Paths of Separations author to meet Page Turners club

Posted on July 2, 2016 by insidecroydon

GUY CLAPPERTON on the next meeting of the South Norwood book club, Page Turners, when the book’s author will be at the event

Paths of Separations… and that was another fine meeting with numbers up a bit from last time.

The consensus among us was that the book we chose for June, The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson was a little lukewarm (with a hat-tip to Joel who liked it, and thought it very good value for the 20p he paid for it). A number of people told me online that they liked the book – it would have been good to see more of its fans on the day.

Maybe next time – when we’ll be discussing Paths of Separations by new member Gulshan Ul Amin, who joined us for the evening. Feeling brave enough to discuss a book in front of its author? She’s brave enough to take it!

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Drawing Grangewood Park, South Norwood, Jul 10

Posted on July 2, 2016 by insidecroydon

Drawing the line Continue reading →

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Batty looking to his batsmen to keep Surrey in the running

Posted on July 1, 2016 by insidecroydon

HOOK SHOT: Surrey’s struggles in the County Championship continue, but their skipper tells MARCUS HOOK that a win over Nottinghamshire shows a change in form

With the cricket season now at its halfway stage, Gareth Batty is the first to admit that Surrey have not adjusted to life back in Division One of the County Championship as swiftly as they had hoped. Injuries have played their part, as has the weather.

Bowled over: Surrey skipper Garteh Batty admits his side has struggled in the top tier so far

Bowled over: Surrey skipper Gareth Batty admits his side has struggled in the top tier so far

But following his side’s resounding 228-run victory over Nottinghamshire, the veteran off-spinner has reminded the other teams that Surrey generally come into their own at the back end of the campaign.

“Traditionally, we’re a better second half of the season team than the first half,” said the Surrey skipper. “That’s something we’ve tried to address, but we still haven’t got it right. Hopefully, we’ll revert to type now and we’ll play good cricket for the rest of the season and get a few more championship wins under our belts.

“The step back up to Division One hasn’t taken us by surprise. There are some very skilful players in Division Two as there are in Division One, but the difference is people don’t give you anything in Division One. You have to work for every run and you have to work for every wicket, you don’t get too many freebies. Continue reading →

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Park Hill Schools’ Summer Fair, Stanhope Road, Jul 9

Posted on July 1, 2016 by insidecroydon

Park Hill School summer fair

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100 years on from the start of the Somme: We remember them

Posted on July 1, 2016 by insidecroydon

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Council’s £180,000 chief executive job goes to insider Negrini

Posted on June 30, 2016 by insidecroydon

Croydon’s supposedly Labour-controlled council has, for the second time in a couple of years, managed to appoint an insider to its most senior job, as Tony Newman, the council leader, announced tonight that Jo Negrini has landed the £180,000 chief executive post.

Jo Negrini: eased into council top job

Jo Negrini: eased into council top job

Negrini succeeds Nathan Elvery, who took over as CEO just two years ago without any recruitment process having taken place at all.

Australian-born Negrini joined Croydon in 2013 as executive director in charge of planning and development, having previously worked closely with Australian shopping mall developers Westfield on one of their earlier London projects at Stratford, when she was employed by Newham council.

The confirmation of the inevitable was issued in a council press release just before 7pm. In April, when Elvery’s departure was announced, Inside Croydon reported that “some would regard…” Negrini’s appointment “…as effectively completing Westfield’s takeover of the borough.”

Tonight, a council insider warned, “Jo’s position might be untenable were the various regeneration developments not come to fruition.”

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Posted in "Hammersfield", Brick by Brick, Business, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Nathan Elvery, Tony Newman, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

White calls for apology after ‘grossly unfair’ Labour suspension

Posted on June 30, 2016 by insidecroydon

David White, the erstwhile secretary of the Croydon Central Constituency Labour Party who has had his membership suspended for two months without being informed what offence he is alleged to have committed nor who are his accusers, has written to the party’s general secretary demanding immediate reinstatement and an apology.

