London Mozart Players make the move to Upper Norwood

The London Mozart Players are moving offices next month to St John the Evangelist in Upper Norwood.

The London Mozart Players' performing at the Fairfield Halls

The London Mozart Players’ performing at the Fairfield Halls

With the temporary closure of the Fairfield Halls, the current location of their administration office, “this move will see the LMP become a community-located orchestra”, the Mozart Players say.

“The orchestra will create a new concert series and further develop their community and education programme LMP Voyager,” they say. Continue reading

Posted in Art, Church and religions, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Fairfield Halls, London Mozart Players, Music | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Europe vote is proof we have reached an inflection point

Still undecided about how to vote in tomorrow’s EU Referendum? Don’t know who to believe? How about taking a step back and getting a dispassionate, independent view?

Inside Croydon asked three American academics, in London to observe the process, JOHN SHIVELY, JACK VAN DAM and Dr MARK PETERSON, for their take on tomorrow’s generational decision

This year may be one of those “inflection points” social pundits blather about, we Americans living through the explosion of Donald Trump decided to examine whether Brexit will create a similar inflection point here in Britain with tomorrow’s Referendum over the UK’s European Union membership.

European referendumHere’s what we knew before we arrived:

In January 2013 Prime Minister David Cameron made the unexpected announcement of a referendum on the EU question in reaction to a dissident element of the Conservative Party, rising UKIP popularity, and the Scottish separatist threat.

It would be hard to imagine an American politician winning by such a large margin, as David Cameron did in 2015 and then following through on such a risky commitment.

However, British political rules are different. It appears that David Cameron violated the Chinese proverb, “Be careful what you wish for, you may get it”.

Continue reading

Posted in 2016 EU referendum | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

#FindRobbie: Police are ‘growing increasingly concerned’

3pm UPDATE: It is now more than a week since Robbie Gibson left his Crystal Palace home to “walk off the adrenaline”, and has not been back since, leaving his family and friends increasingly anxious about his well-being.

At lunchtime today, the police published news of a sighting of Gibson last Monday, travelling to the Isle of Wight.

Robbie Gibson, right, at the opening of the Sensible Garden in South Norwood, with Captain Sensible

Robbie Gibson, right, at the opening of the Sensible Garden in South Norwood, with Captain Sensible

Well-known as a leading figure in the Save Upper Norwood Library campaign and closely involved in other community activities, including the Sensible Garden and the Crystal Palace Saturday market, Gibson’s absence has caused the missing persons unit at Lambeth police to say that they are “growing increasingly concerned”.

Gibson had been unwell for a few weeks since taking part in the Carnegie Library occupation in April.

Gibson’s many friends and Crystal Palace community groups have in the past week led a high-profile awareness campaign, including four organised searches across the weekend, covering parks in and around Crystal Palace, as well as leafleting at railway terminuses in central London. Continue reading

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Wandle Wander heritage walk, Wandle Park, Jun 25

Wandle Wander Continue reading

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Rugby club helps new players keep their tackles safe

“Safety first” is perhaps not the “sexiest” message for a publicity drive, but down on the fringes of Croydon, Warlingham rugby club has adopted exactly that approach by ordering a job lot of branded condoms to hand out to new recruits who turn up for their pre-season training sessions.

Safe tackles are sure to be included in the Warlingham coaches’ weekly training routines.

WRFC Condoms!“In the past we’ve used posters and other advertising campaigns to recruit players,” said Peter Mattison, the club chairman.

“But we really wanted to get the Warlingham RFC name out there and what better way than to use our brand to promote both the club and a socially responsible attitude?

“We know it’s a bit on the edge but as long as young men and women who may want to play rugby see this as an amusing way to catch their attention and join the Warlingham family then job done!”

In the club’s 95th year, Warlingham are training throughout the summer at their Hamsey Green ground, near Sanderstead, on Wednesday evenings starting at 7.30pm for men, women, and older age groups of boys and girls. Continue reading

Posted in Chris Robshaw, Rugby Union, Warlingham RFC | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Charity walk is our chance to make a difference, says Day

Kevin Day, the stand-up comedian, scriptwriter and football pundit, is calling on the people of Croydon to turn up in force on Sunday to help raise as much money as possible for Mind in Croydon, the local mental health charity.

