Brixton Bugle March 2020

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BRIXTON BUGLE YOUR FREE

No 81 | MARCH 2020

Published monthly in and for Brixton

DOMINIQUE NOK

BRIXTON CENTRE STAGE

By Leslie Manasseh

Gbolahan Obisesan (above) outside the new theatre on Coldharbour Lane and, below, retiring Ovalhouse director Deborah Bestwick (left) and local MP Helen Hayes at the topping out ceremony with pupils from Hill Mead primary who are working on building a pop-up performance space next to the construction site

ISSN 2397-852X

Brixton’s role as a major cultural centre has taken a big step forward with the appointment of a new artistic director for what will now be the Brixton House theatre and performing arts centre on Coldharbour Lane.

The appointment of Gbolahan Obisesan was announced as pupils from the nearby Hill Mead primary joined theatre and council dignitaries in a “topping out” ceremony to mark the end of the first stage of building the new theatre.

Ovalhouse Theatre, with a long tradition of supporting innovation, diverse cultural productions and community engagement, is relocating from Kennington to Coldharbour Lane and will

be renamed Brixton House. Gbolahan Obisesan has an illustrious career as a writer and director of plays, working at the National Theatre and the Young Vic, as well as the Edinburgh Fringe and regional theatre.

He said the new theatre would “build on its community outlook and artistic inventiveness”.

The history of Brixton was “proudly political, and its rich blend of cultures will inspire the new theatre to be a cradle for startling stories and extraordinary art,” he added.

The new theatre is due to be completed in Spring 2021 and will join the Black Cultural Archives, O2 Academy and the host of smaller venues that make Brixton a cultural centre of national importance.

COMMUNITY PAPER

WINNING WINDOWS

Award for school and architect 4

HEADLINER

Harleighblu at Hootananny

7

FILIPINO FLAVOURS Now in Market Row

CHANGING BRIXTON Henrie is looking into it

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BANG UP TO THE ELEPHANT

15

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2 NEWS brixtonblog.com 2020 MARCH

BRIXTON BUGLE brixtonblog.com Proudly edited in Brixton Both website and newspaper are published by a not-for-profit community organisation run by a committed team of people from Brixton @brixtonblog brixtonblog.com

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07986 035003 advertising@brixtonblog.com Circulation 12,500 copies Readership: circa 15,000 EDITOR Linda Quinn linda@brixtonblog.com NEWS EDITOR Anna McKie newsdesk@brixtonblog.com ARTS Leslie Manasseh arts@brixtonblog.com MUSIC Dave Randall music@brixtonblog.com FOOD Nick Buglione food@brixtonblog.com Abby Jones abby@brixtonblog.com SPORT Sandra Brobbey sport@brixtonblog.com ISSUE 81 Contributors Jessica Dyer Ken Floyde Ruby Gregory Jamila Omar Dave Randall Simone Richardson Steve Tooze Sub-editor: Jamila Omar Production: Alan Slingsby Distribution: Philip King A massive thank you to everybody involved in making this issue, and the Blog & Bugle project, a success If you would like to be a Bugle stockist please email distribution@brixtonblog.com

New MP warns on knife crime insensitivity

Local MP and shadow immigration minister Bell Ribeiro-Addy addressed protesters at a Windrush Square demonstration against the government’s “hostile environment” policy of deporting by charter flight people it claims do not have the right to be in the UK. The MP for Streatham said: “In its determination to drive ahead with charter flight deportations, the Home Office is breaching people’s basic rights again and again.

“Charter flight deportations lack due process, disregard deportee safety and ignore the right to a family life.

“We saw that early drafts of the Windrush Lessons Learned Review suggested we should be halting the practice of deporting people who came over here as children.

“Rather than reversing the devastating and dehumanising immigration policies of its predecessors, we’ve seen again and again how this Home Office is willing to go one step further than them to look tough on immigration.”

Big demand for council’s Windrush compensation scheme advice forms The strong response to a letter from Lambeth council urging residents to claim under the Windrush Compensation Scheme meant supplies of a special form temporarily ran out.

The council had prepared a printed form, available at the town hall in Brixton, for people not confident with an online application to the scheme.

The Windrush Compensation Scheme was established after it was revealed that many people have been and are faced with problems over the right to work, access to benefits and other services, including NHS treatment, that they are entitled to.

Some were even deported as a result of the government’s failure to support people who are legally entitled to be in the UK but do not have the documentation it demands as part of its ”hostile environment” policy.

This particularly affects Black Caribbean people who arrived in the UK in the 50s, 60s and 70s, many of whom made Brixton their home.

Cllr Sonia Winifred, Lambeth’s cabinet member for equalities and culture, herself a member of the Windrush generation, wrote to Lambeth residents urging them to apply themselves, or to encourage others who might have been affected to apply.

The surge in interest in the scheme comes as the council and local MPs renewed calls for action to support the Windrush generation.

Cllr Winifred (pictured in Windrush Square) joined Lambeth MPs, Helen Hayes (Dulwich and West Norwood), Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Streatham) and Florence Eshalomi (Vauxhall), to write to the home secretary Priti Patel to ask for the independent review of the Windrush scandal to be released to the public.

The review was set up to provide an independent assessment of the events

leading up to the Windrush scandal and to identify key lessons for the government.

Cllr Winifred said: “The government needs to learn the lessons in an open and transparent way of what happened in recent years with the implementation of the hostile environment policy.

“To fail to do so, at the same time many people are struggling to access compensation through a poorly designed

and complex compensation scheme, is causing great hurt and anxiety amongst our residents.

“We owe a huge amount to those who came here, who worked hard to improve our public services and enriched our society in so many ways.

“Here in Lambeth we are united in our support for the Windrush generation and we will keep fighting for justice for them.”

Online details of the scheme are on the government website at gov.uk/guidance/ windrush-compensation-scheme.

You can also pick up a form at the reception of Lambeth town hall.

The scope of the Compensation Scheme is not limited to people who originally came from the Caribbean. Almost everyone from a Commonwealth country who arrived before 1 January 1973 is included.

If someone has the right of abode or settled status (or is now a British citizen) and arrived to live in the UK before 31 December 1988 they will also be eligible to apply regardless of their nationality when they arrived – even if they are not a Commonwealth citizen.

The scheme is also open to children and grandchildren of Commonwealth citizens in certain circumstances; the estates of those now deceased but who would have otherwise been eligible to claim compensation; and close family members of eligible claimants where there has been a significant impact on their life or where there is evidence of certain direct financial costs.

Florence Eshalomi, who grew up in Brixton’s Moorlands estate, raised the issue of knife crime in her maiden speech to the House of Commons as the newly elected MP for Vauxhall.

“My constituency is home to a diverse community. Across our schools in Vauxhall, including my old primary school of St Helen’s in Brixton, there are over 50 languages spoken by children of migrants from all parts of the world,” she said.

She praised the NHS and how it had helped her mother who suffered from sickle cell anaemia and “instilled in my sisters and me the values of standing up for what you believe in”.

The MP said that: “Somehow she would still find the strength to help my sisters and me get ready for school and support us with our homework. I know the real value of the NHS.” Eshalomi said she got involved in politics “to give a voice to people who feel that politics is not for them or that politics does not matter.

She said that, recently, she was one of the first people on the scene of a stabbing incident involving a 15-year-old boy.

“I was scared. I was sad, because some members of the public walked past,” she said. We cannot allow ourselves to become desensitised to the issue of knife crime.

“Young people in my constituency are being groomed for violence.”

The MP called for adequate funds for mental health services for young people.

MARCH 2020 brixtonblog.com

NEWS 3

Alexa … no salad for me

Michael Smith, director of the Brixton Business Improvement District and local MP Helen Hayes are shown damage caused by years of leaks into the Banana Collections shop under Brixton Rec by proprietor Seyi Nuga. She and several other very longstanding traders beneath the

Rec on Brixton Station Road are currently in negotiation with Lambeth council over very substantial rent increases. The council last year announced plans to spend £4m to redevelop the lower parts of the Rec and its surroundings in a bid to attract “innovative businesses”, create

a technology enterprise project in currently unused storage space in the Rec and to improve the “public realm” in the locality that has been blighted for years by the continuing closure for refurbishment of former Network Rail arches on Brixton Station Road.

Atlantic Road scaffolding there until Christmas The forest of scaffolding on Atlantic Road that holds up the overground station platform above it is likely to be in place until the end of the year.

Representatives of Network Rail, tenants of the Arch Company that now own the arches, the Brixton Business Improvement District and Lambeth council met recently to review the situation. Current Network Rail planning revolves around a

completion date of December this year for work on the platform.

The meeting also discussed compensation arrangements for tenants whose businesses are affected by the work.

A spokesperson for the Arch Company said: “We are continuing to work closely with our tenants and to make representations on their behalf to Network Rail.

“We held a joint meeting

with Network Rail, all tenants impacted by the station platform works and key local contacts.

“During the meeting Network Rail outlined their proposed timetable for completion of the work and the steps that they will be taking to compensate tenants whose businesses have been affected.

“We continue to advocate for our tenants and support their businesses during this work.”

NEW ARTS SPACE FOR MARKET ROW A new arts space, BrxTN Studios, is to open on Market Row on 26 March. Hondo Enterprises, which runs Market Row and Brixton Village, says it will be home to “a rotating programme of events, including visual art, design, film, performance, spoken word, music and dance”. It will offer residencies to creatives for cultural events.

“The inaugural exhibition at BrxTN Studios will showcase immersive work by students from Goldsmiths College, curated by the artist Blythe Cain. The Beat around the Bush exhibition reacts to the anxieties and pressures of today’s environmental, political, and cultural climate.

Artists Blythe Cain, Rafael Pérez Evans, Esther Gatón, May Hands, Jordan Mouzouris and Anna Wachsmuth work through materials and worlds that find a response to the anxieties we confront in today’s society.

Cain said: “I’m very excited about this show. We have wild things happening like a foot-pathed water world, intertwined with varying lights and objects reflecting

from different artworks. The artists in the show are taking on these issues from a refreshing standpoint.”

Diana Nabagareka, general manager of Brixton Village – the name adopted by Hondo for both the Village and Market Row – said: “Brixton Village is a beating hub of culture and we’re really excited about BrxTN Studios and the platform it will provide to showcase new talent.

“We want to create a dialogue between the old and the new, one that continues to thread through the much-loved marketplace and continue to acknowledge the markets’ heritage.

“By offering our newly refurbished space as a creative home to both emerging talent and established artists, we ultimately want to offer both our local community and visitors something new and memorable to discover.”

Hondo Enterprises is giving the space in kind to the students from Goldsmith College, who will in turn put on free workshops for local art students in Brixton.

Local couch potatoes will soon be able to order more food without even the exercise of lifting a finger.

Voice technology start-up Natta has teamed up with Brixton’s Other Side Fried chicken take­ away on Atlantic Road to enable customers to place a delivery order by voice via an Amazon Alexa smart speaker.

Other takeaways have experimented with Alexa for repeat orders, but Natta founder Jon Sprank says Other Side Fried customers will be able to “enjoy the full takeaway experience on Alexa regardless of whether the customer has ordered from the restaurant before or knows the menu”.

Users of the new app ask Alexa to connect with Other Side Fried and list the items they wish to order. Or they can ask Alexa to send them the menu so they can have a browse before requesting their selection.

Voice ordering is only available in a 1.5 mile radius of the restaurant.

But Sprank is working on a voice-first “food delivery marketplace” across London and the UK.

NOUR PETITION

More than 3,700 people have signed the Save Nour Cash and Carry petition. The iconic Brixton store in Market Row has been ordered to quit

by Hondo Enterprises which runs Market Row and Brixton Village.

Hondo recently applied for planning permission to make changes to other units in both of the covered markets.

The Nour peition is at http://bit.ly/ Nour-petition-2020

Mosaic Clubhouse is looking for a Cook We are a mental health charity in Brixton looking for a confident person who is passionate about cooking and able to work alongside and engage with our members in the kitchen. £12 per hour, 9-4pm Monday - Friday.

Call or email Beverley Randall on 07832 235 721 or b.randall@mosaic-clubhouse.org to learn more about the role and how to apply.

Deadline for applications is Friday 17th April.

4 NEWS brixtonblog.com 2020 MARCH

Concern over terror attack in Streatham

Hill Mead pupils as the lights were switched on in the Department Store windows in 2018

Squire’s Brixton Winter Windows and their creators win international award Squire & Partners and eight children from Hill Mead primary school in Brixton won an international design award in February at the Frame Awards for excellence in interior design.

The Winter Windows 2018 installation at The Department Store on Ferndale Road won Retail Window Display of the Year, a small community project in a category which included professional retail displays in Tokyo, Stockholm, New York and Warsaw.

Now in its third year, Winter Windows is a collaboration between a group of children aged 8 to 11 and designers from

the architects Squire & Partners. The children were Albara, Crystal, Hanad, Amy, Teanna, Maliea, Wesley and Akeemat.

Squire & Partners presented Winter Windows in front of four judges in Amsterdam and were awarded the Jury Prize at an awards ceremony later the same day.

