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Michael J Sales art exhibition at Croydon Clocktower, Sep 1-27
Posted in Advertisement, Art
Tagged Click Clock Gallery, Croydon Clocktower, Michael J Sales
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Shakespeares who made music part of their family business
SUNDAY SUPPLEMENT: For a century and a half, one of Croydon’s best-known firms has been funeral directors J B Shakespeare.
DAVID MORGAN delves into the Minster archives and sees the writing on the wall for that family’s musical role in the church’s community
Roll of honour: the listing of the Minster’s organists down the years
The organists’ honours board in Croydon Minster lists those who have held the post of organist for the Parish Church, as was, and later the Minster over the last 150 years (although there are one or two early omissions). Edward Shakespeare was organist and choirmaster from 1948 until 1952, known as a very proficient musician and teacher.
He was also a member of the well-known Croydon family of undertakers and funeral directors.
Taking the job as Parish Church organist must have felt like a home from home for Shakespeare after a lifetime of association with the building. Born in 1890, he was christened Edward John Shakespeare in the church, and was married there in 1915 to Elsie Read, a Waddon girl. Continue reading
Volunteers wanted for River Revive at Norbury Brook, Sep 20
Posted in Activities, Community associations, Croydon parks, Environment, Friends of Thornton Heath Rec, Norbury, Thornton Heath, Thornton Heath Community Action Team, Thornton Heath Rec, Wildlife
Tagged Friends of Norbury Brook, Friends of Thornton Heath Rec, Graham Mitchell, Norbury, Norbury Brook, River Revive Saturday, Thornton Heath
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Striders of Croydon Switchback 5, Lloyd Park, Sun Oct 5
Posted in Athletics, Croydon parks, Lloyd Park, Sport, Striders of Croydon
Tagged Croydon, Lloyd Park, Striders, Striders of Croydon, Switchback 5
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Stepping out for a slow, peaceful way to feel benefits of nature
A Croydon-based well-being initiative seeks to take the principles of Japanese ‘forest bathing’ and put them to good use in our suburban open spaces. JOHNNY DOBBYN goes mild in the country
Safety first: ParkBathe offers a range of options for its walks, including women-only sessions
During the lockdowns, one indicator of who the haves and have-nots are was people’s access to green space. So while Boris and his chancers were lounging around drinking wine in Downing Street gardens, the rest of us were getting fined thousands of pounds for having a coffee on a woodland bench or being evicted from parks by the police.
The way people were desperate to get to parks, beaches and the countryside during the lockdowns revealed a deep need to be outside, engage with nature and escape the confines of our own four walls.
Importantly, this access to nature or, at least, a patch of green is not just a “nice to have”, it’s a “must have” according to experts in mental health and well-being. Continue reading
Walcountians to celebrate Clockhouse’s diamond anniversary
One local rugby club will be celebrating a special anniversary next month. Here, OWRFC President STEVE SIMMONDS outlines the plans, recalling the day that a future Lions captain came down to Woodmansterne to help open their clubhouse
Clubhouse for Clockhouse: the building of new quarters is remembered at the club today
Wallington County School for Boys was opened in 1927, under headmaster Walter Hutchins.
In 1932, he established the Old Walcountians’ Association, so that those leaving could maintain their links with the school, and friendships.
A rugby club was quickly formed and Old Walcountians RFC was born. OWRFC had various “homes”, initially in Beddington Park, and then in Nicholas Road in Beddington. In 1959, a fire put paid to the pavilion in Nicholas Road. The headmaster offered use of the school changing rooms to help the old boys.
When Surrey County Council entered into negotiations to sell the Nicholas Road site to housebuilders, they planned to substitute 30 acres of land at Clockhouse in Woodmansterne. Continue reading
Posted in History, Old Walcountians, Rugby Union, Schools, Sport
Tagged 60th anniversary, Beddington Park, Clockhouse, Mike Campbell-Lamerton, Old Walcountians, Old Walcountians Association, Old Walcountians RFC, OWRFC, Steve Simmonds, Wallington, Wallington County Grammar School, Woodmansterne
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Friends of Streatham Common Bat Walk, Rookery Café, Sep 6
Posted in Activities, Environment, Wildlife
Tagged Bat Walk, Friends of Streatham Common, Streatham Common
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HR director’s suspension at Sutton raises serious questions
EXCLUSIVE: The six-figure-salaried council director ultimately responsible for hiring and firing staff arrived at Fisher’s Folly only after his own run-in over a disciplinary matter with another local authority, where he walked away with a pay-off of at least £90,000. By STEVEN DOWNES
A detailed investigation by this website has confirmed that Dean Shoesmith, Croydon Council’s head of human resources, spent a period on suspension while under investigation for misconduct when he held a similar top job at Sutton Council.
