />
is run by the charity CHAS in support of<br />
vulnerable children. He explains, ‘The visit<br />
was incredibly emotional for me and clearly<br />
CHAS is doing some incredible work, which<br />
is why we decided to support them through<br />
this project. Marie Curie Cancer came along<br />
for similar reasons.<br />
‘The other inspiration for me has been<br />
my mother, who has always given money<br />
to charity over the years and I’ve had this<br />
instilled in me from a young age.’<br />
The exhibition will run again this November<br />
and the timing for this is intentional.<br />
Arun says, ‘We decided a good time for<br />
people to buy things would be around<br />
November and December time. We really<br />
wanted a date that was memorable so we<br />
thought around Guy Fawkes would be good<br />
timing because everyone remembers that<br />
date. We have made the preview night the<br />
first Thursday after Guy Fawkes night.’<br />
Many of the artists that have exhibited so<br />
far have found out about the project through<br />
word of mouth from other artists. Art for<br />
Heart’s Sake is now hoping that a number<br />
of artists who are part of Glasgow Art Club,<br />
Paisley Art Club as well as Ayr Art Circle and<br />
Helensburgh Art Club will take part this year.<br />
But the exhibition is as much about<br />
supporting new and emerging talent as it<br />
is about exciting artists. And The Store has<br />
ambitions to grow. Arun comments, ‘I want<br />
us to do more. I would like to be in a position<br />
where we use the entirety of the building to<br />
exhibit artists over a longer period of time,<br />
maybe one full month. This will allow us to<br />
open up the exhibition to a greater number of<br />
artists and ultimately support good causes.’<br />
The preview night is a great way for The<br />
Store to drum up interest in what is exhibited.<br />
I was lucky enough to stumble upon it<br />
by accident a couple of years ago while<br />
shopping in The Store – I was handed a glass<br />
of prosecco and a chance to browse through<br />
the artwork. It was a great experience in the<br />
ambient surroundings of a furniture store.<br />
The preview night has live music and a<br />
raffle takes place with generous prizes – last<br />
year’s prizes included a meal for two at the<br />
Ubiquitous Chip, a two-year subscription to<br />
Homes and Interiors Magazine, a meal for<br />
two at Mother India and a total of 13 different<br />
prizes.<br />
Arun says, ‘Every penny we raise is given<br />
to charity, we don’t take a penny out of it. In<br />
the future I don’t mind if there’s a 100 artists<br />
or 200 artists as long as more money goes to<br />
charity that is the main thing. All of the West<br />
End is invited to it and we hope to see you<br />
there.’<br />
So if you are near Munro Place this<br />
November, I would highly recommend<br />
popping in. And you never know you may<br />
purchase some art, as well as some furniture.<br />
Art for Heart’s Sake will run at The Store<br />
Interiors, 26 Munro Place, Glasgow from<br />
Thursday 7 to Monday 11 November. The<br />
preview evening for the exhibition will take<br />
place on Thursday 7 November between<br />
5pm – 9pm. All Westenders welcome!