Squires competition entry said: “Winter Windows … plays an important part in Squire & Partners aim to create meaningful links with the local community in Brixton, stemming from their overall restoration of The Department Store building.

“By liaising with local schools such

as Hill Mead, we have been able to build long-lasting relationships and community ties, as well as bringing light, animation and fun to what was previously a dark and unwelcoming thoroughfare.”

Becky Lawrence, Hill Mead deputy head said: “I am absolutely thrilled that Hill Mead’s Winter Windows won this award.

I am so proud of the children’s achievement. The designs work so well because they are authentic. Squire’s Winter Windows community project is inspired, a true collaboration with local schools which shines a light on the potential in all of us.”

Two of London’s 12 bail hostels are in Lambeth, a meeting of more than 100 Streatham residents in the Hideaway jazz club heard.

They expressed concerns about why the terror attacker in in the town centre was placed in a bail hostel in Streatham and how, once there, he was able to make a fake suicide vest, and the ease and speed with which he stole a knife on Streatham High Road.

Organised by Streatham Action civic group, the meeting heard from representatives of the police, probation service, Lambeth council and local MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy.

Alex Vine, chair of the group, said residents received welcome assurances that the circumstances of the attack were exceptional.

“I would also like to reinforce the tributes made at the meeting to the bravery shown by members of the police and ambulance services on 2 February,” Vine said.

But he added Streatham Action was concerned “that some serious questions could not be answered at the meeting”.

Neil Salt, vice chair of

Streatham Action, said: “We appreciate that some of these outstanding issues need to await the coroner’s inquest, but it is crucial that lessons are being learned and action taken now to reduce the likelihood and impact of any repeat attack for any local community.”

Questions included A Was the decision to place the offender in Streatham the right one?

A Was monitoring of the offender in the bail hostel adequate?

A Why was the offender able to access a weapon so easily?

Streatham Action supports local MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy’s call for the government to limit the type of shops allowed to sell sharp knives.

It is also urging the government to legislate for a level of security in the sale of knives that is the same as that for cigarettes – controlled from behind a counter.

The meeting heard that one bail hostel is at the top of Leigham Court Road near to its junction with Streatham Common Northside. The other is near the top of Tulse Hill at its junction with Upper Tulse Hill.

CAN YOU COOK AND ARE YOU FUN?

TV Show Come Dine With Me Couples is on the hunt for fun Brixton residents who think they can cook up a storm.

Casting Producer Sasha Risner said: “Do you think you and your partner can whip up a food frenzy, host a winning dinner party and walk away with a £1,000? If so, you could soon be part of the nation’s most favourite teatime show.”

The only criteria are that you’re in a couple and you both must be over 18 and not working or trained as a professional chef. The shoot will take place between the 11 and 15 May. A To apply: http://bit.ly/CCDWM-BB

Ms Cupcake closure – it’s not just the rent

‘Full fibre’ broadband plan Brixton businesses and residents whose internet connections are among the slowest in London heard from a “full fibre” broadband provider at a Lambeth town hall drop-in event.

G.Network is planning to bring it to Coldharbour and Brixton Hill wards throughout this year.

The company says that

average broadband speeds in Lambeth are among the slowest in London at around 46 megabits per second.

In Brixton Hill, it says, only 8.6% of residents can access upgraded “full fibre” connections; in Coldharbour – covering central Brixton and its planned and expanding workplaces – the figure is only 4.3%.

Soaring rents are not the only reason for the forthcoming closure of yet another unique Brixton trader.

Ms Cupcake’s Mellissa Morgan says that: “For years we have begged for vegan products to be readily available on the high-street – and guess what? We now have that!

“However, with our continued rent raises, soaring expenses and the fact that mainstream retailers are able to mass-produce vegan products at a lower cost – we have decided it is now time to close our doors.”

Ms Cupcake will close on 29 March, but Morgan has hinted that she might add to her successful recipe book, Ms Cupcake: The Naughtiest Vegan Cakes in Town, and perhaps even “pop up” somewhere else.

These days, she says, “you can find vegan cakes in pretty much every high street and supermarket across London.

This is a good thing!

“Here at Ms Cupcake, we remind ourselves that this is what we wanted to see happen.

“We wanted veganism to be so widespread that vegan baking could be found anywhere – not just in a tiny independent

vegan bakery in Brixton.”

Ms Cupcake began as a market stall in 2010 and the Coldharbour Lane shop followed a year later.

Morgan had lived in Brixton for 10 years before she opened her shop and told the Brixton Blog in a 2013 interview that she had always felt an affinity with its music, its culture and many of its locals – her father lives in Kingston, Jamaica.

She moved to London from Toronto in 1999 and was surprised at the lack of proper cakes available for vegans in London.

At that point, Morgan says, she fell into a “chasm” in the market that was vegan baking. The self-taught baker began making cakes in her Brixton kitchen and selling them at markets around town.

Her timing was perfect, coinciding with a major interest in, and resurgence of, home baking.

“Vegan baking has a reputation for being difficult,” she said, “because many vegan cookbooks used ingredients that were hard to find.

“Really, it is incredibly simple. The main difference between standard baking and vegan is method, but the key is to not overcomplicate it.”

Morgan took to veganism at an early age as an ethical choice. After she began trading there was a demand for her cupcakes and savouries from people with all kinds of allergies, but also “about 50% of my customers don’t care that the cakes are vegan. In fact, most can’t tell the difference, and I know that I’ve done my job right.”

MARCH 2020 brixtonblog.com COMMUNITY 5

Impact Brixton relocates to Market Row

Portrait installation for markets Brixton Village has launched an installation S.M.I.L.Eing Boys Project (Send Me Inspiring Loving Energy-ing).

It says the project is a response to knife crime and explores the wellbeing and coping strategies of young Black men aged 13 to 25.

Local year 9 pupils explored the theme of mental health using

photography, poetry and immersive art in workshops, exhibitions mentorship and field study.

The project led by interdisciplinary artist Kay Rufai and funded by the Wellcome Trust, Arts Council and Hondo Enterprises, will see Brixton covered markets adorned with portrait flags for 12 weeks.

VOLUNTEER TO HELP BUILD A POP-UP THEATRE Matt + Fiona, an organisation that provides hands-on opportunities for young people to get involved in design and construction in the built environment, is working with Ovalhouse theatre on Let’s Build, a project supporting a group of 20 10-year-old year Brixton pupils to build a temporary performance space on Somerleyton Road funded by the Mayor of London’s Crowdfund London campaign and a grant from the Co-Operative Foundation, next door to the new building which is due open in Spring next year. They are seeking volunteers to help build the performance space during the week 6 to 10 April.

A http://mattandfiona.org/lets-build/

14

# LOG O

Impact Brixton – a community workspace bringing together people and organisations is relaunching in Market Row from its old premises in Pop Brixton.

Director Gerald Vanderpuye stepped in when Impact Hub Brixton was scheduled to close in 2018 due to lack of funding and has overseen a rebrand and the move into a larger space in Brixton Village.

“I couldn’t think of a better place than Brixton Village to take the business into its next journey,” he said.

With a larger co-working space, Impact Brixton can now help more individuals in the community to change their lives through entrepreneurship.

The space includes a podcast room, meeting rooms for coaching and training, development kitchen, events space and a business concierge service for local companies.

Monday nights will be “open project nights” – open to anyone in the

community, granting them access to the space to work on social projects.

Thursday nights will also be free educational nights to help local businesses with their digital transformation.

Diana Nabagereka, general manager of Brixton Village, said: “The markets have long been at the heart of the Brixton community, and we want to continue to provide a cultural hub for locals, as well as championing and nurturing new talent to help them reach their full potential.

“We’re confident that Impact Brixton can achieve their mission at their new home in Market Row.” Flexible memberships start at £29.99 to £125 per month for 10-day access with a full range of amenities and perks including free Friday lunches and weekly networking events.

Opening on 26 March, Impact Brixton will be open from 8:30am to 6pm on weekdays. Open Project Nights offer free access between 6pm and 10pm.

A www.impactbrixton.com

THE NEW TARDIS? NO, IT’S AN EDIT BOX ON WHEELS We Rise Brixton and Clapham Film Unit have built and equipped an “edit box on wheels” – a self-contained editing suite at 3Space International House in Brixton with £10,000 from LHC Community Benefit Fund.

It means We Rise, a community business, can edit media projects it creates with local young people in house, rather than bringing in external editors and equipment.

Polly Waterworth from We Rise said the box would have a huge impact on the next generation of digital content creators from Brixton and the wider community.

If you have a film or media project that you need to edit and would like to find out more about booking the We Rise Edit Box contact polly@ we rise.org.uk.

MAKING WAITING TIME, PLAY TIME If you’re waiting for a bus, to see the doctor, or in a queue, use the time to chat with your child. When you ask them a question, it’s like throwing them a ball.

When they respond, they’re throwing that ball back. This back and forth helps them learn and grow.

These little moments help your child in a big way.

Olamide Taiwo, one of the students involved, said she said she hoped the campaign would lead schools to “find alternative ways of dealing with children that are more productive for the child in terms of their education and mental state”.

Sima Mangal, another student involved in the campaign, said: “IC Free is a campaign about the criminal justice system and the education system, and how it affects people of colour.

6 COMMUNITY brixtonblog.com

2020 MARCH

Do you care about biodiversity loss? We all know about the polar bears, but have you heard about the catastrophic decline in insect numbers? There has been a 76% drop in insect life in the past 20 years.

“If insects were to vanish, the environment would collapse into chaos,” the leading US biologist E O Wilson has warned.

But there is no need to feel helpless.

Here are six steps you can take right now: 1 Never use harmful pesticides ( sign IEL’s pledge and go pesticide free) 2 Put pressure on your local plant centre or DIY store to stop stocking harmful pesticides 3 Let Lambeth council know that you no longer want your street sprayed with pesticide. IEL, in partnership with the council,

Brixton clothing and textile designer Isabel Fletcher launched her new exhibition, Offcut Two, Downstairs at the Department Store on Ferndale Road. It featured clothing,

installation, dance and film inspired by an historic landfill site on the Thames east of London – a 20th century time capsule that is being gradually washed away by tidal action. It

LAMBETH AWARD

3Space International, which runs International House, the former Lambeth council offices on Canterbury Crescent behind Brixton police station, has received a Lambeth Made Charter Mark Award alongside four of its tenants, the Brixton Business Improvement District (BID), We Rise, Iconic Steps and Spiral Skills. The new award celebrates businesses and organisations contribute to the local community by supporting young people.

A lambethmade.org/business

BRIXTON WALKS

Brixton Society guided walks continue on the second Saturday of every month, at £3 including an illustrated booklet of the route. Tickets are best booked in advance via marketwalks@ brixtonsociety.org.uk

ELECTRIC PATTERNS The Brixton Project has been co-ordinating the Electric Patterns Project on behalf of the Brixton Townscape Heritage Initiative. It will provide a choice of artist-­ designed motifs to be applied to the roller shutters of the shops along Electric Avenue.

Final designs should be installed by April.

CRAFT WEDNESDAYS

Friends of Brixton Library Craft Wednesdays run from 1.30 to 3.30 pm. activities include sewing, embroidery, beading and macramé.

also encourages viewers to change their own lives. Every offcut of fabric used in the exhibition will be saved for future use.

A www.isabelfletcher.com

Brockwell greenhouses and Streatham Theatre campaign win funding

‘Black British high street’ at Pop Brixton Pop Brixton is hosting a free, all-day shopping event that will showcase independent businesses from the Black community.

On the 21 March, 20 Black-owned businesses will set up a “high street” in the Pop Box, selling a range of products, including haircare, skincare, clothing, jewellery and Caribbean food.

The temporary marketplace is organised by Jamii, a discount card and platform with a mission to support and showcase independent Black British businesses.

According to Jamii, the temporary marketplace will be designed around what a Black-owned high street would look and feel like. The set up will play homage to familiar elements of the African and Caribbean experience in the UK and is “inspired by the power and brilliance of Black British culture”.

Jamii said it chose Brixton for the event because of the area’s historical significance to Black Britain. It hopes to attract local supporters of Black-owned business, as well as engaging passing shoppers.

One Jamii business, food vendor Caribe, will already be familiar to Pop Brixton visitors as it has a permanent shop there. Others appearing for the day include greetings card brand Kitsch Noir, Afro hair care brand Afrocenchix and the hat brand Black Sunrise.

The marketplace is open for anyone to drop by and shop, with Jamii cardholders receiving a 20 per cent discount.

The Jamii High Street will be open from 11am to 5pm.

Brockwell Park Community Greenhouses’ project “Raise the Barn” has been awarded £160,000 to create a flexible space (below) with a teaching kitchen, classroom and outdoor learning yard.

The money comes from the Mayor of London’s Good Growth Fund and Crowdfunding programmes that has allocated £23.7 million to 42 projects across London.

The campaign to Save Streatham Theatre was also awarded £15k for an initial viability survey of the Grade II listed, 2,800capacity former theatre.

Save Streatham Hill Theatre campaign has also managed to crowdfund its first £10,000 target.

Streatham MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy welcomed the news, saying: “The theatre is an iconic piece of local architecture and I welcome and support efforts to refashion it into a community multi-arts venue.

