Bermondsey Biscuit & Rotherhithe Docker - May 2022

Summer 2022

Issue 12

Going platinum

Oxo Tower Wharf launches free exhibition celebrating Queen Elizabeth II’s 70 remarkable years on the throne

Aspirational 11-16 school in the heart of Bermondsey.

Small class sizes and extensive enrichment.

Drummond Road, Southwark, London SE16 2BT Tel: 0203 542 6506 ∙ www.compass-schools.com

A state-of-the-art new building for September 2023.

CONSTRUCTION PRE-EMPLOYABILITY PROGRAMME Gain the skills and knowledge needed to begin your construction career.

LOCAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR LONDON RESIDENTS WEEKLY ENROLMENTS FULLY FUNDED

Green Labourers CSCS Card Level 1 Health and Safety in a Construction Environment First Steps into Construction Personal Wellbeing in Construction - Michael Keenan TSC025

Introducing Environmental Awareness and Sustainability in Construction

For further information

referrals@theskillscentre.co.uk theskillscentre.co.uk

This programme is part-funded by the European Social Fund to support learners with complex barriers to education and employment opportunities.

contents

summer 2022

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About us Laura Burgoine

W

e’ve been based in the old Biscuit Factory in Bermondsey since 1994.

Our flagship publication, the Southwark News launched in 1987 and is now London’s only independent, paid for newspaper.

We created the Bermondsey Biscuit and Rotherhithe Docker in 2018 with support from sponsors including Sellar, Grosvenor, British Land, and many other local businesses.

We also publish the South Londoner each month, and the Greenwich and Lewisham Weekender every week.

We are proud to be a London Living Wage employer.

We use 100% recovered paper from the Ortviken paper mill in Sweden, a green energy provider who use biofuel instead of oil and provide heat for 10,000 single family homes.

About us Editor Writers Design Marketing Media partnerships Finance Managing Directors

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Going out, out Ralph Fiennes on stage, jewellery making workshops,

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organic farm produce & more

Chop shop Old Operating Theatre unveils bicentenary plans Arts & entertainment Discover the artists and visionaries of the

9 11-13

future at Oxo Tower Wharf ’s graduate season

Laura Burgoine Michael Holland, Debra Gosling Lizzy Tweedale, Dan Martin, Aurelio Medina Tammy Jukes, Clarry Frewin, Lorraine Wood, Katie Boyd Anthony Phillips Emrah Zeki Chris Mullany, Kevin Quinn

Contact us Email Phone Facebook Instagram Website

enquiry@bermondseybiscuit.co.uk 020 7231 5258 BermondseyBiscuit @bermondseybiscuit www.bbandrd.co.uk

Cover picture

Andy Day

Printed by Ilif fe Print Published by Southwark Newspaper Ltd

Our autumn issue hits the streets on September 1.

Contact us to get involved.

Taking care of business Smashing Plates… and winning

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People

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hearts on St Thomas Street

Former charity director Nick Dunne wins award after 20 years of service at Bede House Association

Food & drink Bitesize news on restaurants, bars & cafés in your hood &

Bermondsey’s first Michelin star

Family Family fun at Shakespeare’s Globe and a free festival of events for summer at the Scoop

Wellbeing Fun and games, R&R, back-bending & heart opening Memory lane Irene Rickards looks back on a childhood punctuated by air

21-25

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28-30 32-33

raids, Saturday afternoons watching Millwall & getting engaged on the 78 bus back to Bermondsey

History

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Locally sourced A toast to Bermondsey Beer Mile’s Pitcher and Craft

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Debra Gosling goes back to the 1600s, exploring May Day scandals & celebrations in Bermondsey

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A thank you to our sponsors We'd like to acknowledge all our sponsors and supporters for helping us bring the

Bermondsey Biscuit and

Rotherhithe Docker to life.

summer 2022

going out, out

What’s on this spring in SE16 and SE1

CROSSING THE LINE

HIDDEN GEMS

The next beginner level 4-hour ‘Make and Cast a Signet Ring’ workshop is at the London Bridge studio on June 17 and costs £150.

Head along to Southwark Cathedral on Pentecost Sunday for a special Choral Evensong in honour of the reign of Her Majesty The Queen, Elizabeth II who, this month, celebrates her platinum jubilee after 70 years on the throne.

Entry to the service is by ticket only and spaces are limited.

There’s still time to catch Ralph Fiennes live on stage at the Bridge Theatre where he stars in David Hare’s Straight Line Crazy (until June 18), telling the true story of Robert Moses, the most powerful man in New York for a 40-year run. In a bid to improve the lives of New York City’s workers, Moses created new parks, new bridges and 627 miles of expressway to connect the people to the great outdoors. However, in the 1950s, groups of citizens at grass roots level began opposing his schemes and the motor car, campaigning for a very different idea of what a city was and what it should be.

61 Tower Bridge Road, SE1 4TL. Phone: 020 3659 6296. www.KASANDROS.london

Sunday 5 June from 3pm-4pm at Southwark Cathedral, SE1 9DA. Cost: free. Reserve your space online: www.eventbrite.co.uk

Bridge Theatre, 3 Potters Fields Park, SE1 2SG. Phone: 0333 320 0052. Tickets: £15-£95. https://bridgetheatre.co.uk

Join female jewellers Ros and Milena as they host jewellery-making classes from the hidden garden at the back of Kas & Ros on Tower Bridge Road.

After going viral on TikTok, demand for workshops rose so much the duo have opened a second location at Oxo Tower Wharf. The ringsmiths, who run their own successful brands, have been teaching the workshops since 2019.

 Ralph Fiennes ©Manuel Harlan

EVENSONG FOR THE QUEEN AT SOUTHWARK CATHEDRAL

FARM TO TABLE

ALL THAT JAZZ

Check out Surrey Docks Farm’s online shop where you can pick up farm grown fruit and vegetables from 11am-11:20am every Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Stock is available to order online the evening before you want to collect, with fresh stock uploaded online around 5pm on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday ready for collection the following morning. Vegetables are all grown from seed on the farm by the Plot to Shop training project for adult students with learning disabilities.

The vegetables are harvested each morning and picked to order. The on-site farm shop is open in line with the main opening hours and you can purchase meat, eggs and plants.

The ever popular Bermondsey Square Jazz Days are back on the first Sunday of the month. The free community event is now in its fifth season after launching in 2018. This year’s outdoor jazz programme features a different collective of musicians each month, all hosted by organiser and jazz singer Stephen Pierre. The events also showcase students and graduates from London’s leading music conservatoires, most notably The Guildhall, Trinity College of Music and The Royal Academy May 1-September 4, on the first Sunday of each month from 2pm-5pm. Cost: free (but donations are welcome to help cover production costs). Outdoor seating and accessible toilets are provided. https://bermondseysquare.net/

Surrey Docks Farm, South Wharf, Rotherhithe Street, SE16 5ET. www.surreydocksfarm.org.uk

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IN ASSOCIATION WITH TEAM LONDON BRIDGE

LONDON BRIDGE COMMUNITY

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Rock N Roll Nature Revelation

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Family Dayz 23 & 24 July: A free weekend of fun and adventure in London Bridge

ummer is almost here, and Team London Bridge is looking forward to bringing a weekend of family fun to Potters Fields Park, and it’s all free to join in!

Whether you enjoy great shows, like to get handson with workshops or love to explore with guided adventures, there will be plenty to entertain you across two days dedicated to children and their families.

Here’s a snapshot of a weekend you won’t want to miss: Plot 17 – Join underground hip-hop hero Kenny Baraka, AKA The Green Man and his DJ, Conrad Kira with their mobile block party as they work to save the environment one sick track at a time.

Midsummerland – Plug your headphones in, grab your partner and set off on an extraordinary adventure where a magical midsummer festival is in full swing. Using their trademark mix of comedy, dance and theatre, Anatomical take you on an interactive journey of the imagination.

Poetry Takeaway – Would you like a new poem that’s all about you? Come and meet our brilliant poet chefs at this mobile poetry emporium and watch the magic unfold.

Attack of the Wolf Dogs – London Bridge’s famous family venue the Unicorn takes you on an interactive audio adventure to save the city. You’ll need to sneak past frightening Wolfdogs, listen out for the Bears and get ready to battle the Shapeshifters. Created by Nigel Barrett & Louise Mari with Nicola T. Chang.

The Enchanted Cinema – Create a live score to awardwinning international film animations alongside versatile musicians from The Cabinet of Living Cinema.

Rock n Roll Nature Revelation – Join vaudevillian upstarts Dan de la Motte and Timberlina for a musical scavenger hunt as they reflect on the beautiful intricacies and delicate balance between Mama Nature and Papa Pollution in our urban surroundings.

