The story of the pub that saved Christmas
Plus: The very best festive activities for the coming days
Good morning, Wimblers — it’s officially December! Christmas truly is upon us, and Wimbledon’s festivities are in full swing.
Our exclusive Wimble x Thunderbird competition is still live, so click the link here and enter your email for the chance to win £100 of free food at Thunderbird this Christmas!
This week, we’re telling the story of the pub that saved Christmas. The festive period is a time of jubilation, of families and friends coming together and of a great sense of camaraderie. But it can also be a lonely time, as not all of us are lucky enough to have friends or family around during the holidays. So what can we do to help those less fortunate than ourselves? Well, the Alexandra in Wimbledon has certainly found one solution. Scroll down to find out what they’re doing to save Christmas.
We’ve also got your usual news snippets, some festive recommendations for the coming weeks and a rather lovely property of the week.
Over the weekend, I received a lovely email from one of our readers that read:
“Hi Zak,
I wanted to email and thank you for your time and effort in putting together The Wimble, and also pass on a thank you on behalf of my grandparents. They don’t have internet access and gave the physical Christmas edition a glowing review. My grandad had a fall earlier this year and has been housebound for months (and very much mentally affected by losing his independence). Having a newsletter full of good news, community spirit and local businesses/events to support brought a smile to my grandparents’ faces in a way we haven’t seen in a little while, so we are really very grateful.”
Messages like this mean so much to us at The Wimble; it’s always incredible to know that the local community is valuing our work. So keep ‘em coming!
This week’s Wimble sponsor ⛳️
Caddi Club is gearing up for Christmas. Make sure to check out all of their events and packages for the festive season here. Caddi Club is the biggest indoor golf venue of its kind in Europe. Aren’t we Wimblers lucky to have it on our doorstep? But even if your golf skills leave much to be desired, Caddi Club is a great place to hang out, grab a drink, meet some friends or just get some work done.
News snippets 🗞️
↗️ Merton Council has announced plans to commit £30m towards remaking Morden into a better town centre for local people. According to their press release, “This major investment, set to be agreed by the council in early 2026, marks the next step in the council’s long-term plans for Remaking Morden: building thousands of new homes, developing a vibrant high street, creating a thriving evening economy and destination for the benefit of the local community.” The leader of Merton council, Ross Garrod, announced the investment at the borough’s Christmas lights switch-on on Friday 28 November.
🔥 This year, residents of Merton with real coal fires or wood-burning appliances are encouraged to use alternative heating methods and avoid burning wood to help reduce air pollution across the borough. Wood-burning stoves — even the most modern, eco-designed models — and coal fires are a significant source of the pollutant PM2.5, tiny particles that once inhaled can increase the risk of serious health conditions like strokes, asthma, lung cancer, heart disease and dementia. Read more about the borough’s plans here.
👮A Mitcham man has been jailed for eight-and-a-half years after he was found guilty of eight counts of holding a person in slavery or servitude. Hewa Magari, 45, of Carshalton Road was found to have trafficked Romanian nationals to the UK, forcing them to live and work in his car wash. One of his victims was a 15-year-old boy. The eight Romanian nationals were lured to the UK with promises of accommodation, legitimate work, fair pay and more. The situation worsened during the Covid lockdown as the victims were confined to a shed on the premises of his car wash. The 15-year-old victim alerted the authorities that he had been lured to the UK only to have his ID confiscated upon arrival. Officers then attended the car wash that day and found the eight victims. Read more about it in the Standard.
❄️ Winterfest was a roaring success this year. We got in touch with Wimbledon Quarter to see how the data looked in comparison to last year. The total footfall in the Quarter hit 55,575 over the course of the weekend. That’s a 7.2% increase on last year and a 13.3% increase on the weekend before Winterfest.
Property of the week 🏠
We’re back with another stunning property of the week. This detached five-bedroom house does not disappoint with its period features, built-in wine cellar, huge garden and stunning location. This is one of those homes that makes you envious just looking at it. But what will this property set you back? As you might expect from a property of this size in Wimbledon, it’s rather expensive: £3.25m. Check out more photos on Rightmove.
The Wimble’s to-do list ⛸
❄️ Wimbledon Christmas market: Love Wimbledon’s Christmas market on The Piazza is back this week. There will be everything from delicious food and mulled wine to original art, home décor, bespoke jewellery, clothing, candles and much more (click here to see the sellers).
