Southwark News - February 1st 2024

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Established: 1987

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Fake ‘Covid cure’ preacher defiant

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February 1st 2024

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12 SE5 local Jeremy Bowen on Gaza and ‘Wrong to say we his career stay put in a fire’

poliCe shooting: man ‘armed with hatChet, Crossbows, a sword and a Knife’ Officers feared for residents’ safety, as man - dressed in body armour - refused to surrender Pg 4

2 NEWS Contents NEWS Pages 2-16 opinion Pages 18-19 Arts Pages 20-21 History Page 22 CLASSIFIED Page 23 property Page 24 Public notices Pages 25-27 SPORT Pages 29-32

Contact us if you have a story on editor@ southwarknews .co.uk

Council needs clarity as government announces £500m social care boost Southwark Council HQ on Tooley Street

By Herbie Russell Southwark Council says it’s ‘too soon’ to say whether the government’s £500 million social care boost means it can reverse adult social care cuts outlined in its budget.

The funding boost from central government was announced on Wednesday, January 24, after MPs and council bosses, had warned that the £64 billion provisional Local Government Settlement was inadequate.

Southwark’s Cabinet Member for Finance Stephanie Cryan was among them. She said the government’s “short-sighted” settlement was forcing the council to slash adult and children care services by £6.5 million in its latest budget.

But following the government’s latest announcement on Wednesday, January 24, a Southwark Council spokesperson said “it’s a little too soon to know exactly what this means” for adult social care in the borough.

They said it was unclear how much of the £500 million Southwark would receive and what conditions were attached to the

By Herbie Russell Pupils and staff at Redriff Primary School in Rotherhithe were all smiles after inspectors gave them top marks.

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The government had earmarked £172 million for Southwark Council, increasing its spending power by 5.3 per cent.

However, in an interview with Southwark News last week, Cabinet Member for Finance Stephanie Cryan warned the

Rotherhithe primary school gets Outstanding Ofsted rating

The City of London Academies Trust school has been rated ‘Oustanding’ by Ofsted following

We are a London Living Wage employer

funding.

The announcement from Secretary of State for Levelling Up Michael Gove came as local councils across the country are working out their budgets for the next financial year.

Redriff Primary School, Rotherhithe

a November inspection.

Headteacher Joanna James said: “This is fantastic news and we are delighted to have been recognised as outstanding.

“We have amazing pupils and staff who work exceptionally hard, enabling the school to grow together.

“I would like to thank our parents too for all their support and engagement which has been central to our success.”

Redriff Primary was given the highest mark across all five inspection areas – quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision.

Inspectors said: “Pupils are happy at this school. They are proud to share their learning and show excitement when they talk about See sport

Issue 1669

Editor: Kevin Quinn Parents Reporters: Herbie Russell; Isabel Ramirez challenge Sports Editor: John Kelly primary closure Sports reporter: Kiro Evans Arts Correspondent: Michael Holland Digital Transformation Editor: Katherine Johnston Media Partnerships: Anthony Phillips Advertising: Clarry Frewin Design: Dan Martin, Ann Gravesen Finance: Em Zeki - Tel: 0779 883 3758 Subscriptions/Announcements: Katie Boyd Managing & Commercial Director: Chris Mullany Managing & Editorial Director: Kevin Quinn Published weekly on a Thursday at: Community Matters Media Ltd Unit A202, The Biscuit Factory, Drummond Road, Bermondsey, London SE16 4DG. News and Sport: 020 7231 5258 Advertising: 020 7232 1639 News: news@southwarknews.co.uk Advertising: hello@cm-media.co.uk Finance: em@cm-media.co.uk Printed by Iliffe Print. Tel: 01223 656500 www.iliffeprint.co.uk

Established: 1987

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Bereaved families want assurances that wall of 200,000 hearts will be preserved

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their school community.”

The report also highlighted pupils’ behaviour throughout the school as “exemplary”.

After its November visit, Ofsted reported: “Pupils clearly value where they live and the diversity that exists within the school community. Pupils demonstrate excellent attitudes to learning and achieve well.”

The report added: “Everyone looks out for each other and behaviour throughout the school is calm and positive.

“The school offers exceptional opportunities for pupils’ personal development. Pupils enjoy their positions of responsibility and strive to make a difference to school life.”

The City Corporation sponsors 10 Academies across Hackney, Newham, Islington, and Southwark.

DOG RESCUED FROM ICY LAKE

TRIBUTES TO PROPERTY ‘DON’

Camberwell fire – wrong business named

On Monday, January 22nd 2024 we reported that Head to Toe Hair & Beauty Salon in Camberwell had been partially destroyed in a fire, believed to be caused by faulty mains electrical wiring, and that the business was not equipped with fire alarms. Our report was based on an inaccurate press release from the London Fire Brigade.

Head to Toe Hair & Beauty Salon has been in touch to notify us of the error and we are happy to clarify that the London Fire Brigade press release identified the wrong business. Further, the owners of Head to Toe Hair & Beauty Salon assure us that they have smoke alarms and all relevant fire safety precautions in place. We are happy to make this clear.

The Southwark News is proud to be the only independent, paid for newspaper in London Southwark News started life as the Bermondsey News in 1987, as an A-4 photocopied sheet of paper and rapidly grew to cover the entire borough and the surrounding area. As the borough grew, so did the newspaper.

It is owned and run by Chris Mullany and Kevin Quinn.

Former reporters for Southwark News, they bought the title in 2002, after the founder Dave Clark died suddenly from cancer four years earlier.

A dedicated team of staff work tirelessly to cover as much of what is going on as possible and strive to ensure that a community-led, independent newspaper can survive and excel in a market dominated by national and multinational media groups.

HELP US KEEP MEMORIAL TO COVID VICTIMS Follow our social media to be updated on local news See page 8

settlement still failed to keep up with inflationary pressures.

More than 40 Conservative MPs wrote to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak urging him to increase the funding settlement last week.

The government has now taken the unusual step of rejigging its funding package, pledging £600 million extra for councils across England, including £500 million for social care and £100 million in grant funding.

London Councils, a cross-party coalition of London borough governments, welcomed the announcement but said it still faced a £400 million shortfall.

Deputy Chair Claire Holland said: “While they will receive £77 million from the additional £500m to support adults’ and children’s social care, it is insufficient to meet the need and complexity of need of our residents.

“It is also very concerning that the formula used to distribute this funding takes no account of children’s social care needs. If it did, London boroughs would receive more than £100 million.”

The government said the package was possible because of the “significant progress” it had made towards halving inflation.

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NEWS 3

free guided walk in Camberwell to celebrate local black heroes

By Isabel Ramirez

a FREE guided walking tour will celebrate local Black heroes in art and history, including actor John Boyega and activist una Marson.

In a blend of art and history, the Camberwell Black History Walk will launch on Saturday 3 February, with guided walks to start from Camberwell Green at noon.

Attendees will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the stories of Camberwell’s black luminaries, including the esteemed John Boyega, whose journey from the SE5 Sceaux Gardens estate to the Star Wars silver screen serves as an emblem of aspiration and achievement.

Southwark Mayor Michael Situ and Suzann McLean, CE and Artistic Director of Theatre Peckham, will inaugurate the walk, inviting the community to discover the rich tapestry of Camberwell’s black history.

The walk, which encompasses 6,000 steps and over 400 years of history, begins at Camberwell Green.

Tayo Fatunla designed the map and his illustrations were shaped through a collaborative workshop with pupils from Sacred Heart School.

Southwark Council, in partnership with the Camberwell Society, has installed plaques at eight significant sites, each offering a QR code for an auditory guide voiced by young actors from Theatre Peckham.

The initiative, funded by Southwark Council’s developers’ levy and the Camberwell Society, was penned by local historian Stephen Bourne.

una MaRsOn - aCTiVisT, POET, PlaywRiGHT and BROadCasTER - sEE HisTORy, PaGE 22

Guy’s staff celebrate more than 725 years of service Music to beat fascists with Art page 20

By Isabel Ramirez TWENTY-NINE MEMBERS of staff at Guy’s and st Thomas’ have been honoured for collectively dedicating more than 725 years of service to the nHs.

The Trust’s long service awards, funded by Guy’s & St Thomas’ Charity, saw the staff who have each contributed at least 25 years of service receive awards at the celebratory event.

Staff given the award have varied roles at Guy’s and St Thomas’ including housekeeping assistants, matrons, radiographers, researchers, and surgeons.

Michael Connolly has been an ambulance care assistant and staff shuttle bus driver at the Trust for 29 years.

Working with patient transport services, he would collect patients from their homes across southeast London and Kent and transport them to and from the hospital, sometimes several times a week.

Michael said: “Patients recognise me in the shops because I’m a local lad from the Old Kent Road.

“I pride myself on manners and politeness. That’s what is important.

Be calm, listen to the patients, and talk to them nicely. And don’t hurry them.”

Other recipients included Martin Gough, who has been a children’s orthopaedic surgeon at the Trust since 1998 and Judith Hall, a physiotherapist and head of the community rehabilitation and falls service who has worked in the NHS for 27 years.

Each staff member was presented with a gold badge.

4 NEWS

‘Crossbow-Carrying intruder’ fatally shot by poliCe team after responding to Call

By Herbie Russell

a Man armed with a crossbow a knife, sword and hatchet’ has died after being shot by armed officers responding to calls for help from the occupants of an address in Rotherhithe.

At about 4.55am on Tuesday, 30 January, police were called to reports of a man attempting to force entry to a residential property in Bywater Place, SE16.

It was reported that the man, believed to be in his 30s, was armed with weapons including a crossbow and was threatening to harm residents inside the address.

Police later revealed that weapons including a knife, a sword and a hatchet were also recovered at the scene.

Local officers attended and attempted to speak to the man but said, after being threatened, armed officers were called and quickly attended the scene.

The man is said to have got inside the property, and a police firearm was discharged.

Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist, who has overall responsibility for firearms, said: “The first unarmed officers knew they were arriving on scene to reports of man armed with weapons and threatening to harm people inside an address.

“The officers knew there were people inside and had genuine fears for their safety. Armed officers were called and attempted to get the man to surrender.

They entered the property and shots were fired.

He said the day had been “extremely difficult for everyone involved” adding: “I firmly believe their actions prevented further loss of life.”

Officers and paramedics from the London Ambulance Service immediately provided first aid but police said “sadly the man died at the scene”.

Enquiries are ongoing to inform his next of kin.

Two occupants received minor injuries during the incident.

The Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards has been informed. A referral has been made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) which has begun an independent investigation.

Detective Chief Superintendent Seb Adjei-Addoh, responsible for policing Southwark, said: “My thoughts are with all those affected by this incident.

“I understand the local community will be concerned at the events that have taken place this morning. We will fully support the IOPC investigation into the full circumstances of what happened.

Police had erected at least one tent on Bywater Place “Armed officers are highly trained and patrol the streets of London on a daily basis, dealing with challenging, fast moving and often dangerous situations to try and protect the public and their unarmed colleagues.

“They discharge their weapons very rarely and all officers understand and expect that when they do, their actions will be closely scrutinised.”

Following the shooting police cordoned off the road

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NEWS 5

By Isabel Ramirez a BRand new children’s bookshop is opening in Herne Hill, in place of one that closed last year.

The Words + Pictures Children’s Bookshop will soon replace Tales on Moon Lane (at 25 Half Moon Lane) which relocated up north last September after twenty years of business.

The new shop will be run by multiaward-winning children’s author/ illustrator, Frann Preston Gannon, together with business partner, Anja Stobbart.

Frann, who lives in the area, has been celebrated internationally for highly acclaimed works including I Am The Seed That Grew The Tree and The Journey Home.

She told us: “We are delighted to be bringing a children’s bookshop back to Herne Hill, and launching through this partnership with the incredible Stepping Into Stories Kids’ Lit Fest, which takes Herne Hill by storm every February.

“Having lived in the area for seventeen years, I know just how vital books and stories are to the local community, and can’t wait to inspire children from all backgrounds to celebrate reading, creativity and stories in all their rich array.”

Before opening officially this spring, they will host a week-long pop-up shop in Station Hall during the Stepping Into Stories Kids’ Literature Festival.

The annual festival, featuring a storytelling competition and talks from best-selling authors, is from January 30 to February 4.

There are over sixty events set to take place.

The Words + Pictures Bookshop is

brand new booKshop to be opened in herne hill this spring by loCal author providing sales of signed books across the festival programme, including to the many schools taking part throughout the week.

As Anja notes, “We have already had fantastic sales and support from participating schools, and this is so important as a new business starting out.

“This exciting collaboration with the festival gives us a great boost as we

launch the bookshop, making us visible to the many thousands of people who take part each year, and putting us firmly on the map as a fantastic local bookshop led by a team with knowledge, experience and passion.”

Frann will also be running a book event at the Stepping Into Stories Festival, for children aged 3+, where she will celebrate her latest publication, The Eco Family Book, in

a fun, interactive storytelling event perfect for little nature lovers.

This is part of an action-packed weekend of events for booklovers of all ages, with other celebrated names including Sam Sedgman (Clockwork Conspiracy); James Catchpole (You’re So Amazing!); Erika Meza (The Other Side); Kelechi Okafor (Strong Like Me); Rashmi Sirdeshpande (Yes You Can, Cow!), Xavier Leopold (Art For The

Heart) and many more.

For the full Stepping Into Stories Festival programme and to book tickets, please visit www.steppingintostories. org.

Tickets are £4-12, with accompanying adults going free. Further concessions are available.

The festival is supported by Arts Council England and Sir Walter St John’s.

the Conservative MP. Guy’s and St Thomas’ has a long history of supporting the Armed Forces and was one of the first trusts in London to sign the Armed Forces Covenant.

The covenant sees organisations promise to treat veterans, and their families, with fairness and respect so they don’t face disadvantages.

According to the Ministry of Defence statistics published in 2022, one in eight UK Armed Force personnel were seen for mental health-related reasons.

The Trust’s Armed Forces programme works with the Defence Medical Welfare Service on a range of

programmes which provide specialist advice and support for Armed Forces patients.

It also works with the Forces Employment Charity and other organisations to support and advocate recruitment of the Armed Forces community.

Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, Rt Hon. Johnny Mercer MP, said: “It was great to meet Guy’s and St Thomas’ Armed Forces team and hear about the linked up care they provide to veterans through Op COURAGE and Op RESTORE, our fantastic mental and physical health pathways specifically designed for veterans.”

Appeal after woman allegedly ex-forces personnel get visit from sexually assaulted walking home from New Cross station veterans’ minister johnny mercer

By Herbie Russell

dETECTiVEs inVEsTiGaTinG an alleged sexual assault have released an E-FiT of a person they’d like to speak to.

Police say the incident took place when a woman in her thirties was walking home from New Cross station at around 2.50am on Saturday,

Police have released an E-FIT after a woman was allegedly sexually assaulted walking home from New Cross station

December 16.

On Jerningham Road a man reportedly emerged from behind a skip in front of the woman.

He is said to have walked alongside her for some time before allegedly sexually assaulting her at the junction with St Asaph Road.

Police are urging people anyone who recognises the man pictured, or saw something suspicious around that time, to contact police.

Detective Constable Marissa Harrison said: “We take every incident of sexual assault extremely seriously and are committed to targeting predatory offenders.

“Women should be able to walk home safely on our streets without fear of being assaulted and so it’s crucial that we find this man.

“Were you in the area at the time? Did you see a man following a woman? Or maybe you live in the area and recognise the man pictured in the image?

“Please share any information or concerns you have with us as it could be vital information to help us in our investigation.”

At this stage, officers believe this to be an isolated incident.

Anyone with information is asked to call 101 quoting CAD 4558/16DEC23 or to remain anonymous they can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111

Johnny Mercer MP met with former armed forces personnel at a session held at Evelina Hospital last week

By Herbie Russell VETERans’ MinisTER Johnny Mercer MP met with former armed forces personnel at a session held at Evelina Hospital last week.

The Cabinet Minister paid tribute to Guy’s and St Thomas’ Armed Forces programme which helps veterans with health, well-being and employment.

Around 30 veterans met with Mercer to discuss their personal experiences at Ronald McDonald House on Thursday, January 18.

Billy Kelly, Head of Armed Forces for Guy’s and St Thomas’, said the 30 veterans were “delighted” to welcome

6 NEWS Advertorial

Imagine Children's Festival at the Southbank Centre is back!

YolanDa's Band Jam and Friends.

Photo by CBeebies

The Southbank Centre’s annual festival for children and their grown-ups is back, taking place over 11 days this February half-term, from Wednesday 7 - Saturday 17 February. It’s all about inspiring creativity, celebrating the individuality of every child, championing diversity and sparking imaginations.

With more than 100 events to choose from, including fantastic theatre, comedy, music, literature, poetry and dance, there’s something for everyone to enjoy.

In addition, 40% of the events are completely free!

Company’s enchanting and much-loved production Chotto Desh, blending Kathak and contemporary dance, and telling a heartwarming tale of a boy’s dreams and memories, from Britain to Bangladesh.

The week before half term focuses on early years fun: sing and dance along with The David Gibb Big Band and see Tom Fletcher’s beloved Who’s in Your Book? series go from page to stage with the new interactive musical production of There’s a Monster in Your Show – the perfect introduction to live theatre for younger audiences.

What’s more, there’s also a whole host of amazing talks and workshops, starring acclaimed writers and poets, including Rob Biddulph, Michael Rosen, Dr Ronx, Patrick Kane, Rosie Jones, John Agard, MG Leonard and Children’s Laureate Joseph Coelho.

Marvel at Motionhouse’s award-winning show Starchitects: A Cosmic Adventure, a fusion of captivating dance and circus that tells the story of five children who dream of reaching the moon from their bedroom. Expect gravity-defying choreography and brilliant digital projections. Plus, go on a magical, musical and fun-filled CBeebies: Ocean Adventure with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, CBeebies friends Andy, JoJo and Gran Gran and presenters Maddie Moate and Nigel Clarke.

