'The suburbs have never seen such excitement': Wimbledon's new thriller
Plus: The lost pubs of Wimbledon, a new job opening at the Rooftop Farm, and much more
Good morning, Wimblers — I hope that everyone is well! It’s starting to warm up now — though I’m writing this as it pours with rain — and I hope that our readers are enjoying a bit of sun, however fleeting.
This week is all about mystery. For our main feature, we talk to Lily Samson, author of The Switch, a new work of psychological fiction set in Wimbledon that is already being praised as “a sexy, seductive thriller” by The Sunday Times Style magazine. Scroll down to read all about how she chose Wimbledon as her novel’s setting, Hitchcock’s influence, and how a Roald Dahl short story came to inspire her premise. We’ve also got a jam-packed list of recommendations, a new job opportunity at the Rooftop Farm, and some news about the future of Wimbledon Police Station.
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Happy reading!
News snippets 🗞
🥁 A new non-profit community drumming project has launched in Wimbledon. Flow Community Drumming, based in Merton, formed this month with the plan to offer free drumming sessions designed to reduce social isolation, improve mental health and build stronger communities. The free sessions will run for an hour and take place at South Park Gardens. All drumming equipment will be provided and no previous experience is needed. Register on their website here.
🍻 This Is Local London has an article remembering some of Wimbledon’s beloved lost (closed) pubs. Some of our readers might recognise a few of the places listed, like The King’s Head on Merton High Street and The King of Denmark on Ridgway, which opened in 1866 and was even visited by the King of Denmark and Princess Marguerite in the 1960s. Check out the full list on their website.
🚨 Wimbledon MP Paul Kohler has warned locals that Wimbledon Police Station “is once again being considered for closure”. Kohler has urged residents to sign a petition to keep the station open, so if you wish to support the mission then sign here.
🎾 The All England Lawn Tennis Club’s plans to expand their stadium are now set to go before the High Court. Save Wimbledon Park challenged the GLA’s approval of the AELTC’s plan to expand their stadium into Wimbledon Park back in January, with the High Court now agreeing to proceed with the case on “all three legal grounds” according to the Clapham Junction Insider. Read all about the latest twists here.
Property of the week 🏡
I know that some of our readers think the properties we feature are a little too expensive to be considered “realistically affordable”. And those readers would be right, but that’s the point. I could never afford these houses either, but a boy can dream! Take this three-bedroom semi-detached beauty. I love that brick work in the kitchen and bathroom — it gives the house a rustic element in an otherwise quintessential modernist home. I’m also a big fan of the garden and that glamorous shed. If only I had £1m lying around. Check out more photos here.
The Wimble’s to-do list 🎨
🖌 Craig Jefferson @ Wimbledon Fine Art: This exhibition comes to a close this Friday, so this is your last chance to catch an in-person glimpse of these magnificent pieces. Craig Jefferson has had solo shows in Edinburgh, Belfast and London and in 2016 he became a member of the New English Art Club. The artworks on display can all be viewed here, and the exhibition is also available to see through appointment.
Where: Wimbledon Fine Art
When: Saturday, 9 February - Friday, 28 February, 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM
🎤 A Merry Frolic: This show is a proper mix of musical styles, from Music Hall to opera and even jazz. Brought to you by the Jolly Good Company Music Hall Society, this show is not one to miss. Tickets are £27 per person, with the ticket also including a fish and chips dinner (veggie and food-free options will also be available). Tickets can be booked with an additional small fee on TicketSource or by calling 0208 944 2058.
Where: Wimbledon Village Hall
When: Friday, 28 February (7:30 PM), Saturday, 1 March (6:30 PM), Sunday, 2 March (6:30 PM)
🐦 Wimbledon Commons Nature Club: Bird Feeders: The nature club is back for this month’s Sunday session, and this time it’s all about … birds! Children will get their chance to feed our feathered friends on Wimbledon Common and learn about different species in the process. These sessions are open to anyone ages 6-14. Of course, parents are welcome too! Contact Auriel to find out more.