34 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
‘Home-Makers’<br />
women by design<br />
WORDS<br />
PAMELA PALONGUE
www.westendermagazine.com | 35<br />
The importance of our surrounding, really cannot be overstated. It can<br />
make us feel peaceful or chaotic, restful or energised. The light, colour,<br />
form and function of a space can affect our productivity, our energy<br />
levels, and even our happiness. When the right design elements are<br />
blended together in the perfect formula however, our environment can<br />
become a wonderful space that’s a pleasure to inhabit. We spoke with<br />
three women who joyfully create beautiful spaces in which to live and<br />
work, to find what inspires them.<br />
Perhaps one of the quickest – and most<br />
dramatic ways to alter the mood of a<br />
home, is with paint. The walls of our<br />
homes are like giant, blank canvases,<br />
that when painted the right shade,<br />
can complement the art, architectural<br />
features, and fabrics that punctuate the<br />
room. But simply because they make such a<br />
big statement, it can be quite daunting.<br />
Laonie Robertson is a calm presence<br />
who routinely assists clients who are<br />
anxious about overwhelming numbers of<br />
paint samples. She taps into the client’s<br />
introspective taste within, to find what they’re<br />
really seeking in their living space. If the client<br />
is unsure about what they want, she asks<br />
them to choose one thing in their home they<br />
truly love, and then builds the entire room<br />
around that particular element. Other clients<br />
may start by thinking they want a particular<br />
colour, only to learn that it’s actually<br />
something completely different. It’s a journey<br />
on which she is happy to be the wise Sherpa,<br />
inspiring confidence in personal choices.<br />
It’s not just about the colour however,<br />
it’s also about the wonderful, velvety<br />
finish, and highlighting the architectural<br />
elements. In her own home for example,<br />
she has beautiful, original cornice and ceiling<br />
roses which are very ornate. To enhance<br />
the detail she used one of Farrow & Ball’s<br />
Contemporary Neutrals, Strong White, to<br />
create soft shadows, emphasising the depth<br />
of the Georgian period design. In addition to<br />
painting, she also hangs designer wallpapers,<br />
custom cut murals, and even hand paints<br />
murals for her clients.<br />
She deftly combines contemporary décor<br />
within a period setting. In her main reception<br />
room, she chose a modern chandelier with<br />
a twist on a classic design, which allows the<br />
ceiling rose detail to be featured, rather than<br />
being obscured by a large light shade.<br />
Her long love affair with home décor<br />
began when she was still a child. Her father<br />
restored homes that had been ravaged by<br />
fire. Laonie would plead with him to go along<br />
when he would work, and he often relented.<br />
This love of design led to her study of art<br />
and technical graphics. But she preferred<br />
the hands-on approach of transforming<br />
spaces, rather than the world of computer<br />
design. And she’s built a strong business,<br />
1272 Decorating and Design, based upon<br />
repeat business and word-of-mouth<br />
recommendations.<br />
‘I never look at any project as a one-off<br />
job. It’s about establishing a relationship with<br />
your clients’, explains Laonie. She’s made<br />
use of Instagram for displaying her work,<br />
and she enjoys seeing that many women<br />
are now starting businesses in fields that<br />
wouldn’t have been considered a few years<br />
ago. ‘It’s very encouraging to see that’.<br />
Lisa Trainer’s path in design was a bit<br />
different, taking a few meandering turns<br />
before successfully establishing Red Door<br />
Interiors. She completed an honours degree<br />
in interior design at Duncan of Jordanstone<br />
College of Art & Design. However, with four<br />
children, she was quite busy with being a<br />
