WESTENDER’s COVER TO COVER

Ruth Ozeki, Zen priest and novelist, is not afraid to tackle ambitious projects, and with her latest novel, she is at her most ambitious, choosing the book itself to narrate the story of Benny Oh and his mother Annabelle, both recently bereft after Kenji, the father and husband, dies an untimely and ridiculous death.

On the surface, this may seem like a book about loss, about mental health, about relationships, and it is. But it’s also a lot more. ‘The reader is not a passive receptacle for a book’s contents. One book, when read by different readers, becomes different books, becomes an ever-changing array of books that flows through human consciousness like a wave.’ This is the more ambitious side of Ozeki’s project – to explore meaning, what is real, how we attach meaning to things, how things affect us.

Annabelle’s hoarding is problematic and causes her to fall foul of her landlord. Benny’s truancy from school causes the authorities to place sanctions on Annabelle, and finally Benny’s admission to a mental health facility provides the catalyst for change that both he and his mother so badly need.

Ozeki encourages us to consider what is important in life. What do we really need? What makes us happy?

In Buddhism, the three poisons of anger, greed and ignorance are all represented in this complex tale. However, she avoids the temptation to imbue one character with one poison: Benny is angry and deluded. Annabelle is angry, greedy and deluded. Many of the characters are on the fringes of society, rejecting the American trope that more stuff is the answer. ‘When everything you think you own – belongings, your life – can be swept away in an instant, you must ask yourself, What is real?’ So muses Aikon, the author of a Zen book about tidying. The book literally falls into Annabelle’s trolley whilst she is browsing for something else, and proceeds to turn up in unexpected places, slowly transforming her home and her life. The power of books!

Ozeki has been criticized by some for trying to include too much in this novel, but I disagree. The clutter is indicative of the issues she is dealing with, the book itself a synecdoche for the house, and by extension America. I really love it. I love the mess. And I love the attempt to create order from chaos. Embrace them both.

The Witches of Scotland

by Steven P Aitchison

‘When Glasgow law student, David Hunter, learns he is a wizard, his life is turned upside down.’ So goes the blurb on the back of the book, inducing the inevitable sigh and cry of ‘Sounds very familiar.’ So, with a heavy heart I started reading just to indulge Westender Editor Suzanne. However, I was soon pleasantly surprised. Fighting in Ashton Lane. Sinking pints with your mates. Sponging off your generous aunt in Dowanside. All very familiar to anyone who’s studied in Glasgow. But that’s where the resemblance ends.

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We Westenders like to think we’re a bit more woke and ethical when it comes to food choices than the average cat – certainly more than Southsiders!

Everything has to be organic and food provenance is important to us. Food miles are a constant worry, the water used to produce our food concerns us, and we wring our hands deciding between cheap and wonky or expensive and tasty.

However, Louise Gray one by one dismantles these false dichotomies. Often, tomatoes from Spain have created fewer CO2 emissions than those grown in the UK, fava beans flown from Africa damage the planet less than us driving to an out-of-town supermarket in our gas-guzzling cars, and wonky loose carrots are better for the environment than ‘perfect’ wrapped ones which

David is a ‘Dream Dancer’, able to move between astral planes, to transport himself using his mind, to harness his energy to cure and to harm. The battle for the consciousness of the human race is being fought between have survived the cull of their otherwise edible companions. the dark forces of magick (yes, with a k) and the good witches.

In her previous book ‘The Ethical Carnivore’, Gray argued that a little meat is perfectly ethical and shot holes through the arguments of those vegans who simply won’t listen to reason – we all know one.

Each chapter of ‘Avocado Anxiety’ focuses on a different food, with the CO2 emitted in the production of each food printed at the beginning of each chapter. Careful research and a wide range of interviews provide a convincing narrative about how to use fewer chemicals, protect biodiversity and avert the climate crisis.

These food stories provide a useful counterpoint to the trend of posting glamorous pictures of food on social media. Food for thought indeed.

‘Harry Potter’ this is not. Harry never visited Hermione in his dreams once Snape had turned off the light! Harry never swore like a trooper. And Harry was not from ‘The Golden Triangle’. Fans of ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ are likely to enjoy this. It’s not for kids – definitely not.

It could have been edited better as the spelling and grammar mistakes grate on an English teacher, but if you’re in the flow, you don’t notice them so much. It’s also the first part of a trilogy, so there’s plenty more drama, danger, derringdo and dating witches to be enjoyed, if that’s your bag.

Avocado Anxiety

by Louise Gray

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When Catriona Balfe stepped out wearing an outfit by The Blankfaces at Paris Fashion Week earlier this year, it was a sign of how important the West End social enterprise has quickly become. The label wants to end homelessness and reverse social decay. Westender meets the founder to find out more.

WORDS DIANA KIERNANDER IMAGES MARK SEAGAR

Last Friday night, I left work late, got stuck in traffic, missed a drinks reception for a shop opening, and remembered, a bit too late, that I was going to stop at the nail bar in Partick and get new glitter nails ahead of the weekend. But it didn’t matter. It had already started raining and was freezing cold outside. I’d decided anyway that I wanted to stay home, binge watch Netflix, drink cheap, fizzy wine and get cosy indoors. Getting home, I found my house was, as ever, full of too many teenagers, arguing over hair straighteners, taking selfies and sorting out their fake ID to get into the clubs later. (Shsh! She’s nearly old enough and growing up in Scotland, we’ve all done it!).

I’ve written before, on these pages, about how much I love the chaos and noise that makes my West End flat feel so special. But, after hearing the inspiring story behind

The Blankfaces, an independent clothing label and social enterprise, set up by Gerard McKenzie Govan, that aims to stop homelessness, it makes me cherish the madness that goes on inside my own home, a little bit more.

This socially conscious gem burst onto the independent street and sportswear scene in 2020, with its first collection of t-shirts, hoodies and sweats that really had something to say. The brand quickly became beloved of all the cool kids around the West End, looking to support a label that looked beyond the faceless persona of people living on the street. Suddenly lockdown was a time to really see the homeless group that were long-forgotten.

The pieces are all designed by rough sleepers, with the support of an in-house artist, who himself has experienced homelessness. Classics from that time live on today and the supercool designs capture the unapologetic hyper-reality of a life lived on the street.

The brilliant ‘Home’ hoody / tee was designed by Danny, a rough sleeper and street poet who lived under a bridge in Manchester for six years and washed his clothes in the river flowing through the city. A photograph of the exact bridge made it onto the bestselling design. These heartbreaking visual stories exist to give a voice to the forgotten.

Elsewhere, the NFA (no fixed abode, if you don’t know) is a simple white tee with those letters masterfully positioned across a photo of the infamous, now defunct, Bellgrove hostel hotel in Gallowgate. Clothing like this shows the label isn’t scared to obliterate the well-worn myth that homeless people are wasters. Instead, it shows The Blankfaces as a clothing label that has always stood up for people broken by unfair societal systems and it’s always been ready to take bold and direct action to end homelessness.

Pieces like ‘Money Over People’ by Budi and ‘ID Heavyweight’ by Ste capture the harrowing, true life trauma straight from the rough-sleeping beating heart. The artists here are uniquely placed to depict how the world might look when you don’t routinely have anywhere to go.

All the design narratives on display at The Blankfaces, at the flagship West End store and the second outlet at the Buchanan Galleries, cut through the fashion noise to really celebrate the inimitable strength and rawness of a life lived in the shadows.

The upcoming projects I get to chat with Gerard about are really set to scorch the stereotypes around homelessness. By now, we are all hopelessly well-versed in hearing on the news all about rising foodbank demands and spiralling supermarket costs. It’s all so goddamn gloomy.

Fortunately, the good folk at The Blankfaces are getting creative with how we have come to see the homelessness, poverty and foodbank experience. Gerard today is talking Tuck Shops and not food voucher handouts. And, come on, everybody knows Tuck Shops are cool. If I was Marie Kondo, this would be sparking joy! All hail the makeshift confectionary cupboard, selling theblankfaces.co.uk

10p crisps and Chomp bars at breaktime. It’s giving me serious flashbacks to being 15 again, hanging out the back of the beloved falling down English department at my old high school. All Tuck Shops are cool but The Blankfaces one will be even cooler, ‘cause it means you’re a shit-hot t-shirt, hoody and accessories designer who happens to have to hang out on street corners a lot!

Other plans are afoot too. The food kitchen behind the curtain at the back of the shop, is getting extended soon, meaning more quirky, cool dining vibes are coming to this West End experience. The space will also continue to be used for creative classes and workshops, like the ones where the clothing designs were first developed. In this space, people think about their life stories and the unique journey they’ve been on. It sparks an idea for a t-shirt, hoody or accessory design and that piece gets made, using sustainable, ethical fabrics. There are different price points, including an organic and standard range, to suit a spectrum of budgets. When any of the pieces are sold, the person whose story inspired the piece gets a direct percentage of the sale. All remaining profits go into grassroots charities.

Curiously, it is McKenzie Govan’s own life story that probably sparked the whole ethos of doing something so big and brilliant to stop homelessness in the first place. His Mum and Dad had spent some time living and working in Africa and when back in Ayr, his Mum opened a small hotel where she housed the local homeless community. He has fond memories of growing up, surrounded by a proud lot of people who had simply fallen on hard times.

Today, he has never forgotten the special lesson that this taught him and how he’s always been able to see the human being behind a lot of difficult life circumstances. His Mum has left behind a beautiful legacy that he carries on with the work here. It honours her memory.

The shop appears small but is crammed full of purpose, kindness and kickass clothes. Go see for yourself.

427 Gt Western Road G4 9JA