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Croydon Minster’s fund-raising concert of organ music, May 2
Croydon Minster is staging a one-off Gala Concert from 6pm on May 2 featuring a number of its past Directors of Music in aid of the Minster Organ Restoration Appeal, which was launched in April 2015.
Croydon Minster has a stellar collection of organists for its concert on May 2
Organists to include:
Peter Nardone (Worcester Cathedral)
Simon Lole (formerly Salisbury Cathedral)
Carl Jackson (Chapel Royal Hampton Court)
Ian Keatley (Christ Church Cathedral Dublin)
David Swinson (Trinity School Croydon)
Nigel McClintock (St Peter’s Cathedral Belfast)
Andrew Cantrill (Royal Hospital School Holbrook) Continue reading
Posted in Charity, Church and religions, Croydon Minster, Music
Tagged Croydon Minster, Croydon Minster organ fund
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Threat to Land Registry from Chancellor’s privatisation plan
While council leader Tony Newman leads a pointless discussion at tonight’s council meeting on “Crexit” – the impact of Croydon’s unilateral withdrawal from the European Union – the Labour leader is squandering a perfect opportunity to debate an issue of far greater importance, and relevance, to the borough, its economy, business rate revenues and the future of hundreds of people who work here.
Because just up the road from Croydon Town Hall, a public service is under threat of privatisation by the Conservative Chancellor, with the risk of job cuts or even the closure of the head office of the Land Registry.
The Land Registry’s Croydon office is one of 14 around the country, which have nearly 4,500 staff working on the ownership records of all land and property in England and Wales.
Trafalgar House on Bedford Park in West Croydon has been the Land Registry’s head office since 2011.
Posted in Business, Croydon Council, Tony Newman, West Croydon
Tagged Croydon Council, Labour, Land Registry, Tony Newman, West Croydon
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Car park gallery will force drivers to use Hammersfield spaces
Bit by bit, the Whitgift and Westfield takeover of the town centre continues, aided and abetted as usual by our pliant councillors.
How the architects visualise Croydon’s new underground art gallery
It has been announced – via a news report in Architects’ Journal – that part of the Fairfield Halls car park is to be turned into a vast underground art gallery.
What was not said was that, as part of the redevelopment of the “Cultural Quarter” which will involve building a new Croydon College and around 2,000 flats over the course of 15 years – yes, 15 years – the car parking space is also to be reduced by at least two-thirds, from the 1,000-plus bays at present down to 350 spaces, including around 100 for disabled drivers and Fairfields and college staff.
Clearly, the Fairfield Halls car park is not always used to capacity. But there is a demand among theatre-goers for convenient parking spaces; who knows, if the Halls re-opens in 2018, as scheduled, with a reinvigorated artistic programme, the demand from punters to park nearby could even be greater than at present.
The Fairfield car park, off Barclay Road, is also well-used by commuters who travel to and from London from nearby East Croydon Station.
Where will these users be displaced to? “Oh, they can use the new Westfield car parks once they are built,” a senior council figure told Inside Croydon this week. The shrug of the shoulders which accompanied the comment spoke volumes about the inevitability of a council scheme that will force people into using the delayed supermall being developed by Hammerson and Westfield, if only for parking their cars. It is clear who is calling the shots in this town.
Newman’s time for change as he faces threat of ‘dead sheep’
WALTER CRONXITE on the ins and outs of the latest council “non-reshuffles”, and how the the spectre of #WadGate and others’ past crimes still stalk the Town Hall’s corridors of (not much) power
Former Tory leader Mike Fisher’s bid to return to frontline council politics was rejected this week. But only just
“They used to say that being attacked in the House of Commons by Geoffrey Howe was like being savaged by a dead sheep,” one senior Croydon Labour figure said this week, before adding with a laugh: “Croydon Tories’ Town Hall front bench now consists of an entire herd of dozing sheep.”
