Southwark News, Thursday March 16 2023
Exclusive By Herbie Russell herbie@southwarknews.co.uk
www.southwarknews.co.uk/news
Leyton Square voted ‘saddest playground’ in whole of London
Paul at the place where he found the dog
A dog-loving Bermondsey man is searching for the owner of an “Italian greyhound” pup he found dead on the Thames banks.
man on the search for the owner of drowned dog he found on Rotherhithe beach this will bring peace to the owners.” An RSPCA spokesperson said: “If someone finds the body of a dead animal and is concerned they might have been cruelly treated or neglected, we ask them to report this to our national cruelty and advice line.” “This sounds really upsetting and we’d encourage those with firsthand information to report this to the police, and the RSPCA on 0300 1234 999,” they added. If you believe this was your dog contact: herbie@southwarknews.co.uk
An example of an Italian Greyhound
© Anu Quadri Year 13
Young maestros call checkmate at Southwark’s first-ever inter-school chess tournament By Herbie Russell herbie@southwarknews.co.uk Young chess boffins battled it out at the first-ever Southwark Schools Chess Tournament which saw Sacred Heart School romp to victory.
The competition was held at lunchtime at Sacred Heart, in Camberwell, on Friday, March 3, and involved players from St Thomas the Apostle, Notre Dame School and Ark All Saints. Miss Joan Laffan, librarian at Sacred Heart School, and tournament organiser, said: “Students’ athletic ability is celebrated regularly, but this is an opportunity for our more intellectual and less athletic students to be recognised for their talents and skills in a game of chess.” “It has been an amazing experience organising and hosting this event. We hope to host another tournament soon,”
she added. Sacred Heart players were calling checkmate all day, grabbing a stunning eighteen wins and one draw from 21 games. Reflecting on their success, JustinLloyd Casilagan, from Sacred Heart, said: “I really enjoyed playing against other schools. I hope to play others again soon.” Rachel, from Ark All Saints School, described it as “a very new experience for me that has challenged me to work harder”. The results are: 1ST Sacred Heart School 18wins - 1 draw 2nd St Thomas the Apostle 14 wins - 1 draw 3rd Notre Dame School 6 wins 4th Ark All Saints School 3 wins
©Paul Towsend
Paul Townsend, 52, a builder living on the Longfield Estate, found the dog on Rotherhithe Beach, a stretch of shore off Rotherhithe Street near the Mayflower pub, on Saturday, March 5. Sadly, the dog was not microchipped and has since been cremated - but Paul is still keen to find out who its owner was. “I’d like to fill them in and let them know where it was found, and that I’d tried my best. I’m happy to speak to them if they get in contact,” he said. Paul, who owns a seven-year-old Akita-German Shepherd cross, had seen people talking about the dog on social media and had to intervene. “Me and my friend got down there and I spotted the dog straight away. It was right by the boat. I thought ‘it’s so sad to see’ it brought tears to my eyes”, Paul said. He added: “I love dogs, I’ve had dogs all my life… I’ve ever never heard of a dog being found on the Thames.” The pooch, probably an Italian greyhound, is described as white with brown-grey patches and roughly eighteen months to two years old. Paul said the body looked as if it had been there for less than 24 hours. He took the dog to the London Animal Hospital in Denmark Hill where it was checked for a microchip. As of April 6, 2016, owners are legally obliged to get their dogs chipped in case they get lost. The London Animal Hospital confirmed it had received a two-yearold dog marked as ‘stray’ who was not chipped, which had since been cremated. But there has been an outpouring of thanks for Paul, with people praising his caring nature. One social media user wrote: “Paul, so sweet of you and your friend. I’m so happy people do care about our fur babies.” Another wrote on the NextDoor site: “Thank you so much Paul! I’m hoping
NEWS 11
By Isabel Ramirez isabel@southwarknews.co.uk A Peckham-based park, which was where Rio Ferdinand played football as a child, has been voted the ‘saddest playground’ in London.
Children’s charity London Play ran the London’s Saddest Playground campaign in a bid to turn the spotlight on poor play facilities in the capital. They said they are offering to work with groups who nominated their local playgrounds to turn things around. Leyton Square park in Peckham came joint first, along with another south London park. The park was nominated by Peckham resident, Mary King, who said she used to take her kids there before they went along one day and found it all fenced off. “I always took my kids there, it’s great for younger kids especially,” Mary said. “The park is a brilliant space and it’s got really nice long swings. The kids were excited to go in the summer but we went along last August and found that it had all been burnt out,” she explained. In 2016 Rio Ferdinand issued a plea to save his childhood playground, but Mary said it appears to have been forgotten about again. “I presume it was vandalism, but no one knows what has happened. There is still fencing around it. It’s not safe,” she added. “I’ve seen little kids playing around in the dangerous fences.” Mary said she contacted the local councillor, who assured her it is being fixed. “It’s great news that they are on it but we need some more communication why does it have to be left abandoned with no sign?” The park that now shares the title is Crystal Palace Park in Bromley. It was nominated by seven-year-old Wilf who said: “Lots of people use the park and for its size, the playground is rubbish. It only has one swing and a sandpit.” As part of the competition, they will be offered support with campaigning and fundraising to improve substandard playgrounds over the coming months. London Play is calling on people in London to let them know about poor play services, facilities or policies in their areas. As well as poor quality playgrounds this could include afterschool clubs or holiday play schemes which are threatened with closure or reductions in their services; or too many signs prohibiting play on a housing estate. Email them at info@londonplay.org. uk with details
