A Wee Mindin'
Our name comes from the old Scots word Mindin’ which means - "A gift or keepsake given as a reminder of a person or a place. An indication that the recipient is in the giver’s thoughts". The name of the shop was a favourite saying of my Mother’s when she used to give a gift she often said “It’s no much, jist a wee mindin’ hen”. The shop is named in her memory.
We are a traditional sweetshop and gift shop. Some of our gifts have a very local connection (linked to Mary Queen of Scots, Linlithgow or the surrounding area), some have been hand crafted in Scotland, and others we stock just because we like them!
Our logo is based on the town’s coat of arms, a black female greyhound tied to an oak tree, called the Black Bitch. The coat of arms comes from a story about a black greyhound whose master was imprisoned on an island in the middle of Linlithgow Loch and sentenced to starve to death. Every day the greyhound swam out to her master with food and ended up saving his life. Local people
who were born in Linlithgow call themselves Black Bitches after the dogs symbolic loyalty. There are not many true Black Bitches left these days, (if you were born in the hospital you are not a true Black Bitch.) My mother was also a Black Bitch. Our logo is a take on this, we have a female greyhound tied to a sweetie and gift tree.
