Tooting Newsie weekly newsletter
It's just a few days before Christmas, and there's so much happening in Tooting! New openings, local offers, and of course, Christmas events!
Congratulations – but also a fond farewell! – to Kuba at Pinch Cafe in Tooting Works, on his new premises in Fulham!
Kuba has now closed his Tooting café, and will be opening Pinch at 176 Wandsworth Bridge Road, Fulham, SW6 2UQ, just a short hop north of the river!
Congratulations and good luck, Kuba!
If you're a local business who'd like to take over the space, then please email hello@tootingworks@co.uk for more info!
Have you been watching Black Doves on Netflix? If so, you may have spotted a scene filmed at the Buzz Bingo Tooting (formerly the Granada)!
Sarah Lancashire and Ben Whishaw appeared in the scene, which had to be shot quickly – producer Harry Munday told Time Out, "We had a time limit to shoot there. We had to be done by a certain point that morning and as we were finishing up and leaving, loads of people were coming inside to play bingo."
Black Doves shot in dozens of locations across London – see Time Out's article for more details (warning – spoilers for Black Doves if you haven't seen it!).
Wandsworth Council is refurbishing Garratt Green playground in Tooting – with a focus on inclusive and accessible play – and they want to hear from local residents to help shape the design.
The new design will be aimed mainly at children aged 0-14, but the council also wants to hear from you if you have teenage or adult children with special needs who might want to play there. The goal is to provide a range of equipment that is inclusive, fun, accessible, and helps develop skills like fine motor abilities and risk assessment.
They also want to ensure children with physical and learning disabilities can enjoy play alongside their friends and family. They are also keen to consider features that make the playground a welcoming space for teenage girls. The new design will aim to provide all young adults with items to support active lifestyles.
More info, including a link to the survey and details of drop-in sessions where you can meet the design team, via Have Your Say.
Christmas deals at Instant Physio in Tooting! Save £76 on Massage Packages, 10% off on Physio and Running Assessments, and more!
To find out more and to book, visit their offers page – offer ends Christmas Eve!
Instant Physio specialises in treating knee pain, back pain, neck & shoulder pain and sports injuries.
Pop in and see them at 261 Balham High Rd, SW17 7BD, call them on 020 3488 2698, or visit their website for more details. Open Monday-Thursday 8am-8pm, Friday 8am-4pm and Saturday 8am-12pm.
12 weeks of Strength and Cardio training for just £150 with Combat Conditioning Tooting – only 20 places available!
Combat Conditioning’s (who have a 100% 5-star rating on Google!) New Year Bootcamp on Tooting Common includes up to 4 classes a week over 12 weeks, combining Strength and Cardio training! Combat Conditioning’s George tells us more:
“These courses allow local people who wish to start the New Year positively to come together and work hard to push themselves – and each other – to get real, tangible results.
“Your fitness will be regularly assessed and monitored to ensure that you get the most from your sessions. Plus, everyone attending the bootcamp will be entitled to 1x Personal Training session per month for £35 (normal price £60)!
“Our background is in the British Army, with extensive experience of Recruit and Officer Training as well as training Partner Nations overseas.
"No frills, no gimmicks, no cliques – just well-structured classes and results.”
Classes start on Monday 6th January. Find out more and to book your place here.
50% OFF ALL FOOD AND DRINK at Scooperb in Tooting throughout December!
Scooperb Tooting serves hot savoury dishes alongside sizzling brownies, waffles, captivating crêpes, eggless ice creams, milkshakes, sorbets, sundaes, and falooda – and you can now get a whopping 50% off their entire menu until 31st December 2024!
Open 12pm-10pm Sunday to Thursday, and 12pm-11pm Friday and Saturday, at 128 Tooting High St, SW17 0RR, just a 4 minute walk from Tooting Broadway. All dishes and drinks are vegetarian or vegan, and all food is halal. Full menu via their website.
Ts and Cs apply. This offer is valid 7 days a week until 31st December 2024 at Scooperb Tooting only. Minimum spend £20 per transaction. In store and takeaway only. Show this post or screenshot to redeem the 50% off.