“The sheer scale of donations from people in Streatham proves how great our community is at pulling together for the causes we care about.”

is running a pesticide-free trial. Contact Jason.Prentis@veolia.com to let him know you would like to join the trial.

4 Say No to the Mow: let your grass grow longer, and cut it later in the Spring to help insects find food or, if it’s not your lawn, put pressure on your management to get the contractors to mow less frequently (#nomowzone). PlantLife is running a good campaign on this.

5 Plant pollinator-friendly plants. For bees of all kinds, the two single best plants are willows and brambles. There’s a bee plant list at www.cotswoldgardenflowers.net/ some-hints-and-tips.

Pollinators generally love buddleia, solidago, hylotelephium (formerly known as sedum), ivy, daisies of all kinds, fennel and other umbellifers.

For caterpillars: nettles, ivy, mustard, garlic, birds-foot trefoil, holly and rhamnus.

6 Make or buy a bee hotel – it’s as simple as drilling some holes in a block of wood.

Incredible Edible Lambeth will be running a workshop on this later in the year...keep an eye on the website www.incredibleediblelambeth.org A Other News from IEL: We will be launching the Blooming Lambeth Awards 2020 on 23 March. Keep an eye on our News and Events pages at www.incredibleediblelambeth.org for all the details, or follow us on Twitter @ediblelambeth.

MARCH 2020 brixtonblog.com CREATIVE BRIXTON 7

MUSIC

Brixton feast of collective music Dave Randall looks forward to another month of magnificent music

Another banging month for the Brixton music scene kicks off with what promises to be an epic party hosted by hip-hop and neo-soul collective “And What? LDN”.

The multi-talented and community minded crew are the driving force behind the Congregate Brixton street parties in Windrush Square, as well as some of London’s finest freestyle rap nights which regularly go down at Chip Shop on the corner of Coldharbour Lane and Atlantic Road.

DJ Maseo of De La Soul, Ty, Mysdiggi, Pato Banton, Logic People’s Army and Toya Delazy have all made appearances. The party takes place at the Hootananny on Friday 13 March and celebrates the launch of the collective’s first compilation album. Hosted by Absent Minded Poetics and IsaacB, the night promises “a journey through neo-soul, hip-hop & bass as the collective of musicians, MCs, vocalists, producers and live electronic artists perform tracks from their debut album”.

Headliner Harleighblu brings her eclectic soul; author and freestyle specialist Fattima Mahdi, aka Fatz, steps up after

… where we hi-five local musical movers and shakers. We ask five questions to get to know the people who play regularly or contribute in other ways to Brixton’s live music scene. This month it’s the turn of Robin Hopcraft

smashing her last two Rise Of The MC shows, and DJ Gonan, Calaida and Joel Deep are on the ones-and-twos. Excellent stuff.

Another collective musical endeavour worth checking out this month is the Ritzy Jam which takes place on Thursday 26 March, and every last Thursday of the month. The open jam is hosted by local musicians Pharoah and Tagara who create a welcoming atmosphere for a diverse mixture of seasoned session musos and more modest players for fun.

SHOUT OUT Expect dashes of poetry, TO BUDDING funk, soul, jazz, reggae MUSIC WRITERS … and afrobeat onstage, and there are open DJ Relay, giving Do you love music? Do you decks and CDJs for guest selectors frequent Brixton’s music venues, those who want to a chance to clubs and events? Fancy writing spin some tunes. showcase their for the Brixton Bugle and Blog? If At the same DJ skills. venue on If you’re so contact our music editor Dave Sunday 29 March interested in Randall at music@brixtonblog.com the Sisters Of playing then We’re looking for music Reggae bring ska, come along and have a contributors, so get in touch rocksteady, rub a word with the Sisters. and tell us what music and dub, lover’s rock and No experience necessary events you’re interested roots & revival reggae.

– you just need to be in writing about …

As they put it: “100% female, have a passion for vinyl 100% niceness!”. reggae and some vinyl records.

The evening starts with the Finally, the Bugle wishes the ever popular Outerglobe Female best of luck to all Lambeth’s school

BRIXTON

I am a trumpet player, singer, writer, producer and co-founder of a band called Soothsayers who have been active since the late 90s.

I also teach music and run a project called Youthsayers with the other co-founder of Soothsayers – Idris Rahman. Youthsayers is based at Raw Material in Brixton.

Soothsayers are based in South London but we travel. We have a project in Pakistan coming up in April and work with Youthsayers in Germany in April as well.

I also do occasional session work and play with other bands.

Favourite memories of playing Brixton?

I’ve played a lot of Brixton venues over the years but I think the best memories are Lambeth Country Show gigs with Soothsayers and also a tribute to Jamaican trombonist Rico Rodrigues with Youthsayers at the same event.

students and staff taking part in the Lambeth Sounds Music Festival, which runs from 21 to 27 March at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall and Queen Elizabeth Hall.

The festival celebrates the achievements of more than 2,500 children and young people from schools and music hub partners across the borough.

All the events are free (although some are ticketed) so get along and show your support for our next generation of musicians.

A Details at lambethmusic.co.uk.

Dave Randall is a musician and author of Sound System: The Political Power of Music.

ENTERPRISE PROGRAM

HI-FIVE

What do you do and where do you do it?

Harleighblu headlines at the Hootananny launch party

What are you listening to at the moment?

Currently listening to a new record by my friend Tamar who has a band called Collocutor. They just released a great new album called Continuation. Also a project called The Midnight Hour from USA (Al Shaheed Muhammad and Adrian Younge ).

Plus tracks we are working on for the new Soothsayers album.

Favourite album of all time?

Hard question but I think Miles Davis My Funny Valentine (1964) – live album. Miles Davis at his best with an amazing band of musicians playing with huge soul and artistry, plus my mum bought it for me for Xmas when I was 16 and it had an impact.

Where can we hear you next?

Soothsayers will be playing at a really good new venue called Streatham Space Project (142-170 Streatham Hill, SW2 4RU) on 28 March. Then we are booked for various festivals in the summer.

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8 CREATIVE BRIXTON brixtonblog.com

2020 MARCH

ARTS DULWICH GALLERY: BRITISH SURREALISM

Dreams and nightmares Leslie Manasseh sees British surrealism in context

Edward Burra, Dancing Skeletons, 1934

Surrealism was an art movement that merged dreams with reality.

It held that the unconscious mind was the source of artistic creativity and its aim was to liberate art from the constraints of rationalism and realism.

Dream-like visions, and paintings as windows into strange worlds, are the hallmarks of a movement which is often thought of as European – where major figures such as Salvador Dali and Rene Magritte tend to take centre stage.

But there were many British surrealists – albeit less well-known – who produced fine examples of the movement. Some 70 of these are now on show at Dulwich Picture Gallery’s British Surrealism exhibition which brings together the work of 40 artists and traces the movement from its roots to its conclusion in the 1950s.

Surrealism was a revolutionary movement. Established truths, traditions and conventions were

BRIXTON LIBRARY: MOTHERWORKS

to none.

Her images represent women as mothers and professionals at the same time. They are bright, busy, and amusing. Domestic scenes have been turned into compelling visual tableaux – each one a glimpse into a hectic world.

She has very cleverly both composed a shot and made it appear spontaneous. But the real genius is that each photo is part of a story – a single sentence which leaves you wondering about the rest of the paragraph.

up for grabs as artists explored the themes of war, sexual desire, radical politics and the macabre, and tried to create a new way of seeing the world. The exhibition is organised around these themes.

It also explores the origins of surrealism and includes items from as far back as 1783. Great works such as Fuseli’s Macbeth

Seher Khan

Mothers and messages Fiona Freund wants to shine a light on the hidden and overlooked talents of mothers, writes Leslie Manasseh. She is a professional photographer whose exhibition Motherworks in Brixton Library celebrates the skills, energy and determination that mothers need to bring up babies, toddlers and children.

Exploring and describing a role which is too often taken for granted, and seen as less important than paid work, she wants to show that mothers have multi-tasking skills which are second

Edith Rimmington, Family Tree, 1938

Many of them show scenes of domestic disorder which you know the mother concerned is going to have to clear up while remaining

from pallets and woodwaste to bespoke furniture WWW.INUSE-REUSE.CO.UK WW

@INUSE_REUSE @INUSE_REUSE @INUSE_REUSE

constantly vigilant about their children’s needs and behaviour. They also capture the frustrations, tolerance, chaos and above all, love, that

and Paul Nash’s haunting and bitter We are Making a New World put surrealism in a historical context. Among these “ancestors of surrealism” is the not-to-bemissed Head of a Damned Soul by William Blake.

My personal favourites include John Tunnard’s Magnetic Field painted in 1945 and rather like a wind tunnel of shapes and planes.

Edward Burra’s Blue Baby, Blitz Over London is an extraordinary vision of the blitz as a blue devilish figure looming over the city.

And don’t miss F E McWilliams’ sculpture, Spanish Head, which captures the agony and tragedy of the Spanish Civil War. Surrealism had its dark side, and there are nightmares as well as dreams in the exhibition. But there is much to enjoy. Flights of fancy, whimsy, absurd visions, and leaps of imagination are in abundance to engage, amuse and provoke.

The exhibition runs until 17 May in Dulwich Picture Gallery, Gallery Road, SE21 7AD. Open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm. £8 – £16.50.

A dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk

is part of family life.

There is much humour in her work and many scenes are examples of situation comedy. As Fiona says: “It is funny when you’re trying to strap a toddler into a buggy on a conference call with a client in a driving blizzard”.

Although each image is accompanied by 200 words written by the mother telling her own story, Fiona believes that every mother will be able to see their own experiences in the photos.

There is also clear political dimension to her work.

She points out that 54,000 women each year lose their jobs or are sidelined at work because of falling pregnant.

Her photos have messages

for women, for men and for employers. She wants them to start a conversation about the home and workplace and get employers to understand quite how skilled mothers are.

I asked her if there was one single thought she would like visitors to the show to leave with, what would it be.

She said: “Mums are fuckin‘ amazing”. Go to the show and I’m sure you will agree.

Motherworks runs until 4 April in Brixton library.

Entry is free.

A lambeth.gov.uk/places/ brixton-library A A new edition of the MotherWorks book is now available from online retailers.

THE PIGEON: I SEE YOU

People you meet in Brockwell Park David Whyte, a retired commercial photographer who has lived in and around Brixton for more than 40 years, has put together a small exhibition of photographs taken in the 1980s with a large format film camera, writes Leslie Manasseh.

All are of people he happened upon in his travels, rather than individuals or groups

he composed. The ones in particular which caught my eye are of people in Brockwell Park – bold but intimate at the same time.

If you’re in Camberwell and fancy a craft beer, pop into the Pigeon and enjoy them.

The show is called I See You and runs from 18 to 29 March in The Pigeon, 41 Camberwell Church Street, SE5 8TR.

MARCH 2020 brixtonblog.com CREATIVE BRIXTON 9

ARTS BRIXTON BLOG & BUGLE SUMMER ART SHOW Don’t forget that the closing date for entries is Friday 3 April. You can enter one or two pieces of work. All you have to do is send up to three digital photos of each one to arts@ brixtonblog.com with “Summer Art Show” as the subject. Include your name, address, contact number and a brief description of the work(s) including dimensions. The rules of entry are available at http:// bit.ly/BBBAS20-rules

An image from the Festival of Hope exhibition

ST JAMES, CLAPHAM: FESTIVAL OF HOPE

Great community art Festival of Hope, an exhibition of 231 photographs at St James Church in Clapham Park, is part of the broader programme, Hope 2020, by local churches.

Curated by local photographer Jim Grover, creator of the acclaimed photo-stories ­Windrush: Portrait of a Generation, the show consists of photos taken by ordinary members of the community, by pupils at Iqra primary school, visitors to the Ace of Clubs homeless centre, and by Jim himself.

Most of them were shot on mobile phones by people who were asked to send in images which in some way portrayed hope or hopefulness.

In Jim’s words, it was about “democratising the creative process and establishing

the church as a community space”. The result is an extraordinary variety of images – portraits, landscapes, wildlife, and people at play, work and rest.

It includes lively action shots alongside intimate moments, community traditions and scenes of modern urban life.

It was a conscious choice not to caption the photos so as to give the viewer the freedom to find their own hope in the image. This is a great example of community art.

Festival of Hope runs until Saturday 21 March in St James Church, Park Hill, SW4 9PB. Admission is free (including free refreshments). Open daily from 11am – 7pm A www.stjamesclapham.org.uk

BLACK CULTURAL ARCHIVES: BREAKING BARRIERS

No longer hidden from history The latest exhibition in the Black Cultural Archives charts the lives of five Black women who have become leaders in their field.

Created by Joy Gregory, it is based on photographs whose size, colour and composition echo the painted portraits of great leaders through the ages – invariably white men.

It is an interesting and powerful means of claiming that territory, and making visible the lives and achievements of Black

women who, more often than not, remain hidden.

Baroness Doreen Lawrence shares the stage with scientist Maggie

Aderin-Pocock, High Court judge Dame Linda Dobbs, university chancellor Margaret Casely-Hayford, and composer and musician Shirley Thompson.

