Of all the school holidays, the Easter break is probably my favourite. It’s longer than half term and spring is – usually – in the air, although the recent spell of cold weather brings no reassurance that there will be any sunshine on offer this year!

Last month, my son’s school closed for 2 snow days and parents flocked to the Horniman to sledge race down the snowy hills with their little ones. It was fun for the first hour or so, but then the frost set in and many of us took to hiding under a blanket on the sofa until it melted.

However, I did manage to get out and discover a few exciting new places in March. The first is Grounds & Grapes, a fab little wine bar opposite Honor Oak station. If good wine, cheese, and gin are your thing then do pop in!

Aneto Café on East Dulwich Road is now open in the evenings and Angela and I had an amazing dinner there with friends. I’ll definitely be going back for their octopus salad.

Tuesday night yoga at the Hindu temple, Maha Lakshmi Vidya Bhavan, beside One Tree Hill on Honor Oak Road is another great little find.

I know I am a bit late to the party with this next one, but Scotch Meats Stores on Rosendale Road in West Dulwich is awesome! It’s an independent fine foods store, butchery, artisan bakery, delicatessen and grocers. It’s so good I keep finding new excuses to go back. We are even going to pre-order our lamb chops for Easter!

We get to celebrate Easter twice again this year – UK and Greek Easter, which falls a week later. While chocolate eggs are a tradition here, it’s the brightly coloured hard-boiled variety that will take centre stage on Greek Easter Sunday, or Greekster, as it is known in our family.

The Horniman Easter Fair looks set to be lots of fun for the whole family. You can go on an Easter trail, get crafty in their workshops, have your face painted and join in lots of family activities across the gardens. On Sunday 1st April, there will be a special performance of The Ugly Duckling, featuring song and puppetry.

There is a beginners sewing course starting at Really Maria on 11th April for anyone wanting to learn a new hobby.

Next month, we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Dulwich Festival! Over 250 artists will be throwing open their doors to you during the two weekends of the Dulwich Festival (12–13 and 19–20 May).

From bouncy castles to beer tents, handmade children’s t-shirts to homemade cakes, designer jewellery to local photography, the Festival Fair on Goose Green on Sunday 13th May will bring together the essence of SE22.

Dulwich Park Fair will be held on the following Sunday. This year will see the return of all the popular attractions such as the Steam Fair rides, Vauxhall City Farm, Punch and Judy, the Magician and Maypole dancing. The stage by the café will feature local musicians, brass bands, choirs and dance acts of all ages, while the arena will have demonstrations of martial arts, football skills and a surprise show!

As always, details of all local news, events and ticket information can be found on our events page and on Instagram @arounddulwich.

This article first appeared in the April 2018 issue of SE22 magazine.