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PLOT 17 by Suzi Corker 14

Dog Ballet Solo - Press go and let the everyday act of dog walking be transformed into something poetic and playful. Dog Ballet Solo is a soundscape of recorded

conversations and beautiful music to watch dogs play by.

Dog Ballet Solo is created by Nigel Barrett and Louise Mari, with Amy Pitt and Lewis Gibson.

Explosion of Colour Walk – Art historian Shauna Isaac takes you on an exploration of the amazing colourful art dotted around London Bridge.

Art Workshop – If you enjoy photography and drawing, come along to this practical workshop with local artist Kay Walsh.

London Bridge Discovery Tour – Join our Blue Badge Guide Alan Read and find out the stories and the secrets behind the vibrant city we have today.

‘We are delighted to be working with our partners at Potters Fields Park Management Trust again, bringing an array of talented artists that have created exceptional experiences for families to enjoy in this iconic London Park.’ says Ellie Beedham, Director of Arts at Team London Bridge. ‘We look forward to welcoming our local community and visitors to this fun and inventive weekend’ Family Dayz is part of a year-round cultural programme run by Team London Bridge who work with partners and over 400 business members, who make London Bridge sustainable, culturally innovative and compelling for business, residents and tourists.

FREE! Times - Sat 23 and Sun 24 July, 11.00am – 5.00pm Where - Potters Fields Park, 189 Tooley Street, SE1 2UD. Start at the Festival Info tent on the lawn outside the Bridge Theatre to begin your adventure Tickets - Full timings, details and ticket bookings are available atlondonbridge.com/family-dayz Recommended age: All ages, especially 5 - 12 years and their adults.

Family Dayz is commissioned and produced by Team London Bridge with Potters Fields Park Management Trust and London Bridge City.

Craft Beer shop Selling Locally craft beers, organic wines and spirits.

Wines & Beer on Tap Take away & Drink in

Celebrating stories from Europe's oldest surviving surgical theatre during its bicentenary! www.oldoperatingtheatre.com Admission Charged Registered Charity Number 1155078

262 Southwark Park road, Bermondsey SE16 3RN www.pitcherandcraft.co.uk l 0208 617 1087

THE INVISIBLE LIGHTSWITCH® www.forbesandlomax.com

summer 2022

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summer 2022

chop shop

Europe’s oldest surviving surgical theatre celebrates its bicentenary Old Operating Theatre marks 200th anniversary with new installations, a touring exhibition, research & events Laura Burgoine

T

he Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret, in the attic of St Thomas’ Church in London Bridge, is launching a year of special events, projects and new developments to mark the 200th anniversary of the opening of the oldest surviving surgical theatre in Europe. A National Lottery Heritage Fund grant of £125,122 will enable the museum to introduce a new installation, showing visitors exactly where and how patients would have been brought into the theatre 200 years ago. It will also launch a full programme of events for visitors, schools, and the local community, as well as a research project designed to unearth the stories of the surgeons, nurses, students and patients who worked, studied or found themselves on the operating table at the theatre between 1822 and 1862.

“This was not the only operating theatre in existence at the time but it’s one of the few that

survived to tell the stories,” says the museum’s Engagement and Front of House Manager Monica Walker. “Being here really makes you feel the weight of history.

“Despite the horrors of pre-antiseptic and pre-anesthesia medicine, the space is one of hope,” Monica continues. “The people on the operating table had two choices: they could either die because the issues they had were so severe or they could maybe live by being operated on. If you have two choices: certain death or possible death, I think a lot of people would have chosen the latter. Mortality rates were 30 percent so you had a two thirds chance of living.”

For this reason, surgeons really pushed the boundaries in trying new things because the patients were already dead, in a manner of speaking. This experimentation led to major medical breakthroughs that paved the way for the science still in use today.

“Despite the horrors of pre-antiseptic and preanesthesia medicine, the space is one of hope” Tucked away in the attic of the early 18th century church on the original Southwark site of St Thomas’ Hospital, the Old Operating Theatre Museum & Herb Garret is a remarkable survivor in the history of medicine and surgery, and a genuinely unique place to visit among London’s cultural sites. The original timber framed herb garret was first used by the hospital for drying and storing medicinal herbs. In 1822, the women’s operating theatre was built into the attic space of the church.

The opening of the theatre predated anaesthetics and antiseptics. Medical students would have been packed into the five rows of standings to witness amputations, lithotomies, and trepanations. In many cases, patients brought to the operating theatre were facing death due to their injuries or condition, leading some surgeons to use the operating theatre as an

opportunity to practise and hone new techniques.

When St Thomas’s Hospital moved to a new site in 1862, the theatre was sealed and largely forgotten for nearly 100 years. Then, in 1956, the organologist and antiquarian Raymond Russell rediscovered it while investigating the church’s attic and with support from surgeons and medical practitioners of the day, the Museum opened in 1962, 60 years ago.

Among the developments for 2022 is the reintroduction of a replica doorway from the old Dorcas ward into the operating theatre. Around the entrance door, an audio-visual installation will give visitors a clear sense of how patients would have been brought into the space.

Bicentenary plans also include new research into the surgeons, patients and characters who would have populated the operating theatre, bringing their lives

and voices to the forefront of museum displays; a new pop-up exhibition which will tour London; a new video introduction to the museum; a series of loans of objects from the collection of Guy’s and St Thomas’ Foundation; and an augmented reality experience inside the museum.

The new events programme features a host of guest speakers exploring the Old Operating Theatre’s place in the history of women’s health. Subjects include surgery and the Victorian operating theatre, underdiscussed medical topics such as endometriosis and menopause, treatment of rape victims from the Victorian era to today, and a virtual autopsy.

Director of the Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret, Sarah Corn, says: “Apart from being an astonishing and atmospheric place in its own right, it is also a window into the earliest days of medicine,

surgery and nursing in this part of London and the origins of today’s St Thomas’ Hospital.”

“We aim to give visitors a palpable sense of the often pioneering, invariably excruciating, surgical work that took place here, the characters involved and the Old Operating Theatre’s place in global medical history.”

Visit the Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret at 9a St Thomas Street, SE1 9RY. Admission: Adult: £7.50, Concessions: £6.00, Child 6-16 years: £4.50, Children under 6 years: Free. www.oldoperatingtheatre.com Access is limited as the Museum is in the attic space of a 320-year-old church. The entrance is via a 52-step narrow spiral staircase.

summer 2022

arts and entertainment

 Karen Bystedt - Lost Warhols Queen

 Ernesto Romano - First Lady 2

On her Majesty’s 70 years of service

G

ive a royal welcome to a celebratory exhibition marking the Platinum Jubilee, which arrives at the south bank’s Oxo Tower Wharf this June.

 James Vaulkhard - Penny For Your Thoughts

As part of Art Save the Queen, portrayals of HM Queen Elizabeth II by up to 52 established and emerging international artists are being showcased in a free exhibition as Britain celebrates the monarch’s 70 remarkable years on the throne.

Ad Lib Gallery’s Dylan Roberts says: “HM Queen Elizabeth II is a true icon and an inspiration to people everywhere. We are excited to pay tribute to her with this exhibition and have been overwhelmed by the work the artistic community is submitting, underlining what a cultural inspiration the Queen is.”

10 percent of revenue generated from the gallery@oxo exhibition will be donated to ABF The Soldiers’ Charity.

 Michal Cole Double Faced Queen

Images of works from Art Save the Queen are also being displayed on prominent London Underground poster sites at Victoria Station ahead of and during the exhibition.

Featured artists include: Nasser Azam, Adam Bricusse, Karen Bystedt, Catman, Elena Cecchinato, Ricardo Cinalli, Michal Cole, Richard Colson, Nick Dillon, Ghost, Goldie, Andrew Gow, Janek Janikowski, Jeremy Jones, Tom Lumley, Matt Mackman, Peter Mammes, James Mylne, Ru Knox, Carrie Reichardt, Nick Reynolds, Ben Riley, Ernesto Romano, Paul Don Smith, Will Teather, Louisa Tebbutt, James Vaulkhard, George Wolberg and other artists soon to be confirmed. The exhibition will also show privately owned works by Mr Brainwash and Chris Levine.

Art Save the Queen exhibits from June 2-12 at Oxo Tower Wharf, Barge House Street, SE1 9PH. Admission: free. https://coinstreet.org

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@adlibgallery | https://adlib.online | https://twitter.com/artsavethequeen

Local colour brightens Canada Water As the first buildings of the Canada Water Development rise from the ground, we have been working to keep the existing site at Surrey Quays Shopping Centre and Leisure Park vibrant and exciting, with plenty of opportunities for all who spend time here to access. We want the new town centre we’re building in Canada Water to be authentically local, so that it’s somewhere that local people choose to work, study and spend time in, and share in its success. That starts now, and we’re excited to bring you news of the revamped community hub at Surrey Quays Shopping Centre, free courts where anyone can try a new sport, and brand-new food market by Canada Water station.