Their stories accompany the portraits and each has provided an oral history which viewers can listen to.

The exhibition runs until 6 June in the Black Cultural Archives on Windrush Square. Open Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 6pm. Entry £3.

A bcaheritage.org.uk

10 COMMUNITY brixtonblog.com

2020 MARCH

People power and fighting climate crisis in Lambeth Steve Tooze on the planned Citizens Assembly to confront the challenge of climate change in Lambeth

Brixton’s Poetic Unity – five years a voice for the voiceless Jessica Dyer meets Ragz-CV who helps people use words to express and understand their world Ryan J. Matthews-Robinson, better known as Ragz-CV, set up Poetic Unity, a Brixtonbased charity, in 2015 to give young people a platform for their voices to be heard.

Originally from Brixton, Ragz-CV always knew he wanted to work in the local community. The aim of Poetic Unity is to provide spaces where young people can express their experiences and process the world around them through poetry.

It does this through events and workshops across the year. You may have heard of their weekly event, The Poets Corner, an evening of spoken word at Black Cultural Archives.

Poets Corner has been running there for more than four years and has developed an inter-generational audience thanks in part to Stephen, 71 years young.

“We call him Grandad,” Ragz says. “He’s been at more of these events than me in recent times! Stephen gives wisdom to the youth that I can’t give at the age of 32.”

Poetic Unity’s school workshops use poetry and spoken word to deliver an alternative curriculum, focusing on personal development, expression and confidence.

“We are based in Brixton, but the work we do is for everyone,” says Ragz.

Last year Poetic Unity took part in an international exchange with RISE! Canada in Toronto where the team delivered workshops for 60 young people.

Poetic Unity is looking forward to the year ahead and has a number of new programmes it will be introducing. They will focus on personal development, self-esteem and continuing to find ways to make poetry interesting and relevant to young people.

“Our other projects include ‘Mandem Let’s Talk’ a safe space for young boys to discuss mental health; ‘Poetry In Motion’ where poetic affirmations are recited while doing

exercise, which we started at The Gym Group and will now be expanding into schools; ‘It’s more than Shakespeare’ which is linked to our initial programmes, focused on spoken word performance.”

Ragz continues: “When you say ‘poetry’ a lot of young people switch off, but we are working to show young people that there is more to poetry than Shakespeare and that it’s really relatable.”

Poetic Unity is also using poetry as a therapy tool and will be expanding its mental health programmes. “We host ‘Communion’ a monthly event giving young people the space to talk about thoughts and feelings. We are not mental health professionals; this is a group by the community for the community.”

“It was really important to start in Brixton and it’s great to have a home here at the BCA,” says Ragz. “Our events bring young people into the building and hopefully they will then go on to visit the archives or exhibitions. This is a very important building with important values, and it means a lot to us that we can be a part of that.”

Ragz is joined by Jayda a young person who recently become a mentor and is being trained as a workshop assistant.

Jayda found Poetic Unity through Instagram. “I had always written, but it wasn’t something I would read out loud.

“Through social media I could see other spoken word artists and it allowed me to see that I can and want to perform.

“Ragz has supported me to build confidence and given me opportunities I wouldn’t have had before.”

The hope is that young people who have been involved in workshops and events will become mentors, with the opportunity and training to run workshops themselves, building a sustainable future for Poetic Unity.

The Poets Corner takes place on Wednesdays at BCA. Last Friday, an intimate night of poetry and games, takes place each month at Theatre Peckham.

A Instagram: @PoeticUnity A Twitter: @Poetic_Unity A Facebook: PoeticUnityProject A Website: www.PoeticUnity.org.uk

Letters will soon start to drop on doormats all over Lambeth inviting some of us to play our part in a radical show of People Power – deciding how to tackle the climate crisis on our home patch.

With flooding and wildfires increasingly in the news and pressure for urgent action mounting from groups such as Extinction Rebellion Lambeth, Transition Town Brixton, Mums for Lungs, The Green Party, and Friends of the Earth, the council has decided that a powerful way to follow through on it’s declaration of a climate emergency is to ask us what they should do about it.

Independent community engagement specialists Traverse were appointed in February to begin inviting residents to take part in the Lambeth Citizens Assembly on the Climate Crisis.

Over four weekends in May, the Assembly will meet to hear evidence from experts and scientists about the most difficult climate change-related problems facing the borough – from air pollution, waste and transport to building and energy – and consider different ways to tackle them. Then, like a jury in a court case, Assembly members will be asked to deliver a verdict about which are the best and fairest solutions for the council to reach its target of reducing carbon emissions in Lambeth to net zero by 2030.

Anna Stockdale of Lambeth Friends of the Earth says: “This is an exciting moment for local democracy. Rather than having plans to tackle climate change imposed on us from above, we’re being asked to tell the council what we think is fair, right and most effective.

“The Citizens Assembly could transform the way that we live in Lambeth and make it a greener, cleaner, healthier and happier place.”

What is a Citizens’ Assembly?

A group of people of all ages, races, classes and religious and political beliefs – chosen scientifically to be representative of the local populations – is assembled to hear evidence about the causes of a hotly-contested and complex local issue, and how it can be tackled.

The Assembly is paid for by the council. But it is run by an independent organisation to ensure that its debates and decisions are not influenced by outside pressures.

Like a jury, the Assembly is asked to reach a “verdict” based on evidence they have heard.

In this case, that will mean making a series of recommendations to the council about how to radically change transport, energy, building, waste and business plans in the borough over the next decade to cut carbon emissions,

Why do we need one?

Local politicians are experienced at managing the day-to-day challenges of our society, such

THE CLIMATE CRISIS In the 200 years since the Industrial Revolution humans have greatly increased use of fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas. This has pumped billions of tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, where they act like a blanket, trapping the sun’s energy.

LAMBETH’S BIG 3 CLIMATE CHALLENGES The Citizens Assembly could be asked to recommend solutions to three of the biggest climate change challenges facing the borough: A Air pollution – in 2019, Brixton Road exceeded the annual legal limit for peaks in air pollution before the end of January A Waste – Lambeth sends 90,000 tonnes of waste to landfill each year, adding to generation of the greenhouse gas methane.

A Regeneration and construction – the controversial demolition and regeneration of housing estates across Lambeth could generate huge amounts of carbon emissions. as running schools, repairing roads, or getting our bins emptied.

Some issues – like tackling the climate crisis – are just too complex and controversial for them to address through the usual political channels. “What if the best way to bring emissions down to the right level is to ban all car traffic?” says Neil Sheppeck, of Extinction Rebellion Lambeth.

“Traditional elections are like a popularity contest, and any political party that decides to tell people they can’t drive any longer would be hugely unpopular.

“But if a Citizens Assembly, made up of our friends and neighbours, looks at the evidence and recommends a car ban, then we are making the decision, not the politicians, and we’re more likely to accept it.”

What happens next?

A steering group, made up of representatives of local groups, will spend several weeks deciding what climate crisis topics and areas the Citizens Assembly should consider, and the questions it will need to answer.

Discussions are under way to decide how Assembly members will be paid for their time.

The Assembly is expected to come together for the first time on the first weekend in May, and then meet each weekend for the rest of the month to listen to evidence.

At the end of the month, it will deliver its recommendations to the council.

Will it work?

Citizens’ Assemblies have been used to settle many difficult disputes around the world.

In Ireland, separate Assemblies decided to legalise gay marriage and abortion. Hopes are high amongst environmental groups and politicians that the Lambeth Citizens Assembly will be just as transformative.

But there are concerns too. “At this stage, the council are only saying that they will consider the Assembly’s recommendations, rather than promising to enact them,” says Sheppeck, of Extinction Rebellion Lambeth.

“But Extinction Rebellion believe that the Assembly’s decisions will be seen as representing the will of the people, and we will campaign and protest hard to make sure every recommendation is implemented in full.”

This warming makes our weather increasingly unstable. Species are going extinct at many times the normal rate, and extreme weather events have been linked to climate change.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

– top scientists who study the latest research – say that unless we rapidly reduce our carbon emissions to close to zero we could endanger the future of civilisation and even the survival of the human race within the lifetimes of people alive now.

MARCH 2020 brixtonblog.com OPINION 11

BRIXTON BUGLE

COMMENT

Something to celebrate

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Mark Bagshaw, a Camberwellbased solicitor with Amphlett Lissimore, considers the cost to individuals and society of cuts to our justice system Since 2010, the government has closed around 300 courts in England and Wales, and has plans over the coming years to close another 77.

The most recent closure to affect local residents has been that of Camberwell Green Magistrates Court which closed for good on 31 January this year.

This was, for many years, one of the busiest courts in London. Now both defendants and witnesses from Brixton will somehow have to travel to East Croydon to appear in court. Unless they are a youth, the parent or guardian of a youth, or a witness in a youth trial, in which case off to Bromley – or even Bexley – you go.

The loss of the magistrates court follows the closure of the other main court in the borough, which was Lambeth County Court.

Divorce proceedings start in Bury St Edmunds, money claims in Salford … a hearing at Croydon County Court may be transferred to the Central London County Court in the grounds of the Royal Courts of Justice That building has since been used as a base for Extinction Rebellion and as a film set for TV shows such as Defending the Guilty.

Divorce proceedings are now started at a central court centre in Bury St Edmunds, money claims from a central court centre in Salford, and if you have a hearing at Croydon County Court in front of an actual judge, you may find your case being transferred to the Central London County Court which is in the grounds of the Royal Courts of Justice.

Probate court closures have seen an increase in the time for processing the estate of someone who has died.

Land Registry cuts mean that registration of new leases is taking six months.

Camberwell police station, which was often used by ward officers and for child protection interviews, has been sold. South Norwood police station has been sold and turned into an academy school. East Dulwich police station is also now an academy. Lambeth’s Gipsy Hill police station closed to the public several years ago. Streatham police station is closed.

Kennington police station is closed.

The general population of the UK has increased since 2010, yet the number of police officers has dropped by almost 21,000. At the same time, despite the prison population remaining static, the number of prison officers has decreased by around 7,000, which means fewer resources for the “reform” element of imprisonment.

So how does a government keep the confidence in the rule of law among the population at large?

One hackneyed old tactic is to repeat how much money is being spent and what the plans for spending are, and to talk about

RACHEL MEGAWHAT/ALAMY

As we celebrate the arrival of the new theatre on Coldharbour Lane, we should not forget what new director Gbolahan Obisesan has to say about Brixton and its “proudly political” history.

Much of what now makes Brixton a major cultural centre with an importance that greatly outweighs its size is down to a history of struggle for basic human rights by people who were prepared to go to great lengths to get them.

In a year’s time we will be marking the 40th anniversary of the 1981 riots or Uprising that took place all around the site of the new theatre, defining Brixton as a place where people really did stand up for their rights.

Elsewhere in the Bugle (p 19) we report on a theatrical event that will recall the radical gay street theatre groups in and around Railton Road, a stone’s throw from the top of the new theatre.

These are just two examples of resistance to prejudice and oppression that has shaped the culture of Brixton.

While we can be glad that we now have a major new theatre that intends to honour that culture, we can mourn the fact that its arrival has meant the disappearance of another culture – the creative anarchy of Carlton Mansions, which will now be part of the new theatrical centre.

And we must also note that the planned redevelopment of the rest of Somerleyton Road, which joins Coldharbour Lane by the theatre, has been taken out of the hands of community organisations by Lambeth council on the basis of “legal and financial challenges”.

Neither can we ever forget the ongoing suffering of children of the Windrush Generation, many of them with local roots, at the hands of the government’s “hostile environment” policy.

Despite warm words from politicians, many people, some of whom fear to come forward, are still suffering and very, very few have been compensated for their suffering.

So let’s celebrate our new theatre and let’s look forward to it becoming a part of the Brixton that has made history, both cultural and political, by standing up for its rights.

The balance between state and individual is shifting

October 2019: Police and evicted Extinction Rebellion climate activists outside the building that was once Lambeth County Court

transformation and a digital programme. It does not matter what the figure is, because it will always sound large and impressive, even though it is, in many respects actually meaningless.

Another is to announce increases in prison sentences. This usually hits the spot as the media are constantly encouraging us to be outraged at low sentences, even though we already have the longest sentences in Europe.

A British Crime Survey found that 87% of respondents thought that the courts were being too lenient. It then gave concrete examples of cases to respondents of the survey. More than half of the respondents – 64% – would have given sentences lower than were actually given by the court; 13% were more or less the same as the court; only 18% would have given a higher sentence.

The other tactic is to invent yet another criminal offence.

One of the brand new procedures, introduced on 20 January 2020, is the Stalking Protection Order. This is actually, in theory, a civil order, but is obtained by police at a magistrates court.

To obtain an interim order against someone whom the police think may be stalking someone, but don’t feel able to charge with an actual criminal offence, the standard of

The accused will be able to be represented by a legal aid lawyer, as long as they don’t earn more than about £12,500 per annum. Otherwise they are likely to face complex legal procedures unrepresented

proof is low, the evidence can be hearsay, and breaching the interim order could result in imprisonment of up to five years. The order can require someone to surrender details of their social media accounts, sign on at a police station, attend a mental health assessment, register any changes of address within three days, or do or not do a whole heap of other things.

