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Category Archives: Ken Towl
Five Hills of Croydon: 20 ramblers, 4 miles, countless memories
PHOTOSTORY: Thanks to all the Inside Croydon readers who joined us on Sunday for our guided walk over five of the ‘seven’ hills of Croydon, following a route suggested in the book Hillwalking London: Ten High-Level Walks to the Heights … Continue reading
Step out with Inside Croydon for a guided walk into the hills
May is National Walking Month, and to do our bit, Inside Croydon is going for a bit of a stroll this Sunday, May 14, and our readers are very welcome to join us! UPDATE: 9am May 11: This guided walk … Continue reading
Posted in Activities, Environment, Health, Inside Croydon, Ken Towl, Walks, Wildlife
Tagged Addington Hills, Ken Towl, London LOOP, New Addington, Seven Hills of Croydon, Vanguard Way, Walks
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Podcast: Croydon Insider – the Borough of Culture Special
Posted in Art, Borough of Culture 2023, Boxpark, Croydon Insider, Fairfield Halls, Inside Croydon, Ken Towl, Neil Chandler, Under The Flyover
Tagged Borough of Culture, Boxpark, Cheryl Fergus-Ferrell, Croydon, Croydon Council, Croydon FM, Croydon Insider, Emma Hope-Fitch, Fairfield Halls, Ken Towl, London, Mayor, Neil Chandler, Under The Flyover
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This capital walking guide book rises well above the ordinary
KEN TOWL pulls on his walking boots and, armed with a new ramblers’ guide book, strides on towards the Seven Hills of Croydon. PLUS: Special reader offer with 10% discount on Hillwalking London Guidebooks can be a bit pompous in … Continue reading
Posted in Ken Towl, Walks
Tagged Addington Hills, Caroline Buckland, Hillwalking London, John Grindrod, Ken Towl, New Addington, Safe Haven Books
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Politicians struggle to be heard over iftar’s soup slurping
KEN TOWL broke a Ramadan fast with two out of Croydon’s three MPs and two Mayors (one all togged up). He just couldn’t really hear much of what they had to say The acoustics aren’t great in the Braithwaite Hall, … Continue reading
Posted in Alisa Flemming, Braithwaite Hall, Chris Philp MP, Church and religions, Croydon Central, Croydon North, Croydon South, Faiths Together In Croydon, Ken Towl, Mayor Jason Perry, Sarah Jones MP, Steve Reed MP
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Alisa Flemming, Braithwaite Hall, Chris Philp MP, Conservative, Croydon Central, Croydon North, Croydon South, Iftar, Ken Towl, Labour, Mayor Jason Perry, Ramadan, Sarah Jones MP, Steve Reed OBE, Tory
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Perry’s budget cuts to cause borough serious legal problems
Last year, the South West London Law Centre provided help and advice to 3,200 people. This year, Croydon Mayor Jason Perry is cutting all council funding to the centre. KEN TOWL attended their annual meeting last week to hear about … Continue reading
Posted in Charity, Council Tax, Croydon Central, Croydon Council, Ken Towl, Mayor Jason Perry, Sarah Jones MP, South West London Law Centres
Tagged Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Central, Croydon Council, Ken Towl, Labour, LASPO, Legal Aid, Patrick Marples, Sarah Jones MP, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, South West London Law Centre, SWLLC, Tory
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Scorziello steals the show as Coulsdon drama gamble pays off
The latest play being staged by Coulsdon’s high-achieving amdram group succeeds in its huge ambition, says KEN TOWL The people at Theatre Workshop Coulsdon are ambitious. Instead of the relatively light and broadly mainstream fare of amateur theatre, in Machinal, … Continue reading
Sampling some good Vybz from Selsdon’s Jamaican restaurant
A start-up business was recommended by their local councillor to seek some promotional publicity from Inside Croydon. KEN TOWL tried the food at Yaad Vybz and got a 5% off offer for this website’s readers Councillor Joseph Lee may have … Continue reading
Posted in Joseph Lee, Ken Towl, Restaurants, Selsdon and Addington Village
Tagged Ken Towl, Selsdon, Yaad Vybz
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Windrush Generation’s exhibition is playing sounds of the 70s
After a week spent playing ‘silly games’ with the borough’s politicians, for a deserved break, KEN TOWL got serious about Lovers’ Rock Croydon’s musical heritage is immense. It is so rich and varied that the council is putting together some … Continue reading
Posted in Activities, Art, Borough of Culture 2023, Community associations, History, Ken Towl, Music, Whitgift Centre
Tagged Christine McNabb, Janet Kay, Ken Towl, Lovers' Rock, Sonia Williams, Whitgift Centre, Windrush Generation, Windrush Generation Legacy Association, Wraydette McNabb
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Inside track on Council Tax – listen to our latest podcast here
Posted in Andrew Fisher, Charity, Community associations, Council Tax, Croydon FM, Croydon Insider, Inside Croydon, Ken Towl, Schools, Under The Flyover
Tagged Andrew Fisher, Cheryl Fergus-Ferrell, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Croydon FM, Croydon Insider, Ken Towl, Lee Townsend, Under The Flyover
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Teachers in unanimous vote to escalate their strike action
A little bleary-eyed after a night in the Town Hall Chamber schooling recalcitrant politicians about their duties to the public, KEN TOWL was back on the picket lines this morning as teachers ramped up their industrial action Thursday morning, and … Continue reading
Posted in Education, Ken Towl, Schools
Tagged Ken Towl, Mayor Jason Perry, National Education Union, NEU
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‘You never mentioned 15% tax hike when seeking election’