Music fans, get on your feet for festival favourite YolanDa Brown, who returns to share the joys of music with a new live version of her hit CBeebies TV show in YolanDa’s Band Jam and Friends. Go on a swashbuckling adventure with the Groove Baby Organ Trio at Grooving with Pirates, sailing the high seas in their jazz and funk-fuelled show.

Or, groove at The Instrumentals, where comedy, puppetry and uplifting original music tell the story of Belle and some dusty musical instruments.

Dance and theatre fans, don’t miss Akram Khan

For free fun, there’s a Mish Mash Family Trail, art workshops, a day of games and competition to celebrate the Lunar New Year of the Dragon, dance workshops and performance at ZooNation’s HipHop Half-Term, a disco party, comedy at Shelf: The Kids’ Show!, poetry events, mindfulness sessions and much more. You’ll find free events every day of the festival, except for the final day.

Imagine Children’s Festival is a relaxed festival, meaning that all performances have a relaxed approach to noise and movement in the space. In addition, there are loads of events with BSL interpretation, as well as sensoryadapted and Audio Described shows, and non-verbal performances, allowing a more inclusive and welcoming environment for all.

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UNLOCKING CREATIVITY FOR AGES 0 – 11

There’s really no better place to be for flatout family fun than the Southbank Centre’s Imagine Children’s Festival this half-term!

Book tickets now and find out more at www.southbankcentre.co.uk/imagine

Imagine Children’s Festival characters © Jon Burgerman

C H I L D R E N’S F E ST I VA L

NEWS 7

faKe ‘Covid Cure’ preaCher vows to Keep Kingdom ChurCh open after Charitable status is revoKed eXClusive

Climate Wiseman leaves Inner London Crown Court after his first appearance their last year

By Herbie Russell

Climate’s protection oil

a CaMBERwEll preacher who sold fake Covid ‘protection kits’ has vowed to keep his church open after a government body ordered him to wind down his charity, we can exclusively reveal.

Nearly four years after we first revealed Bishop Climate Wiseman was flogging the mixtures of oil and red string, the Charity Commission says it has ordered him to dissolve Kingdom Church GB over financial irregularities.

But the Bishop has said Kingdom Church GB was separate from the Kingdom Church, meaning his church on Camberwell Station Road will stay open.

The Charity Commission’s verdict comes after the bishop was convicted of fraud and handed a one-year suspended jail term in December 2022.

Comparing his struggle to the Messiah’s, Wiseman, 47, told the News: “Jesus died as a criminal, as a convicted criminal… So I take my encouragement from that and knowing that.”

And he added: “I’m a miracle man but what chance do I stand?”, saying secularists were determined to find fault with him.

In its verdict published yesterday (January 25), the Charity Commission announced Climate’s charity had been removed from the register on February 21, 2023.

Its inquiry findings alleged the church’s finances were entangled with Wiseman’s “private business interests” and “demonstrated poor financial controls”.

In a statement, the Commission claimed Wiseman had fallen “woefully short” of expectations and alleged he had “scammed vulnerable people”.

It has also banned Wiseman from being a charity trustee or holding a senior position in a charity for fifteen years.

But the bishop now says the inquest was pursued because of his Covid kits rather than his finances.

“It’s been very unfair. The way they deal with churches is very discriminating because this inquiry had nothing to do with the finances,” he told us.

“Because what really happened is, the Charity Commission, the first time they rang me it was about this issue of Covid…

It’s about the oil.”

Wiseman repeated his claim today (January 25) that the oil “worked”: “We had over a thousand members and none of them died of covid.”

In a statement, Helen Earner, Director of Regulatory Services at the Charity Commission, said: “The public rightly expects charities to be places of safety.

“Trustee Bishop Climate Wiseman fell woefully short of that expectation when he scammed vulnerable people at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.”

Wiseman’s pandemic packages contained a small bottle of hyssop, cedarwood and olive oil along with a prayer card and a piece of scarlet yarn.

He warned his followers that they could “drop dead” if they didn’t buy the products.

During the media storm that followed the story, Wiseman told his congregation

troubled care home to be bought by council

By Robert Firth Local Democracy Reporter a TROuBlEd care home where a dementia patient became stuck in a locked cupboard for two hours is set to be bought by southwark Council.

Tower Bridge Care Centre in Bermondsey has been rated as ‘requires

improvement’ or ‘inadequate’ in its last three inspections by social care watchdog the CQC. In 2022, the Local Government Ombudsman awarded the daughter of a woman who stayed there £1,300 in compensation after her mum became stuck in a cupboard at the home on Aberdour Street.

that news outlets were the “antichrist” launching a “smear campaign”.

In a YouTube video conference entitled ‘Update From Prophet Climate About The Evil Accusation Going Around On Media’ he warned followers to ignore media reports.

“It’s a smear campaign that’s been run by not any other than the secular, I’m talking about the secular movement … people that hate God,” he said.

After this paper broke the story on March 31, 2020, the BBC launched an investigation. Their secret phone recordings and testimony were used as evidence in court to secure Wiseman’s conviction.

During the trial, Wiseman testified that his kits had cured at least ten people who had the virus.

His defence argued he should be free to practise his religion and told the judge that

Dr Wiseman was not an ‘anti-vaxxer’.

At the trial, demonstrators wearing matching red t-shirts held banners and placards declaring: “Southwark Labour councillors are anti-christ and faith haters”, ‘Bishop Climate is the true prophet”, and “there is healing power in divine cleansing oil”.

Bishop Climate defended himself in court on the grounds of religious freedom and insisted he was not an “anti-vaxxer”.

Following his conviction, Southwark Council said Wiseman “preyed on people from the start of the first lockdown, a time when most of us were scared and worried about coronavirus and what the future held”.

“We are delighted with this guilty result, it shows that no one is above the law,” it added.

The National Secular Society was among

Plans set to be rubber stamped at a Southwark Council meeting next Tuesday (February 6), would see the local authority buy the care home building from its current owner healthcare company HCOne. The council would then find a new company to take over the running of the home from October.

Tower Bridge Care Centre is Southwark’s largest nursing home with space for 128 residents. As of April last year, there were 112 people living at the home. A CQC report published in July 2023 following an inspection of the home said staff were managing residents’ medicines in an unsafe way, a problem which had also been noted when the home was inspected previously.

The report said: “At our last inspection we found there were significant and widespread issues with the records of administration as records were not reliably accounting for the medicines people had been given.

“At this inspection we found although records were more reliable and usually tallied with the physical stock of medicines available, there was one example of a medicated cream that staff had signed for as administered, which in fact, had not been administered.”

Bishop Climate Wiseman featured on our front page when Southwark News broke the story in March 2020 the organisations that flagged concerns over the church, ultimately leading to the charity’s closure.

Responding to the Charity Commission’s decision, NSS head of campaigns Megan Manson said: “The Kingdom Church case should be a wake up call.

“If ‘the advancement of religion’ is enabling organisations peddling fake cures to register as charities, its inclusion on the list of charitable purposes must be challenged.”

Responding to his interview with this paper, Manson said: “We want to see a society that treats people of all religions and beliefs equally and treats them fairly by the law but also makes sure they’re not above the law.”

The Charity Commission declined to comment on Wiseman’s latest remarks.

Councillor Evelyn Akoto, Labour’s cabinet member for health, said the council’s decision to buy Tower Bridge Care Centre was ‘good news’ for both residents and staff at the home.

She said: “By stepping in, we are protecting much-needed nursing home beds and local jobs in our borough.

Residents will stay close to family and friends, which is so important. We will continue to work closely with HC-One to ensure a smooth handover in due course.”

Stephen Butterworth, chief operations officer at HC-One, said: “We believe that Tower Bridge Care Home will have a bright future under the tenure of Southwark Council who will enable the home to flourish. We are grateful for the council’s support to date, and we look forward to working with them over the coming months to support a successful transition.”

8 NEWS

By Herbie Russell In 2001, Jeremy Bowen, among the best-known BBC war correspondents, took two weeks off work. A violent incident had left him “pouring with blood” and his face “so swollen up” he couldn’t possibly present the Breakfast show.

Given this is a man who’s reported from some of the harshest war zones in modern memory, readers may be surprised to hear this grim altercation was in Camberwell. Without even a hint of irony, Bowen says: “It did make me cautious about where I went, which I never had been.”’

I met Bowen at the Hermits Cave in January, a gloomy but cosy pub just minutes away from where the mugging took place. He enters wearing a dark cap pulled tightly over his head. He’ll return to Israel next week where he’s been reporting on the recent conflict.

You get the sense that, somewhere deep inside, he’s already there.

Bowen, 63, has enjoyed a glittering 40-year career at the BBC. What began as a traineeship in 1984 has seen him rise to International Editor, reporting conflicts in Iraq, Yugoslavia and Afghanistan in between. For almost all that time, Camberwell has been home. In his early days at the BBC, he took the 12 bus to Oxford Circus.

Bowen is arguably best known for his work in the Levant, where he has covered the near-constant fighting between Gaza and Israel. Since October 7, Bowen has been back there. I ask him what it’s like right now.

“It’s desperate. It’s strange. If you’re in Israel, physically, apart from the areas that are very near Gaza and very near the northern border, it looks the same,” he says.

“Shops are open, people are going about their business. But it’s different because everything has changed in people’s minds.”

He adds: “Jerusalem is always tense.

Jerusalem is the most consistently intense place I think I’ve ever been to.”

He is, of course, talking about the tensions between Palestinians and Israelis which re-erupted with the October 7 attack.

The Hamas invasion killed around 1,200 people and approximately 25,000 Palestinians have died since Israel’s subsequent invasion of Gaza, according to the Hames-run Health Ministry.

It’s telling that Bowen’s first thought is of the relative domesticity of Jerusalem rather than the devastation across the wire fence. He, like many journalists, has been largely denied entry into Gaza by Israel which he says “wants to control the media battleground”.

Bowen and his team have been allowed into Gaza once - a brief trip into the city’s north in an IDF armoured personnel carrier (APC). Outside the vehicle, he found himself standing atop a “wasteland”.

The APC was an advanced model; with internal screens that allow you to scroll through different camera angles as you cruise through what Bowen calls the Gaza “wasteland”.

But a shiny bit of kit offering 360-degree views of the destroyed city could never replace what Jeremy has been doing his entire career - “eyewitness reporting”.

“It’s very frustrating not being able to get in Gaza. It’s had a huge impact on our ability to tell the story fairly, Bowen says.

“We can go to any number of hostage family events in Tel Aviv but not being able to get into Gaza even for a day to report fairly in Rafah…it’s not the same as being there yourself.”

But during his brief foray into the strip, where neighbourhoods he once

Jeremy Bowen in Damascus in 2015

recognised were flattened, he still “learned something”.

“Which was: ‘My god every building is destroyed’. That was back in November so imagine what it must be like now,” he says.

In the months since that visit the BBC has, predictably, come under fire from both sides over perceived bias. So it’s with hesitancy that I ask Bowen for his own views on an immediate ceasefire.

“I’m not gonna talk about my own opinion here. What I’d say is that the humanitarian organisations all say there needs to be a humanitarian ceasefire because the humanitarian plight of the people is so serious,” he says.

“It’s not for me as a BBC journalist to express an opinion about when and how it should happen but I can report very fairly that that’s very much the opinion of not just the UN, but many other countries.

In a way, Britain and the US are outliers.”

Bowen’s physical detachment from the battlefield is also an outlier. For as long as he can remember, he wanted to be a foreign correspondent observing and reporting on history’s biggest moments.

Journalism is in his blood. His parents were both in the business, his mother a photojournalist, with his father Gareth

known for his coverage of the 1966 Aberfan disaster which saw 144 people, including 116 children, killed when a colliery spoil tip collapsed in south Wales.

Bowen studied History at UCL and after some internships in Washington started a prestigious BBC traineeship in 1984.

Around that time, he briefly lived with his now wife Julia Williams in a hard-to-let 1950s Walworth flat by Burgess Park. It was still heated with a solid fuel fire.

Bowen describes it as an “absolute dump” but perhaps it sparked an appetite for south east London. A couple of years later he bought a “beautiful” Georgian flat in Camberwell Grove for £48,000 and has been in the area ever since.

At the BBC, Bowen did stints as a financial news reporter, a correspondent in Geneva, and in Television News where he covered the Lockerbie Disaster.

He was pipped to a job as a developing world correspondent by the late George Alagiah. But Bowen had impressed enough to get a role on the foreign affairs unit, meaning being sent across the world to cover breaking stories.

“I was still only 28 and suddenly there I was,” he says. “There’d be an earthquake somewhere and they’d call me up in the

middle of the night and off I’d go. I loved it, loved it. I absolutely loved it.”

Soon Bowen was sent to report his first war - El Salvador, 1989. He’d been in Afghanistan earlier that year but this was the first time he encountered close-quarters gunfire. Bankrolled by the Americans, the government was fighting a vicious war against Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front rebels.

Some years earlier, a young Bowen has sat opposite Gordon Martin, a former diplomatic correspondent and “distinguished old boy”. Over drinks at El Vino, a swanky Fleet Street bar, Martin had recounted wild tales of chartering a taxi to the front line, with “the rain lashing down”, wearing only “a lightweight Italian suit”.

While Bowen didn’t go that far, he was under-equipped by modern standards.

“Nowadays we’d have flak jackets and first aid knowledge and training. I didn’t even have a bandaid,” he says.

El Salvador was a brutal introduction.

Bowen saw his first dead body and the corpse of a guerrilla being burned on an open fire. In his autobiography War Stories, he describes bullets buzzing around his head like “insects”.

Bowen says: “It was a story like any other but the difference was there was danger involved. And I found, to my surprise, far from being frightened by the danger, I found it exciting.”

He adds: “And I wanted a bit of this drug, this dangerous drug. I wanted a bit more of it.”

He’d get more. He was soon sent to cover the Gulf War from Baghdad where his honest reporting of the Amiriyah shelter bombing, which killed over 400 civilians, won huge plaudits.

In Sarajevo, during the Bosnian War, he reported from a city under siege, an experience Bowen describes as a “privilege”.

“If you’re in a dangerous place you’re closer to the essence of life and death. And that means your experiences can be very intense and sharp and quite meaningful,” he explains.

Bowen’s work in Sarajevo saw him tell the sort of painful, human stories that emerge from a four-year siege that kills over 11,500 civilians. His reporting was even used as evidence as he testified against Slobodan PraLJak in the Hague for war crimes in Mostar.

In one of his rare moments of downtime,

NEWS 9

Camberwell resident jeremy bowen on local life and the ‘privilege’ of war reporting BBC International News Editor discusses Gaza, past conflicts and why he made Southwark his home

Bowen with Peshmerge in Iraq in 1991

A woman gives Bowen a flower when he reaches the besieged town of Goražde, Bosnia, in 1992

Jeremy Bowen as a young correspondent in Geneva Bowen found time to abseil down the side of his bullet-holed Sarajevo hotel after being goaded by a French journalist. “That was a stupid thing to do,” he admits.

In 2000, following the death of his friend and colleague Abed Takkoush in Lebanon, killed by an IDF tank, Bowen took a break from war reporting. From 2000 to 2002 he presented BBC Breakfast.

He says being in a studio was “alien” but was helped by the camaraderie of his copresenter Sophie Raworth.

In 2005 he was made Middle East editor and was often back in the field. Six years later, the Arab Spring, a transnational wave of anti-government protests, shook the region. In 2011, Bowen was the first Western journalist to interview Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi as he presided over the last months of his crumbling regime.

“I didn’t think he was mad. I just felt he’d lived in a bubble for a very long time. I felt he actually believed his own propaganda which is pretty dangerous,” Bowen says.

Four months later, the dictator was hauled out from the drainage pipe where he hid and killed by rebels.

Turning to issues closer to home, Bowen says he’s seen “very many changes” in Camberwell during his 40 years as a resident.

In the early days, he remembers “pretty rough” pubs with frosted glass and “strange” empty restaurants that a friend assured him were gambling fronts.

But he’s enamoured with the area. “It’s home now,” he says. That feeling persists despite suffering a knife-point mugging nearby.

“He pulled a knife and said give me

your money now,” Bowens recounts. “He slashed at my jacket.”

The assailant “thumped” Bowen: “I was pouring with blood! I was a presenter on Breakfast… I couldn’t go to work for a few weeks because my face was so swollen up!”

Camberwell still has a crime problem which Southwark Council recently tried to address by removing the table tennis tables from the Green to prevent people from drinking there. But Bowen is sceptical about that as a solution.

“People are hopeless and become drinkers like that because they have big problems in their lives,” Bowen says. “I don’t think it’s because there are table tennis tables.”

He says Camberwell benefits from the local arts universities which give “life” to the local area but bemoaned the high house prices which deter young people.

“If you don’t have young people able to move into the local area it just becomes a bit dead,” he says.

The Hermits Cave is testament to that change; where old-school locals mix with the local arts crowd. Admittedly, it’s probably not the most exciting place Bowen has ever had a drink.

In 1989, Bowen spent his 30th birthday in a Bucharest hotel as the Romanian revolution raged outside. I ask him whether he’d rather have a drink back at that hotel, at that moment, or here in this trendy Camberwell pub. Bowen, a happily married father-of-two, turns his thoughts to home.

“To be honest now - I’m going to be 64 in a couple of weeks - I’d rather have a nice glass of wine in my own house.”

10 NEWS

Community hall Christmas bloCKbuster ‘jingle bell heist’ now thriving

By Isabel Ramirez

a BERMOndsEy-based community hall has gone ‘from strength to strength’ after being saved from closure by one TRa member and a group of scouts.

