Sequined sports stars struggle to sparkle in new Strictly series

Posted on October 4, 2025 by insidecroydon

Crunch time: Sutton’s Harry Aikines-Aryeety flexed his muscles with dance partner Karen Hauser in last week’s Strictly Come Dancing

It’s crunch time for two local sports stars tonight on Strictly Come Dancing, as Chris Robshaw and Harry Aikines-Aryeetey face an elimination vote for the first time in this year’s pro-celebrity dance nonsense.

And it’s fair to say after the first week’s performances that Robshaw, the former England rugby captain, is in greater peril of being voted off.

Assessing his own dancing skills as “stomping like an elephant”, at 6ft 2in and nearly 18st, Robshaw, 39, will need to up his game tonight after he and his professional dancer, Nadiya Bychkova, scored just 14 out of a possible 40 last Saturday, putting them at serious risk of facing an elimination dance-off this weekend.

At least Robshaw has used the opportunity to big-up his first rugby club, Warlingham, having been filmed for last week’s show rehearsing with Bychkova in the Hamsey Green club house. Continue reading →

Posted in Athletics, Chris Robshaw, Rugby Union, Sport, Sutton Council, Warlingham RFC | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Addiscombe’s literary society announces 91st season of talks

Posted on October 4, 2025 by insidecroydon

Next week will see the start of the 2025-2026 season of talks and readings at the St Mildred’s Literary Society in Addiscombe, a local group that is continuing a near-century-old tradition.

“The Lit” (such societies often tend to gravitate towards such a name; the “Purley Lit” is much the same) was founded in 1934 and today holds its (non-religious) meetings in the church’s rear hall on the first and third Tuesday of the month, from October to March, at 8pm, where local residents, historians and enthusiasts share their knowledge and learning, socialise and meet friends, old and new.

Subscription for the season (there are 12 events on the 2025-2026 programme) is £30, or £4 per meeting. Tea, coffee and biscuits are served from 7.30pm.

Continue reading →

Posted in Activities, Addiscombe East, Addiscombe West, Art, Community associations, History | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Curry Night Fund-raiser at SNCK, Socco Cheta, Oct 22

Posted on October 4, 2025 by insidecroydon

S U B S C R I B E R
A D V E R T I S E M E N T

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Posted in Activities, Advertisement, Advertisement features, Community associations, Socco Cheta Community Hub, South Norwood, South Norwood Community Kitchen | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Jazz at the Croydon Clocktower Café, every Thursday, 12-2pm

Posted on October 4, 2025 by insidecroydon

S U B S C R I B E R
A D V E R T I S E M E N T

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FBI cyber investigation leads to jailing of Croydon paedophile

Posted on October 3, 2025 by insidecroydon

A Croydon paedophile was today sentenced to 25 years for inciting and recording thousands of children engaging in sexual activity online.

Guilty: paedophile Robert Chown

A National Crime Agency investigation found that IT specialist Robert Chown, 49, captured photos and videos of the abuse and shared them with like-minded paedophiles.

Chown pleaded guilty to 41 charges at a previous court hearing and at Croydon Crown Court today he was sentenced to 25 years, with seven to be served on licence. Chown was also handed a lifetime Sexual Harm Prevention Order, and will be on the sex offenders register for the rest of his life.

The NCA today said that their investigation of Chown’s abuse found that it included children in Europe and America: “Work with our international partners in the FBI and Europol has been key” in securing the conviction, they said. Continue reading →

Posted in Crime | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Former Sutton vicar to become 106th Archbishop of Canterbury

Posted on October 3, 2025 by insidecroydon

Sarah Mullally, once the country’s leading NHS nurse, later a trailblazing vicar in Sutton, has today been named as the Archbishop of Canterbury, the first woman to be appointed to the position in more than 1,400 years.

Canterbury calling: Dame Sarah Mullally has had her appointment approved by the King and the Prime Minister

“Sarah’s brilliant,” one local church-goer who knows Mullally well, told Inside Croydon this morning.

Mullally will be the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury since Augustine arrived on these shores in 597AD.

