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
Businesses
Eating stuff
Getting fit
Seeing & doing stuff
Kids & family stuff
Tutors & coaches
Local bloggers & interesting bits
Community & listings sites
Your class reps – the political bit

LOCAL BUSINESSES

Twickenham Town Business Association is the website for the shops & businesses of Twickenham. Useful for updates and offers.

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EATING STUFF
On the food front, there some good independent shops and wayyyy too many local restaurants & take aways to choose from but if you want to comment on a good one or something a bit different, feel free. In the meantime some suggestions:
Rubens Bakehouse – Best bread in Twickenham. End of discussion. 52 Heath Road.
Sandy’s Fishmongers – The ever popular fishmonger on Heath Road
Sopa – BYO Thai cafe next to Strawberry Hill station.
Pho Saigon – This BYO Vietnamese on York Street has received some good reviews on here.

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Or see our review features index to find links to reader reviews or local restaurants. Or just cut to the chase here:
Best Curry
Best Italian/Pizza
Best Pub
Best Cafe
Best Chinese & Thai
Best Sunday Lunch

GETTING FIT
Getting fit. Yeah, boring isn’t it. Gyms are expensive. Pounding pavements is a bit, well, pavementy. Try these instead…
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?
Twickenham Rowing Club – We’ve got a massive river right on our doorstep, why not start using it?
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.
Forty2Fitness – ‘Body boot camps on Twickenham Green specialising in women’s fitness
LetsGoYoga – Twickenham based yoga classes for men and women of all ages and abilities.
Twickenham Osteopathy Clinic – Need help after all that exercise or for any other reason? Hands-on help for muscle & joint aches and pains.

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SEEING & DOING STUFF
Lots to see and do locally but you already knew that. Here’s a selection:
Visit Richmond – ‘Official’ site for what’s on in the Borough. Doing proper listings so we don’t have to.
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.
Nappy Valley Net – Website for new parents with tips, things to do, discussion.
Twickermum – local blog site for parents with local news, views & listings.
Mum & Career – Kew based outfit organising events in the area (including Twickenham) who also run a local event-listing for working mums.
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.
Magic Rainbow Photography– Local photographer specialising in pregnancy & baby shots.

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TUTORS, COACHES & MENTORS
Drama Tutor Live – Local and online tutorial service for drama students offering a range of practical and academic services drawn from 25 years experience teaching drama and theatre.
The Light Room Consultancy – Local consultancy offering executive and career coaching as well as training and facilitation services.
The Helen Astrid Singing Academy – Local opera singer teaches singing in TW1. Individual lessons for beginners through to advanced. Simple, adaptable, supportive approach.

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.
Our Masculine Heart – Locally produced blog about men, masculinity, relationships, expectations and aspirations.
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.
Modern Mummy – (Former) 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.

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COMMUNITY, OFFICIAL AND LISTINGS SITES
“Official” sites:
Twickenham Town Business Association – The website of the town’s traders. Useful.

Other local sites:
TheBestOfTwickenham – News, listings, directories & events.
Totally Richmond – Covering stuff about Richmond & its environs. Perhaps the clue is in the title.

StickyBoard Richmond – Community noticeboard site for Richmond (part of a London wide project)

And the awards for best neighbouring community sites go to:
St Margarets – A very well run. Well it would be I suppose.
East Twickenham Village – The site for all those types on the Middlesex bank of the river by Richmond Bridge
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!
Twickenham People – A local franchise of the national ‘localpeople’ sites
Your Twickenham – Local ‘lifestyle’ site

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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