Kevin Day: Help Mind in Croydon raise much-needed funds with a walk in the park

Kevin Day: Help Mind in Croydon raise much-needed funds with a walk in the park

And Day’s even volunteering to make the tea for all the event’s finishers.

Positive Steps is the charity’s annual sponsored walk around Lloyd Park, now in its third year, where Day will be acting as the official starter and encouraging participants to have a healthy Sunday stroll in a very worthy cause.

“I think we’ve all realised that the more public spending on mental health services is cut, the more those services are actually needed,” Day told Inside Croydon.

“We are very lucky in our area to have the services of Croydon Mind, a resource I know from experience that provides fantastic support for those struggling to cope with a range of mental health and psychological issues. Continue reading

Posted in Activities, Charity, Croydon parks, Lloyd Park, Mind in Croydon | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Council leader complains to Surrey over its rubbish ‘exports’

Croydon Tories are campaigning against the Conservative Government’s austerity cuts, in particular those which have seen this borough importing rubbish in the back of wealthy Surrey residents’ 4x4s, causing long queues and inconvenience at our local dumps.

Tony Newman: We don't want Surrey exporting its rubbish to Croydon

Tony Newman: We don’t want Surrey exporting its rubbish to Croydon

Surrey, which has a Conservative-controlled county council, “exported” up to 200 tons of its residents’ rubbish to Croydon in April this year – mainly because the county council that borders our borough has reduced its own recycling centres’ opening times in a money-saving measure caused by Government cuts.

Inside Croydon reported on the underlining reasons for the waste centre queues more than a month ago, here.

This reality is a bit awkward for Croydon’s Conservatives, who launched a campaign stating that, “Queues have been growing at recycling centres across Croydon, with residents reportedly spending up to an hour waiting to deliver their waste”. The inconvenience, Croydon’s Tories claimed, was “causing frustration, anger but also long traffic delays”.

The ever-opportunistic Croydon Tories tried to link the dump queues to the introduction of charges for green waste collections from Croydon homes. But the hard facts show that the real cause of the lengthy queues is Surrey residents, driving into Croydon to dump their crap because their own county council has closed its waste-management centres for upgrades or to save a bit of cash. Continue reading

Posted in Business, Croydon Council, Environment, Outside Croydon, Refuse collection, Stuart Collins, Surrey, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Sutton LibDem councillor resigns over financial allegations

A Liberal Democrat councillor in Sutton has resigned his seat after allegations of misappropriating client funds were made against him. According to the leader of Sutton council, the matter is being considered by the police.

Now former Sutton councillor Alan Salter. He is facing a police investigation

The now former Sutton councillor Alan Salter. He is facing a police investigation

Alan Salter, elected as a councillor for Carshalton Central in 2010 and, until very recently, the chair of the influential scrutiny committee on the council, stood down a week ago.

Sutton LibDems failed to announce the move immediately.

It is probably only coincidence, but the incinerator-friendly LibDems who control Sutton and who are so opposed to using landfill on this occasion appear to have managed to “bury bad news”, so that it did not overshadow the borough-wide celebrations which followed the news that the council leader, Ruth Dombey, had been awarded the OBE in the Queen’s Birthday honours.

A terse statement posted on the Sutton LibDem website says: “Alan Salter has resigned from the council following financial allegations made against him. 

“He is seeking legal advice on the allegations made.” The statement omits to mention that the matter is in the hands of the police.

Continue reading

Posted in Environment, Niall Bolger, Ruth Dombey, Sutton Council, Tom Brake MP, Waste incinerator | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Bolshoi Ballet, Amy Johnson and mammoth teeth all on display

The Croydon Natural History and Scientific Society is staging a series of events this week, its contribution to the Croydon Heritage Festival.

The Bolshoi Ballet performed in London in 1956, including at Croydon's Davis THeatre

The Bolshoi Ballet performed in London in 1956, including at Croydon’s Davis THeatre

On Tuesday, June 21, there is a talk by Carole Roberts, starting at 7.30pm at Fairfield Halls, and focusing on three anniversary years (1936, 1946, 1956) in the life of the Croydon’s Davis Theatre, in the days when the town’s major arts venue was able to attract companies with the global reputation of the Bolshoi Ballet.