Play wallball at Canada Water’s new courts

Canada Water’s new Wallball courts take the local landscape as their design inspiration

Fancy trying a new sport? Then you might want to check out the new free-to-use wallball courts that opened at Surrey Quays Shopping Centre in May. British Land has teamed up with the UK Wallball charity to launch the UK’s first wallball venue to feature two outdoor courts. The courts bring a new exciting leisure activity to Canada Water, helping people who live, work and spend time locally to get physically active and interact with their streetscape in a fun new way. Wallball is a game based on the simple concept of hitting a ball against a wall with your hands – a bit like squash without a racquet. It’s a community-focused sport that is simple and accessible – all you need is a ball!

The eye-catching courts, filled with geometric graphics celebrating the area’s rich local history, are located next to Surrey Quays Shopping Centre. You can bring your own ball and play for free, or balls will be available for just £2 from an onsite vending machine.

New Time & Talents community hub opens at Surrey Quays Shopping Centre

Time & Talents run a range of free older adults and children’s activities from T&T2 in the Shopping Centre

As we all emerge from the isolated lifestyles of the pandemic, we’re rediscovering the pleasures of meeting up in person that are so vital to our wellbeing. We’re pleased to have helped local charity Time & Talents launch a new community space in Surrey Quays Shopping Centre to provide opportunities for local people to do just that.

Since 2017 we’ve provided Time & Talents with a second community space (known as T&T2) at Surrey Quays Shopping Centre. It has now moved to a new location in the heart of the shopping centre, from where Time & Talents are running a range of activities to help children and older people come together and be part of the community. From parent and toddler sessions to social clubs for the over-60s, exercise classes and a volunteer befriending service, there’s something for everyone.

Find out about the free activities Time & Talents run at www.timeandtalents.org.uk. The space is also available to hire to community groups – please email info@timeandtalents.co.uk or call 020 7231 7845 to find out more and book a slot.

Canada Water Market opens on Sundays

London’s newest and most exciting weekly food market launched in April and takes place at Deal Porter Square every Sunday, featuring fresh and sustainable food from local producers and talented cooks.

The market is run by local operator Will Cutteridge, of Squid Markets, founder of Wapping Docklands Market. Will is keen to create opportunities for local businesses to be part of the market. To start this journey, Will has been working with Thrive, a low-cost work and maker space that supports start-ups and entrepreneurs in Canada Water, to introduce new stall holders to the regular Sunday market. The first stallholder to join on the opening week was ‘Plant & Person’, selling a selection of handmade terrariums and mini house plants.

Joy’s Caribbean Fusion serves up tasty treats at Canada Water Market

BERMONDSEY BISCUIT_MAY_2022_V4.indd 1

If you run a small business or stall and would like to find out more about participating in the Canada Water Market, please contact Will directly on 07769 191101.

19/05/2022 15:44:00

summer 2022

arts and entertainment

 ©Margot Mason

 Gloucester, The Corner Shop,

by Chloe Arnold

The season: RCA2020 Show 1 Royal College of Art – School of Design and School of Architecture May 20-22

Perspective Documentary Photography BA (Hons) Degree Show: University of Gloucestershire May 25-29

The graduates

RCA2020 Show 2 Royal College of Art – School of Communication and School of Arts and Humanities June 3-5 and June 10-12

Oxo Tower Wharf unveils the new creatives with free exhibitions showcasing the best in graduate design and art from seven UK universities

Blueprints Made in Brunel Brunel University London June 16-19

Balance 2022 Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama July 1-3

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mmerse yourself in innovative design solutions and original art at Oxo Tower Wharf ’s graduate season. Hundreds of graduate projects are on show, covering art, design and architecture, photography, music and drama. Eight shows from universities, including Royal College of Art, Brunel and University of Cambridge, form New Creatives, now an established graduate season for discovering the creative individuals shaping our future.

New Creatives runs from May 20-July 24 from 11am-6pm. The exhibitions take place at Bargehouse and gallery@oxo.

Cost: free. No booking required.

Oxo Tower Wharf, Bargehouse Street, South Bank, SE1 9PH. https://coinstreet.org/new-creatives

ARSOC Summer Show 2022 University of Cambridge Department of Architecture July 8-9

Student Name: Chloe McCourt

re-Form 2022 - The Interior Educators Summer Show 2022

Project Name: Riley The Reading Monster Project Description: Reading is a fundamental skill needed by everyone, yet many children do not get the support needed to develop this skill within the home. This can be for many reasons such as learning difficulties with the child or the parent, a lack of interest, or a lack of time. With the increase of households working, this is leaving less time for family time with the pressure of homework for small children and this includes reading. Riley the Reading Monster is an interactive toy for 3-6-year-old’s, aimed at learning phonics to allow them to learn to read independently in the home.

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Collective exhibition of the best work produced by BA and MA interior design and architecture graduates from national courses from 22 UK universities July 15-17

Evoke

The Arts University Bournemouth July 22-24

summer 2022

IN ASSOCIATION WITH TEAM LONDON BRIDGE

Taking care of business

LONDON BRIDGE COMMUNITY

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Unorthodox” Greek eatery Smashing Plates launched its first 4 sites - London Bridge, Canary Wharf, Tooting and Wembley- simultaneously last summer. This is owner Neo Christodoulou’s second big venture after previously co-founding Greek street food business the Athenian and growing it from a street food stall to 18 sites.

Now the Cypriot native has struck out on his own, creating a fresh re-imagining of the food he grew up with, and it all centres around people and community.

Neo talks to the Biscuit.

What makes Smashing Plates unorthodox?

We want to evolve Greek food. There’s things that have worked for centuries, for good reason, and we honour those but we’re not afraid to move to the next level and do things that are better for people and the planet. We’re open to feedback. Our customers will add haloumi to a chicken souvlaki which, in Greece, you would never do! But different markets want different things and it’s important to listen to your customers.

What are some of the highlights of the menu?

My favourite is the chicken souvlaki wrap with smoked aubergine sauce. We’ve just launched a naked souvlaki for summer, which is a really good call with our tzatziki. We have chicken bites as a side, which are super tender and juicy thighs with Greek flavouring. Another side is the Dakos salad, which is a Greek salad with barley rusk, fresh tomatoes, feta, capers, onion, olives and olive oil. Very simple but amazing. For desserts we, of course, have baklava and we came up with our own version of a donut called the pitanut, made from our pita bread, which is sourdough and high-fibre -that’s another update on what you get in Greece, and then we deep fry it and drizzle it with maple syrup, sugar and cinnamon and sugar. We’ve got some exciting specials coming up and we’re always rotating the menu so watch this space.

What about drinks?

Something I’m very proud of is the imported Greek wine. My dad is from a village in Pathos and I was there last summer and went to a local vineyard and I’ve managed to import that wine, so we stock it in all the restaurants. We also have Greek beer, but this wine is particularly close to my heart.

How did you find opening a new business in a global pandemic?

It’s been a tough winter. We launched last summer when the whole world was re-emerging. We had three weeks to launch all 4 and were doing deliveries as well.

Get your Greek on Laura Burgoine

It made us more robust. It made me look at the business, we trimmed a lot of the fat, optimised the roles and the technology. In the long run, you become more critical of your business and what you’re offering. Consumer habits have changed. Online sales are even higher than in-house sales. At one of our sites, 75% of the business is home delivery. I don’t think people quite understood the shock that Covid was to the hospitality industry. It was hard. So it’s a creative puzzle - I try to be optimistic.

Can you tell us about the London Bridge branch?

The London Bridge restaurant is my baby. It was the last one we opened the Athenian in, and then I took over the space for Smashing Plates. Those arches are notoriously difficult, being part of a major train station, which is deemed a potential terrorist target. Every half

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an hour we have to check for unidentified objects in the unit. When we designed it, we had bins on the way out but you’re not allowed open bin spaces because of potential terrorist attacks. So we had to look at how that effects the customer journey.

impact banking and then I took the plunge. Street food was emerging in London: I saw Kurb, Chilango and Franco Manca all starting and wondered why no one had done Greek food. I met Tim and we grew the Athenian together.

What has the journey to here been like for you?

I grew up in Cyprus and I moved here after serving my time in the army, which is mandatory there. I moved here for university and studied mathematics at Cambridge, then graduated in 2008, got my first job in banking and lost it within about 6 weeks after the financial crisis. I worked in finance, then took a break and spent 5 months in Sierra Leone and realised I wanted to do something on my own. I was advising small start-ups and incubators and looking at social

I always had a passion for food. Where I grew up, we would all come together as family and eat meals.

That was a sacred thing. My Aunt lived next door, my grandma lived below us. My grandma actually used to sell souvlaki. So I grew up being in the kitchen and got a sense of what works.

