Glasgow West End

Glasgow West End: Pat's Guide is a community site promoting this brilliant part of Glasgow. Find out what's on locally, learn about the restaurants, shops, pubs, galleries (including Kelvingrove), the architecture, people, places, live music and lots more.

PAT'S WEST END BLOG: Blue Skies and Perfect Glasgow Days

A little bit of sunshine fairly gives you a lift and I’ve been out and about a lot and busy, busy. It’s been a long time coming but even when there’s a wee nip in the air, the blue skies are very welcome.

Sunshine Days

It was delightful to sit outside Rio’s on Saturday morning, chatting to some of the MLitt Creative Writing students about the events planned for the West End Festival and it was a perfect day for The Farmer’s Market, just across the street in Mansefield Park. I loaded myself up with goodies and had a wee chat with some of the stall holders, including Jacques, Provence Direct’s Ambassador of Gastronomy, who appears very happy about moving his home from Grasse to Blochairn.

After soaking up the sunshine in our cardis, I headed up to Cottier’s theatre with Amy, Charlotte and James, to check out the venue for the events to take place as part of the West End Festival on 4th and 11th June. Come along for some late night literary exploits and meet emerging talents from the University of Glasgow’s Creative Writing programme – on 4th June (prose) and 11th June (poetry) 10 p.m. Cottiers. Theatre, Hyndland Road.

I’ve probably mentioned before that I really love Hyndland Road and it just gets better and better. Home to the amazing Cottonrake bakery, the fabulous Polish Deli and other delights, there is also wonderful new addition – Owen Bisset’s Gift Boutique, just opened and brimming over with his own fabulous fused glass jewellery and a wonderful array of tempting gifts. Definitely the most attractive shop to open in the West End for aeons.

When I left the theatre I couldn’t resist a further browse in Owen’s new shop before I walked along to Kelvingrove, via Handbags and Gladrags, where Maxine has some great new preloved and retro in stock for spring. If I could have, then I would have, squeezed myself into a lovely pastel Barbour jacket, perfect for the stylish hillwalker (not that I fall into that category). I popped in to say hello to Kirsty at The Big Mouth Cafe an afterwards I had a long blether with Eunice Whyte at her wonderful knitwear shop – also on this fascinating stretch of Dumbarton Road.

I had arranged to meet John and Ryan at Kelvingrove Art Gallery, where we checked out the Gila Monster, the world’s most poisonous lizard, and other superlatives. Inadvertently I’d fallen into the theme as I’d bought some goose eggs at the market, so Ryan was going to have his biggest egg ever for Sunday breakfast.

We didn’t hang around too long in the gallery as it was really a lovely day so we headed for the park, where it was wonderful to see all the sun starved Glaswegian skateboarders, dog walkers and pram pushers out enjoying themselves.

We had another lovely day the previous Saturday, when John, Ryan and I left Jim happily recording, and hit the Botanics, we had a good walk round the park, watched the squirrels, who seem to like to hang out around Kirklee, and had a chat with John at the children’s garden. He showed us the year’s first cherry blossom and later we saw even more wonderful blooms at the Orchid Fair in the Kibble Palace before strolling over to replenish ourselves in Smile cafe in Queen Margaret Drive. Ryan was thrilled to find a complete collection of C.S. Lewis books in the P.D.S.A. shop next door.

Quite different from the start of the month when we supped hot soup in our woolly bunnets at Woodland’s Community Garden third birthday party. It was good running into Martha Wardrop, Hillhead’s very committed Green Councillor, who I worked beside in Royston many years ago. There were more political animals out in their thousands, when the recent Bedroom Tax Protest, took place in Glasgow. Not since the years of the dreaded Poll Tax have people been so angry about a policy – I saw many familiar faces at the rally in George Square and had a chat with Lynne, Davie and Issi, who had been up at our house for dinner a week or so before, Ann Morgan, who’s father was for many years head of CND in Clydebank and I also had a blether with another Bankie, George Campbell.

Aye Write and bookish stuff

I had a great time at Aye Write, Glasgow’s book festival. I wish it was spread over a whole month as it’s hard to get along to a lot over a couple of weeks but I loved the events that I went to. It was a particular thrill to see Pauline Lynch win The Sceptre Award, Glasgow University’s Prize for emerging writers. The excerpt from her book, The Keeper of Secrets, was acted out most powerfully and I’m watching out for the podcast, which will appear soon on Outside Thoughts. I’ll also be looking forward to reading Pauline’s book at a future date.

