South London Weekly - May 9th 2025 by CommunityMattersMedia

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‘BEXLEY ARE BEING DISCRIMINATED AGAINST’

By paying more than other boroughs at Silvertown Tunnel

By Cameron Blackshaw Local Democracy Reporter

CONSERVATIVE COUNCILLORS claim that Bexley is being “discriminated against” and the tolls on the new Silvertown Tunnel are a “kick in the teeth” to their borough’s residents.

Speaking at a full Bexley Council meeting on April 30, one Tory councillor stated that London Mayor Sadiq Khan was giving Bexley a “particularly raw deal” compared to other boroughs south of the river when it came to transport funding.

At the meeting, Conservative Cllr Peter Craske posed a question about the Silvertown Tunnel tolls, and asked the Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods Cllr Richard Diment to comment on “whether it is right” that those travelling northbound in a car through the tunnel in the morning—such as Bexley residents commuting for work—have to pay the peak charge of £4, while those travelling southbound at the exact same time only have to pay £1.50.

Fellow Tory Cllr Diment responded: “I think it’s a real kick in the teeth for the residents of Bexley that they are charged a surcharge which does not apply to those that start their journeys north of the river.

“Simple mental arithmetic says that somebody who lives in this borough and works north of the borough travelling through that tunnel 200 times a year will end up with a bill of something like £2,000.

“For somebody making the journey the opposite direction, it’ll be £750. That again is discrimination against the residents of this borough and those that live south of the river and it is what we have come to expect from Mayor Khan and TfL.”

In a supplementary question, Cllr Craske stated that the tunnel charges were “not the only way that Bexley residents are discriminated against by the Labour Mayor” and he asked Cllr Diment to set out how much money Bexley was receiving from Transport for London (TfL) via local implementation plan (LIP) funding, a scheme that offers money to London councils to improve transport networks in line with the Mayor’s transport strategy.

Cllr Diment replied: “In 2016/17, the last year when the LIP funding was set by

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the previous Mayor Boris Johnson, Bexley received £4 million, or about 3.3 per cent of the total funding that was available. In no year since then has it got anywhere near to 3.3 per cent, and in the latest year which has just been announced, of the £87 million that has been allocated by the Mayor, Bexley is getting just 1.9 per cent.”

Cllr Diment then went on to list the amounts of money other councils had received from the LIP fund under Sadiq Khan, claiming that Greenwich and Lewisham had both received £18m, Lambeth had received £19m and Southwark £23m.

“In comparison, he said Bexley had received only £12.7m. Cllr Diment said: “I think that is clear evidence that Bexley is being discriminated against and our residents get a particularly raw deal from the administration in city hall.”

In response, Labour Cllr Anna Day wanted to remind Tory councillors that the tunnel charges were in fact a “Boris tax” rather than a Labour one. She said: “The Silvertown plans were first developed in 2012, and plans to toll both crossings were confirmed by their government six-and-a-half years ago.

“As you are aware, in addition to recovering construction costs the tolls have been levied to reduce congestion and to spread traffic levels evenly, hence the different charges depending on the direction of travel.”

Cllr Day then asked Cllr Diment: “Being that there is more traffic heading to opportunities of employment north of the river, what are we doing to bring people across to us?

“Is the cabinet member not confident that Bexley is open for business strategy, and ambitions to create a green cluster of tech and business here will in any case negate the need for many of our residents to travel elsewhere for work?”

Cllr Diment replied: “I’m really grateful to Cllr Day for telling us the briefing that they’ve been given by Sadiq Khan for how to respond to this debate. Of course Bexley would welcome people coming into Bexley in open arms, but our first responsibility is to look after the welfare and wellbeing of our residents and it is clear that the decisions being made with the unfair system of tolling that has been introduced is, as I have said in my original answer, a kick in the teeth for the residents of Bexley from the administration in

In response to Cllr Diment’s claims, a spokesperson for the Mayor of London said:

“The opening of the new Silvertown Tunnel last month is helping to transform travel in the South and East of our city. It means faster, more reliable journey times for thousands of Londoners during peak hours, reduced congestion and improved air quality, and enhanced public transport links through zero

cycle shuttle service.

“The original plans for the Silvertown Tunnel were developed in 2012 by the previous Mayor. We made a series of improvements to make the scheme greener and to include a package of measures to support Londoners and businesses. This includes ensuring there are discounts and concessions in place for local residents.”

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City Hall.”

emission cross-river buses and an innovative

Silvertown Tunnel entrance

By Issy Clarke

THE LONG-AWAITED renovation of Peckham Rye Station Square has taken a step forward, after Southwark Council appointed a contractor to demolish the shopping arcade.

Demolition of the 1930s arcade outside the station is going to begin this summer, with the new square set to be completed next year. Once complete the full project, which includes the full modernisation of Peckham Rye Station itself, will resemble what it looked like in the 1880s.

Construction company BAM Nuttal Ltd has been appointed to oversee the final phase of the project – which has been repeatedly delayed since planning permission was granted in 2016.

The first phase, the refurbishment of the building on the corner of Blenheim Grove, was finished last year – three years behind schedule.

Last year, the council told the News that plans to demolish the arcade had been put on hold due to ‘water ingress’ issues – otherwise known as leakage – and delays in relocating businesses.

Once the renovation of the square is complete, focus will move to the renovation of Peckham Rye Station itself, planing permission for which was obtained by Network Rail in 2023. No date has been confirmed for this yet, as funding has not yet been agreed by the government.

Cllr Helen Dennis, Cabinet Member for New Homes and Sustainable Development at Southwark Council, said: “This is a massively exciting time for the residents of Peckham, and having let their passion be known for the regeneration of the station square, I’m glad we’re

RENOVATION OF PECKHAM RYE STATION SQUARE TAKES A STEP FORWARD

taking a step closer to delivering for them.

“With the help of BAM Nuttal Ltd, the GLA and Network Rail, Peckham Rye Station Square will be a welcoming, vibrant and picturesque space

which I’m sure the local community will take to heart.”

Gareth White, Operations Director, BAM, said: “We are really pleased to be awarded this contract, working closely with the team at Southwark Council,

to ensure a successfully delivery. This scheme will greatly enhance the area to the front of Peckham Rye Station, with many public benefits, and BAM are really proud to be part of this regeneration.”

Ceramic poppies returning to Tower of London to mark VE Day

By Issy Clarke

SPRAWLING FIELDS of ceramic poppies have been installed outside the Tower of London to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two.

More than five million people turned out to view the exhibition when it was first displayed in 2014 to mark the centenary of the First World War. The original display contained 888,246 ceramic poppies, each one representing a military life lost during the war.

On Tuesday, a display of 30,000 ceramic poppies from the original installation returned to the lawn in front of the Tower of London. The poppies “will pour across the lawn overlooked by the ancient White Tower, where the blood-red flowers will form a crater, with ripples flowing outwards”.

Visitors can see the installation as part of a general admission ticket, although a small part will be visible from the public footpath. The exhibition runs until Armistice Day on November 11.

Designer Tom Piper, who is responsible for the new display, acknowledged the scale of the 2014 installation could never be repeated, but said “we learned on subsequent national tours that smaller installations could still carry great emotional power”.

Legal thriller set in Peckham hit bookshelves last month

By Evie Flynn

TOM GAISFORD is an immigration and asylum lawyer, plus a busy father-oftwo who for the past 13 years has been working towards publishing his debut novel Sanctuary.

It follows Alex, a young refugee lawyer in Peckham, who finds himself lost with all aspects of his life. The protagonist grapples with both professional and personal crises, trying to save his career as a refugee lawyer and secure the affection of the woman he loves.

The novel blends Alex’s narrative with elements of social commentary, exploring our treatment of asylum seekers and using the arts as a tool for cultural change.

first place together in nearby Brockley before relocating to Cadiz, Spain.

Tom said: “In those early days, we loved knocking around SE15: the cafes, South London Gallery, Anderson & Co., huevos rancheros at the Blackbird Bakery. The pubs: The Tiger on Camberwell Green and Stormbird, both of which feature in the novel.”

The Peckham-based law firm where Alex works is fictional, but is set in one of the Edwardian villas you see dotted around Peckham Rye.

Here is an extract from the novel where Alex is enthusing about Peckham amidst a professional set-back:

such specialist knowledge of immigration law and he used this to start putting together the outline of a story. He remembers that in 2013 he then “moved swiftly onto the Bar, working as a barrister, which was super intensive.”

Tom said: “I didn’t have much time after than but I snatched moments to write when I could.”

He originally had a career in commercial law, but began doing pro bono work in the community and developing an interest in public law. When he eventually became a barrister, he appeared regularly in Camberwell Green Magistrates’ Court.

Tom Gaisford told us that he draws heavily upon his own experience as a human rights barrister and his personal experiences of South East London.

“Sometimes, the only thing for it is to step out of the office, take a deep breath and remind yourself why you’re in the job- renew your faith in it, if you will. And for this, Peckham is the perfect place.

“The brightly coloured cafe I’m sitting is owned by a Nigerian couple, run by an Ethiopian woman and the waiter who just brought me my cinnamon coffee is Polish… all these cultures under one roof, each informing the other like multiple narrative voices.”

Tom suggests that writing a book around a legal topic, such as asylum law, faces its own challenges, remembering that he had to “re-visit and re-draft” aspects of his novel: “There were a series of home secretaries and policies that were getting progressively tougher. This kept messing with my plot.”