The talk is free and no booking is necessary.

On Thursday, June 23, at the Clocktower at 3pm, Celia Bailey gives a talk on “The Housing Question in Croydon”, charting the history of slum clearance in the town centre and the provision of the first council houses by the borough and the LCC. Again, this is a free event and there is no need to book. Further details can be found here. Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Natural History and Scientific Society, Education, History, Museum of Croydon, Whitgift Foundation | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Crystal Palace Foundation sport and homework sessions

Kicks

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Posted in Activities, Addiscombe West, Charity, Community associations, Crystal Palace FC, Education, Football, New Addington, Shirley North, Sport | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

NHS patient and public involvement forum, Jul 6

The next NHS Croydon Clinical Commissioning Group Patient and Public Involvement Forum on Wednesday July 6.

NHS LOGOThe Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) Forum is an opportunity for NHS Croydon CCG to share ideas with the public and learn from residents’ knowledge and experiences of local health and care services. “This learning helps us to shape the healthcare services we buy to meet the needs of our local residents,” the organisers say. Continue reading

Posted in Croydon CCG, Health | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Minster tours that offer a journey back in American history

One of Anglo-American Copley's famous heroic works, The Death of Major Pierson

One of Anglo-American Copley’s famous heroic works, The Death of Major Pierson

John Singleton Copley, arguably the greatest Colonial American portrait painter, who died in 1815, is buried in Croydon Minster churchyard. His son, who became Lord Lyndhurst, was a successful British politician becoming Chancellor of the Exchequer three times.

This, and other Croydon local history links with War of Independence period America, are among some of the discoveries possible in  talks being given at Croydon Minster this week as part of the Croydon Heritage Festival. Continue reading

Posted in Activities, Art, Croydon Minster, Education, History | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Morgan goes ahead with Brexit event despite killing of Cox

Across the country, with less than a week to go before the EU Referendum, and all political campaigning has been shut down since Thursday’s shocking killing of Labour MP Jo Cox.

Jo Cox MP: only in Coulsdon has the suspension of political activity not been observed

Jo Cox MP RIP: only in Coulsdon has the suspension of political activity not been observed following her death

Except in Coulsdon, where a community hall event organised by Peter Morgan, a far-right activist, went ahead with the attendance and blessing of two senior Croydon Conservative politicians, MP Chris Philp and London Assembly member Steve O’Connell.

The staging of the event less than 36 hours after Cox’s death has been described as “distasteful” by one Croydon councillor.

Morgan is a notorious local campaigner on road and motoring issues who has long lobbied for Britain’s exit from Europe.

But he was expelled from UKIP for his “disruptive” behaviour and kicked out of the local Tories for breaking party rules when he was discovered to hold membership cards of two political parties at the same time.

Continue reading

Posted in 2016 EU referendum, Chris Philp MP, Coulsdon, Croydon South, East Coulsdon Residents' Association, Steve O'Connell, Tom Brake MP | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

#FindRobbie: Search groups organise to look for Gibson

Community groups and friends of Robbie Gibson, the popular local figure in the Crystal Palace area who went missing on Monday, are organising volunteer search parties and leafleting teams tomorrow, Saturday June 18, to try to locate him.

Robert GibsonThe 45-year-old journalist and library campaigner was last seen when he went for a walk from his Gipsy Hill home around 3pm on Monday. His mobile phone’s last signal was traced to somewhere near East Croydon Station less than an hour later.

Gibson is 45 years old. When he went missing he was wearing a Barbour-style coat, is 6ft tall, with silver-grey hair.

Ruth Bannister, one of the volunteer organisers, said this afternoon, “We’ve had an absolutely massive response to this from both the local and wider community, people volunteering their time to leaflet at stations and in local areas, sharing on social media and raising awareness.

“This weekend we are keen to cover the local parks and green spaces that Robbie loves. We are looking to arrange for groups of volunteers to leaflet and search these areas. Continue reading

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

Kenley, Old Coulsdon and Purley placed on flooding alert

The Government’s Flood Information Service has issued a flood alert for large parts of Croydon, including areas of Kenley and Purley which were under water for weeks in early 2014.

