Wrap up warm, December is here! The skies of SE22 are already sparkling with Christmas spirit and our high street is buzzing with winter menus, warm wine, and festive windows. There is plenty to make you feel merry and bright around Dulwich this month. The opening of Terroirs Bistro (formerly Toasted) on Lordship Lane proved popular with regulars and with weekly wine tastings, meet the winemaker events and guest chef pop-ups, this could be a great place to get your first sprinkling of Christmas cheer!

Local resident, Chloe Gounder-Forbes, invited Angela and me to her permanent pop-up restaurant, Platform 1, to sample the tasting menu from guest chefs-in-residence, Fodder. We enjoyed 6-courses of wild seasonal cooking and not one of them disappointed. Chloe’s wine list features rare and indigenous grape varieties and we opted for the wine flight, which carefully matches each dish with a wine. The sparkling Pinot Grigio rosé from Romania was sooooooo good that we will both be ordering a case to see us through the party season! Sadly, Fodder’s residency at Platform 1 has now come to an end, but we can’t wait to find out who the next chef in residence will be!

Suzanne James’ annual East Dulwich Supper Club fundraiser for Link Age Southwark was held at Suzanne’s new premises, fifty seven, on North Cross Road. This hugely popular event included cocktails, canapés and an incredible three-course meal of seasonal food beautifully prepared by Suzanne and accompanied by specially selected wines.

There is much to look forward to this month too. The East Dulwich Christmas Cracker returns on Saturday 2nd December and is supported by Southwark Council and presented by the Dulwich Festival. This year’s street festival programme will include an exciting array of entertainment from local bands, choirs and performance groups, exclusive offers from the fantastic local traders, a wonderfully seasonal North Cross Road market with tempting gifts and delicious festival food and the return of the delightful Children’s Christmas Treasure Hunt. This year will also see the advent of an art trail with local artists exhibiting throughout spaces in Lordship Lane and beyond.

Meanwhile, just up the hill, Fairlawn Primary School will be hosting their Winter Fair with fun for all the family including mulled wine, a Santa’s Grotto, homemade gifts and food, refreshments, games, and stalls.

The Dulwich Charity Lunch – also raising money for Link Age Southwark – will be held on Thursday 7th December at The Palmerston again. Please email angela@semagazines.co.uk to book tickets or donate a prize to the raffle.

The Christmas Herne Hill Free Film Festival runs from 7-20 December and is celebrating with 9 free screenings across a range of venues in SE24. Anyone who attends will be able to donate food to help local people in crisis this Christmas.

T’is also the season for Christmas haircuts! I’ll certainly be getting my silver stripe covered to see me through the festivities. The Little Clipper on North Cross Road has a fantastic offer for this month. All women who have a cut or colour in December will receive 20% off their next haircut, if they book their appointment in February 2018.

Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas and a very happy new year.

Details of all local news, events and ticket information can be found on our events page and on instagram @arounddulwich.

 

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