Et tu, Brute? Globe brings Julius Caesar to Morden Hall

Posted on April 9, 2022 by insidecroydon

Julius Caesar is coming to a tram stop near you later this month, when the Shakespeare’s Globe company unpack their costumes and set up stage in the beautiful surroundings of Morden Hall Park.

The performance will take place in the Rose Garden at the National Trust-run park, which is in easy reach of Croydon by tram to Phipps Bridge.

The play will be performed on Friday April 29, at 6.30pm, and then at 1.30pm on Saturday, April 30, offering the first chance to see the production before it transfers to the Globe Theatre and goes on a national tour. Tickets are £20 for adults, £18 for children. Continue reading →

Posted in Theatre | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Thornton Heath Rec charity sponsored walk, Apr 24

Posted on April 9, 2022 by insidecroydon

Or click here to visit the Eventbrite page

Continue reading →

Posted in Charity, Community associations, Croydon parks | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

‘Any would be better for Croydon than the old strong leader’

Posted on April 8, 2022 by insidecroydon

Not-so-plausible deniability: outside the bubble of Croydon Labour, Val Shawcross’s appeal is beginning to wear thin

With a month until election day, hustings for the borough’s first-ever Mayoral contest are coming thick and fast. KEN TOWL went along to last night’s event held in Park Hill, so that you didn’t have to…

Val Shawcross really ought to be a shoo-in for Mayor of Croydon.

Labour’s candidate’s CV is impressive, and she oozes an attractive mixture of competence and compassion: she has the heart and the brains to do the job.

And all the time the demographics of Croydon are shifting relentlessly towards younger voters with degrees, usually good pickings for Labour.

But on the evidence of last night’s Mayoral hustings, things are not that simple. Continue reading →

Posted in 2022 Croydon Mayor election, Andrew Pelling, Jason Perry, Ken Towl, Peter Underwood, Richard Howard, Val Shawcross | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

BRIT School stages charity premiere from the covid Frontline

Posted on April 8, 2022 by insidecroydon

The BRIT School has partnered with Croydon Health Services NHS Trust to support its dedicated charity by staging a world premiere of an original new play about the impact of covid-19.

On April 27 and 28 around two dozen Year 13 community arts students from the school will perform The Frontline at The Obie Theatre at the school to raise funds for Croydon Health Charity’s Power of Play appeal.

The Frontline is an original performance about key workers’ experiences of the covid pandemic and will raise funds for Croydon University Hospital’s children’s unit to ensure sick children and young people have vital access to play.

The charity’s appeal is funding new interactive play zones, entertaining toys and relaxation rooms for toddlers, children and teens receiving treatment at the new unit which will open next month. Continue reading →

Posted in BRIT School, Charity, Croydon Health Charity, Croydon NHS Trust, Health, Schools | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Half of Sutton LibDem councillors quitting at May’s elections

Posted on April 8, 2022 by insidecroydon

Defending the indefensible, whether it is the dodgy deals over the council’s SDEN heat network, the appalling treatment of families with SEND children, or some of the ruling group’s more under-hand conduct, has taken its toll, writes our Civic Offices reporter, BELLE MONT

The finalised candidate list for Sutton’s council elections on May 5 shows that an astonishing 16 of Ruth Dombey’s Liberal Democrat platoon of 33 councillors are jumping ship.

It is an unusually high rate of attrition, which some sources put down to the strain on many older councillors of the past two years of trying to run the council during a pandemic. Other, less charitable, interpretations say that there’s only so much of Dombey’s controlling iron fist anyone can take – as was reflected in the heartfelt message from one of those standing down and which was read out in Parliament last week, when a departing councillor said that they felt “betrayed, let down and hurt”.
Continue reading →

Posted in 2022 council elections, Catherine Gray, Charlie Mansell, Elliot Colburn, Jayne McCoy, Jenny Batt, Neil Garratt, Nick Mattey, Outside Croydon, Ruth Dombey, Sutton Council, Tim Crowley, Tom Drummond | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Mums’ colourful business pitch wins the backing of Dragons

Posted on April 8, 2022 by insidecroydon

Last night’s edition of BBC1’s Dragons’ Den saw a pair of Croydon businesswomen land a £50,000 investment after their company’s inspired use of colour in decorations, cards and luxury gifts wowed Peter Jones and Deborah Meaden.

