The Robin lands in Parsons Green
On 7 January The Robin Montessori Nursery opened its doors in Parsons Green. The nursery situated in a building on the grounds of ChristChurch Fulham offers a “home from home environment” with indoor and outdoor space for children 2- 5 years and follows the Montessori philosophy in conjunction with the Early Years Foundation Stage. Founded by Agnes Mugnai and Elisa Fernandez Romero who has been a Fulham resident for 20 years.
The Robin Montessori Nursery aims to provide a nurturing and stimulating environment where children feel happy, safe and grow through creative and stimulating activities to promote creativity, self-confidence and independence with the aim to leave children well prepared for the next stage of their educational journey.
The nursery is now enrolling for their September 2020 in take get in touch info@therobinmontessori.com
http://therobinmontessori.com/our-story/
https://www.instagram.com/the_robin_montessori/?igshid=1qb9c9h7ef50t
Keeping it Real
Clare Pooley’s debut novel “The Authenticity Project” is set in Fulham where she lives with her husband, three children and two border terriers. It was inspired by Chelsea Studios on the Fulham Road, by Stamford Bridge.
Clare told Urban Village LDN “I've always been fascinated by the studios, which look like a little time warp, stuck between the Home and Away entrances of the stadium. I wondered if an artist might live there, who'd been there since the 1960's, staying just the same while everything around him changed. That inspired one of the main characters - Julian Jessop”.
The novel features six characters brought together after Julian makes the first entry in a journal “Everyone lies about their lives. What would happen if you shared the truth instead?” and leaves the green notebook titled “The Authenticity Project” in a Fulham cafe. Lots of Fulham treasures are referenced in the book including Nomad, Kebab Kid, Eel Brook Common and Brompton Cemetery plays a big part in the novel. Clare told us “Monica's cafe is invented, but I wish it were real”.
Clare is also the author of “The Sober Diaries” which were published in 2017 after the success of her anonymous blog “Mummy Was a Secret Drinker”. Clare revealed herself to be the author in the same year after she had landed her first book deal.
The kindle version of “The Authenticity Project” is available from 4th Feb and the hardback book will be out on April 2nd and available in all good bookshops, including Nomad!
Foodie heaven
Planet Eat TV is a dedicated food channel that was launched by a Fulham resident in January this year. The website showcases some of the best talent from up-and-coming chefs around the world. This subscription channel features all things foodie from professional masterclasses by leading culinary schools and high quality guides in food photography, styling, blogging, social media and so much more as their website says “it’s all your foodie needs, under one roof”. We’ve had a bit of a nosey and we think we shall have to tune in to check out Vegan Pixie’s, Pad Thai recipe, one pot campervan recipes and other food journey and discovery videos.
Planet Eat TV says they “are constantly making new, original content that you won’t find anywhere else”. For a monthly subscription fee of £3.99 a month (if you like see what you see you can upgrade to annual) you can stream 100s of episodes at home or on the go. They have a “Most Watched”, Masterclass and “Lifestyle sections and preview trailers help you decide what to watch next. As we said foodie heaven!
https://www.instagram.com/planeteat.tv/
A la Carte
Whilst we’re still thinking of food. You may remember we wrote a review about the Harlequin restaurant in our September issue. We’re still dreaming about the amazingly delicious meal we had back then and to be honest we haven’t been back yet as we were waiting for another special occasion as their set menu comes with a price tag of £45 per head. But hurrah we have no excuse not to pop up the road to sample their mouth watering culinary offerings as they have just launched an a la carte menu. This “small and seasonally changing” menu will run alongside their normal five course set menu every Wednesday and Thursday. We can’t wait! After a look at their February set menu we’re chomping at the bit to see what makes the a la carte selection! If you haven’t dined there yet we can’t recommend this gem on our doorstep highly enough. We aren’t the only ones waxing lyrical hit any search engine and check out all the reviews they’ve had to date not to mention the visit they had by Albert Roux.
See you soon Harlequin! Oh and Happy 1st Birthday!
https://www.harlequinrestaurant.co.uk/about
https://www.instagram.com/harlequinrestaurant/
EmojitNow launched by borough resident
At our recent social we met with borough resident Ben Phills Founder and co-creator of EmojitNow a free mobile app, which launched in January with the aim to help support local business. Ben told us that this free mobile app, currently available on iOS, “has been designed to let us share our gut emotional reactions be it January sales deals at your favourite retailers, the food quality at that new gourmet burger restaurant down the street, its service and even just how clean it is”.
Urban Village LDN readers can download the app now to support and feedback on Fulham businesses be it fittings at Pollyanna Shoes or the latest brunch offering at Glasshouse Cafe. Ben is looking for more Fulham retailers, services/suppliers to take part in a free trial as they continue to develop the app. Those taking part will get access to the app’s insight including summaries of the things being fed back on, the emojis and the reasons, the age-range of the people who submitted the feedback, the location/neighbourhood where they were submitted, the time and the day they were submitted. “It gives real-time data-focused insight to businesses about what their customers are experiencing day-in day-out,” says Ben. “They no longer have to rely on terminals that tell them if their customers are happy or not (but not why they feel that way), nor do they have to wait for delayed email surveys or mystery shopper programs, or to watch Twitter or other review sites to get anecdotal feedback.”
If you’re a local business who wants to take part in the free trial get in touch with Ben ben.phillis@gmail.com
Sloaney Pony
The White Horse our iconic Fulham local on Parsons Green has re-opened after a bit of TLC and a makeover. Have you been in to check it out yet? We went in for a very quick snoop and really liked what we’ve seen so far of the new outside seating and the decor in the main bar area. We didn’t make it into the coach house or upstairs! Gorgeous red banquets inside, large armchairs around the fireside, the artwork and drinks cabinets are really popping with a new dark charcoal lick of paint and no doubt the new seated area will be proving very popular on match and summery days ahead. We’re wondering if there is a new menu to go with the new look. We shall have to investigate. In the meantime - you’re looking good Sloaney Pony and you’ve never smelt so fresh.