This is the first occasion that women have been eligible for the role, as female bishops weren’t consecrated by the CofE in 2013, when the last Archbishop was chosen. A decade on from when women started being consecrated, they now make up close to one-third of all bishops in England.

Inevitably, Mullally will face a number of stern challenges as the most senior prelate of the established Church of England and head of the Anglican church around the world, not least resistance from deeply conservative elements within the CofE who object to the ordination of women, let alone their promotion to such an important position. Continue reading →

Posted in Archbishop of Canterbury, Bishop of Croydon, Church and religions, Croydon Minster, Dame Sarah Mullally, Rosemarie Mallett, Sutton Council | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Resurfacing works will close part of Purley Way for 11 nights

Posted on October 3, 2025 by insidecroydon

Transport for London is to carry out resurfacing works on the A23 from the Fiveways junction to Waddon Way which will see the half-mile stretch of the Purley Way closed overnight every night from Sunday October 12 until Thursday October 23.

Road works: from Denning Avenue, opposite the Morrisons supermarket at Fiveways, south to Waddon Way, will be subject to closures for at least 11 nights

Fiveways at the junction of Denning Avenue and the Purley Way is a key intersection on routes between Croydon and Sutton. The supermarket car park of Morrisons is often used as a dropping off point for parents for the school run.

The TfL works will take place between 9.30pm and 5.30am, with diversions in place, although it seems possible that there will be some disruption and delays on the always busy, four- and five-lane red route throughout the day until the works are completed.

“These resurfacing works, which will improve the long-term condition of the road, form part of our wider programme to help people and all vehicles to move more efficiently, safely and reliably across our road network,” TfL says. Continue reading →

Posted in Purley Way, TfL, Transport | 3 Comments

Synagogue’s patrols, guards and fences are essential every day

Posted on October 3, 2025 by insidecroydon

Crime scene: two men were killed and three others injured when a synagogue in Manchester was attacked yesterday, Yom Kippur

Quietly, with dignity, but also with great caution and much grief, members of the Croydon Synagogue will assemble for the weekly Shabbat service tonight, just as they do on most Fridays through the year.

They will gather behind fences and locked doors, with special patrols on the streets outside, watching for any suspicious activity.

That is not Croydon Synagogue’s response to yesterday’s attack on a Jewish place of worship in Manchester, where two men were murdered, but a daily vigil that they have to undertake out of fear of antisemitic attacks. Continue reading →

Posted in Church and religions, Community associations, Crime, Croydon Synagogue | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Volunteer workday this Sunday, Oct 5, at South Norwood Lake

Posted on October 3, 2025 by insidecroydon

S U B S C R I B E R
A D V E R T I S E M E N T

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Posted in Activities, Advertisement, Advertisement features, Community associations, Croydon parks, South Norwood | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Finally! We solve the mystery of Fairfield’s vanished Steinway

Posted on October 2, 2025 by insidecroydon

Don’t shoot him, he’s only the piano player: Elton John in concert at the Fairfield Halls in 1976, playing the Steinway that is now believed to be in Croydon Minster

Almost 10 years since it was last seen on the stage at the Fairfield Halls, Inside Croydon thinks it may have tracked down one of the council-owned arts centre’s long-lost grand pianos, which in the past was used in concerts by musicians from Elton John, to Artur Rubenstein, to Andre Previn 

Audience members for the regular Friday lunchtime recitals at Croydon Minster first noticed it a couple of months ago.

There, standing in front of them, in pride of place in the middle of the nave, was a shiny Steinway grand piano, the sort of instrument that normally graces the biggest and best concert halls around the world.

Even second-hand Steinways of this kind can today command £120,000. So how had the usually frugal people at the Minster managed to acquire such a prestigious piano? Continue reading →

Posted in Art, BH Live, Brick by Brick, Church and religions, Croydon Council, Croydon Minster, Fairfield Halls, Music, Old Palace, Trinity School, Whitgift Foundation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Westfield is forced to fence off Centrale’s leaky entrance

Posted on October 2, 2025 by insidecroydon

As one door opens, another slams into shoppers’ faces on North End, as temporary fencing was erected outside the entrance to Zara and House of Fraser

Less than a week after Westfield was trumpeting the opening of two “kiosks” in Allders, and just across the pedestrian precinct on North End, its estate management was fencing off the entrance to Centrale, the second shopping mall that it manages.