F.A.A.

Connor Swindells talking about sex education (Creative Commons)

A filming location for Jingle Bell Heist is the Loughborough Hotel, is an Edwardian former entertainment venue built around 1900.

© MTV International on YouTube

Magdalen Hall was being run by residents of the Purbrook, St Saviours and Aylwin Estates – but its future looked bleak after all but one member of the TRA stepped down.

It looked as if no one would carry on the baton and with nowhere to practice, the Bermondsey scouts were to be left without a home. Given that the association covered 760 homes, the only remaining member, Kyle Simmons, was determined not to let it be lost.

“With the scouts, we started flyering around the estate,” Kyle told us. He said thanks to the article published by the News and their campaign - the hall was saved.

“There was a massive turnout for the meeting - I got voted in as treasurer.”

He said they’ve gone from one team member to fourteen.

“It’s gone from strength to strength. The scouts are still using it on Wednesdays, and we now have a community bar and hold regular events for everyone, including a coffee morning for over 55s.”

Since taking it over seven months ago, Kyle said they’ve upgraded the garden, lighting and all the technical equipment.

“It’s lifted the mood. People are way more engaged than they were, and we’re generating a good stream of income which we put back into the community.”

sees trendy briXton Cafe transformed into a film set

By Herbie Russell a CHRisTMas blockbuster starring famous actors has seen a trendy Brixton hang-out transformed into a film set.

‘Jingle Bell Heist’ starring Sex Education’s (2019) Connor Swindells and co-star Olivia Holt was shooting at the Loughborough Hotel, Brixton, on Wednesday, January 24.

The film reportedly tells the story of two strangers who unite to rob a department store only to accidentally fall in love.

Passers-by may have been shocked to see fake police cars and crowds of extras humming around the streets.

Fortunately, two genuine

Metropolitan Police advisers were on hand to reassure any confused local residents.

The filming location, the Loughborough Hotel, is an Edwardian former entertainment venue built around 1900.

Nowadays it hosts the San Mei Gallery and the quaint Annapurna Café making it a hotspot among the Brixton arts

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crowd.

Set designers reconstructed the building as what appeared to be a festive shop front with mannequins and wrapped gifts in the windows.

Bright lights were strewn across the walls and Christmas trees erected to complete the look.

It’s one of roughly a dozen film locations across London being used,

including ones in Eltham and Bow. British actor Connor Swindells, who recently appeared in Barbie (2023) as Aaron Dinkins has been cast.

He will star alongside Tennesseeborn Olivia Holt, known for her parts in a host of Disney series.

During the shoot, Evandale Road and parts of Loughborough Road and Crowhurst Close were closed to traffic.

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NEWS 11

‘my son or i Could have died’ - CounCillor urges aCtion on pregnanCy risKs for blaCK women

Cllr Evelyn Akoto (second in from right)

By Isabel Ramirez a sOuTHwaRk labour councillor, who had a ‘traumatic’ pregnancy herself fifteen years ago when she found herself and her baby at risk, said she was ‘shocked’ to hear that nothing had changed.

In the UK, women from black ethnic groups are four times more likely to die in pregnancy than those from white groups, and women from Asian ethnic backgrounds are almost twice as likely.

This startling statistic from a national report last year, which also revealed that women from Asian ethnic backgrounds were almost twice as likely to die, has prompted a councillor to act.

Cllr Evelyn Akoto, Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing, said she had her own experiences of a ‘traumatic’ pregnancy and childbirth fifteen years ago - which is driving her to want to see change.

“My son or I could have died,” she told us. “It was the most traumatic experience I have been through as a woman.”

She explained that her body at the time did not react the way it should: “I didn’t quite understand and I kept saying, ‘No, something’s happening to me’ - but I was fobbed off.”

“No one spoke to me about complications.”

Cllr Akoto said it was her mother who demanded that she be seen again. “She begged for them to take me in. And when they checked they realised actually, we need to get the baby out right now.”

“Thankfully we both came out of it alive.”

Southwark universal credit claimants soared by 1,000 in December alone

In light of the ‘shocking’ statistics and her own experience as well, Cllr Akoto has now founded the Southwark Maternity Commission - the first of its kind - to review the extent of the problem in south London.

The Commission will facilitate a series of panel meetings, face-to-face listening exercises and online options to share experiences of maternity care.

It aims to raise awareness about having a safe pregnancy and birth and improve services to reduce inequalities relating to ethnicity, and social disadvantage, and

Asbestos find causes costs to soar EXCLUSIVE

By Herbie Russell unEXPECTEd asBEsTOs missed during surveys has caused construction costs on a Peckham council housing development to skyrocket.

© Google Maps

Southwark assembly member Marina Ahmad is calling for action

The Jobcentre on Peckham High Street

By Herbie Russell alMOsT 40,000 southwark residents are claiming universal credit due to the government’s economic “mismanagement”, a local politician has warned.

Marina Ahmad, London Assembly Member for Southwark said it was a “travesty” after 1,000 new claimants signed on in December alone.

The Labour politician has called on the government to fix the NHS and “take action” on low pay to help people back into work.

A government spokesperson said “billions” were being invested in supporting low-income earners and tax cuts were putting “more money in their pocket”.

Ahmad had pointed out that 39 per cent of the 39,546 people relying on Universal Credit in Southwark are already in work.

She said: “It is a travesty that so many Londoners are forced to claim Universal Credit because of low pay and Government mismanagement of the economy.”

She added: “Instead of finding work that pays, many of these people have been cheated out of good jobs by a Government intent on doing nothing to raise wages.

“On top of this, the Government has abandoned those out of work due to long term sickness, leaving them languishing on waiting lists rather than properly supporting the NHS to give them the care they need.”

Southwark has the tenth most universal credit claimants of any London borough

as of December 2023.

Newham has the most with 54,425, while Croydon, Brent, Enfield and Tower Hamlets also rank highly.

But Southwark’s spike in claimants in December (1,004) was the fourth highest in the capital.

A Government spokesperson said: “We are investing billions in breaking down barriers to work and supporting over one million low-income earners through our In Work Progression offer – all while cutting taxes and curbing inflation so hard-working people have more money in their pocket.”

In the last budget, the government committed to £3.5 billion in additional funding over five years to boost workforce participation and grow the economy.

But critics argue that universal credit payments fall well short of what is needed.

In March 2023, left-wing think tank The New Economics Foundation said universal credit payments for single people over 25 was falling £890 a month short of the cost of living.

what can be done to create equity of care.

With 40 per cent of Southwark residents being from black and ethnic minority backgrounds, she highlighted how important change is, commenting: “If we don’t get it right here no one has got any chance.”

In fact, Cllr Akoto told us some black women are now saying they don’t want to have a baby in London because they just don’t trust the system.

“One man actually said that his daughter is afraid to have a child in London so she’s going outside of London to go private.”

“I was thinking maybe things are improving.

“But the more I hear from mothers about how they feel they’re treated when they go into the maternity ward - how they’re still not listened to, their needs are not being adhered to - it’s still the same.”

Her advice to black and ethnic minority women who are pregnant in the UK right now: “Don’t be afraid to raise it if you have an issue. And if you’re not confident, bring an advocate with you.”

“As a black woman, you don’t want to come across as a troublemaker. But don’t be afraid to speak out.”

The Commission panellists are keen to hear from those who commission maternity services, those working on the frontline and those who experience their care.

Its purpose is to see where and why there are gaps in care concerning ethnicity, social disadvantage and other complex factors, and what can be done to create equity of care.

Cllr Akoto added: “I know the NHS are working really hard to address this. It’s not a blame game. But all of us need to come together with one aim of reducing these numbers.”

Go online to southwark.gov.uk ‘Maternity Commission’ to find out how to have your say.

Building 23 new social rent homes on the Rye Hill Park Garages site will now cost £10 million - nearly £4 million more than originally planned.

As well as asbestos, the increase is down to the discovery of an underground cable and changes to building and fire regulations.

However, Southwark Council also blamed “sky-high interest rates” for causing building costs to “escalate” more than expected.

Southwark Council awarded Equans the contract to build 23 council homes on Rye Hill Park Garages in September 2019.

But a council report published last week revealed Southwark Council had agreed to increase the contract cost from £6,039,681 to £10,001,486.

Explaining the increase, Cllr Dennis said: “We carried out ground investigations and routine topographical surveys at Rye Hill Park before the planning application was submitted.

“However the investigation did not identify the depth of the cable in the ground, and once this was discovered after works started on site, we then needed to agree a wayleave agreement with Virgin Media which caused delays and additional costs.

“We carried out an asbestos survey at the site in July 2019 but there was limited access to the roof of the garages at this time.

“The asbestos was only discovered in August 2020 when we carried out additional surveys before demolishing the garages. The asbestos removal added further extra costs to the project.”

The scheme was originally due to be completed in spring 2022 but this has been pushed forward to spring 2024.

Cllr Dennis added: “In general, in recent times the economic outlook has changed, making it far more expensive to build new council homes at the pace and scale we have been.

“The cost of building has increased significantly, whilst at the same time the funding the council has to pay for them has reduced.”

She said this was why the council had recently paused the construction of new homes at Bells Gardens, the Lindley Estate and Sceaux Gardens.

Once complete, the 23 social rent homes will be in two linked buildings of four and six storeys.

The homes have been billed as ecofriendly with roof-mounted solar panels and insulation cutting carbon emissions.

The area, formerly a collection of old garages, will also be landscaped with a children’s play space provided.

Cllr Dennis said: “We know how important new council homes are for our residents, and we are proud to be continuing to provide these across the borough, making a huge positive impact for our communities.”

12 NEWS

peabody inCorreCtly tells residents to ‘stay put’ if borough estate CatChes fire EXCLUSIVE

By Herbie Russell

TRA chiefs Liliana Cannas (left) and Janette Edwards (right) spotted the problem

REsidEnTs aRE furious after being incorrectly told to ‘stay put’ should there be a fire by housing association Peabody.

Furious tenants say the notices posted around the Southwark Street Estate were “highly dangerous”.

The oversight raises the spectre of Grenfell where 72 people died after staying put. The Home Office says it remains the correct policy for many buildings.

But in this case, Peabody has admitted the wrong advice was given. A spokesperson said it was “really sorry the wrong posters were up” and admitted it “could have caused confusion”.

Janette Edwards, 57, the estate’s Tenants’ and Residents’ Association (TRA) Chair, said: “Post-Grenfell, this is just crazy!”

She added: “Where they have gone wrong is their lack of communication between teams because they should not be putting up stay-put notices which are highly dangerous.”

Opened in 1876, the Peabody Estate housing estate has roughly 159 flats.

A document seen by this newspaper shows, by September, Peabody knew the buildings were not suitable for a ‘stay put’ policy because of their Victorian design.

The document said: “Due to the period of construction, the separation between flats is likely to be lath and plaster ceilings, and wooden floorboards, and would not offer the required period of fire resistance for a ‘stay put’ policy to be tenable.”

However, residents have been met with signs in at least three buildings instructing them to ‘stay put’ in the event of a fire.

A resident claimed the notices had been there since around October and were in more buildings which we was unable to access.

Liliana Cannas, 40, TRA Vice Chair, said: “They treat us like we’re less than plebs where we’re actually asking for the basics of our enjoying our living.”

The fire policy document, sent to the Tenants’ and Residents’ Association (TRA) in October 2023, also

The Peabody Estate off Southwark Street was built during the Victorian era

recommended installing an updated fire detection system.

But the system, featuring interlinked heat detectors in flats’ entrance halls, wasn’t installed until mid-January, residents claim.

A Peabody spokesperson said: “We’re really sorry the wrong posters were up. While they are just one of the many ways that we communicate fire safety and evacuation information to residents, it’s clear that this could have caused confusion. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.”

Peabody said the posters had now been removed.

It added that the time taken to install

the new system was normal and followed a process of consulting with residents, selecting a contractor and giving leaseholders notice.

‘Stay put’ policies are only suitable for blocks where ‘compartmentation’ is designed to stop fires spreading from flat to flat.

However, the policy is controversial, even in buildings where ‘stay put’ is the approved policy.

At Grenfell in 2017, residents were told to stay put but unsafe cladding allowed the fire to spread leading to 72 deaths.

The 2009 Lakanal House fire in Camberwell claimed six lives after tenants were ordered to remain in their

homes.

A recommendation from the Grenfell Inquiry, backed by Grenfell United, said building owners should outline personal emergency evacuation plans (PEEPs) in the event of a fire.

But in 2022, the Home Office gave

renewed support to ‘say put’ policies, saying there were “significant issues” with the “practicality, proportionality and safety” of PEEPS.

By June 2021, four years after Grenfell, ‘stay put’ advice had been suspended in 65 buildings in Southwark.

Cllr Darren Merrill has resigned from his post as Cabinet Member for Housing

His replacement Cllr King currently sits on the Planning Committee and has been in office since 2014.

Merrill’s departure marks a tumultuous period for the department which has pledged to start building 11,000 council homes by 2043 despite difficult financial headwinds.

Meanwhile, the housing revenue accounts - money used to finance repairs and major works - face a £16.7 million forecasted overspend this financial year.

Southwark Council is drawing up an action plan to stabilise the housing

revenue accounts.

Cllr King takes on a challenging portfolio which includes major works projects subject to fraud investigations and cancelled regeneration projects.

In December, Southwark Council said it had paused building 206 council homes on the Lindley Estate, Bells Gardens and Sceaux Gardens Estate due to rising costs.

Cllr Helen Dennis, filling in for Cllr Merrill at the time, said the situation was “disappointing but that “the vast majority of new homes” were “on track”.

Cllr Sarah King will take over the role

Southwark Council housing cabinet member resigns from post EXCLUSIVE

By Herbie Russell

sOuTHwaRk COunCil’s Cabinet Member for Housing has resigned from the post meaning four department heads in under three years.

A council spokesperson confirmed Cllr Darren Merrill has stepped down and will be replaced by Champion Hill ward councillor Sarah King.

Cllr Merrill, who took up the post in May 2022 after Cllr Stephanie Cryan’s move to finance, has reportedly left to “spend more time with his family”.

NEWS 13

By Isabel Ramirez

yOu dOn’T have to travel far for things to do with the kids this half-term - from craft sessions to historical fun.

Crafts for Chinese New Year in Walworth

Celebrate the Year of the Dragon with craft-making at Walworth’s new library.

Visit the newly opened Una Marson Library for this session - suitable for children aged 5 and over. when? 10 February 2.30 pm to 4 pm where? Una Marson Library, 62 Thurlow Street, SE17 2GN admission: Free. (Open to all, no need to book)

Imagine Children’s Festival at Southbank Centre

Britain’s biggest children’s festival is returning to Southbank for ten days - and nearly half the shows are free.

Taking place across all Southbank Centre venues, the rich and diverse festival programme includes events for all ages ranging from children’s theatre to storytelling, comedy and poetry, dance theatre, interactive installations, DJ parties, book readings, puppetry and classical music.

There are more than 130 shows and activities on the programme – 40 per cent

© Florence Nightingale Museum

things to do in february half-term in peCKham, south banK, walworth, surrey doCKs and more of which are free of charge.

View this year’s full programme online at southbankcentre.co.uk when? 7–17 February where? Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, SE1 8XX admission: Free

Learn about the ‘superwomen’ in science at this museum

The Florence Nightingale Museum is hosting a special exhibition this half-term.

Super Women in Stem will celebrate four trailblazing Victorian heroes; Ada Lovelace, Mary Anning, Mary Somerville and Florence Nightingale.

Kids can learn about these women’s inspiring work in statistics, astronomy, computer programming and palaeontology through hands-on activities, make-andtake crafts and interactive museum trails. when? 10–18 February (closed Mon) where? Florence Nightingale Museum, 2 Lambeth Palace Road, SE1 7EP admission: Kids £6; Adults £12

Chicken Run Funday at BFI Southbank

Free Chicken-Run-themed workshop for anyone who buys a ticket to the special family screening.

Bringing half term to a close is Aardman Animation’s latest feature film - Chicken Run: Return of the Nugget at at BFI Southbank.

Ahead of the screening, there’s a free drop-in arts and crafts workshop for kids in the foyer - with a Q&A by director Sam Fell. when: Sunday 11 February (from 11:15 am, film starts at 12:30 pm) where? BFI Southbank, admission: £3.00 - £8.00 (workshop is free to ticket holders)

Take part in these ‘70s-inspired family games

A free interactive game for families and young people - featuring dance-offs, quizzes and more.

The Intergenerational Game: Lunar New Year Edition is an interactive game for families and kids being hosted at the Southbank Centre.

Riffing on the 1970s TV show Generation Game, cross-disciplinary arts collective Orang Collectif presents this fun interactive family celebration full of games, dance-offs,

quiz rounds and mass participatory fun. where? The Clore Ballroom, Level 2, Royal Festival Hall at Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, SE1 8XX when? Saturday 10 February, 10.30 am & 1.30 pm admission: Free

Part of the Imagine Children’s Festival Three Billy Goats Gruff in SE1

Following a successful run last Easter, Stiles and Drewe’s joyful hit musical returns to the Unicorn for a limited run.

“Baby, Middle and Big are three very hungry goats, and there is no grass left to eat on their side of the valley. Come on their adventure as together with Little Bo-Frilly they hatch a plan to cross the bridge to the lush green grass on the other side, they just need to outwit that horrible tricksy troll first.”

Directed by Justin Audibert and featuring music and lyrics by Olivier award-winning composers Stiles and Drewe (Mary Poppins, Honk!), this magical, fairy-tale show is the perfect first musical for young families. where? Unicorn Theatre, 147 Tooley St, SE1 2HZ when? Sat 20 Jan – Sun 18 Feb admission: Under 18s £11 - £18.50 / Adults £16.50 - £27.50

The Kid’s Table

Drop the kids off for an afternoon of creating at Peckham Levels whilst you have some you-time.

