Vix B Riverside Radio Replay

This week we celebrate overcoming adversity in SW London! Vix B’s Local Hero is Maisha Sumah - a multi award winning speaker and elected Chair of the Violence against Women and Girls Community Forum for Wandsworth & Richmond. She’s also a documentary producer, was listed as one of the 50 most inspiring black women in the UK, is the founder of the She Walks in Value platform and works within ou...

This week we celebrate home renovation in SW London! Vix B’s Local Expert this week is Jeremy Lewis-Phillips, founder of the Handyman Station, a team of property care experts supporting SW London from their excellent cargo bikes, a practical and eco conscious way to get to their clients easily. Jeremy gives us his top tips so we can go about our home improvements wisely! The ‘Local Lowdown’ featur...

This week we celebrate the communities SW London! Vix B’s Local Experts are Shoba and Fran, co-founders of SW London Women, a networking platform giving opportunity for women across our communities, from all walks of life, to find inspiring companionship to help them thrive.  The ‘Local Lowdown’ features a Talking Tour of community across SW London and is studded with little known facts. Regu...

This week we celebrate opera in SW London! Vix B’s Local Expert is Louisa Tee, opera singer, actress, comedy writer and co-creator of Warehouse Opera. We chat about her passion for opera and how she is bringing it to the mainstream with a comedy spin. The ‘Local Lowdown’ features a Talking Tour of opera history across SW London and is studded with little known facts. Regular show features ‘Vi...

This week we celebrate the sport of boxing in SW London! Vix B’s Local Expert is Yusuf, founder of the new LNX gym in Putney. Yusuf is realising his long held dream of creating a gym which provides free boxing training to young people so they can develop confidence and build skills and community - and thrive.  The ‘Local Lowdown’ features a Talking Tour of boxing culture across SW London...

This week we celebrate a new way to find employment in SW London! Vix B’s Local Expert this week is Alex Hughes, an entrepreneur passionate about local issues, who aims to transform our boroughs with his new concept job centre - and create a multipurpose Citizen Hub in the heart of Wimbledon. This concept has had huge success already in Cambridgeshire and is a new look and feel job centr...

This week we celebrate how the children of Tooting Bec are taking part in Wandsworth as 2025 Borough of Culture! Our Local Expert is Laura, or Mrs Varyawa to her pupils, a Year 3 teacher and creative lead at St Anselm’s school in Tooting Bec. We hear about how they are celebrating Wandsworth being the Borough of culture this year. And we bring you everything you need to know about the Wandsworth A...

This week we celebrate the German culture across our boroughs! Our Local Expert is Richmond resident and German native Dirk Hoffmann-Becking who hosts a German history podcast which is a fascinating listen and a font of brilliant stories. Dirk also shares his top tips for the best ways we can experience German culture in SW London! The ‘Local Lowdown’ features a Talking Tour of all things German a...

This week we find the best laughs in SW London! Vix B’s Local Icon is the fabulous Suzi Wild, impressionist, stand-up comedian and my fellow radio presenter at Riverside Radio. Suzi chats about her TV success on Britain’s Got Talent and how she got into stand up and radio DJing. She also advises us on how best to experience comedy in SW London. The ‘Local Lowdown’ features a Talking Tour of the gr...

This week we celebrate the heritage of SW London & Wandsworth as 2025 Borough of Culture! Our Local Expert is heritage champion Geoff Simmons. Geoff received the Tooting Community Hero award from Sadiq Khan for running his community history project. Geoff helps us connect with our neighbourhoods by telling the stories they hold. We also bring you everything you need to know about the Wandswort...

This week we are celebrating LGBT+ History Month in SW London! Our Local Expert is the fabulous Mark T Cox, who leads architecture and LGBT+ history tours across London. He joins us to chat about how LGBT+ history month came about and gives us ideas on the best ways to enjoy it. He also shares his insights into the amazing richness of queer culture we have in SW London.  The ‘Local Lowdown’ f...

Our Local Experts this week are Jackie Marie and Mike Hildesley of the Barnes Common Friends, the charity who oversee the stewardship of Barnes Common and other green areas from Barnes to Roehampton. This wonderful initiative started as a group of litter pickers. They tell us about their passion for our great Southwest London outdoors and ways you can get involved. The ‘Local Lowdown’ features a t...