The accused will be able to be represented by a legal aid lawyer, as long as they don’t earn more than about £12,500 per annum.

Otherwise they are likely to face complex legal procedures unrepresented at court.

It will be interesting to see how the police deal with these new powers – the balance shifts between the state and the individual.

Brixton Business Improvement District (BID) is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to strengthening Brixton’s diverse business culture. We represent more than 500 levy‑paying businesses and work to develop new and exciting opportunities for Brixton.

Brixton – The Place to Live, Work and Play…

Michael Smith, Director of the Brixton Business Improvement District Earn locally and spend locally.

Brixton is fast becoming a place to live, work, and play in London. A near-perfect concept for community sustainability.

Community sustainability, however, whilst desirable is not easily achievable. Sustainability, especially in a community such as Brixton, is important and is developed in consultation with community members focussing on; the environment, culture, local economics and people, the social fabric of the community. Achieving a recognisable level of community sustainability in Brixton will depend on a number of things – the way we use energy, how we manage our carbon footprint, and how we ensure that our people and important aspects of our local culture endures.

The plight and wellbeing of our workers and residents, our supply of goods and services including housing stock and facilities, and our local economy will also be important. Is it fit for purpose for all or, as a bottom line, are we simply creating wealth for a few?

Our UK supermarkets are responsible for using at least 58 billion pieces of plastic annually. We have many of these leading UK supermarkets here in Brixton (Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Lidl, Marks & Spencer, and Iceland). Three-quarters of all British consumers, however, are trying to cut the number of plastics they use. Marks & Spencer should extend its trial of its Refill Scheme to Brixton, allowing some shoppers the choice of filling their own containers with food purchased.

Other supermarkets should enact, locally, many of their national pledges: ● Removing hard to recycle material (Tesco) ● Removing light loose product bags from instore and plastic on fruit and half of all plastic packaging by 2025 (Sainsbury’s) ● Alternatives to plastics across UK shops (Marks & Spencer) Small operators – especially those in our markets – should not be exempt from enacting and applying environmentally-friendly standards. If New York can ban the selling of single-use plastic bags (from 1 March 2020) then so too can Brixton. These bags find their way into our waste and recycling streams, landfills and eventually into our rivers and seas. Our local lawmakers, like those in New York, are aware of the gruesome wildlife deaths and the mounds of street litter caused by single-use plastics. Banning single-use plastic bags will not be an easy task in Brixton, but it is a challenge that is totally necessary.

But why stop there? Why not also challenge our

High Street retailers to be more ethical in outlook; sourcing ethically, recycling clothing, coffee cups and coffee residue. Lambeth Council’s commitment to FairTrade may be considered by some to be dated but it is a journey in the right direction. The recycling of more business waste should be encouraged and even rewarded.

Encouraging more people to work and play in the area necessitates a better public infrastructure to support this increase in human traffic.

Although served well by clubs and restaurants Brixton’s ‘Modern Town Centre’ is void of appropriate public toilet conveniences for all. In an age when the public is being encouraged to significantly adjust our hand-washing behaviour, visitors to Brixton would be at a loss to achieve such a necessary task. We are reminded that public town centre conveniences, free or otherwise, are not a human right. The lack of such a facility could, however, be a big public health issue.

Brixton is scheduled for massive building programs and new developments over the next couple of years.

Our new builds – both residential and business – should be urged to consider more sustainable approaches to building.

Take, for example, the current Bellefields Road development by local architects, Squire & Partners.

A special timber-frame, carbon-negative scheme is being used to build with wood from managed forests in Austria. The Carbon Value of such a scheme is said to

be equivalent to eliminating the annual energy usage of approximately 88 typical UK homes. Squire & Partners are committed to keeping buildings and saving material as well as applying sustainable new materials and design to their buildings. Stone is now also proving to be a ‘new’ sustainable product, revolutionising architecture and with a tiny carbon footprint.

Our Electric Vehicle dedicated to local business use is good but simply not good enough. Brixton needs to add to its electric vehicle charging infrastructure to maintain more electric vehicles, both for business and personal use. The infrastructure to support clean transport alternatives, more electric vehicles (buses, waste disposal vehicles, emergency vehicles, etc.) are crucial, as are more electric and cargo bicycles, to support local deliveries, suppliers and leisure activities. Alternative energy efficiencies are always compatible with clean air objectives.

To sustain our live, work, play credentials in Brixton, there must be opportunities for all. Affordable housing is as important as other flats and apartments. For businesses to thrive, Brixton must accommodate a regular dependable supply of workers suitably remunerated (at least a London Living Wage), adequately housed for all at all levels and suitable rental values. Their journeys to play and work must not totally escalate their carbon footprint.

Businesses have a distinct role to play in sustainability. Sustainable businesses should, at a minimum, have no negative impact on a local economy and potentially a more positive effect on that local economy. Sustainable businesses like sustainable communities strive for similar objectives; the economy, society and the environment.

The Brixton BID sets out its sustainable business credentials through our various projects whilst at the same time always challenging our members to be themselves sustainable.

We are encouraging of Brixton as a live, work, play destination. Let us do so in the most suitable way.

Only in Brixton

IN ONE DAY WE THROW AWAY:

20M SLICES OF BREAD

16

REDUCE YOUR EMISSIONS BY WALKING AND CYCLING MORE

BRIXTON HAS 16 ELECTRIC CHARGING POINTS

0.9M BANANAS

ANNUALLY LONDONERS USE

175 PLASTIC WATER BOTTLES PER PERSON

BRIXTON HAS 1 SHARED VAN FOR BUSINESSES

5.2M GLASSES OF MILK

4.4M POTATOES

8

MILLION

COFFEE CUPS ARE THROWN AWAY DAILY

BRIXTON # rebrixton

MARCH 2020 brixtonblog.com FOOD & DRINK 15

FOOD & DRINK Budgie Montoya: Kitchen incubator winner

REVIEW: SARAP

Crackling up

Nick Buglione discovers Filipino fusion at Sarap I’m lazy. Foodie trends can pass me by and I tend to discover new cuisines when they land on my doorstep. Welcome to Market Row’s new Filipino bistro Sarap.

Remember last year’s Brixton Kitchen incubator competition?

Well, Ferdinand “Budgie’”Montoya won. Prize? A six-month residency and set-up … on my doorstep. After the well-worn development yellow brick road of food truck, supper club and pop-up residencies.

Montoya pitches Sarap (translation – delicious) as “authentic Filipino flavours delivered proudly inauthentically”. What I and Connie know about Filipino traditional dining you could write on a neutron,

so proudly inauthentic, modernised and played around with a bit is fine with me. Anyone who is anyone knows, though, the lechon is the headline act.

But first, warm up acts. Sarap is the epitome of simple, stripped back, almost sparse. You won’t be dazzled by avant-garde interior deco. It’s a small place and Budgie is a friendly guy so they have kept a hint of that supper club intimacy.

I am unclear whether there is anywhere that doesn’t serve wings in our unofficial world capital of

the chicken wing. Budgie’s wings (sorry) are a salty, garlicky, sticky, tangy, soy, ginger and sesame coated

pleasure, dipped in banana ketchup.

Almost as impressive are the BBQ pork skewers, pork shoulder marinated in soy, 7-Up, banana ketchup and calamansi (Philippine lime). Deep flavour, perhaps a little robust for some?

The menu is a small plates, big plates proposition with some interesting diversions. Cevichestyle cured market fish, clams and cuttlefish sinigang (stew) sound interesting.

But now ladies and gentlemen, the main event of the evening, Lechon liempo. I am unclear whether this is in any way an official signature of Montaya’s homeland but it’s pretty much Sarap’s. Super-slow cooked stuffed pork belly rendered with

crispy blowtorched crackling.

Think chunky hunks of falling away shards of belly encased in shards of crispy skin, served with an initially daunting liver sauce

(a Filipino BBQ sauce laced with vinegar and sugar) and papaya.

Gloriously fatty parcels infused with

lemongrass along with a fragrant jasmine rice and a kale laing (slow cooked greens with coconut milk). I am a fan of slow cooking “cheaper” cuts so pretty much in hog heaven.

A subtly sweet almost sticky cassava tart and the rest of our bottle of Rio Rocca Italian natural wine finalised mine and Connie’s supper.

The wines are a little pricey, cheapest bottle at £30 but that’s the non-intervention policy I guess. I’d have probably served the tart with a jolt of ice cream or maybe even a lemongrass sorbet to round it all off.

You have only definitely got Sarap in Brixton for another five months, although our evening suggests Budgie may hang around longer than their initial prizewinning residency.

And I would expect the menu to roll around and change. Much of what we are eating is locally sourced so, without making a huge fuss about it, seasons and the local market stalls change menus so I am interested in how things evolve into the Spring and summer.

14D Market Row, SW9 8LD | 020 7459 4274 | saraplondon.com

S ’ N XTO

BRI

ITALIAN DELI

FRIENDS OF MINE Friends of Mine is an independent familyrun business where you will enjoy an authentic Italian experience and the finest traditional food imported from Italy. We believe high quality and freshly prepared ingredients are at the centre of great taste.

Drop in for BREAKFAST croissants or panini – our coffee is 100% quality Arabica.

For LUNCH we have authentic Italian sandwiches and salads. For dessert, Outside delight in real Italian ice cream, catering pastries and cakes. for small and large We also have an enticing selection parties of imported Italian cheeses and meats as well as traditional olive oils, balsamic vinegars and antipasto.

Fancy a takeaway?

Call ahead to order, pay and collect

Italian wine selection and cocktails

020 7326 0078 • 382 Coldharbour Lane, SW9 8LF • www.brixtonsfriendsofmine.co.uk Monday to Friday: 6.30am – 11pm • Saturday: 8am – 11pm • Sunday: 10am – 10pm FoM_half_APR20.indd 1

Home delivery coming soon

01/03/2020 10:17

16 FOOD & DRINK brixtonblog.com

2020 MARCH

STIR COFFEE

Caffeinating conversations Abby Jones likes to Stir Halfway up Brixton Hill, you will find Stir Coffee. Open every day, it’s a great place to escape from busy Brixton and grab a sandwich, afternoon cake, tea or, if you’re feeling a bit Saturday afternoon-ish, a craft beer. And, of course, their coffee is excellent; sourced and served with just the right amount of barista intel.

Since it opened its doors some four years ago, Brixton has flowed right through them, and it has now become a little community in itself. Everything is sourced from independent retailers, which is refreshing, and it stands for keeping prices reasonable. The music is always good, staff always friendly, and there’s almost always a dog to stroke. Plus, you never know who you might end up having a chat with while you wait for your cuppa.

The coffee. House roasters are Mission Coffee, a 40/60 Peru/ Brazil blend and there is a regular guest single origin espresso. At the moment they are using a natural Ethiopian Boji from Outpost Coffee in Nottingham. According to Stir’s Anton, “As for handbrew we have at least 10 different beans in the building that are also available to buy. If you’re lucky I also have a private stash that I’ve been known to tap into.”

You can share a table, take a window seat, or opt for a more private enclave in the

back room if you’re having a serious chat / hangover. It has all the trimmings of a good coffee shop, pretty flowers and little antiques are scattered about, food is served on plates that you want to steal, bags of coffee are propped up on a ladder against the wall, and it has just the right amount of bare brick and distressed walls, to keep the shabbychic charm.

The food offering covers sandwiches made with fluffy sourdough, toasties, brioche buns housing a range of delights, sweet treats, from delicate croissants to sturdy brownies, you get the vibe. It’s fresh, tasty, straight up, instagrammable – it ticks all the boxes.

You can come here with a book (or pick one up on the book swap shelf), to get some caffeine on the way to work, or to make this your workplace for the afternoon. Come with your mates, the kids, your pooch, or like me, on your tod, just to get warm for a bit.

Caffeinating conversations and good thoughts from 7am to 5pm, Monday – Sunday, and keeping up the good vibes of Brixton Hill.

Anton, who set up and runs Stir Coffee, has his finger in a few other community pies that all that promise to keep celebrating Brixton.

His next venture, Ashby’s Local Store, will be opening soon, as an alternative to the supermarket, to get your groceries. It will be just up the hill, keep your eyes peeled for that one.

111 Brixton Hill, SW2 1AA | stircoffee.co.uk | instagram.com/stir_coffee

GET A TASTE OF BRIXTON IN OUR NEW TAP ROOM! Super fresh beer right where it’s made.

10 taps, other drinks, merch & more!

DRINK IN / TAKE OUT

OPENING HOURS

PUB TOP 5

Brixton beer line-ups Abby Jones goes on a beer tour of some local taverns

CROWN & ANCHOR I love this pub because the bar goes on and on and on, and all the way along it are taps dripping with hop-based delights. It is a freehold, so you know you’ll always get something new and exciting. The pub has a few constant lines including Steigl, Mondo, Brixton, Siren and Oakham, but also have space for some whacky one-offs on their regularly changing taps.

