Brixton Bugle September 2018

INSIDE

STAY UP TO DATE with brixtonblog.com and @brixtonblog

BRIXTON BUGLE YOUR FREE

No 66 | SEPTEMBER 2018

Published monthly in and for Brixton

Brixton Design Trail is back – bigger and better than ever

ISSN 2397-852X

COMMUNITY PAPER

A floating installation of a series of life-size figures by design collective AWMA is intended to provoke thoughts on belonging, identity and reflection – CGI of the installation outside Brixton Tube

FORTY YEARS ON … And time to do it again

7

THERE IS ANOTHER WAY Streetwear with humour

BRIXTON TALENT TO GO ON SHOW Brixton Design Trail will once again bring local people, creatives and organisations together from 15 to 23 September. The theme of this year’s trail – We Belong – explores what it means to live in a diverse city. The BDT comes as Brixton’s standing as a centre for creative work will get a big boost in the shape of several hundred new workspaces in the former council offices of International House that will focus on architecture, design

See our pick of the design trail – page 4

and tech-led enterprises. More new workspace at the Tripod in Lambeth Town Hall will have the same focus. The Brixton area is home to many unique creative enterprises. They include the School of Communication Arts advertising course in St Matthews Church that recently organised an open day for 21 talented young students

from BAME and under-represented backgrounds who will graduate in October. Herne Hill will see 1,500 school pupils bid to break a Guinness World Record for colouring by numbers on 12 September when they work on a 40-metre mural commissioned by the Herne Hill Forum. At the Black Cultural Archives, the current Expectations exhibition

curated by Neil Kenlock, once the official photographer of the British Black Panthers, demonstrates the history, depth and diversity of local culture and creativity Now in its fourth year, the design trail “brings the unique creative culture of Brixton to an international audience and offers the local community and visitors alike a perspective on what inspires, provokes and preoccupies modern urban communities,” said director Binki Taylor.

MAKING A DRAMA Prize-winning school

10

3 & 23

CLASSIC CONVERSION Lorca in South London

6

2  NEWS brixtonblog.com 2018 SEPTEMBER

Umunna condemns ‘damning’ failure on youth violence

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 12,000 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 MUSIC Dave Randall music@brixtonblog.com FOOD Nick Buglione food@brixtonblog.com SPORT Sandra Brobbey sport@brixtonblog.com ISSUE 66 Contributors Janie Bickersteth Pam Douglas Sacha Harrison Halima Hassan Leslie Manasseh Scott Martin Jamila Omar Kamal Pasha Dave Randall Neila Romdane Sub-editor: Jamila Omar Production: Alan Slingsby Distribution: Philip King A massive thank you to everybody involved in making this issue, and the Blog & Bugle project, a success

If you would like to be a Bugle stockist please email distribution@brixtonblog.com

Council unions warn of action over reorganisation As Lambeth council’s cabinet prepares to implement radical changes to the way its staff work, trade unions representing the staff have warned of possible industrial action if their views are ignored. They say senior management is attempting to sideline unions and the issues they raise. Anger over the way change is being implemented in the council’s neighbourhoods and growth directorate saw more than 50 of its staff demonstrate in Brixton recently. Simon Hannah, joint secretary of the council’s branch of the union UNISON, said that the council needed to engage with its trade unions and appeared to have no will to deal with the issues they were trying to raise. A key issue for the unions is the position of BME (Black and minority ethnic) staff working for the council. They say that, although the council stresses its commitment to equality, the facts show a continued imbalance in its staff. While the entire council workforce is 59% BME, all but one of the top 25 senior managers are white, say the unions. UNISON says that the council’s human resources department has admitted that, while 46% of job applications are from people from a BME background, only 36% of people appointed are BME. Some 25% of applications are from white people, but 34% of people appointed are white. The unions say that

proposed changes to the way staff work will see its overwhelmingly white senior managers get pay rises, while predominantly BME low-paid staff will be made redundant. The union said that teams that are predominantly BME have far stricter rules on flexible working than those for white staff. In addition, the unions are concerned that a new “workforce strategy” does not mention trade unions, but does identify as a weakness “traditional, ‘sides-based’, employee relations”. Consultation on the plan will see the council’s trade unions placed in the same category as “focus groups and sounding boards”. Simon Hannah says that the way trade unions have been treated in the massive and expensive reorganisation of council office accommodation typifies the council’s attitude. The plan calls for an “emphasis on business needs rather than individual rights” and a “responsibilities before rights culture”. Hannah said that this was “alarming” given the diversity of the council workforce and the issues unions have raised over discrimination. Another sign of a change in attitudes towards trade unions, says Hannah, is the council’s failure to convene meetings of its “Joint Strategy Forum” which brings together senior human resources managers, councillors and trade union

representatives. It should meet quarterly, but has not done so since January this year. Lambeth council’s new chief executive was confirmed at a full council meeting on 19 July as Andrew Travers, who had been the “interim” chief executive for some time. Despite the setbacks, the unions hope that the council can get back on track and renew its commitment to working with its workforce organisations. Leading Lambeth councillors have offered to meet BME staff to discuss their concerns. They said that they take allegations of racial bias extremely seriously and that “it is essential that staff feel valued and respected and are given the opportunity to be heard”. They said: “While Lambeth council has higher levels of representation for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) staff compared to our residents’ profile, we are conscious that BAME staff are under-represented in senior levels. “To address this, the council is taking a series of measures to improve development and progression for BAME staff and starting diversity awareness and unconscious bias training for managers and staff.” The councillors say that they are aware of the concerns around the neighbourhoods and growth restructure and have asked the chief executive to provide them with an update on it.

Local MP Chuka Umunna, in a speech in Brixton, has asked why, after a decade of deaths and injuries, Westminster is still failing to provide the leadership needed to save lives being lost to serious youth violence. He said solutions to the issue that were suggested after the 2011 riots have been left “to gather dust” in “a damning indictment of British politics”. He called for a new “social contract” between young people and society. The MP for Streatham, whose constituency includes parts of Brixton, is a member of the government’s serious ­violence taskforce. He was speaking at an event in the Department Store on Ferndale Road that included responses from London deputy mayor for policing and crime Sophie Linden, National Union of Students president Shakira Martin and retired Metropolitan Police superintendent Leroy Logan. The MP set out four strategic priorities to empower young people and help create a path away from violence:

AA Building community capacity to turn young people away from violence AA Investing in youth support and services AA Increasing access to opportunities AA Reforming the criminal justice system. Chuka Umunna, a former garage DJ himself, also spoke about the need for a “zero tolerance” approach to drill music videos that incite and encourage violence. But he said that a ban on drill music is not practicable, nor would it halt violence. “Most of the solutions to end serious youth violence can be found in the Riots Communities and Victims Panel report into the August 2011 riots,” he said. “Had there been the political will to properly act on the lessons learned from the August 2011 riots and to properly implement all of the panel’s recommendations, instead of leaving that report on a shelf to gather dust, we would not be seeing the amount of bloodshed on our streets today. “It is a damning indictment of British politics.”

‘Big up Brixton’ films Teenagers on a work experience project have created short films in response to this year’s Brixton Design Trail theme of “We Belong”. Organised by Brixton based We Rise, in collaboration with the design trail and Lambeth council’s Lambeth Made initiative, they filmed their feelings about belonging in Brixton. To see the results and their ongoing Instagram campaign follow them through their handle of: #bigupbrixton.

AA Local women’s wear designers Lowie and Miss Pompom are looking to brighten up an outside space with a mural during the design trail. “We are looking for a local business or public building that would donate an outside wall space for us to decorate. “We’ll paint over it again when the event is finished, unless the owner of the wall would like to keep it.” AA If you can help, contact hello@thesefairhands.com

NEWS  3

SEPTEMBER 2018 brixtonblog.com

Top award for Brixton school Brixton’s Hill Mead school has won a top national award for good practice in teaching for diversity and inclusion. It was joint winner of the UK Literacy Association’s Eastwood award. UKLA said Hill Mead “celebrates the diverse, inclusive and creative curriculum”. It singled out experiences gained through the school’s collaboration with the National Theatre for applause. “There is evidence of commitment from the staff, learners and all involved in the project,” it said. UKLA said the Hill Mead project uses a diverse range of resources including human and digital. Opportunities presented for pupils to work with professionals brought the curriculum to life. One example is Hill Mead pupils working with the Bugle to produce the Hill Mead Herald – page 23. Receiving the award, Hill Mead deputy head Becky Lawrence said”: “The timing of this award is, sadly, very necessary and important. “Necessary given the wider

context of what is happening in Britain. And very sad because, when I started teaching 16 years ago, we were talking about the importance of diversity and inclusion and we are still talking about it. “We haven’t moved on and still haven’t truly accepted that we are just a bunch of human beings. “I am so pleased that we have won this award, Hill Mead is a school in a housing estate in Brixton, with gentrification all around us – but our community hasn’t changed. “I remember when we were graded ‘outstanding’, our parents were so pleased and proud. Rightly so, they took the outstanding grade as recognition of their children being outstanding. And they are. “When the parents hear of this award, I am pretty sure they will take this as recognition of their diversity and inclusion and will hold their heads up high ... sorry ... their heads are already held high and hearing of this award, no doubt their heads will be held even higher.”

Hill Mead pupils use the Brixton Bugle in a drama production

NEWS ROUNDUP be great news for students and staff and help the college build on its position as the local “careers college”.

Pay by text no more

Dyslexia success

Brixton Soup Kitchen founder Solomon Smith will launch his book The Solomon Success Story – Born into a Dyslexic World at Brixton library on Monday 29 October at 7pm. The book is a celebration of how to overcome diversity and be a success despite being severely dyslexic. Tickets for the book signing event are available on Eventbrite but are going quickly.

Blue plaque appeal

The Nubian Jak Community Trust that was instrumental in creating the African Caribbean war memorial in Brixton’s Windrush Square has created another landmark – a six-foot-tall blue plaque commemorate the men and women who founded the Notting Hill Carnival. It was unveiled in Notting Hill during this year’s carnival. Many of the 70 people named on the plaque are from Brixton The crowdfunding appeal to raise the money for it still needs support. See bit.ly/NJCT-plaque.

College merger

Lambeth College will become part of London South Bank University at the beginning of next year, subject to parliamentary approval. The delayed partnership, first announced in December 2016, will be supported by nearly £30 million of government bailout money. Monica Box, Lambeth College chief executive, and Fiona Morey, principal designate, said in a statement that the merger would

Brixton Pound will discontinue pay by text in Brixton Pounds at the end of this year and is exploring other ways of paying with our local currency. The paper currency can still be used in many shops and restaurants in and around Brixton.

Eritrea to Brixton

Another book launch at Brixton library will be for Destination Unknown by Berhane Fessahaye. Born in Eritrea, East Africa, he now lives in Brixton with his wife and four children. His book chronicles the dangers – including hyenas – that he faced while crossing the Sahara Desert. The launch is from 2 to 4pm on Saturday 15 September. His daughter Mel said “We feel his book detailing the transition he made from refugee to UK citizen is highly relevant in today’s news”. Another claim to fame for the Fessahaye family is that they live in what was the early home in Coldharbour Lane of former Prime Minister and chair of Lambeth housing committee John Major.

How to fight food waste

The Brixton Pound café will be the venue for a free “bite-sized” workshop on food waste for Lambeth residents organised by the charity Groundwork. Participants will learn about the Small Change Big Difference campaign, pick up ­money-saving, food waste reducing tips and discover how they can involve friends, co-workers and family. The workshop will be on Wednesday 12 September from 6.30 to 8pm. After the session there will be a free vegetarian buffet plus a talk on how the café uses surplus food. Details at groundwork.org.uk/london.

A5 Flyer Portrait

210mm x 14 8m m Remember to delete or hid this laye r.

e

T: 01702 460047

10pm – 3am

Entry £3 Bleed Area remember to extend any colouring or images into this 3mm bleed area to avoid white lines appearing during th print finishing stages.

e

Trim Your job will be cut on the solid black line, any images or text placed in incorrectly .

Safe Are a Keep all your information inside the white area. Remember to use hig h resolution images (300dpi) for the best results.

414 - 416 Coldharbour Lane - Brixton - London - SW9 8LF

4  BRIXTON DESIGN TRAIL brixtonblog.com

2018 SEPTEMBER

BRINGING THE BELONGING TO BRIXTON Brixton Design Trail (BDT) launches on 15 September as part of the London Design Festival. This year’s theme – We Belong – explores and celebrates what it means to live in the heart of Europe’s most diverse city. BDT is a community project showcasing the best creative work south of the river in a weeklong takeover of public spaces, restaurants, shops and bars across Brixton. It will host dozens of events including workshops, talks, exhibitions and installations. Brixton Station Road will be the focus for much of the week’s activity – throughout the market, the Rec and Pop Brixton. Follow the signs to the BDT hub, behind Pop Brixton where you can find out everything you need to know about the week-long festival. Here is our snapshot of just a few of the many things to see and do during the week.

Jon Daniel retrospective – 198 Gallery Jon Daniel was one of the most prominent Black designers of his generation. He was a passionate advocate of CREATIVITY as a catalyst for cohesion and empowerment of Black communities. The retrospective includes an exhibition, talks and workshops.

Made – Brixton’s Design Youth Market Youth-led creative network Livity and Pop Brixton will kick off the trail on 14 September with a night of fashion, music and art curated by young people followed by a week of pop-ups around the theme of belonging. The YOUTH MARKET on Brixton Station Road with over 40 participants will be selling and exhibiting ­fashion wear and prints. The Rec will also be hosting a surprise exhibition featuring international artists in HOPE TO NOPE. The artists are re-homing from the Design Museum to Brixton in protest at the museum’s decision to host an event for an arms contractor.

Portrait of Brixton – Pop Brixton Photographer Charlie Clift c ­ elebrates the life and soul of Brixton in a ­PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION at Pop Brixton. “It’s the characterful people of the community that I wanted to capture,” says Charlie. His portraits show everyone from rushing c ­ ommuters to reggae dancers.

