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Category Archives: Ken Towl
iC writers go on a quest: find a way through the Whitgift Centre
For the past year, one of Croydon’s MPs has worked from an office deep inside the Whitgift Centre. But just where? With the shopping centre’s managers blocking off entrances and removing staircases, we sent some intrepid contributors off on a … Continue reading
From Westerham to Bletchingley, we retrace our walker’s steps
WEEKEND WANDERINGS: Continuing our tradition of providing guides to readily accessible walking routes in and around Croydon, KEN TOWL set off in the footsteps of this website’s original guide, Walker Dunelm, to revisit the Greensand Way On April 13, 2020, … Continue reading
Posted in Ken Towl, Outside Croydon, Redhill, Surrey, Tandridge District Council, Walker Dunelm, Walks
Tagged Bletchingley, Greensand Way, Ken Towl, Kent, Limpsfield Chart, Surrey, Tandridge, WALKER DUNELM, Walks, Westerham
4 Comments
It’s a red-letter day for our ‘covid generation’ of school pupils
CROYDON COMMENTARY: Secondary school teacher KEN TOWL on the sense of anticipation gripping the nation’s teens, and their parents and tutors, ahead of tomorrow’s big A-levels results reveal All over the country, 17- and 18-year-olds are getting nervous. Their parents … Continue reading
Posted in Education, Ken Towl, Schools
Tagged A level results, A-Levels, coronavirus, Coulsdon, covid, covid lockdown, Covid-19, Croydon, Crystal Palace, Education, Ken Towl, London, New Addington, South Norwood, Thornton Heath, University degrees
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Trout, Clarkson’s lager and scotch eggs on a cathedrals walk
KEN TOWL, Inside Croydon’s regular walks guide, took a diversion last weekend, and with a group of old mates made a 20-mile pilgrimage between two of the finest medieval cathedrals in the world. They stopped at a pub or two … Continue reading
Posted in Activities, Ken Towl, Pubs, Walks
Tagged Clarendon Way, Hawkstone Lager, Jeremy Clarkson, Ken Towl, pilgrimage, Salisbury, Salisbury Cathedral, Stockbridge, Trout Festival, Winchester, Winchester Cathedral
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Costa Del Croydon offers beach experience unlike any other
Westfield’s latest sop for failing to deliver the long-promised regeneration of the town centre has been to have tons of sand dumped on the top of a shopping centre’s multi-storey car park. KEN TOWL donned his ‘Kiss Me Quick’ hat … Continue reading
There’s a revolution going on in a wooded glade in Coulsdon
‘Man is the only creature that consumes without producing’ wrote George Orwell 80 years ago, but as the Theatre Workshop Coulsdon has shown once more, they certainly know how to produce compelling drama. KEN TOWL was at the opening night … Continue reading
Animal Farm in pictures: impressive staging of Orwell classic
STEVE NORTH’s images capture some of the drama, and the impressive set design, for Theatre Workshop Coulsdon’s production of Animal Farm
Pregnant with vulnerability, Gwilliam sets the scene for festival
KEN TOWL ventured deep into an abandoned building site while full of hopeful expectation for a workshop performance ahead of the 2025 Croydonites Fringe I had seen Amy Gwilliam’s evil alter-ego, property developer Frankie Foxtone, deliver a corruscating satire on … Continue reading
Podcast: Our Croydon Insider panel looks at council’s crisis
What will the appointment by government of Commissioners to run Croydon Council mean to you as a resident? After five years of ever-increasing bail-outs for Croydon’s cash-stapped council, what alternative actions were there? And is Mayor Jason Perry right to … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Croydon Insider, Inside Croydon, Katherine Kerswell, Ken Towl, Libraries, Mayor Jason Perry, Under The Flyover
Tagged Cheryl Fergus-Ferrell, Commissioners, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Croydon Insider, David Weir, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, Ken Towl, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Podcast, Sharon Owen, Tory
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Last Gasp: Ogbourne’s exhibition is summoning us to the sea
KEN TOWL meets an artist whose latest exhibition is about much more than just his paintings When Derek Ogbourne’s friend threw a dustbin at a front door many years ago, she set in motion a chain of events which culminated … Continue reading
We had all better keep a look out for whatever Katie does next
