The crooks hit three notably quiet streets in what locals affectionately call “Old Chelsea” late last Sunday evening, or sometime in the early hours of Monday.

They made off with car mirrors that will cumulatively cost their owners more than £40,000 to replace, in labour and parts.

The coordinated strike marks a sudden surge in an alarming new angle in car crime – targeting the highly valuable and easy to steal piece of electronic bodywork kit.

The Citizen is familiar with the location of the three adjoining streets, but is withholding precise details to protect the privacy of the victims and to avoid flagging up the area to other potential thieves.

One furious resident, whose BMW was hit, spoke to The Citizen the day after the raid was discovered. Upon his request, we are withholding his identity. He said:

“These thieves have spotted a new ruse and will be making a fortune. Sadly, Chelsea is the perfect area for these terrible gangs because our streets are absolutely full of expensive cars. How can you stop them?

“The mirrors can be taken in seconds and are worth a lot on the black market because they are jammed with electronic tech.

“I only had my new car delivered five days ago and then it was targeted. If I had stuck with my old 2014 BMW, I would have been fine because it just had a bit of glass in the wing mirror and nothing fancy. “

Chelsea is known for its discreet, tree-lined streets and, sadly, provides the perfect hunting ground for wing mirror gangs. The resident parking bays are filled with gleaming four-by-fours – often (and tediously) referred to in the media as “Chelsea Tractors”. Such cars are primary targets for thieves.

In Sunday night’s attack, the thieves systematically worked their way along the three streets, which are a short stroll from the King’s Road. One has a Met-operated CCTV camera high up on a post which was installed earlier this year.

Residents are hoping that this will provide some footage that can lead to the identities of the culprits. They are also appealing to neighbours to check for any door bell camera recordings that can shed further light on the raid.

The models targeted included Range Rover, Jaguar, Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Porche and Lexus – a fleet of vehicles worth in excess of £1m in total.

The hit list of 14 of the 15 cars targeted by thieves

The glass in such vehicles is highly valuable because it is imbedded with advanced electrical technology for anti-fogging and heating to dry out water or misting. The driver’s side also has anti-glare and a dimming function to protect drivers’ eyes from bright sunlight and car lights at night.

The glass is wired into a car’s electronic system and replacing a pair of wing mirror glass, plus labour, costs from £1,500 for a BMW, up to £3,000 for a Range Rover.

Thieves can remove the glass in seconds simply by prising it off its plastic fixing with a screwdriver or knife, then cutting the connecting wires with pliers. By executing the theft gently, without rocking the vehicle, a car alarm will not be triggered. Even cars with an automated wing mirror retraction system are vulnerable.

Car manufacturers have started producing wing mirror protective coverings which come with a lock and are made from anti-slash material.

Owners whose mirrors are stolen find themselves in an invidious position. They must accept the manufacturer’s official replacement part – which is always more expensive than a non-branded option – or face their car’s warranty being voided.

An added problem is that it is an offence to drive without wing mirror glass – punishable with three points and a fine.

“I am totally screwed,” said the BMW owner. “If I put in a piece of ordinary mirror and do not accept the extortionate rate for the replacement glass, I lose my warranty. And what is to stop the thieves coming back and taking the new lot?  Nothing. I feel totally trapped. I am better off with an old banger. No one will touch that.”

A spokesperson for Mercedes-Benz said: “Mercedes-Benz strongly condemns all forms of criminal behaviour. While our vehicles are equipped with a wide range of protective measures, targeted criminal activity can never be ruled out entirely. We recommend customers affected by any type of vehicle crime contact the police and their insurance provider.”

14 of the 15 vehicles hit were  

Audi RS 7     2025

VOLVO XC90.   2019

BMW X3           2018

Porsche Taycan 4X2.    2022

Mercedes G580.   2026

Mercedes C class   2017

Range Rover Sport   2016

Range Rover Sport   2022

BMW M sport 320 touring       2021

Range Rover Sport   2025

Porche Macan.                2017

Jaguar  F-PACE                    2022

Range Rover             2023

Lexus

Image by Glass Door.

On Friday 9 October, local residents gathered in Duke of York Square to support homeless charity Glass Door in its annual Sleep Out event.

10 October was World Homeless Day, making it that night perfect setting for this fundraiser where participants sleep on the street for a night to get an understanding of what rough sleeping is like for unhoused people. This is Glass Door’s 14th annual Sleep Out, and the organisers set their sights on raising £100,000.

“It’s a good place to do it, here,” explained Glass Door CEO Jo Carter. The Cadogan family allow the group to use a semi-enclosed space to set up their stall and sleeping spaces. “It’s enclosed, and we have our own space, but this road never stops, there’s noise all through the night.”

