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BRIXTON BUGLE YOUR FREE
No 48 | NOVEMBER 2016
Published monthly in and for Brixton
ISSN 2397-852X
COMMUNITY PAPER
A lawyer who works to give free legal help to deprived people in Brixton is launching a striking initiative to highlight crucial social and legal issues. Twanieka Alcindor, a non-practising barrister and founder of Lawyers in the Soup Kitchen which operates out of Brixton Soup Kitchen, is planning Brixton on Trial to raise awareness of these issues: ●●Legal aid cuts ●●Youth crime and violence in the Brixton/Lambeth areas ●●The connections between poverty
IMPACT DREAMS DESIGNS
BRIXTON ON TRIAL and crime. ●●Encouraging students from disadvantaged backgrounds to pursue careers in law.
The plan is to stage an event with the form of a criminal trial to deal with the causes and effects of and solutions for such issues. It would also raise awareness of the processes and procedures of stop and search and criminal investigation and trial. The trial would be recorded and become a resource for the community.
HEAVY HORSES
And what they mean to Cameron 8
■■Full story and how to help: page 9
25 YEARS OF BAYTREE
Still helping women and girls
7
WHAT A TURN-ON! Eddy Grant, singer of Electric Avenue, was joined by Lambeth council leader Lib Peck, London mayor Sadiq Khan and hundreds of fans for the countdown and switch-on of Brixton’s new Electric Avenue sign. The sign was soon ever so slightly out of order, but we’re told it will be working just fine very soon. ■■ More pictures and story – Page 3
ADRENALIN RUSH
Meet the Brixton Ballers
TO THE SCAFFOLD
So you don’t go back inside
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2 NEWS
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New name, new powers, new training for traffic wardens
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
ADVERTISING Jenny Shramenko 07811 878394 jenny@brixtonblog.com Circulation 10,000 copies Readership: circa 15,000 EDITOR Linda Quinn linda@brixtonblog.com MANAGING EDITOR Simon Still simon@brixtonblog.com NEWS EDITOR Anna McKie newsdesk@brixtonblog.com ARTS & FEATURES arts@brixtonblog.com FOOD Miss South food@brixtonblog.com SPORT Sandra Brobbey sport@brixtonblog.com ISSUE 48 Writers: Lilly Blanchard Nick Buglione Nikki Griffiths Frankie Holah Nicola Jones David Moftakhar Susan Sheehan Gemma Sinclair Sub-editor: Jamila Omar Production: Alan Slingsby Distribution: Philip King Crossword: Josie Gardiner 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
2016 NOVEMBER
London mayor Sadiq Khan marked Black History Month with a visit to the Black Cultural Archives on Windrush Square – seen here with BCA deputy director Doreen Foster, chair Dawn Hill, vice-chair Miranda Brawn and director Paul Reid
Cressingham Gardens ‘safe for now’ say campaigners’ lawyers by Alan Slingsby Lambeth council this month faces a second judicial review of its plan to demolish the Cressingham Gardens estate on Tulse Hill. A hearing of the judicial review will take place at the High Court on 15 and 17 November. The grounds for judicial review include a failure by the council to follow its own criteria as to the net value of its demolition plan, as well as a breach of the right to property of Andy Plant, a member of the Save Cressingham Gardens campaign. A court order he has won bans the council from demolishing the estate until the conclusion of the legal challenge. It also prohibits the council from beginning possession proceedings and compulsory purchases. The order has been agreed by the council and endorsed by a High Court judge. A council spokesman said: “Our published timeline for the proposed redevelopment already makes it
clear that no demolition would start on Cressingham Gardens before winter 2018 at the earliest, so this order does not affect that schedule in any way. It is therefore incorrect to state that this order means the estate has been “saved from demolition”, temporarily or otherwise. “The order was made following agreement between both parties. It was made in order to limit delay and the financial expense to the council tax payer and allows the council to progress the cabinet’s decision in most respects. The order will, for example, enable the council to proceed with any contracts with the development team, allowing secure tenants to move away and the purchasing of leasehold properties. “Lambeth council’s cabinet endorsed the proposal to redevelop Cressingham Gardens in March this year, following extensive consultation with residents, as they judged that it represented the best option for the future of the estate. “We will present our case
explaining why we believe we have acted lawfully in respect of this decision when the issue is heard at judicial review next month.” A year ago in the first judicial review, the High Court ruled that Lambeth council had acted unlawfully when it removed options for refurbishment from its public consultation on the future of the estate. Rowan Smith of Leigh Day said the solicitors were pleased the council had agreed the terms of the court order in their client’s favour. “This means that Lambeth council is strictly limited to what steps it can take on the estate before current legal proceedings have concluded, otherwise it will be in breach of the order and contempt of court. “The estate is safe for now, but the legal case to decide its future is still going on. We are preparing for the court hearing in November 2016, meanwhile Lambeth council is prevented from demolishing the estate.”
Lambeth’s parking wardens are to be renamed as community enforcement officers and receive special training to continue the council’s struggle to clean up the borough. Uniformed enforcement officers have since March this year had the power fine people up to £80 on the spot for offences like public urination. The council issued nearly 3,000 penalty notices last year. More than half were for littering, 500 were for illegal waste dumping. There were 142 for unlicensed street trading, but only nine for urination and five for spitting. At a recent meeting of the Brixton Neighbourhood Forum, people affected by street urination, in particular, accused the council of not doing enough to tackle the problem. Under a new council contract, APCOA Parking, the UK arm of a Germany-based group, will take over responsibility for enforcement and provide extra training for the renamed enforcement officers. The company said they would also “engage with businesses and residents” to monitor local concerns. Cllr Jennifer Brathwaite, council cabinet member for environment and sustainability, said: “Managing our streets goes beyond just ticketing illegally parked cars. We are taking this opportunity to get on top of a whole range of environmental issues that residents have told us they are concerned about. “It may not be the biggest issue in the world but we believe littering and fouling our streets is totally unacceptable behaviour which is why we are looking at this new way of getting on top of the problem.” The £27 million contract is to start on 14 November. Planned to run for eight years, it will be reviewed after four years. APCOA will take on 96 existing staff. The contract will also cover operating a car pound, vehicle removals and operating Lambeth’s CCTV control room for parking services. APCOA said the partnership with the council would “reposition” enforcement officers to focus on education and prevention and to work with the community in a “more co-operative” way.
NOVEMBER 2016
NEWS 3
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DAVID WILCOCK LUKE FORSYTHE
Eddy took us higher
Eddy Grant paid tribute to Brixton and its people when he presided at the official opening of the newly refurbished Electric Avenue and its giant illuminated sign in October. The singer, whose 1983 hit Electric Avenue boosted Brixton at a difficult time, joined London mayor Sadiq Khan and Lambeth council leader Lib Peck in counting down to the switch-on of the new sign. Earlier, Brixton Market Traders Federation leader Stuart Horwood had introduced a man without whom they could never function and who, he said, works tirelessly to make sure it does. Lib Peck presented Michaeal Johns, who runs the market traders’ toilets, with the ceremonial key to the market in recognition of his work. After the ceremony, Eddy Grant stayed behind for some time to meet fans, sign autographs and pose for selfies.
A5 Flyer Portrait
210mm x 14 8m m
Council leader Lib Peck and market traders’ CEO Stuart Horwood presented Michaeal Johns, who runs the market traders’ toilets, with the ceremonial key to the market in recognition of his work.
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Eddy Grant with his great nephew Jax after the switch-on
Bugle helps to win print award The Brixton Bugle was one of the publications that helped out printer, Iliffe Print, Cambridge, win the sought after Print Week Newspaper Printer of the Year award. The Bugle was included for its clear and concise pictures and
editorial layout. Jon Dyer, sales manager said: “It is a team effort from everybody at Iliffe Print. It is so rewarding and we are absolutely delighted.” The Bugle is now one of the publications regulated by IMPRESS – the first regulator
conforming to the recommend ations of the Leveson report into phone hacking and other media misdemeanours. Many mainstream papers like the Daily Mail were strenuously opposed to its recent approval as a regulator.
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4 BUSINESS
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2016 NOVEMBER
Brixton BID, council warn of the danger of big business rate rises Brixton’s Business Improvement District (BID) and Lambeth council have joined a London-wide campaign for changes in the rules for revaluation of properties for business rates, due to take effect next year. Business rates, which are based on rental value, have not been revalued for some time and big rises in Brixton rents are likely to mean similar rate rises for businesses. Other BIDs and the council joined London mayor Sadiq Khan in calling
for smaller caps on increases that can be levied. Rates for large businesses could rise by up to 45% in a single year. Council deputy leader Paul McGlone said the council would be responsible for collecting the extra rates, but would not gain a penny extra from it. “The huge increase will hit Lambeth and London as a whole hard while providing no benefit to residents or businesses here.” Lambeth had been working hard to foster entrepreneurship and had seen the biggest growth in new businesses of any
SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL SQUARE Friends of Windrush Square are looking for community support to keep the square tidy, vandal free and clean. Annick Alet said: “We are making slow but steady progress with this open space, but it is so difficult to maintain in the heart of a busy city centre like Brixton.” Volunteers, and people on the youth reoffending scheme joined council workers clearing litter and planting (right). Alet welcomed a bin replacement programme. There are now six bins on the square for refuse and recycling. The Friends are also looking forward to the installation of tree guards round the square’s oak trees. ■■ If you would like to help improve Windrush Square contact info@windrushsquare.org.uk
Brockwell Art Services Quality Picture Framing 232-234 Railton Road, Herne Hill SE24 0JT Telephone 020 7274 7046 OPEN Monday to Friday 11am-7pm, Saturday 10am - 6pm
www.brockwellart.co.uk 35 Years in Herne Hill We also stock a large selection of contemporary work by local artists, including paintings, limited edition prints, giclées and greeting cards
London borough in recent years, he said. “The fear now is that this increase will snuff out these big strides that we have made as a borough. “We’ll be working with local businesses and our Business Improvement Districts to urge the government not to let that happen,” said Mc Glone. Business rates are a crucial issue because, if government plans do not change, they will be the only source of income for local authorities like Lambeth council in a few years time.
Learn how to make things from reclaimed materials Brixton-based Remakery co-operative workshop space is launching an open workshop night each Thursday from 6 to 9pm. It’s a collaborative design evening where people can help develop and make things from reclaimed materials. The aim is to prototype ideas in response to a problem or brief, and. over time,. attendees will suggest new challenges which will benefit remakers and the wider community. Briefs will cover materials that are regularly thrown away, things the Remakery has lots of in its storage area or projects put to the society from businesses and the local community. ■■ For more information contact Mark Ovenden, markO@remakery. org or find more information on Eventbrite: bit.ly/remakery-SL. Remakery is running an eight-week introductory sewing course for 18-30year-olds on how to make bags and clothing. It will run on Wednesdays from 4:30 to 7:30pm, with drop-in sessions on Thursdays at the same times to practise. The first four lessons are on 9, 16, 23 and 30 November, with the last four in 2017. It’s free but a small deposit is required to secure your place – there are only 10 places available. ■■ To find out more please email seweasy@remakery. org or call Golda Mochia the Remakery community and membership executive on 07391 053 823. ■■ www.remakery.org.
WOMEN WHO MEAN BUSINESS Co-Pop, a co-operative trade movement of six women entrepreneurs, is celebrating a year of trading at Pop Brixton. The women radiate passion and enthusiasm for their business with a shared love of art, fashion and beauty. And it’s a great one-stop shop to buy your Christmas presents writes Linda Quinn. After mentoring and support from the charity Tree Shepherd through its Start Your Own Enterprise Programme they opened their door. They pool resources and help one another develop their business. Originally there were 10 in the co-op, but like any start up some drop out. But they have all learnt something from each other along the way. And “We’re still standing”. One of the few businesses with a social interest and that is local. They laugh “We are the only locals in the village!” Janet runs the Vintage business, Karlene is a make up artist and provides beauty
services, Patricia produces Whyte Bells beauty products, Miri makes Vintage Rose hand-made jewellery, Justine runs contemporary fashion, and Fari sources and sells retro clothing. They split the week into shifts and each do a day and a half. They are a one-stop shop, the common thread being fashion and beauty. They’ve struggled a bit to get known. “We’ve had our ups and downs,” says Patricia. “Being at the back of Pop Brixton doesn’t help.” Neither does the fact that most people who go to Pop tend to want to eat and drink. They hope this will change in the run up to Christmas. Co-Pop is still looking for other local people interested in sharing space. “Anything that is retail, fashion, beauty and they would like to display then ‘come and join us’.” Patricia says the business has a social purpose too: “I want to grow the business so that I can help children with autism.” She says many children with autism, like her son, with the right support are capable of doing a lot.
People’s Piano Academy launch by Anna McKie A crowdfunding campaign has been launched to make piano lessons accessible to all local children. After the success of the crowdfunding campaign for a replacement street piano at Herne Hill Station, the Herne Hill Forum has decided to bring children in the area “the life-changing chance to learn music”. Street pianos provide an “incredible opportunity for
people to sit down and play for free; but none of them yet helps children to actually learn to play the piano. Imagine the potential if we could change this”, the crowdfunder site says. The campaign has hit its initial £2,000 target but is looking for £20,000 to boost the project. ■■ For more information and to donate visit www. crowdfunder.co.uk/herne-hillpeoples-piano-academy.
brixmasbugle The next issue of the Bugle will be out on 9 December and will be a bumper holiday edition to finish off the year. So we are calling ALL advertisers to pile in with your Christmas and new year offerings —whether food or drink, gifts or services, parties or performances, or help and care Email jenny@brixtonblog.com or call 07811 8978394 before the deadline of Thursday 1 December. Don’t miss out!
NOVEMBER 2016
NEWS 5
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Local trainer helps charity fundraisers achieve their goals Brixton resident Jeremy Johnston has created a personal training plan for the Pancreatic Cancer Action charity to help fundraisers meet their targets. Johnston, who set up Do More Movement to encourage people in the area to take more exercise said: “Being fit and active has always been a passion and priority of mine and it’s something I enjoy sharing with others.” The plans are available on the charity’s website. ■■ Pancreatic cancer is the UK’s fifth biggest cancer killer. Visit pancreaticcanceraction. org for information. ■■ domoremovement.co.uk.
COULD YOU BE A SKI INSTRUCTOR?
Volunteers sought to help with anti-pollution drive Pupils from St. Helen’s RC Primary School near the heavily polluted Brixton Road joined Lambeth council environment and transport chief Jennifer Brathwaite in Windrush Square to launch a London-wide clean air campaign. Backed by London mayor Sadiq Khan, Let’s Clear The Air will encourage drivers to turn off their engines when they are not moving. There are nearly 10,000 early deaths from air pollution in the capital each year. The campaign will see community volunteers and council staff taking to the
streets after training to back the fight against air pollution in the borough. Vehicle pollutants are linked to asthma, bronchitis, heart disease and cancer and idling is an offence under the Road Traffic (Vehicle Emissions) (Fixed Penalty) (England) Regulations 2002. With funding from the Mayor’s Air Quality Fund, 12 councils including Lambeth have banded together to encourage drivers to give up the idling habit. Councillor Brathwaite, Lambeth council cabinet member for environment and transport, joined the
pupils at a giant, air quality themed snakes and ladders board (above). The game helps children to learn about air pollution, engine idling and the effects they have on health. The community volunteers will patrol the streets – focusing on idling hot spots, chatting to drivers who are idling and rewarding them with a mini version of the game if they switch off and pledge not to idle again. ■■ If you are interested in becoming a volunteer find out more at: www.idlingaction. london or email info@ idlingaction.london.
70 fires in Lambeth caused by ‘time bomb’ of faulty appliances Brixton’s London Assembly member Florence Eshalomi is backing a London Fire Brigade (LFB) campaign to make it easier for people to protect themselves again the dangers faulty washing machines, tumble dryers and dishwashers. The brigade says 70 fires in Lambeth over the past five years have been caused by defective white goods which represent a “time bomb”.
Eshalomi, who is a member of London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority, said the government should act urgently to protect Londoners and save millions of pounds for the capital’s economy. The cost of such fires in Lambeth alone is estimated to be £400,000. The LFB Total Recalls campaign calls for a single register of products from the UK and abroad that have been recalled because they are
fire hazards. Ms Eshalomi is urging the government to get behind the campaign. “Too many lives, too many family homes, have been destroyed as a result of fires which could well have been prevented. We need to go further to make people aware of the risk posed by faulty appliances and the ways in which they can keep themselves and their families safe,” said Eshalomi.
A charity is looking for schools and youth projects in Brixton to get involved in its schemes that train young people as snow sports instructors. Snow-Camp gives young people the chance to develop skiing and snowboarding skills through a six-day programme at The Snow Centre in Hemel Hempstead. This is a first step to becoming a fully qualified skiing instructor after two years. ■■ More information at snow-camp.org.uk. Or call the London programme manager on 01273 241 383.
SUPPER AND SOLIDARITY
The Marhabtayn Syrian Supper Club is back on Friday and Saturday 4 and 5 November. There will be Syrian food, drink and music in a south London home for 25 people on each evening. The group raises money to pay for urgent medical care, legal defence or to help with disability and trauma to those affected by Syria’s war. The last dinner raised over £2,000, which was given in four grants: two to help children with disabilities in Lebanon, a third to help a family in Aleppo who had lost their home and business, and a fourth to support an urban farm in Aleppo. More events are planned – an end-of-year party; film nights; and discussions about architecture and survival in Aleppo. ■■Tickets cost £35, £45, or £55 and can be bought from bit.ly/Marhabtayn. For more information or contributions contact marhabtaynsyriansupperclub@ gmail.com.
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6 NEWS
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2016 NOVEMBER
A CITY FARM FOR BRIXTON WINDMILL?
Brixton City Farmer Tamara Russell with a very relaxed chicken – Blue Jeans
Brixton Windmill, already hoping to get a new education centre if planning permission for it is granted, is seen by a local group as the perfect location for a small city farm. Brixton City Farm says: “The farm would promote healthy living and help local people understand
where their food comes from as well as a new place for school visits and children’s parties.” The group is petitioning Lambeth council to support its plan and asking local people who support it to sign its change.org petition at. tinyurl.com/glc8tk9.
Student of the year award for library occupier A young woman who was one of the occupiers of the Carnegie library in Herne Hill earlier this year has won a top award for her work in the campaign against Lambeth council’s plans for it. Rosa Beuzeval, 16, was named Student of the Year at a City Hall ceremony organised by First Give, a charity that trains and encourages school students to work for good causes. Her citation mentioned the occupation in April this year, which she took part in when only 15. First Give works with secondary schools to “build a new generation of motivated and switched-on young people who want to use their skills to support local charities”. More than 20,000 students from 107 schools took part this year. The programme consists of eight lessons and a grant of £1,500 for each school. Students visit charities and then compete in a debate to win part of the grant for their chosen charity. Rosa Beuzeval came first in her
school – the new Charter School in North Dulwich which serves East Dulwich and South Camberwell – to win £1,000 for The Friends of Carnegie Library. The Friends said that this will pay for legal and business advice to support asset transfer of the library building to a new body it has set up, the Carnegie Library Association. Two bodies are competing to take over the library, which is to be run by Lambeth council’s leisure provider Better, formerly known as GLL, after its basement is turned into a gym. The Friends say that the building when re-opened will not offer the same level of library service or of safety for young people. The council, which recently mounted a brief exhibition of its plans, says that it intends to reopen the building “at the earliest opportunity” and to keep the ground and first floors for community use, including a new “neighbourhood library”. GLL will assume the running costs of the building. The other organisation seeking
SURPRISE PRIZES FOR BRIXTON £ XMAS DRAW
The Brixton Pound is not running its traditional monthly draw in November, instead there will be a special Christmas Bonus round. Sales open on Monday 31 October, and the big winner will be announced shortly after 5pm on 16 December. Apart from the main prize of B£1,000, there will be runner-up prizes donated by Brixton’s independent businesses. “We are keeping those a surprise for now,” said the Pound, “so keep an eye out for announcements – but they are guaranteed to be amazing!” ■■ You can buy tickets through your Brixton Pound online account, via an online form, or at the B£ Café at 77 Atlantic Road.
Rosa Beuzeval (left) receives her award at City Hall from Eliza Rebeiro, founder of the anti-knife campaign Lives Not Knives
Rosa (holding left end of banner) at the demonstration to welcome the Carnegie occupiers when they left the library on 9 April to take over the library is the Carnegie Community Trust (CCT) which has a business plan for the whole building – to include a library and a range of employment-related and cultural resources and activities. The deadline for bids to take over the library was Friday, 28 October.
CCT said it had been told that the council was likely to meet the cost of independent community mediation between the rival organisations “if this should be considered helpful”. A planning application for the council’s planned changes to the Carnegie building was due at the end of the month.
LICENSING ACT 2003
APPLICATION FOR GRANT OF PREMISES LICENCE Brixton Bagel has applied to the London Borough of Lambeth for the grant of a Premises Licence, in respect of the following premises:
FOODBANK’S CARDS TO AID ITS WORK
436 Coldharbour Lane, Brixton, London, SW9 8HH Which would authorise the following licensable activities: The supply of late night refreshment from the hours of 00:00 - 00:00 Monday - Saturday and 08:00 - 00:00 Sunday The record of this application may be inspected during normal office hours by an appointment at the Licensing Section, London Borough of Lambeth, 6th Floor, International House, Canterbury Crescent, London, SW9 7QE, or via the licensing authority’s website, at www.lambeth.gov.uk/licensing A responsible authority or any other person may make representation to the licensing authority in respect of this application. Representations must be made in writing, either by post to the above address, or by email to licensing@lambeth.gov.uk and must be received no later than 18/11/2016 It is an offence to knowingly or recklessly make a false statement in connection with a licensing application, and the maximum fine for which a person is liable on summary conviction for that offence shall not exceed level 5 on the standard scale (£5000).
Lambeth College students celebrate their end of year results at the Learner Awards
Renew your ties with us, urges Lambeth College Lambeth College is asking former students to join an “old school tie” network to support current students. The college is working with the charity Future First which has already signed up 180,000 former students nationwide to stay connected with their old school or college.
Fiona Whitewood, the college’s head of marketing and communications, said the scheme would enable it to find out where former students had found work or higher education and strengthen ties between them, employers and current students. Future First executive chair
Christine Gilbert, said that if students saw that people like them had succeeded “they are more likely to believe they can too”. ■■ Former students can contact the college at alumni@lambeth.ac.uk. ■■ More at www.futurefirst.org.uk.
You can send your Christmas greetings this year with exclusive cards designed by a young Brixton/Norwood Foodbank volunteer. All proceeds will support the work of the Foodbank. There are four designs available and they cost 50p each. Cards can be collected from any of the distribution points, including the warehouse on Saturdays. ■■ Email norwoodfoodbank@ btinternet.com (with Christmas Cards as the title) to place your order. Elizabeth and Jon from the Foodbank would like to thank everyone who helped make its Harvest appeal a success. “Schools, churches and community groups have all rallied to the cause and we are incredibly grateful,” they said.
NOVEMBER 2016
COMMUNITY 7
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You feel a lot of love at Baytree The Baytree Centre, a charity working with and empowering women and girls through education and skills development programmes, is celebrating its 25 years in Brixton The Baytree Centre based on Brixton Road celebrated its 25 years with a party, art auction and a frock swap at Brixton East that raised £3,542. It needs every penny it can get. Many other charities with similar aims have been forced to close in the current climate of austerity. Baytree is there for women and girls who lack language skills, can’t access employment, live in poverty or poor housing, suffer racism and discrimination, abuse or family breakdown. It has supported 10,000 women and families over the years. With the equivalent of fewer than 10 full-time staff, the centre’s 150 volunteers are its heart. Their commitment keeps it going to support the 800 to 1,000 women and girls who come through the door each year. “They find Baytree by word of mouth,” says Mae Perreño, Baytree’s director. “Their lives are not that different from mine. I can’t afford to turn my back.” Although 100 different languagues are spoken “the universal language of Baytree is the smile”.
After spending time at Baytree, 34 per cent of women end up in employment and 63 per cent go on to full-time education. Feven and Danait, both 16, are unaccompanied refugees from Eritrea. They live in foster care and are supported by Baytree. The girls spoke hardly any English and joined the centre’s Into School programme. Both went on to college. Women like them are matched with mentors who support them in managing their workload while they are adapting to a new school system. Feven says: “I am happy to be in England. It is very nice. I don’t have my family but I have a foster family and Baytree and England is freedom!” Danait’s dream is to become a nurse and Feven wants to become a doctor. Jocasta is an 18-year-old Portuguese/ Angolan immigrant who arrived in the UK at the age of 17. She had left her parents and sisters to move to London to live with her aunt and uncle. She spoke very little English and felt isolated and vulnerable and was
unable to find a place in school. She joined Baytree’s Into School programme, attending English classes three times a week as well as art and cookery once a week. Her mentor helped her apply to schools and adjust to life in the UK. “I came with a low self-esteem. I started to make my first friends here in Baytree and everything changed. I am more confident now. “You feel good in Baytree, and that’s why I really enjoy studying here. You feel like family. You feel a lot of love at Baytree. “I have never felt this much love, also not in my family and that made me realise that we women can do everything.” Jocasta wants to go to university to study music. The Baytree team is looking into ways of supporting her with singing and piano lessons to foster her talent while she is
at college. Mariam, 14, and her mother Abeba from Ethiopia joined the Peach programme which works with families. She has two brothers. Mother and daughter both benefited from mentoring and support provided at the centre. Mariam got help with her schoolwork when she was struggling and Abeba received support and mentoring to tackle a controlling husband and chaotic family life. Baytree’s parent coordinator said: “Abeba is a different woman now. She is more confident, stands up for herself, and radiates dignity and self-respect.” Her dream is to open a cake-decorating business and she is now receiving one-to-one lessons to improve her handwriting. ■■ To find out more or to volunteer visit www.baytreecentre.org.
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8 NEWS NOVEMBER 2016
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2016 NOVEMBER COMMUNITY 8
Cameron with heavy horses Massey and Heath at Hampton Court where Operation Centaur uses them to pull a wagon for tourists on Sundays when the weather is suitable
Natasha: Confidence builder
Being with the horses used to be my only reason to go to Ebony, but now I go to see my friends Jordi, 16 Ebony Horse club is one of the Jordi started to ride at Ebony Horse Club from many things that make Brixton the age of nine. Riding is a family affair – his and sister learnt to ride with Ebony. unique and now it’s five years old brother Jordi’s brother has taken on managerial
Jordi: Opened my eyes
Ebony Horse Club has a lot to celebrate. In the five years it has been open as a community riding centre 1,100 children have learned to ride there. Children with profound learning needs have astounded both their teachers and riding instructors with their independent riding skills. Letty Porter, who has been involved with the Loughborough Junction club since 2008 says: “The club’s ethos has always been a lot more than just learning to ride. “We get to know our members over several years. There’s definitely a bond of trust that emerges and when young people have disclosed issues that they are facing our youth workers are there to offer support. “We really want every young person to fulfil their potential, but sometimes the odds can be stacked against them. “Ebony shows that there is another way and can really help to open young eyes to endless possibilities.” Five long-term members of the club talked about the impact that learning to ride has had on their lives.
