Local Links

No one wants to be confronted by a page full of links, 99% of which are irrelevant. So, here’s the twickerati guide to some very local things you just might find interesting. And if you want to get something added, get in touch.

Categories
Shops and businesses
Eating stuff
Getting fit
Seeing & doing stuff
Kids and family stuff
Local bloggers and interesting bits
Community & listings sites
Your class reps – the political bit

LOCAL SHOPS & BUSINESSES
When it comes to shopping, we don’t recommend boycotting M&S or Waitrose or burning the books at Waterstones but sometimes it’s worth keeping it local. Check these out:

Church Street traders have their own Facebook page to keep people up to date with what’s going on. Check that out here.
Par Ici - The “made in Twickenham” shop. A wide range of local stuff for local people from wind up radios to greetings cards.
Twickenham Farmers Market - This site gives a list of who’s who at the market. You can sign up to their mailing list too. OK, so most of the sellers aren’t that local but it still gets a mention.
Last Try Wines – Twickenham’s independent wine seller. As well as a retail outlet, they also sell to restuarants, do corporate stuff and even run wine tasting evenings. On Whitton Road.
Langton’s Bookshop – Independent bookshop on Church Street. Helpful staff and its own cafe too.
Crusader Travel – Independent travel agent on Church Street. Appears here courtesy of a recommendation from a happy customer.
Twickenham Fine Ales - Local brewery making some decent bitters. On sale in establishments (i.e. pubs) including The Fox & The Crown.
Knew Image are a local marketing, print and design company who work with a range of local businesses as well as individuals. Oh, and they did a great job with the twickerati business cards!
Honest Publishing – Twickenham based independent publisher bringing original and alternative voices to print and to your Kindle or e-book reader.
Twickenham Town Business Association is the website for the shops & businesses of Twickenham. Useful for updates and offers.

Max Sports – Remember when you were young and there used to be proper sports shops selling proper sports equipment? There’s still one in Twickenham. So old-school that they don’t seem to have a website.
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EATING STUFF
On the food front, there are wayyyy too many local restaurants & take aways to choose from and waay to many “toptable” type sites out there. But if you want to comment on a good one or something a bit different, feel free. In the meantime some suggestions:
Sopa – BYO Thai cafe next to Strawberry Hill station.
Mambocino – mmmm borek. Plus much better coffee than Starbucks.
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Or see our reviews features on the best Twickenham can offer when it comes to:
* Indian
* Italian
* Cafes

GETTING FIT
Getting fit. Yeah, boring isn’t it. Gyms are expensive. Pounding pavements is a bit, well, pavementy. This is better…
Park Run – Free, weekly timed 5k run in Bushy Park. Race it, run it, stroll it – your call really. Did we mention it was free?
Bu’sen on King Street is not just judo & karate for kids. They also do yoga and tai chi for the grown ups.
British Military Fitness – Ever seen scarlet-faced 30 & 40 somethings huffing around the park being drilled by former squaddies? That’s BMF. No pain, no gain!
Twickenham Cycling Club – Popular and well organised local cycling club. Regular rides on and off-road. And you get to wear lycra. Often spotted drinking coffee outside Angelo’s.
Deb Townsend Wellbeing - Fitness instructor and personal trainer specialising in women’s fitness

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SEEING & DOING STUFF
Lots to see and do locally but you already knew that. Here’s a selection:
Orleans House Gallery – It’s not the Tate but it is worth a visit. Changing exhibitions, a nice cafe and they also run family art events & stuff for kids.
Twickenham Museum – A lot smaller than the British Museum but a hell of a lot closer. And the website is good too. How did Twickenham go from parkland to Poundland? Lots of prints & photos & a splendid poster outlining the celebrations when the town was made a London Borough in 1926.
Richmond Shakespeare Society – These be the folks that do the open air plays every summer. Respected amateur society based in Twickenham, despite the name.
Turks Lauches – The peeps that run the boats up & down the river and who now stop at Twickers.
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KIDS & FAMILY STUFF
Some other interesting things in the TWs:
Richmond NetMums – Support network for parents & carers in the Richmond and Twickenham area.
For Sanity’s Sake – Excellent local website of things to do to keep the little blighters entertained.
Nappy Valley Net – Website for new parents with tips, things to do, discussion.
Performance Academy London – Venture running children’s drama workshops in the area.
Betty Buttons - Two Twickenham mums running workshops to teach children the lost art of sewing.
DreamCatcher Media - Run film and TV making courses for children aged 8 to 17.