Participants included students from local schools, Chelsea Pensioners, and others who had travelled from as far as Kent. They took part in a quiz on homelessness and shared hot drinks and snacks before settling down on beds of cardboard and sleeping bags to experience a night  in the autumn chill.

One participant said: “It was a humbling experience. One night outdoors is nothing compared with the reality faced by people who have no safe place to call home, night after night.”

Carter told the Chelsea Citizen: “One of the young people who took part raised over £4,000. We’ve got people who came with friends, colleagues whose donations are being matched by their companies. It’s amazing what people have done. We reach out to them afterwards, and they’re always really proud of what they’ve raised and interested to know what we’re doing with that money.”

Glass Door has a street team who work directly with people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness on a daily basis, both through their shelters over the winter and a casework team that work year-round.

“Our goal is helping people get off the streets for good,” Carter said. “To not have a home is to be without safety, without a sense of belonging. I just think about how lucky I am to have my home, my things, my sense of comfort. Our Sleep Out isn’t suggesting that one night on the street compares to being homeless. They just want to stand by the side of the people experiencing homelessness and do something about it.”

Image by Glass Door.

The Fair Funding Review sets out the Government’s proposed changes to the way funding is distributed to councils. The Council says that the review would cut Kensington and Chelsea’s funding by more than £100 million over four years – equivalent to more than 40 per cent of its controllable budget.

Nearly 1,500 residents responded, with 90 per cent of them ‘strongly supporting’ the plan to use the SCA to press the Government to reconsider its Fair Funding Review.

Consultation Report results

The SCA gives local authorities a way to put proposals to central government which councils believe would improve the economic, social or environmental wellbeing of their communities. In this case, the council is proposing to use the Act to challenge the Government’s funding proposals.

Cllr Elizabeth Campbell, Leader of Kensington and Chelsea Council, said:

“Almost 1,500 people took the time to share their views, and I want to thank every one of them for getting involved. The scale of the response shows just how strongly our residents feel about this issue too, and how important it is that their voices are heard.

“I have been clear from the outset that we must continue to fight for a fairer funding settlement for Kensington and Chelsea. I am not prepared to implement the scale of service cuts and tax rises required without exhausting every avenue first to challenge the Government’s decision.

“We will now look carefully at what people have told us, and I’ll discuss the findings and our proposed next steps with my leadership team before we go back to Government.”

A consortium of councils – Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster and Wandsworth – are working together on the proposed challenge, arguing that the new funding arrangements would place significant pressure on local services and residents.

More details can be found in the Council’s consultation report.

The bitter noise row threatening one of Chelsea’s best-loved restaurants took a dramatic twist today when the resident at the centre of the dispute failed to turn up for a crucial licensing hearing.

Tech entrepreneur Francesco Perticarari, a father of two who claims diners at La Famiglia are keeping his family awake at night, pulled out at the last minute citing a “medical emergency”.

Mr Perticarari’s absence prompted councillors to adjourn the hearing for a month — sparking angry cries of “shame” and “outrageous” from more than 40 restaurant supporters who had packed the Council’s Small Hall. One member of the public shouted angrily “De-select these councillors” as the committee members left the room.

Packed: The Small Hall was filled with supporters for La Famiglia – but ‘The Appellant’ was the only no-show         ©Photo Remo Knecht

And in an extraordinary development, the senior RBKC environmental health officer who repeatedly backs the noise complaint in a 551 page report publicly accepted that the case should be dealt with as a “private nuisance” and was therefore outside the licensing committee’s remit.

Tempers flared as committee Chairman Cllr Greg Hammond announced the decision to adjourn the hearing. La Famiglia’s owner Marietta Maccioni broke down in tears and slammed the decision. “This whole affair is making me ill,” she said afterwards, visibly crying. “It’s disgusting. I’m not sure that I can go on like this…”

Marietta Maccioni and Fabio Cozari, her partner and the Operations Manager of the restaurant                        ©Remo Knecht

Italian national Mr Perticarari, whose rented house backs directly onto the restaurant’s 80-seat garden dining room, notified council officials in an email at 7.26am today that he could not attend and was seeking an urgent adjournment.

There were unconfirmed reports that one of his children was suffering from a fever and had to be taken to hospital. Mr Perticarari and his Spanish wife have a two-year-old daughter and a six-week-old son.

Cllr Hammond offered to show anyone from the public gallery the proof of the emergency – in private and in confidence – but no one accepted. The Citizen’s editor Rob McGibbon asked to view the evidence, but Cllr Hammond refused on the basis that Mr McGibbon was not registered as “an interested party” to the inquiry.

Central to the case is noise from the restaurant’s garden, not least when its retractable canopy is open during summer months. Mr Perticarari claims that diners talking, cutlery clanking, chairs moving and glasses clinking, repeatedly disturbs their daughter’s sleep. Her bedroom wall is four metres away from the garden.