RATING: Trying anything and everything BEST FOR: My absolute favourite beer – Mondo Brewery’s Little Victories

CRAFT BEER COMPANY For a pint or two of something dangerously different or wonderfully normal, swing by The Craft Beer Company, which, thankfully, does what it says on the tin. They always have a good mix of beers from local and far off lands and they will let you try before you buy and happily chat beer till closing time.

RATING: There are no bad beers, just bad ordering. Try before you tap.

BEST FOR: Top tips from staff

WED & THURS 5-10PM FRI 5-11PM SAT 12-11PM SUN 2-6PM

ARCH 548, BRIXTON STN RD, SW8 9PF TWITTER @BRIXTONBREWERY INSTAGRAM @BRIXTONBREWERYTAPROOM

guys always have a perky wheat beer, a Beavertown, of course, something strong, something sensible, and local beers too. Every Tuesday sees their Ale Club, where they have an attractive 20% off all cask ales, perfect for the last bit of this stormy old winter …

RATING: Trust the Elm Parkers to have some crackers on tap. All you need to do is pick one.

BEST FOR: Snug local to try something new in

THE TAP ROOM BY BRIXTON VILLAGE Relatively new but settling in to Brixton Village, is the appropriately named “Tap Room” by Brixton Village. It’s a cosy little space, with some wild cards and some humble winners on tap and in the fridge. All beers are sourced with care, the line-up is balanced, and they have a real emphasis on getting local beers in. Thanks to the amazing breweries around South London, it’s a good spread Brixton Brewery, Gypsy Hill, The Kernel, Canopy and Orbit on tap. Or explore it all on a beer tasting flight.

RATING: Yum yum, up to date beer fun BEST FOR: Supporting the Village and South London brewers

THE BEEHIVE

ELM PARK TAVERN Out of the way but worth the walk up Brixton Hill, is the Elm Park Tavern. It had a revamp a few years back and is very much holding its own. They have a smashing beer selection which isn’t too complicated. These

Coming in at number five is my favourite place to get over the escalator problems at Brixton station. Only a minute’s walk from the Tube, it’s the Beehive. They have some lovely cask beers (around £3 a pint) and a properly poured Guinness. If you’re feeling wild, get your elbows in the beer slop and peer into their exciting fridge; home to wheat beers, non-alcoholic delights and some posh tinnies for those who enjoy a funky can-design.

RATING: Cheap and cheerful BEST FOR: Proper casks at proper prices

MARCH 2020 brixtonblog.com BRIXTON PEOPLE 17

School kids donate their pocket money … I would have spent my money at the sweet shop!

Walk by Brixton Tube and on almost any day and Mikey will be entertaining you on his steelpan. Simone Richardson dropped some cash into his basket and asked him about himself …

Mikey likes to be called “Kat in De Hat” – it’s on his business card, alongside the Jamaican flag. His parents are from Jamaica, but he was born in Camberwell and grew up there and has since lived in Dulwich, Peckham and, of course, Brixton. He is a Brixtonian at heart.

He says it is his “stomping ground”.

He was 12 when he first played a steelpan: “I used to just mess about with a primary school band that had got a steelpan set, which was fun to do and it helped me progress learning.

I moved into a professional band, which is where I learnt the rudiments of the instrument and how to play properly.”

Mikey has been a member of the London All Stars Steel Orchestra since 1986. It was founded in 1974 by Trinidadian Frank Rollock, a very accomplished pianist and multi-instrumentalist, who lays claim to organising Brixton’s first carnival.

Steelpan originated in Trinidad and Tobago and at its famous annual carnival in February.

London’s Notting Hill carnival has Panorama – its own steelpan competition. It has attracted hundreds of performers and audiences in the thousands.

“I have been playing on the road at the Notting Hill carnival since 1978 and I started paying at the Panorama evening,” says Mikey.

“From 1982 I entered that competition over the years with four different bands. Some years I played with two different bands in the

same competition. My highest placing was with the London All Stars – Brixton Steel Pan finishing in first place.”

Mikey has not been to the Trinidad carnival, but hopes that “maybe one day, if I am lucky”, he will. He has not been to the Notting Hill carnival for 16 years, but will be doing one more Panorama at Notting Hill this year; and that, he says, will be his last.

But he will continue busking in Brixton. “So many things are a smile to me because of pan,” he says. “Watching fully grown people cry when I play, watching little toddlers pulling away from guardians just so they can dance, school kids donating their pocket money … wow … I would have spent my money at the sweet shop! Too many things to mention …

“What is there not to love about pan?” he asks. “For me, it is the saxophone of the percussion section. When it is played and not beaten, it is one of the most beautiful sounds that anyone will ever hear.”

Mikey would love Brixton people to support the London All Stars at the Notting Hill carnival – especially this year being his last.

He says they are always looking for new players – “whether they are professionals or just playing for the first time – the more the merrier.”

Get down to Brixton Road station and you will hear Mikey who is well worth a pound from your pocket.

Brixton people win Churchill scholarships Charity CEO Gina Cicerone (above) from Brixton is one of four local people have been awarded Churchill Fellowships to research the world’s best ideas and innovations.

In Australia and the USA she will research ways to make the education system more accessible for children from low-income backgrounds.

Some 27 South Londoners were awarded funding by the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust that provides educational opportunities overseas for UK citizens that benefit them and the wider community.

The other locals are Policy officer Nicholas Plumb from Tulse Hill who will investigate the role of localism in tackling the climate crisis, in Spain and the USA. Tech and policy director Ella Mae Lewis from Brixton will explore how younger democracies are using technology to engage citizens in Malaysia, Sierra Leone and Tunisia.

Brixton child and educational psychologist Jo Taylor is researching best practices to support young carers’ wellbeing in Japan and the USA.

MARCH 2020 brixtonblog.com WHAT’S ON 19

WHAT’S ON Art sale to raise funds to tackle loneliness

The South London Gay Community Centre at 78 Railton Road opened in March 1974 and was evicted by police in April 1976

Tour and performance will explore radical queer past of Railton Road Railton Road, at the centre of much recent Brixton history, will be on the route of a two-hour guided walk on Thursday 19 March.

The Queers Make History tour leaves Herne Hill station at 2pm.

Conducted by Ian Townson, a founder member of the South London Gay Liberation Theatre Group, later the Brixton Faeries, it will concentrate on the radical gay community and gay squats in and around Railton Road from the mid 1970s to the 1981 Brixton riots.

It will also include contemporary events and many other groups active in the area.

In the 1970s new political movements

sprang up – Black, women’s and gay liberation, and issue-based campaigns – particularly squatting.

Throughout the period the Anti-Apartheid Movement, the Anti-Nazi League and Troops Out of Ireland were all active in Brixton.

Much of this radical activity influenced how politics were practised in Brixton, especially the birth of the Gay Liberation Front in 1970.

The event is part of Communal Curriculum a public programme of research which is part of the devising process for On Railton Road, a play by Ian Giles and the Brixton Pansies group, based on a script by playwright Louis

Rembges, Brixton Faeries and collected writings, it explores queer communal living in Brixton since the 1970s. It is supported by the Jerwood New Work Fund and Arts Council England. This community included street theatre groups who performed, among other places at Ovalhouse – now moved in up the road on Coldharbour Lane.

On Railton Road will be performed at Brixton Community Base in Talma Road on 17 and 18 April. It will use puppetry, verbatim theatre and scripted drama to bring this radical period to life.

A Details at www.onrailtonroad.com

Latest at the library Windrush and beyond: How to trace your African Caribbean ancestors

Saturday 28 March, 2.30 to 4.30pm.

In this masterclass, Paul Crooks gives his unique account of his family history and his top tips to get you started on discovering yours.

His talk will cover records specific to African Caribbean research, as well as material of general interest to children of the Windrush Generation.

Percy Phillips: Adventures with Electricity Thursday 26 March, 7pm

Friends of Brixton Library will welcome local musician and writer Peter Phillips to the library to give a presentation about the life and work of his grandfather, Percy Phillips who cut records in his Liverpool studio (right) and made the first discs for Ken Dodd; Billy Fury and the Beatles, among many others. Followed by a Q&A. Refreshments available.

Exhibition: #MotherWorks Until Saturday 4 April

#MotherWorks is a photographic exhibition celebrating the brilliant and bizarre duality of the life of working mums, from Brixton and beyond. For details, see page 6

Marketing Masterclass, Start Ups in London Libraries (SiLL) Thursday 19 March, 10am to 1pm

Join this marketing masterclass to discover how to find customers for new business ventures. It will also help participants to increase brand awareness. The practical workshops break down and simplify marketing strategies and processes. The aim is for people to leave with a step-by-step guide on how to implement each approach as well as a marketing plan to use right away.

To take part in this workshop, you should either have registered your business in the last 12 months or be ready to register your business.

All events at Brixton library on Windrush Square. Details lambeth.gov.uk/events

Lambeth Local History Forum has published its 2020/21 local history walks leaflet. They include many led by the Brixton Society and the Friends of Windmill Gardens. Paper copies will be available in libraries and other outlets. Copies can be downloaded from bit.ly/Walks2020

Local community charity, South London Cares hosts an art sale Downstairs at the Department Store on Ferndale Road from 7 to 9pm on Thursday 19 March. It will raise funds to help tackle loneliness.

The one-night-only event will feature the work of 30 outstanding artists curated by artist Emma Thistleton and including work

by Turner Prize nominees Bruce McLean and Simon Patterson, as well as local and emerging artists.

Selected works will be exhibited and sold over the evening, with 40 per cent of the proceeds donated directly to South London Cares.

Alex Smith, CEO of The Cares Family, said: “We know that in London the problem of social isolation runs particularly deep, with 90% of older people in London reporting feelings of loneliness, and almost a third of all

Londoners saying they feel little or no sense of community.

“As part of our ongoing fundraising, we’re excited to host this one-off event connecting South London Cares with South London artists, and to bring communities together to raise money for our programmes in 2020.”

Emma Thistleton said: “I was keen to work locally to me and with a charity that I admire and South London Cares certainly fits that bill. It is an honour to be working with such an incredible team of hard-working, forwardthinking people. I am blown away by the work they do and the difference they make.”

South London Cares works across Southwark and Lambeth to reduce loneliness and isolation by bringing together older and younger neighbours. Through their regular social clubs, one-to-one friendship matching programme, outreach and community fundraising events they bring people together to reduce the gaps across social, generational, digital, cultural and attitudinal divides.

A Entry to the sale is free, register for tickets at http://bit.ly/SLC-art20 A southlondoncares.org.uk/about-us

DYNAMIC LIFE DRAWING AT THE BUREAU OF SILLY IDEAS The Bureau Of Silly Ideas at Arch 17, Valentia Place, is organising regular monthly life drawing session, exploring performance and theatricality.

They will feature Priya, a pole performance artist, starting with

short poses leading to longer poses across the evening.

Refreshments will be available throughout.

Some materials will be provided but feel free to bring specific equipment that you would like to

use and sketchbooks if preferred.

No experience is necessary, but the class is for 18-plus adults .

The next session is on Thursday 26 March from 7 to 9pm.

Cost £15.

A bureauofsillyideas.com

20 WHAT’S ON brixtonblog.com 2020 MARCH

Jamila Omar’s selection of gigs and more in Brixton and nearby FRI 13 @ HOOTANANNY

And What? LDN celebrate the digital launch of their first album by inviting genre-defying singer HARLEIGHBLU to headline live, combining a classic yet distinctive soul voice with a love of bass and eclectic future beats.

Support comes from Fattima Mahdi (aka Fatz) – author, mentor and freestyle specialist. 9pm – 3am. Free before 10, £3/£5 after.

SAT 14 @ O2 BRIXTON ACADEMY

Ivor Novello, Grammy and two-time BRIT award-nominated producer, DJ and multiinstrumentalist JAX JONES brings the party southside, giving fans the chance to experience his multiple smash singles in a live set. With support from RAYE, Ella Henderson, Martin Solveig, Mistajam and Sam Warner. 7pm. £22.35.

SUN 15 @ POP BRIXTON

Brixton’s first and only YOUTH MARKET sees south London’s brightest and best young designers, creatives and makers show and sell their wares. If you want to sell/show your work they want to hear from you too. Midday – 6pm. Free.

MON 16 @ CHIP SHOP

Imagine the best HOUSE PARTY of your dreams … DJs select a mix of classic funk, disco and soul, epic hip hop cuts and unshazamable obscurities, all on vinyl. 7pm – midnight. Free.

TUE 17 @ WINDMILL

The Windmill is transformed into everyone’s favourite Philadelphia bar – Paddy’s Pub – to celebrate ST PATRICK’S NIGHT. This sold out in advance in previous years so make sure to get in by buying a ticket. There’ll be an It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia-style talent show featuring live covers of Irish artists, plus live sets – with Belfast accents – from Great Dad and Birthday Girl. 7pm. £5.

WED 18 @ ELECTRIC BRIXTON

London-based electronic promoter ByDay ByNight supports SIGMA on the Untoutable tour. Sigma’s knack for turning soaring strings and heavy breakbeats into blowyour-speakers anthems shows why they headline international festival stages, and boast three million singles sales and two Brit nominations to boot. 9pm – 2am. From £10.

