What’s on, new & happening in your Urban Village
December 2019
December
“Of all the months of the year there is not a month one-half so welcome to the young, or so full of happy associations, as the last month of the year” - Charles Dickens
Urban Village LDN’s first social: 23 January 2020
Save the date and come along to our first social event. We’re excited to be collaborating with The Fulham Residence Club and Locale Restaurant. More details will be revealed next month. In the meantime please save the date residents and local business owners all welcome to attend. We’d love to meet you, hear your news and how we can support you in 2020. Don’t forget you can also find us on Facebook where additional content is posted and we welcome local business joining our group so we can talk more about what is happening in the Fulham community.
Good wreath: 4 & 5 December
We’ve spotted a few wreaths already up in the neighbourhood. If you haven’t got yours yet (we haven’t!) why not create your own large luxury wreath with Kay from Just so Flowers at The Showroom Presents of The Palace Gardener. Your wreath will include fresh seasonal foliage, faux stems that can be used again and a finishing touch of firefly lights. Kay will talk you through the process from mossy base to end result and not only will you take your wreath home but you’ll receive a festive treats goody bag and a discount voucher to use at The Palace Gardener or Just So flowers at The Showroom Presents. Book tickets here https://www.justsopopups.co.uk/workshops
Alternatively head to The Showroom Presents to pick one of Just so Flowers own designs or pop in to place an order.
https://www.instagram.com/justsoflowers
Walk in wine tastings: 7 & 14
Friarwood Fine Wines in Parsons Green continue their free walk in tastings and “Meet the Producer” series this month. Drop in on Saturday 7 or 14 (or both) from 11.30am - 6pm to meet the producers hosting the sessions, and enjoy sampling some wines. Some inspiration to perhaps try something new on the run up to Christmas or on the big day itself.
https://www.instagram.com/friarwood/?hl=en
Christmas meal perfection: 11 & 12
No doubt the team at Parsons Nose have a wealth of tips, cheats and hints to pass onto to us Fulhamites with their “How to cook the perfect Christmas meal Butchery & Cooking demonstration”. Their December customer evening is of course a festive one and extremely timely.
The demonstrations are being held on Wednesday 11th and Thursday 12th December ask in store or email for more details.
That reminds us add order turkey to our Christmas to do list!
https://www.instagram.com/parsonsnosebutchers/?hl=en
Arro gets cooking & festive: 7/14 December
Join Arro’s chef for a tiramisu class on Saturday 7 at 5pm. A short lesson where you’ll be taught how to prepare a real Italian Tiramisu which you’ll be able to take home with you. Tickets cost £10 and an apron is recommended
On Saturday 14 from 4pm the main man of the moment will be making an appearance in a festive afternoon dedicated to local kids and families. Entrance is free but booking is recommended.
https://www.arrocoffee.com/events
https://www.instagram.com/arro_coffee/?hl=en
Christmas Market: Sunday 15
This is turning into quite the annual event and once again the North End Road will be traffic free from 9am - 5pm. A great opportunity to shop for Christmas Gifts with more than 150 stalls including arts and crafts, clothing, fashion accessories and more. Delicious street food to enjoy alongside festive street entertainment including carol singing, live music, street theatre, Santa and his elves and lots more. For more information, or help and advice on running a stall, call Sonia Gorniak on 020 8753 6911 or email Sonia.Gorniak@lbhf.gov.uk
Festive arty fun: various dates
Paperbirds London have a range of Christmas workshops this month from a crafty Christmas morning drop in session at Market Hall on 18 Dec (all ages) and Christmas workshops at Whole Foods from 16 - 18 December (suitable for ages 5 - 12).
Book places for your little elves here https://www.paperbirds-london.co.uk/classes and whilst you’re at it why not book ahead for some of the great after school clubs that they’ll be running next term/Spring 2020
“The best way to spread Christmas cheer, is singing loud for all to hear”
And there are lots of carol concerts and services to choose from. This list isn’t exhaustive by any means but here’s what we picked up on the Urban Village LDN radar.
Friday 6 Fulham Camerata (7pm) - Duke on the Green https://www.fulhamcamerata.com/
Sunday 8 (4 pm) Little London Music School - All Saints Church: introduce children to the age old tradition of carol singing. Suitable for everyone from babies right up to grandparents. Advanced booking essential. https://www.happity.co.uk/the-little-london-music-school/events/all-saints-church-08-dec-2019
St Etheldreda's (5.00pm) https://www.stethsfulham.org/
Monday 9 (7.15 pm) Carols by Candlelight, to raise funds for Maggie’s West London cancer support centre - All Saint’s Church, Bishops Park. Tickets £15 https://www.maggiescentres.org/how-you-can-help/take-part/christmas-events/carols-candlelight-maggies-west-london/
Wednesday 11 (6.30pm) White Horse - mulled wine, beer, burgers and BBQ - no reservations required “just turn up ready to sing your heart out!”