Visit Smashing Plates at Unit 55, London Bridge Station, 59 St Thomas Street, SE1 3QX. Phone: 020 3643 7262. https://smashingplates.uk

people

summer 2022

20 years of civic service Michael Holland

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ome people live in the same area all their lives while others are always on the move.

Nick Dunne was born in Gillingham, grew up in Kew, moved to Scotland at 11 and returned to London at 23, before spending three years working in Bangkok and walking (in stages) the Via Francigena: the 1900km ancient pilgrim route between Canterbury and Rome that goes through France, Switzerland and Italy. But it is the years 2002-2021 as Bede’s Director that has made Nick part of the DNA of Bermondsey.

“Being an English kid in a Scottish school didn’t make me popular but I enjoyed my studies and did well in the exams,” he recalls. Nick went on to study Civil Engineering at university but by the second year he realised it was not for him. His imagination had been caught when volunteering at a homeless shelter for men in Glasgow. “This experience had a profound influence on me and I gave up my degree to go on a three-year course in Edinburgh to be a social worker.”

After qualifying, Nick returned to London to work with the Alcoholics Recovery Project (ARP) in Camberwell. Street homeless could drop in for help, while those determined to stop drinking and get off the streets could move into an ARP ‘dry house’ as a stepping stone to living independently without addiction. “I’m still in contact with one former resident who has been sober for over 40 years and I am honoured that I was able to play a positive part in his life during those early months of his recovery,” Nick says.

Nick met his wife Fiona at ARP and together they relocated to Bangkok to manage the Thailand programme for the British charity

Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO). This big step proved quite pivotal. “It gave us both a meaningful role in a completely foreign country…

We learnt to speak Thai and travelled all over the country, and to neighbouring Burma, Laos, Malaysia and the Philippines, supporting British volunteers in a wide range of social, educational, medical and agricultural development placements.

Our first son was born during that time.”

On the family’s return to London his management experience made him a successful applicant for the Deputy Director of Bondway Housing Association position. Nick was once again working with the street homeless, this time in Vauxhall, and “helping people achieve some level of stability and contentment.”

Bede is a charity that has been doing lifechanging community work since 1938. When Nick joined as Director in April 2002 he knew nothing of Bermondsey but knew that he liked “the diversity of the organisation’s activity: youth work, practical help for those experiencing domestic abuse and social, educational and employment opportunities for people who have learning disabilities.” He could see that Bede had a strong relationship with the community.

Nick came at a time of positive changes by a Labour government that cared. “This was an exciting time and I was lucky to arrive when opportunities were beginning to open up to do some excellent work,” he says. “Bede’s stability gave people the chance to flourish and those who attended Bede’s services were empowered not only to help themselves but also to help others too.”

Over the years, Nick saw Bede’s long-term positive impact on individuals and their families.

At a surprise party celebrating Deputy Youth Work Manager Donna Wallace’s 20 years of

service, Nick remembers, “the room full of young men and women who all acknowledged how important Bede had been for them when they were growing up. The life stories they told, and the very fact that they were there and still in contact with us, was such powerful testament to the value of Bede’s work.”

In October 2021, Nick received a Covid Civic

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Award from Southwark Council at a ceremony at Southwark Cathedral. The citation read: “Nick Dunne has been an exceptional leader in SE16 as Director of Bede House Association for nearly 20 years. He stood down in July 2021. As well as leading Bede in its work of supporting some of the most vulnerable individuals, families and groups in our communities, Nick has overseen the fundraising and the development of the new Bede premises currently under construction.

All this has been even more challenging in the period of COVID and lockdowns but Nick has ensured that as far as possible the work has been successfully able to carry on.”

Now, in retirement, Nick regrets not seeing the completion of the new Bede Centre during his tenure, but he is still very much in contact with the charity and its work. “I have been able to regularly support our Bede footballers who are sponsored by Millwall to take part in the Special League tournaments for people who have a learning disability,” he says.

And he is, once again, on the move, visiting friends across the UK, being more active in his parish church, and establishing a “bi-monthly walking group which brings people concerned about environmental issues together to meet each other whilst enjoying a day’s walking in the countryside.”

He and Fiona have just 250km to complete the journey to Rome on the Via Francigena pilgrim route.

Nick Dunne’s memoirs will be published later this year.

DESIGN

PRINT SHOP

Address: 181 Southwark Park Rd The Blue, Bermondsey, SE16 3TX Phone: 0207 231 8841 Email: info@DesignPrintShop.co.uk WhatApp: 0793 301 8540 [Receiving files only]

@DesignPrintShopMedia @DesignPrintShop @DesignPrintShop @DesignPrintShop

Camberwell Lodge Care & Nursing Home Luxury residential and dementia care home Our care is the kind we’d all want our loved ones to receive. Camberwell Lodge Care & Nursing Home provides the highest standards of family-led nursing, residential and dementia care. Our state-of-theart home is luxurious and beautifully furnished, whilst retaining a warm family atmosphere that makes Camberwell Lodge feel extra special.

• • • •

98 Spacious en-suite bedrooms Bistro café and themed pub Sociable lounge and dining areas Daily fine dining and hospitality suite

• Roof terrace and landscaped gardens • Hair and pamper salon • Tailored meaningful activities

To find out more about life at Camberwell Lodge Care & Nursing Home contact Senior Customer Relations Manager Nina Rogers on 07549 035 654 or email nina.rogers@countrycourtcare.com.

020 4579 2199 Picton Street, Camberwell, London, SE5 7QH www.countrycourtcare.com

summer 2022

food & DRINK

Bitesize ― Laura Burgoine

Breakfast at Audrey’s

Borough barbies

The people behind Good’s Way and Flat Iron Square (a company headed up by Ben Lovett from Mumford & Sons) have launched their own all-day café and bar at Flat Iron Square. Audrey’s is inspired by modern bistros and features a menu of British, organic and sustainably sourced produce. Watch this space!

Grill your own food, alfresco style at Borough’s new eatery Parrillan. Following the success of the King’s Cross outlet, the Harts group, who also brought us Barrafina, have opened a second outlet in SE1, boasting both indoor and outside spaces.

After building a mini empire at Coal Drops Yard in King’s Cross with Casa Pastor, Barrafina, Parrillan and The Drop, the group is now setting their sights on Borough. El Pastor is well established, but with the new Borough Yards development, the group are adding a Barrafina, a new-style Parrillan and Bar Daskal too.

Parrillan has an outside terrace that seats 40 with tables equipped with individual grills; it also has an indoor restaurant where chefs do the cooking.

The menu, created by Chef Director Angel Zapata Martin, includes: shredded salad with raw serviola, Iberian pork ‘manteca’ - whipped lard with paprika over rillettes of the pork, fresh peas, fried egg and butifarra, Whole Dover sole, milk-fed lamb cutlets and wood roast shank of veal. The Piña Catalana dessert is crema Catalana served inside a pineapple.

Barrafina is due to open at Borough Yards later this summer.

1 Flat Iron Square, Union Street, SE1 0AB

Comedians and craft beers Bermondsey Beer Mile favourite Anspach & Hobday are launching a new beer in collaboration with comedian Phil Wang and The Wine Society.

To celebrate the collab, which is in support of the Orangutan Foundation, the independent brewers are hosting a Q&A event with Phil Wang, Anspach & Hobday co-founder Paul Anspach and buyer for The Wine Society Freddy Bulmer in their mixed fermentation brewery and taproom, The Arch House, in Bermondsey.

The OrwanguTang is a delicately salty Gose infused with orange zest and mandarin puree. The beer will be sold exclusively through The Wine Society and Anspach & Hobday’s online store, with 50p per can going directly to the Orangutan Foundation. The proceeds of just four cans is enough to sponsor a whole acre of crucial forest habitat in Central Kalimantan.

Phil Wang & The OrWanguTang Launch is at Anspach & Hobday: The Arch House, 118 Druid Street, SE1 2HH, on Wednesday 25 May (Doors open at 5pm; event starts at 7:30pm). Tickets: £5.

 Parillan shared dishes ©John Carey

4 Dirty Lane, SE1 9PA.

Oh brother!

Brother Marcus unveils it third restaurant in the newly regenerated shopping and culture hub, Borough Yards, already keeping fine company with the likes of neighbours Barrafina, Butchies and Vinoteca.

With restaurants in Islington and Spitalfields, Brother Marcus are adding something new this time with a robata grill, which means more grilled meat, fish and veg on the menu. Plenty of their classics will still be on offer at the new location, including sweet potato, courgette and feta fritters with avocado, Harissa eggs with British rainbow chard, lamb kofta with celeriac purée and pine nuts, fried cauliflower with kassundi, mint crumb and pomegranate, and prawn saganaki with Israeli couscous, feta and Urfa chilli. Desserts include “honey bombs” with pistachio and sea salt chocolate and pistachio baklava with homemade Greek yoghurt and honey ice cream. The drink list focuses on Greek and other European wines.