Windrush Squared – Central Brixton “Rooted” by Kofi Arts documents the pioneering ventures undertaken by the WINDRUSH GENERATION as they strove to build their lives, establish businesses and dreams. In his suitcase installation Kofi uses the hibiscus flower to represent the beauty and colour of the Caribbean and its people, and how that merged with the UK culture. Installations at the town hall and the BCA.

Flotilla In the 70th anniversary year of Windrush, Flotilla by Edible Bus Stop /ZMA Architects

Tangler Sphere One of the paintings by Abe Odedina that will be on display in the Department Store

represents the journey and tells the story in a series of augmented reality “paper boats”. Visitors use smartphones to listen to AUDIO NARRATIVES spoken by the Windrush generation and their relatives which describe their feelings about moving to the UK, their hopes, fears and excitement at a new life.

In Brixton We Belong – BDT HUB “In Brixton We Belong” is a two-day livepainted mural that will be created on 15/16 September to reflect the belief that all humans have a right to feel a sense of belonging.

Kindred Spirits: Reflections A floating installation of life-size human silhouettes across Brixton designed to PROVOKE THOUGHTS on belonging and identity.

Motherworks – BDT Hub This community photography exhibition will celebrate the brilliant and bizarre double lives of the WORKING MUMS of Brixton who teach their children the importance of belonging to a family and our community, and whose work contributes to society and the wider economy.

True Love – Department Store World premiere of paintings by the

Brixton’s premier law firm. Established for over 30 years

Wainwright & Cummins llp SOLICITORS • FAMILY • DIVORCE • NOTARY PUBLIC • PROPERTY • WILLS & PROBATE • CIVIL LITIGATION • MEDIATION 57-61 Atlantic Road, Brixton SW9 8PU Telephone 020 7095 5700 • HOUSING • IMMIGRATION & ASYLUM • EMPLOYMENT • CRIME 6A Acre Lane, Brixton SW2 5SG Telephone 020 7737 9330

info@wainwrightcummins.co.uk

Brixton-based Nigerian artist Abe Odedina. It is comprised of a series of paintings commissioned by film director and producer Danny Boyle for the South African based youth charity Dramatic Need, animated versions of which were shown at Carnegie Hall in New York last year. The paintings respond to TESTIMONIES from young people in South Africa who have undergone highly traumatic life experiences.

Town Hall Textiles Featuring designers and printmakers Cere. Dyes will be made from vegetable waste from Brixton’s restaurants and printed in community workshops throughout the week. Embroidery workshops take place in Morley’s haberdashery department and Stitch School will host a week of community embroidery at Brixton Tate Library.

Roda X Brixi - Brixton Village Spanish illustrator Jose Roda, will be TRANSFORMING Brixi’s shop front in Brixton Village for the duration of the festival. It will be painted in Roda’s inimitable style – bold primary colours, playful graphic shapes and strong female portraits.

People of the world – St Matthew’s Church Stephen Crawford Architects, a small Brixton practice, has produced a timber installation that celebrates the UNITY and diversity of the Brixton community. Local community groups will be involved in the design and make-up of the structure which is arranged in a circle.

See how far across the world Britain’s best loved HAIRBRUSH has travelled from its home in Brixton in a colourful installation by AWMA.

Society x SW9 pub quiz Test your knowledge of all things Brixton at a pub quiz. Wednesday 19 at Market House (TBC). First prize Brixton Pounds in cash and bits and bobs of Brixton Pound merch. Location is not confirmed, but check the BDT website at bit.ly/BDT-SxSW9.

This year’s BDT also has sustainability as a focus and two local upcycling organisations, the Remakery and Upcircle, will run design projects that use repurposed materials.

Reuse Lab by Remakery The Reuse Lab is both exhibition and learning. The exhibition focuses on principles of design that draw inspiration from repair, reusing and recycling. Talks and workshops highlight sustainable design ideas. The work on show will be created directly by the public in a co-design process between the community and skilled makers.

THE ECO CUBE by Upcircle Studio Upcircle Studio presents an immersive pavilion where the visitors will discover products from local artists, artisans and designers. The space will be decorated with products that promote up-cycling and recycling design. The elements used to build the installation are commonly used and reused on building sites. The structure will be dis-mountable and reusable at the end of the festival.

BDT PARTNERS AND SUPPORTERS This year’s BDT partners are the Brixton BID and the Brixton-born brand, Tangle Teezer. As well as helping to fund the festival they will host an event at Brixton Library on 17 September. Some of Brixton’s biggest business success stories will share their knowledge and experience, including Tangle Teezer’s own inventor and founder, Shaun Pulfrey. Other supporters include Muse, the developers working on the New Town Hall project, and Connection Crew, a leading social enterprise based in Brixton Hill.

BDT director Binki Taylor said: “BDT would like to say a huge thank you to all partners, supporters and volunteers for helping make this festival happen.” AABDT is looking for volunteers who know and love Brixton and are keen to share their knowledge and passion about the area. BDT will provide training through a short workshop for anyone who can spare half a day or wants to take part all week as a guide for the festival and give visitors a proper Brixton welcome. Email media@brixtondesigntrail.com for information.

Details of confirmed times and venues at brixtondesigntrail.com

SEPTEMBER 2018 brixtonblog.com COMMUNITY BUSINESS  NEWS  5

BRIXTON LEGAL Pam Douglas is a solicitor with local firm Wainwright & Cummins. Each month, her column takes a common legal issue and explains it for readers

Safeguard your home and property rights O

ver the years, I have quite often whose controlling and domineering crossed paths with individuals, husband was determined to sell mainly women, who have been their mortgage-free home against worried about their spouse selling her wishes and use the proceeds to their home without their consent. start a new life overseas. She was It’s a concern for many older already registered as an owner of women who often left money matthe house, having bought it with ters to their husbands, as tradition him many years earlier as joint dictated, and subsequently find that tenants. But, there were obviously they are not named as an owner on tensions and difficulties within the the Land Registry Title. The same relationship that made any discussituation can also occur when a sion of the issue problematic. couple marry and move into a propAll joint owners, whether joint erty that was previously bought by tenants or tenants in common just one of them. are required by law to consent to Sometimes the omission of a the sale of a property and they spouse’s name is just an oversight. cannot be forced to sell without a But sometimes it’s deliberate and court order. the intentions are quite sinister. So, of course, she could have just It’s easy enough to check who stood her ground and refused to owns your home by undertaking comply, but the relentless pressure a Land Registry search online was causing her severe anxiety and paying a small fee. The Title and distress and there was no Register will tell you who owns it, easy solution. how it’s owned and whether or not If you are in a similar situation there are any charges and mediation is not Sometimes the or mortgages secured an option or has not omission of a against it. been successful, a If it is owned by drastic option might spouse’s name is both of you, it will tell be to unilaterally just an oversight. you whether you own sever the joint tenit as “joint tenants” or But sometimes ancy, holding the “tenants in common”. it’s deliberate and property instead as In the first case you tenants in common. the intentions are both own it 100% and This would mean quite sinister if one of you dies, that you would each the whole property would autoreceive a percentage of the net matically pass to the other. In the sale proceeds. The realisation of second case, you own it in shares, a significantly reduced relocation usually 50% each, and you are each budget might cause the bullying free to bequeath or transfer your spouse to abandon their plans due share to whoever you choose, (with to lack of financial viability. the mortgage lender’s consent in However, you must be sure that, the case of a transfer). should the sale go ahead, you can If you are married and find adequately re-house yourself with that your name is not on the Title your share of the proceeds. Register of your matrimonial home, As well as the impact on your you should consider registering personal life and future finanyour “matrimonial home rights” cial security, there might also be under the Family Law Act 1996. Inheritance Tax implications if you It’s a relatively simple process remain in the house and leave your and the registration is free of share to children under your will, charge. Doing this will prevent so legal advice is highly recomyour spouse from being able to sell mended before taking such a step. the property without your agreeThe rules relating to property ment and give you the legal right ownership for unmarried couples to occupy it. It will also prevent are different and I haven’t included your spouse from securing any them here, but it’s still possible to loans against the property such as take legal steps to protect yourself. a mortgage without your consent. Finally, if you own or have an You should be aware, though, that interest in a property and you your spouse will be notified by the suspect or are worried about potenLand Registry, so you might want tially fraudulent activity, you can to discuss it with them first. sign up to the Land Registry’s free It will also be a more complialert service which will notify you cated matter if you find that people of any applications associated with other than your spouse are named it. Details can be found online. as co-owners. AA As usual, please get in touch if I recently met an older woman there’s anything I can help with.

South London clean air campaigners Mums for Lungs joined with artist and activist collective Red Line Action to work with four local primary schools to create a giant sculpture made of willow cane spelling out: CLEAN OUR AIR. It was displayed at Lambeth Country Show where people were invited to adorn the words with recycled flowers made in an on-site workshop. It was then housed until the end of August on

the roof of Olley’s fish shop opposite Brockwell Park where it was seen by thousands of rail commuters passing through Herne Hill. Mums for Lungs founder Jemima Hartshorn said: “Engaging children on the dangers of air pollution is crucial in raising awareness of London’s illegally dirty air. We’re campaigning to persuade Lambeth council to create safe low-pollution zones around schools during pick-up and drop-off.”

‘Truly good news’ as playground re-opens Loughborough Junction Action Group (LJAG) and local volunteers have reopened an adventure playground that had been closed for three years after council funding dried up. They worked hard for more than a year to reopen the Grove Adventure Playground off Minet Road. It had been getting increasingly derelict until LJAG stepped in and recruited a dedicated band of volunteers. LJAG chair Anthea Masey said that after recent events, including a fatal stabbing in Minet Road that led to a young man being flung off the back of a scooter in the streets of Camberwell, parents did not feel that it was safe to let their children out in the streets. Now, she said: “The Grove is providing a safe place, staffed by four experienced

playworkers.” She said that this was “a truly a good news story” and also a tribute to local councillor Matt Parr, who died recently. He had been very supportive of LJAG’s efforts to reopen the playground. Funding came from The People’s Health Trust and the Fresh Leaf Foundation. The playground’s outdoor kitchen was built recently thanks to the efforts of Build Up, a charity that does building projects with young people. The kitchen will be finished during the October half term holiday, but has already hosted one event. LJAG has a three-year lease from the council for the playground. The council has waived the rent of £1,500 a year while LJAG provides play schemes there.

LONDON

FILM SCHOOL CREW FILMING

BRIXTON

DOCUMENTARY IN OCTOBER

£250,000 grant for Black Archives Lambeth council is planning to offer Brixton’s Black Cultural Archives (BCA) a grant of £250,000 to help it to change its business model and operations to generate more income. Local MP Helen Hayes (Labour, Dulwich and West Norwood) raised funding for the BCA in a parliamentary debate she organised to mark the 70th anniversary of the arrival of the Empire Windrush. In an article for the Bugle, she said she had asked central government to commit national funding to the BCA. It is, she said, “a national resource, which is critical to our understanding as a society, and vitally important for the sense of place and belonging of many Black British people.” The MP and BCA representatives have met Department for Culture Media and Sport minister Michael Ellis and he has agreed to set up a working group to look at funding. “We will keep the pressure up to ensure that the BCA is set on the same footing as other national archives and museums, to secure its vital work for the future,” said Helen Hayes.

We will be filming in Brixton in the middle of October and we are looking for participants from the Brixton community. The film will discuss various aspects of multiculturalism. It will show the beauty of diversity and community, but also will cover the issues of discrimination. One of the film’s goals is to bring awareness that discrimination based on racial prejudice in the educational, employment and housing sectors, as well as in daily life, still exists in London. We are looking for participants from BME communities • who experienced injustice due to racial prejudice and would be willing to share their personal stories in front of the camera or anonymously • who were affected by gentrification in Brixton • who believe they contribute to strengthening BME community in Brixton If you are interested and would like your voice to be heard, please get in touch with the producer mariya.lukavska@lfs.org.uk It is a non-commercial project and will be used only for festivals and free screenings.

6  CREATIVE BRIXTON brixtonblog.com

2018 SEPTEMBER

ARTS Young actors set for Berlin collaboration

Blood Wedding in South London

Lambeth-based director/designer Peter Avery, whose new community interest company Half+Half was launched at the home of Brixtonian actor Peter Bourke (Dr Who and The Bill), is taking four young actors to Berlin to join up with eight Syrian refugees to do a show together. Invisible People will be at the Tempelhof creative centre Ufafabrik’s Boulevard Festival in early September. The young Britons are from Cardboard Citizens that has been making theatre with and for homeless people for 25 years. Director Peter Avery says Invisible People is a one-to-one open-air show performed quietly amid the hubbub of a community festival. “It is dependent on each actor having a repertoire of a poem, a story, a joke, some good advice, a conjuring trick and a song. Audience members ‘buy’ brief, exclusive performances with coloured counters. “The young Syrian company, Syn:Format will deliver work in Arabic, German and English. The groups have been sharing rehearsals on Skype. It will be a demanding commitment. Performances will be over six hours with actors doing 40 minutes on and 40 minutes off for two days.

By Leslie Manasseh

Racheal Ofori

Frederico Garcia Lorca’s classic tragedy Blood Wedding is a towering piece of theatre. A wedding is the centre of the narrative. But, as the title suggests, this is no cause for relaxed celebration. Rather, it unleashes a storm of passions – anguish, rage, family conflict, betrayal and revenge – as the bride struggles with her residual feelings for a former lover. Written in 1932, the play is admired and performed around the globe. Although it deals with visceral and timeless emotions, Blood Wedding also has a sense of time and place. Originally set in the rawness and claustrophobia of rural Spain, this new production at Clapham’s Omnibus Theatre, updates the dialogue and reimagines characters as contemporary South Londoners. That the story unfolds in a Spanish restaurant is a nod in the direction of its birthplace. George Richmond-Scott is the director, and Racheal Ofori, a young actor from South London, plays the bride. I met them on set to talk

about the production. Ofori, believes her role exemplifies some of the major themes, but also explores more nuanced issues around heritage and culture, femininity and patriarchy. It is a complex picture. Although the bride is torn and grieving, it’s significant for Ofori, that she is not a passive victim of events. How to uproot this tension and sense of being trapped from Spain in the 1930s and bring them to life in London in 2018 is one of the main challenges of the role. Richmond-Scott aims to remain true to the “integrity and poetry of the text and the inner lives of the characters” but “to bring them closer to the audience” and “to recreate the emotions in a different environment”. His adaptation seeks to illuminate the lives of people in South London today, using original music and strong physical work. AAThe play opens on 4 September and runs until 23 September in the Omnibus Theatre, 1 Clapham Common Northside, SW4 0QW. Tickets: bit.ly/Omnibus-BW or 020 7498 4699.