I also made it along to hear Louise Welsh and Maggie O’Farrell talking about their work – both very unpretentious and talented authors.

Louise is one of the writers that I have included in my new section on the website on Glasgow Writers. This was put together for an editing and publishing submission for my course at uni, a lot of hard work but I ‘ve got to admit that it was very enjoyable adding to this section and meeting up with Louise Welsh, Denise Mina, Ellen McAteer, Leela Soma and Paul McCafferty.

I also had a brief chat with, the ever entertaining, Greg Hemphill, when we met up in Tinderbox – I’ll be continuing to add to the list of authors, poets and novelists and Greg will be included.

I have quite a few people in my sights, including Liz Lochhead, I’ve been laughing my head off reading her plays, and thoroughly enjoyed her performance at the recent Fail Better Poetry Night at McChuills. Ellen McAteer was performing at the event and Louise Welsh and Zoe Strachan were also very entertaining performers.

Jim and I enjoyed a visit from Paul McCafferty, the poet, whose work appears on my site and who is also a musician. Paul and Jim are busy working on some joint compositions in preparation for an event to be called Chapter and Verse. We had great fun in our wee living room, an absolute hub of creativity, as the fellows sang and worked out lyrics, while I was doing my homework for the new course I have joined on writing short stories, Centre for Open Studies.

The classes are very enjoyable and so is the chat at Tennents Bar afterwards. Although, you need to be able to take the criticism on the chin – it seems to be the case that the more writing I do the more I find I have to learn. Mainly I’m enjoying discovering a lot of new (well somewhat amazingly new to me) writers as I’ve never been one for reading short stories. I’m now lapping up the likes of Raymond Carver and Alice Munro, she’s particularly wonderful.

Hanging out with the kids

We had great fun with Ryan and Caitlin celebrating their birthdays. Caitlin shared a big party with a friend as she is now a teenager but we enjoyed a meal toghether at Wetherspoons, across the road from us. Ryan had a more low key affair with family and friends in our house. He was ecstatic over his mobile control helicopter. Just as well we didn’t go to Arran to celebrate, like we did last year, or we would have been snow bound.

I had a wonderful time during the school holidays catching up with lots of the children in our family. Both my nieces, Danielle and Aileen, brought their girls along to visit. The babies, Erin and Sian, are now walking around – that seems to have happened overnight – and Eve and Freya were in seventh heaven raking through my junk jewellery drawer. Clip on earrings, even mismatched ones, proved to be a particular hit.

I was delighted to meet up with baby Allegra Venditozzi O’Neill and her gran, Rosemary. Allegra is a very cool wee girl and absolutely loved a bit of West End Cafe Culture in Tinderbox.

Another great girl entertained us when we went along to see Genna perform with Dance OK at the Armadillo. She was the star of the show and inspired me to go along to Still Dancing at Partick Burgh Hall, where I am now trying to keep up with some pretty rhythmic and flexible sixty and seventy year olds. I’m a bit worried about remembering the steps but it’s very enjoyable and great exercise.

Catching up in Cafes

There’s nothing I enjoy more than a nice cup of coffee and a blether in a cafe. It was particularly entertaining meeting up with Willie in Enjoy and in his words, ‘where did the time go’, we were way back in the 60s in Glasgow, talking about when Sauchiehall Street was a shoppers dream with wonderful department stores like Daly’s and Trerons. Then we ran through a long list of hairdressers that we both knew from those days, including Robert Hely and Ian Coleman.

I also had a great old natter with Stephanie, when we met in Jellyhill in Hyndland. It’s ages since I’ve seen any of the Celtic Music Radio gang so need to make an effort to get together. However, we did make it along to Jane and Tom Fairnie’s for a musical afternoon in Edinburgh, so good to relax and listen to some wonderful talent including the two hosts and Karen Dietz and Bill Adair.

I met Clare Bird in Tinderbox for a chat about work she will be carrying out on the website regarding our commitment to supporting the development and marketing of west end businesses. She’ll be starting work soon in the Hyndland area, in particular focusing on what’s Best In The West. If you are interested in us helping you to promote and market your business please get in touch with Clare.

Gigs

Things have been pretty quiet on the music front as Jim has been busy working on songwriting and production rather than performing. The E.P. he’s producing for The Creeping Charlies is shaping up to be a cracker and he’s written a pile of new songs. He got the opportunity to try some of them out when Crawford Smith invited him along to play at The Glad Cafe’s Americana Night and we had a great time.