Fulham Camerata (7 pm) - Fulham Palace tickets £17.50 https://www.fulhampalace.org/whats-on/events/christmas-carols-11-12-2019/
Saturday 14 (7.30pm) Fulham Camerata - Holy Cross https://www.fulhamcamerata.com/
Monday 15 St Dionis (5pm) traditional carol service https://www.stdionis.org.uk/page/christmas/
Tuesday 17 (6pm) Fulham Children’s choir - Duke on the Green https://www.dukeonthegreen.co.uk/whatson?month=Dec
Wednesday 18 (7pm) Fulham & Hammersmith Choral Society - Duke on the Green (see link above)
Sunday 22 (6.30pm) Carols by Candlelight - St Peter’s https://stpetersfulham.co.uk/christmas/
At home football matches
Weds 4: Chelsea vs Aston Villa
Sat 7: Fulham vs Bristol City
Tues 10: Chelsea vs Lille
Sat 14: Chelsea vs Bournemouth
Sat 21: Fulham vs Leeds United
Thurs 26: Chelsea vs Southampton
Sun 29: Fulham vs Stoke City
we keep getting caught out by match time changes so we’re sticking to days!
Create Crew
If you need some respite from the little ones who are getting restless before back to school or they’re still on a sugar high after all the festive fun, Create Crew Ltd have another performing arts camp taking place from 2 - 4 Jan after their successful debut. Once again all abilities are welcome to attend the camp at All Saints Church Hall. £100 gets three days of fun from 8.30am - 4.00pm including singing, yoga, dance songwriting, acting, facepaint & stage make-up and an introduction to musical theatre. For more information email katie@createcrew.org.uk
Aragon House’s new sister venue arrives in Fulham
We still love visiting Aragon House and keep thinking back to lovely summer evenings spent in the garden but we are delighted that Aragon’s sister has also arrived in the neighbourhood. We can’t wait to visit and look forward to another al fresco Fulham option.
The Lost Hours opened in the third week of November on the former site of The Jam Tree by the bridge on the New King’s Road. Open Monday – Friday from 5pm “for after work drinks, supper, get-togethers and private events” and from 11am every weekend for brunch. We are looking forward to enjoying a cocktail or two, loving the list and the descriptions: “Hour Hand” (short & sturdy), “Minute Hand” (long & elegant), “Second Hand” (brief & precise) with names including Auld Father Thyme, Waiting for you and The Long and the Short; we’ve always been a sucker for a themed cocktail list.
Food offerings include small plates such as goat’s cheese and mushroom croquettes, crispy haddock schnitzel, a selection of pizzas and bao buns. Brunch includes a range of granola, waffle and egg options from Turkish to Royale.
The interiors look just as stylish as her big sister down the road (opposite Parsons Green) with 70s rattan style chairs, vintage movie poster wall and chesterfield esque sofas. Take a look for yourself https://www.thelosthourssw6.com/ we’ll see you at the bar.
Lea & Sandeman opens in Fulham
The Fulham branch of Lea & Sandeman is now open taking their tally of branches up to five. The shop looks incredibly smart, as one would expect and is already looking fabulously festive. The shop’s entrance can be found on Epple Road, next to Gail’s and opposite the Parson’s Nose.
We’re looking forward to dropping in to browse what’s on offer and perhaps some festive tipple tips. We’re intrigued by the vodka made from milk in Dorset “Black Cow” vodka. If you feel the same as us you can drop by the Fulham shop and check it out yourself between 2-4pm on Friday 13 Dec.
Lea & Sandeman are offering free customer delivery within walking distance, depending on stock availability and we’re guessing how much you order will play a part too!
https://www.leaandsandeman.co.uk/content/fulham.html
The Real Flower Co
The second shop for this award winning florist opened at the end of November and looks to be a very pretty addition to this stretch of the New King’s Road; the other location is Chelsea. We wandered past the Chelsea shop in September and stopped in admiration so it’s fantastic to have a Fulham offering too.