Lawyer David White: has doubts about the undertakings given to the council

David White: still waiting to hear from Labour Party

White’s letter was sent today to Iain McNicol, Labour’s senior most administrator. It follows the publication of a report by Shami Chakrabarti into the issue of anti-Semitism in the Labour Party. Chakrabarti, the lawyer and former head of the human rights body Liberty, conducted the inquiry following the suspensions of Naz Shah MP and Ken Livingstone.

Chakrabarti’s report stated, “Critical and abusive reference to any particular person or group based on actual or perceived physical characteristics cannot be tolerated”, and its recommendations included that Labour politicians should “resist the use of Hitler, Nazi and Holocaust metaphors, distortions and comparisons”. Continue reading →

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It’s May’s day in Croydon as Conservative MPs snub Boris

Posted on June 30, 2016 by insidecroydon

WALTER CRONXITE, our political editor, who has not slept since June 22, reports on the latest shenanigans from the borough’s elected representatives at the Palace of Varieties

Chris Philp and Gavin Barwell, Croydon’s two Conservative MPs, have today come out in support of the Home Secretary, Theresa May, in her campaign to become the next leader of the Tory Party, and therefore the next Prime Minister of Little England (formerly known as Great Britain).

Croydon South MP Chris Philp appears to have backed a winning candidate in Theresa May

Croydon South MP Chris Philp appears to have backed a winning candidate in Theresa May

Or maybe they haven’t.

It was Harold Wilson who said that “a week’s a long time in politics”. But the former Labour PM was speaking in an age before we had landed a man on the moon, when there were still steam trains and there was still something called “British industry”. In these days of Snapchat, British astronauts and Periscope, it seems that more happens in five 2016 minutes than might have happened in seven leisurely paced days in the 1960s.

Thus this morning’s announcement that Michael “I’m not capable of being Prime Minister” Gove would be running for the Tory leadership, followed immediately by Boris Johnson’s late-late decision not to enter the contest, has managed to add the latest dramatic double-twist to a week in which the nation’s politics appears to be on the brink of complete collapse. Continue reading →

Posted in 2016 EU referendum, Chris Philp MP, Croydon Central, Croydon North, Croydon South, Gavin Barwell, Steve Reed MP | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Police warn minorities to ‘stay vigilant’ against hate crimes

Posted on June 30, 2016 by insidecroydon

Muslims and other minority groups in Croydon have been warned by the police to “stay vigilant” and report hate crime following a spike of racist attacks after the Leave result in last week’s EU Referendum.

Many people have taken to wearing a safety pin as a symbol to their opposition to post-Brexit bigotry, racism and xenophobia

Many people have taken to wearing a safety pin as a symbol to their opposition to post-Brexit bigotry, racism and xenophobia

The Muslim Association of Croydon said ast week’s vote for Brexit has “legitimised the environment of hate that already exists for Muslims in Croydon”. They have asked Croydon police and Croydon Council to take urgent steps to safeguard the community.

True Vision, a police-funded hate-crime-reporting website, noted a 57 per cent increase in reporting between Thursday and Sunday, compared with the same period last month.  Stop Hate UK, a reporting charity, has also seen an increase, while Tell Mama, an organisation tackling Islamophobia, which usually deals with 40-45 reports a month, received 33 within 72 hours.

Reports of xenophobia and racism have mounted quickly since the weekend. These have included the firebombing of a halal butchers in Walsall, attacks on Italian-run shops, graffiti on the entrance to POSK, the community centre founded by Polish Battle of Britain pilots in west London and laminated cards reading: “No more Polish vermin” being distributed near a school in Huntingdon, including being handed to some children.

According to sociologists, this is something called “celebratory racism”. Less academic types might describe it as all-too-ready bigotry and ignorance.

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Posted in 2016 EU referendum, Andy Tarrant, Church and religions, Community associations, London-wide issues, Marina Ahmad, Policing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Immortal Machinery night at Scream Lounge, Jul 23

Posted on June 30, 2016 by insidecroydon

23rd July at the Scream Lounge Continue reading →

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Croydon, June 2016: ‘Farage Lies’ and the signs of our times

Posted on June 30, 2016 by insidecroydon

Taberner House hoarding

We live in interesting times.