The formal investigation involved the handling of a staff appraisal for a junior member of staff with whom Shoesmith was at the time having an affair.
Shoesmith left Sutton Council soon after, but only after some serious negotiations involving lawyers saw their client leave his job with a pay-off of more than £90,000.
This week, Croydon Mayor Jason Perry and CEO Katherine Kerswell both refused to answer questions about whether their choice of appointee had ever declared the full circumstances surrounding his departure from Sutton Council in 2015. Continue reading
Posted in Commissioners, Croydon Council, Dean Shoesmith, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Stuart King
Tagged Cllr Stuart King, Commissioners, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Dean Shoesmith, Government Commissioners, HR, Human Resources, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Merton Council, Misconduct, Suspension, Sutton Council, Tory
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Jewish councillor quits Labour over bullying and anti-Semitism
Martin Abrams, an elected councillor in Streatham St Leonard’s ward in Steve Reed’s parliamentary constituency, has quit Labour, citing a culture of bullying and factionalism in the party.
Smeared: Martin Abrams has been frozen out of Lambeth Council by the Labour Party
Abrams is Jewish, and was suspended by the Lambeth Labour Party in early 2024 after he voted for a Town Hall motion calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
That vote was “a matter of conscience for me and I am proud I took this stance”.
More recently, Abrams was told he would not be allowed to seek selection as a Labour candidate for the 2026 local elections. In 2022, Abrams won a council seat back from the Greens in Streatham St Leonard’s.
But in a statement issued last night, he said he could no longer remain in a party that had “alienated hundreds of thousands of former Labour members and millions of voters”.
Abrams describes how he has been smeared by colleagues in Lambeth Labour as a “fake Jew”. He called that denial of his identity “one of the most disgusting things I have ever faced” in 15 years of party membership.
A leading figure in the Corbyn-supporting Momentum organisation, Abrams has pledged to continue to work for “the whole community” in Streatham as an independent councillor. Continue reading
Posted in 2026 council elections, Lambeth Council, Steve Reed MP, Streatham and Croydon North
Tagged 2026 council elections, anti-Semitism, Brixton Town Hall, Gaza, Labour, Lambeth, Lambeth council, Martin Abrams, Palestine, Steve Reed OBE, Streatham and Croydon North, Streatham St Leonard's
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Labour makes last-gasp appeal for council election candidates
With 13 of Labour’s 34 current councillors either deselected or standing down, the party has run out of volunteers for a thankless task.
WALTER CRONXITE, Political Editor, reports
Croydon Labour has run out of candidates willing to stand for the party at next May’s local elections.
An urgent appeal was sent out last night. “We are reopening nominations for members to put themselves forward to be Labour candidates in the upcoming 2026 local government elections,” read the email, signed by an unnamed “London Labour procedures secretary”.
The last-gasp appeal reflects the exodus of activists and members in the five years since Keir Starmer and David Evans took over the running of the party, as well as the growing sense of dissatisfaction among those who remain but are uneasy with the direction that Labour has been taking.
Faceless, anonymous regional party officials deselecting a handful of Croydon women councillors won’t have helped grassroots morale much, either.
Croydon Labour is only halfway through its selection process, which has been taken out of local hands and is being supervised by officials from the London region office and the National Executive Committee. Continue reading
Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Chris Clark, Croydon Council, Croydon Greens, Fairfield, Rowenna Davis, South Croydon
Tagged Ben Taylor, Cllr Rowenna Davis, Croydon, Croydon Council, Labour, Labour selections, London Borough of Croydon, National Executive Committee, NEC, Rowenna Davis, Tamar Barrett, Tamar Nwafor, Thornton Heath
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Sky-high prices force pubs to pull plug on televised football
Pub managers, landlords and landladies across Croydon have been forced to do some hurried new sums, as they face bills of £30,000 per year for a licence to show Premier League football on their bars’ televisions using Sky Sports.
