What’s New, On & Happening in Fulham

What’s New

Dog & Groom

Dog & Groom is a new grooming salon and boutique that has just opened on Wandsworth Bridge Road. Fulham is their second site after the first location opened 3 years ago South of the river on Bellevue Road. We spoke to owner Anna Ochendzan on the day they officially opened, we talked about the run up to opening their doors, why Fulham and how their business has been received by locals. Sounds like so far so good, as they already have two weeks of bookings in the diary.

“I didn’t plan to open a second location so quickly but we found the property which we loved as well as the Fulham area. Of course we know there are lots of dogs locally and it’s great being so close to South Park and not too far from our other site, I didn’t want to be on a different side of the city, as I cycle everywhere. We wanted somewhere not too far away”. Anna told Urban Village LDN that what Dog & Groom offer is slightly different to other salons. They have one to one grooming in one room from beginning to end which is in keeping with their holistic ethos to create a calm and relaxed environment for everyone; especially the dog and the groomer. There are no holding pens and no cage dryers. Dog & Groom offer a variety of grooming services, from a simple bath and tidy up, to hand stripping and show grooming. Anna said the reception has been great “everyone seems to like what we’re doing and we’ve enjoyed meeting our first local customers”.

Anna has over 8 years experience and has worked is some of London's best known salons. Always curious we had to ask Anna how she got into this line of work. It was by chance as she came to London from Poland to study fashion at Central St Martin’s. “I loved clothes and fashion but not the industry so I thought I’d make dogs pretty instead!”. The shop also looks fantastic with a fabulous colour scheme, shelving units and art pieces. “We used an interior designer and we’re really happy with the end result and it seems like our customers are too”. Follow them on Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/dogandgroom or hit the link below to find out more.

Lillie Langtry reopens

Did you know that The Lillie Langtry at 19 Lillie Road is Fulham’s oldest surviving 19th century pub? To be honest neither did we! It was built in 1835 and originally named the Lillie Arms after its owner, Sir John Scott Lillie. It’s present name was given to it in 1979 after the actress and courtesan Lillie Langtry, who in the last quarter of the nineteenth century, allegedly had numerous affairs with noblemen including Bertie, Prince of Wales; who visited the nearby Earl's Court Exhibition grounds on many occasions.

Anyway enough of history and back to the present day. The Lillie Langtry is now part of the Stonegate Group and after an extensive refurb will re open to the public on 5 Dec. We spoke to Sarah Meadows; who continues post refurb to manage the venue. We didn’t get hold of Sarah at the best of times as she was overseeing the delivery of a massive spirits order so we left her to it and rescheduled our call. When we spoke to Sarah she told Urban Village LDN what locals can expect. “We’re now part of a collection of small premium pubs owned by the group which means everything from service to food is now a premium offer. All our food is prepared in house and made from scratch using local produce and our meat is from butchers Aubrey Allen who supply the Royal Family. We’ll have all the classics from burgers to fish and chips, with our Winter menu featuring hearty dishes including home made pies, sea bream risotto and they’ll be a sharing roast board for all the family. We’ve also got a great cocktail list and will be serving our own infused house gins”.

We haven’t been in to check out the refurb yet because the doors weren’t offically open when we went to press but Sarah told Urban Village LDN that the interiors are “beautiful, an elevated take on a classic bar, with dark wood, chandeliers, sky lights and a greenery feature. The overall feel is very warm and we have a terrace at the front and back. We will also have live music and we’ve got a 100 person capacity function room”. Their opening party takes place on 8 Dec and you can sign up to their guest list to see if you’re the lucky recipient of an invite; offered on a first come first served basis. Head to their website on the link below to sign up and find out more.

Tale’ Ka’

Tale’ Ka’ is a new Sicilian Bistro, located at 606 Fulham Road, which opened last month and they are billing themselves as offering all day dining with a twist. We’re liking the sound of their “Aperidinner”, a cocktail or a glass of prosecco with the chef’s sharing platter which is available everyday from 5 - 9.30pm and sounds right up our street! Their “In & Out” (Malfy Blood Orange Gin, Vermouth and Campari) is ticking all the right boxes too.

