Finally, your chance to peek inside other people's Wimbledon homes
We launch our 'At Home With' feature and recommend some fantastic events this week
Good morning, Wimblers — happy Halloween! I hope that everyone has a fun and spooky evening planned. There are still a few ghoulish events on this week so look out for those below.
Thank you to everyone who has subscribed thus far. A special mention goes out to all of those who have recommended The Wimble and climbed our leaderboard. I’ll be in touch soon with those of you who have won prizes — if you’re on the list and you’re ‘anonymous’ then please reach out: zak@thewimble.com.
I’m very excited to announce that this week is our first instalment of The Wimble’s ‘At Home With’ section. The whole concept behind ‘At Home With’ is to give you, the readers, a chance to see and hear from one of your fellow residents and take a peek inside their world. This week, we’re featuring Fiona Wyse and her lovely house on Effra Road. Scroll down to read about life as a textiles artist in SW19 and how Fiona built her dream home.
Also, it’s your last chance to get your Wimble discount for the Wimbledon Quarter’s ice rink. Wimble readers can get 15% off on tickets with the unique code “TheWimbleReader15” — or click on this link here.
Expect your usual news snippets, exciting recommendations and a property of the week for under £300,000! I know, what a shock!
Do get in touch with ideas, feedback and leads. We’re always open to suggestions here at The Wimble. Contact me at zak@thewimble.com. In the meantime, share our newsletter, spread the word and get your friends and family on board. Thank you!
News snippets 🗞
🚨 The Metropolitan Police have decided to reopen an investigation into the Wimbledon car crash that killed two pupils last year. The Met say that “significant shortfalls” were revealed in the initial investigation. The crash, which took place last summer at the Study Prep school, claimed the lives of eight-year-olds Nuria Sajjad and Selena Lau, as well as injuring 12 others. A police spokesman said: “The review has identified a number of lines of inquiry that require further examination and, as such, the investigation will now be reopened.” Read more here.
🛏 A charity is hosting a sleepover at AFC Wimbledon to combat homelessness. The Dons Local Action Group is having its fourth annual Big Sleep Out on the 9th of November. The fundraising goal this year is to match last year’s sum of more than £40,000. The Dons are encouraging groups as well as individuals to sign up in a bid to foster community and camaraderie. We actually featured a piece on the Dons in one of our first editions, which you can read here.
📸 Wimbledon Society’s photography competition ‘Across the Seasons’ is live for submissions. Get snapping as we’ve only got approximately one month left for the ‘Autumn’ category. You can read more details here.
🥛 Local photographer Vince Harris has a new exhibition highlighting the journey of a used milk bottle and how waste management technologies have changed over the years. The exhibition will move to the Royal Photographic Society’s “Sustainable London” showcase at the Four Corners Gallery in Bethnal Green from the 6th-9th of November.
Property of the week 🗞
Surprise, surprise — for once we’re not featuring an opulent mansion! This studio flat may be small, but boy is it cute. It’s compact, it’s light and, most importantly, it’s £215,000. It reminds me of a treehouse or one of those “tiny homes” you see on YouTube and convince yourself that you could build. Read more about it here.
The Wimble’s to do list 🎯
👩🌾 Wimbledon Village Farmers’ Market — we’re talking fresh produce, delicious cheeses and excellent local products. I do love a farmers’ market, though I tend to overspend on the blue cheese when I’m there. See you there!
Where: Wimbledon Village High Street
When: Sunday 3rd November, 10:30 AM - 3:00PM
👻 Storytelling Evening at Southside House: Ghost Stories by Candlelight — head over to Wimbledon’s rather gothic and historical Southside House this Friday evening to hear about the haunted happenings of this Jacobean home. Tickets are £12 minimum. Expect to be scared senseless with tales of the white lady on the balcony, the headless highwayman and the secret chamber under the floorboards. It’s all very Brothers Grimm. Book here.
Where: Southside House, Wimbledon, SW19 4RJ
When: Friday 1st November, 6:00 PM
🎨 Wimbledon Quarter Workshops: Drawing with Miguel — the Quarter’s artist in residence is back again this week with another creative class. Tickets are £15 and equipment will be provided (as well as snacks — lucky you!). Book a space here.
Where: Wimbledon Quarter
When: Saturday 2nd November, 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
🍳 Cooking Demonstration: Exploring Truffles — this is for the aspiring chefs among us. Vallebona’s Vineria wine bar is hosting another sociable lunchtime cooking demo. Tickets are £20 and include a welcome drink, light lunch, sample tastings and recipes. What more could you possibly want from a Wednesday lunchtime? Book your spot here.