Khadijah, 15
Nahshon: More independent
Khadijah is at school working towards her GCSEs. She has ambitions to study mechanical engineering at Imperial College. She lives in Peckham with her parents, brother and sister. “My love of horses started when I watched the DreamWorks film, Spirit. Since then I knew I wanted to be around horses. I started to learn to ride when I was 11 at another riding school, but it was really expensive and I could only go once a month. “Ebony provides so many new opportunities. I was really excited to meet Clare Balding and I’ve been on trips to Home Farm in Crowborough where we got to fly in a helicopter and I loved going to Wales. Our Sunday lessons are really good fun as I can forget about studying and socialise with friends.”
responsibilities at a riding centre in Lewisham and his sister is studying for a BSc in Equine Sports Performance at Plumpton College in East Sussex. “When the riding centre first opened, I was excited because we were going to have our own horses. I’ve developed a really great bond with Joe, because he’s a young horse. He has taught me a lot about patience and perseverance. “I think Ebony opened my eyes a lot earlier to different people and different experiences. It’s given me wider options to think about while I’m studying for my A-levels. Although, to be honest, getting into student debt is a worry for me. I might take a gap year to work out what I want to do.”
Cameron, 16
Cameron has recently begun a Level 3 apprenticeship in horse care in Richmond Park for Operation Centaur. He leaves his home on the Loughborough estate at 5.10am to get to work. He is fondly remembered for hanging around during the building of the riding centre and asking daily when he could start learning to ride. “I remember when the Queen came to visit with The Duchess of Cornwall – it was mesmerising because you wouldn’t expect her to visit a place like Loughborough Junction. “Now that I’m an apprentice, I like coming back to see people who have helped me get to where I am today. They really helped me out when I was struggling with school and they pushed me through my GCSEs which I needed to qualify for my apprenticeship. It’s nice to go back where it all began. “I’m definitely more positive and I have a lot more confidence in myself – not just in riding, in general.”
came to Ebony when she was 15 and often describes how her confidence was at a low ebb. “If Ebony wasn’t there for me then I would certainly not be in halls at university. And, to be honest, I don’t know if I would have even gone through any sort of higher education, since I didn’t believe I had the confidence to study away from home. “The best aspect about Ebony for me would be that it’s not too forceful on the horsey part. Ebony won’t be mad at you if you don’t know how to do something and it won’t be irritated if you just want to ride for fun or to just escape your personal problems. Being with the horses used to be my only reason to go to Ebony, but now I go to see my friends – both staff and members.”
Nahshon, 21
Nahshon is one of Ebony’s oldest members. He also started to ride from the age of nine. He is an inspiration and has overcome a lot to be where he is today. He currently works at Trent Park Equestrian Centre, one of the top riding schools in London, where he is responsible for helping to look after their 140 horses and ponies. Nahshon came fourth in dressage at the London Riding School’s competition. “Learning to ride kept me out of trouble and being at Ebony definitely helped me become a better and more independent person, I was encouraged to step up and take control of my life. Without it, my life would have been very different and I probably would have been in prison. In the future, I always want to be around horses.”
Natasha, 18
Natasha is studying for a BSc in equine performance and business management at Writtle University College in Essex. She first
Khadijah: New opportunities
NOVEMBER 2016
OPINION 9
brixtonblog.com
IMPACT DREAMS DESIGNS
BRIXTON BUGLE
COMMENT
Change not charity November seems to be a big month for anniversaries in Brixton. The ones we are marking in this issue of the Bugle range from the 25 years of the Baytree Centre to the first birthday of Co-Pop in Pop Brixton. Then there’s five years of Ebony Horse Club. They all have one thing in common. They are about people helping each other in hard times. It’s something that we tend to take for granted around here. So it’s a shock to hear about the councils that have refused even to consider helping the desperate refugee children in Calais or from Syria, or the organised media abuse of anyone who speaks up for them. When we reported that only Gibraltar was more in favour of staying in the European Union than Lambeth, we also recorded warnings that the vote would lead to an ugly upsurge of prejudice. They were right. So it’s good to know that Brixton is still at the forefront of community spirit and action in the UK. And it’s not do-gooding. All of the organisations that we report on agree that it’s change, not charity, that is really needed. So let’s hope that in a few years’ time we’ll be celebrating the anniversary of another initiative that typifies what Brixton can do. Twanieka Alcindor (this page) is not content just to offer and organise desperately needed legal help for the most deprived, she is also launching Brixton on Trial, a striking initiative to bring legal rigour and popular opinion to discussion of several crucial issues. Her project deserves all the support it can get. It’s Brixton at its caring and creative best. Regulated by IMPRESS: The independent monitor for the press 83 Victoria St, London SW1H OHW 020 3585 4160 complaints@impress.press www.impress.press
Why I want to put Brixton on trial Twanieka Alcindor, a non-practising barrister, and founder of Lawyers in the Soup Kitchen which operates out of Brixton Soup Kitchen, appeals for support for a new community project The project’s creation stemmed from my admiration for the founders of the Brixton Soup Kitchen who took personal responsibility for supporting members of the community though their difficulties. I felt that I could make a difference to the community I was born and raised in by using the legal knowledge and skills I had gained through my work and legal studies to educate people in my community who had legal problems and, more importantly, those who lack the resources to allow them access to justice. The many recent legal aid cuts, coupled with the increased demand at local legal advice centres meant that many who needed urgent legal help with things like eviction dates or bailiffs at the front door simply could neither get it nor afford it. In support of the work of Brixton Soup Kitchen in December 2014, I began
volunteering my time each week speaking with and helping those who attended the Soup Kitchen with their legal problems and being called “The Lawyer in the Soup Kitchen”. The project is now run by a team of eight student lawyers, mainly from marginalised groups, who volunteer each week to assist members of the public with their legal queries and problems. The project has no funding and all of our resources come out of our own pockets
and all of our time is provided free. In addition, in situations where we are unable to personally assist our clients, we facilitate effective referrals to other legal professionals and pro-bono organisations. We do not turn anyone away. Lawyers in the Soup Kitchen are planning to launch a project next summer called Brixton on Trial. Its aim is to raise awareness of the following issues which affect our community:
●● Legal aid cuts and the work of the Lawyers in the Soup Kitchen project ●● Youth crime and violence in the Brixton/ Lambeth areas ●● The connections between poverty and crime. ●● Encouraging students from disadvantaged backgrounds to pursue careers in law. We wish to include local lawyers, businesses, students from local secondary schools and members of the public in a “mock” criminal trial dealing with these issues and to seek to educate participants on both the processes and procedures of stop and search and criminal investigation and trial. We hope to record the trial and place it online for others to access and refer to. To enable us to conduct this trial we are seeking funding and sponsorship from our local community. We are hoping to raise £2,000 to assist us and would welcome the support of the community to help us to continue “Helping communities to help themselves”. ■■ Lawyers in the Soup Kitchen operates from Brixton Dominoes Community, 297-299 Coldharbour Lane, London SW9 8RP each Thursday evening between 6pm and 8:30pm. ■■ To discuss sponsorship or donations including office supplies/resources please visit www.gofundme.com “Brixton on Trial” or email lawyersinthesoupkitchen@outlook.com for the attention of Twanieka Alcindor.
LETTER
We must open up dialogue on knife crime Dear Editor, Knife crime with injury is becoming a growing problem for our capital. Last month it was reported that 11 people a day are injured by people carrying knives in London. For some time we’ve been seeing an increase in the number of stabbings in our city. Cuts made to frontline
policing during Boris Johnson’s mayoralty have clearly taken their toll. We’ve seen the erosion of those links between the police and communities which are vital in giving local people the courage to report if they know someone who is carrying a knife, or if they witness an incident. As a result there is a question
mark hanging over the extent to which young people today trust the police. Mayor Khan’s decision to boost neighbourhood policing with a second constable in every ward is a positive step in rebuilding those relations. The next step is to step up the work with schools and voluntary organisations to truly educate
young people about the consequences of carrying knives. Opening up these dialogues is essential to understanding why young people carry weapons and identifying tailored solutions to what is a very complex issue. Florence Eshalomi London Assembly Member for Lambeth and Southwark
10 INCREDIBLE EDIBLE
brixtonblog.com
2016 NOVEMBER
The food chain needs a shake up Susan Sheehan reports from Disruptive Food – the Lambeth Food Partnership’s AGM Repowering interns visit Brixton community gardens
A walking tour of Lambeth gardens How to Set Up a Community Garden was the title of a walking workshop that Incredible Edible Lambeth gave to interns of Brixton’s own renewable energy company, Repowering. The company is keen that renewable energy is seen as part of a package of sustainability measures that also includes food growing. Incredible Edible and the interns visited a number of community gardens, all within a very small area. Starting at Pop Brixton and
its polytunnel we then visited Canterbury Garden’s edible garden, at the side of Brixton police station, and the new and fruiting olive trees in front of the station. Then we walked over to the hidden gem that is Papa’s Park on Pulross Road, before walking along Landor Road to its Edible Bus Stop and, finally, the Atherfold and Hemberton Road Tenants and Resident Association garden further along Landor Road.
QUICK CROSSWORD
Across 1. Symbol (6) 4. Land used for growing crops (6) 8. Exposed (especially teeth) (5) 9. C in Roman Numerals (7) 10. Svelte (7) 11. Someone who can’t be saved (5) 12. Emily —, American poet (9) 17. Hoar; American poet (5) 19. Theseus’ saviour; near aid (anag) (7) 21. Bear aloft (7) 22. An angle less than 90° (5) 23. Ta (6) 24. Teem (6)
Down 1. Stamp a design (6) 2. Serve drinks (7) 3. Concluded (5) 5. Backtracks (7) 6. Poet; Burger restaurant (5) 7. Last (6) 9. Twister (9) 13. Runway (7) 14. Surely (2,5) 15. Impact (6) 16. Harsh (6) 18. Last letter of Greek alphabet (5) 20. Livid (5)
Many people are eating food that is making them unwell (diabetes, obesity, heart conditions), while production of the food is often exploiting people by paying low wages, and contributing to climate change by being transported long distances, so the food system needs disrupting, The Lambeth Food Partnership invited a panel of food “disrupters” to its AGM on 11 October to talk about what they are doing to bring about change to this state of affairs. Mama D is the curator of The Food Journey workshop performance and a researcher and writer on food sovereignty. She showed around a chayote, a tuberous vegetable that is grown all over the world. She had grown it in the UK but no-one in the room recognised it. “I use food as a stimulus for a conversation,” said Mama D. “Some people choose food that is convenient. For others it is a connection. Brixton market is a connector but there are also people there selling convenience food. We recognise the need to forge more connections.” Will Nicholson is a “connector” at The Health Foundry, a new collaborative workspace for people using digital technologies to
Chayote fruits in Brixton at Landor Road Community Garden improve health and wellbeing. He has worked in health, but not in food, and said: “I am thrilled to hear there are so many different ways to disrupt, but for me the important thing is how we come together. “How do we reach out to the big corporates, including the
big hospitals, the schools, but also how do we get this group of amazing food growers to work in partnership with the food system, or with society.” Simply, we can conclude that
transforming the food system is not necessarily about doing anything more radical than building connections with one another, and with the food we eat, rather than eating for convenience. But making connections is not a task to be underestimated. Lambeth Food Partnership is working on an action plan for the borough using the Sustainable Food Cities programme framework. Lambeth is already judged to be a Bronze Sustainable Food City so we have titled our project Going for Gold. It will take a number of years, but we have to take small steps at a time. ■■ The Lambeth Food Partnership is made up of Incredible Edible Lambeth, Lambeth council and Lambeth Public Health, and eight elected directors. For more information visit lambethfoodpartnership.org.uk.
How developer built a ‘green wall’ in Brixton What a surprise to see planters appear outside otherwise drab builders’ hoardings along Mauleverer and Mandrell Roads in SW2. Developer Banda property, which is building 16 new homes there, collaborated with Denning Design to ensure a creative streetscape during the construction period. Banda bought the site after previous owners had demolished a 46x8m mural on a long brick wall on Mauleverer Road, despite objections from local residents. The planters are, in part, compensation for the loss of the mural, which had been completed in 1983 by students from Chelsea College of Art, and featured forest scenes, horses and a Caribbean scene.
The idea for the planters came from a conversation in the pub. Rebecca Wakefield, Creative Director of Banda was explaining what had happened to her friends Tom Denning, an architect/designer and Alex Holleyoake, a carpenter. They came up with the idea of creating the “Green Wall”. All the plants along the wall (above) are evergreen. They include trailing plants which will help create a tapestry textures and shades of green. There are also planters containing herbs and apple trees for the local residents to pick. After the hoarding comes down, some of the plants will be redistributed to local neighbours and others will be replanted in the gardens of the new townhouses.
Message from the Principal
FIRST COHORT OF EGA STUDENTS CELEBRATE FANTASTIC A-LEVEL RESULTS Huge congratulations to our first ever EGA A-Level cohort! 77% of our students have achieved a place at their first or second choice of university. Currently 97% of our students
have achieved a place at university to study their chosen course. This year was our first set of A-level results. I am really pleased for the students, they have worked incredibly
hard. Some of them have been at the school from 7am in the morning until 7pm in the evening. We wanted to make sure that everyone got the results for their first choice university, and many of them have.
I am pleased for the staff too – they have put in a huge amount of work.