Tom’s affiliation with Peckham began when he met his wife, who lived on Lyndhurst Way back in 2014.

In 2021, Tom stopped practising law and moved his young family to Guernsey, where he set out to write Sanctuary. Although he didn’t put pen to paper until much later, the seed for the novel came to him back in 2012.

The book has so far received positive pre-release reviews. Suzi Feay, literary critic for The Guardian and The Financial Times, said: “Gaisford’s insider knowledge makes his cleverly constructed legal thriller a compulsive and genuinely enlightening read. Alex’s passionate hope is that a story can change the public’s perception of asylum seekers. Maybe this one will.”

They married in Lewisham Register Office and got their

Tom said the story idea, centring around seeking asylum, kept “nagging at him”. He had

The novel was released at the end of April and is available on Amazon or the Cinto publishers website.

Peckham Rye Station Square today

By Issy Clarke

EVELINA CHILDREN’S Hospital says a scheme which allows young patients to receive medical treatment at home is a ‘game-changer’ for families.

The Hospital at Home service provides medical care for children at home, either removing the need for a hospital admission or meaning they can be discharged sooner.

A recent study published in the medical journal Archives of Disease in Childhood showed that between 2018 and 2022, the Hospital at Home service helped 4,427 children either go home from hospital earlier or avoid a hospital admission altogether.

This in turn helped cut by more than 11,000 the number of days patients spent overnight across two major hospitals in south London – Evelina London Children’s Hospital and King’s College Hospital.

14-year-old Guilherme Niero Mansi, known as Gui, from Southwark is one of the children who has benefited from receiving treatment at home.

Gui was born with several medical conditions including a split spine and brain swelling caused by an excess of fluid in the skull, and as a younger child he spent long stints in hospital at the Evelina London.

His mum Debora said: “When Gui was younger, I’d need to take him to hospital, and then he could be there for a month. And that could happen maybe four times a year.

FEWER CHILDREN IN EVELINA HOSPITAL THANKS

TO ‘GAME-CHANGING’ AT

“But now with the Hospital at Home team, if Gui needs anything that I can’t do myself, I’ll call them and they’ll come. If he has an infection they will come twice a day and they are really amazing – they are very consistent in how they do all the treatments.”

Dr Ronny Cheung, consultant paediatrician at Evelina London and lead investigator of the study, said the improvements in patient care offered by Hospital at Home have provided the evidence to support a wider roll-out of the service for child patients across the country.

Commenting on the study, he said: “Across the NHS there is a growing ambition to introduce more tailored, home-based care for patients and reduce the time they need

HOME SERVICE

to spend in hospital.

“We’ve already shown that the Hospital at Home model can work for adult patients, but until now there has been a lack of evidence showing it can be translated across to children and young people.

“Our results from the first 4 years of the children’s Hospital at Home service show it can be equally safe and effective – but just as importantly, it can also greatly improve the experiences of our young patients and their families. They have told us they are

far happier receiving care and treatment in the comfort of their own home wherever possible.

“The service allows children and teenagers to receive a range of treatments and observations for short-term illnesses in their own home, under the care of specially qualified children’s community nurses. Common treatments that can be provided include giving medication, caring for wounds, collecting blood and measuring a patient’s vital signs.”

Two hospitalised following flat fire on the Old

Kent Road

By Issy Clarke

TWO MEN were taken to hospital on April 30 after a flat caught fire on the Old Kent Road. Six fire engines and around 40 firefighters were called to tackle the blaze, which resulted in a lower ground floor flat being destroyed. Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus rescued a man via an internal staircase and another man left the building before the Brigade arrived. Both were taken to hospital by London Ambulance Service crews.

The Brigade’s Control Officers were called at 9:35AM and mobilised crews from Old Kent Road, Dockhead, Dowgate, Whitechapel and Lambeth fire stations to the scene. The fire was under control by 10:26AM.

The cause is under investigation.

8 NEWS

By Issy Clarke

A FIFTH of housing applicants

could no longer be allowed to bid on council homes while domestic violence victims and care victims will get higher priority, under changes being consulted on by Southwark Council.

Southwark says proposals will ‘ensure homes go to those who need them most’ – but campaigners warn desperate families could see themselves pushed down the waiting list.

There is a large backlog of people waiting to be rehoused in Southwark. There are more than 18,000 people currently on the waiting list, just 10 per cent of whom make a successful bid each year.

The twin pressures of limited supply and soaring demand have intensified the pressures on the council in recent years –which admits that even once the changes have been implemented it still won’t be able to meet local housing need.

Meanwhile, housebuilding has stalled with the council failing to start work

on a single house last year – despite Southwark’s ambitions to construct 11,000 new council homes by 2043. But data shows most boroughs are in the same situation, with the latest stats revealing 23 out of 33 boroughs started zero new homes in the first quarter of 2025.

The council has blamed the construction slowdown on high inflation, interest rates and the need to focus investment on its existing housing stock in need of repair.

Despite the lack of social homes started last year, Cllr Helen Dennis, Southwark’s cabinet member for new homes, said the council delivered 11 per cent of London’s social rent properties – more than any other borough in the city.

At the same time, the number of empty homes in the borough has soared, with the latest estimates indicating roughly 1,600 houses are currently lying vacant; the second-largest number of any local authority in the UK.

WHAT IS A HOUSING ALLOCATION SCHEME?

The housing allocation scheme sets out how the council allocates its council homes. By law, every local authority has to have a housing allocation policy, but different councils have their own priorities and procedures when it comes to deciding who gets preference for a new home.

HOW DOES THE SYSTEM WORK AT THE MOMENT?

When you join the housing register in Southwark, the council will place you in a band depending on how urgently you need rehousing, with Band 1 being the most urgent.

WHAT ARE THE PROPOSED CHANGES FOR THOSE WAITING FOR A COUNCIL HOME IN SOUTHWARK?

Then every week vacant homes appear on Southwark Homesearch and families can bid for them. An offer is made to the applicant with the greatest priority, such as those who are overcrowded or have a medical need.

Within housing bands some people get extra priority – such as those who have improved their housing priority by volunteering in the community, or being on time with their rent.

This has been the system since 2005. Before then, the council gave out houses to families based on how long they had been on the waiting list, with extra points given to those in urgent need.

WHAT HAS GONE WRONG IN

SOUTHWARK?

The new system was supposed to ensure that families most in need of a new home were prioritised – but since

its introduction, the level of demand for council homes has soared, meaning severely overcrowded families are often left languishing on the waiting list for years.

The average wait time for a property ranges from around five years for a two bedroom, to seven years for homes with more than five bedrooms.

Many people with close knowledge of the system admit it is no longer fit for

purpose, and believe major reform is necessary.

“The whole thing is a shambles,” Rachel Bentley, Liberal Democrat councillor for Bermondsey and North Southwark, told the us.

“It always feels like it’s really quite slow and bureaucratic.”

For instance, there are rules preventing a family from bidding on a home which would make them legally overcrowded, even if this would be an improvement to their situation.

“You might be in a two bed and a three bed would make you less overcrowded –but you’re not allowed to move,” she said.

Meanwhile, families have to bid on homes each week despite the small chance of being made a housing offer. If they don’t, they risk being removed from the waiting list.

“The bidding system as a whole is just a

really unproductive use of people’s time. Invariably there aren’t enough properties, but if people don’t bid they can get struck off the housing register” said Cllr Bentley. Last year the News exclusively revealed the council had introduced a direct lets policy allowing it to assign homes to families without placing them on the bidding website.

The result was hundreds of people were logging onto Southwark Homesearch each week – only to find there were no properties to bid on.

The council agreed to suspend the policy after three families threatened legal action and said it was in the process of reviewing the entire housing allocations policy.

A report published in December by the social housing watchdog condemned the council for ”serious failings’ and said the policy “prevented prospective tenants from bidding on some available homes.”

Newly finished council homes on Ivy Church Lane behind the Old Kent Road

Council homes on the Slippers estate in Bermondsey, South London being completed in 2024.

CREDIT: Southwark Council

Cllr Rachel Bentley

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE THIS IN LONDON’S UNDERGROUND STATIONS?

Floor-to-ceiling adverts on the Elizabeth Line and

‘an immersive

experience’ round the travelator at Waterloo

could be coming

By Noah Vickers

Local Democracy Reporter

A PROJECT will see more than 1,000 digital screens installed across the Underground network, “designed to immerse, inspire and move Londoners like never before.”

So says Transport for London’s advertising partner Global – which has just signed a new eight-year contract with the authority.

As well as the new standard-sized screens however, Global has said it also wants to deliver “world-first immersive formats”, including wraparound digital screens covering the walls and ceiling of the Elizabeth line’s underground walkways.

It also wants to transform the 160-metrelong travelator at Waterloo Tube station into a “multi-sensory experience... combining sound, 3D visuals, scent and motion.”

But the plans have sparked concerns at City Hall that commuters will be “bombarded with ads”.

It comes after the Elizabeth line was last year awarded the Stirling Prize for Architecture. Caroline Russell, a Green member of the London Assembly, said she feared more advertising could spoil the stations’ “beautiful, calming” design.

“Transport for London’s increasing reliance on wraparound advertising with sensory-heavy video screens raises serious concerns for neurodiverse Londoners,” she said.

“The Elizabeth Line stations are designed to be beautiful, calming environments through which many thousands of people pass every hour. It’s disappointing to see public transport, a space that should prioritise inclusion, being used to incentivise consumerism at the expense of wellbeing and accessibility.