Where: Vallebona’s Vineria wine bar, Wimbledon Village
When: Wednesday 6th November, 12:30 PM - 2:30 PM
☕️ Ladies Before Lunch at Wimbledon Guild — brunch is back! This activity is free and is open to those who want to meet friends or make new ones. Refreshments are available for a small charge at the Guild’s cafe. You will have to book a spot here if you want to attend.
Where: Wimbledon Guild Lounge, SW19 4EF
When: Tuesday 5th November, 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
At Home With Fiona Wyse 🤝
A few weeks ago I ran a callout for our ‘At Home With’ section and a few days later local textile artist Fiona Wyse got in touch. Last week, I paid Fiona and her beautiful home a visit. After a tour of her house and a textile demonstration in her studio, we sat down to discuss what life is like for Fiona and her family on Effra Road, SW19.
Z: Take me back to the beginning. What was this place like when you moved in?
F: Well, we moved here about 13 years ago, though we’d been renting on Effra Road before then. The whole house had a very 80s feel to it — lots of mushroom and avocado colours. Lots of lino! The house was … well, it was rented. By the time we bought the place the garden had become a forest. The bushes had become trees. You couldn’t see anything back there. The previous tenants had been given a lawn mower but it clearly had never been used.
Talk to me about your garden studio. When was that built and why?
We built the studio 11 years ago. A local architect friend of mine gave me the design as a present for my birthday. He’d just finished working on terminal 5 and so our shed, the studio, is very high spec [laughs]. I do all of my textile work out there … I love it.
What is your favourite feature in this house?
Oh, I do love the old fireplace in the living room, even though it doesn’t work. It definitely gives the house a bit of character. I also love this table [she knocks her knuckles on the table between us]. It’s been with us since our first flat in Ealing. I grew up on a farm in Stirling, Scotland and we always had big farmhouse tables like this. It might need a new wax, but it’s sturdy. It’s seen a lot.
Is there any feature you’d really like to change?
My practical head is saying that I’d like a boot room for all of our shoes and coats but that would be for our next house. There’s no space here. The one thing that I had on my moodboard that we didn’t manage to do was a glass room, but there were far too many practical and realistic features vying for our money: radiators, new pipes, new electrics. I would have loved to enclose the patio with glass walls so we could have enjoyed even more of that Autumnal light which hits the garden around 5:00 PM.
Would you say that you’ve seen the local community change over the past 14 years?
Yes, I think so. You know, we’ve been here since those nursery days and we’ve seen a lot of families move away over the years because they need more space. Their families grew and unfortunately it’s very difficult to level-up in Wimbledon unless you have a spare million pounds lying around.
Is there anything you miss about the “old Wimbledon”?
Probably the independent coffee shops. There are less of those now. Actually, there are a lot less independent businesses in general.
So we know that you’re an artist. I’m just wondering whether or not you think that affected the design of this house?
Oh, absolutely! The living room has gone through … I don’t even know how many shades of paint. I also clearly like blue. Visually, you can see how the blue tracks through from the living room, into the kitchen and then through to the back garden. My art is all over the walls. I also wanted everything here to be inside out. When you’re standing by a glass door you can look through another glass door and then straight into the garden. The hallways in these 19th century houses are not luxurious … to say the least! You want a person’s eye to look through the house and get as much light as they possibly can.
Do you think your rural background has played a part in this house? And do you think your love of nature is why you settled here?
Definitely! We lived in a flat before moving to Wimbledon. It was this glorified attic in Ealing and we would look down and see all of our neighbours and their gardens and there was envy. In terms of coming to Wimbledon for nature, I’d say it’s nature that’s actually kept us here. The common was our sanity in the Covid years. We’re so lucky to have these green spaces in Wimbledon.
And finally, do you have any advice for those about to embark on their own doer-upper journey?
I did big pictureboards and sketchbooks. I got out the graph paper and I drew my ideas and I gave those ideas to the architect. [Laughs] It was all very basic.
I’m sure it wasn’t basic. I think it helps that you’re an artist. Most people wouldn’t immediately think to whip out the graph paper and get sketching.
No, I suppose they wouldn’t.
You can check out Fiona’s art on her website here.
ATTENTION ALL WIMBLERS 📣
Has anyone you know been forced to move out of Wimbledon due to increasing costs and a need for more space? We’d like to talk to them if they have! Get in touch: zak@thewimble.com
Question of the week 🔍
Last week I asked you in what year Charles I bought back Wimbledon Manor for the crown? The answer: 1638.
Q: Which famous singer — whose first album was titled Panic Prevention — was born in Wimbledon? Clue: the music video for his song ‘Sticks ‘n’ Stones’ features Wimbledon Station.
You’re up to date 👋
Thanks for reading this week! Enjoy your weekend, get spooky this evening and try to relax for the remainder of this half term. If you’ve got any suggestions, leads, comments or feedback, drop me an email at zak@thewimble.com. That’s everything from us. See you next week!