Pic of the Week

Pah! What’s Pisa got that Twickenham hasn’t? Not a lot, that’s what. Stunning architecture and a leaning tower? Easy! We’ve got ‘em both… in Radnor Gardens. Where? There!

Next up on our Italian comparisons thread: why England are better at football than Italy.

Welcome to Twickenham

Welcome to Twickenham where you might not be able to find your way around but at least you’ll know where to put your recycling. We’re just so green here!

Twickenham Decides!

It can’t have escaped your attention that there’s a bit of an election coming up this week. On the May 3rd to be precise. And it’s not just any election, we’re talking here about a London election. It’s your chance to decide who should be the next Mayor of this great city of ours, gawd luv it. Should it be the bumbling blond bombshell who’s made a career from “being Boris” or should it be Ken, the “professional maverick politician” who’s manner frequently seems less maverick and more “lecturer in politics at a suburban sixth form college in 1989”. There are other candidates standing but it’s essentially a two horse race… although unlike Boris and Ken there are no recorded incidents of horses squaring up to each other in office lifts over their tax arrangements.

In addition to the Mayoral election you also get to complete two, yes two, ballot papers for London Assembly members. The London Assembly is a bit like a TV show presented by Nick Knowles. You’re aware that it does exist, you’re just not quite sure why. Apologies, that’s harsh. The London Assembly has an important role in holding the Mayor to account, championing the causes and concerns of Londoners and in ensuring certain policy areas get a proper London-wide approach rather than being left solely to the 32 Boroughs. A kind of GLC-lite for those with long memories. On Thursday you’ll get to vote for your constituency representative for south west London. Currently it’s Tony Arbour (Conservative) and he’ll be standing again, trying to fend off the challenges of the other parties represented by Munira Wilson (Lib Dem), Lisa Homan (Labour), Daniel Goldsmith (Green) and Jeffery Bolter (choice party or summat like that). In addition to your constituency member you get to vote for London-wide members. As you’d expect this features all your favourite parties, a couple of independents and a few groups banging on about putting something or other first (England, London, marriage, etc).

Sometimes this whole Mayor thing can seem a bit remote from life in London’s premier suburb, after all, there are no Boris Bikes and no Congestion Charge around here and nor is there much cash coming our way from the Mayor’s Outer London Fund. Yes LBRuT secured some money in the first round but then got nothing from the funding awarded in January 2012. Thanks for that. However, even though some of the priorities for London can seem less pressing in the leafy and (relatively) affluent streets of Twickenham than elsewhere, issues such as affordable housing, jobs, transport and crime are still relevant here. We’re still part of London, after all. Happy voting. What will Twickenham decide?

LINKS:
* London Elects

Valentine’s Day Pic

Sometimes in life you have to make sacrifices. This ageing Twickenham snowman just made the ultimate sacrifice…. for love. (Also looks a bit like a rather pale ET if we’re honest)

The Twickerati Panto Thingy (2010)

This saga is resurrected from December 2010 but as you can see nothing much has changed since then, apart from the approval of the station plans, of course!

IT’S THE TALE OF DICK TWICKINGTON

Narrator: Once upon a time in the County of Middlesex there was a small town called Twickenham. And in that sleepy place there lived a young man by the name of Dick Twickington. Dick was a fine, ambitious fellow but, due to the outrageous cost starter cottages in the area, he still lived with his dear old mother and father in their humble, ivy clad dwelling. One misty morning, Dick stood upright and decided to change his life forever…

Twickenham Festive 5s: Big Up Yours

Greetings! Christmas is fast approaching you’re probably thinking about those gifts you still need to buy, what food to stock up on, which parties to attend, which ones to avoid and generally pondering on how to cope. You need some need top tips, right? Right!

Perhaps you’re also looking back on the year and thinking of all those New Year’s resolutions from last January that have crumbled to dust in your trembling hands. OK, so forget that for a minute and let’s think positive, festive thoughts and mull over the good stuff.

So whether you’re a retailer, a punter, a blogger, a worker, a vocal local or like us here at twickerati just downright normal, we want to hear the five things, just five things, that we need to know to complete our year. You’ve got the gist of it. We need your Twickenham Festive 5 and this item gives you the chance to big up yours.

Take a look at the replies at the end of the piece to see what’s been added so far.

Oak Lane Cemetery

The cemetery in Oak Lane (near the Shell garage / Royal Oak pub) is a fascinating place filled with ivy clad graves, Autumn leaves and sections too overgrown to walk through. It’s home to a variety of wildlife as well as quite a number of former Twickenham residents. Well worth a detour.

Here are some pictures…

The Cabbage Patch 10

Twickenham’s own long distance running event, The Cabbage Patch 10 drew a crowd of over 1,600 runners and plenty of spectators on the morning of Sunday 16th October. The 10 mile route goes from Twickenham to Kingston then back to Twickenham via Ham and Richmond. It was the Cabbage Patch 10′s 30th birthday which makes it one of the best established distance races around.

Participants ranged from the very fast (the winner took just under 49 minutes!) to those doing it just for the fun of it. Even your humble correspondent took part for the first time. The weather was great for running – sunnyish, cool and with no breeze and so there was no excuse not to put in a decent time. There were plenty of spectators along the route showing their support and a few who probably wanted to be somewhere else but couldn’t move their cars for the steady stream of sweating bodies blocking their way. Getting applauded into the grounds of York House is usually the preserve of our beloved Councillors (they wish), and so it was great for mere mortals to experience that level of support as they reached the finish line.

Here’s the start on King Street…

The race gets underway

And here’s what the super-keen people looked like at the start…

Runners starting out

And here are some of the finishers a little further down the field crossing the line at York House…

Cabbage Patch finishers

The winner was Paskar Owor from the famous Belgrave Harriers club in a time of 48m 58s. He beat second placed Mehreab Soloman by just two seconds. The first woman to cross the line was was Jessica Coulson from Stockport Harriers. She finished in tenth place, clocking a time of 52m:53s.

And if you want more about what it’s like to take part then you can read Stephanie Blake’s account of the 2010 event in the twickerati archive.

All in all, a great morning and well done to everyone. So, who’s up for it next year then?

Good news? Go on then. Just this once.

In a bizarre volte face (yes, we said volte face) that would have even the most flaky politician wincing into their BlackBerry over business meetings in Dubai, we have decided to go all ‘good news’ for a minute or two.

Credit where credit’s due, much as we might think that twickerati is the website of choice for the discerning residents of south west London, we’d be wrong. Two excellent sites with local connections are currently in contention for awards or prizes. They could hardly be more different, but we salute them both…

History: The coming of the giants

Those who don’t remember their history are condemned to live through it again. Yeah, that’s what we call O Level or GCSE retakes. Luckily we love a bit of history here and so no history retakes were required. Now that we’ve cleared up that particular point we can move forward, to the past.

If you also like your history, especially with a local flavour to it, then check out this great item on the St Margarets community site about giant German bombers over London. No, we’re not talking about the blitz, we’re talking about 1918. Yes, the First World War! It even involves an aeroplane called a Zeppelin-Staaken Riesenflugzeug ‘Giant’ bomber – a massive four engined biplane with a crew of seven. The aim? To bomb London. It’s fascinating stuff from Martyn Day and also covers how the attack was reported in local press at the time. Splendid.

Read more about it on the St Margarets site here.