THUR 19 @ HIDEAWAY

Sashay up to Streatham where the Brit King of jump blues guitar brings his band back to Hideaway to coincide with the release of their new album Coolerator. The Chris Corcoran Band’s signature brand of INSTRUMENTAL BLUES is exciting, dynamic and completely unique on the UK blues scene. Doors 7pm, show 8pm. £12.50.

FRI 20 @ JAMM

Brixton DRAG BINGO pops up on Brixton Road and promises to be a riotous affair.

Expect humorous bingo calls, DJs playing iconic pop and disco love anthems, dance-offs that will snatch everyone’s wigs, naughty prizes galore and, of course, exhilarating drag performances from the talented drag cast. Not to be missed. 7 – 11pm. From £16.75.

SAT 21 @ PHONOX

Re:Imagine sees a 10-piece orchestra performing the biggest RNB AND HIP HOP classics as you’ve never heard them before.

Expect everything from Biggie to Kanye, Drake to Beyonce – all backed by full string and brass sections. 8 – 11pm. £12.

SUN 22 @ QUEEN’S HEAD

Regular long afternoon and evening of board/ card games GEEKSTRAVEGANZA is held at this vegan-friendly Stockwell Road pub. Bring your favourite games or just your inner geek.

Arrive whenever you like, stay as long as you want: new games will be starting as people come in, with often one or two that can be joined at any given time. 1pm – 10pm. Free.

MON 23 @ MARCUS LIPTON YTH CLUB

Black Sisters Womb Wellness Circle is an informal gathering for women from the Black community, exploring health issues through HOLISTIC HEALTH approaches. 7 – 8.30pm. £8 – £10.

TUE 24 @ GHOST WHALE

Beer aficionados will relish HOWLING HOPS, a lip-smacking beer-tasting event held at this intriguingly named venue on Atlantic Road.

7 – 10pm. £12.

WED 25 @ BRIXTON LIBRARY

Each week Brixton Library hosts CRAFT WEDNESDAYS. Sessions will include sewing, embroidery, beading, macrame and many more! Explore and learn crafts old and new.

All welcome. 1.30 – 3.30pm. Free.

THUR 26 @ POP BRIXTON

Off Wax bring their VINYL SESSIONS to Brixton. DJs are encouraged to play records from the more obscure obstruse reaches of their collections and to share unheard music – but that’s not to say you won’t recognise some classics. 6 – 10pm. Free.

FRI 27 @ HOOTANANNY

Have a laugh each and every Friday at HOOTS COMEDY, featuring well established stand-up personalities from the UK and around the world. Tonight sees Michael Fabbri and Daisy Earle, with regular MC Eric McElroy. 8.30 – 10pm. Free.

SAT 28 @ ELECTRIC BRIXTON

SAT 4 @ BUSSEY BUILDING

Reggaeton star LUNAY performs live at “I Love Reggaeton”, performing his global smash Soltera, which has over 500 million views on YouTube, as well as other hits.

The Puerto Rican hit maker has high profile collaborations with the likes of Bad Bunny, Daddy Yankee, Anuel AA, Ozuna, Myke Towers and more. 11.30pm – 6am. £20 – £40.

Pop over to Peckham for the ever popular SOUTH LONDON SOUL TRAIN. There’s a live set from The Inexplicables, who bring something truly original to live dance music, effortlessly blending styles ranging from hip hop and reggae to jungle and drum’n’bass.

Plus great DJ sets across multiple jumping floors. 10pm – 5am. From £7.

SUN 29 @ RAILWAY TAVERN

SUN 5 @ WINDMILL

Every Sunday sees OPEN MIC NIGHT at this Tulse Hill venue. Sign up from 8pm, everyone welcome, free drink for all performers. Book a slot by emailing jackfromsouf@gmail.com or just turn up on the night. 8 – 11.30pm. Free.

MON 30 @ POP BRIXTON Each Monday, Neville from Wu Style TAI CHI CHUAN holds a free community class in Brixton. This traditional Chinese martial art has many potential health benefits including improved posture and balance, circulation, flexibility, core strength, joint mobility, focus and concentration. Open to all and suitable for all ages and abilities. 12.30 – 1.30pm. Free.

All musicians and all styles are welcome to the NO FRILLS FOLK CLUB. Expect Irish, Welsh, English and Scottish, American old time, bluegrass and western swing, French, Yiddish, East European, Scandinavian, Greek, Turkish, Balkan and more. Swap styles, share tunes and learn stuff. 7pm. Free.

MON 6 @ OLD DISPENSARY Hunker down at Hank Dog’s wonderful Monday night ACOUSTIC JAM SESSION which takes place in the Old Dispensary in Camberwell, a traditional, old school Irish pub with affordable booze prices.

8.30pm. Free.

TUE 7 @ EFFRA SOCIAL

TUE 31 @ PRINCE REGENT The long-running Prince Regent PUB QUIZ is held each and every Tuesday. Big cash prizes, free drinks questions and a rollover jackpot question that grows each week. Come down early because it’s first come, first served and tables get filled quickly. 8 – 10pm.

Tuesdays mean nothing other than PUB QUIZ. Tommy McTrivia hosts one of the busiest quizzes in Brixton, with a generous cash prize for first place and boobie prizes for second and second to last place. To book your team in advance email effrasocial@anticlondon. com. Starts at 8pm, £5 per team.

WED 1 @ THE JUNCTION

WED 8 @ BLUES KITCHEN

Junction manager Luke Hand picks some of the best musicians in London for an explosive night of hard bop and tricky time signatures at this regular JAZZ NIGHT. 7 – 11pm. Free.

THUR 2 @ EFFRA HALL TAVERN This long-running JAZZ JAM SESSION is still going strong at this much-loved Brixton boozer after many years. Come down early to get a seat as it gets super busy and feel free to get up and dance if the mood takes you. 9pm – midnight. Free.

FRI 3 @ MARKET HOUSE Every first Friday and third Saturday of the month sees THROWDOWN at this superfriendly Coldharbour Lane venue, where you can expect serious crate digging with a bit of scratching and the occasional funk/ disco/boogie edit from DJs Matt Klemara and Mr Corsini. 9pm – 3am. Free before 10pm, £5 after.

Inspired by legends from across the pond, Niall Kelly brings his signature ELECTRIC BLUES sound to Brixton, the perfect vibe for a mid-week get down to feel-good fun. Live music from 9.15pm, open til midnight. Free.

THUR 9 @ SUPERCUTE Come for a dance at Latino Thursday each week in Brixton Village market, where LATIN MUSIC and good vibes take centre stage. Sup on award-winning cocktails while being entertained by great Latin DJs, percussionists, dancers and a wide variety of Latino music genres. 7.30 – 11pm. Free.

FRI 10 @ SIMULACRA STUDIOS Bringing music, art, fashion and people together, ONE GENERATION PARTY hosts a pop-up stall. DJs will showcase genres ranging from funky disco all the way through to blasting breaks and pumping techno.

There’s also a live saxophone set. 9pm – 4am.

From £5.

WIKIMEDIA/RAPH_PH

KHRUANGBIN AND CINEMATIC ORCHESTRA FOR BROCKWELL PARK CROSS THE TRACKS Cross The Tracks festival returns to Brockwell Park on Sunday 7 June with a day of jazz, funk, disco, soul and R&B, accompanied by food, beer, a record and art fair, talks and workshops.

Latest additions to the programme include headliners Texan Thai-funk trio Khruangbin and nu jazz and electronica band The Cinematic Orchestra.

They will join Sister Sledge, Madlib, Gilles

Peterson, Shabaka & The Ancestors, Tinariwen, Jazzie B, Sudan Archives, Sadar Bahar, London African Gospel Choir pres. Graceland, Channel One, Laura Misch, Biig Piig, Greentea Peng, Charlotte dos Santos, Sasha Keable, SEED Ensemble, Charlie Bones (NTS) and more.

Khruangbin have become cult favourites in recent years. Their albums and live shows at the finest clubs and

festivals are psyched-out with dubby drums, exotic leads and warm bass.

The Cinematic Orchestra have been merging electronic music and cinematic soundscapes for decades with, immersive fusions of a range of styles. Expect plenty from their latest Ninja Tune album.

A Tickets in the region of £30.

A www.xthetracks.com

MARCH 2020 brixtonblog.com WHAT’S ON 21 BROCKWELL PARK COMMUNITY GREENHOUSES

Looking for volunteers Bait

What’s on at Whirled PAIN AND GLORY Monday 16 – Wednesday 18 March | 8pm Sun 22 March | 6:00pm Pain and Glory is a Spanish-language drama written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar, starring Antonio Banderas and Penelope Cruz. In it, a film director reflects on choices he has made in life, as past and present come crashing down.

THE BIGGEST LITTLE FARM Thursday 2 April | 8pm John Chester’s documentary follows a couple through their successes and failures as they work to develop a sustainable farm on 200 acres outside Los Angeles. Over the years, the desolate land they purchased begins to thrive and is transformed.

BAIT Monday 23 – Wednesday 25 March | 8pm Sun 29 March | 6:00pm Mark Jenkin’s film is a tale of tensions between locals and tourists in a once-thriving fishing village. It’s a portrait of familiar culture clashes in an area where traditional trades and lifestyles are under threat. Shot with 16mm clockwork cameras, Bait is an paean to Cornwall’s past and a tragicomic portrait of its troubled present and possible future.

THE WHITE CROW Monday 6 – Wednesday 8 April | 8pm Sunday 12 April | 6pm The White Crow tells the story of Russian ballet legend Rudolf Nureyev and his sensational escape from the Soviet Union to the West in the early 60s at the age of 23, while on his first European tour. Like Billy Elliot’s defection from his working-class childhood, Nureyev’s flight involves crises of loyalty with family and community.

BLUE STORY Monday 30 – Wednesday 1 Apr | 8pm Sunday 5 April | 6pm Andrew Onwubolu’s film got publicity for all the wrong reasons. It it, best friends Timmy and Marco go to the same school but live in neighbouring boroughs. When Marco is beaten up by one of Timmy’s primary school friends, the two boys wind up on rival sides of a cycle of postcode gang wars in which there are no winners … only victims.

MRS LOWRY & SON Monday 13 – Wednesday 15 Apr | 8pm Sunday 19 Apr | 6pm Vanessa Redgrave plays Elizabeth Lowry, the cantankerous and bedridden mother of the artist L S Lowry – played by Timothy Spall. Directed by Adrian Noble and written for the screen by Martyn Hesford, the film depicts Lowry’s life in Salford in the 1930s, when he lived at home, caring for his widowed mother.

Whirled Cinema | 259 Hardess Street, SE24 0HN | whirledcinema.com | 020 7737 6153

Brockwell Park Community Greenhouses are always looking out for people to help and volunteer on their four drop-in volunteering days – Thursday to Sunday 10am to 4pm.

They also have organic plants and produce for sale year round.

Volunteers can be involved in many things – gardening, building renovation, the kids programme, cooking, carpentry, fundraising, selling plants and produce, and helping at music and food events. If you would like to become a volunteer, sign up on the website.

The greenhouses run GARDENING WORKSHOPS every Sunday morning from 10am to 1pm and on Thursdays from 11am to 1pm.

School and HOLIDAY SESSIONS WITH KIDS happen from Monday to Thursday and on some Saturdays.

Details are on the website. Families are welcome to drop in and play in the natural kitchen and around the site on drop-in visitor days.

The greenhouses are in the middle of Brockwell Park, between the tennis courts and the walled garden. Follow the signs to the community greenhouses.

WORKSHOPS AND EVENTS IN MARCH Three types of FERMENTING workshop with Jelena Belgrave.

Saturday 28 March 11am to 1.30pm,

Are you curious about fermented foods and would like to learn to make them at home? There is no greater place than Brockwell Park Community Greenhouse’s organic gardens to learn, taste and make with seasonal produce.

Participants will leave with three ferments to take home and the confidence to ferment seasonally at home.

TAI CHI every Saturday afternoon on the decking in the lower garden 2pm to 3pm. Bring cash on the day (£10 full price, £7 concession.) For more info go brockwellgreenhouses.org.uk.

The greenhouse SINGING GROUP will meet every Wednesday from 4pm to 5pm from 25 March, led by local singer-songwriter Emma Tubmen. She will help members to pick up and sing simple songs with harmonies. There is no need to read music. Songs will be chosen according to everyone’s preferences. Organisers are thinking of this as a mixed-age group for children and adults.

KIDS ACTIVITIES STORY STOMPERS, The weekly pre-school storytelling in the garden continues every Tuesday from 9.15am to 10.30am. Thursdays sessions from 9.15am to 10.30am restart from 19 March. Join in for storytelling, exploring the gardens and enjoying natural play and craft with Helen – whatever the weather.

brockwellgreenhouses.org.uk

467-469 B R IX TO N R O AD SW9 8H H

22 WHAT’S ON EXTRA brixtonblog.com

Art, poetry, and a cool hidden gem

‘I knew lots of DJs, but they were all men’ Local DJ Shirley Slattery developed a love of reggae while still in the sixth form in Croydon but she did not start DJing until she was nearly 40, writes Simone Richardson.

