We love our London Mums! Each month we feature a local mum who shares her favourite places in her community. This month we talked to Anna Whitehouse—a writer at the Stylist magazine and founder of witty parenting blogzine Mother Pukka. Anna recently returned to London from several years overseas and now lives in Acton with her husband and young daughter Mae. Find out what she loves about her ’hood:
Tell us a little about yourself.
I’m mother to two-year-old Mae, a writer at Stylist Magazine and founder of Mother Pukka—a blogzine for ‘people who happen to be parents’ with a weekly vlog about everything from ‘Fake baking a birthday cake’ to ‘Working the 70s trend in the playground’.
I previously lived in Dubai and then Amsterdam, where I worked as a fashion writer, and I returned to London six months ago. I couldn’t find that many ‘parent-friendly’ events when I landed here—we’d done enough baby bounce and couldn’t look at another primary colour—so I set up Mother Pukka as somewhere to highlight cool stuff for mamas who wanted to go to places that kept the kids—but more importantly parents—happy. We’re really excited that we’re launching our first official parent-friendly event in October this year in collaboration with the achingly cool Indytute.
Which area do you live in, and what do you love about it?
I live on Larden Road in Acton and love the fact that we’re five minutes from Wendell Park for Mae to let off some steam and only seven minutes from Laveli for the best coffee (and bacon sandwiches) in town. It’s a really great mix of kid and adult stuff nearby and I’m always bumping into other nice parents in the park (usually when Mae won’t give someone’s scooter back and we have to negotiate our way through it).
Where’s your favourite neighbourhood place to hang out as a family?
Hands down, The Eagle. Room for kids to play outside, colourful beanbags to chill in the sun and the best chicken roast I’ve ever had. Oh and the kids’ food isn’t the usual fried rubbishness. This is parental pub mecca. A little bit closer to town we love the V&A John Madejski Garden for some splashing in the fountain. There are never any kids there, so it offers some welcome respite from the usual cacophony of the nearby Science Museum.
Where’s your favourite place to escape in your area for a little ‘me’ time?
I love Turnham Green, so generally just wander there and grab a, ahem, Marks & Spencer £10 meal deal (living the dream). I also love Angie’s Little Food Shop on Chiswick High Road for brunch with friends and then a meander to The Dove pub along the Thames. On a sunny day there’s no better line-up.
What local activities do you and your family take part in?
To be honest we’ve only just found our feet back in London so have been spending most of our time drinking, eating and catching up with people in The Eagle or The Princess Victoria, if sitting in a boozer counts as activity?
Is there a little hidden gem in your area you’d like to share?
It has to be Laveli. They have a stack of kids’ toys and serve up the best coffee in town. Surely those are the only two things a parent needs?
Would you like to be featured in our series? We’d love to hear about your local gems! Drop us a line!