As one door opens, another closes…: the fencing outside Centrale this week

Shoppers looking to spend their hard-earned in H&M or Zara were left perplexed, as the wire mesh fencing went up on Tuesday and shut off one entrance to the centre, without any obvious signs or formal explanation from the management.

Centrale is the newer of Croydon town centre’s two large shopping malls, having opened in 2004, an expanded version of the old Drummond Centre.

It was owned and managed from 2011 by Hammerson, who bought it from property company St Martins Property Investment for £98million. Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", Allders, Business, Centrale, Croydon Council, Mayor Jason Perry, Planning, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Trustees bring down final curtain on the Crystal Palace Festival

Posted on October 2, 2025 by insidecroydon

After almost 20 years, the Crystal Palace Festival is no more.

Cultural celebration: the festival showcased music, comedy, drama and dance. Photo: https://www.guymilnes.com

The largely volunteer-led summer festival of music, comedy and arts, was first staged in 2006, by traders in the Upper Norwood Triangle.

At its peak, thousands would attend various events, many of them free, that were staged around the area, as the festival expanded into Westow Park and, later, into Crystal Palace Park itself.

But it had been on “a pause” since 2022, first because of funding issues, and later because it appeared, from a distance, that the big, commercial live events being staged in the park had almost overwhelmed the efforts of the community-orientated Crystal Palace Festival.

The Crystal Palace Festival had, in many ways, created the circumstances for Crystal Palace Park to be seen as a venue for big commercial music and arts festivals which are now staged there each summer.

The festival, dependent largely on public donations and grants, had struggled through various crises. There was a break in 2016, a virtual festival in 2020, and in 2022 they opted to avoid the big stage festivals in mid-summer with a move to a September date. But there was to be no festival in 2023, or since.

Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Comedy, Community associations, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Crystal Palace Park, Dance, Music, Theatre | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Discover the wonders of King’s Wood with these autumn walks

Posted on October 2, 2025 by insidecroydon

King’s Wood: almost 150 acres of public open space in Sanderstead. To discover more, take part in one of the guided walks

The Friends of King’s Wood are staging a series of walks through the wild and undisturbed woodland over the next few weeks, for local residents to discover more about the natural environment that’s on their doorsteps.

And the walks are all free of charge, with no need to book.

Carpeted in bluebells in the spring, King’s Wood is a large area of almost 150 acres of ancient woodland in Sanderstead, criss-crossed by long straight paths which can be accessed from Kingswood Lane, Kingswood Way and Orchard Road, Hamsey Green.

Previously used for bird shooting (hence the long pathways, or rides), it was purchased in 1937 under the Green Belt Act and is now public open space. The keeper’s cottage still stands in the woods. Continue reading →

Posted in Activities, Community associations, Croydon parks, Environment, Walks, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Delve behind the headlines on Allders, The Fold, Anonyvoter and campaign launches, with our regular subscriber podcast

Posted on October 1, 2025 by insidecroydon

Our Croydon Insider podcasts are an (almost) regular delve behind the headlines at the stories that matter to you, Inside Croydon’s loyal readers.

And in our latest wide-ranging episode – part of what has been described as a “citizens’ revolt against the propaganda of power” – our panel of readers also get the chance to put Questions to the Mayoral Candidate, as we put the Green Party’s Peter Underwood in the hot seat ahead of next May’s local elections. Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Allders, Annabel Smith, Climate Crisis Commission, Croydon Council, Croydon East, Croydon Greens, Croydon Insider, Croydon West, Environment, Garwood Foundation, Housing, Inside Croydon, Ken Towl, Local media, London-wide issues, Mayor Jason Perry, Neil Bennett, New Addington, New Addington North, North End Quarter, Peter Underwood, Sarah Jones MP, Under The Flyover, Whitgift Centre, Zack Polanski | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

‘We have history, we embrace the present, we fly to the future’

Posted on October 1, 2025 by insidecroydon

Rise Like An Eagle: the club poem being played out to a packed Selhurst Park on Saturday. It might have helped to inspire the late winner against Liverpool

New chapter: the club poem was featured in Saturday’s match programme

During their latest, remarkable victory, this time over champions Liverpool at Selhurst Park on Saturday, Crystal Palace revealed their club poem, put together by local poet Dan Simpson after a year’s work with fans, as part of “A Poem For Your Club” – a national project from the National Literacy Trust and Arts Council England.