March Muses produce broader representative gifts, wrapping paper and Christmas decorations, which saw their products stocked by Selfridges last December.

Black mums Natalie Duvall and Alison Burton set up their company after they struggled to find gifts that resembled their children. Continue reading →

Posted in Business | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Crystal Palace rated ‘best place to live in London’ in new guide

Posted on April 8, 2022 by insidecroydon

Top of the hill: Crystal Palace has a lot to offer, in addition to the views over London

Crystal Palace has been named the Best Place to Live in London, placed atop of a list of six locations in the capital chosen by The Sunday Times in their annual guide.

The guide, which includes 70 locations, is released online today and an edited version will be available in the paper on Sunday. Continue reading →

Posted in Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Are you local? Tories seek distance from party-goer Boris

Posted on April 7, 2022 by insidecroydon

Conservatives in Croydon, hungry for power, are beginning to see the Prime Minister as an electoral liability. By political editor WALTER CRONXITE

Not a pretty sight: Croydon’s Tories are getting touchy over their national party

With election day in one month’s time, Croydon Conservatives, having been first to pick their Mayoral candidate and the quickest to name all their ward council candidates, are now running weeks behind Labour in publishing their manifesto – their promises to the public for the next four years.

But the candidate declarations, which closed this week, make something absolutely clear: Jason Perry and the brains trust running the Croydon Tories’ campaign are deeply embarrassed by bumbling Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak and their law-breaking, philandering, tax-dodging, party-going national party colleagues at Westminster.

Every one of the Tories’ 70 candidates standing for election across Croydon’s 28 wards on May 5 will be described on the ballot papers next month as “Local Conservatives”.

The message is clear: we ain’t nuffink to do with the shambles who are filling out questionnaires from Scotland Yard in between supposedly running the country.

Continue reading →

Posted in 2022 council elections, 2022 Croydon Mayor election, Bromley Council, Chris Philp MP, Croydon South, Ellie Reeves MP, Jason Perry, Lambeth Council, South Croydon, Sutton Council, Tony Newman, Val Shawcross | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

MP Philp subject of complaint to parliamentary commission

Posted on April 7, 2022 by insidecroydon

WALTER CRONXITE discovers another Tory politician breaking the rules for the advantage of his party-loving political party

Under investigation: Tory MP Chris Philp

Chris Philp is the latest member of the Conservative Party Party Party to be placed under an official investigation.

Philp, the Tory MP for Croydon South, has been reported to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards for misusing his official email address for party political purposes.

According to the Westminster commissioner’s website, the complaint being examined is for “Use of facilities [Parliamentary email address] provided from the public purse”.

Continue reading →

Posted in Chris Philp MP, Croydon Central, Croydon South, Gavin Barwell, Sarah Jones MP | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Sly stealth tax rises are ‘economically idiotic’ as inflation soars

Posted on April 7, 2022 by insidecroydon

A cascade of misery is being unleashed on households as the cost of living crisis begins to bite. By ANDREW FISHER

Happy New (financial) Year. Here’s to a 2022-2023 of tax rises, eye-watering energy bills and soaring inflation.

Inflation is at a 30-year high of 6.2per cent and is forecast to peak at more than 8per cent.

We can argue over the relative contributing factors of global energy prices, post-pandemic aftershocks and Brexit red tape, but the reality is that inflation is impacting people now. Continue reading →

Posted in Andrew Fisher, Business, Council Tax | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Help Waddon girl Make A Wish after her cancer treatment

Posted on April 7, 2022 by insidecroydon

A seven-year-old girl from Waddon who thought she had “stomach ache”, endured three years of gruelling cancer treatment after doctors found a 10cm tumour.

Tough times: Brodie Burgess has had care and support from nurses at Great Ormond Street

Brodie Burgess is one of 56 children across Greater London who are living with a critical condition and waiting for their wish to be granted through a special charity appeal.

“You hear about these things happening, but you never imagine it’ll be your child,” said Cherie Burgess, 35, Brodie’s Mum.

Brodie was a lively, playful and imaginative four-year-old when she began experiencing stomach pain in late 2019.

Her mum sought a diagnosis for almost a year, visiting three separate hospitals where Brodie was repeatedly diagnosed with constipation.