Where: The Piazza, Wimbledon
When: Thursday 4 – Sunday 7 December (Thursday/Friday: 12–7pm, Saturday/Sunday: 11am — 6pm)
⛸ Skate It Off Ice Skating Experience: This event is perfect for Swifties out there! Glide across the ice for 45 minutes as a DJ spins your favourite Taylor Swift tracks. Your ticket also includes access to the Taylor-themed photo booth. It’s £15.50 for children and £18.50 for adults. Grab your tickets here.
Where: Wimbledon Quarter
When: Saturday 6 December, 6pm & 7pm
🎉 The Big Bash: Enjoy an afternoon of festive fun at the Big Bash, Polka’s annual family fundraiser in aid of the theatre’s work as a registered charity supporting children and families in the community. Every ticket includes admission to one of their winter productions: The Firework-Maker’s Daughter or The Snowflake. There will also be a pre-show party where you can expect face painting, glitter tattoos, crafts, interactive stories with Rosie Tells Tales, a goody bag for every child and a festive buffet with complimentary drinks for all ages! Tickets are £45, which you can grab here.
Where: Polka Theatre
When: Sunday 7 December, 2pm onwards
🎄 Christmas in the Village: This is about as Christmassy as it gets! This year in the village there will be Santa’s grotto, a Christmas market, pony rides, Santa’s horseback parade, face-painting, story time sessions, fairground rides, balloon twister shows, clay modelling and much more.
Where: Wimbledon Village
When: Sunday 7 December, 10am – 5pm
🎨 Christmas pottery painting for kids: Are your children dying to express their creative sides? Head down to Wimbledon Quarter this weekend for this workshop on designing and personalising their own Christmas-themed ceramics — from sparkly baubles and mini Christmas trees to cheerful snowmen and cosy mugs. Tickets are £15 per child and can be bought here.
Where: Wimbledon Quarter
When: Sunday 7 December, 10.30am – 12pm
‘A pub belongs to the people that use it’: The Wimbledon local serving free lunches on Christmas Day 🍺🎄
Humans are social creatures. We survive through interaction. But all of us, at some point or another, will experience loneliness in our lives. A recent study by the Office for National Statistics found that a quarter of all adults in the UK reported feeling lonely always, often or some of the time. Certain periods of the year can exacerbate those feelings of isolation, not least Christmas: a time when families and friends gather together. But not everyone is so lucky to have people to spend the holidays with. A study by King’s College London last year found that one in nine adults spend Christmas Day alone. So what can we do to help those on their own? Well, if you’re Mick and Sarah Dore — general managers of the Alexandra, Wimbledon — you open the doors to your pub and serve free Christmas lunches to those in need.
Mick and Sarah Dore have been running pubs and hotels for nearly 30 years. The pair met when Sarah was working behind the bar at Mick’s local. Like the Alexandra in Wimbledon, the venue for their meeting was also part of the British pub chain Young’s. Mick and Sarah even got married in a Young’s. And all five of the pubs they’ve managed have been under the Young’s banner.
“If you cut me open, I bleed Young’s,” Mick tells me. Before taking over the Alexandra 16 years ago, Mick and Sarah had a brief stint in New Zealand (Sarah’s country of origin). And before that, they ran the Dog & Fox in Wimbledon Village. “We knew how important the Alexandra was for the community long before we got the keys,” Mick says.
Twelve years ago, Mick made a decision that would change the Alexandra’s fate forever. “This was back when Twitter was less of a mess,” says Mick. “I sent out this tweet on Christmas Day saying that whoever was on their own could pop down to the Alex and get a free pint on me.” That first year, only three or four people showed up.
“I remember one Christmas we had this Royal Navy veteran come in for a free beer, and we got chatting. He was a lovely man. And when it got to around 3pm, I asked him if he’d like to stay and have Christmas lunch with the staff. He insisted that he had somewhere to go, even though it was clear that he didn’t,” says Mick.
“I think a lot of people are like that; it’s a pride thing. There’s still a big stigma around loneliness. If it were a movie, there would have been snow as he walked off into the distance, and there would have been violin music playing in the background. It wasn’t snowing, it was just an ordinary day. But it made me think that if we’re already offering free drinks for those on their own at Christmas, why not expand it to include a meal too?”
So the following year, Mick and Sarah hosted their first free Christmas Day meal for anyone who would otherwise spend the day alone. Eighteen people showed up. Fast-forward to today, and the Alexandra expects between 150 and 180 people to join them for a free meal. Mick explains that the number of people they cater to every year illustrates just how lonely people are.
How does it work, I ask. Do you seat strangers together?
Mick explains that there’s an organised chaos to the day. As individuals arrive, he greets them with a clipboard at the door. He then walks them to the bar, gets them a beer or a glass of wine, returns to the door and repeats that process until five or six strangers are all banded together with drinks in their hands. “Then I explain that I’ve got space to seat them, and I ask if they’d mind sitting together,” says Mick.
By then, strangers are no longer strangers, and they’re more than happy to sit with each other. “I always say that people come in here on their own and they leave with new friends, and sometimes they even decide to all head back to someone’s house afterwards.”
But it wouldn’t be possible to serve 180 free Christmas lunches without the help of volunteers. Many of the chefs work for free on the day, as do some members of staff. Black cab drivers offer lifts home pro bono. Local charities provide everyone with free goodie bags. Almost all of the food and drink is funded through donation. “It’s not a restaurant experience,” says Mick. “But I think that makes it easier. You’re getting a plate of food alongside some company. If you don’t want sprouts, don’t eat them, but they’ll be on your plate anyway.”
Mick explains that as a child, he would often visit his grandmother’s house for Christmas. His whole family would gather around the table on different chairs with assorted mugs. “But none of that mattered,” he says. “We were happy to be there. And I think our free Christmas lunch at the Alex is just like that.”
I ask Mick if he thinks loneliness is getting worse. “The thing about loneliness is that it doesn’t respect wealth,” he says. “You could be a billionaire and still be alone on Christmas Day. Loneliness affects everyone. When I was younger, we didn’t really speak about mental health, but we’ve got better as a society at that now. People feel embarrassed to admit they’re lonely. But I think we’re starting to look at loneliness properly. We understand that it has a huge impact not just on our mental health but on our physical health too.”
But loneliness isn’t only felt at Christmas, Mick points out. There are 365 days in a year. That’s why each week the Alexandra runs something called Meet-up Mondays. Between the hours of 11am and 2pm, the pub invites anyone on their own — usually the elderly — to come down in their best clobber, have coffee, teas, cakes and chips on the house, and play bingo. They get up to 70 people attending each week. “It’s a right laugh,” says Mick. “People really look forward to it.”
I ask Mick if he always intended for the Alex to become such an important space for the community when he and Sarah took over. “We were conscious of the pub’s history, of how much it has meant to the generations before us. As a landlord of a pub, you’re only a custodian. The pub belongs to the people that use it, not the person walking around swinging the keys. Your task as a landlord is a humble one. The pub will be here long after you’re gone, still serving the community, still acting as a space for generations to come. Your job as a landlord is simple: make it the very best pub you can.”
The Alexandra opens to serve free Christmas lunches from 12 to 3pm on Christmas Day. There’s no need to book. Just simply turn up, say hello, grab a drink and enjoy the company of others.
Winterfest 2025 ❄️
This year’s Winterfest kicked off with a bang on Saturday. Riverside Radio broadcast live from the community stage with live music from local choirs and dance groups to keep the Christmas vibes flowing. We also had a Christmas sing-along with Lauren Hampton (Maid Marian) and Amelia Walker (Spirit of Sherwood Forest) from the New Wimbledon Theatre’s Robin Hood pantomime. The Quarter took centre stage on Sunday with the Polka’s Christmassy Craft Workshop, face painting, Santa’s grotto and, of course, a spot of ice skating. Wimblers will be happy to know that their exclusive ice skating discount is still available using the code “WIMBLEREADER” via this link! If you snapped any great pics over the weekend, send them to zak@thewimble.com.
Question of the week 🔍
Last week, I asked you how much the Old Rectory — the most expensive property ever listed in Wimbledon — was on the market for in 2012. The answer: £26m
Q: When did Elys first open its doors (note: the original Elys was actually across the road from where it is today)?
You’re up to date 👋
Thank you for reading this week’s edition. Do please get in touch with more feedback about your commutes on the District line. Email zak@thewimble.com. And don’t forget to sign up for Thunderbird’s £100 giveaway here. Other than that, have a great rest of the week and we’ll see you next time.