Who’s there? Art. Art who? Art with a sense of humour

SEP

08 AUGUST GREENE

(ROBERT GLASPER, COMMON & KARRIEM RIGGINS) W/ SPECIAL GUEST LAURA MVULA & MORE. AKALA & BAKAR BEATS & RIDDIMS BY SHABBA AND RECESS

O2 ACADEMY BRIXTON 6PM - 11PM Tickets: AFROPUNKFEST.COM + METROPOLISMUSIC.COM

The South London Gallery’s new annexe in artworks with and for the gallery’s neighbours a Grade II listed former fire station built in on local housing estates. Camberwell in 1867 will open on Saturday A large-scale text piece by artist Jessie 22 September with an exhibition entitled Brennan will be installed on the roof of KNOCK KNOCK. Heron House in Peckham’s Pelican Estate; It explores humour in contemporary art Basim Magdy will collaborate with local with works by more than 30 artists children to transform Art Block, the – from established figures such SLG’s free children’s space on as Maurizio Cattelan, Sarah Sceaux Gardens Estate; and Lucas and Ugo Rondinone Gabriel Lester’s colourful, to younger practitioners bollard-like sculptures such as Danielle Dean, will populate the Hardeep Pandhal and paved area below Simeon Barclay. Crane House on From Judith Pelican Estate. Hopf’s flock A weekend of of concrete free events across sheep through the SLG’s indoor to Yonatan and outdoor Vinitsky’s spaces will scaled-up include creative cartoon, the activities for show provides families and a surprising tours of local encounter with heritage sites. a broad range KNOCK of humorous KNOCK is free strategies, from and runs from 22 slap-stick, parody September until 18 and caricature to November in South the in-joke, one-liner London Gallery, and visual pun. Main Building 65–67 Newly commissioned Peckham Road, SE5 Konfessions of a Klabautermann work will be on view 8UH and South London by Hardeep throughout the opening Gallery, Fire Station, 82 Pandhal weekend, including three Peckham Road, SE15 5LQ off-site artist projects as part of The gallery is open Tuesday to Open Plan, the SLG’s ongoing public Friday 11am – 6pm, Saturday and Sunday art and education programme which invites 10am – 6pm international and British artists to create AAwww.southlondongallery.org

SEPTEMBER 2018 brixtonblog.com   CREATIVE BRIXTON  7

MUSIC

An echo that must get louder On the anniversary of an epoch‑making Brockwell Park carnival, Dave Randall says that we need to revive its spirit

administration, former London mayor Boris Johnson decided to stir the pot of hatred by using a column in a national newspaper to make derogatory remarks about the way some Muslim women dress. The sadly predictable result was a rise in hate crimes committed against those women. This comes at a time

Dancing at the 1978 RAR carnival in Brockwell Park more fun if you’re anti-racist and by arguing that casual racism is the thin end of the wedge which leads to fascism. As the Tom Robinson Band put it at the time: “We don’t need no racial hatred. We don’t need no lies. We don’t need no bombs or poison. ’Cos we’ve got joy on our side.” Forty years on it’s a message we must spread again. Drawing inspiration, no doubt, from the Trump

when the far right are gaining ground electorally across Europe and are growing in confidence here. Last month London’s largest socialist bookshop, Bookmarks in Bloomsbury, was ransacked by a far right mob including UKIP members who tore up books and insulted staff. We must stop the rot. It’s time for us all to think creatively about how we can

challenge bigotry and build a broad, united campaign to take on the far right. The trade union movement should once again work with groups such as Stand Up To Racism to organise national demonstrations and carnivals based on the RAR model. It’s encouraging that smaller events are already taking on the challenge in Brixton. One example is the AFROPUNK takeover, which kicks this month off. AFROPUNK’s website describes the Brixton takeover as “a week-long, multi-disciplinary offering of events and exhibitions…in line with AFROPUNK’s desire to connect through Diaspora; creating bonds between those with a shared mindset.” A highlight will be the Saturday 8th Brixton Academy show headlined by hiphop supergroup August Greene (Robert Glasper, Common & Karriem Riggins) with special guests including Laura Mvula and Akala. For several years AFROPUNK have combined excellent new music with progressive political perspectives. At a previous London event acts performed under a huge banner stating:

NO SEXISM NO RACISM NO ABLEISM

Each month we ask a Brixton community member to choose five records and tell us why … Tania Aleixo de Matos moved to Brixton from Portugal 14 years ago. She works as a physiotherapist for the NHS and at the Body Alliance in Brixton and the Health Hub in Herne Hill 1. MONA KI NGI XICA by BONGA Bonga is one of Angola’s most famous musicians. This song reminds me of part of my childhood which was spent in Benguela and Luanda in Angola, my mother’s homeland.

2. ZUVI ZEVA NOVI by MLER IFE DADA Mler If Dada are possibly one of the best, although short-lived Portuguese bands from the 80s. I came across this song after returning to Portugal when I was seven years old. It was very unusual and avant-garde for its time.

3. REDEMPTION SONG by BOB MARLEY Uprising was my first ever album and I listened to it non-stop for a few months as a teenager. This song symbolised my own little revolution and coming of age.

4. LET’S DANCE by DAVID BOWIE Bowie is still one of my favourite musicians and this is still one of my favourite songs. This song reminds me of moving to Brixton in 2004 and working at the Ritzy cinema whilst studying.

5. AL HASSIDI TEREI by SONGHOY BLUES I rediscovered and truly celebrated my African roots after moving to Brixton and becoming a Londoner. Dancing to Songhoy Blues represents for me the freedom of accepting my eclectic heritage.

BRIXTON

HI-FIVE

JOHN STURROCK/REPORTDIGITAL.CO.UK

JOHN STURROCK/REPORTDIGITAL.CO.UK

Forty years ago this month the biggest party ever held in Brockwell Park took place under the banner Rock Against Racism. On 24 September 1978 more than 120,000 revellers came from across the country for the era-defining free carnival, headlined by Elvis Costello and Aswad. It was the biggest event pulled off by the music-led political campaign and it helped to change British society. The vast crowd met in Hyde Park, where they heard speeches by Tony Benn MP, leading trade unionists and musicians, before marching to Brixton in a procession led by bands playing on floats and joined by several steel bands. The carnival programme warned: “It will happen here … if we don’t stop them now when they’re still weak. That is why the Carnival is there for you and me and quiet people who didn’t stand up to the loud mouthed racists on the bus. So we can dance

to our music in the streets. Then it won’t happen here. If we start now and make this Carnival the beginning …” Rock Against Racism (RAR) and its sister organisation the Anti-Nazi League helped to make anti-racism common-sense for a generation of young music fans. They did so by demonstrating that life is

Marching from Hyde Park to Brockwell Park

NO AGEISM NO HOMOPHOBIA NO FATPHOBIA NO TRANSPHOBIA NO HATEFULNESS

This is a welcome echo and extension of the demands made by RAR four decades ago. Albeit on a more modest scale to RAR or AFROPUNK, the Brixton Come Together festival does what it says on the tin on Saturday 22nd in Windrush Square. This year the free festival pays special tribute to the Windrush generation with a series of performances and

talks in collaboration with the Black Cultural Archive. Head to the Hootananny for the afterparty, where French Afrobeat collective Afro-Social Club and, from Salvador in Brazil, Afrocidade take the stage. AAFor more on campaigns against the far right visit: StandUpToRacism.org.uk AAFor more on the AFROPUNK takeover visit: afropunkfest.com/ london Dave Randall is a musician and author of Sound System: The Political Power of Music.

G NIN JOI NO FEE

SUMMER SALE NOW ON BRIXTON RECREATION CENTRE Here at Better we’re giving you a cool offer for the end of summer. Join your local Better leisure centre th before 30 September 2018 and enjoy no joining fee. You’ll have a better late summer, no matter what the weather.

Join today at better.org.uk/brixton

Terms and conditions apply, visit www.better.org.uk/offerterms for details. Better is a registered trademark and trading name of GLL (Greenwich Leisure Limited), a charitable social enterprise and registered society under the Co-operative & Community Benefit & Societies Act 2014 registration no. 27793R. Registered office: Middlegate House, The Royal Arsenal, London, SE18 6SX. Inland Revenue Charity no: XR43398

422226_GLLGlobals_2018_June_Additional_MollyM_Brixton_SouthwarkNews_FV.indd 1

18/05/2018 13:02

SEPTEMBER 2018

OPINION  9 Terence MacSwiney and his wife Muriel Murphy in about 1917 Picture: Cork City Library

BRIXTON BUGLE

COMMENT

Planning Brixton

Plans for 850 creative workspaces in International House, the former council offices in the heart of Brixton are welcome. Not far from Pop Brixton, which has nurtured success stories like Indian restaurant Kricket, we hope that local entrepreneurs will find International House equally inspiring. One of the young business people featured in this month’s Bugle says that more and more young people would like to start their own creative business. Is this because they have that ambition? Or is it because many jobs – if there are any available – are so insecure, so badly paid and with such unsocial hours that people can no longer afford to live in Brixton if they take one? As is often the case, Brixton can be seen as a microcosm of the problems of the whole of society. Standing in the heart of Brixton overlooking Windrush Square is the Ritzy Cinema. What should be an ornament is, instead, a symbol of the problems society faces. Its owners refuse to pay the London Living Wage of £10.20 an hour. Even if someone was paid that much for 35 hours a week for 52 weeks, they would still have an annual salary of well below £20,000 – forcing them to live far, far away from the bright lights of Brixton. Is it any wonder that people are thinking about the high-risk alternative of working for themselves? We can, of course, be relatively pleased that International House – at least, for five years – will not become “luxury” flats. Lambeth council says that it will become part of the masterplan for Brixton at the end of this period. But five years is a near eternity in the world of planning and development in London. With its decision to reject well-developed and long-established plans for community-led housing on Somerleyton Road – at the same time as backing another community-led development at the top of Brixton Hill – Lambeth council has placed a large question mark over the future of central Brixton. In our previous issue we reported on noise complaints from new flats opened without double glazing just half a beat from at least three Coldharbour Lane music venues. Planning legislation gives local authorities much less control over this sort of development than they should have. But such issues pose the question: just how will the Central Brixton masterplan, drawn up in December 2014, develop and change as Brixton and the economy change? And how will it be financed? In 2014, the council expected to publish a “refresh” of the masterplan in mid-2018. We await it with interest. Regulated by IMPRESS: The independent monitor for the press 16–18 New Bridge Street EC4V 6AG 020 3325 4288 complaints@impress.press www.impress.press

Within days, thousands of his supporters flocked to Brixton and rallied outside the prison on Brixton Hill. On 25 August, a riot broke out between the crowd and the police

Should not this Brixton martyr be remembered with a real blue plaque? Almost 100 years ago events in Brixton drew the attention of people ranging from Clement Attlee to Marcus Garvey. Local resident Fergus O’Farrell recalls the death of Thomas MacSwiney On the boundary wall of Brixton Prison, adjacent to Lyham Road, there is a blue plaque commemorating a former prisoner. It has not been put there by English Heritage, the group which erects blue plaques to remember famous people around London. This one is spray-painted on the wall, and it commemorates an unlikely figure – Terence MacSwiney, an Irish Republican, who died in the prison in 1920. MacSwiney came of age at a time of tension in Ireland when separatists were looking for independence from Britain. Having been denied the freedom which they had voted for in successive elections from the 1870s until the 1910s, extremists took matters into their own hands and staged an armed rebellion against British rule in Dublin in 1916. While MacSwiney did not take an active role in the uprising, he was, nonetheless, closely aligned with the rebels. He was a devout – even puritanical – Catholic, a published playwright, an Irish language scholar and a teacher. He was elected Sinn Féin MP for Mid Cork in the General Election of December 1918, but refused to take his seat in Westminster, as he did not recognise Britain’s territorial claim over Ireland. The Irish War of Independence broke out the following month, and MacSwiney’s home city of Cork was a particularly active and bloody area for its duration. In March 1920, the Lord Mayor of Cork, Tomás Mac Curtain, was shot dead by police as he slept in his bed. In a city so riled by warfare, a man of MacSwiney’s standing and character was a natural replacement. However, he did not remain in office very long. In August he was arrested and tried by a military tribunal under the Defence of the

Realm Act, where he was sentenced to two years imprisonment to be served in Brixton. MacSwiney immediately began a hunger strike. His case attracted worldwide media attention. Within days, thousands of his supporters flocked to Brixton and rallied outside the prison on Brixton Hill. On 25 August, a riot broke out between the crowd and the police. The case divided British politics, with some MPs urging that MacSwiney be released. Even the King favoured clemency, though he decided not to interfere publicly. According to The Observer: ‘The majority of public opinion and of the press in Great Britain is unquestionably for the Lord Mayor’s release. The instinct of this public opinion

is unquestionably sound. A government not guided by it in such a matter must be dangerously out of touch with it. What moves the country is the doubt hanging over the case – just the fear of cruel disproportion between death and the offence.” The government held out, and so did MacSwiney. Messages of support poured in from all over the world. Another radical who would later become associated with Brixton, Marcus Garvey, sent a message of solidarity and conveyed “the sympathy of 400,000,000 negroes”. Some 10,000 people demonstrated in Glasgow. The Mayor of New York telegrammed the Prime Minister, Lloyd George, to urge him to end “the imprisonment of Lord Mayor MacSwiney whose heroic

fortitude in representing even unto death the opinions of the citizens who elected him has won the admiration of all the peoples who believe in rule of the people by the people”. After 74 days without food, MacSwiney died on 25 October. His martyrdom inspired many future revolutionaries. A young Vietnamese man named Nguyen Tat Thanhn was working in the kitchen of a central London hotel. Upon hearing the news of MacSwiney’s death, he burst into tears saying “a country with a citizen like this will never surrender”. He returned to Vietnam, changed his name to Ho Chi Minh, and led the Vietnamese resistance movement for three decades fighting Japanese and French imperialists and later the United States. MacSwiney’ body was taken to Southwark Cathedral. Thousands came to pay their respects, including the Mayor of Stepney, Clement Attlee, who would later become the Prime Minister. After the funeral mass, the body was carried to Euston Station in a procession that stretched more than a mile. It was led by mounted police, followed by members of the Irish Volunteer movement and hundreds of priests. Many police officers wore black gloves as a sign of respect and they saluted the coffin as it passed. The body was put on a train bound for Holyhead, where it was transported by boat to Ireland. Messages of support poured in from all over the world. Marcus Garvey wrote: “Hundreds and thousands of Irishmen have died as martyrs to the cause of Irish freedom … They compelled the attention of the world and I believe the death of McSweeney (sic) did more for the freedom of Ireland today than probably anything they did for 500 years prior to his death.” Gandhi and Nehru later cited MacSwiney’s protest as an inspiration, as did Nelson Mandela. Is it time for English Heritage to honour the memory of MacSwiney with a permanent blue plaque? AA Fergus O’Farrell’s first book, a biography of the Irish revolutionary Cathal Brugha, is published this month. Cathal Brugha; University College Dublin Press; ISBN-13: 9781910820278.