Now she pumps out the vibes at a variety of local music hot spots.

“I bought records from a very young age. I never dreamt I’d end up DJing,” she says.

“I knew lots of DJs but they were all men. That is why I love the female DJ relay that the Sisters of Reggae do – it gives women an opportunity to play their records with help from us.”

Shirley started DJing with Sisters of Reggae three years ago. Before that she had a residency at the Dogstar, then at the now disappeared Mango Landin’, the Prince Albert and The Railway.

Shirley remembers her first proper DJ gig was at the Dogstar on a Sunday afternoon.

“I was nearly 40 years old and a friend of mine used to DJ there and I asked him if I could play a few records.

“He said ‘Yes’. So when he was having his lunch and reading the newspapers, I got to play my records. I would do that

every Sunday and then one day he couldn’t come and I had to do it on my own.

“He ended up leaving and I got to take over his slot and then onto Mango Landin’.’’

She also DJ-ed with the Alabama 3 at Brixton Jamm.

Shirley still DJs on her own at The Railway in Tulse Hill where she has a regular monthly evening.

Proof of her musical ear, if it were needed, was when she introduced the wonderful and later to be superstar Adele to The Railway where she sang.

A Shirley and Sisters of Reggae DJ regularly at Pop Brixton.

2020 MARCH

Poetry and art come together at Gida Live nights in Brixton’s Azawala Gallery. Simone Richardson went along

Jos Brient with Sheda Holda at the Azawala Gallery

The Azawala Gallery plays host to poetry evenings as well as supporting emerging African artists. It is the brainchild of two brothers of Ghanaian heritage, Jos and Nick.

Jos explains: “We’ve now created a place with heart and soul that is a hidden gem in London’s Southside.

“Our cool Azawala Gallery at 55 Loughborough Road has become popular with African and Caribbean artists and is now sought after by UK-based artists from other cultures looking for a space to exhibit their work outside the other pompous art scene.”

Spoken word poet Sheda Holda who performed on the night I visited has been reading poetry from a young age.

“My choice to be a poet is definitely

a road of discovery and I travel this road and discover more and more,” she says.

It was a pleasure to hear Lisa Lore who sang her poetry with style in sound and image and so won an encore. Her husband Keith was there as DJ Darkwood and the dynamic drummer duo – Djina Jones and Pete Phillips brought rhythm into the background.

Paintings by the late Jamaican artist Jos Peart were on show. They are distributed by Peter Goodall – a guitarist from the 60s band Thunderclap Newman, who backed the poetry on his guitar.

The Nakupenda (“I love you” in Swahili) exhibition by Jos Peart (1923-2008) is on throughout March, Thursday to Saturday, 11am to 6pm.

Gida Live spoken word nights return in April.

A On 28 March the Sheda Holda Poetry gigs will be at Habesha, 256 Brixton Road with Shamha Vibration African drummers and DJs.

‘ Gentrification is not something we have a conversation about’ Brixton’s Reprezent Radio is home to Henrie Kwushue, a radio presenter and DJ who has scored a series of exciting projects in recent months.

Henrie, a South Londoner herself, has recently produced her first docuseries, the three-part Is Your Area Changing?. It is available to watch on her YouTube channel.

Episodes explore areas in London that have ­experienced major change and developments in recent years. Each one sees Henrie interview a range of characters on the streets of Brixton, Peckham and Dalston.

Brixton was the first of the series to air and has received more than 42,000 views and counting.

Henrie introduces the Brixton episode by addressing the folding of businesses and housing estates in the area, saying Brixton is redeveloping ‘’fast ahead’’.

A montage of interviews from old and new residents, shopkeepers and partygoers, follows. Individuals offer their opinions about the past, present, and future.

Some responses are brief, while some are passionate about the subject of change.

Each episode was filmed from day through to night. “I wanted to do a juxtaposition of the day time and night time,” says Henrie. She found the contrast between day and nightlife in Brixton to be “really interesting”.

The Brixton episode had a slightly positive tone to it and Henrie was left optimistic. She says: “It’s important to bring a new scope to it”. By “it”, Henrie is referring to how depressing and unavoidable subjects of change can be delivered in a slightly light-hearted manner.

A recurring response that Henrie found was individuals emphasising that these areas have been “gentrified”. She says: “I don’t say the word gentrification at all, you can make up your own mind”.

Henrie did not want the docuseries to be subjective and closed. She leaves it for others to suggest there has been a shift in these areas.

“Gentrification is not something we sit down and

Ruby Gregory meets Henrie Kwushue, whose mini-documentary series Is Your Area Changing is getting thousands of views Below: Henrie interviews Pape Diop of Brixton’s Pape and Camile Hair & Beauty for her documentary

have conversations about”.

Episodes see people approach the subject of gentrification with maturity and, unsurprisingly, new residents and tourists appear less knowledgeable about changes. Henrie says: “People who have lived in these areas for 10 years – they’ve seen the changes’’.

She and her team produced the series using her own production company, HTK Productions.

Establishing an independent production company was important to her: “I wanted my idea to truly stay mine, to have control over what I wanted

to do”. The DJ wants to help others who have a creative idea but are struggling to find a platform.

“The whole idea of the production company is to continue with individuals having control over their idea”.

The docuseries has become a channel for Henrie and other young people to question changes in their surroundings. “It’s really important to educate yourself about what’s going on in your area and how it affects you,’’ she says.

There are hopes that a series two will be in production soon.

If you don’t know Henrie’s work, you may soon be familiar with her voice on the air. For now, you can watch Is Your Area Changing? at http://bit.ly/YT-Henrie.

A Henrie is on air at Reprezent Radio every Tuesday from 4 to 7pm.

MARCH 2020

Hill Mead HERALD We felt very special

By Jonnie-Ray and Amira After going to see The Bee In Me at the Unicorn Theatre, we were incredibly lucky that the actors came to our school and we asked them lots of questions.

We asked the actors when they started acting, Emily said that she had been acting for many years and Akshay said he had been a professional actor for only one year.

We asked them what made them become actors. Emily said that when she was younger she rarely saw people like her on the TV and in the theatre, so she was inspired to become an actor herself.

Jonnie asked “How did you feel when you

TRISTRAM KENTON

The Bee In Me, a play performed

by Unicorn Theatre, explores how some children might not have the same happy family as most.

Hill Mead pupils used it as a basis to create visual art and writing after its actors visited the school

The Bee In Me actors Emily Burnett, James RussellMorley and Akshay Sharan

were first on stage?” The actors told us that they were nervous and sometimes they still have stage fright We also asked them lots of questions about The Bee In Me. Amira asked: “How did they feel when they were on stage and being the boy?”

The actors told us how much they enjoyed playing the boy (three actors for one character).

We thought it was a very challenging thing to do and they did it very well. We were so shocked at seeing the real people who were in the play and felt very special.

We love acting and maybe we will get to be actors ourselves.

The Bee In Me monologue Writing by Jeremy Tramp, tramp, tramp … When will my parents stop? My life is like a haunted house and my parents are the monsters. They can’t even wake me up. But they can start arguing. Also, they say that it’s my problem that I wake late.

Oh my God, where is my school jumper. I swear I left it here. What am I going to do? I need to remember. I

need to remember. Wait a minute, now I remember. I left it under the bed. I am glad I found my jumper, now I am ready for school. I’m so hungry!! Hang on I think I saw a red apple in the kitchen last night. The first step in my plan, I tiptoe past my mum’s room. CREAK. Oh no! did I wake her up,? I hope not.

Now for the most difficult step, I need to get around my dad. But there are seven bottles of beer on the kitchen floor. At least I have the apple to eat.

Thump! Oh no, I have stepped on one of

the bottles. My dad is waking up. NO! I’m in school now, what a relief. I think there is no homework to give in.

Oh no, there is homework.

If I could be a bee, I would escape.

I am going to close my eyes. I am imagining being a bee and flying around. But I open my eyes. What!!! I have wings! I’m a bee. I’m on a book with neat handwriting. No, the girl saw me, what shall I do?

The window, the window. I can fly through the window.

Letters inspired by The Bee In Me

Writing by Rachel

Dear Bee Boy I know that you have had a hard, terrible day, but never give up. You are a special bee.

The challenges you are facing are hard for you, I know.

In the future your challenges will be easier.

I am sorry that your parents don’t take care of you, but you can talk to your friends, teacher and other people.

You took care of yourself, you managed to take the apple and get to

Dear special Bee Boy I know you have had an unforgivable, horrible day, but I hope you are feeling alright. I just wanted to tell you: never give up and achieve your goals.

Recently, you’ve had many difficult times and that’s why I am here to help. You have overcome fears, become stronger and, most importantly, believed in yourself.

Today you faced a lot. If I was your mother, I would be embarrassed and disappointed with myself to be thinking what I put my boy through. It must be awful for you, but you are special my boy.

school in time.

You escaped from who wanted to take you into his house and you said no.

This shows that you are mature and strong.

In addition, you are invincible because in class some wanted to swat you but you escaped from them. I am proud of you.

When you grow up you will be a good person.

Keep going, I will check with you soon Love Queen Bee

Remember that day you got bullied and you nearly got killed

by Suzan and the sailor was going to treat you to some food in his home, but you were resilient.

My boy I’m trying to say that you have a bee inside of, that you can transform into and it will stay with you forever. However long it takes for you to realise you are stronger than this, I will watch over you.

You are very, very special and one day you will be able to visit the hive, maybe even live there.

You will not be alone and you will be with a proper family. I wish I could just hug you, you poor little thing.

Love from the Queen Bee

Year 4’s art project on Impressionism included a visit to the National Gallery and a close study of Claude Monet’s Water Lilies – a series of about 250 paintings of his water garden. The children reproduced a section of one of Monet’s paintings and then created a whole-class painting.

BMX BRIXTON’S BRIXTON ALEX TAYLOR IN UNBEATEN RUN TO WIN FINAL

Bugle SPORT

By Ken Floyde

Brixton BMX club fielded eight riders at the South of England regional BMX racing at Burgess Park.

Other South London clubs fielded three riders.

The highlight of the day for Brixton

was Alex Taylor’s victory in the final of the 14-year-olds boys experts age group. He also won his three qualifying races.

Jeffrey Rojas of Peckham BMX club won three out of four races to claim overall victory in the masters category.

RESULTS 10-YEAR-OLD BOYS EXPERTS Harvey Tomlinson (Merton Saints BMX club) Harvey Tomlinson finished 5th in the B Final 13-YEAR-OLD BOYS EXPERTS Leon Bickelmann Leon Bickelmann finished 5th in the C Final 14-YEAR-OLD BOYS EXPERTS Tien Albert Max Allfrey Kieran Beneochrist (Peckham BMX club) Alex Taylor Ezra Thompson Tien Albert finished 2nd in the B Final MASTERS Jeffrey Rojas (Peckham BMX club) VETERANS Jason Lewis GIRLS 11 TO 12-YEAR-OLD EXPERTS Isla Radcliffe 13 TO 14-YEAR-OLD CRUISERS Alex Taylor

Race 1 2nd

Race 2 5th

Race 3 3rd

Semi 6th

Final dnq

Race 1 5th

Race 2 7th

Race 3 7th

Semi dnq

Final dnq

Race 1 5th 2nd 1st 1st 5th

Race 2 6th 2nd 1st 1st 5th

Race 3 4th 2nd 2nd 1st 3rd

Semi n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a

Final dnq 3rd 4th 1st 7th

Race 1 359 Race 1 4th Race 1 8th Race 1 4th

Race 2 3rd Race 2 3rd Race 2 8th Race 2 4th

Race 3 1st Race 3 2nd Race 3 8th Race 3 2nd

Race 4 1st Semi n/a Race 4 8th Race 4 4th

Final 1st Final 4th

H C N LU H T I W E R U T L CU

Dulwich Village FC win London Cup Dulwich Village FC have won the highly regarded London Football Associations County Cup – the London Cup. Wins in the competition’s rounds took Dulwich Village FC’s Under-14 Black Team to the final, held on Sunday 1 March at Fisher FC’s ground in Rotherhithe.

Dulwich Village were 3 – 1 winners against White Star Youth FC from North London. Man of the Match was awarded to Village striker Stavros Achillea.

Dulwich Village FC chairman Karl King said: “I want to say how hugely proud I am of our U14 Black team for their fantastic victory.

“This was an exciting and inspiring performance in which the team played with enthusiasm and skill.

“Above all there was a fantastic team spirit that epitomises the club’s ethos and values that football is more

than just a game. Dulwich Village Football Club is an ambitious club that aims to make sport a positive contributor throughout the local community.

“I am especially grateful for the tremendous travelling support – with such support our teams and the club will be successful in all its endeavours.”

Under-14 Black team manager Daniel Mascoll said: “My team has delivered a truly outstanding achievement.

“I have coached the team since they were eight years old and it is just wonderful to see them go from strength to strength.”

Nearly 800 teams from across London entered London Cup competitions this season.

Dulwich Village FC was established in 2008 and develops footballers from the age of six. This season the club has 51 teams, boys and girls, playing in several leagues.

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