The play that takes its title from Bowie’s dismissal of the town where he went to art school is nearing the end of its run. KEN TOWL took the chance to glimpse at the brilliance of the one-woman show at … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Comedy, Ken Towl, Stanley Halls, Theatre
Tagged Croydon, David Bowie, Edinburgh Fringe, Katie Hurley, Ken Towl, Stanley Halls, You're So F**king Croydon
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‘More buckets than businesses’: readers quiz Labour’s Davis
‘What are you going to do about the Whitgift Centre?’ one of our readers asked Councillor Rowenna Davis, Labour’s recently selected candidate to stand for election as Croydon Mayor in May 2026. ‘At the moment, there’s more buckets than businesses.’ … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Council Tax, Croydon Business Association, Croydon Council, Croydon Insider, Crystal Palace FC, Fairfield Halls, Inside Croydon, Ken Towl, Mayor Jason Perry, Neil Bennett, Rowenna Davis, Under The Flyover, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre
Tagged 2025 FA Cup final, Cllr Rowenna Davis, Connie Duxbury, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Community Energy, Croydon Council, Crystal Palace, Crystal Palace FC, Fairfield Halls, Hammersfield, Ken Towl, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Neil Bennett, Oumesh Sauba, Rowenna Davis, Tory, Waddon, Westfield, Whitgift Centre
4 Comments
Changing times, and quieter nights, for Croydon’s oldest pub
Our dogged culture correspondent KEN TOWL spent the night, and nearly six quid a pint, checking out the refurbed Dog and Bull, with its ‘banging’ tunes, new high security and its not-so-new beer garden. Photos: SHIRLEY BIGGIN-HILL When a dog … Continue reading
Posted in Business, Ken Towl, Pubs, Surrey Street
Tagged CAMRA, Dog and Bull, Laine, Surrey Street, Surrey Street Market, The Dog and Bull
21 Comments
Talented company offers Feelgood factor on Southwark stage
KEN TOWL reviews a new play with music about the enigmatic but brusque, uxorious and faithless John Wilkinson, and his band of other Johns Collective nouns. They’re great, aren’t they? “An embarrassment of riches”. “A murder of crows”. But what … Continue reading
Hastings councillor offers a way through the political brambles
How should we counter the rise of the far-right? As KEN TOWL found out when he arrived on time at the Croydon School of Philosophy, by offering some truth and understanding In the School of Philosophy on Addiscombe Grove, not … Continue reading
Posted in Chris Philp MP, Croydon East, Croydon Greens, Croydon South, Croydon West, Esther Sutton, Fairfield, Ken Towl, Natasha Irons, Peter Underwood, Ria Patel, Sarah Jones MP
Tagged Cllr Esther Sutton, Cllr Ria Patel, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Esther Sutton, Green Party, Greens, Hastings and Rye, Hastings Council, Ken Towl, Labour, Liberal Democrats, Nigel Farage, Peter Underwood, Reform UK, Ria Patel, Sarah Jones MP, Steve Reed OBE, Tory, Yunis Smith
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Energised by scheme that makes money and saves the planet
There is a bright spot in the future for Croydon, and KEN TOWL went along at the weekend to discover more about it When a breathless press release from Croydon Community Energy informs you of a scheme that will not … Continue reading
Taxi for Towl! Small gallery is achieving big things once again
Our arts correspondent, KEN TOWL, returns to one of his favourite galleries in Croydon, only to be confronted with an embarrassing episode from his past You have to tread slowly and carefully once you enter the Aladdin’s cave where the … Continue reading
Posted in Addiscombe West, Art, Croydon Art Space, Ken Towl
Tagged Addiscombe West, Croydon, Croydon Art Space, Jyoti Bharwani, Ken Towl, Paul Hall, The London Group, Tracey Nicholls
3 Comments
In-depth and informed: our podcast questions the councillor
Just how does Croydon’s cash-strapped council function? Is Westfield deliberately driving traders out of the Whitgift Centre? Why won’t Mayor Perry allow some councillors to speak at council meetings? Which Newman Numpty is today the chair of a key council … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Cockneys of Croydon, Croydon Council, Croydon Insider, Fairfield, Inside Croydon, Katherine Kerswell, Ken Towl, Mayor Jason Perry, Ria Patel, Surrey Street, Whitgift Centre
Tagged Cockneys of Croydon, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Hammersfield, Katherine Kerswell, Ken Towl, Lee Townsend, Mayor Jason Perry, Oumesh Sauba, Ria Patel, Surrey Street, Surrey Street Market, The Croydon Insider, The Green Party, Tory, Under The Flyover, Westfield, Whitgift Centre
