Dates for the diary: March 2012

Despite your very best New Year's resolutions and Lent intentions, it's very easy to get stuck in a rut. Same old routine, same old places and activities. With that in mind, here's our run-down on some up and coming West London events to keep your diaries full, your social lives interesting and best of all to support local independent businesses.



Mania Mia Spring Designer Event - 11th March, 9am - 5pm
Ushering in the Spring/Summer season of 2012, the Mania Mia ladies Katya and Anoosh are hosting an exclusive event with several independent designers in store, along with a tea reception, cupcakes and an arts and crafts workshop for the little ones. From leather jewellery to eco homeware products and vintage clothing, Mania Mia looks to have next season all wrapped up. So shop guilt free - after all you are supporting the local economy and the kids are with safe hands.
For more details of the event, see Mania Mia's Facebook page here
Mania Mia, 307 New Kings Road, Fulham SW6 4RF.



Redistributing Fashion Spring Charity Pop Up Sale, 16th March, 10am - 8pm
There seems to be loads on locally for the budding fashionista at the moment. Next Friday's event on Westbourne Grove offers guilt free bargains as all profits are in aid of The Rugby Portobello Trust, a youth education and development charity based in Notting Hill. Local fashion, jewellery and lifestyle brands will be selling pieces at discounted prices and best of all, there is a huge selection of pre-loved designer pieces (including some donated by celebrities such as Poppy Delevigne and Princess Marie-Chantal amongst others) available via Chic & Seek. Founded in 2009, Chic & Seek offers a carefully selected range of pre-owned women's accessories with brands including Chanel, Burberry, Alexander McQueen and many others, all on sale with 50-80% off the retail price.
For more details see here.
Redistributing Fashion, 20th Century Theatre, Westbourne Grove, London W11 2QA

Kristyna Myles at the Regal Room, 22nd March, 7:30pm
If you're a music buff and are interested in discovering the next big thing on the scene, a trip to the Regal Room in Hammersmith is a must. Kristyna played The Regal Room when she was first starting out, and now returns for a gig ahead of the release of her debut album 'Pinch Me Quick', produced by Ken Nelson (also responsible for the success of Coldplay and Paolo Nutini - not bad!). Kristyna has already shared the stage with musical giants such as Chris de Burgh and Mick Hucknall so is surely one to watch ahead of her album release - after all, it's always nice to smugly tell your friends you saw an artist play before they hit the big time! Kristyna will also be sharing the stage with local artists Raphaella and Stewart Mac, the latter of which is fresh from supporting Bon Jovi on tour.
The Regal Room, 64 Fulham Palace Road, Hammersmith W6 9PH



supperclub presents Aldo Zilli, 23rd March, evening
Many of you may already have heard of supperclub. Now a bit of institution, an evening supper offers fine dining, plenty of drinking, dancing and general debauchery. Yet, the supperclub event in a few weekends time is that extra little bit special, as top Italian chef Aldo Zilli will be hitting the kitchens. 4 courses of the best Italian cooking, plus a long night's partying in a stunning venue will set you back £59 and diners can expect dancers, singers, musicans and acrobats before the legendary Simon Dunmore of Defected Records hits the decks until the small hours.
You'll need to reserve your 'bed' by emailing london@supperclub.com. For a mouth-watering intro to the cooking of Aldo Zilli check out his website here.

Support local, buy local: market shopping at its best!

Don't get me wrong, I've spent many a blissful hour browsing the range of goodies at the Sands End Sainsbury's, but there is something uniquely special about buying your groceries at a market. There's something about seeing the plethora of fruit and veg, colours and flavours, lovingly laid out, weighed out and shouted about by the store-holders, many of whom are working a pitch their family has held for generations. One of my favourite Saturday morning activities is to check out the stalls on the North End Road, and I'm also a massive fan of the market on Duke of York Square, so I was delighted to hear that Parson's Green is to play host to a Farmer's Market of its own.

Starting this Sunday, and every Sunday thereafter, the Parson's Green Farmers Market will run from 10am - 2pm at the New Kings Road Junior School. The event is run by London Farmer's Markets and participating farms include SJ Taylor Free Range Veal, Chegworth Valley juice and fruit, and the Handpicked Shellfish Company. There will be a range of produce including freshly pressed juice, delicious organic & outdoor reared meat, new season game, dairy, plants & flowers, hand made preserves, raspberries, new season apples and pears, herbs, wet fish and shellfish, free range eggs, and the freshest vegetables and salads.