Ms Alexis Manlay Head of Sixth Form
SIXTH FORM OPEN DAY TUESDAY 15 NOVEMBER, 9am & 5pm
Let us help you to achieve your goals and make your dreams a reality
EGA students at the Royal Astronomical Society We are very fortunate at Evelyn Grace to have struck up an ongoing partnership with the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS). Every week a selection of our most gifted KS4 students go to the RAS centre in the heart
of London to take part in a series of lectures and tutorials. All pupils will be entered for the Astronomy GCSE at the end of the course for which we wish them all the best. Mr D Anti, Science Teacher at EGA
Evelyn Grace Academy’s Sixth Form is a distinctive, engaging and nurturing place, where we place the person at the heart of the journey. What we offer is a modern, individualised and clear route that will take you to your intended destination with both the academic credentials and the skills necessary for achievement. We believe that you have the capacity to be incredible and achieve great things. So if you are looking for a Sixth Form place of study, come along to our open day on Tuesday 15 November, 9am or 5pm. We would love to have the opportunity of helping you to achieve your goals and to help make your dreams become a reality. We look forward to meeting you. Ms Alexis Manlay, Head of Sixth Form Mr Martin Hanlon, Director of Learning
For more information contact us on 020 7737 9520 or email info@evelyngraceacademy.org
EGA Year 8 netball team carry on where they left off with a 25-0 win
DEPARTMENT OF THE MONTH MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES – HEAD OF DEPARTMENT: MS E. TAINSH
Our amazing results in language exams! Our Modern Foreign languages (MFL) department is this month’s department of the month because of the amazing results achieved. Our students who studied MFL for A-Levels and for GCSE achieved: ●● 100% A*-C Spanish AS Level ●● 74% A*-C Spanish GCSE ●● 73% A*-C French GCSE
●● 100% A*-C Mandarin GCSE ●● Over 30% A*/A grades across all languages at GCSE! ●● Over 130 students were entered for a language GCSE! Two A-Level students took part in a very successful language course in Valencia, Spain, over the summer. As a result, we are
Facilities and lettings
EGA is a state of the art, award winning building designed by architect Zaha Hadid. It has fantastic facilities available for hire, photo shoots and filming. If you would like to find out more about using or hiring any of our facilities, please email your requests to ega.lettings@evelyngraceacademy.org
Following on from the huge success of this netball team in Year 7 – making the South London Netball League Finals, Sainsbury’s School Games finals, and two students being selected for the Lambeth London Youth Games squad, the Year 8 netball team has started the season off this year with a bang! The team played Southfields (Wandsworth) in their first match of the season, with a comfortable win of 25-0! Player of the match was Ashanti Adelise who performed excellently and had incredible shooting accuracy.
preparing our current Year 13 students to attend a language school in Salamanca, Spain, in February. They will stay with a host family and attend the prestigious Don Quijote school through a scholarship won by EGA. Well done Ms Tainsh, MFL students and all the staff of the department.
Call-out to all ex-pupils
If you are a former student, we would like to reconnect with you, see how you are getting on and where you are now. Join our EGA Alumni and stay connected. For more information visit http://evelyngraceacademy.org/ sixth-form/support/alumni and sign-up today at http:// networks.futurefirst.org.uk/former-student/evelyn.
Dear Brixton, Our community is a bustling environment filled with a wealth of cultural diversity that underpins our creativity and ability to coexist together in a phenomenal way. We have a history that anchors and serves as a constant reminder of our ability to overcome hardships, negativity and obscurity; and most importantly education which has and continues to produce and yield opportunity and hope for our young people. The great Dr Martin Luther King said: “Intelligence plus character. That is the goal of true education.” I want to encourage you Brixton to not give up on our young people, to not give up on strengthening the partnership between our community and the education of our young people. They are our responsibility and together we can ensure our young people rise up to be leaders of tomorrow in every walk of life. At Ark Evelyn Grace Academy, this is our mission to which staff, parents and our students are committed to. I hope to encourage you in the next few months by showcasing what can be achieved through working together. Our students are our examples of this and I am proud of their achievements. Devon Hanson Principal Ark Evelyn Grace Academy
From left to right: (standing) Elizandra Marques, Mya Perriman, Samia Kamara, Brenda Cinotti, Ashanti Adelise, Sade Murray (kneeling): Shanice Sloely, Tayah Myers.
Our town hall mural
Lambeth council and Muse Developments chose Art4Space to run an arts project with school pupils around the meaning of citizenship. Our art department and some of our students took part. Their ideas will be turned into murals by painter Jade Perry and will be on display on hoardings round work on Lambeth’s new town hall.
Bonding through football
EGA head of PE Simon Wingate treated 40 students with a trip to the England v Malta football game. For Year 11 and Year 13 GCSE students, it was a reward for all their hard work and excellent exam results. It was also an opportunity to embed new Year 7s into Evelyn Grace and for the PE department to bond.
Evelyn Grace Academy, 255 Shakespeare Road, SE24 0QN | Tel: 020 7737 9520 | Email: info@evelyngraceacademy.org | Website: evelyngraceacademy.org | Twitter: @ARKEvelynGrace
Brixton BID AGM More than 30 BID businesses turned up to this year’s Brixton BID AGM on 4 October at Mosaic Clubhouse, Effra Road and chaired by Elly Foster of Satay Bar. They heard a review of the year which included the annual accounts and a report on the many projects the BID has funded in 2016. The BID welcomed new members including Shocklogic and T&T Productions. Of particular interest was a presentation of The Brixton Masterplan by Tom Bridgman, delivery lead for the investment and growth team at Lambeth council. The Masterplan sets out development projects in Central Brixton which include residential development, an increase in level and quality of town centre workspace, improvement of the public realm and street markets and an extension
Brixton BID is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to strengthening Brixton’s diverse business culture. We represent over 650 levy‑paying businesses in the local area and work to develop new and exciting opportunities for Brixton.
of Brixton’s retail offer. Also discussed were public car parking provision; refurbishment of Brixton railway station to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act, 1995; creation of local employment; and sustainable development. Members raised a number of questions about how the BID would collaborate with Lambeth council on the Masterplan and on the council’s future communication policy. Members were also interested in further details of the proposed shopping facilities and residential developments. Minutes of the AGM will be circulated to members shortly. The Brixton BID would like to thank all businesses who attended and hopes to see many more businesses give feedback and get involved with the BID’s projects and meetings.
Calling small traders to the Windrush Square Christmas market It’s the time of year for Brixton’s makers and traders to seize the opportunities the season of goodwill has to offer. Come and trade in the high profile area in front of the Ritzy Cinema – Brixton’s famous Windrush Square.
2/3/4 December – includes SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY! In partnership with Brixton BID and Street Concepts, Tree Shepherd is taking bookings from Brixton traders for the Brixton Christmas Market. To make the most of this opportunity, you should, ideally, book all three dates – and if you’re going for it, you should definitely be there on 3 December for Small Business Saturday!
TIMES AND DATES
5pm–10pm on Friday 2nd December (Christmas lights, singing, brass bands….it’s all happening!).
10am-4pm on Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 December
PRICES
■■ Gazebo+table £35 per day. ■■ OWN gazebo & table £15 per day. Tree Shepherd can send you a link to a good gazebo stockist if required. Different trades welcome including gifts, fashion, arts etc. Packaged or “Christmas gift” foods only for the above price. ■■ Please note HOT FOOD SELLERS £50+ per day, depending
on the date. You need to bring your own gazebo/set up.
BOOKINGS
To book a stall, contact Lydia Gardner, Lambeth Enterprise Manager at Tree Shepherd 020 3697 1540. Email lydia@treeshepherd.org.uk @TreeShepherdUK ■■ See: bit.ly/TS-Xmas16.
Support our traders on Small Business Saturday Rather than heading off to the West End to fight your way through Christmas crowds, stay in Brixton to do your shopping – particularly
020 3417 7373 admin@brixtonbid.co.uk
on Saturday 3 December – and support Brixton’s own Small Business Saturday. Whether you are looking for gorgeous
@BrixtonBID brixtonbid.co.uk
gifts, one-off fashions, beauty treatments and barbering – or in search of fresh market produce, and great food and drink, shop LOCAL.
BRIXTON MEDIA
A different kind of Splash The BID is trialling a new splashback wall coating designed to deter street urination. Liquiproof, which supplies specialist protectant sprays, has been commissioned by the BID to coat walls in Brixton town centre with a revolutionary superhydrophobic treatment. In plain language, it makes the walls so slickly waterrepellant that boys who can’t hold it in until they get to a toilet, get their output splashily returned to them and onto their evening finery and footwear. So as not to spoil the surprise, the specific locations of the treated walls are to be kept secret. If successful, the Liquiproof treatment will be rolled out (and onto) other spots around the BID area. Pee in public at your peril.
Brixton celebrates Electric Avenue The #RockDownToElectricAvenue opening on the 17 October was the culmination of months of work. Not only has Electric Avenue got a stylish neon sign, but Brixton BID has been working with Lambeth council and the Brixton Street Market Traders Federation to enable traders and shopkeepers to benefit from new payment technology on the market. Contactless payment in the near future will feature on Electric Avenue on both the stalls and in the shops. As for the neon sign, programming of the colour sequencing and maintenance is being handed over to one of the BID’s very able young staffers who will be ensuring Electric Avenue stays electric. LUKE FORSYTHE
BRIXTON MEDIA
Sicilian cooking in the heart of Brixton Located in Pop Brixton, Franzina Trattoria celebrates the Sicilian love of great flavours and delicious fresh food. Specialising in schiticchio, pronounced “ski-ti-keeo” and meaning “small plates to share” – and then also pitittu (“pee-teet-o” – “a bit more to are”). Sicilian chef Pietro and his partner Stefania have already attracted an enthusiastic following with their warm hospitality and changing menu of traditional and modern taster dishes.
They also offer a great selection of Sicilian wines. Franzina Trattoria, Pop Brixton, 49 Brixton Station Road SW9 8PQ Tel: 07847415955.
Open Monday to Sunday 11am to midnight To see the full menu and to make reservations go to franzinatrattoria.co.uk Email: info@ franzinatrattoria.co.uk
Enjoy panto at Brixton East Put 22 or 23 December in your diary for Snow White, a Pop-Up Panto at Brixton East staged by theatre company Sixteenfeet Productions. Written by Lee Sutton and directed by Kirsty Patrick Ward Described as “an interactive pantomime with a modern twist” it was
commissioned by the Old Vic for its New Voices programme. There will be performances of the 60-minute production each day at 11.30am and 2.30pm. “As spell binding for adults as it is for kids,” said South London Press. ■■Box Office: 020 7856 0380.
14 COMMUNITY
brixtonblog.com
Climbing out of trouble – the scaffolders of Brixton Prison You can learn to be a scaffolder in Brixton Prison. Alan Slingsby met prisoners who are doing just that, their trainer and the people who made it possible A seven-metre high scaffolding tower clings Of the Brixton scheme, she said: “It’s a to the side of Brixton Prison’s G Wing – and win-win situation for everyone – people get scores of people were there to inspect it one a second chance, the industry gets skilled day last month. workers and our communities become safer by It’s not what you expect to see in a prison reducing reoffending rates.” – even one like Brixton, which ceased to She paid tribute to governors of Brixton be a local prison in 2012 and became a prison who had been prepared to back projects “Category C” training establishment. like the scaffolding course. But, in what is believed to be first such “I have an idea for a tunnelling course,” scheme in a UK prison, the Pop Brixton based she quipped. “But that might be a little charity Bounce Back is providing training that more difficult.” will help prisoners to get good jobs when they She also praised Alandale construction leave and the construction industry to meet a whose managing director Matthew Warner skill shortage. had “worked tirelessly” to get the project Fran Findlater, founder and CEO of the running and whose company had donated the charity, told people at the formal launch of the materials it needed. scheme in the prison’s Clink restaurant – with Other partners include the leading prison breakfast provided by its Bad Boys Bakery training charity Novus and the government’s – that Bounce Back already had a queue of National Offender Management Service. people prepared to offer jobs to 20 scaffolders Training is provided by Mark “Scaff” trained by the scheme. Harris, a former Brixton resident, who now Four have already passed the 12-week commutes back. When he first saw the advert course that should enable for the job online, he them to start work as thought it was a joke. scaffolding labourers – a But, he says, the job that commands pay of prisoners he trains are £100 to £110 a day. If they more motivated and continue to progress, they disciplined than those on could be earning £160 a day the outside. in a year or so. One of them, Dave, was Bounce Back ambasdue to be released four sador Paul Elliott, days after the launch event. Fran Findlater and CBE, former Charlton, He will have a diploma Paul Elliott at the launch Celtic and Chelsea star, to confirm his scaffolding untied the ceremonial ribbon – no scissors training and a job waiting for him. allowed in prison – to open the scaffolding He can also explain how scaffolders use training centre. Pythagoras’ theorem to make sure their “What Bounce Back does is to give people constructions don’t collapse. who have made mistakes the opportunity to And he has the Construction Skills reintegrate into the community,” he said. Certification Scheme (CSCS) card that anyone “It builds confidence, gives them a dream, working in the industry now needs. Bounce gives them a future. They can visualise an Back ensures that its trainees gain the card opportunity at the end of their sentence.” while still in prison so they are ready to work The average reoffending rate for someone as soon as they are released. leaving a UK prison is 40%. For those who It was not Dave’s first time in prison. But have been helped by Bounce Back it is 12%. with a skill in high demand and a job waiting The scaffolding course at Brixton joins other for him, he is determined it will be the last. skill training there provided under contract “I’m not coming back,” he said. “That’s it.” by Bounce Back including drylining (using Started in 2011, Bounce Back currently plasterboard to create internal walls) and trains up to 60 people a day and has an 85% painting and decorating. success rate of people leaving prison either Both Findlater and Elliott stressed that the going into further training or employment. success of the scheme is due to a network of Since it started it has worked with nearly industry, charity and government partners 600 people. that had overcome both practical problems Prisons minister Sam Gyimah said the like supply of materials and security and charity was “an excellent example of how wider doubts about the scheme. employers can provide invaluable work Debbie Akehurst, head of economy and opportunities for offenders while in prison to communities at Land Securities, told the help them turn their lives around. Schemes launch audience that her company had been like these can help to break the cycle of working on employment programmes for five re-offending, which means fewer victims and years and with Bounce Back for three. saves the taxpayer money.”
Above: The scaffolding tower on the G Wing wall Right: Trainer Mark ‘Scaff’ Harris Below: Painting and decorating class in the prison
2016 NOVEMBER
NOVEMBER 2016
brixtonblog.com
HISTORY 15
July 17, 1996: Nelson Mandela visits Brixton Rec … and is that Prince Charles with him?