Tonight, in the Town Hall Chamber, Inside Croydon contributor KEN TOWL, pictured right, presented a petition that opposes the 15% Council Tax hike and calls for fairer funding for the borough. He was, in effect, speaking on behalf of the … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Ken Towl, Mayor Jason Perry
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Ken Towl, Labour, Mayor Jason Perry, Tory
16 Comments
Art Space in Addiscombe offers a ray of Sunrise with exhibit
KEN TOWL discovers another ray of brightness and joy in Addiscombe’s own haven of art Paul Hall is a miracle worker. With every exhibition he stages, he manages to put together an eclectic but themed collection of artworks and display … Continue reading
Posted in Addiscombe East, Addiscombe West, Art, Croydon Art Space, Ken Towl
Tagged Addiscombe, Croydon Art Space, Elizabeth Knapp, Ken Towl, Martin Cade
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Optivo plays blame game by gas-lighting Addiscombe residents
Residents of shared-ownership homes in Addiscombe, who have spent the past 18 months trying to get an external door lock fixed by their landlords, have angrily accused the housing association responsible of trying to diminish the extent of the issues … Continue reading
Posted in Addiscombe East, Business, Housing, Ken Towl, London-wide issues
Tagged Addiscombe, Ken Towl, Optivo, Southern Housing
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Fobbed off: unlocking 18 months of misery with Optivo
Following the Regina Road council flats scandal, much attention has been focused on the appalling record of local authorities in managing and maintaining properties. But as KEN TOWL has discovered, there are some housing associations whose attitude to residents also … Continue reading
Posted in Addiscombe East, Housing, Ken Towl
Tagged Addiscombe, Ken Towl, Optivo, Southern Housing
4 Comments
Golden haloes pick out icons of the Windrush exhibition
KEN TOWL pays a return visit to the Windrush Legacy Association in the Whitgift Centre to view the works of south Londoner Zoe Sinclair Despite her interest in where people really come from, Baroness Hussey of North Bradley, better known … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Community associations, History, Ken Towl, Whitgift Centre
Tagged Diane Abbott, Doreen Lawrence, Ken Towl, Lady Susan Hussey, Martin Luther King, Muhammad Ali, Rosa Parks, Trevor McDonald, Whitgift Centre, Windrush, Windrush Generation Legacy Association, Windrush Legacy Association
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Evita gives Addiscombe’s café society a new Latvian crunch
KEN TOWL discovers a welcome addition to his local high street When I ask the name of the manager of the new deli on Addiscombe High Street, she tells me she is Evita. “As in…?” I start to ask. “Madonna, … Continue reading
Posted in Addiscombe East, Business, Ken Towl, Restaurants
Tagged Addiscombe East, Addiscombe High Street, Addiscombe West, Dirty Crunch, Ken Towl
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Summer of Strikes should get us out of the middle of the road
Around the country today, 115,000 Royal Mail workers joined 40,000 BT staff taking industrial action, as the Summer of Strikes continued. KEN TOWL visited the posties’ picket line outside the sorting office on Factory Lane “We know what happens to … Continue reading
Posted in Business, Ken Towl
Tagged ASLEF, Communication Workers Union, CWU, Factory Lane, Ken Towl, RMT, Royal Mail, Simon Thompson
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From Picasso to Whiteread in Dulwich, courtesy of the RMT
Last month, KEN TOWL visited Museum of the Year, the Horniman. This week, in his quest for the treasures of south London, he has trekked across the borough boundary again to the Dulwich Picture Gallery, with some help from a … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Ken Towl
Tagged Dulwich, Dulwich Picture Gallery, Ken Towl, Mick Lynch, Pablo Picasso, Rachel Whiteread, Woman in the Window
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Museum on a hilltop that is outstanding in so many ways
KEN TOWL’s been on his travels again, this time to the country’s best museum. And it’s just a bus ride away I have just been to the best museum in the UK. And that’s official. It’s not in Croydon (London … Continue reading
Posted in Activities, Art, Education, History, Ken Towl
Tagged Frederick Horniman MP, Horniman Museum, Ken Towl, LCC, Lewisham
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The evening our art reviewer made an exhibition of himself
Croydon Art Space, in Addiscombe, last night presented an award for an outstanding piece of work by a student at Croydon School of Art. In front of his MP, dignitaries and the artists, KEN TOWL delivered a piece of performance … Continue reading
All change for Elizabeth Line trains on faster track to Heathrow
‘Going anywhere nice for your holidays?’ Gatwick has long been the obvious airport of choice for people from Croydon looking to jet away, but the completion of the £17.6bn CrossRail could finally provide a viable public transport route from south … Continue reading
Posted in East Croydon, Ken Towl, TfL, Transport
Tagged Crossrail, Elizabeth Line, Gatwick Airport, Heathrow Airport, Ken Towl, TfL, Transport for London
18 Comments
Moment my patience snapped waiting for £150 energy refund
CROYDON COMMENTARY: Have you received your Council Tax energy rebate yet? KEN TOWL, right, outlines the testing problems encountered when approaching the council to get his hands on his money They say that patience is a virtue. In Croydon it … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Ken Towl
Tagged Council Tax, Council Tax Energy Rebate, Croydon, Croydon Council, Ken Towl
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How Winston McKenzie became Croydon’s Public Enema No1
It seems every election has a joker in the pack, and this year Winston McKenzie, the candidate who declared ‘Croydon is a dump!’, is once again seeking your votes. KEN TOWL read his manifesto, so that you wouldn’t have to … Continue reading
