Archive

Stories

Exploring the lives and heritage of Summerstown, from the trenches of the Great War to the vibrant streets of today.

Frank Kitz’s Wandle Wake-Up

Frank Kitz’s Wandle Wake-Up

Something was stirring in south west London on Saturday. It was the eve of Storm Ciara but the skies above the Wandle could not have been bluer, or it’s waters more serene and twinkly as we followed...

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Tooting’s Golden Glow

Tooting’s Golden Glow

It seems like a lifetime ago, when London puffed its chest and presented itself to the world in a glorious inclusive month of colour, harmony and the very best of Britishness. From Danny Boyle’s...

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The Day of The Daffodil

The Day of The Daffodil

Last Friday lunchtime, a great floral garland of vibrant yellow and cream appeared on our famous Edward VII statue outside Tooting Broadway tube station. Just to be clear what was going on, he also...

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The Primrose Pilgrimage

The Primrose Pilgrimage

They came from Tooting, Earlsfield, Wandsworth, Summerstown and Streatham, united in the joy of newly-discovered  shared history about the place where they live. It was the warmest of Saturdays in...

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The Daffodil Wagon

The Daffodil Wagon

Harvest time at a small family run Cornish daffodil farm! Peter Barr’s plaque hits the road… We contacted Scamp’s Quality Bulbs as they had been highly recommended, not only are they a small-scale...

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A Home for The Daffodil King

A Home for The Daffodil King

We are just three months away now from a momentous occasion on Garratt Lane, Tooting in south west London. On Saturday 21st September, a gathering on a patch of grass outside a utility building at...

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Earlsfield Celtic Connection

Earlsfield Celtic Connection

Half-way down Garratt Lane between Wandsworth and Tooting, Earlsfield was until quite recently derided as a rather dull suburban nesting spot, lacking the history of Wandsworth or the multicultural...

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Blooming Tooting

Blooming Tooting

Its formally known as a Narcissus, sometimes apparently in days gone by, as the Lent Lily, but to people the world over, it is the much-loved Daffodil, a symbol of spring awakening, of good works,...

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Prince Albert

Prince Albert

Albert Elliot’s home was very close to St Mary’s Church at No5 Wimbledon Road just a few doors away from the Carrigan household at No11. The young painter’s labourer and decorator would surely have...

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Last of the Lost

Last of the Lost

The Lost Streets of Earlsfield have contributed about 26 names to the Summerstown182 and so many others passed through these roads, washed away when the Wandle burst its banks in September 1968. So...

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First Lady Sadie

First Lady Sadie

Saturday June 16th was an extremely busy day in Tooting; there were school fairs, family barbecues, Ramadan celebrations, street parties, even a Furzedown Festival. But the place to be was on one of...

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Stripes of Peace

Stripes of Peace

As we prepare for the second ‘Hazelfest’ , a wonderful ‘mini green’ festival on the Hazelhurst estate, beneath the Summerstown Towers, we can look across Wimbledon Road to a house associated with one...

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