Most importantly, stall holders all farm within 100 miles of London and they are all vetted before being giving the OK to hold a stall to make sure they uphold the highest of standards. Quality local produce for local people then!

Fun for all Foodies

Jess and I  both admit to being total foodies, we love eating out, trying new foods and indulging wherever possible. Dukan diet aside, on any given midweek evening one of us will undoubtedly be at a local restaurant enjoying the culinary delights that SW6 has to offer.

When the 'Foodies Festival' came to Battersea Park there was only one person I could take as my guest, my highly talented best friend and supremo chef Elizabeth. We arrived ravenous and left replete, it was a perfect day. Highlights included sumptuous fresh oysters with the perfect dash of Tabasco, basking in the sunshine by the Pimms tent and a spicy Moroccan lunch which left our tongue's tingling. 

The event had an informal lively atmosphere yet there was enough room to poke around the various stalls munching on the tasters as we went. Local restaurants such as Bennetts in Battersea (review here) had pop up stalls and for those in the mood for some serious opulence the Harvey Nicks pop up food hall and bar appeared to have a constant supply of champagne flowing.

I have taken some snapshots from the day below but I wouldn't advise looking at them if you are hungry or on a diet, some of these cakes are not for the faint hearted!

All the fun of the Fete

Although Sarah and I are always "celebrating Fulham" (it's part of the job description!), last weekend gave us even more reason to shout it from the rooftops as the Hammersmith and Fulham Council's "Celebrating Fulham" initiative kicked off with the Wandsworth Bridge Road Fun Day.

The Wandsworth Bridge Road is our local high street, as it is for hordes of young Fulhamites who live in the Sands End area. However, amongst our age group I think sometimes the road's popularity suffers from its proximity to the bigger hubs of the Kings Road and Fulham Road. And it's a shame, because it's crammed full of great little restaurants, coffee shops and retailers (most of whom are independent) and this event was a fantastic idea to stir up some footfall and reintroduce Fulham to what a brilliant road it really is.

The event was organised by a newly formed retailers association (Cameronesque Big Society in action!) and a host of local volunteers, who donated their time and money to put on a whole day's programme of street performers, dance acts, kids activities and massive discounts across food, drink, beauty treatments and the majority of the local shops. 

Sarah and I spent a very happy day - in the sunshine no less! - flitting between the amazing paella and sangria deal at Lola Rojo, the fantastic music acts outside Greedy Buddha, and chilling out with a San Miguel and Sangria whilst the flamenco and guitar act got the crowds clapping at La Cuenta. We booked in some half price beauty treatments at Era, picked up balloon animals from Circus Circus and spied the Mayor of Fulham sampling the raclette outside Pret A Vivre. Even Elen Rivas made a little appearance. Unfortunately, she wasn't dancing, but she looked like she was having a great time with her kids and a group of friends enjoying the music in La Cuenta. 

Unfortunately we won nothing on the raffle but some lucky sods have won a free dinner at The Sands End and others have won race day tickets to Ascot! Still, since all the proceeds went to Help A Capital Child I suppose I can't feel too badly about it!

All in all, a fab day out, and a great way of reconnecting with the local community. I'll definitely be keeping it local more often in the future, and look forward to some of the other Celebrating Fulham events. You can see the full programme here.

Gobbling Chelsea, at Duke of York Square Market

Having got a taste for the hustle and bustle of North End Road market, and wanting to take a stroll to enjoy last Saturday's sunshine, I decided to amble along the King's Road to the area's decidedly more 'polished' market. Each weekend, throngs of people congregate in Duke of York Square to meander around the Chelsea food market, sampling global cuisine from Brazilian to Portuguese, picking at all sorts of sweet treats from crepes to cupcakes and enjoying all the treats that the various stalls have to offer.

Whilst the North End Road offers a more authentic local market experience, and real fruit and veg bargains to boot, Chelsea market boasts a variety and sophistication that rivals the famous Broadway market in Hackney, with prices significantly lower than the notorious Borough market. Whether your a health nut or a chocoholic, all bases are covered, and there seemed to be plenty of both present last Saturday - the largest queues were for Rainforest Creations (an exotic vegetarian salad stall) and for the plentiful cupcake and patisserie stalls. 

Also on offer is organic fruit and veg, a variety of pickles, chutneys and conserves, Brazilian, Portuguese (the smell of rocket and chorizo buns gave me hunger pangs all day), Jamaican, Thai, pancakes, fresh juice, fresh oysters, fish, organic meat, pies, cheeses and everything in between. Arrive with an empty stomach: I guarantee you'll find enough to eat lunch four times over!