10  COMMUNITY brixtonblog.com 2018 SEPTEMBER

Tripod workspace in Lambeth town hall, featured in the previous Bugle, has an open day on Wednesday 5 September. Potential hot-desking clients will be able to view the space, have free access for the day and learn more about the project from 11am to 5pm. An area of 16 hot desks is available to rent at a monthly fee of £135 per month per desk (access 8am to 6pm weekdays). The space is in a light-filled atrium designed by Brixton’s Eley Kishimoto and Phil Dolman-Bowles. Natwest Bank will be offering workshops (limited places) at the open day: Finance and accounting 11am to 1pm. Marketing and intellectual property 2pm to 4pm. There will be a networking session from 5 to 6pm. Project manager Rosie Gainsborough says: “Freelancing and starting a creative business can be lonely, so come along to meet other people interested in using the hot desk area at Tripod as well as some of our office tenants. Our business support partners for the day will be hosting a speed networking session to break the ice.” AA To book a place: bit.ly/Tripod-openday

Local brand that fights negativity with humour

IMAGE COURTESY OF RIDDHI DASGUPTA PHOTOGRAPHY @RDASGUPTAPHOTOGRAPHY

CHECK THE NEW TOWN HALL HOT DESK SPACE

Neila Romdane meets successful streetwear designers who tell young people: You can do it too Cristian Silva Reascos founded urban streetwear brand Fat Belly three years ago. It was born from a love of drawing, humour and a passion to improve lifestyles for young people in South London. Declan Smith and Tyler Robinson make up the team of three designers and produce limited edition caps, t-shirts and jumpers. Cristian incorporates a mix of his South London and South American roots, blending Inca, Mayan and Aztec inspired designs with his London street experience. Born in Ecuador, Cristian arrived in Britain at the age of three. “Growing up in South London I saw a lot of negativity; fighting, stabbing, violence. Ninety per cent of friends getting into the cycle of drugs. There was a common feeling of no way out”. This was a spur for

creativity and Cristian pursued his love of drawing, making his school friends laugh through his cartoons and artwork. Fat Belly is street slang for hitting the belly and making the jackpot. It represents wealth, health and making it. “Fat Belly represents the importance of humour, no matter how dull and ugly our reality is,” says Cristian. Fat Belly sells its products via an Instagram page @fatbellyvida and also hosts pop-up shops across South London, most recently in Peckham. Using materials ethically sourced from South America and the UK, they look to support deprived areas in both places. After attending StartUp Brixton, an event run by Hatch Enterprise, the team joined the Business Incubator programme with Hatch as part of The Young People

in Enterprise Programme. Funded by The Walcot Foundation to support young entrepreneurs from Lambeth, Fat Belly has participated in workshops to help grow its business. Cristian, Declan and Tyler now have a large following in South London and their wares sell out quickly. They have found that more and more young people want to start their own business

and to do something creative. To encourage this, they are planning workshops to pass on their skills. “We want to teach young people that there is another way. Some kids think it’s cool to be bad. That is not the case; there is an alternative. You can make something out of nothing and make money. I’ve done it, and you can too.” AAEnquiries: fat_ belly@outlook.com

Skills & Career Progression Programmes in Brixton ESOL

3 September

Functional skills - English ( Entry Level )

11 September

Functional skills - English ( Level 1 & 2)

6 September

Functional Skills - Maths (Entry Level)

22 August

Functional skills - Maths (Level 1 & 2)

21 October

Women into Business

3 September

Early Year Development (Entry Level & Level 3)

6 September

Teaching Assistant (Level 2 & 3) Office Skills (Business Administration & ICT) Work in Adult Care (Level 2 & 3)

17 September 3 September 20 September

Programme Duration 4 weeks and 12 weeks Class times : Day 9.30am–3.00pm | Evening 6pm–8:30pm | Saturday 9:30–12:30pm Levels Beginner to Advanced These courses are accredited and FREE* for learners who are either unemployed or earning less than £15,736 per annum. For conditions and further details email info@micomputsolutions.co.uk or call 020 7501 6450. Courses take place at :

MI Computsolutions Skills Development Centre, Brixton Centre The Queen, 47A Bellefields Road, Brixton, London SW9 9UH

Idumea

Two autumn gigs not to be missed Brockwell Community Greenhouses will host traditional music from the Balkans and chamber music based on Appalachian folk this autumn. On Sunday 16 September, Raka, whose name comes from a traditional dance “full of kicks, clicking heels and hands held high”, will play music in the folk traditions of Bulgaria and Macedonia as well as the Romani music that spans the Balkans. On Sunday 14 October the Idumea Quartet will bring traditional string quartet instrumentation and a chamber music aesthetic to

Appalachian folk music. Add harmonised singing into the mix and the result is a sound which is “as high and lonesome as it is symphonic”. Jane Rothfield and Ewan Macdonald are on fiddle; Becka Wolfe is on viola; and Nathan Bontrager on cello. A botanical bar will serve drinks and snacks from 5pm. There will be plenty of chairs but wear something warm. AARAKA Sunday 16 September, 6-9pm £10 (concs £7) AAIDUMEA Sunday 14 October, 5-8pm. £10 (concs £7).

Celebrate our local harvest It’s harvest time and a time to celebrate what’s grown, cooked and eaten on our doorstep, says Janie Bickersteth London Food Link’s annual Urban Food Fortnight runs from 20 September to 7 October. It’s a chance to highlight and celebrate the array of produce being grown, made, cooked and saved on our doorstep. In Lambeth, we are calling it the Incredible Edible Lambeth Harvest. Lambeth people really know how to grow food. The borough has around 200 growing spaces – from tiny balconies to community gardens, to fire stations. It’s also a great place to start up a food business – through pop-ups, market stalls and an increasing number of new cafés and restaurants. Incredible Edible Lambeth is attempting to highlight all these places and we would encourage you to join in this celebration by posting an event on our website at bit.ly/IEL-Harvest18. You may simply want to run an open garden for an afternoon, or to share some of your surplus produce. However small or large your event, we want to hear from you. We already have some exciting entries: Disco Soup, Squash Roast Up and Myatt’s Field Park Harvest Festival. Incredible Edible Lambeth will be organising walking tours to discover some of the hidden food gems around the borough. Check the website for these events.

Squash Roast Up, Brockwell Park Community Greenhouses

SEPTEMBER 2018

INTERNATIONAL CUISINE …

TOGETHER FOR BRIXTON Since 2014, Brixton BID has been providing valuable services and projects to help make running a business in Brixton easier. Before the BID, local businesses had no collective voice and no way to come together to invest in their own community or future. During the month of October businesses can vote in a ballot organised by the local authority to renew the levy on local businesses that funds the BID. Vote YES to invest in your business community and make your voice heard. There are currently 294 BIDs in the UK and Ireland, 60 of them in London.

Brixton BID

Unit S32, Pop Brixton 49 Brixton Station Road, SW9 8PQ 020 3417 7373 admin@brixtonbid.co.uk www.brixtonbid.co.uk @BrixtonBID

4 September Notice of ballot and renewal proposal issued by London Borough of Lambeth

1 October Voting opens You will receive voting papers from the London Borough of Lambeth

31 October Voting closes

1 November Results announced

1 January 2019 to 31 December 2023 If the majority of businesses vote in favour, Brixton BID will continue to work for you

INVESTING IN BRIXTON In its first five years, the BID invested approximately £1.75 million to make Brixton a brighter, cleaner place with a safer environment. 10% of this sum came from external funding. In October, any business with a rateable value of £12,000 or more is eligible to vote and will be liable to pay 1.5% of its rateable value (in addition to business rates) if the vote is successful. Over the period 20192023, the BID would raise approximately £2.15 million from the levy. The piechart shows how the BID would spend its projected income. Administration costs include levy collection fees, office, staff and running costs.

SOME BID ACHIEVEMENTS 33% 8,320 extra hours of policing funded

ONE VOICE FOR THE BENEFIT OF ALL #FORBRIXTON1

reduction in shoplifting since deployment of BID funded police officers

For a full list and more details, you can download the BID’s renewal ballot document at bit.ly/BBID-booklet

£1,076 average saving on your utility bills

80 extra cleaning days each year

348

BID members trained

OCTOBER 2018 VOTE YES #FOR BRIXTON

AN IMPORTANT VOTE FOR BUSINESSES IN BRIXTON BID Managing Director Michael Smith In a few weeks’ time Brixton businesses will get the chance to make a real difference to the future of our vibrant business community. A YES vote for another five years of the Brixton BID will be a vote for all Brixton. We hope that local businesses and other partners, local and national, will recognise the Brixton BID’s commitment to working together for all Brixton. We have spent the last five years working with others to deliver positive and effective benefits for all Brixton: ✮✮ Green, clean and lively creative streets ✮✮ A safe and welcoming Brixton ✮✮ Entertainment Day and Night ✮✮ A great and varied shopping experience for all. We have had the benefit of working in a community with very good transport links, including the recently arrived Santander Bikes. These links have been beneficial to businesses both large and small. Our work on campaigns to promote Brixton as a distinctive destination for all continues. We have worked directly with Lambeth Council and other organisations to help to reduce business costs to businesses through: ✮✮ Reduced businesses rates ✮✮ Free training and innovative networking opportunities ✮✮ Business cost ­reduction services via our work with businesses through Meercat Associates. We want to have an even bigger impact in Brixton over the next five years and your YES vote counts. We have seen local police services – “Bobbies on the beat” – slashed by at least a third and have plugged that gap with “Section 92” police services funded by the BID and dedicated to serving local businesses. Together with our local Business Crime Reduction Partnership team, we have helped to reduce shoplifting on our High Street by about 33% over the past couple of years and have positively addressed other issues impacting business such as aggressive begging.

necessarily free) public conveniences is still a necessity, especially in our Underground and railway stations that serve both visitors and residents. This would introduce us to visitors arriving from across the world as a modern town centre. The Victoria Line night tube into Brixton has already made 17 million passenger journeys. A public toilet in this end of the line station would not go amiss.

Green agenda The Brixton BID supports a green agenda and will encourage and support more recycling and use of environmentally friendly materials by businesses. We welcome the introduction of electrical charging points which will no doubt support the introduction of electric delivery vehicles and cars for use by our business community. We work actively with organisations supporting alternative energy and the consolidation of services. All these initiatives are aimed at improving efficiency and lowering emissions in our local area.

Local opportunities We actively support the relocation of businesses to Brixton (hospitality as a well as retail) and the opening of new businesses. We see these as beneficial to improving local employment opportunities. We encourage and support our members to pay a real wage that will enable workers to be able to live in London. The availability of more truly affordable housing for young workers is as important as the payment of any living wage if businesses are to attract and retain the very best local workforce. Although Brixton has a long history as a shopping area – including our indoor and outdoor markets – the indications are that the future of Brixton as a shopping area, cultural enterprise zone or a distinctive destination for visitors rests squarely on our young residents, young shoppers, young visitors, young professionals and young workers. We ignore the needs of this significant group at the peril of our economy. Our employment, housing, planning and licensing laws/initiatives must begin to acknowledge the needs of this group. Are our local interest/lobbying groups working in the interest of this 18-35 age group as well as others? A thriving Brixton benefits all in Brixton. A thriving Brixton will always be Brighter, Cleaner and Safer. Your vote in October 2018 is an important vote for businesses in Brixton.

#FOR BRIXTON

Public toilets campaign Our campaign for the provision of more public toilet amenities across Brixton has yet to yield the success we seek. Access to a public toilet is not a legal right, but Brixton’s pubs and clubs, restaurants and coffee shops are readily making their facilities available to customers throughout the day and night. A network of well maintained (not

MEET THE MEMBERS – BRIXTON’S INTER

Your vote. Your Voice. Your Brixton Working Together #ForBrixton

Michael Smith

DUCK, DUCK, GOOSE

A MODERN CANTONESE CANTEEN Inspired by a two year stint in Hong Kong as head chef at The Continental restaurant, Oli Brown became fascinated by the flavours and theatre of the delicious roast meats hanging in the windows of more humble Cantonese eateries. He abandoned traditional European cuisine and took a year out to research and perfect his new style. In January 2017 Duck Duck Goose opened in POP Brixton with a menu based around classic Cantonese cooking techniques – fried, steamed, wok-fried – with roast meat taking centre stage. Duck, pork belly and char siu are air-dried on site in a custom-built dryer and then roasted in a traditional Hong Kong duck oven.