Where: Information Centre, Windmill Road, Wimbledon Common
When: Sunday, 2 March, 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
🎶 Crib Notes Parents Choir: As of January this year, Crib Notes have launched their parents choir and are inviting all parents — young, old, foster, adoptive, guardians, parents with babies, parents with toddlers, grandparents, nannies and other carers! — to attend their weekly Tuesday sessions. Participants will get to sing a variety of songs including pop hits, folk tunes, and even sea shanties. For more info or to book a £5 taster session, head to their page.
Where: South Park Gardens Pavillion
When: Tuesday, 4 March, 11:15 AM - 12:15 PM
🍺 Pub Quiz @ The Dog and Fox: It’s that time of the week again … quiz time. Gather your smartest friends and get them up to the Dog and Fox for a proper competition. Note: Competition is fierce, so bring your A game.
Where: Dog and Fox
When: Wednesday, 5 March, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
🎻 Treasured Classics Concert: This is a very special evening full of timeless classics performed by professional musicians. Think Beethoven, Schubert and Mozart. Tickets are £15 for adults and £5 for children — book now.
Where: Emmanuel Church
When: Thursday, 27 February, 6:30 - 8:30 PM
Gardeners, Wimbledon needs you 🪴
This is your chance to work for Wimbledon’s Rooftop Farm. The Rooftop Farm is more than just a space to grow produce; it is a fast-growing hub with which the team is transforming the local area through sustainability and a circular economy. In fact, we interviewed Will — managing Urban Farmer of Rooftop Farm — in a previous edition last month about the great work the team does — read it here.
The Rooftop Farm is looking for a part-time gardener to join Will in helping to grow the produce, launch and maintain the brand-new subscription box service, engage with the local community, and much more. Read all about the job spec here.
We speak to the author behind the new page-turning thriller set in Wimbledon 📚
Lily Samson — a pseudonym for the author’s real name — has been writing fiction for well over 20 years. The Switch, a racy psychological thriller set in the heart of Wimbledon Village, is her first book under this new pen name. On a cold January evening, Lily and I met in the Curzon’s cozy café to talk about everything from her memories of blackberry picking on the common to how Wimbledon is the perfect place to set a dark, twisted thriller.
Perhaps it’s best if we get a short synopsis of the thriller for our readers. The book is set in Wimbledon and involves two couples and a game of deception — can you expand on that?
Yes, so the young couple, Elena and Adam, are house-sitting on Church Road in one of those lovely cottages. They meet this glamorous couple, Sophia and Finn, and pretend that they own this house on Church Road to impress them. Sophia and Finn possess the glamour of a Hitchcock couple. I imagine Finn to look like one of Cary Grant’s characters. Sophia is described as looking like a “Hitchcock blonde”. At a certain point in the book, Sophia and Elena are sitting in The Ivy in the village when Sophia makes the indecent proposal to swap partners without the men knowing. I got the idea from Roald Dahl’s short story “The Great Switcheroo”, and, in fact, Sophia actually references this story when proposing the idea to Elena. It’s a bit meta in that sense because I wanted to pay homage to Roald Dahl and not just rip him off. As the book progresses, these two couples get to know each other better, and more questions are raised.
I also think that if you’re going to write a psychological thriller set in the UK, it’s important to address the British class system. So, in The Switch, you’ll notice that Elena is from a more traditionally working-class background, but she’s been to Cambridge and has this insecurity that stems from her class transformation. She’s quite conflicted in that way, but she’s so delighted to be in Wimbledon, and she’s so dazzled by the other couple that she goes along with Sophia’s indecent proposal.
You mentioned Hitchcock just now — did his films inspire you when writing this book?
Yes, absolutely! Notorious and Vertigo were two huge inspirations. I wanted to bring in some of that Hitchcockian elegance when writing this book. There’s something so stylish about those films; there’s also a slow-burn element to them where the darkness descends gradually. And I wanted to emulate that … only in Wimbledon Village.
What made you choose Wimbledon as the setting?