One week on from what someone like Roosevelt might have described as “the Referendum that will go down in infamy”, and the graffiti artists who have been daubing the hoarding around what was once Taberner House, the council office tower, have got to work with a new message. Continue reading →

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Waddon school pupils get chance to eat as they learn

Posted on June 29, 2016 by insidecroydon

By Trees for cities

Croydon’s new Mayor tended to his roots in more ways than one when he came to open St Giles’s School’s edible garden today.

Councillor Wayne Trakas-Lawlor got in some good spade work to bed down a tree planted to mark his visit to open a garden that will allow the school’s children, who have complex needs, to enjoy touching, cultivating and eating fresh produce that they have grown themselves. Continue reading →

Posted in Andrew Pelling, Education, Environment, Gardening, Schools, South Norwood, St Giles' School, Waddon, Wayne Lawlor | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Poets Anonymous, Wandle Park bandstand, Jul 2

Posted on June 29, 2016 by insidecroydon

Poets Anonymous

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Croydon’s industrial history walk, Wandle Park, Jul 3

Posted on June 29, 2016 by insidecroydon

Waddon Park walk Continue reading →

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Time for us all to act against London’s invisible killer

Posted on June 28, 2016 by insidecroydon

CROYDON COMMENTARY: Thousands of Londoners die each year because of an environmental issue which our MPs, councillors and London Mayor seem unwilling to do anything about. CONNIE MINTON says it is long overdue that we demanded action over this public health scandal

Nearly 9,500 people in London die every year due to contaminated drinking water.

Do I have your attention now?

Shape of things to come: the plans for Westfield could make queuing in the underpass routine

Choking the town centre: there’s more traffic heading for central Croydon, where air pollution levels are often dangerously high

That opening statement is, of course, untrue. The truth is, cryptosporidium infected 231 people in Wales in 2005 and the water company faced immediate fines and restrictions and every trace of the bug was removed before it was deemed safe for human consumption. We drink on average 2 to 3 litres of water every day. Ever since John Snow traced the 1854 cholera outbreak to a water pump in Broad Street and contributed to the idea of environmental impact on the health of the public, we recognise that clean drinking water is a fundamental public health issue.

Yet 9,500 people in London do die every year because of an environmental impact upon their health. Not because of the water they drink, but because of the air that they breathe.26

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Posted in "Hammersfield", Chris Philp MP, Croydon Council, Environment, Gavin Barwell, Health, Mayor of London, Planning, Sadiq Khan, Steve Reed MP, TfL, Transport, Waste incinerator, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

‘Prominent’ Tory whip is accused of back-stabbing Boris

Posted on June 28, 2016 by insidecroydon

WALTER CRONXITE umasks an MP who is reported to be using the “dark arts” of the whips’ office to try to stop Boris Johnson becoming Prime Minister

"A prominent London MP who is a Tory whip": Not Francis Urquhart

A prominent London MP who is a Tory whip:  Francis Urquhart is more than a work of fiction

Tonight’s Evening Standard is reporting how the Tory whips’ office in Westminster is trying to stop Boris Johnson from making it on to the ballot for the Conservative leadership election.

If there was any doubt that our MPs can be a venal, untrustworthy and back-stabbing lot, then this news report offers proof positive that Game of Cards‘ portrayal of Francis Urquhart was more a work of documentary than drama.

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Posted in 2016 EU referendum, Boris Johnson, Croydon Central, Gavin Barwell | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Environment campaigners take protest to Viridor shareholders

Posted on June 28, 2016 by insidecroydon

The Stop the South London Incinerator Campaign is staging a demonstration in Beddington Lane tomorrow evening, June 29.

Don't gas our kidsProtestors will be gathering on the public footpaths outside the entrance to the Viridor incinerator site before a photo-call at 7pm.

The organisers say that “This will be a peaceful protest”, with participants gathering on the public footpaths near the Viridor Incinerator entrance, not far from the Beddington Lane tram stop. The demonstration comes a couple of days before the annual meeting for shareholders of Viridor’s parent company, The Pennon Group, in Exeter at 11am on Friday. Continue reading →

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Former Palace player Southgate tipped for England job

Posted on June 28, 2016 by insidecroydon

REG E DWIGHT, our man on the terraces with the star-shaped glasses and a copy of When Saturday Comes tucked under his arm, reports on the consequences of our exit from Europe. Plus the latest Selhurst Park transfer news, including a shock £31m bid for Belgian striker

Gareth Southgate: well-suited to the FA

Gareth Southgate: well-suited to the FA

Gareth Southgate, the former Crystal Palace captain, has been installed as the bookies’ favourite to be the next England manager.

It will be a case of a Palace player succeeding a Croydon man if it comes to pass, as many believe that Southgate, the successful England under-20s coach, is lined up to succeed Roy Hodgson after the latter’s prompt resignation last night following the abject 2-1 defeat to Iceland in Nice in the last 16 stage of the European championships.

The veteran Hodgson’s contract was up for renewal after the championships in any case, and as he had been stating as a mantra before the game, “This is a results business”. And England’s results under Hodgson in major tournaments had been underwhelming. Despite going unbeaten through 10 qualifying games, come Euro 2016, England produced lacklustre and uninspired performances, with draws against Russia and Slovakia particularly demoralising.

Last night, it was like watching Iceland against Poundland, as a team drawn from an island in the north Atlantic with a population of less than Croydon’s and coached by a part-time dentist demonstrated greater skill, organisation and desire than Hodgson’s seemingly random selection of Premier League millionaires.

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Bookings open now for summer holiday Bikeability courses

Posted on June 28, 2016 by insidecroydon

Cycling courses

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Waterlogged park forces organisers to cancel village fair

Posted on June 27, 2016 by insidecroydon

The very wet spring and early summer has claimed a casualty in Old Coulsdon, where this Saturday’s Village Fair has had to be postponed because Grange Park is waterlogged.

Old Coulsdon signThe event is organised by The Rotary Club of Coulsdon Manor and 2016 would have been the 20th annual fair. Without any insurance against bad weather, the charity fund-raisers in the local Rotary Club will incur some costs, though they hope to have a chance to recoup those losses later this year.

“It is hoped to reschedule the fair at a date in September,” David Caddick, from the Rotary Club’s organisers, said.

“Up to 100 charities attend the event and raise varying amounts of money, and between 2,000 and 3,000 members of the public support the event. Over the last 19 years we calculate that somewhere between £200,000 and £300,000 has been raised for charity at this event.

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MP Reed never consulted us on Corbyn, say Labour members

Posted on June 27, 2016 by insidecroydon

Steve Reed OBE, the Progress MP for Lambeth South/Croydon North [delete to taste] waited until this morning before joining the exodus of right wingers from the Labour Party’s shadow cabinet, issuing a letter announcing that he is resigning from his junior position in the local government team, he says because of concerns about Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership.

Progress: Steve Reed OBE

Progress: Steve Reed OBE

But members of his own constituency party say that Reed’s letter is at best is disingenuous, and at worst includes an outright lie.

“We had the Croydon North Constituency Labour Party annual meeting on Friday night, when members asked Reed about the threats against the leader,” said one activist who was present. “He refused to discuss the matter, saying that there was a meeting at Westminster on Monday and he would talk about it with parliamentary colleagues there.”

In his resignation letter, Reed has written that he made his decision, “After consulting my local constituency party…”

The CLP meeting was well-attended by members, including some Croydon councillors. Those who were there have told Inside Croydon, “He certainly didn’t discuss the party leadership with us.

“The CLP annual meeting would seem to be the ideal place for the MP to discuss such an issue with members. Last year, it was where Croydon North members voted democratically to support Jeremy Corbyn’s nomination for the leadership. Yet this year, Reed did not want to discuss the matter with party members.”