mother. About six years ago, she decided to<br />
take on some clients who were largely friends<br />
and family. They loved what she created,<br />
and word of mouth quickly spread to include<br />
both commercial and residential clients all<br />
over Glasgow, and then, all over Scotland.<br />
Working from home was perfect with growing<br />
children. But as they began to leave for<br />
university and she took on more clients,<br />
a proper work space was needed.<br />
Her studio sits in Partick, in an<br />
unpretentious building on the corner of<br />
Beith Street. Once you step inside however,<br />
the studio comes to life with colour! On the<br />
foyer ceiling, she has cleverly hung a panel of<br />
wallpaper that looks as though it was painted<br />
directly onto the surface by an artist, with<br />
hues of red, blue and gold. And the studio<br />
itself is an organic collection of interesting
36 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
MOVEstrong is a progressive mobility,<br />
strength & conditioning programme<br />
designed to help you reach aesthetic goals<br />
and function & perform better in daily life<br />
and activities.<br />
Suitable for all – from the complete beginner looking for a fitness<br />
overhaul to the advanced trainee aiming to take their training up<br />
a notch. We cater to you with a wide variety of equipment, weights<br />
and exercise options.<br />
• 1 to 1 nutrition advice included • Friendly and fun environment!<br />
We were designed to move well, feel good and have plenty of energy.<br />
This is what MOVEstrong is all about.<br />
The HIVE, University Avenue movestronghillhead@gmail.com<br />
instagram: movestrong_glasgow M 07584903016
www.westendermagazine.com | 37<br />
light fixtures, tiles, wall coverings and fabrics<br />
– most of which are created by Scottish<br />
designers and artisans. Although many<br />
people might equate Scottish fabrics with<br />
tweed and tartan, there is actually a plethora<br />
of colours and patterns being created by<br />
some of the most talented designers in all of<br />
Europe, who are Scottish.<br />
Bute Fabrics produces textiles made on<br />
the island in almost every hue and weight<br />
imaginable. They’ve recently collaborated<br />
with designer David Irwin, who has created<br />
collections based on the stones and mineral<br />
patterns of the island itself, and another<br />
which features the DNA patterns of the<br />
individuals who create the actual fabrics in<br />
the textile mill!<br />
Lisa’s daughter, Kelly Trainer, is currently<br />
pursuing her master degree in textiles, and<br />
will produce her own unique version of a<br />
process called ‘ice dying’ which creates<br />
a blended, watercolour effect on fabrics.<br />
Each pattern produced is a one-off blend of<br />
colour and shape.<br />
Some other Scottish designers whose<br />
work Lisa likes to incorporate into her<br />
design schemes are wall covering designers<br />
Iona Crawford, Mairi Helena and MYB.<br />
She frequently uses lighting fixtures by One<br />
Foot Taller, a Glasgow-based, award winning<br />
company.<br />
Another favourite is an exciting new<br />
Glasgow company called Mirrl, which<br />
manufactures and designs a solid surface<br />
material which can be used for work<br />
surfaces, food preparation and furniture.<br />
Made from Birch, it’s waterproof and comes<br />
in interesting, organic patterns in either bright<br />
or neutral tones.<br />
Her advice for creatives starting out,<br />
‘If there was one thing I would’ve done<br />
differently, it would’ve been to make a<br />
consolidated business plan and get more<br />
advice and support on setting up a new<br />
business’.<br />
Two years ago, Lisa took a leap of faith by<br />
investing in her studio. But the rewards have<br />
been amazing! ‘I feel so lucky to have found<br />
something that I love to do. No two jobs are<br />
ever the same’. Work has not stopped since<br />
she made this decision, as she’s transformed<br />