Double your money: some pubs would need to sell an extra 2,000 pints a month to cover their increased Sky charges
And one popular back-street boozer, the Builders Arms on Leslie Park Road, has announced it will be pulling the plug on Sky from the end of next month.
Football on the telly is a proven and welcome business driver for pubs at a tough time for the hospitality industry. Sky Sports, which has the lion’s share of rights to Premier League matches, is planning on showing 100 more matches than ever before, with “at least” 215 live games scheduled for broadcast in the 2025-2026 season that has just started.
But to help them pay for that, Sky are squeezing publicans ever harder for the rights to show the games on their TVs. Continue reading
Posted in Addiscombe West, Business, Football, Pubs
Tagged Addiscombe, Croydon, Croydon and Sutton CAMRA, Football, Premier League, pubs, Sky Sports, Sky TV, The Builders Arms, The Spread Eagle, Whelans
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Old Palace sale completed – for £2.3m less than asking price
New term, new school: a Serenity special school will begin its lessons on the Old Palace site from next month
A special school operated by Serenity will begin to operate from the historic Old Town site from next month, after the sale was sealed by Croydon’s biggest landowners for £4.7m. By GENE BRODIE, education correspondent
The Whitgift Foundation last night confirmed that the sale of most of the Old Palace School site had been completed for £4.7million – £2.3million below the original £7million guide price for the whole site when it was placed on the market last December.
As Inside Croydon reported earlier this year, the site – which includes several heritage and listed buildings, some dating to the 1400s – has been acquired on behalf of a special educational needs school run by Serenity Education Group Ltd. Serenity will begin operating from the site in Croydon Old Town from next month.
The private Old Palace of John Whitgift School closed in July after nearly 140 years of educating girls on the site. The Foundation announced its intention to close the school in September 2023. Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Business, CPO, Education, Old Palace, Roisha Hughes, Schools, Serenity special school, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation
Tagged Archbishop John Whitgift, Archbishop of Canterbury, Croydon, Curwen Group, Hammersfield, Knight Frank, Old Palace of John Whitgift School, Old Palace School, Old Town, Roisha Hughes, Serenity Special School, Stephen Curwen, Westfield, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation
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Open House London: The White House, Norwood Grove, Sep 13
Posted in Activities, Croydon parks, London-wide issues, Norwood Grove
Tagged Croydon, Norbury, Norwood Grove, Open House London, The White House
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Farage party picked a dead woman to run for Croydon Mayor
EXCLUSIVE: Sharon Carby, aged 70, from Bradford, sadly died in 2024. But that didn’t stop Reform UK months later picking her as their Croydon mayoral candidate. By our Political Editor, WALTER CRONXITE
Millionaire grifter: Farage, looking for local Reform candidates in Croydon
Nigel Farage’s Reform UK Party is advertising for a candidate to run in Croydon’s mayoral elections next May.
The recruitment ad went out this week. Reform are looking for a replacement, because at the start of this year, they chose as their Croydon mayoral candidate a woman from Yorkshire who had been dead for nearly six months.
Despite all the hours of television airtime lavished on Farage and his lies and dog-whistle politics, Reform in south London is in something of a febrile mess, according to past and present members of Reform who – despite dire warnings – have contacted this website.
A recent council by-election victory in Bromley and the latest opinion polls might indicate that Reform could present a real challenge to the established political order in Croydon in May 2026. If only they could stop fighting amongst themselves for five minutes, splitting off to join the latest Tommy Robinson-inspired party, while managing to select a mayoral candidate who is still actually alive.
Our sources, some who have quit Reform in disgust, seem genuinely surprised that the party is a haven for right-whingers, red necks and racists. “I stayed with Reform after the General Election, but I repeatedly overheard racist remarks from local members and voters, including comments about senior Reform figures Ben Habib and Christina Jordan,” said one source. Continue reading
Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election
Tagged 2026 Croydon mayoral election, 2026 local elections, Advance Party, Ben Habib, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, David Carby, Labour, Liberal Democrats, Mayor, Mayor Jason Perry, Nigel Farage, Nik Stewert, Reform UK, Sharon Carby, Tory, Zia Yusuf
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Polluting Viridor exposed over nearly 1,000 licence breaches
There must be an election coming, as the LibDems in Sutton finally wake up to the ‘environmental disaster’ that they have inflicted on Beddington, and Croydon, as our investigations editor, CARL SHILTON, reports
Polluting plume: Viridor’s Beddington incinerator broke its licence limits 916 between 2022 and 2024
Twelve years too late, Sutton’s FibDems have finally admitted that the toxic pollution coming out of the chimneys of the Viridor incinerator at Beddington just might not be an altogether good thing for the people they are supposed to represent.
