Lonely in Wimbledon? Meet the befrienders
Plus: Shakespeare in the park, live music and a competition for young artists in Wimbledon
Hello Wimblers — and welcome to the seventh edition of The Wimble, which is full of must-read news and must-do recommendations, including a prestigious magazine recommending restaurants in Wimbledon and the news that Mary Berry is coming to town.
Amazingly, this newsletter now goes out to more than 1,200 of you. Huge thanks to everyone who has helped us achieve our meteoric growth by telling friends - please do keep that up because we’re now hungrily eyeing up the 2,000 mark.
This week feels like a return to normality in these parts. The dust is beginning to settle after the election. The tennis is over. The streets of Wimbledon were filled with chants of ‘it’s coming home’ on Sunday evening — which swiftly became stifled sobs as Spain crushed Southgate’s chances of lifting a trophy.
For now, though, we’re turning away from sport — at least until the Olympics starts. This week we’re slowing things down. Expect news snippets, local recommendations and an interview with the Wimbledon Guild of Social Welfare. Thank you to those who have already subscribed and shared our post. Keep sending in your photos of the week, leave a comment below and drop me an email to get in touch: zak@thewimble.com. Happy reading.
News snippets 🗞
🍔 Condé Nast Traveller has published its new definitive list of “Wimbledon’s best restaurants” — see the selection here. 601 Queen’s Road, The Loft and The Hand in Hand all get a nod. Comment below this newsletter if you think they missed anything out.
📚 Wimbledon BookFest announces this year’s line-up — the celebration of books begins on the 17th of October and festival-goers can expect to see the likes of Richard E. Grant, Rick Stein, William Boyd and Mary Berry. Check out The Bookseller for more details.
🎨 Wimbledon Museum is calling out for young artists — the museum is looking to host three young artists in residence between 23rd August and 22nd September. Enter their competition if you are an artist (aged 18-25) living or educated in Wimbledon and Merton. The three winners will have exclusive access to the Norman Plastow Gallery as well as a chance to showcase their work. More details here.
🚨 Former Wimbledon vicar charged with sex offences — Jonathan Fletcher, 81, has been charged with eight counts of indecent assault and one count of grievous bodily harm. The charges are for offences dating from 1973-99. Mr Fletcher was the vicar of Emmanuel Church Wimbledon, retiring in 2012. Read more about it here.
Property of the week 🏡
There’s something distinctly American about this property (excluding the Union Jack rug). Maybe it’s the basketball hoop. Maybe it’s the McMansion proportions. Maybe it’s the garden and all that space begging to be used for a barbecue. All it’s missing is a pool. Regardless, it’s a lovely house and I want it. All I need to do is find £5,250,000. I could always start a GoFundMe. Check out the other rooms here.
Q&A: “You don’t always know your neighbour. People can be incredibly isolated.”
Zara Harris is the volunteer manager at the Wimbledon Guild. The Guild is a community charity in Merton who aim to tackle loneliness and to support those struggling. Sitting in their offices on Worple Road, Zara and I talk about community and the pleasures of volunteering.
Zak: Tell me about the Guild’s volunteering work.
Zara: The Wimbledon Guild has roughly 180 volunteers across the organisation. There are befriending volunteers who help out weekly, fortnightly or monthly. We have volunteers that meet with clients at our cafe here or in the client’s home. We’ve got exercise class volunteers who come to events like “Dance with Parkinson’s” and our stroke exercise classes — so, if someone is living with a stroke and attending the exercise classes, you’ve got a volunteer sitting with them and motivating them so that they aren’t doing it alone. We’ve got social activity volunteers who help with games or the culture through cuisine event.
Do a lot of these events take place here on Worple Road?
Yes, a lot of what we do is here. But then we’ve also got projects like the walking tennis where volunteers help out. In that sense, we’re sort of scattered everywhere. The volunteering is very dependent on how often people are available and the age range of volunteers is massive. I think our youngest is 18 and our oldest … I don’t want to age them [laughs]. I think our oldest is about 85. And since the pandemic there have been a lot of people working from home who want to pop in to our community garden and just do a bit of gardening for half an hour and chat to people.
Do you think there is a greater need for volunteering now more than ever, especially in London?
I think that in London you are in such a densely populated area, but you don’t always know your neighbour. People can be incredibly isolated. I think volunteering has played a huge part in changing that. Just spending five minutes as a volunteer with a client can have a profound impact on a person’s life, to make people feel less alone. Volunteering offers human contact in a very digital world. I think having a base where people can come for a coffee, a meal and a chat with someone is so important.
