Kate O’Neill, 29, is a photographer from Cork who has been based in London for the last five years.
Where do you live?
The leafy town of Earlsfield, South West London.
I moved to this area because…
There’s a great community feel about Earlsfield, which can be sometimes hard to find in London. It’s a bit more relaxed than central London so a great place to chill after a busy working week.
One of the best things about living here is…
You can spend the whole weekend here without setting foot on a tube, train or bus and there are so many one-off bars, restaurants, coffee shops and boutiques around the place to keep you entertained (and not a lot of chains, which is refreshing).
The Roxie in EarlsfieldOne restaurant I love to go to is…A restaurant I love is…
The Roxie. I love a good steak… I’m getting hungry just thinking about it!
My local is…
Graffiti, a little cocktail bar on the high street.
And I love it because…
The bar staff know me in there (not sure if that’s a good or a bad thing) so I always feel welcome and it’s often packed with people dancing away to old school ’90s tunes.
On my downtime I love to go to…
Garrart Park, it’s a small quiet park right behind my apartment block which is a great little place to just get some fresh air or soak up some summer sun. Sometimes, I might even venture around the cemetery. I know it sounds strange but I’m fascinated by graveyards, reading the headstones and imagining the lives people led.
An insider tip on my area would be…
Belle Amie. It has the best coffee and eggs in town and great service too.
One place not many people know about but I love is…
The Leather Bottle’s beer garden. In the summer they have BBQs, music festivals and beach huts then in the colder months they turn the whole place into a mini ice-rink surrounded with ‘ski-huts’, complete with blankets and serve mulled wine and warm cider.
Best place to go for a first date would be…
Ben’s Canteen; they’ve great big windows that open right on to the street, you can just sit back, chat over a bottle of wine and watch the world go by.
If you try one thing in Earlsfield…
Try The Wandle’s Table Quiz on a Tuesday night. I dare you. It’s impossible!
The place that I love to bring visitors is…
The Southbank. There’s always some sort of festival going on and plenty of markets to browse around.
What do you collect?
I spend a lot of time at photography exhibitions, launches and showcases so will always end up walking away with a photographer’s business card or postcards of their work.
My favourite shops are…
Fara charity shop is great, you’re always going to find something no one else has and for a steal too, I’ve even picked up the odd film camera and lens there.
Biggest extravagance?
I guess it would be frames for my images. I like to make each one an individual artwork creating an eclectic mix of pieces… they all end up in storage as I don’t actually have somewhere to hang them.
If there was soundtrack to my area it would be something by…
Fleetwood Mac, First Aid Kit or the Mama’s & The Papas because their music suits the lovely autumnal weather we’re getting.
This is a great town to watch the seasons change, perfect for winter walks and kicking leaves. I’m the one with earphones in, singing away at top of my voice imagining I’m in the music video.