The Kid’s Table is a pop-up children’s corner service that provides children 3 to 10 years old with crafts, games and creative tabletop fun (all supervised). where? Peckham Levels, 95a Rye Lane, SE15 4ST when? Select Sundays from January - May, 12 pm - 4 pm admission: Free (for customers visiting Peckham Levels)

Let the kids let off steam at these local playgrounds

Sometimes a good old-fashioned run around is all kids need - and where better than these parks on your doorstep?

Jubilee Gardens, Belvedere Rd, SE1 7PG Archbishop’s Park (behind Lambeth Palace and Evelina Children’s Hospital) Bankside Open Spaces Trust, SE1 1HA Bethwin Road Adventure Playground, SE5 0HF Mint Street Adventure Playground, SE1 0AS Peckham Rye Adventure Playground, SE22 0SB Peckham Rye Common, SE15 3UH Spa Gardens Adventure Playground, SE1 3EB Surrey Docks Adventure Playground, SE16 2LN

What's On 2024

The People’s Theatre Company

There was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Fly Education Pack

There was an Old Lady who Swallowed a fly

DctbTshnm OTbi

Box office 020 8463 0100 • blackheathhalls.com • & DANCE PART OF TRINITY LABAN CONSERVATOIRE OF MUSIC

The People’s Theatre Company

www.ptc.org.uk

Shelf: The Kids' Show

N'Faly Kouyate Sat 10 Feb, 2.30pm

SAT 18 Nov, 11am & 3pm

Sat 17 Feb, 8pm

Sat 9 Mar, 2.30pm

Sun 26 Nov, 7pm

Blackheath Halls present:

Shelf: Teenage Men Sat 10 Feb, 8pm

Fauré & Elgar 1

Sun 17 Mar, 7.30pm Sun 3 Mar, 7pm

Sat 24 Feb 1pm & 3pm

ENJOY THE WONDERS OF WINTER SAFELY Look after yourself over winter by practicing self-care and seeking NHS help when you need it.

GENERAL PRACTICE TEAM: Your

W

inter is here. Taking good care of yourself and your loved ones is even more important.

Darker days and cold weather can affect our physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. Viruses spread more easily; cold and damp weather can worsen existing health problems and make us more vulnerable to respiratory infections.

There are lots of things you can do to help yourself. Eating nutritious food, exercising regularly, getting plenty of good quality sleep and doing activities that make you happy can all help. So can getting your Covid-19 and flu vaccination and continuing with frequent handwashing. Southwark health and care providers continue to work closely together as Partnership Southwark to provide joined up care for people in Southwark.

ML4911 NHS SEL CCG Southwark Vaccine Booster Advertorial Update FIN.indd 1

GET HEALTH ADVICE AND SUPPORT WHEN YOU NEED IT SELF-CARE FIRST: If you have a cough or cold, hangover, graze, or an upset stomach you can treat the symptoms at home. In fact, staying at home and getting plenty of rest is the best place for you.

GP surgery team includes GPs, nurses, and other healthcare professionals, such as pharmacists, social prescribers, paramedics and physiotherapists. You’ll be seen by the most appropriate team member for your needs to help you get fast and effective care. To contact your GP surgery, you can call the surgery or sign up to use free, online services through the NHS App. In the NHS App, you can view and manage appointments, conveniently order repeat prescriptions, view your GP test results, and quickly check symptoms. Read more about the NHS App at www.nhs.uk. Your GP surgery will get you the right help quickly if it is urgent.

This may include an appointment out of hours through the local Extended Primary Care Services or at another local NHS service.

NHS 111: If you need urgent advice outside of GP hours, go to NHS 111 online to find out how to get the right healthcare in Southwark, including whether you need to see a GP or seek urgent care. If you don’t have the internet, call 111 to speak to a trained advisor.

The service is available 24 hours a day, every day of the year.

PHARMACY: Pharmacists are highly skilled and qualified healthcare professionals who are readily available in the community to answer questions about common health problems. You don’t need an appointment, and many are open late. If symptoms suggest it is something serious, pharmacists have the right training to make sure you get the help you need. For example, they will tell you if you need to see a GP, nurse, or other healthcare professional. Find out about the Pharmacy First scheme in Southwark at selondonics.org/ PharmacyFirst-Southwark

UTCs (urgent treatment centres): UTCs provide medical help for minor injuries and nonlife-threatening emergencies like breaks and sprains, wound dressing, or an X-ray. Read more about when to visit an urgent treatment centre (walk-in centre or minor injury unit) at selondonics.org/ NHS-urgent-treatment-centre

A&E: You should call 999 in a life-threatening emergency only. If you cannot call 999 for any reason, go straight to A&E.

31/10/2023 16:32

NEWS 15

loCals Can save on heating and soCialise at the many warm spaCes aCross southwarK

By Isabel Ramirez

THE FULL LIST OF WARM SPACES IS BELOW

MORE THan thirty venues across the borough have opened their doors once more to help locals struggling with their heating bills keep warm this winter.

Last year’s initiative saw over 1000 people use the spaces to keep warm, have a hot meal or drink, and meet others.

It was brought in during the height of the cost of living crisis, where many households are finding themselves struggling with energy prices and the cost of heating their homes.

Southwark’s network of warm spaces is back for the second year running, with investment boosted by £43k from Southwark Council to support venues across the borough.

All council libraries and children’s centres, plus a range of voluntary and community sector sites, are operating warm spaces. In total, there are thirtyfour warm hubs.

South London Mission is one of the hubs in Bermondsey. The grassroots organisation has been doing vital work to support local communities for over 130 years.

Throughout the year, the mission provides food and other essentials through its pantry hampers using donations from local partners.

The mission provides weekly box meal kits to local schools which have everything families need to prepare a healthy meal together.

Winnie Baffoe, Director of Engagement and Influence at South London Mission, said: “The giving of food is not worthy of accolade, but evidence of a broken social system.

“Projects such as our Pantry provide a window into understanding the experience of poverty.

“Poverty takes away choice. The choice of where you can live, whether

Convicted: Jake Simms

For older people • • • • • • •

Age UK Lewisham & Southwark Time & Talents Time & Talents 2 Southwark Pensioners’ Centre Blackfriars Settlement Link Age Southwark Southwark Carers

•

Coin Street Family and Children’s Centre 1st Place Children and Parents Centre Victory Primary School and Children’s Centre Ellen Brown Centre Pilgrims’ Way Centre Rotherhithe Centre South Bermondsey Centre Crawford Centre Albrighton Centre Dulwich Wood Centre The Grove Centre Rye Oak Centre Ivydale Centre Ann Bernadt Centre Leyton Square Centre

For children and families • •

Winnie with service users at the South London Mission to heat your home, what food to cook, and even how to cook it. Poverty eats away at childhood. But childhood is not a dress rehearsal for life – it is life itself and must be lived to the fullest.

Childhood must be protected.”

“By offering a warm space, we are able to connect and support people through the network of new friends, charity partners, the statutory and private sectors.”

The mission also supports isolated or vulnerable mothers through their Mummies Republic community group.

Single mum, Blanca, 47, was first introduced to the Mummies Republic support group in 2016 when she was pregnant with her daughter.

She told us: “Every month I struggle

with my bills, especially as everything in my house is electric. Things are even harder now that I have lost my job where I was working very long hours.

“I don’t know where my daughter and I would be without Winnie and the South London Mission. Winnie is so kind and makes sure we get fresh, good food. I am always very happy with the food they give me.”

Cllr Stephanie Cryan, Cabinet Member for Communities, Democracy and Finance: “Last year, we had well over 1,000 people access warm spaces across our borough. It’s a sobering number and shows there’s very clearly a need, which is why we’ve brought warm spaces back this

winter.

“The cost of living crisis has touched every corner of our community, with people of all ages seeking not just warmth but also a friendly chat and food in our warm spaces.

“We are proud to working once again with our incredible network of community partners, including South London Mission. Together, we are able to support more people who are struggling to get by as the cost of living crisis shows no sign of relenting.”

As well as from the council, funding also came from United St Saviours, Southwark Charities and Rotherhithe Consolidated Charities.

Find a warm space on Southwark Council’s website here.

By Herbie Russell

Attending patrols established a Toyota Prius was being used and was headed towards London.

A pursuit through south east London ensued, ending when the car collided with a police vehicle. Police said Simms was detained in the driver’s seat.

A Kent Police spokesperson said Simms’ associate has not been identified and remains outstanding.

Officers also found a bag containing a long screwdriver, gloves and a hammer.

Detectives said the tools had been discarded from the vehicle during the chase and were found by a police dog handler.

Simms was later charged with burglary, dangerous driving, driving without a licence and driving without insurance. Police said he pleaded guilty to all charges.

Following his conviction, Simms will be disqualified from driving for two

• • • • • • • • • • • •

Libraries • • • • • • • • • • • •

Blue Anchor Library Brandon Library Camberwell Library Canada Water Library Dulwich Library Grove Vale Library John Harvard Library Kingswood Library Nunhead Library Peckham Library Southwark Heritage Centre and Walworth Library Una Marson Library

Borough man jailed after burgling Kent supermarket - before colliding with police vehicle during getaway

a BOROuGH man has been jailed after burgling a kent supermarket, before colliding with a police car during his getaway.

Police believe Jake Simms, 29, of Long Lane, thought targeting a rural shop would reduce “the chances of being caught”.

He pleaded guilty at Maidstone Crown Court and was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment on Tuesday, January 23.

Police said Simms travelled with another person to a Co-op store in East Peckham, Kent, at 11.40pm on June 23, 2023.

They then forced his way into the premises and stole two cash boxes before fleeing the scene in a car.

Witnesses reported the incident, telling police he was in a medium-sized black vehicle.

years on his release and will have to take an extended driving test.

Detective Constable Andrew Palmer, of the Kent Crime Squad, said: “Simms and his accomplice thought targeting a rural supermarket outside the capital city reduced the chances of being caught.

“Their confidence was misplaced and some quick investigation ensured their getaway vehicle was identified and he was ultimately tracked down by patrols as he sped home.

“Simms’ disregard for the safety of other road users was reprehensible and it is entirely appropriate that he has been jailed.

“I would like to thank the members of the public who alerted us when they saw the burglary taking place and this ensured his prompt arrest and the recovery of evidence vital to his conviction.”

16 NEWS

rotherhithe man who stole £400K of jewellery in a one-man Crime wave is jailed for 4 years, 8 months

By Herbie Russell

a ROTHERHiTHE crook who stole £400,000 worth of jewellery and assaulted an innocent female victim has been jailed.

Shocking police footage shows the moment Peter Dixon, 44, was arrested as he tried to make a getaway in a taxi in May last year.

He was sentenced to four years and eight months’ imprisonment at Southwark Crown Court on Friday, January 12.

Police, who foiled Dixon after recovering a black glove he wore during his stealing spree, said his crimes were “frightening” and “traumatic.

Dixon targeted a supermarket, jewellery store and Post Office in Central London during his one-man crime wave

from May 15 to May 25, 2023.

At around 5.25pm on Monday, May 15, Dixon stole €510 from a customer in a currency exchange shop on Victoria Street in south west London.

The victim suffered bruising to her face and legs after being punched in the face and assaulted.

On Thursday, May 25, at around 10.40am, Dixon entered a cash office connected to a supermarket on Rochester Row. He tried to access the safe by threatening the manager but left empty-handed.

That same day, he tried to rob a Post Office on Vauxhall Bridge Road, grabbing and assaulting a customer.

Police were called to the scene but Dixon was able to flee.

In his third attempt that day, at around 11.58pm, Dixon burgled a jeweller in

Convicted: Peter Dixon

A black glove recovered during his arrest was also identified as a match to the one Dixon was wearing in CCTV captured during some of the offences

Burlington Gardens where he took up to £400,000 worth of jewellery.

He escaped in a taxi but was chased by officers who stopped the vehicle and discovered Dixon had all the stolen jewellery.

With Dixon in custody, a CCTV investigation established he was the man

responsible for all of the robberies.

A black glove recovered during his arrest also matched one he was wearing in CCTV during some of the offences.

Dixon was found guilty of robbery, two counts of attempted robbery, burglary, actual bodily harm, and common assault in commercial properties.

The Suite is named after Peace, a devoted King’s midwife who sadly passed away in 2015 after a cancer diagnosis.

Melvin, Peace’s widower, said: “Peace did so much to care for families and babies in her role as a midwife at King’s, and it is an honour to have her name remembered in this way by the Trust. She was an incredible person and we will always miss her, but her legacy will continue.”

Tracey Carter, Chief Nurse and Executive Director of Midwifery at King’s, said: “This project has meant a lot to all of us, particularly colleagues who worked alongside Peace. We wanted to provide a compassionate and caring environment

for families going through a heartbreaking experience, allowing them to process their loss with privacy, empathy and specialised support.”

Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP commented: “I’d like to thank the King’s midwives and everyone who has worked so hard to make sure families experiencing baby loss can benefit from this space. I hope it will provide a sanctuary for those who are sadly in the first stages of the grieving process.

“It has been a privilege to meet with Peace’s family today and hear about her life. I am so happy we can honour her memory in this way.”

Distinctive South Bank ‘fingerpost’ new suite to support families who have lost chosen for protection on local list a baby opens at King’s College hospital

Photo: Martin Deutsch (Creative Commons)

The South Bank fingerpost

Bell Ribero-Addy MP on a tour of the suite

By Isabel Ramirez

By Herbie Russell a disTinCTiVE south Bank sign has been recognised as being especially significant in Lambeth Council’s ‘local list’.

The colour-coded fingerpost, dating back to the era of the Greater London Council, is among hundreds of objects and buildings earmarked for conservation.

The signpost, situated at Waterloo Bridge’s southern end, directs pedestrians to Hayward Gallery, the National Theatre and other important landmarks.

Tim Dunn, presenter on ‘The Architecture the Railways Built’, nominated the waymarker for recognition.

The 20th Century Society, a group preserving architecture built after 1900, wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “This fabulous GLC-era fingerpost on London’s Southbank has now been added to the Lambeth local list! Bravo to @MrTimDunn for proposing it.”

The local list also includes a Gothicrevival church in Brixton, The Duke of Sussex pub in Waterloo and a Chopin sculpture at Royal Festival Hall.

a nEw area to support families who have experienced baby loss has opened at king’s College Hospital.

Based in the maternity unit at King’s, the Peace Bereavement Suite is the department’s first dedicated space offering comfort and privacy for bereaved families who wish to spend time with their babies in an environment that is close to the medical team.

This week, the suite was opened at King’s College Hospital by Bell RibeiroAddy MP.

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18 OPINION

Comment

Community bears brunt of Tory cuts T

His yEaR is my tenth as a councillor. it’s a role i love, because in it i get to work with brilliant people from every part of our community. Over the last decade i’ve seen some amazing things achieved. new libraries, leisure centres, parks, community hubs and mental health services opened. Our school results going from strength to strength and more and better jobs created across our borough.

However, there are also things that have got harder and harder. One is setting our council budget.

Since David Cameron and Nick Clegg had their love-in in the Downing Street rose garden back in 2010, we have seen funding for our council cut by nearly two thirds.

The story has been the same ever since. A host of Conservative and Liberal Democrat minsters may have come and gone but for the people of Southwark it has always meant the same thing –

more cuts to our local services imposed by two parties that simply don’t care about the impact on local people.

As a result, our council now has £220 million less to spend on supporting Southwark residents than we did when Labour was last in government.

It’s a huge sum of money.

As a Labour-run council, we have worked incredibly hard to protect our community from these cuts. This year is no different. Over recent weeks I and my fellow Labour councillors have been going through the council’s budget with a fine tooth combe to find new ways to save money and stretch each pound further.

As a result, this month we will agree a council budget that keeps all of our libraries, leisure centres and parks open and protects funding for street cleaning, bin collection, CCTV and our community safety wardens. Something very few councils nationally have been able to do.

In fact, whilst other councils are closing libraries in Southwark we have opened six

new ones since 2010, two last year alone.

It is a budget that will support our community thorough the cost of living crisis. Funding free healthy school meals for all Southwark primary school children and for secondary school children on low incomes too. Providing free swimming and gym use for all Southwark residents.

A £35million cost of living fund to help people struggling to make ends meet.

Free money advice services, and free advice to help you cut your fuel bills too.

Free help to get a job and a dedicated Living Wage unit to help drive up the incomes of low paid workers. As well as over £3.3million invested in over 300 community and voluntary sector project to help people across our community.

It will also be a budget that gets extra help to those who need it most.

Investing £3.5million more into services for children with special educational needs and disabilities.

Funding mental health services for all children who need them and a brand

KIERON WILLIAMS

Southwark Council leader

new Southwark Pensioners Centre.

We have achieved all of this whilst keeping council tax lower than other council too. Lower than the average Liberal Democrat and Conservative run councils.

We’ve also protected our council tax reduction scheme that means residents on low incomes won’t have to pay much, or all, of their council tax. This despite the fact the Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition scraped government fund for this discount over a decade ago.

In Southwark, Labour has protected that discount because we know it is lifeline for thousands of people who are struggling to make ends meet.

We have not been able to protect everything. Fourteen years of cuts continue to erode the services we can fund for our community. It’s the bit of the job I loathe, working out what we have to stop this year because the Tories want to cut taxes for big business and multi-millionaires.

At a time of budget cuts and struggling services, Labour decide Southwark needs a £150k Spin-doctor

l

asT wEEk, my colleagues and i began scrutinising southwark Council’s proposed budget for the next financial year. Just like the last budget, the cuts and financial constraints it contained lay bare the dire situation facing councils after years of devastating Conservative cuts.

There are deeply concerning reductions to social care, libraries and the education department. The services people all over Southwark rely on every day are under threat.