The poem, Rise Like An Eagle, was revealed during half-time alongside a live poetry reading in the fan zone and the poem being featured in the match programme. Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Charity, Crystal Palace FC, Education, Football, Poetry, Schools | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

MP Reed caps off his high-profile week with a flood of protest

Posted on October 1, 2025 by insidecroydon

CONFERENCE NOTEBOOK: Bringing Croydon’s trains back into public ownership and putting more emphasis on apprenticeships are among some of the announcements made by Labour figures in Liverpool, where ANDREW FISHER, pictured left, was checking out the queues for Steve Reed’s MAGA-style hats

Steve Reed, the Labour MP for Streatham and Croydon North, was an ubiquitous presence in the first days of the 2025 Labour Party conference here in Liverpool.

The new Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government spent much of the first day of conference at an event, sponsored by lobbyists Arden Strategies, signing MAGA-style red baseball caps emblazoned with his new slogan “Build, baby, build”.

Signing away billions: Reed’s housing policies offer big profits for private developers

Among those queuing up for the embarrassing Trumpian attire was a very active Croydon Labour activist who is to be a council candidate in next May’s local elections. No prizes for guessing who (your answers in the Comments section below, please).

Whether the hats will be standard issue for Labour canvassers on the streets of Croydon or Lambeth in the months through to the local elections next May remains to be seen… Continue reading →

Posted in 2026 council elections, Andrew Fisher, Croydon College, East Croydon, Education, Heidi Alexander, London-wide issues, LSBU campus, Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, Steve Reed MP, Streatham and Croydon North, Transport | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Save £25 at Royal Academy of Arts exhibition with TfL offer

Posted on October 1, 2025 by insidecroydon

Transport for London and the Royal Academy are partnering for the first time to offer customers using public transport 2-for-1 entry into one of the blockbuster exhibitions of the year by internationally acclaimed artist Kerry James Marshall.

Kerry James Marshall: The Histories exhibition showcases vivid and large-scale paintings that place the black figure front and centre.

Visitors to the exhibition can expect to find a collection of Marshall’s work featuring his lived experiences, as well as the development of civil rights more broadly.

The 2-for-1 offer for the Royal Academy of Arts – offering a potential saving of more than £25 – is valid until December 31.

This offer can only be redeemed in person. See details at tfl.gov.uk/deals

Founded in 1768, the Royal Academy is one of our city’s must-visit attractions.

To take advantage of the offer, visitors simply need to show proof of their journey on the free TfL Go app, a valid Oyster photocard or travelcard upon arrival at the Royal Academy. Continue reading →

Posted in Activities, Art, Black History Month, TfL | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Reed’s housing plan is just the same as Thatcher’s and Blair’s

Posted on September 30, 2025 by insidecroydon

The Streatham and Croydon North MP’s cunning plan is ‘using the state balance sheet to crack open the opportunity for private profit’

Drill, baby, drill: Steve Reed has been cosplaying Donald Trump with his MAGA-style hats

The housing minister, Streatham and Croydon North MP Steve Reed, spent much of Sunday promoting himself, autographing MAGA-style hats with his ludicrous “Build, baby, build” Trumpian slogan, for his growing band of fans and the terminally hard of thinking.

It was supposedly the build-up to the speech he was to deliver at the Labour Party Annual Conference in Liverpool yesterday. But it looked very much like the launch of a potential leadership bid, in case Keir Starmer’s premiership was to fall apart any further.

Reed’s cover is his new job as Secretary of State for housing, communities and local government, and his conference speech on Monday. Continue reading →

Posted in Housing, London-wide issues, Steve Reed MP, Streatham and Croydon North | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Singing the praises of Amazing Grace, Croydon Minster, Oct 15

Posted on September 30, 2025 by insidecroydon

Amazing Grace is one of the most famous of hymns.