Nick Buglione continues a journey through time with his recollections of Brixton – this month, the nineties
The party years Au revoir the 1980s, bonjour Brixton 1990s. The party years, the hedonistic years, to reuse a dodgy phrase, the “ghetto fabulous” decade. Where our favourite slice of south London genuinely began its transformation from shabbily splendid isolation to today’s (eventual) post-hipster sub-metropolis. Except, for now, this was fuelled, not by London’s hysterically spiralling housing prices, but by social blooming, creative germination and … the Dogstar. If I could stop time, this is where I would have stopped it. As a bubbling backwater of opportunity and some legendary parties not yet sanitisied and overwhelmingly gentrified by property prices and aspirational schooling manoeuvres. In the (marketing) age of Brit-Pop, in between celebrating the second “summer of love” on the Fridge balcony and dancing on tables in the Dogstar, we indulgently mused that if, all of a sudden, Britain was at the apex of world cool, London was clearly the coolest. So by irrefutable logic, the coolest person in Brixton was the coolest person in the world. Life centred round a social axis of The Dogstar, The Fridge, St Matthew’s Church, the Phoenix Café, Brockwell Lido and the all-singing, all-dancing new multiscreen “arthouse” multiplex The Ritzy. RIP the stoner all-nighters. Brixton was a relatively small, mildly hip, ecosystem in which to be a relatively medium sized fish.
Tensions still existed for sure. both middle-aged parents at the of Clapham and Putney sauntered There were riots after the death of same school. With Circa’s pokey down Coldharbour Lane at the Wayne Douglas in police custody, editorial offices housed first in weekends in search of DJs, late when the Dogstar was “windowed” the upper reaches of St Matthew’s night hedonism and all kinds of and “torched” on the eve of “our” Church and later in the chaotic intoxicants. Rubbing shoulders with Circa Magazine party, and the upper rooms of the Dogstar where old school still murky, occasionally horrific 1999 nail bomb, offset by we also ran Lawrence Merritt’s troubled Brixton. Our private patch glorious days such as Mandela Dogstar press operations. was suddenly socially significant, pitching up at Brixton Rec to an The 1990s was also when the less of an exclusive island unto inspiringly rapturous crowd. internet and mobiles arrived to itself. I suspect we viewed the new The “Village” was still mostly change the world. All of a sudden, bohemians with slightly inverse a derelict potential palette for those images you were chasing snobby amusement. They hadn’t today’s foodie done the hard miles. emporia, although While the Dogstar Fujiyama was here and the Fridge All of a sudden the international bright young things to begin stretching reigned at night, the the Brixton of Clapham and Putney sauntered down Coldharbour daytime clubhouse menu beyond was the Phoenix Lane at the weekends, rubbing shoulders with old fried chicken. Café, where, without school, still murky, occasionally troubled, Brixton Circa Magazine arrangement, we’d was a Brixton all congregate for mag launched steamy hangover by Sandie Tozer, where I cut my weren’t arriving as transparencies cure fry-ups and lunchtime gossip. journalistic teeth. It steered clear of by courier (or post!), they were Gone but not forgotten. politics and the ups and downs of flying through cyberspace with And for a couple of glorious Lambeth council and talked about ten minutes to deadline. Backed summers, the urban oasis that local celebs, interesting cultural by intermittent cellphone calls on was Brockwell Lido was a home happenings and Brixton’s semi-flourhuge brick-like phones with suspect from home. Rescued from squatty ishing nightlife. network coverage. Ironic, as I am semi-dereliction by two guys called Let’s not get all “Warhol Factory”, submitting this article with about Paddy Castledine and Casey McGlue, but it was a bunch of enthusiastic, 30 seconds to deadline. RIP the at least one long hot summer passed slightly sideways people creating fax machine. us by where a surprisingly small something in enthusiastic semi-amThe Dogstar should be credited congregation of locals (with clearly ateurish ways. Ahead of its time, with practically inventing the now too much leisure time on our hands) nowadays it would be a crowdfunded ubiquitous late night/all night camped out there while the rest website and a kickstarted app. pub-club and helping to transform of the world remained blissfully My first ever feature? An Coldharbour Lane into a somewhat ignorant it was even open. Imagine interview with Miranda Sawyer safer, less imposing after hours more or less having the whole place in the Lido Café, I suspect in social boulevard. All of a sudden the to yourself and a few others. Grab swimming trunks. Today we are international bright young things some pasties from Kennedy’s in
Herne Hill, sneak in some beers, and stay for the day. For want of a better word, the wonderfully dishevelled Alabama 3 were the house band of Brixton, fuelled by The Sopranos opening credits, an heroic devotion to bourbon and the blues, debut magnum opus Exile on Coldharbour Lane and amazing live residencies at Mass in St Matthew’s Church. Where a saucer-eyed, highly fuelled, often dishevelled hedonistic Brixton Acid Posse were hosted by Larry Love and Reverend D Wayne Love. Spiritual HQ: Bradys. With themes of the October Revolution (where the whole band shaved their heads and came out as Lenin), embracing Elvis via diamante outfits and Vegas kitsch and a gospel night with a whole choir on stage, along with Soul II Soul, still Brixton’s greatest musical nights and their debut album has remained a vinyl favourite ever since. We even hosted our own “whiteboy” hip-hop nights at The Vox which was a club in the vaults of Brighton Terrace, chosen only as our limited retinue of guests were transported down to “A Bowl of Soul” via an industrial lift. We called ourselves the Doobie Funk Mellow, played too much Galliano and gradually realised we weren’t going to be the next club phenomenon. As we started belatedly growing up, so too did Brixton.
16 ARTS & CULTURE
brixtonblog.com
2016 NOVEMBER
Everything you need to know about the Effra Romantics may wish to avoid a comprehensive new book about the River Effra. Ever since, and even before, the late nineties arts project Platform ran a convincing but entirely bogus campaign to bring the Effra back above ground, it has inspired local imaginations. As the Platform campaign noted after the emergence of the Effra Liberation Front – which was not part of its plans – “The Effra project was deliberately constructed to be a highly convincing simulacra of a Docklands ‘development agency’ aesthetic, and some would say too convincing for its own ethical good, and continues to raise hackles and chuckles when we present it today”. But Jon Newman’s River Effra, South London’s secret spine, published on 3 November, tells a different, more convincing and much more fascinating story. He swiftly and effectively dismisses myths about viking invasions and barges full of royals using the Effra to reach Brixton from the Thames. He shows that speculation about the name Effra originating in a Celtic word meaning “torrent” is almost certainly very wide of the mark. For hundreds of years the stream had no name at all and Newman demonstrates that, when it finally got one, it was probably a corruption of “Heathrow”, a local place name. Trying saying it quickly with a Sarf London accent after a few bottles of Brixton Brewery’s Effra Ale. The river’s course did not run along Effra Road, but it did drown the landlord of the White Horse (now Brixton Jamm) when it ran along Brixton Road. And, as it did, it carried the raw sewage from Brixton, Dulwich and other points along its route which begins in the hills near what is now Crystal Palace. It was this that motivated the eventually successful campaign to have it covered over. Lambeth council’s elegant manhole imitations to mark the river’s course that were put in place in Brixton earlier this year seem to celebrate a rural past that hardly existed, rather than a triumph for public health. Newman is also convincing when he concludes that the river’s course was changed radically by human intervention at the point where it reached the area near the Oval. He also shows that anyone claiming to know where the Effra flows into the Thames is wrong. What he does do is shine a light on the development of Brixton, London’s sewage system and the refusal of “lost” rivers to go away. One of several excellent maps showing the former course of the Effra confirmed my suspicions about the fate of a collection of original Rolling Stones singles and psychedelic posters in a Brixton cellar that was filled by five feet of water that disappeared as suddenly as it arrived. No-one who cares about Brixton should miss this book and it would be a great gift for any local – new or old. Alan Slingsby ■■ River Effra, South London’s secret spine; Jon Newman; Signal Books; £9.99; ISBN 9781909930421. Published 3 November 2016.
Will Rastall and Steven Brandon in My Feral Heart
We’re not so different, you and I My Feral Heart is coming to Brixton’s Ritzy as an independent release. Lilly Blanchard talked to Will Rastall, Brixton resident and British Independent Film Awards nominee, about the film
Covering everyday topics such as family, bereavement, and community, My Feral Heart follows the story of Luke (BIFA nominee Steven Brandon), a young man with Down’s syndrome. After the death of his mother, Luke is sent to a state-funded home, despite having already shown that he can live independently. Accustomed to a far freer lifestyle, Luke battles against the home’s rules and
restrictions but befriends Eve, a young member of staff (Shana Swash) and Pete (Will Rastall) who is carrying out his community service at the care home. The film also stars Pixie Le Knot, Eileen Pollock and Suzanna Hamilton. Speaking to Will Rastall (Hollyoaks, Game Of Thrones), it becomes clear that My Feral Heart addresses the importance of community – a live topic in Brixton. “Brixton is a place with a strong sense of community, it is important that stories dealing with important everyday issues are told,” he says. My Feral Heart is one of the very few films to cast a young man with Down’s syndrome in the lead role and Pete’s line – “We’re not so different you and I” – expresses its unifying ethos.
Rastall commented on this quality and explained how he hopes the film will “create conversations and challenge perceptions”. He also stressed that the audience would meet characters “people can really relate to”. He hopes that this will “inspire the audience to tell their own story”. Written by Duncan Paveling and produced by Jane Gull, this independent film tours the UK through the cinema-on-demand company Our Screen (ourscreen.com), which allows members of the community to put forward their local cinema for film screenings. The Ritzy showing this month is already sold out – so time to request another screening. ■■ Brixton Ritzy. Saturday 5 November at 10.30. ■■ myferalheart.co.uk.
Black and white story about a grey situation Nicola Jones reviews A United Kingdom – a story of race and royalty The biopic has been both a star maker and a star enforcer. This year comes a biographical film that centres on a relationship rather than an individual figure. A United Kingdom attempts to explore the marriage between white English woman Ruth Williams and the crown prince of (what is now known as) Botswana, Seretse Khama. Directed by Amma Asante (2013’s Belle), the film is lofty in its pursuit of condensing a courtship of a year into the first five minutes of screen time. More so, it immediately alienates a modern audience
who might mistake the proposal as only happening after three dates. A common post-war occurrence, surely, but not the real case with this couple. So hastily in love Ruth leaves her unaccepting family in England and heads to Botswana-land to accompany Seretse as he returns home to take his crown. Rosamund Pike, who was superior in 2014’s Gone Girl, is not given any true moment to shine as Ruth. Her glacial face is an excellent mask for the
difficulties of her situation, but that is about it. David Oyelowo as Seretse has more of a presence, which is expected after his excellent turn as Martin Luther King Jr. in 2014’s Selma. His rousing plea to his country is, well, rousing, but his Seretse is unencumbered with complexity. In fact, the racial dealings of the film are presented as very black and white in a situation that was certainly built entirely in the grey. The Botswana setting
is the ultimate star of the film and Sam McCurdy’s cinematography offers the audience the beauty of this African country at every opportunity. To its credit A United Kingdom was shot in Botswana, but the film is clearly weighed down with efforts to please the remaining family of this couple. Guy Hibbert’s script is repeatedly caught in hackneyed dialogue and the emphasis is placed far too much on the political ramifications of this marriage to England than on the people of Botswana or the couple themselves. ■■ A United Kingdom is in theatres in the UK on 25 November. ■■ Nicola Jones’ Ritzy roundup, page 21.
NOVEMBER 2016
brixtonblog.com
ARTS & CULTURE 17
The Mambo spirit lives on in West Norwood It’s 20 years since the Mambo Inn closed its doors. Editor Linda Quinn and Delores William took a trip down memory lane with co-founder and DJ Gerry Lyseight. You can hear Delores’ podcast on brixtonblog.com The Mambo was one of the things that made Brixton special long before it became a tourist destination. The mix of Afro, reggae, jazz and Latin played by Gerry Lyseight guaranteed that the dancefloor was always packed. The cultural mix of the music was reflected in diversity of the regular crowd. North Londoners didn’t travel South in those days. But they made an exception for the Mambo. It was one of those places. Sometimes you could spot celebs like Clive James on the floor. The Mambo, based at the Loughborough Hotel closed after six years in 1996 – 20 years ago this New Year’s Eve. But the spirit lives on at the Mambista nights hosted by Lyseight in the Portico Gallery, a bus ride away from Brixton in West Norwood. He still plays music from all over the world, Caribbean, West African, and Latin American. “Every job I ever did, I found a way to get music into it,” he says. “When I started working for the Greater London Council, I worked for a police monitoring group. “The police had something called the Blue Light disco. They used it to go into schools and youth clubs. “I founded an alternative for those who didn’t necessarily want to have the police on premises. I DJ’d then and got into less mainstream music.”
He detests the term world music and says “All western music is African I would argue”. When the Loughborough Hotel changed landlord, he made an approach and the Mambo was born. “We’d get there at 9 o’clock to set the place up. There would already be a queue around the block. Doors opened at 10 and we’d be rammed by 11 o’clock. He started and ran the club with Max Reinhardt and Sue Steward (who was very important on the Latin music scene). and later, Rita Ray. “The thing with it was we decided the music policy was Latin, African and jazz. All western music is African. It might be one, two to six or eight generations removed. I’m talking about hip hop and talking about jazz, and reggae. Although we use those terms as widely as possible. “We played stuff from all over Africa, Latin America, North America, North Africa and the Caribbean.” “Channel 4 started to do a programme called The Big World Café which was filmed at the Academy. We used to go to the Academy and hand out our flyers.” What made the Mambo so special? “Women would come on their own which was unheard of. It was a great place to meet people.” So what happened? “It was incredibly painful to me” that the atmosphere changed. “It just ran out of steam.”