And the impacts will be felt most

With one in five councils across the country now on the brink of bankruptcy, it’s clear we can’t go on like this. In Southwark Labour has worked incredibly hard to keep the council finances robust, but we can’t do that for ever under a government that keeps cutting deeper.

We need a change. Britain needs a change. It’s time we called time on Tories and their failed government, so we can re build Britain.

This week we have seen yet more Tory MPs call for yet another Tory PM to go. I could not agree more. Let’s show them the door in twenty four, and elect a Labour government. So we can make this year the last round of Tory cuts that our community has to endure.

VICTOR CHAMBERLAIN Leader of the Southwark Lib Dems

acutely by the most vulnerable.

The only way we can protect them is with prudent savings to internal spending and ambitious income generating policies.

Unfortunately, our Labour Council seem unable to grasp the situation they are faced with. Not only does their budget fail to do enough to protect key services, they have also announced that they will be hiring a new Communications Director – at a cost of £150k a year to the council tax payers of Southwark.

As I looked through budget reports last week, analysing

each cut for its potential impact, I could not stop thinking about the juxtaposition with Labour’s expensive, politically-motivated and frankly insulting decision to add to their leadership team.

This new Director of Communications will only serve as an expensive spin doctor, paid to tell residents that everything is fine whilst failing to fund the services they really need.

Labour have proudly and repeatedly claimed to have spoken to 2,000 people for their ‘Southwark 2030’ strategy. I challenge them to show

me how many of those 2,000 people said that what Southwark needed was a new strategic director.

We know full well what those 2,000 people said. They want good housing, safe neighbourhoods, clean streets and well maintained parks. Essentially, the people of Southwark want their council to get the basics right.

Labour have opted instead to pay someone £150k to parrot political lines as they respond to a growing number of crises and scandals.

This decision shows Labour’s warped attitude to public finances, quick to cut vital services but equally

quick to splash out on their endless politically-motivated strategies.

The Southwark Liberal Democrats will be proposing an alternative budget that puts people first. A budget that protects the services that people rely on by slashing needless political spending and implementing ambitious income generating policies.

We will also be demanding that Labour reverse their astoundingly tone-deaf decision to recruit a £150k spin doctor, investing that money instead in the areas they were told to by the people of Southwark.

OPINION 19

Building owners must ensure residents are correctly informed about fire safety procedures

a

fter the Lakanal and Grenfell fires, the public was told lessons would be learned. But evidence suggests southwark residents may still have reason to fear for their safety.

This week, we revealed that people living on Peabody’s Southwark Street Estate were being incorrectly told, through signs posted in their hallways, to ‘stay put’ in the event of a fire.

Thanks to vigilant members of the estate’s Tenants’ and Residents’ Association, the mistake was spotted and Peabody says it has removed the signs.

It’s lucky residents did spot it. A seemingly small mistake like this could have potentially devastating consequences.

While problems over fire safety in housing blocks across London appear to be endemic and ongoing, their causes are varied. The inquiry into the Lakanal House fire, which killed seven, concluded the Brigade’s response was lacking and no fire assessment had been done of the “high risk” block. With Grenfell, where 72 people died, highly combustible polyethylene panels were identified as the “primary cause” of the rapid fire.

Thankfully, disaster hasn’t struck the Peabody estate. However, the housing association should still take steps to ensure fire evacuation policies are communicated better with residents.

Ultimately, residents have no choice but to place their safety in the hands of building owners. Those owners must fulfil their end of the bargain.

xx xxx xxxx xx

T

his week, we heard from a southwark councillor, who is urging action on pregnancy risks for Black women, after hearing a startling statistic.

In the UK, women from black ethnic groups are four times more likely to die in pregnancy than those from white groups, and women from Asian ethnic backgrounds are almost twice as likely - a national report revealed.

In light of the ‘shocking’ statistics and her own experience of a ‘traumatic’ pregnancy as well, Cllr Evelyn Akoto has now founded the Southwark Maternity Commission to review the extent of the problem in south London. It aims to improve services to reduce inequalities relating to ethnicity, and social disadvantage, and what can be done to create equity of care.

Cllr Akoto told us some black women are now saying they are afraid to have a baby in London because they just don’t trust the system. Pregnancy is hard enough without this added fear that something might go wrong - so for a mother to feel in 22:35 safe hands is crucial. Whilst the national inaction up until now is Flyer_A5.pdf 1 12/10/2021 shocking, it’s positive to see action finally being taken - and given that 40 per cent of Southwark residents are from black and ethnic minority backgrounds - it is right that Southwark is the first to do so. We hope other boroughs and Trusts will follow suit to put it higher on the national agenda.

CRYPTIC PUZZLE Clues Across 1 Disenchanted with the wide open spaces? (11) 9 To have possession is now all wrong (3) 10 Strange stair rite annoys (9) 11 Noble locks? (5) 13 Egg goes back into top performer hence the unsteady gait (7) 14 Directs the cattle (6) 6 Passage of music that is far from easy? (6) 18 Difficult to get drunker? (7) 19 One part of the act is observed, we hear (5) 20 Lover Dane is in trouble too heavily encumbered (9) 21 Curve derived from car (3) 22 Making acquainted, inducing shapeless rot within (11)

Clues Down 2 Ensnaring spirit (3) 3 Sudden attacks in which right is of help (5) 4 Die like the unwanted thought (6) 5 Rejected, like an external set of actors? (7) 6 Entire tag torn up make as one (9) 7 Is typesetting a work of art? (11) 8 Nasty cringe could lead to this severity (11) 12 Are conifers always jealous? (9) 15 Disconcerting snake? (7) 17 Darted out and did business (6) 19 Of sound but distorted coins (5) 21 Girl in Roman numerals (3)

QUICK PUZZLE

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Come and see what Bosco can offer you.

Places available for an immediate start in:

Business Child Care IT and Digital Media Sport

Clues Across 1 Forbidding (11) 9 Meshed fabric (3) 10 Outlined (9) 11 Highways (5) 13 Exalted (7) 14 Take away (6) 16 Engages (6) 18 Acquitted 19 System (5) 20 Homesickness (9) 21 Digit (3) 22 Members of one Christian group (11)

Clues Down 2 Groove (3) 3 Cuts roughly (5) 4 Expel (6) 5 Bother (7) 6 Given a shiny finish (9) 7 Prefacing (11) 8 Opponents (11) 12 One who sends a letter (9) 15 Dried fruit (7) 17 Saws (6) 19 Nebraskan city (5) 21 Young child (3)

K

SOLUTIONS TO LAST WEEK’S CROSSWORD CRYPTIC

281 Jamaica Road, SE16 4RS 0207 232 0440 info@bosco.ac.uk

Across: 1 Stinted 5 Orbit 8 Burn 9 Tentacle 10 White as a sheet 13 Epic 14 Lots 17 Cross sections 19 Shipment 20 Keen 21 Stern 22 Address Down: 2 Touchy 3 Nonstop 4 Entrances 5 Oaths 6 Backers 7 Treated 11 Allocated 12 Excuses 13 Emotive 15 Thinker 16 Inlets 18 Simon

QUICK CROSSWORD

Across: 1 Madcaps 5 Batch 8 Lour 9 Linesman 10 Indiscretions 13 Term 14 Ours 17 Mismanagement 19 Apiarist 20 Awls 21 Signs 22 Editors Down: 2 Amount 3 Carbine 4 Policeman 5 Bleat 6 Tomboys 7 Handsaw 11 Elongated 12 Compass 13 Tasting 15 Remnant 16 Angler 18 Acres

20 ARTS

what’s on

in Southwark

barbiCan goes two-tone

THERE was an age when ska and reggae were deep underground and only to be heard in specialist record shops and clubs where many feared to tread, writes Michael Holland.

Those of us there in the late 60s made it the soundtrack to our formative years and we developed a fashion of Ben Shermans, Dr Martens, Levis and half-inch braces. During winter months we donned Crombies, sheepskins and Harrington jackets, but, as is customary among teenagers, within a year or two we had moved on and our cropped hair was allowed to grow as Led Zeppelin and other bands of that ilk became the new religion.

When, though, ten years after, a revival was stirring up the Midlands we were among the first to embrace a return to that era when bands dressing as we once did covered the old tunes we once loved. Coventry’s Two Tone record label were trailblazers for that revival.

The Two Tone aspect of the label was the racial mix of the musicians, who themselves reflected the community they grew up in. The logo was black

and white.

An exhibition - From The Caribbean 2 Coventry - throws a spotlight on the music and fashion that led many working class youth through that brief period in the late 70s-early 80s by taking them back a decade and bringing Ska music into the mainstream - but this time with a faster, more hi-energy beat.

Now in our mid-20s we weren’t too

Photo: Manuel Harlan

musiC to beat fasCists with

keen on putting on the skinhead bovver boots again but a good button-down shirt is a timeless classic, as was the music being covered by The Specials and other Ska-influenced bands.

Curated by Camberwell’s Mark Baxter and David Burke, From The Caribbean 2 Coventry is advertised as ‘For the fans, by the fans’ so glass display cases hold an array of C60 cassettes, big Rizlas, ashtrays with adverts on, Gabicci tops,

45s and record racks.

Because the revival came from the street there are no exhibits of clothes once worn by the stars that built up the revival as would be seen in any exhibition of Elvis, Rod Stewart, Elton John et al, Terry Hall’s Harrington Jacket or Pauline Black’s loafers would look rather odd on a display mannequin as they could just as well be anyones jacket or shoes. There

THE wORld premiere of the revolutionary new British musical Cable street - opens at The large, southwark Playhouse Borough on Friday 16 February.

million Jews, Irish workers, trade unions, the labour and communist parties, women and children unite to blockade the road they all call home.

As the people raise their voices and take a united stand against hatred, the lives of the streets’ residents are changed forever.

Discovering there were so many connections to The Battle of Cable Street still resonating today, composer/lyricist Tim Gilvin and playwright Alex Kanefsky decided that Cable Street must feature a contemporary score: bringing to life a vital part of London’s rich diversity and history.

In an extraordinary twist of fate, Joshua Ginsberg’s great-grandfather Isidor Baum fought at The Battle of Cable Street, returning home bleeding profusely but victorious – true life reflecting art. And researching their own families, several of the cast and production

Cable Street is a topical and electrifying reimagining of one of London’s most momentous days – celebrating a community who came together with a call for action, as The Battle of Cable Street was fought and won. With racial tensions running high, people marched and took to the streets of London… A timeless story, as powerful today as it was in 1936.

It’s October 1936 in the heart of London’s East End. Sammy (Joshua Ginsberg), Mairead (Sha Dessi) and Ron (Danny Colligan) are carving out their own futures on Cable Street when Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists (Blackshirts) start to march on East London. Half a

are, though, directions to the retailers who can supply everything needed to replicate the Rude Boy look showcased so well in the exhibition.

A board displayed fans’ emailed memories of those days with photos of them in the ‘uniform’ - All tales from those reliving a special time in their lives. I felt, though, that there was not enough content from the Coventry part of the title.

There were some nice testimonials from people with Black heritage but were not from the Midlands. One of them was from Londoner Rhoda Dakar, who did record for Two Tone in the early days and has kept the faith ever since, but this show needed a voice from the heart and hub of what Two Tone was; someone who could describe Coventry and its music scene in the late 70s. To find that out you need to go to the website.

There is a letter from Jerry Dammers - one of the absolute main men of Two Tone - but it is a letter to a fan about losing his false teeth.

‘By fans, for fans’ is a worthy way to put an exhibition together but more from those who were there and making it happen would have taken the exhibition up another level.

From The Caribbean 2 Coventry succeeds in evoking memories of a time when your mates and music and Tonik mohair was everything you needed, when your only responsibility was getting up to go to school, so go along and get your nostalgia fix.

Barbican Centre, Silk Street, London, EC2Y 8DS until 25th May. Admission: Free Website: https:// fromthecaribbean2coventry.co.uk/

team emotionally find their own connection to the East End and the 4 October 1936: their ancestors also defended this diverse community from fascist intimidation at The Battle of Cable Street with cries of They Shall Not Pass.

Borough, 77-85 Newington Causeway, London, SE1 6BD southwarkplayhouse.co.uk Booking: 020 7407 0234 boxof�ice@southwarkplayhouse.co.uk Box Of�ice opens Monday – Saturday 10:00am-6pm Friday 16 February - £10 Pioneer Preview – all seats £10.

17 February – 24 February – all seats £16 during previews 26 February – 16 March - £35 standard / £28 concessions Evening show: 7:30pm Matinees: Tuesday and Saturdays at 3pm.

Suggested age 13+

HISTORY ARTS 21

History Arts

landsCapes retold in dulwiCh piCture gallery sOulsCaPEs is a major exhibition of landscape art that will expand and redefine the genre.

Featuring more than 30 contemporary works, it will span painting, photography, film, tapestry and collage from leading artists including Hurvin Anderson, Phoebe Boswell, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Kimathi Donkor, Isaac Julien, Marcia Michael, Mónica de Miranda and Alberta Whittle, as well as some of the most important emerging voices working today.

Soulscapes will explore our connection with the world around us through the eyes of artists from the African Diaspora. It will consider the power of landscape art and reflect on themes of belonging, memory, joy and transformation.

The exhibition will open by examining the theme of belonging in relation to the natural world and consider the varied ways we experience the land and how this relates to our sense of identity, connection and safety;

Soulscapes considers the issues that arise out of interactions with our everyday environments, positioning the Black figure in rural settings to instigate conversations around power, identity and the history of the English Landscape.

Reflecting on landscapes and memory, the Gallery’s mausoleum will be home to a meditative video work created over the course of six years that documents daily life in Zanzibar.

Soulscapes will celebrate the power of landscapes to evoke joy and pleasure, whether through the representation of personal experiences or through its expression in composition, colour and style. Black subjects are depicted enjoying nature.

Finally, the exhibition will explore the transformative power of nature to stimulate healing, renewal and wellbeing.

The exhibition is curated by Lisa Anderson, Managing Director of the Black Cultural Archives and founder of Black British Art. Anderson said: “Soulscapes grew from the periods

of enforced ‘lockdown’ that millions experienced during the Covid-19 pandemic. During the same period, the question of racial equality in the wake of George Floyd’s murder and the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement helped ignite conversation about inclusion and social justice.

These historical moments gave way to new possibilities for landscape art, which is being interrogated by

duChess at the playhouse sHakEsPEaRE’s GlOBE announced the cast of The Duchess of Malfi, directed

by Rachel Bagshaw. The cast comprises Jamie Ballard, david Burnett, Tamzin Griffin, Olivier Huband, arthur Hughes, Oliver Johnstone, Hari Mackinnon, Francesca Mills, shazia nicholls and Glyn Pritchard.

This is the final production of the 10th Anniversary Sam Wanamaker Playhouse Season.

Director Rachel Bagshaw says: “I am absolutely thrilled to be directing this extraordinary play with a company of outstanding actors. This domestic tragedy is a story which still speaks to us now in horrifying ways and was built for intimacy of the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse.”

This production uses creative captioning throughout each performance. Select seats offer a clearer view of the captions due to the unique architecture of the theatre.

To �ind out more about creative captions please visit shakespearesglobe.com.

Sam Wanamaker Playhouse from 17 February – 14 April. Times: Tues Sat 7.30pm; Sun 6.30pm; Matinees vary.

Admission: £5 -£65.

Booking: www.shakespearesglobe.com

artists in new and expansive ways.

At a time when global consciousness has been profoundly attuned to the precariousness and power of the natural world in our lives, I hope this exhibition will challenge perceptions of our relationship with nature.”

Jennifer Scott, Director of Dulwich Picture Gallery, said: “Soulscapes marks a new approach to landscape art. Featuring some of the greatest artists

of our day, it’s an exciting opportunity to re-present the genre within Dulwich Picture Gallery, the home of the celebrated European landscape masters of the past. This visually stunning exhibition highlights the contemporary relevance of nature in art and its universal possibilities of healing, reflection and belonging.”

Dulwich Picture Gallery from 14th February - 2nd June

Transgression Life in the Aftermath of the Eocene iT’s THE 1990s and the societal revolution to smash the nuclear family is on the horizon.

A psychoanalyst battles against the demise of established traditions, while younger women debate pregnancy and the relevance of a father’s name on a birth certificate. It’s all an uphill campaign to rattle the patriarchy until a father and son face the unthinkable.

When the dust settles a new birth order awaits future generations.

Transgression by Loretta Monaco, directed by Bryan Oliver, is a ferociously funny play.

Cast: Bruce Allinson was Westmoreland in Antic Disposition’s production of

Shakespeare’s Henry V (Temple Church, London & Bath Abbey).

Alexandra Etudor was Kerry in Love They Fro (Theatre Peckham).

Zara Hadeshian was Goneril in King Lear (Yard Players).

Jonathan Hansler was Stalin in Vodka With Stalin (Upstairs at the Gatehouse).

Abigail Moore was Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland (Wonderment Players).

White Bear Theatre, 138 Kennington Park Road, London, SE11 4DJ. Dates: 16th - 27th January. ~Times: Tue Sat 7:30pm.

Admission: £17 Standard; £13 Concs.

90mins with 15min Interval Booking: https://carnyxproduction.com/

22 HISTORY

History

una marson aCtivist, poet, playwright and broadCaster

Una Marson and Learie Constantine at the BBC in 1941 Calling the West Indies

By Stephen Bourne una MaRsOn has a special place in southwark’s history and it isn’t surprising to find that, in 2009, a southwark Heritage Blue Plaque was unveiled on her former home in Brunswick square, Camberwell.

More recently she has become the first Black woman in Britain to have a library named in her honour (the launch event took place on 1 February) and she is also featured in the Camberwell Black History walk, which was launched on Camberwell Green on 3 February.