But there is more on the menu from this busy kitchen – steamed seabass; soya quail; crab and fennel salad; clams with black beans; aubergines with tomato, fish sauce and chilli; greens with sesame; pickles and puddings. For fans of ribs there are poached and braised beef and pork ribs with fermented beancurd, broad beans, hispi cabbage and Tokyo turnips. In particular Oli declares that his “prawn toast is to end all others”. Duck Duck Goose Pop Brixton, 49 Brixton Station Road, SW9 8PQ Open Tuesday to Saturday 12.00-3.30 & 6.00-10.00, Sunday & Monday Closed duckduckgooselondon.com info@duckduckgooselondon. com

KABOOLA

CATERING FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD Having catered for clients all over the world, Olivia Reeves wanted to bring her ideas and experiences back to London and turn them into a business. In 2013 she launched Kaboola from her home and since then has developed both large and small events throughout the UK. She now runs her thriving

business with great friend and event chef Tara Wheating out of Kaboola Kitchen next to the new Brixton Post Office on Ferndale Road. With an emphasis on fresh produce, the café serves tasty breakfasts including granolas and porridges with berry compotes, yoghurt, banana,

RNATIONAL CUISINE

PARISSI

ATLANTIC MEETS MEDITERRANEAN Spyros Parissis has been serving up the flavours of the world to Brixton since 2015 from his welcoming all-day café on Atlantic Road. Growing up on the Greek island of Lesvos just off the coast of Turkey, he was influenced by the multicultural influences of his island home and his mother’s French cooking. Spyros began baking at home, selling in markets and to cafés until, with help of friends and family, he opened Parissi. His passion for fresh food and the rich flavours of the eastern Mediterranean can be found on the menu: Bouyourdi, baked Feta cheese with roasted peppers and tomatoes and aubergine classic babaganoush. There is sourdough bread

from Bad Boys Bakery in Brixton Prison and Spyros’s freshly baked patisserie is on the counter. He provided the food and styling when producer and director Gaëlle Mourre created her short film The Feast. An all-day breakfast at Parissi offers Italian fennel sausage, poached free range egg, home-made baked beans in a fresh tomato sauce, cup mushrooms and a baked tomato topped with oregano, sourdough toast and French butter. Parissi, 76 Atlantic Road, London SW9 8PX open weekdays 8am – 5.30pm Sat/Sun 9.00 – 6.30/6.00, closed Tues. Telephone 020 7924 9022 www.parissi.co.uk. email info@parissi.co.uk

Spyros was visited in Parissi by then Minister of State for Employment Esther McVey as he had taken part in a government enterprise allowance scheme

THE COURTESAN

DIM SUM, COCKTAILS AND CABARET This atmospheric dim sum restaurant, tea room and cocktail bar references the world of the courtesans of Imperial China while celebrating female power and accomplishments. An all-female team of chefs is led by Feng Juan He and general manager Viktorija Kaskonaite has been with The Courtesan since she was 17. The wine and spirits list is sourced solely from female producers and late-night entertainment includes glamorous burlesque artists, female comedians, opera, cabaret and jazz.

Feng’s team honour the regal origins of dim sum while at the same time producing a contemporary and inventive menu that draws influences from around the globe. Ingredients are pure and preservative-free, (no MSG here) and there are extensive vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options. The adventurous can sample gin and whisky by a single female auteur or explore the rums from female master distillers of the Americas. Cocktails are emboldened with fine teas from Fujian,

lush botanicals and blossom syrups to continue the adventure. All to be savoured in elegant and dimly lit surroundings where thoughts might drift to the opium dens of old Shanghai. Opening hours Friday, Saturday, Sunday 12pm– 12am; Monday, Wednesday Thursday 12–11pm; Tuesday 6–11pm. Late night entertainments until 2am (see website for what’s on) The Courtesan, 69 Atlantic Road, London SW9 8PU +44 (0)2081278677 www.thecourtesan.co.uk courtesan@ thecourtesan.co.uk

WAHACA

D

MEXICAN STREET FOOD honey, as well as the Ultimate Bacon Sandwich or your choice of eggs (bacon, avocado or smoked salmon accompaniments). Lunch is a tempting selection of sandwiches, wraps and salads (add hummus, chicken, smoked salmon, toasted seeds) as well as Kaboola’s daily tart. Once a month, the evening Kaboola Seasonal Supper Club celebrates the produce of the season in five courses. Ingredients are locally sourced where possible and put together “with passion and imagination”. Olivia and Tara also

welcome bookings for private evening functions. Kaboola Kitchen The Department Store, 240 Ferndale Rd, London SW9 8FR Opening times Monday – Friday 8.00am – 4.30pm Currently closed at the weekend events@kaboola.co.uk supperclub@kaboola.co.uk www.kaboola.co.uk

One of the earliest and most striking successes of the trend in street food/small plate eating is Wahaca, the brainchild of MasterChef winner Thomasina Miers and business partner Mark Selby, who cut his teeth at Easyjet and Nando’s. It now has 17 establishments in London, including its Brixton eatery on Atlantic Road and 26 across the UK as well as two overseas. Thomasina and Mark have a love of freshly made Mexican market food. The opening of the first Wahaca in Covent Garden in 2006 saw queues around the block. Wahaca Brixton opened in 2014 in the then derelict Brixton landmark pub, Brady’s (previously The Railway Hotel). Wahaca Brixton hosts regular DJ

nights and spaces are available for local community events. Most (but not all) tables are kept unreserved so anyone can drop in … “We’ll always find space for you,” says Wahaca. Wahaca Brixton 20 Atlantic Road, London SW9 8JA 020 3763 6357 Opening times Monday – Saturday 12pm – 11pm; Sunday 12pm – 10.30pm email brixton@wahaca.co.uk www.wahaca.co.uk/locations/brixton/

BRIXTON BID PARTNERING BRIXTON DESIGN TRAIL

SPACE FOR 850 NEW JOBS

Brixton will soon be home to London’s largest affordable workspace. International House next to the police station in the centre of Brixton, until now used for Lambeth council offices, is to start a new life as a space for local enterprises. It will be run by 3Space that was formed eight years ago as a response to the increase in vacant commercial workspace as a result of the financial crash and changes in the way people work and shop. It has worked across the UK with private companies, government and developers to allow surplus commercial space to benefit local communities and drive regeneration. It believes that “diversity and inclusiveness are what makes cities great. That affordable space provides opportunities for local-led innovation and growth, whilst integrating great businesses and non-profits into the regeneration process.” 3Space has already begun work at International House. Once up and running, it will provide muchneeded space for new and growing businesses, social enterprises and experimental projects with a focus on design, creativity and innovation. The project at the 11-storey block in Canterbury Crescent will feature 3Space’s BuyGiveWork scheme, which involves donating space that is paid for by commercial businesses to social enterprises and community groups. BuyGiveWork will support four “hubs” spread across four floors: Community Initiatives – benefiting local charities and community organisations Experiments – an innovative lab space run by the agri-tech incubator Green Lab Studios – a collaborative space for artists and makers run by Assemble Youth Entrepreneurship – run by Business Launchpad, helping young local entrepreneurs as they launch their businesses. Alongside the hubs there will also be paid-for office space with the capacity to host anyone from a freelance to a fast-growing business needing more space. There will be

Harry Owen-Jones (front) chief operating officer of 3Space and Andrew Cribb (back) chief executive officer. Both will be based in International House overseeing the project. Originally from Australia, Andrew set up 3Space with Henry Mason in 2010 with the belief that there is value trapped in empty commercial property. He had worked in Australia and London as an urban planner and also holds an MBA. Harry, with a masters degree in museums, galleries and the creative economy, has been with 3Space since 2011, having worked earlier in financial services recruitment and art galleries both in London and Paris.

a focus on architecture, design and tech-led enterprises. To take advantage of the wonderful views of London from the rooftop 3Space is examining its potential as a bar, restaurant and health studio for both the building’s residents and the wider community. 3Space plans to engage with local people, groups and businesses to help inform plans for the building and, where possible, will match available space to local needs. Fully occupied, the project would create space for 850 jobs. 3Space are currently hiring for the project. The charity has guaranteed to pay the council £1million in rent over five years of operation. Coupled with the saving to the council of no longer running International House, this will make a significant contribution to council finances. Until early 2018 International House was used by 600 staff working for the council’s children and young people’s services. As part of the council’s rationalisation of its office buildings from 14 to two to save £4.5m a year, these staff have recently moved into the refurbished Lambeth town hall and new civic centre on Brixton Hill. International House has been earmarked for redevelopment after the five years are up as part of the Brixton Central masterplan.

Brixton BID has funded the Brixton Design Trail since 2016. This event brings people and publicity to Brixton in a week-long programme of creative events and installations from 15 to 23 of September. It is part of the internationally recognised London Design Festival (LDF) which last year had 450,000 individual visitors from more than 75 countries. There were 991,000 visits overall to LDF exhibits. In Brixton, as well as the week-long design trail, BDT and Brixton BID have also implemented long-term public realm improvements – including the new and soon to be revealed Brixton Road Bridge design by Farouk Agoro and Akil Scafe-Smith. Brixton BID is committed to continuing its investment in Brixton’s rich creative community and celebrating our famous cultural diversity. It is delightful to see businesses in Brixton coming together to support Brixton Design Trail. Our work with Brixton Design Trail over the years has helped to establish Brixton as an even more distinctive destination for all. ✮✮ Check www.brixtondesigntrail. com or www.brixtonbid.co.uk for this year’s full exciting line up.

TRAINING DATES Emergency First Aid (Level2)

24 September

Personal Licence

01 October

Food Hygiene (Level3) Day One

08 October

Food Hygiene (Level3) Day Two

15 October

First Aid (Level3) Day One

22 October

First Aid (Level3) Day Two

29 October

All training takes place at Lambeth College, Clapham Centre (45 Clapham Common South Side, London, SW4 9BL) and starts at 10am with a 5pm finish. These training sessions are fullyaccredited courses, free of charge to BID levy payers and are available strictly on a first-come, first served basis. Email admin@brixtonbid.co.uk to reserve your space.

15  brixtonblog.com 2018 SEPTEMBER

FOOD & DRINK REVIEW: BANH BANH

Good Evening, Vietnam

It’s a family affair. Banh Banh, cutting its teeth in the new hipster hotbed that is millennial Peckham, has opened a second place along the increasingly interesting Coldharbour Lane. Brixton via Peckham and 1940s Saigon. Where “Granny” Nguyen was a chef and whose recipes are now in the hands of the grandkids (with Mum helping out of course). The recipes may be “handed-down” authentic, the Banh Banh dining room itself is modern and almost totally minimalist. Bare white walls, wooden tables, utterly clean lines and precise, with a dash of funky shutters creating “bar stool” booths. No mood music, just a friendly welcome… and food. Trad Vietnamese cuisine (in a world of the opposite of “clean” eating street snack dining) is one of the healthier cuisines on the Brixton menu – fresh ingredients, minimal use of dairy, very little oil in play. Not sure “Gran” was serving funky cocktails such as our Pride + Chuoi, monkey shoulder Scotch, banana liqueur, honey, sesame bitters, lemon zest, sesame brittle or Dang Negroni, koko kanu coconut rum, Campari, Punt e Mes vermouth, mango bitters, orange zest, pineapple. Nice start kids. Effectively it’s a small-to medium plates operation. We’re here for dinner on the way to Whirled Cinema (a cinema in Brixton who bother to pay their staff a living wage) but they do an impressive brunch menu at the weekends.

Bare white walls, wooden tables, utterly clean lines and precise, with a dash of funky shutters creating ‘bar stool’ booths. No mood music, just a friendly welcome

BRIXTON BREWERY

OPEN DAY SATURDAY

22

SEPTEMBER

326 Coldharbour Lane, SW9 8QH | 020 7737 5888 | banhbanh.com/brixton/ | @BanhBanhHQ

OPEN 9AM TO 5PM EVERY DAY

T &A

OLD FASHIONED FRIENDLY SERVICE AND ADVICE ON THE BEST CUTS TO USE

QUALITY BUTCHERS LTD

20 Brixton Village SW9 8PR T-BONE, FILLET, & SIRLOIN STEAK, HAMBURGER MINCE & SAUSAGES

ser ving the finest cuts of top quality fresh meat to Brixton OPEN SUNDAYS & MONDAYS

MUTTON, GOAT, OXTAIL, RIBS & PIGS TROTTERS, BOTH SALTED & FRESH

You can find us opposite ‘Agile Rabbit’ in Brixton Village

ALL OUR MEATS ARE KEPT UNDER GLASS IN REFRIGERATED UNITS

NEW BREWS

LIVE MUSIC + DJs FOOD TRUCKS

BREWERY TOURS

FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY

FIRST 100 GUESTS GET A BEER ON US!

We've started brewing in our new brewery & we want to celebrate with you! 22nd September, 12-9pm Units 1&2, Dylan Road, Off Milkwood Road, London SE24 0HL Visit BrixtonBrewery.com to book your FREE tickets now.

GET A TASTE OF BRIXTON!

Nick Buglione meets the Nguyen family at Banh Banh

Choosing from “smallish” to “biggish” (almost a main), clean eaters will approve of classic summer rolls, rice paper parcels filled with paddy herbs and your choice of prawn, shredded pork or tofu. We had prawns, dipped in sweet chilli. Sticky chicken wings, glazed in fish sauce satisfied my primeval carnivorous palate and Mrs B took on a not insubstantial bun noodle salad, a hot and cold bowl of vermicelli noodles and pickles, shallots, peanuts and in our case, spicy BBQ pork patties. More restrained diners could get by on this alone. But that would be ignoring what is possibly closest to a “house special”, banh khot pancakes, a hot, steaming skillet of blini-sized savoury turmeric pancakes topped with tiger prawn, spring onion and shrimp dust. To be dipped along with accompanying salad into nuoc cham sauce (fish based sauce pimped with sugar, lime, garlic and chilli. Or BBQ beef in betel leaves – dinky charcoal grilled leafy parcels with ground beef and lemongrass. The pancakes and the wings were our favourites. If I was being the occasional fusspot I am not paid to be, I’d say the salad’s pork patties and the betel beef parcels were a little sturdy but I am also aware I am not paying big bucks in Mayfair (the prices here are extremely user-friendly). And everything comes with a hefty serving of enthusiasm and a cheerful face. There is a lot to be said for service with a smile, as quite a few places forget. Of course they do pho which I will have to try for lunch. Fay Maschler of Evening Standard fame fell over herself in loving the original Peckham Banh Banh. This correspondent isn’t quite so rhapsodic but we should keep our eyes on Banh Banh as a great little place doing interesting, authentic, healthy oriental dining just down the road is to be enthusiastically welcomed. Try the pancakes.

