Got something to say about Twickenham, a local event to promote, an opinion to air or a question to ask? Do it here. Yes, you heard us, do it here. Just post it as a comment below and that’s it. Yes, it really is that simple unless you post a ridiculous sales pitch or do a party political broadcast in which case we’ll trash it. It’s a page for your Twickenham news & community views. Scroll to the very bottom of the page (or do ctrl end) to find the “Add Comment” box for new items. For the best ones, we’ll tweet links back to your post to help spread the word.
(And if you’re looking for the very old thread, after over 300 comments we’ve put it out to pasture but you can still find it here.)
Twickerati 
Where is the picture of Jimmy Knode. Remember seeing him near Twickenham junction in a horse and trap in about 1947 approx. Big rose in his button hole.
FREE Art & Soul Festival of Art and Wellbeing 2021 – 1-6 November
Local charity Art & Soul is launching a free week-long festival celebrating the many ways in which creativity can support positive mental health and improve our wellbeing. Taking place during National Stress Awareness Week from 1st – 6th November, the festival will include online and in-person events. It will launch on 1st November with the opening of their virtual exhibition: ‘Cycles of Nature’, featuring artwork created by the participants of Art & Soul programmes over the past 18 months.
Creativity has been central to how many people have coped during the pandemic. The Art & Soul exhibition celebrates the importance of taking time to be creative, along with the reconnection with nature which lockdown inspired for many of us. Art & Soul’s creative art sessions for adults are run by professional artists and art therapists, with sessions usually held in person. During lockdown sessions went online with an onus on reducing isolation and helping to maintain participants’ mental and emotional wellbeing during the pandemic. Thanks to funding from the Baring Foundation, and more recently the OneRichmond fund, Art & Soul has also been able to develop and establish key partnerships with CAMHS organisations which support mental health for children and young people. Artwork created during these programmes will be showcased in the exhibition.
The festival and exhibition are both generously funded by the local Civic Pride Fund. Online festival events will include informal art, practical mindfulness, and colour therapy workshops, as well as virtual gallery visits to October Gallery & Turner’s House. Tickets for these are available to book now via the Art & Soul website. Two in-person workshops will also take place: one for adults at The Vineyard Community Centre on Tuesday 2nd November 2-4pm, and a festival finale for the whole family to attend at ETNA Community Centre on Saturday 6th November 2-4pm.
In-person events will run as relaxed drop-in sessions, with no need to book, but you are encouraged to book now for online activities as places are limited. All are welcomed, especially beginners, to come along and enjoy the wellbeing benefits of art making.
Festival tickets are free to book online via the Art & Soul website https://www.artandsoul.org.uk/activities.
Richmond Literature Festival begins in just two short weeks!
Richmond Literature Festival returns for its 30th anniversary year with programme exploring how we can build a better world
Richmond Literature Festival has today launched its 2021 programme of events, with a timely focus on how we can be more sustainable, more inclusive, and more equal. The first ticket release is now on sale at http://www.richmondliteraturefestival.com
This year’s festival takes place from the 5-21 November in venues across the London Borough of Richmond Upon Thames. It will see a return to in person events after last year’s shift to an online only programme due to the pandemic. Following the success of the 2020 festival there will be a series of hybrid events for audiences UK wide.
This year the festival takes a thematic approach, exploring the concept of Breaking Ground. Through looking back to history and bringing together some of today’s most exiting writers and thought leaders to explore what our future could look like. The Festival will feature book launches, panel discussions and some of the most exciting releases of 2021.
Programme highlights include the festival launch event ‘This Is How We Come Back Stronger’, a panel of some of the UK’s most prominent feminist writers including Kate Mosse, Sara Collins and Juliet Jacques discussing how we can shape the world we want in the aftermath of crisis.
Nadifa Mohamed will be discussing her new Booker Prize shortlisted book The Fortune Men. Nadifa is the only British writer on the shortlist for 2021.
The climate and environment focused weekend from the 6-7 November will culminate in ‘This is Happening Now: How Can We Confront the Climate Crises?’ panel discussion, in partnership with Richmond Climate Week and Landmark Arts Centre. Esteemed environmentalist and former director of Friends of the Earth Jonathon Porritt CBE joins a panel of speakers, including Dr Alice Bell, to explore how we can take collective action to avert runaway climate change alongside the COP26 conference.