individual homes and large scale projects.<br />
She recently completed a bed and breakfast<br />
located across the street from the Glasgow<br />
School of Art, which features Scottish<br />
designers, all with great affordability.<br />
One local boutique Lisa collaborates with<br />
regularly for styling and furniture is Hoos<br />
Glasgow. Hoos is owned by Karen Harvey,<br />
a Glasgow native who has a background in<br />
non-profit.<br />
She was the director of a charity for many<br />
years in Great Yarmouth, which helped<br />
children and families, and she was honoured<br />
with the MBE (Most Excellent British Empire)<br />
for her work.<br />
When she returned to Glasgow’s West<br />
End, she decided to follow a lifelong interest<br />
in architecture and design by opening<br />
Hoos. More than just a retail shop, Hoos is
38 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
a lifestyle store with an intriguing selection<br />
of items carefully curated from the global<br />
marketplace. Offerings from local Scottish<br />
designers sit on the shelves next to Fair<br />
Trade pieces from South American artisans.<br />
And a contemporary Scandinavian<br />
watering can looks perfectly at home next<br />
to handmade felted bowls from Nepal.<br />
This eclectic mix of treasures offers a range<br />
of selection that’s quite unique, and many of<br />
the brands she carries are exclusive to Hoos<br />
in Glasgow, such as the wonderful Normann<br />
Copenhagen line, Ferm Living and Muuto.<br />
Karen also bases her selections on their<br />
sustainability and production process for<br />
minimal impact on the planet.<br />
Inside the store, there is a myriad of<br />
scents from candles, soaps and perfumes<br />
that combine for an aroma that’s light,<br />
lovely and not overwhelming. It’s a place<br />
where you can find wonderful chocolates,<br />
clothing, furniture and even toothpaste!<br />
Hoos is a reminder that shopping is not<br />
a task to complete, but an enjoyable<br />
experience that should be relished. Although<br />
many items are also offered online, a visit to<br />
the store is a sensory delight and a wonderful<br />
way to spend an afternoon.<br />
After three years, she has been quite<br />
successful, and part of that success may<br />
be the personal service she offers her<br />
customers. She’s quite happy to give advice<br />
on growing the house plants she sells,<br />
and sometimes even makes deliveries to<br />
customer’s homes – not exactly a common<br />
practice among businesses of today.<br />
She’s also launching an interior design<br />
service, which will offer her customers<br />
access to the designer lines she carries.<br />
Karen’s advice to women starting a<br />
business would be to get a good accountant<br />
soon after registering your company.<br />
Accountants can relieve a lot of the stress<br />
of running a business, and offer invaluable<br />
advice, allowing more time to focus on the<br />
actual business.<br />
Design teaches us something about<br />
ourselves through the choices that we make.<br />
Our surroundings truly are a reflection of our<br />
lives and what’s important to us. It’s part<br />
of what makes a house, an actual home.<br />
These Glasgow women are helping people<br />
create ‘home’.<br />
1272 Decorating & Design, 1272dec.co.uk<br />
Red Door Interiors, reddoorinteriors.co.uk<br />
Hoos Glasgow, hoosglasgow.co.uk
www.westendermagazine.com | 39<br />
Reseal Service | Professional Tile Installation | Waterproof Bathrooms<br />
The no.1 Tile Installation and Restoration<br />
Specialist in Central Scotland<br />
We are a fully insured, reliable family run business with over<br />
40 years combined experience. We use the best and most up to date<br />
products and materials and pride ourselves on our attention to detail<br />
and excellent customer reviews.<br />
BEFORE AFTER BEFORE AFTER<br />
Our Reseal Service can restore your tiles by carefully<br />
removing all of your existing grout and sealant using<br />
non-abrasive chemicals and high precision diamond<br />
technology. Specialist chemicals are used to wash<br />
your tiles to remove soap scum, body fat, mould and<br />
mildew. Antimicrobial grouts and sealants are then<br />
professionally applied<br />
Our Reseal service includes;<br />
// Sealant Applications<br />
// Bonded Bath & Shower Seals<br />
// Chemical Sealants<br />
// Re-grouting<br />
// Two-part Sealants<br />
// Waterproof Tanking Systems<br />
FROM ONLY<br />
£150<br />
SUPPLIED<br />
& FITTED<br />
Bonded Bath and Shower<br />
Seals – Our unique and<br />
most popular product.<br />
T / 0141 611 9534 M / 0781 782 8681<br />
E / info@resealscotland.co.uk W / www.resealscotland.co.uk
40 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
The Store Interiors, 26 Munro Place, Anniesland, Glasgow, G13 2UP<br />
0141 950 1333 | www.thestoreinteriors.co.uk<br />
Email: sales@thestoreinteriors.co.uk<br />
TheStore - HIS - Emma.indd 2 07/12/2017 09:48
Homes & Interiors<br />
Retro Fusion<br />
www.westendermagazine.com | 41<br />
We all love a meander into the storehouses of our memories to feel a<br />
sense of a bygone day, a childhood home, a style you love from films or<br />
books. We have easy access now to furniture and accessories reflecting<br />
any era, and a wonderful trend of retro designs to choose from.<br />
So, take a trip down memory lane and make a mix tape of your<br />
favourite oldies, bringing touches of the past into your home today.<br />
Apple Green Handblown<br />
Glass Carafe,<br />
£18, CoLab Store<br />
Large Floral Bowl,<br />
£49.95, Nancy Smillie<br />
Cushion by Tom Pigeon,<br />
£45, Hoos<br />
Dallas Retro Chair,<br />
£768, The Store Interiors<br />
Curved Coffee Table,<br />
£237.50, Nancy Smillie<br />
CoLab Store, 11-13 Dowanhill Street, 0141 570 1766, colabstore.co.uk<br />
Hoos, 715 Great Western Road, 07788 480421, hoosglasgow.co.uk<br />
Nancy Smillie, 53 Cresswell Lane, 0141 334 4240, nancysmillieshop.com.com<br />
The Store Interiors, 26 Munro Place, 0141 950 1333, thestoreinteriors.co.uk
42 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
raising standards in property preservation<br />
ASSOCIATION<br />
Have you noticed damp,<br />
woodworm or rot in your<br />
property?<br />
Rated ‘Excellent’ with<br />
over 1000 reviews<br />
We can provide advice and specialist solutions for:<br />
Rising & Penetrating Damp<br />
Dry & Wet Rot<br />
Basement & Structural Waterproofing<br />
Rising Damp<br />
Woodworm<br />
Wall Tie Repair & Replacement<br />
Structural Repairs<br />
Energy Saving Treatments<br />
Woodworm<br />
Wall Tie Failure<br />
0141 319 4974 www.petercox.com<br />
Condensation & Mould<br />
Call now for a<br />
NO OBLIGATION<br />
survey and get these<br />
problems sorted<br />
today!<br />
ADVERTISE WITH US<br />
// Glasgow’s best FREE bi-monthly mag<br />
// Great editorial features: fashion, dining out,<br />
health & beauty, what’s on, local authors<br />
& artists, interiors & more<br />
// Massive potential business audience<br />
// 10,000 copies per edition<br />
For more info or to advertise<br />
email: suzanne@westendermagazine.com<br />
for a media flyer, or call: 07905 897238<br />
westendermagazine.com
www.westendermagazine.com | 43<br />
Homes & Interiors<br />
by Susan<br />
Robertson<br />
elegant glamour<br />
This year’s glamorous interiors trend brings us<br />
a sophisticated opulence, but more understated<br />
than iterations of the past. Think less of the<br />
‘shiny’ but rather just a touch of the ‘sheen’. Susan<br />
Robertson makes some suggestions to achieve this<br />
look within your West End home.<br />
There’s a chic confidence in the colour palettes<br />
being used in this look just now, and less of a<br />
tendency to make ‘shouty’ statements with clashing<br />
colours and blingy accessories. Velvet has become<br />
really popular over recent years and remains a<br />
foundational staple for this style now, but rather<br />
than the bold statement colours and the dark greens<br />
and maroons, this season opt for dusky pinks and<br />
soft warm greys.