I came up with the idea and immediately knew I’d set it in Wimbledon. Most of the book was written in cafes and restaurants in the village. My family home, owned by me, my dad and my brothers, is actually in Sutton, and I grew up there. I suppose I started to get tired of Sutton and fall in love with Wimbledon during the pandemic.
It’s interesting because I think suburban noir was the big trend in 2024. I think that’s why The Sunday Times picked The Switch and wrote “the suburbs have never seen such excitement”. They probably thought it was a bit amusing to set a thriller in Wimbledon when people often associate it with being a very charming, quiet place.
I read that the film rights have already been sold — that’s incredible news. Talk to me a little bit about the process of writing this book in Wimbledon and how you ended up selling the TV rights.
Once I really got started, I wrote this book in three months. It just sort of wrote itself. I remember being in London and having my agent call me to say that there was interest from a film company. I didn’t know they’d sent it out. I looked up the company that was interested and realised it was Nicole Kidman’s production company. Apparently, she had read my book and loved it. When I saw Baby Girl, I realised that it made sense that Nicole Kidman saw something in my book because she’s become very interested in works that explore female sexuality and are brave and audacious like The Switch. But in the end, it wasn’t her company that got the rights; it was Sony, and I signed with a dream producer, Matt Tolmach, who produced The Amazing Spider-Man with Andrew Garfield, and the recent Apple TV series Dark Matter. Matt and his team have been really committed to a quality adaptation and very dynamic in pushing everything forward to make it happen.
Why did you choose to base the book on a Roald Dahl short story and flip the genders? And do you think there’s been a shift in women’s literature and film these past few years?
When I decided to write a psychological thriller, I was going through loads of ideas in my head, and I thought about how Roald Dahl had inspired me to become a writer. So, I suppose the inspiration to play with his story stemmed from there. On your second question, I suppose it’s about how we’ve gone through different phases in female fiction. Bridget Jones’s Diary represented a slight toning down of female darkness or transgression. And then Fifty Shades came along and took everyone by surprise … but that had its positives and negatives too. I think it was probably a good thing at the time because it broke us out of that pink romcom genre we’d been stuck in.
Do you feel a personal connection to Wimbledon … one that goes beyond your book now that your book is published and out there?
I do. It’s my favourite place in London. I much prefer it to Richmond! Actually, there’s another sweet story I wanted to tell you. My partner — who lives in France and teaches at the Sorbonne — grew up in Wimbledon until the age of five. When he was five, he moved back to France with his father and his mother stayed here in Wimbledon. He would spend his holidays in the village and even as an adult he would come here regularly to visit his mum. We met online during the pandemic because he’s also a writer and journalist. I would walk around and take photos of the common and the village to send to him. But we also realised, once we were together, that we probably passed each other on a Wimbledon road countless times before meeting. We probably sat in the same Curzon screening without knowing. And it was actually him who introduced me to Cannizaro Park.
Now you mention it, there is something a little Hitchcockian about Cannizaro Park … something a little reminiscent of Vertigo.
Oh, absolutely — it actually features in the book. But I don’t want to give too much away.
Lily Samson’s The Switch is available to buy at Wimbledon Books, Waterstones, Amazon, WHSmith and pretty much everywhere else. Check out her author biography on Penguin’s page here.
Question of the week 🔍
Last week, I asked which famous podcaster and comedian attended King’s College School, Wimbledon. 23% chose James Acaster; 17% chose James Manford; 12% chose Adam Buxton; and 48% chose Ed Gamble. The answer: Ed Gamble
Q: Which of these American celebrities was born in Wimbledon?
You’re up to date 👋
Thank you for reading this week! Do apply for the role at the Rooftop Farm is you think it’s for you, and please keep sending in your photos of the week. Catch you next time!
Thank you so much for publicising the beginning and the end of our Craig Jefferson Exhibition.
Please pop into the gallery sometime. We would love to meet you. Best wishes, Judy Stafford, Stafford Gallery collaborating with Wimbledon Fine Art.