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Cockneys offers a real taste of soon-to-be-lost London tradition
Today sees another pie and mash shop bring down its shutters for a last time – Manze’s, of all people, in Deptford, of all places. Here in Croydon, though, Cockneys is good for a few years yet, as KEN TOWL … Continue reading
Posted in Business, Cockneys of Croydon, Ken Towl, Surrey Street
Tagged Cockneys of Croydon, Croydon, Frith Road, Jellied eels, Ken Towl, Pie and Mash, Surrey Street
5 Comments
Hidden treasure of Addington Hills restaurant without a view
Keir Starmer sent Rachel Reeves to China. We sent KEN TOWL to have a Chinese at one of Croydon’s best-known, and notorious, beauty spots Just opposite me in Addiscombe, near the tram stop, there is a Chinese restaurant that never … Continue reading
Posted in Addington, Addington Hills, Business, Ken Towl, Restaurants, Royal Garden, Walks
Tagged Addington Hills, Ken Towl, Royal Garden
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Here’s our wish-list for a better Croydon and Sutton in 2025
What do you want for Croydon, and Sutton, in 2025? We approached a wide range of figures, including loyal readers, religious leaders, educators and business people for their thoughts – and hopes – for the New Year Ken Towl Addiscombe … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Allders, Andrew Fisher, Claire Bonham, Climate Crisis Commission, Council Tax, Crime, Croydon Council, Croydon Harriers, Croydon Insider, Croydon parks, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Crystal Palace FC, David Morgan, Environment, Housing, Inside Croydon, Jerry Fitzpatrick, Ken Towl, Knife crime, Lloyd Park, Mayor Jason Perry, Nick Mattey, North End Quarter, Peter Underwood, South Bank Poly, Sutton Council, The Andrew Fisher Interview, Under The Flyover, Waste incinerator
Tagged 2025, Addiscombe, Allders, Andrew Fisher, Anna Arthur, Beddington, Bishop of Croydon, Claire Bonham, Croydon, Croydon Council, Croydon Harriers, Crystal Palace, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Crystal Palace FC, David Morgan, Deborah Bowen, Donna Fraser, East Coulsdon Residents' Association, Green Party, Jerry Fitzpatrick, John Jefkins, Johnny Dobbyn, Ken Towl, Labour, London, London South Bank University, Maureen Levy, Mayor Jason Perry, Nick Mattey, Peter Underwood, Rt Rev Dr Rosemarie Mallett, Tim Coombe, Vanguard Way, Vanguard Way Association, Whitgift Centre
13 Comments
Waiting for Westfield leaves us Urban Room for improvement
With not a moment to lose, KEN TOWL dashed down to the Whitgift Centre to try to discover what the multi-national developers might have in store for the town centre, amid their models made of cereal packets and design briefs … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Allders, Business, Centrale, CPO, Croydon Council, Ken Towl, North End Quarter, Planning, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre
Tagged Allders, Allders Car Park, Allies and Morrison, Centrale, Croydon, Croydon Council, Hammersfield, Ken Towl, London, North End Quarter, Unibail Rodamco Westfield, URW, Westfield, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation
12 Comments
Mini-movie does a reduxed double-take on All Of Us Strangers
KEN TOWL was at a movie’s world premiere on Saturday, staged in Croydon (just off Surrey Street, as it happens), of a film shot in Croydon, of a film set in Croydon. His verdict? It’s a bit of a split … Continue reading
Frankie Goes To Croydon – a walking show with a big reveal
The first Croydonites Fringe Festival was staged over the weekend, a curtain-raiser for a month-long programme of theatre around the borough, and KEN TOWL was there to see it all unveiled at one of the shows I’m standing in the … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Art, Centrale, Croydonites Festival, Ken Towl, Theatre, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre
Tagged Amy Gwilliam, Centrale, Croydon, Croydon Town Hall, Croydonites, Croydonites Festival, Croydonites Fringe, Frankie Foxtone aka The Profit, Hammersfield, Ken Towl, Nestle Tower, Unibail Rodamco Westfield, URW, Westfield
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Get stars in your eyes on our next Croydon ramble, Nov 17
For our next Inside Croydon guided walk, we are returning to a route first checked out by KEN TOWL seven years ago – a short, sociable autumn stroll up a hill and through the woods and meadows passing Kenley aerodrome … Continue reading
