Posts Tagged ‘Clapham’

As no one else has done anything about this, Love Clapham has created a three step pro-active plan to tackling Clapham’s junk mail problem including printing ‘NO JUNK MAIL’ stickers out of our own pocket, and they aren’t cheap! If you would like a free sticker, email in with your name and address. Otherwise we’ll be giving the stickers out for free in Clapham over the coming weeks, so follow us on twitter @loveclapham to receive alerts of where and when this will be (they look better in real life… I stuck mine on slightly wonky).

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Simply marvellous news Clappers! Word has reached LoveClapham that we have a major new piece of amazing coming our way from the end of the month; an all new monthly food and flower market on Venn Street (behind Clapham Highstreet, by the post office depot). Yes, Love Clapham is totally over-the-moon. The first market, by Sourced Market, will be on Friday 27th – Sunday 29th November. Read on for more information. Read the rest of this entry »

OK! You got me, I give into Christmas! I’ve been avoiding Christmas at all costs. The IN YER FACE Christmas adverts on TV at the moment have been making me anti-Christmas – they keep filling me with the overwhelming urge to stick needles in my eyes instead of Christmas cheer. So thank heavens for the lovely little leaflet popped into my letter box this week that reminded me of what Christmas is all about: a fun ol’ get together! Tomorrow, Saturday 21st November from 2 – 4pm at St Peter’s Halls, Prescott Place off of the Highstreet is Clapham’s first Christmas Market of 2009. I love everything about the leaflet that promises “bargains galore” for the price of a mere fifty pence piece entry charge. There will be a tombola, gifts, toys, preserves, books and other goodies. Do the organisers a favour and nip in for a cup of tea and a look around.

Every now and then something comes along that makes Love Clapham go “holy crap” and this picture is one of them, found in a book by Clapper Christopher Anderson. During World War II, Clapham Common was used for more than buff posturing joggers, it was the location of four large anti-aircraft guns (pictured above). In the picture you can also see trenches, huts and possibly soldiers doing exercises. This is so far removed from the Clapham Common of today it’s hard to comprehend what it was like. Thankfully, the BBC has a report from a lady called Jean Vines who lived in the area at the time. Jean talks about cycling across Clapham Common to get to school with a very real “danger of being hit by shrapnel from the four big guns on Clapham Common”. Fascinating!

As you can probably tell, Love Clapham loves a bit of artistic flair, so imagine our delight when Clapham resident artist Katy Jackson got in touch to tell us about this month’s Open Studios Art Show.  The Open Studios Art Show is on from Thursday 26 – Sunday 29 November in Wimbledon and features a number of local Clapham artists, including Katy. Read the rest of this entry »

Check out this awesomeness from the Clapham North Deep Shelter. Built to house 12,000 people during the air raids of World War II, these rare photos offer a unique look into the forgotten structures. Urban Explorer UK has a stunning set of photos taken inside the shelter including a couple with models which bring these pieces of history bang up-to-date. Their size is mind boggling when you think they’re lying there beneath Clapham High Street. Kudos to Urban Explorer for securing access when they aren’t open to the public.

As the nights get colder and Love Clapham gets lazier, I’ve found myself eating out more often. This week I went back to ‘Daniel and I’ with a couple of pals for my second visit. “Where the hell is Daniel and I?” you’re thinking, and clearly very few know the answer because at the moment it always seems to be empty. At night Breads Etcetera transforms into a restaurant called Daniel and I, with a large range of home made soups and hearty main meals (although as the waiter warned, the soups are main courses in themselves!) Both times I’ve been here the service, food and atmosphere has been stellar, which makes it all the stranger that this restaurant, packed for breakfasts, hasn’t yet made its mark on the Clapper Massive. Check it out, you won’t be disappointed.

Love Clapham HQ had serious concerns for Clapham’s local shops and restaurants when the economy started to collapse. The area has done fairly well, although there have been casualties. As the recession continues to bite and moves into its sixth successive quarter, I’m shocked to see that many local businesses simply aren’t applying simple tactics to survive the the slump in spending. The majority of Clapham’s restaurants are extremely overpriced, yet often half empty; some even put their prices up this year! Some shops on Clapham High Street don’t stay open past 5.30; again, not ideal when the majority of Clapham’s resident’s commute to Central London, working until gone 6pm. Here’s a tip: restaurants, cut the price of your entire menus by £1 per dish and shops change your opening hours. Then tell everyone about it! You can use LoveClapham for free to do this… I still find it amazing how few Clapham businesses get in contact to tell us about their offers. This site has thousands of visitors and we don’t charge a penny for passing on news of good offers.

The above grainy picture is from a video of a lion chilling out while on the run in Clapham Junction. In case you were wondering why you hadn’t heard about this on Twitter, it’s because this amazing footage is from back in 1943. Watch the video on British Pathe, but beware the poetic narrative. Many thanks to Eddie Clarke for spotting this one! If you find any other Clapham historic treats, please get in touch.

Whether you live in Lambeth or Wandsworth, time is running out to make sure you are registered on the “electoral register”, the list that allows you to vote in local and general elections. You have until 21st November to register, and if you don’t you won’t have a say in who runs the local council or who runs the country for the next four years. That should be important enough, but if it isn’t, by not being registered it can mess up your ability to get loans, bank accounts, direct debits etc. Read the rest of this entry »

Forget the “summer blockbuster”, this year it’s all about the Autumn blockbuster with the Fantastic Mr Fox, The Imaginarium of Dr Parnasuss and the absolutely brilliant “UP” by Pixar. On top of that, the Clapham Picture House is showing the Michael Jackson This Is It tour rehearsal documentary and a one off MET Opera Live event in HD on Saturday 23rd October. There’s tonnes to watch, so get watching! Read the rest of this entry »