Has working here opened your eyes to aspects of Wimbledon that aren’t widely seen?
Yes and all over Merton. With the befriending process, it’s predominantly women in the Wimbledon area who are over 65 and need that support. I think Wimbledon is a lovely community area but there’s still an element of people needing to step outside and check on the people in their area. My family are from Northamptonshire and it’s very much an ethos of everyone knowing everyone there, whereas in London there is still a bit of an edge.
What moments have stuck out to you the most at the Guild?
I think the volunteer socials. When people come and share their reasons for volunteering, it can be quite profound. Last time I listened as two gentlemen had a moment where they realised that their volunteering work was about something bigger than themselves. When you bring people together you realise there’s a common thread. We even have clients who have transitioned into volunteers.
What can we do to help the Guild right now?
I think a lot of volunteering organisations are struggling to find befriending volunteers, and it goes back to knowing your neighbour. Going into someone’s home as a volunteer can be really daunting and we’re trying to make that process more accessible. Befriending is about companionship, not counselling. It’s about meeting in a community space, going on a walk, going to the cafe. People could even just pop in on their lunch breaks. A lot of our clients say that the week can feel very long, so if you have a volunteer meet you on a Wednesday it can break up that sense of isolation.
Do you have any events coming up that we might be able to volunteer for?
There’s the Waggy Walk which is a gorgeous event on Wimbledon Common. People can bring along their dogs, though you don’t have to own a dog, and go for a sponsored walk around Wimbledon Common. It doesn’t have to be long; it can be 5K or 10K. Last year it was in the blistering October sunshine. Oh, and we also have the Christmas in the Village event. There will be a Santa’s grotto where we take donations. Face painting. Activities. And we have volunteers who help set that up — it’s a great one if you just want to pop in for two hours and get involved in the Christmas cheer. And all proceeds from that go back into the Guild to help with the other projects we do.
Head over to the Wimbledon Guild’s website to learn more about what they do and how you can help.
Photo of the week 📸
Thank you to Kevin O’Neil for this lovely photo of the Wimbledon Clock Tower. Keep sending in your photos each week and hopefully we can get a bit of a collection going.
Word Salad 🥗
This week’s Word Salad is on coffee shops in Wimbledon. Click here to play. See how many names you can get and download the app on iOS and Android to keep playing.
The Wimble’s to do list 🎯
🎭 Much Ado About Nothing — Mayhem Theatre are putting on Shakespeare’s classic comedy in the open space of Cannizaro Park. I’m more of a tragedy guy myself. Call me melancholic, but I love a bit of Hamlet. I think the summer is the perfect time to watch Shakespeare, when people are “as merry as the day is long”. Grab your tickets here.
Where: The Italian Garden, Cannizaro Park
When: Wednesday 24th July - Sunday 27th July
🍺 Pub quiz at The Fire Stables — grab a cold one and put on your thinking hats. If you’re feeling lucky or super intelligent, head over to The Fire Stables for your chance to win a £50 bar tab. Remember, don’t shout out your answers — I know it’s exciting but it really doesn’t help your chances of winning. Book a table here.
Where: The Fire Stables
When: Sunday 21st July, 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM
🎸 Live music at the Light on the Common — it’s 2-4-1 cocktails and a show. What’s not to love? With its cool, laidback interior, the Light on the Common is the perfect place to relax and take it easy with a drink and some tunes.
Where: Light on the Common
When: Friday 19th July, 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM
🇯🇵 Japan travel showcase — luxury travel company Swords Travel are hosting an evening where you, the hopeful travellers, get to hear and talk about visiting Japan. I’ve always wanted to go to Japan myself, but it’s not a cheap trip. If you fancy visiting the neon lights of Shinjuku, you better start saving.
Where: Swords Travel, Wimbledon Village
When: Thursday 25th July, 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Question of the week 🔍
Last week I asked you when the first televised airing of the Wimbledon Championships was. The answer: 1937.
Q: Why is there a farming locality in New Zealand named after Wimbledon?
You’re up to date 👋
Thanks for reading this week. Keep an eye out for upcoming Sunday features and other stories. As ever, please get in touch with ideas, stories, factoids and suggestions: zak@thewimble.com. We’d love to grow our subscribers through you, the readers, so please keep sharing, posting and burdening the world of the internet with hyperlinks and the share button below. And please comment — I love it when we get a dialogue going.