It was written by John Newton, who was born 300 years ago this year.

Grace Will Lead Me Home is a musical event which will celebrate Newton and his hymn, and is to be staged at Croydon Minster on Wednesday October 15, at 7pm.

The event delves into the link between this hymn and the slave trade and examines its enduring legacy and frequent use as a protest song. Two contrasting stories are told. One is about John Newton who sailed on the slave boats as a trader. The other is about Oludah Equiano, a kidnapped African who was shipped to America and sold into slavery. Continue reading →

Posted in Activities, Black History Month, Church and religions, Croydon Minster, History, Music | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Beckenham town centre closed off after massive rooftop fire

Posted on September 30, 2025 by insidecroydon

Beckenham town centre was shutdown this morning, as a fire raged on the high street, close to the Odeon cinema, which needed 10 fire engines and 70 firefighters to bring under control.

High street shutdown: the LFB are asking the public to avoid Beckenham town centre while they secure the area after the blaze

According to the London Fire Brigade: “The fire was fully affecting the roof of a mixed-use building, currently under refurbishment, as well as the first and second floors of the building. This building has sustained a significant amount of damage as a result of the fire.”

Firefighters were called out just before 8am, and crews from Beckenham, Bromley, Woodside, Forest Hill and surrounding fire stations attended. The fire was under control by 10.30am. Continue reading →

Posted in Bromley Council, London Fire Brigade, London-wide issues | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Council letters over resident permit renewals spark confusion

Posted on September 30, 2025 by insidecroydon

Healthy neighbourhood: some residents have been receiving reminders that they need to renew their exemption permits

Croydon Council is sending out renewal notice reminders for their “Healthy Neighbourhood” schemes.

The resident exemption permits last for three years. You can get up to three permits per household.

“If you live in a Healthy Neighbourhood, you can get a permit so you can drive through the area,” the council says. Continue reading →

Posted in Croydon Council, Parking | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Croydon’s dog warden hero Tara wins seventh annual award

Posted on September 30, 2025 by insidecroydon

Croydon Council’s dog warden, Tara Boswell, has been named as the winner of a prestigious RSPCA award for the seventh year in succession.

Seventh heaven: Tara Boswell, Croydon’s multi-award-winning dog warden

Local authorities and public sector organisations receive honours from the animal welfare charity as part of their PawPrints Awards.

Boswell has worked for the council for 16 years and on average helps 150 dogs each year.

She finds rescue spaces, foster and forever homes for the stray dogs Croydon collects, and has developed a network of contacts including kennels and a vet, which means stray and sick animals receive the best possible care.

The PawPrints Awards recognise public services that work in close partnership with the RSPCA to improve animal welfare standards, with those judged to have excelled recognised and celebrated as community heroes in a scheme which launched in 2008. Continue reading →

Posted in Charity, Croydon Council, RSPCA | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Energy Advice Sessions with trained advisors: all FREE

Posted on September 30, 2025 by insidecroydon

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

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Posted in Advertisement, Advertisement features, Ashburton, Business, Community associations, Croydon Community Energy, New Addington, New Addington North, Norbury, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Family Haunted House, Brown and Green Café, Oct 17-18

Posted on September 30, 2025 by insidecroydon

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

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Posted in Activities, Advertisement, Advertisement features, Business, Croydon parks, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Crystal Palace Park, Crystal Palace Park Trust | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Power problem for New Addington trams remains unresolved

Posted on September 29, 2025 by insidecroydon

Branch line: there’s been no service between Addington Village and New Addington for five days. TfL is providing a shuttle bus until the power issue is fixed

Tram passengers wanting to travel to or from New Addington could face further days of no service due to a prolonged problem with a power outage at Addington Village.

There have been no trams running on the New Addington branch for five days, since last Thursday when the whole network, from Beckenham Junction to Wimbledon via Mitcham, was shut down due to a power cut at the Therapia Lane depot. Continue reading →

Posted in Commuting, New Addington, New Addington North, TfL, Tramlink, Transport | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment