Sunday was the day of the Big Lunch - an annual event where people across England hold street parties and garden parties and share food with others.
I managed to get to two in Tooting that afternoon - one on Salterford road and a smaller, garden party in Trevelyan Road. It was a great opportunity to get to know people in the local area.
However, local MP Sadiq Khan surpassed even my efforts and got to half a dozen Big Lunches. The picture here was taken at Salterford Rd and you can see me lurking in the background. There is a slideshow of all of Sadiq’s pictures on his website.
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Just wanted to share this Podcast from the City Bumpkin blog which includes an interview with David and Malsara Thorne. They are involved in the Transition Town Tooting movement, which seeks to make the community more self sufficient.
View Tooting Bookmakers in a larger map
This map is a project I am working on. I am trying to find out how long these bookmakers have been here and what was in these premises before. Please reply or photo reply if you have any information.
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Cecil Mansions is just a typical Victorian mansion block, but venture into Nick Cliff’s flat and you’ll discover a fledgling chutney making enterprise.
Nick, who founded the Cecil Mansions Co-operative with other residents, recently left his job in the film industry to turn his hobby into a career.
Spices come from down the road in Tooting, while some of the fresh produce comes from West Yorkshire, where Nick grew up, but the chutney is conceived, made and bottled in his Balham flat.
There are now four chutneys in Cecil Mansions’ London postcode range and Nick and his colleagues are ready to take on the world. Common People caught up with him to find out more.
Believe it or not, but Tooting is a hotspot for urban winemaking.
The Furzedown based Urban Wine Company yesterday celebrated the official uncorking of its 2009 rosé. The guests included many of the members of Urban Wine Company who supplied the grapes that went into the wine.
Common People went along to sample the wine (a little tart at first but slips down nicely on the second glass) and to meet some of the growers. Many of them are based in the Tooting and Furzedown area, which are blessed with a lot of old vines. Who knows, you may have one in your own garden!