Sutton’s Liberal Democrat leadership has complained to the Environment Agency that repeat environmental offenders Viridor should be denied permission to burn even more rubbish at their Beddington plant.
After more than a decade of dodgy deals on planning and official cover-ups by the LibDem-controlled council, they have written to Steve Reed, the environment secretary, and to the Environment Agency to say that the Viridor should finally be placed under proper checks and controls, after it was revealed that the £1billion waste-burning facility had broken the terms of its licence nearly a thousand times in just 18 months.
Barry “Basher” Lewis, the Sutton Council leader, last week whizzed off a letter to the CEO of what he called “Virador” (you’d think that by now, after all Viridor’s generous donations to LibDem-supported causes and the millions of pounds paid in business rates, Lewis and his mates might at least know how to spell the company name). Continue reading
Posted in Barry Lewis, Business, Christopher Woolmer, Croydon Council, Environment, Kingston, Merton, Nick Mattey, Spencer Palmer, Sutton Council, Waste incinerator
Tagged Barry 'Basher' Lewis, Beddington, Beddington incinerator, Beddington Lane, Beddington Lane incinerator, Christopher Woolmer, Croydon, Croydon Council, Dave Tchil, Dave Tchiligirian, DEFRA, Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, EA, Environment Agency, Kingston Council, Labour, Liberal Democrats, Merton Council, Nick Mattey, Pollution, Steve Reed OBE, Sutton Council, Viridor, Viridor incinerator
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Brighton bans Boxpark founder for wearing Palestine shirt
Roger Wade, the founder of Boxpark, has been banned from Brighton and Hove Albion’s football ground just for wearing a shirt with the word “Palestine” emblazoned across the chest.
Brighton ban: Roger Wade will have to watch the next five Brighton home games in Boozepark
Wade’s complaint about his treatment – he says he’s been a Brighton season ticket-holder for 10 years – comes as the Metropolitan Police confirmed today that 67 people have been charged “for showing support for the proscribed group Palestine Action”, under Section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
Wade’s football shirt carried no such slogans, just the name of the besieged state.
A club official who led the millionaire entrepreneur away from his seat in corporate hospitality could provide no explanation for Wade’s removal, as shown in a video posted on Mr Boxpark’s LinkedIn profile.
“Unless you’ve got a problem with me wearing a Palestine football shirt, in support of the 50,000 innocent women and children who have been killed, and Brighton and Hove have an official problem with that, then I can see no reason why I cannot go to my pitch… seat,” Wade says to the club official in the video clip. Continue reading
Posted in Boxpark, Business, Football
Tagged AmEx, AmEx Stadium, Boozepark, Boxpark, Brighton, Brighton and Hove Albion, Croydon, Gaza, Palestine, Palestine Action, Roger Wade
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Kind words but no action: how Croydon MP responds on Gaza
It’s all words but no action from the Labour government over the continuing slaughter and war crimes being conducted in Gaza by the Israeli military.
Daily slaughter: the Nasser Hospital was targeted, and then bombed again when rescue workers and journalists moved in
The latest outrage came over the weekend, when Israeli forces targeted the Nasser Hospital, and then bombed it again when emergency workers moved in to try to rescue the stricken from the rubble.
Official sources say at least 19 people were killed in the deliberate, double-targeting of the hospital, including aid workers conducting a rescue mission and four journalists reporting on the attack.
All Britain’s Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, did was tweet a few platitudes, saying he was “horrified”. Continue reading
Now Kerswell’s deputy CEO joins the rush for council exits
EXCLUSIVE: To lose one of her trusted inner circle might be unfortunate for Croydon chief exec Katherine Kerswell, but to lose two is beginning to look like an exodus. By STEVEN DOWNES
Elaine Jackson, the senior council executive who Croydon CEO Katherine Kerswell appointed to ride shot-gun with her when she took charge at Fisher’s Folly almost five years ago, is the latest high-paid council employee to jump ship following the government’s appointment of Commissioners to take over at the basketcase authority.