Monique Roffey, winner of the 2020 Costa Book of The Year for The Mermaid of Black Conch, joins Courttia Newland in conversation about their approaches to exploring contemporary issues through literary fiction. Our fiction events continue as we journey into The Wolf Den with number one bestseller Elodie Harper
Award winning journalist and broadcaster Sathnam Sanghera discusses his Baillie Gifford prize nominated book Empireland and how understanding the history of imperialism is fundamental to understanding Britain today with Professor Corinne Fowler, author of the National Trusts report on its historic houses links to empire.
Richmond Film Society – Season 58 Memberships Now Available
Richmond Film Society’s 58th Season opens at The Exchange on 14 September at 8:00pm with the Oscar-nominated biographical comedy, ’Can You Ever Forgive Me ?’ Although the vast majority of our 250 plus Season 57 members have renewed, a limited number of memberships are now available for the forthcoming season on a ‘first come, first served basis’.
The season, which runs until June 2022 with screenings on alternate Tuesdays at The Exchange, comprises 19 films of international repute, including features from Europe, Africa, Japan, Saudi Arabia and South Korea. Full details of the programme and other information about the Society and our venue appear at http://www.richmondfilmsoc.org.uk
The cost of Season 58 membership is £40 (the 1998 fee), which equates to £2.11 per film. For full-time students, membership is offered at the concessionary rate of £25 for the season.
If you are interested in becoming a member, please email us at admin@richmondfilmsoc.org.uk or telephone our membership secretary at 020 8893 3503. All new members are very welcome, so do please come along and join us at The Exchange.
Can anyone tell me who owned the land Briar Road Allotments Twickenham sits on, as a child my grandfather said it was gardens left to the people to grow their own veg and it was a lady that owned the store Lilywhites, but I’m not sure I’m remembering correctly. I know my great grandfather was one if the first to hold a plot there.
Freda Hammerton
Well-known Twickenham resident Freda Hammerton died on 10 July. A member of the Hammerton’s Ferry family – her grandfather was a ferryman – she was immensely knowledgeable about the river, and she loved to talk about it. She was a long-time member of the Richmond Shakespeare Society and the York House Society, and a supporter of BoTLHS and Twickenham Museum. She took part in the Between the Locks oral history programme, and in 2011 recorded this interview about her father’s death from a flying bomb in WWII https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvd4uNkEBeQ
Freda’s funeral will be on Thursday 26 August, with a service at 12:40 at Mortlake Crematorium, followed by the burial at Twickenham Cemetery at 13:30. (The chapel in the cemetery is still closed.)
A Celebration of Life service will be on Saturday 16th October at 11am at St Mary’s Twickenham.
Richmond Film Society – New Season Commences on 14 September 2021
Following its long enforced COVID absence and a very successful screening of
‘Wild Rose’ at The Exchange on 20 July, Richmond Film Society’s 58th Season of World Cinema will commence on 14 September 2021 with ‘Can You Ever Forgive Me?’
Season 58 will run from 14th September 2021 to 14th June 2022, with screenings on
alternate Tuesdays at The Exchange at 8:00pm. The 19-film programme comprises the following:
Date Title
Sep-14 Can You Ever Forgive Me? (USA)
Sep-28 Transit (Germany)
Oct-12 Woman at War (Iceland)
Oct-26 Elena (Russia)
Nov-09 Bait (UK) plus AGM
Nov-23 Portrait of a Lady on Fire (France)
Dec-07 The Truffle Hunters (Italy ) and Christmas Party
Jan-04 Parasite (South Korea)
Jan-18 The Breadwinner (Ireland)
Feb-01 Harriet (USA)
Feb-15 Rashomon (Japan)
Mar-01 Persischstunden (Persian Lessons) (Belarus)
Mar-15 Rafiki (Kenya)
Mar-29 The Perfect Candidate (Saudi Arabia )
Apr-12 System Crasher (Germany)
Apr-26 Honeyland (Macedonia)
May-10 Thunder Road (USA)
May-24 Another Round (Denmark)
Jun-14 TBA our June Summer Film
Season 58 Membership
For our 58th season, we are we holding the price of membership at £40 (the 1998 fee), which equates to £2.11 per film. For full-time students, membership is offered at the concessionary rate of £25 for the season.
Non-Member Tickets: The availability or otherwise of non-member tickets will be determined by the venue’s
capacity when screenings return and as the season progresses. Initially, however, we
anticipate that screenings are likely to be ‘members only’. If and when they become available, non-member tickets will remain at £5 (full-time students £3). Subject to availability, tickets can be purchased in advance from The Exchange’s Box Office – by telephone on 020 8240 2399 or online http://exchangetwickenham.co.uk/events/.
Richmond Film Society
Richmond Film Society (a not-for-profit charity) was formed in 1963 and has since screened well over 800 films. Our objective is to bring our community the very best in World Cinema. Our seasons run from September to June and attract an aggregate
audience of over 4,500 attendees.
For further information on membership and the programme of films, please see our
website at http://www.richmondfilmsoc.org.uk. You can also contact us by email at
admin@richmondfilmsoc.org.uk. You can, in addition, follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RichmondFilmSociety/ and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Richmond_Film
Plasma donors needed in London – lack of awareness after 23 year gap
NHSBT urgently needs more people to donate plasma for life saving medicines. Donation is quick and easy and with a donor centre in Twickenham it’s even easier.
To find out more and register, visit http://www.blood.co.uk/plasma or call 0300 123 23 23
[twickerati: This comment is edited]
I have just returned from York House in Twickenham where I saw two people employed by the council, about to lower the Union Jack and raise a rainbow flag in honour of gay, lesbian, trans. STOP RAMMING THIS DOWN OUR NECKS! Who paid for the flag? The ratepayers obviously. Who paid for the illegal gay pedestrian crossings in Twickenham and Richmond? The rate payers. Fly the flag outside your house if you want to although I notice these people seem to want to keep their sexuality behind closed doors which is perfectly ok, so we do not need this flagrant posturing by the Liberal council. Where is the celebration of the vast majority?
People with gender dysphoria – i.e. like 10% of humanity and many other species – endure terrific hardships in many countries and are still not entirely free of stigma here. Celebrating our tolerance/empathy, which reduces their suffering and improves quality of life is fine by me as a use of council tax money.
Today is International Day against homophobia, biphobia and transphobia. 🏳️🌈
Peace.
To be honest, I am a bit tired of having the Union Jack on display all the time especially on govt.broadcasts. And you ask ‘Where is the celebration of the vast majority?’. All other days perhaps?
Lighten up and accept that once in a while society likes to pay tribute to groups that, as I perhaps infer from your post, still have an up hill battle.
And goodness me what the heck does ‘Who paid for the illegal gay pedestrian crossings in Twickenham and Richmond? even mean?
This post needed more editing, it is extremely offensive
In case you hadn’t spotted it.
You could win £100 to spend at any Twickenham shop in the BID area (the main shopping area).
Just post a pic of your fave Twickenham shop on any social platform, tag @discovertwickenham and you’ll be in the draw.
Deadline Wednesday 10 March.
Hi Twickerati,
I am writing on behalf of some residents next to Wetherspoons on London Road. They are planning a huge 2 storey roof terrace development out the back which will greatly impact the local residents of this area with a huge increase to noise, smoke & rowdiness, as well as a massive lack of privacy & light for the neighbours with balconies & homes right next to it… and when I say right next to, it is literally going to be on top of them!
I am trying to rally as many residents as possible to object this proposal on Richmond council website by distributing flyers, emailing MPs & making our own objections but we need more exposure & publicity about this, is there any way you can write about this or spread the message to help us? It will actually impact so many people on London Road, and Garfield road out the back and once you see the picture of it I hope that you will also see how horrible it will be for local residents, in so many ways.
Thanks so much if you are able to help, and if you can write your objection on the council website we will be so thankful – we have until 16th march to make as much noise as possible about it. Link below:
https://www2.richmond.gov.uk/lbrplanning/Planning_CaseNo.aspx?strCASENO=20/3764/FUL
(ps. sorry if this sent twice!)
Will object. Thanks for the heads up.
Please note that the planning website will ONLY take objections in the PROPER manner, other campaign sites are just ignored.
*amazing news! you can ‘comment’ !! B U T !!!!
PLEASE go through the proper process :):)
https://www.richmond.gov.uk/what_is_a_valid_objection_to_a_planning_application
more here ..
Perhaps Twickerati should make this a dedicated article? Cannot really see the benefit of the outdoor area other than to increase capacity. Surely a beer in Church St. or by the riverside would be much nicer in good weather.
Ex – Twickenham Resident : well that is up to the person who manages this site..
there is a lot more going on at twitter.. I have found a way to stay ‘up to date’ there at least.. 🙂 note the ‘date part’
tinyurl.com/19pibae1
I used ‘tinyurl’ to hopefully stop WordPress ‘doing too much’…
Of course, all pubs want is to make money.. in 2 or 3 years (yes, that is about how long it usually takes!!!! ) it will be nice to enjoy a cheap pint outside on the sunroof… those that prefer a ‘quality pint’ for about £6 can of course go to other pubs..
Or even get a bottle in the supermarket for about £2 a pint.. (yes, 550ml is almost a pint 🙂 )
Led by https://collective-arts.org, The Creative Wellbeing Project for young adults (aged 18-24) is a 5-week course that combines creative activity, light touch art therapy and positive psychology (the science of human thriving) to enhance mood and improve emotional wellbeing.
Using a range of evidence-based, creative techniques, this re-grounding programme is designed to relieve stress, reframe personal challenges and provide meaningful enjoyment.
No artistic skills are required and all art materials are provided.
Starts Thursday 11th February 2021 1:00 – 2:30 on Zoom.
Contact Julia@collective-arts.org, 07711 938 921 for bookings and details.
Grant funded by the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and the National Lottery Community Fund
What’s the story behind the rainbow crossing in Twickenham. It’s joyful.
Have you not seen all the rainbows painted to say “save the NHS” 🙂
https://www.google.com/search?ei=gob5X67AGYKua_z7iAg&q=save+the+nhs+rainbow
although Twick’s rainbow crossing coincides with all the wonderful work done by NHS staff apparently it was laid by Richmond Council to celebrate the local LGBT++++ folk.
Correct. It was put there in July in support of the LGBT community rather than as an NHS thing.
Great memories of the Court School of dancing
I met many great looking girls there
“Save the last dance for me “
David Stevens
Show your hometown pride! Art prints celebrating Twickenham’s best bits (and the events that got cancelled due to you-know-what) in three gorgeous colours and various sizes. See them in my Etsy shop:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/wordbirdco
Plus more art prints celebrating riverside communities and the river. Thank you 🙂
Please come along to donate blood at Twickenham Blood donor centre and help save lives:
Floor 8, Regal House, 70 London Road, TWICKENHAM, TW1 3QS
https://my.blood.co.uk/account/signin?utm_source=social&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=twickenhamdc_2010&utm_content=twickerati_social&utm_term=allaudiences
FREE Young People Wellbeing Programme – The Wild Mind Project
Feeling low, anxious, stressed or angry? Worrying about isolation, study/work, your appearance, your health or friendships? You are not alone.
Join us for a range of creative nature-based activities. Both art and nature can make a significant difference to your mental health. Our programme can help to release stress, alleviate symptoms of depression, build optimism and develop a sense of belonging.
When: Sun 13 Sep to 11 Oct 2020
Time: 10:00am to 12:30pm or 1:00pm to 3:30pm
Where: Locations in Richmond Borough
Suitable for groups aged 13 to 25.
For more info or to book a place, please contact:
hello@thewildmindproject.org
or phone 020 89779989.
http://www.thewildmindproject.org
Hello Twickerati supporters. I am planning a new venture to supply our community with a zero waste refill service. It will probably be household detergents to start with and then organic food. I am looking for sites in Twickenham where I have lived for over 30 years. I am also investigating whether a social enterprise could work. I intend this to be a long term project as a regular source for refillable products. I know how long shops last in the high street and I will not join them. I am also old enough to remember returnable bottles for fizzy drinks and I think there is a better way to save our environment than filling our black recycling bins every week. Do let me know if you think it is a good idea and if there is already a similar set up that I don’t know about.
Hi Maria. Do you know of The Refill Larder in Teddington. Maybe worth a chat. Good Luck!
Sounds like a great idea, but your main challenge will be convenience. Getting folks to make a seperate trip to anywhere let alone off central might be tricky. Could there be a way of doing a delivered box of products much the same as the organic veg guys do? Packaging could be collected with each new drop off?
I think that’s a great idea and I think would be well supported in this area. I think the priority would be having it somewhere easily accessible to all and near to other regular conveniences. I would try to support it for sure! Thanns
Local charity Richmond Carers Centre is offering a free online carers wellbeing programme for anyone in the borough who is providing care or support to someone else. The 12-week programme includes three online webinars (recorded in case you can’t make the scheduled time/date), a pdf journal and weekly support emails. You can use this as much as as little as you like but the aim of the programme is to help carers implement some tools into their life to support their own health and wellbeing whilst they are caring for others. The programme is being delivered by local company POINT3 Wellbeing.
Full details and link to registration https://mailchi.mp/52147d27c706/carers-wellbeing-programme-3933769
Richmond Carers Centre is continuing to provide information, advice and emotional support to carers over the phone and by email throughout the COVID-19 crisis. Full details of our current service can be found here https://www.richmondcarers.org/covid-19-information-updates-for-carers/
I went to Strawberry Hill post office today and they are going to shut next week, as apparently will all post offices.
POST OFFICES? HELP! We are fast running out of Post Offices with most of the Twickenham “Franchised” sub branches either closed or working limited hours. The Post Office is a major part of the communications fabric of the UK (and of course the world) and people are still trying to operate businesses etc via them. Can our MP /council look into this as there doesn’t seem to be any government or Post Office statement that post offices could close? The Post Office website stating which branches are open is well out of date and not keeping up with the last few days tranche of closures in our area.
I think the post office next to strawberry hill station is still open, but it would be very helpful if our local councillors could put together a database for each of their wards.
Post offices are also one of the few places where people can put money onto a prepayment meter key for their electricity.
I can say the post office down from twick station is open, but limited hours 🙂
Some more old footage (starts at 16:30) of Richmond Upon Thames in this BTF from the 1950’s??
Where do I see the 1950s video and what is the BTF?
I have found it on YouTube:
BTF was British Transport Films, a unit set up to promote tourism.
It seems some idiot at ‘lasso entertainment’ has blocked the vid
due to copyright.. 😡
try this one (note that even BBC overseas are not licensed for UK!! :O )
Hi, I’m a professional photographer with 19 years’ experience, working across sport,editorial, PR and events. I’m looking for families (multiple generations) or house/flatmates who have been forced to work at home together for a photo feature. This is just a pitch, so it’s not commissioned I’m afraid but it will be un-pressured and fun. Quirky or not, if you are interested & covid-19 free (as far as you know) please drop me an email: unxposed@hotmail.com – Cheers, Andrew
Richmond Film Society – Screenings Suspended
Following Government advice issued on 16 March 2020 to stop non-essential contact with others, Richmond Film Society has suspended its screenings (including ‘Woman At War’ on 17 March) until further notice.We apologise for any inconvenience.
We shall continue to monitor the situation and if the circumstances change in any
material way with regard to screenings we shall post messages on our
website, twitter account and Facebook page.
Richmond Film Society – screening of ‘Woman At War’ (Iceland) at 8:00pm on Tuesday, 17 March at The Exchange.
RFS’s season continues with the acclaimed Icelandic black comedy drama, ‘Woman At War’. Benedikt Erlingsson’s off-the-wall follow-up to ‘Of Horses and Men’ is a dynamic blend of absurdist comedy and tense thriller.
An environmental activist wages her own private war against an industrial threat to the breathtaking beauty of rural Iceland. The heroine’s single-minded and bold crusade is, however, given an unexpected jolt and she is faced with a hard choice. A political and eco-action thriller with comedic and surreal overtones.
Members go free. Non-member tickets are £5 (full-time students £3) and can be purchased in advance from The Exchange’s Box Office (subject to a cap of 70) – in person, by telephone on 020 8240 2399 or online at http://exchangetwickenham.co.uk/events/ . A further 40 or 50 tickets will be available to purchase on the door on the night of the screening (cash only) on a ‘first-come-first-served’ basis.
Films are screened at The Exchange, opposite Twickenham Station at 75 London Road, Twickenham, TW1 1BE. The bar opens at 7.00pm, drinks can be brought into the auditorium and coffee, tea and snacks are also available. Film notes are provided for each screening and audience feedback is obtained via response slips.
For further information on the season, please visit http://www.richmondfilmsoc.org.uk or email admin@richmondfilmsoc.org.uk