The garden room at the centre of the row

He wants customers banned from the garden after 9pm from Monday to Saturday and 8pm on Sundays — restrictions the restaurant’s owners warn could have devastating consequences for their business. They say that it would make it unviable because closing earlier would rule out a second sitting for dinner.

Today, La Famiglia came armed with one of Britain’s leading licensing barristers, Leo Charalambides, who strongly opposed postponing the hearing. He argued that restaurant supporters had taken time off work to attend and that another month’s delay would impose an unfair burden on the family-run business. He said that the on-going uncertainty was taking a heavy toll on the owners and staff.

Licensing barrister Leo Charalambides (bearded) represented La Famiglia at the hearing            Photo ©Remo Knecht

More fundamentally, Mr Charalambides challenged whether the committee had any legal jurisdiction to hear the case at all.

His argument was that the alleged disturbance amounted to a private nuisance, involving an individual neighbour’s enjoyment of his home, rather than a public nuisance falling within the council’s licensing powers. A private matter is dealt with by the council’s Noise and Nuisance department, which only has powers to issue fines. It cannot rule on wider reaching licensing matters.

Then came a remarkable revelation. Mr Charalambides claimed that RBKC’s principal environmental health officer, Philip Richardson, whose department had backed the complainant, had twice privately expressed the same view.

“He spoke to me once in the committee room before the hearing started and then again outside, saying he thought it was a private nuisance,” the barrister told The Citizen.

RBKC’s Officer Mr Philip Richardson was challenged by Committee Chairman Greg Hammond               ©Rob McGibbon

Questioned by licensing committee chairman Cllr Greg Hammond (Courtfield), Mr Richardson acknowledged that this was his own personal opinion. His revelation drew gasps and guffaws from members of the public. Confusingly, he then told the Committee that his department’s position was that noise from diners in the garden constituted a public nuisance.

The distinction is potentially crucial.

Preventing public nuisance is one of the four licensing objectives under the Licensing Act 2003, giving councils powers to impose restrictions on licensed premises. Private nuisance, by contrast, generally involves interference with an individual’s enjoyment of their property.

However, licensing law can encompass unreasonable disturbance affecting nearby residents, even where relatively few households complain. The legal dispute therefore turns on whether the evidence justifies action under the public nuisance objective.

Mr Richardson’s department has previously reported witnessing excessive noise from the garden, including one occasion when officers found Mr Perticarari’s young daughter awake, tearful and unable to sleep. Officers visited on NINE separate occasions during a two-year period – once as late as 11.30pm. Just THREE instances were accepted by officers as noise breaches.

A noise abatement notice was served last October and a fixed penalty notice followed in July after officers concluded that the disturbance had continued. Mr Richardson has recommended a 9pm garden curfew and for no work to be done in the garden before 11am.

The owners point out that they have already introduced noise-control measures, including an 11pm end to garden service, a member of staff acting as a noise marshal and a ban on singing “Happy Birthday” outdoors. But Mr Perticarari maintains that these measures have failed to bring lasting peace to his home.

The restaurant’s supporters insist La Famiglia is being unfairly targeted. The Langton Street institution, which has been serving Tuscan food for 51 years, has attracted 247 representations in its defence, including submissions from four borough councillors, the Ten Acre Residents’ Association and a raft of celebrities including singers Bryan Ferry and Eric Clapton, music tycoon Simon Cowell, film producer Barbara Broccoli, and actress Felicity Kendal.

Supporters describe a much-loved family restaurant, not a rowdy late-night drinking establishment. Several neighbours say they have never experienced unreasonable disturbance.

After considering the adjournment request, Cllr Hammond, supported by Conservative colleagues Stephanie Petit (Norland) and Preety Hudd (Campden), decided that the hearing could not fairly proceed without Mr Perticarari.

“It’s not good news for the majority in this room,” he acknowledged. “But we need to hear from all parties.”

Moments before the decision was announced, former Deputy Leader Cllr Kim Taylor-Smith (Stanley) had been preparing to address the committee and was planning to lambast council officers for bringing this action against the restaurant.

He told The Citizen later: “This case should not have come to the Licence Committee as it was a private complaint. I very much regret the actions of the Licence department in doing so and very much support the business.”

For La Famiglia, the adjournment means another month of uncertainty – as well as extra legal bills, which are already believed to be fast approaching £100,000.

“You can see how upset the family are,” Mr Charalambides told The Citizen afterwards. “It’s not a setback, but it’s an additional burden.”

For now, one of Chelsea’s most bitter rows continues and the fate of La Famiglia’s famous garden dining hangs in the balance until November.

The Citizen has approached Mr Perticarari via email for comment. This follows a previous request earlier this month to interview him so he can share his side of the situation. We are choosing not to approach him directly at his property, out of respect for his privacy and that of his family.

Additional reporting by Rob McGibbon and Sarah Mayne 

Happier moments: Marietta Maccioni and Fabio Cozari outside La Famiglia in Langton Street                  ©Rob McGibbon

Two old schoolfriends, a ferry back to Belfast and a conversation that takes a decidedly dark turn. David Ireland’s What the Animals Say is a wickedly funny, provocative black comedy exploring identity, friendship and the divisions of Northern Irish society.

The play follows Jimmy, a struggling actor, and Eddie, a successful footballer and captain of Celtic, who reunite while waiting for a ferry home. What begins as light-hearted banter about football, Father Ted, and their shared upbringing quickly spirals into something far more sinister.

Performed at London’s Finborough Theatre, the setting itself is part of the charm. Tucked away above an Indian restaurant in Earl’s Court, the intimate venue offers a rather unusual theatrical experience. The food downstairs smells fantastic, but of course this isn’t a curry review!

And it’s this intimacy that makes the production so effective. With the audience just metres from the action, every uncomfortable silence, cutting remark and sudden confrontation feels that much more intense.

Matthew Blaney as Jimmy and Robbie Martin as Eddie are excellent, delivering performances that are as funny as they are unsettling. The humour is relentless, often catching the audience off guard, but it’s the constantly shifting balance of power between the two characters that makes the play so compelling. Just as one appears to have gained the upper hand, the dynamic changes again, leaving the audience unsure of who is really in control.

The result is a brilliantly uncomfortable experience, with moments of laugh-out-loud comedy sitting alongside genuine unease. And without giving too much away, the play’s final twist delivers an enormous, satisfying pay-off, making the escalating tension throughout feel entirely worthwhile.

At just 70 minutes, the production runs without an interval, and it is all the better for it. The intensity of the acting, combined with the closeness of the theatre, creates a momentum that would undoubtedly be lost with a break. Instead, the audience is drawn into the increasingly volatile relationship, with little opportunity to catch its breath.

I had the chance to catch up with Robbie Martin after the performance, who shared an interesting detail about the production. This is the first time What the Animals Say has been performed by two Irish actors, rather than Scottish performers. Given that the play’s distinctly Northern Irish humour and cultural references, it’s a fitting first, with both actors bringing a natural rhythm and authenticity to the dialogue.

On until 24th October. Book HERE

The story of David’s departure from his mansion in Holland Park to the less taxing paradise of Monaco was reported by Robert Watts in The Sunday Times, the writer who compiles the much-looked-at Rich List.

David, his brother Simon and their family are second on this year’s Sunday Times Rich List, with a combined fortune of just under £28 billion.

Billionaire brothers Simon and David Reuben © Credit Requested

Reuben is by no means the first RBKC-based billionaire to leave. Norwegian shipping magnate John Fredriksen slung his hook in 2024. He still retains his mansion in Chelsea, but laid off most of his regular staff.

Reuben’s brother Simon has lived in Monaco for around 40 years. The principality is affectionately known as “Alcatraz for the Rich” (© Mick Hucknall!).

However, The Guardian revealed yesterday that, in fact, David has been a tax resident in Monaco since at least 2014. Not quite such a shocking revelation then.

The exit timeline is now somewhat doubtful, but he has certainly gone, no matter when.

The Times calculates that 24 of the 350 people and families on the 2026 Rich List now live in Monaco. Translate that into money: British residents of Monaco account for about £77 billion of wealth.

Despite leaving London as a resident, he is still overseeing separate £1 billion restorations of London landmarks and is a shareholder in Newcastle United.

What does this mean for Holland Park? For locals, the more tangible question is what happens to the house – and the spending that tends to come with a billionaire household. Although perhaps this is a 12-year-old question?

The brothers made their fortune through metals and property – with the latter very much visible around our part of London.

Look at the Reuben Brothers Real Estate Holdings page and the Reuben London footprint is rather more extensive than the Holland Park address he has left.

For Chelsea eyes, most interesting are numerous prime Sloane Street shops and 125-133 Old Brompton Road, which housed Ferrari’s showroom at the front and has mews houses to the rear. The family’s property interests also extend into Kensington and Victoria.

And, perhaps most famously, there is the luxury shopping destination Burlington Arcade. The Reuben Brothers acquired the Piccadilly arcade in 2018.

Then there is the London Heliport – formerly Battersea Heliport – which the brothers bought in 2012 for £35 million. Ironic, somewhat, that despite leaving the capital, the family still owns the best way to exit London when you’re rich.

So, while David Reuben may be leaving Holland Park for Monaco – indeed, he may have left a while ago – the Reuben presence around Chelsea and west London has not and is not disappearing. His home address may have changed, but the Reuben family’s property footprint has not.

Dr Michael Young has instructed his planning consultant to appeal after councillors rejected an ultra-modern extension to his home in Victoria Gardens, Notting Hill, by four votes to one.