The councillor’s uncomplimentary commentary of the opposition Conservative group followed the Tories’ election of Jason Cummings as their new deputy leader, as veteran councillor Dudley Mead stepped down, prior to retiring from his council seat at the local elections in 2018.
“Had they elected Mike Fisher, he could have made things difficult for us in the next two years. Fisher’s an accomplished politician. But Cummings alongside Tim Pollard and Sara Bashford? They’d make an accountants’ convention seem dynamic.”
Posted in 2016 London elections, 2018 council elections, Croydon South, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Dudley Mead, Hamida Ali, Heathfield, Jason Cummings, Jo Negrini, London Assembly, Margaret Mead, Mark Watson, Matthew Kyeremeh, Mike Fisher, Pat Ryan, Paul Scott, Planning, Sara Bashford, Selsdon & Ballards, Steve O'Connell, Stuart Collins, Thornton Heath, Tim Pollard, Toni Letts, Tony Newman, Whitgift Foundation, Woodside
Tagged #WadGate, Barwell, Conservative, Croydon Central, Croydon Council, Croydon South, Dudley Mead, Hammersfield, Hammerson, Jo Negrini, Labour, Matthew Kyeremeh, Mayor, Mike Fisher, Steve O'Connell, Stuart Collins, Thornton Heath, Toni Letts, Tony Newman, Tory, Westfield, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation
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John Fisher School Choir concerts, May 9 and 11
Posted in Church and religions, John Fisher School, Music
Tagged John Fisher School, Purley
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Spring in the air and a spring in the step of Morris Men
The North Wood Morris Men will be bringing their own brand of colourful eccentricity and traditional music to a community event near you this summer
As the sap begins to rise and spring is in the air (well, was promising to be in the air until this frosty weekend), so the local team of Morris dancers emerge from their winter hibernation.
The North Wood Morris Men, formed in 1975, give a whole new meaning to “baldrick” and cunning plan.
“Our baldricks,” they say, referring to the cross belts each dancer wears, “bear a badge that has the image of an acorn to celebrate the Great North Wood, that was an oak forest that grew around Croydon, south of Norwood.
“We perform dances collected a hundred years ago by Cecil Sharp from the Cotswolds and others developed later. The different styles are named after the names of the villages and towns where the dances were collected and include Bampton, Bledington and Fieldtown. We have dances from other remarkable sources like Addington Quarry and more recently from Brockley, found during a refurbishment at a local pub.”
Posted in Activities, Charity, Dance, Music, Pubs
Tagged Great North Wood, North Wood Morris Men
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Charity comedy show ticket sales undermined by Fairfield
Charity workers in Croydon are worried that they have been caught in the cross-fire between the Fairfield Halls and the Town Hall in the bitter dispute over the arts venue’s future, with what ought to be one of the borough’s biggest fund-raising events of the year likely to miss its targets for good causes by tens of thousands of pounds.
Comedian Kevin Day. Photograph by Steve Ullathorne
Kevin Day, the Crystal Palace-supporting comedian, script-writer and Match of the Day 2 presenter, has spent more than a year working on producing Sunday night’s charity comedy night at the Fairfield Halls for the Mayor of Croydon’s nominated charities.
For 2015-2016, these are Mind in Croydon and London homelessness cause CAYSH.
Day has managed to compile an outstanding line-up of some of the country’s top stand-up acts, including Reginald D Hunter, Seann Walsh and Jon Richardson.
And Mark Steel.
But by lunchtime today, fewer than 400 seats in the 1,800-capacity Fairfield Halls main concert hall had been sold.
Charity workers and sources at the council have been suggesting that the management at the Halls have deliberately under-sold the event.
With seats costing £30 a time, that could end up seeing the charities miss out on raising more than £25,000 in unsold tickets.