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LOCAL(ISH) BLOGGERS AND CREATIVE STUFF
Hard to define this category but it’s basically assorted people doing interesting things:
Vintage Savoir Faire – Quirky and well presented locally produced blog offering “vintage tips for better living. Food, beauty & kitchen remedies.
AntMusic – Local blog with a nice line in photos including the daily commute from the burbs to the heart of the smoke.
Jamie Goode’s Wine Anorak – Wine writer, journalist, blogger and former Twickenham resident, Jamie Goode is the man behind wineanorak.com. A mine of wine information.
Mixed Up Mummy – An interesting local blog about being a new parent.
Modern Mummy – Twickenham resident and blogger. Now covering recipes and foodie stuff too.
Charlie Swinbourne – The blog of Charlie Swinbourne, a journalist, scriptwriter, director and Twickenham resident. Made a little different as his work is inspired by his background. His site says “I’m hard of hearing and grew up in a deaf family.”
Eel Pie Artists – Lots of artists working on Eel Pie Island producing a wide range of art. Open days twice a year give an opportunity to see what’s going on.
Dominique Holt – Twickenham based artist with a distinctly retro feel to her work. Influenced by the designs of the 1950s, 60s and 70s.
Lee Campbell – Eel Pie Island based artist who takes inspiration from her surroundings. Influenced by the river in Twickenham. Also teaches & coaches.
Not Just a Granny – Nice bit of blogging covering a bit of everything written by a grandmother with local connections who, it’s fair to say, is clearly “not just a granny”.
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COMMUNITY AND LISTINGS SITES
Official sites:
Twickenham Town Centre – The official site of the town centre of, err, umm, Twickenham

Other Twickenham sites:
Guide2Richmond – News, listings, directories & events.
TheBestOfTwickenham – Yep, listings, directories & events.
Twickenham Online – Yep… News, listings. A theme is developing here.

And the awards for best neighbouring community sites go to:
St Margarets – A very well run. Well it would be I suppose.
Teddington Town – Listings, blogging and a whole lotta local going on. Locally produced, not a franchise.
Teddington People – More TW11 fun.
Strawberry Hill – Seems to have very and we mean very precise boundaries!
So Strawbs Hill – Strawberry Hill based hyperlocal site covering Strawberry Hill and its “locale”. So that’s a bit of Twickenham and Teddington, then.
Totally Richmond – Covering stuff about Richmond. Perhaps the clue is in the title.
StickyBoard Richmond – Community noticeboard site for Richmond (part of a London wide project)

Interest groups and SIFs (Single Issue Fanatics)
TRAG – Twickenham Residents Action Group and their Save Our Skyline campaign opposing hi-rise development at Twickenham station.
Friends of Twickenham Green – Community group working to protect the integrity and charm of Twickenham Green.
Friends of Strawberry Hill – Doing good stuff to for Horace Walpole’s gothic pile, Strawberry Hill House.
HACAN – Concerned about the noise & expansion of Heathrow airport? They are even if you’re not
Richmond Environment Network – Generally being green, including helping out at the Crane Park shot tower and nature reserve. What do you mean you’ve never been? Shame on you.
FORCE aka Friends Of the River Crane Environment – A group working to protect and enhance the environment around the River Crane.

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YOUR CLASS REPS
Here’s a summary of some of the local political stuff:
Your MP:
Vincent Who? Of course you know Dr Cable. Here’s what gets him interested round these parts. And here’s where he is on the big stuff.

The LBRUT lot:
Want to know who’s who in among the 54 good men & women that make up Richmond Council? Here are their lovely smiley faces. Remember, they’re working for you, so they would love you to get in touch… probably.

The Fun Boy Three:
Twickenham Conservatives
Twickenham Labour Party
Twickenham Lib Dems

(Remember: other opinions besides these also count. You decide)

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