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Category Archives: Ken Towl
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
1 Comment
‘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
8 Comments
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
11 Comments
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
2 Comments
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
Love Cronx EP plays out in the spirit of Beano’s and Cymande
KEN TOWL went along to where much-missed vinyl record store once was, and found more great beats at the heart of Croydon My invitation said, “Join the Beats and Eats team for our Love Cronx EP release party, featuring a … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Ken Towl, Music, Poetry
Tagged Beanos, Beats and Eats, Big Nate, Cymande, Middle Street, The Venue
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Views behind the news headlines with the Croydon Insider
Have all the country’s politicians lost the ability to say, “No, thank you very much”? That’s just one of the questions considered by our panel guests in this latest, packed edition of the Croydon Insider. Our guests for this episode … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Allders, Business, Croydon Insider, Inside Croydon, Ken Towl, Whitgift Centre
Tagged #FreeGearKeir, Croydon, Croydon Council, Croydon Insider, Darryl Chamberlain, Donna Fraser, Ken Towl, Labour, Mayor Jason Perry, Metropolitan Police, Steve Reed OBE, Under The Flyover, Westfield, Whitgift Centre
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Croydon’s Super Size Me quest for town centre’s best burger
Croydon’s answer to Morgan Spurlock, KEN TOWL, last week set off to discover where the best burgers are to be found in the town. His harrowing account is a testimony to fortitude and a strong stomach Last month, Inside Croydon … Continue reading
Posted in Business, Ken Towl, Pubs, Restaurants, South Croydon, Wendy's, Whelans
Tagged Burgers, Croydon, East Croydon, fast food, Five Guys, George Street, Ken Towl, McDonald's, South Croydon, South End, Takeaways, Wellesley Road, Wendy's, Whelans
11 Comments
Mystery as Fuller’s exit three Croydon pubs in unseemly hurry
In the second part of his review of the hospitality trade in the borough (yes, dear reader, we sent him on a month-long pub crawl), KEN TOWL explores the reasons for one of London’s biggest and best-loved brewers’ sudden departure … Continue reading
Posted in Addiscombe West, Business, Esther Sutton, Fairfield, Ken Towl, Property, Pubs, South Croydon
Tagged Addiscombe, Admiral Taverns, Croydon Flyover, Fuller's, Fullers Brewery, Ken Towl, London, South Croydon, The Builders Arms, The Claret and Ale, The Crown & Sceptre, The Oval Tavern, The Royal Standard, The Spread Eagle, Whelans
5 Comments
Croydon housing policy is reminiscent of Dickensian England
CROYDON COMMENTARY: A council briefing document shows that officials and the Mayor are playing fast and loose with their legal obligations on provision for the homeless, says KEN TOWL Croydon Council is playing fast and loose with their obligations on … Continue reading
This is Tory Britain in 2024: ‘Sometimes you’ve got to be cruel’
ELECTION SKETCH: Beyond a Boundary is not only an excellent cricket book, but is what KEN TOWL did last night, going beyond Croydon, and beyond London, to see whether Labour’s candidate in Reigate really does have a sporting chance on … Continue reading
Two weeks early and most candidates are conceding defeat
ELECTION SKETCH: As other parties’ candidates in Croydon East have admitted they will lose come July 4, Labour’s shoo-in as a new MP calls her party’s bankrupting of the borough and its part in illegal hacking as ‘a load of … Continue reading
Posted in 2024 General Election, Andrew Pelling, Croydon East, Jason Cummings, Ken Towl, Natasha Irons, Peter Underwood
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, 2024 General Election, Andrew Pelling, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon East, General Election, General Election 2024, Green Party, Jason Cummings, Ken Towl, Labour, Liberal Democrats, Natasha Irons, Peter Underwood, Tory
23 Comments
Poundshop politician who puts the ‘sham’ into shambolic
ELECTION SKETCH: It was billed as a ‘hustings’, but was really nothing other than a rally for fringe party TTIP’s star candidate. KEN TOWL went along, so that you – and hundreds of others – didn’t have to “Somebody at … Continue reading
Posted in 2024 General Election, Croydon West, Donna Murray-Turner, Ken Towl, Marley King, Sarah Jones MP
Tagged 2024 General Election, Anthony King, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon West, Donna Murray-Turner, General Election, General Election 2024, Ken Towl, Labour, Marley King, Taking The Initiative Party, Tory, TTIP
4 Comments
