house-of-tippler

‘The days are long, but the years are short’ or so the saying goes.

While many used the extra hour offered last weekend when the clocks went back for a little bit more shut-eye, many parents of young children probably felt like it was the longest day of the year.

It has been 15 long years since Bridget Jones got together with Mark Darcy and I could not wait to see what happened next when her third installment hit our screens last month. I giddily organised a night out to see Bridget Jones’s Baby with a couple of other “smug marrieds.” As it was a Friday night, we started with a cocktail at House of Tippler before making our way to East Dulwich Picturehouse. Sadly, in all my excitement I had booked the wrong night. Any smugness duly vanished as the four of us were left stranded in the foyer. We managed to rebook for the following Sunday, which had much less of a margarita feel to it, but even without a bottle of chardonnay inside us, we still rolled about in our chairs laughing until we cried.

Earlier that weekend, I took my son to an 8th birthday party at the Herne Hill Velodrome, which is tucked discreetly away behind the houses of Burbage Road. The track is the only remaining venue still in operation from the 1948 Olympic Games and it really is a fantastic party space. They also offer track sessions and school holiday clubs, so definitely add it to your list of fun things to do with kids.

As we wipe the Halloween facepaint away and send the kids back to school for the second half of autumn term, it is hard to believe we are already in the penultimate month of 2016.

However, there is still much to do in and around Dulwich before we dive into the festive season.

The annual family fireworks display at Dulwich Sports Club is guaranteed to light up these dark November nights. Arrive before 6pm to ensure entry and a good view.

Another highlight of the month is the annual Dulwich Literary Festival from 11-13 November. This year, the festival takes its theme from the Anthony Trollope novel The Way We Live Now and promises some of the UK’s best-known names in politics, fiction, poetry and history in the adult programme, as well as a series of children’s events.

The end of November brings with it our first helping of Christmas cheer. The Charter School will open its gates for a Christmas Fair on Thursday 24th while Havelock Walk are hosting their Winter Open Studios event on 26th and 27th.

The festivities will then officially be in full swing! East Dulwich will host a street festival with all the trimmings when the Christmas Cracker returns on Saturday 3rd December, and tickets will soon be available for the annual Dulwich Charity Lunch, which raises thousands of pounds every year for local charity Link Age Southwark.

As always, you can find details of all local news, events, and ticket information over on our events listings page. You can also find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @arounddulwich.

This article first appeared in the November issue of SE22 magazine.