You’ll find the Fulham shop on the next row of shops up from Hally’s. We love the facade which is painted in a lush shade of green and the wonderful pavement displays featuring urns packed with hyacinth bulbs to mini potted festive trees and a selection of Christmas wreaths. Inside a range of gorgeous blooms and their tree is up and beautifully decorated.
https://www.realflowers.co.uk/
Singsational gift vouchers
This professional recording studio located on Heathmans Row, Parsons Green offers recording sessions for all ages, solo or group performers and choirs. They also host birthday parties which are proving popular for wannabe pop stars.
Singsational are now offering gift vouchers for a recording studio experience; can you imagine a budding singers delight if they received that gift on christmas day! A one hour session previously £140 is now on offer for £100 and a 2 hour session previously £280 is now available for £200. The voucher recipient will be able to sing over backing tracks of their chosen songs and a professional sound engineer will guide them through each recording and produce, mix and master the tracks. They even get to take away their final songs on an exclusive USB wristband to listen to again and again. Offer ends 25 December Offer http://singsational.london/
Awards success for Fulham businesses
We’re not really a news web-site but Urban Village LDN was created to celebrate the Fulham community so this is the kind of news we like to shout about. Congratulations to all the Fulham businesses who won at last month’s Hammersmith & Fulham Brilliant Business Awards. They include:
Bridge Baker for Best place to eat AND Best Independent Business on the High Street
Liz Wilson/Ma Baker for Outstanding Entrepreneur of the Year
and Playdays Parties who picked up an award for the third consecutive year for Best Fulham business we salute you all.
In other awards news congratulations to Parsons Nose who won Innovation of the Year at the nationwide Butchers Shop of the year awards for their Farm to Fork outreach programme - thoroughly well deserved!
Festive Cheer
We’d like to wish Monique-Amy and her whole team at The Smile Brigade every success with their ambition to serve up 1,000 free Christmas diners over the festive period. They are also organising four Christmas parties and dinners to help those members of the community who may feel alone and isolated at this time of year or those who are housebound. They have amazing local partners, business owners and volunteers who support the amazing work and service they provide.
If you’d like to meet Monique and hear more about The Smile Brigade and their festive plans to help others they will have a stall at both the North End Road Christmas Market on Sunday 15th December and the Hammersmith Winter Market on Saturday 7th where they will be trying to raise funds to go towards the meals. If you like baking or know anyone who loves to bake they would welcome donations to sell at the market events. Monique told Urban Village LDN “we are also accepting donations of fruit, veg, turkey, gravy and stuffing, Christmas cards and crackers and goods which can be used as raffle prizes”. Get in touch if you can donate anything to help the important work they are undertaking this Christmas, or visit the stalls and say hello.
For further information contact monique@thesmilebrigade.org
https://www.facebook.com/thesmilebrigade/
Made in Fulham
It never fails to surprise us what a talented bunch you Fulham folks are. Each month Urban Village Ldn introduces you to THe Fulham face behind an idea, product or business and asks them what they love about being a local resident.
This month we talk to Lucy Layton, founder of Luxury handbag brand ‘Apsley of London England’ and designer of ‘The Original Apsley’ a handbag she invented to make women’s lives easier.
How long have you called Fulham home? Fulham has been my home for 3 years now and I absolutely love it. I moved from one side of Parsons Green over to the Wandsworth Bridge Road. The moving van didn’t charge much for petrol!
Tell us a bit about yourself and your family. My upbringing was very colourful and creative which led me onto creative endeavours myself. My folks met in the music and acting business, my father was a pop star in the 1970’s and mother an actress. Aside from founding my business I am also a professional singer.
Whether it’s creating a piece of music or a new design, I am most happy when being inventive.
What's your favourite local haunt? I love The Showroom Presents concept store in Fulham on Effie Road. One can browse so many exciting boutique brands from clothing to accessories and home wares and inside there’s also a cute coffee shop. Perfect for some me time!
What's your slice of Fulham heaven and why? A cosy candlelit dinner at Joe’s Brasserie on the Wandsworth Bridge Road is fab. It’s walking distance from home and they make you feel so at home. The food there is wonderful and wholesome.
If you could do one thing to improve Fulham what would it be? I’m not sure what the councils plans are but I would redevelop the beautiful old town hall. If you look up when you walk around, you will see beautiful architecture and parts of the history of Fulham all around you. Especially near and around the station.
Tell us about Apsley Bags and how the company came to be. I used to travel a lot for my work and after airlines losing not one but two of my suitcases. I decided I wouldn’t check in my case anymore. I know this sounds extreme, but I wanted to lighten my load anyway and exit airports quicker on business trips. I knew that it wasn’t feasible to carry a huge array of handbags to match all my outfits and they wouldn’t fit in my small carry on anymore.
