My name is Dorothea Vogel; I am the violist in the Allegri Quartet, Primrose Piano Quartet, Kings Consort and also play in lots of others groups – I like to have variety in my life. When I’m not playing, I’m the mother to two children, who are now 13 and 10, and going to school locally, which has been a great way to meet some of the lovely families in the area.

As I do a lot of playing around the country and abroad, and not enough close to home, I’ve decided together with my friend Anna Butt to start a regular season of Classical Concerts at St. Augustine’s church on One Tree Hill. The first concert will happen on the 29th of September, and we are also raising money for St. Christopher’s hospice, who are celebrating their 50th anniversary this year.

I’ve lived here since 2001, when we moved into our first own house. After a few years the family grew and we moved to a bigger house but stayed in the area.

I think the area has got a lot more interesting shops since we first moved in; and the Overground finally was finished, which has made it really easy to get around by public transport.

Our street is like a little village; we have a great community and often end up chatting across the fence. We have a few people who regularly organise parties where everyone is invited, so we can catch up properly. There is also a lot of helping each other out, lending one’s skills when needed.

I couldn’t do without the Turkish shop-they have the most amazing selection of anything you might need to cook a perfect dinner-you need flour and they won’t just have wheat flour but will also have a selection for the gluten intolerant or ingredients like vanilla sugar which my friend used to have to buy on tour in Germany.

My perfect weekend… includes breakfast at the French Cafe and a visit to Dulwich library browsing the film selection for a night in. If you don’t feel like cooking you can order a takeaway from Babur which has some of the best Indian food anywhere.  

The Rivoli ballroom have Disco nights which are great for meeting up with parents from school, and dancing away the night remembering one’s youth.

We love eating dinner at Lorenzo’s or for a special birthday treat, Babur.

The best kept secret
One Tree Hill – it’s a great place for the kids to hang out, find secret paths and build shelters. There even is a homemade swing, although unfortunately, it sometimes gets destroyed by vandals.

The perfect way to unwind
is to work in my front garden, which I’m trying to make into an example of an English Cottage Garden, the bees love it and it has lots of scented flowers.
 

If money were no object
I would build a cable car to ride down in style to the station.

The book I’m reading at the moment is
“An Impossible Escape” by Sebastian Kalwij. It’s a comedy/thriller about a local family man’s escapist fantasies.

My perfect holiday
Hiking with the family-to be out and active all day and then relax by an open fire.
 

My secret ambition
is to be a baker-I love making my own bread.

This article first appeared in the September 2017 issue of SE23 magazine.

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