Continue reading →

Posted in Charity, Waddon | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Come along and sing with the Croydon Bach Choir, May 14

Posted on April 7, 2022 by insidecroydon

Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Croydon Bach Choir, Music | Tagged | Leave a comment

The bottom line on the failure of ex-CEO Negrini: £613,895

Posted on April 6, 2022 by insidecroydon

Our Town Hall editor KEN LEE has been crunching some eye-watering numbers from Croydon’s bankrupt council

‘Regeneration practitioner’: Jo Negrini made sure she regenerated plenty of council cash her way

When Jo “Negreedy” Negrini quit as the council’s chief executive in September 2020, with Croydon hurtling towards bankruptcy, she left with a total of £613,895 – a figure that made her the top-paid local government official in the country that year.

The figures included her obscene £437,000 pay-off authorised by Labour councillors Tony Newman and Simon Hall.

What was not available, until now, was the data that shows Negreedy also made away with the thick-end of a full year’s salary and pension contributions.

Inside Croydon broke the story of the massive pay-off within days of the departure of the self-acclaimed “regeneration practitioner” some 20 months ago.

The figures were released today by the Tax Payers Alliance. Continue reading →

Posted in Chris Philp MP, Croydon Council, Croydon South, Jo Negrini, Sarah Jones MP, Steve Reed MP, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Croydon’s less-than-magnificent 8: Winston’s back for more

Posted on April 6, 2022 by insidecroydon

There’s quirkiness and eccentricity among some of the candidates to become the borough’s first executive Mayor, as well as some who perhaps are not quite what they claim to be. Editor STEVEN DOWNES on the confirmed candidates list for May 5

There will be eight names to choose from when Croydon’s residents go to the polls next month to pick the borough’s first executive Mayor, with (to put it mildly) local eccentric Winston McKenzie back on the ballot paper, along with a couple of other fringe candidates with similarly bizarre offerings and less-than-stellar business backgrounds.

The final declaration for Croydon Mayoral candidates was at 4pm yesterday. Other London boroughs’ electoral deadline was at 5pm; Croydon’s was earlier because that’s when the cash-strapped council’s phonelines close for the day.

And as the puff of white smoke went up, as well as the expected party political candidates on the sheet, there are three independents and one far-right candidate seeking your votes. Continue reading →

Posted in 2022 Croydon Mayor election, Andrew Pelling, Jason Perry, Peter Underwood, Val Shawcross | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Easter Fun Day, Christ Church School, Purley, Apr 16

Posted on April 6, 2022 by insidecroydon

Continue reading →

Posted in Activities, Purley, Schools | Tagged , | Leave a comment

A night at the comic opera: from sublime to the ridiculous

Posted on April 5, 2022 by insidecroydon

Pride of place: seating arrangements at the Fairfield are a little fluid

Box office closed, bar closed, bistro closed and toilets closed…
KEN TOWL went along to see what the Fairfield Halls experience is like these days, and with a box seat (pictured left) he managed to last longer than the Mayor of Croydon, to witness a sublime performance.

Photographs: SIMON BENTLEY

The Fairfield Halls are open for business, but in a rather half-hearted way.

There is no box office, no front-of-house beyond a trio of uniformed hired security and a small stand with leaflets advertising up-and-coming (and up-and-gone) events.

The 2022 Fairfield experience is a strange one. There are bag checks but the ticket check appears to be optional, so as long as you are bagless, you might be allowed to stroll right into the vast lobby to find a lot of people milling about aimlessly. Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Ashcroft Theatre, BH Live, Croydon Philharmonic Choir, Fairfield Halls, Ken Towl, Music | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

Trust’s 12-month countdown to people’s takeover of park

Posted on April 5, 2022 by insidecroydon

Fresh hope: the charitable Trust will assume full control of Crystal Palace Park in 2023

Bromley Council wants to hand over control of the historic Crystal Palace Park to a people’s trust by April 2023.

The park has been seen as a “problem” for Bromley ever since they were “gifted” the responsibility for it when Thatcher closed down the GLC in 1986. Previously a London-wide responsibility, despite being located close to the boundaries of five boroughs, including Croydon, it was Bromley that was asked to shoulder the responsibility.