GERRY LYSEIGHT: ‘We decided the music policy was Latin, African and jazz. All western music is African’ Today with brixtonblog’s Delores William and, inset, at the decks of the Mambo in the Loughborough Hotel You can’t say that about Lyseight. He has no intention of hanging up his turntable just yet. His Mambista nights have been running for two years and are going strong. It’s the same mix that still keeps everyone on their feet. He likes to bridge from one genre to another. “You can go from Ska to Colombian Cumbia, Latin then Latin jazz to Jazz to funk and then into straight funk.” Lyseight also had a GLR (BBC, 1988-2000) radio show and recalls interviewing Charlie Watts. “It was quite something,” he says. “He was a very, very nice man. He sent me a letter afterwards signed Charlie Watts and in brackets – Drummer Rolling Stones.” Gerry chuckles at the idea anyone might not remember/know who Charlie Watts was. He still runs a radio show on alternate Sundays at www.phonic.fm at 8pm. If you missed it you can check it out at www.mixcloud.com/Mambista. ■■ Mambista nights are the fourth Friday of the month at the Portico, 23B Knight’s Hill, SE27 0HS. (switching to the first Friday in the New Year). Check it out. ■■ FB: Mambista
Underground art at the Brixton Pound café The Brixton Pound Café has opened its basement to artists Formed in 2014, SPLEEN Projects, an artist-run initiative that puts on exhibitions combining visual art and performance in alternative and “non-gallery” settings, will be the first to make use of Brixton Pound’s new café basement space. Formed in 2014, SPLEEN says it aims to provide a platform for emerging or underrepresented artists to showcase their work. During a six-week residency in the Pound café’s basement studio at 77 Atlantic Road, SPLEEN will transform the space to host a month-long programme of exhibitions and performances that are intended to “make connections to both the nature of the space and to the community surrounding it”. SPLEEN said it had wanted to do an exhibition in Brixton for a while and that the Pound’s initiative is really interesting, particularly its support for local artists. The basement space appealed to them
What’s planned …
Exhibitions open daily 11am – 5pm Amba Sayal-Bennett Crypt 10 – 17 November Amba Sayal-Bennett’s work probes the relationship between experience and language. For Crypt, she will be showing a series of her “drawing projections” (left). Honey Hahs and Madonnatron Musical performances 12 November. 7 – 11pm
for many reasons, including “the fact that there’s no natural light, and the feelings or sensations that might be associated with being underground”. The Pound has also given SPLEEN an opportunity to be in one spot for a significant
period of time. “For us this is unusual because we always show in non-gallery spaces. We normally only have a place for a number of days. So this time we’ve had the time to develop a whole series of events that tell a larger story.”
India Harvey Umano Universale 24 – 27 November Artist and researcher India Harvey presents an immersive installation exploring ideas on neuroplasticity and unusual sensory processing. Anna McDowell No Words 1 – 8 December A series of sculptural works that explore ideas about loss.
18 FOOD & DRINK
brixtonblog.com
RECIPE: BAJAN CONKIES
Great for bonfire or breakfast Want to make Brixton feel like Bridgetown? Try Miss South’s Bajan conkies
Being Northern Irish I didn’t grow up with any Bonfire Night celebrations, so I’ve always been amused to find that some of the smaller Caribbean islands that were formerly under British rule did. Unsure whether it was traditional patriotism or secretly anti-imperialism to mark the attempted overthrow of the British Parliament, I turned my attention to the food instead. Barbados is the place to eat for Bonfire Night with their delicious conkies, made from grated pumpkin, coconut and cornmeal before being wrapped in banana leaves and steamed. Perfectly tropical there and yet perfectly autumnal here, they make a fantastic sweet snack in front of the bonfire or even as a delicious breakfast. Start by grating your peeled vegetables. If you have a food processor, then note the distinct gleam of green in my eyes. You need to make a fine batter for the conkies so you’re going to grate those veg on the finest gauge of dimples on your box grater and that is hard work. I found singing tunelessly helped distract me from my aching arm. Put the grated vegetables in a large mixing bowl. Add the desiccated coconut. If you have a random Halloween coconut in the house,
by all means crack it open and grate the flesh of it too. Your arms will be magnificent at this rate. Add all the dry ingredients including the
fruit next and stir them through well. Melt the butter and stir that in along with the vanilla and almond essences. Start adding the milk a cup at a time. You want a consistency to your conkies that is just turning into a batter but not liquid, so you might need more or less milk depending how moist your vegetables are. It also worked perfectly for me when I made a batch of these vegan with non-dairy spread and milk by the way. Something slightly sweet like coconut would work particularly well but soy milk was excellent too. When the batter is mixed, set aside and cut 20 squares of greaseproof paper about 20cm by 20cm. Measure out 20 lengths of string about 15cm long. You could do this first, but I actually found the way the paper rolls up took up more space when I was trying to mix stuff. If you have banana leaves handy, then you’re in luck. I’ve not found them in Brixton outside Christmas time. Lay out a piece of string, setting a square of greaseproof paper on top and put two spoonfuls of batter in the centre, neatening it up a bit with the back of the spoon if needed. Fold the paper like a parcel so the batter is completely enclosed and the ends are tucked in. Tie the string in a parcel bow too and snip any really long ends short. If you have a steamer, set the conkies into it in two layers. If you don’t, take your largest saucepan and set some small ramekins or a wide shallow bowl in the base so the conkies don’t sit directly in boiling water while they steam. Set the conkies onto it and pour the water as far up the bowl as possible. Put the lid on the steamer or saucepan and steam the conkies for about 45 minutes. Check them to see if they are firm to the touch. If not give them another 15 minutes having made sure the bottom layer aren’t burning and the pan still has enough water. Allow the conkies to cool for about 15 minutes before serving if eating then. They are great straight from the paper or can be served as a dessert with ice cream if you like. They can also be made in advance and microwaved for about 40 seconds to warm from chilled if you want to batch cook before hosting a party. Brixton will feel like Bridgetown in no time.
BAJAN CONKIES (makes 20) ¡¡ 500g of a mix of pumpkin, sweet potato or carrot ¡¡ 150g desiccated coconut ¡¡ 75g plain flour ¡¡ 150g cornmeal ¡¡ 150g sugar ¡¡ 150g raisins ¡¡ 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon ¡¡ 1 teaspoon ground ginger ¡¡ 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves ¡¡ 1/2 nutmeg, freshly ground ¡¡ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ¡¡ 1/2 teaspoon almond essence ¡¡ 120g melted butter ¡¡ 900ml milk Untitled-1 1
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2016 NOVEMBER
FOOD & DRINK NEWS Botany, beer and bargains Educate more than your palate at the South London Botanical Institute … and more craft beer outlets are planned for Brixton
NNTulse Hill’s South London Botanical Institute has won a City Bridge Trust grant of £76,500 for a three-year project – Botany on Your Plate – that will introduce children and adults to the science behind food plants. SLBI Trustee Marlowe Russell said: “It’s so important in today’s world that those in the city as well as the country understand where their food comes from”. See www.slbi.org.uk, call 020 8674 5787 or email info@slbi.org.uk.
NNThe Portuguese Street Market in Battersea High Street will be open from 10am to 5pm every Sunday until Christmas with stalls selling Portuguese food, wines, cheeses, groceries, pastries, gifts and crafts. There are 50,000 Portuguese people in London, plus more from the other seven Portuguese speaking countries.
NNGhost Whale, an independent “beer and culture store”, is due to open soon at 70 Atlantic Road – aiming to “provide the best local, national and international craft beer in a friendly, fun neighbourhood shop” from a stock list of more than 300 beers, ciders and more in cans, bottles and growlers. ghostwhalelondon.com.
NNStir Coffee at 111 Brixton Hill came through a sticky Lambeth licensing sub-committee meeting last month. It had sought to vary the hours it could play recorded music and serve alcohol – upgrading an existing off-sales and music licence. After hearing representations both for and against from residents and the licensing department, it was agreed that the playing of recorded music be withdrawn from the application and that alcohol can be supplied no later than 10.30pm. Tables and chairs outside the café must be cleared at 10pm on Monday to Friday. Owners Anton Taratine and Sam Reed are planning to offer an extensive range of craft beers.
NNThe Commercial opposite Herne Hill station on Railton Road is offering people trying its new menu a tenner off their bill if they spend £40 or more. New dishes on offer include Devon crab on sourdough toast with avocado and black pudding cake with bacon and poached egg.
NOVEMBER 2016
FOOD & DRINK 19
brixtonblog.com REVIEW: WHITE HORSE
A pub for all reasons Nikki Griffiths explains why the White Horse on Brixton Hill is such a longstanding favourite of hers and many others We are so fortunate to live in a world full of innovation, where we’re constantly surprised and learning what’s new. Creativity is being pushed to its limits, records are being beaten and new discoveries are constantly being made. Not least in the world of food. This mind-expanding progression means we are becoming more perceptive, particularly when it comes to the basics. We all love the simple comforts and when we have the chance to step away from busy lives and experience them, we don’t want anything to get in the way. The White Horse on Brixton Hill is the epitome of standards and sociality. It’s a proper pub with good beer on tap, beautiful high ceilings, wooden floors and large windows. There’s a pool table, seating (and heaters) outside, they have great music on through the latter half of the week and weekend and, I’ll get to the point, decent grub. There’s a different menu for different parts of the week. On weekdays you can grab sandwiches and salads, with a discount being offered to those working close by. In the evening a few additional mains are listed and brunch and Sunday roasts are added on the
weekend. What’s more, the menus suggest that bursts of saltiness and the chilli mayo is a the White Horse team wants to put up food great accompaniment. that sets them apart from other pubs. There’s One section on the menu is named hot pans nothing too predictable about what’s on offer – this refers to those highly Instagrammable and thought has clearly gone into making skillet pans usually serving baked eggs. The that so. one that caught our eyes was the mac ’n’ So often pubs get away with serving food cheese so we ordered that and prayed that it which is sub-standard, because the pint is the would have a crispy top. And it did. This is a priority. But not here. Along with the menu, generous portion of extraordinarily hearty, the service, the presentation and the execution bubbly and cheesy carbohydrates. We ate all stand up. It isn’t without its minor faults, the lot. but those are easily overcome and made up for Finally, what’s dinner at the pub without a in other ways. burger? The chicken burger is bold, with brie Salt and pepper squid is one of my favourite and bacon included as standard and no cheeky ever things to eat – when it’s done right. £2 charge per extra item. Here at the White Horse, the crunchy batter Unfortunately its accompaniments – the against the soft squid is so satisfying and it gem lettuce, smushed up avocado, tomato and has been cooked perfectly. My favourite part red onion – were freezing. So much so that is hoovering up the remaining scraps with my they got a rise out of my sensitive teeth. Once index finger – like a Dib Dab for grownups. removed, the burger was really good with It could have done with just a touch more smoky chargrilled butterfly chicken and a salt, but the totally delicious and homemade super-soft bun. fresh chilli sauce definitely offset that. They I think the best description of this perfect should consider bottling this up and selling it. pub is that if someone made a British version Most of the rest of our food ended up getting of Friends, the White Horse could quite easily dunked in it. be our Central Perk. Our other starter of halloumi croquettes It’s an ideal place to meet your pals was another textural win. This is one of the whether that’s during the day or the evening, rare times I’ve eaten a croquette and enjoyed in summer or winter. It has such a warm, it, rather than been weighed down with heavy friendly and laid-back atmosphere and you can mashed potato. The centre is super light which easily turn minutes into hours in there. I love makes it the perfect contrast to the crispy this pub for so many reasons and it’s a reason BrixtonofBugle Ad.pdfare 1like24/10/2016 16:02 exterior. Cubes halloumi little it is such a long-standing local favourite.
electrifying Electric Avenue
from 8th October and into the night . . . HEAltHy EAtErS will now be opening
11.00pm
until in the evenings and from 8th October you will be able to enjoy Jamaican rum, cocktails, and authentic jerk chicken to the sounds of sweet reggae music.
So, come on and rock down to
17 Electric Avenue Brixton SW9 8JP and let the fun begin!
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NOW TAKING XMAS BOOKINGS BOOK ONLINE WWW.NANBAN.CO.UK VISIT OUR WEB SITE FOR CHRISTMAS MENU
Thank you to everyone who voted us ‘Best restaurant in Brixton 2016’
020 7274 4521 www.healthyeaters.co.uk
NANBAN, 426 COLDHARBOUR LANE, BRIXTON, LONDON SW9 8LF T E L 0 2 0 7 3 4 6 0 0 9 8 O N L I N E W W W. N A N B A N . C O . U K
20 WHAT’S ON
brixtonblog.com
2016 NOVEMBER
Jamila Omar rounds up a November selection of what’s on in Brixton and nearby FRI 28 @ BRIXTON JAMM
Jamm’s Halloween special, South London’s Garage Halloween Rave Day of the Dead, includes Artful Dodger, DJ Luck & MC Neat, Oxide & Neutrino and more who will play OLD SKOOL favourites taking you back through the last two decades, with some of the biggest names in Garage history. 10pm-5am. £15.
SAT 29 @ PRINCE OF WALES
Gin & Juice club Halloween extravaganza with classic HIP HOP. 10pm-4am. £12.50.
SUN 30 @ BRIXTON WINDMILL
Storytelling and other suitable spooky Halloween activities for KIDS at the Windmill off Brixton Hill. Noon.
MON 31 @ EFFRA SOCIAL
The Social’s restaurant will be transformed into “something a little bit spooky, filled with the bizzarre, grotesque and downright weird’ for a HALLOWEEN-themed evening. Set menu only. 6-10pm.
NICK FIELD IN WORK PLAY
TUES 1 @ THE PECKHAM PELICAN Ovalhouse has some great shows this month. Details at ovalhouse.com/whatson. 10 – 12 Nov 7.45pm WORK PLAY by Nick Field How can a cupcake spark a workplace war? A hilarious look at the games we play at work, and why we play them.
22 – 26 Nov 7.30pm STILL by The Future is Unwritten Celebrates the life and work of reclusive street photographer Vivian Maier and looks at issues in photography.
30 Nov – 3 Dec 7.30pm POST by Xavier de Sousa An exploration of what it means to be a migrant inhabiting a “national limbo”. Includes soupmaking heritage workshop …
An Artist Residency in Motherhood is an initiative by the artist Lenka Clayton. Potato Sprout is a collection of artworks that are the result of a month of loving and IRREVERENT CREATIVITY with her 7-year-old son as her partner against boredom. 6pm-8pm. Free.
WED 2 @ THE CAMBRIA
Camberwell Life Drawing holds untutored LIFE DRAWING classes for anyone who wants to spend an evening creating some art in a relaxed, friendly and bohemian atmosphere. 7pm-9pm. £10 per session (student concession £6).