16  FOOD & DRINK brixtonblog.com 2018 SEPTEMBER REVIEW: AGILE RABBIT

Village People Halima Hassan faces the music at Agile Rabbit I first met Brixton when I worked here for a year. A year of wandering through Brixton Village, usually on my way to Brixton mosque. I’ve been a Londoner for going on 15 years but a relative stranger to the south of the city. Brixton was at once a stark contrast to my west London suburbia with fascinating enclaves and pretty amazing food. Brixton Village feels like an amalgamation of the traditional Brixton and the new Brixton.

I say this as the outsider I know I am. Until my visit to Agile Rabbit, I had never experienced Brixton or the Village at night. My friend and I went on a Friday and naturally we, and everyone around us, were in a good “end of a working week” mood on a hot night (during our sultry summer meltdown). Being surrounded by music and people heading to gigs or for a bite to eat (or a combo of the two as we were), reassured me that spending an evening in Brixton was a smart move. Brixton has a fair share of pizzerias, from Franca Manca to Made of Dough and Pizza Brixton but Agile Rabbit, who have just opened up in Herne Hill, is certainly the most entertaining. Great traditional pizza meets live music, DJs and genuinely undimmed enthusiasm for Brixton and its village. On Friday and Saturday evenings, this cosy, bright pizzeria hosts a live band or a DJ.

My friend and I had the pleasure of having our evening soundtracked by DJ Memetic, playing his mixes of music from across the African diaspora. The Agile Rabbit menu is reassuringly traditional – they do pizza and do it well. Classics, calzones, good options for veggies and vegans and offbeat specials. We ordered (what else?) garlic bread and a buffalo mozzarella salad. The garlic bread served, in a pizza tin, was generous and tasty: crisp, light, buttery and intensely garlicky. The salad was light and fresh – both these starters were shared and still a bit too much; I’m never one to complain about having too much, though. For mains, I ordered the White Pizza Sunrise, Bouche Blanche goats cheese, cherry tomatoes and wild mushroom, with extra olives. The menu doesn’t go overboard – with a curated selection of pizzas and some unique house specials. You won’t be overwhelmed with options and the pizzas available are very easy to personalise – perfectly sized and generously topped. Agile Rabbit are happy to let diners go off piste with their bespoke creations. My friend ordered the mixed veg (with cheese), spinach, mushroom, olives, roasted peppers, capers, courgette and red onion. Both of course on the dough your imaginary inner

Neapolitan would surely approve of. We shared a tiramisu, one of two desserts they serve, the other being a sweet pizza. And doggybagged the pizzas we couldn’t finish (they are generous). Agile Rabbit has a lovely bar but we also shared tables with families with younger children, and I, a non-drinker, felt comfortable and welcomed. I loved the music and they seem to have a big commitment to local artists. One of my memories of a long hot London summer, my evening at Agile Rabbit is infused with warmth, great tunes and good pizza.

Unit 24, Brixton Village, Coldharbour Lane, SW9 8PR | 020 3940 2700 | theagilerabbit.london | @TheAgileRabbit

BRIXTON’S CAFE CONTINENTAL Centrally situated on the corner of Brixton Road and Brixton Station Road where you can sip a cappuccino, a glass of wine or a beer al fresco on the spacious pavement terrace outside and watch the world go by. Or you can enjoy the aromas of Arabica coffee mingling with freshly baked panini’s and Italian home cooking in the cosy interior. There is downstairs seating as well. Drop by and say hello to Enza, Mario or one of the family.

BREAKFAST? We do a Full English (halal, veg and vegan). Or try one of our delicious breakfast paninis, a cheese and honey roast ham muffin or a freshly baked croissant.

LUNCH ? Our menu has some tasty new additions — ravioli with spinach & ricotta or Nduja spicy Italian salami and tagliatelle, each in a cream and garlic tomato sauce. There is pasta with tuna, black olives & red onion, a lighter selection of salads with new spicy coriander or grilled chicken, with choices of coleslaw, potato salad and rice. We have falafels & hummus with salad plus many more salad plates to choose from.

photos SpotOn Social Media

FANCY A CAFE CLASSIC ? We are ready for you with our sausages & mash with gravy, or succulent chicken escalope with cream of mushroom sauce. Your choice of chips or mash, of course.

25 years: Three generations of Family Schifano serving great coffee to Brixton

413 B RI XTO N R D , LO N D O N SW9 7DG | 020 7978 8417 | SANMAR INOBR IXTON@YAH OO. COM

SEPTEMBER 2018

FOOD & DRINK  17

brixtonblog.com

REVIEW: LIDO CAFÉ BRUNCH

DIY COCKTAIL: THE FEDERATION ESPRESSO MARTINI

Breaking good

Get your nose in there Hardly surprising that specialty coffee experts Federation Coffee make a banging Espresso Martini. Scott Martin explains

Sacha Harrison embraces brunch at The Lido Cafe Hangover cure, an excuse to eat two meals in one, cocktails before noon, millennial remote working, it’s not difficult to explain why brunch is, apparently these days, best. But I’m at the Lido Café in Brockwell Park to see why this poolside spot does it so well. My pal and I are in the company of a sausage dog and a poodle, both welcomed to sit with us on the outdoor terrace. I ask for an almond milk latte whilst my friend opts for a cucumber, apple and mint concoction as well as an iced, decaf, soya latte. Tall orders but they come swiftly and prettily presented. We wimp out on the cocktails but I spot a good looking “Rhesus positive” Bloody Mary on its way out. Peeping out from the palms, I turn around to take a look at our lovely art-deco oasis, sun-dappled in the morning light. Not sardine-packed with the South London public in all their under-sumcreamed glory, it’s a peaceful, relaxed, quieter morning. The pre-work swimmers have been and gone, so its just a handful of swimmers gently lapping the pool and a few kids contemplating the shallow end. It’s a Thursday, but secretly feels like a Saturday without the queues. There are South London yummy mothers with their toddlers, prams and iPhones, swimmers, gymmers and laptopped freelancers (like us) milling over freshly brewed coffee. It feels akin to the cafés I remember in Sydney with a healthy-lifestyle

crowd who like a swim in the morning and a good brunch to set them up for the day. The eggs and avo type who aren’t afraid of the sourdough. As you would want and expect, its relaxed, cheerful, bustling and friendly – our dogs are a big hit with the mums and toddlers. Most importantly, the menu steps it up a notch. I’m thrilled to see there’s more than just standard café fare although of course they do an elevated bacon bap (£5.25), which we do order. Think brasserie-style upscale brunch-ness – the bacon comes crispy and streaky in a soft bun complete with a side of ketchup. It’s decidedly moreish. I’m gluten free but on, this occasion, I let it slide and order the spicy sobrasada on sourdough toast with heritage tomatoes and a poached egg (£8.95). The eggs are poached perfectly and the watercress on top adds a peppery dimension. If I had all day and a larger wallet, I would have also ordered the huevos rancheros and maybe a side of French toast dripping with maple syrup. For those who wake up later in the day or perhaps a little hungover, I can vouch for the veggie burger with twice-cooked chips. And, yes, there’s homemade granola for those who don’t get the whole brunch thing. There’s always one. AA Brunch at the Lido Café is served on weekdays and weekends from 9am to 2pm.

“Alongside our roasters, Curve, we developed an espresso blend that would stand up to the bite of adding booze. So we eventually settled on a (60%/40%) blend of a really creamy Guatemalan coffee and a light and floral Ethiopian coffee to create a smooth, naturally sweet and crisp espresso. We chose Smirnoff red, as across all of our blind tastings, it came out tops by far as the most balanced and it lets the espresso do the talking.”

INGREDIENTS

¡¡ 40g light-roasted espresso, from a quality roaster. ¡¡ 40ml Smirnoff Red vodka ¡¡ 20ml demerara sugar syrup ¡¡ 100g ice. (We use filtered water for ice, or the hardness of London tap water will impart a chalky taste to the drink)

METHOD

22 Combine your ingredients in a cocktail shaker and shake for 10 seconds 22 Fine strain into your glass of choice (we use a wine glass so you really have to get your nose in there when drinking) 22 Garnish with a pinch of finely ground coffee for an extra nasal hit of espresso. Unit 77-78, Brixton Village, Coldharbour Lane, SW9 8PS | federation.coffee | @Fed_Coffee

Brockwell Lido, Dulwich Road, SE24 0PA | 020 77378183 | www.thelidocafe.co.uk | @thelidocafe

Come on down to Electric Avenue’s favourite Caribbean restaurant and takeaway. Here at Healthy Eaters we serve freshly cooked, great value, great tasting authentic Caribbean food over the counter with speedy and friendly efficiency. So stop by for a take-away or sit a while and eat in. We have a downstairs eating area and we are open early lunchtime right through the afternoon.

17 Electric Avenue

Brixton SW9 8JP

Stafford and the team, proud caretakers of the Brixton War Memorial

www.healthyeaters.co.uk

020 7274 4521

SEPTEMBER 2018 brixtonblog.com

19

WHAT’S ON

Brixton’s heritage

Green Energy Today The Brixton Windmill annual lecture. Agamemnon Otero (Repowering London) and Derek Taylor (Open University) will update you on modern uses of renewable energy. Refreshments, exhibition, Brixton Windmill flour on sale. AA Wednesday 26. Room 16 Lambeth Town Hall. Free. Free but booking advised. Pre-book on-line at bit.ly/BW-greenenergy

Many events in and around Brixton will feature in the sixth Lambeth Heritage Festival led by Lambeth Archives and the Lambeth History Forum. It takes place throughout September. We have picked some key local events below from the more than 90 on offer Lambeth Town Hall tours

The town hall celebrated its 110th anniversary this year, reopening after a two-year refurbishment. The 60-minute tours will explore the history and architecture of Edwardian public buildings and discuss recent works. Morning and evening 10am and 6pm: Tuesday 4; Wednesday 12; Thursday 20; Monday 24. Meet at reception. AA Free. booking essential by e-mail: DCMascoll@lambeth.gov.uk

Tate Library A new book by the Brixton Society’s Bill Linskey’s tells the story of how Brixton came to have this fine library. AA Talk and book signing Wednesday 5 7- 8.30pm. No need to book.

Brixton Market heritage walk A guided walk taking in the markets, arcades and high street of Brixton. The history of the markets mirrors the history of Brixton – learn about both. AA Saturday 8. Price £3 includes a copy of walk booklet. Meet 2.30pm at the Brixton Society stall in Brixton Station Road. Booking essential. Email marketwalks@brixtonsociety.org.uk

Loughborough Road: people, shops, pubs

Windrush Square

Hear from Alan Piper of the Brixton Society about the history of this iconic site and the many historic buildings that surround it. AA Talk Thursday 13, 7pm. Vida Walsh Centre, 2b Saltoun Road, SW2 1EP. Light refreshments. Free. No need to book.

Join locals for a talk on the area and to share stories of the shops and pubs on the north end of Loughborough Road. AA Talk. Wednesday 26, 7pm. Brixton Jamm, 261 Brixton Road. Free. No need to book.

Black Cultural Archives

Celebrate World Cocoa and Farmers Day and the diverse community of Lambeth with a talk about the history of hot chocolate focusing on the relations between Britain, West Africa, and the Caribbean. AA Sunday 30. The Chocolate Museum, 187 Ferndale Road. Free, but booking required at bit.ly/CM-CocoaDay.

Join a behind-the-scenes tour of the BCA to learn about its history and role in collecting, preserving and celebrating the histories of African and Caribbean people in Britain. AA Tour. Tuesday 25, 11am. Free. Booking required. Call Abigail Wharne on 020 3757 8506.

Brixton Sound: Black Music in Brixton Kelly Foster explores the stories and sites that represent more than 100 years of Black music in Brixton. From the musicians who brought jazz to the UK, the record shop that was headquarters to the British civil rights movement, to how the sound system changed British music forever. AA Walk. Sunday 16 1pm, Meet Brixton Library. Free, booking essential at blackmusicwalk.eventbrite.co.uk

SEPTEMBER T H E P R I N C E O F WA L E S

World Cocoa and Farms Day

Around Brixton Hill Ninety-minute walk led by a Blue Badge guide. See some of Brixton Hill’s oldest surviving houses, the site of another windmill, glimpse an 1834 reservoir and discover some surprising Brixton Prison celebrity inmates. AA Sunday 9, 1pm. Meet Brixton Windmill. No need to book. £5 adults, £3 concession, children free.

Local Heroes Following last year’s event #Brixton Local Heroes will present new nominations, unveil a portrait of Norma Williamson and open a digital Roll of Honour to keep alive the memory of our local heroes. AA Talk. Wednesday 19, 7.00. Brixton Library. Free, no booking required.

FURTHER AFIELD Tour West Norwood Cemetery, go back stage at the National Theatre, find out about the heyday of Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. Or take in a talk about Kennington and the Chartists, or Lambeth and the first world war. Visit the Cinema Museum and find out about women’s suffrage, the history of the health service, or the beginnings of circus in Lambeth 250 years ago. AA Full programme at bit.ly/2MDaGoM

Sat

1st

HOUSE OF DISCO'S SUMMER ROOFTOP PARTY

Sun

2nd

MONTH OF SUNDAYS: DOES CARNIVAL WITH SOCA ON DE ROOF

Fri

7th

OLD SKOOL GARAGE SUMMER CLOSING ROOFTOP PARTY

Sat

8th

NORMAN JAY MBE & SANCHO PANZA ...UP ON THE ROOF + BUSHWACKA

Sun

9th

MONTH OF SUNDAYS DOES CARNIVAL WITH SOCA, CALYPSO AND CARNIVAL VIBES

Thu

13th

GOSPELOKE

Fri

14th

RUM & REGGAE - SUMMER CLOSING PARTY

Sat

15th

APPLEBUM

Sun

16th

MONTH OF SUNDAYS + DRUMS RADIO PRESENT BODDHI SATVA

Fri

21st

90'S PARTY - BRIXTON CLUB & ROOFTOP PARTY

Sat

22nd AFROBEATS

Sun

23th

MONTH OF SUNDAYS DOES CARNIVAL WITH DANCEHALL PON DE ROOF

Fri

28th

SUPA DUPA FLY

Sat

29th

BRIXTON FUNK, SOUL & DISCO ROOFTOP PARTY

Sun

30th

MONTH OF SUNDAYS DOES CARNIVAL WITH AFRO CARIB SESSIONS ROOFTOP PARTY

WWW. POW-LONDON.COM

467- 469 Brixton Rd, Brixton, London SW9 8HH

20  WHAT’S ON brixtonblog.com 2018 SEPTEMBER

Jamila Omar rounds up a September selection of gigs and more in Brixton and nearby FRI 31 AUG @ PRINCE OF WALES

Make the most of the last days of summer on the rooftop while DJ Emily Rawson (BBC 1Xtra) and friends spin deeper soul, hiphop, RnB and garage from the 80s, 90s, 00s to now. Then her club SUPA DUPA FLY continues in the main club until late. 6pm-4am. £5.