“While advertising generates revenue

that’s reinvested back into the transport system, TfL is a public service – it shouldn’t be so underfunded that Londoners are bombarded with ads just to keep the network afloat. I’ve already asked TfL for the Equality Impact Assessment to check they’ve accounted for the needs of neurodiverse passengers.”

Responding, a TfL spokesman said:

“These digital wraps are still in early development and will be subject to testing and assessment before they can be introduced to the network.

“A full Equality Impact Assessment will also be carried out to ensure that the needs of all customers are fully considered.”

In addition to its plans for the Elizabeth line, Global has said it also wants to transform the 160-metre-long travelator at Waterloo Tube station into a “multi-sensory experience featuring eight massive, digital screens, combining sound, 3D visuals, scent and motion – a large format canvas that will

surprise and delight every passenger”.

They added that their plans were “underpinned by sustainability – from solar-powered screen assembly to carbonneutral materials and modular screens that can be repaired easily”.

Chris Forrester, Global’s managing director of commercial outdoor, said:

“Since the launch of the world’s very first underground railway in 1863, Londoners have always looked to the Tube to tell them what’s going on, what’s new, and where they need to be.

“The corridors and carriages of the London Underground aren’t just ad space – they’re a part of the very fabric of London life and a creative canvas for advertisers.

Global’s vision is to transform the everyday commute into an extraordinary experience that immerses, informs and inspires.?”

Russell,

By-election sees Labour lose its seat to the Greens

By Ruby Gregory Local Democracy Reporter

Lambeth Council in 1990.

Mr Dickson announced he was stepping down from his role as councillor eight months after being elected as the Labour MP for Dartford in the July 2024 General Election.

Announcing his departure in March,

Mr Dickson said: “It has been an honour to serve the community and the borough for 35 years, and I firmly believe that it is a better place than I found it in 1990, as a result of the work of Lambeth Labour.

“I am proud of many things we achieved which have made a great difference in

people’s lives, including bringing in buffer zones for abortion clinics, increasing access to healthcare for our Trans friends and launching the UK’s first LGBT+ retirement housing.”

He added: “The improvements we have seen – which still have further to go –are down to an active and committed local community working closely with a supportive and engaged Lambeth Labour Council, and I know this will continue. I wish whoever is elected in my place every success in serving this wonderful neighbourhood.”

Cllr Valentine will share Herne Hill and Loughborough Junction ward with two existing Labour councillors, Deepak Sardiwal and Pauline George.

Lambeth Council has a Labour majority with 57 councillors. The total number of Green councillors has now increased to three, while there are also three Lib Dem councillors.

The Herne Hill Halloween celebration will take place in Station Square and Station hall above the train station

Caroline

Green Party London Assembly member

Greater London Authority

Did you know?

If you don’t pay for your prescriptions, you can get SOME medicines free from your local pharmacy without needing to visit your GP

Southwark Pharmacy First Plus covers advice and treatment for the conditions below: What treatments are available on the scheme?

• Allergies

• Athlete’s foot

• Blocked/ runny nose

• Cold and flu

• Cold sores

• Conjunctivitis

• Constipation

• Coughs and colds

• Diarrhoea

• Dry/sore eyes

• Earwax

• Fever

• Hay fever

• Headache

• Head lice

• Indigestion

• Insect bites and stings

• Itching due to chickenpox

• Minor burns and scalds

• Mouth ulcers

• Nappy rash

• Piles

• Sore throat

• Sprains and strains

• Teething

• Threadworm

• Vaginal thrush

Most pharmacies in Southwark offer the Pharmacy First Plus scheme. Look out for posters in the pharmacy, ask your GP’s reception staff or look on:

www.selondonics.org/in-your-area/southwark/ southwark-pharmacy-first-plus-scheme/

KENNINGTON’S DEATH CAFES

The events where people come together to talk about death and ‘make the most of our finite lives’

By Louisa Woolf

LAST MONTH, I spent a Monday evening talking about death and dying with a group of eight strangers, over a cup of tea in Kennington.

I visited my first Death Cafe, hosted in a cosy room at the back of the Jamyang Buddhist Centre, tucked off Kennington Lane.

It may sound like a bit of a morbid way to wind down after work, but the atmosphere at the Death Cafe was warm, and surprisingly cheerful. Their objective is to increase awareness of death and, in the process, help people make the most of life.

The session began with an introduction from our facilitator, Venerable Barbara Shannon, a Buddhist monk who had spent many years working as an NHS palliative care nurse, who invited us to go round in a circle and tell each other about why we had come to the Death Cafe.

This was enough to get us talking for the next hour and a half - I was taken aback by everyone’s openness and ease speaking on painful and personal experiences.

The conversation flowed easily, from our views on the Assisted Dying Bill, to the burden of caring for loved ones, to our wishes for our own deaths, to who is going to pay for our funerals.

It was wonderfully freeing to be so open with a group of strangers, exploring feelings and thoughts I had never spoken out loud before.

The first UK Death Cafe was founded by Jon Underwood, at his home in Hackney in 2011. Also a practising Buddhist, and the centre manager at Jamyang at the time, Jon believed that speaking about death would enable people to live better lives.

Inspired by the ‘Cafe Mortel’ movement, founded by Swiss sociologist Bernard Crettaz, Jon decided to bring Death Cafes to London.

His mother, Susan Barsky Reid,

Vauxhall, Blackfriars Settlement and a queer Death Cafe at Queercircle arts space in Greenwich.

Throughout the 90 minutes we shared at Jamyang, some of the attendees revealed that they were grieving a loved one, had received a terminal diagnosis, or were caring for an elderly relative.

But Death Cafes are different from bereavement support or grief counselling. And they do not work for people who, for whatever reason, do not feel able to discuss death comfortably and openly.

During the session I learnt that to really benefit, you must bring a sense of curiosity, openness and willingness to talk about death, a topic we often avoid, but is impossible to escape.

Death Cafes simply provide a place to talk about a subject which will inevitably affect us all in myriad ways, but is so taboo it almost feels transgressive.

And there is something particularly freeing about approaching these difficult topics amongst strangers whom you are unlikely to meet again.

Susan described the “wonderful conversations which create such a closeness” with fellow Death Cafe attendees as “quite magical.”

When I asked Susan who Death Cafes are for, her answer was disarmingly simple: anybody who is going to die.

“That’s the thing we’ve all got in common,” she said. “We are all going to die, and let’s talk about it now.”

facilitated the first Death Cafes alongside him, bringing her background as a psychotherapist to help develop the model.

“I think he thought that people would live better lives if they realised that their lives were finite, and there would be less bad things happening in the world,” Susan told me when I contacted her to find out more about how the movement began.

“He thought people escaped, that people distracted themselves from the thought that they were going to die.

“And that if they actually thought that they were going to die and knew that, then they would live a better life. I think that was his idea.”

After watching him build the Death Cafe movement for six years, Jon’s family lost him suddenly and unexpectedly to a brain hemorrhage.

His wife, Donna Molley, described experiencing “the finiteness of life at its most brutal” with “shocking poignancy” when he died in 2017.

Jon collapsed after taking his two children swimming, and never regained consciousness. He was just

Since then, Susan, and Jon’s sister Jools Barsky, have continued his work.

Susan described the movement’s growing success as ‘quite stunning’.

The events have spread far beyond London, with over 20,000 Death Cafe sessions hosted across the world, in 93 different countries.

While this Death Cafe was held in the Buddhist centre, they are secular events.

There are multiple spaces holding Death Cafes across South London, including the Bonnington Centre in

Death Cafes are facilitated according to Jon and Susan’s four founding principles. Firstly, there must be no intention of leading participants to any conclusion, product or course of action.

They must be open, respectful and confidential. They must not be for profit. And finally, there must be tea and cake.

With the ongoing debate surrounding the Assisted Dying Bill, conversations about our ideas around death are perhaps more important than ever.

Last month, Manx parliament agreed to pass a law to give terminally ill adults the right to end their own lives, meaning the Isle of Man will be the first part of the UK to allow assisted dying.

Our ideas, and potentially our policies, about how we view death and dying are evolving, and the Death Cafe provides a warm and safe space to discuss these ideas freely.

For Susan, the Death Cafes exist to help people live better.

She said: “If people can realise that their time is limited, they can make the most of, well, their life. It’s simple, isn’t it?

“If you’re aware that the end is coming at some point, then you can seize the day and not put things off.”

And it’s true, I left the Jamyang Centre that evening feeling comforted, connected and grateful.

Perhaps when we confront death head on, we are able to feel a little bit more alive.

The next Death Cafe at the Jamyang Centre in Kennington will be held on May 26th from 6:45pm until 8pm. They are held every other month.

44.

Susan Barsky Reid, with her son Jon, the founder of the UK’s Death Cafe movement

Jamyang Buddhist Centre

© Susan Barsky Reid

MORTLAKE NEIGHBOURHOOD GETS APPROVAL DESPITE 1,000 OBJECTIONS

By Charlotte Lillywhite Local Democracy Reporter

A NEW 1,075-home neighbourhood with a school, shops and offices will be built on the banks of the River Thames in South West London, despite more than 1,000 objections.

Planning inspector Glen Rollings has approved developer Reselton Properties’ £1.3billion scheme for the former Stag Brewery site in Mortlake, after a 10-year battle culminating in a public inquiry at the end of last year.

In a long-awaited report published on Friday (May 2), Mr Rollings approved both applications making up the scheme – one for the new homes, and the other for the school. He made the decision after hearing evidence from Reselton and Richmond Council in support of the scheme at the inquiry in November and December last year, along with objections from the Greater London Authority (GLA), Mortlake Brewery Community Group (MBCG) and West London River Group (WLRG).

Only 65 out of the 1,075 homes planned for the 22-acre site – the biggest development opportunity in Richmond – are set to be affordable. The homes will be built in blocks up to nine storeys tall, along with restaurants, shops, offices, a cinema, space for a hotel and a 1,200-place secondary school with a sixth form.

The future of the site had been hanging in the balance ever since Reselton bought the former 528-yearold brewery in 2015. Original plans for the site with 813 homes were approved by the council but called in by Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, over a lack of affordable housing, in 2020. The developer then increased the scheme to 1,250 homes, with up to 30 per

cent affordable housing, but this was thrown out by the Mayor in 2021 due to concerns over its height and scale.

Reselton submitted revised plans to build 1,075 homes on the site in 2022, with 1,095 objections ultimately received across both applications on the council’s website. MBCG slammed the scheme for failing to include enough affordable homes, while raising key concerns about its density, height, impact on traffic, loss of existing open space and the need for a new secondary school.

The council approved both applications in January 2024, but it could not issue final decisions without approval from the GLA. Reselton appealed to the Planning Inspectorate over the council’s non-determination of the applications the following month, after the GLA indicated its opposition to the scheme.

A letter sent on behalf of the developer claimed the GLA had suggested the ‘level of affordable housing was too low, that there would be many months of further delay and the outcome would most likely be [a] direct refusal’.

Francine Bates, Co-Chair of MBCG, previously told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) the inquiry was the ‘last opportunity to reset the clock, reject these plans and sit down with the council and the developers to plan a scheme that will truly benefit the community’.

She said: “We have been campaigning for a sustainable and community-led development for the brewery site in Mortlake for many years. Our pleas for a visionary scheme restoring the heart of the historic neighbourhood of Mortlake have fallen on deaf ears.”

Mr Rollings ruled in his report that although he had some concerns about the affordable housing proposals, the

scheme would provide the maximum amount possible for the site and have a positive impact on local supply. He said that while some of the proposed buildings were taller than policy directed, the design of the development would benefit the area overall.

The inspector also concluded the scheme ‘would not have a significantly harmful effect on transport’ due to measures proposed by the developer to ease its impact. He said all parties made valid arguments for and against the need for a new school, but favoured the council’s position that the school would be needed to add to the borough’s supply of secondary school places.

The report said: “The provision of an extended community that adds

to the existing character of Mortlake and provides a focus for the area with new streets, spaces and improved access to the riverside, designed and built to a generally high standard, is a substantial benefit.”

It added: “The proposal would deliver housing to the area, including affordable housing, which when considered in the context of the local need, would provide public benefits. There would be substantial design and educational benefits and the development would also secure the optimum viable use of the site, together with other benefits of lesser importance… considered in totality, the public benefits are significant, measurable, and deliverable.”

Dartmouth Capital Advisors led the

scheme on behalf of Reselton, which is a subsidiary of Singapore-listed City Developments Limited (CDL). Welcoming the inspector’s decision, Guy Duckworth, Development Director of Dartmouth Capital Advisors, said the scheme will ‘bring a new heart to Mortlake’. He said: “Our client bought the site with the benefit of a planning brief from Richmond Council, the spirit of which our architects Squire & Partners have followed faithfully, and yet it has taken 10 years to obtain a planning consent.”

Mr Duckworth added the development will open up the site to the public for the first time in centuries, create a new park on Lower Richmond Road and improve local pedestrian and cyclist routes.

CGI of the revised scheme for the former Stag Brewery site in Mortlake. Credit: Reselton Properties Limited/Squire and Partners, provided in Richmond Council planning documents

MAJOR CATFORD DEVELOPMENT GETS GO AHEAD

By Newsdesk

THOMAS’ LANE Yard, a significant affordable homes and mixeduse regeneration scheme, hnow been unanimously approved by Lewisham Council’s Planning Committee on Tuesday 29 April 2025.

This exciting development will transform a ‘backland’ site north of Catford Broadway into a vibrant place for the community to live, work and visit. With over a hundred new affordable homes, green public spaces, commercial and affordable workspace – it will bring a new energy to the heart of Catford.

The two housing blocks will be arranged around a communal public and green space which connects to the new pub garden that is being built as part of refurbishment works at the former Catford Constitutional Club site. This will make the area more accessible, welcoming and lively and suitable for a range of community and commercial uses. The development will deliver:

113 affordable homes over two separate blocks(eight and twelve storeys), providing 39 new social rented homes and 74 shared ownership flats. There will be a range of sizes, with over a third of the social homes being family dwellings accessible homes - 10% of the homes provided will meet the M4(3) standard wheelchair user dwelling - the remainder will meet the M4(2) adaptable dwelling standard in accordance with the London Plan over 1,000sqm of new commercial and office space including 20% affordable workspace (rented below market levels). As required by the GLA Good Growth Grant - the space will be designed to achieve BREEAM Excellent certification. The commercial space

will be located on the ground floor of both buildings and workspace on the first floor to help to boost the vibrancy and safety of the public space over 3,000sqm of enhanced public realm making it greener, cleaner and more accessible whilst also addressing community concerns regarding local anti-social behaviour a car-free development (with the exception of Blue Badge holders) to align with the Council’s aspirations to encourage walking, cycling and sustainable travel in the borough In addition, this sustainable development will retain the majority of the existing mature trees on the site as well as planting new trees. To align with the energy and wider sustainability strategy for this site, there will be green roofs, solar panels and air source heat pumps.

The next stage will be procuring the contractor this year, with construction expected to begin in 2026.

This transformative project is part of the first phase of the Catford Town Centre Framework (along with the renovation of the former Catford Constitutional Club (CCC)), which was adopted by the Council in 2021.

Informed by over 3,000 comments from local residents and businesses, it outlines the ambition to become the greenest town centre in London, while delivering essential new homes, additional shops, improved public spaces, and enhanced walking and cycling infrastructure.

The restoration of the former Catford Constitutional Club is nearly complete.

The space is set to reopen later this year, featuring a community kitchen, pub, and areas for music and arts. Designed as an inclusive and welcoming hub for residents, the revitalised space will offer employment opportunities, business support, community training programmes and a lively calendar of events bringing people together. We are looking forward

Croydon housing is off the naughty list

By Harrison Galliven Local Democracy Reporter

THE SOCIAL housing regulator has lifted its regulatory notice on Croydon Council four years after it was marred in scandal over the state of its housing stock.

The decision follows evidence of improvements in housing standards, repairs, maintenance, resident engagement, and customer service made by the council.

Croydon Mayor Jason Perry (pictured) called the news a ‘crucial moment’ for Croydon’s ongoing housing improvement, adding: “We are creating a borough that listens to residents and invests in safer, better-quality homes.”

The council self-referred to the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) in 2021 after widespread concerns about conditions at the Regina Road estate (pictured) in South Norwood. An ITV report exposed the extent of the poor conditions, revealing damp floors, mouldcovered walls, and extensive disrepair.

Following its referral, the regulator issued a notice citing serious failures

Thomas Lane Yard with former CCC site in white

to sharing details soon about the fantastic new operator and what else is planned for this much loved and historic venue.

Councillor James-J Walsh, Lewisham Council’s Cabinet Member for Inclusive Regeneration and Planning said:

“This scheme is about delivering on what Catford residents have asked for. People have told us they want real regeneration - regeneration that brings genuinely affordable homes, supports a thriving high street, creates local jobs, improves public spaces, and makes the town centre work for everyone - day and night.

“Importantly, this development will deliver 113 affordable new homes, including the family-sized homes our community so urgently needs. It will turn an underused car park into a green, welcoming, and pedestrian-friendly place that connects people, supports livelihoods - unlocking the Catford our community deserves.”

in leadership, communication, and performance management under the then Labour-led council.

Since then, the council has worked with an independent Housing Improvement Board, which includes both residents and housing professionals, to address the concerns raised. In the current financial year, Croydon has allocated over £30 million to upgrade council homes across the borough. Works include new kitchens, bathrooms, lifts, windows, and boilers.

A wider £166 million regeneration project is under way at Regina Road.

Demolition work has started, and a planning application for redevelopment is expected this summer, aiming to deliver new homes and community facilities.

In 2023, the council also ended its contract with the previous repair provider, Axis, following complaints.

The original contract, awarded in 2014, included planned extensions but was brought to an early end in 2022, two years ahead of schedule.

Croydon Council subsequently replaced Axis with three new contractors: K&T

Heating, Mears, and Wates. The council has also introduced changes to its housing

repairs service, including a new in-house contact centre and stock condition surveys for the majority of council homes. New digital tools and additional staff training in areas such as fire safety and damp and mould have also been introduced.

Resident input has been part of the reform process, the council says, and feedback has been used to guide service delivery and priorities. The Housing Improvement Board, established in 2021, continues to monitor progress and advise

on changes.

Croydon Council has said that while the regulatory notice has been lifted, further work is required to maintain and build on recent improvements. Ongoing efforts are part of its wider Future Croydon 2024–29 transformation programme.

The move also forms part of the council’s ongoing housing improvement programme, which forms a key part of the Mayor’s Business Plan 2022–26.

Martin Wheatley, Chair of the Housing Improvement Board, said: “The regulator’s

decision to end the formal intervention is a well-deserved recognition of the hard work from all involved. We look forward to continued progress, ensuring Croydon becomes an even better landlord.”

Susmita Sen, Director of Housing at Croydon Council, said: “Lifting the regulatory notice marks an important step in our ongoing efforts to improve housing services. Whilst we’ve made improvements, there is still work to be done to meet residents’ expectations and continue enhancing service quality.”.

 Thomas Lane Yard view 2 of the central yard

what’s on

A Trip on this Piccadilly Line is a Must

‘COCKFOSTERS’ BY Tom Woffenden and Hamish Clayton has already attracted great reviews from earlier runs, so I was intrigued to get on board with James and Tori as they journey fhe 24 stops from Heathrow to Cockfosters at the other end of the line, writes Michael Holland

The commuter-related laughs begin when you are given a mock-up of a well-known giveaway paper - Retrowhich doubles as the programme. In the auditorium, people in hi-vis shout through megaphones about minding the doors and the train leaving at 7pm.

A simple but very effective set of a tube carriage frames the action, which is a blend of very good visual gags, song, dance and dialogue, starting with a passenger boarding and immediately taking off his sweaty, stinking socks to give them an airing.

Tori(Beth Lilly) and Jame(James Rees-Baylis) are strangers caught up in this mélange of commuters, tourists, beggars, buskers, hen parties

and the usual boring drunks.

In between stops the pair get to know each other. Tori has ‘trains in her veins’ so we get a potted history of the Underground that takes in why it went underground, Harry Beck, the designer of the iconic tube map, and other factoids to punctuate the gags and make this journey one of information and hilarity.

Ruby Tuby embarks and gives a song made up from every station name; American tourists can’t understand why they are advised to get a train ‘heading south on the Northern Line’; the ads for vitamins get a going over as do the Poems on the Underground series, with a Shakespeare appearing to give us a few lines of a sonnet.

Tori tells of a ‘yoga and jäger’ holiday, while poor James is constantly moaning and mourning his freshly ended relationship and his freshly cancelled stag do and wedding. We wonder if their chemicals are reacting and attracting...

At one point there is a Tube Quiz for

the audience to participate in(There is actually a station that contains all the vowels!), and a rap battle between North, South East and West London that was great for eliciting boos and cheers from various sections in the crowd.

Cockfosters delights us with every kind of tube train event that annoys: the homeless person looking for enough small change to get a bed that night or something hot to eat; the passenger who plays loud music, the others who want to strike up a conversation; the cougher and the sneezer.

A gang of Gooners get on and sing their anti-Tottenham song, much to

This will go down as a cult classic

my Spurs-loving annoyance, but there is a comeuppance that appeases me.

The jokes come fast and don’t always reach their destination, but with so many you know a good one will be along soon.

Of course, it is James and Tori who take most of the limelight but my hat gets thrown in the air for Jimmy Bryant, Liam Horrigan, Natasha Vasandani and Emily Waters for their multi-tasking and multi-skilling as everybody else who gets on board this train.

The play ends after a magical 70 minute journey and Tori and James have reached the end of the line. I wanted a return ticket.

man for the job because nobody else could have known what he wanted from this script that mixes magic with the mundane minutiae of life.

Lydia(Hannah Morrish), a sister-inlaw is helping out; a sad-faced woman mourning the death of her marriage to Dermot (Chris O’Dowd) who turns up, not thinking his estranged wife would be there, with Freya(Aisling Kearns) - a girlfriend half his age.

Throw in the sex-starved ex-priest’s carer Elizabeth(Derbhle Crotty) who has history with Stephen, and local man Brendan (Eimhin Fitzgerald Doherty) who has had previous fumblings in the ‘covert’ with Billie, and is currently getting closer to Freya, (Dermot’s Girlfriend) then all you need at this crazy old farmhose is a flock of chickens on the loose. Hold the front page... The chickens are on the loose.

Cockfosters is very clever. It is very real. It is a paean to our Underground system and I did not want the journey to end. But when this one did it ended with a great cheer. Bravo! Best play I’ve seen for ages. It could be another Operation Mincemeat and go from Southwark Playhouse to storming Broadway.

Southwark Playhouse, Borough (The Little), 77-85 Newington Causeway, London, SE1 6BD until 17th May. Standard tickets are £27

Booking and Full Details: www.southwarkplayhouse.co.uk

writes Michael Holland.

Conor McPherson directs his own play, The Brightening Air, about myth, religion and - what I see as - a normal dysfunctioning family. He is the best

McPherson deftly directs these multiple stories into something quite mesmerising. At the same time drawing out excellent characterisations by an accomplished cast, and even though there were perhaps too many people involved, there was nobody I would want to take out of this fantastical equation.

Of course, for all the backstories to emerge via private conversation, there

is a lot of getting people on and off the stage to allow that to happen., and there are only so many doors to use without this becoming a farce. But exit and enter they do, allowing us to discover: Lydia wants to give Stephen £500 to fetch magic water from the magic well that will make Dermot love her again; Brendan loves Billie (unrequited); Dermot has an ulterior motive of moving Stephen and Billie out so the family house can be sold, and the old priest wants to move back in... Obviously, nobody is actually happy in this mess, and, yes, there are other dastardly deeds going on and it becomes a little confusing when a miracle occurs, but there are some great comic lines considering they are such a miserable bunch, several poignant moments of sadness as most of them get an emotional breakdown monologue to get us back on their side, and The Brightening Air will become a cult classic because we left there helping each other over the various hurdles of confusion, while at the same time knowing we had seen a very special piece of work.

Old Vic, The Cut, SE1 until June 14th.

Admission: £13 - £77.

Booking and full details: www.oldvictheatre.com

SIBLINGS STEPHEN (Brian Gleeson) and Billie (Rosie Sheehy) continually bicker as they prepare a feast for the visit of their blind uncle Pierre (Seán McGinley),

a former priest coming back to the rundown rural cottage that he grew up in. This sets up the bickering between everyone who populates this ensemble piece,

Old Vic Brightening The Company in The Brightening Air at The Old Vic (2025)

Photo by Manuel Harlan

Heading south - our pick of upcoming spring events

Greenwich Dog Show:

The Greenwich Dog Show will be returning to the Old Royal Naval College with an expanded competition, more prizes and an exciting marketplace. There are 10 competition categories, including Best Bridgerton Lookalike, Glorious Golden Oldie and Best Unique Feature! Celebrity judge Jodie McCallum will be returning to help crown the cutest, scruﬃ est, speediest, and sillests of the pups. There will be gourmet pet bakeries, canine fertility clinics and specialist retailers. All dogs, big or small will be welcome to enjoy the fun.

Sunday 25th May, 10am- late. Old Royal Naval College, London SE10 9NN

Tickets: Free to attend (book online), £10 to enter the competition

Caribbean Takeover in Greenwich

Celebrate black history and culture in Britain at this free event at the Royal Museums Greenwich. There will be a series of free talks, such as ‘Historic Black Greewnich: What We Know and What We Don’t’, ‘Archeology: Healing and Care in the Caribbean’ and ‘Growing Up Under the Inﬂ uence: A Sonic Genealogy of Grime’. If you are attending as a family, there is storytelling with Diana Olutunmogu and numerous games and workshops throughout the day. For food, there will be numerous Caribbean food stalls on the lawn, such as Cummin’ Up, Caribbean Hut, Port Royal and the Global Vegan Bakery.

Date: Sunday 18th May, 11am-4:30pm

Location: Royal Museums Greenwich, Romney Rd, London SE10 9NF

Tickets: Free, no ticket required

Deptford Dub Club

A cheap evening out at Fox and Firkin this May as if you are a fan of Reggae, Roots and Ska music. The Deptford Dub Club features a range of talent headlined by Tessa Politt. The Slights will make an appearance, as will Ras Danny Dread, Dirt Bike Dub, Soft Wax and more. Music will be heard from the garden so you can enjoy the summer evening.

Date: Sunday 18th May

Location: The Fox and Firkin, 316 Lewisham High St, London, SE13 6JZ United Kingdom

Tickets: £3.30

As part of their ‘Festival of Belonging’, Deptford Lounge are welcoming all ages to a creative workshop to celebrate their exhibition on the theme of belonging. This is part of Creative and Wellbeing Week. Participants will create a large yarn drawing collaboratively and each

person will contribute to a larger shared image.

Date: Tuesday 20th May, 3pm-6pm

Location: Deptford Longe, 9 Giﬃ n St, Deptford SE8 4RJ

Tickets: Free, no ticket required

Midsummer Music at Garrison Church

Blackheath Halls Orchestra will be at the open-air St. George’s Garrison Church in Woolwich for a summer’s evening on orchestral classics. They will perform classics including Gershwin’s Summertime, Rachmaninov’s Vocalise, Faure’s Pavane and Copland’s Old American Songs with guest soloist Dan Shelvey Guests can bring a picnic and make the most of the evening sun. There will also be a bar at the church.

Date: Saturday 24th May, 6pm

Location: St. George’s Garrison Church, SE18 6BW

Tickets: £12 (£5 for under 12s)

Free Creative Workshop at Deptford Lounge

History

By Debra Gosling

DID ANYONE do anything to mark May Day last week ? It is the traditional recognition of spring and a day that for centuries was celebrated with relish by the people of Bermondsey parish.

On May Day 1601 they even played host to Queen Elizabeth l as she passed through on her way to Greenwich. The bell ringers at St Mary Magdalen church rang out a merry peal in her honour and the parishioners cheered and clapped as she rode in all her finery along Bermondsey Street.

In fact, Bermondsey and Southwark had plenty of ridings and pageants for the gentry but May Day was the ordinary people’s chance to have a laugh and a bit of a do. For hundreds of years the Bermondsey maypole was the focus of the spring celebrations - that was until 1617 when puritan clergyman Edward Elton arrived in the parish intent on making everyone as miserable as he was.

The origins of May Day and the maypole are said to have begun with the tree worship of the Pagans. It also has connections with the Roman feast of Florialia (meaning to blossom). Traditionally, witches of the Middle Ages came together four times a year and one of these times was on the first of May, known as Beltane. To the Pagan culture Beltane is the time of milk and honey, of blossoming and blooming, of desire and satisfaction. The cow and the bee are significant symbols of spring, as cattle have the ability to produce copious amounts of milk and bees to produce honey, a magical ingredient.

In fact, it is the only pre-Christian festival that was not adapted by the church for its own purposes. Mayday stands midway between the long cold nights of winter and the days of plenty at summer’s end, so its key symbol is fresh spring growth.

The maypole stood on Horselydown near an artillery ground between what is roughly now old St John’s church and the railway. Back in 1617 Bermondsey Street was the only thoroughfare in the area, surrounded by meadows and fields. The quiet and stillness was only broken by the lowing of cattle and the baas of sheep.

St Mary Magdalen and Bermondsey House were the only main buildings ,surrounded by lilac trees and clear streams. Happily there were a few pubs in this rural idyll; at the other end of the street was the Black Swan Inn and further on in Crucifix Lane was the St Christopher Inn. No doubt popular places for the tanners and farriers at the end of a long day. Between the fields and market gardens were almshouses dotted here and there.

Locals mainly worked as servants or gardeners, either in the fields or up at Bermondsey Manor, converted after the abbey had been destroyed. There were also jobs to be had in the various knight’s mansions along the river. Others of a less feudal nature worked down by the Thames as watermen and fishermen.

There weren’t many recognised holidays in those times but May Day was one of them. People looked forward to their jig around the maypole. Bermondsey had a permanent one traditionally made out of birch, the stuff of witch’s brooms. The night before May Day the women in the area would decorate it with flowers, hawthorn and herbs before rising early to wash their faces in the may dew, said to keep the complexion beautiful.

The focus of the day was on dancing,

When puritans cut down the ‘unlawful, and superstitious’ Bermondsey Maypole

drinking, pageantry and more drinking.

A special feast was put on and tables were laden with bread, cake, cheese, ale and cider. A local Bermondsey Belle was chosen to be the May Queen and she was dressed up in garlands of flowers and greenery. There would be a procession traditionally led by a piper and everyone would don costumes as jesters, damsels, princes or animals. One would come on a hobbyhorse and someone would dress the fool and hit the crowds over the head with an animal’s bladder (they didn’t have balloons then). Sometimes an archery contest was put on and prospective archers and their girlfriends would dress up as Robin Hood and Maid Marian. Hawthorn flowers were gathered from the meadows to decorate homes; trees, cattle and donkeys were adorned with garlands of flowers and greenery. It was a typical bank holiday, complete with a fair and stalls selling trinkets. And wherever you find a village fete you’ll always find the inevitable Morris Dancers. After

they’d done their fertility dance they’d whip off their bells and head straight for the nearest cider barrel. Hours later they were to be found slumped in a corner with their flowery hats over their bleary eyes, bells all a-tinkle. Besides the apple bobbing and sports the main feature of the day was the dance around the maypole. Both men and women sported garlands of blossoms in their hair. What a great day; a community expression of hope and joy for the coming summer.

But the Puritans frowned upon the mirth and merriness of May Day; for them it was far too Pagan a practice (and for this reason never really caught on in the States). To them the Morris Men were a rowdy bunch of drunks that encouraged bad behaviour, debauchery and drunkenness. As far as they were concerned, Bermondsey shouldn’t be enjoying themselves; they should be sitting quietly reading their bibles and be grateful!

Distinguished knight of Camberwell, Sir Edmund Bowyer was strolling in his orchard taking the air when the dynamic duo of Elton and Eyres from St Mary Magdalen called upon him. He patiently listened as they complained of the rowdiness, lewd conduct and drunkenness that were occurring once a year in Horselydown. Finishing his rant Elton finally got down to the crux of the matter and asked Sir Edmund for his permission to cut down the Bermondsey maypole. But he, being a decent sort, declined to support them, stating that the pole did no harm and was just a welcome bit of fun for the community.

That was it - he was off Elton’s Christmas card list. Undeterred, the parish Puritans took their case higher and went to see the Lord Chief Justice of England who, after speaking to Sir Edmund, agreed that the pole was doing no harm and even ordered the new one to be erected. Old Elton wasn’t making any friends.

Once back in fair Bermondsey the enraged Elton decided he’d take the law into his own hands and formed an angry mob of likeminded killjoys. He went about the district inciting and enlisting any troublemakers and activists he found and together they plotted the maypole’s demise. For weeks Elton’s Sunday sermon was devoted to the evils of May Day, declaring its usage was unlawful, superstitious and idolatrous. He went on to use some most unholy language towards anyone that took pleasure in having a dance around the pole. In his eyes the Bermondsey folk regarded their maypole as an idol when all they really wanted to do was have a laugh and get sozzled.

Finally, in the dead of night Elton and his gang of unmerry men gathered around the new maypole and after having a good swear at it hacked it down with saws and ratchets. The pole was divided up into sections and the mob took it back to Elton’s rectory and threw it in his back yard. As daylight broke, locals were shocked to find that their pole had disappeared . Once news broke of who the culprit was Elton found he had his biggest congregation ever knocking on his door but he refused to even give them the broken pieces back.

Enter Edward Elton, the new Puritan vicar of St Mary Magdalen. As he strolled around his parish on the first of May he was disgusted by what he saw. Men and women singing and dancing around a Pagan idol, kids screaming and shouting with the excitement of it all,Morris men throwing up in the corner, not to mention the other corners being occupied for even less salubrious activities. What a bunch of sinners, this merry-making had to stop! Arriving back at the vestry Elton called upon his parish clerk, Richard Eyres and together they made their plans to scupper next year’s fun and frolics. Just to aggravate matters, Bermondsey boy John Beare and his mates had already decided they’d erect a nice shiny new maypole to replace the tatty one they’d just danced around. The pole had been stood there for time immemorial and was now broken and decayed. If they left it as it was someone would get brained next year! Five pounds secured them the new pole and they set about installing it.

Once again Sir Edmund had to deal with Bermondsey parish’s clergyman. Instead of repenting his sins Elton showed nothing but contempt for the Camberwell knight. He got off lightly for the criminal damage but not before he was ordered to pay back John Beare his five quid.

Edward Elton died in 1624 and was buried in the chancel of the church and as a legacy, his sermons were published in book form. But for the people of Bermondsey it would be a long while before they got their maypole back. Elton’s successor was one Jeremiah Whitaker, another Puritan who in turn was succeeded by his son William. Puritan mania had by then taken over England and by the mid-seventeenth century all maypoles had been burnt and the Morris men had disappeared. Happily, all the old customs were revived at the onset of the restoration when Charles ll, known as the Merry Monarch re-introduced maypoles along with gambling, brothels and theatres. William Whitaker was chucked out of St Mary Magdalen and once more Bermondsey skipped around the maypole in the green fields of Horselydown…hey nonny nonny!

Children dance around a traditional maypole in 2015

Morris dancers at Bermondsey Street Festival in 2016

St Mary Magdalene Church, Bermondsey

Transport for London Public Notice

ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984

THE A20 GLA ROAD (SIDCUP ROAD, ROYAL BOROUGH OF GREENWICH) (TEMPORARY PROHIBITION OF TRAFFIC AND STOPPING) ORDER 2025

1. Transport for London in consultation with the Royal Borough of Greenwich 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.

2. The purpose of the Order is to enable resurfacing works to take place at A20 Sidcup Road.

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

(1) entering or proceeding in a northerly direction on Sidcup Road between its junctions with Westhorne Avenue and Eltham Road;

(2) stopping on Sidcup Road between its junctions with Westhorne Avenue and Eltham Road.

(3) entering, exiting, proceeding or stopping on Abergeldie Road between its junctions with Sidcup Road and Scotsdale Road;

(4) entering, exiting, proceeding or stopping on the Un-named Service Road fronting Nos.393- 421 Westhorne Avenue between its junctions with Sidcup Road and Adjacent to No. 421 Westhorne Avenue.

The Order will be effective at certain times between 11th May 2025 and 10th November 2025 every night between 9.00 PM and 5.00 AM 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 prohibitions 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 prohibition is in force an alternative route will be indicated by trafc signs via Westhorne Avenue, Clifton’s Roundabout and Eltham Road to normal route of travel.

Dated this 9th day of May 2025

Matt Standell Performance and Planning Manager, Transport for London Palestra, 197 Blackfriars Road, London, SE1 8NJ

LONDON BOROUGH OF LAMBETH ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984 - SECTION 16A

Transport for London Public Notice

ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984

THE A297 GLA ROAD (ST HELIER AVENUE, LONDON BOROUGH OF MERTON) (TEMPORARY PROHIBITION OF TRAFFIC AND STOPPING) (NO.2) ORDER 2025

1. Transport for London having consulted the London Borough of Merton 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.

2. The purpose of the Order is to enable electrical vehicle charging point installation works to take place at A297 St Helier Avenue.

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

(1) entering, exiting, proceeding and stopping on the unnamed service road between its junctions with Boxley Road and Connaught Gardens;

(2) stopping at the northern kerb of Connaught Gardens adjacent to No.67 St Helier Avenue between the junctions of St Helier Avenue and Arbuthnot Road;

(3) entering, exiting and proceeding on Arbuthnot Road between its junctions with Connaught Gardens and the rear access to No.61 St Helier Avenue. Local access will be maintained.

The Order will be effective at certain times 7:00 AM on 12th May 2025 until 7:00 PM on 12th May 2026 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 prohibitions 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 prohibition is in force an alternative route will be indicated by trafc signs via (for the closure of the unnamed service road) utilise St Helier Avenue to normal route of travel; (for the closure Arbuthnot Road) access the northern end of Arbuthnot Road to normal route of travel.

Dated this 9th day of May 2025

Matt Standell

Performance and Planning Manager

Transport for London, Palestra, 197 Blackfriars Road, London, SE1 8NJ

TEMPORARY ROAD CLOSURES FOR SPECIAL EVENTS – BIG SHIFT CAR FREE DAYS

ABBEVILLE ROAD, ATLANTIC ROAD, FITZALAN STREET, HERCULES ROAD, PRESCOTT PLACE, SAINSBURY ROAD, TYERS STREET AND WILCOX ROAD

1. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that to enable local residents/communities to hold special events (Big Shift car free Days), the Council of the London Borough of Lambeth made an Order the effect of which will be to ban vehicles from entering: -

(a) Abbeville Road, between Bonneville Gardens and Hambalt Road on Saturday 17 May 2025 and Saturday 6 September 2025, between 8am and 8pm; (alternative routes would be available for affected vehicles via Hambalt Road, Elms Crescent, Trouville Road and Abbeville Road and vice versa); (b) Atlantic Road, (i) between Brixton Road and Coldharbour Lane; (ii) between Coldharbour Lane and Kellett Road on Saturdays 14 June, 12 July, 9 August, 13 September, 11 October, 8 November, and 13 December 2025, between 10am and 10pm; (alternative routes would be available for affected vehicles via Railton Road, Kellett Road (For Saltoun Road follow Rattray Road) Effra Road, St. Mathew`s Road, Brixton Hill, Coldharbour Lane (For Rushcroft Road);

(c) Fitzalan Street, between the north-western wall of No. 55 Fitzalan Street and the common boundary of Nos. 79-84 and 85-88 Fitzalan Street on Thursday 5 June 2025, between 6am and 6pm; (alternative routes would be available for affected vehicles via Lambeth Walk, Walnut Tree Walk and Kennington Road and vice versa);

(d) Hercules Road, between Cosser Street and the south-western wall of No. 23 Hercules Road on Thursday 15 May 2025, between 11am and 5pm, (an alternative route would be available for affected vehicles via Cosser Street, Kennington Road and Lambeth Road and vice versa);

(e) Prescott Place, between Clapham High Street and a point 4.5 metres north-west of the south-eastern wall of No. 14 Prescott Place, from 4pm on Friday 27 June 2025 to 10pm on Sunday 29 June 2025, (alternative routes would be available for affected vehicles via Clapham High Street, Clapham Manor Street and Cresset Street and vice versa);

(f) Sainsbury Road, between Gipsy Hill and north-eastern boundary wall of No.1 Sainsbury Road on Saturday 5 July 2025, between 8am and 8pm; (alternative routes would be available for affected vehicles via Bristow Road, Whiteley Road, Alexandra Drive, Mountbatten Close and Gipsy Hill and vice versa);

(g) Tyers Street, between Kennington Lane and Laud Street on Saturday 31 May 2025, between 8am to 10pm; (alternative routes would be available for affected vehicles via Kennington Lane, Vauxhall Street, Jonathan Street, Vauxhall Walk and Glasshouse Walk);

(h) Wilcox Road, between the eastern extremity of Wilcox Road and the common boundary of Nos. 18 and 20 Wilcox Road on Saturday 21 June 2025 and Saturday 23 August 2025, between 8am and 10pm; (alternative routes would be available for affected vehicles via Wilcox Road, Wandsworth Road, Thorncroft Street, Hartington Road and Wilcox Road and vice versa).

2. During the periods of road closure specified in paragraph 1 above, any parking places situated within the lengths of roads will be suspended.

3. The bans would only apply at such times and to such extent as shall be indicated by the placing of the appropriate traffic signs on the dates and times specified above.

4. The Order comes into force on 15 May 2025 and will continue until 13 December 2025.

Dated 9 May 2025 Ben Stevens Highway Network Manager

Notice of application for a Premises Licence.

Notice is hereby given that TREVISO GARDEN LTD has applied to Richmond Council for a new premises licence at TREVISO VINOTECA, 92 KEW ROAD, RICHMOND, TW9 2PQ for Supply of Alcohol - Monday to Saturday – 11.00 hrs to 00.00 (Midnight) hrs - Sunday – 12.00 hrs to 23.30 hrs Late Night Refreshment - Monday to Saturday – 23.00 hrs to 00.30 hrs – Sunday 23.00 hrs to 00.00 (Midnight) hrs

Any person who wishes to make a representation in relation to this application must give notice in writing by 3RD June 2025 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

Notice of application for a Premises Licence.

Notice is hereby given that Torthai (Balham) Ltd. has applied to Wandsworth Council for a new premises licence Torthai Restaurant located at 57 Bedford Hill, London, SW12 9EZ for the sale of alcohol for both on site consumption and takeaway, from 12pm to 11pm.

Any person who wishes to make a representation in relation to this application must give notice in writing by 04th June 2025 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

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.

Transport for London Public Notice

ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984

THE A232 GLA ROAD (CROYDON ROAD, LONDON BOROUGH OF SUTTON) (TEMPORARY PROHIBITION OF STOPPING) ORDER 2025

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 enable electric vehicle charging point installation works to take place on A232 Croydon Road.

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

(1) at the kerb stretching from the southern side of Croydon Road, outside No.4 Croydon Road to the eastern side of Plough Lane, outside No.17 The Broadway Plough Lane;

(2) in the Parking and Disabled Person’s vehicles bay opposite Nos.9-13 The Broadway Plough Lane.

The Order will be effective at certain times 7:00 AM on 19th May 2025 until 7:00 PM on 19th May 2026 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 prohibitions 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.

Dated this 9th day of May 2025

Matt Standell Planning and Performance Manager, Transport for London, Palestra, 197 Blackfriars Road, London, SE1 8NJ

Dated 9 May 2025

PLAY-OFF HEARTBREAK FOR FISH

By John Kelly

FISHER’S SEASON ended in lastminute heartbreak as they lost the SCEFL Premier Division playoff final 2-1 to VCD Athletic in Crayford on Bank Holiday Monday.

Lee Bird opened the scoring in the sixth minute before Flavio Jumo equalised in the 39th minute.

In front of an attendance of 720 at the hosts’ ground, Daniel Bradshawthe brother of former Millwall striker Tom - pounced on the rebound in the 89th minute after goalkeeper Isaac Ogunseri had saved Bird’s shot to send the Vickers into the Isthmian League South East Division.

“Gutted, gutted, gutted,” Fisher boss Ajay Ashanike told Kentish Football. “We’ve worked hard all season to get to this point and to lose out on the odd goal is really gutting, but again just got to be proud of what the boys have done this season.

“It’s been mad. It’s been a really, really up-and-down season where we started off really bad and we got the right signings in for the fourth league game against Stansfeld, and we didn’t look back after that. We went on a good run.

“Gutted, gutted for the boys, gutted for the fans that we couldn’t do it but again - proud of them.”

VCD Athletic finished the regular season in second place on 81 points, seven points behind champions Faversham and fourteen ahead of the Fish.

Ashanike was asked about his future. He replied: “Season’s over, time to rest and see what’s next. I don’t know yet. I don’t know yet. I need a break from

football to completely switch off, this season has taken a lot out of me.

“We understand this League very well and just dust ourselves off and go again. But for me, I’ve got to rest, speak to my missus and see what’s next.

“Thank you so much [to the Fisher fans]. Absolutely been gold since I came back. The welcome back was absolutely crazy, the goodbye was absolutely crazy. It just shows the kind of club we are and my players are

absolutely incredible. All season, not getting paid, playing against players who are getting paid every single week can’t be easy.

“For me, I know it’s not easy to see other managers getting paid right next to me and I’m not, but we do it for the love of the game. We do it for the fans and I enjoy coming, I look forward to Saturday and midweek just to see the fans. Anything else that happens on the pitch, it happens on the pitch, but we

Lionesses in seventh heaven

By J Myles Thornton at The Den

MILLWALL LIONESSES were in seventh heaven at The Den last weekend as a hat-trick from academy graduate Kayda Townsend along with a brace each from Mia Lockett and Olivia Harris confirmed Ashford United’s relegation from the L&SERWFL Premier Division.

Harris - the daughter of Millwall’s

By Alex Smith

WARWICKSHIRE INFLICTED a third

Metro Bank One-Day Cup defeat of the season on Surrey at a bracing and blustery Beckenham last weekend.

Surrey’s 313-7, adorned by a century from Sophia Dunkley, never quite looked enough on a cracking batting surface and positive batting from Davina Perrin and Nat Wraith broke the back of the chase before Beth Ellis played an assured finishing role.

record scorer Neil - opened the scoring in the 21st minute when she went round the goalkeeper before calmly slotting the ball home.

Townsend doubled the Lionesses’ lead before half-time with a closerange finish.

Townsend got her second in the 52nd minute when she fired in from the right.

It was 4-0 after Harris received the ball back from a short corner

and from the left edge of the box curled right-footed into the top-right corner.

Townsend laid the ball off to Lockett for the fifth and then completed her treble with 20 minutes left.

Lockett scored her second in added-time as Ted Jones’s side finished their season in style.

Millwall are sixth but will finish seventh if Ebbsfleet United win their final game at Saltdean United.

absolutely love this club from day one.

“They’ve given us a good opportunity to be in a good Step Five club. Everything’s done for us and all we’re doing is focusing on football and it’s rare to say that.

“You’ve got to see what the future holds. I’m tired, honestly, I’m tired. I put a lot in this season and I love the club, everyone knows I love the club. I just love the club - let me see what happens.”

Surrey sign Aussie batter

By Sports Reporter

AUSTRALIAN BATTER Kurtis Patterson will join Surrey as batting cover for three Rothesay County Championship matches this month.

Patterson will join the squad ahead of this Friday’s trip to Edgbaston to face Warwickshire. Surrey fans will get the chance to see Patterson in the home fixtures against Yorkshire (May 16-19) and the Festival of Red Ball Cricket against Essex at the end of May (23-26).

The left-handed batter has played two Test matches for Australia, with a top score of 114 against Sri Lanka in 2019. Last season, Patterson hit 743 runs in eight Sheffield Shield matches for New South Wales at an average of 57.15. His fine form continued for Australia A, where he scored 137 against the England Lions.

On joining Surrey, Patterson said: “I’m looking forward to joining Surrey. I’ve always wanted to play county cricket, so I jumped at the chance to represent Surrey when the opportunity presented itself.

“I’ve heard great things about the environment at Surrey and can’t wait to play in front of the fans at the Kia Oval.”

Alec Stewart, Surrey’s highperformance advisor, said: “With the non-availability of our England players, I’m pleased to add Kurtis Patterson to the squad. He’s a topquality cricketer who will add quality and depth to our batting line up for the next three games.”

Warwickshire’s chase was the secondhighest ever in women’s List A cricket (Bengal hauled in Haryana’s 389-5 in Rajkot in December 2024) and the highest ever in England.

Surrey were given a flying start by Bryony Smith and Danni Wyatt-Hodge, 59 coming off the first six overs as the bowlers, perhaps excited by a bit of pace and bounce in the wicket, didn’t get it right, bowling too short and too wide.

Issy Wong finally saw Wyatt-Hodge toeend tamely to Davina Perrin at point but Surrey’s 71 -1 was still the highest Powerplay score in the competition to date, and that with just 12 coming from overs 7-10.

Alice Capsey burned brightly but briefly and Sophia Dunkley and Smith put on 76 to keep the innings moving. Smith then sliced Bethan Ellis to backward point for a fine 72-ball 78 and Alice DavidsonRichards and Paige Scholfield both hit 26, while Dunkley just kept batting.

Her hundred, off 109 balls, with seven fours and one six, came off the penultimate ball of the innings, Surrey’s final total imposing but less than they would have been looking at after 40 overs when they were 241 for 4.

Warwickshire’s openers looked to attack but the Surrey bowlers were disciplined, openers Meg Austin and Abigail Freeborn both perishing trying

to hit over the top, caught at mid-on and mid-off respectively. Captain Katie George sparkled briefly but then went the same way, caught at mid-on to give Alice Monaghan her second wicket.

Warwickshire scored 66-3 in their Powerplay, up with the rate but seemingly having lost perhaps one wicket too many.

But then Davina Perrin and Nat Wraith put on a century partnership, at one stage benefiting from an unusual five penalty runs for intimidatory fielding by Dani Gregory.

Having made 69, Perrin chipped Capsey to long-on, where Scholfield took her third catch but with the run rate under control it was a surprise when Wraith

ran herself out for

fine

half century partnership between Em Arlott and Beth Ellis took the visitors within 80 but Capsey then took her second wicket when she bowled Arlott.

Ellis carried on calmly picking up singles with the occasional boundary and Charis Pavely gave her good support, the two calmly combining in another half century partnership. Pavely went just before the end but Warwickshire sealed their record-breaking victory by three wickets with 3.3 overs to spare, Ellis finishing unbeaten on 63.

Surrey were at Lancashire in midweek and and travel to Somerset this Sunday for a 10.30am start.

Photo by Alan Coomes

Photo by Keith Gillard Fisher are denied by the Vickers defence

Olivia Harris shoots

SouthLondonWeekly.

Sport

ADDICKS ON VERGE OF ‘SOMETHING SPECIAL’ INSIDE

LIONESSES IN SEVENTH HEAVEN

Charlton face Wycombe in semi-ﬁ nal

By John Kelly

NATHAN JONES believes Charlton Athletic are building “something special” as they stand three games away from a return to the Championship.

Charlton secured fourth place in League One with their 3-1 win against Burton Albion in front of an attendance of 20,971 at The Valley last weekend.

Charlton fell behind in the thirteenth minute when former Millwall attacker Mason Bennett scored a penalty after Fabio Tavares had been brought down by goalkeeper Ashley MaynardBrewer.

Matty Godden equalised in the 24th minute and then added his 21st league goal of the season ten minutes later.

Alex Mitchell headed in Conor Coventry's in-swinging corner in the 51st minute and it was almost a dream debut for Ibrahim Fullah only for the

right post to deny him from Karoy Anderson's cutback.

Jones joined Charlton for the first time as their under-21 professional development coach and spent the 2012-13 season at The Valley.

Jones went on to manage Luton Town twice either side of a spell at Stoke City. He was a surprise appointment at Premier League Southampton in November 2022 but only lasted fourteen games, winning five and losing nine, before being sacked in February 2023.

Jones was appointed Addicks boss in February 2024 and said he always wanted to return after he “fell in love with the club” more than a decade ago. Since he took charge, Jones has taken the Addicks from nineteenth in League One into the play-offs.

Jones quipped about his departure from the Saints as he addressed the crowd at The Valley ahead of the play-off semi-final against Wycombe

Wanderers.

“I came here in 2012 to get better,” Jones said. “I fell in love with the area, fell in love with the club, fell in love with the people.

“And I always wanted to come back. I knew in my heart I wanted to come back. Then I was given an opportunity to come back. I’d like to say I didn’t think twice, but I did. I’d just come from a place where they basically didn’t want me.”

That prompted “aws” from the fans, to which Jones responded: “I wouldn’t worry, it was a decent financial boost!”

Jones added: “Then I spoke to people at the club and thought, ‘yeah, we can build something’.

“Now, we haven’t changed anything yet, but what we’ve done is we always want to lay foundations…we want to build something, build something special. It’s a wonderful club. We’ve started to lay foundations.

“It’s been a tough year, we’ve had

some spells when we’ve come under the cosh a bit. But what I said was you’re going to have a group that you can be proud of, a group that works hard, a group that loves playing for Charlton - a group that every single day wants to get better.

“The group has been outstanding this year and we’re at a point now where we can achieve something.

“I want to thank the people that brought me here, the staff, they work tirelessly, the players for being truly, truly outstanding.

“I’d also like to thank my family who have to suffer and go through stuff for me to do the job that I do. They have to sacrifice so that I can be this version of myself.

“Finally, I’d like to thank you lot [the fans] - you’ve been outstanding.”

The first leg of the semi-final is this Sunday (May 11) at Adams Park. Kickoff is 6.30pm. The second leg is the following Thursday at 8pm.

Jacko: Finish promotion job

By John Kelly

JOHNNIE JACKSON said he was “proud” of AFC Wimbledon his players ahead of a “fiercely competitive” League Two playoff semi-final against Notts County.

A defeat at Grimsby Town last weekend would have dropped the Dons out of the play-off places, but Sam Hutchinson scored the only goal in the 52nd minute as Jackson’s side finished fifth to ensure a semi-final second leg at Plough Lane.

“Proud is definitely the word,” Jackson said. “Not for just what they’ve done here, but for throughout the season. They’ve given absolutely everything for the club. They’re a great bunch of lads that are a joy to work with.

“I’m so pleased for them, as they deserve this moment.

“It's just the start, though, as we need to go and finish the job offthat’ll be our focus now.

“We came to Grimsby under tremendous pressure and were up against a direct rival, who could have leapfrogged us, but to have produced what they did - I’m so proud.

“Finishing fifth is a really good achievement. I think we’d have all loved to have been in that automatic top three.

“However, if you look at where we are as a football club and how far we’ve come, if you’d have offered us fifth place at the start of the season, then everyone would have accepted that’s a massive over achievement, probably for where we are in the league. I think we can be proud of what we’ve done, up until now.

“We’re not patting ourselves on the back, though, and saying job well done just yet, because hopefully there’s three more games to go. If we do get over the line, through the play-offs, then it certainly is a job well done, but they deserve the opportunity now to go and attack the play-offs.”

The first leg at Meadow Lane is this Saturday (8pm) with the second leg the following Saturday (12.30pm).

Nathan Jones always wanted a Valley return