BEAUTY IN THE EVERYDAY
THUR 3 @ THE PARLOUR
APPRECIATING STILL LIFE
This Herne Hill cafe hosts an evening of food, wine, beer and classic BOARD GAMES. From 7pm.
AN EXHIBITION OF PAINTINGS, SCULPTURE, CERAMICS & CONTEMPORARY DESIGN
FRI 4 @ ELECTRIC BRIXTON
25TH - 27TH NOVEMBER 10.30am - 6.00pm BRIXTON EAST
Shake off the Monday night blues with Big Jo Louis. This Jamaican-born London blues heavyweight serves up his authentic DELTA BLUES sound with intensity. Live music from 9.15pm. Free.
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David hosts the Cambria QUIZ. Teams of six or less battle it out for a cash prize, which is doubled if the winning team gambles and answers the Killer Question correctly. Second place wins a bottle of wine. Each player will receive a raffle ticket for a Meal For Two voucher. 8pm. £2 per player.
FRI 11@ HAND IN HAND, NEW PARK RD
Punky Reggae Party play early songs by The Damned, Jam, Clash, Stranglers, Stiff Little Fingers, Ian Dury and Elvis Costello with support from DJ Deadly Dave Ralf playing PUNK AND NEW WAVE classics and the Lab Rats playing superb reggae and ska tunes. 8pm to 2am. Free.
SAT 12 @ POP BRIXTON
Held each Saturday for children aged 5 to 12, KIDS KREATE is run by volunteer artists to encourage kids to enjoy creating and making things, with something to take home at the end of it. Bring your kids along and have an hour or two off yourself. 9.30 – 11.30am.
SUN 13 @ BAR 414
Grass Roots Live Music. A weekly Sunday night event that looks set to encourage and inspire local GRASSROOTS TALENT. UB40 trumpeter Patrick Anthony leads the experienced house band. 8pm-2am. Free.
MON 14 @ ST JAMES, CLAPHAM
TUE 15 @ EFFRA SOCIAL
MON 7 @ THE BLUES KITCHEN
22-26 Nov 7.30pm
THUR 10 @ THE CAMBRIA
SAT 5 @ BATTERSEA PARK
Catch A Fire favourites El Fata & The Victorious Band touch down again after tearing up the European festivals all summer. El Fata’s uptempo must-dance REGGAE always brings the house down. 8pm-midnight. Free.
22-26 Nov 7.30pm
The Commune reunites Danish director Thomas Vinterberg with scriptwriter Tobias Lindholm in a story that focuses on the clash between personal desires versus the solidarity and tolerance in a COMMUNE in the mid-1970s. 8.30pm.
It’s BASS NIGHT at the Electric with Natty, Congo Natty, Mad Professor, Trojan Soundystem and Subajah. Natty will perform hits from his recent album Release the Fear and older material. 10pm to 6am. £17.05/£19.25.
SUN 6 @ UPSTAIRS AT THE RITZY
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WED 9 @ WHIRLED CINEMA
Photo essay exhibition Of Things Not Seen tells the story, through 46 black-and-white photographs, of a year in the ministry by the Revd Kit Gunasekera, vicar of St James Church, Clapham, photographed by award-winning PHOTOGRAPHER Jim Grover, resident of Clapham for over 20 years. Runs until 27 November. Free.
Budget cuts mean no free firework displays anywhere in Lambeth this year, but you can still pay to go to Battersea Park Fireworks. Watch as FIREWORKS dance across the night sky to music made by legends. 6.30–8pm. £6.50 plus booking fee.
cavaliero finn
drinks questions and a rollover jackpot question that grows each week.
TUE 8 @ PRINCE REGENT
The Prince Regent QUIZ starts at 8pm sharp every Tuesday. Big cash prizes, free
Test your knowledge at Effra Social’s PUB QUIZ, brought to you by Tommy McArdle. £5 entry per team, cash prize for the winner, prizes for second and second to last place. 8pm-11pm. £5 entry per team.
WED 16 @ HOOTANANNY
The Floor Rippers’ Element Jam invites musicians, dancers, MCs and fans to get together, BATTLE AND JAM in a melting pot of talent and culture. It’s a platform for both established and budding artists to hone their skills and talents and gain the necessary confidence to capture the attention of a real audience. 9pm to midnight. Free.
THUR 17 @ DOGSTAR
Come and be irresponsible on a school night at Come As You Are, a ROCKHOP & BASS party spanning the 80s to the noughties. The music varies every evening, going where the crowd want it to. 10pm-2am. Free.
NOVEMBER 2016
brixtonblog.com
TUE 22 @ ELECTRIC BRIXTON
Metropolis Music presents legendary singer LAURA MVULA, supported by Oliver St Louis. £21.50. 7pm.
WED 23 @ LOST THEATRE
Ella Hickson’s critically acclaimed drama BOYS comes to the Lost Theatre on Wandsworth Road. On an unusually hot summer night, Benny and his band of compatriots, a punk, a prodigy and a poet, drink to the end of an era. £15, concessions £10. 7.30pm.
THUR 24 @ TRINITY ARMS
The Trinity Arms PUB QUIZ is held every Thursday night. Simon is the regular host with prizes to pass out to first and second placers, with free drinks to be won during the quiz too! 8.30pm.
DOCTOR STRANGE: Benedict Cumberbatch
RITZY ROUNDUP
Hopefully refreshed after the London Film Festival, you can head back to the cinema for some quality viewing arriving this month, says Nicola Jones
NEW MARVEL DUO MIGHT BE FUN
The next adventure in the Marvel universe is here with the arrival of the Benedict Cumberbatch starring DOCTOR STRANGE (from 4 Nov). With a swirling cape and American accent, Cumberbatch will hopefully provide some weight with humour to this new comic book hero. He is joined by Tilda Swinton, which gives me tremendous faith that this actually might be a whole bunch of fun.
ROWLING’S FAMOUS FIVE
Another huge release this month is the first of what will now be five films that starts with FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM (from 19 Nov). A tangential tale to our beloved Harry Potter books and films, this story follows writer Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) as he compiles
the book that would become Harry’s guide to magical monsters. Adapted (or rather written) by J.K. Rowling, the film is directed by David Yates who helmed the final four Potter films.
OSCAR CONTENDERS
November will also see some releases of potential Oscar contenders that have been making the festival circuit. First to arrive is designer/director Tom Ford’s adaptation of Austin Wright’s novel Tony and Susan into NOCTURNAL ANIMALS (from 4 Nov). This haunted thriller starring Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Michael Shannon has generated fevered buzz wherever it has screened so make sure to catch it. LIGHT BETWEEN TWO OCEANS (from 4 Nov) may attempt to join the competition with another melodrama adaptation starring Alicia Vikander and Michael Fassbender as
parents to a seemingly lost child.
DRAMATIC LIFE STORIES
Not to be outdone with dramatic romance is Amma Asante’s A UNITED KINGDOM (from 19 Nov). The film chronicles the politically and racially charged marriage of Ruth Williams (Rosamund Pike) and crown Prince of Botswana Seretse Khama (David Oyelowo). Another biopic is the Tom Hanks starring SULLY (26 Nov), which is already doing well in the States. Directed by Clint Eastwood, the film will surely be a contender with its big talent and real life story of pilot Chesley Sullenberger.
FILM AFRICA UNTIL 6 NOVEMBER Continuing into this month is also Film Africa, which is screening contemporary cinema in venues all over London until 6 November. This annual festival includes Q&As, previews, and other additional presentations (more information can be found at filmafrica.org.uk).
■■ Nicola Jones is a freelance writer whose website asophisticatednoise.com covers film reviews, trailers, and industry news. She can be found tweeting @MzJones.
FRI 18 @ POP BRIXTON
With Pop Brixton covered and heated this winter, you’re all invited to come down and cosy up or get down to “Not Quite Jazz”. This ALTERNATIVE JAZZ experience over two days delivers a mixture of hip-hop, afrobeat, soul and jazz, bringing together renowned artists and new talents. The event space will be suitably decked out to create an alternative ambience for Brixton’s take on jazz. Midday to midnight. Free.
SAT 19@ PRINCE OF WALES
Get set for one of the capital’s most explosive and friendly HOUSE MUSIC parties Deep Into Soul, who round off their residency at the Prince Of Wales for 2016
FRI 25 @ MORLEY COLLEGE
Billy Bibby & The Wry Smiles is a NEW MUSICAL VENTURE fronted by singersongwriter and former Catfish and the Bottlemen lead guitarist Billy Bibby. With a style that shifts from commercial, sing-along anthems through to folk and country inspired, Frank Turner-esque tunes, this is a real treat and hotly tipped! 6pm.
SUN 27 @ UPSTAIRS AT RITZY
Princes Among Men presents Wizz Jones. A legend of British roots music, the 77-year-old singer, songwriter and guitarist has been following his muse for more than 60 years. Wizz was one of the original FOLK REVIVAL bohemians and has influenced Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Rod Stewart and Bruce Springsteen (amongst many others). Arrive early to get a seat. 8pm. Free.
SUN 20 @ HOOTANANNY
TUE 29 @ THE BLUES KITCHEN
A shared, fun community YOGA experience with Gurpreet, set to an eclectic and modern soundtrack. 6.30-7.30pm. £7.
VAMBA SHERIF LAND OF MY FATHERS FRIDAY 4 NOVEMBER, 7pm
In 1822 more than 15,000 freed slaves and Black Americans are paid to leave the USA and settle in Liberia in West Africa. Against a backdrop of French and British colonialists, and tribes unashamedly still trading in human bondage, the hopes and dreams of the newly arrived become entangled in the reality of building a new life in a foreign land. It is not the “home” they had dreamt of returning to. Where men should stand
SAT 26@ BRIXTON JAMM
MON 28 @ POP BRIXTON
MON 21 @ POP BRIXTON
BLACK HISTORY MONTH AT BRIXTON LIBRARY
Morley College on Westminster Bridge Road hosts a CLASSICAL CONCERT by The Morley Chamber Choir under the direction of their new conductor Patrick Allies. They’ll perform the German Requiem Op.45 by Johannes Brahms with soloists Christine Buras (soprano) and Angus McPhee (baritone). 7.30pm. Free.
with one of the hotly tipped producers of the year thatmanmonkz spinning alongside Chicago’s legendary DJ and producer, Terry Hunter. 10pm–5am. £15/£17.50 in advance. Rootmaster presents Biram Seck, with an eclectic sound born of the combination of an array of superb African musicians and instrumentalists, fused into the original roots SOUND FROM SENEGAL. 9pm to midnight. Free.
WHAT’S ON 21
Efficient exercise routines and techniques, designed to aid beginners in the art of CAPOEIRA, under the expert guidance of Baris. Every Monday, 7.45-9.15pm. £10. Calling all pickers and pluckers, BLUEGRASS night is here. Each Tuesday brings a foot tappin’ hand-clappin’ time as Bluegrass musicians play for the crowd. Live music from 9.15pm. Free.
WED 30 @ ELECTRIC BRIXTON
Eat Your Own Ears presents ALTERNATIVE ROCK band Toy with “local, rain-drenched and mushroomspeckled Anglo-mystic roots”. 7pm. £12.50.
shoulder to shoulder, they turn on each other instead. Profoundly evocative, Liberia’s most successful author Vamba Sherif’s Land of my Fathers draws a compelling portrait of colonialism, slavery, immigration, identity and the forging of new lives within disparate populations. Join the author to celebrate its publication.
EVERY COOK CAN GOVERN – FILM SCREENING AND DIRECTOR INTRODUCTION FRIDAY 11 NOVEMBER, 7pm Showing of Every Cook Can Govern, introduced by the film’s director. The first feature-length documentary to explore the life, writings and politics of the great Trinidadian born revolutionary CLR James who died in Brixton in 1989. The film interweaves exclusive, neverbefore-seen footage of James with unique
Film Showing and Director Q&A Brixton Library, Brixton Oval, SW2 1JQ
Friday 11 November 2016 7pm
testimony from those he knew and the world’s most eminent scholars of James’ life, works and politics. The result is an epic featurelength documentary which grapples with issues from colonialism to cricket, from slavery to Shakespeare, from Marxism to the movies and from reading to revolution. ■■ See the Black History Month programme at www.lambeth.gov.uk/bhm2016.
22 COLUMNS
brixtonblog.com
2016 NOVEMBER
GEMMA SINCLAIR
FRANKIE HOLAH
The best season of all
#JointheTribe
It truly is the most beautiful of seasons, with the leaves turning a whole array of stunning colours and the sunlight fading slowly. It’s still nice enough to get out and about in the garden and, come the deep winter, most people don’t even venture out into their garden. So, now is the time to prepare for next year. We still have a decent amount of daylight but, essentially, the growing has stopped. But here are the jobs you can be focusing on to give you a head start to next year: CUT BACK – unruly shrubs and plants (especially the non-evergreen variety). Try to keep the shrub’s shape to ensure it preforms well next year. But beware not to cut back TOO harshly as this can cause everlasting damage. Take it back about 1/3 of the plant as a general rule of thumb. MOVE ABOUT – as the plants have stopped growing now is the time to rearrange plants that you want to move. Be careful to dig them up completely and prepare the new home sufficiently. PLANT SPRING BULBS – get them in now, don’t be afraid to put them in quite deep but also be prepared that the squirrels LOVE a bulb (especially tulips) so be prepared to lose a few to our furry friends along the way. PRUNE – you can prune roses and fruit trees now OR in the spring depending on who you listen to. If you do it now use the one third rule as well just to be sure. There is quite a science to pruning so take some time to read up on it online. (Or call me, of course) WINDOW BOXES – it is a nice time to ditch the
The new season is here and it’s even more important to focus on those “all year-round bodies”, especially when the days are colder, shorter and darker. In my opinion, if you can make it through winter and stay focused on your health and fitness goals, you’re winning! To keep you going, I will be continuing to run my female-only bodyweight training session in Brixton. My mission from the beginning and always is to effect positive change and help women to look at their bodies and train their bodies in a positive way. My message? To live healthfully and not chase the next fad or trend; to celebrate in your uniqueness, whatever your shape or size and to train and eat well, not because you hate your body but because you LOVE your body! Bootcamp has definitely been an amazing journey so far, training a Tribe of incredible women each week and so I’m very excited to be
MumPowered
spring/summer plants from your window boxes and update with something more wintry such as hellebores, pansies, cyclamen and heather. These hardy plants will see you right through winter and give you a nice colourful display. Winter doesn’t need to be bleak in the garden! MULCH – if you can why not mulch over your beds to protect the plants from a heavy frost. Use bark, rotting leaves or your own compost. All will provide the soil with much-needed nutrients over the winter as well as protecting from the elements. TIDY UP – why not pack away all the garden furniture ready for next year. Find somewhere for your garden cushions and anything that isn’t waterproof. Give patio areas a good sweep down, and rake all the leaves off the lawns. Let’s face it, the days of sitting in the garden are numbered so it’s a good time to do it – before the cushions get soaked through and then the weather is not warm enough to dry them. 66 It’s a wonderful time of year, but not for everyone. So if you need a hand with any of the garden jobs as the weather is getting less forgiving then please call The Gardening Girl on 07826 551353 for a helping hand!
TREATS & ting e v e n t s
a n d
t e a
R o o m s
We are taking bookings for private Christmas parties, birthday Celebrations and speCial oCCasions for groups of 4 – 60. Catering available inCluding vegetarian and vegan options. bring your oWn alCohol .
for a quotation and to CheCk availability and menu ChoiCes.
Call us on 020 3302 1050
25 tulse hill, brixton sW2 2th www.treatsandting.com
able to introduce “MumPowered” to the agenda – a weekly outdoor post-natal training session for the Mummas out there. The goal? To build strength, fitness and confidence post bubba, using your own bodyweight – the best gym you have! The Tribe is growing … Ladies, whatever your shape, size or fitness level, come and #JOINTHETRIBE … let’s reclaim our bodies! 66 To find out more and book your space, please contact frankie@frankieholah.com and follow @frankieholah on social media for regular updates, days and times.
‘You don’t really feel the tiredness’ from back page coach with experience of training blind and physically impaired athletes, sees inclusiveness as essential part of the Ballers’ set-up “What we focus on here is developing the players. It’s more about their individual development. Not all of them are necessarily here for the game itself. Some of our players use it for recreation, some for rehabilitation,” says Hutchful. “We have to make sure we meet everybody’s needs at these sessions. “We have a player who survived a car accident and another who doesn’t have full use of his limbs. We make sure that all players are involved to the best of their capabilities. It can be challenging at times, but the fact that we’ve gone up a division since last season, shows that we are making progress.” Two team members who will be playing a key role in the Ballers’ progress this season are Davide (above), a 14-year-old student who won a national title playing interzonal basketball, and Phil Sinclair who is 27 and the team’s point guard. Phil took up the game after discovering he was ineligible to play wheelchair rugby, despite the fact he has hereditary spastic paraplegia. “I was looking for something sporty to do, but I didn’t think there was anything for wheelchair-users to do in this area,” he says. “I live in Brixton but I never knew the Rec had wheelchair sessions. Before joining the Brixton Ballers, the first club I went to was the London Titans, but I discovered it wasn’t very diverse. After that I found out about the Ballers and decided to come here. I like the fact that we have a really mixed group from different backgrounds. “The training, playing and being part
of the team can be exhausting, but you don’t really feel the tiredness because of the adrenalin. It’s more fun than it is hard work. I love wheelchair basketball. “When I was younger I used to play standing basketball but my legs couldn’t hold out for too long. “I’ve been with the Brixton Ballers for three years and last season we finished fourth. This year we’ll be aiming to finish second or third.”
P E R S O N A L N OT I C E Looking for MiCHELLE LorrAinE WADE
I am an old friend and would love to get in touch with Michelle again. My name is Dave Ash and we were pupils together at Witney School for partially sighted children. If you can let Michelle know or help in any way, I would be very grateful. My number is 020 8646 5490.
NOVEMBER 2016
Hill Mead HERALD BLACK HISTORY MONTH
Celebrating now and in the future By Siham and Jerome
This term as a school we have been learning about Black History Month and what it could become in the future. We have been interviewing pupils and members of staff and teachers about changes in how Black culture is celebrated.
Mr West’s interview
What does Black history mean to you? “It’s a time to celebrate our diversity. As a head teacher I like the fact that many other head teachers in London are thinking the same thing: about the richness of London cultural heritage.” What is your favourite Black history topic? The year that we looked at people’s journeys and the link to London’s Black diaspora. I loved the year 3 Somalian topic about Mo Farah and the children’s study of the book The Colour of Home. Mr Highman, our Year 4 teacher, said he enjoys finding about how people came from their original country and their memories of why they had to come to London.
Topics
Year 1 What’s in the Pan, Man? by Pauline Stewart. We have learnt a lot from this book. It is to do with having food to eat and making life better for children and parents in Africa. It was about making changes for people who don’t have any water supply or support, so this book really interested them and caught their eye really quickly.
Year 2 Year 2 read us a really good story by James Aggrey. The story was called The Eagle Which Would Not Fly. James Aggrey went to school in Ghana. Things didn’t go so well in his school in Ghana, but he was so smart that some later years he became head teacher at that same school. Year 3 Year 3 have recently read a book to do with West Africa called The Village of Round and Square Houses. This story was to do with how a long time ago there was loads of volcanoes exploding in west Africa which made people lose their lives and made other people lose close family. The story was based on it making a change and putting a stop to it. Year 4 James Berry was the author of a book that Year 4 has been focusing on called The Thief in the Village. The moral of the book was: Don’t judge a book by its cover! The story relates to what happens when you only look at the surface. It is about how people in a village don’t believe a man because of how he looks. Year 6 We interviewed Hanson from year 6 and he likes the twists and the turns in the book we are focusing on called The Other Side of Truth by Beverley Naidoo. It made him think about how the experience of Nigerian refugees in London changed their lives. Year 5 Beverley Naidoo told us about her first novel called Journey to Jo’burg about kids who try to save their little sister who is sick and travels a long journey, the story really catches our attention and the detail was very interesting. What really touched us the most was that it was based on a real story.
Pauline Stewart, author of What’s in the Pan, Man? is a poet and author, born in London and of Jamaican origin. She visited years 1 and 2.
Writer Beverley Naidoo visits us at Hill Mead! By Amira, Amisha and Ruqayya In year 6 we were lucky enough to have an awardwinning author come to Hill Mead to sign her books for us and to tell us about her life. She taught us poems and the South African anthem. We enjoyed it very much and hope that we have the chance to see her again. Beverley Naidoo grew up in South Africa under apartheid. This was a system where racism was set in law.
Blinkers
She did not know about it when she was young because she was white and she was not taught about it in her all-white all-girls school. “It was like being brought up as a horse with blinkers,” she said. Luckily when she left school at 18 she met people who challenged her about apartheid. The blinkers came off: She started to become
angry about the world around her. She went into exile in England where she wrote her first book called Journey to Jo’burg. This was while South Africa was still under apartheid. The book was popular across the world but because it criticised by the South African government it was banned there. This only spurred her on to write more. Beverley was angry because black people and white were segregated. We are all the same on the inside, are we not? It was not fair because black people did not receive the same opportunities as white people. Sometimes this was lifethreatening. Beverley was looked after by a black woman called Mama Sebate. Her two daughters tragically died of a curable
disease because black people were not given access to medical treatment. Beverley wanted to dedicate Journey to Jo’burg to Mama Sebate, but she could not use her full name in case it put her in danger.
Danger
Another of Beverley’s inspirations is Ruby Bridges: the first ever black girl to set foot in an all-girls white school. She risked a lot of danger but she was brave enough to do it. Now all schools in South Africa are for white and black children. Beverley Naidoo’s play, The Playground, is based on her life. We asked Beverley Naidoo if she was working on a book. She said she was but she would not tell any more. She says she is her own biggest critic so she might not publish it. We hope she does.
Hill Mead pupils took part in the celebrations at the opening of Electric Avenue when Eddy Grant switched on the new sign
BRIXTON
Bugle SPORT
Brixton’s Akinlade wins after he is downed in first round David Moftakhar sees Miguel’s Gym fighter prevail against giant opponent
Brixton resident and Ballers point guard Phil Sinclair: ‘It’s more fun than it is hard work’
Brixton heavyweight Dominic “Top Gun” Akinlade maintained his undefeated record after coming back from being knocked down in the first round to stop Adam Machaj at York Hall in Bethnal Green last month. At 6’ 7” and with only one defeat in nine professional bouts, Machaj represented the toughest test to date for the Brixton fighter who is stepping up his pursuit of a shot at the English title next year. The first round was testament to the increased quality of Akinlade’s opponent, with the fighters trading heavy blows in the early exchanges before an overhand right to the head from Machaj sent him to the canvas. It seemed as though it might be a long
night for Akinlade when he was rocked again by a left hook from his behemoth of an opponent towards the end of the round. With the experience of trainers Don Davis and John Simms in his corner, the Miguel’s Gym fighter could rely on assured advice between rounds – and whatever was said during the interval seemed to have an impact. When the bell rung for the start of the second round York Hall’s baying crowd of boxing aficionados in a mixture of flat caps, baseball caps, sportswear and store-bought suits were given what they wanted as Akinlade provided a masterclass in destructive power. A clean left hook rocked his opponent early on and a straight right had him reeling once more, before a barrage of unanswered blows forced the referee to stop the fight. “I came out a little nonchalantly,” admitted Akinlade after the fight. “I know he’s the kind of guy who likes to throw big wide shots and I thought my head was
in a position where it wouldn’t get hit, but clearly that wasn’t the case. “I lost focus for a split second and he hits hard. “I was more embarrassed than hurt when I got knocked down and that got me mad. “I thought ‘how dare you in front of my people’, I just had to keep my composure.” Elsewhere on the Dove Box Promotions bill, fellow Brixton heavyweight AJ Carter was due to make his return to the ring against Hungarian Ferenc Zsalek after 11 months out following surgery on a shoulder injury. However, the bout was cancelled at the last minute due an unspecified technicality, Carter taking to the ring with promoter Tommy Dove to address those in attendance. “I feel like I’ve let everyone down,” said the heavyweight. “I’ve got to take the positives and I’ll be training harder to come back bigger, better, faster and stronger.”
‘You don’t really feel the tiredness because Rose welcomes ‘good day’ for Hamlet of the adrenalin’ Sandra Brobbey meets coaches and players from the Brixton Ballers, who compete in the South and East Third Division of Britain’s Wheelchair Basketball League It’s a Saturday afternoon in Brixton Rec and a group of wheelchair basketball players are dunking hoops in turn and going through a succession of warm-up drills. “People who have to use a wheelchair on a regular basis need to have a lot of upper body strength,” says Rukiyah Khatun, one of two assistant coaches of the Brixton Ballers. “We do lot of shooting drills and, for 10 minutes of each training session, we do pushing drills up and down the courts.” Rukiyah, a freelance journalist who works as a presenter on the Islam Channel, has been involved with Ballers for four years. He was drawn to the sport after watching it at the Paralympics in 2012. “It’s a really fun sport,”
he says. “It makes you think differently. You see the way people are here at the Ballers. We push each other and help each other to achieve things.” It’s a new season for the teams in the third division of Britain’s Wheelchair Basketball League. The Ballers, set up by head coach Austin Kentebe in 2010, have had a decent start. They won their opening game against high-flyers London Titans, before narrowly losing their first home game by two points to the Hampshire Hornets. The club has up to 20 players who attend their training sessions. six of whom are women. Assistant coach Percy Hutchful, a qualified
continued page 22
by David Moftakhar
Dulwich Hamlet recorded consecutive victories at Champion Hill for the first time this season – and kept their first home clean sheet in the league – with a 2-0 victory over AFC Sudbury. “It was a good day for us,” said manager Gavin Rose after the match. “We were dominant but we missed a lot of chances, which has been the story of our season. “The back four were solid today – we need to get this kind of consistency more regularly.” The upturn in home form coincides with a period when they will not play at Champion Hill until they face Worthing Town on 19 November. That match will be the annual “pay what you like” day for fans with proceeds going to charities Football Beyond Borders and the Dog Kennel Hill Children’s Centre. The Sudbury game was on an unseasonably warm afternoon with 1,683 in attendance. But the action wasn’t as bright as the autumn sun as both sides struggled
to find any fluency in the opening exchanges. Nyren Clunis was one ray of light for Dulwich, dragging a shot across goal after 15 minutes before neat interplay with Gavin Tomlin on the edge of the box preceded him sending a shot over the bar. Clunis was at the centre of things again when a flick-on from striker Dumebi Dumaka put him through on goal – Sudbury keeper Marcus Garnham defying his ample frame to show a fleet turn of foot and collect the ball on the edge of his area. Just before halftime Clunis was to turn provider. Allowed to bring the ball into the box
by Sudbury full-back Jack Wilkinson, he chipped a cross for Ibra Sekajja who, despite stretching every sinew in his neck, was only able to send a header onto the top of the bar. With Clunis shining on one side of an attacking three, Sekajja put in another fine performance on the other. The winger has scored in his last three games and on an afternoon when the centrepiece of the attacking trio, Dumaka, opened his account for his new club all the signs point towards a potent strike force in the making. Dumaka’s goal came just after the interval when Ashley Carew centred the ball for the
Dulwich number nine who nicked a crafty touch at the near post to direct it into the net. Were it not for Clunis’s profligacy in front of goal, Dulwich would have been out of sight in the second half and the winger may well have had a hat-trick. Three one-on-ones saw him draw two fine saves from Garnham before sending the third wide after being fed through by Sekajja. It was left to Gavin Tomlin to secure all three points for the Hamlet, driving into the box and firing in a powerful low shot to make it 2-0 in the 82nd minute.