Posted in Comedy, Fairfield Halls, Kate Vennell, Patricia Hay-Justice
Tagged Crystal Palace, Fairfield Halls, Kevin Day, Patricia Hay-Justice
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MP Philp’s questions unanswered over Pluto tax affairs
In a week when the Prime Minister, Mayor of London and Jeremy Corbyn have all made their tax returns public, Croydon South MP Chris Philp has called for privacy for public figures. WALTER CRONXITE reports on why the Commons new boy might be so coy about his own tax affairs
Chris Philp, who stood for election to become Croydon South’s Conservative MP only last year, says that what he does in his own business and tax affairs should be kept strictly private.
Taxed: Chris Philp
Like Philp, Rees-Mogg is a Tory member of the influential Treasury Select Committee at Westminster.
But despite his party colleagues embracing the move to openness and transparency, Philp thinks that they are all wrong, including his party leader, the Prime Minister. “Where do you draw the line?” Philp has simpered this week over calls for greater transparency over the tax affairs of public figures, especially elected ones who actively seek public office, such as MPs.
It seems rather odd that Philp should be so set against those who are responsible for making laws about the nation’s taxes also being transparent about their own tax affairs. This is expecially the case given Philp’s position on the Treasury Select Committee, which has responsibility for scrutinising important matters relating to the raising of tax, as well as the avoidance and evasion of tax. Continue reading
Posted in Chris Philp MP, Croydon South
Tagged Chris Philp MP, Conservative, Croydon South, Tory
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Photographer Pooten delivers a prized talk at Forum
World-famous photographer Holger Pooten provided an inspiring talk, and raffle prizes, at the latest Croydon Photography Forum this week.
Holger Pooten, right, presents Croydon Photography Forum attendee Lennox Salmon with his prize print
Pooten gave an engaging and informative presentation on his work, personal projects and inspirations. His fascination with transitional moments and destruction has led him to push the limits of digital photography, perception, and post-production to create surreal, ingenious and captivating photos.
A lecturer of photography and founder of the London Institute of Photography, Pooten also offered great tips and advice for emerging photographers.
The evening ended with a question and answer session, and the raffle draw for two prints which Pooten generously donated. Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Photography Forum
Tagged Croydon Photography Forum, CVA, Lee Townsend, London Road, Photography
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Comedy Festival will be more than Much Ado About Nothing
The second Croydon Comedy Festival takes place around the borough this June and July, offering a mix of top-flight live comedy acts, Shakespearian theatre, and free screenings of some classic movies.
Confirmed acts include Croydon’s own Lucy Porter and Kevin Day, Edinburgh and circuit regulars such as Danielle Ward, Phil Nichol and Stephen Carlin, and returning favourites Tania Edwards and Elf Lyons.
There will be sketch comedy (Kitten Killers, Lazy Susan), character comedy (Joe Bor is posh climber Jasper Cromwell Jones), musical comedy (Grace Petrie, Gavin Osborn), specials (Science Showoff, Wi-Fi Wars), classic comedy
films on Mondays at The Spread Eagle Theatre, and lots and lots of stand-up comedy. Continue reading
Posted in CODA, Comedy, Pubs, Spread Eagle Theatre
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Comedy Festival, Spread Eagle Theatre
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CEO Elvery causes row in Sussex over ‘offensive’ salary
Nathan Elvery: soon to leave The Office (in Croydon, anyway)
Nathan Elvery, the £180,000 per year Croydon Council chief executive who never had to apply for his job, has caused a row down in sleepy Sussex by the Sea – and he has not yet even been confirmed in the role for the county council based in Chichester.
The Tories running West Sussex council have been accused of “muddled thinking” over the appointment, which comes two years after they scrapped the costly CEO’s role.
Local trades union leaders, meanwhile, have described Elvery’s “stellar” salary as “highly offensive” at a time of local authority austerity job cuts. Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Nathan Elvery, Tony Newman
Tagged Conservative, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Nathan Elvery, Tony Newman, Tory
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Croydon’s free Jobs Fair offers £5m-worth of business
Hundreds of jobs and business opportunities are up for grabs at this year’s South London Jobs Fair, being staged at the Fairfield Halls on June 23 – where entry to the event is free.