One afternoon whilst walking around the beautiful markets of Bahrain, I was inspired to draw up a design for a handbag I could wear at the airport, but that could change its functionality to match my needs. To be able to change not only the straps from daytime to an evening chain, but also to allow the wearer to change colour to match any outfit and not even need to remove the contents. The Original Apsley was born and officially patented 6 months later.
This year has been an exciting one with a feature in Vogue and the Good web guide quoting us ‘a paradigm shift in handbags for ladies’. Not only for women that travel, but making the working week easier and great for busy mums too. The Apsley handbags will also be going into the Five Hotel Dubai this January which we are excited about but we are also taking part in the Winterland Christmas market, Fulham on Sunday the 8th December 11am - 3pm on Wandsworth Bridge Road... a little closer to home.
What advice would you give to anyone thinking of starting a new business or launching a new product? With a new retail product. I would say start slowly and don’t over purchase stock without knowing what your customers want and need. If you make up a few samples first and later produce a short run and see how they do, always ask your customers what they would like to buy.
Starting a new business can be challenging but it also can be super fun too.
Make sure you’ve got an in detail business plan and don’t be afraid to amend it when you start seeing your figures. Also, find mentors who have built similar business models and have been successful. We all make some mistakes in business but we learn from them, it’s really helpful to have a mentor who has previous experience to help you avoid any hurdles.
Last, but not least, find friends who are doing what you are doing, it’s great to support each other and share ideas.
Fulham Road Picturehouse opens: 8 December
Just out of the SW6 postcode but still very much in the Fulham zone we are very excited to hear that the Fulham Road Picturehouse officially opens on Sunday 6 December. The former Cineworld, which originally opened in 1930 as a Forum Theater along with Ealing and Kentish Town, will bring quality blockbusters and the best in independent cinema to the residential heart of west London.
Great timing for locals to catch hotly anticipated blockbusters such as Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker and Cats, as well as the best in independent film, including Greta Gerwig’s all-star adaptation of Little Women from Boxing Day. For fans of the classics, the cinema will screen Miracle On 34th Street on 8 December, The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg on 12 December and It’s A Wonderful Life on 22 December.
Clare Binns, Joint Managing Director of Picturehouse says: ‘‘From the best of mainstream and independent cinema to delicious food and drink, we can’t wait to bring Picturehouse to Fulham Road. Regulars to the former Cineworld will enjoy the way in which Picturehouse transforms this historic building to bring them the Picturehouse experience sure to delight west London residents and beyond.”
The six-screen cinema has been revitalised by Earle Architects. Screens 1 and 2 have undergone the biggest overhauls to improve sightlines and legroom. Each screen has been fitted with new luxury seating, state-of-the-art sound systems and the best in cinema projection facilities. Every screen will have an infrared system to play audio-described tracks offering voice commentary, through headphones, which describes the film to those who would benefit. Fulham will be the 26th venue in the growing family of Picturehouse Cinemas.
The cinema will host a range of community-focused, price-adjusted events throughout the week, including Big Scream (for parents and babies), Toddler Time, Autism and Dementia-Friendly Screenings and Silver Screen events for over-60s complete with free tea and biscuits. Retro fans can revel in the regular Culture Shock strand for a hit of cult nostalgia, and even well-behaved dogs are welcome.
The Picturehouse café with trained baristas will offer a range of quality and ethically sourced food to enjoy inside or out of the cinema screen. Traditional confectionery and freshly popped popcorn will be available alongside other indulgent treats or healthy snacks. The new restaurant will be open for lunch and dinner and in-house chefs will prepare fresh meals daily. The fully stocked bar will serve quality wines, spirits, craft beers as well as an ever-changing menu of expertly mixed cocktails.
Founder members will carve a place in history by having their names permanently inscribed on a specially designed Founder Members’ Wall. Limited to the first 2000 Members. An annual Picturehouse Membership offers a number of free tickets, 10% off food and drink, priority booking for special events and invites to free film previews. The Membership also comes with local partner discounts. The West End Picturehouse Membership can be used at all 11 London Picturehouse Cinemas and will give you access to the Members’ Bars in both Picturehouse Central and Fulham.
For more information and to buy Founder Membership, visit picturehouses.com/fulham or email customerservice@picturehouses.co
You can now follow the cinema on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter to keep up with the opening events and information.
Tickets are on sale now at: www.picturehouses.com/fulhramroad