We may never be able to use this piece of artwork again – unless the council’s £180,000 a year chief executive decides to do something for chari-dee in Movember.
The beard’s gone.
Nathan Elvery, who was appointed to the role of Croydon Council CEO without the job ever being advertised, appeared at the Town Hall for the first cabinet meeting since the summer break, and his David Brent goatee, so lovingly crafted previously, had gone!
Inside Croydon would like to take the credit for Elvery’s reacquaintance with a razor, but we cannot. Unlike the Albania of Enver Hoxha, we don’t have a problem with beards, per se. It’s just when the people who sport them really do behave in a Brent-like manner, with their management by Powerpoint style, that they become the gift that keeps on giving.
No, we think what may have been the final straw that sent Elvery scurrying off to the Gillette shelves of Boot’s in the Whitgift Centre were the remarks of Councillor Sean Fitzsimons, as the chairman of the council’s scrutiny committee, last week, when he decried a council official’s report by saying, “David Brent could have done better than that.”
Sometimes, the parody sticks. Ask “wee” David Steel.
Coming to Croydon
- The Complete History of the BBC – Abridged, Spread Eagle, Sep 19-20
- South Croydon business breakfast, Sep 20
- Croydon Honey Show, Selsdon, Sep 20
- St Peter’s Church Book Sale, South Croydon, Sep 20
- Cinema Ruskin film show, Sep 20
- Music At The Unit, Lives Not Knives, Centrale, Sep 20
- Open House London weekend, Sep 20-21
- David Lean Cinema: A Night At The Cinema in 1914, Sep 22
- Activity to Work back-to-work workshops, Sep 23
- David Lean Cinema: Jimmy’s Hall, Sep 25
- Streatham Common 6M race, Sep 27
- Fancy dress family funday, Sep 28
- Ukrainian choir concert, St John’s Shirley, Sep 29
- Tree Sides, Spread Eagle Theatre, Oct 2-4
- The Goon Show, Spread Eagle Theatre, Oct 8-11
- Norwood Society Talk: From Fire Station to Theatre, Oct 16
- Cinema Ruskin film show, Oct 18
- South Croydon business breakfast, Oct 18
- Croydon 10km road race, Oct 19
- This Was The World and I Was King, Spread Eagle, Oct 23-25
- Albert Einstein – Relativity Speaking, Spread Eagle, Nov 12-15
- South Croydon business breakfast, Nov 15
- Norwood Society Talk: Lambeth’s Archives, Nov 20
- Choose Your Own Documentary, Spread Eagle Theatre, Nov 21-22
- The Last Sense of Sudden, Spread Eagle Theatre, Nov 27-29
- Ghost Stories for Christmas, Spread Eagle Theatre, Dec 3
- Fog Horn Funnies, Spread Eagle Theatre, Dec 6
- South Croydon business breakfast, Dec 13
- South Croydon business breakfast, Jan 24
Inside Croydon: Croydon’s only independent news source, based in the heart of the borough: 407,847 page views (Jan-Jun 2014) If you have a news story about life in or around Croydon, a residents’ or business association or local event, please email us with full details at inside.croydon@btinternet.com
Oh, vanity. But the David Brent bit comes from Inside, not the trimmings, and it will always be there. Just shaving off a few whiskers will not change the fundamental personality which will be forever DB!