The ‘space age’ design, by award winning architect Alison Brooks, divided last night’s (6th Oct) Planning Committee along party lines. Four Conservative councillors voted against it, while Labour and Co-operative councillor Jack Reason (Colville) backed the proposal.

Dr Young’s previous planning ordeal against RBKC cost him £10,000 and took two-and-a-half years to win. That debacle – exclusively exposed by The Chelsea Citizen last June – centred around a timber privacy screen on his roof terrace.

RBKC pursued enforcement action demanding its removal, only for a planning inspector to find that the structure had already been approved by council officers on THREE occasions – in 2019, 2022 and 2023.

The existing roof terrace and wooden screen – the subject of a famous victory in Victoria Gardens

The new planning application before the committee centres around Dr Young’s dream to replace the controversial terrace with a high-design and quirky roof extension. Dr Young has spent a fortune commissioning the project, as well as various impact studies to help secure approval, but the scheme fell on stony ground with councillors and planning officers.

Conservative councillor Lloyd North (Campden), said the scheme didn’t pass his “sniff test”. He told the committee: “We all walk around the borough and look at buildings and say: who on Earth gave that planning permission?”

Abingdon councillor Anne Cyron added: “We have modern buildings in our conservation areas, but they are sympathetic to their surroundings…this is just a step too far for me.” Fellow Conservatives Aarien Areti (Holland) and committee chairman Sam Mackover (Queen’s Gate) also voted to refuse permission.

After the meeting, Dr Young complained that his team had been given little opportunity to address councillors’ concerns. “We were barely asked any questions,” he told The Citizen. “There was more discussion about the air conditioner in the previous scheme than this one.” (in reference to a lengthy debate concerning planning permission for two large air conditioning units in a garden in Elgin Crescent, which was subsequently refused by the committee)

Architect Alison Brooks’ high-design new extension with its distinctive “fish tail” tiling

Dr Young’s proposal even had the backing of the Ladbroke Association, whose chair Sophia Lambert and architect Tom Crofts stayed until the end of the late night hearing to support it. By its own admission, the Association rarely supports modern designs that detract from the historical feature of the Notting Hill conservation area, but were swayed by Ms Brooks’ innovative design.

According to Dr Young, his application attracted 12 letters of support and just three objections. None of the objectors attended the meeting. Dr Young described the officers’ report as “one-sided” and said the council hadn’t properly weighed the proposal’s benefits against the harm it alleged. The day after the meeting, Dr Young contacted The Citizen and slammed the planning committee’s ruling. He said:

‘There is an uncomfortable symmetry to this. It began after a former Conservative ward councillor pressed the Council to take enforcement action over a timber screen on my roof terrace. The Council pursued that case and lost. Last night Conservative councillors rejected the scheme that would have removed that very screen, and the roof terrace with it. I offered to take down the thing this Council spent so long trying to compel. Yet the report before Members described that as a benefit of only ‘modest’ weight. The cost to me of defending it was far from modest.

“What troubles me most is the basis on which the Committee was asked to decide. In my view, the officer’s report was one-sided. It set out every alleged harm while giving little or no account of the contrary technical evidence, the benefits of the scheme, or the very things officers had themselves already accepted. The Ladbroke Association — the amenity society for this conservation area — wrote in support twice and was not mentioned once. Councillors are entitled to a fair account of the evidence before they vote.

“The Conservatives stood on a promise to get the basics right and make life easier for residents. After almost three years now of conflict with the Council over my own home — a fight they started — my confidence in the local administration’s handling of planning matters affecting my property is now at an end. I am glad that the current councillor call-in system is ending on 31 October. Small residential schemes should stand or fall on planning policy and evidence, not on whether individual councillors happen to dislike contemporary architecture.

“This is not the end of it. I will appeal and welcome the chance to put that case to an independent Inspector. After everything that has happened locally, it will be important for the proposal to be looked at afresh, outside RBKC, and judged on the planning merits rather than the history surrounding it.”

CGI version of the future streetscape

Previously from The Chelsea Citizen open this story….

RBKC officers put resident through years of hell and £10,000 bill trying to BAN wooden terrace they had already APPROVED

A homeowner was dragged through a planning nightmare by the council for two-and-a-half years and forced to spend nearly £10,000 defending a roof terrace screen — only for a government inspector to rule the council had already approved it.

In a humiliating defeat for RBKC, the Planning Inspectorate threw out the council’s enforcement case against Dr Michael Young and quashed the legal notice ordering him to tear the structure down.

Voice of the Citizen: Read Dr Young’s blistering retort to the Council’s statement

‘The Council’s mistake cost me nearly £10,000. Do you know what I could have bought with that money? A wheelchair for my father. He has dementia. He cannot walk. That money could have given him dignity, mobility, a bit of freedom. Instead, it went to lawyers, architects and planning consultants. The Council sees a file to close. I see my father’s mobility taken away from him.’

©Photos: Rob McGibbon/The Chelsea Citizen

Stitch the dachshund being photographed for his Instagram (saustitch.dog) by Woof Photography at Peter Jones.

Chelsea Dog Day returned for its fifth year on Saturday (3 October,) with businesses across the area opening their doors to four-legged customers.

For an neigbourhood with an already above-average saturation of dogs wearing outfits, Chelsea was overwhelmed with a tidal wave of little paws in bandanas, coats, and even tutus.

Teacup poodle puppies Dior and Chanel, dressed for the occasion.

Dior and Chanel attended with their human, Petunia, who told The Chelsea Citizen: “It’s almost overwhelming, there’s just so much on! It’s really great.”

From check-ups at Virtue Vets to fine dining at The Trafalgar, King’s Road was alight with opportunities for dogs and owners to experience Chelsea in a way they never had before.

“It’s been busier than last year,” said Alice, an employee at Les Néréides, where dog-themed jewellery was available and free ‘Dog Lover’ tags were included with purchases. “People really love it.”

The event – championed by Cadogan Estates – also offered plenty of entertainment for the humans in tow. Visitors could take a Pilates class at Eyeam, join a disco at Pet Pavilion, or try out a pet portrait workshop at Art Play.

This wasn’t the only option to get a personalised artwork. Woof Photography set up at Peter Jones, while Needle and Thread hosted a Vogue-inspired photoshoot complete with complimentary bandanas. Meanwhile, guests at The Cadogan Arms enjoyed hand-drawn pet sketches by artist Peter Kuznicki.

“Needle and Thread was the best,” said attendee Rajan, who had brought his Shetland sheepdog Lara. “Everything’s been great. We liked the vet checkup!”

American cocker spaniels Herbie and Bella, ready for their close-up at Needle and Thread.

Lauren, who brought her teacup poodle to Chelsea for the day from their home in South East London, told The Chelsea Citizen: “I spent a lot more than I planned to! There was a lot to do.”

Another activity available in multiple businesses was pet tarot– perfect for the cusp of spooky season as we move into October. However, other businesses were dedicated to proving that summer isn’t over just yet, with cool pup cups and ice creams available from The Surprise, Azzurra, and The Trafalgar.

Dachshunds Bruno and Mars sharing pup cups at Virtue Vets.

“It’s all about the dogs, really,” said Sue, who works at Pet Pavilion. “It’s just good to see them being appreciated.”

Additional photos by June Torrance

Taking to the stage, the BBC’s World Affairs Editor was in conversation with Rob McGibbon, editor of The Chelsea Citizen.

Spanning six decades of reporting from some of the world’s most dangerous places, the conversation oscillated his times working in the combat zone and meeting notorious dictators, to the heartbreaking estrangement from his mother, to an uncertain future at the BBC.

For a man who has witnessed so much history first-hand, it seemed fitting to begin by asking which historical events Simpson would most like to have reported on. His answer took the audience to the turn of the 20th century, particularly the Boer War and the Russian Revolution.

“I would love to have been there for the Russian Revolution,” he said. “I’d give serious money to be able to go and see that.”

Asked which historical figure he would most like to interview, Simpson settled on William Shakespeare, although his line of questioning might have surprised the playwright.

“I’d like to say: what were you doing in those missing years? What were you really thinking about your wife?”

Then came the question that prompted laughter from the audience: “And I asked him: are you gay?! Well, you can’t not ask him, can you?” Simpson added, chuckling.

Despite having switched from choosing to study History to English at Cambridge, Simpson explained that history remained his greatest intellectual fascination.

His career has, of course, given him an extraordinary perspective on its importance. From the fall of the Berlin Wall, to Nelson Mandela’s release from prison, Simpson has witnessed moments that have shaped the modern world. Many of his accounts as an globetrotting foreign correspondent have indeed become the first accounts of history itself.

Reflecting on those experiences, he described how journalism had transformed him from a reserved young man into someone far more emotionally open.

“You can’t experience these appalling things, and other things that are supremely exciting and positive, like Nelson Mandela’s release from jail… and not be changed.”

An extraordinary childhood

The conversation then turned to Simpson’s childhood, revealing a deeply personal story behind one of Britain’s most recognisable broadcasters.

At the age of six, Simpson was confronted with an extraordinary choice when his mother announced she was leaving his father.

Returning home from the Festival of Britain in 1951, he found her waiting with a suitcase. Shockingly, his father then suggested they ask the young Simpson which parent he wanted to live with.

His mother already had two children from a previous marriage, while his father had none.

Simpson, aged four. with his mother, Joyce

“I thought, in that rather foolish way that children have, that having children was a good thing. So I said, ‘Well, I’d better stay with Dad because he hasn’t got any kids.’”

The decision shaped much of his childhood. Growing up in south London, Simpson was frequently left alone while his father worked and even pretended to school friends and adults that his mother was at home to avoid appearing different from other children.

“I was a latchkey kid from the age of six,” he recalled.

Although he credited his unusual upbringing with developing the resilience that would later serve him in war zones, he admitted that the emotional consequences were considerable.

“Of all the things in my life that I regret — and I regret a hell of a lot — I think the thing I regret the most is not really being able to be close to my mother.”

The emotional cost of reporting

Discussing his own experiences as a father, Simpson explained that his childhood had made him determined to give his three children emotionally happy lives. He has two adult daughters from his first marriage and a 20-year-old son called Rafe from his second marriage.

Simpson became visibly moved when recalling how, when was little, Rafe reacted to his frequent departures for Iraq during the height of the conflict.

“The little guy used to stand at the front door with his arms across it to try to stop me,” he remembered. “What can you do?”

Simpson admitted that years spent witnessing suffering, courage and extraordinary acts of humanity had made him increasingly comfortable expressing emotion.

Asked what makes him cry, his answer was surprisingly simple.

“Watching films and stuff where people are nice to one another. Niceness, more than anything else.”

Dictators, danger and Piers Morgan

From family life, the conversation moved to the extraordinary cast of world leaders Simpson has encountered throughout his career. Among the names raised were Saddam Hussein, Muammar Gaddafi and Vladimir Putin, alongside one rather unexpected addition: former newspaper editor and YouTuber Piers Morgan.

McGibbon reminded Simpson that Morgan had once branded him a “pompous old prune” for criticising his interview with Donald Trump on Twitter.

Yet Simpson was unexpectedly conciliatory. “I quite like a lot of the things he says, and I like it that he’s so outspoken,” he admitted, before adding that Morgan had “got better with age”.

The conversation then returned to Afghanistan, where Simpson famously entered Taliban-controlled territory disguised in a burqa after Western journalists were threatened with death.

His reporting from the country was among the many examples of his determination to witness events from the ground, regardless of the danger.

Discussing Saddam Hussein, Simpson recalled attending every session of the former Iraqi dictator’s trial and developing an extraordinary unspoken understanding with him across the courtroom.

Although unequivocal in his condemnation of Hussein, Simpson reflected on the dignity he displayed when facing execution.

“Even bad people sometimes have dignity,” he said.

There were lighter moments, too. Simpson recalled interviewing Colonel Gaddafi, whose increasingly bizarre behaviour over the years had left a lasting impression.

During one particularly memorable interview, Gaddafi repeatedly broke wind, prompting Simpson to recount how a newspaper editor later gave his column the headline: “Warm wind of compromise blows.”

The anecdote brought some welcome comic relief to a discussion otherwise dominated by the darker side of international affairs. Turning to Vladimir Putin, Simpson described his first encounter with the future Russian president during his early political career in St Petersburg.

He recalled initially thinking he would never need to see the relatively unknown politician again. “And, of course, history proved me wrong.”

Despite describing Putin as “highly intelligent”, Simpson suggested that surrounding himself with people unwilling to challenge him had contributed to his decision to invade Ukraine.

Finding solace in Chelsea

Perhaps the most moving moment of the evening came when Simpson reflected on what he described as the worst experience of his life.

While reporting in northern Iraq in 2003, he and his colleagues were caught in a devastating friendly-fire incident when an American fighter jet dropped a bomb close to their position. Simpson survived with shrapnel injuries, but his young Kurdish translator, was killed.

“I couldn’t get my head around this. Why him? Why a lovely kid of 25 with his whole future ahead of him?”

The experience brought Simpson to Chelsea Old Church, where he would sit quietly, struggling to make sense of what had happened. He eventually found comfort in conversations with the vicar, whose compassion helped him process the tragedy.

“It wasn’t even, I think, anything he said particularly. It was just the way he listened, the way he sympathised.”

Simpson revealed that he still keeps a photograph of his translator on his desk. “I couldn’t bear the thought of forgetting somebody, because I’d hired him and I’d brought him with me.”

The future of the BBC

As the conversation opened to questions from the floor, audience members raised subjects ranging from Donald Trump and the influence of news on everyday life to the future of the BBC.

Simpson admitted that, despite spending his career reporting on global crises, he now avoids watching too much television news before bed.

“I don’t want to go to bed being depressed,” he explained. “We’ve got to be informed. If we’re not informed, then we’re in serious trouble. But if we allow it to get to us, then I think we’re in even more trouble.”

McGibbon also pressed the veteran broadcaster on his own future at the BBC, amid continued concerns about cuts and redundancies. Simpson’s response was characteristically matter-of-fact.

“I would be quite surprised if I own a job in two weeks’ time,” he said. “The axe is being polished and sharpened as we speak.”