Tale’ Ka’ procure the freshest products from Sicily and they want the food they offer and the atmosphere of their restaurant to remind their customers of Sicily and introduce them to their culture. On the menu we see there’s a great selection of Arancina, another Urban Village LDN HQ fave, classic pasta dishes including cannelloni, lasagne as well as other options from fresh mussels and clams to veal loin. They also have a range of freshly baked buns for sale including savoury brioches and Pizzettina, cakes including tiramisu, pistachio doughnuts and of course you can’t go wrong with a bit of Panatone at this time of year. We’re definitely going to have go in to also have a try of their pistachio cappuccino as we are massive pistachio fans too!

Head to their website on the link below to make a booking / find out more or give them a follow on Instagram https://instagram.com/tale_ka_bistro

What’s On

Parsons Green Christmas lights: Fri 2 (6 pm)

Join other Fulham locals for the switching on of the Parsons Green Christmas lights with a glass of mulled wine in hand.

Fulham Good Neighbours Art Exhibition: Fri 2 (11 am - 4pm)

Fulham Good Neighbours (FGN) are hosting their first art exhibition at Rosaline Hall on 2 Dec from 11 am - 4 pm to display the talents of their Art Group members. FGN are inviting the local community to come to the event and join them for a glass of mulled wine, a mince pie and conversations with the artists in person. There will be music from the Rhythm Factory, a talented group of young musicians from a local college, original artworks can be purchased and the FGN Art Club has produced, for the third year running, 2023 calendars which they will be selling for £6.00 featuring the paintings of their talented artists. All proceeds from the day will be donated to FGN charity.

Fulham Camerata: Sun 11 (6.30pm)

The Fulham Camerata Choir’s charity Christmas concert takes place at 6.30pm on Sunday 11 at Holy Cross, Ashington Road.

The organisers told Urban Village LDN “there is no entrance charge but we hope for a small donation from our audience in support of the Felix Project, which is a food redistribution charity in London fighting food waste and hunger. The Felix Project, set up in 2016, believes in a vision of London where no one goes hungry and good food is never wasted”.

They will be performing Vaughan Williams Fantasia on Christmas carols as well as other festive favourites which will be directed by Harry Castle.

Carols by Candlelight: Mon 12 (6.40 for 7pm start)

Join the Fulham Belles at All Saints Church, for a festive Christmas Carol Service by candlelight; all funds raised will go towards Maggie's the West London Cancer Charity.

​The Fulham choir was founded in 2013 by Anna Boucher who studied music at Durham University as a pianist and cellist. The choir is open to ladies who love to sing with rehearsals taking place weekly ( term-time only) in South West London and they perform regularly for charity fundraising events. New members are invited to join at the start of each September and “encourage committed and musical singers”.

What’s Happening

SEACC Christmas

Tis the season to be jolly so this Christmas the team at the Sands End Arts & Community Centre (SEACC) are bringing plenty of cheer with their festive programme; a series of free events and performances. It is the charity’s first real Christmas and the SEACC team are looking forward to sharing it with everyone.  They have something for all ages and wonderful contributions from some very talented neighbours; all events are free and ticketless. Trustee and Fulham resident Elizabeth Henderson told Urban Village LDN “The lights are up and the cakes baking in our community cafe - we are very excited for a warm Christmas at SEACC.  There has been fabulous support in the creation of our festive programme and we can’t wait to see it unfold”.

The festive programme starts on Tuesday 6 December with a musical afternoon for all the family. Fulham based pianist, Yu Su and tenor Tyler Clark will performing music by Handel, Purcell and Christmas classics including White Christmas, Let it Snow and more. Other highlights that we spotted on the programme include a free festive party for young people (aged 11 - 16) called “Not so Silent Night”; made us laugh. This is being hosted by Fulham’s SEAPIA and it sounds great fun with a DJ, open mic, games, 360 photo booth and lots of party food. The man himself will be putting in an appearance on Sunday 18 December before he settles down to watch the World Cup Final. Father Christmas will be in the lodge from 10am with gifts for local children and from 12pm he will be joined by Fulham Camerata Choir who will be performing carols in the main hall. SEACC’s Community café which is open 8:30am - 4pm (Monday -Sunday), will also be getting into the festive spirit with a selection of seasonal treats and nibbles and provide mince pies and mulled wine at all the events.

Yu Su, who is coordinating the first performance on the 6 December, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to be bringing together the local community of Fulham through music and festivities at the Sands End Arts & Community Centre. At the heart of every community, there is a place where old friends can gather and new friends can be made and SEACC was designed for that very purpose. This year’s Christmas celebrations at SEACC mark the start of an exciting new series of events coming up over the next year. Watch this space, literally!”

SEACC also recognises that this winter will be difficult for many residents and is proud to be supporting the council’s warm hub programme. SEACC will be providing designated space for those at risk of fuel poverty throughout the winter on Monday and Thursday between 12-6pm. Christopher Newport, CEO told us “our aim is and will always be to provide a centre that is inclusive, supportive and inspiring and we feel our winter programme reflects this. But’s it’s only the start – we can’t wait to start to building upon this in the new year with all members of our community and achieving even greater things”

For more details on all SEACC programmes and activities hit the link below or stay tuned on social media at https://www.instagram.com/seaccfulham https://twitter.com/seaccfulham

Earls Court Development Tours

Following their successful participation in “Open House” this September, the Earls Court Development Company are offering monthly guided site tours. Book a ticket on the third Wednesday of every month, weather dependent, and find out about their ideas, plans to transform this 40 acre site and their vision for the area. Climb onto “the table” a concrete structure that looks over the whole site. No wheelchair access.

Bridge Baker at Christmas

You can now pick and mix your own hamper in store at Bridge Baker. Their bakers and pastry chefs have been busy and their Christmas table in store is laden with of all sorts of deliciousness: baked festive treats, Hungarian Stollen with homemade marzipan, chocolate dipped florentines and other products including wine, tea, olive oil and jams.

You can either create your own hamper or fill in your hamper form on line and Bridge Baker will do the rest for you. They’ve also partnered with e-cargo bikes and can deliver anywhere in London 7 days a week. Orders for £50 and above are free; last day for Christmas deliveries is Fri 23.

Mulled wine, with their own spice blend, is now available in store, which you can either enjoy on it’s own or pair with their frangipane topped luxury mince pies!

Glass Door Christmas appeal

As the weather gets colder, Glass Door is now seeking donations to its Christmas Appeal to give the homeless shelter, meals and access to its emergency support services this Christmas and throughout the winter months: £31 could help provide someone with safe shelter, a hot evening meal and breakfast for the night; £95 could help provide ten new guests with an advice session from Glass Door caseworkers at one of their partner daytime centres; £226 could help fund a "move-on" package with personalised support sessions and a deposit top-up to help someone move into stable accommodation; £434 could help support two guests to stay in their emergency winter shelter for one week.

To give people shelter and hope during the hard, cold months of winter, the charity will be operating emergency night shelters across London. Opening on 5 December 2022 and running for 16 weeks until the end of March, the shelters will provide safe emergency shelter, a hot evening meal and breakfast for 75 people each night, in close partnerships with local churches and communities. Guests staying in night shelters will be supported by Glass Door’s trained caseworkers to build their path out of homelessness.

“At Glass Door, we are expecting hundreds of people will turn to us with nowhere else to go, looking for a way off the streets this Christmas. We already see a rising number of people turning to us in desperate need of support. We are ready to provide a safe, warm welcome.” Says Jo Carter, Interim CEO.