Born in Jamaica in 1905, when she arrived in London in 1932 she was helped by a fellow Jamaican, Dr Harold Moody, and his family. They offered Una a room in their home at 164 Queen’s Road, Peckham where she was employed as the secretary for Dr Moody’s influential organisation the League of Coloured Peoples. Una was a feminist who believed in equality for women. In addition to her work as a social activist, Una’s literary pursuits included publishing poetry and plays. These eventually led to her being employed by BBC Radio.

After moving to a new home in Brunswick Square, Camberwell, Una joined the staff of the BBC. During the Second World War, she was one of the most influential women at the BBC. After relocating to a new home in Hampstead, in March 1941 she became the BBC’s first Black woman programme maker.

Through her popular weekly series

The Una Marson Library, Thurlow Street, SE17

Una Marson Blue Plaque Brunswick Square

Calling the West Indies which was broadcast on the BBC’s Empire Service (later the World Service), Una read out messages from West Indian servicemen and women in England to their families and friends in the Caribbean. Listeners throughout the islands gathered in front of their radios to listen to Una’s broadcasts, hoping to hear from their loved ones. It was the time of the London Blitz but, despite the air raids, Una and her guests broadcast from BBC Broadcasting House near Oxford Circus. Although it was dangerous, Una understood the importance and value of Calling the West Indies.

Towards the end of 1942, Una took part in George Orwell’s BBC Radio series Voice.

This enabled poets and novelists to read their work on the air. Afterwards Una devised her own literary series, based on Orwell’s format, by transforming a segment of Calling the West Indies into ‘Caribbean Voices’, a literary item that was influential in shaping the future of the literary development of the Caribbean. ‘Caribbean Voices’ was a landmark because at that time very few poets and playwrights from the West Indies had been published. It gave them opportunities to raise their profile – and earn some money. It is now recognised as the single most important literary catalyst for both creative and critical writings in the Caribbean. In schools in the Caribbean, students were taught the

works of English literary figures such as Shakespeare, Dickens, Keats and Yeats. No West Indian writers were acknowledged, and no one was encouraged to write in Jamaican patois. ‘Caribbean Voices’ helped to change this.

After the war ended, Una returned to Jamaica and continued her work in politics, broadcasting and literature. Una died in Kingston, Jamaica on 6 May 1965 at the age of sixty. una Marson Commemorations Southwark Heritage Blue Plaque, Brunswick Square, Camberwell SE5 Camberwell Black History Walk begins on Camberwell Green SE5. It is researched

and written by Stephen Bourne with illustrations by Tayo Fatunla Una Marson Library, 62 Thurlow Street, Walworth SE17 One of Una Marson’s poems can be seen on the glass at Denmark Hill station Further reading (these publications are all available to loan from Southwark Libraries) Delia Jarrett-Macauley, The Life of Una Marson 1905-65 (Manchester University Press, 1998) Alison Donnell (editor), Una Marson: Selected Poems (Peepal Tree, 2011) Stephen Bourne, War to Windrush: Black Women in Britain 1939-45 (Jacaranda Books, 2018)

CLASSIFIED 23

Send in your free

Valentine’s message

by Monday Feb 5th to katie@cmmedia.co.uk To appear in Feb 8th edition Text only -

WANTED RECORDS ROCK, POP, PUNK, INDIE, REGGAE, SOUL...

ScotsCare is here to help and support Scots and their families in Greater London

LPS AND SINGLES - WHOLE COLLECTIONS WELCOME

Call: 07956 832314 / 020 8677 6907 Or Email: vinylwanted@aol.com

Our services include: Financial Support | Advocacy | Counselling | Sheltered Housing | Homelessness | Job Coaching | Social Events | Volunteering

ALSO INTERESTED IN NON CHART CD COLLECTIONS

To find out more, visit

Southwark Pensioners’ Centre

www.scotscare.com

Supporting older people in Southwark for over 35 years.

Offering advice, support, activities, rooms for hire and a voice for older people.

or call

0800 652 2989 to speak with a case worker to see how we can assist you.

Contact us on 020 7708 4556 or info@southwarkpensioners.org.uk Or pop into 305 -307 Camberwell rd, Camberwell Green, SE5 0HQ

Registered Charity No.207326

PAVING METRO PAVING

Elim House Day Centre

YOU MATTER TO US programme started Tuesday 9th May. 100 Day programme combating loneliness within our elders

• Block Paving • Brickwork • Crazy Paving • Artificial Lawns • Fencing • 40 Yrs Experience

All works guaranteed Public Liability Insurance Mob: 07944 634618 Tel: 020 8319 4242

We are accepting walk-ins

Contact us on 020 7358 9502 or elimhouseoutreachworker@gmail.com Or pop into 86-88 Bellenden Road, Peckham, SE15 4RQ Website: elimhousedaycentre.com

Email: patbrennan0019@gmail.com

max of 20 words

SESSION PLAN

Tuesdays 10am-2pm

Week 1 (6th Feb) Orientation & introduction. Understanding local SIGNUP HE RE

democracy with a focus on council decision making.

HALF-TERM (13th Feb) – no session

REE

F ks10 wee ril A b Fe p 2024

Week 2 (20th Feb) Methods for mass engagement. Test new skills, including phone banking, street canvassing and door knocking.

Week 3 (27th Feb) Challenging power and privilege (Part 1: Relationships and local dynamics at an individual and system level).

Neighbourhood Leaders Training A training programme to help us grow the skills needed to build a better neighbourhood. From exploring how local decisions are made, to challenging power and privilege, and building collective visions for new spaces and services.

You are invited to come and learn alongside the Pembroke House team, and grow your neighbourhood building skills for 2024 and beyond!

When: Tuesdays 10am-2pm 6th Feb - 16th April 2024

FIND OUT MORE:

Where: Walworth Living Room Surrey Square, SE172JU

Week 4 (5th Mar) Challenging power & privilege (Part 2) + Conflict resolution in community settings (Part 1) Week 5 (12th Mar) Conflict resolution in Community Settings (part 2).

How do we navigate conflict and negotiate? + Interim reflections Week 6 (19th Mar) Building collective visions. What is collective visioning, and how do we do it? How could it help us in local action?

Week 7 (26th March) Session planning & facilitation skills.

Week 8 (2nd Apr) Storytelling & public narrative (Part 1: Story of Self).

Tools for storytelling that supports local action.

Week 9 (9th April) Storytelling & public narrative (Part 2: Story of Us).

Week 10 (16th Apr) Reflections: What have we learned and how will we use it?

RSVP NOW:

bit.ly/leaderstraining2024

bit.ly/leaderstraining2024

SCAN HERE Find out more: wewalworth.org.uk

24 FAMILY ANNOUNCEMENTS

PUBLIC NOTICES 25

LONDON BOROUGH OF SOUTHWARK

BOROUGH OF SOUTHWARK

ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984 SECTION 14(1) (AVONMOUTH STREET, BURRELL STREET, DATE STREET, HOLYROOD STREET, MARMONT ROAD, THE CUT, CRYSTAL PALACE PARADE)

ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984 SECTION 14(1) (LYNTON ROAD, DEAL PORTERS WAY) (TEMPORARY PROHIBITION OF TRAFFIC

(TEMPORARY PROHIBITION OF TRAFFIC/CYCLE LANE CLOSURE 1.

The Council of the London Borough of Southwark hereby gives notice that to enable various works to be carried out, it made, an order, the effect of which will be to prohibit vehicular traffic from entering part of the above named roads.

2.

Whilst the works are in progress, or whilst the authorised traffic signs/road markings are displayed, no person shall cause any vehicle to enter, proceed, stop, wait, load or unload at any time in: (a) Avonmouth Street, between Newington Causeway and No’s 6 Avonmouth Street (b) Burrell Street, between Chancel Street and it’s blocked end (c) Date Street, between No’s 26 (d) Holyrood Street, between Shand Street and Magdalen Street (e) Marmont Road, between No’s 93 and Hardcastle House (f) The Cut, between between No’s 39a (g) Crystal Palace Parade, cycle lane between Westwood Hill and Old Cople Lane

1.

The Council of the London Borough of Southwark hereby gives notice that to enable works

by Thames Water, it intends, to make, an order, the effect of which will be to prohibit vehicular traffic from entering part of the above named roads.

2.

Whilst the works are in progress, or whilst the authorised traffic signs/road markings are displayed, no person shall cause any vehicle to enter, proceed, stop, wait, load or unload at any time in:

3.

(a) Lynton Road, between Camilla Road and Alma Grove. (b) Deal Porters Way, between Surrey Quays Road and Canada Water Dock

4.

The alternative routes for affected traffic will be indicated by the signs displayed

5.

Exemptions will be provided in the Order to permit reasonable access to premises, so far as it is practical without interference with the execution of the said works.

6.

The restrictions will not apply to any vehicle being used in connection with the said works, or for fire brigade, ambulance or police purposes or anything done with the permission or at the direction of a police constable in uniform.

3.

The alternative route for affected traffic will be s indicated by the signs displayed

4.

Exemptions will be provided in the Order to permit reasonable access to premises, so far as it is practical without interference with the execution of the said works.

7.

5.

The restrictions will not apply to any vehicle being used in connection with the said works, or for fire brigade, ambulance or police purposes or anything done with the permission or at the direction of a police constable in uniform.

The works will be in operation between (a) 16 February 2024 – 25th July 2024 and will be carried out in phases (b) 19th February -10th June

8.

Further information may be obtained by contacting Road Network Management at ttmo@southwark.gov.uk

6.

The works will be in operation for (2a) 12th – 23rd February (2b) 14th – 15th February (2c) 12th – 15th February (2d) 15th – 16th February (2e) 12th February – 2nd March (2f) 5th – 8th February (2g) 12th – 17th February

7.

Further information may be obtained by contacting Road Network Management at ttmo@southwark.gov.uk

Dated this 1st February 2024 Ian Law Traffic Manager London Borough of Southwark Network Management Environment, Neighbourhoods and Growth 160 Tooley Street PO Box 64529 London SE1 5LX Ref: (2a) 23114386 (2b) LBSCR13387 (2c) 000032070138-001 (2d) LBSCR13386 (2e) 30956274 (2f) SLS00081327271-0090 (2g) 35384739

Dated this 1st February 2024 Ian Law Traffic Manager London Borough of Southwark Network Management Environment, Neighbourhoods and Growth 160 Tooley Street PO Box 64529 London SE1 5LX Ref: BER89-LYNT583-01 LONDON BOROUGH OF SOUTHWARK ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984 SECTION 14(1) (AMELIA STREET, ASHBOURNE GROVE, CONSORT ROAD, CREDON ROAD, EMERSON STREET, MARINE STREET, SCOTT LIDGETT CRESCENT, SHARRATT STREET, AVONMOUTH STREET) (TEMPORARY PROHIBITION OF TRAFFIC)

Notice of Application to apply for a Premises Licence made under the Licensing Act 2003

1.

The Council of the London Borough of Southwark hereby gives notice that to enable various works to be carried out, it intends, to make, an order, the effect of which will be to prohibit vehicular traffic from entering part of the above named roads.

2.

Whilst the works are in progress, or whilst the authorised traffic signs/road markings are displayed, no person shall cause any vehicle to enter, proceed, stop, wait, load or unload at any time in:

Please take notice that I, Ervin Karaj Have made application to the London Borough Of Merton to apply for a Premises Licence in respect of: Aimer, 1 Gladstone Road, Wimbledon SW19 1QU For the sale of alcohol for consumption on the premises.

The provision of Late Night Refreshment for consumption on and off the premises, including delivery.

1100hrs–2300hrs Mon to Thu, 1100hrs–0000hrs Fri/Sat, 1100hrs-2200hrs Sun.

(a) Amelia Street, at bridge, located between Crampton Street and Robert Dashwood Way (b) Ashbourne Grove, at it’s junction with Lordship Lane (c) Consort Road, between Copeland Road and No’s 39 (d) Credon Road, between Ryder Drive and Verney Road (e) Emerson Street, between Park Street and Sumner Street (f) Marine Street, between Rouel Road and Old Jamaica Road (g) Scott Lidgett Crescent, between Janeway Street and Bevington Street (h) Sharratt Street, at it’s junction with Ilderton Road (i) Avonmouth Street, between No’s 6

A register of all applications made with the London Borough Of Merton is maintained by: LICENSING SECTION, LONDON BOROUGH OF MERTON, 2ND FLOOR, CIVIC CENTRE, LONDON ROAD, MORDEN, SURREY, SM4 5DX A record of this application may be inspected by appointment at Merton Civic Centre. Please email licensing@merton.gov.uk or telephone 020 8545 3969.

It is open to any interested party to make representations about the likely effect of the application on the promotion of the licensing objectives. Representations must be made in writing to the Licensing Section at the office or email address above and be received by the Merton’s Licensing Section within a period of 28 days starting the day after the date shown below.

3.

The alternative routes for affected traffic will be indicated by the signs displayed

4.

Exemptions will be provided in the Order to permit reasonable access to premises, so far as it is practical without interference with the execution of the said works.

Note: It is an offence to knowingly or recklessly to make a false statement in connection with an application. A person guilty of such offence is liable on summary conviction to a fine.

5.

The restrictions will not apply to any vehicle being used in connection with the said works, or for fire brigade, ambulance or police purposes or anything done with the permission or at the direction of a police constable in uniform.

Date application given to the Council: 23rd January 2024

6.

The works will be in operation for (2a) 22nd – 23rd February (2b) 19th February – 9th March (2c) 21st – 22nd February (2d) 19th February (2e) 17th – 18th February (2f)) 17th February – 22nd April (2g) 21st February – 25th April (2h) 19th February – 1st March (2i) 19th – 23rd February

Notice of application for a Premises Licence

7.

Further information may be obtained by contacting Road Network Management at ttmo@southwark.gov.uk

Notice is hereby given that Mauritius Restaurant and Bar Ltd has applied to Wandsworth Council for a new premises licence at Mauritius Restaurant and Bar, Unit M10/M11 Broadway Market, 29 Tooting High Street, London, SW17 0SP for

Dated this 1st February 2024

Live/Recorded Music Fri & Sat 1900-0000.

Late Night Refreshment – Mon to Sun 23:00-0000.

Supply of Alcohol Mon to Sun 1000-0000 Any person who wishes to make a representation in relation to this application must give notice in writing by 26th February 2024 stating the grounds for making said representation to: Wandsworth Licensing Authority, Regulatory Services Partnership (Serving Merton, Richmond and Wandsworth Councils) Merton Civic Centre, London Road, Morden, Surrey, SM4 5DX or by email: licensing@merton.gov.uk The record of this application may be inspected Monday to Friday (except Bank Holidays) by prior appointment at the offices of Wandsworth Licensing Authority, Regulatory Services Partnership (Serving Merton, Richmond and Wandsworth Councils) Merton Civic Centre, London Road, Morden,Surrey, SM4 5DX between the hours of 10.00 a.m. and 4.00 p.m. Information on all new and variation applications received by the Licensing Authority can be viewed on the Council’s website www.wandsworth.gov.uk It is an offence, under section 158 of the Licensing Act 2003, to knowingly or recklessly make a false statement in or in connection with an application, punishable upon conviction by an unlimited fine.

Ian Law Traffic Manager London Borough of Southwark Network Management Environment, Neighbourhoods and Growth 160 Tooley Street PO Box 64529 London SE1 5LX Ref: (2a) LBSCR13337 (2b) SA2512622 (2c) LBSCR13335 (2d) SA-732045 (2e) LBSCR13321 (2f) BER4-MAST72-01 (2g) BER2-SLCR210-01 (2h) SEC50/SHARRATTST (2i) W118399542-00120

Our weekly deadline is 5pm every Tuesday

26 PUBLIC NOTICES LONDON BOROUGH OF SOUTHWARK TOWN & COUNTRY PLANNING ACT 1990 (as amended) PLANNING (LISTED BUILDINGS AND CONSERVATION AREAS) ACT 1990 (as amended) The planning applications listed below can be viewed on the planning register at https://planning.southwark.gov.uk/online-applications/ You can use facilities at your local library or 'My Southwark Service Points' to access the website.

How to comment on this application: You should submit your comments via the above link. Comments received will be made available for public viewing on the website. All personal information will be removed except your postal address. Online comments submitted without an email address will not be acknowledged and those marked 'confidential' will not be considered. Written comments can be submitted to; Southwark Council, Chief executive's department, Planning division, Development Management, PO Box 64529, London SE1 5LX. Reason for publicity. The applications are advertised for the reasons identified by the following codes: AFFECT - development affecting character or appearance of a nearby conservation area; OR development affecting setting of a nearby listed building(s); DEP - departure from the development plan; EIA - environmental impact assessment (these applications are accompanied by an environmental statement a copy of which may be obtained from the Council - there will be a charge for the copy); MAJ - major planning application; STDCA - development within a conservation area; STDLB - works to or within the site of a listed building;

ANCHOR TAP 20A HORSELYDOWN LANE LONDON SOUTHWARK SE1 2LN (Ref: 24/AP/0030) Reinstate the original double doors to the corner of the building, bringing the building back to its original layout. Doors, frame and fanlight all to be new polished hardwood to match the existing (Within: Tower Bridge CA) Reason(s) for publicity: STDCA (Contact: Eleanor Heagney 020 7525 5403) ANCHOR TAP 20A HORSELYDOWN LANE LONDON SOUTHWARK SE1 2LN (Ref: 24/AP/0031) Listed Building Consent: To reinstate the original double doors to the corner of the building, bringing the building back to its original layout.

Doors, frame and fanlight all to be new polished hardwood to match the existing. (Within: Tower Bridge CA) Reason(s) for publicity: STDLB (Contact: Eleanor Heagney 020 7525 5403) 40 CAMBERWELL GROVE LONDON SOUTHWARK SE5 8RE (Ref: 24/AP/0087) 1. Windows: A scheme of repair and refurbishment is underway for all windows.