What a brilliant venue – the atmosphere was fantastic and great to see so many fans along to catch the show, including, The Brady Gang, The McColgans, The Wilsons, Ann and Santino and Sylvia Rossi. I loved the gig, Jim was delighted with his reception and the other bands, The Rodneys and The Midnight Tokers, were super.

Crawford has invited Jim back to play at the next Southside Americana Club at The Glad Cafe on Sunday 26th May, part of the Southside Fringe. Also on the bill will be The Carlton Jug Band and Kevin Young, it’ll be a cracker.

Invitations have also come in for him to play at other festivals including Troon Live so looks like it’s going to be a busy gigging summer.

West End Festival 2013

Last but not least I should remind everyone that the West End Festival will run from 31st May until 30th June. A very colourful launch took place at St Silas, Gibson Street, on Thursday 26th April and you will find programmes in libraries and cafes around the West End. This year there will be some great new events including, the Torchlight Procession on the 1st June, and the Mardi Gras Street Party will make a welcome return on 9th June – back once more on Byres Road. Keep up to date with West End Festival Highlights on the site and add your own comments.

It was lovely to see Jackie, when she came for lunch, with a tangy lemon tart and Leela Soma and Sylvia Rossi were also gift bearing guests, so I now have some coral begonias and baby tulips on the balcony. I enjoyed hearing all about Sylvia’s travels and Jim and I are now planning a trip to Andalusia, so can’t wait to see more blue skies and fascinating places.

In the meantime, there’s lots of new stuff up on the site including:

Jim’s April Photodiary
Glasgow Cinema City Re-born, Ian Mitchell
Roy Beers’ Glasgow Dining and Drinking
Anniesland Third Annual Garden Show
Action for Children Marathon
Glasgow Open Mic Nights
Tom Weir Statue Campaign
Live at The Star Club
Discounts and Offers in Glasgow
Nancy Smillie Jewellery Studio
Handbags and Gladrags

Also see: Regularly updated What’s On in Glasgow

PAT'S WEST END BLOG: Still waiting for Spring in Glasgow

February just whizzed by in a combination of pleasure and panic and now I find we’re half way through March. I’m delighted with our new website design but it’s been quite a challenge trying to get to grips with the different systems. It’s hard to believe that the website was first launched way back in 1999 and in the beginning Jim took care of all the technical elements. However, for the last ten years or so I’ve been creating content, uploading, adding images and navigation – now I’m having to relearn everything. I’ve had Jim demented asking him questions every other minute – at last some of the pennies are starting to drop.

Thank heavens for that, as I can hardly keep up with the demands of the site. There’s been a lot happening in the West End and it’s heartening to see new businesses open and flourish even in these dire economic times. I’ve been out and about sampling some of what’s on offer.

New Places

Roy Beers and I were very impressed with the New York Kitchen, which aims to serve the best burgers in town. The cocktails are also pretty sensational and their breakfasts are proving to be a big hit with locals in Partick. Watch out for their special offers on our new Offers and Discounts

Roy’s also been singing the praises of Smile on Queen Margaret Drive so I went along to try it out with Maggie Graham. We enjoyed some lovely leisurely focaccia sandwiches and delicious Kimbo coffee. The owners, Santino Pellegrino and Rocco Morabito, have brought some Sorrento sunshine to drab Glasgow days. The atmosphere is lively, their sandwiches are ‘the best in Glasgow’ and there are extra attractions such as Italian lessons and prizes such as an Easter Egg

Maggie is in great form as she is preparing to take off soon for a trip to Australia to meet her wee granddaugher so lovely to catch up with her and hear all about her plans and her writing (more of that later). After lunch we enjoyed a wee browse in Opal Moon, Aye Fond Kiss and the PDSA shop, where Kirsty is one of the most pleasant assistants you could wish to meet.

Another most affable host is Alan, the young manager at The Richmond, the new bar-diner in Park Road. James Carson and I went along after our class at Uni for the launch. It was a particularly cold and blustery night so lovely to be greeted by friendly staff, complimentary champagne and some very impressive nibbles. The decor is beautiful and we settled down for a very pleasant evening imbibing and sharing novel plots.

Other social events

I met up with James again in Brel, along with some of the other students, Jemma, Nicola, Amy and Billie, to read and give feedback on our writing. Very stimulating, motivational and great fun.

The Cafepreneur venture that Jim has set up is also proving to be very popular. The entrepreneurs met for the second time at Offshore in Gibson Street. Quite a wee gang of lone workers gathered to share ideas and approaches and Jeremy Webb, web strategist and adventurer gave a short, but fascinating, presentation on the art of blogging. He gave us all a shot in the arm so roll on the next meeting.