Last year, around a hundred people who went to the event found jobs and another 98 enrolled on training courses.
Local employers surveyed last month estimated that they did almost £5-million-worth of business thanks to the contacts they made at the fair.
The event’s organisers, 3D Change, describe the event as a “jobs fair with a difference” as it focusses on helping local people find work with local businesses and helping those businesses win contracts with housing associations and local authorities.
Posted in Activities, Business, Fairfield Halls
Tagged Fairfield Halls, South London Jobs Fair
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Some council practices can’t be swept under the carpet
So you thought that the tale of Trigger’s Broom was a piece of comic genius from the makers of Only Fools and Horses? According to ROB TAPE, it’s exactly the sort of thing which goes on in local authorities on a daily basis
The legend of Trigger’s Broom lives on in local councils today
The council’s internal market invariably throws up some very bizarre ways of working and the most amusing comes from a former boss of mine who is simply the most amazing person I have ever met during my time in local government.
At the time in question we had our own internal warehouse where we stored essential equipment: wood, nails, bin liners, uniforms, etc. Most of the basic equipment that front line operatives would need to carry out their duties. From bin men to grass cutters; window fitters to electricians most of the gear that was needed could be obtained from these central stores.
Sadly these stores were run as business. No, ot that we sold to the general public, but rather that the manager of the stores was tasked with making money out of all the other departments who used the equipment. So every bin liner needed a team of administrators to buy it wholesale, mark it up, store it, cost it out to the department who wanted to purchase it, invoice the appropriate department for it and chase payment for it.
London election candidates need to ‘be brave’ on transport
One of those who stood against Sadiq Khan to be Labour’s candidate for London Mayor has called upon all those standing in next month’s elections, from borough councillors upwards, to show some leadership, abandon the tendency of following the path of least resistance by depending on focus groups, and instead to “be brave” over introducing innovative transport policies, particularly for cycling.
This is how cycling in Croydon is most of the time at present
Transport journalist and historian Christian Wolmar drew widespread support for his campaign last year from members of the London Cycling Campaign as he advocated policies – pedestrianising some of the capital’s key roads, starting with Oxford Street; broading the Congestion Zone and increasing the charges; backing Quietways and 20mph zones – which were all intended to reduced traffic levels on our streets and improve air quality.
Yesterday, he published a call to arms ahead of May’s London vote in which he reminded all the candidates – including the supposedly environmentally friendly Tory, Zac Goldsmith – to grasp the opportunity which election to City Hall might offer. Continue reading
Mayoral matrix that highlights candidate similarities
Another day, another London Mayoral infographic.
Posted in 2016 London elections, Caroline Pidgeon, Housing, London Assembly, London-wide issues, Marina Ahmad, Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, Sian Berry, Zac Goldsmith MP
Tagged Conservative, Green Party, Labour, Liberal Democrats, London, London Assembly, Sadiq Khan, Tory, UKIP, Zac Goldsmith MP
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Fairfield Halls turns to Katie Price in desperate Twitter splurge
There is growing concern for the well-being of which ever member of the Fairfield Halls staff has been placed in charge of the venue’s official Twitter feed, as they have been issuing messages with a near maniacal-zeal, claiming that the next three months will be the venue’s “final season”.
Fairfield Halls’ last hope? Katie Price
The Fairfield Halls is to close temporarily in July, as it is to undergo a £30million modernisation, due to re-open in 2018.
The Fairfield Halls Twitter account is usually a fairly demure and subdued marketing tool.
But following a few initial faltering attempts yesterday evening, whoever was at the keyboard for an hour or so after lunch today managed to send more than 100 tweets, all with the same message, tagging a range of cultural venues and personalities, ranging from “glamour” model Katie Price to the Royal Albert Hall, from Peppa Pig to the Osmonds, from The Who to David Walliams, in what appeared to be a fairly desperate attempt at starting a last-gasp social media campaign to derail the refurbishment project.