Consent is sought for installation of: -modern aluminium secondary glazing with opening mechanism for rear elevation windows on ground, first and second floors, and front elevation windows on the second floor. None of these windows is original Georgian. - and for modern aluminium secondary glazing without opening mechanism for the first floor flank window. This window is original Georgian and has been painted shut since prior to our purchase of the house. - consent to secondary glaze 3 remaining windows is sought, using the same

materials, design and specification, in due course. Detailed plans not included. 2. Front door insulation: draught proofing work and fully removable secondary glazing to fan light above. (work already completed as part of the repair and refurbishment scheme - this is the only work started in advance of consent being obtained). 3.

Basement Conservatory: Replacement of existing wooden French doors in rear basement extension with slimline aluminium French doors and windows. 4. Rear Ground Floor Entrance: Replacement of existing wooden French doors and windows above with slimline aluminium french doors and windows. (Within: Camberwell Grove Conservation Area CA) Reason(s) for publicity: STDLB (Contact: Eleanor Heagney 020 7525 5403) 11 ELM GROVE LONDON SOUTHWARK SE15 5DB( Ref: 23/AP/3406) Construction of a 2 storey rear extension with the addition of a rear dormer extension to the property. (Within: Holly Grove CA) Reason(s) for publicity: STDCA (Contact: Agneta Kabele 07548097486) BRAMAH HOUSE 65 - 71 BERMONDSEY STREET LONDON SOUTHWARK (Ref: 24/AP/0180) Display of new fascia signage and externally illuminated hanging sign (Within: Bermondsey Street CA) Reason(s) for publicity: STDCA (Contact: Michèle Sterry 020 7525 5453) BRAMAH HOUSE 65 - 71 BERMONDSEY STREET LONDON SOUTHWARK (Ref: 24/AP/0179) Installation of a new rear ground floor door (Within: Bermondsey Street CA) Reason(s) for

publicity: STDCA (Contact: Michèle Sterry 020 7525 5453) 2 BARKHAM TERRACE LONDON SOUTHWARK SE1 7PS (Ref: 24/AP/0150) Change of Use from C3 to SG sui generis to allow residential short term lets. (Within: West Square CA) Reason(s) for publicity: STDCA (Contact: Michèle Sterry 020 7525 5453)

(TEMPORARY PROHIBITION OF TRAFFIC) 1.

The Council of the London Borough of Southwark hereby gives notice that to enable water mains replacement works to be carried out by Thames Water, it intends to make an order, the effect of which will be to prohibit vehicular traffic from entering part of the above named roads.

2.

Whilst the works are in progress, or whilst the authorised traffic signs/road markings are displayed, no person shall cause any vehicle to enter, proceed, stop, wait, load or unload at any time on (a) Farncombe Street, between Bermondsey Wall East and Emba Street and on (b) Linsey Street, between Alexis Street and number 22 Linsey Street.

3.

Exemptions will be provided in the Order to permit reasonable access to premises, so far as it is practical without interference with the execution of the said works.

4.

The restrictions will not apply to any vehicle being used in connection with the said works, or for fire brigade, ambulance or police purposes or anything done with the permission or at the direction of a police constable in uniform.

5.

The works will be in operation between (a) the 12th of February to the 20th of March 2024 (b) the 12th of February to the 26th of April 2024.

6.

Further information may be obtained by contacting Road Network Management at ttmo@southwark.gov.uk

Dated this 1st of February 2024 Ian Law Traffic Manager, London Borough of Southwark, Network Management Environment, Neighbourhoods and Growth 160 Tooley Street, PO Box 64529, London, SE1 5LX Ref: (a) 6740 (b) 6741

STEPHEN PLATTS Director of Planning and Growth

1 ORIENT STREET LONDON SOUTHWARK SE11 4SR (Ref: 24/AP/0198) Reconstruction of existing lower ground floor rear extension; minor reconfiguration of lower ground floor layout; lowering of lower ground floor at rear of house. (Within: West Square CA) Reason(s) for publicity: STDCA (Contact: Michèle Sterry 020 7525 5453) 15A CONSORT ROAD LONDON SOUTHWARK SE15 2PH (Ref: 24/AP/0172) Replacement of the existing sliding door on the east elevation with a (4-panel) double-glazed steel framed double-leaf hinged door with 2 fixed side screens. Replacement of the existing sash windows on the north elevation with doubleglazed steel framed top-hung casement windows.

Reason(s) for publicity: STDLB (Contact: Sandy Ng 020 7525 5000) 127-129 GREAT SUFFOLK STREET LONDON SOUTHWARK SE1 (Ref: 23/AP/3293) Installation of plant and extraction system on roof.

(Within: Liberty of the Mint CA) Reason(s) for publicity: STDCA (Contact: Sean Gomes 020 7525 0666) Dated: 30 Jan 2024 - comments to be received

Notice of Application for a Premises Licence made under Section 17 of the Licensing Act 2003

LONDON BOROUGH OF SOUTHWARK ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984 SECTION 14(1) (FARNCOMBE STREET, LINSEY STREET)

within 21 days of this date.

Please take notice that I Chi Shing Tang Have made application to Southwark Council for a new Premises Licence in respect of Chi Chinese Restaurant, 71 Lordship Lane, London, SE22 8EP The relevant licensable activities and proposed times to be carried on, or on from the premises are Days

Start time

Finish time

The retail sale of alcohol:

Sunday to Thursday Friday & Saturday

12:00 12:00

21:30 22:30

The provision of regulated entertainment: (Recorded music)

Sunday to Thursday Friday & Saturday

12:00 12:00

21:45 22:30

Opening hours:

Sunday to Thursday Friday & Saturday

12:00 12:00

22:00 23:00

A register of all applications made within the Southwark area is maintained by: The Licensing Service, Hub 1, 3rd Floor, 160 Tooley Street, London, SE1 2QH A record of this application may be inspected by visiting the office during normal office hours by appointment on 020 7525 2000; details are also available on our website at http://app.southwark.gov.uk/licensing/licenseregister.asp It is open to any interested party to make representations about the likely effect of the application on the promotion of the licensing objectives. Representations must be made in writing to the Licensing Service at the office address given above (or by email via licensing@southwark.gov.uk) and be received by the Service within a period of 28 days starting the day after the date shown below.

Note: It is an offence to knowingly or recklessly make a false statement in connection with an application. A person guilty of such offence is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

Date of application: 24th January 2024

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PUBLIC NOTICES 27 Transport for London Public Notice

Transport for London Public Notice

ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984

ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984

THE A2 GLA ROAD (OLD KENT ROAD, LONDON BOROUGH OF SOUTHWARK) (TEMPORARY PROHIBITION OF TRAFFIC) ORDER 2024

THE A3200 GLA ROAD (SOUTHWARK STREET, LONDON BOROUGH OF SOUTHWARK) (TEMPORARY PROHIBITION OF TRAFFIC) ORDER 2024

1. Transport for London having consulted with the London Borough of Southwark hereby gives notice that it has made the above named Trafc Order under section 14(1) of the Road Trafc Regulation Act 1984 for the purpose specied in paragraph 2. The effect of the Order is summarised in paragraph 3.

1. Transport for London hereby gives notice that it intends to make the above named Trafc Order under section 14(1) of the Road Trafc Regulation Act 1984 for the purpose specied in paragraph 2. The effect of the Order is summarised in paragraph 3.

2.The purpose of the order is to allow electrical connection works to be undertaken on the A2 Old Kent Road.

2. The purpose of the order is to enable repair works to frames and covers in the carriage way to be undertaken on the A200 Southwark Street.

3. The effect of the Order will be to prohibit any vehicle including cyclists from:

3. The effect of the Order will be to prohibit any vehicle except cycles from entering or proceeding in a westerly direction on Southwark Street between its junctions with Blackfriars Road and Burrell Street.

(1)turning right from Old Kent Road into Peckham Park Road; (2) proceed in a southerly direction on Peckham Park Road from its junctions with Old Kent Road and Green Hundred Road, local access will be maintained.

The Order will be effective between 08:00 AM on the 10th February 2024 and 6:00 PM on the 25th February 2024 or when the works have been completed whichever is the sooner. The prohibition will apply only during such times and to such extent as shall from time to time be indicated by trafc signs.

4. The prohibition will not apply in respect of: (1) any vehicle being used for the purposes of those works or for re brigade, ambulance or police purposes.

(2)anything done with the permission or at the direction of a police constable in uniform or a person authorised by Transport for London.

5. At such times as the prohibitions are in force an alternative route will be indicated by trafc signs via Old Kent Road, New Cross Road, Amersham Road, Parkeld Road, Lewisham Way, New Cross Road, Queens Road, Peckham High Street, Buller Close to normal route of travel. For cyclists Old Kent Road, Commercial Way, Bird in Bush Road, Green Hundred Road to normal route of travel.

The Order will be effective between 10:00 PM on the 15th February 2024 and 5:00 AM on the 16th February 2024 or when the works have been completed whichever is the sooner. The prohibition will apply only during such times and to such extent as shall from time to time be indicated by trafc signs.

4. The prohibition will not apply in respect of: (1) any vehicle being used for the purposes of those works or for re brigade, ambulance or police purposes.

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(2) anything done with the permission or at the direction of a police constable in uniform or a person authorised by Transport for London.

5. At such times as the prohibitions are in force an alternative route will be indicated by trafc signs via Blackfriars Road, Borough Road, Borough High Street to normal route of travel.

Dated this 1st day of February 2024 Claire Wright Co-ordination and Permitting Area Manager Transport for London Palestra, 197 Blackfriars Road, London, SE1 8NJ

Dated this 1st day of February 2024

Our weekly deadline is 5pm every Tuesday

Claire Wright Co-ordination and Permitting Area Manager Transport for London Palestra, 197 Blackfriars Road, London, SE1 8NJ

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SPORT 29

Freddie Haggerty earns spectacular ONE debut victory Fisher lead

By John Kelly FREddiE HaGGERTy made a spectacular OnE Championship debut last weekend - and then turned his thoughts back to his college work on Monday.

Haggerty, 19, had already dropped his Thai opponent Dankalong Sor Dechapan once at the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok before he fulfilled his prediction and finished it in the second round.

Team Underground fighter Haggerty also bagged a £7,750 bonus for the knockout in his first contest with one of the biggest multi-disciplinary combat sports organisations in the world.

ANOTHER SELL-OUT Champion Hill saw dulwich Hamlet keep their play-off hopes alive with a 3-1 win against Haringey Borough last weekend.

Hakan Hayrettin’s side flew out of the traps in front of a 3,334 attendance in East Dulwich as Luke Wanadio’s penalty and Manny Parry’s goal had the hosts 2-0 up after eleven minutes.

Mohammed Kahdum pulled a goal back on 64 minutes but Wanadio scored his second in the last minute to seal the points.

Dulwich were twelfth in the Isthmian League Premier Division table, eight points off the play-offs, ahead of their midweek game.

“Let’s give credit to Haringey, we didn’t have a game last week, it was called off and we got to see them play,” Hayrettin said. “I said to the boys during the week, good team, hardworking team, sometimes they play off the cuff, they can cause anyone a problem. They stated better than Folkestone and finished better than Folkestone so I knew we were going to be in for a tough game.

“We started fantastically quick, bright, alert and for the first 20 minutes I don’t think we’ve played better. We deserved to be two [goals up] and it should have been three, really, he’s given a disallowed goal that wasn’t a disallowed goal.

“But then they’ve got nothing to lose and let’s be honest they gave us a good run for our money in the second half. Sometimes good teams have to find a way of winning and that’s what we did, we made the substitutions and we got the third goal.

hamlet thrill paCKed hill

Dulwich hanging in as play-off race hots up “Good teams have got to find a way and we’re doing that.”

Hayrettin reckoned the packed ground was one big factor behind the hosts’ rapid start.

He said: “If you look at our goals for we’re probably one of the highest

Gallant Ryder stopped by fierce Mexican whirlwind

By John Kelly

JOHn RydER was stopped by Mexican Jaime Munguia in the ninth round of their wBC silver super-middleweight fight in Phoenix, arizona last weekend.

Unbeaten Munguia, who has now moved to 43-0, had Ryder down in the second and fourth rounds before dropping him twice in the ninth before the Islington fighter’s corner stopped the bout.

Fisher ABC bravery award recipient Ryder, 35, fought gallantly against his 27-year-old opponent after those

started to come. But that’s always good, it shows you want it so much, that you’re not here just to fight, you actually really want to win.

“I’m here to work my way up to where I belong.

“I felt strong in there, I looked strong as well. For now I’m staying at strawweight, working my way up. I’m not in a rush, I want those belts and then I’ll come up I’ve got college on Monday, it’s crazy!

“It’s crazy, it is. It’s hard work, but I’m a hard-working person. I like to push myself, so training and going to work in college is proper pushing, but I enjoy it.

“The first knockdown was crazy, I think I caught him with an elbow, that was a rush!

early knockdowns and grew into the fight.

But Munguia regained full control and he had Ryder on the canvas again with a big right early in the ninth. Seconds later Ryder was down after a left to the body.

That prompted trainer Tony Sims to ready the towel in the corner, and they decided to end it after another flurry from Munguia had Ryder on the ropes.

Munguia now wants a fight with Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, whom Ryder took the distance before losing on points last year.

tributes to former star

I know it’s bad to say, but seeing him on the floor there I was like, ‘I can’t believe what I’ve just done’. Seeing him get up was a bit like, ‘woah, I thought I hit him hard’.

“He got up, fair play to him, but the second round I caught him with a straight right hand and when I felt it connect I knew, I knew he wasn’t getting back up.”

Haggerty looked ahead to potential opponents.

He said: “I’ve seen Joseph Lasiri is in this weight class, my brother fought him before. They had a good fight. But I’m not in a rush, honestly, but Joseph Lasiri, I’d love to fight him eventually, work my way up to fight him. I know he’s number one contender.”

By John Kelly FisHER aRE mourning the loss of their former player lenny Piper, who passed away last weekend at the age of 46 after a long illness.

© Rob Avis

By John Kelly

After the knockout, Freddie’s brother, trainer and two-sport world-champion Jonathan rang into the ring and lifted his younger sibling in triumph.

“I’d been saying it all week, someone videoed me asking what round and I did say round two,” Freddie said.

“He was strong, very strong, he was the perfect opponent for me to start off in ONE. I’m not here to just pad my record and work my way round - I go through everyone straight.

“I showed what I’m capable of, that I’m not just here to be a contender. I’m powerful, I’m dangerous.

“I wasn’t really nervous until I got to the stadium. In the back room the nerves

Danny Mills wins a header

teams for scoring. We can score at any time, sometimes it’s later on, sometimes it’s the middle of the game.

With starting quick, the boys have really been so impressed with the support that they really want to show them what they are capable of doing.

“The support again was unbelievable, as it is every week at Champion Hill.”

The Hamlet were in action at home against Wingate & Finchley in midweek.

Hayrettin’s side travel to Margate this Saturday for a 3pm kick-off.

By John Kelly

Kongo said: “Him being a hothead how he is, he ended up pushing me.

It could have been an altercation but security’s there.

“I’m excited now. The fight is here.

This is what we want, this is what the supporters are asking and we’re going to give it to them. It’s a good one.

“Now I believe he’s been backed into a corner, he can’t go nowhere now.

He’s got to fight the likes of me or any of the top 10 in the UK now.

“It’s only right for him to fight me because we’ve built up a rapport now.”

There is sure to be plenty of jibes back and forth before the fight, which is expected to take place in March.

Camberwell-born Piper made 132 appearances for Fisher Athletic. He started his career at Wimbledon before playing for Gillingham and then moving into non-league with Welling United, St Albans City and Farnborough Town.

Piper joined Fisher Athletic from Dagenham and Redbridge in March 2004 after a loan at Margate. He had a caretaker spell in charge in 2005 before signing for Beckenham Town in 2007.

Tributes poured in on social media from his former clubs and their supporters.

Fisher said: “We are saddened to learn that our former player, Lenny Piper, passed away this morning at the age of 46 after a long illness. Our thoughts and sympathies are with Lenny’s family and friends.”

“Everyone at the club is saddened to learn that former player, Lenny Piper, has sadly passed away,” Gillingham said.

“Our thoughts and condolences are with Lenny’s friends, family and loved ones at this very difficult time.”

Posts on X from fans of the clubs he played for showed the high regard he was held in.

One wrote: “Very few players reach that iconic level of embodying the true spirit of a side. Lenny Piper did. We’ve got so many wonderful memories, honoured to have watched him at the peak of his powers. A wizard on the field and a genuinely nice bloke, taken way too soon.”

Another said: “Very sad to hear that Lenny Piper has passed away aged just 46. A talented youngster at Wimbledon who played for the Dons in our 1995 Intertoto Cup campaign.”

Lenny Piper

Kongo spat set to be settled in ring CHRis kOnGO has agreed a deal to fight nemesis Florian Marku in a welterweight clash.

It will be Bermondsey fighter Kongo’s first bout since January 2023 when he lost a majority decision to Nottingham’s Ekow Essuman in a British, European and Commonwealth title clash at the Manchester Arena, his second professional defeat in sixteen contests.

‘2Slick’ Kongo, 31, and Albanian Marku, also 31 and with a professional record of thirteen wins and one draw, clashed at a press conference last August.

Marku said: “He’s going to regret it.

He’s going to regret it for sure that he chose to fight me.

“His wish came true. I know that he will be training too much for this fight because that is his most important fight of his life til now.

“But I have always been training as if it is the most important fight of my life and when we’re in the ring he will understand that.”

BOXXER promoter Ben Shalom added that for Kongo it is “a chance to really bounce back in a big way, especially after what happened with Ekow Essuman. He should have won that fight, I think.