1 Dirty Lane, SE1 9PA. Phone: 020 3146 4001. https://brothermarcus.co.uk

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summer 2022

food & DRINK

Dive bar & Philly steaks A successful crowdfunding campaign has landed Passyunk Avenue with a 3000ft space in the arches

by Leake Street in Waterloo where they’re creating one of London’s biggest American dive bars, dishing up signature Philly cheesesteaks.

Waterloo marks the fourth site for Passyunk Avenue with bars in Fitzrovia and two in Stratford.

The restaurant is all about cheesesteaks: chopped up steak and onion, covered in cheese sauce and served up in buns. Sitting alongside the star dish is chicken parm, buffalo wings, Italian hoagies and tater tots.

Leake Street, SE1 7NN. Phone: 020 3926 5144. https://passyunkavenue.com

Bermondsey’s Trivet awarded first Michelin star SE1 hot spot Trivet, the brainchild of Fat Duck alumni chef Jonny Lake and sommelier Isa Bal, has been awarded its first Michelin star in the 2022 guide. First opened in November 2019, the Bermondsey dining room was credited by Michelin for Chef Lake’s “fuss-free, assured cooking.” Star dishes include the Drunken Lobster with Trivet Noodles, and the Hokkaido Potato dessert.

Head Sommelier Isa Bal also won Michelin’s prestigious Sommelier Award 2022. Wine is at the very heart of the Trivet experience, with Bal’s 450-strong wine list encouraging guests to try something a little different. Michelin said the award was given for Isa’s “fascinating wine list and his passionate approach, particularly to lesser-known regions”.

36 Snowsfields, SE1 3SU. Phone: 020 3141 8670. https://trivetrestaurant.co.uk

 Trivet, drunk lobster ©Tom Osbourne

Prime cuts in Waterloo Flat Iron opens its tenth London restaurant in line with its tenth anniversary, serving up affordable steaks and sides. Taking over the space where Byron Burger used to be on the Cut, the eatery offers daily special cuts on the blackboard as well as a new burger from their head chef Fred Smith: the Herd Burger made with beef sourced from Flat Iron’s own herd in Thirsk, Yorkshire.

41-45 The Cut, SE1 8LF

Grape expectations for Borough Yards The newest Vinoteca two-storey wine bar, shop and restaurant has opened at Borough Market. At ground level, the bifold doors open onto new foodie hub Borough Yards while upstairs, the mezzanine floor boasts views across to Southwark Cathedral.

The wine list centres around small sustainable producers while the food menu makes the most of the producers the bar has on its doorstep in Borough Market.

Unit 207, Stoney Street, SE1 9DG. www.vinoteca.co.uk

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R BE

MO

NDSEY LAR

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PRESENT

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Aperitivo Hours: Wednesday - Saturday 5-7pm Ska Saturdays: Live DJ from 1pm Live Music Lunch: Sundays from 1pm

Our summer menu is designed with those long sunny days in mind! www.bermondseylarder.com @bermondseylarder

BERMONDSEY LARDER, BermondS Locke, 153-157 Tower Bridge Rd, SE1 3LW what3words location: badly.banana.freed

THE SUMMER TERRACE

BSH_BermondseyBiscuit_FinalAW_211102.indd 1

Mention code 'APERITIVO LOCAL' for a FREE selected drink & snack on us.

Aperitivo offer T&Cs: Available Wed-Fri 5-7pm only.

1 complimentary drink & snack per guest.

02/11/2021 15:00:40

family

summer 2022

Event Programme Highlights Monday fitness activities, led by BUA FIT, include outdoor HIIT, yoga and boxing classes suitable for all abilities.

The Scoop creates 1930s Miami vibes with tacos, tequila and a free summerlong festival of events

S

ummer by the River returns to London Bridge City. Launching on 1 June, it promises to revive weary workers, tourists and locals alike with three months of free entertainment set against stunning views of the capital.

Running until 2 September, this year’s festival brings 1930s Miami vibes to the banks of the Thames over three locations: The Scoop, Hay’s Galleria and The Pier.

At The Scoop, Art Deco inspired The Riverside Terrace will offer a little slice of South Beach complete with Taqueria Garcia bringing the heat with tacos and tequila.

The opening week of the festival coincides with Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. London Bridge City is one of the official Beacon locations, with its ceremonial lighting on Thursday kicking off proceedings. Over four days, the big screen in The Scoop will air all the official celebrations.

Heading into July, the festival will embrace another British institution – Wimbledon – with the screen in The Scoop showing all the key matches.

Star crossed Shakespeare for kids

Tuesday films shown on the big outdoor screen at The Scoop feature a mix of classics and new releases including Encanto, King Richard and Dirty Dancing.

Wednesday theatrical performances feature a range of Shakespearean classics (including a modern take of Twelfth Night set on Love Island!), the London debut of Tears of Jenny Greenteeth (a Ballet Folk production which combines contemporary ballet and folk music) and award-winning comedy performances from improv groups The Noise Next Door and Bumper Blyton.

Thursday music performances champion upand-coming talent as Soho Radio and BBC Introducing showcase emerging artists.

Friday party nights include group sing-a-longs run by the legendary Massaoke, Hip Hop Karaoke and Gospeloke as well as group participation events led by Dabbers Bingo and Vinegar Strokes (of Ru Paul’s Drag Race fame).

Saturday daytime kids entertainment includes Fly Kid (the hip hop & RnB party for London’s flyest kids and grown-ups) and Bunker, a piece of theatre by Chattering Tongues specially commissioned for the festival to bring to life WWII stories from local Southwark residents.

Saturday evening music entertainment includes Leah Weller: Paul Weller’s daughter – a soulful singer songwriter with music in her veins, Rayowa: three brothers from Essex making waves in the music scene with their “contemporary disco” sound, and Rock The Belles, an all-female DJ crew who’ve built a rock solid reputation for throwing the hippest Hiphop parties. More artists will be revealed nearer the time.

E

xperience the most famous love story of all time in an exhilarating, family-friendly live storytelling of Romeo and Juliet at Shakespeare’s Globe.

Verona is a fair city. You might have heard the story of Juliet and her Romeo who made it so famous.

Perhaps you’ve even imagined standing underneath the balcony as Juliet gazed out into the Italian night.

But our star-cross’d lovers are from two rival families, the Capulets and the Montagues. They have to keep their love secret. And as we all know, secrets eventually lead to terrible things.

Friday and Saturdays also see the opening of the Folk and Roots Stage, in Hay’s Galleria, spotlighting grassroots acoustic music acts from early afternoon.

In the hour-long event, actor, director and Learning Consultant at Shakespeare’s Globe Fe Drummond transports audiences to parties and gets mixed up in some street brawls. Be warned, never was there a tale of more woe.

Sunday global music fun features social dances in the day such as London Goes Tango (an Argentine-style Milonga) and Havana Londres: the Cuban salsa dance school and music performances in the evening including tribute band Bob Marley Revival and Grupo Lokito, a glorious cocktail of Cuban and Congolese sounds.

Recommended for children ages 5 –12 years and their families. All children attending an event must be accompanied by an adult.

Romeo and Juliet runs from May 31-August 26 at Shakespeare’s Globe, 21 New Globe Walk, SE1 9DT. Phone: 020 7401 9919. Tickets: £15. www.shakespearesglobe.com

For information about Summer by the River festival, see: www.londonbridgecity.co.uk/events

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JOIN US ON BANKSIDE THIS SUMMER

Telling Tales

MIDSUMMER MECHANICALS

30 – 31 May and 4 – 26 August ON-SITE AT SHAKESPEARE’S GLOBE

28 July – 21 August SAM WANAMAKER PLAYHOUSE

The perfect introduction to Shakespeare for families during May Half Term and Summer Holidays. Enjoy thrilling Storytellings or take part in an interactive Workshop.

A hilarious new play based on A Midsummer Night’s Dream that will delight the young and the young at heart.

For ages 5–12 and their grown-ups.

Book now at shakespearesglobe.com

Recommended for ages 5+.

Blackfriars / London Bridge / Waterloo

Andy Day

wellbeing

summer 2022

All the right moves Fun and games, rest and relaxation, back bending, heart healing & more

Rocky road The Biscuit’s neighbours, Arch Climbing Wall, in the Old Biscuit Factory, are expanding to open a second site at Surrey Quays this month. Described as a “brand new bold vision of indoor bouldering,” it’s set to open next to Canada Water tube station, making the most of the vibrant space that’s already buzzing with food trucks and activities. Follow their insta for all the updates @archclimbing Arch Climbing Wall also offer a local discount: anyone with a SE16 postcode gets £5 entry to the Bermondsey branch on Mondays, so if you’re looking for a cheaper climb, they’ve got you sorted.