THUR 6 @ DOGSTAR A night of RnB, early 00s pop and DANCEHALL BANGERS, Dogstar Thursdays features the likes of Kevin Lyttle, Sean Paul, Akon and Destiny’s Child. 9am-2am. Free before 10pm, £5 after.

SAT 1 @ DOGSTAR

FRI 7 @ CAFE CAIRO

SUN 2 @ HOOTANANNY

Beat Club are delighted to announce the first London show from SHARKBOY in 20 years. Sharkboy released two indie-noir albums in the mid 90s on Nude records, when they toured with label mates Suede. Critically acclaimed yet commercially overlooked, members went on to feature in Placebo and James. £5.

Two floors of full-on PARTY MUSIC to tear a whole through the middle of your weekend every single Saturday. 9pm-4am. Free before 10pm. £5 after.

From the streets of LIMA AND SANTIAGO Imperio Bamba, play a fusion of cumbia, psychedelic chicha and electropical. 9-12pm. Free.

MON 3 @ EFFRA SOCIAL

Comedy improvisation show Duck Duck Goose host the IMPROV JAM plus guests in Effra Social’s Churchill Lounge every Monday. You can watch or join in! 7.3011pm. Free.

TUE 4 @ BRIXTON POUND CAFE

A 10-week course with a systematic approach to MINDFULNESS and authentic happiness. The book Life with Full Attention by Maitreyabandhu will be the guide to daily practice and a free copy will be given to participants at the start of the course. £140/£100.

WED 5 @ WINDRUSH SQUARE

Dr Bike’s team of professional mechanics will check your BIKE for free and advise on any issue they cannot fix in 15 minutes. Police will mark bikes and add details to BikeRegister.com. 4.30-7.30pm. Free.

SAT 8 @ BARRIO BRIXTON This tropical saarf London hangout has teamed up with the House of Voga crew to bring you the last of its sizzling summer Saturday morning VOGA SESSIONS, with the added booziness of Barrio’s Latino-inspired bottomless brunch. 10am-12.30pm. £35.

SUN 9 @ WINDMILL BRIXTON Enjoy “proper, round the table folk music” at the No Frills FOLK CLUB. All musicians and styles welcome and all abilities tolerated. Swap tunes and songs, meet people and learn stuff. Or just get a pint and enjoy the music.

MON 10 @ THE COMMERCIAL Herne Hill’s Commercial pub hosts a weekly PUB QUIZ every Monday evening with cash prizes and wine up for grabs. 8-11pm. £2.

TUE 11 @ PRINCE OF WALES

A relaxed and bang up to date BIG FAT QUIZ, every Tuesday. Each quizmaster is a successful performer in their own right, so the stuff in between is every bit as good as the questions. 8pm. £2 per person.

WED 12 @ HOOTANANNY

Hootananny SONGWRITERS AND WORDSMITHS brings back Zach Johnson with his rich vocals and melodic songs. Performing for the first time is Birminghambased singer-songwriter Philippa Zawe, whose stories are rooted in folk with an infusion of soul. 9pm-midnight. Free.

THUR 13 @ EFFRA HALL TAVERN

A great weekly LIVE JAZZ session at this much-loved classic Brixton boozer every Thursday night. From 9pm. Free.

FRI 14 @ 02 BRIXTON ACADEMY

GARBAGE have announced their first UK show in over two years to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their album Version 2.0. 7pm. From £42.35.

SAT 15 @ POP BRIXTON

Near Mint’s RECORD FAIR has DJs, music, food and drinks. A mixture of dealers, labels and indies for all types of collector. DJs playing all genres, with an after-party set to roll until midnight. Midday-6pm. Free.

SUN 16 @ POP BOX, POP BRIXTON

Brixton Belongs – FREE FILM screening by Clapham Film Unit celebrating 10 years of making films around South London. Includes documentary about Brixton murals, If Walls Could Speak and a collection of Brixton memories, Brixton Belongs to Me. 6-8pm. Free. Booking essential: bit.ly/BB-16-Sept.

MON 17 @ POP BRIXTON Gurpreet from Brixton Yoga teaches VINYASA FLOW with a strong focus on the flow of breath. Classes work you hard in the early stages, slowing down into a gorgeous movement meditation to close. 6.20-7.40pm. £7.

TUE 18 @ TRINITY ARMS Test your knowledge to win a £25 bar tab at this weekly PUB QUIZ, every Tuesday. 8-10pm. Free.

WED 19 @ CLUB 414 Weekly event Wicked Wednesday JAM invites local musicians to come on down and join in to play funk, jazz, reggae, soul and more. 10pm-3am. Free.

THUR 20 @ PRINCE OF WALES Thursday nights at the Prince of Wales are dedicated to Late Night LIVE JAZZ and have been running weekly for four years. Expect to see guests dropping by for a jam with house band The Banger Factory and industry faces enjoying a late-night tipple. 11pm-3am. Free.

FRI 21 @ GREMIO DE BRIXTON In the majestic crypt of St. Matthews Church, this Spanish TAPAS restaurant/bar oozes style. DJs play commercial house on rotation from 10pm at weekends, with a live saxophonist from 11pm. Open until 3am. Free.

SAT 22 @ POP BRIXTON Born and raised in Bermuda, teeth cut in Brighton, and now spinning records from London to the world – 10+ years of digging and collecting records makes RUSS RYAN a force behind the turntables. 7-12pm. Free.

REUSE LAB London Design Festival 15-23 September 2018 As part of Brixton Design Trail's headline project Sustainable Brixton, Remakery are running Reuse Lab a programme of events celebrating and connecting the repair and reuse community

OPEN DAYS WORKSHOPS EXHIBITION Find out more

Remakery.org

Jamila Omar rounds SUN 23 @ BRIXTON WINDMILL Tour Brixton’s famous windmill with a guide to hear its INTRIGUING STORY and see the original wind-powered machinery. Booking required (bit.ly/BW-book) for full tour that takes in the upper floors. On the hour and half hour between 1pm and 4.30pm. Free.

MON 24 @ BLUES KITCHEN Sexy BLUES TUNES paired with a side of succulent and saucy ribs. Each and every Monday night. 8pm-midnight. Free.

TUE 25 @ PRINCE REGENT The Prince Regent PUB QUIZ is every Tuesday. Big cash prizes, free drinks questions and a rollover jackpot question that grows each week. Come down early because it’s first come first served. 8pm.

WED 26 @ HOOTANANNY

Congregate Festival in Windrush Square Congregate Festival will be in full swing in Windrush Square on Saturday 1 September. Local music collective And What LDN lines up – jazz, soul and reggae to hip hop, spoken word and African music.

Eight traders will sell food from around the world and there will be live street art and a free yoga session. Headliner for this year is DJ Snuff of the Congo Natty collective. Don’t miss it.

AA Hosted by Absent Minded Poetics and IsaacB AA DJ Snuff & Guests. Expect a live show featuring horns, bars and vocals that covers street funk, Afrobeat, dance hall, hip hop, and soul rooted rhythms AA Potent Whisper, The spoken word artist responsible for the rhyming guide to NHS privatisation and the Grenfell disaster. AA Ridial Chakur. The Senegalese singer and

K TRAP is a London-based TRAP AND DRILL artist. Widely known for his decision to conceal his identity with a balaclava, he makes waves on the UK urban scene with a raw and defiant style. 7-11pm. £14.

Time Tunnel makes its debut at this gem in the heart of Clapham, bringing the very best mod, ska, soul, R&B and 60s BEAT MUSIC. With DJs Boy About Town, Sean Bright, Liam Curtin and Nanker Phelge. 8-12pm. Free.

SAT 29 @ 02 BRIXTON ACADEMY Star Shaped Festival is back with a line-up that celebrates the best in BRITPOP & INDIE. Includes Ocean Colour Scene, Black Grape, Echobelly, The Supernaturals, My Life Story, The Real People and My Drug Hell. From 1.45pm. £45.

SUN 30 @ CLUB 414 Grassroots Live Music. A weekly Sunday night that looks set to encourage and inspire local GRASSROOTS talent. UB40 trumpeter Patrick Anthony leads the house band, with resident DJs and Caribbean food available too. 10pm-3am. Free.

Make Do and Mend

www.mdam.co.uk follow us @makedoandmenduk

What’s on at Whirled

guitarist plays traditional blues music from Senegal. AA Mr Fox Idn. Beatboxing powerhouse Mr Fox takes a break from dazzling the masses in Central London to demonstrate his skills on his loop station. AA Sound provider for the day, Stack Up Sound, bring roots reggae vibes to Windrush Square AA And What’s resident soul singer Antonia Carrena serenades Brixton once again.

THUR 27 @ ELECTRIC BRIXTON

FRI 28 @ BREAD AND ROSES

Bianca Jagger at Studio 54

LINE UP

PAULINA CZYZ

Ruby Confue and JOHN MASON, originally front man of the group Cab Collective. Crowd engagement is one of his best attributes as a performer and he does so in a very intimate style with lyrics that are thought-provoking and sincere. 9pm-midnight. Free.

WHAT’S ON  21

brixtonblog.com

SEPTEMBER 2018

You Were Never Really Here Monday 27 – Wednesday29 Aug | 8pm Sunday 2 Sep | 6pm A missing teenage girl. A brutal and tormented enforcer on a rescue mission. Corrupt power and vengeance unleash a storm of violence in Lynne Ramsay’s film.

Crowhurst Monday 10 – Wednesday 12 Sep | 8pm Sunday 16 Sep | 6pm 1968: An inexperienced sailor enters a round the world race which he fears he will not be able to complete. He decides to cheat, but things don’t go to plan.

Mary Shelley Monday 3 – Wednesday 5 Sep | 8pm Sunday 9 Sep | 6pm The romance that inspired one of Gothic literature’s most influential works is brought to life in Mary Shelley, a luscious and moving period drama starring Elle Fanning and directed by Haifaa al-Mansour.

I, Tonya Monday 17 – Wednesday 19 Sep | 8pm Sunday 23 Sep | 6pm Based on true events, I, Tonya is a darkly comedic tale of American figure skater Tonya Harding and a sensational sporting scandal.

Studio 54 Thursday 6 Sep | 8pm Studio 54 was the centre of New York 70s excess and symbolised an entire era. This documentary tells its real story.

Let The Sunshine In Monday 24 – Wednesday 26 Sep | 8pm Sunday 30 Sep | 6pm Claire Denis tells the tale of middle-aged Isabelle (Juliette Binoche) and her quest for love in a witty and heart-warming film. Gérard Depardieu steals a scene.

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

Young performers to play Brockwell Park Brockwell Park is to host another music festival on 16 September. But don’t reach for your lawyer … The Junior Open Mic Micro Festival will be unfenced, last less than three hours (2-4.30pm), and take up no more than the picnic area outside Brockwell Hall. It will feature about 25 local performers aged from five to 17. The event is being run by volunteers and sponsored by Off The Cuff and Brockwell Park Community Partners. The free but ticketed festival will have space for an audience of up to 500. Regular junior open mic sessions at Off The Cuff Bar are organised by parent volunteers who share an interest in nurturing performance “beyond the living room”.

Vintage & Retro Boutiqu Rework e ed vinta g e, fashio & acces n sories fr om 1960’s 1990’s Pop Brix ton - Br ixton St ation Ro Open 7 ad days a w eek

the tavern

Say hello to Brixton’s newest local We may be just up the hill but we promise the walk is worth the effort!

Classic pub grub Great beers & wines Friendly service Live sports Weekly quiz

elmparktavern.co.uk The Elm Park Tavern, 76 Elm Park, SW2 2UB hello@elmparktavern.co.uk | 020 8671 9823

22  COLUMNS brixtonblog.com 2018 SEPTEMBER SPORT EXTRA

KAMAL PASHA

Grow your own food There is something really satisfying about growing your own tomatoes and eating them. It’s like the Neanderthal man, not hunting for survival, but growing. There are a few things worth bearing in mind to successfully grow your own crops. 1  Plan what you want to grow. Think about the fruit or veg you enjoy eating but consider the limitations of your space. Will you use pots, create a vegetable patch, or both? It helps to decide on this and stick to it. Living with the Gardening Girl meant negotiating precious plant space to turn into a vegetable patch. I can tell you, it’s worth it. Tomatoes are great and easy to maintain and can be grown in pots. Runner beans do not take up too much space, but they will grow vertically around a bamboo cane. Other good options are lettuce and courgettes. Grow one or two vegetables and not everything you like. This will allow what you do sow to flourish. One of my favourites is the chilli plant. Easy and low maintenance, it can provide a regular supply of chillies, a nice alternative to your scotch bonnet or habanero. 2  Once you have decided what you want to grow, and where, begin to plant your seedlings and veg. Use good compost rich in nutrients to help boost the early growth. You can buy tomato plants and other fruit and veg ready to be planted. If you go down the seed route, growing from scratch will require more time. 3  Water your veg and maximise the sunlight it requires. It’s important to check how your vegetables are getting on. Do not let the slugs and snails enjoy your crop before you do. There are natural ways of

keeping them at bay (sprinkling crushed egg shells works well). 4  Pick your veg and enjoy. If you have an abundant crop and don’t know what to do with it, offer some to your neighbours, or inspire your work friends with your home grown toms or courgettes. If the thought of growing your own food does not appeal to you, try visiting your local urban farm or allotments to get some visual inspiration. You may be surprised at how nice your outdoor space can look with vegetables, or a fruit-bearing bush. I thoroughly enjoy my extra time in the garden. It has taught me you can have green fingers without tending to rose bushes or geraniums. Starting a vegetable patch is just as rewarding. But remember, if there is a Gardening Girl or a Gardening Guy in your life, be sure to return their garden tools after use. 66 For gardening upkeep or help with growing new things, call the Gardening Girl on 07826 551 353.