Posted in Ashcroft Theatre
Tagged Conservative, Fairfield Halls, Kate Venal, Kate Vennell, Labour, Simon Thomsett, Tory
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#BackZacAndCrack shown two red cards by Generation Rent
One of the advantages of social media is the publication by various interest groups – from lobbyists and charities through to estate agents – of infographics, snappy illustrations of news.
Like this one, from Generation Rent, published today on the housing policies being offered in the London Mayoral election (in case you can’t quite make out who those very small mug shots feature, they are, from left to right: Sian Berry [Green]; George Galloway [George Galloway]; BackZacAndCrack [Old Etonians]; Sadiq Khan [Bus Drivers’ Collective]; Caroline Pidgeon [LibDems]; Peter Whittle [Let’s Go Back to 1956 Party]):
Purley Classic Car Show calls for exhibitors, Jun 19
The Croydon Whitgift Rotary Club’s annual Classic Car Show will be held in Rotary Fields, Purley, on Sunday, June 16, and the organisers have made a call for exhibitors. Continue reading
Posted in Activities, Charity, Croydon Rotary Club, Purley
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Whistleblower’s book ignored by all Croydon’s councillors
Local government worker ROB TAPE decided to write a book based on the experiences of his council work career. He called it Sorry, It’s Not My Department. He then wrote to all 70 of Croydon’s councillors. He received not a single reply.
Here, Tape outlines the background to a book which carries the sub-title: ‘Where the money really goes in your town hall and the ways public services can be improved’
After working for various councils across the country for many years, I decided that it was time to write down my experiences about what goes on behind the closed doors of your average town hall. At first I thought it would make a great sitcom – in fairness, that might come next – but instead I opted for a book outlining what it is really like working for some of these public sector leviathans. Sorry, It’s Not My Department is my first published book and covers my career working in the lower and middle echelons of a handful of different local authorities. Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Nathan Elvery, Tony Newman
Tagged Conservative, Croydon Council, Labour, Liberal Democrats, Rob Tape, Tory
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London Assembly candidate calls for inquiry over incinerator
Marina Ahmad, Labour’s London Assembly candidate in Croydon and Sutton, is demanding an investigation into the contracts and deals surrounding the £1billion Viridor incinerator being built at public expense on Beddington Lane, on the Croydon-Sutton borough boundary.
Assembly candidate Marina Ahmad: incinerator scheme needs independent investigation
“The incinerator scheme makes Sutton the rubbish dump of south-west London,” Ahmad said.
“The reports about how LibDem councillors in Sutton failed to declare their close links to Viridor, the company which benefits financially from the scheme, and how other councillors were coerced to support it through the planning stage require thorough investigation. Continue reading
Posted in 2016 London elections, Environment, London Assembly, London-wide issues, Marina Ahmad, Sadiq Khan, Steve O'Connell, Waste incinerator, Zac Goldsmith MP
Tagged Beddington Lane incinerator, Conservative, Croydon, incinerator, Labour, Liberal Democrats, London, London Assembly, Marina Ahmad, Steve O'Connell, Stop The Incinerator Campaign, Sutton, Tory, Viridor
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MP who voted for benefits cuts claims £280 per week expenses
While we were waiting for Dodgy Dave to publish his tax returns and for Jeremy Corbyn to find his, Inside Croydon has dug out some financial records on Croydon Central MP Gavin Barwell.
Gavin Barwell: no expenses spared?
Back in 2010, when still a thrusting and eager Tory candidate, Gav promised the Croydon electorate that if he was elected as the MP, he would publish his parliamentary expenses claims. The nation was still scandalised at that time by the extent and greed of MPs’ expenses claims, such as another Croydon Tory MP at that time, Tricky Dicky Ottaway.
Barwell claimed that he would not be like that, and that his claims would be published on his own website, openly and transparently. It was an election pledge which Barwell kept… but only for a short time. Continue reading