I also enjoyed a day out with Jackie, when she introduced me to Cafe Alba on Great Western Road – right next door to the Caledonian Bookshop. The cafe is very relaxing and bright and has some great homebaking. We shared some peachy peach cake then strolled along Great Western Road and had a browse in Nancy Smillie Jewellery Studio. We also checked out AU Jewellery Boutique, another lovely shop. Kelvinbridge is great for anyone interested in designer jewellery and Blair and Sheridan is also making its mark – the shop, not to mention the jewellery, looks amazing.

Another day I went along to Kirklee to meet Nicky, who showed me round The Blue House, a bright and very spacious apartment in a great location. So if you’re thinking about a visit to the West End this could be the ideal place to stay.

Glasgow Festivals and Gigs

A highlight of last month was Glasgow Film Festival. Jim and I had a great time at the Opening Gala and Populaire, was a great choice of film for opening the festival. The Director of Populaire, Régis Roinsard, endeared himself to the audience when, in his broken English, he invited them to travel back in time with him to 1950s France. He spoke of his long love affair with Scotland and his obsession with The Highlander and that, when he was a child he “wanted to be Scottish and immortal.”

The programme was the best ever. Very ambitiously I ticked off twenty films that I would like to have seen – I made it along to three!

Apart from Populaire, I went along with Frances to see Arbitrage, which we both loved. Arguably one of Richard Gere’s best performances. Then Jim was in seventh heaven when we went to see Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me. The documentary about the legendary Memphis band was sad but hugely entertaining and the small cinema at the CCA was the perfect intimate venue.

Now I am really looking forward to Aye Write and need to get my tickets organised. It’s good to see some of the students from our course participating. The Familiar Detective Workshop

James Carson’s event, In Our Own Words, at the CCA, part of LGBT History Month Glasgow, was a huge success wth a great turnout. The programme was varied and highly entertaining with contributors from as far away as Oregon – James’ aim to provide an evening of ‘gay abandon’ was most definitely fulfilled.

After the event I walked round to The Dram to catch the launch of The Cotton Candy Club. I enjoyed listening to Navajo and it was good to see Dochan, Patrick and Sandy. Jamie Flett will perform there on 18th April. Also watch out for Jim Byrne at The Americana Night at The Glad Cafe on 28th April. He’ll also be performing at The Clutha on 4th May for Events for Charities Festival a fundraiser for Yorkhill Children’s Foundation.

Ryan and I also had great fun when we went along to The Kid’s Comedy Club at The Stand, part of Glasgow International Comedy Festivall. There’s a lot of very witty children in Glasgow, some of them were even more hilarious than the comedians. Including the wee boy who came from Antartica?

Glasgow Writers

I’ve been very busy working on my Editing and Publishing Project for Uni. I don’t know if the idea is for me to enjoy it quite so much but I have been interviewing (or at least chatting with) some very interesting people. Including, the young writer Brian Hamill, whom I met in Tinderbox. I was back there again to catch up with another candidate, Greg Hemphill, and once again combined business with pleasure when I had lunch with Maggie Graham.

I went further afield, down to Mono in King Street, to catch Louise Welsh and talk to her about her writing. Glasgow has an abundance of creative talent, not least of all some fantastic writers, and the idea is to showcase them in a dedicated section of the website. It’s keeping me busy. I have quite a few more folk in my sights.

Celebrations, outings, family and friends

I had a great night down in Finnieston at Ann Morgan and Santino’s pretty amazing Celtic Ceremony to celebrate their engagement. They both looked very happy and good to meet up with Ellen and some of the Old Kilpatrick gang including Sharon and Cindy.

We also had a lovely time in Edinburgh at Andrew’s 8th birthday party, when Caitlin, Ryan and Jim’s dad, Jimmy, all came along. We’re looking forward to going back through to the capital soon for a musical afternoon with Tom and Jane Fairnie.

Recently my wee greatnieces Ashlynn and Kayla have been over from over from Dunoon with their Dad, Andrew, to visit Papa Drew. We got together with the girls and Ryan and made some very fancy, albeit inedible, cakes before we all trotted off to the swing park.

Jim and I have also been doing a bit of entertaining and it was great to catch up with Maureen O’Neill and Mari Graham when they came to dinner. Then we had another super night with Issi and Davie, when I got to try out my vegetarian cookery skills. The Persian Jewelled Rice also turned out just right, that was a miracle, when The Rosemount Gang, Rosemary, Val and the two Margarets came to visit.