As one source who has worked closely with the park’s heritage projects told Inside Croydon, “It was a ‘gift’ Bromley didn’t particularly want and could well have done without.”

And it is a widely-held assessment that the state of the park has suffered in the 36 years since. The demands of a listed 200-acre public park, with a diverse range of landscapes, a host of listed heritage assets (including the Grade I-listed dinosaur statues), and a 1960s sports arena slap bang in the centre of it, was beyond the means of any one London borough to manage, let alone maintain or improve. Continue reading →

Posted in Bromley Council, Charity, Croydon parks, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Crystal Palace Park, Crystal Palace Park Trust, Martin Tempia | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Turn your stroll to the ballot box into a march for rights

Posted on April 5, 2022 by insidecroydon

CROYDON COMMENTARY: The walk to your polling station for the local elections on May 5 can be used to improve accessibility to the countryside for thousands of people, says rambler MICHAEL HOWELLS

Free range: the Ramblers’ Association is seeking local election candidates to back their campaign

Walking in nature improves our health and happiness, whether on countryside paths, in town centre parks or down tree-lined streets.

Government statistics show that more people than ever have enjoyed the simple pleasures of walking since the covid-19 pandemic began.

However, getting into nature to walk isn’t currently the same for everyone, and lockdown restrictions brought that into sharp focus.

Research conducted for the Ramblers in 2020 by YouGov showed, for example, that just 46per cent of respondents on the lowest income had easy access to green space, compared with over 70per cent of those with the highest income levels.

Continue reading →

Posted in 2022 council elections, 2022 Croydon Mayor election, Walks | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Charity call to restore free covid tests for care home visits

Posted on April 5, 2022 by insidecroydon

Two-thirds of Londoners oppose the scrapping of free covid tests for visitors to care homes, a survey conducted on behalf of Alzheimer’s Society has found.

Testing: the government has withdrawn free covid tests

More than a thousand people have written to their MPs to echo calls from Alzheimer’s Society to ask Sajid Javid, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, to rethink urgently the decision and keep free testing for care home visitors.

The Tory government’s “Living with Covid” plan came into force on Friday, with all rules on precautions against the spread of covid, including guidance on self-isolation, abandoned. Meanwhile, infection rates from the deadly virus are increasing reapidly.

According to Alzheimer’s Society, “With some high street shops now charging up to £12 for a pack of five tests, families are facing costs of up to £733 a month to be able to visit their loved ones in care homes safely. Continue reading →

Posted in Charity, Health | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Race discrimination at work: giving people a fair hearing

Posted on April 5, 2022 by insidecroydon

In the latest in our series of legal advice columns from the South West London Law Centre, LANCE BAYNHAM, discrimination caseworker, pictured right, gives examples of race discrimination cases the team is working on and explains what to do if you have been unfairly treated at work as a result of your race

We are currently representing a black woman in her tribunal claim against her former employer.

She put up with racist comments from her manager for years. These largely involved suggestions that black people were more likely to be violent and criminals.

Given that these comments were coming from her manager, understandably she never complained about the behaviour. She was worried about the repercussions it might have for her career.

She then went for a promotion.

Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Charity, South West London Law Centres, SWLLC - Advice columns | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Tories accused of ‘pandering to prejudice’ over cycle lanes

Posted on April 4, 2022 by insidecroydon

The Conservatives’ Mayoral candidate is contradicting his own party leader over a roads improvement scheme in South Croydon

Reverse gear: Croydon remains behind other boroughs in implementing safer cycling routes

Jason Perry, the Conservative candidate to become the first executive Mayor of Croydon, has launched a petition which warns against “traffic chaos” in his ward – and uses a photograph taken in Vancouver, nearly 5,000 miles away on Canada’s west coast.

This could be a cause of some embarrassment for Perry, whose election campaign revolves around him repeating, ad nauseam, that he is a “proud Croydonian, born and bred”, and not much else.