The St George's Hospital Play Team in Tooting needs your help to ensure Santa can deliver Christmas cheer to children at the hospital! 🎅🎁🎄
The Play Team provides support all year round to children and young people in hospital, helping them to understand their treatment and reduce trauma related to hospitalisation – but they need your help.
Be a Christmas elf and visit their Amazon wish list to pick a present(s) for a child to wake up to on Christmas Day!
Hestia Charity's South West London Recovery Cafe, located in Tooting, can provide immediate support for adults struggling with their mental health. It’s free to attend and no appointment or referral is necessary – you can simply turn up. And perhaps most importantly, it’s open 365 days a year including Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.
Hestia is a charity supporting adults and children who have experienced crisis and trauma, to find safety, hope and purpose. They specialise in trauma and resilience informed support for people, including survivors of modern slavery, adults and children escaping domestic abuse, and people struggling with their mental health.
Where: 966 Garratt Lane, Tooting, SW17 0ND (a two minute walk from Tooting Broadway).
When: Open 6pm to 11pm Monday to Friday, and midday to 11pm at weekends and bank holidays
Email: RecoveryCafe@hestia.org
Phone: 020 8767 8426 / 07794394920
Volunteering opportunity! Are you looking for a new challenge in 2025 and have a couple of hours to spare a week? If so, Home-Start Wandsworth are looking for people to join their network of trained volunteers, for 2-4 hours each week, to support a local family.
Home-Start volunteers support families with young children in Wandsworth dealing with a variety of difficulties including post-natal depression, isolation, physical and mental health problems, bereavement or financial worries.
Volunteers work alongside families to give compassionate, non-judgemental, confidential support, tailored to each family. They help families regain their confidence and empower them to build connections with other support services and the wider community to reduce isolation.
You will be given all the training and support to be effective and make a real difference to families in your community. You will also develop transferable skills which can support you in your life, whether that’s at home or at work.
Homestart Wandsworth serves a wide range of families and value diversity among their volunteers. They encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and with varied life experience.
Their next training course will start on Thursday 6th March, 2025.
For more information, visit their website.
The Big Issue seller Polina is in the the Christmas spirit outside Sainsbury's at 71-77 Tooting High Street! You'll find her there every day in the run-up to Christmas (and she has a card machine to take payments if you're short on change). Pop by and see her for your Christmas copy!
Biryani Waala is now open at 326 Balham High Road (where Camile Thai was previously located), serving biryani and more – with a free biryani to their first 100 customers today, and 50% off the whole menu for the rest of the day!
Owners Talha and Hamza tell us, "At our new restaurant, we serve authentic – and delicious – Karachi biryani! Every grain tells a story and every bite is a celebration – we can't wait for Tooting to try it!
"Dunya hai Faani, Khaaley Biryani!"
Opening for eat-in and takeaway 1pm-10pm Monday to Sunday. Also available on Tooting Delivery, with Deliveroo, Just Eat, and Uber Eats to come.
Vegetarian options available, all food is halal. Strictly no alcohol.
See their website for more info.
Congratulations and good luck to Talha, Hamza, and the team!
RELOCATED IN TOOTING MARKET – The Lone Fisherman, serving Jamaican food, has moved to the unit by the Totterdown Street entrance of Tooting Market, where Bless Bakes was previously located.
Congratulations and good luck to Chris!
Maroo has opened at 231 Upper Tooting Road (where Geeta Sarees was previously located), selling cookware, kitchen and household goods, and much more!
Open 10am-7pm Monday to Sunday.
Congratulations and good luck to Roy and the team!
W Dental London are to open early next year at 21 Upper Tooting Road, where Beauty Lady was previously located.
Check out the newly renovated The Tapas Room in Broadway Market Tooting!
They tell us, “we’re so happy with our new look – and menu! – and we have new weekly specials available each and every week. There’s something for everyone!
"Join us for Tapas Tuesday or Wine Tasting Wednesday (or both!), with a menu full of authentic Spanish style tapas, with plenty of vegan, veggie and gluten free options too!
"Our ‘by the glass’ wine list has a delicious range of Spanish wines for you to choose from, but we also have our bottles list with plenty of other delicious wines from around the world!
"Plus, we’re offering 25% discount when you buy a bottle to take away – great for a Christmas gift!"
The Tapas Room is open in Unit 3, Broadway Market (29 Tooting High St, SW17 0SP), 6pm-11pm Tuesday-Friday and 1pm-11pm Saturday. More info via their website.
We love a ghost sign (an old hand-painted advertising sign that has been preserved on a building) and we're lucky to have a few classic examples around Tooting, like this Meggezones sign on the corner of Noyna Road and Upper Tooting Road, above Nettles Pharmacy!
If you'd like to find out more, @RoyReed13 (X) has mapped the location of over 1000 London ghost signs! See his website for more details.
Meet Olivia, Howden Insurance Tooting’s home insurance specialist! With the festive season fast approaching, Olivia says now is the time to check your cover is up to scratch...
“For most of us, our home is not only our most expensive investment but also where we create cherished memories, especially during the holidays. Insurance is critical to protecting that investment – but it needs to be correctly valued!
“It’s thought that around 80% of people undervalue their possessions and home structure, leaving them incredibly exposed.
“Christmas often comes with an increase in valuables – new tech under the tree, heirloom decorations, and maybe even a guest staying in that newly refurbished spare room. Now is the perfect time to ask: is your home insurance ready to cover it all?
"Sorting your home insurance isn’t just a pre-Christmas chore; it’s a vital step to starting the New Year worry-free! So, forget the naughty and nice lists – we can help you list all of the valuables in your home and establish rebuild costs so that you get a true picture of the price of replacing everything, should the worst happen."
Olivia is one of Howden's many Home Insurance Experts – visit her and the rest of the team at Howden Tooting, 149/155 Mitcham Road, SW17 9PG, call 0208 672 3375 or visit their website.
Fantastic Christmas gift ideas at Morleys Tooting! Mugs from £18, tea towels from £10, classic books from £20, Whittards tea gift packs from £7, Tooting wine from £18.95, Christmas Lego from £39,99, huge pet crackers for a tenner, Christmas cushions from £20, Christmas aprons from £15.95…and so much more!
Open 10am-6pm Monday-Saturday, 11am-5pm Sunday, at 103-111 Mitcham Rd, SW17 9PF. See Morleys Tooting for more info.
Congratulations to Tooting's own Dan Draper, who'll be hosting the BBC Radio 1 Breakfast Show Anthems on the 30th & 31st of December!
Dan tells us, "I started podcasting in my little flat in Tooting Broadway before being interviewed by Riverside Radio as a local creative in SW London. Riverside thought I had potential to host a show, so took me on, and 4 years later (and a few awards), I’m now presenting for international brands – and I'm honoured to say I’ll be hosting the BBC Radio 1 breakfast show on the 30th & 31st of December!
"If you have a dream, don’t give up… it’ll all work out!"
You can listen to Dan 6am-10am on 30th and 31st December on BBC Radio 1!
Wandsworth Council have published details of their services over the Christmas and New Year period, including information on parking, waste and recycling collections, Christmas tree recycling, opening times for libraries, sports facilities, council offices and more.
Full details via Wandsworth Council.
Festive Family Carol Service at St Augustine's Church, Tooting this Sunday 22nd December at 6pm, with mince pies and mulled wine / soft drinks to follow. All welcome!
St Augustines Church is located at 16-18 Broadwater Rd, SW17 0EF. More info on their website.
Pop Up Nativity service at Holy Trinity Church, 4pm on Christmas Eve – all welcome!
Holy Trinity Church is located at 74 Trinity Rd, SW17 7RH. More info on their website.
What a fantastic festive array of lights and decorations all over Tooting and Furzedown! 🎄🎅🌟
This will be our last newsletter until the New Year, so we’d like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year – see you in 2025!
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