The Loch

Unlike last month, we have seen some blue skies and Jim and I had a lovely day at Loch Lomond. We stopped at Tarbert for lunch and had a great stroll round the loch side and Jim took some lovely photographs. We stopped on the way back at Lomond Shores in Balloch and had a bit of a browse in the Antique Centre then bought some goodies in the Valvona and Crolla deli.

However, the retail attractions just can’t compete with the loch and when we came out we stood for ages admiring the views over to the Maid of the Loch. Made me think that I need to hook up with Lucillia Weir, whom I’ve not seen for ages.

There’s lots of new stuff up on the site including information about:

Don’t forget to check out our What’s On, Gig Guide and my regularly updated What’s New.

Have a great Easter and in the meantime wrap up warm.

PAT'S WEST END BLOG: New Year, New Start.

I’ve been trying to give myself a bit of a shake and write my blog but it’s been a very dismal month. Christina Byrne, my mother-in-law, died on 17th December, so it was a very sad Christmas. She had been ill for a while with a heart condition and had been waiting for treatment. Sadly, when she eventually had an operation she did not recover. It was a terrible shock and she will be missed very much. Christina had many accomplishments, enjoyed an interesting social life and was a keen writer. Over the years she contributed a lot to the website and in her memory I’ve created a new page where you can read Christina’s reviews, film crits and poetry. Her funeral took place on Christmas Eve in Our Holy Redeemers Church in Clydebank. It was a beautiful service with the church filled to capacity. Friends have been very kind and we can’t thank them enough for their support at this difficult time.

Christmas

On Christmas Day we went to see Jim’s brothers Steven and Peter and his Dad, Jimmy, and then I spent time with John, Michael, Gail and the children in Old Kilpatrick. Ryan and Caitlin, were in seventh heaven with all their gifts. This year Angry Birds seem to be the hot contenders, although, Glasgow Monopoly was also a big hit. I also went to see my brothers Liam and Drew. Later Jim and I had Christmas Dinner with the Wilsons – a veritable vegetarian feast followed by a lovely leisurely evening. On Boxing Day I was back in Old Kilpatrick again to get together with my brother Danny and his family.It was great to see my nieces and six grandnieces, aged from one to sixteen. A very busy house but the kids were good as gold. We usually go to the McGreevy’s on Christmas Eve but didn’t make it this year, however, we had a lovely visit last week-end. The horror chamber Ryan and Cal created was a bit scary. Earlier in December John, Ryan and I had some pleasant days out and enjoyed going to George Square to try out the rides and watch the skaters. We also had a lovely time at the panto, Weans in the Woods, at Cottiers and Ryan was thrilled to have his friend, Lewis, come along.

Excursions

Photo: benny gallagher. Frances and I had a great time at Milngavie Folk Club, when Jim supported Benny Gallagher and good to see so many familiar faces among the audience. Benny suggested to Jim that he support him once again at Blackheath Halls this Spring but Jim is busy with a number of musical projects and has no time to gig at present. He’s written some great songs, which are being recorded by the Creeping Charlies – sounding fantastic – and yesterday was recording with The Linties at Newbattle Abbey. We’ve been down to Clydebank a lot to spend time with Jimmy, Jim’s dad and we’ve also been on a couple of excursions. On Jim’s birthday we went to Las Ramblas in Bearsden for Tapas. Somehow we’d never managed to the restaurant before although, it has been recommended. Including by Martin Gray. Coincidentally Martin was also at Las Ramblas and joined us for much talk of the West End, photography and websites. Both Jim and I really liked the restaurant and we’ll definitely go again. The food was delicious – tasty and fresh – and they have a terrific deal on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Cafepreneur

I also went along to join Jim and his fellow cafe workers at his new venture Cafepreneur. Where self-starters who work in cafes got together to exchange of ideas. Very stimulating and enjoyable. Worth checking out if you’re an entrepreneur taking advantage of Wifi.

Restaurants and Coffee Shops

I’ve also had some pleasant outings to West End restaurants and coffee shops. It’s always a treat meeting the Rosemount gang and I had a lovely birthday dinner with Val, Rosemary and Margaret at Tony Macaroni’s. Rosemary has two new grandchildren, Allegra and Mya, and will now be in Sydney meeting Mya, the younger cousin. Hope you are having a wonderful time, Rosemary. I was introduced to another Italian eaterie, when I went along with Roy Beers, to Cafe di Sorrento, 470 Crow Road. Roy has been sining the praises of this little bistro for quite some time and he’s right –it’s fantastic. Tonino Erminione, the owner, has created a real treasure with a friendly atmosphere, lovely food and great coffee. I caught up with Roy once again earlier this week. We had planned to meet in Little Italy but it was ‘stowed’, as they say in Glesga, so we trotted along to Nardini’s one block up on Byres Road. It was also busy but we managed to bag a cosy corner out of the cold and enjoyed some scones and coffee. You can read all the lowdown on what’s happening in the West End dining and drinking scene in Roy’s latest update. I’m particularly keen to try out Euphoriam Cafe, a new Greek bistro at the bottom of Byres Road. I was delighted to hear Maggie Graham’s news when we met for coffee at the Two Figs. Another gran who has a big trip ahead of her and off soon to meet her wee grand-daughter, Maisie, in Australia. Very exciting. I also enjoyed hearing about Helen Rose’s hillwalking exploits when we had a cuppa at the Fraser Building, Glasgow University. She really puts me to shame as despite having broken her leg, she is determined to go out walking. I caught up with other students when James, Gillian and I shared a pizza at Brel as we exchanged comments on our Editing and Publishing Assignments for Uni. We were back in Brel again this week after class and enjoyed a very lively conversation with some creepy ghost stories thrown into the fascinating mix.

Glasgow Writers

I was back at Uni on Friday to discuss my idea for my Editing and Publishing Project. I’m planning to create a section of the site dedicated to Glasgow Writers. There’s a lot already on there but it needs a good tidy up and updating and I also want to add more information. So loads of work to be done. With this task in mind I went along to OranMor to meet Dave Anderson and David Maclennan. It’s amazing what these two have achieved, when I think back to the producions they put on with Wildcat and prior to that 7.84. And now A Play, A Pie and A Pint, has gone from success to success. What they have achieved is really remarkable and I thoroughly enjoyed our chat. Now I need to get started on writing things up and making some new contacts. I’m also determined to get along to some of the plays on the new Spring/Summer Programme 2013.

Festivals

It’s a great time of the year in Glasgow for Festivals. Currently running is Celtic Connections, shortly to be followed by Glasgow Film Festival. I’m particularly looking forward to the Gala Launch at Glasgow Film Theatre on 14th February. Then Glasgow International Comedy Festival, then Aye Write 2013. I’m not one bit organised and Celtic Connections is going to pass me by if I’m not careful.

Further afield

Photo: candlelit square callander. Jim and I went for a lovely run up to The Trossachs. It was one of those days when dusk crept in at three o’clock but we enjoyed what scenery we saw, particularly the snow clad mountains. We had a pleasant stroll around Callander looking at the Christmassy shop windows and all the lights in the town square. I also enjoyed a trip down to Cardross to see Ann and Eddie in their lovely new home. The homemade ham and lentil soup certainly hit the spot. It was a cold, cold day. We’re planning a picnic on the beach with the children in a few weeks so with a bit of luck we’ll have a bright February and lots of good times in the New Year. My sister Catherine has come up with a plan for four of us to get together for a trip to Paris – I’m up for that so maybe in the Springtime. Jim and I didn’t have a holiday last year as I wasn’t well enough in the summer then somehow the year just ran away with us. I think it’s time for us to check the bank balance and see what’s going down on tripadvisor or check out Dougie Baird, The Travel Guy, who always puts me in the mood for a jaunt. However, at the moment I’m suffering some spectacular pain as I have shingles. Hope it clears up soon as I’ve got a busy agenda. I’m also looking forward to launching our new website design – coming soon to a browser near you. In the meantime there’s lots of new stuff on the site and also check out our What’s On and keep your eye on What’s New Follow on Twitter @glasgowswestend Like my Facebook Page

Hope everyone will have great times in 2013.

PAT'S WEST END BLOG: Autumn Already!

I should have had this blog up weeks ago but I’ve been so busy this last month and now I hardly know where to start. Probably the best place would be at the Olympics as it was such a highlight. We were glued to the television at every opportunity and also thoroughly enjoyed the Paralympics.

I took Ryan over to the the Tramway for Flame: Glasgow’s celebration of the opening of the Paralympics, what a fantastic day out. The weather was great and we enjoyed trying out all the different sports in the Hidden Garden and watching a performence by members of Independ-dance, creative movement class for people with “diverse abilities, their carers, family members and volunteers”. They used white parasols in the routine and it looked really wonderful.