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Posted in Catriona Ogilvy, Croydon North, Steve Reed MP | Tagged , , , | 12 Comments

Purley paddler’s 400-mile journey highlights plastic pollution

Posted on June 26, 2016 by insidecroydon
Water, water everywhere... Lizzie Carr got a soaking in the rain on the Thames on the first week of her paddle board challenge, but still completed her 400-mile journey

Water, water everywhere… Lizzie Carr got a soaking in the rain on the Thames on the first week of her paddle board challenge, but still completed her 400-mile journey

Lizzie Carr, the Purley woman backed by the Ordnance Survey to travel the length of England using a paddle board on the country’s waterways, has completed her epic journey, and made some very worrying discoveries.

Inside Croydon was the first to report on Carr’s intended adventure in March.

What Carr did not reveal at the time of the project’s launch was how she came to take up paddle boarding two years ago: she chose it as a low-impact form of exercise after being diagnosed with cancer.

“After being diagnosed with cancer the water was where I could gather my thoughts, seek comfort and find restoration,” she said after finishing her journey. “Paddle boarding was an important part of my recovery process and was where I found happiness and perspective during a difficult time.”

And last month – one of the wettest Mays since weather records began – Carr duly set off from outside Godalming, on the River Wey Navigation, heading for Kendal in Cumbria, 400 miles away, the longest stretch of continuous waterway in the country, and all powered by nothing other than her own paddle. Continue reading →

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Last Mum2Mum Market sale of summer, Bingham Road, Jul 16

Posted on June 26, 2016 by insidecroydon

What the Mum2Mum Market organisers are calling “The Last Sale of Summer” is being held in Addiscombe on July 16.

Mum2MumStaged at Our Lady’s Annunciation Church, 147 Bingham Road, CR0 7EN, from 10am to noon, at this sales event, run by mums for mum, there will be hundreds of great bargains on everything from used and nearly-new pushchairs, prams, clothes, toys, books, car seats, plus many other items.

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Mitre Players’ family affair promises to go like clockwork

Posted on June 25, 2016 by insidecroydon

Megan Brown hopes everything goes like clockwork when she steps on stage for the Mitre Players’ new production next month.

Colin Warnock and Megan Brown in the Mitre Players production of The Clockmaker's Daughter. Photo: Charles Marriott

Colin Warnock and Megan Brown in the Mitre Players production of The Clockmaker’s Daughter. Photo: Charles Marriott

Brown plays Constance, the titular character in The Clockmaker’s Daughter, which the amdram group will perform in the open-air Courtyard Theatre at Croydon High School in Old Farleigh Road, Selsdon, from July 13-15 at 7.30pm, with a Saturday matinee performance at 2.30pm on July 16.

It’s a chance for Croydon audiences to see the show before it travels to the prestigious Cornish clifftop theatre, the Minack, in August. Continue reading →

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Brexit uncertainties could mean a crisis for Croydon’s face lift

Posted on June 24, 2016 by insidecroydon

In the aftermath of yesterday’s EU Referendum, WALTER CRONXITE finds some senior figures close to the £1.4bn Whitgift Centre redevelopment feeling very nervous about its prospects

“The real fear now must be that Westfield walk away. They’ve done it before, after all. Look at Bradford.”

An artist's representation of how the new shopping centre may, or may not, look

The Hammersfield mall first proposed for Croydon. Brexit might put all plans on hold

That’s the view of a senior Croydon figure, closely connected with the council and familiar with the proposals to build a £1.4billion supermall to replace the Whitgift Centre, after the announcement this morning that the British public had voted to quit the European Union in yesterday’s referendum.

For one of Croydon’s three Remain-supporting MPs, Steve Reed OBE, the referendum outcome is nothing short of a “crisis”.

“It’s a crisis,” the Croydon North MP told the Croydon Guardian. “It’s a political, economic and constitutional crisis – but it’s one the British people have voted for.”

The thing is, the crisis could be a lot closer to home than anyone in Croydon imagined when going to the polling stations yesterday.

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Posted in "Hammersfield", 2016 EU referendum, Business, Croydon Central, Croydon Council, Croydon North, Gavin Barwell, Jo Negrini, Nathan Elvery, Planning, Steve Reed MP, Tony Newman, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 27 Comments