The flooding on the A22 Godstone Road on Thursday

In 2014, the Godstone Road was closed by flooding for more than a week. A flood alert has been issued for the area today

Issued just after 10am today, the alerts for the Caterham Bourne and River Wandle catchment areas are “based on a forecast of heavy rainfall for the area.

“Presently the forecast indicates the catchment could receive up to 30mm in one hour and the potential for 50mm in two hours. These totals could lead to surface water flooding and cause the river to respond and overtop banks. Flood warnings will be issued if required.” Continue reading

Posted in Broad Green, Coulsdon, Croydon Council, Environment, Kenley, Norbury, Purley, Selhurst, Waddon | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Central Hill’s open weekend to show the estate they are in

A much-admired housing estate in Crystal Palace which is under threat of demolition by the local council is open to public view this weekend, to dispel Tory-driven myths of “sink estates”, as part of something called the Open Garden Estates project.

This is a 'sink estate' which Tory Prime Minister Dodgy Dave Cameron wants to demolish, with the help of Lambeth's Progress council

This is Central Hill, the sort of estate which Tory PM Dodgy Dave Cameron wants to demolish, with the help of Lambeth’s Progress council

Open Garden Estates is an initiative by Architects for Social Housing (ASH), a collective working to save London council estates from demolition because of government housing policy, the (former) London Mayor’s building programme, local authority estate regeneration schemes and profit-hungry property developers.

This weekend, a dozen estates are taking part, including the threatened Central Hill estate just across the borough boundary in Progress-run Lambeth. Continue reading

Posted in Community associations, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Housing, Lambeth Council, London-wide issues, Outside Croydon, Steve Reed MP | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Purley Way Retail Park snapped up in £45m property deal

Purley WayA large tract of industrial estate alongside the A23 Purley Way has changed hands in a £45.6-million property deal, as developers move in on Croydon possibly with the expectation of profiting from the area’s house-building drive.

LaSalle Investment Management has completed the purchase of Purley Way Retail Park – an area on the western side of the A road and which extends northwards from the John Lewis store almost all the way to the twin chimneys of Ikea. It includes various light industry buildings, warehouses and stores, such as Currys and PC World.

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Posted in Broad Green, Business, Housing, Planning, Property, Purley Way, Waddon | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Secret Croydon heritage walk, Wandle Park, Jun 18

Wandle walk

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It will be Bedlam at The Oval Tavern for Summer Solstice

The Wild Hunt Bedlam Morris, Croydon’s scariest group of Morris dancers, will be celebrating the Summer Solstice at The Oval pub, Oval Road,  from 8pm on Tuesday, June 21.

Be afraid. Be very afraid....

Be afraid. Be very afraid….

The Wild Hunt will dance their trademark high-energy border Morris dances which are inspired by the myths and legends of England and Norse mythology.

As always, the dancers will be backed up by the Wild Hunt’s musicians.

After the dancing is over, the Wild Hunt will enjoy some of the great real ale offered by the Oval pub.

Nuala O’Neill, a member of the Wild Hunt said, “Our Summer Solstice performance will be a double celebration, not only are we celebrating the longest day, but it is also our Green Man’s birthday – we are all hoping for a slice of birthday cake to go with our beer.” Continue reading

Posted in Addiscombe West, Dance, Music, Pubs | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Skyscrapers heritage walk, Wandle Park, Jun 19

Wandle Park walk

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Council’s shock non-announcement: Murray handed culture job

The sheer predictability of Croydon Council over its internal stitch-ups on senior jobs is so crass that sometimes even they appear embarrassed by it.

Paula Murray: Croydon's first artistic director

Paula Murray: now a £82,500 permanent member of Croydon staff. But the council avoided announcing it

Paula Murray has been confirmed as Croydon’s culture director in a permanent capacity. Hitherto the deputy CEO at Brighton council, Murray even gets a pay rise out of the deal.

Not that Croydon Council’s Ministry of Truth has bothered to announce the appointment formally. Instead, the press office made a passing reference to Murray’s elevation to the £82,500 per year director position in a press release this week about a council-funded arts festival.

Murray joined Croydon Council as its first “culture czar” on secondment from Brighton on April 1. A month later, our cash-strapped council was advertising (somewhat reluctantly) to fill the position permanently.

And this in the midst of a council-wide recruitment freeze and the latest round of redundancies of council staff.