What’s worse, Perry’s petition actually goes against the Conservative Party’s own policies, as championed by none other than his leader, keen cyclist and party-goer Boris Johnson. Continue reading →

Posted in 2022 council elections, 2022 Croydon Mayor election, Boris Johnson, Cycling, Environment, Jason Perry, London-wide issues, Maria Gatland, Michael Neal, Parking, South Croydon, TfL, Transport, Val Shawcross | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Grenfell inquiry set to quiz Barwell over ignored warnings

Posted on April 4, 2022 by insidecroydon

Former Conservative housing minister is set to give evidence about his part in what has been described as ‘one of the greatest public policy failures anywhere in the modern world’

Gavin Barwell, the former Croydon MP who as housing minister ignored multiple warnings about the risks of deadly fires in tall tower blocks, is to appear before the Grenfell Tower inquiry tomorrow.

Question time: Gavin Barwell

“Lord” Barwell is one of three ex-ministers being called to give evidence this week.

The relatively perfunctory questioning time for ex-ministers has prompted the Fire Brigades Union to accuse the independent inquiry of “protecting” politicians.

Just three-and-a-half days are being spent this week to question Stephen Williams, the former LibDem MP who was a junior minister from 2013 to 2015 in the Conservative-led coalition government, Barwell tomorrow and then, on Wednesday and for half a day on Thursday, “Big” Eric Pickles. Continue reading →

Posted in Gavin Barwell, Housing, London Fire Brigade, London-wide issues | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Organisers reach out as Wireless returns to Crystal Palace

Posted on April 4, 2022 by insidecroydon

Loud and proud: the 2021 Wireless Festival in Crystal Palace Park got a mixed reception

A large section of Crystal Palace Park will be fenced off from the public for around three weeks this summer, as the Wireless Festival returns at the start of July.

Wireless was staged in south London for the first time last year, the three-night “turbo-twerking” rap event featuring 50 different acts and drawing 150,000 concert-goers, paying around £70 a time. But the event also attracted controversy, when one star was arrested by police before they went on stage and it was connected to reports of shots being fired at another rapper’s after-party.

It was the traffic chaos caused that exercised Crystal Palace residents over the Wireless weekend, making almost the first task in their job as the Crystal Palace Park Trust’s new chief executive to be the issuing of an apology to residents and local businesses affected by the disruption. Continue reading →

Posted in Activities, Business, Charity, Croydon parks, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Crystal Palace Park, Crystal Palace Park Trust, Music | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

CareDogs taking the lead on helping the elderly go walking

Posted on April 4, 2022 by insidecroydon

A south London-based dog charity based is launching a befriending service with a twist this spring after a successful pilot last year.

Walkies: Colin says that meeting Fiona and her CareDog Ellie has been a big help to him

CareDogs operates in Lambeth, Southwark, Croydon, Bromley and Lewisham. The charity aims to solve social isolation in the elderly through a range of services centred around the positive impact dogs can have on people’s lives.

CareDogs is welcoming volunteers and their pets to befriend an older person in need. Whether they’re housebound, living with dementia or going through bereavement, CareDogs is giving dog owners an opportunity to do good by making bespoke pairings between volunteers and clients. The simple aim is to encourage human connection through canine companionship.

As a nation of dog-lovers, the pilot project has already made a huge impact for the six volunteer pairings taking part, helping to build confidence and new friendships. Continue reading →

Posted in Charity, Walks | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Victorian doctor’s Australian journey that ended tragically

Posted on April 3, 2022 by insidecroydon

SUNDAY SUPPLEMENT: Memorials placed in Croydon Minster are often just the beginnings of DAVID MORGAN’s historical research

Croydon servant: Henry Whitling worked as a doctor in the town for 25 years

Visitors to Croydon Minster often comment on the number of brass memorials on the walls. Some ask whether the people remembered on them are buried in the church.

“This person can’t be buried here because it says he died at sea,” one eagle-eyed youngster observed on a recent school visit.

The memorial to Henry Townsend Whitling was erected by people who “valued his friendship and in token of the high esteem in which they held him and of their sorrow for his loss”.

The brass is dated Christmas 1889. Whitling had died on March 30 that year.

Whitling had been a well known and respected professional in Croydon. He was a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons and his medical practice was located at 53 High Street.

In the 1866 directory, he was one of 29 surgeons named in Croydon. Carpenter, Whitling and Lancaster were the three doctors who shared the High Street practice, with Whitling also giving that address as his private residence. Continue reading →

Posted in Church and religions, Croydon Minster, David Morgan, History | Tagged , , | 1 Comment