Meet the Locals

Ex-Hot Gossip dancer Alison Hierlehy tells Jo Reynolds that dancing for charity is great for the libido. How do you pronounce your name? Her–le–hee. There used to be an O’ at the start but we lost that many moons ago. What or who is Hot * Flush? I got the…

Alice Peterson tells Jo Reynolds why she gave up tennis to write a hit. When did you move to the area? 2004, so ten years ago. What do you most like about it? I love the park, and I love my neighbours. For people unfamiliar with your writing, what have you…

Margaret Langleben tells Jo Reynolds about what she’d do to bankers and politicians. When did you move to the area? 1969. Has it changed? Ha! Back then, some people I know considered this the slums of Hammersmith. It was all workman’s cottages. We all had outside toilets. Most people had…

Warm-hearted local barber Nicos Pavlou cuts to the chase about fleeing sunny Cyprus for west London. Interview by Jo Reynolds. What brought you to London? My mum and dad, myself and my brother, we were kicked out of our home during the invasion of Cyprus in 1974.  We drove away…

Local hairdressers Marcus and Mark flash their blades and get reflective with Jo Reynolds. What are your surnames? Mark: McLaughlin. Marcus: Filotrani. What tempted a pair of Glaswegians to London? Mark: I came down when I was 17.  I was looking for something different from what Glasgow had to offer…

Toby Young (above) talks to Jo Reynolds about growing up. Why did you set up the West London Free School (WLFS) here? Initially we looked in Ealing but the council was pretty unhelpful. Hammersmith and Fulham were a lot more friendly. As well as this secondary school, you’ve just opened…

So, who is – or was – our namesake? A Wiki moment later, we can report without fear of litigation that our Brackenbury is the once beknighted Sir Robert Brackenbury, a nobleman and courtier who hailed from near Darlington in the North East and happened to live near Richard, the…

Jo Reynolds talks to Father David Matthews, vicar of the parish. How do you prefer to be addressed? David. When I’m in robes, I’m happy to be “fathered”, but otherwise David. Only my sister calls me Dave. Why did you leave Canada? I did some research in the UK for…

Madani Younis, artistic director of the Bush Theatre since 2012, tells Jo Reynolds about the theatre’s new home in the old Shepherd’s Bush Library. What brought you to this neighbourhood? I’ve known the Bush (theatre) all my professional life. I knew it when it was above the pub (in Goldhawk…

Jo Reynolds questions local cat burglar, Darjeeling, a real cat – who burgles – for real. What’s your name? Darjeeling.  You know, as in the tea grown in the mountains of Northern India. What breed are you? Bengal.  My owner, bless him, likes to say I’m one-fifth cat, one-fifth squirrel,…