44 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
For a living room, select your key pieces of seating<br />
and keep it minimal and matching. Resist the urge<br />
to go eclectic and select a velvet sofa and armchairs<br />
in the same style and colour where possible.<br />
Your room will then build up around these. If<br />
you opt for the dusky rose colour for this, try a<br />
pale mocha on the walls and light cream for wood<br />
features such as window frames and skirting boards.<br />
Be careful to choose the correct warm and pale tones<br />
so that you are keeping it all in balance, otherwise<br />
overdoing the colour in each could run the risk of<br />
you starting to feel like you’re sitting in a box of<br />
Neapolitan ice-cream!<br />
If you’re doing this style in a bedroom, you can<br />
probably risk a bit more chocolate in the mocha and<br />
just centre everything around a beautiful big bed.<br />
Make sure you keep it looking and feeling restful<br />
and warm. Go for bold on a large dusky pink velvet<br />
bedhead and layer up the bedding in creamy cottons,<br />
soft rose velvets and warm grey fine woollens.<br />
Resist the urge to splurge on the decadence, it can<br />
be easy to see similarities in this to previous trends<br />
and go off on a glamorous tangent but be restrained.<br />
This look is elegant and minimal so stick to fewer<br />
elements but choose high-end fabrics and a quality<br />
finish at the same time, avoid the faux fur.<br />
Keep furniture simple and functional and avoid<br />
clutter and big chunky items. Small coffee tables,<br />
and marble-topped trolleys work well. Don’t be<br />
afraid to upcycle wooden furniture with a lick of<br />
paint. If you make sure it’s well prepared and use<br />
a quality matt paint, you can create a functional<br />
piece that blends in beautifully with the overall look.<br />
One solid colour looks good and if you’re brave<br />
enough – top off the ends of the furniture legs with<br />
some matt silver paint or just a tiny touch of flat gold.<br />
Get an expert to do it if you don’t trust your<br />
handiwork, or treat yourself to some new or preloved<br />
special picks from the plethora of shops and<br />
boutiques we have on our doorstep.<br />
Lose the high gloss bling and stick to matt<br />
metallics for that touch of understated elegance.<br />
Brass works better in this look than polished gold,<br />
and pewter is preferable to shiny chrome. If you<br />
want to add a bit of a flourish, go for a tassel or<br />
a fringe. It’s not to everyone’s taste but it’s right<br />
on trend and done thoughtfully it can look great.<br />
You can get them incorporated into accessories such<br />
as lampshades or tie-backs and they help to create a<br />
unique extra touch of glam.<br />
If this isn’t for you, you can always try a metallic<br />
touch in a lamp. Perhaps a brass standalone lamp or<br />
a rose gold shade. One statement accessory like this<br />
works well and then keep your other bits and bobs<br />
minimal and plain in soft greys and creams. Try to<br />
match the accessories to each other, and allow them<br />
to recede into the background rather than coming to<br />
the fore, as the velvet opulence will hold its own in<br />
the room.<br />
Dark glass or art deco touches can work well as<br />
finishing touches and for me, this style cries out<br />
for fresh cut flowers. Choosing this look gives a<br />
wonderful excuse to buy regular fresh flowers as it is<br />
really pulled together beautifully with chunky pink<br />
peonies or deep purple hydrangeas.<br />
Image on previous page is from items available at<br />
Hoos Glasgow, hoosglasgow.co.uk<br />
Images on this page are of products available from<br />
The Store Interiors, thestoreinteriors.co.uk
www.westendermagazine.com | 45
46 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
Westender Magazine<br />
Interiors & All Trades<br />
Keeping your home working for<br />
you. Whatever you need whenever<br />
you need it – find reliable local<br />
tradespeople here.<br />
We’re your local experts in all<br />
aspects of painting and decorating,<br />
interior, exterior and specialists in<br />
hanging designer wallpapers.<br />
Garage Door, Electric Gates<br />
& Security Door Entry Systems<br />
repair and install<br />
Call: 07985 371 405<br />
www.rendor.co.uk | info@rendor.co.uk<br />
for a Free No Obligation Quote<br />
call Kevin on 07984 880199<br />
or Derek on 07525 202102<br />
or email us at<br />
info@bespokedecorglasgow.co.uk<br />
T: 0141 389 3287<br />
bespokedecorglasgow.co.uk<br />
TRADITIONAL SASH<br />
WINDOW REPAIR &<br />
RESTORATION<br />
over 20 years experience<br />
in Glasgow’s West End<br />
draught proofing & noise<br />
reduction<br />
from a single cord to a<br />
full restoration<br />
Painter & Decorator » Plaster Skimming<br />
Ames Taping & Coving » Period Windows<br />
Hand-painted Kitchens<br />
Call Frank – 07906 395341 / 0141 945 3975<br />
francisscullion@yahoo.co.uk<br />
Contact us for advice or free survey on:<br />
0141 390 9441 | 07980 648 089<br />
info@wesglasgow.co.uk<br />
www.wesglasgow.co.uk<br />
West End Services is a trading name of WES Glasgow Ltd Registered in Scotland SC468249
www.westendermagazine.com | 47<br />
www.reproplaster.co.uk l Tel: 0141 7761112<br />
Visit our showroom at Period House, 5 Campsie Rd, Kirkintilloch, G66 1SL<br />
Use discount code: “Homes “Westender & Interiors 10%” 10%”<br />
Scotland’s leading manufacturer and installer of cornice and ornamental plasterwork.<br />
Experts in the repair of all ornamental plasterwork | Comprehensive product range available<br />
Professional, Reliant<br />
and Efficient Rubbish<br />
Clearing Service<br />
Full House Clearances<br />
Garage Clearances<br />
Office Clearances<br />
Loft Clearances<br />
WE CAN DO IT ALL!<br />
No job too big or too small<br />
- single items taken.<br />
90% of what we collect is recycled.<br />
Same day service available for your<br />
rubbish removal.<br />
CALL US NOW: 07850 881 623<br />
joejunk.co.uk
48 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
Homes & Interiors<br />
by Susan<br />
Robertson<br />
Contemporary<br />
Our homes are our havens, where we can zone out from<br />
the busyness of modern life and find our safe place to<br />
unwind. Susan Robertson looks at how we can merge<br />
calming influences from Nordic design to Mother<br />
Nature without leaving the comfort of the West End.
www.westendermagazine.com | 49<br />
Calm<br />
What springs to mind when you think of a calm<br />
environment? It tends to start with the colours<br />
for me. Nothing too vibrant or loud, warm layers<br />
of tones and textures with a smooth transition<br />
between. When we are creating a relaxing<br />
environment to unwind in, we want our eyes to<br />
be able to rest a little as well as our bodies and<br />
minds. So, when you choose a palette for this<br />
type of look, think of varying shades and layers<br />
of similar pale colours. Keep the palette simple<br />
and clean with their initial roots in nature and<br />
warm undertones. Slate grey in different tones,<br />
balanced with warm beiges and soft whites<br />
merge beautifully with deep khakis and pale<br />
pink for this look.<br />
The Nordic style of interior design lends itself<br />
well to the feeling of calmness. It’s characterised<br />
by simplicity and minimalism so start with<br />
thinking of the basic functionality of the room<br />
you’re designing. Make sure you are fulfilling<br />
the needs of the space in the first instance –<br />
how many will you need to seat comfortably<br />
at a time; will the lighting need to function for<br />
reading as well as relaxing; will the room be<br />
sociable and set up for chatting, or is it mainly<br />
for films and reading? Stopping to think about<br />
what you actually use the room for before you<br />
start, will help you to keep the design focused<br />
and functional, which in turn helps to keep that<br />
minimalist feel. If you begin with this basic core<br />
purpose it will automatically inspire your choice<br />
of sofa shapes, seating design and direction,<br />
as well as the lighting moods.<br />
Once you have these underpinning elements<br />
identified, you can visualise the structure of the<br />
space. Think carefully here about storage too<br />
– a minimal look means clutter-free life but that<br />
requires discipline and planning. Use the old<br />
adage to only keep what is useful or beautiful,<br />
and then think through what you want to have<br />
out on display, and what should be hidden away.<br />
This thought process will help to identify if you<br />
need to consider a couple of shelves or a bespoke<br />
storage unit within the room. Be thoughtful<br />
about what you actually need to have there to<br />
hand in that room, and what could be stored<br />
elsewhere in the house. Perhaps you have more<br />
space in a spare room for a new storage unit for<br />
example – keeping everything around you to an<br />
absolute minimum.<br />
The days of fad trends are behind us<br />
– people are looking for practical ways to<br />
create sustainable long-term environments<br />
that enhance their lives and positively affect<br />
their wellbeing. We are keen to find ways to
Homes & Interiors<br />
50 | www.westendermagazine.com<br />
incorporate sustainable and eco-friendly<br />
alternatives to the chemical-based products<br />
we’ve become accustomed to, and we’re much<br />
more aware of the tactility and sourcing of our<br />
products.<br />
This look is an opportunity to be thoughtful<br />
and selective in its contents. It’s contemporary<br />
but also timeless so it’s a great way to start<br />
in a new home and living in a sense of calm<br />
simplicity allows you to get a feeling for the<br />
space as you live in it over time. This means<br />
you have the freedom to then build different<br />
looks, add dramatic wall colours or statement<br />
furniture pieces if you fancy it in the future.<br />
Start with soft white or pale beige walls, take<br />
some inspiration from our fashion shoot pages<br />
for different tones. Be careful to make sure<br />
you opt for warm undertones, it’s very easy to<br />
accidentally fall into making this look cold and<br />
clinical so you need to avoid blue undertones<br />
and think in tactile layers. Use lots of natural<br />
materials and textures – go for pale white wood<br />
wherever you can, wooden floors are ideal,<br />
and hessians and wools work well for chunky<br />
rugs and soft furnishings.<br />
Aim for keeping everything to a clean, honest<br />
and simple effect. Adding different shades of the<br />
same colour onto furniture items adds depth<br />
and interest to modest shapes and ensure that<br />
you keep the patterns you choose quite basic<br />
to minimise clashing. Cushions with small<br />
geometric shapes layer well against light cottons<br />
and beige linens and help to keep it tied in to the<br />
current trends. Matte white clay pots and slate<br />
coasters look great as finishing touches, you can<br />
also use little splashes of colour in accessories<br />
– but keep it minimal and consistent, so perhaps<br />
a touch of rose gold or a splash of pale pink<br />
to add a touch of interest to a dark corner.<br />
The minimal, low maintenance look lends itself<br />
to some simple cactus plants or silvery ivy to<br />
bring a fresh flourish here and there.<br />
There are always great ways to add a unique<br />
and personal touch to any look. Lamp bases<br />
made from wicker shapes or tree stumps with<br />
big beige shades, create wonderful statements<br />
without being invasive. Simple pebbles collected<br />
from the beach add a depth to the top of plant<br />
pots, or – you can use some matte acrylics to<br />
paint or print a simple geometric design onto<br />
them – or use them as book ends or paper<br />
weights to help to tie everything together.<br />
A bit of creativity goes a long way in<br />
personalising your own contemporary calm,<br />
but you don’t need to go very far to achieve it.<br />
Images<br />
Main: B&Q Bohemian Range, diy.com<br />
Grey painted Nordic style media unit:<br />
Nancy Smillie, nancysmillieshop.com<br />
Zellij Cushion by Niki Jones: Hoos Glasgow,<br />
hoosglasgow.co.uk
www.westendermagazine.com | 51<br />
The Wee Kitchen Shop<br />
Beautiful Kitchen Interiors<br />
specialising in Shaker kitchens<br />
// Bespoke made to measure cabinetry<br />
// Bespoke paint colours and finishes<br />
// Bespoke wood colour matching<br />
// Bespoke lacquer finishes<br />
// Bespoke veneer panels<br />
SPECIAL OFFER: 30% off Silestone,<br />
Corian & Granite worktops ordered<br />
before 31st Oct ‘19! Please call ahead<br />
for a FREE consultation appointment<br />
at The Wee Kitchen Shop premises.<br />
The Wee Kitchen Shop<br />
304 Crow Road I Broomhill G11 7HS<br />
t 0141 334 4747<br />
w theweekitchenshop.co.uk<br />
e info@theweekitchenshop.co.uk
52 | www.westendermagazine.com