Asked whether he was prepared for the possibility of leaving the corporation after six decades, he was philosophical. “What can you do? You’ve just got to take what life gives you, really.”

He nevertheless remained a passionate defender of the BBC and its journalists, rejecting suggestions that political figures exercise direct control over its editorial output.

Recalling George Orwell’s time at the corporation, Simpson quoted the writer’s appreciation that nobody had ever tried to make him say something he did not believe was true.

One final question…

Throughout the evening, Simpson proved as compelling a storyteller as he is a broadcaster, moving effortlessly between extraordinary encounters, sharp observations and deeply personal memories.

But McGibbon had one final question up his sleeve.

Having faced dictators, dodged bombs and reported from some of the world’s most dangerous places, could Simpson’s next adventure be a rather different kind of challenge?

McGibbon pressed him on whether he would be appearing in the next series of The Celebrity Traitors. The audience erupted with laughter, as did Simpson, but then the veteran broadcaster let it slip that his agent has indeed been approached by the producers and that active talks are on-going.

So, will we see John Simpson swapping the world’s conflict zones for The Traitors castle? Only time will tell…

Simpson and McGibbon with Chelsea History Director Gill Webber

Hosted by Gill Webber, Director of the Chelsea Heritage Quarter, alongside sponsor Cadogan Estates and the museum’s Deputy Chairman Sir George Norton, the launch marked the beginning of four days of events across Chelsea where history is woven into its streets, institutions and communities.

Lord Edward Cadogan opened proceedings with a speech from the temporary stage reflecting on why preserving that history matters – not simply as a record of the past, but as a way of understanding the present.

Lord Cadogan opens proceedings with a poignant reflection on history

Referring to the venue for the event, Lord Cadogan told guests: “This place is our history. And it’s the history not just of the Army, but of the country, and indeed of the people who have served it. It tells the stories of the people, as well as the great events, and it brings that history alive.

He continued: “It’s hugely important that we understand our history, because unless we understand where we’ve come from, it’s very difficult to understand where we are today and, indeed, where we might be going in the future.”

Addressing the guests, Sir George Norton said:. “This is the Nation’s Museum, which by way of its collections, its art and its archives tells the story of our army, its soldiers and their families, and its centuries of history.

“This place is designed to commemorate, to celebrate, and to inspire.” Turning to the wider value of looking to the past, Sir George added: “History provides perspective in uncertain times. Now, uncertain times, I think, is one way of describing the world in which we live – but I will say no more than that!”

The crowd of dignitaries were treated to a specially recorded address from BBC World Affairs Editor and this year’s Guest Curator John Simpson. Simpson – a much-admired TV news veteran who has covered some of the biggest moments in history during his 60 years at the BBC – referenced his love of history for taking on the Guest Curator role. He also spoke warmly of his love for Chelsea, where he had a house in Paultons Square for more than 25 years, before moving to Oxford. He still rents a flat in Chelsea where he stays when working in London.

Among those attending the opening party were Cllr Elizabeth Campbell, Leader of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Ben Coleman MP, Deputy Leader Emma Will and Cllr Josh Rendall. Riverside Ward was represented by its full contingent of councillors – Laura Burns, Max Chauhan and Heena Bellara. Also in attendance were Cadogan Estates CEO Hugh Seaborn and the Mayor of Kensington and Chelsea, Cllr Janet Evans.

That relationship with the past extends well beyond the museum itself. Chelsea’s long history can be found throughout the area; in its historic institutions and buildings, and in the lives of the people who have called it home. It was a point picked up by John Simpson, who broadened the focus from the museum to the neighbourhood around it in his recorded speech.

“Chelsea is made up of history,” he said. “Wherever you go, somebody famous has been there.”

Simpson recalled how the garden of his former home in Paultons Square, off the King’s Road, backed onto what had once been Sir Thomas More’s orchard, one example of how centuries of national history sit alongside everyday life in Chelsea.

Drawing on his own decades reporting some of the defining events of modern history, Simpson also reflected on the way the significance of events can change with time.

“History is made in small things which turn into much greater things afterwards,” he added.

The evening also featured a programme of live performances, including drummers and an appearance from Michael Hughes, the writer and performer of the one-man play, The Last Bantam. Guests were also treated to a vocal performance from Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, accompanied on keyboard by Andrew Macmillan, Director of Music at Chelsea Old Church.

Running from 1–4 October, the Chelsea History Festival brings together historians, writers, broadcasters and other leading voices for a programme of talks and events across Chelsea, using the area’s own historic institutions as a backdrop for exploring stories from both the local community and further afield.

The Chelsea Citizen is the official media partner of the 2026 festival and will be covering events throughout the programme.

https://chelseaheritagequarter.co.uk/chelsea-history-festival/

Poster Boy and Propagandist: The Chelsea Citizen’s Editor Rob McGibbon