First Mula Wolves basketball tournament a great success Young people from Brixton, Kennington, Croydon and as far away as Bracknell took part in the Mula Wolves basketball tournament for 13–16-year-olds at the Regal in Kennington, watched by nearly 200 spectators. Dexter Simms, Justin Robinson and the Mula Wolves team organised their first youth basketball tournament that was free of charge for the participating teams and took place in a wonderful atmosphere. “It was a great example of diversity in culture and unity through sport,” said Dr Mahamed Hashi of the Brixton Soup Kitchen and a Lambeth councillor for

Stockwell ward. “This event really did highlight the positive side of our youth as there was nothing but sheer sportsmanship throughout and with more of these types of events they could all have brighter futures.” Keep your eyes peeled and ears open for the next Tournament as the Mula Wolves Academy for 8–18-year-olds takes flight in 2019. AA The tournament and academy are sponsored by the Mula Cake Clothing foundation. AA For more information, email: ishia_neziah@hotmail.com AA Follow @Mulawolves on Instagram & Snapchat

Still a few spaces left for Sixth Form... - Level 2 course: one year - Engineering (students on this course may complete re-takes in GCSE English and/or Mathematics). - Level 3 Option 1: two years - Mathematics A-level, BTEC Diploma in Engineering (equivalent two A-levels), BTEC Business (equivalent one A-level), EPQ (Extended Project Qualification). - Level 3 Option 2: two years - Core Mathematics (equivalent 0.5 A-level), BTEC Diploma in Engineering (equivalent two A-levels), BTEC Business (equivalent one A-level), optional EPQ (Extended Project Qualification). - Level 3 Option 3: two years - Mathematics A-level, or Core Mathematics (equivalent 0.5 A-level), plus two A-levels in either Biology, Chemistry, Physics, English, Computer Science, and EPQ (Extended Project Qualification).

Sponsored by London South Bank University; King’s College Hospital NHS Trust, Skanska UK and Guys and St Thomas’ NHS Trust, our courses are complemented by project based learning, led by our sponsors and partners, providing real-life industry experience. We are based in modern, high specification new buildings (Phase 2 of our site just completed), with exceptional learning, personal study and social facilities and spaces. We have extensive facilities for our STEM related courses including: 3D printers; virtual reality equipment; and digital engineering facilties including dedicted Computer Aided Design suites.

LATE ENROLMENTS TAKING PLACE.... 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th September 10.00 am - 2.00 pm 56 Brixton Hill, London SW2 1QS I 020 7738 6115 info@southbank-utc.co.uk I www.southbank-utc.co.uk

SEPTEMBER 2018

Hill Mead HERALD

Emile and the Detectives

Learning about the skills that you need to put on a play by Alae and Angel, Year Six In rehearsals we had to learn how to improvise and to help other actors if they have forgotten their lines. Another skill is to maintain focus and energy. It was also important that we work as a team to make the

play stand out. It was crucial that we knew when to say our lines. When we read the script of Emile and the Detectives we were instantly attached to it. The story is about an 11-year-old boy who has travelled to Berlin with an enormous amount of money to give his grandma. But

while he is on a train the money is stolen and a group of child detectives are relied on to find it.

Miss Kloss (played by Alae) Miss Kloss is the café owner in Berlin who takes her business very seriously. Miss Kloss shooed Emile

Emilie (played by Angel) Emile is the main character, he

is polite (unless he is drawing on a statue) and likes an adventure, not scared to go to Berlin which is a big, busy city. My favourite part was confronting Mr Snow and saying: “Rebellious Children? You’re the one that stole the money”.

The South Bank Show visits Hill Mead

The Green Ship

Adventure in the garden next door

by Jada, lashay and Rachel

by Layla, Romario and Alejandro The Green Ship is a story about Alice and a boy going on an adventure in the garden next door, on a hot summer’s day. They found a jungle and a green ship. It was made out of wood, ivy, straw and different kinds of leaves and colours. They met Mrs Tredegar and Bosun. practised it for He is an old man and 500 weeks. No a gardener. On the – for 10 days. No – Green Ship they had eight days. fun and celebrated. We made the They ate Madeira costumes for jungle cake and cucumber dancers who had sandwiches and face paint and did drank tea. umbrella dances. We read the We made the things book and wrote the for the play. We cut playscript of The out bed sheets and Green Ship and then painted them green

away and said” “All café facilities are for customers only … Shoo!” The café was Mr Snow’s (the villainous bank robber) favourite place to get his dumplings.

and made patterns. We made crowns and leaves. 66Layla: I was a jungle dancer and I wore a green skirt and top and had face paint and a hat made of leaves. 66I was the boy and I liked it when Alice said: “I’m so bored. I want to do

something fun and exciting”. And I said: “OK. What do you want to do?” I loved singing: “I can see clearly now the rain has gone”. 66I was a jungle dancer and I loved looking around when I danced. Our play was wonderful.

When we found out we were doing a play called Hercules and Phoebe we were all ecstatic. It is set in ancient Greece and many of the characters are Greek Gods. Hercules was given many tasks by the King (played by Jada). When we were practising for the play we learnt drama warm-up games to help us with our acting, for example facial expressions and how we moved in character. Then we heard that The South Bank Show on Sky Arts TV wanted to film us. We all enjoyed them coming into our school and we had so much fun when we played the game, our methods were so good that the director decided to film the games, and our rehearsals.

Being filmed “When the camera hit my face, I was so nervous that

there was a butterfly in my stomach because I was so worried that I’d get my lines mixed up. After two or three goes I had forgotten about the camera” reports Rachel, who played Hercules. “What I liked about the day the most is when the director was getting ready to film I was panicking ‘I’m going to

forget my lines’. After the first five minutes of filming I started to get confident and then it was all fine for me. “ “It has been my dream to be on TV and now our dream has been accomplished” reports Jada. Mrs Lawrence said to Jada: “Well done, your first TV acting role! I think

there will be many more.”

Being interviewed Jada said “When I was interviewed I knew what I wanted to say because the questions they asked were from the heart to me. They asked questions like: “What would you do if you went to a school and they didn’t have any arts”. I replied: “I’d ask my mom if I can move schools.” The South Bank Show also interviewed Rachel: “I really liked it when I was interviewed, because I could show my feelings about why I want to do drama. I want to do the arts because it will help me become a great doctor. “As an artist you experiment with different things, such as drama you are creative and become a different character. You make others feel good when you act and, just like a doctor, you’ll make people better.

NEWS EXTRA

BRIXTON

Bugle SPORT

DULWICH CRICKET SECURE SURVIVAL By John Lewis Dulwich 237-8 (50) beat Old Whitgiftians 106 (35.3) by 131 runs

Labour candidate Scarlett O’Hara (centre) canvassing in Brixton with local MP Helen Hayes and Brixton Soup Kitchen founder Solomon Smith

Green Party candidate Michael Groce at the Windrush Square protest against the government’s ‘hostile environment’ immigration policy

Brixton’s Coldharbour ward gearing up for by-election By Anna McKie Residents of Lambeth’s Coldharbour Ward in central Brixton will be heading to the polls again on 13 September, following the death of Labour Party councillor Matthew Parr. The Labour Party will be aiming to maintain its dominance of the council and their main competition will be from the Green Party. Labour will be hoping to replace Cllr Parr with Scarlett O’Hara, a former NHS worker who has lived locally for over 30 years and is a “proud trade unionist” who supported the Ritzy workers’ living wage campaign. The 2018 local council elections saw Labour retain 90 per cent of the council seats, albeit at a slightly reduced majority. According to O’Hara, she has been actively working with local councillors and speaking with residents in Angell Town, Loughborough Junction and on the Moorlands Estate “for a long time” and puts affordable housing and keeping children’s centres open as priorities. “I’ve developed a good understanding of the issues in the ward I’d need to deal with as a councillor,” she said. The Green Party, which at the last local election cemented its status as Lambeth council’s official opposition by winning five

COLDHARBOUR RESULTS MAY 2108 Candidate NYE Emma ANYANWU Donatus PARR Matthew GROCE Michael NIX Rashid HEYWOOD Rachel JOHNSON Michael HENNESSY Amy STEWART WILLIAMS Yvonne BERTIN Olivier McMORROW Henry LEWIS Clive

Party Labour and Co-op Labour and Co-op Labour and Co-op Green Green Independent Conservative Conservative Conservative Liberal Democrats Liberal Democrats Liberal Democrats

Vote 2325 2257 1976 761 683 660 228 217 189 182 180 173

seats, has put forward Michael Groce as their candidate. Groce, who has lived in the area for much of his life, is a poet and well known community activist, working as special projects manager at the Green Man Skills Zone on Coldharbour Lane. His mother, Cherry Groce, was mistakenly shot by police in 1985, sparking the Brixton riot of that year. According to Groce, the dominance of Labour in the council has resulted in it becoming

Zumba Zumbawith withSuzie Suzie Licensed Zumba Instructor Licensed Zumba Instructor Class: Saturdays* Class: Saturdays 11am-12 noon 11am-12 noon Corpus Christi Church Hall, Corpus Christi Church Hall, 11 Trent Road, 11 Trent Road, London SW2 5BJ

London SW2 5BJ £7 a class £7 a class Contact me on Contact me on suzieinlondon@gmail.com suzieinlondon@gmail.com *from 3rd March 2018

“complacent”, not listening to the residents about “the issues that really matter”. He said the Green Party would speak for local people and hold the council to account over spending, housing, youth services, pollution and parks and open spaces. The Liberal Democrats have put forward Doug Buist, previously part of the party’s team in Thurlow Park in 2018. He works for an arts and education charity in South London and is a trustee of a children’s centre. He said he is “passionate about campaigning for a community that is fair for all and where everyone can access the support they need from their council”. The Conservatives, who went from three seats to just one, at the last borough-wide election, have put forward Yvonne Stewart-Williams, whose ambition is to be the first Black openly lesbian Conservative MP. The Women’s Equality Party candidate will be Sian Fogden, who holds a PhD in nanotechnology. UKIP is also hoping their candidate Robert Stephenson, an IT professional in the City of London, might get a vote or two. In a previous local election campaign he told voters he was particularly concerned about “the absence of controlled immigration” to the UK.

Matt Parr: tireless worker not interested in personal glory Matt Parr, who represented Coldharbour ward, died earlier this year at the age of 61. He was first elected in 2010. Lambeth Labour Party said: “He worked tirelessly on behalf of his constituents – not stopping even after he was diagnosed with cancer – and he achieved a huge amount.” Lambeth council leader Lib Peck and his ward colleagues, Labour councillors Donatus Anyanwu and Emma Nye said that it was fitting that LJ Works adjacent to Loughborough Farm, a project that Matt Parr had worked so hard to bring to life, would open before the end of the year. They said: “Matt was a modest man who was not interested in personal glory or self-promotion. He was happiest working behind the scenes – bringing people together to get things done.”

Dulwich cricket club ensured their survival in Division 2 of the Travelbag Surrey Championship, winning three of their last four matches, with an emphatic victory by 131 runs against relegation rivals Old Whitgiftians in the penultimate match of the season. Dulwich opted to bat first and Nick Hudson and Ed Towner took the score to 22 in the fifth over, then both were out in successive overs. Sam Ellison and Salaar Waqar came together in a stand of 63 in 11.2 overs for the third wicket. Waqar was the first to go, having made 15 off 30 balls. He was followed two overs later by Ellison, who had looked on course for a second consecutive 50 before running himself out for 37 off 49 balls. Nick Gunning settled in, but lost Arun Ayyavooraju and Kamran Munawar as the score advanced to 128-6 after 27 overs. Memories of previous Dulwich collapses came to mind, but acting skipper Jon Lodwick had other ideas, defending staunchly and scoring mainly in singles, while Gunning advanced to a maiden half century off 54 balls in only his second innings for the first team. The pair had added 65 in 15 overs for the seventh wicket when Gunning was caught behind for 64 off 80 balls. At 193-7 after 42 overs

MORE SPORT: Basketball tournament success – page 22 the stage was set for Will Bancroft to hit an unbeaten 26 from 30 balls, enjoying stands of 24 with Lodwick, who perished for 28 as he tried to push the score along, and an unbeaten 20 with Alex Gledhill. Dulwich closed on 237-8. Old Whits were all out for 106 leaving 14.3 overs of their allocation unused. Openers Syed Fawad and Harshil Shah took 15 runs off the first three overs, but the rate slowed as Lodwick and Munawar stepped up the pressure. After the opening bowlers came off, Rana and Ramamurthy added 16 in six overs before the latter fell to a sharp catch by Lodwick in George’s second over. The spinner then bowled home skipper Adam Clarke. Ellison followed up with a wicket in each of his third and fourth overs. Old Whits had lost four wickets in 5.4 overs as they declined from 51-3 to 63-7. Rana survived the collapse and a was the last man out having played a lone hand in making 34 off 54 balls. Dulwich rose from tenth to seventh in four matches. Their final game on Saturday 1 September was at home to Malden Wanderers, second in the table having secured promotion with a win against Dorking.

IMMORTALS TOP LEAGUE TABLE

Brixton Immortals, the dominoes team based at the Coldharbour Lane club, were sitting on top of the countrywide Anglo Caribbean Domino League as the Bugle went to press. Three teams, the Immortals, Clapham Eagles and Cosmopolitan have 15 points, but Brixton have a game in hand, having won all five matches played so far in the 2018 season that began in May.