West’s move was quickly interpreted by some Katharine Street sources as being the first sign of the impact of Commissioners, and also a signal that time may be running out for chief exec Kerswell. Continue reading
Posted in Abi Brown, Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Debbie Warren, Elaine Jackson, Ged Curran, Improvement Board, Jackie Belton, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan
Tagged Abi Brown, Bexley, Commissioner, Conservative, Council Tax, Council transformation, Croydon, Croydon Council, Debbie Warren, Elaine Jackson, Ged Curran, Greenwich, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Panel, Jackie Belton, James Blythe, Jane West, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Merton, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, S151 Officer, Section 114 Notice, Tory, Transformation plan
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Croydon College names Shawcross as new chair of governors
Val Shawcross, a former leader of Croydon Council, London Assembly Member and deputy mayor of London, has been named as the new chair of governors for Croydon College.
College challenge: Val Shawcross
Most recently, Shawcross was the chief executive in charge of the Crystal Palace Park Trust, the community organisation she had helped from its formation, when it took over the lease for the historic park from Bromley Council.
“I’ve seen Croydon struggling with growing economic and social challenges and worrying threats to our young people’s well-being,” Shawcross said today.
“It’s vital that an important institution like Croydon College and Coulsdon Sixth Form College encourage and support as many young people as possible through useful education and training. We need to help them build better lives for themselves as well as equip them with confidence and skills for success.
“I can’t think of a more important place to spend my time and effort in my retirement than in supporting Croydon’s terrific college and investing in our fantastic, talented and upcoming generation. My hope is to see more of Croydon’s young people realise their ambitions and enjoy happy lives and worthwhile careers.
“There’s nothing more important for our town.” Continue reading
Chilli challenge raises the heat at Pampisford Road Allotments
The summer could end with a real scorcher this weekend, when the Pampisford Road Allotments stage a chilli eating challenge at their annual open day.
Seven levels of heat: can anyone survive the Pampisford Road Allotments’ challenge this Sunday?
The allotment society is holding the event this Sunday, August 31, as a bit of fun, and to celebrate the vast diversity of crops that can be grown on the allotments.
“We have a site with over 180 plots and many diverse cultures and styles of gardening are represented here,” said Tana Akson, the chair of the allotment society’s committee.
“It means that walking around the plots you can catch glimpses of okra, callaloo, sweet potatoes and chow chow – which also goes by the names chayote, choko in Australia and New Zealand, chocho in Jamaica, and maerakkai in Tamil Nadu – being grown alongside carrots, potatoes and onions. Continue reading
‘Busted’: Mayor’s video shows rubbish contractors are failing
Piled high: the scene on George Street in Croydon town centre, just a short walk from the town hall. ‘Perry’s Piles’ have become commonplace in Croydon under the Tory Mayor
PERRY’S PILES: Council bosses accused of making Croydon’s fly-tipping crisis worse with their ‘banded’ collection system. ‘The council has completely lost control,’ says one campaigner.
By our Town Hall reporter, KEN LEE
The lights are on but no one’s at home: Mayor’s little video nasty shows him talking to… no one
Jason Perry, Croydon’s failed Mayor, has given up on Veolia, barely six months since handing the rubbish contractors a £40million long-term contract to keep the borough’s streets clean and tidy.
Perhaps he’s seen his Conservative Party colleague, Chris Philp, become something of a “video star”, with social media clips showing the Tory MP making a nuisance and a fool of himself, thrusting microphones into the faces of random individuals he confronts in the streets.
More likely, piss-poor Perry will have been spurred into action after seeing another video nasty, with Rowenna Davis, his Labour rival for Mayor of Croydon next year, pedalling her bicycle around the borough and pointing at piles of rubbish here and there.
Yes, we are into the peak local election campaign period, and can expect another nine months of this puerile nonsense, which some describe disparagingly as “pothole politics”. Continue reading
Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Broad Green, Community associations, Crime, Croydon Council, Environment, Fly tipping, Mayor Jason Perry, Norbury, Property, Refuse collection, Steve Iles, Thornton Heath, Veolia
Tagged #Binmageddon, 2026 Croydon mayoral election, Big Belly Bins, Chris Philp MP, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Croydon High Street, Enforcement, George Street, Labour, Litter Free Norbury, London Borough of Croydon, London Road, Mayor Jason Perry, Neighbourhood Safety Officers, Norbury, North End, Rubbish contractor, Thornton Heath, Tony Hooker, Tory, Veolia
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