Check out the Bermondsey site at Tower Bridge Business Centre, Drummond Road, SE16 4DG. www.archclimbingwall.com

One-stop shop

In the ring in Rotherhithe

Decathlon Surrey Quays is literally a one-stop shop for sports with onsite play built in. On the rooftop, you can book free 1-hour slots and play football, basketball, tennis or netball. There’s 1-hour table tennis slots where you play in the shop (£5-£7).

Inside the fitness studio, on the second floor, there’s a range of classes on offer including: yoga and belly dance fusion (£7-£14), Chinese Martial Arts for adults (£15), Dance Fit (£10), Taekwondo for adults (£10), Breathe Bootcamp (£7), Pose Barre (£7), JumpX Jumping Fitness (£8), Pilates (£8-£10) and plenty more.

Boxers Jeff and Roy are now offering a range of fitness sessions for adults out of their boxing club in Rotherhithe. Rooster’s is based in the church hall of St Peter and the Guardian Angels and runs:

Maritime Street, SE16 7FU. https://activities.decathlon.co.uk

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- Mixed Senior boxing sessions every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 7pm-8.15pm (walk in) - Women’s only boxing HIIT sessions every Tuesday at 6pm and 7:15pm, Thursday at 6pm and 7.15pm, and Saturday at 10am (to be booked in advance) - Mixed boxing HIIT session on Friday at 10am (to be booked in advance) Visit Roosters Boxing Club at Church Hall, 72 Paradise Street, SE16 4QD. Phone: 0203 876 6626. www.roostersboxingclub.co.uk

wELLBEING

S

urrey Quays dentist Dr Sarita Kershaw is now offering anti-wrinkle treatments at the family dental practice she and her husband run together, responding to the surge in demand for non-invasive facial procedures sparked by the lockdowns and remote working.

The “Zoom Boom” created by the pandemic saw people suddenly spending endless hours examining their own faces during video calls and it’s prompted a growing interest in aesthetics. Cosmetic doctors and plastic surgeons, both in the UK and worldwide, are reporting increased demand in both surgical and non-surgical treatments following lockdown.

“We’ve seen a real increase in patients coming in for teeth whitening or teeth straightening following the lockdowns,” Dr Kershaw told the Biscuit.

“People were seeing themselves on Zoom every day and saying ‘I never noticed how yellow my teeth are’ and then coming in for whitening treatments.”

Dr Kershaw trained with cosmetic enhancement expert Dr Harry Singh, a dentist who now runs the award-winning Botulinum Toxin Club in Hertfordshire, a leading facial aesthetics training workshop for dentists, doctors, medics, specialists and nurses.

“There’s extensive training involved but one of the advantages dentists have, is that we already know the facial anatomy well and administer injections in our every day work” she says.

The dentist is alarmed by the number of “backdoor Botox” offerings on the market and says the prices some of these providers charge is less than the market-rate cost of the solution they’re injecting.

Anti-wrinkle treatments in the safety of your dentist’s office Laura Burgoine

It’s important to note that legally these solutions can only be ordered by a medical professional who can write prescriptions.

“There’s also very strict procedures about how you use and dispose of needles.” Dr Kershaw says.

One of her patients that Dr Kershaw has treated is her mum. She has also given it a test drive herself, thanks to her dentist husband Dr Matthias Schmidt, with whom she runs Surrey Quays Dental Practice. He is also qualified to administer the treatments.

“We go for subtle, natural results,” Dr Kershaw says. “We are not aiming for that frozen look. The best kind of work is when no one can tell you’ve had anything done.”

Prices for anti-wrinkle treatments are subject to consultation and depend on how many areas of the face clients choose. Results can last anywhere from 6 weeks to 4-6 months depending on the person and a combination of factors, including genetics, diet, smoking, alcohol consumption and sun exposure.

Patients can book in for a no-obligation initial consultation, where Dr Kershaw will take a full medical history and discuss options and prices.

Visit Surrey Quays Dental Practice at 204 Lower Road, SE8 5DJ. Phone: 020 7231 7912. www.surreyquaysdentalpractice.com Email: Surreyquaysdentalpractice@gmail.com You can also follow Surrey Quays Dental Practice on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter

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wellbeing

summer 2022

WONDERWALL

Summer workshops and events at the Lodge Space

Canada Water is now home to the UK’s first multi-court outdoor Wallball venue. Charity UK Wallball has teamed up with British Land to create the 2 courts next to Surrey Quays Shopping Centre.

It’s free and the concept is simple: you hit the ball against the wall with your hands, a bit like squash against one wall but without a racquet. The game was created for inner-city communities, making use of tight urban areas. Wallball is already hugely popular in cities like New York, where there are currently over 2,500 courts, and it’s now taking London by storm. Games typically last 15 minutes. BYO ball (an onsite vending machine also sells balls for £2).

Summer Solstice Shamanic Fire Ceremony (with breathwork and soundbath) Join Conscious Breathwork Therapist, Trauma Recovery Mentor and Intuitive Susie Smith and Charlotte Donachie, an Astrologer, Shamanic Kambo Practitioner and Gong Healer for a Solstice Fire Ceremony. During this deep purification, you will be fully guided through a journey of Breath, Sound and Sacred Fire, harnessing the Solstice energies to empower your personal transformation and dream a new reality into being. Tuesday 21 June from 7:30pm-10:30pm. Cost: £59.88.

https://ukwallball.co.uk

The Art of Back Bending A heart opening and educational workshop to explore extension of the spine in a safe and sustainable way. With the use of props you’ll learn to refine techniques to bring awareness, gain space

30

and freedom in the front body. There’ll be an opening sequence to build heat and open the shoulders, chest and hips, with some subtle core work to protect the lower back, followed by strengthening the glutes and hamstrings to support the spine in deeper backbends.

All levels welcome. Sunday 26 June from 9am-11am.

Cost: £35 Urban Yoga Retreat hosted by Consuelo The basic right of the heart chakra is simple, direct, profound: to love and to be loved. Sadly, this chakra is easily wounded. Taking time for yourself and giving yourself time to relax is the perfect antidote to lightening your heart and restoring your hope and optimism. Sunday 12 June from 11:30am-2:30pm.

Cost: £45. theLodge.space, 120a Lower Road, SE16 2UB. www.thelodge.space

ASH Photography

wellbeing

T

Explore, create and have fun through dance this half term

Central School of Ballet_May_half_term_South Londoner_AW.indd 1

ake part in dance courses this half term at Central School of Ballet to improve dance skills, and develop flexibility, musicality, coordination, balance and stamina, and have fun!

Ballet courses are available for beginners through to more the experienced students. There’s also a Musical Theatre Course available, open to all abilities, with the chance to learn songs and choreography from High School Musical. Or try a Dance Around the World Course, open to all abilities, to learn about four styles of dance from different cultures across the globe. For younger children there’s also a One Day Ballet and Arts & Crafts Workshop based on Alice in Wonderland.

The dance courses will run Monday 30 May – Wednesday 1 June and are available for ages 4-18 years, depending on the course and ability.

All courses will take place at Central’s studios in Southwark in London, just 10 minutes’ walk from either Waterloo or Blackfriars mainline stations and five minutes from Southwark tube station.

Find out more about age groups and ability levels, and how to book: https://www.centralschoolofballet. co.uk/classes-courses

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If a weekly class in ballet at a worldrenowned ballet school is of interest, then find out more about Central’s Junior School where the in-house syllabus is tailored across eleven layers for pupils aged 3-16 years. The classes provide a solid foundation for aspiring dancers to build skills and enjoy the artform. https://www.centralschoolofballet. co.uk/classes-courses/junior-school Central School of Ballet is a worldleading professional dance training centre in London offering classes and courses for children, young people and adults to develop skills, improve fitness, for wellbeing and enjoyment.

Centralschoolofballet.co.uk 21-22 Hatfields, Paris Garden, London SE1 8DJ

04/04/2022 14:06

memory lane

summer 2022

From the bombs to wedded bliss Michael Holland

W

hen bombs dropped on south east London, Irene Hewitt didn’t want to be evacuated because she was scared that while she was away her family would be killed and she would be all alone.

Family was a father who was in the navy before moving on to working at the Watney brewery, Mum working as a cook while bringing up Irene, her older brother who joined the RAF, and a sister whose soldier husband was in the D Day landings. Staying in London meant Irene’s education was disrupted when her school was bombed. “We watched the school burn,” she remembers. “You went to school when you could, otherwise a teacher would come to a neighbour’s house and teach small groups of us.”

Nevertheless, she still found time to amuse herself between air raids. “We played out a lot… We didn’t have cars rushing through the streets like you do now.”

Irene enjoyed primary school but was not so keen on secondary school. “I didn’t like moving classrooms for different lessons because some of the teachers weren’t very nice,” she recalls. Once again, though,

this school was destroyed by the Luftwaffe.

Notwithstanding Hitler’s attempts to impede Irene’s learning, she managed to pass a scholarship exam. Unfortunately, her father had recently died, times were hard and an extra wage coming into the house was paramount, so Irene left school at 14 without taking up the scholarship. “Mum would get 10 shillings off the state for my upkeep and an auntie across the road would help out, so we never went without, but I know now what a struggle it must have been.”

Irene’s work career began in the Cheque Office of the Co-op in Peckham’s Rye Lane, which was fine for a while but also interrupted by war, this time with Doodlebugs and V2 Rockets. “Every time the siren went off we ran down the shelter,” Irene says.

Around this time, Irene joined the Baptist Church where “they understood my family’s problems.” Irene would enjoy holidays with them, and it is where she first got involved with the Girls’ Brigade. “The lieutenant did an awful lot for me; she knew my situation and knew me better than I did.”

With church activities taking up much of Irene’s

32

memory lane

life there was no time for pubs. That is until she met Alf (Rick) Rickard. “I knew he was of a different ilk to what I was used to,” she laughs. The first night they met up he said they were going to the pub but Irene said she didn’t go in them because she didn’t like alcohol. “You will do if you want to be with me,” was Alf ’s response, chivalrously adding that she didn’t have to drink “intoxicating liquor.”

Irene’s dislike of drinking came from experiencing her father arriving home from the brewery when “things could sometimes get unpleasant…”

Alf knew he was onto a good thing with Ms Hewitt so he proposed, but not in the conventional way. “We were waiting for a 78 bus back to Bermondsey when he says, “I was thinking it might be nice to get married” and that was it.” She laughs at the memory. “I said, “let me think about it” knowing

full well I was gonna say yes.”

Irene revealed another suitor had also proposed but her mum liked Alf because he had been in the navy and advised, “I don’t think you’ll get anybody better!” And from such inauspicious beginnings, Mr and Mrs Rickard had many happy years together. “I picked the right one,” she says now.

Because of the post-war housing shortage, the couple’s first home was a room at Alf ’s Mum’s at 169 Drummond Road, along by the Baptist Church that soon got Irene helping out with the Girls’ Brigade that had stood her in good stead just a few years earlier.

Irene remembers vividly when work finished at Peek Frean’s opposite and the workers would rush out. “I used to walk round the back to get home in case I got trampled on,” she jokes.

“We were waiting for a 78 bus back to Bermondsey when he says, ‘I was thinking it might be nice to get married’ and that was it” Alf left the navy and became a postman like his father and brothers and was based in the City, conveniently next to the Sunday School Union where Irene then worked. They would often wave to each other. Another job was in St Olave’s Hospital until it closed and Irene moved to Guy’s. Up until recent times she worked in the Drummond Road surgery.

The church was not the only place to fill Irene’s

33

free time. She and Alf were season ticket holders at Millwall. “When we first got together, Alf said Saturday afternoons when Millwall played were out as far as courting was concerned so I said I’d go with him.” Irene, though, was a little too short to see the match when standing in the crowd and it could get a little bit rowdy so Alf, ever the gentleman, bought season tickets so they could sit. “I used to like Eamon Dunphy,” whispers the Lions fan, who still cherishes a photo of him signed: ‘With Love to Irene’. One not so nice Millwall memory was when police told them to get away quickly and as they walked home and they saw a mob tip a car over.

Irene Rickard is not as active as she once was but still attends City Hope Baptist Church regularly. She now lives just round the corner from Drummond Road where she and Alf began their years together.

“I’ve really had a happy life,” she ends with. And with her lovely smile and easy laugh I can tell that is true.

Find out more about life at St Dunstan’s at one of our upcoming open events Scholarships and bursaries are available at 11+ and 16+ Book your place at www.stdunstans.org.uk Stanstead Road, London, SE6 4TY

F.A.A.

F A ALBIN & SONS

summer 2022

Family Run Funeral Directors

Serving the local community for over 200 years WELLING 4 Welling Way, Welling, KENT, DA16 2RJ T: 020 8856 7514

020 7237 3637 ROTHERHITHE 52 Culling Road, London, SE16 2TN OUR OTHER BRANCH ADDRESSES ARE: SIDCUP 163 Station Road, Sidcup, KENT, DA15 7AA T: 020 8308 0015

EAST LONDON 378 Barking Road, Plaistow LONDON, E13 8HL T: 020 7476 1861

MOTTINGHAM 54-56 Mottingham Road, LONDON, SE9 4QR T: 020 8857 0330

DEPTFORD 164 Deptford High Street, LONDON, SE8 3DP T: 020 8694 1384

WALWORTH 88 Brandon Street, LONDON, SE17 1ND T: 020 7313 6990

CRAYFORD 30-32 Crayford High Street, Crayford, KENT, DA1 4HG T: 01322 533012

www.albins.co.uk 36

summer 2022

history

May Day revels Debra Gosling

T

he long dark days of winter are behind us, the clocks have gone forward, the blackbirds are singing and flowers are abundant. Spring has well and truly sprung. Bermondsey is blooming; the cherry trees have shed their blossoms like a snowstorm.

The first of May is known as Beltane, meaning the time of milk and honey, of blossoming and blooming, of desire and satisfaction. May Day stands midway between the long, cold nights of winter and the days of plenty at summer’s end so its key symbol is fresh spring growth. May Day is the traditional recognition of spring and a day that, for centuries, was celebrated with relish by the people of Bermondsey.

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

Back in 1617 the street was the only main thoroughfare in the area, surrounded by meadows and fields. St Mary Magdalen church and Bermondsey House were the only major landmarks - along with the parish Maypole, which had stood upon Horselydown for centuries.

There were not many recognised holidays in the seventeenth century but May Day was one of them. People looked forward to their jig around the Bermondsey maypole. It was a permanent fixture and traditionally made out of birch, the stuff of witch’s brooms. On May Day’s eve the women of the parish would decorate it with flowers, hawthorn and herbs. The focus of the day was on dancing, drinking, pageantry, and more drinking. A special feast was put on and tables were laden with bread, cake, cheese, ale and cider. A local Bermondsey belle was chosen to be the May Queen. There was a procession, traditionally led by a piper, followed by the community dressed as jesters, damsels, princes or animals. One would come on a hobbyhorse and someone would dress the fool and hit the crowds over the head with an animal’s

bladder (they didn’t have balloons then). Sometimes an archery contest was put on and prospective archers and their girlfriends dressed as Robin Hood and Maid Marian.

It was a typical bank holiday, complete with a fair and stalls selling trinkets. And wherever you find a village fete you’ll always find the inevitable Morris Dancers. Besides the apple bobbing and sports, the main feature of the day was when they all joined hands and skipped around the maypole. Both men and women sported garlands of blossoms in their hair. What a great day; a community expression of hope and joy for the coming summer.

But the Puritans frowned upon the mirth and enjoyment of May Day; for them it was far too Pagan a practice. Enter Edward Elton, the new vicar of St Mary Magdalen. As he strolled around his parish on the first of May he was disgusted by all the merriment. Enraged, he formed an angry mob of likeminded killjoys and for weeks Elton’s Sunday sermon was devoted to the evils of May Day, declaring its usage was unlawful, superstitious, and

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idolatrous. It had to go.

Then in the dead of night Elton and his gang of thugs hacked down the Maypole. As daylight broke, locals were shocked to find that their sacred pole had disappeared. Once news broke of who the culprit was Elton found he had his biggest ever congregation knocking on his door but he refused to even give them the broken pieces back.

Edward Elton died in 1624 and was buried in the chancel of the church and, as a legacy, his sermons were published in book form. But for the people of Bermondsey it would be a long while before they got their maypole back. Puritan mania had by then taken over England and by the mid-seventeenth century all of the maypoles had been burnt down.

Happily, the old customs were revived at the onset of the restoration when Charles the Second, known as the Merry Monarch, re-introduced maypoles along with gambling, brothels and theatres. Once more Bermondsey skipped around the maypole in the green fields of Horselydown. Hurrah. Time for a resurrection...?

VISIT OUR SPRING OPEN DAYS

Live with us in the UK’s first LGBT+ affirming retirement community.

Meet new friends. Make new memories.

All in a place you can truly feel at home.

We’re holding spring open days to give you the chance to visit Tonic@Bankhouse and see if it’s right for you.

“With Tonic, I know I am safe”

We’ll have limited space available so visit our website www.tonicatbankhouse.org to find dates and book your place.