This week we celebrate how football unites communities across SW London! Our Local Hero is Xavier Wiggins founder of wonderful charity Dons Local Action Group. DLAG was initially formed in response to the COVID crisis who are now a permanent fixture in our boroughs. This wonderful initiative started among the football fans of AFC Wimbledon and is a brilliant community of local volunteers who provi...

This week we celebrate Indian culture across Southwest London! Our Local Hero this week is Richmond based Olly Belcher, founder and CEO of charity Shivia, which empowers the poorest women in India to create livelihoods, boost income and inspire permanent change within their communities. Olly chats to us about their amazing work AND gives us some great ideas about how to find the best of India here...

This week we celebrate a vibrant community hub in Roehampton! My Local Heroes are Nikki Rosner, Natalie Price & Nikaysha of Rackets Cubed, founded in Roehampton and now a nationwide charity. I chatted to them at their local outreach programme, The Roehampton Community Box. This brilliant hub offers families a pay-as-you-can supermarket, coffee mornings, hot lunches and a place to find companio...

This week we celebrate young musical talent across our boroughs! Our Local Experts, and Community Heroes award winners, are Anna & Andrei of the not-for-profit Power Jam Band Project Rock School in Twickenham. They nurture and train young musicians, both budding and serious, ages 9-18, so they can learn all about the music industry, create amazing music and boost their confidence on stage and...

This week we remember Remembrance Day with the Poppy Factory in Richmond! Our Local Hero is the Poppy Factory in Richmond, which I visited to find out what they do and how they cope with this, their busiest time of year. Their Chief Executive Amanda Shepard with their head of Communications Dan Hodges chat about this wonderful institution which is over a hundred years old and, aside from making th...

This week we celebrate Battersea Dogs & Cats Home and our four legged friends! Our Local Expert is world renowned male model, David Gandy with his lovely dog Dora chatting about his passion for Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, his work as an ambassador for them and why it means so much to him. Our interview was recorded in magnificent Richmond Park and I was reminded yet again of how lucky we a...

This week we celebrate finding community at the Tooting Bec Lido! Our ‘Local Hero’ is the Tooting Bec Lido, and to represent it are Claire Josey & Charlotte (aka Droopy) Wilson who spoke to me about how they swim with their Blue Tits Chill Swimmers group year-round at this fabulous open air swimming pool in the heart of Wandsworth and what the pool means to them. We celebrate the Lido for all...

This week we celebrate dreams being realised, coffee & Southfields! This week’s Local Heroes are friend to the show and founder of youth charity Regenerate, Andy Smith, his colleague Tyanna and their newly opened coffee house, Feel Good Coffee, in Southfields. Southwest London resident Gordon Ramsay himself said they have the best flat white coffee he’s tasted! Regenerate inspires and supports...

This week we celebrate strong women & the performance spaces of SW London!  Our Local Expert is Jude Kelly CBE, Olivier award winning theatre director, arts producer and founder of the WOW Foundation – Women of the World – celebrating women, girls and non-binary people and their achievements. Jude has been a huge creative force in our boroughs during her illustrious career, with her work...

This week we celebrate the musical culture of SW London & focus on Brixton! My guests are the rock band Tchotchke – a.k.a. Eva, Anastasia and Emily – the three-part band from Los Angeles who are currently touring Europe. I caught them after they performed at the Brixton Electric. These talented girls share their insights into performing in Brixton, life on the road, their musical heroes a...

This week’s show celebrates art, creativity and Raynes Park! Our ‘Local Expert’ and Raynes Park resident is contemporary landscape Artist Emz Finch with her guide to how to get more from the art scene across our boroughs. Life as an artist is a fairly solitary one but Emz has found company through the Common Works Gallery, a nonprofit local group that showcases artists so they can find community a...

This week’s show celebrates being inspired to do your best work at any age!  Our ‘Local Expert’ and Putney resident is Lucy Standing, co-founder of Brave Starts, a not-for-profit organisation which helps people of 40-65+ feel excited about their future career opportunities with lots of brilliant local success stories. September is a time for new starts and Lucy gives her insights into how the...

Our ‘Local Hero’ is French native, relocation expert and happy SW London resident, Mel Rogers, who gives us her brilliant insider guide for how to find the best of France across our boroughs. She is currently soaking up the atmosphere of the horse eventing at the Palace of Versailles for the Paris Olympics!  The ‘Local Lowdown’ features a talking tour of Olympic history, celebrating...