“It smacks of another stitch-up over a senior post,” said a disgruntled source who is still working in Fisher’s Folly.

“Jo Negrini decided she wanted Murray for the job. Murray now owes Negrini – she was looking at being down-graded from her job in Brighton. And Murray’s got to clean up Negrini’s mess over Boxpark.”

Continue reading

Posted in Alison Butler, Ambition Festival, Art, Ashcroft Theatre, Boxpark, Business, Croydon Council, East Croydon, Fairfield Halls, Jo Negrini, Music, Paul Scott, Paula Murray, Stanley Halls, Theatre, Timothy Godfrey | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Croydon Brexit campaign go Dutch for their meeting leaflets

IMG_1966It is not entirely original to suggest that, with one look at leading figures in the Leave campaign, any reasonable person ought to be very concerned at the possible leadership of this country should they prevail in the EU Referendum on June 23: blundering Boris Johnson, not-very-nice Nigel Farage, and not-very-frank Michael Gove  …

But it’s not just the calibre of the Leave campaign’s leadership that should be a concern.

The little Englanders running the grassroots anti-Europe campaign leave a great deal to be desired, as a leaflet doing the rounds in Croydon this week amply demonstrates.

The leaflet has been printed for the Leave campaign… by a company based in the Netherlands. Continue reading

Posted in 2016 EU referendum, Croydon Central, Peter Staveley | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Southern Failways: Civil servant wants to ‘break’ rail unions

An article in the latest edition of Private Eye provides further confirmation of our reports of the past two days which suggest that the disruption and delays on Southern Railways inflicted on commuters every weekday are being caused by confrontation deliberately created by the network’s management, at the prompting of civil servants working on instructions from the Tory-run Government.

Provocative: Transport ministry official Peter Wilkinson

Provocative: Transport ministry official Peter Wilkinson

The Eye quotes a senior official from DafT, the Department for Transport, speaking at a meeting held in Croydon, where the civil servant spoke provocatively about “punch ups and industrial action” with the rail unions, and called for commuters’ support.

Talking about “breaking” union members, the government bureaucrat told the public meeting that train drivers who resist changes to their working hours can “get the hell out of my industry”.

The deliberately inflammatory remarks were made by Peter Wilkinson, DafT’s managing director of passenger services.

Wilkinson has been accused of breaking Whitehall’s strict rules on civil servants’ impartiality, prompting Labour shadow minister Louise Haigh to describe the remaks as “partisan and vitriolic … in what appears to be a breach of Civil Service code”. Four months on from making the comments, Wilkinson remains in his £260,000 per year post, having never issued any apology for his remarks, suggesting that he retains the confidence of the minister.

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Posted in Chris Philp MP, Commuting, Coulsdon, East Croydon, Purley, TfL, Transport | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

David Livingstone school Summer Fair, Thornton Heath, Jul 9

David Livingstone summer fair Continue reading

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Council’s parks contractor is ‘surprised that the grass grows’

A Croydon councillor has today criticised the council’s parks contractor, saying that Quadron has been “surprised that the grass grows”.

Lloyd Park in the spring sunshine, with hawthorn blossom and lush grass. Quadron will get round to mowing the areas where grass needs cutting eventually

Lloyd Park in the spring sunshine, with hawthorn blossom and lush grass. Quadron will get round to mowing the areas where grass needs cutting. Eventually

Many of the borough’s parks and open spaces have not undergone a routine grass cutting over the spring. But this is not some ecological experiment to try to turn the Purley Way Fields into a wildflower meadow, nor is it part of the council’s cost-cutting strategy by reducing the number of cuts of the grass on the roadside verges and council housing estates. According to Carole Bonner, a Labour councillor for Fieldway ward, “Quadron are massively behind” in their work.

As with some many aspects of the council’s tasks and functions, maintenance work in Croydon’s parks and open spaces was outsourced some time ago, apparently as a cost-cutting (if not grass-cutting) measure.

But there have been gathering complaints about Quadron’s performance, or lack of it, as the spring and early summer has seen the grassy areas in the borough’s 120-plus parks and open spaces allowed to grow. And grow. And grow. Continue reading

Posted in Carole Bonner, Croydon parks, Environment, Fieldway, Lloyd Park, New Addington, Quadron, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments