Lambeth Life seventh issue

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JULY 2018 NO 7

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The joy of interest rates, with Elf Lyons >> PAGE 16

Join the Lambeth Walk and make our streets safe Thousands of Lambeth residents will rally in September to show the borough’s determination to tackle youth violence and its causes.

In response to a London-wide upsurge in violent crime which has seen more than 80 murder investigations so far this year, the Lambeth Walk will set out at 11am on Sunday 23rd September from Kennington Park for Rush Common on Brixton Hill. It is almost exactly 10 years after the People’s March Against Knife Crime, following the murder of 16 year old Ben Kinsella,

which brought up to 40,000 people out onto the streets.

The organisation of this year’s event unites Lambeth-based public servants, youth workers and campaigners passionate at addressing the root causes of street violence through a holistic public health model.

Among these are Lambeth Safer Neighbourhood Board programme manager Alastair Reid, who previously headed up the Met’s youth strategy; Winston Goode, founder and MD of training and... >> PAGE 5

distributed in the London Borough of Lambeth wards of Bishop’s, Clapham Town, Ferndale, Larkhall, Oval, Prince’s Stockwell and Vassall

info@lambethlife.com

Greening the heatwave – gardening in Lambeth >> PAGE 21

ROYAL VISIT TO MANDELA

Former Work and Pensions Secretary and anti-apartheid activist Peter Hain with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex at the opening of the Mandela Centenary exhibition in the foyer of the Queen Elizabeth Hall on 17 July. The exhibition was one of the highlights of the Southbank’s annual Africa Utopia festival, and is open daily until 11th August

Get active with Lambeth’s funkiest trainers >> PAGE 7

Traders hope delay signals cancellation of Network Rail’s arches sell-off Independent traders are celebrating a possible reprieve from “Project Condor” - the planned fire sale of Britain’s 4,400 railway arch properties to a single bidder.

An announcement had been expected as early as next week, but had already been put back amid strong union resistance. A consortium of Goldman Sachs and the Wellcome Trust dropped out of the bidding on July 17th, without explanation. Then on 23rd July, Transport Minister Jo Johnson agreed to look at railway arch tenants’ proposals for stringent conditions on the sale, to limit the effect on their livelihoods.

The majority of the UK’s railway arch properties are in London, where they house many independent firms in neighbourhoods around inner-city stations such as Brixton and Clapham High Street.

The sale of the commercial property portfolio is part of Network Rail’s strategic realignment and is estimated to raise £1.5 billion. Chief executive Mark Carne insists it will “bring more... >> PAGE 4

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LAMBETH LIFE JULY 2018

LETTERS We are currently waiting for the Council to announce when it will discuss the Vauxhall Island site.

The taller of the two towers in this luxury development is 15 storeys higher than the bitterly contested Walkie Talkie. The towers will contain multimillion pound flats, a 500 room luxury hotel and restaurants and shops at sky high rents.

If passed, they will loom over Vauxhall and beyond. There is a high likelihood of a call-in by the Secretary of State, as there are environmental, aesthetic, urban development and social policy consequences.

There will be some welcome new jobs, but none that could not have been achieved through a more sympathetically scaled approach. Servicing a bu-

ilding this size is not viable in this location and will increase pollution and disrupt traffic. The two-way gyratory will take longer for pedestrians to cross.

The twin towers are the culmination of a ten-year long process starting with Lambeth’s desire to replace the bus station with shops.

For a more constructive approach to planning, we suggest 1. Mandatory discussion of the total local impact of vast redevelopments. By breaking the gyratory, bus station and island site into three pieces, there’s no opportunity to evaluate the whole.

2. Consultations should not be biased or ask leading questions. Who can say no to supporting a thriving centre in Vauxhall? It is dishonest if you ask for support to improve the bus station, but don’t

tell people you are planning to demolish it. Consultations should be comprehensive; but this one excluded Freedom Pass holders, children, and those not travelling through Vauxhall daily.

3. It must be clear whether claimed expressions of support are from a full consultation or a limited survey. Lambeth and TFL consistently claim that 61% are in favour. In fact, this is 61% of the 1,247 people who responded to a questionnaire; roughly 3% of the 40,000 who use Vauxhall every day.

4. Advertising of plans should reach ALL the people the plans affect. Rather than eye-catching posters, tiny, inconspicuous A4-sized notices were placed where few would spot them. We were told we could not pay for six poster size adverts for the consultation meetings.

Delay to the great railway arch sell-off

...investment for the benefit of local communities and will help fund a better railway”.

Others are concerned at the loss of public assets. Will Brett of New Economics Foundation describes the sell-off of “very affordable work spaces, uniquely good for supporting very dynamic, entrepreneurial businesses” and the forgoing of rental yield as damaging for local economies and the public purse.

The turnaround has been hailed as a demonstration of people power. Traders, well-organised through campaign groups such as Guardians of the Arches have earned sympathetic media coverage, with their testimony of 300% or higher rent increases, suggesting Network Rail was trying to push out small independents to make the portfolio more attractive. “The potential buyers are taking notice of us and must be wondering what they’re letting themselves in for” says Gu-

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ardians of the Arches co-founder Leni Jones.

The Mayor of Hackney Philip Glanville has expressed an interest in buying the railway arches in his borough if the sale is stopped; the Mayor of Tower Hamlets is also contemplating this.

Lambeth Life spoke to a number of local railway arch businesses. All said they had received nothing more from Network Rail than a letter informing them that the sell-off will take place, without a timeframe.

George Grant, who runs North Clapham MOT, says he is deeply worried.

“My dad founded this garage in 1960, and we’ve been here ever since. Our business has worked in the arches because we provide a service within the community, which is easy for people to access and for us to maintain.

“New owners will come in and

Website www.lambethlife.com Advertising info@lambethlife.com Social Media

their only interest will be in turning their investment into more cash – but that cash won’t stay in this community.”

“There has been zero consultation between Network Rail and their tenants. There has been no impact assessment. How is that allowed?”

Anne Fison, who runs a gym in Herne Hill, said her relationship with Network Rail had been “awful” for the three years of her tenancy.

“The lack of communication doesn’t really surprise us. In the past they’ve made mistakes - debiting rent when they weren’t supposed to, calling bailiffs for rent we’d already paid. They once promised to move us into a larger arch, but withdrew the offer. We’ve had many letters of apology but no change of behaviour.”

Not all railway arch businesses are pessimistic. The owner of a sports club in South Lambeth, who did not wish to be named, said a Network Rail agent had told him he had little to worry about, as his business was “the kind they like”.

“We’ve been hearing for years that the landlord is going to hike up their rates or chuck us out, but it’s never happened. Rent increases have to happen sooner or later, it’s up to me as a business owner to deal with that.”

A Network Rail spokesperson said: “We can reassure tenants, and the communities they serve, that once the business is sold all current leases will transfer to the new owner and all arrangements and protections will remain unchanged.”

The sale is due to be completed by the end of the year.

Svetlana Yesilyurt Editorial Team Nez Williams Sam Courtney-Guy Victoria Bell

Joshua Neicho Pete Edwards Illustrations OK David Features

5. No one group should be discriminated against. Bus passengers stand to lose space, convenience and weather cover.

The current planning mechanism unfairly advantages a determined council and other official bodies. They don’t have to live in the immediate area. They have time and resources.

Too often they appear to limit public knowledge of plans to the absolute legal minimum; this is inadequate.

Pauline Gaunt and Helen Irwin Are you 16 or 17 or do you have memories of life at this often challenging age? If so, you may be interested in entering a creative writing competition being run by The Children’s Society.

Our Seriously Awkward campaign aims to improve life for vulnerable 16

and 17-year-olds by securing more sustained help as they move into adulthood.

For the competition, run in partnership with Penguin Random House imprint Viking, we are looking for fictional stories by unpublished writers of up to 2,000 words about life at 16 or 17, with categories for authors aged 16-25 and those 26 and over.

Judges include international bestselling author Emma Healey. Winners will be offered expert advice and feedback by top literary agencies Darley Anderson and David Higham Associates.

Visit www.childrenssociety.org.uk/ writing to find out more. Entries must be received by 31 August. Good luck!

Matthew Reed, The Children’s Society

How bad will Heathrow expansion be for Lambeth, residents demand Lambeth residents have demanded clarity over the local impact of Theresa May’s decision to approve a third Heathrow runway.

In June, the Commons voted by a majority of 296 to approve plans for a northwest runway, 15 years after Tony Blair’s government published proposals to expand the UK’s busiest airport.

“The new runway means 700 more planes coming in and out of Heathrow each day,” says Brixtonbased John Stewart, chair of HACAN (Heathrow Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise). “It’s too early to tell which specific areas will be affected, but it inevitably means a lot more flights over south London.”

“Heathrow has agreed on the principle of rotating the flight paths, but we are concerned there won’t be enough. They might settle on just a couple, meaning communities will be effectively living in noise ghettoes,” Mr Stewart added.

Hillingdon, Richmond, Wandsworth and Hammersmith and Fulham councils are set to launch a judicial review against the government’s decision with Greenpeace and Mayor Sadiq Khan.

Local campaigners such as Plane Hell Action co-founder Dr Maureen

Korda are calling on Lambeth council to join in.

The third runway will only exacerbate the damaging effects [of overflight on health, as well as community well-being” she argues.

Dulwich and West Norwood MP Helen Hayes voted against the bill. Kate Hoey, an anti-expansion campaigner, said a delayed flight into Gatwick forced her to miss the vote.

“The battle is not over yet,” she said, though she suggested it is largely down to court action as there is little MPs can do.

A spokesperson for Chuka Umunna said he decided to abstain as he believes airport expansion is necessary but favoured proposals to expand Gatwick.

Heathrow said it will soon hold a second public consultation before submitting its proposal to the planning authorities.

Construction is due to begin in 2021 ahead of the new runway opening in 2026.

John Whelan

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LAMBETH LIFE JULY 2018

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Publisher’s Letter: Let fair pay build unity and prosperity As a businessman I know that rewarding my employees as well as possible is key to retaining good staff. As a Labour activist, I know it is morally right. I’m proud to report that both this newspaper and my think-tank the Centre for Turkey Studies, which also organises the British Kebab Awards, are now accredited as Living Wage employers.

Launched in 2001 by pioneering community organisers Citizens UK, the Living Wage has secured over £500 million in additional wages and lifted more than 150,000 people out of working poverty. The London Living Wage, currently £10.20 an hour, recognises that the day-to-day costs of living in the capital are so much higher than elsewhere in the country. A further attraction of the Living Wage compared to the National Minimum Wage is that it offers the same baseline rate of pay for everyone over the age of 18.

Having run businesses since I was 24, I am keenly aware that not all SMEs can afford to pay the Living Wage to all their staff right now. For example, the restaurant trade has always been demanding, with narrow margins, and the hike in business rates and higher food prices post-referendum have made things even more difficult. But the point of the Living Wage is that it

PUBLISHER Ibrahim Dogus sets a benchmark that business owners can aspire towards.

Thus at my three restaurants (which I have stepped back from running day to day while I fulfil my council duties) we already pay most staff at a considerably higher rate than the Living Wage, and it is my aim to make it possible for all employees to receive the Living Wage in the near future.

I see the Living Wage not in isolation but as part of a series of measures including Labour’s proposed higher National Minimum Wage to ensure that everyone gets decent pay for a hard day’s work. We need business policies that allow SMEs to flourish and to cultivate an atmosphere where consideration for workers and rising wages become the norm.

*** As a father, I’ve been devastated by the number of killings of young people in London in recent months and years: such a shocking waste of young life. Against this grim background, it is good to see Lambeth standing out for its innovative approaches to tackling youth crime – including the Divert programme pioneered in Brixton, now due to be adopted at six custody sites across London in the next six months; council leader Lib Peck delivering a keynote speech at the Mayor’s knife crime summit in June; and Lambeth youth workers including my council colleague Mahamed Hashi key to the Evening Standard’s coverage of a “public health approach” for reducing youth crime.

Part of the answer with youth vi-

olence lies in reversing deep cuts to local government funding and addressing social inequalities; but even within the constraints of the political and economic climate, there is much that communities can achieve.

It’s inspiring to see so many organisations and individuals coming together to make September’s Lambeth Walk against youth violence happen – showing alienated youngsters that people around them do care. I want Lambeth Life to be fully involved as an organiser. Together, we can turn the corner on the scourge of violence on our streets. *** We’re now at the peak of outdoor festival season: from fetes and street parties to the hugely popular Lambeth Country Show.

This issue of Lambeth Life joins the festivities, plus areas where the borough is contributing to summer joy nationwide – cutting edge Lambeth comic Elf Lyons appearing at the Edinburgh Fringe; the anniversary of the Empire Windrush’s revival being made an annual celebration, following the experts of campaigners like Lambeth’s Patrick Vernon; the 70th anniversary of the NHS brought to life in people’s living rooms by a BBC

documentary filmed at King’s College Hospital. And we’ve been following Lambeth football fans through England’s surprise run of success and agonising defeat at the World Cup. As a local not-for-profit enterprise, we are passionate about covering all of Lambeth’s communities and celebrating endeavour whether by entrepreneurs, small business, charities, artists, sports people or local heroes. This issue we are distributing 60,000 copies, double the previous number.

As we head into autumn, we are inviting people with a background in community activism or politics, public service or journalism to apply to join our editorial board, to be a source of ideas and oversee the paper’s editorial output – get in touch at info@lambethlife.com for more information. We will continue to expand our web coverage at www. lambethlife.com, including previews and reports of meetings, openings, performances and awards. Do keep sending us event information, news and views at info@lambethlife.com.

And keep an eye out for exciting news about upcoming Lambeth Life events and projects.

I wish you all a very happy and relaxing summer.

The day Londoners came together

Lambeth stands proud Multicoloured angel wings, witty placards and fierce hairstyles were out in force in Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens for UK Black Pride on 8th July.

“There are many pros to UK Black Pride, but the number one thing is you’re all looking so peng right now,” presenter and trans activist Travis Alabanza told the crowd.

“We are existing so we are resisting. Coming here is a political act today” declared Nawi Collective, after an eclectic set including a South African folk song.

South Londoner Teashan, greeting a friend on her way into the park said, “It’s wonderful, it’s so important to be able to express yourself”.

Lambeth Life publisher Ibrahim Dogus writes: I was hugely honoured to accept a commendation proposed by Superintendent Ian Howells of Lambeth Police for demonstrating outstanding community spirit to support frontline services after the Westminster Bridge terror attack.

Four pedestrians were killed and 49 injured, and PC Keith Palmer was fatally stabbed on 22nd March last year. Lambeth police officers were among the first police personnel to respond. A number of them received Borough Commander’s commendations this month for their extraordi-

nary bravery and selflessness.

After the attack, along with other South Bank business owners I was asked to evacuate. I ensured all my customers moved to safety - but I decided to stay, and kept one of my restaurants, Troia, open for the use of emergency services personnel. I provided a buffet of cooked food and hot drinks late into the night, and offered a refuge for those working in the face of danger to recuperate.

I didn’t close until everybody who needed it had had something to eat and drink.

As I told police officers and gu-

ests, I was delighted to accept the commendation not for myself, but on behalf of all the people who came together when Parliament was attacked, including Parliamentary staff and passers-by.

I came to this country in 1994 as part of a Kurdish refugee family from Turkey. I am proud to be British, proud of our values of democracy and tolerance, and proud that when terrorists try to divide us, Londoners come together. For all the horror that atrocities still happen on the streets of London, we haven’t forgotten the Blitz spirit.

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LAMBETH LIFE JULY 2018

Coding classes aim to put kids in control of digital world A Lambeth mum has pioneered an award-winning online project to teach computer coding to kids in a fun way, ensuring young people are in control of their digital world and not the other way round.

Liane Katz from Herne Hill was inspired to start MAMA.codes while raising her two young children. She set the project up with Luci Hindmarsh and Alice Thompson, two other London mothers who had worked in the digital sector.

The three entrepreneurs did test runs of brightly-coloured and child-friendly coding projects with local families. The aim was to improve the quality of their children’s screen time by making them active participants rather than absorbing

ready-made games. They hoped to ensure their daughters, in particular, were switched on to programming, which they have said it as important as reading and writing in the 21st century.

Although coding is now part of English schools’ curriculum from age five, the team felt that there was a lack of schemes for younger children. Using their backgrounds in digital journalism, digital marketing and software engineering they set about developing their own courses with songs, jokes and nursery rhymes based on the free ScratchJr tablet App. Feedback from four introductory projects was strong and parents asked for drop-off code clubs

and holiday camps, which the team delivered in due course. The business is now in 10 locations across London, including Herne Hill, Clapham, Peckham and East Dulwich.

Last month, it won the Vision category in the MPower National Business Awards.

Liane believes getting children to start early on coding boosts their confidence in controlling digital objects around them and will help build an attitude of “being in charge” of screens.

The site was initially self-funded, and won investment of £100,000 in

March 2018. The company has 12 school partners and a licensing deal in Hong Kong. It has taught over 1,500 children in the past year.

Now MAMA.Codes hopes its

workshops, after-school clubs and parent and teacher training sessions will take the market by storm.

“Kids are already excited about tech, we just need to let the adults around them see how creative and simple it can be,” says Liane.

Children in years one to three have created their own games using the site after it was brought in at St Saviour’s Church of England primary in Herne Hill. It prompted the question why nobody had developed such a project before now. * Find your nearest MAMA.codes club at https://mama.codes

‘Violence isn’t about knives... it’s about inequality’ charity for ex-young offenders, Juvenis; Lee Deema, manager of the St Matthew’s Football project; Cllr Mahamed Hashi of Young Lambeth Co-operative; and King’s College Hospital trauma surgeon Duncan Bew. Lambeth Life is giving its full support.

Leading the crowd will be DJ Asher Senator, former creative partner of Smiley Culture, with the youth music charity CODE 7 which he has run since 1996.

Organiser Gary Trowsdale of the Spirit of London Awards, former head of the Damilola Taylor Trust and a long-time Brixton resident, said there would be a “carnival type atmosphere”.

Frustrated by the fragmented nature of the youth sector, he told Lambeth Life, “my big belief is to bring individual organisations around the table and get them bound into the same mindset. It’s about breaking the mould of competition [between charities]”.

“Youth violence isn’t about guns and knives - it’s about inequality”, he added.

Trowsdale advises the Youth Violence Commission, which this month recommended Lon-

health approach can really make a difference”, he added.

Lambeth council leader Lib Peck

Winston Goode of charity Juvenis

don adopted the public health model to tackling violent crime, looking beyond police tactics to a co-ordinated response from education, mental health, housing and social services and community groups. The model is credited with more than halving the murder rate in Glasgow. In March, Lambeth committed itself to piloting it as part of its 10 year youth violence strategy.

“The council has shown brave leadership by stating what’s been done clearly hasn’t been working well enough” said Winston Goode. “I’d like to see us all take a leap of faith to look at the real social causes of crime and violence”.

In June, Lambeth council leader Lib Peck, who is Deputy Chair and executive member for crime and public protection at London Councils, told the Mayor’s Knife Crime Summit that “we must… work cross-London and crossparty to end this scourge. There is no monopoly of good ideas”.

“The public health approach is about a philosophy for a movement - not an off the shelf template to be cherry-picked from” said Alastair Reid, who served for 30 years as a Met police officer, including 22 years community policing in Lambeth. “The Lambeth Walk is all about people being involved, sharing the messages of hope that the public

• A young offender strategy started in Brixton police custody in 2015 is being adopted across London. Divert is a Met Police programme, delivered by the New Era Foundation and partnering organisations including Network Rail and M&S, to move 18-25 year olds out of criminality into education, employment or training.

Among the nearly 200 youngsters it has engaged with, reoffending rates have dropped to 8%: 25% less than the London average. Now also in Tower Hamlets and Hackney, it is due to extend to six custody sites across London within six months. It has support from the Home Office and the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime, and been cited approvingly by think-tanks including the Criminal Justice Alliance and the Social Justice Foundation.

The officer behind Divert, Inspector Jack Rowlands, said he had “slowly but surely” got sceptical colleagues on board, convincing them it was a way of “opening people’s minds”.

“When someone knocks on

the cell door and says they will change your life, it’s very powerful” he said. “I’m confident enough to say it’s part of the solution”.

• Oasis Youth Support, an umbrella of services provided

by Oasis Hub Waterloo in partnership with St Thomas’s Hospital, faces an uncertain future after its funding is due to run out in October.

Set up in 2010, it helps 12-20 year olds who turn up in A&E having experienced some form of violence, on the basis that victims should not just be treated medically but also to reduce the risk of them returning to A&E in future.

The need is growing, says Oasis Youth Trust head of youth services, Stuart Thomson, with referrals up 16% on last year, when 82 young people were supported.

Oasis Youth Support is currently in dialogue with the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime and others regarding the future funding and sustainability of the service.

The Youth Violence Commission Interim report has asked for an overhaul of funding arrangements to address youth violence.

News 5 Coffee shop boss fights rail giant over threat to morning brews

LAMBETH LIFE JULY 2018

Brixton’s annual fling with Country An estimated 150,000 people came to a parched Brockwell Park on 21st and 22nd July for the 44th annual Lambeth Country Show, making it one of the UK’s biggest free festivals. This year’s music line-up included British-based funk pioneers Cymande, veteran Jamaican artist Johnny Clarke, London Afrobeat Collective and reggae all-stars Three The Hard Way. A solid-panel perimeter security wall and bag and body searches on entry, introduced at the guidance of the emergency services attracted strong criticism, with complaints the council had “done a Trump”, and there was also frustration at the absence of the funfair, layout changes and long bar queues following a ban on bringing in alcohol. One fairgoer told Lambeth Life she was reassured by the security

For many rail commuters, an Americano from an independent coffee shop is a small release from stress and overcrowding.

Now, however, the future of one of the borough’s best-loved cafés is under threat.

The owner of Streatham station fixture Pause coffee is fighting after being told his lease would be terminated.

Kaz Odutayo has launched a campaign against Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), which told him last August that his time was up.

Losing the shop would be “devastating” for him and his staff, the local entrepreneur said.

Kaz has strongly denied GTR’s claim that he had sub-let his shop, against the terms of the lease.

He tried to initiate talks with GTR’s CEO Charles Horton but the rail boss handed in his notice last month following public anger over service cancellations and timetable changes.

A GTR spokesperson says: “It is with regret that we decided to ask Mr

Kaz Odutayo Odutayo to leave. We found he was sub-letting the property, in breach of his Tenancy at Will. The court ruled back in April that the tenant does not have a lease to the premises and has ruled that he vacate.”

Kaz now hopes the new head of GTR, Patrick Verwer, will tell his staff to negotiate with him. A petition in support of Pause Coffee has reached 1,400 names and rising.

Pause, which opens at 5am, has won further support from Streatham MP Chuka Umunna, celebrities such as Catherine Russell, Sarah Beeney and David Harewood, and Green councillor, Jonathan Bartley.

Kaz believes Thameslink’s apparent indifference is a consequence

A very happy birthday to Lambeth’s NHS life-savers Lambeth has celebrated the 70th anniversary of the founding of the NHS this month with reunions, tea parties in hospitals and community sites and a major BBC documentary.

“Working at King’s was among the happiest years of my life,” said Frances Gompertz, 90, who was training as a nurse at King’s College Hospital when the NHS came into being. “It was a very disciplined life, but that was how I was brought up, I was happy to do what I was told”.

Grace Jones, 89, a midwifery trainee at St Thomas’s in the early 1950s, remembers mothers kept in confinement for two weeks after giving birth and smog that was so bad, some of the babies had dirt around their noses.

In the BBC’s Celebrities on the NHS Frontline, well-known figures including Ann Widdecombe and Paralympian Johnnie Peacock, all with a personal insight into hospitals as employees or patients earlier in life shadowed medical teams at King’s.

The Guardian’s reviewer Jonathan Wright wrote, “To judge by this two-parter, day-to-day life in the NHS is frustrating, punishingly busy and, sometimes, exhilarating. The

befuddlement of medically trained [health journalist, Michael] Mosley when faced with the sheer pace at which the resus team functions – “There isn’t time for tea, dear” – is telling”.

The London Eye and Lambeth Town Hall were among eight London buildings bathed in NHS blue light on the evening of 5th July. The Guardian ran rolling coverage of the anniversary from King’s.

The celebrations contrasted with how the NHS began in Lambeth. A 1948 report from the Brixton Free Press reads, “Monday, July 5th, started like any other day…

Along the wide, cream-painted

corridors at King’s College Hospital, white-clad doctors, nurses and students hurried about their business as usual, no signs of grief or joy visible on their preoccupied faces”.

St Thomas’ Hospital chef and team leader Louisa Batista has worked at the Trust for 48 years and attended the 5th July thanksgiving service for the NHS at Westminster Abbey.

Specialising in patients’ dietary requirements, she brings in recipes she likes from celebrity cookbooks and gives colleagues tasters before adapting them. She has been interviewed by Great British Bake-off chef Prue Leith, who gave her bread and butter pudding the thumbs up.

Louisa came to the UK from Portugal as a teenager not speaking any English: “patients would teach me the words for ‘tea’ and ‘coffee’, she says. She always works late and colleagues say she has never taken a sick day.

Director of Non-Invasive Cardiology at King’s Professor Mark Monaghan was born at the hospital, and has worked there for 48 years.

He describes it as a “fantastic community”, a stimulating combination of a hospital serving its locality and a centre for multiple specialisms.

He thinks the BBC documentary turned out “brilliantly”, particularly pleased by its focus on cardiac physiologist Chloe Battle - “there’s

a national shortage in these careers. I hope it will inspire many other young people”. He’s deeply worried about NHS funding, with Theresa May’s £20 billion boost only allowing the service to “stand still”, and about living costs forcing some staff out of London.

Campaigners from Lambeth were among tens of thousands of people to join the #OURNHS70 march through central London on 28th June addressed by speakers from the unions, the People’s Assembly and Jeremy Corbyn. Lambeth Keep Our NHS Public (KONP) supporters linked arms with health activists from across the country.

“I marched to show gratitude for

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Train calling all stations... to a healthier you Out of shape? Hate gyms?

Never fear: below, some of Lambeth’s top trainers give their advice about how to build exercise into your life, in ways you will find fun and that will suit your fitness levels Benjamin ‘Bro Ben’ Wachenje (Brixton Street Gym) If you aren’t in good shape, the most important thing is simply attempting to take control of your fitness. You will start to feel better about yourself even if you haven’t yet undergone any physical changes.

I used to struggle with obesity, and the first step out of it was walking my children to the park. Taking a walk is great for anyone struggling with weight problems. Listen to a podcast, music or an audiobook - why not exercise your mind and body at the same time?

Not everyone has the money or means to access a gym, but calisthenics - using your bodyweight to train, with minimal equipment - can help you increase your fitness at any

time and money can be constraints.

At Brixton Street Gym, we welcome children to play while their parents train. You can often find my own daughter helping out with the classes, cheering and motivating people. We have women who lift weights, box, dance and even flip swords as coaches – helping clients realise they can achieve anything. ase the hormones which make you happy. In turn, this has positive effects. Heart rate and blood pressure reduce. Increases in muscle mass and improved flexibility help to maintain quality of life and reduce the risk of osteoporosis.

level. From walking you can move onto jogging, from crawling you can move onto push-ups, and so on.

Anne Fison (Fison Fitness) As we get older, there are many barriers to overcome. We’ve all

tried to change a routine or break a habit and know how hard it is.

Physically, from the age of 20 our bodies lose strength and slow down.

This in itself can be hard to come to terms with.

Getting fitter has proven to incre-

Davina Stewart (Street Gym) The NHS has a great scheme called GP Referral, which connects individuals suffering from both physical and mental health issues with a GP Referral-qualified fitness instructor in a local gym at no cost to the client.

As a woman in health and fitness, I find most of my female clients are unsure of what types of exercise they should be doing and are intimidated by the idea of gym training. Other factors such as having children,

Big John (Miguel’s Boxing Gym) Boxing training is for everybody.

At Miguel’s Gym we have everyone from young children to people in their sixties. We’ve got an obesity class, a wellbeing class, a class for the unemployed and for those dealing with domestic violence.

Boxing is so holistic - we do cardio, strength, core. And it’s not like going to your normal gym: it’s fun and varied, and it’s a hell of a workout. Burpees, star-jumps, pressups along the length of the room, punching the bags, doing the floorwork, a bit of sparring.

Everyone gels together and helps one another. We have a community spirit we’re very proud of.

Kowsar Hoque is away

HOW TO STAYCATION IN STYLE THIS AUGUST If outside swimming is not your cup of tea, then Brixton and Clapham have brilliant leisure centres with big swimming pools, so put your glad-trunks on.

By Joana Ramiro

2. Go on a safari

British Summertime is here... at its most blazing, sweatiest extreme.

While leaving London for the Riviera sounds ideal, many of us have no other option because of money or work commitments than to spend our holidays in the capital.

If you’re doing a staycation this year, do not despair. Our capital offers far more than just the hustle and bustle with which we have all become wearily familiar. Here are our ideas on what do when holidaying in London:

No cash for a trip to Tanzania?

No need. The animal kingdom can be found in the capital. If the farmyard zone at Lambeth Country Show tickled your fancy, some of the rarest and most ancient British sheep breeds are showcased at Mudchute Agricultural Show on 4th-5th August (a short Tube ride at Mudshute Park & Farm, Pier Street, E14 3HP). And, if that is not enough for you, there’s always Vauxhall city farm, where you can go for a little ride on a horse or a pony, or pet alpacas (Vauxhall, open Tuesday to Sunday, 10:30am-6pm).

1. Beach time

3. All going swimmingly

5. Literary Lambeth

And no, we don’t mean you have to take a train down to Brighton.

The Southbank Centre beach has 85 tonnes of sand - and there are even some deckchairs available if you hurry. But don’t forget the bucket, spade and sunscreen (Southbank Centre, Waterloo, free entry).

Everyone craves a cool down in the mid-summer heat and it’s no wonder Brockwell Lido is most people’s favourite. Yes, it can get busy, but you can beat the crowds by showing up before breakfast (Brockwell Park, Monday-Friday 6:30am-10pm; Saturday 7:30am9:30pm, Sunday 7:30-9pm).

If you like to read while soaking up the rays, why not put Lambeth centre stage? Start with Somerset Maugham’s novel, Liza of Lambeth (Vintage Classics), which tells the story of a young, destitute woman in the borough’s slums in the late 1890s. You can follow it with Clapham-set The End of the Affair

4. Scream for ice cream What is summer without gelato? If you want the best in London then head to the legendary Nardulli’s in Clapham (29 The Pavement, SW4 0JE). And, if you want something more than a sundae, then get your scoop and a little more from Waffle Genie in Streatham Hill (85 Streatham Hill, SW2 4UB). Too good not to!

by Graham Green (Vintage Classics). Then head south for a taste of the borough in the 1980s with

the brillaint Brixton Rock by Alex Wheatle (Blackamber Books).

More Summer Reading on p.15

8

News

LAMBETH LIFE JULY 2018

By Joe Krishnan There were fears that holding the 2018 World Cup in Russia could hamper the competition through the host’s social and political issues. Even if these problems continued to exist outside the World Cup bubble, from a sporting point of view any concerns were quickly dismissed.

The quality of the stadia, the Russian supporters’ behaviour, the epic trips between stadia, the standard of football on show: it was simply marvellous. Who could argue with the logic of many pundits and fans that this was the greatest World Cup in recent history?

The surge of Gareth Southgate’s England squad towards the semi-finals had been nothing short of heroic. Early cautious optimism gave way to the genuine belief that England could win a first World Cup in 52 years. The performances of Kieran Trippier, Harry Maguire and Jordan Pickford, players who have experienced the trials and tribulations of the lower English football leagues, excited the nation. If past England teams could have been accused of lacking passion, this squad has it in abundance.

Five minutes into the semi-final against a battle-tested Croatia, England was in dreamland. Kieran Trippier lif-

ENGLAND’S BRIEF MOMENT ON TOP OF THE WORLD ted a free-kick over the wall past Danijel Subasic and into the top corner, sending fans delirious. Could this be it?

It’s the hope that kills you, they often say. Harry Kane doesn’t miss chances very often. But the Premier

League’s top goalscorer had two golden opportunities to make it 2-0 and missed them both.

Soon enough, England was left to rue them. Croatia hauled themselves back into the tie, finding a deserved

equaliser in the second half through Ivan Perisic. Then Luka Modric, who had been on the periphery of the game, was suddenly spraying passes left and right. Croatia were on top and England couldn’t respond. Twelve minutes before the end of extra time, Perisic rose above Kyle Walker to head towards Mario Mandzukic. John Stones who hadn’t seen the towering striker behind him could only look on in horror as the Juventus striker brilliantly swept home the winner. Croatia had shown a maturity in their approach: calm, reserved and focused. England looked nervy as they couldn’t get a second goal and paid the price.

Despite questions about coach Didier Deschamps’ future, France had reached the final and beat some difficult opponents along the way: Uruguay, Argentina and a Belgium that had proved worthy of its “Golden Generation” tag.

Perhaps it could be argued that such a talented squad, led by teenage sensation Kylie Mbappe and the likes of Paul Pogba and Antoine Griezmann, didn’t need much guidance after all.

But none of these three had played in a World Cup final before. Croatia were the plucky underdogs who had nothing to lose. That was evident in their play as they created several openings early in the match. Ultimately though, luck was on France’s side: Antoine Griezmann appeared to dive to win a free-kick and, after delivering a dangerous cross, Mandzukic nodded it beyond his own goalkeeper.

Following a dazzling equaliser from Perisic, history was made just before half-time when VAR awarded France a penalty for a handball: harsh on reflection. Griezmann stepped up and made no mistake. Goals from Pogba and Mbappe put France in the clear and even a horrific error from Hugo Lloris couldn’t ruin it for France, who ran out 4-2 winners on the night.

The rain started to pour after the final whistle, almost as if to sum up our emotions.

News

LAMBETH LIFE JULY 2018

9

Portuguese community left sighing after Ronaldo’s men bow out The notion of a shock exit was hollowed out by the end of this World Cup – but that didn’t make Russia 2018 any easier for Lambeth’s Portuguese fans.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s countrymen and women turned out in large numbers to cheer on their side screens in Stockwell’s Portuguese bars and restaurants.Many had high expectations, particularly after an historic and hard-fought victory in the Euro Championships in 2016.

Estrela Bar, a local hub for Portuguese football fans, was fully booked days in advance of every game. Before Portugal’s last-16 defeat to Uruguay,

bar manager Ricardo Vasconcelos said he was eagerly awaiting council approval for a 250-seat viewing area for the final. Fans’ verdicts on a relatively disappointing showing varied starkly.

Martinho and Paula of fishmonger Madeira So Peixe lamented their team’s “poor attitude”, while a group of red and green-clad revellers outside homely restaurant Grelha D’Ouro accepted defeat with a sigh: “A game is a game,” they agreed.They differed on who to support in the final stages. Brazil was the natural choice for many, while Portuguese retiree Chabs

Party atmosphere in the pubs

What a mood while it lasted! Fans crammed around pub TV screens in the sweltering heat, streets eerily empty from 5 minutes before a match, unbridled joy on the Tube and from peeping cars in the streets afterwards.

While landmark venues like the Duke of Edinburgh in Brixton or the Windmill on Clapham Common were packed, the tournament was also manna for cosy locals.

The King’s Arms on Kennington Lane went from a small band of 20 watching the Tunisia game to raucously crowded with folk of all ages and backgrounds for the Colombia clash.

“If only we committed ourselves, like every other team...” says Kevin, swaying, at the end of extra time, launching into a detailed analysis.

“But we’re English, so we’re used to it”. Going into penalties, the atmosphere ratchets, with even the stylishly turned out City girls joining in the chanting. Lights swing and shirts are whipped off after Eric Dier scores the winner. Once punters get their breath back, it’s every cliche going: ‘hectic’, ‘squeaky bum time’. “It’s like the Great Escape, isn’t it!”, beams Martin.

“Calm your passion, calm your passion lads” jokes a weather-beaten Geordie at the Prince of Wales, Lyham Road in the latter stages of the Sweden game. His friends accuse him of being almost Scottish, before the group goes on to abuse Jordan Henderson.

Former postman Daniel was an eight-year-old at a children’s home when England won in 1966. He remembers being sent straight to bed at 6pm after the match. A Saturday regular at the pub for the racing, he marvels at the boost major tournament success brings.

“Think what happened in Leicester after they won [the Premier League] - everyone’s happy, productivity went up. Just think if we win, no more work ever!”

It was too good to be true. At the Trinity Arms in Brixton, the mood grows tetchy as England’s first half ebullience dries up and Croatia suddenly dominates possession. The clock ticking, every successful collection of the ball by Jordan Pickford gets a cheer. When Mario Mandzukic’s goal goes in the air goes out of the room.

“It’s football”, says Abdul the Senegalese chef after the final whistle:

every time you expect something, it doesn’t turn out that way.

“My mum’s Irish - I’ll go back to being a Plastic Paddy now” says a man who had minutes earlier was been the room’s principle cheerleader.

Among a mainly-female crowd, there’s a lot of good sense about the result. Lawyers Samantha and Matilda feel that for once media expectations haven’t been over the top - there was no specially composed song, no thought England would get anywhere until they reached the quarter-finals. They lament the missed opportunities. “They’re quite emotional players” says Samantha. “As soon as they get knocked down, their mojo just went”.

But, says Matilda, “they’ve done so well that you can’t fault them”.

Rebecca thinks it’s been an “overwhelmingly positive campaign” engaging people in debating issues from masculinity to Brexit through the medium of sport, and is confident that after a short period people would get over their disappointment. As an Aston Villa fan, she says, she’s a past master at football’s high and lows - “particularly lows”.

said he would back the Three Lions.

Lambeth’s Portuguese community is thought to be the largest outside the Republic. Their language is the second-most spoken in the borough.

Lambeth is also home to FC Porto’s London branch, which is recruiting boys and girls aged 7-21.

Earlier this year, a group of Portuguese-speaking members of West Norwood’s BIGKID Foundation were shortlisted for the Youth Social Action Award for organising a football tournament for youngsters from various Lusophone backgrounds, such as Brazil and Angola.

ALLEZ LES BLEUS!

There was jubilation among French football fans who had gathered to watch the final on a big screen at Brixton Village in the sunshine.

“I’m so happy” said Morgane from Montpellier, watching with her Italian boyfriend Roberto.

“We’ve been waiting since 98!”, said Lambeth resident Djamila, who grew up near Paris. “All countries did their best, but France I’m very happy for them”. “[Croatia] were aggressive, it was difficult” said Myriam, who lives in Balham.

The game united French supporters with Londoners from Francophone African countries, a good number of whom live in Lambeth.

Wearing a blue polo shirt with red and white stripes, Konate from Ivory Coast, who lives in Brixton Hill, said that supporting France is “almost the same [for me]”. Rudi from Gabon, watching the game in East London said, “I feel so proud as this victory means first of all that united we will always stand. There is no place for racism in [France]”.

News

10 LAMBETH LIFE JULY 2018

The “social supermarket” helping south Londoners transform their lives Gary Stott tells Lambeth Life how the social enterprise he runs is using surplus produce to build strong individuals and a more confident community Lambeth boasts its fair share of the capital’s crown jewels but a matter of yards from the London Eye and the Southbank Centre are scenes of deprivation that should shame us all.

Lambeth is the UK’s 22nd most deprived district, with an estimated 87,000 people living in poverty, and this frequently means struggling to find good quality and healthy food.

The founder of Lambeth’s Community Shop, John Marren, is taking steps to do something about it. He has had more than 40 years of experience in the food industry through his surplus food redistribution organisation, Company Shop, which offers an opportunity to think differently about food waste and food insecurity. He knew that the food industry didn’t want to waste produce, just as much as hardworking families didn’t want to be living on the cusp of food poverty.

It is from this understanding that Community Shop was born in 2013, and we opened Community Shop Lambeth on Vale Street in West Norwood, in December 2014. In some ways, it is like any other local convenience store, with

shelves stocked with fresh food, toiletries and household products.

But we are a truly unique social enterprise. We are a community food hub and social supermarket, open to local people who receive some form of welfare support. More than just food, we aim to build confident communities around food – in our case with a cafe and cookery school, along with a learning and mentoring hub.

The products we sell are about a third of retail price. They are surplus stock from the supply chain; they could be unwanted because of the wrong packaging or a short shelf life, forecasting errors or cancelled orders. Each member

saves an average of £212 every month – but we don’t want to create a culture of dependency and our ultimate aim is for our members not to need us anymore.

For many, the simple task of acquiring food each day has become a source of stress. We take this worry away, and our community kitchen and food journal help people to remember that food can be a source of joy.

We have four Community Shop stores across the country. Here in Lambeth, many of our members don’t have access to gardens to grow their own food, so we created an urban garden.

We have barrels for plant pots which grow everything from strawberries and

tomatoes to red cabbage and green beans, all of which are used in our kitchen.

Our sales revenue powers our Community Hub, a space for community learning and mentoring where we engage, inspire and connect with every member who comes through our doors.

We provide everything from debt advice, job skills and home budgeting, to flower arranging and cooking classes and gardening projects. In Lambeth, we even have our very own Community Shop choir. Our reach is broadened by our members, who we train to become resourceful and confident community leaders who can spread the word about the programme.

We build on what’s strong, not focus on what’s wrong. Some 93 per cent of members say their wellbeing has improved. As of this month, 395 members have moved into employment since joining Community Shop.

Behind this number, there are co-

untless stories of individuals whose lives have been transformed.

One of the most rewarding elements of my job is seeing how our members are motivated to use their skills to benefit others. Two of our more recent members - sisters Hiep and Phung, originally from Vietnam - spend a lot of their time caring for their elderly parents, which demands a lot of them.

Phung is a trained sports coach and has been providing football and basketball coaching for local children during the holidays, as well as assisting with a free weekly car health check. Hiep is volunteering with a parent and toddler class. Both speak of how Community Shop has helped them not only with their food budgeting, but also with the challenge of caring for their parents and to remember who they are as individuals.

At Community Shop Lambeth, we are working every day to build a more confident community, bringing people together through activities where they can share experiences and knowledge.

By harnessing the power of food that would otherwise have gone to waste, we are reaching individuals who need our help most, and transforming communities like West Norwood to become the vibrant and confident places they should be, free from the struggle of food insecurity.

Joy and sadness at Windrush Day commemoration Key campaigners and the Lambeth community have given a mixed reaction to the Government’s announcement that Windrush Day will in future be an annual celebration.

Windrush Foundation director and historian Arthur Torrington CBE called it “a moment of great satisfaction”. But Director of Black Cultural Archives in Brixton Paul Reid said “You can’t detach the [joy] from a sense of disappointment at the deportation issue which sits within the context of colonialism and, frankly, slavery”.

At a roundtable last month, communities minister Lord Bourne announced that 22nd June will now be known as Windrush Day. A fund of £500,000 will be made available to organisations putting on educational and commemorative events, and a cross-party committee chaired by Lib Dem peer Baroness Floella Benjamin has been set up to consider the best permanent memorial.

Patrick Vernon of 100 Great Black Britons, who is on the memorial committee said: “After several years of campaigning for a national Windrush Day, it is great that the government has finally recognised this.

“One of the positive consequences of the Windrush Scandal has been a massive media and public history lesson. However we still need additional support and resources to ensure that Windrush Day becomes part of the

national narrative. The government could consider development of an intergenerational programme to capture personal histories [or] a series of commemorative stamps, special coins or bank notes.”

Events in Lambeth to mark this year’s Windrush Day included a tea

party for elderly residents, and a public memorial for civil rights lawyer Rudy Narayan in Lambeth Town Hall. Lambeth Council leader Lib Peck said, “Lambeth has a pivotal role in the Windrush story and is a borough proud of its diversity and openness. I hope the whole country will celebrate

not just Windrush 70 but the great enrichment that the Windrush generation and subsequent migrants have brought to this country.”

An outdoor celebration in Windrush Square on 23rd June featured live music and spoken word, a tent full of domino matches and a craft fair.

Founding member of the Specials Jerry Dammers played a series of classic reggae records, extending his thanks many times to the Windrushers for their contribution to the UK. Colourful Radio presenter DJ Crocodile blasted out Mr Vegas’s I Am Blessed to get the crowd dancing.

Verna from Streatham Hill, whose mother worked as a machinist and father as a bus conductor when they came to Brixton from Jamaica said that “our parents worked very hard, they did a lot for the country”.

Afrikan Martial Arts coach Mike Springer said he had mixed feelings: “lots of celebration and a feeling of coming together, but some anger as well”. There should be more funding for education and a better appreciation of black boys’ needs, he said.

Dominos player Ken, of Jamaican heritage, said he thought the government was “gradually getting there” over making amends. Paulette from Croydon, whose family were also from Jamaica, said “You know Caribbean people, they forgive easily”.

At a talk at Brixton Library on 16th June, University of the West Indies Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir Hilary Beckles addressed “this awful and terrible history” of Caribbean slavery. He described it, with the slave population failing to achieve a natural rate of increase, as “a genocidal experience” and addressed black Caribbean audience members as “holocaust survivors”.

Calling for reparations for slaves’ descendants, he said we “have to ask Prime Minister May to understand that by oppressing the people of the Caribbean they are diminishing the potential of this country”. He is in discussions with the Warden of All Souls College Oxford, Professor Sir John Vickers, about possible reparations for the College’s historic enrichment from the slave trade.

Would you like to help make this paper bigger and better?

We are looking for applicants for Lambeth Life’s Editorial Board, to oversee the output of the paper, be a source of ideas and take on special projects.

We are looking for people with community politics, public service or journalistic experience.

Get in touch at info@lambethlife. com.

These are voluntary positions. The Publisher’s decision is final.

News

LAMBETH LIFE JULY 2018

Celebrating Lambeth’s Jack Petchey award winners More than 100 youngsters from across the borough have received £250 each from a veteran car sales entrepreneur to be put towards helping their peers.

Pupils who have excelled as scholars, sportspeople and humanitarians were among the 131 Lambeth teenagers receiving Jack Petchey Foundation Achievement Awards. The awards scheme is run by schools and youth organisations under the guidance of

pupil at Bishop Thomas Grant School in Streatham, was chosen as one of the winners after speaking up for young people in Lambeth.

He has organised events for his form’s chosen charity and is part of the school’s eco committee and debate team, as well as a member of Lambeth Youth Council, He chose to spend his £250 on resources for the Model UN conference he organised in June as part of Bis-

Luca Emery (above)

the foundation. It was set up by the charitable wing of Sir Jack Petchey’s business empire. Since 2006, youth organisations and schools in the borough have received more than £1.1 million in funding. Luca Emery, 15, a

hop Thomas’s Model United Nations group. Luca, who aspires to study engineering and theoretical physics at university, got pulled out halfway through a lesson to be told he had been nominated. “I really enjoy wor-

king with younger kids and being able to pass on what I know,” he said.

“People need to be aware volunteering is work but it’s fun, it’s not as hard as [they] imagine” he said. “To hear stories of volunteering might inspire people to take action, to make people feel better and happier”.

Sammy Morgan, 12, of Norwood School, won the money after excelling at school work and in sport: he is captain of the football team and, outside school, a member of youth basketball and football sides as well as a cross-country runner.

Ibrahim Dogus, deputy mayor of Lambeth and Lambeth Life publisher, said: “Thanks to the hard work of the Foundation there will be many more great achievers in Lambeth.”

Annie Hudson, Lambeth council’s strategic director of children’s services, said: “The breadth and depth of the talent of children and young people in Lambeth was truly awesome.

The future is indeed bright”.

Winners are nominated by their peers with the cash spent on resources or a community event to benefit the wider institution. There are also grants for organisations running their own achievement awards, as well as “leader awards” for inspirational adults.

Sir Jack, a longstanding philanthropist, set up the foundation in 1999 and says it has distributed £115m since then. The scheme now operates in 2000 schools and organisations throughout London and Essex.

In praise of tireless local heroes A campaigning local church has hailed police, fire and ambulance staff who put their lives on the line in Lambeth each day.

On 2nd June, Brixton Seventhday Adventist Church honoured members of the emergency services including Mark Burnett (ambulance), Jayson Tough (fire), John Hall and Philip Uma (PCSOs).

The church also recognised members of the congregation who have fundraised locally and globally including: • Lynn Thomas, a volunteer since the 1970s, initially with Age Concern (now Age UK) and St John’s Ambulance. She has hosted yearly tea parties for the elderly since 1986

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• Mitzie Walall, who started helping at the church’s weekly mobile soup kitchen more than 20 years ago. She sends barrels of clothing across the world to families in need • Simon Fraser, who has dedicated 18 years to the upkeep of the 19th century church, enduring 5am starts in winter to turn on the building’s boiler The church has run the Be The Change programme since 2011 as part of its effort to counter violence on the streets.

“We had seen so many stabbings in Brixton, then the London riots and so it was time for us to say enough is enough” says personal ministries leader Kellee Halliburton.

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1 SEPTEMBER - 31 OCTOBER THIS CENTRE IS OFSTED REGISTERED Find out how Kumon study can help your child to shine. Book a consultation with your local study centre to start your child’s two-week Free Trial.

Kennington Study Centre 020 7582 7043 Developing ability for 60 years Terms and conditions apply. Fees vary. Participating study centres only.

Please refer to your local study centre. Subject to availability.

Children's Events

12 LAMBETH LIFE JULY 2018

Wild Child Festival, Dulwich Trevor Bailey Sports Ground, SE21 7LE 17th-19th August Ages 0-11 www.wildchildfestivals.co.uk

and take part in workshops with inspirational authors & illustrators.

The Little Top. Tightrope walk, fly on the trapeze or learn to juggle with the help of Circus Dreams The Bop Along Ballroom. Dance the day away learning new moves and grooves ranging from Bollywood to Line dancing. See an exciting Teddy Bear’s Picnic ballet and Alice in Wonderland musical by the fabulous Let’s All Dance.

Babes in the Burrow. A magical sensory play garden, a creative edible messy play area, interactive theatre, circus workshops and a Broadway musical concert for festival-goers aged 0-3.

A new boutique children’s festival for London, conceived as an event independent of big brands and popular TV characters, Wild Child comprises 10 arts-inspired zones offering activities, workshops and performances. Families are encouraged to visit the different zones and try something new together.

Zones include The Magic Hollow. Become a magician and learn tricks to impress your friends in with El Baldiniho Magic.

The Wordy Wood. Help Little Folk Tales bring to life amazing stories

Wild Child is founded by London mum and family arts producer Hayley Byfield. Among partners is Lambeth-based Brixton Brewery.

Newington Art & Music

St Mary’s Newington, 57a Kennington Park Road SE11 4JQ 4th-19th August Ages 6-16 Contact: David Powell 07973 715034/ jimtuba@hotmail.com For a sixth year, Newington Art & Music is running a fortnight-long summer project at St Mary’s Newington church, combining art and music to draw on children’s creativity.

Children will gain experience in design, working with different materials, song-writing, composition, improvisation and ensemble and percussion playing. Artist Al Johnson, who lectures and leads demonstrations and workshops in museums including the National Gallery, Tate, V&A, the British Museum, the Royal Collection and Wallace Collection will help participants create a permanent work. Composer, sound designer and performer Kate Hayes, drummer and percussion teacher Nuno Brito, who has performed at the Proms, and tuba and keyboard player David Powell, a founder-member of jazz ensemble Loose Tubes, are the other tutors. There is a performance for local elders living in sheltered housing on 17th and a final concert and exhibition at St Mary’s Newington on 19th.

No prior experience needed.

Institute of Imagination The Workshop, 26 Lambeth High St, London SE1 7AG 24th-26th July and 31st July-2nd August Ages 8-12+ Contact: imaginationlab@ioi.london http://www.ioi.london/event/lab-liftoff-megamachines/ Lambeth High Street’s Imagination Lab is being transformed into a makers’ studio for two three-day workshops for children aged 8-12 focused on design, electronics, mechanics and programming.

Attendees will design, experiment, prototype and programme mechanisms to carry out tasks in an ingenious and quirky way, building a mega Rube Goldberg mad machine by the end of the camp.

The Institute of Imagination is a UK charity seeking to create a permanent world-class centre, originally planned as the London Children’s Museum, for developing children’s and families’ creativity. Its patrons include Sir Ken Robinson and Michael Morpurgo.

To date, the Institute has engaged with more than 35,000 children, families, schools and community groups.

EVENTS July-August Art

Music ZooNation Presents The Next Generation 2018 Royal Festival Hall, Saturday 28th July,

Sistema Europe Youth Orchestra, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Sunday 26th August.

Benedict Hughes: Is There a Rhinoceros in the Room?

Brocket London, until 4th August

Craig Charles’ Funk & Soul Roof Top Party Prince of Wales Brixton, Sunday 29th July,

Southwark Youth Orchestra Summer Concert (free event) Royal Festival Hall, Thursday 30th August.

Lin May Saeed, Biene Studio Voltaire, until 26th August

A Plateful of Jazz Omnibus Theatre, Sunday 29th July,

Laura Farre Rozada recital St John's Church, Waterloo, Friday 31st August.

Lee Bul, Hayward Gallery until 19th August

South London Jazz Orchestra Toulouse Lautrec jazz bar, Sunday 29th July,

True Colours – Helen Beard/Sadie Laska/Boo Saville, Newport Street Gallery until 9th September

Daisy Chute feat. Alex Curtis Toulouse Lautrec jazz bar, Saturday 4th August,

In Whose Eyes? – Practice in Dialogue Beaconsfield Gallery Vauxhall until 5th August

Das EFX Brixton Jamm, Friday 10th August, Hot Dub Time Machine O2 Academy Brixton, Saturday 11th August, Ringmaster and historian Chris

Barltrop, dressed as 18th with the Khadikov riders from Zippo's Circus at a plaque-unveiling on Cornwall Road to Wandsworth (HIV charity)/LGBT of Wandsworth mark the Oasis 250th anniversary modern circus centurycircus owner Philip Astley, Old Dirty Brasstards The Blues Kitchen, Saturday 11th August

Clapham Common Bandstand, Saturday 18th August,

Children's Events

LAMBETH LIFE JULY 2018

Summer Kids Klub

Wandsworth Summer Camp

Burntwood School, Burntwood Lane, SW17 0AQ 24th July-16th August Ages 9-16 lsptlspt1@gmail.com; www.lambethsummercamps.org/ Lambeth Summer Camps seek to encourage children and young people to be happy, healthy and safe and to help them achieve their full potential. After more than 30 years in Lambeth the scheme is extending to Wandsworth as well this summer: children attending schools in either borough are eligible. Activities on offer include music, drama, dance, computer workshops, singing, filming, beauty, cookery and arts & crafts. There are sports running all day - football tournaments, cricket, basketball, badminton and table tennis. There are also trips off-site to go sailing, canoeing, rock climbing, BMXing, or to Quasar or London Zoo. Children can enrol for one week or all four weeks. In person registration is at Burntwood School in Tooting on Monday 23rd July. There are discounts for families with multiple children and those on low incomes.

Pop Brixton, 49 Brixton Station Rd SW9 8PQ 23rd July - 29th August Ages: 7+ (cookery), 5-14 (karate), 4+ (drumming), 4+ (art) Contact: www. popbrixton.org On weekday lunchtimes and Saturday mornings in the last week of July and throughout August, Pop Brixton is hosting a series of free classes. On Mondays, chefs from Pop Brixton ve-

nues offer an introduction to different culinary techniques; on Wednesdays, Ming from Koi Ramen Bar takes a karate club; on Friday is a drumming session with steel pan and djembe drums, and Saturday is an art and craft making class. This is not a childcare service: for weekday classes, parents and guardians need to come with their children, while under 4s need accompanying for the art sessions. There are limited places so book early to avoid disappointment.

Summer school drumming workshops; 23rd-27th July Simply Smiley, Kennington Park Community Centre

Coin Street Community Builders Community Summer & Activity Camp London Nautical School sports hall, Hatfields SE1 8DJ 23th July - 10th August Ages 8-12 Contact: Dan Gibbs - 07946 132675/D.Gibbs@ coinstreet.org

Coin Street is running a sports and activity camp with swimming, sports coaching, bowling, cookery, Rambert dance classes, trips out and more. It’s organised in partnership with London South Bank University, who are providing

Make It! Colombo Centre, 34-68 Colombo St SE1 8DP Tues/Wed/Thurs from 24th July - 16th August Ages 12-19 Contact: Natalie Bell - n.bell@coinstreet.org

coaches for some sessions. Children from the north of Lambeth are eligible, and can attend for one week or all three.

They should wear sports or active wear and bring a packed lunch and refillable water bottle.

For teenagers, there are

free drop-in workshops at the Colombo Centre led by professionals in fields including music production, drama, fashion, branding, logo design, T shirt and screen printing and cookery.

EVENTS July-August Theatre

Festival

Tokyo Love Hotel, Ovalhouse, 27th-28th July

Edinburgh Fringe Festival Comedy Previews, Stuart Bowden: Our Molecules Battersea Arts Centre, 28th July

Gulliver Returns, Omnibus Theatre, 28th July

Fest Norwood, South London Theatre Fire Station, 3rd-12th August

Hot Brown Honey, Queen Elizabeth Hall, 24th-28th July

South West Four Festival, Clapham Common, 25th-26th August

Julie, Lyttleton Theatre, until 8th September Exit the King, Olivier Theatre, 17th July-6th October Things of Dry Hours, Young Vic, 15th-25th August A Monster Calls, Old Vic, until 25th August

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Harold Pinter season, July-August BFI Southbank Animation season 2018, Studio AKA: The home of Hey Duggee and Lost and Found, BFI Southbank, 5th August Lambeth Heritage Festival - Lambeth Local History Fair, Omnibus Theatre, Saturday 1st September WHY? Young activists festival, October, Southbank Centre

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14 LAMBETH LIFE JULY 2018

“Delicious food, beautiful atmosphere”

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LAMBETH LIFE JULY 2018 As beach holiday season begins, Lambeth writers and book lovers recommend some gripping reads

SUMMER READING

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Well-formed characters and superbly researched writing take you to a difficult time and place, Nigeria during the Biafran war in the late 1960s. I heard Adichie speak recently - I decided I’d be packing this book again for a trip to African mountains later this summer.

Martin Nathan, London Underground design engineer and author Charmian Kenner, campaigner and former lecturer

The Remainder, Tom McCarthy (Abacus Press) The Remainder’s hero uses his compensation from an unexplained accident to reconstruct scenes from his past. As he builds a world of his unreliable memory of scenes around Brixton, he gradually draws you into the madness of his project.

Orphan Sisters, Lola Jaye (Penguin, £5.99): A novel about the hardships encountered by a Nigerian family who move to London in the 1950s. Three children suffer the harsh realities of a children’s home, but ultimately it’s an uplifting story of sisterhood and survival.

Come Let Us Sing Anyway, Leone Ross (Peepal Tree Press, £9.99) This collection of short stories cracks with an energy and charge that makes you keep reading. Each story, mainly London-based, finds new ways to startle and surprise.

The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion, Jonathan Haidt (Penguin, £10.99) : A psychologist explains why social groups develop particular political beliefs, and gives advice on how to talk to people who have different views from you.

Very useful for finding ‘more in common’ with those who voted the other way on Brexit!

Wise Blood, Flannery O’Connor (Faber, £8.99) I frequently return to this work of Southern Gothic. Hazel Motes encounters fake preachers in a Deep South town, and decides to found his own religion, ‘where lame don’t walk, the blind don’t see, and what’s dead stays that way’. He drives onward until it destroys him in its natural, grim conclusion.

My Life on the Road, Gloria Steinem (Oneworld, £9.99): Feminist icon Gloria Steinem has spent most of her life travelling around the United States and the world as a community organiser.

She shares inspiring stories of working with women in different countries and learning from their struggles.

Rebecca Burn-Callander, journalist and author Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman (HarperCollins, £8.99) It would be unfair to give too much away about this fabulously weird yet heart-warming read. Suffice to say it is the loosely based on the theme of loneliness – something to which every human can relate. For anyone looking for an antidote to Instagram and Love Island, the author has somehow created a world that feels blissfully preserved since the mid-Nineties with the wistful air of a simpler time. The plot, in contrast, stabs like a knife.

Where The Missing Go by Emma Rowley (Orion, £7.99) You can’t beat a gripping thriller and this is one of the best. In this debut novel, Rowley masterfully builds suspense and dread, while leading the reader effortlessly through the plot’s shocking twists and turns. It’s a powerful idea: what would you do if your daughter went missing, presumed a runaway, but you knew it must be something more sinister? Parents will cuddle their children closer at bedtimes.

The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall (Canongate, £8.99) Yet another debut, this novel feels fresh and original even 11 years after it was first published. Don’t be put off by the slightly hackneyed opening gambit: a man wakes up with no memory.

This is part adventure story, part sci-fi, part thriller. Tip: avoid flicking through the pages before reading. The author employs some rather clever typographic devices later in the novel and you

Jago Wynne, rector at Holy Trinity Clapham

won’t want to stumble across them too early.

Sabrina Mahfouz - poet, playwright and screenwriter Rita, Sue and Bob Too by Andrea Dunbar (Bloomsbury, £10.99) This classic play set on a Bradford estate, which was turned into a 1987 film, was revived this year at The Royal Court and republished by Methuen Bloomsbury. Even though it was over a decade old when I first experienced it, Dunbar’s work was the first time I heard dialogue that seemed real to me, with girls at the centre who were certainly victims of a misogynistic society but were explored far beyond just being victims. It is simultaneously an uncomfortable and joyous read.

The City Always Wins by Omar Robert Hamilton (Faber, £8.99) One of my favourite books of 2017 and likely to end up in my top ten ever, The City Always Wins is a nuanced, poetical, absorbing read, a fictionalised account of the violent yet hopeful days of the Egyptian uprisings in 2011.

Songs My Enemy Taught Me by Joelle Taylor (Out-Spoken Press, £10) I wrote the foreword for this incredible book and gush about it comprehensively there! This is no easy read, as it documents the author’s experience of childhood abuse alongside the as-

sault on so many aspects of women’s lives across the globe, but it is an immensely moving and profound one.

the water. This journal of the process of production of the world’s first summer blockbuster movie is as compelling and full of surprises as the movie itself. Not just for film buffs - but mainly for them.

Marc Tiley, producer and director The Race to Save the Romanovs by Helen Rappaport (Cornerstone, £21.99 hardback) Helen Rappaport’s knack of story-telling is in full force here as she weaves out the events leading up the ‘ugly, crazed, botched murder’ of the Russian Imperial family in July, 1918.

Escape plans were hatched by royal cousins across Europe but noone came to the family’s aid. They were, Rappaport reveals, ostensibly abandoned to their fate, although the finger is clearly pointed at Lenin, who wanted ‘no living banner’ to survive.

Davis Mukasa, former political PR and writer The Blunders of our Governments, Anthony King and Ivor Crewe (Oneworld, £9.99) I like a bit of satire and good sketch writing. This is a contemporary classic: how recent governments have, often with the best of intentions, thrashed around in their attempts to implement messianic “new policies” and agendas drawn up on the back of a napkin, remorselessly dissected by the authors.

Brilliant, shocking and hilarious.

Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann (Simon & Schuster, £6.49) Part history, part investigation, Grann handles both elements of his deep research into Native American oil wealth-related murders in the 1920s with a deft touch that make a complex journey rich with colour and character.

It’s a shocking and readable account that keeps the emotional heart of the victims beating at all times.

Blockchain Revolution: How the Technology Behind Bitcoin and Other Cryptocurrencies is Changing the World, Don Tapscott and Alex Tapscott (Penguin, £9.99) I found this book a very thought provoking and easy read. It asks how we should use new technology to better serve society in the future, rather than replace it.

The Jaws Log by Carl Gottlieb (Faber, £12.99) The best beach book, guaranteed to make you think twice about getting in to

Half of a Yellow Sun, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (HarperCollins, £8.99) A very good deep holiday read if you didn’t catch it the first time around.

Blue: Keeping the Peace and Falling to Pieces by John Sutherland (Orion, £8.99) A Sunday Times bestseller, John is local to Lambeth and a personal friend.

A police officer for 25 years, he rose to be Borough Commander of Southwark before suffering a major breakdown.

With searing honesty, he gives a wonderful insight into what it is like to be a police officer today. His book also has much to teach us all about vulnerability, authenticity, and holding on to hope.

William Wilberforce: The Life of the Great Anti-Slave Trade Campaigner by William Hague (HarperCollins, £14.99) Wilberforce is one of my greatest heroes - for his character and attitude to life, as much as all he achieved in the abolition of the slave trade. He lived in Clapham, worshipped at the church where I now serve, and the contemporary political heavyweight, William Hague, does a fantastic job at bringing to life this remarkable man.

Making Sense of God: An invitation to the sceptical by Timothy Keller (Hodder & Stoughton, £16.99 hardback; £9.99 paperback forthcoming) Renowned as a 21st century C.S. Lewis, Keller compares and contrasts how Christianity and secularism look to provide meaning, satisfaction, freedom, identity and a moral compass to life. I’ve found Keller’s writings to be a huge help in both challenging me and forming in me a worldview that makes sense. Why not get this book, and see what you think…

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16 LAMBETH LIFE JULY 2018

Making a song and dance about economics with Lambeth’s elfin comedy star Elf Lyons was shortlisted for the top award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival last summer. Now she is on the brink of a return, with a show that explains money, inflation and hardship in a way you have never heard before, writes Tiernan Douieb Lambeth's Elf Lyons is one of those comedians whose performances can definitely be described as hysterically funny – but move beyond that and it’s hard to know how to categorise her.

Her show at last year’s Edinburgh Fringe, entitled Swan, was a mixture of clowning, stand-up, drag, cabaret and over-the-top French accents as she attempted to recreate Swan Lake, live onstage each night while dressed as a giant parrot. Oh, and sometimes as a shark.

It’s a natural product of her training at the Ecole Philip Gaulier clowning school in Paris. Elf is billed as the ‘Queen of Clown’ and last year’s show deservedly earned her a nomination for the main Edinburgh Comedy Award, putting her on a par with household names such as Adam Hills, Dave Gorman and Reginald D Hunter.

She returns to the Edinburgh Fringe this year with her show Chiff Chaff, a one-woman musical about the economy.

When I met Elf on an extremely sunny Saturday afternoon she explained why she had chosen this topic – and how putting it together had been informed by her life in Oval over the past five years.

“Lambeth is the best. I shop local, I know all of my neighbours, I go to the same café every day, Di Lieto, I’ve got pen pals in the area, old people that I meet and swap details with,” she said.

“For me it’s a community-based area but I don’t know anyone in my block of flats, not for want of trying but they’re all 9-5, young, woke, millennial workers who all leave early in the morning and come back at night.”

She is “really proud” to have joined the local branch of the Women’s Equality Party.

Her choice of political allegiance was clear to her.

“When people talk about feminism, they often mean white feminism, they’re not thinking about everybody in London, from different demographics, in different wage brackets etc, so I think that’s

something we do need to fight for”, she says. She’s riled by pigeon-holing, like those who assume she is a Conservative because she went to boarding school.

Elf describes being a woman on stage as “inherently political”, putting her in a rich vein of female artists who have taken on the once all-male comedy establishment.

She notes the continued double standards whereby as a woman performer “you’re either able to sexualise your body or you make fun of it, but if you jump between the two, people don’t know what to make of it”.

Comedians, and laughter, could be the driver towards a more engaged society, she muses.

“We have to think outside the box. We're like the Monster Raving Looney Party. Of course, you’d want to have a 99p coin. It doesn’t make any economic sense – but it does make common sense. It’d save so much change”.

“It’s a great way of getting kids involved in politics. You need parties like that. Also, the joy of crea-

ting inventive ways to benefit the community, not just economically, but emotionally.”

She wouldn’t call politics her creative inspiration, although in relation to Swan she says, “I think there is something very political and totally punk about refusing to acknowledge what is going on and saying I’m just going to be a complete clown for now”.

The “dismal science” of economics has really fired her new show, however.

“My belief for Chiff Chaff is I come on stage and I say, ‘Right, I think economists purposely make it too complicated, I think they use too many words, and I think economics is really fun, it’s for all of us, [so], I think economics is best communicated in song.’ “‘How do you explain the economy?’”, she asks herself. “Mime.

How do you explain the economy?

Hula hooping. Trying to achieve the goal with the impossible task.

That’s how I make it work, it’s just a game of matching things and seeing what the fun is, what the game

is, but also, with economics, it’s an emotional word for me.”

This is because her father is Gerard Lyons, a former Standard Chartered bank chief economist who went on to serve as an advisor to Boris Johnson during his time as London mayor.

“For me, when you say, ‘Economics’, I immediately think of

my dad, I think of every Sunday lunch, because it’s the one conversation, it’s the subject we always talk about, so it’s a word of absolute powerful love for me.”

I put it to Elf that her show is the comedy version of Talking to My Daughter About The Economy, by rebel economist and former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis – but delivered from the daughter’s perspective.

She agrees and says that one of her next projects is a book she is writing with her father about economics.

“It’s me explaining my ideas about the economy to my dad and us arguing about them and trying to specify it – but in a fun way.”

“I see recessions as forest fires because I’m a woman of visual imagery, being dyslexic, and my dad’s a man of maths. If he quotes statistics to me, I’m not going to remember those, but if you tell me inflation’s a bit like when money turns into spinach and deflation is when it when it turns into really heavy sacks of potatoes that are a little bit mouldy, I understand that a lot more. If you say to me that stagnation is couscous, I immediately know it’s something we shouldn’t look forward to.”

Elf says that over her years of performing, she has overcome an early need to be liked on stage that her mum picked her up on. Her advice to rookie comics: “Do what makes you happy, don’t try and prove anything to anyone”.

She admits to being hooked on the buzz of doing shows, and finds watching Love Island great therapy. (“Stick 10 people in a house together and watch them night and day, you get solid entertainment.

I didn’t realise how important it was for me to have that comfort”).

For those who don’t have a chance to see Elf in Edinburgh, or who don’t fancy economics, she has a play in the pipeline for the autumn – a serious horror show in which she plays Medusa in the final hour of her life. Amazing lighting and sound are promised and the director is Ian Nicholson, winner of a Stage Award at Edinburgh for a Don Quixote adaptation with the Little Soldier theatre company.

It’s typical of a young comedian whose range of reference is exceptionally broad, who vows to “play to my strengths” and whose energy and inventiveness will surely lead her to further success.

Chiff Chaff is on at the Edinburgh Fringe in the Pleasance Dome from the 1st to the 27th August (not the 13th) at 18.50. Visit theelflyons.com and Tweet at @ elf_lyo

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LAMBETH LIFE JULY 2018

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A BOROUGH RICH IN LAUGHTER Kae Kurd (Streatham) Kurd came to the UK at the age of 6 months as a refugee from Saddam Hussein's persecution - his father and uncle were Peshmerga resistance fighters. Growing up in Brixton, he adopted Kae Kurd as a moniker because people struggled to pronounce his birth name, Korang Abdulla, correctly.

His quick-fire delivery comes from his early experience trying to win over big crowds on the BME comedy circuit. Kurd’s multicultural upbringing and keen observational skills allow him to be playful with ethnic and religious stereotypes without seeming scornful. He’s also a community activist, helping to launch the emergency appeal fund for Kurdish refugees displaced by the war against Isis.

describes West Norwood as “very slightly gentrified” and says the funniest heckle she ever received was a man lifting up his kilt.

Kerry Godliman (West Norwood) Kerry has had parallel careers as an actor and a stand-up since training at Rose Bruford College and reaching the 2003 Babycham Funny Women competition final.

From 2012-4, she co-starred with Ricky Gervais on Channel 4 series Derek. She has also appeared in series including Miranda and Extras, on Netflix feature film Mascots and on Sky sitcom Carters Get Rich. She's featured

Harriet Kemsley and Bobby Mair (Streatham)

on BBC’s Mock The Week and in Live At The Apollo, is a regular on The News Quiz and The Now Show and has done two series of her own radio show, Kerry's List. She is playing three dates in Edinburgh this summer. She

A couple who mine their contrasting characters and interpersonal dynamic as a rich source of comedy, Harriet and Bobby filmed the run-up to their 2017 wedding as a reality series.

Bobby was adopted and grew up in a small town in Ontario, coming to the UK at 25 after he won $10,000 in a stand-up competition. He was hit on panel shows

including 8 Out of 10 Cats and Never Mind The Buzzcocks. He successfully kicked drug addiction and stayed with Harriet after a period of lurid misdemeanours. Earlier this year he performed a national tour. With her "honest, awkward, oversharing" stand-up, Harriet has supported the likes of Katherine Ryan and Isy Suttie and appeared on The One Show and Jo Brand's Channel 4 show Damned. She presents podcast Why is Harriet Crying? with Sunil Patel and has performed in films including 2014's Bonobo opposite Josie Lawrence. She has just toured her latest show Slutty Joan around the UK before taking it to the Fringe.

Beso is an amazing new restaurant from Morocco to Spain aromatic flavours at the hearth of London

“Sitting on the corner of Shaftesbury Avenue and Neal street, Beso has three distinct areas – The stunning Mosaic Majorelle Garden table and bar on the ground floor where you can walk in for cocktails and Moorish bites. The 30 seater restaurant Inspired by the Peter Behrens infamous painting “kiss” on the wall where you’ll enjoy a full Moro-Spanish beso experience. The hidden caves and wine cellar will take you on a journey through past and present memories of the old medinas and the smell of freshly ground spices.”

190 Shaftesbury Ave, London WC2H 8JL «020 3972 8888 «hello@besolondon.com

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18 LAMBETH LIFE JULY 2018

TAS Restaurants is proud to support Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity. Registered charity no.1160024

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RESTAURANT REVIEW

French cuisine with an international flavour Brasserie Joël Park Plaza Hotel 200 Westminster Bridge Road London SE1 7UT Tel 0333 400 6112 www.brasseriejoel.co.uk After making my way back from a day out at the seaside, and struggling through traffic at a standstill, Brasserie Joël proved an oasis of calm just a short walk from the South Bank.

The menu offers your usual French brasserie dishes, such as beef bourguignon and delicious traditional French onion soup, supplemented by favourites from around the world such as Argentine rib eye steak and hummus, moutabal and pitta bread.

There is plenty of choice for vegetarians including a delicious ratatouille and a scialatelli pasta arrabiata.

The décor at Brasserie Joël is red and dark, which gives it an intimate feel, and it is authentically French with

Parisian-style water beakers and soup bowls you would expect at any eaterie across the Fifth Republic.

Our eyes were caught by the

RESTAURANT REVIEW

discount offered to residents living close to the Park Plaza which seemed generous and reduced our bill to £68.96. If you can spare a sum like this, then check out Brasserie Joel.

RESTAURANT REVIEW

Smoke & Salt For the ultimate young Brixton experience, look no further than chefs Remi Williams and Aaron Webster's Smoke & Salt.

The Pop Brixton space is ideal for an early evening dinner al fresco, avoiding the larger crowds and with enough time to enjoy their delicious cocktail menu. I went for the simply divine elderflower bellini - if negronis are your thing, be advised that Smoke & Salt's come strong and bitter.

To keep it simple and still delicious, don't be afraid to opt for the set menu. Williams and Webster come from the school of seasonal cooking, so you are guaranteed to have super fresh ingredients and a constantly changing palette of options. Each small plate is a sample of their genius.

Highlights were without doubt the tomatoes and smoked ricotta, which come with a sprinkling of whey and toasted buckwheat, and the grilled chorizo with aubergine and some burned lemon mostarda.

The sweetness of the plum tomatoes reaches umami perfection with the rich, salty ricotta. As for the

whole sea bass on the menu but my companion opted for the Argentine rib eye steak which she described as “full of flavour and done to perfection

on the charcoal grill - plus it was seasoned well.”

The menu credits French cuisine

by Cedric Touchard – who has worked in top restaurants in France and East Asia - which goes explaining the attention to detail behind the offerings.

Diners looking for a deal can enjoy a fixed price menu for £30 a head from 5.30 to 7.30 p.m. with three courses, but it is limited to a maximum of eight people per party.

The Park Plaza is well known for its blue-ribbon events including the annual British Kebab Awards.

However, the stock in trade of the hotel restaurant is business visitors staying overnight or local folk from Waterloo and Lambeth.

Wines with dinner are wellchosen. My partner enjoyed a rosé for an eye-watering £8.75 a glass and then we shared a Cuvee Vignerons Vinde France for £29.95 a bottle.

Lovers of the grape would find much else from which to choose.

We benefited from a 20 per cent

chorizo, it crumbled in the mouth with such flavour and spice you'd expect to suddenly find you’d been transported to Seville.

Leave some room for dessert. The tahini yoghurt and a sesame waffle with strawberries is the sort of thing a posh kid craving an Eton mess would concoct during his Gap Yah in Lebanon. And while at first I wasn't sure it really worked, there was quite soon nothing left to share with my dining companion.

You can also expect some stellar service, with waiting staff ready to explain to you the concept behind each dish, and Williams working his charm on spellbound patrons.

Proving once more the culinary power of Lambeth, Smoke & Salt is the sort of place I wouldn't be too surprised to see featured on Chef's Table some time soon.

Chinese summer specials to have you bouncing with delight Ping Pong Festival Terrace Southbank Centre London SE1 8XX Tel 0207 960 4160 www.pingpongdimsum.com

A hugely popular branch of the Chinese restaurant chain sits at the heart of the South Bank.

Its core customers are theatregoers, sightseers and millennials.

The outside covered area is a plus for rainy days while the buzz of the restaurant helps mask the noise of trains overhead.

The mainstay of Ping Pong is dim sum and small delicacies like dumplings, prawn ball and duck spring rolls. My companion said they were as delicious as they were messy – until that is you have mastered the technique for eating them.

There’s also a huge choice of rice, noodles, soups and salads to satisfy any taste. Ping Pong is currently running a selection of summer specials including seaweed salad, tamarind duck salad, and soy ginger salad. For those feeling less adventurous, there are set menus from £13.95.

Among the dishes my companion sampled were chicken and cashew nut dumplings and pork and prawn shu mai, washed down with a large glass of white wine for £6.95.

I pushed the boat out with a large glass of red for £13.90. Nevertheless the whole meal for two came to a very reasonable £45.62, with a Ping Pong loyalty card. With service at 12.5

per cent this is around £25 a head, including drinks.

Ping Pong is exemplary for its easy ordering system in which you can fill out the choice yourself or ask the courteous staff to guide you. Unlike some other places on the South Bank, service is rapid with no long waiting times. What more could you want?

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20 LAMBETH LIFE JULY 2018

Brixton’s upcoming moguls hatch plans to turb Lambeth residents know their borough is teeming with ambitious entrepreneurs, whether they are creating the apps of the future or running the restaurants and bars that bring millions of people here to eat, drink and have fun.

Now, however, 50 businessminded young adults have been given a helping hand at the Impact Hub in Brixton.

The event, StartUP Brixton, was designed to show them how to turn their passions into profit and was open to any young person with an existing business or who wanted to learn more about becoming the next business mogul.

In total, eight workshops were on offer, each dedicated to helping young entrepreneurs develop the skills and networks to start or grow their own business.

This was the second time that the organisers, Hatch Enterprise, had brought this event to Pop Brixton. Hatch, an enterprise charity based in the district, has been supporting entrepreneurs aged18-30 in Lambeth since 2013. Its mission is to work with people from underrepresented and underserved groups to grow smart ideas into successful and sustainable companies that help their communities.

With support from funders such as the Walcot Foundation

and the Big Lottery Fund, Hatch runs programmes through an ecosystem of support including knowledge, mentorship and workspace.

The charity has worked with more than 500 entrepreneurs in south London, of which 65% came from minority ethnic backgrounds, 55% were female and 63% were under 30 years old.

In addition to their flagship programmes, which range from six weeks to six months, Hatch runs a variety of workshops and events designed to improve entrepreneurs’ skills and help grow their networks for support and collaboration.

“Speaking to entrepreneurs, we often hear that they ‘have to make it on their own’,” said Dirk Bischoff, CEO of Hatch. “There is a particular need for young people to access a community full of support and guidance when starting their entrepreneurial journey.”

This month, 10 ambitious young entrepreneurs from Lambeth are embarking on Hatch’s latest Incubator programme. It culminates in a pitching event in which participants pitch to a Dragons’ Den-style panel for the chance to win investment.

The support is hands-on and “personal to your business need”, said Timi Merriman-Johnson, who went through Hatch’s idea stage programme earlier this year and will be part of this Incubator cohort.

Lambeth resident Timi, 28, runs an online subscription marketplace called Lunr, which allows individuals to buy and manage subs-

criptions.

He came up with the idea after realising that he was still paying for a gym membership six months after cancelling it and said he liked the scheme because of the network it provided.

“You can ask questions, seek advice and rub shoulders with other entrepreneurs who are facing the same challenges as you. My experience so far has been invaluable.”

Another Young Lambeth resident, Teleana Isaac, 27, has turned her passion for baking cupcakes into a small business. She joined the Incubator to better understand how Teleana’s Treats can utilise online platforms for sales.

“I know the importance of marketing and social media but have struggled with using it to its full potential to engage new customers,” she said.

All of the businesses will have some impact on the community, whether through jobs, profits or the spread of vital opportunities.

Jacqueline Gomes-Neves, 22, has joined the Incubator to develop her social enterprise, World Women, which focuses on mentoring and developing the next generation of female leaders. The former Lambeth youth mayor sought out the programme to help “develop a more sustainable business model to ensure that World Women can go on to inspire and develop thousands of girls and women across the world.”

Another young female founder, Naomi Grant, is the 20-year-old founder of LAMBB, a collective of creatives that seek to redefine

Are you hungry for a food revolution?

With Clapham’s Growing Underground named in the international Disrupt 100 index of businesses with the most potential to influence, change or create global markets, diverse, start upfriendly Lambeth is fertile territory for food innovators. Michael Willoughby spoke to three businesses seeking the next big thing in ethical and imaginative eating

Department 22 Not food producers but design engineers, this start-up develops ideas for a more sustainable future.

They are aficionados of circular design, in which as few resources are thrown away and as many recovered as possible at the end of a product’s use.

Partners created a “Food Loop” for a Camden housing estate which generates income from thrown-

away food to pay residents to manage the system, producing “Boostaplant” slug-repellent fertiliser used to grown more food onsite and sell in garden centres.

The team has all guns blazing working with a big high street re-

tailer and the Government to help solve the plastic food packaging issue through circular design, and building a nutrition phone App which uses artificial intelligence to help people eat better more easily. They recently won a year’s free office space

at business hub The Food Exchange in New Covent Garden Market.

Their main focus however is an easy-to-use hydroponic system in which people can grow anything from herbs to tomatoes and strawberries at home in water rather than

soil. They are on prototype number five. “Right now, mostly ‘enthusiasts’ do it with plumbing pipes in their garage,” says director Dejan Mitrovic. “We are trying to create a plug-and-play unit that looks good and you can put in your home.”

Full of sensors, monitors and other gizmos, the growing lab will have everything you need to become an expert - and no YouTube videos needed.

While looking forward to moving to the Market, Mitrovic loves his firm’s current home on Lambeth High Street.

“It’s an incredibly central hidden gem and surrounded by other cultural places, institutions, museums, galleries and a growing start-up scene.”

Growing Underground You might have spotted this

NEWS 21

LAMBETH LIFE JULY 2018

bo-charge their community images of black and brown people in the media. The entrepreneur turned to Hatch to achieve greater knowledge about how to run a company.

“Thus far I have struggled with the business side,” says Naomi.

“As I am the founder and the main force behind the company there isn’t really anyone to go to when I need help or advice. This is why the mentor aspect of the programme is particularly interesting for me.”

A few of the individuals have turned to Hatch to support them through expanding their businesses.

Dennis Boateng’s recycling company, In-Use Reuse, manages the collection, organisation and disposal of pallets and wood waste within Brixton Market.

He is currently in the process of extending the wood waste collection to local businesses in the borough. “Our business model is under the circular economy which advocates that products, packaging, wood and various materials have an afterlife, supporting environmental policies and lowering waste accumulated in the UK,” says Boateng, 29.

“It is a really exciting time for the start up scene in South London”, says Lisa Wilson, Hatch’s Young Enterprise programme manager. “Lambeth is home to such a wealth of creativity and entrepreneurial spirit. We have seen through our programmes that there are so many innovative and exciting ideas that young people are bringing to life.”

horticultural firm’s “micro salads” in M&S, Whole Foods or local Waitrose. But it’s unlikely you would guess their underground birthplace is a former bomb shelter 33 metres below Clapham High Street.

Happening upon the growing area with its pink LEDs by way of a spiral staircase is quite something.

Within the tunnels, row upon row of sprouting seeds - mustard, rocket and coriander - are kept between 2025 degrees by the lights and fans.

They’ve been washed in chlorine, then, in almost exactly in the way you grow cress on a paper towel, germinated and grown on a soilless substrate. The first leaves are harvested after just a week or two hence the “micro.” Most of the salad is pea shoots, ready after six days, which is mixed with the other, punchier shoots to create blends like Italian or Japanese. The young leaves are more pungent than their older relatives.

Co-founder Richard Ballard, originally from Bristol, says his urban farm creates more sustainable salads.

“By producing hyper-local food,

we reduce food miles pollution to the supermarket,” he says. “And it has a longer shelf-life because it hasn’t had to come from Israel or Egypt.”

The hydroponic system uses 70% less water than normal and the substrate goes to a waste-to-energy power plant.

Growing Underground currently has 530 m2 of tunnels leased to them

by Transport for London and hopes to expand to the full 3,500 m 2 of tunnels by the middle of next year.

Richard brought Lambeth Council in “early” and found them “supportive of food projects.”

Volcano Coffee Works Customers of Brixton-based roasters Volcano are invited to take part in an experiment by company founder, Kurt Stewart. He and his team sell a biodegradable Nespresso-like product containing speciality coffee rather than the “dusty, stale, roasty” flavours George Clooney-stalkers are used to.

The challenge: 20% of Volcano’s vegetable starch and wax pods don’t

yield as intended and a couple of coffee machines have even suffered.

But Kurt and team are passionately committed to developing the replacement for the virtually unrecyclable, ubiquitous aluminium and plastic coffee machine pod - they vow to replace both dud pods and damaged machines.

Beyond the sustainability story, Kurt sees his firm’s product as a way for people who want to explore the world of quality coffee at home but find “the lingo and jargon” of home expresso machines overwhelming.

Working around the clock to develop a pod that splits 100% of the time, Volcano has interest from big hotels ready to switch.

As to his home, Kurt has always loved the character of Lambeth.

Unlike in East London, where there is loads of competition from other roasters, he says here he “feels unique, but not alone. I have space to breathe.”

The company has also created coffee/beer blends with Bullfinch Brewery, Brockwell Park, including intriguing-sounding Flat White Red Ale.

Urban Gardening Cultivate your skills, from growing rocket to Blooming Lambeth Awards stardom

The fifth Garden Museum Literary Festival took place on July 7-8, for the first time in Lambeth to celebrate the reopening of the museum in St Mary-at-Lambeth church.

Talks included Charlie Hart and Kate Bradbury discussing how gardening can help with grief, former music journalist Will Ashon on the ‘outlaws, poets, mystics and murderers’ of Epping Forest and internationally renowned garden designer Mary Keen on her influences.

Two young gardeners, Alice Vincent, arts journalist and author of How to Grow Stuff: Easy, No-Stress Gardening for Beginners and urban organic farmer and former TV documentary producer Clare Ratinon spoke about how and why millennials are finding a space for growing plants and green living in their lives.

Alice, who lives in Camberwell and took up gardening in earnest three years ago, says that as “an appreciation of natural processes which can’t be rushed”, it enforces some calm and patience in her busy life. She’s enthusiastic about the benefits of gardening to those with mental health problems and the unsung work of volunteer schemes, which deserve better local authority and digi-

tal support. Her recommendations for absolute beginners with only a terrace for a garden: “Mint grows like a weed and will put up with shade, parsley can be really tolerant and rocket is a great salad leaf to sow all year round”.

For city gardens or window sills that catch the sun, she suggests chives, chillis and tomatoes. Her favourite London gardens include the rarely-open South London Botanical Society in Tulse Hill, the Barbican Conservatory, the Chelsea Physic Garden and Kew, and little gardens and green spaces in the City of London. “Gardeners in London are creative and adventurous the average mews will have some excellent container gardening going on if you care to take a look,” she says.

Judging has just finished in the 2018 Blooming Lambeth Awards, hosted by food-grower activist network Incredible Edible Lambeth, for the best community, private and micro-gardens in the borough. The winners in different 10 categories will be announced in October. “We had almost 100 entries” says Incredible Edible chair Sue Sheehan. “Judging is going to be close. We are very inspired by how people are making use of tiny and sometimes quite inhospitable urban spaces, helping create a sense of wellbeing for garden creators, passers-by and wildlife such as pollinators”.

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Batting fireworks could power Surrey to historic title Tim Part

cides with just a tour match at the Oval against West Indies A. The Surrey faithful are hoping that their in-form triumvirate can excel on the traditionally batsmanfriendly Oval pitches, and on sunbaked away tracks, without receiving a text message call-up from England. With the recently internationals Mark Stoneman and Scott Borthwick also in the line-up, plus current national one-day star Jason Roy, then Surrey face a rare alignment of the stars on which they will be keen to capitalise.

Leading cricket’s county championship and with a wealth of T20 talent at its disposal, Lambeth’s sleeping giant hopes to recapture past glories For more than a decade now the summer sun has turned into a damp squib for Surrey CCC. With just a solitary limited overs title and a couple of promotions from the second tier of the championship, the main duty for the custodians of the Oval trophy’s cabinet has been dusting the silverware rather than making space for new additions.

The club’s last county championship title came in 2003, before the advent of the T20 format, and was delivered by a squad boasting stellar names – in Butcher, Hollioake, Ramprakash, Saqlain, Stewart, Thorpe – but ones from a different era. Despite Surrey’s status as one of the wealthiest clubs in the county pyramid, on-field riches have proved harder to come by.

That might all be about to change.

The strongest of starts With the county championship at its halfway point, Surrey sit atop the four-day table. They are also the only unbeaten side in the division (won 6, drawn 2).

The main architects of the team’s early-season success have been the batting trio of Ollie Pope, Rory Burns and Ben Foakes, who all find themselves in the top five of the Division 1 batting averages. While it is Burns who leads the overall run charts with 875 from 12 innings, it is the 20-yearold Pope in particular who has caught the eye with 684 runs at the spectacular average of 85.5 from just ten innings, including three centuries.

Plan B (B for “bowlers”)

A rare opportunity One suspects that appearances on the county circuit for the core of Surrey’s batting ranks may be more limited in future. If all three of Pope, Burns and Foakes maintain their current form then the national selectors will surely pick at least one – if not all – of them for the England party bound for Sri Lanka in November. And if Joe Root and co misfire again as they did over the winter, then the clamour for international honours for south London’s finest will only grow.

Surrey then find themselves in a lucky position, but one which is unlikely to endure. In another era, before the days of central contracts

and with some more fickle selectors at the helm, Burns and Foakes would probably already have won their first Test caps in the Pakistan series this spring. Similarly, Pope might have found himself blooded later in the summer.

In fact, Pope and Burns were this month named in the England Lions squad to face India A in a pre-Test Series warm up game. While the selection of several established England stars in this second-string team, to help them find their top form, suggests that the first-choice batting order is already decided, it also provides a clue as to the future direction of the national side. Luckily the Surrey batsmen trio will not miss any meaningful game time for Surrey as the Lions game coin-

If the batting resources are ultimately depleted, then Surrey’s bowling unit boasts a mix of youthful vim and old, wise heads.

Scoring runs, as Surrey have had little problem doing so far this summer, is all well and good, but in every four day game there are still 20 opposition wickets to be accounted for.

Morne Morkel has played only four matches so far, having – some might say – prematurely curtailed his South Africa international career to play County Cricket. He has made his mark, however, with 25 wickets at 14.68. Rikki Clarke continues to defy Old Father Time in claiming 30 scalps at 19.26, and club stalwart Jade Dernbach has chipped in with 24 wickets.

However, Surrey can also boast a youthful bunch of bowlers that is the envy of county cricket. The Curran brothers, both England internationals with the younger Sam also named in the Lions side, bring a fearlessness to the field while the emergence of spinner Amar Virdi shows that the south London talent pipeline remains strong.

After beating high-fliers Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge in late July, the return fixture could go a long way to deciding the title race.

Following games against mid-table Lancashire and lowly Worcestershire, the hope is that the final two

fixtures, away at Somerset and home to Essex in the season finale, will turn out to be an early trophy parade.

Having a Blast If the prospect of breaking their county championship duck were not exciting enough, August also offers the chance for further glory with the latter stages of the domestic T20 competition, the Vitality Blast.

Losing the first two fixtures of the South Group to Middlesex and Kent put the side in immediate trouble. However, these were played without star import Aaron Finch while he was on international duty with Australia. The teetering state of Surrey’s T20 prospects forced his hand; brutal innings of 58 not out against Essex and 131 not out against Sussex followed, and Surrey won both games at a canter.

A subsequent abandonment after posting a huge first innings total (Finch again blazing away) has left the team in the middle of a tight South Group with not much margin for further error.

With Roy not in the Test frame and available for the entirety of the group stages, and with Surrey having just missed out on qualifying from the group stages of the Royal London One Day Cup earlier in the season – largely because of another unfortunate wash-out – there will be keen anticipation of a doublewinning campaign.

Show your support From the start of August, thereare at least six remaining fixtures at the Oval for Lambeth residents to enjoy. Despite all the criticism that the English county set-up is not fit for purpose, a championship title remains an alluring target.

With the fireworks of the T20 Blast certain to fill the stadium then the chance to watch Surrey’s current crop of talent, cricket offers one of the most entertaining days out in the borough. Don’t miss out.

Meet your match with Local Tennis Leagues in Lambeth Wimbledon may have finished but for many tennis fans, that’ll mean feeling inspired enough to get on the court yourself to compete.

Nigel Billen at Local Tennis Leagues told Lambeth Life that their biggest website traffic of the year is when Wimbledon is on, but even more so when a Brit is doing well.

“You can’t underestimate the effect Andy Murray doing so well in previous years has had on getting ordinary players playing”, he said.

They have two main leagues in the borough, the Clapham Common Tennis League and the Kennington and Brockwell Parks Tennis leagues.

“It’s a really easy way to get playing - there is no long-term commitment and as you arrange your own matches, you can play when it suits you,” he said.

“We have some very good players,

but also players who are just taking up the sport. Players are put into a group of a similar standard to them, so they should get enjoyable matches.

“We give you the contact details of your opponents and you decide when and where to play. It’s also very friendly and you often end up making

new friends. We are really lucky in Lambeth to have some excellent courts and some lovely park settings.”

Ben Lam who is 36 and from Kennington is currently topping his group of the KB League in South London.

What got him playing and what is the secret of his success?

“I started watching tennis when I moved to the UK 11 years ago (thanks, Wimbledon!). But it wasn’t until about 3 years ago that I started picking up a racket. I did some beginner drop in sessions and from there I played more regularly, took some lessons, and started practising with a few friends. I started playing in Local Tennis Leagues in 2016.

Most people would agree that playing matches is the best way to improve your tennis because you get to play a variety of players with different playing styles, and it also puts you in a

match situation (very different to just hitting the ball with someone in practice mode).

I live in Kennington in South London, and usually play either at Archbishop’s Park or Kennington Park. Archbishop’s Park has nicer courts (particularly the new hard court) but it costs more. Kennington Park can be a bit “pebbly” and the lines need repainting!

My style of play is to run and make the opponent run! I also like turning defensive play into offensive play. Matches where there are lots of long rallies and the scores are tight are always exciting. Regardless of winning or losing, as long as you learn something, it’s valuable.”

Check out www.localtennisleagues.com and navigate to the league closest to you.

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