For more information or to arrange a viewing: www.tonicatbankhouse.org info@tonichousing.org.uk Or call 0207 971 1091

THIS IS HOW WE LIVE OUR LIVES OUT

LOCAL COMMERCIAL PROPERTY EXPERTS BA SE D O N B E R M O N DSE Y S T R E E T, SE1

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If you own a property and require expert advice, contact our team.

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THE PICKLE FACTORY homes with an industrial heart The Pickle Factory, a beautifully restored and converted former manufacturing home of iconic Branston Pickle which celebrates its centenary this year, offers a rare opportunity to buy a stylish home with authentic Bermondsey heritage.

With its original redbrick façade and Art Deco style entrance, The Pickle Factory is a restored masterpiece at London Square Bermondsey, a new neighbourhood of former industrial buildings and newbuild homes set in landscaped grounds of 4.7 acres, with a garden square and courtyards, gym and new Co-op food store. New studios and gallery spaces for Tannery Arts, who work with emerging artists and plan to run workshops and classes for residents and local people, add a cultural dimension.

The entrance to the Pickle Factory is an impressive space with monochrome detailing. The reception area features the concierge desk, providing a friendly and essential service for luxury city living. Further down the foyer is the private meeting room available for residents to book. Double doors lead out into the Beach Garden, exclusive for Pickle Factory residents, with benches and bistro-style seating for a spot of relaxation. Residents can also go to the on-site

Jo McDonagh, Group Sales and Marketing Director, London Square, said:

“The Pickle Factory is the embodiment of how Bermondsey has transformed from its industrial past while retaining a real sense of authenticity, with the best of London’s food and drink, culture and creative energy on your doorstep.”

gym in The Crosse Building, equipped with all the latest strength, cardio and conditioning machines. It is open daily so you can time your workout to suit your schedule.

Now 85 per cent sold and with many residents living there, the development has become a flourishing community. There is also a thriving Residents’ Club, open to all people living at London Square Bermondsey, which organises social activities and also secures invitations to private views and special incentives at leading restaurants.

The final four one bedroom apartments are priced from £675,000 and the final two bedroom apartment is £920,000. Each apartment has an open-plan living area, designed around the existing building, with Crittallstyle windows, black and bronze interior detailing and a spacious balcony for outdoor living. The latest Siemens kitchen appliances in black glass and stainless steel bring state-of-the-art technology to the mix, adding to the perfect combination of industrial character and luxury modern living. Bathrooms are sleek, with black taps and shower fittings and recessed lighting. Every detail has been considered, from the high-end ceiling speakers to the cosy underfloor heating.

A short walk away from The Pickle Factory is Bermondsey Street where fashion, food and drink and culture meet. White Cube gallery, The Fashion & Textile

Museum, indie cafes, bars, restaurants and pubs can be found alongside artisan retailers. The foodie delights of Maltby Street market and Borough Market are close by, and London Bridge station is just 12 minutes’ walk, with good cycle and walking routes to the City and West End. Leafy Bermondsey Spa gardens is nearby, where open-air yoga classes take place, and Tanner Street Park is another green oasis with lawns, shady trees and public tennis courts.

For art lovers, an exhibition by Eames Fine Art will be staged at London Square Bermondsey to launch The Blackwell Collection on Saturday 25th June, a limited edition of spectacular penthouses in The Pickle Factory on the sixth and seventh floors, featuring loft-style living, and sweeping London views, with expansive terraces ideal for entertaining.

Leading interior designer Honky will be designing a new show home which will be unveiled at the launch.

Design director Paul Dawson commented:

“We are showcasing elevated urban penthouse living amazing city vistas are viewed through oversized Crittall windows that flood every room in this heritage building with light. The success of the warehouse aesthetic is reliant on a cleverly curated mix of furniture and oversize standalone art pieces.”

Rebecca Eames, of Eames Fine Art, with galleries on Bermondsey Street and an Art Collectors’ Studio on nearby Tanner Street, said:

“SE1 has a long history of artists working, exhibiting and congregating around the warehouse studios and vibrant bars.

There is a particularly long tradition of printmaking in the area - with many major British printmaking artists such as Norman Ackroyd RA and Anita Klein still working in beautiful studios just off Bermondsey Street. That is why Eames Fine Art made it our home too - we work closely with many local artists. At London Square Bermondsey, we will be showing works by Ross Loveday, Norman Ackroyd, Nigel Swift, Sophie Layton and sculptures by Malcolm Franklin.”

A two bedroom penthouse in The Blackwell Collection is priced from £1,450,000 and a three bedroom penthouse from £2,400,000.

This year, the company is supporting the London Square Open Gardens Weekend, organised by the London Gardens Trust on 11th and 12th June. More than 100 gardens are taking part, ranging from grand garden squares to rooftops, from community spaces to the historic grounds of Lincoln’s Inn in the City including several fascinating gardens in SE1.

For more details on booking and opening times for the London Square Open Gardens Weekend www.londongardenstrust.org

BEST APARTMENT SCHEME

Contact London Square Bermondsey to find out more about the launch of The Blackwell Collection on Saturday 25th June and the remaining apartments in The Pickle Factory.

BERMONDSEY@LONDONSQUARE.CO.UK

0333 666 4343

58 GRANGE ROAD, SE1 3BH

Images depict the show home at London Square Bermondsey. Details and prices correct at time of going to press.

LET US TAKE YOU ON A TOUR

WWW.LONDONSQUARE.CO.UK

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2075 Maria’s recognised for contributions to humanity

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summer 2022

2,000 free, greenconstruction training places available with The Skills Centre

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he Skills Centre is partnering with the European Social Fund to provide thousands of free training places for anyone currently unemployed or economically inactive, thanks to a scheme called Greening London Construction ESF. Free courses are available to local residents on a oneweek, three-week and six-week basis. The courses offer various modules in green construction skills, such as Introduction to Environmental Awareness and Sustainability in Construction, Basic Construction Skills, Personal Wellbeing in Construction, Health & Safety in a Construction Environment, CITB Construction Skills Certification Scheme green card, as well as becoming an internally accredited Green Champion.

The training is flexible and caters for the needs of each specific learner, including offering childcare and other training needs that may be required to help someone complete the course.

There are places for over 2,000 local residents, who can all achieve a CSCS Labourer Green Card, and guaranteed job interviews with living wage employers, upon successful completion of the training.

This programme is part-funded by the European Social Fund to provide particular support and opportunities for learners with complex barriers to education and employment.

Jon Howlin, Chief Executive of The Skills Centre, one of the UK’s leading construction training companies, said how proud he is that The Skills Centre has been selected to deliver such an important scheme for the capital and its residents: “The construction sector has a massive skills shortage at the moment across all parts of the industry, but in particular green construction is an area that is growing and major contractors all around the UK are struggling to find people to fill these roles.

“We look forward to welcoming people from all walks of life through our doors. There really is no barrier to anyone joining these schemes, so if you do have an interest, regardless of your current circumstance, academic or physical ability, and even if you have caring responsibilities, and may be looking for a return to work, or a new career path, please do get in touch with us.

“We will provide the best support we can and would love

SUMMER JAZZ at MORLEY

the opportunity to help get you trained up and into work.”

If you or someone you know is currently unemployed and is looking for that next step into a new, rewarding career, then please get in touch with the team today.

Email referrals@theskillscentre.co.uk or call on 020 3621 1940.

CONCERT SERIES

Join Artistic Directors Flavio Li Vigni, Tori Freestone and Mark Kavuma and musicians who have set the standard on the British scene, as well as newcomers redefining the style and spirit of Jazz.

FRIDAY 27 MAY at 7:30pm

THURSDAY 24 JUNE at 7:30pm

JULIAN SIEGEL QUARTET

LONDON JAZZ ORCHESTRA LED BY SCOTT STROMAN

BOOK £16 TICKETS

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morleycollege.ac.uk/jazzatmorley

16-18 and looking to start college?

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Come and see what Bosco can offer you.

Places available for an immediate start in:

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

DISCOVER YOUR PASSION on one of our

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THE GERMAN KINDERGARTEN BERMONDSEY 8am—6pm Monday—Friday 28 St James Street SE16 4QR

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We are a beautiful German Kindergarten in Bermondsey, London. We believe in learning through play close to nature. Offer a nurturing and immersive German speaking environment we give each child the opportunity to become independent and confident.

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summer 2022

LOCALLY SOURCED Pitcher and Craft

Check out Pitcher and Craft, a one-stop craft beer and organic wine pitstop on the Bermondsey Beer Mile. Owner Benno Ghuman opened in 2021 and stocks a range of local craft beers, including beloved Bermondsey brands

Brew by Numbers, Anspach & Hobday, Villages, Partizan, and Orbit, as well as German and Belgium beers and ales.

You can also find high quality eco-certified wines from all over the world and beers on tap.

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Visit Pitcher and Craft at 262 Southwark Park Road, SE16 3RN. Phone: 07834 350 790.