Meet the Locals

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,…

Celebrity photographer John Garrett (above) talks to Jo Reynolds about clicking with the Dalai Lama and other stars.   How long have you lived in the village? 12 years. What brought you to the area? Divorce. What are your favourite places? Every day I have breakfast in Bertotti’s on Hammersmith Grove…

Jayne Hepsibah tells Jo Reynolds about faking it. When did you move to the area? About 24 years ago. Why here? My sister lived here. Because I’m Welsh, when you come off the M4, you get to Hammersmith and think it’s London. The aim was always to go in, in,…

Master butcher John Stenton chews the fat with Jo Reynolds. Where are you from originally? South Shields, Tyne and Wear. How long have you been here? I came to London over 40 years ago and have lived in Hammersmith ever since. What brought you here? There wasn’t any work at…

Aston Martin man Nicholas Mee tells Jo Reynolds about Goldfinger and Goldhawk Road. How long have you been in the area? Personally, forty years, but we’ve had the business in the area since 2000 when we took over the garage in Wellesley Avenue.  It was built as the village garage…