“It’s a must-win for both.”

30 SPORT THE EFL CHAMPIONSHIP Millwall - 1 Flemming 4’ Preston - 1 Potts 33’ Date: Saturday 27 January 2024 Attendance: 14,744 (874 away) Man of the match: Zian Flemming Referee: John Busby

By Kiro Evans Zian FlEMMinG struck against Preston north End again as Millwall were forced to settle for a draw at The den.

The Dutchman’s goal came early in the game with the Lions on top but Ryan Lowe’s side will feel like they were good value for their point by full-time.

They grew into the game, equalised through Brad Potts and managed to frustrate Millwall, who were improved on last week’s defeat to Queens Park Rangers but not at their best.

The result means they are now ten unbeaten against Preston but the Lions would have wanted a win to revive the feelgood factor they managed to summon over Christmas.

Given last week’s insipid performance at Loftus Road, Millwall would have been desperate for a strong start.

And that’s what they got thanks to what always seems to happen when Flemming faces Preston. Manager Lowe and defender Jordan Storey told local journalists this week about the need to keep the Dutchman quiet after his five goals in three outings against North End. And yet the 25-year-old was able to head home unchallenged from inside the sixyard box after a wonderfully delivered cross

by George Honeyman just four minutes into the game.

It looked like it would be a comfortable afternoon for the Lions after that start and they continued their superiority over the next 20 minutes.

Clear cut chances were few and far between but Millwall looked fairly comfortable, with the lively Kevin Nisbet - looking to impress with new striker Michael Obafemi watching on from the bench - almost getting in behind thanks to Flemming.

The midfielder would then beautifully pluck an overhit cross out of the air with his right boot and set up a chance for Billy Mitchell, which he hit straight at keeper Freddie Woodman.

potts luCK

Millwall celebrate after Zian Flemming’s early goal

SKY BET CHAMPIONSHIP TABLE P

Preston survive quick Lions start and grab a point through Brad Potts

Elsewhere, referee John Busby was being admirably lenient and avoided taking out a yellow card for robust and late challenges from Nisbet, Joe Bryan and Preston’s Emil Riis while Japhet Tanganga was enjoying a comfortable 30 minutes on his first Lions start.

But then things would go wrong. Tanganga gave the ball away on the halfway line and Mads Frokjaer-Jensen played the ball down the right where there was a big gaping hole in Millwall’s defence. Potts strode onto the ball comfortably, took his time and stroked it home, with Wes Harding unsuccessfully trying to clear it off the line.

Almost immediately it became a different game with Millwall shrinking and Preston growing in confidence and having multiple

chances before the half-time whistle.

Having witnessed a decent first 30 minutes and then a very shaky end to the half from his side, Lions boss Joe Edwards immediately turned to his bench during the break and sent on Romain Esse in place of Ryan Longman, who it transpired had picked up a shoulder injury in the first half.

George Saville and Casper De Norre who were the first choice midfield before suspension and injury - soon followed Esse on. And while Millwall improved and controlled the second half, they still couldn’t find the fluency or rhythm they had showed against Middlesbrough, Leicester City or Norwich City in recent weeks.

GD

Pts

1 Leicester City 29 22 3 4 35 2 Ipswich Town 28 17 8 3 16 3 Southampton 28 17 7 4 21 4 Leeds United 29 17 6 6 25 5 WBA 28 13 6 9 13 6 Coventry City 29 11 11 7 13 7 Sunderland 29 13 4 12 8 8 Hull City 28 12 6 10 4 9 Norwich City 29 12 5 12 2 10 Watford 28 10 10 8 7 11 Middlesbrough 28 12 4 12 1 12 Preston North End 29 11 6 12 -12 13 Bristol City 29 10 8 11 0 14 Cardiff City 28 11 4 13 -4 15 Plymouth Argyle 28 8 9 11 0 16 Swansea City 29 8 9 12 -7 17 Millwall 29 8 9 12 -7 18 Blackburn Rovers 28 10 3 15 -12 19 Stoke City 29 8 8 13 -9 20 Birmingham City 28 8 8 12 -10 21 Huddersfield Town 29 5 13 11 -18 22 QPR 29 6 7 16 -15 23 Sheffield W 28 6 4 18 -24 24 Rotherham United 28 3 10 15 -27

69 59 58 57 45 44 43 42 41 40 40 39 38 37 33 33 33 33 32 32 28 25 22 19

But they did have chances. Saville and Bryan hit efforts from range that Freddie Woodman saved comfortably while Nisbet couldn’t force the ball home after a couple of goalmouth scrambles minutes apart.

Nisbet then had his best chance of the game when Saville somehow evaded multiple Preston defenders, tore to the byline and crossed it in for the 26-year-old striker. But he lashed his effort over from about seven yards out.

That would be his last chance before Obafemi was introduced for his debut, just four days on from joining from Burnley on loan. But for all of his energy and pace he did not have the final Millwall chance of the game with Esse instead almost stretching onto a loose corner just before

the magiC touCh

W D

L

stoppage time.

At the other end, Will Keane and substitute Milutin Osmajic both mis-hit efforts in the box in the dying embers of the game before Matija Sarkic had to deny Potts three minutes into stoppage time.

Millwall: 3-4-3: Sarkic; Tanganga, Harding, Cooper (c); Norton-Cuffy, Mitchell (Saville 59’), Honeyman (De Norre 59’), Bryan; Longman (Esse 46’), Flemming, Nisbet (Obafemi 77’).

Preston: 3-5-2: Woodman; Storey, Lindsay, Hughes; Potts, Frokjaer-Jensen (Holmes 90+4’), Whiteman, Ledson (Browne 72’), Millar (Brady 63’); Keane, Riis (Osmajic 63’).

Zian Flemming can’t stop scoring against Preston

By Kiro Evans Zian FlEMMinG has put his scoring touch against Preston north End down to pure “coincidence”.

Zian Flemming has six goals in four goals against Preston North End

The Dutchman netted against the Lancashire side again last Saturday during the 1-1 draw to make it six goals in four games against the same opponents.

It is his best scoring record against any club in his career with this purple patch including his first Millwall hat-trick last season.

But the 25-year-old insists he does not go into games against Preston more confident just because of his hot streak.

He told our paper: “To be honest, it’s not an exciting answer. It’s just a coincidence.

“I knew that I scored quite a few goals against them before this game and obviously the people around you know. But for me it’s just a coincidence so I approach

it like any other game.”

The draw ended Millwall’s run of three consecutive defeats in all competitions and leaves them seventeenth in the Championship table, ten points off the playoff positions.

Flemming is hopeful that the Lions’ new loan signings, Japhet Tanganga from Tottenham Hotspur and Michael Obafemi from Burnley, can give the club a boost over the second half of the season.

He said: “If you look at where those guys have played, you can tell they’ve come from a good level. So yeah we’re excited to have them here and they’re additions to our squad in numbers but also in quality. And I’m hoping they will go and show that a lot in the coming months, and I expect them to do so.”

It has gone under the radar somewhat but Flemming has found some form in recent weeks and has four goal involvements in

Millwall’s last five matches.

He has played plenty of football over the last six weeks with Millwall having a congested fixture list to contend with over Christmas. Flemming said he would be open to a Premier League-style winter break in the Championship.

“I think what the Premier League does make sense,” Flemming said. “Obviously I come from the Netherlands so I’m used to a winter break so I think it would be more than logical to have one weekend without a game, so the players can check out for a bit, maybe go on holiday, maybe go and see their family for a few days or a week and then come back mentally and physically refreshed.

“As it stands, this is how it is and it’s also a part of English football culture so I do kind of like it as well, but I think it’s better for the wellbeing of players if there would be a little, tiny bit of a winter break.”

SPORT 31

stay or ro?

Big things are expected of 18-year-old attacker Romain Esse

Millwall boss hopeful Lions can keep hold of young star Romain Esse after speculation

By Kiro Evans JOE EdwaRds said he understands the speculation surrounding Romain Esse but is confident he will still be a Millwall player by the end of the transfer window.

Reports have linked both Hull City and Burnley with a move for the 18-year-old attacker, who came through Millwall’s youth set-up.

There are high hopes for his potential and he has also caught the eye playing for England under-19s.

Last week the questions around the

Match preview:

youngster was whether or not his development would be aided by a loan deal away from Millwall but now, in the final days of this window, the Lions could have a fight on their hands to not lose the teenager permanently.

Esse has had limited game time in recent months but did enjoy 45 minutes in last Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Preston North End after Ryan Longman went off at half-time with a shoulder problem.

Asked about the speculation, Lions boss Edwards told NewsAtDen: “I gather there’s been some sort of interest which to me is totally understandable when

you’re talking about a young England international playing at Championship level and probably not getting the ideal amount of game time he would have liked in recent weeks and months, albeit he came on [against Preston] on Saturday and did well, the most amount of minutes he’s gotten for a while.

“I gather why there would be speculation because that’s completely normal but from my point of view, there’s nothing I’ve had to make decisions on or give much thought of. As far as I’m concerned, Romain’s here training with us every day and he’s a player that certainly for the

Hull vs Millwall

long-term I want to be part of [the team] and I want to keep working with.”

When Edwards was asked if he was confident of Esse still being a Millwall player on Friday morning, once the window has closed, he said: “Yeah, yeah I am.”

Millwall play one of the teams linked to Esse on Saturday when they take a trip to Liam Rosenior’s Hull.

Burnley, the other team who are reportedly interested in the young star, had previously made an unsuccessful attempt to land midfielder Zian Flemming last summer.

Longman waits on shoulder prognosis

By Kiro Evans

Ryan lOnGMan is set to see a specialist to assess his shoulder injury.

The 23-year-old started last Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Preston North End but dislocated his shoulder in the first half and was taken off at halftime.

Longman would not have been available to play against Hull on Saturday in any case as he is on loan from the Tigers but Millwall will be hoping to get him back soon.

Millwall boss Joe Edwards said: “Ryan did dislocate his shoulder. We’re waiting to see the specialist who’s away at the moment which slows that process down. But that isn’t an issue for us because Ryan’s unable to play against Hull anyway.

“By the start of next week, Ryan will see the specialist to get the full extent on his shoulder but, on the first viewings of it, we’re anticipating it’s quite similar to Aidomo [Emakhu’s] one in that it will probably be a few weeks as opposed to anything too serious or long-term, so fingers crossed.”

Millwall have had better news regarding Tom Bradshaw who has made steady progress from a hamstring injury that has seen him miss the last three games.

Edwards said: “It’s the opposite with Tom. He trained with the team [on Monday] and [Tuesday] is our big working day and he trains the full session today. So Tom’s made a good comeback in terms of his return time to training and, all being well, he’ll be available for selection this weekend.”

Ryan Longman

The MKM Stadium, Sat 3 Feb 15.00

Millwall aim to cause upset at Hull

by Kiro Evans Millwall will seek to overcome their underdog status and take three points away from Hull City on saturday.

The Tigers, chasing the play-offs and continuing to impress under manager Liam Rosenior, have experienced upand-down form recently but carry serious threat that can harm the Lions.

An already interesting game of Championship football has been all the more intriguing by reports linking Millwall’s teenage talent Romain Esse with a move to the MKM Stadium.

At the time of writing he very much

remains a Millwall player but, in the crazy, twisted world that is English football, it is not beyond the realms of possibility that he could be sat on the Hull bench come Saturday.

Away from the transfer sub-plot, Joe Edwards’ side will want to show more goal threat than they did in last week’s 1-1 draw with Preston North End. There was parts to like about that performance but, given how the Lions dominated the second half in terms of possession, it was slightly surprising to witness how unconvincing they were in their assault on the Preston goal.

While they were slugging it out at The Den, Hull City’s players might

have been sat on a beach somewhere.

The Tigers enjoyed a rare weekend off with their scheduled opponents busy with FA Cup action.

With Hull having beaten Sunderland 1-0 on the Friday night the weekend before (January 19), Millwall have now played twice since Hull last stepped on a football pitch and the Lions could find their opponents to be slightly sharper come kick-off.

The Tigers won that game away at the Black Cats thanks to a deflected strike from Fabio Carvalho, his first goal for the club after he signed on loan from Liverpool in January. He is one of the many threats Millwall will have to look out for, along with the

recent loan signing of full-back Ryan Giles from Luton Town.

But the pair are not the only Premier League loanees who will be hoping to make headlines on Saturday. Japhet Tanganga from Tottenham Hotspur and Michael Obafemi from Burnley will both be aiming to get more minutes for Millwall following their recent loan moves.

The last time these two clubs met was in October in a match that proved to be Gary Rowett’s last in charge of Millwall. Duncan Watmore gave the Lions an early lead before two quickfire Hull goals in the first half caused the atmosphere inside The Den to change. Joe Bryan rescued

the day with a brilliant second half equaliser.

Millwall last won away at Hull in July 2020 when Ryan Leonard’s jawdropping strike after just two minutes was enough to secure the win.

MATCH DETAILS

Possible Millwall starting XI: 3-4-2-1: Sarkic; Tanganga, Harding, Cooper; Norton-Cuffy, De Norre, Saville, Bryan; Watmore, Flemming; Nisbet.

Last meeting: Championship, October 7, 2023 Millwall 2-2 Hull

INSIDE

Sport Southwark

learning from the best

THRILL, NOT THREILL Japhet Tanganga joined Millwall on loan from Tottenham

By Kiro Evans JaPHET TanGanGa believes battling with Harry kane on the training pitch and learning the game under big name managers at Tottenham Hotspur leaves him well-placed to make a big impact at Millwall.

The Lions secured one of the more eye-catching January deals in the Championship when they lured the Spurs defender to The Den on loan until the end of the season.

Tanganga boasts 50 Premier League appearances and European experience and played alongside world-class talent in north London.

Since signing, he came off the bench in the defeat at Queens Park Rangers before starting against Preston North End last Saturday.

The 24-year-old is now looking to become a fixture in Millwall’s team and get his career back on track.

And he feels confident at being able

to deal with the challenge after his experiences at Tottenham.

He told our paper: “You play against the best to try and match yourself up and see if you’re able to deal with the best. And there’s things I’ve added to my game due to the way I’ve had to defend against Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min [in training] that I can bring into my footballing ability.

“Definitely it’s been very helpful for my growth working under great managers and playing with great players.”

Having played under Mauricio Pochettino, Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte - all of whom have managed both Chelsea and Tottenham - Tanganga has received advice from some of the most high-profile managers in football.

“How young I was working under these managers, I would almost have to be a fool to not take life lessons and football lessons from these guys,” Tanganga said. “They’ve worked with some of the best players in the world and for me to have that opportunity to try and gain some of that knowledge

Millwall set to sign attacker

By John Kelly Millwall wERE working on finalising a deal for Morecambe attacker adam Mayor before this week’s transfer deadline.

New boy Japhet Tanganga hopes he can bring top-level experience to Lions

EXCLUSIVE

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that they gave to some of those worldclass players is amazing and I definitely took things from their time at Spurs.”

On Mourinho, he added: “He’s a very nice guy and almost like a father sometimes with how he’ll come across.

But he’s a very good person, looks after your wellbeing on and off the pitch.

And he’s a really nice person and top guy even if it doesn’t seem like that.”

For all of the positives he has had in his career, Tanganga has experienced a difficult year with limited football, niggling injuries and a loan spell at German club Augsburg where he did not make a single appearance.

Looking back on the challenge, the defender said: “I think in football it’s a lot of things, it’s not just one thing.

Obviously I came over there injured and they still took me on. The manager was sacked and the new one came in and he had his ideologies and he didn’t favour me in the team. But that’s not a problem, that’s how football goes.

I was just keeping myself ready for when an opportunity arises for when I was able to be involved. Unfortunately,

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it didn’t.

“I wasn’t playing but it was nice to learn a new culture, learn a new language and Augsburg were very good to me in terms of how they treated me. It didn’t work out on the pitch but off the pitch, it was a great group of players, great staff and they made it really welcoming for me just as it has been at Millwall.”

Tanganga was convinced to come to The Den by Joe Edwards, who he has worked with previously in the England youth set-up. He is now looking to take the bull by the horns at Millwall and remind everyone of his abilities.

He said: “I think we just have to do as well as we can. We’re not far off the play-offs, it just takes consistency and making sure we take every game as it comes and try and win every single one. But definitely there’s still things to be aimed at this season.

“I think [I can go] wherever I see myself. It’s about how I apply myself and making sure I work hard and leaving the uncontrollables to God and see where he takes me.”

The Lions were aiming to make Mayor, 18, their third signing of the transfer window after he had a medical at the club on Tuesday.

Head coach Joe Edwards has already added to his attack with Michael Obafemi joining on loan from Burnley this month. Mayor would add another forward option and can play out wide or through the middle.

The Liverpool-born Morecambe No.11 has scored three goals and provided five assists in 23 league games this season. He has already played 67 times for the League Two Shrimps, scoring seven goals, despite not turning 19 until April.

Mayor is contracted to Morecambe until the summer of 2025. He would become Millwall’s first permanent deal of the window and there is no loan-back agreement in the move.

The Lions also recruited Japhet Tanganga on loan from Tottenham Hotspur.

Meanwhile, Edwards was not ruling out any other activity before the winter window closed on Thursday (February 1).

The future of Allan Campbell was still uncertain approaching the deadline. Reports last month suggested Luton Town were considering recalling Campbell due to the lack of football he is getting on loan at Millwall. The Scottish midfielder has not played since mid-December.

Asked about the 25-year-old’s future, Edwards said: “No update on Allan. I’ve got every respect and understanding that he’s a player who’s not getting anywhere near the game time that he would have liked.

“And like I said, he’s one of the players where if he came to me in the next couple of days with a solution which he felt was really good for him and asked me for my understanding of it, it’s certainly a conversation that I’m open to because I get it.”

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