Bridge Magazine - Part 1

34
ChElsEa GREEn
The small green ThaT’s big on communiTy spiriT
1
Pristine Vespas sit gleaming in an orderly
row, and dotted all around are glamazons in
sunglasses, nonchalantly sipping coffee while
their miniature dogs wait devotedly, eager for
a morsel of discarded biscotti. But, contrary
to the tableau, this isn’t a chic piazza in one of
Rome’s more elegant quarters, but an idyllic
pocket of Chelsea, off the King’s Road (2, 5).
Postcard-pretty Chelsea Green is where
the cognoscenti sashay for groceries – not to
mention accessories – and to shoot the breeze
with their neighbours and the many veteran
shop keepers who dominate its edges. All of
which makes this repository of tucked-away
treasures one of the finest places to idle away
a summer’s day.
Start the morning at the Art Nouveau
entrance to the Michelin Building, where
2
3
4
you’ll find one of London’s most exquisite
flower stalls, presided over by father and
son Jonathan and Max, with help from
freelance florists (on the day we visited,
Penny Philpopps, a flower arranger and piano
teacher), who are happy to advise on the best
blooms, or even dress your home (4 & 12).
Armed with the perfect posy, duck into
the Conran Shop, where manager Jeff
Heading works with Terence Conran’s son
Jasper to ensure that it is an ever-changing
and always-surprising place, full of design
inspiration (6). Think everything from Matthew
Hilton’s impossibly angular furniture to
1950s-reminiscent Vespas…
Next, weighed down by your goodies (we
defy you to resist), it’s time to join the coiffed
beauties on Chelsea Green proper for a
SW3
5
6
caffeine hit. The Pie Man (thepieman.co.uk),
which this year celebrates its 30th birthday,
is laden with all manner of temptations (7 &
14). Shelves groan under the weight of jars of
spiced hedgerow jelly, Brixton honey and, most
nostalgically of all, satisfyingly saccharine
sugar mice. Meanwhile, sausages on the grill
are just the thing to start the day, along with a
delicious cappuccino.
The sartorially minded should make for
Fleur B (fleurb.co.uk) next, where the focus
is on British craftsmanship (9). As well as the
likes of Lara Bohinc, the store stocks its own
eponymous label – printed in Macclesfield and
made up in Wimbledon. The focus is on clothes
that are easy to wear and quick to shop for;
that the owner is a working mother is fully
evident from her style choices.